5: Full
Needless to say, there was some commotion back in the castle at this.
“Dusk, CALM DOWN and tell me again but slower and without shouting.” Prince Solaris said to his panicking former student, while rubbing his temple and attempting to shake the sleepiness from his expression. “Alright, alright!” He managed to fit in a pause of the babbling that flowed from Dusk Shine, who was currently flailing his front hooves and almost jumping around at the door of Solaris' private bedchambers. “So you made sure he wasn't in there when you cut it out of the castle and shot it to Sweet Apple Acres, right? Oh, so you just assumed that my brother would enjoy a sudden and unexpected flight of several dozen leagues at mach 7 while he was doing some magic? No no, I am just a bit tired, and alright I get that you warned him. And yes, I understand it was dark magic more powerful than you can even comprehend or explain. That was the point of the sudden trip, right? No, I still am joking, I get that this is serious. Ugh, it's like 2:30, you know that right? Yes, I will still come see, alright? No I believe you, I am just, as I have said twenty times now, VERY tired. Wha-what do you mean exerting myself while sleeping... “fraternizing”?... My dreams are not “illicit”! Nor are they any of your business... how did you even...?”
Solaris suddenly took Dusk much more seriously, and snapped awake at what was being babbled. “Oh no.”
~~~
Tears fell hot and fast from Prince Artemis' snout, striking the fine moondust around his hooves and sending the particles flying, some of which powdered his naked blue hooves, as he had taken off all of his regalia, shoes included.
“How could I fail? I just worked all of that magic, and nothing happened? HOW!?!” Artemis bellowed, disturbing all the moondust around him for several paces and sending it dancing back down to the surface, blown by the ephemeral wind that lightly billowed from the Lunar Aspect's form.
Closing his eyes and hanging his head, he continued shouting and cursing his fate, but now he had unwittingly switched to Old Equestrian. The strange twist and shake of his words caused the dust to roll away from him like bubbles on the surface of a boiling pot. The patterns that formed cut fiendishly in the moondust, making Artemis look like the center of a huge rune etched in the lunar surface, the rune for rage.
Shaking his head back and forth, tossing his mane about and flicking his wings in rage, the deep blue color of his coat darkened. As hope drained from the alicorn, the blue drained from his coat, leaving it black as night. Hidden by his closed eyelids, the pupils of his eyes shrunk and stretched, looking more like that of a cat than pony.
~~~
A black crystal shattered beneath an armor-shod black hoof and splintered into a fine powder. The powder hung briefly like a mist around the hoof before disappearing as it was drawn quickly into the dark figure. A wicked smile played out across Night-terror Knight's snout as the power seeped into him, giving him orders of magnitude more power than he had ever experienced before, and from only one single crystal!
“Hah!” He madly screamed as he shot a beam of energy at a random point on the surface of the moon before him. When the black beam touched the surface, a massive inferno of shadow billowed outwards, shaking the moon beneath his hooves. Maniacal laughter erupted from the black alicorn as he saw the massive crater he had just formed, large enough that it actually made the horizon ahead of him to dip down and appear curved.
The fiend summoned another from the distant horde, and set it before his hoof. Crushing it, he turned his sights above, to the dark surface of Equestria, so very far away. Cackling and shuddering at the pure magic that flowed through his black veins, he poured all of his newly acquired energy into a massive ball above his horn. The mania only grew as he saw the orb grow immense, larger than the shield that surrounded Canterlot before the changeling invasion. Larger than the mountain Canterlot was perched on.
Roaring with maddened laughter, Night-terror flicked his horn and sent the massive black orb of magic towards the surface, not caring who he destroyed, or what country he obliterated. His smile wilted slightly as he saw it was heading for the ocean off the east coast of Equestria.
“Ah, well, I'll kill some merponies, at least.” The monster chuckled, then smirked. “Why stop there?” He cackled as he summoned forth another crystal, but then stopped. This crystal, unlike the two previous, was not black as night, but was pinkish on one side, as if it was changing colors. The maddened mind of Night-terror Knight didn't register what Artemis knew, and simply set aside the crystal, not liking it's color.
Inside the layers of rage and hate that flowed through the form of the Lunar Aspect, The small part that remained Artemis jumped. He knew what the crystal meant, and he knew he could gain back control of himself if he could get the Daemon to try using that crystal. However, try as he might, the hate was too strong, and the Daemon had more power than him, and he could not control anything but his own thoughts, as imprisoned as they were in the bastion of hate that was Night-terror Knight.
Exasperation and hopelessness weakened Artemis further, giving the Daemon that much more control. Noticing this struggle, Night-terror laughed and smiled maliciously. “Hmm, still got some fight left, do we? Well, let's take away what you have to fight for.”
Artemis screamed inside as another massive orb of death bloomed above Night-terror's horn, this time, however, the Daemon used Artemis' alicorn vision to sight in very precisely.
~~~
“What was that!?!” Dusk Shine screamed as he and Prince Solaris galloped out to the Solar balcony, after they felt the first massive energy ball impact, and heard the thunderous explosion from leagues away. The two princes looked around wildly, and were startled when they were hit by as spray of water, like a curtain of rain from the cloudless sky.
“Holy -” Dusk gasped, and Solaris looked over and saw the him licking his lips. Solaris licked his lips, and discovered the water that had sprayed his face was salty.
“Ocean water!?! But the coast is...” Solaris asked, exasperatedly using his alicorn vision to try and see the nearest body of salt water. But there were none in sight, meaning that the water had traveled all the way from the ocean, so far away it was on the other side of the horizon. The two alicorns looked at each other, eyes wide and minds reeling.
“This is bad.” Dusk managed to say. Nodding, Solaris looked upwards to try and see a source for such a cataclysm.
“That is worse!” He shouted, pointing upwards. Dusk followed the direction of his hoof, and saw a massive black energy ball hurtling from the surface of the moon.
Directly at them.
~~~
Insane laughter rolled from Night-terror Knight's mouth as he watched the black orb fly straight and true towards Canterlot castle. He glanced over slightly, and his cackling grew as he saw the massive crater that the ocean on the east coast of Equestria was draining into. Like a foal watching fireworks, he clapped his hooves together and giggled in excitement for watching the evaporation of the entire mountain range that surrounded Canterlot.
The foalish grin fell from his face as the energy ball stopped shrinking into the distance, and instead started moving sideways, away from the surface and away from Canterlot, instead flying past into space off to the side of the blue marble.
A growl escaped the sneering frown on Night-terror's snout as he recognized the two magic beams that has altered the orb's course. One he recognized from a millennia ago, the other from not long ago at all. Artemis, buried deep inside the raging Daemon felt hope surge as he saw his brother and Dusk were going to save the day, like they always did.
Or so he thought, at least.
~~~
“We need to get to Arty's room. He is up on the moon now, and I think I know how he got there.” Solaris shouted as the two princes sagged from the massive strain they had just endured. “We can't redirect another that size, and I would prefer to keep Equestria from being further remodeled.”
Dusk Shine nodded, and the two alicorns lit their horns and disappeared.
Blinking and steadying themselves, the two princes looked around. They were on the wide open plain that bordered the massive Apple Family Orchard, and in front of them was a strange sight indeed. Looking like a slice out of a castle pie, the chunk of the night wing that held Artemis' chambers sat in the field, almost perfectly intact, save the walls and floor that had been cut to remove the section. Looking to each other, Solaris opened the door to Artemis' bedchambers, and they walked inside. Immediately, both alicorns noticed the glowing and swirling mirror that stood in the middle of the room, shooting sparks out and warping the air around it as if it were extremely hot.
“I guess that is it, then?” Dusk asked, though he didn't really need any answer, and both of them approached the brilliant portal.
“Get ready, I don't know what we will see on the other side, but I imagine we will not be safe.” Solaris stated as they stood in front of the mirror, both their manes being blown back in magical wind that pressed out of the roiling and sparkling mirror-glass.
“How will we breathe on the other side? I can think of a few spells that may work, but I have only tried them underwater, not in a vacuum...” Dusk asked hesitantly, feeling stupid that he had not prepared for this, despite him having no way of foreseeing a moonwalk.
“The mirror is magical, and grants... a blessing on those who use it. It makes anypony who travels through it to not need air on the moon... though I have no idea if it still works, with this crazy spell that Arty used on it...” Solaris gave a sheepish grin to his former student and sighed. “Here goes nothing!”
Dusk watched as his white form pressed through the surface, looking like an upended diver hitting the water in slow motion. Shaking his head and nervously chuckling, he pressed himself forwards, letting the quicksilver portal slide over his coat.
~~~
Everything shook, and Night-terror Knight looked around, panic rising inside, weakening the Daemon. Night-terror looked around and saw the ivory end of a horn poking into existence next to him. He leapt away and flapped his wings trying to fly away, but failing as his wings caught no purchase in the vacuum. Instead, the black alicorn stumbled and almost fell to the white surface of the moon.
Artemis felt this, and struggled to wrestle control from the being of the Nightmare realm. Then he recognized the source of the shaking, and stopped. Artemis realized that the Daemon had felt the opening of a portal, and thought it was just the one that Solaris and Dusk were entering. However, Artemis wasn't distracted by fumbling around, and felt that there was another portal opened, much further away, opened from a different place. This confused him for but a moment, because just as he was wondering who could be opening the portal, He felt his spell complete. Like building a bridge, his end of the spell met midway with another. Hope exploded inside him, but he had to hide it, for the Daemon was still much to strong.
Night-terror did not hesitate, and shot a blast of energy at Solaris as he exited the portal. The prince dodged to the side, but couldn't avoid the magic grip that enveloped him. As Dusk Shine emerged from the portal, Solaris was just able to shout “Wait, no!” before Night-terror grabbed him as well, freezing them in place. As they struggled, Dusk tried to cast a spell, but the Daemon was ready, and cast a spell to stop him. He then summoned two black crystals to him, and tied the immobilization and anti-magic spells for each prince to the gems.
“See, not so strong up here on our moon, are you!?!” Night-terror laughed as he watched the two princes unsuccessfully struggle at the binding. “And with you two foals out of the way, I feel like destroying Canterlot for real this time.” Looking back towards Equestria, the Daemon teleported another crystal, broke it, and began to charge up another world-shaking ball of black energy. Night-terror knew he could use the energy for a more destructive spell, but was simply having a great time shooting massive balls of pure energy at the planet below. 'Plus,' he thought to himself, so Artemis could hear it, 'It is just easier not having to actually make a spell, since I will be able to keep on going for a while with all those crystals you saved for me.'
At this, Artemis threw himself at the bars of the mental cage he was trapped in internally screaming at the Daemon. This only caused more rage, giving more power to the black terror that ruled his body now.
The hopelessness of the struggle of the three immeasurably powerful beings he now controlled made the Daemon cackle in ecstasy, so maniacally amused and excited by the destruction and fear and rage he was causing.
With an insane grin across his snout, the black alicorn flicked his horn towards Canterlot castle again, this time knowing there were no beings that could even dream of stopping such a massive amount of energy from disintegrating the capital of Equestria completely.
The hearts of the three princes sunk as they saw the black orb descend toward the surface, flying at unbelievable speed towards the ponies they knew and cared for, their subjects, their ponies, their home. Solaris and Dusk, the two still in control of their eyes, closed them, but Artemis had to watch through his monster-controlled eyes as the orb grew smaller in the distance, a juggernaut of death to the gleaming city.
~~~
But the city did not die.
No, as the orb approached, two familiar beams of magic shot up at it, sending it careening to the side past the planet into deep space.
Artemis blinked, shaking his head to make sure he was actually seeing this, not just remembering what it had looked like last time. But no, the orb had been redirected by two beams of alicorn magic, and Canterlot had been saved. Again. Glancing over, Artemis still saw his brother and friend there, still looking like they had been covered in magical tar, and still had their eyes pressed closed in dread.
'Wait, I just moved my head?' Artemis suddenly thought. 'Yes I did!' He moved his head around a bit more, looking up and down, and seeing the discarded pink crystal ahead of him, only now it had dyed fully pink, bright and shining with hope.
“Yes!” The Lunar Prince exclaimed, at which his two fellow princes opened their eyes and looked at him, noticing the change back in his voice. However as soon as he had said this, the beast recovered from the shock, and brutally forced his control back over the alicorn, barely able to wrestle power from the hope-bolstered mind of the prince.
“No! This can't be possible!” The Daemon screamed, shaking his head and blinking his eyes back into control. “Whatever foals think they can stop me can burn! I won't leave a world for them to defend!” The deranged cackling was more forced this time as confusion and doubt plagued his mind, crumbling the foundations of his control over the Lunar Aspect.
At this, Artemis started to feel panicked to a whole new level, finding that he still couldn't rip even a scrap of control, and fearing what the Daemon was planning. To the dismay of all three princes, the black horn flashed and summoned forth more crystals, this time a massive pile, hundreds upon hundreds of the crystals. Artemis was the only of the three to not completely give up hope, as he saw that all of the crystals were pink, and he was the only one to know what they meant, as the monster started speaking.
The cat-like eyes began glowing greenish-purple flames as Night-terror Knight began speaking Old Equestrian, weaving a complex spell of destruction. Then, as he started to bind the spell, he jumped madly onto the pile in front of him, crushing and smashing wildly, absorbing unimaginable amounts of energy into his spell.
The Daemon spoke the last few boiling words of the spell and thrust his horn to the sky. Still splintering and absorbing as many of the crystals as his crazed flailing would allow him, a single point of blinding white light formed above the tip. Physically shaking, the monster forced forward more of the impossible ocean of magic, growing the point into a larger and larger ball, looking like a sun, though pure white and infinitely bright, like an orb of molten iron.
With each black crystal, more hate and rage flowed into the Daemon, giving him more control, but each pink crystal flowed exponentially more power to the mind of Artemis, giving him fuel for his struggle within his mental confines. The black alicorn floated up from the surface, wings not moving, utterly motionless in the immense struggle of will and power. As his dominance was tested, the spells that bound the two princes fell, the binding broken from the crystals. At this, Dusk immediately lit his horn, prepared to fire all of the magical attacks he knew towards the hovering form.
“Stop, Dusk!” Solaris shouted, jumping in the way of the attack, at which Dusk stopped and looked questioningly at his mentor. “Nothing you could do will stop him, all it would do is make him more unstable. We need to run as fast as we can. He just used the Old Equestrian binding for 'Balefire'. No matter if he actually casts it, it is summoned and will erase the entire planet, if not the moon we are standing on as well as the sun. All we can hope for is surviving and time traveling back, but for that, he needs the moon to survive so we will have somewhere to stand, rather than flying infinitely through deep space till we both... expire. I know it's not much, but it's all we can do!” The last sentence was shouted back from the Solar Prince as he took off galloping across the white expanse, putting as much distance between him and the monster as he could.
Dusk shook his head in wonder, his mind boggling from what he was told, but blinked and cleared his mind. “Alright, let's go!” he shouted after him, nodding and taking off after him.
This all happened unnoticed by the Lunar Aspect, as a war for control raged inside him, the rightful soul of Artemis vying with the invading spirit from the realm of nightmares. The hope battled the rage, love battled hate, courage battled fear. Artemis blinked his left eyes as a tear fell away from it, trying and failing to mirror it with his right. He was pushed to his limits, but could not stop the spell, couldn't even control his face.
'No, I mustn't despair! I can do this! I can! I can. I...can?' Artemis thought to himself, feeling his grip over himself falter as he felt hopelessness invade his mind.
Gaining the upper hoof, the Daemon poured all the magical energy up into the Balefire, pumping more energy than normal unicorn will experience in their entire life directly into the inferno, growing it truly and unbelievably massive.
“Stop!” A voice bellowed out, strong and commanding, but puzzlingly feminine. Both the Daemon and Artemis looked down together in surprise, and Artemis remembered the second portal he had noticed opening on the far side of the moon.
Standing below the floating alicorn was another alicorn, this one not black but blue. Midnight blue.
~~~
“What was that!?!” Twilight Sparkle shouted in confusion to Celestia, both of whom sagged and were panting after the massive strain they had just endured. “First Luna does that crazy dark magic thing, now massive magic attacks!?!”
Celestia shook her head in disbelief, as she thought she recognized the magical signature as Princess Luna's or, more accurately, Nightmare Moon's, but it was different. She also could sense Luna's aura, but she wasn't at the source of the attack.
“Get rid of those magic barriers, we need to get into Lulu's room.” The Solar princess told her former student. Receiving a nod in return, she took off galloping in the direction of the Lunar Princess's bedchambers. Looking back, she saw Twilight following her, and warned “We can't redirect another that size, and I would prefer to keep Equestria from being remodeled.”
The two princesses entered the night wing of the castle, and came up to the large black door to Princess Luna's bedchambers and started unweaving the containment spells that Twilight had surrounded them in after a strange and massive surge of dark magic came from inside.
Once the barrier had dispersed, Twilight and Celestia burst into the room, finding a glowing mirror in the middle.
“What do we do, Prin- err, Celestia?” Twilight asked nervously, scared of what lay beyond the portal.
“We will have to go through the portal now, and stop whatever is on the other side. I don't know what is going on, I thought for a second that Luna had been taken back by Nightmare Moon, but I'm not sure.” Celestia said, walking around the sparking and shimmering portal cautiously.
“I felt that too, I think we sho-” Twilight stopped suddenly and looked up at the ceiling, eyes wide. “What now!?!” she screamed as Celestia and her bolted to the balcony to see the massive disturbance they had felt from above.
Slamming the outside door open, the two alicorns gazed upwards in awe and horror at the night sky. Where there usually was only one white disk hanging between the stars, there now was another white circle hanging right next to the moon, half again its size and growing, and so bright it made the moon and stars all but invisible by comparison.
“That can't be good...” Both Princesses simultaneously whispered.
~~~
“...You...” Artemis managed to gasp out, heart dancing as he pushed his will through the confused Daemon's hold over his faculties.
“Yes, it is I, and you are... you.” A brief flicker of happiness flicked across Princess Luna's face as she said the word you, but then her steadfast resolve retook her features. “But you are also not you right now, and that has to change. Especially with...” She looked upwards at the orb of Balefire, having to squint at it's blinding surface that was so expansive it looked perfectly flat above their heads. “...that.” She concluded after a brief pause.
“He is not changing anything right now, so you will have to talk to me, foalish interloper. Artemis is no more, I am all that is left of him, and soon, all that will be left of anything.” Night-terror Knight shouted out, his manic grin still wide but slightly strained. He could feel his grip weakening over the Prince of the Night, so he emphasized his point by tipping his horn ever so slightly at the word “anything”, making the massive sphere twitch wildly as it stayed connected to his long black horn.
“No!” Luna shouted out, eyes wide in fear of the careless treatment that the world-eating death ball was receiving. She quickly jumped up in front of the maddened alicorn, enchanting her wings to allow her flight in the vacuum. “Not all is lost, you can still fight the rage! Hope is still alive as long as you are.” She called out, speaking directly to Artemis and ignoring the Daemon entirely, knowing the ordeal he was going through, and remembering how hopeless it felt.
At this, Night-terror was wrought with spasms as Artemis felt the hope in her words, and pried loose the Daemons grip slightly more.
“Yes... but... ugh!” Artemis' face peeked through the terrible snarling grin momentarily, and Luna felt her heart flutter, only to skip a beat as the face contorted from the struggle. Settling control again, Artemis choked out a few last words, “So is... rage...”
Tears began streaming down Luna and Artemis' snouts, and a cackling laugh erupted from Night-terror. Gaining the upper hand again, he cried out “The foal is right! Hope may live with him, but so shall hate and rage! I will always be there with him, and no world will survive my wrath, whether from the nightly horrors I bring in dreams, or the destruction I wreak once I am done with them.”
“No... no...” Luna sobbed, shaking her head and loosing more teardrops. Inspiration struck, and she exclaimed “But look at the good you can do despite! I came here, and my rage was overcome by caring for you!” Her words stumbled slightly as she blushed, but she kept pressing her point. “There is no hope without struggle to gain it, you just need something to fight for, maybe some... pony.” Her heart fluttered again and tears rolled anew, this time not in despair.
“Yes! I... can...” Artemis exclaimed, feeling his form start to submit to his will as his heart swelled with hope.
“NO!” Night-terror Knight screamed out, using the last of his grip to shake the alicorn. Still controlling the horn, he let this movement distract Artemis for long enough to will some of the Balefire hovering above his head to shoot out, like a solid white-hot bar of iron. Thick as the trunk of an ancient oak, blinding white Balefire extended across the void barely overshooting the icy white cap of the planet below. Looking like a molten bar attached to the immense orb of blinding fire above their heads, Night-terror forced his control and tilted his head a tiny fraction of a degree downward. This brought the searing white-hot stream sizzling into the atmosphere, dematerializing the very air it contacted until slamming into the icy expanses of the northern pole.
“Stop! Please, stop the monster!” Luna pleaded, crying out amongst horrendous sobs as she saw the comparatively minuscule trickle of Balefire shooting out into the void on the other side of the planet, having instantly punctured it's way all the way through the land.
“...I.. can't!” Artemis gasped out, pressing his entire being into stopping the destruction, and barely being able to stop the Daemon's intentions of bifurcating the planet. But with this desperate declaration, the insane and unwavering force of rage let the Daemon cut even deeper into the surface below, leaving an enormous rend in the cap of the planet. Anypony who had ever read a map knew that the current of Balefire was dangerously close to a latitude where ponies lived, and the shadowed surface let these population centers gleam into the night, like bulls-eyes lit upon an archery target.
Luna flew up to the quivering black alicorn, and pressed her hooves to his chin in a physical attempt to halt the inevitable progress of the planet-hewing beam of light. But as her hooves touched his coat, Night-terror tossed her bodily away with a magically imbued flick of a hoof. Crashing into the moondust, Luna's mind swam as she considered the pure energy flowing through that being. She righted herself, and poured her magic into telekinetically freezing the black alicorn, but to even less avail as her magic grip shattered like a pane of glass attempting to withhold a glacier. Tears of fear and frustration beat down the well worn paths along her snout, looking up hopelessly at the world-destroying monster above her, floating in a maelstrom of magic exuded from the battle of wills.
“I can't do anything! All is lost!” The princess wailed, psychically trying to grab the Balefire, to change the direction of it's outpouring, anything, but with no success.
“Not all.. is lost! There is still... something you can do.” Artemis gasped out, his words slurring as his control of his lips faltered. Grimacing, he flicked his eyes downward, seeming incredibly saddened. Luna connected the messages and her mouth dropped open, eyes wide.
“No, I will not!” She screamed out, pain and terror ripping her voice.
“What!?!” The Daemon shouted, fighting with all his might and unable to see into Artemis' thoughts.
“You have to... kill me.” Artemis said, the finality of his tone making Luna's heart stop. Night-Terror Knight even reeled at this, not expecting such a plan from the usually light-hearted pony.
“N-no... you don't do that! You are all.. sunshine and rainbows! You ponies are weak and...” The Daemon babbled, concern washing over his mind as he felt the resolve from Artemis. In this confusion, the rightful soul gave Luna a meaningful glance, then pointedly looked at the pink crystal a few paces from her hooves.
Suddenly getting the message, Luna lifted her eyes to meet the cat like ones, and solemnly nodded.
Missing all of this, Night-terror Knight was truly panicked, and babbled on. “You can't! You won't! You... wouldn't?” Fear edged into the Daemons words at the resoluteness from his current company. Luna picked up the pink crystal as Artemis magically loosed the breastplate of the Night-terror Armour. Lining up a shot at Artemis' heart, Luna took a deep breath, shaking the Daemon and giving a better grasp to the true spirit over his form.
Artemis nodded, closing his eyes, and Luna launched the gem like a pink torpedo, shooting straight and true, until the last moment, at which she turned it slightly, sinking it a hooves-width deep into the black alicorn's abdomen below the ribs.
“Ahhh!” The Daemon and Artemis screamed out, pain searing every nerve they fought so desperately to control. Artemis, however, was ready.
As the pain exploded like an internal supernova, Artemis also felt the first few particles of the gem seep into him, shoring his press of willpower as he ripped control of his magic away from the shocked Daemon. With it, he mustered all his will and launched the great burning orb of Balefire, not at the surface of the planet, as Night-terror Knight had been attempting, but deep into the inky blackness of deep space.
The Daemon roiled, attempting to bellow “No” but unable to pry the steadfast grip of Artemis. Still shaking with pain, Artemis sighed in relief, reaching his hooves down to extract the gem and crush it, before falling limp to the lunar surface several meters below.
~~~
Artemis' eyes fluttered open a few moments later, eyes rapidly dilating and constricting as his concussed head attempted to make sense of the white and black world that surrounded him. His eyes rolled about until they lit upon a point of focus, a pair of blue hooves standing a pace or so away. Above these hooves were a set of long slender legs, supporting a pony who seemed oddly familiar yet urgently important at the same time.
“Ugh... who are...” The prince began to slur, but stopped as pain wracked his body upon his attempt to sit up. Hissing in pain, he simply slumped back down, feeling like a broken marionette with it's strings cut.
“Hold still, you are safe now.” A beautifully rich and calming voice caressed his ears, recalling memories of his mother to swirl in his shaken mind. The pony leaned closer to Artemis, and he caught a view of her face. Her beautiful, alluring, perfect face. The prince felt his heart stop and his breath catch as he took in her features, eyes rapidly running over every curve of her snout as if trying to memorize it.
“Am I dead?” He croaked, not believing such perfection existed in the mortal world.
“Not quite, and thanks to you, neither are all of us.” She smiled, and Artemis' shocked mind continued to spin as he decided that he would do anything to be the cause of such a wondrous spectacle as the gleaming grin playing out across the mare's snout. Comfort flowed over his tensed muscles from the mare as she brushed a hoof softly over his coat, her eyes examining the injuries he had sustained.
“Just relax, all will be fine now.” She breathed, though Artemis didn't pick up that this was more for herself than for him, and he closed his eyes to greet the velvety blanket of slumber that awaited him.
~~~
The next time Artemis opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same monochromatic surroundings, but this time his head had cleared slightly, and he recognized voices that were speaking urgently around him. Looking to his side, a pang of jealousy stabbed him, seeing the beautiful mare talking to his brother rather than him, but the feeling abated as soon as it formed as he saw that Dusk Shine, his close friend, was there with the two, and all three wore serious and concerned expressions.
The mare glanced towards him first, and noticing his movement rushed over to his side. The two stallions looked after her and followed to his side, but stayed a pace farther back, giving him room to speak with the beautiful mare, who now looked much more realistic, though still gorgeous beyond anypony the prince had ever seen in his life.
Taking in a breath, the blue mare looked sideways at the two other princes and spoke in a formal tone, loud enough to be heard by all. “Lord Artemis, I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and...” She noticed the confusion that played out over the injured alicorns features, and switched approach. Lowering her voice as well as formality, she softly said “I am Luna, how are you feeling? I have done all I can out here to treat your wounds, and I have even returned to acquire some pain medicine from the apothecary, which I have dosed you on.” A twinge of guilt ran across her expression as she realized she had not asked permission first.
“Thank you, fair Luna. Your care...” Artemis gritted his teeth as he inhaled, pain spiking from his ribcage evidence of broken ribs, and pain from his abdomen reminding him of his circumstances. “Wait, why are we still on the moon? If you have had enough time to go back to the apothecary, why didn't you simply bring me with?” Trying to roll on his side, Luna quickly stopped him as he grunted in pain.
“We feared to move you, but I still did try, yet to no avail. You see, as I try to open a portal, it leads back to my mirror in my room in my castle. But when either of your fellow princes try, their portals lead back to your mirror in your room. I tried carrying you through my portal, but it seems that my spell only works for me to get to my world. Your brother and his student could bring you with them but...” She cleared her throat slightly and closed her eyes, her voice quieting to a whisper. “I wouldn't let them take you away.”
A matching pair of tears rolled down one cheek of both cobalt snouts, which each pony quickly and surreptitiously wiped away as Luna stood back up and backed a half step away. Artemis could feel his heart pound a little louder as a quiver of joy and hope shot through his body, not caused by some crystal but by the genuine care and affection he felt radiate from the princess in those few words.
Looking down and away from her, he noticed the pair of stallions standing behind her and his mind snapped back into the real world. “Well...” Artemis chuckled in embarrassment, “I guess I should say sorry about that...”
At this, both of his fellow princes visibly relaxed, Dusk sighing and giving a resigned chuckle. Solaris, however, stepped forward and bent down close to his brother, his right fore-hoof gently pressing into his shoulder. “I should too, really. But at least I didn't try any planet killing with my... uh... experiments.” He chuckled, receiving a baleful glare and a shrugging off of his hoof that assured him his brother was going to be fine.
“How about you keep your so called 'experiments' to a minimum, and let's stay away from abusing mom and dad's relics while you're at it.” The Lunar Prince ruefully responded, attempting to reach up and prod his large white barrel, but his hoof stopped and was pulled back halfway with a groan of pain.
Solaris ceased being at Artemis' side as Luna suddenly replaced him, sending the Prince of the Sun sprawling in the moondust. “Are you alright?” Luna quickly asked, concern filling her voice at the injured alicorn's pain. Solaris looked up at her with wide eyes, as did Dusk, but both were completely ignored by the pair of Lunar Aspects.
“I'm fine, just a slight twinge.” Artemis did his best to lie, but Luna was having none of it, shaking her head and smiling.
“You have six broken ribs, three broken legs, a broken wing and a punctured lung at least that say otherwise. Don't try and move, get me to do anything you would like for you.” She admonished him, though her smile stayed and humor twinkled in her eyes.
“Don't say 'anything', he takes everything literally, and I'm not sure you would want to venture that far. Not without dinner first, at least.” Solaris called, now standing a few paces away with a grinning Dusk, obviously from the discussions the two princes were having. The cheeks of both cobalt alicorns tinting magenta as they pulled away from each other, realizing how unbecomingly close they had been.
“I would never...!” “I didn't mean...!” The two cried, embarrassment lacing their voices as they scrambled to explain and defend themselves. At this, Dusk Shine burst out laughing, followed by Solaris.
“You were so right! They even made the same face!” Dusk squeezed out from his barely controlled cackling. Solaris booming laugh echoed as Luna and Artemis glared at him, shame and rueful anger now etched upon their faces.
A quick flash made the two laughing princes blink, and in front of Luna floated a pair of pink crystals. Luna smiled a dangerous grin that almost looked like a snarl and simply said: “Don't make me use these.” The laughter immediately stopped, wide eyes and firmly shut mouths replacing gleeful smiles.
It was Luna and Artemis' time to laugh now at the dumbstruck looks of fear on their companions faces. “I wouldn't mess with her, she still could totally blow up Equestria.” Artemis guffawed out, sharing with Luna's mirth.
“Um, how many more of those are there?” Dusk carefully asked, “And where might they be?” Solaris added on, just as fearful of the threat.
Both blue alicorns simultaneously stated “That is none of your business.”
~~~
Artemis and Luna yet again were next to each other on the face of the moon. This time, however, Artemis was standing with the help of several magically hidden braces. This time, there also were no other ponies present, just the two lunar rulers looking up at the beautiful shadowed face of Equestria below them.
“I still can't figure out what is happening with my- our moon.” Artemis stated, breaking the silence. Luna raised an eyebrow, and he continued, “Dusk, Solaris, and I have spent all this time almost constantly trying to understand how we can meet here, and why this moon is over both of our Equestrias. All we have found so far has pointed to a merging of both moons, but...” He shook his head, his thoughts wrestling with the confusion and embarrassment at not solving this riddle already.
Luna's hoof lifted his chin, causing him to look into her eyes. 'Her beautiful eyes' he said to himself. Now that he had recovered further from the concussion he had sustained, he could see her to be real and not angelic or divine, but he still found her to be indescribably beautiful.
“Twilight, Celestia, and I have been coming to similar conclusions, and all three of our group have been able to coherently think for more than just the past few days.” Luna said, smirking as Artemis opened his mouth to respond, and pressed a hoof to his lips to halt him. “So that means you are likely correct.” He smiled and dipped his head, and Luna removed her hoof, trying to make the brushing of her hoof against his cheek and down the side of his neck seem accidental.
“I guess with all that magic and the mirrors, we just made them...” Artemis started, nodding to himself. Luna locked eyes with him and nodded at the same time, joining him and finishing his thought in unison. “...One Moon.”
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that is so cliche it hurt me.
it was good none the less.
Nice story. Epic fight scene. Great job. I really hope for a sequel. That would be fun to read. Also Solaris and Celestia have to meet in the real world, on on the moon, soon.
4941187 They will be meeting soon enough.
4941105 I felt like a title drop, so the title actually made sense. The sequel(s) ((and maybe prequel)) will not have that name, so I decided to have it make sense now. Also, there will be shipping. Lots of it.
Very good show, old boy, but you need to fix up the spacings near the end.
*rubs chin*
I suppose I need to hurry up on my story, and see how our tales compare, eh?
4943107 I did have the strangest problem with spacing near the end, I shall work on that.
4943114 Good show.
*places a muffin on your head*
4943127 *eats muffin* Banana nut, my favorite.
4943466
4943127 YOUR OFFERING PLEASES US!
4943467 Good!
*places another one there
A quaint story. Mostly good, but a few issues:
1) The crystals showed up and became /THE/ plot device too closely together. It came off as diabolus ex machina. Especially considering how ridiculously overpowered they were. Surely he would realize the danger of having a huge repository of things that only one could make his dark-side super-powered and at least mention this to somebody?
2) The Artemis went from 'angry and frustrated' to 'my nightmare form has already taken control of my body and I have to get it back!' before I even realized there WAS a Nightmare Form taking over(Yes, I saw that he was darkening, but then there was a scenebreak that didn't explain anything). It was ridiculously sudden, and the dude has some /SERIOUS/ issues if a single failure can make him completely flip his shit, especially since he /JUST/ got done venting and purging!
Grammar things.
Chapter 1
my sight. If you want to use mine this way the next word must start with a vowel sound (like a/an and thy/thine in this sense); for example 'mine eyes'
1) Thee should be thou. This is a subject (of the bare clause 'thou hast cometh into my presence'), not an object.
(bare and that-clauses are pretty much the same, but start with 'that'; both can function in their entirety as an object, but still contain a subject, verb phrase, and object)
2) Has cometh should be hast come. It's conjugated with Thou, and don't double conjugate for the subject
(only the first verb should be conjugated for it, in this case the auxiliary verb 'hast').
3) Mine presence should be my presence. The next syllable starts with a consonant sound.
4) Might wanna just scrap the whole 'presence' thing, it's...awkward. something like 'before me' or something that starts with a vowel syllable (so you can use mine) would probably be more appropriate.
(and if not, then the preposition should probably be 'into' rather than 'to')
I am glad thou hast come into my presence.
Chapter 4
its (possessive pronoun, not contraction of 'it is')
This table is your BFF if you intend to have someone use archaic speech. (from wikipedia, with some alterations)
Nominative Oblique Genitive Possessive
1st person singular I, ich me my/mine[#1] mine
plural we us our ours
2nd person singular informal thou thee thy/thine[#1] thine
singular formal [#2] ye, you you your yours
plural ye, you you your yours
3rd person singular masculine he him his his
singular feminine she her her hers
singular neuter it it his/it[# 3] his[#3]
plural they them their theirs
[#1] my, thy, and article 'a' all have '-n' forms mine, thine, and 'an' when the next syllable starts with a consonant sound (NOT letter, but sound. Very important for words like honor, and initialisms for the letters 'U', 'Y' [consonant] and 'F', 'H', 'L', 'M', 'N', 'R', 'S', and 'X' [verb]. It also determines whether the 'h' in words like herb should be pronounced or aspirated.)
[#2] You can optionally just use thou for ALL singular for the sake of your readers. I would suggest just being consistent.
Note that pluralizing one's superior is also the same idea pluralizing oneself for the 'royal we' comes from.
[#3] I would suggest using modern genitive/possessive forms of 'it'. The archaic forms are weird and would just confuse people.
Present Conjugation
Nominative Have Be Regular
I, ich have am (none)
we have are (none)
thou hast art -(e)st[#4]
ye, you have are (none)
he/she/it has/hath[#5] is -(e)s, -(e)th [#5]
they have are (none)
Thou irregulars: (auxiliary) will->willt, shall->shallt, do->dost, (non-auxiliary, subjunctive): do->doest, be->beest
[#4] except on words that already end in 'e', using -est is preferable any time it doesn't make pronunciation awkward.
Should be normally be fully pronounced, unless 'e' is absent completely (makest is mayk-est, not maykst)
-st is an acceptable variant any time it is not awkward, and required if -est is awkward.
If both forms are awkward, as in must, it can be left unconjugated.
if a word ends in -er, change it to -r, then add -est (gathrest, not gatherest). Or not. I doubt most would notice, it just makes the word more pronouncable.
[#5] both forms are valid and used the same as -(e)s is still used.
-eth is used in most cases, even where -s would be used. (most notably except on words already ending in 'e')
Obviously, if you want to emphasize archaisms, you should use the -eth forms.
(except where it's hard to pronounce)
Past Conjugation
Nominative Have Be Regular
I, ich had was -(e)d
we had were -(e)d
thou hadst wert/wast -(e)d(e)st [#6]
ye, you had were -(e)d
he/she/it had was -(e)d
they had are -(e)d
Thou irregulars: did->didst
[#6] same as [#4] above.
Hey I just listened to this, and thought of this story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKjDjw-m8JE
It is called "Lullaby for a Princess and a Prince" and I believe it would fit well for both Celestia and Solaris in this story.
So how did Luna overcome her anger and go to help Artemis?
Personally, it seems to me that when the couple acts and thinks the same thing that becomes boring