Dawn in Darkness, part 3
New Page
My legs felt like lead, and so did my eyelids. I felt like I was standing neck-deep in water as I swayed side to side, trying to maintain balance. My neck could barely hold my head, and I heard the soft whistling of air between my dried lips at every breath.
“It's okay if you feel a little dizzy,” Nichts said, running a hoof down the back of my neck. “It's not every day that your body has to make do without a heart. Keep breathing, and try to stand still. We need to get this to fit.” With a spark of her magic, the amulet that held the fragment of Luna's soul floated closer: a silvery crescent Moon on a gilded strap. “You don't want to look like some common tramp for the Princess, do you?” she asked as she hooked the amulet around my neck.
The touch of the Moon against my skin was akin to an icicle sinking into my throat. The tiny point of light inside the amulet flashed brightly as it clasped around my neck, and the entire amulet took on a uniform glow similar to the real Moon above. As I looked down at it, I suddenly felt my lifeless body tipping forwards; Nichts' aura caught me and put me back on my hooves.
Nichts took a step back to admire me with a hoof at her chin. “It's perfect with your dress.”
My dress was indeed worthy of Luna herself, with its deep hues of blue and lavender, glistening, star-like beads lining the seams, and a veil to cover my wings that was so fine and wispy as to be barely even there.
Nichts tugged at the ruffles around my shoulders, pulling them back a little before smoothing them. She then adjusted the necklace so the Moon fell directly over the hollow of my throat. “I'm so jealous,” she whispered under her breath as she took a step back.
Used to be that we played dress-up together. In her eyes now I saw the same childish excitement, though I felt differently about it. Every inch of my body prickled as though needles had replaced my hairs.
She blew a warm breath onto the amulet, then rubbed it clean with the back of a hoof. “We should go. Nie ought to be ready by now.” The jar containing my beating heart gently floated beside her. “Come on, Page,” she said, bowing deeply before me as though I was a princess myself. “It's time for you to fulfil your destiny.”
Nichts opened the door and beckoned. I almost fell at the first step, but she caught me; from then on, I walked by leaning on her side. She seemed glad to help.
Each time my hooves clopped against the floor, a sharp sting raced up my bones into my spine. I couldn't even tell which of my hooves had been shattered any more; they felt all the same. Crude pieces of enchanted metal pushed against the insides of my chest, straining my ribs and bulging under my skin here and there.
So I dragged my beautiful dress – custom made to my measurements, by the feel of it – down the dark, dusty hallways. Nichts didn't look, but her magic lifted my skirt the slightest bit so it wouldn't pick up the dirt.
Inside the main room, Nie sat at a tip of the painted star's arms, eyes closed and a hoof rubbing the side of his head. He seemed lost in thought – meditating, perhaps. It took a while for him to notice us.
“My,” he said. “Page, you look absolutely stunning.”
I cast him the most loathing glance my slack face could manage.
Nichts whispered in my ear, “I told you he'd like it.”
“The question is, Nichts,” said Nie, “will Luna?” He raised a hoof towards the centre of the six-pronged star. “Place her there, please.”
Nichts walked me into the middle of the star. “Now stay here. Try not to move. And...” Her magic surrounded me and lifted me from the floor. “Keep looking into his eyes.”
The red aura spun me in the air, finally putting me down so that I faced Nie. There it was again, his gaze burning through the frail doors of my mind. My hind legs collapsed and I fell to my rump. Nichts' magic stood me up – and I fell again the moment her aura gave out.
Nie sighed. “Just let her be.” He came closer. “Know that your sacrifice will be remembered for millennia. You are the world's salvation, New Page.”
I mustered all the fight in me to speak. “I hate you.”
For just a moment, Nie's ever-present smile faltered. “You act like you don't understand. You know the world is rotting, Page.” He grabbed my shattered hoof. “Look what Celestia has done to you. With every passing day, she loses more of herself to the darkness. If we do not help her... woe betide the world when she finally snaps. Believe me, it breaks my heart to cause harm to others. Yet if we do not somehow intervene, all will be lost. Celestia needs her sister back, even if she refuses to admit it.”
He stroked my shattered hoof.
“We will bring her back, and we will cure her. Nightmare Moon will be no more, and the two princesses together shall rebuild the world.”
I pulled my hoof out of his grasp. I put it down and shifted my weight onto it. Rather that pain than let the fiend keep touching me.
Nie shook his head with a sigh like that of an exhausted, disappointed father. “I wish you could see the good that you're doing.” He turned to Nichts. “Are you ready to begin?”
Nichts took her place at the point of one of the star's arms and sent him a determined nod. Nie stroked my amulet.
“That is the fragment of Luna's soul in there,” he whispered. “Luna senses that you two are the same, that's why it glows so bright. She loves you, Page, just as she loves all of us. Never forget that. I hope you've been treating her with more respect than you've given me.”
With that, he made his way to a tip of the star directly facing me, beside the arm where Nichts sat. He sat down at about ten-fifteen paces' distance, his back to the enchanted door of the main room and eyes glaring into mine.
“Nichts?”
She stood directly to the left of Nie, resting one of her hooves on the jar that held my heart. She rubbed her red amulet nervously. “I can do it. I know I can.”
Nie glanced at the jar. “If something goes wrong—”
“Nothing's going to go wrong!” Nichts interrupted. Then she quickly stuffed a hoof in her mouth.
“Look at me, Nichts. In the unlikely event that we fail...” He cast the jar another glance. “Smash it.”
Nichts avoided my eyes for a while. I didn't have a hard time guessing what smashing the jar would mean for me. So that's what this was for: it was a magical failsafe should Nightmare Moon be set loose.
And this was the destiny my childhood friend had prescribed for me: either be cast out of my own body so it could be host for an immortal princess, or be killed to protect the world from an ancient evil she unleashed. In the latter case, maybe, I was better off.
Glimpsing to the side, I caught a faint glimpse of myself in the reflection of the tall hourglass. I couldn't help but smirk; at least I looked good for the occasion. An opening of the bodice framed the Moon amulet perfectly. The amulet's glow shone perfectly on the ruffles on my shoulders to blend with the colours of the dress.
Aren't I lucky, Mama?
Swift Sweep
River Flow walked up and down in his office, kicking crumpled papers out of his path. So did I. When he'd turn one way, I'd walk in the opposite direction.
“She's taking too long,” mumbled River.
“Who knows what Celestia's doing to her,” I said.
“I don't like this.”
“Neither do I.”
“Sorry boys,” came Lullaby's voice – giving both of us a jump. She stood in the doorway, shaking her head in amusement. “One would think two of the EBSS' oldest would be a touch more observant. In any case, again, sorry about taking so long. Celestia was entirely preoccupied by her preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, so she barely listened to me.”
“I don't suppose she believed you,” said River.
“No. And you'd be surprised how many ways the Princess can phrase 'you're all incompetent buffoons'. The moment I mentioned the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing, she shut me down. She wanted to hear none of it.”
“None of it?” I asked.
“None,” she replied.
I started to shake. “None, alright. Give me a sec.” Chewing my lips, I walked to the nearest wall and closed my eyes. I pictured in front of me Celestia's face, her pristine white coat and aurora-mane and her beautiful, lying smile.
Lullaby raised her voice. “Swift, please—”
I turned and placed that mental image of Celestia on the wall behind me. My anger exploded with a gigantic, two-hoofed kick at the wall that sent tremors through the room and my very body. As I listened to the crumbling of plaster, I imagined Celestia's teeth falling to the floor.
I let my head hang as I wheezed and swallowed. “Alright. I'm good,” I said, looking up. My bones and joins ached. I felt guilty, I did. But also relieved.
“What now, then?” asked River.
“Now?” Lullaby grinned. “If Swift was kind enough to pay attention...” She unfurled her one wing to reveal a gem-studded talisman in the shape of the Sun: Celestia's key to unlock the magical seals on the gates of the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing. “Now we're going to the Archives.”
I gaped. “But didn't you—”
River couldn't help a raspy chuckle. “You did, didn't you?”
Lullaby flicked her wing to throw the talisman to me. “I did say she was entirely preoccupied.”
“Well then,” said River. “Can't be long before she figures out it's missing.”
“No,” replied Lullaby, “which is why I suggest we get going immediately. Anypony asks, she gave that to us.”
New Page
Although my hooves were not chained to the floor, they might as well have been. All my strength had been sapped, and I could barely feel my own body. I could only tell I was still alive because I knew I deserved a better afterlife than this.
Nichts had been chanting some eldritch incantation for... I couldn't tell how long. Minutes, hours? It all became a blur. From the corner of my eye, I saw her horn glow along with her amulet. She preached about the Moon and its beauty and the rotting of the world under the sole rule of Celestia. She begged to the stars to aid Luna's escape, for the façade of false harmony to break apart, for the world to live again.
I didn't know how magic worked, but I knew most unicorns didn't recite elaborate chants whenever they used magic. Either her spell was of a far higher power, or this entire ritual was bogus. I didn't know which to believe – which I wanted to believe.
Nie stared: his eyes wide, red, consuming, unblinking. I could not take mine away. In what remained of my peripheral vision, I noticed the painted star and runes on the floor began to glow red, bathing the room in an eerie light.
The longer the ritual went on, the more exhausted I became. I wanted to lie down, but my legs did not obey me; they kept me up as thought turned to stone, stiff and unmoving, no matter how hard I tried to tear them from the floor. An invisible weight seemed to have planted itself on my back, warm and heavy, pushing me down.
First, it had been but a gentle brushing against my back. Then came the weight, and then the sensation of meat hooks boring into the back of my neck. A warm tongue ran its tip from my shoulder to my cheek. Somepony panted in my ear.
I heard the Mare in the Moon hum, just as she did in my dreams. She needed no words to convey her meaning: a song of sweet lullabies, of days gone by, of loss and misery and pain and revenge. When I was little, my heart would break for the wretched mare in chains.
Finally, there came the whispers – the first time in my life that I heard Nightmare Moon talk. I'd never realised how much the mare in chains loathed me.
It was a voice that cut into your bones like the cold winter wind and the heavy sleet on your back, a voice at once melodious and terrifying. It was the voice of a mother that does not love you, a voice that evoked the primal fear of a child who ventured alone into the night for the first time.
She welcomed me.
She had waited so long to talk to me.
She wanted to know how it felt – how it felt being free.
She wanted to experience it herself.
She wanted in.
I could hear her fangs scrape and scratch the invisible glass that divided our souls.
Swift Sweep
The three of us rushed across the city and to the Archives, bearing Celestia's Sun-talisman. It was easy to get lost in the crowd: ponies from all walks of life flocked to the capital to witness the dawn of the longest day. Yet their presence meant only that we'd wasted far too much time, as Celestia would be raising the Sun soon. If Twilit Grotto's guess was correct – that the Children of the Night would attempt to bring Nightmare Moon back in the moment when Celestia reached out to the Moon – then we only had minutes to spare.
And if it turned out they were not in the Archives after all, well... I didn't want to think about it.
The Royal Guards before the gates of the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing knew better than to question us, for how else would a trio of EBSS agents have the key if not with Celestia's blessing? They parted at the sight of the glowing talisman and opened the gates for us.
Walls of books and forbidden scrolls surrounded us in this forbidden labyrinth of twisting halls. We decided to make our way to the central chamber with Star Swirl's Hourglass. If we did not find these lunatics on the way, at least we had a clear starting point for our search.
New Page
My mind was a lone cabin in the woods. Nightmare Moon stood vast and imposing before the door: the dark of night that consumed the infinity beyond the doorstep, a cold, eerie fog that clung to the blackened windows. The door handle budged, and the door of my mind slowly creaked open. Her wings wrapped me in darkness, and she rested her chin on my frail shoulder, making me shudder. I knew now how it felt to be touched by fear itself.
This was my purpose, she whispered. The only reason I was born: to save her, the one true Princess of Equestria. In the darkness, I heard her hooves scratch the walls of my thoughts, the obfuscating fog seeping into the crevices of my mind. She bit into my nape, running her fangs deep. I wanted to shake her off and cover my head, but my body refused. I wanted to scream, but no sound left my throat.
The whispers turned first into louder words, and then to shouting.
Let me in!
She tore at me, she shook my hapless body with cold shivers, and she screamed from inside my own head.
Let me in!
When would it end? Would it ever? For a split second, Nie's red eyes burned through the dark fog – and he assured me it would never end. Nightmare Moon already had me. She turned me over in her hooves, and she tasted my mind. She snuffed out my dreams and feasted on my hopes.
Let me in!
The only thing she left for me was fear and its chills that ran down my spine. It would have been far easier to let go. Let the world burn, or let it be saved: what difference did it make to me?
Let the darkness engulf you. Let the blizzard bury you.
I'd read that ponies feel warm before they freeze to death.
Nightmare Moon tucked at my bat wing. She rubbed my splintered hoof.
Is it worth living like a monster?
The cold was eating itself into my very being. Where I'd felt heaviness in my legs, now there was nothing, no cold, no weight, as though I was already a spirit without a body. Where the warmth of my heart was supposed to be, I felt a gaping hole.
I lowered my head, taking a breath.
I breathed out – and with it, I let go. My body went slack and fell to the floor. I sprawled out and waited for the darkness to take me.
A feeling of peace washed over me. No more fear. Between the walls of my mind echoed the sound of chains breaking, binds snapping, weights falling. The mare cast away her chains and her fangs tore her prison apart.
In that moment, the star on the floor lit up with blinding light. Nichts' chanting stopped, but her horn and amulet glowed on.
Her spirit climbed into my body. I could feel her hooves slide under my skin, and my face stretched across her skull. She wore me like a mask. A powerful, splitting pain cut through my skull like a bolt of lightning, knocking the air from me. The aftershocks throbbed in my head and poured into my body.
My body began writhing, twitching uncontrollably. Muscles tensed and relaxed at random. I felt nothing in my lungs, but I heard choking coughs and half-breaths – were they mine? The world spun around me, lights flashed and the glowing of runes blended into an incoherent cascade. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the writhing stopped. I lay still again, my body slack and drained.
A rush ran down my spine: a sense of excitement, of boundless energy. Where my body had gone cold, now heat rose beneath my skin. My lips twitched, parting to curl into a grin. I breathed in, and the air of Equestria tasted so sweet. My entire body shivered with this sudden, boiling hot desire. A desire to move, to dance, to sing.
I jumped to my hooves. As my wings snapped open I laughed, rearing on my hind legs to stretch my body. How my joints burned! My hooves craved to touch soil again, my wings ached to catch wind and fly, to soar, to live.
“Oh, most wonderful of nights!”
Was it my voice that I heard? It had been so long – I'd forgotten.
I laughed for the first time in so long. The heat in my flesh grew searing, and I felt it burn through my skin. I fell forwards and arched my back, shaking, screaming in agonising ecstasy as my wings caught magical fire.
Singed feathers and flayed scraps of skin rained to the floor; I flapped my wings, and with every beat they grew greater, wider, thicker. My splintered hoof pulsated with pain, clawing at the floor.
Magic enveloped my hooves, coiling its tendrils around my legs, climbing up into my body. My coat caught fire in the magic's wake. This fleeting, mortal body could not contain the immense power that now sought to fill it.
I screamed my pain as my bones cracked and snapped only to weld together again. Joints ground one another, my cartilages popped, ligament and tendons stretched and twisted, tearing in myriad strands before intertwining in new, slender, beautiful forms.
I laughed in euphoric bliss, drinking in the surging magic that pervaded my being. My skull split apart as a thick, bony growth erupted from my forehead. All the magic in my body flowed through my veins and spine into that spot, drawing scorched lanes over my skin. Blood spurted from the cracked skin of my forehead; the blood ran down between my eyes to drip off my muzzle.
It had been so long since I'd tasted blood. As I licked it off, my fangs drew more blood from my tongue.
The fires that ravaged my body died off and took with them my moment of torturous bliss.
A moment of emptiness.
Silence.
There came fury.
A whirlwind of hate and jealousy, and an overwhelming desire to tear down this world that had been so unjust. I wanted to snuff out the life the world did not deserve. Let the Sun fall and the Moon rise eternal, let the world freeze in never-ending darkness. Let all that lived know my pain, the torture, the hopelessness, the contempt.
Hate.
The entire Moon had not been enough to contain the hate that was now condensed into this tiny filly's body. I could not find the words; no poetic metaphor, no phrase, or term existed that could describe the hate that I felt. My immortal mind came up short before the sheer magnitude of the hate inside of it. My mortal tongue would sooner wither away than finish pouring into words how much I hated the world.
Hate.
I wanted to kill. Sweet blood on my tongue, the neck of a pony snapping between my hooves, wings torn from their joints, stomachs split open and viscera set free for all to see. I wanted to suck out the eyes of the children and eat them before their parents, I wanted to pour searing molten iron down their ears that would not listen to my woes, I wanted to drive red-hot nails under their hooves, I wanted to tear out their tongues that would praise the Sun and loathe my majesty.
Hate!
I spread my wings wide and leapt from the floor.
A wall of light appeared in front of me, wracking my body with a massive shocks as I crashed into it and sending me crashing to the floor. All around me, walls of rainbow lights began to swirl. Trying to push past them, I found myself unable to.
My strength! I was not done yet. Pathetic runes of binding scribbled onto the floor locked me inside the centre of the star. I'd need more strength to break the ethereal walls. I needed more, more time – part of me was still locked inside the Moon. I would not escape one prison only to fall into another.
On the tip of my tongue, I felt the faint tinge of magic. A slow trickle fed me drop by measured drop.
I came to realise that this aura that surrounded me was not a prison at all. It was a gateway for the soul; a spell designed not to contain me, but to help me escape. Piece my piece, my soul trickled into this new host.
“It's working!” squealed a filly's voice somewhere. I squinted to make her out behind the swirling rainbow lights.
“Quiet!” demanded a stallion. His eyes glowed red, their light burning through even the magical walls that kept me in place. He stared me down and spoke in a commanding tone. “Tell me your name, monster.”
After the hate, now I felt pride. Who was he to me?
Ah, but I remembered his name: Wintermist of House Aurae Glow, bastard son of Starcall Comet the Third. Oh, did I remember him – and the pitiful, miserable, tiny thing he was.
His eyes touched my mind. He plunged into the depths, fumbling, feeling through the darkness with his pathetic, shaking little hooves, desperate to find something to hold on to. He knew nothing. On the outside, he pretended to be determined. As our souls met in the space beyond spaces, I could easily discern the truth: he was terrified, terrified of his own frailty before my immense might.
My mind, a fortress, a labyrinth, an endless maze, a bottomless sea; his, an insidious spider in the crack of a wall, an ant swept up in the current. He had no more understanding of me than a mouse of the bustling cathedral in which he found himself lost, a rat gnawing its sickening way through a great ship's walls.
“Listen to me!” he demanded. Oh, the nerve – and oh, the desperation. “Tell me your name.”
He already knew what I would say; I waited a moment before answering to draw out his terror. Oh, the anticipation. Oh, the drama.
“I am what you fear when you look behind yourself in the dark,” I said. “I am why the children are afraid of the night. I haunt the weak in their loneliest hour, and I sew the dreams of the brave into chilling horror. I am the engine of fear and the devourer of hope.”
Wintermist shrunk away. I noticed it; the filly beside him chose not to. I could discern his goals with ease: the maggot sought to control me with his feeble magic, the magic that had been my gift.
I grinned, exposing my fangs – and I saw him grind his teeth. I liked it when ponies knew my name, although I loved reminding them even more.
“My name is Nightmare Moon.”
Swift Sweep
Rumbling sounds and muffled speech seeped through the enchanted gate of the central chamber. We exchanged nods – no words were necessary – and I clenched my teeth on the gate's handle. It took all my strength to pull it open, and as I did, a sudden rush of searing hot air tore into our manes. Brilliant flashes of chromatic light illuminated the hallway behind us. With my teeth on the handle and face pressed against the gate, I couldn't see what was inside – but I saw Lullaby's stunned expression, and River's snarl.
After a momet's pause, the two of them rushed inside, and I followed quickly. As the great gate slammed shut behind us, its echoes rumbling across the wing.
There they were, Prophet Nie and Priestess Nichts – and a monster in front of them.
They sat in different points of a glowing star painted onto the floor, with the monster at its centre. Nie sat with his back directly to us, and he barely flinched as we broke in. His ears fluttered once.
“No closer,” he said, eyes fixed on the being at the centre.
“What is that thing?” River demanded.
A swirling aura of rainbow lights surrounded a creature, obscuring it behind its glowing veil. Yet I knew the mare well enough to recognise her: she was New Page, though her body had been twisted by foul magicks. She wore torn, tattered clothes, and an amulet seemed to glow on her neck, brighter even than the lights around her.
Her legs had grown long and gaunt, thin skin stretched over her elongated bones to expose every little bump and lump in her joints. The tips of her wings scraped the swirling lights around her, drawing momentary patches of blackness into the colours.
One wing resembled a bat's, or rather a dragon's: massive, clawed bones stretched a thick layer of skin between themselves. Her other wing looked more like a pony's, albeit mangled, largely featherless and bleeding from wounds left by splintered bones sticking out of the flesh.
Her mane waved in the hot air that swirled around her, loose locks wrapping around a malformed stub of a horn that had sprouted from her forehead. The whites of her eyes had taken on a shade of grey, and one of her pupils was slit like those of the old Night Guards.
She looked us over with a grin that exposed the row of fangs and black, bleeding gums.
When she stared at me, she stared into my soul. For all the bravery and bravado with which I'd rushed in, all of it disappeared the instant I locked eyes with her.
“What have you done to her?” I asked, hooves rooted by fear and eyes fixated on Page.
“As always, you are late,” Nie replied without turning. His words held no trace of irony, his tone entirely matter-of-fact. “New Page is gone. What you see before you is the single most dangerous being that has ever lived. If I take my eyes off her, we will all pay the price. So I suggest with utmost urgency that you stand down.”
At the star's point to the left of Nie, Nichts sat, her eyes closed in concentration and horn pulsating in tandem with her red amulet. She had her hooves on her ears as if to block out any distractions, and her lips moved silently in some whispered chant. A jar filled with greenish liquid sat beside her, with some redly pulsating thing floating inside.
River gurgled and spat. “You're bluffing. I don't know what you are or what you've been doing here, and I don't care.” He set his hooves, clawing at the ground in preparation to charge Nie. “This ends now.”
Lullaby put out a hoof. “River...”
River Flow lunged forward.
“Crimson Cascade,” said Page, making River Flow stop and look up at her in terror. The determination in his eyes dissolved, replaced by the terrified look of a small child whose mother just called him by his full name.
“N-Nightmare...” His lips wavered. “Nightmare Moon?”
I knew it was the truth, and he probably did too – we could all feel it in our bones.
She turned her eyes to me, then to Lullaby. “Crescent Strike and Nightsong, my two little lovebirds.” She looked us up and down. “The years have been unkind.”
Lullaby stroked her chin. “I'm sorry, but who are you again? I know Princess Celestia, but you're sort of a blur. Bad Dream, was it?”
Nightmare Moon shot her a stare and narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. Leave it to Lullaby to hurl petty insults at the Nightmare.
“If you hurt me,” Nie cut in, “or you hurt Nichts, Nightmare Moon will be unleashed upon the world once more. You don't want that. Celestia doesn't want that.”
I stomped. “You're asking us to stand idly by?”
“You have no choice,” he replied. “On the other hoof, you have the privilege to watch as the world is reborn.”
Nightmare Moon laughed. “These fools think to save my soul, bless their precious little hearts. They wish to turn my own magic back on me in order to shackle me.” She brushed her hoof across the amulet around her neck. “They will fail. The moment their spell is done, I will escape, and I will kill them.”
I saw Nichts quickly bite and lick her lip, then went back to her quiet incantation.
“Don't let her get under your skin,” said Nie. “You know who it is we're dealing with.”
Nichts nodded as she chanted on, putting a hoof around the jar.
I remembered, in that moment, that I'd seen a jar like this before: inside that mansion where we'd found all those missing ponies. It had been smashed and the thing inside trampled by the time we got to it, but the arcane tome next to it described the removal and magical preparation of organs. With their magic, the Children of the Night could extract the heart of a pony, then keep the organ functional for hours even when physically separated from the body.
Squinting through the swirling lights around the monster, I noticed a thick scar on Page's chest.
When Nichts spoke, her voice sounded at once close and distant, echoing in the room and at the back of my head. “P-Page,” she stammered. “Sh-she will be s-safe, right? W-we can c-capture her soul-l.”
“It is possible,” Nie said. “It is entirely up to you.”
I could not stand idly, but neither did I dare step closer to them. I began walking around the star while keeping my distance. I found it difficult to believe it was really Nightmare Moon. But that mad grin, the look in her eyes...
“How's Veiled Quill?” she asked.
I stopped pacing.
She put her broken hoof to the side of her head and rubbed, looking away for a second. “Oh, I see. Yes, you've met her, you sly little fiend. Ah, but does she know—”
Her body convulsed, making Nightmare Moon heave as though about to throw up. She snapped her head up, eyes growing wide and desperate. “Mama!” she screamed to the sky before snapping her fangs shut on her tongue.
She straightened herself, then spat blood from her tongue.
“What a wilful young thing she is,” she said. “A lot like you, Crescent Strike.”
“Page!” I called out. Her eyes shifted momentarily, and I thought I saw a glint of hesitation before Nightmare Moon fully regained control.
Because New Page was still in there – and I had to get her back. Let this be the one good thing I'll ever do. That became the only thing in my mind, Nie and Nichts be damned. I did not care for them, or what might happen to me.
“I know you can hear me, Page,” I said, approaching the swirling lights.
“I warn you,” said Nie. “No further.”
River stepped up. Though he put on a resolute façade, I saw his legs tremble. “You must have a contingency plan,” he said. “You can't be certain this will work.”
Nie said nothing.
“The jar,” Lullaby said.
River looked at the jar under Nichts' hoof, then at the scar on Nightmare Moon's chest. I saw the revelation in his expression – and so did I understand the purpose of the jar.
Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and smiled slyly. “You will die before you touch it.”
River gritted his teeth. Lullaby stepped up beside him.
“Lies!” Lullaby said. “Look at you, you are pathetic! Chained by the magic of a mere child.”
Nightmare Moon's face contorted with disgust. “They have perverted my own powers to serve their quaint little game. Look at this... Nichts.” She stuck out her tongue and spat as though trying to get rid of some bad taste. “Her magic could barely squash an ant without the amulet around her neck.”
River laughed, taking another step. “You're afraid, aren't you? You know we can hurt you.”
Nie reared – eyes still on Nightmare Moon. “Silence!” he shouted. “You don't know what you're dealing with. Don't you dare take another step.”
“N-Nie,” said Nichts, “w-what do I—”
“Focus!” he screamed. “Block them out. Keep her chained.”
Nichts curled over the jar to protect it with her body, jaw clenched.
“No,” said Nightmare Moon. “I'd like to see you try. Go on.” A grin that was a little bit too wide crept up her lips. “Take the jar. Take it and smash it.”
River and Lullaby exchanged a look.
“No,” I said. “You can't do that. Please.” I placed a hoof on Lullaby's back. “Big girl, please—”
River rammed me, knocking me to the floor. “You've done enough!” he yelled. “She deserves to die.”
“Shut up!” I tried to get onto my hooves – but Lullaby shoved me back down. I struggled, and she climbed onto me, grabbing my hooves and pinning my down. “Big girl, please—”
“It's over, Swift,” she said, her voice cold and expression scolding. “Page is already dead. Stay down.”
She gave me one last, piercing stare, then turned and bolted towards Nichts. River rushed beside her.
“No!” I yelled, jumping to my hooves to pursue them. I knew I couldn't catch them, but I didn't care. I'd served with these ponies for decades, called them my brothers and sisters and friends, and I'd have fought both of them in a heartbeat if it meant saving Page.
I galloped only a few steps behind them, but they were too fast. River and Lullaby reached Nichts, and they leapt at her at the same time – only to be caught mid-air by a dark aura. Before I realised what happened, an enormous kick in my stomach stopped me dead in my tracks and an invisible force flung me across the room. I landed with a roll and hit my head. My ears rang and my visions went blurry for a second.
I jumped to my hooves again, still shaking from the landing. River and Lullaby flailed desperately in the air, just out of reach of Nichts and the jar, inside a black cloud. At first I thought it was Nichts' magic – but then I realised that her magic wasn't black.
Nightmare Moon cackled. Her laughter ended in a sigh as she slowly shook her head. “But I told them, didn't I?”
“I c-cant contain-n her,” said Nichts, voice echoing ethereally all around us. “She's too strong. She's pouring through the cracks.”
“You still don't get it, do you?” asked Nightmare Moon. “You are still alive because I allow it. You are not my captors. I am yours.” She cocked her head towards Nichts. “Don't stop. I still don't have all my power. I'd appreciate if you worked faster, child. Perhaps I shall make your death painless if you impress me.”
“N-Nie—”stammered Nichts.
“Do not listen to her!” Nie cut in. “We need her, all of her. Only then can we save her. Continue.”
Nightmare Moon's horn flashed, and the dark envelope of magic brought River and Lullaby closer to me – but she didn't let them go. The two of them writhed and flapped their wings in vain attempts to break free from the aura that gripped them.
“To show you my good will,” said the Nightmare, “I will only kill one of them. Who shall it be, Crescent Strike?”
“What?” I asked. “You can't expect me to—”
“If you don't,” she chortled, “I'll just kill them both.”
River groaned, twisting his body mid-air to look at Nightmare Moon. “You sick... you deranged fu—”
His voice caught and her body pulsed, hind legs snapping together – an invisible force had apparently kicked him in the groin. He squealed quietly, too proud to yell in pain, too weak to contain it.
“I can't...” I mumbled.
Lullaby's face had gone blank, her eyes wide and staring at nothing. I'd never known her to panic – I supposed this was the moment she realised she was probably going to die. None of them looked at me. Part of me was grateful for that.
“I can't just choose.”
At once, one of Lullaby's and River's front hooves both bent backwards; the snapping of bone and their sudden wails of pain resounded across the room, giving me a jump and leaving me with a shiver. I found myself gritting my teeth and shaking.
River hissed, grasping his broken leg. He gave Lullaby a look – she didn't return it – then turned to me. “Yes you can choose, Swift,” he said. “Yes you can.”
Lullaby looked at me, teeth clenched to bear the pain, her eyes blank as before. She didn't say a word, and I couldn't tell whether she agreed with River. I didn't think she could, either. She just stared, wall-eyed, not at me but through me.
“I hate you, River,” I replied. “But don't think for a single moment—”
Their hooves bent the wrong way again, and they cried out in pain. Nightmare Moon grinned.
I turned away. “Let Lullaby go.”
“What's that?” asked Nightmare Moon, leaning forward and batting an ear my way. “I'm sorry, I don't quite understand that phrase, 'let go'.”
Taking a deep breath, I looked into her eyes. I'd be lying if I said I never had fantasies of doing horrible things to River. I might have said things, absent-mindedly, that I never really meant. Now I needed all my strength to will my tongue to move, to say those words.
“Kill...” I gulped. Nightmare Moon smiled. “Kill River Flow.”
“It's fine, Swift,” River groaned past his pain. “It really is. I've been waiting for this anyway.”
Lullaby shook her head. “Swift,” she whispered. “Small boy, you idiot—” Another crack echoed across the room – one of Lullaby's hind legs broke with a crunch. She clenched her teeth to suppress her cry of agony. “Y-you know w-who this is, don't you?”
“What?” I asked, looking at the grinning Nightmare Moon. “You—”
The aura around River dissipated, letting him fall to the floor. With two broken hooves, he couldn't get up; he just clambered and crawled helplessly on the floor to create distance between himself and the monster. I saw his eyes turn upwards and the light go out of them as he lost consciousness. No wonder, with the shock he'd suffered and all the blood he'd lost.
I could do nothing but watch as Nightmare Moon's magic crushed Lullaby.
“Nightmare Moon!” I screamed, blood boiling with impotent, desperate anger. I knew I was powerless – and that only made me all the more furious. “I'll make you pay for this, I'll—”
“Shut up, small boy,” admonished Lullaby through her teeth. Her voice was barely stronger than a dying whisper. “Shut up,” she repeated. Her face screwed up with pain – but in her eyes all I saw was a scolding look.
The dark aura condensed around her chest, forcing the air out in a feeble whimper. Her fourth hoof broke in half, then all her legs crumpled like paper, the sound of her cracking bones resounding across the room, spurts of blood splattering all over the floor. Another pained cry resounded behind her bared, tightly clenched teeth.
As Nightmare Moon twisted her around, pulling and stretching, I felt my own hooves curl inwards. My mind barely recognised Lullaby as a pony any more – I almost forgot it was her I was seeing, and not a tattered piece of cloth. Her body contorted, and I cringed with the pain I couldn't feel; every crunch resonated within my own bones. I wanted it to stop; I needed it to stop.
I could only watch and tremble, and the Nightmare revelled in that fact.
Lullaby shut her eyes tight and kept her teeth clenched, moaning quietly at every pop and tear of her joints as Nightmare Moon reduced her body to a writhing mass of flesh and splintered bone. Oh, she squirmed, but Lullaby – stubborn, strong, perfect Lullaby – refused to scream.
Slowly, Nightmare Moon's grin dissolved. Her aura let go for a moment, enough to let Lullaby hit the floor. Then the darkness wrapped around the limb of flesh that was her hind hoof and dragged Lullaby across the floor, leaving a bloody trail along the way. When Nightmare Moon pulled Lullaby to herself, she lifted her into the air again; as the magic yanked her, I heard skin tear.
“Scream,” commanded the Nightmare, twisting Lullaby's body like she was wringing a common rag. “Scream!” Her magic pressed harder on her, contorting her legs back into themselves.
Lullaby opened her eyes, and she stared Nightmare Moon down. I saw her entire body convulse as she moved her tongue about. She gathered her last drops of strength – and tried to spit at Nightmare Moon.
She failed. The glob of bloody spit drooped down her cheek from loose, quavering lips, the air in her lungs seeping through her pulverised chest.
With a furious howl, Nightmare Moon sent her flying at the massive hourglass by the wall. Lullaby impacted head first. Her crumpled body fell convulsing under the breaking hourglass, neck bent at an awkward angle. Blood seeped from the countless tears in her flesh, tinting red the shards of glass around her.
Gradually, the twitching died down.
Nightmare Moon sighed. “Good riddance. I never did like her, anyway.”
“I'm s-sorry,” mumbled Nichts.
Oh, now you speak. I wished I could tear Nichts apart as Nightmare Moon had torn Lullaby. No, I would do worse, so much worse. But I could not because the same monster protected her; she knew better than to bite the hoof that fed her.
“Page told us about you, Flora Dawn.” As I said her name, her gaze twitched over to me, just for a fraction of a moment before returning to Nightmare Moon. “When you ran away, did you think you'd become a murderer?”
“Do not listen to them,” warned Nie.
“I am-m not a murderer-r,” Nichts said, her voice echoing eerily through clenched teeth.
Nightmare Moon turned to her. “But you are, my dear.” She glanced at Lullaby's body. “You have been for a long time.”
“Focus,” said Nie. “Shut it out. Concentrate on the spell and—”
“Hush!” Nightmare Moon raised a hoof, turning to a curtained window. “I can feel Celestia's magic tingling me. She's lowering the Moon. If you truly wish to release me, now is the time to break the last of my soul's shackles.”
Nichts looked at Nie. Nie sent me a look. “If you interfere,” he said, “Nightmare Moon will once again be set loose upon the world.” With that, he turned to Nichts. “Set her free.”
“A-are you s-sure—”
“Do it.”
Nichts took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them, they glowed with blinding white light, and her amulet lit up brighter. Her horn pulsated in red and white, her aura swirling around it, growing, surging until it came undone in an enormous wave of energy that shot out to the ceiling.
The lights arced in the air, turning to cascade onto Nightmare Moon. She reared and spread her wings, opening her mouth wide to drink in the magic.
I could've tackled Nichts, perhaps; she seemed to be the key to the ritual, and interrupting her should have put an end to it. As I sized her up, I saw Nightmare Moon wink at me across the lights. Even if I made it there, there was no telling what interrupting this magic might do.
Or I might have tried to smash the jar – and kill New Page. I'd sooner let the world end than harm her.
Nie's eyes lit up brightly as well, casting ethereal red flames. “Look at me, Luna!”
Nightmare Moon's gaze snapped onto him. Her grin quickly dissolved into an expression of horror. “What?” she asked, lifting a hoof to shield her eyes. “No, you can't. Impossible!”
“Put your hoof down,” ordered Nie.
She did so – and my jaw dropped.
As the red and white lights consumed Nightmare Moon, Nie began walking closer to her. “Now you will listen to me,” he said. “This is not you, Princess Luna. Equestria needs you. Your sister needs you.”
She stared into his eyes, frozen in place. “My... sister?”
“She is lost without you,” Nie continued. “Let go of your hatred, Princess Luna.”
For a moment, I thought I saw understanding in her eyes. Then Nightmare Moon's wicked snarl returned. “I gave you your power! You cannot use it against me!”
“You've said it yourself: it's not our power, but yours.” Nie reached out, placing his hoof on the amulet hanging from Nightmare Moon's neck. “Deep inside of you, you are still connected to the Elements of Harmony. Reach out to them, let this piece of your soul guide the way. Let them help you. Let them in.”
She, too, looked down at the amulet, and a spark seemed to light up in her eyes.
“Come back to us, Princess Luna,” Nie finished.
Her eyes went wide.
In one last burst of light, the entire room was bathed in magic. I had to close my eyes and cover them with my wing, lest I'd have gone blind. I felt the rushing air brush my coat and wave my mane. Prickly, ionised air filled my lungs.
Slowly, the lights dissipated. My ears rang for a while; as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, my hearing returned as well.
The magic was gone. The powerful lights of the summoning star and its many runes had winked out. The only thing that illuminated the room now was the ambient magical light that permeated all of the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing. Even the glowing of Page's amulet had subsided.
There stood the thing wearing New Page's skin, tall and silent; Page's dark grey mane had turned a spectral blue and it wafted gently in the stillness off the room. Faded spots of black littered her brown coat. With her elongated form, Page far more resembled the true Princess of the Night than her true self.
She smiled, placing a hoof on Nie's cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered softly.
“Did it...” muttered Nichts. “Did it work?”
Nightmare Moon hugged Nie close. I could not believe my eyes.
Nichts jumped for joy, clapping her hooves and squealing like the excited child she was. “We did it, we did!”
I took a fearful, cautious step. “Luna?”
She looked at me, and her smile brought with it the warm caress of a gentle summer night. My heart fluttered at the sight; I had not felt like this in two decades.
“Your eyes do not deceive you,” she said. She sounded just like Luna. “It is I.”
Nichts gasped, and her ears pinned back. “By the Moon, I'm so sorry.” She dropped to her knees and kissed the floor before the Princess. “Princess Luna, it is a tremendous honour.”
“Rise,” she said. “You shall be righteously rewarded.” She took a look at the broken hourglass and Lullaby's body under it; she quickly had to turn the other way, only for the sight of River's tortured body to greet her. Closing her eyes, she sighed. “Such a regretful waste of life. Words cannot express my regret.”
“What of Page?” I asked.
“Y-yes,” said Nichts. “What about her?”
Luna looked surprised for a moment. Then she looked herself over. “Oh, this filly. Yes, I can sense her soul inside of me. She is very well, although it is a little crowded in here.” She brushed her chest briefly, then touched a hoof to her forehead. “She is flattered by your concern.”
“Then we should get her out of there quickly.” Nichts ran with a spring in her step towards a hallway. “I'll get the Soul Gem and—”
“Wait,” said Luna, to which Nichts stopped.
Nie picked up the jar with Page's glowing heart. He didn't say anything, he just smiled as he held it.
“This should come first,” Luna said – and her voice quickly took on an urging tone. “I am feeling awfully light-headed. You can put the heart back, can you not, child?”
“Oh, but of course, Your Highness!” Nichts bowed again, her magic taking the jar from Nie. “If you'll follow me...”
Luna didn't move.
Nichts raised a brow. “Princess Luna? This way.”
Her pleasant smile appeared frozen on her face. Her eye – the one that didn't have Nightmare Moon's slit pupil – twitched once. “It hurts,” she said.
“I'm sorry, Your Highness. We'll get you sorted right away.” She giggled nervously, rubbing her hooves. “B-but we can't very well do it here, can we?”
The smile on Page's face faded. Her body stood completely still, expression entirely blank.
Nichts glanced at Nie. “What's going on, Nie? Is she alright?”
Nie's sole response was jerking his head her way. His smile was still frozen onto his expression; even I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
“No,” said Luna, slowly craning her head towards Nichts. “She's torturing me. Inside.” Her voice was but an emotionless monotone. “Not Luna. She's lying, Flora. Pretending. It hurts. Kill me. Please, kill me.”
Before Nichts could stagger away, she leapt and pinned Nichts to the floor, shouting at the top of her lungs, “By the stars, please, kill me! It hurts!”
Blood spurted forth from both of Nie's eyes, and he fell like a marionette with cut strings.
“Page!” I jumped into the air and swooped down on Nightmare Moon, tackling her to the floor.
Nichts quickly grabbed the floating jar and reared on her hind legs.
“No!” I yelled, looking up.
She whipped her hooves downwards as though to smash the jar, but stopped in the last second, holding on to it. She pulled it up and clutched it to her chest, falling to her haunches.
Nightmare Moon kicked me off and sent me flying across the room.
And she laughed. “Can't kill your little friend, can you?”
Her dark aura enveloped the jar and tore it from her grasp, at the same time kicking Nichts' hooves from under her. Nichts crawled backwards until she hit the wall. I watched the scene play out before me, for fear of what might happen to me if I intervened.
“And it was going so well,” said Nightmare Moon with a sigh. “Do I have to do everything myself?” Her aura pinched Nichts' amulet and began tugging at it. “Take it off,” she said.
Nichts' gaze darted between the Princess standing over her and the limp body of her beloved Prophet. “Nie, you said she'd save us. Luna, you were supposed to save us.”
Nightmare Moon leaned down to her and pressed her grin into her face. Nichts couldn't look in her eyes any more, turning instead to look at the dead Nie.
Nightmare Moon licked Nichts' cheek. She shook head to hoof as though rocked by a sudden cold gust. As Nichts whimpered in fear, Nightmare Moon's eyes shot up and she licked her lips, grinning in depraved pleasure. Her hind legs seemed to tremble softly, and I thought I saw something glisten under her tail.
“Please, Nie, say something!” squealed Nichts, voice trembling and face scrunching with fear and repulsion. “You're never wrong!”
Darkness collected around her and lifted her up. She refused to look at Nightmare Moon, but the aura turned her face towards her.
“Go on,” said Nightmare Moon. “Tell your friend you're sorry. She can hear you, I assure you.”
Nichts burst with tears. “Page...” she began, gasping for air. “Page, I'm—”
Magic twisted her head back with a terrible snap and ripped open her throat – I shuddered at the sound. Giving one last convulsion, Nichts' body fell limp. Then the head kept twisting, cocking this way and that until Nightmare Moon popped it off like the cork of a bottle.
She threw the body one way and pulled the amulet from the stump of her neck like a ring from a finger. Then the aura dissipated, letting the head fall as the amulet floated up beside the jar.
Backing away, I stepped over River's unconscious body. Lullaby's crushed corpse still rested under the hourglass, Nie lay collapsed and unmoving near the centre of the star, and Nichts' torn body was in plain sight. Page, oh, naïve, innocent New Page – not a minute spent sharing a body with Nightmare Moon, and she was already begging to die.
As Nightmare Moon turned her eyes to me, I realised just how tiny I truly was.
She grinned. A tendril of chilling darkness reached out from her horn and licked my chin, sending shivers through my body. “I like you, Cresent Strike. You know your place. You'll make a good soldier for me again. But now, I have some urgent business to attend. A mare must tend to her own health, and...” She looked the other way, perking her ears to the ceiling. “I sense a certain somepony is displeased and on her way.”
Magic gathered around her horn, sucking in the light of the room. A sphere of utter blackness grew at the tip, and when it was as large as her own head, the magic shot forth to the ceiling.
The energies rumbled as they tore across the enchanted tiles and ate the rock of the mountain, burning a clear path to the sky above. There was no falling debris, not an errant speck of dust; her magic consumed everything in its path, creating a hole almost as wide as the room.
It was still dark outside, and the Moon shone bright – but the Mare in the Moon was nowhere to be seen.
She spread her deformed wings wide, and her magic brought Nichts' amulet and jar close to her. With a single jump, she shot into the sky. Her laughter echoed across the city. I saw her leave across the darkness, glowing like a rising star in a swirl of magic and hate.
My legs gave way, and I fell to my haunches. I could only watch as Nightmare Moon flew higher and higher.
So it begins anew, I thought. The Longest Night.
I didn't have the strength – or rather, the will – to flee. None could hide from the Nightmare. This time, I would get to experience it as a victim. I couldn't decide if that was just deserts or not.
There was a flash of yellow light and the sound of thunder high above, higher even than Nightmare Moon. Then another one, and then a third shook the city – the final blast exploding exactly on top of the tiny point of light that was Nightmare Moon. I felt the aftershocks in my hooves.
Something flickered in the light of the Moon as it flew away in the wake of the third blast – and something else plummeted, straight back down to the Archives.
Nightmare Moon crashed into the centre of the star, landing with her back and clinging desperately to the jar between her hooves. The floor cracked under the impact and the entire wing resounded with it. I could not see Nichts' amulet.
She didn't even look at me, raising instead her trembling hooves and singed wings slackly to shield herself.
Celestia appeared before us in a blinding flash of light. She stood tall as Nightmare Moon dragged herself pathetically the other way with an expression of pure hate.
Princess Celestia bore no emotion, but her eyes and horn glowed with white-hot fire that brought the heat of the midday Sun to the Archives. “Not again,” she said. Her magic wrapped around Nightmare Moon, picking her up – and with a thunderous bang another magical blast sent her across the room.
She crashed through a bookshelf and kept going, only coming to a stop at the next one. Decades-old dust and yellowed pages swelled and scattered in the air as a pile of books buried her.
Celestia walked with the steps of a pony with all the time in the world, taking absolutely no heed of my presence. “Did you think to face me in the body of an infant?” she asked. “You have truly gone mad.”
Nightmare Moon dragged herself from the collapsed pile of shelves and torn papers, straightening her back and raising her chin high to face Celestia. Even with her malformed body, she still wasn't quite tall enough to meet her. The jar floated up beside her.
“Oh, sister...” She spat a bloody glob to the floor. Her voice shook and her legs could barely carry her weight, but she forced a grin onto her twitching lips. “I've missed you so much.”
A magical shockwave kicked Nightmare Moon's hooves from under her; her jaw impacted the floor and I thought I heard a crack. The dark aura around the jar dispersed – but Celestia's bright magic caught it, bringing it over to her.
“What has become of you, Luna?”
Nightmare Moon slid a hoof across the floor – smearing its path with blood from the myriad cracks on its surface – trying to stand up, but Celestia's aura pushed her back down. The Nightmare craned her neck to look her sister in the eye.
“Luna is dead,” she said.
The façade of Celestia's stone-cold expression broke for just a moment. Her eye twitched.
Nightmare Moon grinned. “She is dead, and you killed her.”
Celestia snarled. “I did not!” The glowing of her eyes subsided – revealing swelling tears in their corners. She raised a leg and stomped down hard on Nightmare Moon's neck. “You did.”
She kicked her in the stomach, with enough force to make her slide the other way. Nightmare Moon grasped convulsively at her chest, gagging and gasping for air.
“You killed her!” shouted Celestia. “You took her away from me!”
From up above, through the hole where the ceiling used to be, descended the Royal Guards, too many to count. They kept a safe distance from the alicorns, tending instead to the bodies that littered the room.
A pair of them came up to me and stood me up. They blabbered something, asking my name and who I was and what I was doing there, threatening with this or that if I didn't speak; I couldn't care less about them. I could only watch in silence as Princess Celestia brutalised a helpless Nightmare Moon.
She was hurting Page.
Had it not been for the seething magic of the Princess of the Night flowing through her veins, that fragile body would have given out long ago.
But Nightmare Moon was inside her, and Celestia knew it – she kicked her and threw her around, combining magic with her own bare hooves.
Celestia's aura condensed around the stub of Nightmare Moon's horn, tearing it from its place and casting it aside.
“Do you ever think about all those you've killed?!” she screamed, pummelling Nightmare Moon's head, the floorboards cracking under it. It was as if Celestia's body moved on its own; her face was streaked in tears, and her voice shook with choked cries at every word she spoke.
Her aura enveloped Nightmare Moon, dragging the slack body to her level so she could look in her eyes. “Do you remember the souls who have suffered because of you? Not again, monster. Not again.”
The Royal Guards brought a pair of cuffs to bind my hooves. I let them.
Nightmare Moon grinned again, the skin on her cheeks splitting like old parchment. Blood ran down her chin. She turned her eyes at the jar that floated beside Celestia. “Do you know what that is?” she asked.
Celestia dropped Nightmare Moon to the floor.
“It is the heart of an innocent pony,” the Nightmare continued, motioning at her chest. “Smash the jar, Celestia. I know you want to do it.”
“What happens to you if this mortal coil dies?”
Nightmare Moon coughed. “What happens to a soul when its body dies?”
The jar floated before Celestia. She looked inside, then at Nightmare Moon. Her face scrunched with disgust and her lips contorted into a snarl.
“Do it,” whispered Nightmare Moon.
Celestia tipped her head, the jar following her motion with a sudden jerk. Her horn flashed and the magic flung the jar upwards – up through the hole in the ceiling, spinning, glistening in the moonlight, swiftly receding into the distance.
At the same time, a Royal Guard tried to bind my wings.
I kicked him off and ran.
The shackles around my legs caught my step. A flap of my wings saved me from tripping.
I shot into the air, wings beating with all my might. I did not care for the weight of the chains.
Royal Guards followed me. But I was faster.
My joints burned. Never in my life had I flown so fast.
Coming up to the city, I saw a faint flicker of light across the air. The Archives were at the very edge of the city, and Celestia's magic had propelled the jar over the precipice. It flew over the city walls, its arc bringing it to plummet into the depths under the great mountain. I followed, faster than the wind itself.
The city wall rushed underneath me, and the sharp, rocky surface of the mountain, and then the staggering drop where Equestria lay at my hooves.
I swooped as fast as I could. Faster than I ever imagined I could. I reached out my chained hooves to grasp the falling jar. The ground closed in – but I caught it.
I brought Page's heart close to my own as I slowed down. Finally, not far above the forest at the base of the mountain, I managed to stop – and I cradled Page close. No cracks on the jar. She was still alive.
The heart lit up with red light at every beat. They came slowly now, the glow fading.
But I had her. Her heart may have been weak, but mine pounded away.
“Stop!” yelled a Royal Guard. An entire squadron descended around me. “You will come w—”
“My name is Swift Sweep,” I said, “of the Equestrian Bureau for State Security.” I looked into their eyes, one by one – and saw each of them fly a little backwards.
Without wasting another word, I turned upwards. I flew up the mountain and into the city and down the hole that led to the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing.
There Celestia stood waiting for me; a dozen guards surrounded the limp body of Nightmare Moon, their spears turned towards her. The fools trembled at every weak twitch of her eyes.
I sat down in front of Celestia, placing my hooves around the jar. Her horn came alive, and I felt a gentle pull at the jar. She could easily have torn it away from me, but instead wished that I let go on my own accord. I would not do that – her piercing, judgemental stare could not make it otherwise.
“Explain yourself,” she demanded. Her chin was so high, she could barely look me in the eye.
“The name of the filly whose body Nightmare Moon inhabits is New Page,” I said. “She is not innocent. In fact, she is directly responsible for the events that transpired here.”
Celestia raised a brow. “So she deserves to die.”
“Yes, Your Highness. She does. But the ultimate blame rests with me. I could have stopped her, yet instead I chose to disregard direct orders and fly in the face of everything the EBSS stands for. I have put the very future of Equestria in danger over a personal whim.”
I took a moment to look through the room. It appeared the Royal Guards have already scraped together the remains of Priestess Nichts, as they have rounded up the bodies of Prophet Nie and my dear friend Lullaby. A group of ponies in white coats tended to a still unconscious River Flow in the corner.
I looked up, at the ceiling that was no longer there. I turned to the trashed shelves and destroyed floor in the wake of Celestia's punishment of her sister.
“All of this could've been prevented,” I continued, “if only I had done my job. If only I had locked this young, ignorant filly in a cell to rot for the rest of her life. But I didn't. Over my investigation of New Page, I have found out that I am her...” I glanced at Nightmare Moon. She started at me intently from beyond the spears turned her way. “I am the reason New Page was born. I could not find it in my heart to turn her in, Your Highness.”
The pull on the jar strengthened – I needed both hooves to keep it in my grasp.
“I joined the EBSS because I believed in you, Your Highness. I still do. I genuinely believe you will bring about a new era of harmony and prosperity. I believe you are better than the Nightmare.”
“Enough,” said Celestia, her magic tearing the jar away from me with a flare of her horn.
“I've performed countless heinous acts in your name because I believe in your greater good. I've done it all like the good dog I am. I did it so that Princess Celestia wouldn't have to.”
Celestia put the jar down and placed her hoof on it. “Look at what your hooves have wrought! You dare patronise me?”
“Please, Your Highness. I know you can cleanse New Page's soul without resorting to...” I looked at the jar, and the weakly beating heart within. Celestia pulled it closer to herself. “I know because you've done it to me, as you've done it to all of us. She does not need to die.”
Celestia gave me a stern glare. “She might die regardless.”
“But she might not,” I replied. “Please, give her a chance. Like you've given us.”
“By your own admission,” she said, “this filly is responsible for unshackling the most wicked monster who had once sought to topple our beautiful Equestria. By your vow to serve me, you have no right to care what happens to her.”
“I care because I'm tired, Your Highness.” I had to swallow; my throat ran dry. “I have served you for twenty years, and your sister before that. I've grown tired of being a dog. I am tired of being the bad stallion who takes Daddy away.”
I made sure to look resolutely, chastisingly in her eyes. Rare it was that somepony stared directly into the Sun.
“I don't know about you, Your Highness, but I...” My voice caught. “I don't...” I felt tears swell in my eyes. But no, I refused to cry. I would not break down. I blinked away those stray tears and stared down the mighty Princess of the Sun; my pride overpowered my fears.
And for just a moment, the fraction of a second, I saw a glint of compassion in her eyes.
“Princess Celestia, I don't want to be a monster any more.”
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So sorry about the delay! Both my pre-reader and I ended up being really busy last week, so it had to be delayed. The final chapter is coming in a few days, hopefully.
This chapter is intense. Holy crap. Good job.
Edit: Also good wordplay with the title. Who is really the monster? NMM? The EBSS? Or is it Celestial for allowing all of those atrocities to be committed in her name?
Wow.
Just wow.
A truly wonderful chapter.
Yikes!
TRULY WELL WRITTEN! Feels and chills throughout the story and it has all come to bear here, well done.
Damn dude, just, damn.
6541099
Nie. Well, it's clearly supposed to be all of those, which is why the it's plural, but I'd say mostly Nie.
6545260 I think it's very much up to the reader, actually. I think the last line of this newest chapter highlights it the most, who the monsters are in the very end.
6545748 Which is fine and all, but the EBSS doesn't really make sense for this. What did they DO?
6545982 Eh...
Well, let's see, if we count the precursor to the EBSS, the Night Guards, they helped facilitate The Longest Night. In which they killed, raped, and/or tortured countless ponies. Then they went on to become the EBSS, where they killed, abducted and/or tortured countless ponies. Swift Sweep himself is probably the living embodiment of a monster in this story to me, not Nie. Nie did all the atrocities of the Children of the Night, right? But then look to all the atrocities that Swift had been a part of his all of his life. From breaking the hooves of old women to tossing toddlers to their death, he's done it all.
6546004
Well yes, but the EBSS killed, abducted, and/or tortued countable ponies for a pretty good reason. Because not letting those cultists and such ponies go and kill other innocent ponies is just evil... seriously what the hell?
Also the EBSS actually pay their employees, [or at least I assume but why would anypony wanna join if not] so they're that much better than Nie.
This chapter was intense, loved all of it.
Metaphor or is her body really dead?
The clamps I am assuming? They have the place her heart used to be to move into.
Is it still a sacrifice when the person doesn't want it?
Would this also mean they could blackmail Luna in a way?
Did I say Celestia is a dumb bitch in another of my comments? If not, well, Celestia is a dumb bitch.
I wonder what the reason for the loathing was; because she is trapped and page is not or because she is a just a pony and Nightmare Moon is nothing but hate?
Or she is just a jealous being and hates others for what they have.
Heh, I like how we don't know who is really narrating anymore, New Page or Nightmare Moon. Though I must question the transformation and how it works. It seems like the spirit molds the body here.
Ok, with what I remember of Night Shift, Luna has a split personality or something like that. NMM had always been with her in some fashion. What happened to Luna on the Longest Night when NMM came out? What happened to Luna and Page's minds now that NMM controls the body?
Oh Lullaby, you cheeky little thing.
What does "rushied" mean? Is it like a cute way to rush? Oooooh, River is so cuuuuuute.
Paternal instincts or something else? A desire to make up for past mistakes somehow?
She'll kill what you like more.
That... would be nasty. Does Luna get the pleasure of keeping all these memories so NMM can taught her in the confines of her own mind?
So, since the piece of Luna's soul was contained before becoming Nightmare Moon, it remains untainted in a way? But if Luna and NMM are one and the same, what was the change?
Why do I feel NMM is faking it?
I fucking KNEW IT!
Yet I still loved reading it. Hahahaha! New Page being tortured is delightfully painful.
So he became the puppet while NMM dominated his mind. Then... I don't know why eyes turned into fire hoses... but magic.
I love the creepiness so much.
Well... this somehow strikes closer to home than I would have liked. You have a depraved mind Joe, so depraved. I want more.
I have read that paragraph too much. It is sickly amazing, I don't know why. And now we all know something in my head is fucked up.
Using the archaic form I see.
Did you combine two sentences here?
Why doesn't this story have more comments? It deserves more people reading it.
...
And also reading over my comment. My comments are long, boring, and pointless. Move along people, nothing to see here.
6547197 Your comments are definitely well worth the read.
Pffft. Dang, missed something. I must've been rushiing through the editing too quickly.
Nice to see that JawJoe was able to pull that off. I think there was some debate whether or not it would be too crude to have.
Tell your friends, please?
6547668
Well, I make them to entertain at least one person, any others are more of a boon!
DAMMIT! I giggled a little too madly when I read that sentence again. Somewhere, buried deep in my mostly alright brain is a sick, black little part that is touched by Nightmare's arousal to power and pain.
Every new chapter that comes out I am posting little exerts to the few Skype groups I am in lauding how good this story is.
I teared up.
This chapter though.
Also, have a review!