The Nightmare Wars

by GigaBowser

Baptism of Bloodshed

Chapter 2 - Baptism of Bloodshed

The castle bell, she chimes for war,
One, two, three, four,
To call forth creatures so abhorred,
They slaughter all, and thirst for more.
-Author unknown; March 1009

***

"En garde."

One would not even have a moment to blink in the time between Celestia saying those two fateful words, and her charging directly at me with intent to cripple. In the briefest fraction of a second she had summoned a golden arcane sword and was now swinging it directly towards my neck. I too summoned an arcane sword, deep blue and silver in colour, and held it up to block her strike. Less than a tenth of a second had passed.

We stared at each other for a brief moment as we pressed our swords against one another. That single action of hers had told me all I needed to know. Celestia, for whatever reason, was through playing around. The weakness she had exhibited before in never wanting to harm her little sister was gone. Now, I wasn't entirely convinced that she wouldn't try to kill me.

How thrilling.

Her intentions now clear to me, I shifted into an all-out attack. I parried her sword away and thrust forward directly towards her chest. She was only barely able to block the strike, but I didn't stop there. I continued to swing and strike, throwing forth a relentless assault on the other alicorn. She managed to keep herself from harm, but there was strain in her expression as she rapidly moved her sword around to block. Me, on the other hand, I was grinning the entire time.

She blocked a particularly powerful strike from me and the two of us pressed our swords against one another's again. Sparks began to erupt from the magic swords as we both pushed harder and harder, and seconds later we were both forced back a few good feet from a minor outburst of magic. Celestia took this brief opportunity to cast a spell. In a quick flash, golden armour appeared all over her body. Comparatively, she was more decked out than I was, with protective plates covering her torso, her head, her limbs, and even the bridges of her wings. Despite the fact that I only had a chestplate, hoofguards and my headpiece, I chose not to summon anything further.

Celestia grit her teeth and swung wide towards me. Instead of blocking or countering, however, I swiftly moved to the side. My sudden absence caused her to stumble and lose her balance, and I capitalized by firing a beam of magic directly at her. She was just barely able to pull up a magic shield, which caused the bolt to deflect and fly directly into the ceiling. It shattered in a spectacle of rock and rubble, leaving a sizable hole through which the glorious moon could be seen.

She took a quick look at it before blocking and pushing back against more strikes from me. My opponent then surprised me by unfurling her wings, giving them a powerful stroke, and dashing off quick as lightning through the roof and into the sky above.

I stared after her bemusedly. "And where do you think you're going?" I called out before unfurling my own wings and giving chase.

I had honestly expected that she had turned tail and run, but I was pleased to see that she was waiting for me in the sky, ready to continue battle. It seemed she simply wished to do so in a different environment. Personally, I was confident that this would prove to be a grave error in judgement on her part. Though I had only just flown for the first time in this form, I could already tell that I was faster than her in the air.

Once I had reached her altitude, she wasted no time in darting towards me with her sword. I blocked her strike and began to circle around with a strike of my own. Aerial sword duels had always been a favourite of mine and I was honestly quite confused as to why she would choose to fight me in such an arena. The two of us began darting around like flies, whizzing through the air and trying to strike the other. Our two forms became a blur, occasionally punctuated by the clink of swords connecting.

As more time passed, I became quickly attuned to my new heightened senses. Despite my incredible speed, I could see everything around me clearly. Celestia never managed to catch me off guard because I could always see her coming. I, on the other hoof, had managed to dent her armour three times. Small victories, yes, but I was winning.

A loud battle cry caught my attention and I quickly twirled myself in the air to see her oncoming strike. I blocked her sword, but she didn't relent. Celestia launched herself into her own flurry of attacks, repeatedly swinging and striking at me. Her skill caused me to lose my smile and dedicate a lot of focus. I was never so arrogant as to believe that defeating Celestia would be easy. I constantly reminded myself that she was one of the most skilled fighters in the entire world and would not go down easily.

I was put on the defensive for a short period, and I took in Celestia's expression and appearance while I blocked her strikes. Something had definitely changed within her along with her new flashy mane. I would not, however, call what I saw in her eyes 'fury'. Perhaps a more fitting word would be 'determination'. I could see within her a drive to win, but not a drive to be victorious.

I pulled in my wings and dove underneath her quickly, flitting back up beside her. I swung a powerful slash at the armour protecting her shoulder, and part of the armour crumpled against her and fell loose. She cried out in surprise and quickly moved her sword to block, and then she also tried to zip around. I never let her get close enough.

We flitted through the air like dragonflies, each trying to sneak around the others' defenses. We moved through the air barely noticing our surroundings. All I cared about was that my glorious moon was above us, bathing me in its cool, caring light. We had moved away from the castle so I wasn't likely to fly into any walls by accident. We were probably above Canterlot now, and anypony on the ground would probably be able to see us, but it mattered not.

Who was I kidding? They were all asleep. And even if somepony had seen us, not one of them would dare set themselves between two duelling goddesses.

Celestia gave a few guttural grunts and began to pour on the offense again. As I blocked and countered, she launched a few arcane bolts from her horn at me. To her credit, that had actually caught me by surprise, if only briefly. I narrowed my brow as I dove forth to strike her again.

I had the upper hoof and was winning this battle, but I was winning far too slowly. If things continued like this, then Celestia would not fall from exhaustion or defeat for days. She was, after all, the pony who could most closely match my level of skill. Perhaps, I realized, I would have to do something to expedite the process.

I was forced to weave through the air to avoid more bolts from her horn. As I was dodging, she had been charging up a fairly large offensive spell, which she then lanced at me. I had no time to dodge, but a shield spell kept me unharmed. No sooner did it dissipate than I brought up my sword to block a daring strike from my opponent.

I pushed back with my own sword and forced her to remain in place so that I could observe her again. I could see a reflection of myself in her eyes; a beautiful, powerful mare with both anger and confidence in her own eyes. Celestia, however, was almost emotionless. What I saw in her eyes was no more than a desire to end what was happening. I smirked as I got an idea.

Celestia's sword lurched forward as I suddenly stopped pushing against it with mine. I fell back and allowed her sword to come within millimeters of my snout. She fumbled in the air, not having expected that, as I dashed up beside her and made a bold swipe directly for her exposed jugular.

Expectedly, she managed to block my strike, and then the shot of adrenaline I had given her pushed her to make a bold counterattack. Just as before, I feigned a block and then carefully positioned myself to allow her blade to come immeasurably close to ending my life.

"So!" I exclaimed to her as we continued to duel, "What is the plan, Celestia?"

She didn't respond as she blocked another flurry of strikes from me.

"Do you plan to kill me?" I yelled while staring her directly in the eyes, "Are you going to kill you little baby sister?"

I received exactly the reaction I had expected. Celestia's eyes widened, as if she had just realized what she had been doing, and her blocks began to get sloppy. I even saw the aura gripping her sword dissipate slightly. I grinned in satisfaction and slashed forward with my own sword directly at an unprotected part of her body.

She couldn't block my strike. The only thing she had the presence of mind to do was to teleport away, and only after my blade had sunk an inch or two into her flesh.

I tracked her spell and found that she had reappeared to my left, quite a distance away from me.

"Killing you is the last thing I want to do!" she called to me, her hardened eyes like those of a stone statue's, "But…I will if I must. If the ponies of this land are put at risk because of you…then I will not hesitate to put a stop to you." Her expression faltered just slightly. "Please do not let it come to that."

I didn't respond and instead zipped over to where she was with a burst of magic. I struck her armour before she could even react, causing her to bring up her sword and sloppily block my strikes. I had shaken her to the core; the damage had been done. The night air was filled with the sounds of clashes and clangs as metal met metal. Our horns were glowing furiously as we moved our swords around almost impossibly fast.

I ramped up my game, throwing in bolts of magic from my horn. She was far too imbued with magic for me to do anything such as making her armour vanish or teleporting her underground. Still, however, offensive magic held no prejudice and would burn whomever it struck. Between manoeuvering her sword around to block and the shield spells she had to cast, strain was beginning to show upon the face of my opponent.

Finally, though, Celestia's horn glowed with a different kind of magic and she fired off an offensive spell in desperation. I had not quite been expecting it and so it managed to graze my shoulder, burning the fur just slightly. I ignored the pain and didn't falter. Her first hit on me. I had expected her to do at least some damage to me.

I was vulnerable for only a brief moment, but she did capitalize on it. She dashed forward with her sword and forced me to bring mine up to block. Again, we began pushing as hard as we could against one another in a battle of strength and endurance. The minor hit she had gained off of me seemed to have snapped her out of her reverie, or at least partially. That cold, soulless determination had returned to her eyes.

We continued pouring strength into our swords, but this time neither of us yielded. It was as if we had shared an unspoken agreement to continue pushing until something broke. I grit my teeth and she did the same, the two of us staring directly at one another. I could feel lightning dancing between us. The pressure increased more and more as we poured all of our strength, magical or otherwise, into overpowering the other.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the two swords shattered into a cloud of multicoloured dust. Both of our arcane weapons had just been completely destroyed, and there would be no time to craft another one while this battle raged.

What's more, the momentum I had been pouring into my sword carried me forward, as I had not expected the swords to shatter. I predicted that the two of us would tumble into one another like some sort of clumsy painful hug, but instead I tumbled into air. Seconds later, I felt two very powerful hooves connect with my backside and send me flying through the air. Celestia had managed to teleport away as soon as the swords broke and buck me straight in the back.

Okay. I'll give you that one.

I righted myself before I could impact the ground and scanned the sky for my opponent. I realized with a scowl that Celestia had expected our weapons to shatter. She had sacrificed her own weapon to ensure the destruction of mine. Perhaps she was more dedicated to this battle than I thought.

A second later I found her, and she was yards away from where we had both just been. I began to fly towards her and, as I did, took notice of what she was doing. Her horn was glowing but I couldn't see or feel what she was casting. She saw me coming, twisted in the air, and launched an arcane bolt at me, which I blocked. I readied my own spell, but she had vanished again.

I swore as I sought her out again. Just like before, she was yards away with her horn glowing. I sped off towards her again, but then something caught my eye that actually made me slow down. I nearly came to a stop, staring at her with disbelief.

My eyes followed where her horn was pointed at, and my heart skipped a beat as I found myself staring at the moon. Rage burned within me as I realized what she was doing.

She was trying to cast my magic, and she was using it to try to lower the moon.

A furious, vengeful cry slipped from my throat as I sped through the sky towards her. I cannot even describe the rage that was coursing through my veins in that moment. Despite all that she had done, Celestia had never touched my moon. And now she was trying to use her own filthy magic to force it away! How dare she?!

In my blind rage I had dedicated little thought to planning. Celestia saw me coming a mile away and teleported. For the time, though, I was too mad to think properly. A couple of times this was repeated; Celestia appearing somewhere and reaching out to the moon with me hot on her tail. I could feel the moon slipping away from its rightful place and back towards the horizon!

Some of my common sense returned to me and I reached out with my own magic. The moon belonged to me, and so it heeded my call much closer. With a guttural cry of fury I thrust it back into the high point of the sky. I felt volatile magic radiate off of me, spreading outwards like an explosion. It managed to catch Celestia off-guard and interrupt her next teleport.

"You would dare?!" I exclaimed before quickly teleporting myself. Celestia could not recover from her momentarily disrupted magic in time, and she cried out in pain from a concentrated blast of magic right between the plates of her armour. Blood seeped from a fresh wound, as if she had been pierced by a large arrow.

She whirled herself around and backed away from me, gritting her teeth in pain. I was already readying another spell. "You have left me no choice!" she called out to me, but I barely heard her.

Another fiery arcane spell zipped towards her, and she blocked it with a shield. I flung more, smaller spells at her in an attempt to catch her by surprise again, but she blocked those as well. Celestia then began to sling golden spells back at me, which I also blocked. The two of us circled one another in the air, tens of spells flying forth from our horns, and just as many small, magical shields covering us.

Again, neither of us would yield. More and more spells sailed through the air, attempting to strike the other. Gradually, our spells grew smaller but more plentiful until eventually we were casting an absolute barrage of hundreds of spells. Not only that, but we began to slowly drift closer to one another. The air between us was filled with a dizzying array of golds, silvers and translucent shields. It was like a thousand fireworks erupting in the tiny space between us.

It was a test of endurance. Eventually one of us would fail and a spell would slip through. It took an incredibly long time, but finally something broke.

Celestia grunted as one of my tiny spells slipped through a crack in her armour, and this was followed by screams of anguish. The first spell had broken her concentration, and so all of the spells following it found no shields to block their paths. I grinned in victory as Celestia was buffeted by hundreds of tiny, painful spells. Unfortunately, at some point in the midst of this chaos she had managed to teleport away.

She was now many yards away, panting and glaring at me. Much of her armour had been damaged and had fallen away, leaving only the guards on her hooves, head and chest. In various other places, her fur was tinted with either black or red. She was now covered in quite a number of injuries, while I had managed so far with only a pair of bruises on my back.

"Do you surrender yet?" I called to her, a bit of playfulness slipping into my voice.

"You know that I cannot allow you to win…" she replied.

In response, I laughed. "We've only barely begun, and you've already taken at least 20 times as much damage as I have. I will admit that I'm rather sour at the loss of my arcane sword, and I will most certainly be getting you back for that pair of hoofprints on my back, but ultimately you may as well give in."

"There's still a chance for us to end this!" she called out, "I'm giving you a chance at survival here! If you continue these acts of treachery, then I will…I will kill you…"

I had caught that brief pause. I narrowed my eyes and grinned at her. "Very well, then," I spoke slowly, "Kill me."

I decided to show her how brutal I could be. I performed a quick teleport directly next to her, so close that I could feel the puff of air from her startled breath. Barely a blink of an eye passed before I began whaling on her. I began with a hoof punch directly to her jaw and followed it up with a nonstop barrage of punches, jabs, kicks and bucks. The metal guards on my hooves delivered quite a satisfactory amount of bloodshed. I didn't give my opponent the chance to do a single thing before I finally felt she'd had enough and kicked her in the back directly towards the ground.

To my moderate surprise, she managed to spread her wings and stabilize herself before she impacted. Before I could chase after her, she teleported away and then slammed into me from the side in a midair tackle. She began trying to punch me and managed to land a couple of hits, but most of her strikes were ineffective. In no time I had forced her off of me.

I regarded the beautiful, regal Princess of Equestria; beaten, battered and covered in bruises and blood. I saw her lips move silently, and I am certain I saw the word 'Savage' being formed.

"Having fun, Celestia?" I toyed with her, "War's not so much fun when you're not winning, is it?"

She coughed up blood before saying, "This doesn't have to be war!!"

I merely chuckled. "Those sound like the words of a pony who knows she cannot win."

The briefest flash of fire danced behind her eyes. "I know you think all of my military victories were lucky flukes, but I was there on the battlefield, or at least close nearby. I have defeated countless foes who would put the safety and serenity of Equestria at risk. I have defeated every single one of them, and I will defeat you as well!"

I stared at her for a moment with a neutral expression on my face. "You want to defeat me." There was a pause. "But I do not believe that you will."

"Silence…"

"I can see it in your eyes, Celestia. You feel the heat of battle, but not the drive to win! Though this newfound power of yours is definitely…" I took a moment to rub an aching spot on my jaw. "…making things difficult, you still do not match up against me. What you feel right now is how I have felt for centuries."

"I-"

Celestia suddenly gasped and had to duck out of the way of my arcane blast. "I am not a fool, Celestia! I can feel you using healing magic like a coward!"

I felt her teleport behind me and threw up a shield before she could send a magic spell directly into my back. "Ha!" I exclaimed as I danced away from her through the air, "You would have to do a lot better than that."

I dove towards her to attack, but expectedly she teleported away. I found her location and launched the spell I had been charging up directly at her. My grin fell, however, as I quickly had to focus all of my energy into a very powerful shield spell. The red magic that had been lanced at me smashed against it and caused them both to dissipate.

Celestia was serious, I began to think. That had been a spell designed to cripple wings. I could have been sent spiraling to the ground; that had actually been dangerous! Then I stopped, however, and thought more deeply about it. She was using cheap tactics to try to end this battle as soon as possible.

"End this!" I heard her command from above.

"Never!" I replied with a grin, "You will submit to me, one way or another."

"I beg of you not for me, but for the poor, innocent ponies of this land. Please, Luna. Stop this insanity."

Spells flew past her head. "What did you call me?"

"Luna…I beg of you from the bottom of my heart…"

My right eye twitched slightly. Rage. Blinding, burning rage, and it was all welling up inside of me. Immediately, I felt like shouting. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and beat something, anything, until it no longer breathed. That name was an insult now! That name should never grace my royal ears for as long as I shall live!! That name must die!!

I could have shouted at her, but instead I remained silent. So much power had been welling up within me, and so I simply channeled it forth. A black and blue aura began to burn around me, complimenting my furious expression.

"Celestia," I spoke evenly, "I warn you not to anger me again."

After another couple moments of tense staring, Celestia's lip began to quiver. A single tear rolled down her cheek, mixing in with the dried blood there. Though she began to whisper, I could hear her clearly. "Please…" Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, and then she continued.

"Don't make me kill you, Luna…"

The aura around me erupted into a powerful, blazing inferno, making Celestia shrink back. "It is you who shall die!!" I yelled, the dam having finally been broken. Quick as a bolt of lightning I angled myself towards her, channeled all of my power and magic through my horn, and lanced a bolt directly at her with a wicked, animalistic cry.

She cried out and darted to the side to avoid it. I was prepared for this, however. She suddenly found herself facing me as I teleported into her flight path. Before she could even react, an arcane sword was buried up to the hilt into her chest. Simultaneously, I latched on to the remaining pieces of her armour with my magic and forcibly ripped them off.

She screamed in horrified pain as she focused all of her energy to backing away through the air to get away from me. I had barely even noticed that I had somehow created a new arcane sword in a matter of seconds. I took off through the air to chase her, the blazing aura around me causing the trees to erupt into flames as I passed them.

Celestia tried to grip the sword so she could pull it out but couldn't. To any other pony, a strike like that would mean certain death. However, as an alicorn like myself, it was merely a hard blow to her stamina. If she couldn't get it out, which I highly doubted she could, then she wouldn't last much longer on the battlefield.

She saw me coming and pulled herself into a sudden dive to try to escape my pursuit. I was ready for this, however, with a quick teleport. As she reached the base of her dive and began pulling herself back up, I passed by her in the opposite direction with a dive of my own. Celestia lurched back suddenly and let out a strained, strangled cry of pain.

I pulled her towards me with the glowing silver chain I had wrapped around her neck. She was flailing all of her limbs, including her wings, and grasping at the chain with her two front hooves. Her mouth hung open but no sound came out except for choking gasps. Celestia tried desperately to inhale and her eyes clenched shut as her face began to turn a pale shade of blue.

"Surrender, Celestia!!" I proclaimed, hopefully for the final time. Her horn was glowing, but the aura would simply sputter out. Her gagging, painful gasps of air were music to my ears as I held her there, keeping the grip as tight as I could. She had opened one eye and was staring at me with it. I had expected her to appear pleading, but I saw something much better in that one eye.

Fear.

Celestia was only a few seconds away from unconsciousness, and I refused to relent. Copious amounts of blood poured out from around the sword embedded within her, and all of the colour was beginning to drain from her face. I was so enthralled in this position of power over her that I unfortunately did not notice her horn beginning to glow a little more steadily.

She had only managed to make a short hop with her teleport spell, but it had been enough to free her from my chain. I could have immediately pounced and attacked her again, but I didn't.

It was clear that I didn't need to.

I could see it in Celestia's eyes; the fight was over. She simply hovered there before me, sucking in massive gasps of air to replenish the supply in her lungs, and all the while she was staring at me. Her eyes wide open showing utter terror. Her pupils had shrunk to tiny dots, though they remained focused on me as if afraid to look away. From her eyes alone, I could tell exactly what was going through her mind.

What I had just done was no attempt to disarm, disable or cripple her. Celestia was coming to grips with the fact that I had just tried to murder her. Furthermore, I had done it in cold blood. I could see it all melting away in her mind. Her doubts of my intent and her underestimating of my resolve. For the first time this evening, Celestia saw me as something other than her unruly little sister.

So, she turned and fled.

I paused to let loose a wild laugh and to savour the moment. The injured, terrified alicorn was flying off into the distance over the top of Canterlot, but she was hardly out of my reach. When I decided I had waited long enough, I gave my wings a powerful flap and shot through the air towards her. The deep black aura surrounded me and empowered me, letting me fly faster than I ever had before.

She saw me coming and tried to dart away. I grinned as I tailed her, enjoying this little game of cat and mouse. I noticed that she was indeed managing to at least stay ahead of me. It must have been pure adrenaline fueling her to move so quickly. I fired a few arcane beams in her direction but intentionally missed, and I then laughed at the terrified expressions I brought to her face.

We passed over low rooftops, circled the parapets of the castle, and dipped beneath the old stone bridge. She was beginning to pant, a combination of exertion and her injuries sapping her strength down to almost nothing. Still she managed to stay just ahead of me, but I think some part of my subconscious was letting her stay ahead just for the fun of it. I was drifting closer, though. Closing in on my prey.

As we left the castle behind us once again she actually accelerated, much to my surprise. I narrowed my eyes and grinned confidently. My prey was trying to fly away and leave Canterlot behind. "Oh no you don't…" I whispered. Celestia turned and looked back at me, panic still in her eyes, and I chose that moment to strike.

The bright silver beam from my horn cut through the air like a crossbow dart, flying directly towards her. There was barely enough time for Celestia's eyes to fly open wide in horror before the bolt struck her in the chest. She screamed in agony as lightning danced across her form, crippling her wings and causing her entire body to seize up.

A moment later, she fell from the sky.

Celestia impacted the ground in a painful-looking heap, landing at the top of a small grassy knoll just outside of the city of Canterlot. I saw both of her wings break as she tumbled along the ground until she finally came to a stop. She lay there on her side, her body covered in dirt, clumps of grass and blood, her wings bent at sickening angles, and her eyes glazed over. Her chest still rose and fell slowly, shudderingly, but she didn't move.

A second later the ground shook as I landed, standing tall and looking down upon the defeated pony beneath me. Celestia's eyes bugged out and she screamed, much louder than she had when I had struck her down. She began to shudder and writhe slightly on the ground, continuing to cry out in pure agony. My left-front hoof was covered in blood, the crushed remains of the top quarter of Celestia's horn beneath it.

Blood was pouring from where I had broken her horn off, no doubt causing her an unbelievable amount of pain. It must have been unbearable, and I grinned at the thought. My opponent stopped screaming, instead merely slumping on the ground and heaving painful breaths. No more wings, no more magic, and not an ounce of strength left. Celestia lay on the ground beneath me, utterly defeated.

I finally felt something within me that I had not felt for an unbelievably long time. Satisfaction. Elation. A sense of accomplishment. I had marched into that throne room expecting to come out on top, and here I was. It was such an amazing, wonderful feeling that I couldn't help but spend a few minutes basking in its warmth. Years of repression and injustice were now over, for I had won!

I heard Celestia groan beneath me, so I lifted my bloodied hoof from her horn and placed it square upon her cheek, holding her down. She moaned in pain and wrenched open one of her eyes to stare up at me. The fire in her eyes was long gone. Now, nothing remained but ashes. She did not speak, but she began to shed tears.

I grinned victoriously as I leaned my head down towards hers. "Game over," I spoke, "It is time you let a true leader sit upon the throne. You are a weak fool, Celestia. You never had any chance of defeating me. I merely allowed you to fool yourself into believing that you could."

"Please…" Celestia whispered, giving one last pathetic plea.

My smile vanished, leaving me with an emotionless stare. "No, Celestia," I spoke in a cold tone, "You have sat upon a throne of lies and blinded these ponies just as your horrid sun does." I increased the pressure of my hoof slightly and drove her head into the dirt below, causing her to moan in pain again. "Perhaps now the ponies of this land will finally see you as you truly are: a filthy, weak, pathetic egotist."

"You can't-"

"Your actions have led us to what has transpired today. As I told you before, you only have yourself to blame." I paused, my eyes flashing briefly with anger. "You pushed me too far, Celestia. Now you must pay the penance."

She made one last desperate attempt to defy me, but with her lack of strength this only amounted to her batting me lightly with her hoof. It had felt like the paw of a kitten.

I chuckled. "You built yourself a house of cards, Celestia," I spoke, my laughter building, "You have always been so pathetic." I continued to laugh as I shifted myself around her, lowering myself down. Celestia watched me with panicking eyes, but she was powerless to escape.

She then let out a horrible, blood-curdling scream as I stabbed my horn directly into the centre of her chest. With the tip mere inches from her heart, I began to focus my energy. Celestia's breathing was strained as she continued to yell and scream like a banshee, but I ignored her.

Her magic began to seep into my horn as I absorbed it and added it to my own. It was like a surge of pure adrenaline coursing down the appendage on my head, striking it like a lightning rod. It was an exhilarating rush as I took from her every ounce of magic that she had. Blood was running down my horn and getting on my face, but I didn't really care. There were certainly less messy ways of obtaining an alicorn's magic, but this was definitely the most efficient.

Celestia did not stop screaming throughout the entire experience. As I felt more and more power flowing into me, her cries grew weaker and more strained. I saw out the corner of my eye that her mane was losing its new colours and shifting back to simple pink, which eventually faded to a dull, washed-out tone.

I extracted everything I could from her, feeling my magical reserves increase twofold. My mane billowed like a glorious storm and the dark aura around me became more fiery and volatile. I had been all-powerful and invincible before, but now I was nigh untouchable. I was more than a goddess! I was now, without question, the most powerful being in the entire world!!

I pulled my horn from the unconscious body of what had once been my adversary and held my head high. I could feel the magic of two alicorns coursing through me, feeling almost as if it couldn't be contained. So much power! I had been a fool to call myself powerful before. This was unlike anything any creature in this world had ever experienced before.

I surveyed my surroundings, noticing the large crowd of ponies that was gathered many yards away. In the back of my mind there was a trivial memory I had not paid any mind to of them gathering around the town as we battled in the skies. They all shrunk back in fear as my gaze fell upon them. I grinned, my teeth and fangs glistening in the moonlight. Though my face was stained with blood, I wore it like war paint. If only lightning could have flashed behind me; it would have created the perfect image.

Then I remembered how much power I had, and with the tiniest magical pulse a powerful bolt struck the ground behind me. The ponies all cowered away from the thunderous boom.

"Citizens of Equestria!!" My voice boomed as it reached all ears of Canterlot, even those still in their homes. "You are now free from the oppression of the Solar Tyrant! Your princess has fallen in battle, and now a new and glorious reign shall rise."

A few of them began shouting nothings, but most of them merely cowered. It was a trifle insulting, but I understood that it was to be expected. These fools had served under Celestia for so long. It mattered not. They would all grow to respect me given enough time.

"Hear me now, and let it forever be known!" I proclaimed, "I am Nightmare Moon, and I am the new, true ruler of Equestria! Under my reign, we shall crush our enemies and live a glorious life together! The scorching sun shall no longer blind you, and the night shall last forever!"

There were a few shouts of protest from some bravely stupid souls.

I ignored them all. There was a time and a place for all things. As a heavy rain began to pour over all of Canterlot, a consequence of magically calling forth lightning, I gazed down once again at my fallen opponent. The rain slicked my fur and caused all of the blood that had accumulated on me to run like a river. My grin would not leave my face. Everything had gone exactly as I had planned it.

I couldn't help but laugh. It started so small and humble, but soon it grew into jovial victorious laughter. Soon I was cackling almost madly, raising my head high and laughing into the night. It was a moment that I shall remember for the rest of my long life. Celestia had fallen, and I had won.

I…had won…

Comments

[ancientdragonduelist]

Damn... That was really intense. I kept expecting Tia to fall back and use her Deo Sex Machina, but it never came. She never used the Elements of Harmony to end the fight. Nightmare just kept pushing. I'm pleased that both Alicorns took damage, the fight felt very realistic, with each princess using slightly stlyes. Tia is so used to being immortal, untouchable, she wasn't ready to take the blade to the chest. She didn't know how to lose. I don't hate Celestia, but she has a few flaws I don't like.

Now Nightmare Moon has won. Her eternal night shall commence. The ponies who ignored her will have to adapt to her rule... Or perish. Celestia has been left powerless and at the edge of death. Her mistakes have destroyed her.

Are you going to continue this story? It's actually kinda cool seeing Nightmare Moon winning, though I'm glad she didn't kill Celestia outright. No regrets or love linger in Luna's shattered mind. How will she treat the ponies now? Will they freeze or starve?

[jaroslav]

Poor Celestia. Alicorns doesn't have so much energy. One spell from Chrysalis was enough to defeat Celestia. You have overpowered them too much.
You say true story but we saw true story in the begining of season 4. It's interesting that people give Celestia pink hair. She never had pink hair. Her multicolored main is her natural color.

[GigaBowser]

4996673 Oh of course! This is only the beginning

[Mad Maudlin]

Somepony needs a copy of the Evil Overlords list.

First you dismember the body, THEN you gloat.

[Carbon]

Luna Is The Best Pony? Now, i dont think so.

[Gizmo Gear]

Wow................ very dark evaluation of what happened! But I have a question: was this written before or after season 3 & 4?? Before Twilicorn princess?

[DarkChocolateMuffins]

6969899
This chapter was posted after season 4 ep 2. It has a few variations of lines from the actually episode