Strange Yet Wonderful

by Bionic Slime

Ch. 30 The Devil Was An Angel Too

Chapter 30: The Devil was an Angel Too

The ponies and lone dragon stood in collective morose horror. Time itself seemed to collapse around them and froze the world in one, gut wrenching instant.

The princess of friendship was dead.

Everyone was crying, everyone was screaming and for once in their pristine, happy little lives…everything was broken. Celestia had tried every spell, every blast of magic that was within her power but none of it worked. Nothing could bring back the spark in Twilight’s hollow eyes.

She laid there; a vacant husk of what was once the most gifted, intelligent, loving and dedicated friend these ponies and dragon had the pleasure and privilege of knowing. The horrible red stain that dripped above her body would haunt their dreams for years to come.

Each one handled the loss differently. Arrowhead held Rainbow close as she thrashed and screamed; crying even harder than when she lost Tank. Applejack stared blankly at her fallen friend’s body. Her eyes had a ghostly, empty look to them. Hopeful tried to comfort her, but he was too busy wallowing in his own tears and sorrow to reach her. Pinkie Pie banged her hooves on the ground and shook her head, screaming and crying. She didn’t care how childish she might have looked. Fluttershy tried wiping her tears with her pink mane but it didn’t work, they just kept on coming. She sniffled and sobbed uncontrollably. Spike’s broken heart could be heard in the agonizing screams he howled. He kept shaking Twilight’s body; acting as if she was sleeping and would just wake up. Rarity clutched both of them together and nuzzled her face against their bodies. Celestia couldn’t keep a brave face; she broke down and sobbed just like all the others. Daring Do looked down and placed her hat over her chest in honor of the fallen princess.

“A pointless sacrifice from a worthless excuse for a pony,” Chimera Khan spat derisively.

One by one, the ponies and dragon lifted their heads from the tragic sight and locked their eyes on the merciless pony that defiled their friend’s good name. Pinkie was the last to look towards Khan. Her eyes were red, soaked and for once in her life; completely devoid of happiness. For all the love the party pony carried in her heart, now there was only hatred and madness.

“After all,” Khan stomped forward and powered up his armor, “none of you are leaving this mountain alive.”

“GET HIM!” Pinkie shrieked deafeningly.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Spike, Celestia, Daring Do, Arrowhead, Hopeful Romantic, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy charged Chimera Khan all at once. All of their pain from their wounds vanished. They were lost in a sea of adrenaline fueled rage to avenge their fallen friend and princess. Chimera Khan was neither fearful nor concerned. Their battered states and exhausted magic made them easily deflectable targets, even with the adrenaline rush they’re experiencing now. As the multiple ponies and dragon advanced, everything was encompassed in a blinding sea of black light.

KABLAM!

A monstrous energy blast catapulted the 9 ponies and 1 dragon back; scattering them as if blown away by a hurricane. Chimera Khan defeated them all in one swift blow. They dropped to the ground one by one. All of them were drained; all of them had nothing left to give. Hope was lost and it appears Equestria would fall.

“How disappointing…but ultimately predictable,” Khan scoffed.

The metallic foe clanked his hooves loudly as he stepped over the fallen ponies littering the ground. Some were unconscious, while others were still groaning and twitching in pain. He felt a trembling tug coming from one of his hind hooves. Khan turned his head back and looked down; Fluttershy was weakly pulling on his hind leg. She looked ready to collapse at any moment, hoof struggling to hold onto him.

“Why…why did you do this…it…it didn’t have to be this way,” she sobbed.

“No, it really did,” he replied.

Fluttershy dropped to the ground and passed out. Her hoof slid off his leg as he kicked it free. Chimera Khan had wished she hadn’t seen any of this. He knew she was fully aware this was his plan all along, but he took no pleasure in seeing her like this or harming her. Once these ponies meet Twilight’s fate, he would take Fluttershy back and keep her safe from his onslaught. One day she will understand and if not, then he’ll still be comforted knowing he was able to spare one soul from this path of vengeance. Khan headed towards the next princess he would send to the grave: Princess Celestia.

Meanwhile, Moonstruck remained as deathly still as Twilight. He had not been able to move from where he stood since he heard Spike say his mother had lost her life. He didn’t hear any of his friends screams or cries; all he heard was a loud ringing sound that drowned everything and everyone out. Nothing felt real anymore. The colt felt all sense of warmth and joy fade away from his body. He didn’t even realize he had walked over to Twilight’s body and placed his hooves on her shoulders. She still had that eerie, wide eyed look in her lifeless eyes.

“No…no…no…nononononononono…this isn’t right…this isn’t supposed to be happening. This is just a dream…yeah…just a REALLY bad dream, right?” he asked frantically. Moonstruck’s eyes twitched as tears dripped down his cheeks. “N-n-n-none of this feels real. It’s not possible, it’s just not. There is no world without Twilight, it doesn’t exist it doesn’t exit. Everything’s static…everything’s falling apart…everything just…hurts, I can’t feel anything,” he babbled brokenly.

Moonstruck gently closed Twilight’s eyes. He couldn’t stand to look at her like that anymore. The unicorn then charged up all the magic he had in his horn and dumped it desperately into Twilight’s body. The healing spell had absolutely no effect on her. Moonstruck tried it again and again and kept on doing it until his horn fizzled out due to his hex mark. He was so numb from sorrow he didn’t even feel the mark’s energies sapping his magical strength.

“Come on Crackers, you can’t leave me now; you can’t leave us. You still got a billion more boring books to read through,” he whimpered. Moonstruck performed CPR on the lifeless princess. All of his efforts accomplished nothing other than jiggling her body, not one sign of life was evident. “I’ll-I’ll take you on a real date, I swear; some fancy place with dorky book lectures. Y-y-you’ll love it. I’ll tell you everything about the Horn and Wing Society; I’ll even stop calling you Crackers. Just please…PLEASE COME BACK, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME! DON’T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE AGAIN!” he screamed. Moonstruck collapsed over her body and cried.

Nothing but silence returned his sobs.

“Why, why did you do this? You have friends, family; you’re surrounded by ponies that love and need you. I’m just a lowly ex-con. You had a life, you had a future. I didn’t. It should have been me, it should have been me…and I should have told you before,” he sputtered. He graced her cold cheek with a soft kiss. “I love you,” he whispered.

As Moonstruck wept for his beloved princess, the princess of the sun was broken and defenseless before Chimera Khan. He stood before her; lording over her like the shadow from a twisted tower. His cold, unfeeling eyes leered ravenously on the fallen princess’s form. Her sorrowful state brought a malicious smile to his exposed skeletal face. Celestia continued to drown in her misery; unwilling to move or care about the inevitable fatal stroke that was about to come.

“Where does it come from…this hatred you have…how can you stand it? How can you stomach being this cruel; taking such a precious life so dismissively? She wasn’t part of us; she had nothing to do with this. This was always about me. I was the one you were always after, right from the beginning. So tell me why then, why can’t you just kill me and get it over with; why did you have to rob the world of Twilight’s brilliance…TELL ME WHY,” Celestia shrieked; tears streaking down her cheeks. She trembled frigidly with anguish.

Khan stared silently at her. He waited until her voice cracked with sorrow, watching every tear soaked wrinkle form and fray on her withered face. “There, that’s why: that look on your face, that is why,” he declared.

Celestia shook her head, clearly lost by the villain’s words.

“Ever since the dragon’s flames consumed me, I’ve dreamed of nothing else for a thousand years but to see that look upon your face; to see you broken and devastated beyond comprehension. I wanted you to feel every ounce of pain and suffering I felt when you left me to die. Yes, that’s the look all right, the look of absolute despair; unyielding and unending…that’s the face I wanted to see,” he gleamed. The snow white mare felt her throat choke and gag after hearing that. She couldn’t believe she once called this colt her friend. “Now you have my permission to die,” he said.

“Then it’s true…my friend is truly dead,” she sniffled bitterly.

“Oh poor, silly old princess; haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said?” he teased cruelly. Khan bent down to look Celestia in the eye as he powered up his horn. A black and red energy ball was rapidly forming above it. An eerie surge of colors materialized around Chimera Khan’s eyes; the colors shifted from orange to blood red, neon green with billowing purple fumes. “You’d be surprisssssssed what you could live through,” he hissed. His voice sounded most unusual, and yet, also quite familiar.

Celestia’s eyes widened in horror, she couldn’t believe it. This was impossible. There was no way she heard what she just heard, and yet, the chill running up her spine said otherwise.

“K-k-k-king Sombra…is that really you?” she gaped.

“You locked me in an eternal Hell Celestia and destroyed everything I built. At long last, I’m here to return the favor," he sneered.

Chimera Khan’s eyes and voice returned to normal as he raised his head with the fully charged power ball. Before he could unleash his finishing move, an agonizing scream howled into the night sky. Moonstruck had snapped and screamed as loudly as possible into the heavens. Khan groaned in annoyance.

“Pardon me for one moment,” he grumbled. Khan turned towards Moonstruck’s direction and launched his dark spell at the mourning unicorn. The spell detonated on impact. A colossal fireball engulfed Moonstruck and Twilight’s body; seemingly vaporizing them into nothingness. Khan returned his attention towards Celestia, acting as if nothing had happened. “Now then, where were we?”

---

Moonstruck floated in the abyss, nothing but darkness around him far as the eye could see. There was no light, no sound, no ponies or dragons or clouds or anything; just darkness.

Was he dead? Was he dreaming? Is he lost in some weird new world or dimension?

He didn’t know. There was only one thing Moonstruck knew for sure: he was alone, always alone. In life or death, Moonstruck always ended up alone.

“I guess…this is it for me…this is the end. Could be worse I guess. I’m not in any pain, won’t really need my magic here. If this is the land of the dead or whatever, then I should see Twilight around here; somewhere. I hope so at least. Sucks how everything turned out, but at least’s it’s over and done with now,” Moonstruck muttered.

Over? Done with? My friend, you have barely just begun…

The colt’s eyes bulged in fear. That voice he just heard, it sounded so sinister and demonic. Weirdly enough, that voice almost sounded like…his voice, actually.

“H-h-h-hey, what’s going on? Who said that?”

Are you really that confused? Have you forgotten all we’ve been through already? I suppose that sun princess really did a number on you, didn’t she?

“Got the point: creepy weird voice talking crap in my head, you can stop now!”

I’m no mere voice, friend. Don’t compare me to that immature inner voice you use to pretend you’re crazy. You and I both know I’m the real deal.

“Whatever. I’m choking down some prescription grade depression here, so can you skip to telling me about whatever it is you want so you can get the Hell out of here?!?”

This isn’t about what I want Moonstruck, this is about what you want. Don’t need to be a voice in your head to figure out what’s cranking your shaft at the moment.

“What the freaking frack are you talking about?”

Vengeance! You want your hoof to be stained with the blood and metal of the monster that took away the pony you love. I can help you get that Moonstruck; I can give you the power you need to put an end to his wretched existence and avenge your beloved.

“Yeah right…next you’re going to sell me a bridge.”

If you’re so certain I’m lying, then come down and say it to my face.

“What do you mean come down, what are you talking about? I don’t even know what that means.”

Just take a look down below and all will be revealed.

Reluctantly, the purple stallion decided to swim through the empty void down below. He didn’t really want to but as there was nothing else around him and nothing else to do; he figured it was better than just floating there aimlessly. He dipped down; sinking further and further until something finally came into view. Moonstruck hovered apprehensively. His eyes widened in alarm.

“How long has that been here?”

Hovering in the infinite void was a brass coffin. It was sealed by multiple iron chains, emanating from Celestia knows where. They came from nothingness and stretched on for what looked like forever. On top of the coffin was a series of claw marks and scratches, together; they formed a message. The gnarled design of the letters made it appear like a deranged beast had carved them in with razor sharp claws. Each letter was colored in a sickening shade of blood red. The message read: you don’t want to know. The most disturbing aspect of this mysterious floating coffin came from the fact that something was moving inside of it. The lid was thumping; faintly and in no discernable pattern but it was still thumping. Seeing that coffin lid bounce up and down made his fur stand on end.

“I don’t understand. What is all this, what is that thing even supposed to be, am I supposed to know…who the Hell are you anyway?!?”

Well in a way I’m you and in a way I’m not you, it’s rather complicated you see. Let’s just simplify things: think of me as your one way ticket out of this dump.

“Get out of here? Be serious! I’ve already looked all over this void, there’s literally nothing here. There’s no way out, nothing but me and this freaky ass death box.”

I am the ONLY way out! I can send you back to where you came from; return you to your friends and fallen princess. I can even give you the power to make Khan pay for what he’s done…the power to set things right. Everything you need is right before your very eyes, and all have you to do to get it is say…yes.

“Yes? Yes to what?”

To return things back to the way they were, the way they were always meant to be. I don’t expect you to understand. The only thing you need to know is that if you want to make that monster pay for what he’s done, you need to agree to set me free. I need to be in the driver seat if you want to hitch a ride on out of here.

Moonstruck bit his lip anxiously. He felt his mind being devoured by hundreds of questions. Every part of him told him this was a terrible idea, but what if this truly was his only chance to go back? Twilight may be gone but Spike, the others and Celestia are still fighting that murderer. Even if it means he loses his very soul, isn’t it worth it as long as he can spare the lives of the ponies Twilight loved, that he himself has grown to love and care for as well?

Tick tock, tick tock my friend. The longer you wait, the closer those precious pony friends of yours are to death. So…what’s it gonna be? I need to hear you say it. I need to hear you say that magical 3 lettered word just one time, one time and then all your problems will be solved.

Moonstruck took a deep breath, swallowed hard and finally delivered his answer.

“…Yes.”

SNAP! SNAP!

The chains snapped free from the coffin, they thrashed wildly in the empty space. The coffin lid sprang open almost immediately. An eruption of pure dark energy gushed from the coffin; it spread like smoke across the landscape. Moonstruck closed his eyes as it consumed him.

---

FASCHOOM!

The eclipsing wall of destructive energy from Chimera Khan’s attack started to recede. Energy, fire and smoke started swirling around Moontruck’s form. The blast meant to kill the unicorn was somehow invigorating him. The power circling him was growing, expanding; transforming into something monstrously different.

“What the…?” mused Khan. He was too distracted by this sudden change of events to continue carrying out Celestia’s execution. She too was mesmerized by the phenomenon.

All of the ponies as well as Spike had stirred back to consciousness. Their eyes collectively veered towards the miraculous sight captivating Chimera Khan and Princess Celestia’s attention.

There, standing in the flowing wave of dark mystical energy was Moonstruck. He was standing on his hind legs; fully restored to maximum power with all cuts and bruises completely healed. His fore hooves were clutched into vice like fists. His green hair flowed with the rise of the energy, spiking up even. It was his eyes though that hypnotized everyone most of all. They had completely vanished. Moonstruck had no visible eyes whatsoever; all that remained was a hauntingly neon yellow glow. They looked even more disturbing than Chimera Khan’s rotting skull face

"What have you done lowest of the low? You so beneath my contempt you have not even a name. You dare hurt my princess, YOU DARE HURT WHATS MINE?!?" Moonstruck roared. His voice was twisted and monstrous. It was a voice that sounded as if it had come from the deepest pit within the blackest of nightmares.

Powerful energy surged from his body. The dark magic engulfed Moonstruck, and unknown to all, Twilight’s body as well. No one even noticed the blood on the walls had receded back into Twilight, not even Moonstruck. His teeth sprouted two elongated fangs, ears became frayed and more bat-like and even his horn became more twisted and jagged. The colt’s cutie mark became more demonic looking. The moon had vanished and morphed completely into the skull, which now had glowing red eyes. A burst of light sparked from his back. Energy particles resembling shards of glass floated into the air before dissipating. Two large bat wings emerged on Moonstruck’s back, eliciting gasps of shock from everyone; even Chimera Khan.

“No…it’s as I feared…Night Terror has returned,” Celestia gaped. The princess looked to the others. “Every pony needs to move and hide somewhere safe, NOW!” she commanded. The level of fear in her voice and eyes had never been witnessed before. Spike and the ponies nodded and quickly hid behind the nearest boulder or rock formation; despite their injuries. Celestia did the same with Khan distracted.

“What the devil? Is this some kind of illusion spell or something?” Khan grumped.

Moonstruck examined his body; as if looking at it for the first time in his life. He flexed his legs, swished his tail and flapped his wings. He had a macabre smile on his face.

The bat pony vanished and within the blink of an eye, reappeared in front of Khan. He jolted back a little. Khan had never seen anyone move that fast before. The exposed skull side of his face raised his bony teeth in a snarl.

“So then…what exactly are you supposed to be?” he dryly asked.

“Me? Oh I’m just doing a little stretching after a looooong nap, you can call me Night Terror by the way,” the bat pony replied eagerly. His voice was noticeably darker than Moonstruck’s.

“Night Terror eh, how quaint,” he scoffed mockingly, “and I take it that little light show was meant to frighten me, yes?”

“Oh no, no, no, no, I’m not here to scare you,” he said dismissively. Night Terror leaned in close; uncomfortably close. Khan backed up a bit more. Night Terror’s eyes glowed brightly as his maniacal smile widened. “I’m here to kill you,” he cackled.

“If you think I’m going to be intimidated by the likes of-”

FLASH!

WHAM!

Night Terror vanished once more. He reappeared above Khan’s left side and smashed his leg across Khan’s face; crashing him painfully into the ground. Night Terror hovered ominously in the air. He laughed at the armored pony’s pitiful state. Khan slowly wobbled back onto his hooves, bits of dirt and rocks dribbling from his skull face.

“He…he s-s-s-shouldn’t be able to do that,” he muttered disbelievingly.

“Do what? Oh you mean THIS?!?”

BAM!

Night Terror appeared suddenly and smashed a devastating right hook into Khan’s side. The bat pony disappeared and reappeared multiple times, bashing Khan all over the place like a pinball. Chimera Khan couldn’t counter or stop the assault no matter how hard he tried. Night Terror drove Khan into the ground with a pile driver; then launched himself into the air.

“Oh come on old man, you’re embarrassing yourself. I thought you’d at least make me work up a sweat. I’ve had warts that were tougher than you,” Night Terror guffawed.

Chimera Khan unveiled his Phoenix wings. He soared towards Night Terror and swung his spiked club tail towards him, the bat pony dodged it with ease. A monstrous storm cloud miraculously appeared directly above Night Terror’s sparkling horn. It was very similar to the storm Moonstruck summoned at the Castle of the Two sisters when Twilight and her friends were there, only much larger. He swung his head down towards Khan’s direction, at the same time, a colossal bolt of lightning thundered down and struck Khan on his rear end. He cried out in pain as smoke sizzled from his now-melted spike club tail. Night Terror struck Khan with another lightning bolt, and another and another and another. Each hit dented Khan’s armor and forced him down harder and faster.

“Kind of hard to absorb energy when you can’t tell where it’s coming from, huh gramps?” the bat pony snickered.

“You really think a little bit of foul weather can harm me?” Khan countered.

“Only one way to find out,” Night Terror shouted.

Crackling thunder echoed from the sky consuming cloud. Rain proceeded to downpour onto Night Terror and Chimera Khan. Smoke sizzled from Khan’s fiery wings; the rain was dampening Khan’s means of flight. His wings struggled to maintain shape and stability in the rain’s soaking onslaught. Night Terror raised his hooves up as if he was conducting an orchestra. He smiled gleefully and thrusted his hooves down, dozens of lightning bolts came streaking down towards the weakened Khan. They struck him dead on, each one hitting every part of his armor except the chest plate. Chimera Khan crashed to the ground like a crippled air craft. His armor carved out a runaway like strip in the ground before ultimately stopping. Night Terror clapped his hooves together and made the storm disappear. He teleported down to the ground; standing triumphantly above the fallen Khan.

“Sorry, does it hurt? It looks like it does,” Night Terror teased.

Chimera Khan was furious. He didn’t care how powerful Night Terror was or how he was able to move so quickly, the only thing that mattered was tearing him apart and finishing what he started.

“I. WILL. NOT. BE. DENIED!” Khan bellowed. His eyes burned brightly with Sombra’s demonic influence. The metallic pony steadied himself back onto his hooves.

“Ooooooh….I see…you got a little demon in you, eh? Well that’s perfect, because I’ve got a LOT of demon in me. How about we find out who’s is worse?” Night Terror snickered. He vanished and reappeared hovering in the sky; positioned directly above Khan.

Night Terror and Chimera Khan flashed their horns to vibrant life. Billowing winds stirred around them as their energies grew stronger, larger and disastrously darker. The bat pony flauntingly flapped his wings; looming over like a vulture. They were preparing to launch their final attacks. This last move would decide the fate of Equestria and all pony life as they knew it.

“I’ve heard whispers about your fear spell. Even in its powered up state, your magic is useless against me. I’ve come prepared to conquer my fears…and you as well,” Khan said. His eyes sparkled with the faint green glow from Bubbling Cauldron’s spell.

“Then I’ll just have to teach you to fear me,” Night Terror replied. He ran his tongue sickeningly across his lips, flickering gleaming shimmers from his fangs.

ZAP! ZAP!

The colts fired their super charged spells simultaneously. One rose to the sky while one descended down below. The energy crackled like thunder upon collision, discharging massive amounts of raw magic like spritzing water. Night Terror’s beam was ruby red but had a black and blue sheen crisscrossing around it. Chimera Khan’s attack was black as night with a touch of jade green scorching over the beam’s surface like blood vessels. The colts had reached an impasse. Neither beam proved powerful enough to overthrow the other. The princess, her pony subjects and her dragon friend watched in awe at the spectacle unfolding before their very eyes. They knew if Night Terror could overpower Khan it would all be over. From this position, Khan could not absorb Night Terror’s attack and would be wiped out of existence for certain.

The bat pony spread his wings out and became engulfed in a thunderous, blood red energy surge. Night’s beam expanded enormously; instantly overpowering Khan’s and rocketing down towards him like a falling star. Khan’s eyes sparkled briefly. Specks of lime green crystal-like particles fluttered from his eyes; Cauldron’s fear inhibitor spell had been broken.

Night Terror’s beam took on the form of a monstrous dragon. The energy dragon soared towards Khan with black and blue luminous fangs. Khan screamed the last scream he would ever scream as the dragon collided with him and exploded on impact. Chimera Khan was completely consumed by the explosive energy.

“NOOO, PLEASE,” Fluttershy pleaded. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she watched Khan die.

“SAYONARA! HA, HA, HA,” Night Terror cackled maniacally.

Brief flashes of Khan writhing in agony appeared in the crushing force of the destructive wave, like mirages in the desert. King Sombra’s ghostly essence oozed out of the cursed horn. He screamed an echoing howl that sounded like distorted radio static. Bit by bit, his black smoky face, green eyes and snarling fangs vanished until Sombra was no more.

KABOOM!

A volcanic explosion erupted, temporarily blinding all of the observers. Fluttershy and Celestia placed their wings over their eyes to shield the glare. The sound of clanking metal followed next. Chimera Khan’s armor dropped to the ground in numerous pieces; completely disassembled and without an owner. There was no sign of Khan; no fur, no blood, no parts; not even a bone fragment. Chimera Khan was no more.

Fluttershy sobbed miserably into her wing. Celestia approached the young Pegasus; she nuzzled her comfortingly. Rainbow, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie, Applejack, Hopeful, Arrowhead and Daring Do curiously observed the fallen suit of armor. With some assistance from Arrowhead, Rainbow cautiously poked the hunk of metal with a hind leg; checking to see if Khan truly was dead.

“I don’t think there’s anything left to check,” Daring Do said grimly.

“It’s weird, there’s literally nothing left of him. No bones, no burnt scraps of fur, not even ashes. It’s like he was completely erased or something,” Arrowhead surmised. He eyed the armor closely while still keeping Rainbow close to him.

“I guess he’s really…dead then…isn’t he? I guess that means we won, right?” Rainbow asked uneasily.

“There were no winners today my little ponies,” Celestia said wearingly. A single tear splashed down on the cold slabs of metal. “Khan…Twilight…they’re both gone,” she sobbed.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa; reschedule that pity party princess. Things are just getting interesting,” Night Terror beamed darkly. He fluttered down toward the others. A sea of mixed and confused faces greeted the dark pony’s approach. “Hello Sun Drop…did you miss me?” he asked. The sight of his twisted smile made Celestia’s stomach turn.

“Princess, what’s going on? Why’s he talking to you like that? I mean, I know he looks all crazy and sounds kind of weird but that’s still Moonstruck…isn’t it?” Spike curiously inquired.

Night Terror vanished into a puff of black smoke. Rarity let loose a girly shriek, causing everyone to turn around and look. Night Terror had reappeared behind them, Spike and the ponies gasped and jumped back in fear.

“Couldn’t be further from the truth; dragon breath! I am NOTHING like that screw loose loser, Moonsuck. That metal freak was a good appetizer, but I’m really chomping at the bit to get to the main course. So who wants to be first?” he said testily.

Everyone looked to each other in confusion. None had a clue what he was talking about.

“How about you scales? Always wanted to thrash a dragon’s tail! Or how about you, Curls? I bet even your bruises are fashion savvy,” he snickered. Rarity and Spike held each other closely; mortified by the unsettling way he was licking his lips at them. Night Terror continued to point to each pony and challenge them. “Maybe Skittles and Scarface want a go at it? No? Well there’s always Blondie and Mummy man over there. Ya’ll want a piece of me, huh?!? Hell, I’ll even take Powder Puff and the Weeping Willow on,” he said; motioning to Pinkie and Fluttershy. “And let’s not forget Indiana Broken Bones in the explorer’s cap. She may be burnt but I bet she’s got plenty of fire left in her,” he laughed.

Celestia huffed defiantly and spread her wings. She magically shoved Night Terror back; his hooves skid intractably along the ground. “That’s enough from the likes of you! They are my subjects and my friends, and you will keep your distance or so help me I will-”

“SHOVE IT MISS SUNSHINE! I’m not going back to that spineless coward’s cuckoo clock, so you better get used to me running the show or else you’ll be the first punching bag I tear into. I’m back by popular demand; larger than life and twice as rotten! Night Terror is here to stay,” he boldly declared.

Spike and the ponies readied themselves into a fighting stance. They knew they were in no shape for another battle, but this dark side of Moonstruck was leaving them little choice. Princess Celestia was in front; defending them with her outspread wings and flickering magic. Night Terror flared his own wings up. A chamber of blackish purple energy burst from the ground and surrounded Night Terror; rising and cycling around him. The other ponies raised their hooves in a vain attempt to block the violent force of the energy’s rising wind.

“Come on I’ll take you all on! Battle royal, no limits; hit me with everything you’ve got. Either way, I’ll still tear each and every last one of you apart,” he roared demonically. Celestia stepped back from the waves.

“I…I don’t think I can stop him this time,” Celestia thought to herself.

As Night Terror loomed menacingly over the wounded ponies and dragon, something strange was felt wrapping around his waist. He bared his fangs and jerked his head back to see who would be foolish enough to grab him from behind.

It was Twilight Sparkle.

Her arms wrapped lovingly around his waist. She looked up to him, violet eyes twinkling with starlit teardrops. Twilight kept on staring at Night Terror; never looking away or showing any hesitation. She was alive, it wasn’t possible but she was alive none the less. Night Terror could see it when he looked into her eyes and he could feel it in the familiar tingles from her hugging him. Spike and ponies were left speechless.

“Crackers…is that you?” a familiar voice faintly whispered.

Twilight smiled warmly. She wiped her tears away with one of her wings and softly nodded in reply.

Night Terror’s eyes slowly started to change color. They changed from neon yellow to a softer, comforting shade of polished silver. The energy vanished and his body dropped like a sack of potatoes into Twilight’s embrace.

Everything after that went dark.

---

The suffocating darkness in Moonstruck’s mind was suddenly eradicated by a light; a powerful, blinding; inescapably pure white light. Moonstruck found himself back inside the black void, floating around in space. This time however, he found he was not alone.

There was another “him” floating in here.

The pony looked like a photo negative version of Moonstruck. His fur was ash black, hair was ghostly white and his eyes were neon yellow. The dark doppelganger looked agitated. He growled aggressively towards Moonstruck, his fangs bared in an intimidating snarl. It was the physical embodiment of Night Terror.

“Just what in the world do you think you’re doing? We had a deal!”

“The only reason I said yes to you was because she wasn’t there, but now she’s back. I don’t know how and frankly, I don’t care. Fact is she’s here and I don’t need you anymore for anything.”

“You think I give a crap?!? I’m the most powerful part of you, the only part of you that has kept you alive for all these years while you’ve been alone. You really think you can just take me out of your toy box, play with me, and then discard me when you’re done?”

“You’re not a toy you’re a stain on my soul, and while I can’t purge you from my body; I can at least put you back where you belong.”

SHINK!

Chains sprang from inside the dark coffin like rattlesnakes. The chains clamped across Night Terror’s left hoof, another clamped onto his right hoof. Two more stretched out and latched onto Night’s hind legs. He struggled fiercely against those accursed chains; loathing the feeling of their cold metal against his body. The chains proceeded to slowly drag Night Terror into the open coffin. Moonstruck stared flatly at his darker half’s attempts to escape.

“I knew letting you out was a mistake. I only hope one day Twilight and the others can forgive me for what the monster inside of me did, even if it was the only way.”

“HA! A murderer shifting blame on a monster, that’s a laugh! Bet mommy and daddy would think real differently about that. Too bad we’ll never know. Why’s that again? Oh yeah…YOU killed them, them and every member of the Horn and Wing Society. And you say I’M a monster…”

“That-that wasn’t my fault! I was just a kid; I didn’t know what was going on or what I was doing. I didn’t kill anyone; it was all just a freak accident. That’s not part of who I am.”

“I’m betting your precious princess won’t see it the same way once she knows all the gory details, then she’ll know how much of a freak you really are. I mean come on; who do you think you’re kidding? I know you better than you know yourself. Are you really going to stand there and tell me you believe you’re truly innocent?”

His dark half had him there. Moonstruck knew he was not guiltless; the truth was weighing down on his aching heart. The thought of Twilight or her friends knowing the truth about him or what he has done made him feel like crawling into a dark corner and crying himself to sleep.

“No…you’re absolutely right…I don’t believe that,” he confessed. Moonstruck hung his head in miserable shame. The conflict on the colt’s face brought a ghoulish smile to Night Terror; even as he was being dragged. “But I’ll tell you what I do believe in,” Moonstruck slowly raised his head, “I believe in her…and I believe as long as I am with her, I will always be loved and that is the most beautiful thing a freak like me could ask for in this or any other life.”

Another chain lassoed Night Terror, this time it was around his throat and was dragging him down at an accelerated rate. The dark pony thrashed, kicked, screamed; even bit the chains, anything to break free. The coffin door lay open, waiting to seal him up in eternal darkness once more. Night Terror was slammed into the coffin. The chains circled the casket several times. Night Terror glared hatefully at Moonstruck as the coffin door slowly closed shut. Before the colt disappeared from his view entirely, Night Terror let loose a cackling laugh and hollered up to Moonstruck.

“Go ahead; enjoy your pathetic little fairy tale life. I’ll be back, even if it takes over a hundred years; I WILL be back. And when I take control again, I’m going to personally slaughter each and every one of your new friends…starting with her. I’ll kill her slowly, meticulously and I’ll make you watch every sadistic second of it. And just before the light goes out in her eyes, when she’s still clinging to the naïve hope she can break through to you…I’ll look into her eyes and laugh. She’ll die knowing what you’ve feared all along…that you killed her.”

Moonstruck stared down at Night Terror unflinchingly. The coffin door closed for good, sealing that leering yellow eye and the monster that it belonged to away forever…he hoped.

“Be seeing you…killer,” Night Terror chuckled.

---

Moonstruck’s eyes flashed open.

The purple colt was immediately confused. He expected to be resting comfortably in a hospital bed, surrounded by IV units, beeping machines and a fetching nurse who looked irritated after a few patients got grabby with her. But instead, he found himself resting comfortably in what looked like Twilight’s bed; in the Golden Oak library…with a very familiar purple mare with frazzled tri colored hair snoozing protectively across his lap.

Twilight, she’s still alive; it wasn’t a dream after all. No greater joy could fill his heart at that moment. He smiled in what felt like the first time in decades at the adorkable sleeping beauty before him. But that smile faded. There were so many questions buzzing in his head: What happened? Where is everyone? Why is he here and not in the hospital? What happened to Chimera Khan and how much time had passed?

Moonstruck tried to move to see if he could spot a calendar or something, but he didn’t want to move too much and stir the princess snuggling him. He grunted as he felt something odd along his shoulders. He nearly gasped aloud in shock to find two bat wings jutting from his back, they twitched on reflex.

“Wait, they’re still here? I thought these would’ve disappeared when-”

“Wha….muh….Moonstruck…are you…awake?” Twilight asked groggily.

She awoke; fur matted on one side of her face, a small trail of drool hanging from her lips. Even in her disheveled state, she was beautiful to him. Twilight shook herself awake and adjusted her eyes. She looked so happy she could cry.

“Oh thank Celestia, you finally came back,” she gushed. Twilight wrapped her hooves around him and hugged him. He blinked in slight shock but quickly relaxed upon feeling her warm, angelic touch once again. “It feels so good to hear your voice again…I was worried I was never going to…well…you know,” she said with a sniffle.

“This is real…this is really real,” he took in a deep breath; sighing contently at her familiar scent of lavender. “I missed that nice smell of yours, Crackers. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it,” he murmured peacefully.

“Sigh…would you please stop calling me Crackers? Isn’t there anything else you can call me?” Twilight asked; separating from the hug.

“I could call you Princess-Cuckoo-Nutter-Puffy-pants?” he replied.

“Oh come on, there’s no way you would actually-”

Twilight’s protest faltered as she looked into his eyes. He raised an eyebrow, flaunting a very annoying yet handsome look that read: “oh yes I would.” Twilight sighed in defeat.

“Crackers it is then,” she grumbled playfully.

She puffed her cheeks, inadvertently looking like a purple pufferfish and making Moonstruck laugh. Her cheeks flashed hot pink. He nudged her shoulder playfully; trying to get her to lighten up.

“Don’t be like that. Just admit it, you like it when I call you that,” he teased.

“Of course I don’t….well…okay…maybe a little,” she bit her lip as her cheeks grew even warmer, “maybe a lot; but only you can call me that. No pony else is allowed to,” she huffed.

“Fair enough,” he laughed and nodded in agreement.

“And in turn, I get to call you Marshmallow,” she brightly beamed.

“Marshmallow?”

“Yes, I think it suits you. It is your favorite word and food after all. It’s just a little something that makes you…mine,” Twilight said; batting her eyelashes adorably at him.

Now it was Moonstruck who was turning red.

He twitched his wings; still getting used to them. Moonstruck almost couldn’t remember what it felt like to have them. It was a strange déjà vu like feeling.

“So…this is a thing now,” he motioned to his wings, “kind of expected these to be gone when I woke up.” Twilight looked down for a moment. She seemed to be avoiding his gaze. “Without Night Terror, my powers are nowhere near his level but I can tell I still got one major upgrade. The wings are a permanent fixture it seems, at least, until they get sealed back up again,” Moonstruck sighed.

“Moonstruck, a lot’s happened since you were unconscious. There are some things I need to go over with you, and I’m sure you already have a million questions,” Twilight said.

“For starters, how long was I out?”

“It’s been 4 days since the battle with Chimera Khan. Everyone is at Ponyville General recovering from their extensive injuries. We originally had you there too, but the doctors said you didn’t have a single scratch on you; you were perfectly fine aside from being out cold. I asked if I could take you home until you woke up. They didn’t mind since they needed the bed space anyway, there were a lot of patients due to the attack on Ponyville,” she calmly explained.

Moonstruck took a few moments to process everything. He looked over his body, trying to see any scars or scrapes but was unsuccessful. He was surprised. The confused colt was certain he’d have some kind of bruise or mark during that battle.

“And what about you, how are you up and walking around bandage free? Everyone said you were dead,” he inquired.

“To be honest…I don’t know. Everything went blank after I hit that wall, but then I started feeling something, something that felt like Alicorn magic but…different. It’s like something seeped into my body and un-did whatever was done. Even Princess Celestia couldn’t explain it…she said it was a miracle,” she babbled.

“Nothing that came out of me was a miracle. I was a monster, ruthless and cold blooded. If you hadn’t stopped me…I…I don’t even want to think about what I could have done to your friends,” he wept shamefully.

Twilight brushed her hoof tenderly across his cheek. She looked him straight on, not giving him a chance to look away. “Hey, that wasn’t you, that was something else. You didn’t do anything, do you understand?” Twilight said firmly.

“Except get you killed…”

“I knew what I was doing Moonstruck. You risked your life to save mine. What you did was reckless and it scared me half to death….but it was also the bravest thing I have ever seen. I don’t regret what I did, not one little bit. I’d do all it again if given the chance,” she implored.

“How can you say that after you know the truth now? How can you be so kind to me knowing that monster still lives inside me?” he pleaded.

“Moonstruck, I never saw any-”

“But Celestia told you all about my other half…didn’t she?” he interjected.

She slowly nodded.

“That thing was put into me by the Horn and Wing society. He…It came out when Celestia confronted me in Whinny City about the stolen chest plate. She knew I had to have been from the society once I transformed in front of her. You see, my parents brought me to them in order to use their black magic to cure my fatal illness. The society had the power to cure me…but not without a price: a demonic force would take over my body and the pony that I am would cease to exist. Even though something went wrong with the spell, even though everyone died…including…” he paused to catch his shallow breath, “that evil thing is still inside me…sleeping…waiting to come out.”

Twilight climbed onto the bed and wrapped her wings and hooves around him in warm and loving embrace. Moonstruck panicked for a moment and lightly shoved Twilight off of him. Her eyes wilted, clearly hurt by being pushed aside.

“No…don’t you see? That monster can’t be removed; it’s a part of me forever. You-you have to get away from me. I have to leave Ponyville or-or he might return and hurt you and Spike and everyone else! I can’t let that happen. I’ve got to leave, like yesterday. It’s the only way, aside from, you know; having Celestia use the sealing spell again,” he rambled anxiously.

“Actually, Celestia asked me if I wanted her to put the sealing spell back on you while you were sleeping. She said your fate has always been in my hooves…so…I told her no,” Twilight said intensely.

“W-w-what? Why? Why did you tell her that?!? What possible reason could you have given her to convince her to go through with such a totally insane idea?” he blurted out.

It was at that moment that Twilight leaned in, closed her eyes and silenced his lips with her own. Twilight kissed him. Moonstruck was caught off guard for a second but melted into the kiss immediately after. For that brief moment, all the world was bliss; a heavenly dance that swayed their hearts to the rhythm of their souls. Twilight separated the kiss. She wanted to taste and touch those lips forever, but she knew there was still so much discuss with those lips. Both ponies were blushing furiously at the passionate taste still tingling on their tongues.

“I told her I trust you with my life,” she said breathlessly. Twilight placed her hooves against each side of his face, crooning at the warmth still burning in those adorable cheeks of his. “I told her that I love you…Moonstruck, I love you and I don’t want you going anywhere without me ever again. I want you to live here with me and Spike. I want to spend days just talking to you, eating with you and living in this home filled with love; our love together, Marshmallow,” she cooed passionately.

Moonstruck’s tail instinctively curled with Twilight’s under the sheets. He felt a twinge of coolness as Twilight lowered her hooves from his face. He smiled weakly, so overwhelmed with love and confusion twinkling in his chrome eyes.

“When I’m with you, those two years in Tartarus just vanish from my mind. Being with you is like the sun on my face when I escaped. I…I loved you from the moment I first saw you. I tried to stop, I tried to distance myself and tell myself it would never work and that for the sake of your safety; it never should. But I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t stop loving you and now that you’ve told me I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop. I love you, I love Spike; I love everything about you. Life is worth living because you are in it. And as scared as I am of putting you at risk by being with you, the thought of not waking up to see your dorky, beautiful face every morning scares me a million times more,” he swooned.

The pair of lovers locked lips once more. Their hooves wrapped across each other’s bodies, moaning as they deepened the kiss and intensified their touches. The weight of the world vanishing from their shoulders and minds, only blissful serenity and happiness existed now. He didn’t care she was royalty, she didn’t care he was a former convict; they only cared about this moment of pure, never ending love.

WHAM!

“Twilight, I was hoping you could give me a status update on Moonstruck’s condition. There’s something very important I have to-”

Princess Celestia’s words trailed off. Her sudden intrusion caught the purple ponies off guard. Both Twilight and Moonstruck froze like Fluttershy on stage. Intense heat warmed both their cheeks; their unblinking eyes staring awkwardly at the encroaching princess of the sun. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“Oh…I see…I guess he’s feeling better then,” Celestia laughed nervously.

“Um yeah…yeah doing uh…real good real good,” he replied.

Twilight suddenly noticed the condition their fur was in: ruffled, messy and their manes looked like they hadn’t been combed in days. She frantically tried to straighten everything out. Moonstruck didn’t bother; he knew it was already too late to look presentable at this point. Twilight wanted to hide under her sheets and never ever leave her house again.

Celestia slowly tip toed out of the library, that strained; nervous smile never leaving her lips. “I’ll just…just uh…g-g-give you a few minutes, okay? Great, yeah let’s just…do that,” she squeaked; closing the door behind her with her wing. Twilight sighed miserably. The door cracked back open again; Celestia poked her head in. “By the way Twilight, I just wanted to say nice job! Definitely hang onto this one, he’s a keeper,” she beamed cheerfully. The smiling mare winked before exiting and closing the door.

Twilight had the same look on her face when she realized she had freaked herself out over nothing with that time travel spell. She stared vacantly at the door, still beat red in the face. The stunned mare didn’t know what was more embarrassing: getting caught by her mentor making out, or being congratulated for making out by her mentor.

“That was the most embarrassing moment of my life,” Twilight said stiffly.

“Yeaaaaah,” he said sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his head idly. “But on the plus side, Celestia thinks I’m a keeper. That’s pretty cool!” Moonstruck said perkily. The broad, confident smile on his face only made Twilight feel worse.

She looked at him directly. Her face had the deadest, flattest look he had ever seen. He knew exactly what she was saying with that look. No words were needed.

“Um…yeah…I’ll-I’ll shut up now,” he squeaked.

Twilight groaned aloud and collapsed face first into a pillow. Her wings and ears wilted like flower petals. Moonstruck looked around anxiously. He didn’t want to say anything to make things worse so he just patted her with a “there, there” motion.

10 awkward minutes later…

Moonstruck and Twilight called Princess Celestia back into the library. Much to Twilight’s chagrin, Celestia had this bubbly smirk on her face. She knew she’d react this way about Moonstruck and her.

“Again, sorry for the intrusion Twilight, Moonstruck, I trust you had enough time to be…presentable?” she asked; stifling a giggle.

“Princess…please…don’t make this a thing,” Twilight grimaced.

“Oh don’t be like that, Twilight. This is wonderful news. I was rooting for you two the whole time. Heh, Discord is going to owe me big for this one,” Celestia snickered.

“Owe you? What do you…NO…oh princess…PLEASE don’t tell me,” Twilight slapped her face in annoyance. Moonstruck shrugged in confusion. “You actually BET money on me and Moonstruck?!?” she exclaimed.

“No, no of course not; betting with bits is far too common. What I won is far juicier than that,” the mare said deviously.

“Juicier? From Discord? Oh I gotta hear this one,” Moonstruck said eagerly. Twilight growled at her boyfriend and glared violet daggers at him until he dropped it. He rolled his eyes and sighed. “The princess of wet blankets everyone, bask in her boringness,” he audibly griped.

“Can we just get to the reason you came to see us, please? The suspense is killing me…not to mention the current conversation topic,” she grumbled bitterly.

The sun princess shook off that cocky smile of hers and put on a more serious face. “Right, right, sorry about that. Getting back on point,” she nodded fervently, “I have new developments regarding Chimera Khan’s operations.” Moonstruck and Twilight offered Celestia a pillow before sitting down themselves. “Thanks to Fluttershy’s debriefing, we learned the location of Khan’s cave and confiscated all of his research books and materials. We also encountered a female unicorn subordinate he left behind during the attack,” she explained.

“Did she tell you anything useful?” Twilight inquired.

FLASHBACK

The royal guard accompanied Princess Celestia into the cave. Multiple horns lit the path as they walked deeper inside; all eyes and ears were alert for any traps or nasty surprises left behind by Khan or his minions. The guard flinched upon hearing a rock being tripped.

Celestia raised a wing; motioning for her guards to hold position.

Out of the shadows came Bubbling Cauldron. Her wispy white mane was frazzled and her witch hat was lopsided. A bright green spark emanated from her horn. She chuckled sinisterly as she approached the group, all but Celestia tensed up.

“Welcome to the dark side my pretties. You may have defeated Chimera Khan, but you’ve sealed your fate by coming here. Now you face the wrath of me: the grand and supreme Bubbling Cauldron! Take special note of your surroundings…for they shall be your grave MWAHAHAHAHA,” she bellowed.

Cauldron charged head on. Her horn continued to charge stronger and stronger, powering up her deadliest spell to unleash upon the princess and her men. Cauldron’s laugh grew more deranged as she came closer to the princess.

Celestia stared flatly at the lime colored mare. She looked to the ceiling, fired a single blast and watched a small chunk of the stone come crashing down on Cauldron’s head.

BONK!

The rock flattened Cauldron’s hat and hair. She stopped dead in her tracks, tweeting Fluttershy’s haloed above her spinning eyes.

“Ugh…falling rocks from the ceiling…my one weakness,” she moaned. Cauldron dropped like a fainting goat. Her legs fidgeted uselessly. She looked wearily towards the princess. “Well played princess,” she said before passing out. Cauldron’s tongue flopped obscenely out of the side her mouth.

Princess Celestia sighed in annoyance.

END FLASHBACK

“Wow…that sounded…a lot lamer than I thought it’d be,” Moonstruck commented.

“Yes, yes it was,” Celestia dryly remarked.

“So besides that, was there anything else you were able to find out?” Twilight asked.

“Not yet I’m afraid. Cauldron didn’t provide any useful information no matter how hard we pressured her. She just kept babbling on about her cousin and demanding egg rolls and pretzels,” she rolled her eyes as she paused, “very strange. Khan’s armor is currently being processed and examined by our top researchers back in Canterlot. Once we’ve successfully separated them, we shall return all artifacts to their rightful owners. In the meantime however, I believe it’s time I finally revealed to you both everything I know about the Horn and Wing Society,” Celestia stated.

Twilight and Moonstruck looked awe struck at each other. After countless hours of research and investigation, they were finally getting the answers they had been seeking. The ponies eagerly leaned in close.

Celestia calmly took a long breath before beginning. She dreaded the fact she had to bring up this tragic tale after all these years; she hoped it would have remained forgotten. “The Horn and Wing Society was an ancient order dedicated to bringing about the end of my reign. It all began over a thousand years ago, when I had to banish my sister to her lunar prison. Before that day, our ruling was never questioned or mistrusted by our people. Ponies looked up to the Two Sisters and put their faith in us as well respected rulers.

“However, after Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon everything changed. Small factions of ponies feared that I could transform into the dreaded Day Breaker and believed Alicorn’s were too powerful and dangerous to be trusted again,” she explained. Twilight’s face twisted in disgust. The idea of any pony thinking Princess Celestia could be evil was mind boggling. Princess Celestia continued, “A small group of unicorns and pegasai banded together and formed the Horn and Wing Society, hence the name. Their purpose was to use forbidden black magic in order to create a Necricorn.”

“What the heck is that?” Moonstruck asked bluntly.

“A dark twin or equivalent to the Alicorn race; the other side of the coin one might say. Supposedly the Necricorn is as powerful as an Alicorn is, if not stronger. The first step was to successfully create one and use its power to overthrow me. Then, the Society would perfect the process and turn all of its members into Necricorn’s and rule over Equestria collectively. They claimed it was unfair that only the princesses possessed the power of an Alicorn, they wanted others to have access to it as well,” she said grimly. The memories of battling those cultists soured her spirits.

“But that’s not scientifically possible! You can’t just make an Alicorn, it just…happens. How does one even attempt something like that?” Twilight sputtered.

“And why was it only Pegasai and Unicorns involved, how come Earth ponies weren’t in the society?” Moonstruck added.

“The Society performed twisted experiments in an attempt to fuse a Pegasus and a Unicorn into a Necricorn,” Celestia said with a shudder. She paused to stifle the choking sob in her voice. Twilight and Moonstruck looked concernedly at the sun princess. “Many lives were lost during the experiments, but this did not deter them,” she wept. “The Society tried time and time again to successfully create a Necricorn and would continue to attempt for a thousand years. The Society has existed through numerous generations; growing in size and strength with each passing year.” The princess turned to Moonstruck. “To answer your question Moonstruck, the Society originally believed only Pegasai and Unicorns had the potential to create a Necricorn. But after so many died during the trials, they replenished their ranks by accepting Earth ponies and their resources into the fold.

“The last known meeting of the Society took place a little over 15 years ago. The leader at the time, Lord Cabal, was a manipulative; tyrannical pony who claimed to be the first member of the Society that knew how to successfully create a Necricorn. Thanks to the donations and resources provided by Count Crescent and Lady Kuru; rulers of Stallionvania, Cabal was able to complete the ritual,” Celestia explained.

“My parents,” he said brokenly. His nose sniffled audibly. Twilight nuzzled him closely; she wrapped a comforting wing around him.

“Take heart Moonstruck, for their alliance with Cabal was out of desperation; not devotion. I remember when your parents came to see me. They brought you before me when you were very young; hoping I could cure you of your terminal illness. Unfortunately the disease could not be cured through modern medicine or my magic. Try as I might, I was unable to help your parents,” she said tenderly. Even after all this time, Celestia still feels like she failed Moonstruck that day. “Growing more desperate, they went to Cabal and struck an accord with him: in exchange for providing resources and funding, Cabal would perform the ritual on you and use their forbidden magic to save your life. If you survived though, you would have to use your new powers to lead the Horn and Wing Society to victory by killing me. The ritual as you know was a success. Your disease was miraculously cured Moonstruck, but as a result everyone in the Society was killed…along with your parents.”

Twilight gasped; clasping her hooves over her mouth.

“You are the first and only Necricorn to exist. But I’d wager you suffered amnesia as a side effect and wandered in and out of Equestria until I found you at that home in Whinny City. Does that sound about right?” she sweetly asked. Moonstruck nodded. “Night Terror emerged when I confronted you about Starswirl’s plate and attacked me and my royal guard. Frantic and angered, I used my most powerful sealing spell to seal Night Terror and his powers away for good. Unfortunately, you didn’t remember anything that happened and as a result; suffered needlessly during your prison sentence,” she said with a heavy heart.

“Um princess, not that I don’t believe you but how do you know all of this if all of the information regarding the Horn and Wing Society is missing in nearly all the texts?” Twilight inquired.

“It’s not missing Twilight. I ordered all information and records of the Society be destroyed or blacked out. I feared some pony might try and restart the society again and attempt to recreate the Necricorn process. And with every member long since deceased, I needed to make sure no one ever heard of the Horn and Wing Society again. Obviously, it appears my purge was not as thorough as I thought if you found some texts pertaining to it Twilight; that’s why I was so surprised when you asked me about the Society,” Celestia said correctively.

“That-that explains a lot. All this time, all the research, no wonder we could barely find anything.”

“I kept this secret close to the chest, even from my sister. Since they formed after her banishment it was easy to hide though I believe it is time I told her about the Society as well,” she said thoughtfully.

Moonstruck was noticeably quiet. The purple colt felt overwhelmed by all this information. It should have helped clear things up for him, but instead it only made him feel worse.

“So…what happens now? Night Terror is locked away inside of me. I’m not as powerful as him but I’m still a Necricorn, does that make me dangerous…or just a danger to Twilight?” he asked grimly.

“We have no way of knowing what level of Necricorn abilities you retained from Night Terror. You could be weaker than us, stronger than us or just as strong as us; no one knows for sure,” the sun princess said ponderingly. She smiled comfortingly to the purple colt. “But I have a feeling I know one way we can find out,” she winked to Twilight.

Moonstruck looked dumbfounded. He didn’t have a clue what the mares were conspiring. Twilight cuddled forcefully close to him; pulling him in with her wing. “I guess there’s no other choice then,” she beamed brightly; “you’ll just have to live with me so I can keep an eye on you 24/7.”

“W-w-wait, what?!? You still think that’s a good idea after everything you’ve just heard?”

She nodded.

“But-but-”

“Well, you don’t have a place to live and you’ve already been living with me all this time; why not make it permanent?” she said cheerfully. Moonstruck felt his heart beat faster and faster. “Plus, it gives me plenty of time to study your Necricorn abilities. I’ll be the first pony to ever document and study the world’s first Necricorn,” she giddied gleefully.

He could already imagine her following him with a notebook and a quill; writing down everything he would do, from sleeping habits to his eating habits. The thought made him inwardly groan, but on the outside he was unmistakably smiling. She was such a total nerd.

“So, what do you say Moonstruck? I know it’s a lot to consider I’ll understand if-”

He answered with a brief but sweet peck on the lips. She smiled sheepishly; stunned with a nervous flutter of pink blushes warming her cheeks.

“I’m in. I’m in for all of it: the boring lectures, the nerdy facts, the book hoarding, the dirty looks from others and all the craziness in-between…I’m all in for you, Crackers,” he said proudly. He lifted Twilight’s hoof in his own and looked lovingly into her eyes. The best view in all of Equestria.

“Wow…that was…really, very sweet…in a weird, slightly insulting kind of way,” she said; slightly confused. She shook it off and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’ll take it!”

Celestia clapped her hooves together; eagerly applauding the two. Twilight groaned irritably but quickly got over it. “Now then, does this answer all of your questions Moonstruck?” Celestia kindly asked. She leaned down to look closer into his eyes.

“Almost, there are still a few things I’m a bit hazy on. Like how did Chimera Khan copy my appearance when he framed me? Who was the pony that put me up in Whinny City when you arrested me? And what were my parents thinking when they brought me to that psycho cult when they knew what it would do to me?” he asked longingly. He rubbed his temple in a circular motion. “I thought for sure all my memories would come back after I woke up but it feels like there are still a few parts missing,” he pondered.

“Your memories will return soon enough. It has been a long time since your body was returned to its natural Necricorn state; it’ll take some getting used to. Unfortunately, I do not have the answers to your first two questions, but I think I might know someone who can help with the third,” she replied.

The ivory mare whistled loudly. The door opened and a familiar, friendly face appeared. Twilight smiled as she recognized her zebra friend, Zecora. She greeted the wise zebra and introduced Moonstruck to her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you sir Moonstruck, I believe I may have the solution for your memories that are stuck,” she said; pulling something from her pouch. It was a beaker containing a purple liquid. Twilight recognized it as the one she drank during the incident with Discord’s plunder seeds. “This potion helps those who drink it look into the past, with a little bit of Alicorn magic; its effects will work quite fast,” she added.

“But-but I’m a Necricorn, not an Alicorn. That thing won’t work on me,” he protested. Moonstruck looked uneasily at the strange chemical Zecora nudged towards him.

“If what the Society believes is true and a Necricorn is the dark twin of an Alicorn, then your magic should work just as well as mine,” Twilight said assuredly.

Celestia and Zecora shot Moonstruck calming looks. Their eyes sparkled with concern and care; inviting him to trust their judgment on this matter.

“I understand this unusual situation has you spooked, but if you do not even attempt to try; you may never find the truth,” Zecora said with a nod.

Moonstruck was still unsure about this. Twilight reminded him she would be right there with him and she’d drink the potion as well; so he wouldn’t have to do this alone. He eventually agreed and thanked everyone for their support. Twilight taught Moonstruck the spell to turn the potion from purple to white. After a few failed attempts, he succeeded in casting the spell. The potion changed colors right before their eyes.

“All right then, time for the moment of truth,” he said; gulping nervously.

Twilight placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder and reminded him she was there for him. He took a deep breath, swigged the beaker back and took a few gulps. Moonstruck passed it to Twilight who swallowed some as well. Celestia and Zecora watched curiously.

Twilight and Moonstruck looked to each other; awaiting for the formula to kick in. Their eyes suddenly flashed white and they were miraculously transported to an unknown past.

FLASH!

---

To be continued…

Comments

[kodak]

Where are you😩 I need more plz