Night Reigns

by tursi

Chapter 38 - Moonset

"Show yourself! I will tear this dream apart!"

Luna shouted down the hallway of the dream realm's castle, surrounded by crystal and darkness. Although she had sensed something close while she was talking to Celestia, since taking over the dream she had not sensed anything at all. Was the creature even still here? She wasn't sure, but she was fairly certain that something else was still sharing the dream energy. She needed to engage with it.

She mused as she stalked down the hallway, her head down and her horn leading the way. She didn't need to use any magic to see ahead, but she lit her horn faintly in order to enhance her search anyway.

"Celestia," she mused. "She asked me to forgive her… as if she was the one who took over Equestria. And I did forgive her… it felt so important that I did."

She giggled to herself as she remembered Celestia's fear, but the giggle faded quickly as she put together the pieces in her mind. "She was scared of Nightmare Moon… no, terrified. I did my research well… maybe too well. I didn't really think about how deep those fears would go."

She adjusted her focus back to the dream, listening to the sound of her own hoofsteps. They still sounded correct so she returned to her thoughts. "I don't think I liked seeing her that frightened."

"We were meant to rule together… that's what she said. I would… have to allow the sun… wouldn't I? But she's back now. The sun isn't a threat anymore, is it?"

"I must focus."

She stopped that train of thought and refocused her attention on the dream. She still sensed no other presence, and the lack of results was beginning to frustrate her. In annoyance, she stomped her hoof against the hallway's floor. All at once the crystal shattered underneath her. With a gasp of surprise, she fell through, falling into the darkness to an unseen bottom far below. She tried to spread her wings and found that she could not coerce them to open, and flailed her hooves helplessly.

"What is this?!" she wondered, startled. "Why won't my wings work?"

She landed with a thud in a large, dark room. Several high windows let in the moonlight, casting square patches of light on the floor, but otherwise even Luna could see nothing. She panted softly, feeling some pain in her chest from the impact, and pushed herself to a standing position. All at once her hoof broke through the floor, splashing into a thick, sticky tar-like substance that held her firm. Unexpectedly she found all four hooves trapped in the floor.

"What!?" she cried. "How is this possible?!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting." A deep voice echoed through the room. "I had a little something to take care of before I could entertain you… but it's all locked up now."

Luna tugged on her hooves, but the sticky substance had seeped around her armor and held her fast. A motion across the room caught her attention and she looked up to see a regally dressed unicorn step into one of the moonlit squares.

"Sombra," she hissed. "So, it is you."

Sombra chuckled as he stopped, the moonlight reflecting off his brightly polished armor. "And you are Princess Luna," he purred. "Or perhaps, if I see you correctly, Nightmare Moon? The real Nightmare Moon?" He chuckled. "You've upgraded your appearance since a thousand years ago. Even your sister was frightened of you. It was… delicious."

Luna frowned. "Mere words, Sombra. Is that all the power you've managed to steal?"

Sombra clicked his tongue and smiled sweetly. "You're a little smaller than Celestia imagined you, though. Oh… it was brilliant of you to release Celestia and take over her dream. I didn't even know that it was possible to release somepony and keep the dream going. But between her, and your companions, I've got enough. Once I drain you I will be able to restore my Crystal Army."

"There was no army!" objected Luna. "You're delusional!"

"Oh… I was close," accepted Sombra. "But you won't be there to stop me this time. Not you, not your sister."

Luna tugged at her hooves again, grunting with the effort. "I'm not going to let you!" she protested.

Sombra chuckled. "Oh… what are you going to do? A ‘friendship beam'? You, who've pushed away every pony who ever loved you. Who just lost her last friend to the wind?"

Luna gasped. "What! What do you know about it?"

Sombra started to advance, stepping slowly. "I can see into your heart, Princess Luna. I know that you are not Nightmare Moon, you have lost that power. I know your fears and concerns. And I know that you shall die here, alone, just like you fear."

Luna frowned. "No! Celestia has forgiven me!"

"Forgiven you," taunted Sombra. "So that you can return to her side, the little sister that never gets to speak at fancy dinners… or formal confrontations."

Luna glared and lit her horn. "Stop trying to distract me, this isn't about me! This is about you! Prepare yourself!"

"Too late!" replied Sombra. "Too little, too late!" His own horn lit and he struck out, a dark beam blasting forward from his horn. It struck Luna squarely in the chest and expanded into a massive dark sphere, engulfing her and drawing her power outwards.

Luna grunted and shrank under the impact of the spell, and the dark sphere enclosed her and became opaque. It began to glow an eerie glow as the power transferred.

Sombra chuckled as he drew closer. "It's so much easier when I can be direct. When your fear is fear itself… I don't need to mess around with metaphors and illusions. Don't worry, Princess Luna. This won't take very long."

Luna's voice came weakly from the sphere. "You… you won't get away with this Sombra…"

"Not to be too trite," chuckled Sombra, "but I already have."

"No," replied Luna, her voice suddenly stronger and somehow deeper. She laughed, her voice full and dark. "No, I really mean it."

Sombra stopped abruptly, taking half a step back. "What?"

The sphere's glow suddenly inverted, drawing into the darkness and lighting it from the inside. Luna's silhouette grew visible, her head down and her body hunched. The sphere began to shrink as she absorbed it.

"You may have glanced into my heart, Sombra," she began. "But you should have learned who I was, instead of focusing on my doubts."

She started to grow inside the sphere, her voice growing louder and stronger. "Don't you want to know?"

She raised her head and spread her wings, growing to her full size as the last of the sphere soaked into her body. Her coat was midnight black once again, her eyes glowed with the brightness of the moon and as she smiled her fangs gleamed in the moonlight. Nightmare Moon stood again in all her glory.

Sombra took a second step backwards and then stepped forward again, aiming his horn. "Illusions won't work on me!" he snarled, firing a blast of darkness directly at her.

The blast struck Nightmare Moon square in the chest, and she absorbed the splash-back of magical energy. She started to advance on Somba. "Shadow magic," she sneered. "How cute."

Sombra froze for a moment and then took another half step backwards. His face was determined, however. "Don't underestimate me!" he snarled, firing another blast at her.

Nightmare Moon deflected the blast with a casual wave of her hoof and it slammed into the wall at the side of the room. She continued to step forward. "You don't even know who I am," she taunted.

Sombra continued to back away, but Nightmare Moon showed no urgency in her advance. "You, who plays in the shadows like a naughty child," she continued. "But I… I am the darkness. I am the night. I own the powers that you merely toy with. Look into my heart now, Sombra. See who I am."

Sombra's expression was twisting between certainty and doubt. "You're good," he offered with fading confidence in his voice. "But it's a trick…"

Nightmare Moon's horn lit brightly and she caused the entire room to begin to glow. Sombra glanced nervously at the floor as Nightmare spoke again. "Perhaps," she teased. "But let's just see what's in your heart…"

The glow of the room brightened rapidly, until it was too much and Sombra closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was looking into the square underneath the Crystal Castle. The Crystal Heart spun lazily on its mounts, gleaming as it occasionally caught the glow of a bright moon and reflected it across the square.

As he watched, a shadowy figure wearing a dark cloak crept into the square, looking from side to side. The figure slowly approached the heart, drawing a sack. All at once Sombra heard a voice at his side.

"So," commented Nightmare Moon. "This is how you captured the Crystal Empire?"

Sombra managed not to jump only by extreme force of will. He responded after a moment. "This is not what I would have done to you," he replied.

Nightmare Moon clicked her tongue. "I wanted to see for myself."

"So, this is a dream?" asked Somba.

"Nothing so simple," replied Nightmare Moon.

"Then what?" demanded Sombra. "Why can't I summon any magic?"

Nightmare Moon shook her head. "I have submerged us too deeply for you to do that." She raised a hoof, pointing over into the square. "Look, somepony approaches."

"Princess Amore," commented Sombra with a grumble.

The two of them watched a tall alicorn confront the figure in the square. Although words did not carry, they could see that the hooded figure was agitated.

"She seems to be trying to reason with you," observed Nightmare Moon.

"She was taunting me," growled Sombra. "She could have saved me years earlier."

The view shifted as the words brought a related memory to the forefront. Nightmare Moon watched as a much younger unicorn with a strong resemblance to Sombra suffered in bed. He groaned and writhed, soaked in sweat as a pretty young mare tended to him with concern in her eyes. Sombra's voice came through the memory.

"Every year during the Crystal Faire the ponies would charge up the Crystal Heart with their love and kindness. The power would tear through me and nopony understood why."

Nightmare Moon didn't reply as the flashback faded away, returning to the scene under the castle. Suddenly the cloaked figure took an offensive stance towards the alicorn that faced him. His horn flared brightly with purple magic which cracked and sparked like electricity. Without delay the bolt arced over to the alicorn and abruptly she was encased in dark crystal, frozen solid.

"Princess Amore knew what I was, though," commented Sombra as they watched. "She chose to do nothing."

"And what were you?" asked Nightmare Moon, seemingly unmoved by the spell they had just observed.

"A monster," replied Sombra. "I'm surprised you don't know that."

"I know it," replied Nightmare Moon. "But I don't know why."

The scene flashed back again. They watched a young Sombra running away from the Crystal Empire and coming across a large red crystal.

"I was born that way," commented Sombra as the crystal flashed in communication. The colt in the illusion reacted as if surprised. "A living shadow, who was created only to destroy the Crystal Heart and free the rest of my kind. I realized that the only way to end the pain was to fulfill my destiny."

Again the flashback ended and returned to the original scene. The cloaked figure was starting to leave the square with the Heart safely secured in his sack when a crystal pony entered the square and stopped abruptly, saying something. She went between the alicorn encased in crystal and the hooded figure several times, seeming anxious.

"And who is that?" asked Nightmare Moon.

"She is nopony," replied Sombra.

The hooded Sombra in the square dropped his hood, making his identity clear to the two observers. He reached forward and caressed the crystal pony's chin.

"You are very gentle with this nopony," observed Nightmare Moon.

Sombra growled. "I said she was nopony."

All at once the hooded Sombra stomped the ground and flared his horn, and the crystallized alicorn shattered, sending pieces flying in all directions. The crystal pony reacted with horror and ran tearfully from the square. The hooded Sombra only watched her leave, then raised himself to his full height and stepped purposefully out of the square.

"She came to us," commented Nightmare Moon. "I know who she was to you… or at least who you were to her."

Sombra grunted and turned his head. "It doesn't matter. I did what I was meant to do."

The scene faded out and swirled around them. "Let us see what you would choose to do next…" commented Nightmare Moon.

All around them the world began to settle back into a semblance of order. Ahead of them was a flat snow-covered plain. In regular ranks stood an army of crystal ponies, outfitted with armor made of dark, solid crystal. Behind them on a large dais stood King Sombra, wearing his own regal armor.

Sombra smiled to Nightmare Moon. "The beginning of our invasion," he explained. "It's exactly how I always imagined it."

"This is how you imagine it," replied Nightmare Moon. Her horn flared again. "I have seen enough."

Again, the world swirled around them, and the bright white of the snow field faded slowly to black. At last the two of them stood in total darkness with only the faint light of Nightmare Moon's horn to provide any illumination at all.

"There is no escape from here," explained Nightmare Moon. "We are deep inside your own life force. Not unlike my banishment to the moon, your own power will aid in keeping you locked away. Even if you do manage to learn which way is up, it will take you hundreds of years to learn to move, hundreds longer to regain enough strength to start."

"So that's it?" asked Sombra. "It was over when you took over Celestia's dream, wasn't it?"

Nightmare Moon smiled. "Not quite. You had me when you reconnected to me – you even caught me off guard. But once you interacted with me, you gave me control…" She paused and then shook her head. "But really… the bit where I was falling and I couldn't open my wings? That's a nightmare for baby pegasi."

Sombra smiled a little bit. "It's surprisingly effective… but I have never had anypony turn it around on me before."

Nightmare Moon nodded slowly. "Dreams are my domain."

Sombra frowned. "I should have known when you attacked my shadow in Celestia's dream. I just assumed that she was putting up a barrier and fighting back. When did I lose my magic?"

Nightmare Moon paused as she considered whether to explain, and then chose to do so. "When you further attacked me, you handed all your stolen magic to me to manage as I saw fit. I have already withdrawn your influence in the waking world."

Sombra shook his head. "So… another thousand years of exile and torture."

Nightmare Moon nodded. "It is likely what you deserve most. But should I punish you for what fate handed you?"

Sombra looked at her and frowned. "You taunt me."

"No," replied Nightmare Moon. Her horn brightened and Sombra could suddenly see another pony standing behind her. The other pony stepped forward and her crystal body caught Nightmare Moon's light.

Sombra gasped and leaned forward for a closer look. "Hope?" he asked.

The pony smiled and stepped closer to Sombra, nodding.

"Radiant Hope, if I recall correctly," added Nightmare Moon. "It is promising that you remember the name of such a ‘nopony'."

Sombra blinked and looked back at Nightmare Moon, confused.

"She is not real," continued Nightmare Moon. "But I leave her here in your dream to see if she can change your heart. When I return, then we shall see what you have become."

Sombra looked back at Radiant Hope, who stepped forward again hesitantly, smiling. "But… why?"

Nightmare Moon frowned. "Because I remember being alone. Farewell, Sombra."

Nightmare Moon watched Sombra step towards the crystal pony as she returned herself back to the waking world. The view faded for her and went black.

Then she awoke and she found herself once again clad in the dark blue coat of her younger form. Her helmet felt uncomfortable and she removed it, dropping it to the floor. Then she looked around. She was still in the tower room that she had entered when she had parted ways with Sunset Shimmer, although the window that she had flown through was once again clear and allowed moonlight to flood into the room.

Princess Luna stood and stretched, listening carefully. She heard nothing, so she lit her horn for a moment in order to sense around herself. At first she detected nothing, so she expanded her search. Eventually she thought that she felt several ponies outside in the square – and no sign of King Sombra. She walked over to the window and leapt out, spreading her wings to glide down and meet them.

Comments

[TheWindrunner]

“Not to be too trite,” chuckled Sombra, “but I already have.”

Okay that was just cliche xD

Sombra smiled a little bit. “It’s surprisingly effective… but I have never had anypony turn it around on me before.” Nightmare Moon nodded slowly. “I am the Princess of the Night. Dreams are my domain.”

You need to separate separate people's speech lines. Nightmare Moon shouldn't have a direct quote in the same paragraph as Sombra.

Okay so this was kinda odd of a chapter. Did enjoy reading. We really need to get a resolution!

Did King Sombra have his heart broken? Was that his drive, his motive to capture the Empire? We will find out.

[Aeon Mist]

8276136
It sounds like Sombra's backstory here is his backstory from the comics. Basically he is the latest in the line of Umbra ponies sent to get rid of the crystal heart so the Umbra ponies can return and take over. However he has amnesia and eventually finds out what he is after becoming ill each year during the crystal faire. He confronts princess Amore and she reveals his origins. He gets angry and turns her to crystal and scatters her pieces to the corners of the world. He also has a falling out with Radient Hope who he was in a relationship/childhood friends.

[Xanderfox]

Almost an anticlimax, though I don't think this was it and who says a climax must be a fight? But oh how hard is it going to be for Luna to reconnect with her people in this timeline? Sorry is just insufficient, any foal who lived though the "Nightmare Years" will be afraid of her, she will have to spend a whole generation before ponies who don't fear her become common.

[Guardsmare Sade]

So happy you're writing and updating again! been so excited since the last update

[tursi]

8276136
Yeah, thanks for calling that out. I'm actually writing in Word, then copy/paste to FimFiction which loses /all/ the formatting. I go through it at least twice each time but I still miss spots now and then.

[tursi]

Thanks for the comments guys. I wondered how it was going to be taken enough that I didn't check in all day - and I love me some statistics. ;)

I actually wrote Luna's chapter to be a fight, but her power in the dream realm, at least in my OP eyes, makes Sombra's so insignificant that it just never felt at all interesting. Sombra was already such a small threat that the fight had nothing. I tried to make a dream battle with bizarre effects, but that didn't work either. Then I decided to take it this way, where Luna had already won before he even realized it had started. I think it worked.

As for Sombra's past, yeah, I borrowed it from the comics. I suppose there does need to be a little more snuck in earlier, so we have some idea who Hope is. I'll see if I can sneak some of that information in back when the accounts of the Empire are recounted in the diaries. The Princesses both knew, after all, but at the time I wrote that I didn't know I was going in that direction.

Luna does have a long road ahead of her, and it won't all be covered in this narrative. Unlike the canon story, everypony DOES remember this time, and there's a lot to clean up.

[tursi]

Am I the only one who sees counts and stats acting weird? The thumb count on the main page here differs from that on the statistics page, and while earlier today the word count was showing 102k, now it's showing 100k. When I manually total up the listed chapters, I get 102k.

Not terribly important, I guess, but seems weird.

[TheWindrunner]

8278121
Use google drive. I actually find that copypasting the chapters keeps all the formatting and it's free too, as well as cloud based. What do you know.

[TheWindrunner]

8278512
The word issue is because some words are counted as one - there is a reason it says 'estimate' in the word count.

[tursi]

8278881
The cost of the product is irrelevant when you already own it. But my main problem with cloud services is I'm not always connected. I wrote the first 20 or chapters of this on a bus in China where I couldn't get enough bandwidth to even read Twitter most days (on a tablet with miserable wifi anyway ;) ). But I'm old-school, I like being offline. ;)

[TheWindrunner]

8279402
The app allows you to use it offline. I think there is a way to do it as well on the computer.

[tursi]

8279409
hehe, I knew you'd say that. But still not changing. ;)

[TheWindrunner]

8279484
I used word a while too. It's hard to switch.

[AvoidingFever17]

you can choose your destiny sombra The crystal heart only shows your current future