The Last Crusade

by Scribblestick

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Nightmare Moon had read a lot about dragons, and aside from Twilight Sparkle, she probably knew more about them than any other pony since the founding of Equestria. What she hadn’t realized, however, was just how painful a dragonfire burn could be.

A spasm jerked through the princess’s flank just behind a flare of pain, nearly causing her to drop a set of vials she was holding in her magical aura. Her entire left side ached and burned, but she forced the pain to the back of her mind and concentrated on the task at hand. She examined the vials until she found the ones she was looking for and returned the others to their places in the potions cabinet. She’d spent the first year of her reign stockpiling potion ingredients once it became clear that her eternal night was less than friendly to the local vegetation, and it looked like that plan was finally going to pay off.

The dark mare carefully mixed the ingredients in a beaker suspended over an open flame and waited. It wasn’t a potion she was familiar with, but it didn’t seem too difficult. After a few minutes, the mixture bubbled and turned blue. She shut off the flame and waited a minute for the potion to cool while her singed flesh twitched against her will. Finally, she brought the beaker to her lips and drank. The tart liquid chilled her throat and stomach as it went down. With the potion finished, Nightmare Moon sat back and waited for the pain to ebb away.

It didn’t.

After a minute of waiting, the princess realized her latest plan had failed. Scowling, she wrapped the potions book in her magic and checked the recipe. After reading it through three times and finding no mistake, she threw the book against the wall and screamed. “Accursed dragons! May all your kind rot in Tartarus!”

Nightmare Moon took several deep breaths to regain her composure only to have it ruined by yet another searing jab in her flank. With another scream, the dark mare grabbed an entire bookshelf with her magic and threw it across the room. Shapeshifting did nothing to heal her injuries like it usually did, and every healing spell and potion she knew had failed as well. Loath as she was to resort to zebra lore, she had nevertheless dug through the Canterlot library in search of every recipe for Zebrica healing potions she could find. Now, that too had failed her, leaving her in rage-inducing pain with no plan for recovery.

Panting more from anger than exhaustion, Nightmare Moon looked out the window at the frozen waste beyond. As always, her bright full moon lit up the landscape with its pale white light, which reflected off the pristine snow that covered Canterlot’s streets and rooftops. The stars glowed and twinkled like diamonds against black velvet. She let out a slow sigh as she took in the beauty of her night. Even after ten years, she was always amazed by its splendor. “If only you’d seen it too, Celestia. I might have let you live.”

The princess turned away from the window and looked at the ruined bookcase that lay shattered on the far side of the room. Its books lay in a heap on the floor, and with a sigh, she began to stack them neatly on a table. She spied a few that might help her find a way to rid herself of these accursed dragonfire burns and set them aside, but for the most part, they looked pretty useless. “‘The Science of Harmony,’” she read before tossing the book aside. “Pah. As if I need any more ‘harmony.’” It was no wonder Celestia had fallen so easily. “Perhaps you should have spent more time on meaningful studies, dear sister, rather than sentimental nonsense.”

With the books cleared away, she began to examine the crumpled bookshelf. With some careful spellwork, she managed to repair the damage and return the shelf to its place against the wall. After stacking Celestia’s useless tomes on its shelves, she turned her attention to the few that might be of use to her. Most of them were written in Old Zebrican, a language she didn’t feel like translating after the day’s many failures. She set them aside for later.

The others were written in Old Equestrian, a language she had grown up with. She located three possible potions and turned to find the ingredients when a slight glow caught her eye. A spot on the wall was emitting a dull, yellow light where the bookshelf had struck it. She stared at the spot for a moment, wondering why she hadn’t noticed it before. She’d done a thorough magical sweep of the castle after claiming it for her own, and she’d sensed nothing odd about this particular wall then.

Nightmare Moon prodded at the glowing spot with a small tendril of magic. The glow grew stronger and bigger until an arched section of the wall glowed with yellow light, a sun blazing at its center. “Well, well,” she muttered. “Seems you were more clever than I gave you credit for, Celestia.” She decided to leave the potions for another time and see what this secret had to offer.

The aura around her horn grew brighter, and three shadowy shapes formed around her. It had been years since she’d cast this spell, and it took more effort than she remembered. After a moment, the shapes coalesced into three black pegasi with blue manes. “My Shadowbolts,” said Nightmare Moon with a smirk. “How would you like to test Celestia’s power?”

“It would be an honor, your majesty,” said the pegasi as they bowed in unison.

“Investigate this glow,” she instructed with a nod towards the wall. One of the Shadowbolts stepped forward and prodded the glow with a hoof. When nothing happened, it then pushed on the wall with its forehooves before returning to the princess.

“It is a doorway, your majesty,” the pony reported. “It has been sealed with a powerful spell.”

Nightmare Moon nodded. This news didn’t surprise her, but it did pique her curiosity. “What were you hiding, Celestia?” she murmured as she stepped forward, pointing her horn at the sun’s center. She quickly examined the seal and formulated what she hoped was a proper counter spell. She then focused her energy, and with a quick burst of magic, the glowing seal faded away, leaving only a plain-looking door emblazoned with a sun and a moon.

“Come,” the princess said, using her magic to open the door. The Shadowbolts followed her as she stepped through the doorway and into the unknown.