• Published 2nd Oct 2012
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Forever Is a Long Time - Hoosier Brony



A tale of a pony who is cursed to never die

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Chapter 6: Annihilation

The morning light shone through the half open curtains, casting its warm glow onto the dark brown mane of the pony sleeping peacefully, his mind conjuring up images of stories yet untold. Outside, few clouds dotted the sky, causing yet another wonderfully beautiful day in Equestria. Birds were singing, ponies were heading out to enjoy the weather, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at it again, today intending to discover their talent at camping. Indeed, the day was perfect, but Rapid Quill would not catch any of it, as he was startled out of bed by the sound of voices.

“Do ya really think this is a good idea?” Applejack whispered, her eyes shifting side to side. ‘How do I let her talk me into things like this?’ She continued to tiptoe around Rapid Quills’ house, admiring the pictures of his family and his tidiness.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, not doing much to lower the volume of her voice. “He shouldn’t have ended the last one so quickly. It’s his fault we want to know what comes next. I just want him to tell us, he doesn’t have to write anything, just let us know.” She was walking around, curious as to the many books on his shelves. ‘What does he read in his spare time?’

Rapid Quill just sat in bed, stopped rubbing his tired eyes to release them from sleep and began to rub his temples to relieve what felt like a brewing headache. He had heard the story that Rainbow Dash had broken into a hospital to steal and read a book, but she was now in his house. He rolled out of bed, his hooves making an audible sound when they touched the floor.

“Ah!” Applejack said, looking around for a place to hide. “He’s coming! We got to hide.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t move, taking up an aggressive stance. “I’m going nowhere. He’s going to tell us what happens next, AJ. Stop running around.”

Rapid Quill walked out of his bedroom, seeing the two intruders for the first time. Rainbow Dash stood in the center of his living room, scowling at the pony that refused to relieve her when she was desperate for answers the night before. Applejack stood behind Rainbow Dash, her hat over her face which was turning a bright red. Rapid Quill looked from one pony to the other without any expression and said, “The next chapter is on the table. I’m taking a shower and eating breakfast.”

As he turned away, Rainbow Dash’s face broke out into a big smile and she blasted off to the table, unrolling the scroll ferociously. Applejack just stared at the doorway where the author had just stood, baffled that he wasn’t more upset at the foolish decisions the two had made. She was startled out of her trance when Rainbow Dash called out to her to start reading the chapter.

When he had finished his grooming and was walking towards the kitchen to prepare a sunflower sandwich, Rapid Quill stuck his head into the living room, chuckling at the two ponies as they poured over his most recent chapter. He walked into his living room, sandwich having been eaten, at the same time they had finished his previous chapter.

“Well, how do you like it?” Rapid Quill asked, walking up to the two ponies, causing them to jump with surprise. He laughed, calmly rolled his scroll up, placing it on the shelf behind them, and sat down, waiting for their response. “I hope it was worth the trip in here today.”

“Ah’m mighty sorry, honey” Applejack said, pulling her hat off her head, her ears flattened back. “I never should let this one talk me into stuff. Are you mad?” She continued to look to the ground, waiting for the judgment call to come.

“It was my idea Rapid Quill,” Rainbow Dash said, standing between the two ponies. “You left on such a cliff hanger, I found myself unable to sleep. I had to know what came next. I’m sorry.”

Rapid Quill felt bad. He didn’t want them to think he was mad. If anything, he was amused that they were so driven to break into his house just to read his story. He explained this to them, calming their fears and asked if they would like to stay for the next part.

“Well, ah got to get back to the farm, we’re a might busy,” Applejack said, her eyes darting left and right. “Thank you for the offer; maybe next time. Sorry again.”

“Yeah, I would love to, but I need to go do something,” Rainbow Dash said, too embarrassed to stay in the house she broke into. “I like your house, by the way.” With that said, she shot out the door in a flash of color. Applejack chuckled, tipped her hat, and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Rapid Quill lowered his head, saddened that neither pony would stay to listen to the next part. ‘Did they not like my last part? Why did they leave in such a hurry?’ he thought. He suddenly didn’t feel much like writing but dragged himself over to his table. He sat down, looking at the blank scroll in front of him, and began to wonder just what the other ponies thought about his story. ‘Have they just been humoring me? Do they really like it?’ A frown began to cross his face as he picked up his quill and began:


A week had passed since Beaming Justice had been thrown into the dungeons and the once proud pegasus had broken. The only interaction he had during the week was when a guard threw his food through the bars, seemingly trying to spill as much of it on the floor as possible. Initially, Justice refused to eat anything off of the floor, but as the time passed and his hunger grew, he lost that dignity. Not once did he receive any news about Nightmare Moon or Equestria’s safety, his only clues coming from a crack in the wall. It was only a few days prior that a development had occurred, one that made Justice think his suffering was coming to an end.

Daylight had replaced the night. The sunshine beamed through the crack and seemed to fill the normally dark, dank cell. He had wondered whether this was a sign that Celestia had defeated the villainous monster, receiving his answer less than an hour later as night appeared again. Over the course of the next two days, he had seen this event occur three more times; day replacing night, night replacing day almost immediately. What had begun as an uplifting experience had turned into yet another instance of Justice losing his mind.

On the seventh day of his arrest, he received a pleasant surprise. Justice had kept his back to the door when it creaked open, knowing that a look of displeasure when his food was thrown on the floor only pleased the guard. His ears twitched when he heard the voice, his first since Shining Light’s interrogation a week earlier.

“Beaming Justice?” Princess Celestia asked. She noticed his ears perk but when he made no attempt to recognize her presence, she demanded in a stern voice, “Turn around and face me.”

Justice slowly sat up, letting his displeasure show. When he finally turned his head, gazing at her over his shoulder, he couldn’t help but scowl. He finished turning around completely, his head held high, his eyes staring coldly into hers. His whole life had been spent training to protect the princesses. After losing one, here he was a prisoner of the other and being treated like dirt. “Yes, princess,” he said with spite in his voice, forgoing the traditional bow.

Princess Celestia noticed the completely unprofessional behavior. If I had any other options, he would be left here to think about his demeanor. But I need his help, she thought. She lowered her head, giving a little to his dominant stare, a thinly veiled attempt to show humility. “I require your assistance in defeating Nightmare Moon. The fight has raged on to no end and I know you could be the turning point. Will you help me?”

Justice sat, dumbfounded at the scene in front of him. He had been so sure that Princess Celestia had no idea of his imprisonment and harsh treatment, yet here she was, not surprised at the condition he was in. As if that wasn’t enough, now she was asking him to help her? He couldn’t help but let a smile spread across his face.

“Why should I help you?” he said, gathering up all the painful experiences the past week had held. How he wanted to yell about his experience, to scream at her for allowing such attacks against him, but he knew it would do no good. She would’ve shown some sorrow at seeing his living conditions had she not had some part in it, and her non-reaction was loud and clear.

“The battle against Nightmare Moon has gone on long enough,” the princess explained, her voice level and calm. “The first three days were spent traveling to every town in Equestria to personally rally the guards, calm their fears, and stop their fighting. Once I had stability in the ponies of Equestria, I could turn my attention to Nightmare Moon. Shining Light and I devised an attack plan. We know that she is in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in the middle of the Everfree Forest. It’s ironic that she would choose they, the castle I used to play in with Luna.”

Celestia was cut off as Justice flung himself at the cell bars, flapping his wings powerfully and stretching out a hoof to strike her. “DON’T YOU SAY THAT NAME!! How dare you speak of her, and without any emotion. DO YOU NO LONGER CARE FOR HER?!? YOUR SISTER, MY LOVE?!?” No matter how hard he struggled, Justice just could not reach the princess, who knew how far back to stand and be safe from those in the cells.

Celestia, glaring at the crazed pony in front of her, patiently waited until his screams had stopped and continued, “On the fourth day, we sent a battalion of one hundred guards, archers, and soldiers to subdue, if possible, or even kill if necessary. I raised the sun to distract her long enough to let them get within the walls of the castle. The reports we’ve received paint it as a massacre. The loyalty to Nightmare Moon has broken into our ranks. Small pockets of resistance broke out as they charged the castle, and those loyal to Equestria were killed mercilessly. Nightmare Moon herself joined in, mutilating ponies who came near. Her power was formidable before; now she has a small army as well.

“Within the hour, she had forced night upon the land yet again, and what was left of our troops was forced to retreat. Shining Light and I have re-evaluated those within our ranks, weeding out any that would oppose us. Any follow up attacks have failed, mass casualties piling up on both sides. I have fought alongside these ponies, but her magic is as strong as mine.”

“So what do you need from me?” Justice said, turning his back yet again on the princess who had caused him so much pain. When I needed you to help me save Luna or even to listen to my side of the events that had taken place, where were you? How dare you ask me for help? He glared over his shoulder at Princess Celestia, surprised when she softened her expression.

“I’m sorry Justice,” she said, using his informal name as she had heard her sister do many times. “I didn’t do enough when Luna was in trouble. I understand your frustrations towards me, but I require your assistance in saving all of Equestria. I need you and your friends to help me subdue Nightmare Moon. I know that with you and me fighting together, we can defeat Nightmare Moon, and save everypony. Please, help me.”

Justice was moved. The showing of genuine regret had touched him. He was not happy, and may never again be happy, but he was reminded of his purpose he had grown with: to protect the princesses to ensure the peace of Equestria. He turned, lowering his head in submission to the princess in front of him, “If you release me from this false imprisonment, I will help you defeat this monster.”

An agreement was reached and Beaming Justice walked free that moment. He accompanied Celestia as they wandered through the dungeons to three separate cells, releasing Swift Breeze, Aurora Shine, and Steel Hoof. All three had to be calmed by Justice, who explained that their helping the Princess was a means to clearing their name and not to submit to her will. When all four ponies had been released, Justice asked to hold a strategy session in the Grand Hall so that Celestia, Shining Light, and the four mercenary ponies, for that is what they had become, would discuss the most opportune method of defeating the threat.

Justice laid out his plan. The four soldiers would distract Nightmare Moon long enough for Princess Celestia to hit her with the strongest spell she knew. When the Princess informed them that nothing she knew could take down the threat, Aurora spoke up, quieting the room. “What about the Elements of Harmony? They were powerful enough to defeat Discord; could they not work against Nightmare Moon?”

“The problem is that both Luna and I were required to harness their powers,” Princess Celestia said, upset at the lost opportunity. “I cannot harness their full potential alone, and I fear there is no pony alive that could take her place.”

“What power you can gain from them will have to do,” Justice said, indicating his plan’s conclusion. “When we reach the castle walls, Steel will have to break down the door, granting Swift and I access to draw her attention upwards. Aurora, I need you to hit her with whatever you have.” Noticing the worry in her eyes, Justice put all of their trepidations to rest. “This is no longer the Princess Luna we all know. I will take care of her myself if need be, so do not hesitate to damage her if you get the chance. Princess Celestia, Nightmare Moon will be distracted long enough for you to harness as much power as you can to weaken her. Once weakened, we can finish the deed and end this nightmare.”

Shining Light let out a peevish snort, drawing a nasty glare from Justice. “This appears to be very similar to one of the earlier attacks we had orchestrated against her. The results were catastrophic. Why should your attempt be any different?” He kept a smug grin on his face, wondering why Justice thought his plan was any better than any Shining Light had figured himself.

Justice just stared at the pony he had respected at one time and calmly replied, “We will attack under the cover of night. Your plans had all failed because you attacked in large numbers under a bright afternoon sky. YOU led those ponies to their death by allowing her to see you coming. My plan will work because there are fewer targets and it will be harder to hit us at night.” Justice took no pleasure in seeing the grin fall from the other pony’s face. He had long ago lost any gratification from outwitting this soldier, and the torture was still too fresh to forget.

When the plan had been dissected and every pony knew their role, Swift, Aurora, Steel, Justice and Princess Celestia headed off for what was, hopefully, the final confrontation with Nightmare Moon. They approached the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, the stunning grand hall laid out before them, tall towers shooting up behind. Shining Light’s earlier attempts had proven that she kept a throne in the grand hall, so their battle would have to take place within its confines.

The hall was large, columns lining the walls holding up a tall, curved ceiling. The walls had contained large, arching stained glass windows depicting the two royal sisters in various playful settings. The ceiling was decorated with a stunning mural of the sisters as they brought forth the sun and moon, day and night, the two seeming to play in the middle as the cycle of day passed by. After Nightmare Moon’s abduction of the castle, all windows were broken and the ceiling burned a dark black. What had once been a monument of the harmony that the two sisters had shared was not a scared reminder of the evil within.

Celestia, waiting outside with the Elements of Harmony, began to gather the energy they provided and harness it into a spell powerful enough to damage the creature within. Justice, seeing the process begin, gave Steel the sign for the strong earth pony to break down the doors, beginning the battle. Justice and Swift opened their wings, lowering themselves into a stance to allow for the fastest takeoff possible, and prepared them as Steel leaned forward, pulling his hind legs up and thrusting with all his might.

As the old, rotten, wooden locking mechanism splintered into many pieces, the doors gave way under the strength of Steel Hoof. Inside the room, two ponies were knocked back from their position by the door instantly, smacking stunned against the wall. As soon as the gap had opened, Justice and Swift powered their wings, shooting into the grand hall and processing the scene in front of them. There were about ten guards strewn about the room, a mix of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. The attack had taken them by surprise, as noted by the lack of armed soldiers. At the back of the hall, sitting on a large throne, was Nightmare Moon, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

Justice saw the guards moving to arm themselves and knew that they would need to be dealt with first. He took off, aiming at the nearest arming soldier, shoving him over and going for the knockout blow. His hooves shot down towards the guard’s head but instead found the hard floor where the head had once been. The guard moved with such agility and almost caught Justice off balance, but he shot up in the air, cursing at his forgetfulness. We trained these ponies to be the best they possibly could. This is not going to be an easy fight.

As Justice pulled back, seeing the fight in full force, he noticed Steel taking on three earth ponies in hoof-to-hoof combat, holding his own, but barely. Swift had two pegasi on his tail, but was slowly outmaneuvering them, getting himself ready to gain the upper hoof to take one out of the fight. Aurora was busy keeping a shield up to protect herself as the three unicorns in the room took turns firing spell after spell towards her. Justice knew what he must do.

He turned, flying full speed at the backs of the two unicorns. If they don’t turn around, I can jump them and free Aurora up to help Steel, Justice thought. Right as he was about to plow into the three unicorns, one turned and pushed the other two out of his path. He landed hard and immediately kicked the first unicorn upside the head, knocking him out instantly.

The other two, alert to the combatant in their midst, turned with glowing horns, prepared to fight. Suddenly, one unicorn fell to the floor, her eyes bulging in pain as Aurora’s spell paralyzed her in mid-breath. The distraction that this caused was enough for Justice to quickly lash out, hitting the final unicorn across the nose, breaking it instantly. With his eyes watering and his breathing becoming labored, the unicorn ran from the hall, past Aurora, who had a spell ready to use if necessary, and out into the night.

With Aurora available to lend magical assistance at defeating the earth ponies fighting Steel Hoof, who had taken quite a few shots himself, and Swift busy with the two pegasi on his tail, Justice turned his sights on Nightmare Moon. He approached her, annoyed that during this entire fight she had not moved even once. Didn’t she understand their reasons for being there?

“Well, well, well,” Nightmare Moon said, a low chuckle cutting through the sounds of battle echoing through the grand hall. “I see you have returned to me, my love. Stop this silly fight and join me. Rule alongside me over the eternal night. I’ll even let you bring your little friends there; we will need generals for our army. I know you want your Princess back, come with me and get a Queen!!”

Justice just stared angrily at the pony before him. He knew that no amount of communicating with this monster would come to any good; the time had come to end her reign of terror. He flew down towards her at speeds that would easily wound the evil mare. He was just feet away from ending this terror, so close he could see her evil eyes twinkle in the dim hall light.

Suddenly, the entire room went pitch black. Every pony stopped where they were, unable to tell who or what they were attacking. Steel quickly calmed his breathing down and stayed quiet; hearing the confused mumbles and labored breathing of the ponies he had just been fighting. He aimed at the voices and, with a powerful kick, ended all three of his opponents’ experience in the fight. As the three fell, and Justice crashed into the surprisingly empty throne, Nightmare Moon began to laugh, sounding as if she was in every corner of the hall.

Justice heard a flutter of wings off to his left, flung himself in that direction, knocking a pony out of midair. Just as he was preparing for a strike, he heard Swift’s exclamation coming from under his hooves. He stood up, apologizing to his friend, and stood back to back with the other pegasus as they tried to listen to any noise that would give Nightmare Moon away.

“Forget this,” Aurora said, with an irate snort. A small red glow appeared in one corner of the room as Aurora began to power up a strong spell. From the glow came an intense, blinding light that shattered the darkness of the hall, displaying to all ponies the scene. Nightmare Moon had returned to the throne, Swift and Justice only a few yards away. Steel and Aurora were sitting at the front of the hall, surrounded by the three unconscious earth pony guards. The two remaining pegasi guards were huddled between the two groups.

As soon as the room was aglow, Swift took off for Nightmare Moon, charging directly at her chair at a speed only matched by Justice himself. Right before he could strike, she disappeared into a fine mist, which then shot across the room, ending up behind Justice. As he turned, swiping at air, the mist shot up towards the ceiling, Nightmare Moon’s cackle following it.

The two pegasi guards took this distraction and went to strike Justice while his back was turned. Without any warning, one was knocked out of the sky, crashing hard to the ground and the other pushed off course. “I don’t think so, I’m not done with you,” Swift said, instantly following the still airborne pegasus. Swift’s battle became more difficult as magical spells were shot at him from Nightmare Moon, who had reappeared in a far corner. He dodged the spells, noticing that they blew large holes in the solid walls, but found himself unable to dodge the attacks from his pegasus opponent. The two began to tumble to the ground, fighting all the way down.

The mist flew across the room, ending up right in front of Steel, who kicked with all his might, hitting nothing but air. As Nightmare Moon continued to laugh, and Steel continued to fight the fluid movements of air, Aurora began searching her studies, determined to find a spell that could work. A smile of recognition spread across her face and her horn began to glow again. The spell shot forth, hitting the mist dead on, instantly causing Nightmare Moon to reappear.

“How could you?” she screamed at Aurora, barely dodging an attack from Steel. Seeing the smirk on the unicorn’s face enraged the evil pony. “You think you know everything? I’ll SHOW you everything.” With that, a powerful spell shot forth from the black pony and hit Aurora before she could even imagine dodging. Aurora’s eyes went wide, rolling up into her head, her breathing cut off. Her mane turned from dark brown to bright white, the corner of her eyes wrinkling and straining. Suddenly she snapped back into focus, her caught breath exhaled loudly, her eyes darting back and forth.

“Aurora!!” Steel shouted, running to her side. “Are you ok?!?” He went to put a hoof around her when her head rose, his eyes locked to the horrified stare coming from the unicorn. Suddenly she started laughing, a deranged cackle that was chilling Steel to the bones. Her laughing continued growing in volume until it was loud enough to fill the room.

Justice flew over, careful to not startle or jar the laughing pony. As he got closer, he noticed the physical changes to the unicorn and was more terrified by the insane laughter pouring out from her. “What happened, Aurora? What did she do to you? What did you see?” He was all but screaming the final question, his fear for a good friend overcoming his usual battle calm.

Her laughing stopped as she turned her head towards the pegasus. Her eyes opened wide in terror. “Eternity!” she suddenly screamed, drawing Steel and Justice back in terror. “It was eternity! ETERNITY!” She began screaming, a high pitched, pained scream. Her breathing became labored as her screams grew longer. Steel began screaming at her, trying to snap her out of whatever had happened, tears beginning to flow at the corners of his eyes.

“Pay attention you foal!” Nightmare Moon screamed, noticing that Swift had slowed, distracted by the screaming unicorn in the corner. She fired another spell, its energy crackling in the air, and found her mark. The spell hit Swift on his left wing, instantly crippling it. He tumbled out of the sky, falling at her feet. She smiled at his terrified expression, relishing in his helplessness. Justice jumped up, rushing to his friend’s aid, but Nightmare Moon struck before he ever got a chance.

The spell that she used was a terrible one, one that hadn’t been used in Equestria before, one that was too powerful to withstand. The spell hit him square in the chest, instantly burning his hide. He started screaming in terror and pain as the burning continued, spreading across his entire body. Justice screamed in agony, seeing his first trainee and very close friend in a tortured state, knowing his fate had been sealed. Within seconds, the screaming pegasus had stopped, becoming nothing more than a small pile of ashes over which Nightmare Moon stood.

She turned towards Justice, who had lost the strength to fly, instead stumbling forwards, his eyes stuck to where his best friend had just been. “You might want to say goodbye to the loud one over there too,” she said, smiling maliciously at the pegasus. Justice turned, looking over at the huddled mass of Aurora, her face turning reddish-purple as she continued screaming, and Steel, too distracted by Aurora to even notice that Swift had been killed. The screaming began to stutter as the unicorn began convulsing, until finally Aurora slouched, her heart finally giving way due to the immense stress.

“Aurora?” Steel asked, his voice quivering as he held her lifeless form. “Aurora, answer me. Please just answer me. Don’t leave me…” He let out a low moan and began crying as he hugged her tight. Justice had suspected that Steel had loved Aurora secretly; now his suspicions were validated.

Justice turned to the evil pony, who had taken her place back on the throne, and, shaking with rage, asked, “What did you do to her?” He couldn’t feel his legs, numb under the unbelievable events occurring around him. Two of his closest friends had just died brutally within minutes of each other, the villain still within his sights, yet he couldn’t move from this spot.

“That little filly thought she knew so much that she could tangle with me,” Nightmare Moon said, casually glancing towards the corner, seemingly bored with the ponies left in the room. “So, I showed her everything. In that short time, she experienced everything the universe has to offer. Though it was but a moment in our time, it was a thousand lifetimes in hers. Should’ve known she couldn’t withstand something like that…”

“SHUT UP!” Steel shouted, startling both Nightmare Moon and Justice. “Don’t you talk about her like that! This was one of the brightest, most capable unicorns ever. She learned so much and added so much to the Canterlot libraries, so don’t YOU TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!!”

Justice was shaking with fright. Never had he seen his friend this upset, and after losing two other friends, he was afraid for his safety now. He cringed as Nightmare Moon laughed at the enraged earth pony, causing Steel to charge at her. Justice watched, frozen in place, as Steel began to fight Nightmare Moon. Every punch missed, every kick finding only air, as the earth pony’s eyes were blinded by the flowing tears. Nightmare Moon, upset at the lackluster fight she was a part of, used her magic to levitate the pony, and threw him against the wall, bones cracking under the force.

Justice screamed, unable to contain himself at watching yet another friend being hurt. He began to shout at Nightmare Moon, begging her to stop when Steel stood up, hobbling towards the evil mare. “You will not get away with what you did today. An evil such as yours cannot go unpunished. I won’t stop until you’re defeated, you evil b….”

His voice was cut off forever as a large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down, crushing the strong pony under its immense weight. Nightmare Moon sighed, shaking her head and saying, “Finally got him to shut his mouth.” She turned towards the only pony left standing in the room and saw a broken pegasus.

Watching his final friend get crushed had made Justice snap. Whatever sanity had remained during the last moments were whisked away. He shook with rage and, finally able to react, charged at the pony in front of him. Her laughter only fueled his anger. She stood still, challenging the pony to hit her, believing that he couldn’t. When he reached her, he knocked her over and, without wasting a single second, began to strike. He pounded the evil black mare in front of him, feeling his hooves strike time and time again, relishing in the feeling of flesh rippling under the force, bones cracking. He continued to mercilessly attack this pony, constantly reliving the horrible deaths his three friends had just succumbed to, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

When the pony below him lay motionless, he stood up, backing away from the scene. His twisted smile faltered as he heard that low chuckle start up behind him. He whipped around, frantically, and came face to face with an undamaged Nightmare Moon. He looked back, noticing the final pegasus guard, beaten to a pulp, where he had believed Nightmare Moon had been. His shoulders slouched, his ears flattened as he realized his adrenaline fueled rage had passed and exhaustion was setting in.

“You have such a beautiful rage,” Nightmare Moon said, walking towards the defeated pony. “You really would make a fine king. Join me and we can rule Equestria together. Your anger is proof enough that you belong with me.” By the time she had finished, she stood right next to him, her tail tracing a trail across his lower jaw. She chuckled at his flustered expression when suddenly a shout rang out across the hall.

Standing in the doorway was Princess Celestia, the Elements of Harmony levitating around her head. Her horn was glowing bright gold as she aimed for the evil mare in the center of the room. The shout was from the unicorn that had run out of the hall earlier who had returned, seeing the surprise attack coming from Celestia, who silenced him too late. Nightmare Moon saw the princess as the threat she was and began to move to attack first.

Justice reached out and grabbed Nightmare Moon, tripping her and holding her down. She turned, fury filling her evil blue eyes, and fired a spell that hit Justice right in his face. He stumbled backwards, crying out in fear for what must be his final moment alive. As soon as he was clear, and Nightmare Moon was standing up, Celestia attacked, the power of the Elements of Harmony magnifying her strength. The spell enshrouded Nightmare Moon, causing her to scream out in frustration.

Celestia walked up to the captured pony, sorrow filling her eyes. Banishing this evil was a necessity, but the cost would be her sister’s happiness. Looking into those blue eyes, all Celestia saw was hate and rage. She knew what must be done and powered up a spell that would banish this monster away for all eternity. Luna’s moon, that’s where she’ll go. That’s what she’d want. With a dazzling display of power, Princess Celestia transported the evil mare to the moon, setting up a spell that would hold her there forever, but something was wrong.

The spell wasn’t complete, her power was not enough. The Elements of Harmony needed to be used by more than one pony for their full potential to be met. When Luna and Celestia had combined their might to defeat Discord, the Elements were working perfectly, but Celestia alone could not bring that power when needed. The spell that would trap Nightmare Moon forever was incomplete, only guaranteeing a thousand year imprisonment.

It was only after Nightmare Moon’s banishment, that Justice was able to shake himself loose of his fears, realizing he wasn’t in pain or dead, and stand. He noticed that Princess Celestia was standing in the center of the room, looking through the gigantic hole in the ceiling (The piece that crushed Steel, he realized) towards the moon. She turned, a pained look in her eyes, but his rage made him blind to her emotions.

“Where were you?!” Justice screamed, running up to the princess. He looked over to Aurora’s lifeless form, a gigantic rock in the middle of the room, and a small pile of ash in the corner. Turning back to Celestia, his body shaking from exhaustion and anger, he quietly asked, “Why didn’t you help? They’re all dead and you were nowhere to be found. What took you so long?” He noticed Celestia’s sorrow at that point, a single tear falling from her cheek. “You didn’t do it, did you? Where is she?”

Celestia just sat, sobbing slightly, as Justice began to walk out of the room, this grand hall that had become a tomb. When he reached the door, he stopped, his ears perking up as the princess called his name. He turned around, no emotions on his face, and waited for her to speak.

“I’m so sorry for your losses, Beaming Justice,” Princess Celestia started, her head slowly lowering with each word, “but I couldn’t defeat her. I’ve banished my sister to the moon for one thousand years. I understand you’re hurt right now. Whenever you want to talk, I am willing.” She looked up to see the still emotionless face of Justice staring back.

“You know nothing,” he said, turning and slamming the door behind him.

Rapid Quill put down his quill, sitting back and staring at his newest chapter. He hadn’t intended for it to be so dark but somehow it got that way. ‘Am I upset that the girls didn’t want to stay and read this? Could I even show them this chapter?’ He suddenly felt embarrassed by the newest part of his book, and made up his mind. He crumpled up the scroll and tossed it in the trash outside. ‘I need to come up with something else,’ he thought, racking his brain for ideas.

As he went back inside to think, he missed the pair of hooves delicately lifting his story out of the trash bin and running off with it.