Ch1 - The Darkest Night

“Nooo!”

It can’t end like this...

The rainbow-colored beam that rushed forth from the Elements of Harmony arched towards the black and armored form of Nightmare Moon, crashed at her hooves, and spiraled upwards around her in a multicolored tornado. She knew its power. She had fallen to the magical spectrum once before and feared what was to come next.

“Nooo!” she howled again as she reared up, front hooves flailing wildly in a vain effort to dispel the magic.

I can’t go back... I won’t!

The blur of rainbow colors enveloped her until she could see nothing but the vibrant hues swirling around her. Soon, there was a soft, white glow. In a flash, it became a blinding light. Unable to look upon it, she squeezed shut her teal, cat-like eyes as tight as she could, but still it burned its way through. She could feel it searing into her very mind, threatening her consciousness. She was at her limit, at the precipice of blacking out.

Then everything went silent. The rushing sound of the wind and the almost musical hum of the Elements’ magic were abruptly absent. She opened her eyes, fearing the worst, to find that nothing had happened. The six ponies across from her seemed dazed, but were slowly regaining their senses. The lavender unicorn gasped at the sight of her unaffected adversary.

“B-But I don’t understand. The Elements of Harmony were supposed to work! How could this have happened!?”

Nightmare Moon gave a spine-chilling laugh. “Foals, did you truly believe you could stand against me, the Goddess of the Moon?”

“Perhaps they cannot,” echoed an ancient and regal voice within the stone ruins of the old castle, “but I can!” In a brilliant flash of light, the Goddess of the Sun emerged in the space between the six ponies and the Nightmare they faced, the latter appearing utterly unimpressed by Celestia's sudden and stunning entrance.

“Princess!” exclaimed the lavender unicorn. She let out a sigh. “I’m so glad you’re here. We tried using the Elements of Harmony, but—”

“I know,” she said, her violet eyes slanted in a fierce glare at Nightmare Moon. “Stand back, my faithful student. This is a battle I must fight alone.”

“I see you have escaped my imprisonment spell, though I cannot say that I am surprised. It is unfortunate that you have arrived too late,” she said as she pointed a hoof towards the six ponies. “Your precious Elements have failed. You cannot use their magic as you did in our last encounter, my dear sister.”

The six ponies let out a gasp. “S-sister?” Celestia gave no outward acknowledgement to their astonishment, remaining intently focused on the mare of darkness before her.

“You are right. The Elements no longer respond to my influence.” She angled her head ever so slightly rearward as she addressed the ponies behind her, never removing her gaze from her opponent. “I had hoped you six would be able to wield their magic in my stead, but for reasons unknown to me, Nightmare Moon seems to have become impervious to their power.”

The Nightmare laughed menacingly behind her lips. “You cannot truly believe that you will be able to defeat me without their aid. I remember well that your strength alone is not enough.”

“You may be right,” Celestia replied, her eyes filled with a fiery determination that blazed like the Sun itself, “but I must try. I will do everything within my power to stop you and protect Equestria!”

A golden aura formed around Celestia’s horn with a small sphere of light appearing at its point. Without any further indication, several beams shot forth from the light’s center. In an instant, Nightmare Moon became nothing more than a cloud of dark magic and stars, resembling the appearance of her mane and tail. It swirled and parted, causing every burst of spells from Celestia’s horn to miss their mark, passing harmlessly through the air and impacting the stone structures around them.

The rays of light easily sliced through any surface they struck. Rubbled and debris violently erupted around whatever unfortunate object each blast happened to hit, the destructive power clearly far more than enough to effortlessly tear any normal pony to ribbons countless times over. Massive columns were instantly carved in two. Holes large enough for ponies to walk through riddled the walls. Entire sections of what remained of the ceiling were severed, falling and shattering on the floor below. Not a single one had connected with its intended target.

Flying deftly through the air, the star-filled apparition noticed an opening and stormed towards Celestia as she continued her attempts to strike a even a single blow to no avail. In only a matter of moments, it was right underneath her muzzle, the shape of Nightmare Moon quickly taking form once again.

“Princess Celestia!” shrieked the lavender unicorn in abject horror. All she could do was stare helplessly with eyes wide at the scene before her.

Celestia gave a short gasp, followed quickly by a sickening, moist cough. A crimson mist had sprayed forth from her mouth with the effort and now stained the stone floor in a spatter of red as streams of blood began to flow down Nightmare Moon’s face. Right below the golden and jewel-encrusted yoke she had worn for countless centuries, Celestia had been run through, Nightmare Moon’s horn still in the wound. As she strained for another breath, Celestia felt her legs fail her as her body began to succumb to the terrible blow it had suffered. Her weight collapsed onto the dark figure beneath her, driving the horn deeper into her chest and eliciting a brief cry of pain.

“Gah!”

It’s over.

“Time has made you soft, sister,” she remarked, malice dripping from every word she spat.

Nightmare Moon removed her horn from the now limp body of Celestia. It fell to the cold floor and blood began to pool underneath her, filling the cracks in the stone and staining her previously radiant, white coat. Around her horn, another golden aura, this one faint and weak, began to coalesce around its shape.

A healing spell? She never could bring herself to concede of her own free will, but surely even she knows this is the end.

“Can’t you just simply die!?” she shouted as she stomped a hoof on her sister’s neck, steadily crushing it downward and depriving her of air. The spell’s warm light faded and vanished, and Nightmare Moon lifted her hoof from the dying mare of light beneath her.

It was useless. Celestia had lost too much blood too quickly, and nearly every last drop of her strength had already flowed from her broken body. The wound had been a fatal blow, passing right through both of the goddess’ hearts, just as Nightmare Moon had aimed to do in order to defeat the more robust physiology of an alicorn. As she swam against the waves of weakness that washed over her, Celestia used what little strength she had remaining to speak her final words

“I’m sorry...” she rasped, her eyes fixed on Nightmare Moon. She spoke so softly that her dying breath could barely be heard by the mare of darkness standing above her, eclipsing her form in a menacing visage with the Sun Goddess’ blood still dripping from the dark figure’s muzzle and horn.

Sorry you couldn’t stop me and ‘save’ Equestria yet again? Even in death, you still cling to your ideals of duty? How pathetic.

“ ‘Tis pitiable,” she mocked, “that your words do not reach the ears of the ones meant to receive them. Your subjects will never bear witness to your final regrets. Such a waste.”

Celestia moved her mouth to say something more, but no sound escaped her lips. She had not the strength to utter a single whisper. All she could do was give a pleading gaze towards Nightmare Moon, their eyes remaining locked as the last drops of life drained from her body. Time seemed to stand still as the final throes of death overtook Celestia until her eyes dulled, the last shimmers of life fading from their violet orbs, and she exhaled her last breath. Her body rested, the aurora of her mane and tail losing their ethereal appearance and becoming simple locks of light pink hair.

Nightmare Moon stared at the unmoving shell of her sister a moment longer before turning to the six ponies who had bore witness to the short battle between goddesses. Every one of them was frozen with fear, unable to move or speak in the slightest. All they could do was stare with jaws agape. The lavender unicorn was the first to break the stillness, taking a shaky step forward.

“We... We can still stop you!” her voice trembled. “Y-you haven’t won yet!”

The other five ponies looked to her, then to Nightmare Moon, some wearing weak smiles of false confidence while others were unable to make any effort to conceal their terror. She could see the fear and uncertainty in every one of their eyes, giving an amused and sinister laugh at the notion they had any chance of victory.

“I admire your courage, laughable as it may be, but this ends here. While I have no desire to dispatch you as I did my sister, I’m afraid I cannot have you interfering with my reign.”

She closed her eyes for a brief instant. When she opened them a second later, they were glowing white with power and a dark blue aura had engulfed her horn. As the spell charged, she began to hover ever so slightly above the stone floor. The display of her godliness struck sheer awe and horror into the hearts of the six ponies as they began to instinctively back away.

Suddenly, a bright flash came from the apex of Nightmare Moon’s horn, filling the entire chamber. Some of the ponies attempted to shield their eyes with a hoof, while others reared up or dropped to the ground. When the light faded, everypony besides Nightmare Moon, even the lifeless corpse of Celestia, had been petrified, turned to stone as the God of Chaos had been so long ago. The chamber had become filled with monuments to her victory.

She was now alone; nothing but stone and darkness surrounded her. A chilling draft could be felt and heard howling through the broken ruins of the old castle. The all-too-familiar stillness unsettled Nightmare Moon. There was no reason for her to remain with both her sister and the six ponies no longer able to put a stop to her ambitions.

I suppose the time has come for me to assume my rightful place as the Queen of Equestria. I do hope my subjects don’t make too much of a fuss.

Once more she became a haze of dark magic and stars, darting out into the night towards the mountainside that housed the nation’s capital. The city lights of Canterlot’s spires could be seen glimmering in the distance, it’s citizens completely oblivious of the coup that had taken place this night: the night that would last forever.

Author's Note:

Well, after sitting on it for far too long, the first chapter is finally here! This story is being written at the request of a FOB Equestria community member who goes by the alias of Panama Red. Before each chapter will be published, I have decided that I want to give him a first look and get his input. Other than that, no other editing besides my own is being done to this story to help ease the writing and publication process.

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