The Darkness among the Stars

by Haseo

Chapter 30 - Falling apart

Chapter 30
Falling apart

The white light flooded the area around them. Like a stream of water, the light poured over them, making it impossible to see. They could feel the pure energy of the light itself as it nearly burned their coat. Light had never been so uncomfortable. The blinding light faded slowly and revealed its very source.

Two white alicorn mares opposed each other, sporting the same stance and appearance, merely one inch parting them. Despite their different eyes and manes, they could be identical twins. Like one of them was the shadow of the second.

Princess Celestia shot her a sinister and visibly unhappy frown, the same face she made when Discord reappeared for the first time. Radiant Flare seemed to enjoy their reunion, flashing her a almost happy and careless smile. Neither of them stepped back or even moved a tiny bit, until Princess Celestia's darker side decided to break the ice. “I assume you won't give me a little peck on the lips?”

The Princess gnashed her teeth, the sound of the teeth rubbing against each other was audible even to Twilight and her friends. “Where is Lunacy?”

Radiant Flare waved her mane back and proceed to walk before she stopped again and gave Princess Celestia a seducing glare. “Are you only concerned about our master? It is like you don't care for me at all!”

This was far enough in this precarious situation. Princess Celestia stomped forcefully at the ground, not even the ashes could absorb the shock, and it came through the bones of the others. “Stop acting like a fool! This is not child's play. If you won't tell me immediately, I'm forced to fight you off until you tell me.”

The midnight blue fog that was so feared for over a thousand years manifested itself around the hooves of Radiant Flare and raised in the air. It created a familiar looking head right next to her. She hissed with her tongue in the direction of the Princess. “So you and these four puny ponies want to fight us back? Don't make me laugh!”

The fog withdrew and reappeared a few steps away, forming into Nightmare Moon and vanishing completely, leaving the wicked mare alone. Under usual circumstances, this fight would be easy, two opponents against four of them. But since both enemies were immortal alicorns with an insane amount of raw magical power, the situation was pretty bad.

Radiant Flare stepped closer to the Princess and whispered in her ear. “Our master is already inside Demon's Run, ready to destroy your lovely little sister and her student.”

The heavy hoof of Princess Celestia rose up from the ground and hit Radiant Flare's face like a whip. Drips of blood were running down her chin. The tension in the air was significantly rising. Both white alicorns were concentrating their magic. The darker half of them turned to Nightmare Moon and stabbed her with her gaze. “This is a matter between me and Tia, don't even try to interfere!”

Nightmare Moon herself had to gulp by the threatening expression of her sister. “If that is the case, I will take care of the others.”

The horns of Princess Celestia and Radiant Flare lit up and let both of them disappear in a flash of light, leaving the other behind without any further instructions.

Nightmare Moon approached the four friends with a snickering tongue. “This is now the third time we fight each other. But this time the Elements are entirely gone! You don't even stand a chance...”

The wicked mare was cut off by a flying crystal spear. It flew right next to her head and hit the black wall behind her. Her eyes left Twilight and focused on the white unicorn stallion next to her. A almost solid matter formed itself into an armour around his body. His eyes were drilling orbs that would frighten every mortal opponent. “I will be your enemy! As Captain of the Royal Guard, I will stop you!”

A second avalanche of spears rained down upon Nightmare Moon, she could barely dodge them by turning into fog. The moment she formed again, a flying hoof of another stallion raked her face. Phalanx had used Shining Armor's attack to slip through her defence and place a precise blow.

The mare of nightmares stumbled backwards and tipped with her plot against the massive wall. She had closed her eyes tightly together, but with brute force, she suppressed the pain and prepared for the counterattack. Her horn ignited in a dark blue light, and the area cooled down drastically and let everypony shiver.

A tendril of dark fog reached out for Phalanx and grabbed one of his rear hooves. His well trained wings couldn't take the additional strain and he began to lose height. Only the blast of lavender magic could free him. Twilight, her brother, and Phalanx reformed into a neat row and faced Nightmare Moon directly. The dark mare wiped away the last remains of the blood around her chin and looked at her enemies with a completely different attitude. “Seems like this will be harder than I thought.”

Only Applejack had to stay away from the limelight. The moment she lost her Element, she also lost her ability to fight off such magical threats like Nightmare Moon or even Discord. She returned to the being she was before she met Twilight. Just a normal earth pony without any special purpose of life but running Sweet Apple Acres with her family. As a very traditional earth pony, she hated to admit that she missed her magical ability that honesty had given her. She felt useless and unnecessary. Without really noticing she withdrew step for step, her mind wanted to help but her body refused and tried to flee from the seemingly indestructible enemy.

The usually so brave and bold farmer couldn't hide anywhere, every possible hiding spot laid far behind her, so she curled up to a little orange ball and tried to sink as much as possible into the layer of ashes at the ground.

Twilight and her brother held the wicked mare at bay. Nightmare Moon had to dodge the sneak attacks of Phalanx over and over, no time to plan anything. If she halted she would certainly get hit by one of these crystal spears. Shining Armor's eyes followed every movement of her and ensured that she wouldn't dare to get closer to them. His sister was casting more complex spells. She changed her surroundings to give them a tactical advantage. The shape of the ground beneath them had changed. The ground was lifted several feet upwards to reach Nightmare Moon even in the air, and giving Phalanx the possibility of hiding for a moment.

It didn't matter how hard they tried, Nightmare Moon could seemingly resist every hit. Instead of struggling and wincing in pain, the mare of nightmares continued toying around. Twilight followed her moving pattern and tried to calculate her next actions. It took a second but finally she was realizing what she was up to. Her eyes folded back and her mouth hung low. “She is playing with us! She only wants us to waste our magic in thoughtless attempts to bring her down!”

Phalanx soared down from the sky, piercing through the air, aiming for the neck of Nightmare Moon. Just barely Twilight's words reached his ears. For a moment he hesitated and slowed down a tiny bit. This didn't stay hidden from his immortal target. She turned and bucked the white pegasus as hard as she could. His tumbling form crashed into the pillar of earth where Twilight and Shining Armor were standing on top. The pillar gave in and its fragments spread all over, covering everything into a thick layer of dust, dirt and stone.

The impact caused Applejack to peek out of her curled up position. She had to witness how her friends climbed out of the pile of ashes and dirt. Her heart ached by this view. Twilight coughed dust and held tight to Phalanx, who had two big hoof-formed bruises on his flank. Only Shining Armor seemed to remain almost unharmed due to his crystal armour. Immediately, he regained his stance and faced Nightmare Moon again.

Nightmare Moon had to grin at the appearance of the Crystal Knight. “I see why they had chosen you as new Captain of the Royal Guard. For a mortal you are incredibly strong. I think it is rather cute how you try to achieve something because it doesn't matter who will win this fight. Even if you are able to defeat me, it would only be temporally. Whoever wins this fight is meaningless, a new ruler will be crowned at the end of this day!”

The black mare expanded her wings and leaped to the air. With a twist, she changed direction and headed for Shining Armor. The stallion remained calm and didn't move, he just stared at her growing form.

The air became cold, it felt like eternal night had taken hold all over Equestria, and the ponies began to shiver. Tiny drips of sweat upon their coats froze to ice. Twilight's breath became visual. While the Nightmare was approaching quickly, her words burned inside Twilight's mind. “Why should a new ruler will be crowned even if we win?”

Nightmare Moon rocketed downwards, the tension inside Shining Armor's eyes almost exploded. He waited for the perfect moment. The winged mare leached her hoof back and aimed for him, her gaze was locked upon the stallion. A faint rumble in the ground remained unnoticed. She turned her body and stretched her hoof forward. Instead of feeling the blood of the stallion before her, she could feel a warm liquid running down her belly.

With a massive wing-flap she rose the the air again and tilted her head down, so she could inspect her wounds. Multiple stabbing marks adorned her body, her gaze wandered to the ground, several crystal pikes reached from the inner of the earth out. Shining Armor had hidden them beneath the ground to escape her watch.

Nightmare Moon turned once more in the air and healed her wounds with her magic. “Why a new ruler? Are you that naïve? You really fall for this pity act of your precious Soul? Even if he wins and forces us back into exile, don't you think he would claim the throne for himself?”

Twilight stumbled backwards and fell on her plot. With fear she imagined a world without Princess Celestia as their glorious ruler. The wicked mare noticed the uncertainty inside Twilight and pushed her harder. “A stallion driven insane from war and loss as new ruler of a kingdom of peace and harmony. He would force the guards to grow in their numbers and siege into war. Many will more will die and suffer under his reign. And nopony would be able to stop him!”

The lavender unicorn clapped her hooves together over her head and sobbed quietly into the ground. “No! The Princesses would never allow that! They would stop him! Princess Celestia will stop him!”

The dark laughter of Nightmare Moon blazed through their ears. “Do you really think he would let them be alive? When he is able to defeat our master, he is without doubt the strongest being in existence. Both Princesses and especially your precious Celestia will burn in the fire of his madness!”

Phalanx soared down from the air again to comfort his weeping friend. “Twilight! Don't listen to her! She tries to poison your mind and corrupt your feelings!”

A tendril of dark matter whipped over his back and pushed him forcefully into the ground. Twilight didn't notice at all while her brother immediately took countermeasures. He made a long leap to the crater where Phalanx was trying to rise again.

His crystal armour was strong but didn't stand a chance against the pure darkness of Nightmare Moon's magic. Only for a second, he took his eyes away from her and immediately a tendril of her dark blue fog pierced through his armour.

The tendril hid deep in his flesh, but he didn't scream or wince. He stood his ground, the only noise was the weeping of his sister and the shattering sound of the fragments that formed his armour before.

The environmental temperature rose again, the cold was gone and replaced with intense heat. Nightmare Moon looked carefully to the direction of the blazing orb in the sky. “Looks, like the battle inside the sun is raging.”

Extreme currents of energy raged on the surface of the sun. The blazing dance of plasma was accompanied by two white alicorn beings dancing underneath them, performing the dance of death. A fight between two immortal is a meaningless act of violence. Many died in the past due to fights between such beings. They only sense is to define a superior and a subordinate pony, and sometimes it is just a kind of outlet for pent up wrath and frustration.

Princess Celestia drained her power directly from the sun beneath her hooves. This wasn't a real fight, it was a humiliation. Radiant Flare didn't stand a chance, she got hit from one strike after another. The immortals were showing a way of cruelty that is unknown to every mortal being. Endless suffering. A mortal can show mercy when he finally kills his victim, but this case is different. Radiant Flare is immortal which means no matter how hard she gets hit, she won't die. These are the times you ask who is good and who is the true evil.

The gaze of the usually so caring and loving Princess of the Sun became grey and dull. She didn't move noticeable nor did she show any real emotion. But she was certainly satisfied by molesting her opponent. Thrown aback by one of Princess Celestia's blows, her darker half regained stance for a second. “Why are you doing this? When did you hide such immense strength? You could have stopped us back at the Gala!”

Immediately she was forcefully pushed back again. A current of pure solar energy hit her chest and sent her flying. Princess Celestia teleported after her darker half to keep her inside her view. “Do you really think I would give everything up so easily? I worked for the last thousand years for this mask! You don't even know how hard it was to swallow your pride and play nice and be understanding all the time. I became the sympathetic and glorious ruler of Equestria, unable to do anything bad. Ponies forgot about my past, the most of them didn't even know what we were once before. Are you really so foolish to believe that I would throw away a thousand years of image recovery and lower myself to your level?”

Radiant Flare couldn't even see straight forward anymore, the picture before her eyes was blurry. “Acted nice? I'm supposed to be everything bad you were. You're nice and good! There is no acting, this has become your true self!”

Once more the evil mare got struck down with a current of energy pushing her in the burning surface of the sun. Princess Celestia slowly began to show faint emotions. But instead of anger, depression boiled inside her. “You're mistaken. We were evil from the beginning, so you didn't miss anything. When Soul parted us and I banished my own sister because she didn't fit my view on the world anymore, I felt an emptiness in my heart. For a thousand years I believed that I simply missed my sister, but I had to learn that this wasn't the truth. Twilight managed to purge my sister from her darker side with help of the Elements, the very weapon I created with the blood of another pony. I felt happy for getting Luna back, but the hole in my heart remained. It was the moment I realized what I was missing. It wasn't really Luna, it was you.”

Coughing blood and swaying from one side to another, the wicked mare tried to keep her balance. “You missed me? What is the meaning of this?”

Princess Celestia grabbed the throat of her enemy and held her high in the non-existent air. “I didn't miss my sister, I missed being evil.”

With that, the Princess smashed her darker side into the ground once more. She lifted her up one more time and gave her some time to take a deep breath. “What hindered you from becoming evil again if you desired it so badly?”

A second time the face of Radiant Flare met the ground. Princess Celestia's lips formed to a dark and sad frown. “I hardly left the castle anymore. I assigned Twilight with every task that I should have done, even if they were dangerous or not. I couldn't think straight anymore, it didn't matter how much I wanted to be bad. I simply couldn't, I thought so often about striking one of these stuck-up high class ponies for their dumb and naïve way of talking about the world. But I couldn't, I couldn't raise my hoof against any of them. When King Sombra returned, I sent Twilight because I feared I would hesitate and lose to him. I felt miserable and worthless, but your reappearance gave me new hope.”

The Princess let loose of her darker half, and she laid down on the ground, unable to move anymore. She just breathed flatly and unsteadily. “New hope? Why should I give you hope?”

Princess Celestia closed the distance between them and placed one of her heavy hooves on Radiant Flare's throat. The eyes of the Princess changed to show clear signs of insanity and madness, her lips showed a forced and unnatural, cranky smile. “Ever since all of you left, I tried to figure out the spell Soul had used. Every single time I locked myself up in the castle, I tried to create a counter-spell. And today the day has come to use it.”

Radiant Flare's eyes widened in shock, but she was unable to move, unable to run away, and too weak to use magic anymore. She was exposed to the madness of the Solar Princess.

Deep down in her heart Princess Celestia felt something odd. She could feel that her student was staggering at the planet beneath her. But what disturbed her even more was the fact that she could clearly feel that her sister and Soul were heading to the source of raw dark magical power that seemed to wait only for them.

Princess Luna and Soul wandered straight in one direction for seemingly an eternity. They left the shadow that the black wall was creating and walked through the endless ashes. But soon something caught their attention. Disturbing the ambience of the endless darkness ahead was a thin light cone that grew with every step they made.

Four massive pearl white rocks about three times the height of a pony came into view. The site of the rocks which were facing each other were neatly cut to a smooth and plain surface. Every single of them looked exactly the same despite one difference.

The the first rock, was something dark that pulsed in a dangerous red light. Princess Luna and Soul walked faster and faster with their goal ahead. In the centre of the rocks something reflected the light that pierced through the layer of clouds.

Princess Luna's eyes locked upon the object and didn't allow any changes. She could feel the magic of her parents surrounding it. She was already galloping by now and determined to retrieve the artefact but was stopped by Soul's flank. The stallion slowly decreased his pace until he halted completely. “What is wrong, Soul? The artefact is in between these rocks? We are almost there!”

The stallion remained quiet, but the sound of his teeth biting in his lips was well audible. The Princess followed the gaze of her former student and began to examine the rock.

Her eyes shrank and her breath faltered. Upon the rock was lazily lying a dark and red pulsing pony. He didn't even think it was necessary to stand up in face of his so called enemies. Only his eyes opened calmly. “Good evening, my dear Soul Tearer.”