How does one begin the road of destruction? How does a being loved lose its way? Through a simple whisper.
The reason why Princess Luna turned into Nightmare Moon has been alluded to, theorized, and dramatized. But all of the reasons why have been grandiose and very often external in nature. But all that is really needed to turn someone from a being of good to a being of darkness is but a simple whisper and time. A whisper given by a force of hatred and fear.
Picture is used with permission and is by Warepwn3 on deviantart. Found here
Luna looked up at the moon she had just raised. So long she was trapped in it. So long she was forever watching Equestria carry on like she did not matter. Such cold loneliness. Such bitterness. At that thought Luna oddly smiled while a tear fell from her cheek.
That feeling was gone, replaced by warmth and acceptance of everypony. The ponies of Equestria did not reject her, they embraced her! In a weeks time they were even holding a Winter's Moon Festival, held on the longest night of the year.
That of course meant Luna would get two days celebrated in her honor to which she held a small bit of triumphant arrogance against her sister. Nightmare Night after all was a celebration of the night not a scorn of it, her visit to Ponyville showing her that. But Luna wished for something less fear inducing and kinder. Something akin to the adoration found during the Summer's Sun Celebration and received it by surprise from her sister.
With a smile as she remembered how excited her sister had been when she informed her Luna walked inside from the balcony of her palace room as the air grew colder with the night. The inside was decorated in satin blues and purples, drapes cascading down from the ceiling, the shimmer of the cloth making the entire room appear to be a night sky. The fire in the hearth crackled and sputtered, radiating warmth from the opposite end of the room. Its light dancing among the drapes.
Luna's mind and thoughts wandered aimlessly around about royal canterlot business and what preparations was in the works for the new event. Luna settled into the center of the room and then focused herself to move the moon along its course through the night sky. At that moment a knock was heard on the door.
A bit startled Luna went to the door opening it to find a very bashful purple alicorn standing in front of it. The alicorn's wings twitched and jostled trying to find a comfortable place as if the pony was not used to them, like they had appeared just yesterday, which in fact they had.
To be precise they appeared about 3 weeks ago when Twilight Sparkle the unicorn finally unlocked the secret of magic which had eluded Star Swirl the Bearded. Advancing her to princessdom and giving her wings as well as a horn, the sign of alicorn royalty. Twilight still seemed quite unsure of the whole ordeal sometimes testing her wings to make sure they were real by pulling out a feather and wincing in pain, the evidence being found around the castle in the form of purple feathers.
"Twilight, how unexpected! Come in. What are you doing here so late in the evening?" Luna exclaimed a bit too loudly. She was still catching herself now and then trying to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, even after all that time and effort Twilight and her friends had made. Looking a bit off guard from the volume level Twilight entered the room cautiously. Luna gave a little cough to help her focus the volume in her voice to a more appropriate level as she continued in a more casual and softer tone. "I apologize you just caught me off guard. Now what did you wish to see me about?" Twilight looked up to Luna and seemed like she was about to ask something before she deflated and laid on the floor with a sigh, softly she stated her answer and Luna barely heard it and honestly wished she hadn't, it was something she was hoping to avoid awhile longer.
"I wanted to know what made you turn into Nightmare Moon," When Luna did not reply Twilight looked up and then a bit louder and rather quickly blurted out. "I read the story but it doesn't make sense to me that all there was to it was you being jealous of when ponies played. I am worried I might encounter the thing that made you...well," As she said the last part her voice caught and Twilight looked at her hooves, blushing, as she waited for a response. Luna took a deep breath and slowly let it out focusing herself for the conversation that would follow.
"You are right. That knowledge would be very useful to you. I am surprised 'Tia-" Luna coughed slightly as she corrected herself on her address of her sister "-I mean Princess Celestia has not given you a lesson on it already. Tell me, what do you think caused my transformation?" Luna asked as she sat across from the embarrassed and unsure Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight took a breath and then started in a tone of hurried embarrassment recounting the theories she or others had come up with. Each one was more fantastical, elaborate, and absurd than the last. Around the story of a "Space Mist Cloud of Absolute Evil" Luna lost her composure and burst out laughing.
Twilight put on a strained uncertain smile as she waited for Luna to explain herself, the outburst being quite startling considering the topic to which they were discussing. After several minutes of laughing and giggling Luna finally collected herself and smiled warmly at Twilight. Luna walked over to the worried and awkward alicorn and wrapped a wing around her. Nuzzling her softly and reassuringly.
"I apologize, but every single one of those theories is wrong. Not too mention amusing to hear," after a slight pause Luna asked bemusedly. "Space Mist really?" to which Twilight nodded. Her facial expression becoming more relaxed as Luna held Twilight with her wing. "No my dear Twilight. The reason behind my fall to darkness was much, much more subtle and much more dangerous. You see all it took-" At this point Luna put her muzzle to Twilight's ear and very softly "-was a whisper."
Celestia was ecstatic. The rush of what had just transpired was still strong and how easy it had been unbelievable. THE great and powerful draconequus Discord, was stuck in stone. Still in that ridiculous pose. They stood in a grand hall in the palace that had been constructed by the unicorns of the past. Discord's statue sitting on a small pedestal in the middle of the room looking like a bizarre art piece more than the horrible dictator he had been.
And all it took was a simple mention of Celestia being a better singer and a well timed blast from the Elements of Harmony while he was distracted. Of course having the Elements of Harmony appear and present themselves to the sisters after having been lost for centuries before was just plain luck or fate. But the plan to stop Discord's rule without giving him a chance to retaliate went swimmingly!
Luna was not so ecstatic. She was looking beyond the momentary victory. How was the world going to run now? Discord's chaos had completely ruined the cycle of sun and moon. The half bright, half dark landscape a horrible testament to that. She turned to her sister who was waving her rear end very inappropriately at the frozen form of Discord. Her pink mane and tail waving wildly.
"CELESTIA! Stop that he might be able to still see you! And look the world is still in chaos, maybe he is just making us think it worked!" Luna exclaimed as she quickly dragged her sister away from the statue eyeing it wearily. Her three elements of honesty, generosity, and kindness still glowed and hovered around her. Celestia laughed as her elements of laughter, loyalty and magic still floated near her.
"Don't worry! We won. Now as for the sun and moon, did you not notice?!" She practically yelled at the top of her lungs as she then dropped her head almost to the floor sticking her rear up and began to wave her rear around and jumping slightly up and down off the floor with her front hooves. It took Luna a full minute before she saw the bright, golden sun on her sister's flank causing a loud and shocked gasp to escape her.
"CELESTIA! YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!" Luna exclaimed happily, right before a small pout appeared on her lip jealous of her sister's fortune. Celestia rolled her eyes at this and forced Luna to look at her own flank. Again it took her a full minute for it to sink in before another loud exclamation. "AND I GOT MINE! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!" She said bouncing around happily in a circle around Celestia who only smiled contentedly at seeing her usually morose sister so happy.
Not even when they had become alicorns after receiving the Elements of Harmony was Luna this happy. Though the alicorn transformation was more of a shocking surprise. Getting their cutie marks after all this time, after Discord's repeated insults about useless no talent ponies. It was a very big relief. And Celestia decided that she wished to remove anything that might take her sister's smile from this world. It was far too cute to have hidden by a frown.
Luna was turning in a circle trying her best to get a better look at her cutie mark looking absolutely ridiculous with how big her smile was. Celestia coughed lightly, her warm and loving smile still plastered on her face as she moved to the window and beckoned for her sister to follow. When Luna joined her and they looked out at the sun and moon hanging opposite each other seeming to fight one another over which would rule the sky. Celestia smiled seeing it as a symbol to the end of strife in the land that they were fixing them. Luna had a small worry over how it looked like light and dark were to be eternal enemies.
"Alright, on three we move them together to show the world that harmony is returning. Lets give them a wonderfully bright day of normalcy and see the results before tucking them in with a quiet and uneventful long nights rest, how does that sound?" Celestia asked sweetly while putting a hoof around her sister. Luna looked at the floor shaking her head slightly dispelling her dark worry and a childish moment of wanting the night before the day before smiling at her slightly confused sister and nodding. Celestia removed her hoof and waited for Luna to start.
"1!" Luna exclaimed taking a wider stance and lighting her horn focusing on HER moon, sticking her tongue out in her moment of intense concentration. Which Celestia could not help but giggle at.
"2!" Celestia yelled joyfully before mimicking her sister's stance focusing on HER sun and they looked at each other big smiles on their faces before nodding.
"3!" They yelled in unison their horns exploding in the light of magic as the Elements of Harmony glowed brighter as well. At first nothing happened and then the line of light and dark tilted, the moon lowering below the far horizon. Allowing the sun to take its place high in the sky. They both cut off the magic to their horns and panted from the exhaustion. It was at this point they noticed the Crystal Kingdom in the distance. Celestia scowled.
"I remember in the beginning of Discord's reign the Crystal Kingdom had been so bright. It offered hope, made his chaos and silliness a bit easier to handle. Look what his reign did to that beautiful place. We will have to prepare ourselves for a trek there to help fix what Discord broke!" Celestia said coldly as she went over and bucked the statue with her back hooves. The happy expression the new lawn ornament wore beginning to be a source of annoyance to her.
Luna looked at the city and a chill ran down her spine as she wondered if it had been Discord or somepony else that caused the city of love and light to grow dark and hateful. The dark aura was spreading outwards from the city its march had been slow at first but it had started to spread faster recently. Luna worried that Discord might have been the least of their worries.
The foul corrupting blast from King Sombra slammed into the wall above Luna's head. It had just missed Celestia by just a hair causing Luna to leap behind a crystal shard to gain cover. This was not what the sisters were expecting when they came to the Crystal Empire. They had arrived just a few hours ago and they found a unicorn powerful enough to hold off their new power. How was that possible? Where was he getting his power?
Another blast took out the top of the crystal shard Luna hid behind as she was lost in her thoughts. She quickly dodged the falling piece trying her best to figure out his weakness. So far every spell tossed at him was met with a black shard blocking it or simply dodged with a laugh. And each spell only seemed to fuel his power. She slammed into the window ledge getting a view of the crystal ponies in chains below. Chains leading to the castle. A sudden moment of realization came to Luna. The once powerful kingdom which survived by love and light lay dark and hateful before her. THAT WAS IT! That was how he was so powerful. He was fueled by the negativity and hopelessness of the crystal ponies! Where before the Kingdom gained the power it was all being directed to him.
Of course now that she knew that, how was she supposed to break that bond? I mean those ponies were subjected to soul crushing slavery for years. How was she supposed to dispel that? How were they supposed to break that kind of hold? It fueled his power of hate and...darkness. DARKNESS! If his power focused on that then they needed light, but Celestia would need an immense amount of power to cast a spell strong enough. They had one shot at this.
Another thought entered Luna's mind at that point. She remembered how the light and dark when she looked out the window seemed to be locked in battle. Luna got her powers from the darkness as well. Which meant she was just like King Sombra. A being of darkness. A being that could not survive in the light. Luna looked out at the enslaved ponies and their hopeless expressions. Was she like this?
A cry came from Celestia at that time and Luna shook her head and turned back to the battle and gasped. Sombra had gained an upper hand over Celestia and had her pinned in a corner. Celestia had a barrier up but was obviously struggling to keep the assault at bay. Luna raced over launching a spell looking like a lightning strike towards him causing him to stop attacking Celestia and quickly dodge out of its way. Luna quickly went over to her sister and took a sturdy and protective stance in front of her. But the doubt on her face showed through. Sombra noticed and smiled wickedly.
"Sister! His power comes from the darkness clouding the crystal ponies hearts! You must dispel the bond with a strong surge of light and cast it into the bond he has over them. That should weaken him long enough to defeat him. Quickly now! I will distract him while you gather the necessary power!" Luna explained in a loud voice. A look of fear crossed Sombra's face before he renewed his attack.
Celestia nodded and closed her eyes. First she needed to cast the spell to be able to see the bond. When she opened her eyes again they glowed in a golden hue and she saw the black, hideous, and revolting tendrils cascading off Sombra. The scene was surreal. Sombra actually looked like a mass of darkness not a unicorn anymore. But with this vision she also saw where he had attached the tendrils. His black heart. It was almost too much even to look at, black as night and more foul than anything she had seen before. Celestia started gathering power into her horn. Her pink mane started to shimmer in multiple hues slightly as she did.
Luna flew straight at Sombra, launching ray after crackling ray of bright light at him. The doubts swarming in her mind as she stalled to give her sister time. Sombra dodged ray after ray his wicked smile growing at the sight of Luna's doubt. Luna's own mane started to darken and shimmer with small pinpricks of light as she cast spell after spell.
"Is there a problem, Miss Alicorn of the Night? I would think you and I would be allies here," Sombra hissed watching as his comment drove the doubt deeper into Luna's mind. If he could turn this one against her sister he would have a much easier time with this battle. As he felt smug about this idea he heard a light ringing noise and looked past the Night Alicorn and saw the large amount of stored power in Celestia's horn and panic shot through him for a second.
Then a thought occurred to him and he smiled and turned back to Luna. He only needed to get this one to tell her to stop, "Oh dear, it would appear the Alicorn of the Light is going to cast a rather nasty spell for beings such as us," whispered Sombra, his manic glee rising as he saw Luna look at her sister and gulp down her fear. "Certainly you do not wish to be hit by such a blast being a creature of the night and all. Honestly I also wonder why you fight me. Does anyone even appreciate your talent or do they simply shun it?" He hissed wickedly again. The result of his words actually surprised him.
Luna stopped. Hovering in front of Sombra in shock. She suddenly remembered how when she had first brought on the night, the ponies had stopped celebrating. Ever since the sun had been put in the sky right after Discord's defeat they had celebrated. When Luna brought on the night they stopped they did not offer up the praises her sister had gotten, they did not praise the moon. No they simply ignored it and went to sleep. Like she did not matter. Luna suddenly gathered a large amount of power into her horn ready to strike the source of this realization down, her face contorted in anger. Sombra recoiled slightly suddenly regretting his words.
Not hearing a word of the conversation, Celestia saw Luna stop and she became worried that Luna had been hurt or worse, affected by a dark spell that was warping her mind. She failed to notice the dark swirls in Luna's heart with her vision. When Luna gathered so much power into her horn Celestia smiled. She knew she had not gathered enough power and it would take too long to gather enough on her own but if she linked herself to Luna's power they had more than enough together. Celestia smiled at the thought of again defeating a foe with her sister. She launched her spell at Luna hitting her horn.
Luna was about to release her spell when she felt Celestia's magic hit her horn. She felt it fill her with power then her sister's voice came into her mind.
"Quickly sister, I have given you the power I have stored up. We must use our combined powers to defeat him! I will aim the spell. When I say to release the power then you need to push it out!" Luna hung in the air, she felt odd. The power was overwhelming. It flowed through and around her. Sombra was in shock at the site. Then Celestia spoke in Luna's mind again. "Now! Release the power!" This whole ordeal lasted only the briefest of seconds, Luna pushed out the power as instructed and as it hit Sombra his mortal shell seemed to melt away. But the bond was not destroyed instead Sombra became the bond and Celestia and Luna were shocked to see him become shadow.
Luna quickly redirected the magic to push Sombra out of the castle and towards the North. The tendrils followed to the horror of Celestia. Luna slammed the dark form of Sombra into a glacier and then formed one of the most complex seals Celestia had seen in a long time. And Sombra roared in anger and then smiled at Luna.
He opened his mouth to speak but while Celestia was busy trying to understand the seal Luna had made. Luna slammed a bit of the magic down Sombra's open mouth and heard him gag and cough. That was enough of his words for today.
Luna continued working the seal and was about to finish it when Sombra pushed a wave of power into the tendrils. The whole empire wavered from view. Luna locked the seal but not before Sombra pushed one more blast of power and the Empire faded as Sombra hoarsely laughed at his final trick. The Alicorns may have won the battle against him. But they failed in their goal to save the Empire. He would return to once again claim his precious crystal slaves!
The Crystal Empire was gone. Luna and Celestia hung in the air in shock. Where the beautiful castle once stood and pushed back the harsh cold north wind. Nothing stood. Luna landed and tears formed as she felt the doubts cloud her mind. They were now much stronger. Why did the ponies shun her? Did they see her in the same way as Sombra? A dark presence? Celestia mistook the tears on Luna's face for regret at not freeing the crystal ponies. And was about to comfort her sister when Luna collapsed into the snow and sobbed loudly.
Celestia started to approach her sister when a message came out of her horn. It demanded she come back as soon as possible the unicorn nobles were trying to rule in her stead and a revolution was in the works. Celestia decided to let her sister have some time and went back to Canterlot by wing. Luna heard her sister leave and picked the note up in her magic. pulling it over she read it and only thought about how there was no mention or asking about her. They only recognized Celestia as their Princess it seemed.
Luna sighed as she finished her story on the fight with Sombra. She turned her head to Twilight with a sad looking smile on her face.
"And that is the story. After that encounter I began to fall. It was such a simple thing and yet it consumed me. The thing that truly secured my fall was my false belief that I had no one but myself." She said somberly. She rose off the floor and walked to the balcony into the brisk night air. She beckoned for Twilight to follow. Twilight obeyed and sat next to Luna a small shiver running over her as she looked at the sky.
"Your night's have been more and more beautiful and complex I noticed. A lot of astronomers are having fits over how much they have to do each night. Never seen them so excited. So many ponies are overjoyed to have the Princess of the Night back. I hope you understand that you are never alone anymore. I imagine losing my friends and what that would feel like and I can start to see where your point of view was back then. I don't think I will ever understand it without experiencing it though." Twilight said reassuringly.
"I hope you never understand it Twilight. That mindset is a poison. A disease. And sadly those doubts never go away. Even now they crop up and taint my thoughts. But remembering those close to me and reminding myself often of how much I am truly appreciated helps keep them from consuming me. There will be times where it is difficult but knowing I have people close to help during those times gives me hope for the future." Luna spoke with conviction as she wrapped Twilight in a wing and watched her night. She could see ponies running around Canterlot. She had yet to visit the so called "Night Clubs" but she heard they opened only at night and were places of much celebration and dancing. Luna smiled as she let the knowledge of how many ponies she had close to her comfort her.
