Luna, with the reluctant help of Nightmare Moon, sets out to remedy her past mistakes and return the sun to Equestria. Meanwhile, Queen Chrysalis tries desperately to save her species.
She had simply wanted recognition. Equality. Nothing more. She had never wished to be the cause of so much war and strife in a land once prosperous and peaceful.
Stricken by guilt and fearful of the judgment of her subjects, Luna, with the reluctant help of Nightmare Moon, sets out to remedy her mistakes and return the sunlight to Equestria, no matter what the consequences may be.
Meanwhile, as an ancient foe is awakened, and the changeling race is all but extinct, only their young and reluctantly crowned Queen Chrysalis stands against the total annihilation of her species.
Equestria looked beautiful from Luna's perch at the top of the universe. She found it almost comforting for a minute, before quickly remembering what had transpired the week prior and cursing herself for ever looking at this place with joy.
It was surprisingly difficult for Luna to pinpoint Equestria amongst the other masses of land separated by miles upon miles of deep oceans, their inky blue waters looking almost exactly like the Equestrian Philosophers had envisioned. Luna noted internally that she was probably the first pony in the world to look at Equestria from this high up, but it was an honor she did not necessarily want to boast.
The planet of Equus was a looming sphere above Luna, the landforms that represented Equestria, the Frozen North, the Griffon and Changeling Empires all gloomy shades that Luna knew were too dark to be natural.
"It's been one week." Luna said to no one but herself. "Seven nights. And yet it seems like it has already been an eternity."
Despite the low gravity on the moon, Luna's hair flowed quite normally, free from the silver armor she had donned over her jet-black coat and purplish mane and tail. Sadly, she kicked a stray moon rock and watched with fascination as it floated away slower and further than it would have on Equestria. Luna sat down on the cold, grey, desolate surface of the moon and looked on at the doomed world looming above her. She knew she should have felt pity for all those ponies, after all, she had just doomed them all to a slow death by way of starvation as Equestria's resources withered away without the light of the sun to sustain them. She knew she should feel sorrow and guilt after what she had done, but in reality, it was not her subjects that concerned her anymore. Her desire for their respect had caused this whole mess, and too late she realized that respect meant nothing to her.
Nothing would truly mean anything to her anymore. Not after what she had done.
"Oh, would you give it a rest!" A voice from within Luna's psyche sighed. "This is all quite heartbreaking, believe me, but you have been mopping like this for days!"
"I don't expect you to sympathize." Luna snapped in reply. "In fact, I don't expect anything even remotely honorable from you at all, you cold-blooded murderer."
"Yes, you have said that many times now. I do wish you'd stop. You've created a problem and then ran away from it to cry on the surface of the moon. Don't talk to ME about honor when you are nothing but a sulking coward!"
"I am NOT crying." Luna said bitterly, although the tears forming in her eyes betrayed her of this claim. "And, I did not run away, either!"
"Oh? Then what did you do, Luna?"
"I have committed a crime more horrible than any pony should be allowed to bear. I don't deserve Equestria after what I did to obtain it, so I have decided to exile myself from it entirely."
"My, my, Luna, how your emotions flip-flop so frequently." The Nightmare said, with a tint of amusement in her voice that made Luna cringe. "First, you will stop at nothing to have Equestria in your control, and now you're suddenly unworthy of its presence! And, for the record, I don't appreciate being called a 'cold-blooded murderer.' Why should I be the one who has to bear the burden of what you did?"
"Because, if I had not been blinded by your evil, and your hatred, and your tyranny, I wouldn't possibly have killed..." Luna broke out in fresh sobs, unable to say her name out loud, even if there were no ponies present to hear her say it.
"Again, with the crying. Go on, get it out. Believe me, if I had a body, I'd be patting your shoulder or offering you tea or something."
"Shut up! Leave me alone, go drive some other pony to insanity! Isn't that all you know how to do?"
"Luna..." The Nightmare began, but promptly broke off. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what happened. I'm not admitting to having done anything, but I realize it must be difficult to...deal with this."
"Go...away..." Luna practically growled, massaging both her temples with her hooves in an attempt to get the harsh sounding voice out of her head, knowing full well that it was a solidified part of her mind now, and would exist for as long as she did.
"I can't. Unfortunately for you. And I suppose me, if you decide to keep moping around on the surface of the moon. I understand you're crippled by the death of good ol' Tia, but—"
"That is enough!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs, although the sound itself did not travel any further than the artificial atmosphere Luna had set up around herself, in order to breathe and walk normally. "You will NOT speak of my sister in this patronizing manner! You are a murderer and a fiend and you are undeserving of even uttering her name!"
"I did not murder anyone, for the last time! You wanted the night to last forever, and I offered you the chance. I asked you what lengths you were willing to go to to achieve your desires, and you answered me. What was your answer, Luna?"
"I..." Luna knew full well what her answer was, but saying it out loud took more power than what she possessed. "I don't..."
"What was it?"
"Anything!" Luna yelled, her voice cracking and her eyes squeezing shut. "I told you I would do anything! Are you happy?"
"Of course I'm not happy. I'm sad. For you, and for your sister, and for the ponies back home." The Nightmare said, and for the first time, Luna couldn't detect any malice in the words it was speaking. "I won't try to deny that I'm a monster, or a vessel of hatred. Really, that's all I am, but that doesn't mean I can't possess the ability to feel pity."
"Then go. If you truly do understand, then you'll leave me here. And don't tell me you can't, because I know that's a lie."
"And what would you do? Stay here, forever, feeling guilty about something you never meant to do? What about them?" The Nightmare asked, and, although Luna could not physically see it, she knew exactly where the Nightmare would be pointing if she could.
"Are they just meant to die, alone? Luna, you can save them, but you can't do it from here. They need a leader, and right now, you're their only hope for one. It's your choice, but think about your sister. Do you really think she blames you for feeling overshadowed by her? Do you think she would like to see you like this? You need to understand that what happened was a mistake, a horrible one at that. You shouldn't ignore it, and you should feel guilty about it, because if you don't, then you'll be as bad as I am. But, you need to face that aftermath of your actions, and do what you can to correct them."
Luna shakily rose to her feet, craning her neck upwards until her field of vision was entirely flooded by the big blue planet hanging above her like a foal's nursery mobile. All the ponies there, all the ponies she had doomed...how frightened and confused they must be. She had disappeared without even an explanation, and there existed no witnesses to watch her end Celestia's life. If she were to return, looking the way she did now, would they still trust her? Would they believe whatever lie she would have to tell them to justify Celestia's death?
Celestia. She must still be there, lying alone in the lonely clearing in the Everfree Forest where Luna had wept over her lifeless, broken body. It pained Luna to think of her in this state, and the knowledge that she was the reason it had all happened was almost too much for her to bear. She had long known that she would outlive her sister by at least several centuries, but never would she have imagined their relationship would suffer this magnitude of tragedy.
Luna thought back to when the land was new and the sun and moon waited patiently for their masters to become mature enough to understand their destinies. When she and Celestia had ran across this new earth with the careless curiosity that exists in every foal and filly. She thought of the first time Celestia had attempted to alter the sun's position which, after some hundred years of staying in the same, stationary state, had become as simple as the blueness of the eternally summer sky. She thought of her sister's praise and encouragment when she had done the same with the moon, and the cycle of days and nights had commenced. It had been Celestia's idea to entrust the unicorns with this responsability, and together she and Luna continued their carefree exploration of Equus.
It had been so simple that Luna wasn't completely certain it had happened at all. What must have been a thousand years to the ponies still seemed like nothing more than a moment for her. A moment she yearned to relive, a moment before she had destroyed what was once a mere playground for two filly sisters completely oblivious to their importance to the world.
"Luna?" The Nightmare jerked her out of her reverie, sounding positively irritated. "I just poured my heart and soul into that delightful speech, the least you could do is acknowledge it. Considering I'm the only friend you have, I would think you'd be a little more courteous to me."
"How dare you!" Luna peevishly replied. "To call you a friend would be to shake hooves with evil itself!"
"Ah, well excuse me for attempting to be kind. I'll revise my statement. Considering you have NO ponies other than myself who see you as any more than a tyrannical murderer, I'd expect you to listen to my words of encouragement, instead of being a whiny little foal."
"Is this some sort of game to you?" Luna muttered. "Do you even care about what I'm going through emotionally?"
"Probably not nearly enough, to be honest."
Luna opened her mouth to retort, but promptly closed it upon deciding that she would get absolutely nowhere insulting something that was a part of herself, and that was actually probably right about her foolishness. Nevertheless, she was still completely unprepared to even consider calling something so inherently evil a 'friend.'
"Do you have a name I can call you by?" Luna asked instead. If she was going to have to spend the rest of her days as a tyrannical, guilt-stricken leader, she might as well know the name of her positively obnoxious diarch.
"Manifestations of hatred don't have names, Luna."
"Obviously. But you said it yourself; you understand emotions, you feel pity...you talk—"
"Only to you! So, right now, to any casual observer, you look like a mad pony talking to herself. Which, I guess, is correct in its entirety."
"Fine then. No name. What about a home?"
The Nightmare snorted loudly. "That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Seriously, do you even think half the time? How could I have a home if I don't physically exist?"
"Well, you're here, talking to me. What created you?"
"I don't know. You did, I guess. Hatred, jealously, manifested into a being capable of speech. You have so much darkness in you, Luna, it's really a miracle I wasn't formed earlier. Like what you did to Sombra, for example. You don't seem to have any qualms about HIS murder. "
"That's because it wasn't a murder!" Luna objected, thankful of some part of her past that wasn't shrouded in either bittersweet memories of her sister or tragic regrets of her own. True, what had happened with Sombra was unfortunate, but it had been entirely necessary and she was completely justified in what she did. "He was going to destroy an entire kingdom. Celestia wasn't going to do anything, so I—"
"Stop right there! You just admitted it!" The Nightmare laughed triumphantly. "There's your natural darkness! Celestia would never take a life to save a million others, but you, you're different! It's fascinating, really, how different you were from your sister."
Despite her patronizing tone and general snootiness, Luna was beginning to feel relieved that somepony still existed who could speak to her about her sister, her guilt, and her inner demons. A pony who understood her as much as she understood herself.
"Now, have you finally made a decision?" The Nightmare asked, as Luna once again looked up at Equus, comparing its inviting familiarity to the cold, barren surface of the moon. Nothing but rocks stretched as far as Luna's eyes could see, with the occasional crater jutting upwards as a blotch of darkness in an otherwise sea of grey.
She was right, Equestria did need somepony to rule. And, regardless of what she had done, Luna decided she simply could not leave them all to die.
"Yes, I have. We're going home."
"Ah, brilliant. Do you have a plan, then? You can't just go back looking like this without a proper explanation."
"If my plan succeeds, I won't need an explanation why I look like this." Luna replied, for the first time in a week feeling somewhat confident about what her future held.
With the world spread out underneath her, Luna soared.
Unfurling her wings, she broke from her free-fall and glided high above the clouds, her eyes watering and her mind racing. Occasionally, she had to make slight adjustments to the tips of her wings, but for the most part she continued flying slowly downwards, watching with intensity as the planet of Equus slowly lost its curvature.
After what seemed like an eternity of gliding gracefully over the earth, Luna finally broke through the first, highest layer of clouds. From this height, the first traces of ponykind came and went through the swirling mists still to come. A symphony of a billion blazing candles illuminated certain key points of Equestria, the town of Canterville the largest in what looked like a vast galaxy of artificial constellations.
"See, Luna? You worry for nothing. Your night is beautiful! Think of all those ponies looking up at your sky, at YOUR stars!"
"I know!" Luna shouted above the howling wind. Unlike her companion, Luna had to rely on literally speaking aloud to be heard. "But, it needs to be fixed. Equestria will die! Not that you care, of course."
"You still haven't told me your plan. That is, assuming you even have one."
"I do." Luna said as assertively as she could while still screaming. "But I have no reason to share it with you."
"How rude. When you're dying or something, as a result of your miserable little plan, I'll remember that."
Luna simply rolled her eyes. As if such a horrible manifestation of her psyche could even do anything to help her anyways. The...Nightmare, whatever it was called, was nothing more than a particularly annoying burden that she was in no mood to have to carry. Just because she could not be ridden of such a pest did not mean she had to put up with it.
Quickly approaching were the tips of tall trees now, and Luna was dismayed to see that the leaves had already begun to die. She had prepared to see this, but she hadn't yet come up with a solution. She desperately hoped there was one, assuming her current plan was a failure.
Touching down onto the grass, the first thing Luna noticed was the cold. After the initial chill of her descent failed to wear off, Luna quickly realized it was because the planet itself was nearly freezing. No wind blew through the trees, no snow fell from the clouds, and yet Luna could easily have pegged this as a cool autumn day. But she knew the truth; it was only a week since the peak of summer. The day she had carefully planned to make her rebellion against her own sister.
Shaking the cold out of her wings, Luna set about trying to determine where it was she had landed. From the looks of the trees, she could have sworn these were the Whitetail Woods, but then again, it was difficult to tell given the state the trees were in. With no other option, Luna aimlessly began to wander through the slender, dying trees, grimacing at the sound of the leaves crunching beneath her feet. Without sun, these leaves would never grow back again.
"You have wings, genius. Just fly, if the sound really bothers you."
"I've had just about enough of you!" Luna growled, although she obediently began lifting herself into the air with a series of heavy flaps. "My first order of business is going to be to find a way to fix this, and as soon as I have, I'll proceed to find a way to be rid of your torment."
"Mmhm. Good luck with that. Both of those are completely impossible."
"Yes?"
"Yes, they are. Celestia's dead, and you're incapable of raising the sun in her stead. As for me, well, I'm as part of your mind as you are. I'm here, unless you figure out a way to deprive yourself of the ability to think, which I'm pretty sure you've already succeeded in doing."
"If I'm so foolish, then explain to me why the unicorns cannot simply raise the sun!" Luna said triumphantly. "They did it for nearly a thousand years, so why not now!"
"If they could have, don't you think they'd have done it already? Besides, to answer your question directly, they can't because the moon is perpetually LOCKED in the state you see it in."
"Locked?"
"Yes, locked! Look at it, you idiot! Has it moved since you killed Celestia? Is it not in the same place as the moment you struck her dead? This isn't a matter of the day never coming, the moon itself is never going to move, period. The night isn't eternal, it's frozen."
"But surely the unicorns can still—"
"No, they cannot! Nopony can, because you virtually killed the day itself! You killed Celestia and you killed Luna. Look at yourself. You're not Luna anymore, you're a monster. You said it yourself, so why are you now getting these delusions of heroically bringing about the day as if nothing at all even happened?!"
Luna nearly slammed into a tree, so shocked was she by her companion's words. Flaring her nostrils and instinctively snarling, Luna prepared a violent reply, but found herself instead stuttering like a foal.
"I...I can't..."
"What? Did I insult you? Good!"
"No, it's not that." Luna sighed, succumbing to defeat. "What then? What can I possibly do?"
"You tell me. You had a plan."
Although every other pony had long since fled from the Castle of the Two Sisters, the Royal Guard remained, out of sheer bewilderment of what they were supposed to do. This was the sort of crisis that the princesses would typically deal with, but the body of Princess Celestia already betrayed any notion of that being an option. The Elements of Harmony stolen, the castle destroyed, and both Princesses gone, it seemed like Equestria couldn't possibly have fallen any further. But then the hours slowly dragged on, and the dawn never came, and Luna never returned...
When the body of Princess Celestia was first found, everypony in Equestria immediately fell into an almost trance-like state. Some even blatantly denied what they were seeing, even after the painful hours turned into days and she did not wake. When it became clear that Equestria's most beloved Princess had fallen, outrage and fury slowly replaced the shock and confusion, but until Luna returned, or was otherwise proven deceased, the Royal Guard had refused to take any action.
Such was the state of affairs when a lone Royal Guard caught sight of a single, cloaked figure traveling by foot, approaching the Castle of the Royal Sisters with a somber yet purposeful walk. The pony was tall, perhaps taller than Celestia, and its facial features were obscured by the cloak, which doubled as a hood. It was clear that it was an alicorn; its wings were directly exposed through holes in the cloak, and it was much too tall to be a pegasus. Cold, glowing blue eyes stared out from the darkness of the hood, analyzing the Everfree Forest, the Castle, and the terrified guard standing in front of it, a spear suspended in the air by magic and pointed directly at it. Whatever this beast was, it did not appear friendly.
"Who are you?" He asked nervously, his words instantly catching the attention of at least a dozen other guards nearby.
"Where is my sister?" The mare spoke, her voice instantly recognizable. The mare continued approaching, and the guards instinctively began backing away. "What has become of Celestia?"
"Princess Luna?" The guard managed, dropping his spear and shakily lowering his head in a bow, the other guards instantly following suit.
"My sister, please. Take me to her."
"Of course, your Majesty, of course." The guard hastily replied. "Shall I take your cloak, Princess—"
"No! Absolutely not!" Luna practically screamed. "You may do as I ask of you and nothing else."
The guard immediately shrunk in new-found fear and turned around, leading Luna towards the partially destroyed castle.
"Luna! How impolite! You know you're going to have to show them your new look eventually."
"Pray be silent!" Luna whispered off hoof, trailing behind the guards so that they wouldn't hear her. "What if they hear you?"
"Ah, but they cannot. Have you forgotten? Only you can hear me. You should be honored, really."
Luna growled and once again increased her pace to match those of the guards, taking care to keep her hood from blowing off as she did. The walk across the courtyard felt like an eternity to Luna, every gust of wind nearly exposing her for what she really was. Even so, she had no doubt they were already incredibly suspicious of her. Perhaps it was her defensive behavior, perhaps it was her unexplained disappearance, or perhaps it was her unnatural, glowing blue eyes. Whatever it was, if her plan worked, she would never have to find out.
Celestia's body had been laid down in the center of the main throne room of the Castle. Her eyes had been closed, and her forehooves lay crossed atop her chest. All around her were thousands of dying flower bouquets, covering the floor and the walls all around the immense room. The collective final gifts to Celestia from all of Equestria did nothing but add more guilt and sorrow to Luna's tortured soul, but she would much prefer to look at them than at her sister's body.
"Why do they give her gifts?" The Nightmare asked, not out of disgust but out of genuine curiosity. "She's dead, so why waste Equestria's limited resources on her?"
"They do it to show their respect." Luna spitefully replied, her cracking voice echoing across the large room. The guards had led her as far as the throne room but did not go in with her, leaving Luna once again alone. "Something you would know nothing about."
"Certainly not from you. I can't comprehend your hostility, Luna."
"For once, especially in my time of sorrow, could you please shut up?" Luna practically begged.
Amazingly, The Nightmare complied, something Luna had genuinely not been prepared for. The silence was immediately uncomfortable, and after a few minutes, Luna realized how completely alone she really was without its company. She had not really been close with anypony other than her sister before, and now she was close with absolutely nopony at all...
"What do I do..." Luna whispered, forcing herself to look back at her sister. She had been in the throne room, alone, for nearly two hours and still the shock of seeing Celestia like this was as fresh as ever.
"Am I supposed to respond?"
"Please. Do."
"Look, Luna. You have a plan. If you're serious about it, then I recommend you go through with it. But don't you DARE think about putting yourself in any sort of danger because if you die then you have failed everypony. And yes, that includes your sister."
Just as Luna was about to respond, a loud knocking rung out from the immense double doors leading out of the throne room.
"Enter!" Luna called, as she readjusted the hood over her head, once again concealing her features which clearly exposed her as a twisted form of the dark blue alicorn she had once been. In entered half a dozen Royal Guards, and the sight of them immediately filled Luna with dread. Perhaps their suspicion had escalated to something more? If they asked her to remove her hood, what could she truly say in protest? She would have no choice but to expose herself for who she truly was.
"Your majesty." Said a pony who Luna remembered as the Captain of the Royal Guard. She could not recall his name, she had never really paid much attention to that sort of thing. "Allow me to express my sincerest sympathies in your loss. I promise that whatever did this to Princess Celestia will be brought to justice."
"Yes, well, that remains to be seen." Luna gulped. She had no doubt that the magical hoofprint left behind from her assault could be traced back to the Elements of Harmony...and, by extension, her. "What...pray tell...do you know of who is responsible?"
"Not a lot." The Captain confessed. "Probably unicorn magic, although even that is uncertain...I'm sure we could have a more detailed determination if an autopsy could be—"
"No. Certainly not." Luna shook her head, although inside she was feeling quite relieved. This would be the perfect excuse to prevent them from gaining any information that might prove her guilty...for the time being. "Surely there is another way?"
The Captain looked visibly annoyed. Under any normal circumstance, expressing this to the supreme diarchs of Equestria would have been unheard of, but for whatever reason, Luna could see he had no qualms about opposing her now.
"Princess Luna, that is an incredibly unwise decision! Whatever killed Princess Celestia is still out there! Do you intend to endanger yourself just to—"
"Be silent." Luna said coldly. Without having to raise her voice at all, the fired up Captain immediately did as he was told. "I intend to make choices as I see fit, and I don't see where you assume you have the authority to oppose them."
"Princess...permission to speak freely?"
"Fine." Luna sighed, waving hoof for him to carry on.
"Firstly, I'm slightly confused about why you do not want to take any action against the murderer of your sister. Secondly, I need to tell the citizens of Equestria something, because as you can imagine they are all quite impacted by her death. Therefore, I need to know whether or not she shall be buried, cremated, or interred. And finally, a request, if you will. Princess Luna, could you please remove your veil? With the possibility of changelings, not to mention your week-long disappearance, it would be in the best interest of the safety—"
"That will be all." Luna cut him off. "I realize my behavior is unorthodox but I'm afraid I must stand by it. As for funeral rites, that is something I wish not to discuss with an audience, and certainly not with you. Now, leave me alone."
To Luna's dismay, the guards all began whispering amongst themselves, blatantly ignoring her request for them to leave her immediately. Eventually, the Captain spoke up again.
"Princess...we need orders. We need to know something is being done."
"You want orders?" Luna screamed. "Fine! Firstly, I want to speak with representatives of the Changeling and Griffon Empires. Then, I want at least a thousand of the highest trained unicorns in Equestria in my courtyard by the end of the week. Finally, Captain, I want your resignation handed in to me before the day is done. I don't need you contradicting and insulting the choices I make, and I have much graver matters on my hooves than having to deal with your insolence. Now, for the last time, get out of my sight immediately."
This time around, Luna's orders were met with unanimous compliance, as every pony made for the door as quickly as their dignity would allow them. The Captain of the Royal Guard turned back to give Luna one more suspicious, angry stare, hesitating to stare at her instead of immediately slamming the door.
"My, my, Luna! THAT is the leadership I've been waiting to see! Although, you're forgetting one thing. Discord."
"Wh...what?" Luna said aloud, the sound of her voice clearly reaching the Captain hovering in the entrance way.
"Your Majesty?" The Captain of the Royal Guard asked, re-entering the room.
"Umm...the...the..."
"Discord's 'statue!' Ask him to bring you Discord immediately."
"I want...I want Discord here, right now. The stone Draconequs Statue in the Everfree Forest."
Unsurprisingly, the Captain looked befuddled, but if he had any objections, he did not voice them as she turned and closed the door behind him, the sound of the heavy wooden double doors slamming echoing across the large hall. Luna was once again alone.
"Why him?" Luna blurted out. "What purpose could he possibly fulfill?"
"None, obviously. But tell me, Luna, what keeps him encased in stone?"
"The Elements of...oh my goodness, that's right! With them split from me and Celestia, he'll be released from his imprisonment!"
"Yes, exactly. Oh, also, I've been thinking about names for your new form...you know, something for ponies to call you by now that you're clearly not Luna in appearance anymore. What do you think of the name 'Nightmare Moon?'"
Luna couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous suggestion. Why in Equestria would she want to be called that? And why was The Nightmare being so sociable with her all of a sudden?
"Nightmare Moon? I thought I was trying to gain their trust, not scare them into submission!" Luna said, amazed to hear her voice sounding somewhat cheery. "How about I call you that?"
"Fine. I'll be the Nightmare then. As usual, I suppose, I'll accept all the blame. Also, what are 'changelings?'"
"Neither a friend nor a foe to Equestria. Although hopefully I can change that around, because if they see us crippled like this, they might start getting ideas." Luna replied, shuddering at the thought of the flocks of insect-like-ponies that she had seen on her last diplomatic mission there. Who was their leader now? That sort of diplomacy had always been Celestia's strong suit. While Celestia had sat through boring summits, she would be off saving fillies and colts from nightmares, or occasionally even the real-world beasts that threatened her subjects.
"So...Nightmare Moon..."
"Actually, I like that. Keep calling me that."
"Okay. Anyways, after I speak with the changeling and griffon ambassadors, and after I have taken care of Discord, I'll be putting my plan into motion." Luna told Nightmare Moon, finally turning away from the closed throne room doors and once again looking down at her sister. "I have no doubt you will oppose it, which is why I will still remain silent about it."
"I take offense to that, Luna." Nightmare Moon grumbled. "I've done nothing but show you support."
"Sorry."
"What's her name?" Nightmare Moon hissed. "My goodness, they're as ugly as the griffons!"
"Queen Elytra!" Luna greeted, as the Changeling queen herself made her way across the newly cleared throne room, two guards walking both in front and behind her. At the Queen's side was a younger changeling with a teal mane...Luna would have called her a teenager, but considering how Elytra was pushing fifteen centuries, she couldn't exactly be sure. At her current age, the Queen of the Changelings certainly looked every year of it. In less than a century, Luna was almost positive she would be dead. She walked with a nearly inconspicuous limp, and her lavender mane was greyed with age. Her horn was cracked and broken and Luna was skeptical whether or not it was even useful to her anymore.
"Thank you for finding it possible to come in such troublesome circumstances."
"Greetings, Luna." The Queen responded, Luna noting the way she had spat out her name, as well as discarding any of the routine etiquette she was used to being greeted with by her own subjects. "My condolences on Celestia's death. I won't pretend we always saw eye to eye, but I know she was a good mare, and even amongst us her loss comes as a tragedy."
"I appreciate your words." Luna said, genuinely meaning it. After the lies the griffon king had spun about his high regard for Celestia, this was a welcome exercise in honesty, coming from a species which specialized in deceit. She had only met Queen Elytra once before, something like two hundred years ago, and even then she remembered taking a liking to the down-to-business changeling leader.
"This is my daughter, and future Queen to the Changelings, Princess Chrysalis." The Queen introduced, the younger changeling stepping forward and bowing, all the while refusing to make eye contact with anything but the floor. Luna couldn't help but wonder how the concept of sons and daughters and royalty worked amongst a species which, technically, was born exclusively from the same mother. It disturbed and confused her more with every second she thought of it, so she instead chose not to.
"Princess Luna." Chrysalis told the floor, stepping back in line with her mother. "It is an honor to meet you."
"Likewise." Luna shuffled uncomfortably. "Now, I suppose you have many questions about what has—"
"I have a few million subjects to care for, so if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if we could hurry this along." Elytra interrupted, the rest of Luna's sentence slowly breaking apart.
"I'll immediately expel any concerns you might have about my drones invading Equestria. With so much moonlight to help our land flourish, I really should be thanking you. Furthermore, fear does not help creatures who feed on love, rendering nearly every one of your subjects worthless to me."
"Th...thank you?"
"However, while I will sign any peace treaties you throw at me, I will under no circumstance assist you in any uprisings amongst any other nations, and certainly not any uprisings involving your own." Queen Elytra affirmed. Even her daughter looked up from the floor to mirror her mother's assertive glare at Luna. "And, if you even think of touching a single one of my nation's resources in your plight, I will end your puny species before you can even raise your voice to declare war. Do I make myself understood, pony?"
Luna could do nothing but nod, but really, she felt more humored than angry. The Griffons had been so indirect about telling her this same exact thing...they had wasted nearly three hours of her time with pedantic rants about bravery and courage, and all the while she had to listen to Nightmare Moon whine endlessly about their behavior.
"Excellent. Now, come along, Chrysalis." Elytra said, and turned towards the door, pausing at the entrance-way. "I wish you luck with your endeavors, Princess Luna." She said without turning around, before continuing her march down the castle steps and into the eternal night.
"What a disgusting species." Nightmare Moon jeered once they were gone. "Giant insects...that's all they are...giant, disgusting insects who somehow gained the ability to speak."
"The Changelings are a very strange race." Luna simply said, silently disagreeing with Nightmare Moon's condemnation of Elytra's species. She had always been fascinated by changelings, perhaps more so now that she understood their pain of constantly having to disguise their identity. "Secluded, which is why I like them. Strong fighters, and plentiful in numbers, making them a terrifying threat to creatures they potentially see as prey. This treaty doesn't mean much, but it should silence the ponies of Equestria for the time being. As for the griffons, they are ruthless warriors, but as long as they assume I'm not responsible, their loyalty shouldn't falter."
"Very good." Was Nightmare Moon's tired reply. "Not like they didn't say that a thousand times. So what's next, Luna?"
"What I have been dreading." Luna sighed, rising to her feet and crossing the throne room until she was standing in front of a towering stone statue. "Discord."
"This isn't right." Luna said bluntly, her voice echoing across the empty throne room. "I can't do this."
"Luna!" Nightmare Moon asserted. "Get a hold of yourself! Nopony said this was going to easy!"
"It would be murder, though!"
"It's for the good of Equestria, and for a million innocent pony lives! You won't be able face him when he comes to power, so do it now!"
Luna looked straight up, locking her sleep-deprived and bloodshot eyes with those of the God of Chaos. She saw no activity in his lifeless glare, and that somehow made what she was about to do all the more terrifying. He had no defense to any attack, all he could do was watch as his life came to an end.
"Close your eyes, and get it over with." Nightmare Moon cooed softly. "Leadership isn't always about being a hero, Luna. Remember that."
Luna nodded, and continued looking up at Discord with a pleading expression. She stared at his stone body for what must have been a minute, but it very well could have been an hour and she probably wouldn't have noticed a difference.
"D...Discord...I know you can hear me." She eventually said, ripping off her hood and cloak. "I don't want to do this...but—"
Suddenly, a loud, cracking sound exploded from the stone, and a sizable tear began spreading across his body, bleeding out blinding white light.
"The Elements are failing!" Nightmare screamed warningly. "Hurry, Luna! Do it now!"
"But..."
"DO IT!"
"Discord, I'm sorry!" Luna shrieked, squeezing her eyes shut as she charged her magic. She moved herself into a standard offensive stance, which was a half crouch, with her rump angled upwards and her head closer to the ground. "I'm sorry I'm not the mare my sister was."
Luna let out a pained wail as she unleashed her magic, hearing the shatter of the stone in front of her. She didn't hear Discord scream, there were no more blinding lights or deafening noises, all she heard after her own voice was the sound of the rock exploding and pattering against the marble floor. Still, even after all the sound was gone, she kept her watering eyes closed, as she fell to the ground panting. She had not even realized that she had been holding her breath.
"There! All done!" Nightmare Moon said, sounding almost completely uncaring about what had just happened.
"I'm a monster." Luna groaned, burying her face in her hooves and still keeping her eyes shut tightly.
"Well, yes. But this isn't the reason why."
Slowly rising to her feet once again, Luna used her hooves to rub her eyes dry, before beholding the scene in front of her. Discord, or, what used to be Discord, had been completely obliterated, reduced to powdery dust or the occasional chunk of rock.
Exhaling loudly, Luna blindly grabbed her cloak and hood, trotting up to her throne and placing both across one of its wooden arms. There would be no need for her disguise where she was going now. With Discord dead, all her business in Equestria was now complete. Even if she were to fail, her subjects would at least be safe from him, and from herself.
No matter what the cost, she had to at least try to bring the sun back, and this was simply the only way she could do it. She could never change what she had done, but perhaps she could at least redeem her past sins. In the end, a mare could only hope.
"I know what you're planning." Nightmare Moon sternly muttered, as Luna turned to face the sprawling expanse of the throne room, her horn once again sparking to life with dark magic. "I always have. I can't stop you, but I still want you to know that this is an extremely stupid idea. You're going to get us both killed."
Luna said nothing in response as she focused on casting her spell. Despite it being a largely illicit form of magic, and for obvious reasons, Luna loved the feeling of dark magic as it coursed through her, flowing as smoothly as water down a swiftly rushing river. Everything considered, all she was really doing was casting a particularly advanced teleportation spell, not dissimilar to the one she had used to teleport herself to the moon, it was more a matter of her destination that made this one of the most notoriously evil spells conceived by ponykind.
And her she was using it to save the world. In all honesty, Luna found it hilariously ironic.
"You may think you have the power to do this but I'm telling you right now, this will turn out to be your last, greatest mistake. And considering you killed your own sister, that's saying a lot." Nightmare Moon continued, her tone becoming harsher by the second, until she was all too reminiscent of the sickening voice that had first lured Luna into corruption. "Stop while you can and deal with this realistically, instead of stooping to such outlandish extremes."
"What's the matter, Nightmare Moon?" Luna cackled, the first traces of magic sputtering from her horn. All around her, various articles were now being blown about as if being caught in a furious tornado in the middle of the throne room. "Are you afraid my plan might work after all, and you'll once again be nothing?"
"Never. Do what you please, you fool." Nightmare responded, although the fear in her voice was unmistakable. "For a second I could have sworn you'd started showing signs of responsibility and leadership. I guess that makes me the fool, for ever giving you that honor. I'll enjoy hearing you crying your last regrets in the depths of Tartarus, "
Papers, dust, and even Celestia's funeral bouquets were all whipping around, still caught in the vicious tornado as Luna focused harder and harder on casting her spell. The spell's target in the middle of the throne room was beginning to take form now, slowly building from a pinprick of dark purple into a swirling vortex of the same colored magic. The light of the magic was now bright enough to illuminate the whole room, so that everything took on a purplish hue.
The portal was now more than fifteen feet in diameter and growing. Luna watched with fascination as even heavier objects such as her throne gravitated towards the now massive cavity in the middle of her floor. First, lighter objects such as paper and Celestia's flowers were pulled through the portal, sometimes vanishing and other times bursting into blue fire. Next, Luna's cloak and hood took flight and promptly exploded upon entering, their ashes visible for a split second before appearing on whatever other side lay beyond. Cracks began appearing on the marble floors, and Luna's racing mind quickly deduced that if she did not finish casting this spell the whole castle might be destroyed, or even worse; pulled through the portal. At the same time though, she couldn't preemptively leap through when the possibility of her appearing on the other side as ash was so prominent.
Trying to push the image of the paper and fabric burning out of her mind, Luna took a shaking step towards to portal, noting that she was the only thing not caught up in its gravitational pull. Even tree branches were crashing through the painted glass walls and disappearing, along with sizable bits of mortar from the already destroyed castle walls. Deciding she could wait no longer, Luna closed her eyes and ran straight towards the portal, screaming an excited battle cry and unfurling her jet-black wings as she took to the air for a brief second before vanishing from Equestria all-together, the portal instantly imploding into nothingness as soon as she did.
"That's it!" Nightmare Moon moaned as she and Luna immediately teleported away from the throne room and into complete darkness. "We're dead! Nice going, hero!"
"We're not dead!" Luna snapped, feeding magic into her horn in an attempt to light her surroundings. Even after pulling off such a complex dark magic spell, light magic was a cinch for the Alicorn of the Night, and in less than a second Luna's horn was glowing brightly.
And illuminating absolutely nothing.
"What?!" She exclaimed, boosting her magic and still seeing absolutely nothing. She could have been in the darkest room in Equestria during a lunar eclipse and she still should have been able to see SOMETHING! It was completely impossible for there to be literally nothing around her...
"Right about now, guards are probably storming into the throne room, undoubtedly investigating that weird scream you let out... Nightmare Moon mused. "I imagine there's a nice, big pile of ashes in the middle of the floor, along with a charred tiara..."
She continued complaining, although Luna wasn't listening. Instead, she raised a hoof up to her eyes, hoping to all that was holy that she would be able to see it. Thankfully, she could; her boots must have been lost, because all she could see was the blue of her hoof—
"Wait...blue?!"
Luna blinked in shock, half-expecting to open her eyes and see her hoof the same jet-black it had been ever since she had transformed. But, no, it remained the same dark blue that it technically was supposed to have been. There was not enough light to see the rest of her body, but Luna was willing to bet that she had once again gained her former appearance, before she had changed into that terrifying, dark parody of herself.
Fueled by optimism, Luna put her hoof down in front of herself and, shaking with anticipation, took her first step into the abyss of darkness.
After only fifteen minutes of walking, Luna already felt panic slowly start overtaking her short-lived hope. This darkness was indeed unnatural, most likely some sort of trap or prison, so what made her think she could simply waltz out of it?
But that wasn't necessarily what was making her uncomfortable. The darkness, she could easily have dealt with, but the silence was something else. Luna couldn't think of a time when she had been completely unable of hearing ANYTHING, no matter where she was, there was always the sound of wind, her footsteps, birds...something! But here, in addition to complete darkness, there was absolutely no sound...it was, in fact, so silent that after several minutes, her heartbeat started growing in intensity until it pounded in her head like a drum.
Even the ever-vocal Nightmare Moon had gone completely silent, and for once Luna felt like begging her to say something. In the end, though, she decided she would much rather go mad than have to stoop to the level of asking for that fiend's presence.
Finally, Luna could take the silence no longer. Against every notion of what she considered safe, given her location, she called out.
"Hello? Is there anypony out there?"
Nothing. No response, not even an echo. Dejected, Luna slumped to the ground and buried her face in her hooves.
"...Life..."
Instantly springing to her hooves, Luna whipped around frantically, trying to find the source of what she could have sworn was a pony's raspy whisper. The voice had sounded...desperate...or perhaps in pain. It was a whisper not out of choice, but out of complete and utter weakness. It had also sounded incredibly far away...if it hadn't been for the otherwise complete silence, she couldn't possibly have been able to hear it. Luna perked her ears and sunk slowly back onto the ground, listening desperately for the sound to come again.
Minutes passed, and still, nothing. With a mighty sigh, Luna once again rose to her hooves and began walking. She reasoned that there probably had not even been a voice, it was just her mind playing tricks on her. It wouldn't be the first time she heard voices in her head, after all.
"I smell...life..." The whisper came again, although this time it was much louder...or, more accurately, much closer.
"Who speaks?" Luna said, turning around to face the direction it had come from; behind her. "My name is Luna, and I mean you no harm! Please, do you know a way out of here?"
"It has...it has so much life. It glows. Can you not see it?"
"W...what...?" Luna gasped, once again illuminating her horn and shining it in the direction of the voice. For a split second, a black shadow of what looked like a unicorn whisked by, but it was just as soon replaced by the solid darkness. "I...I glow? Nightmare Moon, do you know what's going?"
There was no response from her companion. Luna began backing away fearfully, too frightened to stay still but also too frightened to turn away and leave whatever creature was stalking her out of sight. It was close enough now that Luna could hear its breathing, but even that sounded off. It was as if it was always inhaling, as a hound on the hunt would, but it never once completed its breathing process with an exhale.
And still the darkness reigned! Whatever creature was following her was obviously having no difficulty, but here she was tripping over her own hooves in the dark like a fool. Every time she fell down, she instantly sprung up again and continued backing away, flaring her light and praying that it would capture something.
"Feed!" The creature sounded like it was yelling now, its raspy words escaping from a throat that sounded as if it had not been used for decades. "Please! Let me feed! It must let me feed!"
"Feed on what?" Luna screamed in response, surprised even by the unfamiliar shrill of her own terrified voice. "I don't have food, I don't know what you're talking about! Nightmare Moon, are you there? For the love of Equestria, speak to me!"
Once again tumbling to the ground, Luna yelped in surprise as something once again crossed through the light of her horn, standing right on top of her. She again flared her magic and, this time, was greeted to a full view of the pony that had been chasing her.
And it was enough to make the Princess of the Night start in surprise.
"What in TARTARUS is that?!" She screamed, casting shocked glances backwards as she suddenly felt the urge to sprint away through darkness. It wasn't that she was frightened, but the twisted wreck of what surely could not be a pony was all the motivation she needed to properly find a way out of wherever she was. Behind her, the thing had stopped forming words and was now groaning and wailing after her, but thankfully her increasing distance away from it was slowly masking its pleas. There were no changes to the void around her, and yet still she continued running, wishing desperately to be anywhere else.
"Damn you, Nightmare, answer me! Please!"
The grotesquely deformed pony could not possibly have been keeping up with her now, especially given the fact that when she saw it, it had been dragging itself across the ground. Nevertheless, she continued running, glancing backwards, and repeatedly casting her light spell just to be sure that it was indeed not close by.
"I'm sorry, Nightmare Moon, alright?" Luna said, hating herself for doing so. "I'm begging you, please, speak!"
Silence. That horrible, uninterrupted silence. Even the disfigured pony's moaning had ceased.
Finally, Luna decided to stop running and skidded to a halt, gasping and trying to catch her breath.
"What did it say to me?" She thought out loud, half-expecting some snide remark from Nightmare Moon but unfortunately receiving none. "I was glowing...glowing with..."
"Life, my dear." A clear, well articulated, stallion's voice replied, before chuckling. "You can't see it, can you? I haven't had a live one down here in ages..."
That voice...it couldn't possibly...
"You're Luna, correct? I never forget a face, after all." The stallion spoke again, and Luna knew she had heard his voice before. "I'm truly sorry for that pony back there, by the way."
The stallion once again laughed, and Luna could hear the sound of magic being cast. In seconds, she could feel the tingle of magic enveloping her, its aura creeping through her hide. Suddenly and inexplicably, Luna felt herself being teleported and promptly blinded as she went from total darkness into a well-lit room.
"Now, no need to be shy, Luna." The stallion assured. Luna squinted in the light as she tried to make out who he was, but after so long in total darkness even he was little more than a blob of color. Slowly but surely his features came into view; a horn, a crown, a flowing black mane, a red cape...
"Would you like some tea, Luna?" King Sombra inquired politely, motioning towards a kettle which he floated over with magic. Luna instantly keeled over and found herself stumbling backwards, knocking over a glass table which hit the marble floor and shattered.
"YOU?!" She bellowed, blinking in disbelief. She had somewhat expected to have run into him here, but certainly not like this! And...was she in...her own castle? Indeed, it looked very much like her own, but with a distinctly...Sombra-esque design choice; the overall result was a terrifying blend of Celestia's eye for royalty and Sombra's eye for death and destruction. Everything was dark colors, and blue torches hung on nearly every wall, alongside vivid tapestries depicting night skies, the Crystal Empire as it appeared under his rule, and even some place in Tartarus.
"Of course, me!" King Sombra said, extending a hoof which Luna stared at quizzically before realizing it was intended to be shook. Sombra shook his head sadly when his greeting went unacknowledged, before theatrically parting the tapestries to reveal a twilit, mirrored version of Luna's own kingdom.
"Welcome, Princess Luna of Equestria, to my Kingdom! Welcome to the Underworld!"
Luna wasted no time in dashing towards the towering glass window to behold the sight of Equestria. Before she even had a chance to look out, however, she was greeted to the surprising sight of herself reflected in the glass. There she was, looking every bit the same as she did before she had transformed into the dark beast that killed Celestia. For a long while, she simply stared into her own eyes, taking in the sorrow she saw glaring into her own soul.
Shaking her head and focusing beyond the glass, she saw she was looking at her own world, lit by an odd crepuscular half light much different from what she had come to know as 'twilight.' Furthermore, the presence of it seemed impossible, considering the complete lack of anything resembling a sun or moon that could possibly give off any light in the first place. Similarly, it looked like it was raining, but again this seemed logically impossible given the lack of clouds.
There was something else about Equestria that was bothering her, too. For whatever reason, everything seemed flipped; as if she was looking at her own familiar world, with all the land all the same in appearance, but reflected through a mirror.
"Tell me, Luna." Sombra said, walking towards the window until he was standing next to Luna. "What do you see when you look out across the Underworld?"
"Equestria." She answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Fascinating. Myself, I see something completely different. I see the Crystal Empire as it was when I was king. I find it fascinating that you would see your world exactly as you remember it."
"Well, structurally it looks the same." Luna admitted. "But it looks like a mirror image or something."
"Of course it does. Most ponies make the mistake of assuming the Underworld is one literal, concrete place where everything winds up when it dies. The reality, however, is that everypony's Underworld is different. Yours is apparently a reflection of your former kingdom."
The word 'former' took Luna by surprise, and she opened her mouth to object immediately, before realizing that Sombra was in fact correct. She wouldn't be returning home, and therefore had no authority calling it hers.
"Of course, nopony would actually know any better, because upon trying to enter the Underworld using dark magic, they wind up in that glorious little limbo realm that you just left."
"Huh." Luna muttered simply. She had planned for this to have been a straight forward task, but apparently this was going to be harder than she had thought. "Sombra, I'm down here for a reason. Perhaps you can help..."
"Yes, I would assume you would have a reason for coming down here." Sombra said, amusement in his voice. "And of course, it's my duty to help you."
"Really?" Luna rose an eyebrow skeptically. "You carry no grudge against me because of my—"
"Luna, Luna, Luna. How petty do you think I am? My death is ancient history, probably quite literally by now. Besides, I've gone from being a tyrant king to a God over the dead. So, in all honesty, thank you."
"Well, I'm..." Luna was taken aback, but managed to maintain her solemnity. "I'm happy for you."
"Yes, yes. So then, your reason for visiting me."
"I need to ask a favor of you. Granted, I wasn't expecting you to be the one to grant it, but no matter. I need to ask you to raise somepony from the dead."
"Oh my, one of those favors, I see." Sombra instantly took on a very serious tone. "You always were fond of dark magic, weren't you, Princess? Raising the dead is no light matter."
"I know it's possible. Do not even try to fool me, Sombra."
"It's not that." Sombra sighed, signalling towards one of the towering murals on the cold brick wall of the throne room, depicting Tartarus itself. "You're right, it is possible. Actually, surprisingly simple. But not for me. I may rule the Underworld, but it is the Lord of Tartarus who decides the fates of the dead."
"Are the Underworld and Tartarus not synonymous?" Luna said, casting a disturbed glance at the gruesome painting of the cursed realm of the damned.
"Certainly not! Tartarus is a different realm ruled by a more powerful being than myself."
"Who?" Luna inquired, although she already suspected the answer.
"I wouldn't know. And I would just as soon never want to find out." Sombra said, motioning upwards at the painting to prove his point. Why he even kept it in his throne room was beyond Luna's comprehension. "I care about my realm, and he cares about his."
Luna let out an audible groan of frustration and rolled her eyes. This was a set back she had not been anticipating, let alone prepared to deal with.
"Well in that case, I need to get to Tartarus." She stated pounding the floor with her front hoof. "Is that not possible?"
"Of course it is! But no sane pony willingly enters Tartarus! It's a cursed realm from which return is prohibited!"
"I ask not for your judgement." Luna rolled her eyes again. "I ask for your directions. Tell me how I get there."
"Fine, fine. No need to get upset." Sombra cleared his throat. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Tartarus is one of several specific areas of the Underworld which remain consistent across every Underworld. My castle, for example, is another. While the entrance will vary from Underworld to Underworld, once inside it is the same place across all of them."
"Then where is it?" Luna snapped impatiently.
"I don't know! It's your Underworld!"
Luna was growing restless by the second as she paced back and forth across the windows. Sombra obviously wasn't helping her any more, and now that she knew her journey would not be as straight forward as she had planned, it was beginning to cast major doubt on whether or not she should embark on it in the first place.
"And Luna..." Sombra was saying, Luna only partially paying attention. "You do know the price for raising somepony from the dead, right?"
"I am willing to give up my own life for the pony in question."
"Good, good." Sombra muttered, deep in thought. "That is...brave, I suppose. Hopefully your opinion doesn't change when you see what Tartarus beho—"
"It shan't." Luna asserted, standing tall and flaring her wings. "If that is all, then I shall be setting out."
Giving the king a respectful nod and bow, Luna turned towards the throne room window, opening the glass with her magic and unfurling her wings.
"Wait!" Sombra cried, dashing after her. "Before you go, I should warn you about your companion."
"Nightmare Moon?" Luna asked, surprised Sombra knew of the voice only she could hear.
"Is that what she calls herself now? Yes, her."
"Do not fear." Luna assured. "I already hate her with every fiber of my being."
"That much is easy to say," Sombra argued. "Do NOT trust her. No matter what happens, you cannot trust her intentions."
"Noted." Luna said. She had figured all this out for herself, and Sombra's reminder truly did seem unnecessary, but nevertheless it was refreshing to receive confirmation that her dislike towards Nightmare Moon was justified.
Without further ado, Luna turned back to the window and took in a deep breath of the cool night air, before leaping out and taking flight over the twilit Underworld.
The first thing Luna noticed once she was outside was that she had been mistaken about the rain. What she had assumed were simply large, long streaks of rain turned out to be much thicker than what the window had betrayed. Furthermore, upon closer examination, she could see that they were in fact not falling to the ground, but instead rising from the earth. Indeed, it seemed as though thick, black streaks of pure darkness were slowly and gradually rising from the ground, before exploding and dissipating across the jet-black, starless sky above.
In addition to the reverse-rain, Luna observed an odd, otherworldly humming sound that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. It sounded not unlike the sound one could achieve with their hooves on a wineglass, but much more ethereal and alien. Occasionally as she flew, she heard the eerily soothing humming raise or lower in pitch, without once changing in volume or developing into any sort of melody or rhythm.
Contrary to what she had been expecting, the Underworld was, in fact, populated. As Luna flew, she could clearly see signs of other ponies' presence; roads, houses, fences. On multiple occasions she even saw the warm glow of lantern light shining from one of the lonely houses along the road. She was intentionally flying low enough over the road that she could see if somepony was traveling along it, hoping to inquire where the gate to Tartarus could be found. She had intended not to make a large scene, making some lone pilgrim the ideal pony to ask. However, it seemed like while the Underworld was indeed populated, it was only scarcely. She would have liked to ask Sombra why this was, but she had a job to do.
All the while, Nightmare Moon did not once speak. Luna was beginning to wonder if the demon had finally left her altogether, when the tell-tale sound of wagon wheels thumping against the earth below grasped her attention instead.
Sure enough, Luna instantly caught sight of the wagon traveling along the dirt road, being pulled by a grey stallion with a matching grey mane. Another wagon was being pulled some distance behind it, but it looked like they were traveling together for safety as opposed to friendship; the front wagon that Luna intended to approach was purposely maintaining their position far ahead of it. Everything, from the decrepit, ramshackle wagon, to the faces of young colts and foals peering out from the shadows of the tattered interior filled Luna with sorrow. It looked like a traveling family, younglings and all. What had happened to steal this family's life and send them down here, Luna preferred not to know.
Their past aside, however, they were still an asset to Luna, and whatever information about Tartarus was welcome. Wishing not to alarm them, Luna made sure to fly overhead, before circling back around, landing on the road and nodding at the convoy which had ground to a halt.
"I bid you good...night, I suppose." Luna called after them. She had been hoping to avoid startling them, but it looked like not surprising the convoy had been an impossibility.
"My goodness. It's...an....an alicorn!" The stallion pulling the first wagon muttered, more to himself than anypony else. "How can that be?"
"I'm sorry!" Luna said, trotting forwards and giving him a reassuring smile. "I realize I must have startled you! I just need directions, then I'll be—"
Before Luna could even finish her sentence, the stallion broke into a sprint, nearly running her down as the wagon rumbled by. Along the way one of the wagons must have hit a fell area of the road, for it suddenly swerved and crashed onto the ground. The ponies within wasted no time in climbing out and fleeing down the road all the same. She called for them to wait and unfurled her wings to pursue them, but ultimately decided giving chase would just frighten them more. If they heard her pleading for them to stop, they did not listen.
"Wait!" Luna called after them hopelessly. "Please don't be afraid of me!"
Spitting a frustrated curse, Luna watched them disappear.
"Luna, Luna, Luna..." A patronizing and familiar voice laughed behind her. "Still making the same foolish mistakes, I see."
A sudden, blinding flash followed as she whipped around, and when it cleared away, Luna could see the distinct shape of a tall, slender black alicorn with sharp, fang-like teeth and a long, black shimmering mane towering over her. Nightmare Moon looked down at Luna, her mortifying expression slowly changing to one of apathy.
"Luna, when in Equestria are you going to learn?" Nightmare Moon hung her head and cackled, before offering Luna a hoof and helping her to her feet. "I don't think they were afraid of pretty little Princess Luna, after all."
"Nightmare Moon?! I...I can see you?"
"Thankfully, they could too. Once again, I assist your worthless hide."
"But how?" Luna gasped, poking her alter-ego with a hoof. "You're a voice! A product of insanity!"
"Never mind how. It doesn't matter. We need to talk." Nightmare Moon motioned around herself at the desolate landscape. "I'm sure even you know by now that this place is anything but normal."
"But why—"
"Shut up and listen, you idiot! You want to go through with this plan to bring back your sister? Fine. But if you want to stay alive long enough to see it through, you do as I say. Understand?"
"Yes, I do." Luna sighed in defeat. Her recent failures, both here and back in what Sombra had called 'limbo' really left her in no position to argue. Instead, she nodded several times and hung her head, saying nothing and simply staring at the road ahead.
"Why did you abandon me?" She whispered.
"Did I give you a scare?" Nightmare Moon snickered. "Good. I wanted you to get a proper feeling of...well, just how reliant you are on me."
"Thanks." Luna grumbled sarcastically, falling to the ground and staring up at the pitch black sky above.
"Well, we should get going." Nightmare Moon said, impatiently flaring her wings and shaking her mane, pointing her muzzle towards the south. "We have a sister to resurrect."
While Luna was taking a quick look around at the abandoned wagon for resources, Nightmare Moon took off into the sky with no explanation, leaving Luna with no other choice but to follow. The only thing of any use to her anyways was a sizable saddle-pack, which she fastened to her sides in mid-flight as she took off in pursuit of Nightmare Moon.
"Where are we going?" She called after her.
"South, stupid. Where else?"
"But what's south?"
"Tartarus, obviously."
"You know this how?" Luna said, gasping as she took in a large gulp of the cold night air. That was another thing about the Underworld she'd noticed; the cold. Despite all the bodies of water she'd seen, none of them were frozen over even though she was almost certain the temperature here was below freezing.
"I know because I'm not a fool, like you." Nightmare Moon scoffed. "But if you must know for certain, Tartarus is located in whatever part of the Underworld holds your deepest, most sincere regrets."
"The Everfree." Luna instinctively said.
"Bingo." Suddenly, Nightmare Moon exploded into purple mist, swirling around the air in front of Luna for a bit before disappearing completely.
"Not again." Luna groaned, watching her vanish.
"Oh, relax, Lulu. I'm here." Nightmare Moon let out another harsh sounding laugh, once again a mere voice in Luna's head. "Just because the Underworld gives me a physical form doesn't mean I have to use it all the time. Flying is tiresome."
"You seem to know a disturbing amount of information about this place." Luna mused, remembering Sombra's warnings about her companion.
"Do I detect a note of suspicion in your voice?"
"Perhaps you do. Could you perhaps explain?"
"Very well." Nightmare Moon sighed. Once again, the purple mist appeared, and Nightmare Moon manifested herself from it in direct reversal to her disappearance a few minutes prior.
"Remember back on the moon, when you asked me where my home was?" She asked, as she slowed her flying and looked straight into Luna's eyes instead of where she was going. She was frowning slightly, as if she were somewhat ashamed about something.
"Yes. You called me an—"
"Yeah, I know. I tend to do that. Sorry." Nightmare Moon exhaled deeply as she continued to glide, breaking her gaze at Luna to take in the sprawling plains of the Underworld-Equestria. "I was...withholding some information from you. The truth is, I do have a home. And it's here."
"The Underworld?" Luna rose an eyebrow. "What exactly are you?"
To her surprise, Nightmare Moon responded with outright hostility, something she had never done before.
"That, I have no reason to tell you." She snapped, barring her razor sharp fangs. "Sombra told you to distrust me, I'm sure. Well, go right ahead, but remember who saved your life, Princess."
With that, Nightmare Moon let out a contempt "humph" and once again disappeared in purple mist. Luna watched her go, not quite sure whether to feel anger or guilt. Directing her attention instead at the distant lands beyond, she strained to see the far-off reaches of the Everfree Forest. Perhaps if it were day, she'd have been able to see it, for it was not too far from Canterlot Mountain, but in the eternal twilight even the ground below was not quite clear.
She continued her flight for nearly an hour at a steady, calm pace, neither her nor Nightmare Moon speaking. Eventually, Luna broke her flight and began gliding towards the earth, landing beside a small pond in a wooded grove teeming with trees she had never before seen. They could have been anything from pine to birch, it looked to Luna like they were a freak parody of every single tree compiled into one.
"Taking a break?" Nightmare Moon said, once again appearing and taking a long breath of the night air.
"Yes, I suppose so."
"No objections from me. We're almost at Canterville anyway."
Luna perked an ear at the mention of a familiar town. This Equestria, albeit mirrored, should theoretically be the same, so technically it made sense for it to be present here, but it sounded as though Nightmare Moon was suggesting it was somewhere else.
"Hmm?" Nightmare Moon dipped a hoof in the pond and looked back at Luna, her eyes alight with amusement at the sight of Luna's curiosity. "Ah...Canterville isn't by the Everfree Forest, is it? My, it's so easy to get these two Equestrias mixed up. Well, let me tell you, Canterville is an adorable little settlement situated right beside the gates to Tartarus. We don't have to go there, but we should if you plan on kicking the bucket in eternal isolation, courtesy of your worst nightmares."
"I assume you mean Tartarus's punishment for me."
"Yeah, well, I'm just guessing." Nightmare Moon replied, slinking into the dark, black water of the pond. "Ah, it's so wonderful having a physical form like this!"
"Should I be afraid?" Luna muttered, fully aware of the improbability of a serious answer from Nightmare Moon.
"Of Tartarus?" She asked, dunking her head under the water and promptly resurfacing, wearing a playful grin. "I'm assuming you don't want me to mollify anything."
"Please." Luna said meekly, pacing the length of the pond. "Don't."
"Alright, Lulu, then I'll be straight with you. Tartarus is not a pretty place. If the Underworld is an eternal realm for the dead, then Tartarus is a prison for the damned."
"A prison?"
"Pretty much. You've probably heard horror stories about torture and eternal pain, but I assure you those reports are highly exaggerated."
"Will I have trouble crossing it, while I'm living I mean?"
"That, my dear Luna, is the most common misconception about Tartarus." Nightmare Moon yawned, wading back to the shore and shaking herself dry, not caring that she had just drenched Luna as she did so. "Being dead is not a prerequisite to being a resident of Tartarus. It's a prison for the evil. That being said. those who enter it living don't remain as such for long."
Luna shuddered as she recalled her confrontation with the mad stallion on the road. If ponies here were that desperate for life, she couldn't imagine what already violent ponies would be like.
"And the ruler? Sombra mentioned a 'Lord of Tartarus...'" Luna had several theories as to whom it might be, but absolutely nothing concrete.
"That...I would be lying if I said I knew the answer." Nightmare Moon confessed, sounding equally as frustrated by the Underworld's mysteries as Luna. "Reclusive fellow. Nopony's seen him. Likes to keep to himself."
That instantly shattered the most likely candidate for Luna's suspicions. She had wondered for great lengths where Discord would have fit in here, but assuming Nightmare Moon was telling the truth (which, it seemed like she was) she might not ever have to encounter him. She thought back to Sombra's assertions that everyone's Underworld was different, and decided that this was the most likely explanation for his elusiveness.
"Thank you for telling me this, Nightmare." Luna said without emotion.
"Yeah, whatever." Nightmare Moon shivered suddenly. "That water was cold. I don't recommend it."
After drying herself off, Nightmare Moon took to looking around her surroundings, her eyes finally resting on Luna, who was still staring at the pond with a broken expression.
"Why don't you get some sleep, Luna?" Nightmare Moon muttered, starting to place a supporting hoof on Luna's back but instantly backing away, as if the act of expressing compassion embarrassed her. "I can keep an eye out for trouble if you want to."
"Thank you. I think I will." Luna shook her head and put on a false smile. "Since when did you become so friendly?"
"Don't get used to it." Nightmare Moon blushed. "Shut up and go to sleep."
Luna awoke, instantly gasping at the cold air. Her mane was caked in ice and frost, although not a single thing surrounding her was. For a while, she simply watched her own breath rise as fog into the air and dissipate. Rolling over and rising to her feet, Luna shook her entire body vigorously and started pacing in a futile attempt to warm herself up.
"I was starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up." Nightmare Moon yawned, lounging against one of the strange trees and staring at a hoof. "Sleep good? Any bad dreams?"
"I don't dream." Luna mumbled. "Centuries of dream-walking, I suppose."
"Really? No dreams at all? That's impossible, everypony dreams."
"Why must you argue for the sake of arguing?" Luna said, clearing her sides of the rest of the ice that had not yet fallen.
"Well, whatever. Your dreams probably wouldn't be very interesting anyways." Nightmare Moon said, yawning again and disconnecting from the tree. "Can we finally be on our way now? Only you could find a way to procrastinate your own demise."
"You said you wanted to stop in Canterville first?"
"No, I said we're almost at Canterville." Nightmare Moon stretching her wings. "But it's much safer and quicker to travel through Canterville than it is around it. That being said, watch your step, and try not to draw any attention towards yourself."
"Understood." Luna couldn't have agreed more; the less time spent around ponies here the better. Besides, with the unexpected journey across the Underworld came an unwanted addition of time she did not have to waste. "Then let's be off! Ah, but first..."
Nudging her saddle-pack open with her muzzle, Luna used her magic to pluck several acorns from the freakish trees and place them inside. Nightmare Moon rose an eyebrow at this but said nothing, although it was clear she was somewhat amused by Luna's curiosity. As soon as she was done, Luna refastened the twine on her pack and gave Nightmare Moon a curt nod, before lifting into the air once again, glad to have some sort of physical exertion to help shake the cold out of her bones. Looking behind her, she did not see Nightmare Moon at all, leaving her to assume that she had taken on her non-physical form.
It was only fifteen minutes after Luna had first taken off that she could see signs of a settlement ahead. The road below had the occasional burning lantern along it, forming a line of light all the way to what was surely Canterville. Luna changed the angle of her wings and lowered her altitude until she was only a dozen feet above the ground, clearly in sight of the wagon tracks and hoof prints in the dirt. Ahead, far above the straw roofs and stone buildings of Canterville, there laid a vast forest, which Luna assumed was the Everfree. The sheer fact that she could see the trees from this distance led her to believe that they were much taller than their Equestrian counterparts.
"No." Luna reminded herself, well-aware that Nightmare Moon was probably listening to her thoughts at the moment. "Not the Everfree. Tartarus."
For the first time, Luna felt a growing sense of dread and fear at what lay ahead. It started as a fluttering in her stomach, and she managed to stave it off with the thought of her sister's smiling face, and how much more important that was to her than her own welfare. Nevertheless, she could not shake the terrifying knowledge that in less than a day, she would have to contend with an eternity of loneliness, and that was as a best case scenario. She couldn't help but wonder if Nightmare Moon would still be with her, and whether or not that would make her situation better or worse.
Soon enough, Canterville was looming in front of Luna and Nightmare Moon, both standing side by side on the road. Canterville stood tall, its medieval buildings separated by a stone wall which stretched around the perimeter at the height of about a dozen feet. The fence gave way to a metal gate at the road, which was not locked in any way.
Nightmare Moon was wearing an almost malicious looking grin that clearly showed her fangs. Luna was slightly wary about entering a civilized area with her, and definitely fearful for what she might do to other ponies if there happened to be another confrontation.
"Aren't they going to be a little frightened by you?"
"How insulting!" Nightmare Moon gasped in false hurt, her smile only partially disappearing as she did so. "If I were them, I'd be frightened of you, with your permanent glare and mopey tone!"
Laughing, Nightmare Moon walked on ahead, pushing the gate open and striding into the town, Luna reluctantly trailing behind her. Luna was shocked to see that Canterville was a bustling community, with a busy town square that was occupied by dozens of merchant stands. What the dead would have reason to purchase, Luna could only assume. Regardless, it was a vast change from the town of several families she remembered. Immediately upon entering the midst of civilization, however, the busy atmosphere of the town instantly died away as every single pony looked on in surprise at the two alicorns strolling across the square. It seemed as though every single conversation instantly ended, and was replaced with hushed and panicked whispering.
"They're looking at your glow, Luna." Nightmare Moon whispered, staring straight ahead at her destination on the other end of the town square and motioning for Luna to do the same. "Don't stare back, you'll freak them out."
To Luna's surprise, the majority of them sunk to a bow as she passed, still maintaining their terrified expressions. Many were so mortified that they squeezed their eyes shut and lay shivering. She had never been this popular in Equestria, and certainly never this feared. Nightmare Moon continued leading the way, holding her head high and making a point to avoid the eye contact of each and every pony bowing before them.
"So, Luna." Nightmare Moon said, still facing directly forwards. "Anypony you want to see here before we carry on? There's a high chance they're living here."
"No, I want to be in Tartarus as soon as possible." Luna replied, speeding her walk into a light trot to catch up with Nightmare Moon.
"Well, not much further. We need to cross the Everfree, and then we'll be there. " Nightmare Moon explained, pointing at some point to the North. "I couldn't help but over-hear your thoughts earlier. You're scared, aren't you?"
"That's not—" Luna began to protest, but realized it would be foolhardy. "What of it? Dost thou intend to degrade me for it?"
"Pfft, nah. Just curious."
The two continued on in silence through the town, which as they got deeper and deeper into it, Luna realized was only busy in its epicenter and quite quiet elsewhere. The occasional pony she passed gasped and bowed in fear as all the others had, and she responded with a guilty, acknowledging nod each time. Nightmare Moon, who had taken to casting quick glances over her shoulder, noticed this and instantly stopped walking, frowning and shaking her head.
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't acknowledge them, obviously! What did I TELL you before we entered this place? Don't draw attention to yourself!"
"That much seems impossible, and they have been doing nothing but bowing at me ever since I entered anyways!"
"What makes you think they're bowing at you?" Nightmare Moon said shortly, pointing a hoof at Luna's black tiara. "You really think that means anything down here?"
To prove her point, Nightmare Moon lunged forwards, grabbing Luna's glass tiara and throwing it to the ground, bringing her hoof down hard against it and shattering it into pieces.
"You're nothing anymore, Luna." She snarled. "And don't look at me like that. You chose this fate for yourself."
Luna did nothing but watch in mild disbelief, and it was only when Nightmare Moon whipped around again and continued on her brisk pace through Canterville that she floated the broken pieces of her tiara into her saddle-pack and followed. She could see the wall again, although this time it looked like it was separated from them by a sturdier looking fence, two armed ponies standing on both sides.
Or, they at least looked like ponies to Luna. It was difficult to tell, as they were both wearing large, dark robes that completely concealed their entire bodies, including their faces. Glowing red eyes stared out from the other side of the jet-black fabric, leading Luna to believe that if these had ever been ponies, they certainly weren't anymore.
"What business do you have in the Everfree?" The one to Luna's left asked, his voice raspy and strained. Luna noted that these were the first 'ponies' in Canterville who did not bow to acknowledge her presence, or look remotely frightened by her.
"I am Princess Lu—"
"This one aims to enter Tartarus." Nightmare Moon cut her off, stepping forward and nudging Luna aside roughly. "I'm merely leading her to the gate. Right, Lulu?"
"Lies." The one to the right replied, his voice of the same raspy quality as his partner. "None willingly enter the land of which there is no return. Your treachery is not welcome amongst us, Nightmare Moon."
"Heh. Calling me that down here now, too? Word travels fast."
"Silence!" The first guard commanded, his partner following suit with what was surely some premeditated speech. "Do you take us for some sort of fools so easily swayed by your words of—"
"Lulu, for goodness sakes, tell him."
"Nightmare Moon speaks the truth." Luna sighed, annoyed at her companions seemingly higher authority than her. "I aim to enter Tartarus on my own accord."
"Surely she is mad!"
"Yes, yes she is." Nightmare agreed, lowering her voice. "You see, she's looking for her sister, whom she suspects is on the other side."
"I see. Then I see no reason to prevent her from doing as she wishes. As for you, Nightmare Moon, you know that you are not welcome in Canterville. It is of sheer grace that we do not dispose of you and your traveling companion without a second thought."
"Can we go now?" Nightmare rolled her eyes, nudging Luna and starting to move past the guards, who promptly crossed their spears across the gate. "Oh for the love of...! What is it now?"
"Princess Lulu of Equestria." Both guards said in unison, ignoring Nightmare Moon's snickering. "You are permitted to enter Tartarus. It is your choice whether or not Nightmare Moon may accompany you."
"Oh wow." Nightmare Moon instantly stopped laughing and directed her full attention to Luna. "If your past failures are of any indication, you wouldn't last a second in the Everfree without me, let alone Tartarus."
Luna closed her eyes and thought. Should she? Indeed, Nightmare Moon had proved to actually be somewhat useful, but Luna could not shake what King Sombra had told her. Of course, King Sombra himself was not the most reliable source, but Nightmare Moon was at least partly responsible for Celestia's death, and Luna had no doubt that she would be able to cope with her misdeeds better without Nightmare Moon around to distract her.
"Luna, think this through." Nightmare Moon said, sounding desperate. "Actually think. You don't trust me and that's understandable, but—"
"Why dost thou care, anyway?" Luna retorted, reverting to her Royal vocabulary in her frustration. For the first time, she realized that it made very little sense for Nightmare Moon to do so much work for a pony she did not even really care for at all.
"I...yeah, well, you know what, I don't." Nightmare scoffed in reply, all her desperation instantly dissipating. "I've done too much for you already."
With that, Nightmare Moon turned and strode back down the road, pausing to look back at Luna and give her a sarcastic smile. Without another word, she whipped her wings out and took off into the air, exploding into purple smoke after flying a short distance above Canterville. Luna watched her go, feeling neither relief, nor loss...simply shocked that she had left so sporadically. She did not necessarily like or respect Nightmare Moon, but it would have been nice to have at least said farewell.
Sighing deeply and shaking her head in disappointment, Luna turned back to the two hooded guards, nodding to both and passing through the gate. In front of her loomed the ridiculously tall trees of the Everfree Forest, one last hurdle separating Luna from her retribution.
Luna felt somewhat wary as she started down the dirt road, the trees towering beside her on both sides of the path. Their trunks were of a normal thickness, but they towered hundreds of feet into the air, without a single branch protruding outwards. Far above, they ended in a leafless group of several thick, silky branches that all drooped downwards, pointing at the earth below. Some of the trees were connected by what she could only assume were vines, although in certain places they seemed to group together in massive, web-like clumps.
Like the rest of the Underworld, the Everfree was flooded with an omnipresent humming sound, although Luna could have sworn it was louder here than it had been before. Similarly, and much to Luna's disdain, it was even colder here than it had been anywhere else. She was beginning to regret having left her cloak behind when she opened her portal to Tartarus. A think layer of fog hung over the ground, billowing up from the occasional fissure in the ground which led to some inaccessible cavern below the Underworld. The road ahead seemingly stretched straight ahead for an indeterminable distance; the heavy fog made it quite difficult to see for sure where the road ended or turned. She had considered flying above the path to speed up her voyage, but secretly she was in no mood to get to Tartarus as quickly as possible, even though she was anxious to finally have her final journey behind her.
"Nightmare Moon, you can reveal yourself again." Luna called, looking back at where Canterville had been, already lost in the fog. Not even Luna's own echo answered her, so she tried again. "Nightmare, we have left the guards behind! We are, once again, alone!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Ha! I knew you did not posses the ability to go off on your lonesome!"
"Calm down there, Luna." Nightmare Moon murmured, sounding annoyed and slightly embarrassed. "You didn't seriously think I'd ditch you like that, did you? Nah, I just needed to make it look like you were going alone so those guards didn't tail us. I hate an entourage."
"Mayhaps you have an answer to my question then?" Luna said, stopping in her tracks and tapping a hoof impatiently. "Why you insist on helping me?"
"You're ALL questions, Luna. You ever notice that? Do you seriously think I have ulterior motives or something?" Nightmare Moon said flatly. Mid-sentence, she re-appeared next to Luna on the path, the fog swirling around her and giving her a surreal and mystical look.
"You're curious about all the wrong things, anyways." She added, removing her helmet with her magic and running a hoof through her stardust mane, which swirled wildly around until she managed to make it settle into a more consistent flow. "I tell you we're not alone in a freaky forest in the Underworld and it completely flies over your head."
Nightmare Moon brushed past Luna and continued on down the path. As she did so, she floated her helmet over to Luna and let it drop on her head, looking back and chuckling at the sight.
"You don't look half bad in that."
To Luna, it sounded as though this was some sort of cryptic form of apology from Nightmare Moon for her words back in Canterville. While she looked as cocky and narcissistic as ever, Luna got the impression she had at least partially succeeded in scaring her a little with the possibility of their parting of ways, even if it were clear Nightmare Moon had no trouble tailing her anyways.
Up ahead, Nightmare Moon was trotting along at a steady pace, occasionally disappearing and reappearing elsewhere around the forest, but usually preferring to stay close by. Luna glanced up at her companion with suspicion, although she intentionally maintained an apathetic looking expression in order to disguise it, staring at her hooves beating the ground. Obviously, this suspicion was nothing new, but the way Canterville's residents responded to her, with fear and loathing disguised as respect...what exactly was she...and what exactly did she want from her?
"So, where are you headed, Luna?" Nightmare called back, jerking Luna's attention to the road ahead. They had come up to a crossroads, neither road labelled with any signage to indicate their destinations. Nightmare Moon signaled to them with a hoof and quizzically rose an eyebrow at Luna. "You didn't have a problem ditching me, so I'm going to assume you know what you're doing. Lead the way."
"Very well." Luna said matter-of-factually, passing Nightmare Moon and continuing on her trek down the left. She had only made it several meters before she became aware that Nightmare Moon was still standing in the exact same spot at the crossroads and shaking her head slowly.
"Nope. Think. You're following the path blindly, without having any idea where it leads."
With a stifled groan of frustration, Luna kicked a rock off the road and looked around, thinking. This was the Everfree Forest, albeit a different version of it. Her destination was her own castle, which was found in the eastern reaches of the Everfree Forest...therefore...
"No. You are mistaken, Nightmare. This path is correct." Luna asserted, standing her ground.
"Heh. Whatever you say, genius."
Confidently, Luna strode on down the path, every bit aware that Nightmare Moon was still not following her, simply standing tall and watching her disappear with a blank expression. Ahead, the path was every bit the exact same as it was before, and with the disorienting fog, Luna could see no difference between it and the previous path prior to the intersection. Looking back, she could see that Nightmare Moon had also been concealed by the billowing mist, undoubtedly still standing her ground at the crossroads.
"Her mistake." Luna muttered. "It'd have to take one vastly different Equestria for entire directions to be...mirrored..."
Stopping dead in her tracks, Luna paused for a full ten seconds, before cursing loudly and turning back around, in a few minutes coming back upon the crossroads where Nightmare Moon was waiting, wearing a smug, told-you-so grin. Doing her best to avoid her patronizing smile, Luna stormed past and continued on down the opposite path without uttering a single word. Nightmare Moon followed compliantly this time as Luna led the way down the road to the west, which in all technicality was the eastern reaches of the Everfree Forest. The more she thought about it, the more confusing it got.
For a long while, the two simply walked, Nightmare Moon often making some pettish complaint about the cold or the fog, and Luna offering an agreeing mumble out of courtesy. One thing Luna noticed her companion doing frequently (other than complaining) was looking straight up, continuously examining the tops of the trees as if expecting something to be different. Something about the almost fearful way she was doing so eventually piqued Luna's curiosity enough that she simply needed to know what it was Nightmare Moon was hoping to see.
"Why are you looking at the tops of the trees?" Luna finally asked the next time Nightmare Moon stole a glance skywards.
"Hmm?" Nightmare Moon blinked innocently and directed her line of sight at the road in front of her, acting like she had looking straight ahead the whole time. "Oh, hopefully nothing. Usually nothing. That being said, if you see a tree without any branches at the top, tell me. Immediately."
"I...I'm sorry, but I do not quite underst—"
"You're going to regret me telling you, believe me. Look at the tree tops. Look at them very carefully."
Luna did as she was instructed, and craned her neck upwards to examine the slender and wispy tops of the trees far above, with their thick, mossy black branches arching downwards, and offering no shade against a sun that was not present anyways. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, other than the trees themselves. The only thing Luna saw any them do in the full minute she stared was waver slightly in the wind. Oddly, it looked like only one was blown by the wind, but that certainly didn't warrant any concern. Nightmare Moon, however, also noticed the branches shudder, and pointed a hoof at the exact same tree.
"There!" She whispered excitedly. "Did you see that? That one moved!"
"Yes, what of it? It was simply buffeted by the wind."
"Yeah?" Nightmare Moon chortled. "What wind?"
"The..." Slowly, in bitter, terrified realization, Luna realized that, in fact, there was no wind. There hadn't been since she first arrived, it was one of the first things about the Underworld she had noted. There was twilight, and perhaps the rectangular particles floating upwards could be called rain, but at no point had Luna ever been aware of wind...which theoretically there could never be anyway. Then...if there was in fact no wind...what had moved the branches?
"Count them, Lulu. Count the branches."
Once again, Luna did as she was told, focusing on one specific tree and counting each of the dainty branches. Eight. Eight long, dark branches connected to a mossy ball perched at the tree. Breathing heavily, she moved on to the next...and the next after that, fear gradually creeping its way down her spine until she realized why Nightmare Moon was so justified in her nervousness.
"Eight. They all have eight branches. And they're moving."
"They're not trees, Lulu." Nightmare Moon said, drawing the words out for dramatic purpose. "Please don't tell me you have a fear of spiders?"
"Surely you can't be..." Luna began, shivering and refusing to break eye contact with the immense arachnids above. Nightmare Moon gave an agreeing nod and once again resumed her walk, but Luna remained right where she was. Nightmare Moon hadn't been wrong; she certainly would have been better off without the knowledge that she was currently surrounded by tens of thousands of gigantic arachnids.
"What are they doing?" Luna whispered, trotting to catch up to Nightmare Moon.
"I dunno. Watching us?" The sarcastic tone in her voice was unmistakable. "Waiting for a chance to strike perhaps?"
Playfully, Nightmare Moon unfurled her wings and started hovering several feet above the path.
"Maybe I'll go and ask one! Come along, Luna!"
"Why are they here? It does not make a shred of sense!"
"What fun is there in making sense?" Nightmare Moon laughed in a mocking tone, bringing her hooves behind her head as if they were horns. "But seriously. Let me answer your question with another question. Why are you so afraid of spiders?"
"I'm not!" Luna blushed. "I just don't like them!"
"Luna, come on. The Everfree Forest, at least the first few miles of it, is intended to place your most irrational fears as an obstacle for you to surpass. So, obviously you are."
"The story is thoroughly embarrassing, and it is founded on memories of my sister which fill me with guilt."
"Alright, alright. Irrational fears are called irrational for a reason, I guess." Nightmare Moon sighed in disappointment, lowering her hooves back down on the earth and folding her wings against her side. "I don't want to hear your incessant whining anyways."
"Aahg." Luna eventually said.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Aahg." Luna repeated. "He was a foe me and my sister faced in passing, long ago."
"Really? A spider I presume?"
"Indeed. A quite voracious one at that. I don't think this forest is populated by creatures I fear, I think it's populated by memories I regret. He killed three members of our royal guard that day."
"My goodness. Well, circle of life I suppose."
Luna gave Nightmare Moon a filthy look and shook her head in disapproving disgust.
"What about them? Are they hostile?" she asked, unable to clear her mind of the potential danger hanging overhead.
"Looks like they're dormant." Nightmare Moon observed, not sounding entirely sure. "And they're pretty high above us anyway. We should be fine."
Luna gasped in relief, allowing herself to relax a little and turn her attention back to the road ahead. The same redundant, straight path leading her deeper and deeper into the forest. Admittedly, the fog was starting to get on Luna's nerves, too. The sheer mystery of her surroundings filled her with an almost claustrophobic sense of discomfort. Hopefully, she cast some light from her horn, which helped only slightly.
"Not a lot further." Nightmare Moon assured, leaving Luna baffled how she knew where they were if the forest looked exactly the same. She concluded that Nightmare Moon was probably just saying that so it looked like she knew what she was talking about.
"So, what do you intend to do when we reach Tartarus?" Luna asked, hoping to pass the time traveling with a bit of idle chitchat.
"I haven't given it much thought. Probably go find some other sad sap of a pony to bug." Nightmare Moon grinned mischievously and rose an eyebrow. "Are you making conversation with me, Luna?"
"I suppose I am."
"That's a first." Nightmare Moon pointed out, still grinning. "Does this mean you no longer carry an unbridled hatred against 'every fiber of my being?'"
"N...I...I don't know."
Seeing the evident discomfort in Luna's reply, Nightmare Moon tried something different.
"Will you miss Equestria, Lulu? This is your last hurrah, after all."
Already, Luna was beginning to regret saying anything at all. She had thought conversing would help pass the time, but it would seem Nightmare Moon mistook her actions for some invitation to ask her the most personal of questions, or else some form of apology for her past hostility. In reality, she felt no obligation to make amends with Nightmare Moon, and while she no longer hated her, the refusal to consider her anything more than a companion almost overpowered Luna's desire to continue the conversation. Nevertheless, she answered.
"Of course. But I'd prefer to leave it forever than rule it under the despair I plunged it into."
"So, Tartarus is an appropriate alternative?" Nightmare asked quizzically.
"No, but Celestia ruling Equestria is an appropriate alternative to me."
"Assuming you succeed." Nightmare Moon pointed out. "If you fail, then you've created an even bigger mess."
"Which is why I must succeed." Luna said, aiming for a confident tone of voice but still unable to keep the fear out of her voice. "Your knowledge about Tartarus would really be beneficial, Nightmare. Especially about this 'Lord of Tartarus' King Sombra spoke of. Is there anything else I should know? "
"I imagine there's TONS you should know! But, unfortunately, I'm not the one who can tell you."
"Why not?!" Luna snapped, startling both herself and her companion with her sudden, peeved hostility. "Ahem. Sorry. Why can you not tell me?"
"Because I don't know. Obviously." Nightmare Moon scoffed, annoyed with having to say it out loud. "I know I'm dashing and clever, but I'm not omniscient."
"Have you been there though?" Luna asked, pondering the contradictory nature of her question. Both Sombra and Nightmare Moon had both confirmed that Tartarus was a realm from which return was not allowed.
"Well...yes. Let's just say I'm supposed to be there." Nightmare Moon said, and Luna could tell she was taking great caution in choosing how she worded her sentences. "I...checked out early."
"You escaped." Luna translated, finally making sense of what the ponies guarding the Everfree had said, and why Canterville's residents were so terrified of her. "I've asked this before, but I need an answer. What are y—"
"Luna, shh!"
"No! Not this time! I int—"
"No, seriously, shut up!"
Her eyes growing wide, Luna could tell from Nightmare's urgent tone that she wasn't simply skirting around answering her question, she had seen or heard something which sent her into a fearful silence. Compliantly, Luna, too, fell silent, looking forward in an attempt to see what it was Nightmare Moon had seen. However, so thick was the fog that even a distance as short as twenty feet was almost completely obscured.
"What is it?" Luna whispered as quietly as she could, half expecting Nightmare Moon to shush her again. Instead, she pointed a hoof upwards. Luna followed it and instantly understood what it was that had Nightmare Moon so freaked out. Rising skywards into the sky was one of the many trees, but this particular one had the distinction of not having any branches on the top of it, so that it looked like a giant wooden post soaring into the sky. The true gravity of what she was seeing sent shivers down her spine.
"What do we do?" Luna said in a hushed tone.
"I don't know..." Nightmare Moon began, finally turning away from the forest to face Luna. "Your horn! Put out the light, you idiot!"
Luna cursed and quickly stopped casting the light spell that she had forgotten she was using in the first place.
"Okay." Nightmare Moon began, her breathing quick and fearful. "Damn spiders. Uhh, well, I don't see a choice, we gotta keep moving."
"Is that thing looking for us?"
"I don't know, I don't know!" This was the most nervous Luna had ever seen Nightmare Moon behave. "I hate not knowing!"
Suddenly, she whipped around and grasped Luna, bringing her muzzle inches from Luna's face and glaring at her with wild eyes. It looked to Luna like she had just noticed something, and that knowledge had terrified her even more than her ignorance.
"Get off the path. Fly if you need to! I'll catch up, just go!"
"Wha—"
"Get off, I said!" Nightmare Moon gave Luna a harsh shove into the forest and motioned wildly for her to continue. Luna hesitated just long enough to see that Nightmare Moon was still standing in the middle of the path, straightening herself into a defensive position and not budging from it. Seeing Luna still watching her out of the corner of her eyes, Nightmare Moon bared her teeth and silently mouthed the word 'go.'
Reluctantly, Luna turned and sprinted through the rows of trees, the path instantly disappearing in the fog. Blindly she ran, until she was sure she had left enough distance between herself and the path that she could continue running in the correct direction. Readjusting her course, Luna tore forwards, skirting around trunks of trees and all the while keeping a close eye around herself for any signs of life. With dismay, she noted that two more trees were lacking of any foliage at the top, and she imagined she would have seen others if she had the time to look more closely. In the deeper reaches of the forest, thick, durable looking spiderwebs covered more and more trees, sometimes so dense than Luna had to leap or even fly over them. Without the aid of her magical lighting, it was rather difficult to spot them in the twilit shadows of the forest.
"N...Nightmare..." Luna called out between her panting as she ran, desperate to know what in Equestria that mare had planned. As she expected, she received no reply. Whatever it was Nightmare Moon intended to do, Luna knew she had purposely been sent away so she would not witness it. If she did not have any reason to still consider her untrustworthy (which, she had plenty of) then she certainly would now.
After awhile, Luna skidded to a halt to catch her breath, whipping around in every direction constantly to make sure she was alone. She had no doubt she could easily dispose of one of those spiders with a blast of magic, but it was likely that her light magic was what woke the first one; if she used a particularly violent and destructive magic spell, she'd probably wake the whole forest. A dozen spiders were no problem; a thousand would most likely spell her doom.
Suddenly, Luna heard a quick, sharp, snapping sound from somewhere deeper in the forest, as if something had just stepped on and broken a twig. In the completely motionless atmosphere, it might as well been a cannon blast. Whipping around to face the direction of the noise, she was greeted with nothing but fog. But, after squinting harder, she could have sworn she saw something else moving. Something big. Four glowing red lights came and went through the mist, and she concluded this must be the eyes of the great arachnid beasts now stalking the forest.
Taking several cautious steps backwards, Luna did her best to calm her exhausted panting and slowly tiptoed in the opposite direction of the unseen beast. Hopefully, if she didn't make a sound, it would not hear her, and would instead pass her by completely. Holding her breath, Luna continued to watch intently, her ears picking up only the deafening sound of silence. While she wanted to flee, any sudden movement would undoubtedly expose her presence, leaving her with the touchy choice of either fighting back or attempting to outrun the creature, both of which might create even more trouble for her. The glowing red eyes were only sometimes visible as the arachnid stalked through the trees, but they were certainly growing brighter by the second, which could only mean one thing. It was approaching.
Eventually, the thing crept forward; first, a concentrated area of the fog changed to a radiant red, and then the the arachnid itself slowly became visible as it entered directly into Luna's line of sight. Immediately upon seeing her, it froze and took several long strides forward, before ceasing its walk and staring at her blankly. Standing on eight tall, pointed legs resembling a sword's blade was a thick, hideous, hairy sphere, with no signs of an abdomen which seemed to contradict the thick webs decorating the forest. Other than the eyes and legs, it had no other features on its body.
Which made Luna all the more surprised when it spoke.
"Nightmare Moon." It said, its voice a deep, genderless drone. "You are Nightmare Moon."
Luna blinked several times, not quite trusting her ears that it had in fact, spoken.
"You will answer." It said, resuming its intimidating approach. "Are you not the one they call Nightmare Moon?"
"No, no I'm not." She managed, still gawking in disbelief. The whole situation simply reeked of something Discord would think up, so ridiculous was it in concept. She wasn't even really frightened as much as she was bewildered, and curious as to how and why Nightmare Moon was so popular in the Underworld. Seemingly every creature she encountered responded to the very mention of her name with fury and distrust, and yet here she was traipsing to Tartarus with her. "My name is Princess Luna. I do not mean any harm with your...species, I simply desire safe passage through the Everfree."
"You lie. None but Nightmare Moon would have the desire, nor means to commute to or from Tartarus."
"Wh...who is she?" Luna asked, now staring straight up at the beast towering above her, all the while internally calculating which route would offer the safest and swiftest escape.
Apparently, what she had intended as a question aimed to finally answer her doubts about her companion had somehow been interpreted as an insult, because the mighty arachnid said nothing in response, instead raising one of its sharp legs and bringing it down hard on the ground directly where Luna would have been standing, if she had not broken into a sprint split-seconds before it did. The ground where it hit exploded in dirt, but she was not around to see that much. Instead, the Princess of the Night tore through the trees for a short distance, before spreading her wings and taking to the sky, beating the air frantically as she left the earth below.
"Nightmare Moon!" She bellowed at the top of her lungs, scanning below her for any signs of life. With mild amusement, she noted that she had taken off so fiercely that she had already cleared the fog level without noticing. While she was still not above the tall trees, she was high enough that the path below was lost, so she purposefully altered the angle of her flightpath so that she was once again descending. Reaching a more suitable height a little above the path, Luna flew along, hoping to catch sight of where she had left Nightmare Moon on the road.
Suddenly, a large mass passed by in her peripheral vision, followed by another, and another. She whipped around to see dozens more of the arachnids descending towards the earth from every corner of the forest.
"Dammit." She spat, as more and more of the disgusting eight-legged monsters infested the forest. Another one dropped down right beside her, so close that she actually had to pull off a sloppy, improvised barrel-roll to avoid being struck by it. Unfortunately, the maneuver left her disoriented for just long enough for her left wing to graze a tree in passing, sending her on a wild spiral earthwards that, despite her sudden attempts to recover caused her to crash into the dirt harshly. The sky above was a mess of insects and webbing, and Luna wondered if it was perhaps safer to stick to the path than to potentially endanger herself flying.
Breaking into a sprint, Luna tore onto the path and promptly continued her journey across it, making it a short distance before skidding to a halt and whipping her neck backwards at the opposite direction.
Nightmare Moon was still in the forest.
"Nightmare Moon!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring that doing so would tell the arachnid beasts where she was. "Where ARE you?!"
No answer. Luna swore under her breath and tried again, switching to her Royal Canterlot Voice, which, coupled with her screaming at her full extent, was enough to shake the earth slightly.
"Ah..L...Luna!" Nightmare's voice came, muffled slightly, some of her words obscured as if by distance, but undoubtedly her. "You're alright. Good. Did you make it out of the forest alright?"
"No! Where are...what is going on?!"
"I heard you, and I'm communicating telepathically, the way I always do. Its from a greater distance so I imagine there's some distortion."
"Where are you?!"
"I should be asking you! What are you still doing in the forest?!"
"Looking for you!" Luna seethed, looking worriedly around at the still empty path, the forest of branch-less trees crawling with movement on all sides. The occasional arachnid stalked across the path, and every time, Luna tensed and prayed it did not see her.
"Luna, I'm fine! Get outta there, for the love of—"
The rest of what Nightmare Moon had to say was lost in the distortion, but it was all Luna needed to hear. One last glance backwards showed her that one of the spiders had wandered onto the path and spotted her, and was now creeping towards her on its grotesquely tall, hairy legs. It was all the motivation Luna needed to take off at the fastest speed her legs could take her, but not before unleashing a sudden flash of light that blinded the arachnids stalking after her.
The forest was now a universally crawling body of insects, but Luna could see some sort of clearing ahead. Dashing forward with new-found enthusiasm, she tore past the insectoid beasts standing in the path, sometimes swiping their appendages at her but missing each time. Luna whispered a silent thanks to the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she bounded ever closer towards the clearing ahead, which looked to Luna like she was running straight towards a blinding sun that obscured whatever lay beyond.
Tearing through and leaving the Everfree behind her, Luna let out a triumphant cheer and slowly cut off speed as she came into an immense clearing of tall yellow grass. Directly ahead of her was a river of still, sparkling water, completely motionless and calm, not a single ripple to be seen. Turning around, she started with surprise to see that the forest was gone, completely gone, in its place a seemingly unending expansion of the clear field she was standing in. Overhead, the sky was clear and starry, again with no trace of a moon or sun. The odd black ascending rectangles were gone, and the eerie humming noise had ceased completely. The only thing of any note on the ground other than the river was a ramshackle wooden archway that Luna must have come through. Slouched against it, the whole thing leaning dangerously, was Nightmare Moon.
"Took you long enough." She muttered, straightening herself up.
"Yes, well, I had a little run in with a literate arachnid, who seemed to mistake me for a lying, tyrannical demon by the name of Nightmare Moon."
"Why, how rude!" Nightmare gasped, before assuming a voice that was quite obviously supposed to be a parody of Luna's. "And, oh so untrue! Such words of blasphemy I've never had the misfortune of hearing!"
Rolling her eyes and blowing her hair out of her face, Luna turned on the river ahead and examined it more carefully. It seemed to stretch on to infinity in one direction, any source completely impossible to see. The other end, however, seemed to drop off suddenly a few miles down, the wheat field also ending just as abruptly. Peering over the edge of the water, Luna saw that it ended in a waterfall which made no sound, disappearing into an abyss of black, which was also doted with the tell-tale pinpricks of starlight.
"What is this place?" Luna said in amazement, in sheer disbelief by the unexpected beauty she had never imagined could exist on the road to Tartarus.
"Y'know, I've thought about that a lot while I was waiting for you." Nightmare Moon replied. "This is my first time being here, too."
"Really?" Luna asked. "But you've been to Tartarus, no?"
"I...I've never made it this far with a living pony." Nightmare Moon cryptically confessed. "Which...which means you're the first mare other than myself to set eyes on...whatever this is."
"Have you been in the water?"
"Pfft, no! I'm not stupid!" Nightmare Moon scoffed, as if it were obvious. "I did find out that your magic won't work here, though."
"What?!"
"Try for yourself."
Sure enough, when Luna tried to levitate Nightmare Moon's helmet off her head, she found that her magic simply refused to co-operate. She was not even able to make a single spark leave her horn. All the while, Nightmare Moon was still standing in the same spot, looking bored and disinterested.
"Why did you leave me in the forest?" Luna asked, rearing on her, forming a determined glare. Nightmare Moon had skillfully dodged every question she had asked recently, but not this time.
"Ah, y'know, sentient, literate spiders. Brought about by your irrational fears, designed to guard the gates to Tartarus..." She said, shrugging. "I wanted to have a word with them. I wasn't met warmly, so I set off post-haste for Tartarus, knowing it wasn't very far."
"A word? Concerning what matters?!"
"Concerning you, of course." Finally moving from her lazy slouching by the wooden archway, she paced towards Luna, before poking her in the nose with a hoof and chuckling playfully. "I wanted to make sure I could trust you! Y'know, ulterior motives and the like."
"Hilarious." Luna grumbled sarcastically, pushing her away and sitting on the ground facing the wide river in front of her. "I presume we must cross this river?"
"Now?" Nightmare groaned, falling to the ground belly-up and looking up at the stars. "But it's so nice here! Don't you ponies get tired or something?"
"Well...I suppose. What I really am experiencing is hunger." Luna confessed. If she'd known her journey to Tartarus would be such a long ordeal, she would have come much more prepared. But as it were, she saw no other choice but to hurry to Tartarus as swiftly as possible. Nevertheless, the promise of a rest in what was surely designed to BE a rest between the Underworld and Tartarus, was promising. The river wasn't going anywhere, and one last hour before sacrificing her life for her sister did not seem quite so unreasonable. Still sitting and facing the unknown shore, Luna let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.
"I shall die tomorrow."
"Yeah?" Came Nightmare Moon's tired, detached reply.
"It... is strange, to think of it with such certainty."
"Not really." Nightmare Moon said, sitting up. "Everything dies. Even alicorns like you."
"Yes, I suppose. And yet, the strangeness lies in the...organization of it all. As if it is some divine schedule that I must comply with. I do not feel frightened, or worried, or anxious. I simply feel unfulfilled."
"What a cheery topic."
Sighing again, Luna decided she would do better to just refrain from ever trying to carry on a serious conversation with her. She was just about to propose they get moving when Nightmare Moon spoke.
"I wish you weren't going to do this to yourself, Luna. But, I can't change your mind. For your sake, I'm sorry about that."
"I appreciate your sentimentality." Luna breathed, watching as it rose into the cool air like mist.
"Call it what you want. Celestia's lucky she has a sister who would sacrifice everything for her."
"No, she's unfortunate to have such a corrupt mare for a sibling." Luna denied. "You speak as if I am going to my death as a hero, when the truth is that I am simply paying the price for my own past sins."
"Whatever, Luna." Nightmare Moon practically snapped, crashing back on the ground with a dull thump. "I tried."
With one final sigh, Luna, too, brought her head down onto the grass, looking up at the galaxy above, at the celestial canvass not quite unlike the one she had done so much to have plastered across Equestria's inky night sky. She would have seen beauty in it once, but now she just saw the same bitter vision of Celestia being struck by her magical assault, tumbling down and down to earth—
"I am ready to move on." Luna announced, rising, ignoring Nightmare Moon's protesting groans. One last river. That was all she needed to cross, and then she could finally rest knowing she had redeemed herself.
Placing a hoof slowly into the shimmering water in front of her, Luna cautiously took a step into the river and found that it was quite shallow. Hopefully, it would remain as such, and she could simply wade to the other side of the river instead of having to swim over some deep, unknown waters.
"I wish you could just fly across." Nightmare Moon groaned from further on above. Luna had quickly found out that, along with her magic, she couldn't fly either, no matter how hard she beat her wings. Nightmare Moon, on the other hoof, was not a pony and therefore was unaffected by whatever was jamming Luna's magic. "Seriously, why can't an Equestria Princess best a puny little anti-magic spell?"
"My frequency of magic is entirely different from yours." Luna defended herself, annoyed with the simplicity in which Nightmare Moon was flying, while she couldn't even lift herself a foot off the ground or levitate a feather. Supposedly, centuries of living in the Underworld had allowed her companion more than enough time to get used to the vast difference to Equestria and overall meta-physicality that the Underworld was made up of, but regardless it looked as though casting magic here was made intentionally impossible.
"I thought alicorns are supposed to be tough, especially you. So far, I'm just not seeing the 'omnipotence' you're credited with."
"Alicorns aren't omnipotent." Luna corrected. "We're ageless. That's not the same thing."
"Well, excuse me princess, for assuming you were more powerful and strong than some ordinary mortal."
"That doesn't make me immune to all limitations." Luna pointed out. "That being said, regardless of the severity, if this were Equestrian soil I can guarantee I wouldn't be nearly this grounded. It seems like my magic doesn't react well to the abstract nature of this place."
And, indeed, it seemed like abstract was the best way to describe it. Sometimes, it seemed as though the confusing, nonsensical nature of the Underworld was something from a pony's nightmares, and Luna had seen plenty of those in her time. Was this what her nightmares were like? All the strange things, and the even stranger ponies, it was a far cry from the orderliness and predictability of Equestria.
Continuing her wading forwards through the water, Luna looked forward at the other side of the river, which looked every bit the same as the one she had left behind, right down to the same flimsy archway which presumably led beyond whatever intermission this place was supposed to serve as. As she had suspected, the depth of the water she was crossing was consistent, which would mean crossing it would not require swimming.
"Hey, Luna!" Nightmare Moon breathed in awe, causing Luna to draw her attention away from the opposite shore, craning her neck backwards to see Nightmare Moon's amazed face staring directly down at the water below her. "Look at that!"
"What?" Luna asked intently, looking down herself and seeing nothing but her own face reflected back in the mirror like surface. Instantly, she froze her journey across the river and peered downwards into her own face for a long while. The more she focused, the more she realized there was something else after all...something moving in the shimmering waters. Nightmare Moon was looking down in an almost trance-like gaze, but as a direct contrast to her hypnotized glare was an almost...loathing expression. Whatever it was she was seeing infuriated her and encapsulated the entirety of her attention.
In complete juxtaposition, Luna felt a tear fall down her face as she beheld the white mare looking back at her from the other side of the water.
"Celestia!"
Her sister was smiling, a solemn, sorrowful looking smile, as if to guise whatever it was she was actually feeling as she looked back at the pony who had betrayed her. The image of her sister was clearly visible in the motionless depths of the mirror-like water. She was as discernible as Luna's own reflection before she had entered the river. She was wearing her crown and necklace which symbolized royalty, but the traditional garments were laced with flowers; they could have been white lilies, but Luna had never been well-versed in that subject. What she did notice about them was that they had been quite prominent in the bouquets surrounding her poor sister's fallen body back in Equestria.
Bringing her head lower towards the water, Luna extended a hoof to touch her sister's face, but merely succeeded in creating ripples on its surface and temporarily obscuring Celestia from view. Whatever purpose the river was supposed to serve, it was evident that it had the ability to show her the face of the one pony she loved most, and perhaps nothing more. It was likely she could not even speak with her sister. Regardless, Luna tried.
"I'm sorry, Celestia! I am so, so, sorry!" Luna sobbed, her falling tears succeeding in slightly distorting her view of Celestia. "I never wanted any of this!"
Celestia didn't vocally respond (or perhaps she did and Luna could not hear it) but instead maintained the same broken smile, and offered an understanding nod, indicating that she had indeed heard. The two sister's locked eyes, the sympathetic Goddess of the Sun and the guilt-ridden Goddess of the Moon, both mere variations of the same crippling sorrow. To Luna's shock, Celestia did not look as angry at her as she had predicted she would, although the disappointment and hurt in her sisters eyes was obvious.
"I am going to fix this." Luna promised, rubbing her eyes clear of any tears and sniffling. "No matter what the cost to myself. I swear, Celestia, I'm coming for you."
Nodding again in understanding, Celestia maintained her heartbreaking smile. Behind the white form of her sister, an even whiter light was building, growing in intensity as if a sun of pure energy was rising behind her sister, reducing Celestia from a pony to an outline to nothing at all. Luna watched her disappear, watched everything disappear, and squeezed her eyes shut, not fully knowing why. Still, the blinding light was there. It was a sight not seen through her open eyes but a part of her mind as much as her guilt or her fear or the cooing voice of Nightmare Moon. In time, even it started to fade to darkness, as an unnatural calm replaced her panic, and her fervent mind began fading away like the last traces of sunlight before dusk. A slow, soothing, beautiful sight.
Suddenly, Luna flung herself up, coughed out a torrent of water, and looked around. She was in the middle of the river, exactly where she had been, but Nightmare Moon was staring at her in complete disbelief and shock, still hovering just above the water.
"What happened?"
"You're an idiot," Nightmare Moon spat, turning around and continuing her flight across the river. "I don't even want to ask, but what was that all about? You just...sorta, almost drowned."
"What?!" Luna exclaimed, standing completely erect now and looking down at the water in disbelief. "But...how? One minute you told me to look in the river...and, I saw my sister in the reflection of the water, and then..I must have passed out..."
"Just. Stop." Nightmare Moon gibed, bringing a hoof to her face and freezing her flight. "The water probably induced some hallucination that made you oblivious to the fact that you were trying to KILL yourself, and apparently made me look like a senseless twit petty enough to get caught up on the damn scenery."
Nightmare Moon took a deep breath and continued forwards.
"But...Celestia..." Luna began, but halted when Nightmare Moon looked back to give her a disapproving glare. Did that mean that what she had seen...that Celestia had been a mere hallucination? Was she truly becoming mad, or was this some strange, final trap designed to prevent entry to and from Tartarus? Why would such a thing be necessary? If it was madness, at least she wasn't far gone enough and she had managed to snap out of whatever reverie she had been under.
As if sensing Luna's puzzlement, Nightmare Moon said it aloud, although the tone she used suggested that she was merely guessing.
"This river. It's designed to kill ponies before entering Tartarus. You're forced to cross through it and when you do, it tempts you into drowning yourself without even knowing you're doing it. That's why it jams any magic, to prevent unicorns from teleporting across or pegasi from flying. Thankfully for me, I'm neither, but you're basically both."
"But why?" Luna asked. "Why kill them, I mean."
"A surprisingly good question. If I were to guess, I would say it's to stop ponies like you from trying to do exactly what you're doing. That is, interfering with the affairs of Tartarus. As a dead pony in Tartarus, you couldn't possibly alter the balance of anything, but as a live one from the outside, you're quite dangerous."
"Dangerous how?"
"Dangerous in the sense that you potentially have the ability to resurrect any evil being kept there, and send em' back to Equestria to continue whatever spree of terror got them killed in the first place."
"I see," Luna nodded.
"Just...avoid looking down at the water and you should be fine." Nightmare Moon suggested, and Luna did just that. The remaining journey across the river was entirely uneventful, and in time the two alicorns were both once again standing on solid ground. Being thrust from cold water into even colder air was not quite Luna's idea of comforting, but from the looks of things, Tartarus was only a gateway ahead.
"This is it, Luna." Nightmare Moon declared, staring straight ahead at the rickety archway. "There's no going back from this now. One step through that gate, and your fate is basically sealed. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I am." Luna nodded, taking a determined step forwards, followed by another, and another, until the arch was passing by on both sides. As she paced through it, the half light of the starlit river gave way to an eerie purplish glow, as the clearing faded into cavern walls and sharp spires of stone. Looking around in fearful awe, Luna did her best to stay composed as she entered the gloomy land of the damned. Nightmare Moon was walking right beside her, with a completely apathetic expression, as if she'd been here so many times it was like crossing a street. To Luna, it was the culmination of all her life's achievements and failures crumbling away into the prison of stone and purple fire that made up her new home. She didn't need to turn around to know that the archway was gone, but doing so anyway confirmed her suspicion. In its place was a stone wall, untarnished as if nothing had ever been there.
"No turning back." Luna breathed, slowing her quick breathing to steady but evidently disturbed inhaling and exhaling.
"You alright?" Nightmare Moon asked, not a trace of insincerity in her voice. "I know this place can be a little disarming."
That was one way of putting it. All around her, Luna saw nothing but rock and fire. Sharp, spiky spears of stone formed the ceiling, walls, and even the majority of the floor Luna was walking on, with the thankful exception of the road she was following. She must have been on some raised area, because the road gave way to a long fall, so far she could see no end to it. Other raised areas poked out of the dark abyss, some were connected to her area by rickety bridges and others were simply isolated. The occasional house or pony-built cave was visible on them, showing signs that despite its hostility, ponies still lived here.
Thankfully, Luna saw none of the 'unending torment' and 'ceaseless agony' that paranoid subjects seemed to love writing of back in Equestria. As Nightmare Moon has previously stated, this place resembled a prison and nothing more. Of course, the waterfalls of lava pouring down from the cavern roof sort of betrayed any sense of earthly habitability.
Straight ahead, separated only by a hundred feet followed by a short, rickety wooden bridge, a tall, Gothic looking palace stood, looking quite out of place beside the harsh stone and pouring lava. A dozen grey brick spires rose all around it, like a grove of trees surrounding the epicenter of the castle, the tallest of the spires, which soared almost to the roof of the cavern.
Directly above the middlemost section of the castle grew what looked like the roots of a great tree, but they were pulsating with a brilliant white light. The roots unfurled for long distances across Tartarus, and gave the dark cave the gift of light. There was something familiar about their majestic aura; as if Luna had seen whatever tree they were meant for many times before.
"That right there..." Nightmare Moon explained, pointing at the roots. "Is the Tree of Harmony. You know about it, I'm sure."
"Yes I do." Luna said. "Another Underworld-Parallel? Like the Everfree or Canterville?"
"Nope, that's the real article. That old tree's roots go deeper than most ponies give it credit for. But it serves a much more important purpose down here."
"And what might that be?"
"Transportation, interestingly enough. It's the celestial road out of Tartarus. One-way ticket back to the land of the living."
"Really?" Luna said skeptically. Could it possibly be that easy? Could she actually go home after all?
"Yep. Provided you're not dead. If you are, well, I'm not quite sure what happens, considering I'm still alive. You should check it out, and tell me what's on the other side."
"Perhaps." Luna muttered, not extremely interested in finding out anyways. What did interest her was the towering, cathedral like building in front of her, and the rickety bridge separating her from it. Peering over the edge at the infinite dark abyss, Luna groaned and fed magic to her horn, which miraculously seemed to work here. In a flash, she had teleported across it and was now standing on the steep, cracked steps leading to a tall, sturdy looking red door.
"Here we go." Nightmare Moon breathed, also teleporting next to Luna.
Frozen in place at the foot of the stairs, Luna simply stared straight ahead at the tall door, at the enormous spires towering on both sides of her, at the throbbing light of the Tree of Harmony's roots far above. She knew nothing about what was going to be on the other side of that door, who was going to be on the other side...she had placed all her hopes on the assumption that whatever demon ruled this realm would have the mercy to help her, and only now did she realize that such an assumption was simple folly. But the Tree above her...she could go home, and forget all of this, and simply deal with Celestia's death...
And, by extension, leave her sister to wallow in a punishment she deserved. As well as leaving her subjects to slowly die and freeze under the feeble light of the moon, assuming they did not try to have her executed for her crimes—which she was aware could very well be known by now. No. She had to do this. If she didn't take this risk, then she would bring about the end of all creation. One risk seemed necessary to take when compared with the inevitability of apocalypse if she chose not to act at all. And, if the ruler of Tartarus proved to be unwilling to help, the tree above was still an option.
Luna took one deep breath, flared both her wings, and turned to face Nightmare Moon.
"After all this, you stand next to me as I go to my death. You have helped me through this, and I feel the obligation to offer you my thanks."
"Uhh...wow." Nightmare Moon blinked, taken aback. "No problem, I suppose. Y'know something, Luna? I hate to say it, but I've enjoyed your company. I daresay I'll miss you."
"Likewise." Luna said, grinning slightly and awkwardly for but a second, before re-assuming her solemn expression and walking up the stairs to the door ahead. Nightmare Moon remained where she was, standing on the precipice of the first step. Luna gave her one last smile, and then turned around and grabbed the door with her magic and took a deep breath.
"Luna, wait! Don't! Don't do this, please!" Nightmare Moon suddenly cried out, dashing up the stairs after her. "The tree's there! Just go home!"
"Why?!" Luna exclaimed, whipping around to face her. "Why not? What lies beyond?"
"I said I don't know! But it can't possibly be good. Luna, you've trusted me this far and I appreciate it. I appreciate it so much. You're the first mare to ever grant me the chance for...for friendship."
"I know. But this is something I must do, regardless of the risk. If something should happen to me, it would not matter to Equestria in the long run anyway. They would find a way. Life always finds a way."
"That might be, but this isn't the answer. Turn around, and think about yourself; not about Celestia, not about the sun, not about your subjects. Think about what is best for you."
"I cannot." Luna said simply, and with that, pushed the door open, and strode confidently into the main hall of the palace. It was dark, pitch dark, not a light was shining save for the dim glow of the outside world, splayed across the marble floor as checkered patterns formed by the tainted glass covering all walls. A backwards glance showed her that Nightmare Moon was gone.
Judging by her echoing hoofsteps, the main hall of the castle was immense; easily dwarfing the throne room in her own castle back in Equestria. Casting light from her horn, Luna turned to one of the walls and examined it under the light she was creating. All along the walls were large, unlit candles held in regal looking sconces, as well as beautifully painted depictions of scenery and architecture. Whoever the Lord of Tartarus was, he certainly had a fairly tame knack for interior decorating.
Suddenly, one by one, the candles inexplicably burned to life, each slowly revealing a bit more of the main hall in a perfectly synchronized sequence. At the end of the hall was one final patch of darkness, from which emanated a familiar, malicious chuckle.
"It's him." Nightmare Moon's voice whispered, Luna relieved to hear it.
"Hello, Princess Luna." The tell-tale voice of Discord spoke, and the snapping of his fingers echoed across the room as the last bit of the hall lit to show him lounging lazily on his throne, a silver and red affair with what vaguely resembled antlers protruding from the top. "I've been expecting you."
She should've known. In fact...why hadn't she? It was so obvious...Sombra had been in the Underworld, and she had never once factored in the fact that Discord would be too, at least not to lengths that warranted being concerned. In the frenzy that was the last ten days, she had completely forgotten her brief layover in Equestria, it seemed like so long ago but really it was less than a week that her hooves had first touched down in the Whitetail Woods, and even sooner that she had obliterated Discord's stone figure in the castle throne room. Was it possible that his chaotic influence had spread so far that it had completely deprived her of the thought that he would be present here? Or...was she really just that dense?
"You!" Luna snarled, baring her teeth and charging her magic as the draconequus smiled at her from his throne. Luna immediately assumed a defensive pose, putting all her magical energy into forming a barrier between herself and her foe. "What are you doing here, Discord?"
"Discord?" The draconequus asked innocently, a mischievous grin cracking across his face. "Why, I know of no Discord! I am Death! The Lord of the Underworld! Tyrant of Tartarus! Self-Proclaimed Fanatic of Chocolate Milk!"
"What is it you want, Discord?" Luna interjected.
"What do I want?" Discord laughed, flicking his wrist and materializing a milkshake which he took a long sip from. "Oh no, you've got it backwards, my dear Luna! What is it you want, crawling into my kingdom like this?"
"Your kingdom?!" Luna exclaimed. "Why would the God of Chaos want to rule over the land of the dead?"
Discord simply yawned, shrugged, and promptly snapped his fingers, causing a massive wall of fire to encircle Luna's protective form. Her shield instantly evaporated and she could do little to defend herself as Discord stepped down from his throne and walked straight through the flames towards her.
"Boredom, my dear." Discord said. "Luna, it's been such a long time! How have you been?" Discord asked, with a tone that one would expect him to use when greeting an old friend. "I've been doing great, you know, being dead and all. Thank you, by the way, for that."
"I'm sorry, Discord. I really am. I had no choice." Luna said stoically, relaxing slightly and doing her best to remain calm and collected as she looked into the draconequus' eyes. He was masterful at disguising it, but Luna knew that he was absolutely furious with her right now.
"Oh of course, Luna! I understand completely." Discord began, slithering closer and closer to Luna until he was standing directly above her.
"We need to go now, Luna!" Nightmare Moon hissed, and Luna could not have agreed more. Praying Discord could, in fact, not hear Nightmare Moon, Luna scanned her surroundings as inconspicuously as she could. If she simply darted away without knowing which direction she was going, there was a high chance she would end up getting cornered.
"Keep him distracted. Don't look around for an exit, leave that to me."
"What is it you want from me, Discord?" Luna asked, clearing her throat and locking eyes with the draconequus, as if they were business ponies in a negotiation.
"Again, you've got it backwards, Luna." Discord said. "But I know all about you. What you want from me."
"Then you know about Celestia..."
"And Nightmare Moon." Changing his voice as if he were addressing a different pony, Discord shook his head in an almost disappointed fashion. "I'm surprised by you, Nighty. Betraying me like this. I was hoping you wouldn't, but oh well."
"So you can hear me in here." Nightmare Moon said, disgust in her voice. "I was wondering."
"Looks like now I'll have to kill you both." Discord lamented disinterestedly.
Despite offering no clue as to his assault, Luna rolled to the side just as a beam of chaos energy slammed into the ground where she had been moments prior. Taking to the air in a heartbeat, Luna beat her wings hard and recast her shield as she flew. She noticed that her magic was much weaker than it should have been, it seemed as though some outside influence was draining her ability to cast it properly, a more than likely conclusion, considering how the river had managed to jam her magic completely.
"Get to the tree, Luna!" Nightmare Moon screamed, and below Discord laughed wildly.
"Where are you going, Lulu?!" He called after her joyously. Ignoring him, Luna rose higher into the dark recesses of the ceiling, scanning the architecture for an end to the tall spire that led her closest to the roots of the tree, only to be greeted with nothing. She had apparently flown so high above the candle fixtures below that all around her was complete darkness, and with all her magic focused on her shield, she had no way of illuminating the pitch black area around her.
A few stray bolts of energy blew past her on both sides, before one managed to successfully strike her shield and shatter it. Only momentarily dazed, Luna swiftly regained her flightpath and continued flying upwards faster than she ever had before. In fact...she was flying too fast...almost as if she were falling...
In shock, Luna stopped beating her wings and realized she was still moving...no, falling. Changing the angle of her wings sharply, Luna arched through the darkness in a less-than-graceful maneuver which pulled her out of her downward trajectory and left her staring in surprise at the castle from far, far below.
"He's the Spirit of Chaos." Nightmare Moon reminded, only seconds before a brilliant flash cut nearly blinded Luna as she was teleported back into the throne room by magic that was not her own. Before she even had a chance to react, she felt her entire body get thrown to the side, crashing through the stained glass and falling hard against the concrete railing of the balcony protruding over the abyss of nothingness below. Upon impact, the balcony exploded and large chunks of concrete fell down and down in to the abyss below. Leaping to her feet, Luna whipped around to face the glass window she had broken through and assuming a defensive stance. Discord was still laughing, still smiling, and simply walking at a casual pace through the broken glass.
A flick of his wrist sent the shards of glass flying at her, and despite her shield—which she managed to create just in time—several punctured straight through the magic dome and struck her like arrows. Grimacing in pain and fury, Luna responded with her first assaulting move against Discord, which was nothing more than an embarrassingly underpowered magic beam much lower than what she could have been able to cast had it not been for the shield she was struggling to keep alive. Nevertheless, the element of surprise seemed to aid her, and her assault actually managed to make contact with Discord. Less encouraging, however, was the fact that he did not even remotely react to it. Again and again she struck him, even floating bits of broken mortar and flinging those in his direction. All made contact and yet did not damage him even slightly.
"Discord, please!" Luna screamed, backing away until she was hanging over the edge of the now railing-less balcony. "I just want my sister! Please, I beg of you!"
"And why would I help you?" Discord sneered, and the glass shards once again rose from the ground and floated next to him, some dripping with Luna's blood. "I don't care about Celestia and I don't care about you! If only Nighty would've told you I was the one you would ultimately blindly run to. She knew the whole time, you know. If only you wouldn't have been such an overly trusting moron."
"Is...is that true?" Luna asked the demon within.
"Luna, I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to come to this."
"You knew!" Luna spat, forgetting about Discord completely. All the times Nightmare Moon had helped her, after everything, and she had not once mentioned to Luna the fact that she couldn't possibly win. "You knew and you said nothing! You were helping him?!"
"I was helping MYSELF!" Nightmare Moon screamed back. "You were the one who wanted to come down here anyways! I tried to tell you, I tried to warn you..."
"I trusted you..." Luna muttered, the words gaining even more impact as they left her mouth, and thus fueled her growing anger even more. "I trusted you!"
"You...shouldn't have."
"Are you two finished?" Discord interrupted, the glass still floating around him. "I've waited far too long for this moment to have it spoiled by your boring conversations about your trite little lives."
"I killed you three days ago," Luna pointed out, taking one last step back until she was practically leaning over the edge.
"How typically boring of you to assume that 'eternity' only flows forwards. But you'll know all about that, soon."
With that, Discord finally unleashed the torrent of glass, which were much more successful now that Luna's shield had dropped significantly in strength. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Luna leaped over the balcony and once again unfurled her wings, which were spilling out feathers now with every frantic flap she took. Discord still made no move to follow her, something which she was torn between being fearful or relieved over. Higher and higher Luna flew, and she was flying outside and along the center spire, so she knew for a fact that she was ascending this time, and not being fooled by some chaos trickery. Straining under the effort of flying upwards at an almost ninety degree angle, Luna was practically counting down the distance from herself and the roots.
Five hundred feet...
The stone bricks of the large center spire were no more than a blur as the Princess of the Night ascended, the distance between herself and escape shrinking with every second of flight. Discord was nowhere to be seen, but Luna dared not tear her watering eyes from her destination ahead to look around. Instead, she intensified her shield as she flew and simply prayed for the best.
Four hundred feet...
A heavy explosion rung out close by, and a sudden thumping noise caused Luna to cry out in surprise as bits of mortar bounced off her shield. A large section of the spire above her started to fall, but soared directly past her and failed to strike. A few more bolts of chaos energy struck her shield and temporarily altered her straight-up ascent into a frenzied act of desperation as she swerved to avoid any further blasts, fearful that they might succeed in blasting open her shield and leaving her further vulnerable to attacks.
Three hundred feet...
The peak of the spire was passing now, and before she knew it she was above the highest point of the building. Granting herself the temporary luxury of examining her surrondings for danger, she saw only the vast expanse of Tartarus sprawled around her, not unlike Equestria had been when she first made her return from her seven day banishment on the moon. Had that been only three days ago? It seemed to her like a distant legend from a forgotten time.
Why was Discord not chasing her? If he truly had been waiting for her for as long as he said he was, why then was he making little to no effort to kill her?
Two hundred feet...
The muscles in Luna's wings were screaming out now, it had been ages since she flew at such a harsh angle at such great speeds, and the fact that she had not rested, eaten, or drank for more than a week further exemplified her exhaustion. Only a little further, only a couple hundred feet, and yet they dragged on and on as if she was flying across a vast ocean, the tell-tale roots above like mirages in an endless desert. Suddenly, a blast of magic rung out again beside her, and she reeled her flight path to avoid an unexpected torrent of dozens of attacks from Discord, who had teleported right next to her and was laughing wildly.
"Keep going, keep going..." Nightmare Moon chanted frantically, her voice nothing short of a panicked shrill. "You're almost there, Luna, come on!"
One hundred feet...
The torrent of assaulting chaos magic was enough to shatter her barrier and leave her vulnerable, and Discord could see it clearly. She could do it, only a few more feet, the distance was minute, the reward for her straining ascent exemplary. If she could just avoid getting struck down for one hundred, no, fifty feet...
Luna screamed out in shock and pain as one of the beams finally struck her in her already weak wing, and a panicked sideways glance showed her that is was gone, completely gone, disintegrated completely by the blast.
"NO!" She screamed, and forced magic into her horn already depleted of energy. Anti-gravitational spells were among the most difficult a pony could pull off, but adrenaline coupled with will was enough for her to pull off one and continue her ascent. The downside, however, was that she was now completely open to further assaults, meaning she had to rely completely on physically dodging any and all attacks Discord flung at her.
Fifty feet, forty, thirty. Luna spread her arms out in front of her, getting ready to grab the roots of the tree, getting ready to make her escape. Discord was still laughing insanely, and with a snap of his fingers, Luna's levitation spell instantly dissipated, the previously decreasing distance between herself and the tree now growing and growing, until now she was falling, tumbling downwards, trying in vain to glide with a wing that was no longer there. Instead, she swirled down and down, the spire now passing alongside her, the end of her journey slowly but surely leaping towards her as she fell.
"NO!" Nightmare Moon shrilled, furious, disappointed, and completely void of any further hope.
From this angle, Luna could see that the great hall had some portions of glass on its roof, and with effort she managed to orient herself towards one, a difficult affair considering she only had one wing to work with. Nevertheless, her course of descent was set, her horn biting back in protest as she forced magic towards a final defensive spell to protect her from being struck dead by the force of impact. This would be it. She could survive the fall, but what happened after that was out of her control; no wings, no magic, any chance of her defending herself she knew was completely impossible. Perhaps it would be better to simply let herself hit the marble floor and be done with it, but some inner force told her that was not the thing to do. Right to the bitter end, she would fight for her life, and by extension her sister's.
Crashing through the glass, Luna let her culminating magic explode into one last defensive shield, and closed her eyes and flinched as she prepared herself for impact. When it came, despite not being immediately killed by the fall, Luna felt nearly every bone in her body quake as she hit. The debris of the marble floor where she fell was flung into the air, shattering even more glass and creating a deep crater in the floor in which the moon princess lay. Stunned, she tried to stand but couldn't find the strength to pluck a grape, let alone rise to her feet and fight a fully-powerful spirit of Chaos. Instead she lay with her sides heaving, as the bitter truth dawned on her, that these were her final breaths, that she had failed and this was it, the end, the end of all things and all hope.
"Luna! Get up, get up damn it!" Nightmare Moon yelled, even her voice coming out as a distorted and echoed din. "Please get up! You must!"
The sound of two feet striking the floor rung out, and Luna struggled to open her eyes and orient herself towards the sound. Her body screamed in protest at the action, but she cared not. There he was, pacing towards her, and then a mist of purple appeared and there she was, too.
"Leave her alone!" Nightmare Moon commanded, flaring her wings. "If you must, take my life, but don't hurt her!"
Rolling his eyes, Discord swiped his hand and sent Nightmare Moon flying away, crashing against the stone wall, where she leaped to her feet at once and charged towards Discord but was instantly frozen in place by his magic. Discord continued his walk towards Luna, and before she knew it she, too, was enveloped in his magic and levitated through the air until she was floating directly in front of him, struggling in vain to break free, trying to unleash magic from a horn that no longer had anything to unleash, kicking with feet that no longer possessed any strength.
"Luna!" Nightmare Moon gasped. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! You'll be with your sister soon, you'll be with Celestia..."
"Oh, will she?" Discord sneered. "Last I checked, Celestia wasn't a murder who deserved to spend HER eternity in Tartarus. Luna, though..."
Turning his attention back to the blue alicorn imprisoned in his grasp, Discord grinned and rose a hand in front of himself, and suddenly Luna was thrust into a sensation of being drained of something; there was no pain, no visible injuries other than the bloody cuts left behind by the glass and the countless burns and bruises scaring her sides, and yet she knew that whatever Discord was doing, it was killing her. As she continued to struggle, she noticed that a faint glow was starting to build on Discord, his very flesh illuminating, yes, it was certainly glowing.
Glowing.
Glowing with life.
"No..." Luna managed to croak as the light grew brighter. He couldn't be...it was impossible...
His work apparently complete, Discord flung Luna aside with a careless swipe, and when she hit the marble floor, everything exploded into darkness, for but a second, before she once again opened her eyes feeling completely free of the injuries she had just sustained. The world was blinding at first, but slowly her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw her own crippled and broken body lying on the marble floor several feet in front of her. Nightmare Moon was laying with her head in her hooves, and it looked to Luna as if she was weeping. The black alicorn was glowing with light, the same light that Discord, still standing in the center of the throne room, now possessed. The light which signified life. The light only the dead could see.
All the pain of her crippled body behind her, Luna rose to her feet and charged at Discord, screaming a furious battle cry, all her injuries now gone and pure anger fueling her attack. Discord took one last look at the blue alicorn, gave her an almost sympathetic smile, snapped his fingers, and Luna's entire world vanished.
Nightmare Moon stood completely still, staring at the ground where Luna had been not a second earlier.
"You didn't have to do that." She managed, giving Discord a disgusted look. "You have no idea what she's been through."
"Funny, I wonder if she's thinking of you with the same amount of concern." Discord responded instinctively. "You lying, conniving little weasel."
"It would have cost you nothing to have taken my life instead of hers." Nightmare Moon said, unfazed. "She didn't deserve to die."
"Well, Nighty, that wasn't the deal, now was it?"
"I don't care about the deal!" She spat in reply, crossing the marble floor until she was standing over Luna's cold and lifeless body, leaning down and using a hoof to close her wide and frantic eyes.
"Then please explain, my dear...." Discord drawled, and with a flash of magic he was now wearing a spotless business tuxedo and a pair of pink horn-rimmed glasses perched lazily on his nose."...what it is you want."
"I..I want..." At a loss, Nightmare Moon realized she did not know. It would have been so much easier to accept the conditions of her and Discord's original agreement if it weren't for the overwhelming guilt she felt over Luna's death. Perhaps she had originally had motivation to help Discord, and perhaps she had originally held little to no regard for the Moon Princess who she had helped, but all that had changed. Ahead, Discord blinked in amusement at her stunned silence and took it as a show of ignorance.
"The arrangement, Nighty, because it seems as though you've forgotten, was that you brought me a living pony, and in turn I was to allow you to use their lifeless body to live in." Discord explained, pushing his glasses to his eyes. "Not to save the life of an alicorn who cost my own. Not to mention, seriously endangers my future plans for eternal chaos in Equestria..."
"You think I care what your future plans are?" Nightmare Moon laughed without humor. "You are going to do what I ask, or else—"
"Or else what?" He challenged, the business suit and glasses disappearing immediately as took an intimidating step forward and looking down at the snarling alicorn with a patronizing grin. "You'll try to fight me? Cause that worked so well with her, didn't it?"
Unwilling to show defeat or weakness, Nightmare Moon stood her ground, looking back up at him with a contempt expression.
"If need be, yes, I will." She said, refusing to break her glare at the draconequus. "I may have sided with you in the past, but I see now what you really are. You're a lazy coward. And I'm not doing your work any longer."
"And, assuming against all possibility, you actually managed to win a confrontation against moi...what exactly would that solve?" Discord replied, his tone shifting ever-so-slightly from playful to malicious. Nightmare Moon could feel the tell-tale shift in air pressure as chaos magic sprung to life. Nevertheless, she remained where she was standing, in an offensive stance.
"It would bring Lun—"
"What do you care about her?" Discord snapped, and all around the castle the air began crackling as chaos energy grew and grew in intensity. "You led her down here in the first place, Moonie! So don't even start with that!"
"I didn't!" Nightmare Moon protested, and immediately after she had she regretted it. Perhaps due to frustration, or perhaps it was fear of the draconequus in front of her, but the words came out pathetically childish. "I admit I didn't care about Luna when I first dragged her down into darkness, but that was decades ago! I've—"
"You've what, Moonie? You've changed?" Discord laughed, and the ebb and flow of the magic seemed to die down slightly. "Well, I'm sure you'll forgive my skepticism."
"Luna's plan to come down here was of her own design." Nightmare Moon argued, forcing back the prickling sensation of regret as she recalled Luna's decision to try to save her sister, and how she had done next to nothing to warn her of the imminent result. "She would've made it here even if I never existed."
"Really? Would the sun still be up?" Discord pondered, his glasses re-appearing on his nose.
"Y...yes..."
"And would her sister still be alive?"
"Yes."
"Then why would she have reason to come down here?" Discord pointed out matter-of-factually. "See, it's still your fault, Nighty. Maybe you really have changed, heck, maybe you really did start seeing Luna as some sort of..." Discord cringed visibly at the very thought of the word. "...friend...but just like her, you can't take back what you did."
"We'll see about that." Nightmare warned.
"Yes, I suppose we will. It'll be ever so entertaining." Resuming his carefree, patronizing grin, Discord used his magic in an attempt to pick up Nightmare Moon the same way he had with Luna, and despite being more than prepared for the attack, she found herself completely unable to counter it. Levitating the alicorn until her was staring straight into her furious eyes, his grin grew to a full on maniacal smile. "I'd watch your attitude, Nighty. Unless you WANT to go back to Equestria alone..."
Nightmare Moon's confrontational glare faltered for but a second as that possibility sunk in. How long would it take to get back to Tartarus? A hundred years? A thousand? She had worked far too long and dragged herself across too many miles of hellish Equestrian chaos to get to where she was now, and the prospect of having to start all again, no Sombra, or Luna to help her, was too intimidating for her to risk. It was entirely possible she would never be able to return to Tartarus, and would instead be banished for all eternity to the terrifying confines of Equestrian soil without hooves to tread through it. While Discord was more than likely bluffing, the Spirit of Chaos was the last creature she wanted to gamble against.
"That's what I thought." Discord said. "You're adorably gutless, Nighty."
Right after finishing his sentence, Discord changed the fluctuation of his magic until it was now one of something different from simple levitation. Nightmare Moon felt the change in pressure being applied on her, and knew instantly that something was wrong. Right as the spell grew, she gave the draconequus her best snarl and breathed one last warning.
"This isn't over, Discord. You haven't won yet. Not against me, and not against Princess Luna."
And with that, she fed magic of her own to counter that of the draconequus, and disappeared in a final flash of purple light.
***THREE YEARS LATER***
The river was largely unchanged when Nightmare Moon beheld it once again, for the first time in several years. So many miles of traveling, and it had all led her back to this one place.
Of course, she had no idea it had been three years. To her, the continuous nature of her never ending trek through the Underworld was every bit as insipid and repetitive as it had ever been, except this time it was no longer meaningless. This time, for the first she could remember, she had a purpose. After so long...centuries, perhaps even millenniums of simply wandering, she felt as if her actions finally had the potential to affect somepony other than herself. It was a good feeling, to have a purpose.
Nightmare dipped a hoof in the cool water, flashbacks of her first trip here with Luna instantly resurfacing. She did not make any attempt to repress them, although as her initial step gave way to another, and another, until she was wading through the water, what were first simply memories of her last time here quickly gave way to something more.
"Ah, Luna." Nightmare Moon spoke aloud, the way she had adapted to doing with no other pony around to speak with. "The crazy things you wanted to do...the things you wanted to fix. I thought you were crazy, but I guess what I'm doing is the exact same."
No pony responded. No pony ever responded. But Nightmare Moon hadn't been expecting anypony too. Whatever the purpose of the ponies in Luna's Underworld served, the town of Canterville or the scattered settlements along the road, they had long since been fulfilled with her passing. Now, all that remained was an empty Equestria where every settlement was a ghost town. The whole world was empty. Again.
Nightmare Moon wasn't surprised at this. She had known it would be this way the moment Luna's life ended, the same way it had been before she had infected her life. And now, if she couldn't find a way to fix the aftermath of her betrayal of that poor mare's trust, she would be doomed to roam this desolate wasteland for the rest of eternity, like before. Then again, even if she did manage to fix this, it was quite likely that both her and Luna's fates would remain unchanged, and the only mare who would really benefit at all from both of their endeavors would be Luna's sister.
"That damn mare better be worth all of this." Nightmare Moon snarled at the empty air. From what she remembered during her living years, Celestia wasn't anything particularly impressive, at least not to a being of darkness such as her. In fact, being in her presence was almost...draining. Hopefully, now that they were both flesh...sort of...that wouldn't be an issue, but Nightmare Moon couldn't help but be wary about seeing the Princess of the Sun all the same. Nevertheless, it was what Luna had wanted and she had no choice but to see it through.
Even more concerning was whether Celestia herself would be willing to speak with the mare who, from her limited understanding, twisted her sister into a murderous fiend. Not to mention the current state of affairs regarding Luna's death. But Celestia didn't need to know about that.
In time, Nightmare Moon reached the end of the motionless river, where the water tumbled down as a serene and silent waterfall which was completely unsuccessful in pulling anything else down with it, so that Nightmare Moon was perfectly capable of standing on the very edge of the river and looking down at the water falling into the starry abyss.
Celestia.
"Celestia." Nightmare Moon repeated, this time out loud. Keeping her eyes locked on the nothingness below, Nightmare Moon took a deep breath and cleared her mind until only the image of Luna's sister remained. She continued murmuring her name over and over again to help, her voice rising in volume and intensity with every uttering of that title which carried so much weight in Equestria. A name that, to the mare screaming it, meant next to nothing. Deciding that it was only serving to distract her from the actual thought of Celestia and instead steer her attention towards to pronunciation of her name, Nightmare Moon stopped and took another deep breath, conjuring up every detail and memory of the white alicorn she had.
"Here we go."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Nightmare Moon took one leap off the edge and unfurled her wings as she sailed straight downwards into the unknown abyss below her, staving off the fear and uncertainty and instead still focusing exclusively on the one mare who might still be able to fix all the wrong that had happened.
For a long while, there was nothing but the sensation of falling into the abyss which had no end. Granting herself the luxury of a sliver of vision through her shut eyes, Nightmare Moon saw exactly what she had been expecting to see: nothing. And then, without a single pinprick of subtlety, the black sky exploded into a vibrant green forest with a fantastic flash of white. Now, Nightmare Moon was flying towards a vast clearing, surronded in all directions by miles of lush hills with thousands upon thousands of magnificent, strikingly ordinary looking trees growing on them. Overhead, the sun was burning brightly over a sparkling lake, adding to the picturesque nature of the beautiful scenery. Hanging on the edge of an inclined slop over top of the lake was a tall castle that Nightmare Moon instantly recognized as Luna and Celestia's. But it was much larger, much newer, and the shimmering lake and green fields gave it a much different impression.
With a few stray flaps of her wings, Nightmare Moon descended until she was flying above the lake by a mere several feet, her own reflection racing along beneath her. Ahead, the brown cliff-face of the island the castle was built on towered high above, the sun nearly blinding her as it poked in and out of view through the tall spires.
"Alright." Nightmare Moon thought out loud. "So, Equestria. Probably...three...maybe four thousand years ago. But why here?"
If she had been successful in tapping into Celestia's Underworld, it most certainly wasn't what she had been expecting. Then again, she hadn't had any idea what it would be, so her expectations had been mostly nonexistent to begin with. Luna's Underworld had been bleak, dark, and mostly hopeless. Not to mention dangerous. This looked about as intimidating as a clichéd landscape painting. Could there even be a gate to Tartarus here?
The castle was close now, and Nightmare Moon realized with minor grief that she couldn't delay this meeting any longer. As much as she did not want it to be, her encounter with Celestia was right here and right now. Taking one last introspective glance at her reflection below, Nightmare Moon was less than pleased by the corrupted looking version of Luna that Celestia would see.
"No more over-thinking!" She said sternly. "It'll be fine! Celestia's supposed to be a forgiving mare, she'll understand!"
Feeling only slightly more encouraged, Nightmare Moon disappeared in purple haze, which traveled onwards in an instant to the castle ahead.
Nightmare Moon found her exactly where she had expected her to be. Slowly and cautiously, she approached the mare who was lounging on a soft cushion in the middle of a lush courtyard, looking at a book through horn-rimmed red reading glaces.
"Ahem!" Nightmare Moon cleared her throat nervously, causing the white alicorn to look up with mild surprise and remove her reading glasses to behold her visitor. "Uh...I hope I'm not interrupting you, Celestia."
Springing to her feet, Celestia whipped around to face her, her expression first one of surprise, then joy, and finally frustration.
"Luna..." She let out a long sigh, shaking her head in disappointment at the black alicorn that had once been her dear sister.. "You're her, aren't you? What's left of her?"
"Not exactly. My name is Nightmare Moon." She responded, offering a hoof to Celestia, who stared at it for a long while. Finally, she let out an irritated snort and said nothing, refusing to shake it. It was not the gesture Nightmare Moon had been anticipating, but nevertheless she continued.
"Firstly, I'm well aware that you probably hate me, and you don't want anything to do with m—"
"Stop." Celestia interrupted harshly, turning back away from her and squeezing her eyes shut. "Stop, stop, stop. Stop talking, please."
Nightmare Moon instantly obeyed, staring at her feet and feeling guilt that technically wasn't even her own. Silence fell between both mares, with Celestia simply staring into the sky with her eyes closed, deep in thought. Nightmare Moon watched her, unsure about what to say or what to do.
Without any warning, Celestia whipped around and leaped straight at her, crashing into Nightmare Moon and using her wings to capture her in a tight embrace. It took Nightmare Moon several seconds to realize that she was currently being hugged by the white alicorn, and it was in fact not an act of violence against her.
"That's for Luna." Celestia said, letting go and clearing her throat, grinning somewhat awkwardly. "I assume she's the reason you came here to speak with me?"
"You are correct."
"And what relation do you have to my sister?" Celestia asked, once again turning around and sitting down on her spot in the courtyard, looking up at the sun shining above.
"She's a friend. Well, she was a friend, I can't imagine she sees me as such anymore." Nightmare Moon said, standing beside Celestia and staring at the same sun. "We never really got along, her and I, but I think deep down she trusted me, and that's what hurts the most."
"I'm afraid you've lost me."
"Right, sorry. I'll get down to business then. Celestia, you're dead..."
"Well, how very observant of you." Celestia chuckled playfully. "And, I'm doing quite fine. Make sure you tell Luna that."
"I'll try to remember. Anyways, as you can imagine, your death has left your sister feeling utterly devastated. What you probably can't imagine is the lengths she has gone through to reverse her actions. She should be the one standing here, not me, but she is currently...well, she's currently indisposed at the moment."
"What in the name of sanity are you suggesting?" Celestia said, her carefree tone giving way to a more uneasy understanding of what her sister had intended to do.
"Luna traveled across Tartarus, indeed, across the Underworld itself, looking for you. She thought that if she did, she could offer up her life as payment to bring back yours."
"Is...is that even possible?"
"It is."
"And Luna was willing to..."
"She was."
Looking as if she were about to faint, Celestia crumbled to the ground a bit and lay staring at her hooves in dismay. Nightmare Moon watched her from a distance, awkwardly wondering whether or not she should console Luna's sister.
"I should've known she'd try something so rash." Celestia said eventually, her voice visibly annoyed with her sister the way a stern schoolteacher might sound. "Luna is a very intelligent mare, but she can be so dense sometimes!"
"Pfft, tell me about it." Nightmare Moon chuckled, only to stop abruptly when Celestia turned her stern expression on her.
"She must be terribly broken up over what has happened to come up with such a desperate solution."
"You don't know the half of it." Nightmare Moon sighed. "I wish she could be here now instead of me. Speaking with you would probably be all the encouragement she needs to move on with her life."
"Perhaps it is better that I speak with you...I'm sorry, your name was...?"
"I've been called so many. But to Luna, I'm Nightmare Moon."
"Not a very welcoming name." Celestia observed. "You said you're a friend of my sister?"
"I did—"
"A friend doesn't drag another into swirling depths of hatred and jealousy to feed on their inner darkness, Nightmare." Celestia said, void of all emotion other than blame. "I know exactly what you are to my sister, Nightmare Moon. It's not my position to judge you, but do not even think of calling yourself a friend to Luna after what you made her do."
In that moment, Nightmare Moon would have LOVED to scream the truth into this insipid alicorns face. The truth that Luna's jealousy and hatred was not at all a product of her meddling, and that all she had done was given her a light little shove to get the cogs of progress moving. She hadn't made Luna into anything short of what she already was capable of becoming on her own.
But instead of uttering protest, Nightmare Moon simply slunk her head and nodded.
"Now then..." Celestia carried on, seeing that Nightmare Moon wouldn't. "This business of resurrection. By what means can such a thing be achieved?"
"Quite simply. The only difficulty would be getting to the Tree of Harmony in Tartarus. But even that should be quite simple compared to what Luna and I had to go through.."
"I see. Well, unfortunately I must refuse Luna's offer."
"It isn't what your sister would want." Nightmare Moon said, deciding to be a little more forefront and assertive. It would seem Celestia would need a little coxing.
"And what do you think you know about Luna's desires?" Celestia challenged, her voice rising in intensity and hostility. "The only thing you know about her is what bits of darkness you can exploit for your own benefit."
"That's a lie!" Nightmare snapped. "You hypocrite, you know nothing about me!"
"Then you deny turning my sister into the thing that took my life?!"
"No, but I certainly deny any claims that I don't care about her! You think I came here to speak with you because I WANTED to? I came to find you because Luna couldn't! I'm here for her! Three years I've been traveling to get this far, I hardly think I deserve your condemnation!"
"Where is Luna then? Why couldn't she be here instead of you?"
Nightmare Moon did not answer.
"Where is she?!" Celestia asserted, springing to her feet harshly. "What have you done to her? Have you killed her, too?"
"I regret coming here." Nightmare Moon said. "You're not worth the effort it took to find you. It looks as though I've wasted my time."
"Answer my question!" Celestia screamed. "She's dead, isn't she?"
"No." Nightmare lied. "She's fine."
"You lie!"
"I'm done here." Nightmare Moon said, whipping away from Celestia and preparing her wings for takeoff. "I see now you're too engulfed in your own pride to accept your own sister's sacrifice."
"Stop right now!" Celestia commanded sternly, but Nightmare Moon ignored her and started into the sky, only making it several feet before Celestia called out again, this time much more softly. "Please, Nightmare Moon. I'm sorry. Please come back."
Nightmare Moon obeyed without question and landed back on the ground, feeling quite satisfied with herself for successfully making Celestia beg her to come back. It was amazing the change in attitude one could create by simply threatening to leave. One of the upsides to being a fearsome looking alicorn was that she commanded a lot of presence, apparently even over the Princess of the Sun.
"I didn't mean to accuse you of anything." Celestia said. "But surely you understand me bearing a little resentment towards you?"
"I suppose. I swear to you, Luna will be fine. And I know you don't believe me when I say this, but I consider her the only friend I have."
"I won't try to fathom how that can be." Celestia shrugged, neither protesting nor agreeing with Nightmare Moon's statement. "You're wrong about my pride though. You're a fool if you think that's what's preventing me from taking my own sister's life from her."
To Celestia's surprise, Nightmare Moon responded with a light chuckle. Unbeknownst to her, Nightmare Moon had never once meant an inkling of that statement, and she was simply trying to get a rise out of Celestia to lower her judgement. Apparently it had worked, because when Celestia spoke it was clear from her voice that she was deliberately being much more cautious with her word choice.
"The reason I deny your request isn't from pride." Celestia continued. "It's because of the sheer fact that it wouldn't be fair for Luna."
"Do you think it's what she would want, though?"
"Luna wanted to rule Equestria under eternal night! What she wants isn't relevant!"
"Fine. Forget her. What about the ponies of Equestria?" Nightmare Moon pointed out. "Without the sunlight, each and every one of them is going to die."
Celestia opened her mouth to respond, before promptly closing it and thinking. For a long while, neither she nor Nightmare Moon said a word, until finally Celestia broke the silence of about a minute with a whispered question.
"Why would I be able to change that?" She murmured, once again looking up at the sun above. "If Luna can't raise it...why would I be able to?"
"You're Celes—" Nightmare Moon began, before realizing that she had proven the exact same thing to Luna three years ago. The night was locked, perpetually locked...locked by a darkness not caused by night or by lack of sun. As long as that darkness were present...the night truly would last forever. Even after Luna had died, the night would still last, the darkness would still exist. The Elements of Harmony were the only thing that might stand a chance against it now, and even that was questionable.
"Could you still wield the Elements after what has happened?" Nightmare Moon asked.
"I don't know. If Luna couldn't...why can I? And if it turns out that I can't, I must then cope with the knowledge that Luna died for nothing."
"Luna has to cope with that knowledge." Nightmare Moon asserted, remembering the repeated point Luna had made; that by doing this she would be free of all burdens of guilt and regret. But if she couldn't save Celestia, that guilt and regret would never go away.
"Well, my sister...is stronger than me in that regard. She can manage." Celestia said, her voice cracking as if she were driving back the urge to weep. "And I know this...because I faltered. On the night I died. I could have stopped her, I could have wielded the Elements instead of her, and I did not. I could not. Not if it meant killing my one and only sister."
"Your weakness has made a miserable wreck of your one and only sister." Nightmare Moon replied evenly. "Is that really any better? Things may never get better for her, you know."
"I still blame you for her corruption, so don't try to turn this around on me." Celestia said, the previous hostility once again bubbling to the surface. Not that she was intimidated, but Nightmare Moon decided to back down, considering arguing would only be counter-productive.
"Fine." Nightmare Moon said, once again unfurling her wings and preparing to leave. "Well, you've refused my and Luna's request, and there isn't a lot more I can do. I see now that coming here was a mistake."
Giving Celestia a courteous nod, and, upon a split-second's thought, a sarcastic bow and eyeroll, Nightmare Moon once again took off into the air, this time with no intention of returning.
"Wait!" Celestia once again called, earning a protesting groan from Nightmare Moon who froze midflight and hovered in place.
"What now?!"
"You are returning to Luna?"
"I am. We're going back to Equestria."
"Can you...perhaps take a letter to her from myself?"
Her frown turning to a grin, Nightmare Moon turned around and touched back onto the earth for the second time. It was definitely a good idea; even if Luna couldn't see Celestia in person, some words of encouragement from her sister would undoubtedly go a very long way. Nightmare stood and waited patiently as Celestia ripped out a blank page from her book and began scrawling furiously. Celestia wrote for nearly fifteen minutes, occasionally stopping, frowning, scratching out a character or sentence, looking to the sky for inspiration, or pacing back and forth as she thought.
Finally, when it looked like she was done, she began folding the paper and floating it towards Nightmare Moon with her magic. Suddenly, as she was doing so, she started in realization of something and pulled the paper back, reopening it and quickly jotting down one last paragraph at the bottom. Seemingly satisfied, she once again folded it and handed it to Nightmare Moon.
"I implore you to wish my sister luck, Nightmare Moon. And tell her I love her."
"I will." Nightmare Moon assured, while internally laughing at the very thought. "See ya, Celestia."
"Farewell, Nightmare Moon." Celestia said, and watched as the black alicorn took off into the sky for a brief distance, before vanishing into the afternoon sky.
Below her, the sprawling landscape of the sunlit Ancient Equestria was unfurled, the land dropping off into a harsh black abyss in every direction, instead of curving like the land normally should have. Then again, Celestia's Underworld, like every one, was a plain and not a planet, meaning that even it had limits and endings.
She had been flying upwards for hours...perhaps even days had passed in which she had done nothing but ascend, and yet it seemed as though height wise Celestia' Underworld still had no limit. She had traveled to the end of the world and looked out across the black, throwing stones and watching them instantly dissolve into nothingness, not wanting the same to happen to herself and therefore never flying past the straight lines which ended the world so abruptly.
It had taken her several weeks to fly to the end of the world, and considering she had been going out of her way to stealthily avoid every single pony she saw along the way, it had been a long and tedious journey, made worse when she found out it had been completely pointless to begin with. As she feared, it looked as though this Underworld was too peaceful and perfect to offer any possible gate to Tartarus. It was entirely possible that she could be trapped here...forever.
If that ended up being the case, she had already concluded that it would be better to fling herself into the unknown abyss at the end of the universe then endure another second of this sunny hell she had found herself in. But before that became her final solution, there was still one more possibility; perhaps she could return to the river the same way she had come in...
She had already spent far too long finding Celestia, and she knew that every day that passed was a day that Discord had exclusive reign over Equestria in the land above. Nightmare Moon was not willing to let that drag on for any longer than it already had. She already cringed at the thought of seeing what Equestria would behold after being under his control for three years, but now she was willing to bet at least another had passed and she still was no closer to finding a way out.
Nightmare Moon shivered as she continued her ascent, taking quick gasps of the air she was projecting around herself with magic in order to survive. The oxygen at this height was far too thin to possibly fill her lungs now. She couldn't help but long for the days when she wasn't confined to a physical body and therefore not limited by it's restrictions, but even they were an improvement over what life had been like without a physical form.
The light sound of running water caught Nightmare Moon's attention, and she perked her ears up at the sound and listened more intently. Yes, certainly, there it was! The waterfall!
Letting out an uncharacteristic giggle, Nightmare Moon beat her wings with excitement and soon enough what had once been a light, barely audible ambiance was now the tell-tale deafening roar of the immense cascades of water. And then, when it seemed as though the sound couldn't get any louder, it cut off completely and she was thrown into complete silence. Looking down, she saw that the green plot of land was now gone and in it's place what looked like the night sky. And, just like it was below her, the starry sky was also sprawled up above her as she tore upwards in the opposite direction of the rushing waterfall.
She was back! She'd really made it out! Who would have thought it would have been so simple?!
"Now then!" She said triumphantly, touching down in front of the pathetic looking archway leading to Tartarus. Carefully reaching into the saddlepack she had stolen from some pony back in Celestia's Underworld, Nightmare Moon withdrew a battered envelope that was beginning to curl and fold with age, the block letters proclaiming that it was For Luna already beginning to fade. As long as she could get Celestia's letter to Luna, perhaps her journey would not be completely pointless after all...
Hopefully, Luna was still willing to listen to the mare who betrayed her.
Of course, there was always the other possibility.
"Nope. Nuh uh." Nightmare Moon chided herself for even thinking so. Amazingly, what had once been her sole intention for teaming up with Discord and bringing Luna to him was now a taboo and unthinkable thing. It was still possible, indeed, with Luna gone she could certainly rise up and take her place and not a single one of the stupid mortal ponies would even notice that the moon princess was gone. She would look the same, sound the same, because she would be another mare living in Princess Luna's body. It would be perfect, and she would finally be free of the title of 'parasite.' She wouldn't need another ponies consciousness to live in, she could finally have her own!
Shaking her head free of such malicious intentions, Nightmare Moon walked through the Gate to find Luna and go home.
Luna's eternal prison was hardly the place Nightmare Moon had been expecting it to be, and yet not even remotely what she would have put beyond the Moon Princess. In fact, it was so predictable that it left her surprised, for she had been expecting something a little more creative.
Across the desolate, grey surface of the moon she walked, noting the earthly gravity and the fact that there seemed to be air and sound here. How delightfully convenient.
"Luna!" Nightmare Moon called out, taking advantage of the impossible sound, and listening to her voice carry across the expanse of the moon. "It's...it's me."
With a sudden explosion of teleportation magic, Luna appeared in front of Nightmare Moon wearing a joyous and relieved looking grin.
"Nightmare Moon!" She exclaimed, beaming with happiness. "I was wondering if you would ever return!"
"I beg your pardon?!" Nightmare Moon gawked, taken aback by her enthusiasm
"Where have you been?" Luna chuckled. "Although I'm somewhat thankful it's taken you...what, four years? I've had plenty of time to think about what's happened, both to me and Celestia..."
"I was expecting you to be angry at me..." Nightmare Moon said, still overcome with confusion.
"Oh, I was. I was furious. I was disheartened. I hated you and I hated myself for trusting you." Luna's grin vanished and with a deep breath the enthusiasm seeped out of her voice. "But overtime I realized that we were both wrong about this place. And, by extension, what you thought you did to me, the harm you THOUGHT you inflicted, was simply not present at all."
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow and took a nervous step back. First Luna's sudden, intimidating enthusiasm at seeing her, and now these ridiculous claims that 'everything was wrong.' Had...had she driven Luna to insanity?
"Yes, yes, it sounds ludicrous!" Luna sensed Nightmare Moon's wariness. "But please, I know more about this place then anywhere else! This is my domain! Nightmare Moon, this isn't the Underworld or Tartarus or the Realm of the Dead or any of those mythological legends! This is the Dreamscape!"
"No!" Nightmare Moon protested instantly. "I've been here for decades, I know every inch of this place! This is my home! You think I wouldn't know my own home?!"
"I'm not saying it isn't." Luna said. "I agree that it's your home. But your home isn't Tartarus. It's my mind. That's where we are right now. This is—"
"It's not a dream!" Nightmare Moon cut in. "You said it yourself! You don't dream!"
"Exactly why I didn't recognize this place at all. I've spent so long in the dreams of other ponies that my own are foreign and new to me. But think of it, it all adds up! My fears, my regrets, ponies I've wronged and places I've been...this is what ponies dream about. Everypony's Underworld isn't different, everypony's dreams are different!"
"Luna, listen to me. I've been down here since before you first set hoof here..."
"Because it's my subconscious. You're right, you have been. Because you're a part of my mind." Luna explained, relishing in the growing desperation infecting Nightmare Moon's speech, as she tried to argue against the truth.
"No! I'm more than a mere byproduct of your insanity!"
"What do you remember before you knew me then?" Luna asked quizzically, still entirely convinced that whatever delusions of individuality Nightmare Moon thought she had were only that: delusions.
"Luna, it's time I be honest with you. Heaven knows you deserve it." Nightmare Moon sighed, sitting down on the cold moon's surface. "What I am is a...I guess the correct designation is parasite. I'm a creature that feeds on the negative emotions and malicious desires of other living things. I need it to survive. It's like...like, if I try to be good then I starve. But I can't die, I don't have that luxury. I hate what I am and I hate what I have to do, but if I don't then the pain is unbearable. I need to be a monster."
Luna's eyes grew wide with understanding and confusion, and she too sat down on the ground next to Nightmare Moon, looking at her with eyes of a concerned friend, and not a blaming foe. Nightmare Moon was grateful for that, even if she knew she didn't deserve it.
"Then...what are you?" Luna asked, feeling slightly upset with herself for belittling her mere moments ago.
"Well...you're right about the memory thing. I don't really know. All I know is that prior to meeting you, I must've dragged Sombra into darkness as well. When he was...defeated by you, I must have saw potential by the way you..." Nightmare Moon shuffled uncomfortably. "...disposed of him. You were more powerful, your mind harbored more darkness, and the potential for malice and control was always stronger with you then it ever had been with Sombra. But, everytime I meld minds with another creature, it's like I...reset, forgetting whatever I was before almost entirely. You must be right about the dreamscape, I can't really recall anything outside of it, but you're wrong about me being a creation of it."
"What about Discord? He said you and him were..."
"Working together, yes. I sensed his presence the moment me and you came down here. That's where I disappeared to when we first arrived. Him and I had an arrangement; he got your lifeforce and I got your earthly body to use as a vessel. That way I didn't have to be a parasite anymore. It was only after it all happened that I realized I didn't want that anymore if it meant leaving you behind."
"Leave me behind in my own mind. We would've switched places...I would have been the voice inside screaming for control, and you would have been the one in control." Everything was slowly making sense to Luna now. "So then, you could have done it. What stopped you?"
"I told you." Nightmare Moon breathed irritably. "I can't believe you're making me spell this out for you, Luna. I felt guilt for betraying somepony who I cared about. The ONLY pony I cared about. That doesn't change the fact that I'm a monster, though."
"You might be a monster..." Luna said, shaking her head. "But you make up for it by being something more then that. When we were on the moon, you called yourself my friend, and I replied by saying that to call you such a thing would be to 'shake hooves with evil itself.' Well..."
Luna extended a hoof towards Nightmare Moon and gave her a sheepish grin. Nightmare Moon stared at the hoof for a long while, before understanding and grasping it in her own and giving it a firm shake.
"I'm proud to call you my friend, Nightmare Moon."
"I'm...touched." Nightmare Moon said, chuckling. "And also insulted. Well played, Lulu."
Over several minutes of silence, both mares simply stared across the surface of the moon and reflected upon the events that had brought them there in the first place. There was something Luna had been wanting to tell Nightmare Moon for four years, and now that she could she felt incredibly intimidated to do so. Before she had a chance, Nightmare Moon spoke instead.
"You still broken up over your sister?"
"I am." Luna confessed. "But I've also had plenty of time to think about things. And I've decided that my behavior has been considerably childish and impulsive. I can't reverse what I've done, I really can't. It hurts so much, but I need to move on."
"No. Not yet," Nightmare Moon said abruptly. "We need to talk about it. Right now. And it isn't going to be pretty, but I need to hear you say it."
"Say what?"
"That Celestia's death wasn't your fault."
"It was, Nightmare Moon. I'm not going to place my blame on you any longer."
"That night, it was my corrupt magic that caused your judgement to become so clouded, and that caused you to make the choice to not lower the moon."
"I allowed it. I felt your magic flowing, I felt it as far back as the fall of the Crystal Empire. I could have driven you out but I didn't because it felt good. It made me feel powerful...no, it made me feel equal. Equal to my older sister. With ease I could have driven you out but I chose not to because I wanted to grow in strength. And my jealousy fueled that strength."
"Luna..."
"No, Nightmare Moon. Regardless of what you need me to say, I will instead say the truth. Celestia's death is my fault."
Nightmare Moon said nothing, but nodded slowly to show she understood...and, that she agreed. It was the truth, after all. And although Luna in her right mind would never have done what she did to Celestia, it was Luna who allowed her own mind to reach that point. Coupled with her jealousy, her guilty self-loathing of her inferiority to Celestia...it was a disaster waiting to happen. And it had happened, and now Equestria was facing the bitter consequences.
"I...I met you sister, Luna." Nightmare Moon said eventually, withdrawing Celestia's letter and passing it over to Luna. "She's a nice mare. I can see why you idolize her."
"You met her?!" Luna sprung to her feet, completely disregarding the letter. Her face shone with joy and excitement, but the moment she was standing, it quickly evaporated into sorrow. "That's impossible. You probably met some projection I dreamed up."
"It was her." Nightmare Moon shook her head. "She knew things you didn't, she wrote you this letter, I KNOW it was her."
"It's impossible."
"Obviously it isn't, because I MET her!" Nightmare Moon was growing increasingly annoyed. "This might be all one big dreamscape, but somehow, I met her. Maybe I crossed into her dream."
Luna said nothing, although internally she knew that the chance of such a phenomenon was a billion to one. She knew all there was to know about dreamwalking and there was no way the dead and living could share a dream. Of course, she had never been dead, so how would she know?
"Listen, Luna. That letter I brought is perhaps the only bit of information that we gained in this whole escapade. Just read it. You don't have to believe it, but read it."
"I will. Before we return home." Luna said, stretching her wings and yawning. It was clear to Nightmare Moon that she was eager to shift the conversation away from Celestia. "I'm still quite confused about a lot of things. I'm eager to see them solved. It's stunning to think...this whole journey really has been for nothing. What a waste."
"I don't know about waste..." Nightmare Moon said. "If anything, at the very least we both learned a little bit about each other. Before I had absolutely no regard for you, but now I realize I was wrong to think so. Perhaps it's meaningless to you, but I don't feel quite as useless and parasitic. And you don't seem as weak and pathetic."
"I suppose you'll have a bit more trouble justifying insulting me now." Luna chuckled. "At least it was one hell of an adventure. Makes me wonder if traveling to Tartarus and saving Celestia is really possible in the first place."
"I think it is. That's the terrifying bit..." Nightmare Moon said in a serious tone. "You could potentially set out to do what you attempted here. You'd be an idiot to do so, but you could."
"I know better now." Luna blushed. "Funny to think that this is all a dream. Who would've thought that all we need to do to escape is simply wake up."
"Why would Discord do this?" Nightmare Moon wondered.
"I imagine it was a last resort." Luna explained, before diving into what was obviously an explanation she had perfected over the course of four years spent with nothing better to do but wait for Nightmare Moon's return. "The Elements were failing, he knew I was planning an assault against him. As he was breaking free of the Elements, he must have managed to use his re-growing magic to induce a comatose dreamstate that he himself had the capability of manipulating, since he's the Spirit of Chaos and all. Simply fill in the gap between dream and reality with a reasonable transition of me actually being successful in stopping him, and I would be none the wiser to his actions. And I wasn't."
"Right. But why would he do all that?"
"Several reasons. First of all, it's quite possible the Elements had at least a little connection to me, thus still keeping him encased in stone. By using my magic from the inside out, he could successfully use it to break free entirely. Secondly, it presented him with the opportunity of having you take my place. From his perspective, an evil figure like yourself would possess a much lesser threat to him than I would. I don't think he thought of you as a being that possessed morality or motives, and certainly not one who would have any motivation to protect her subjects."
"Wouldn't simply killing you solve that problem right away?" Nightmare Moon pointed out. "If you're in a comatose state up there, and he's free from the Elements of Harmony, I can almost guarantee Discord wouldn't even hesitate."
"That is a fair point," Luna agreed. "I don't necessarily know. But...I think the most likely explanation might be the most terrifying."
"And what would that be?"
"He wants me to return. He wants to have the opportunity of fighting and killing me, and would rather risk failing then revert to something as boring as doing away with me while I'm unconscious. It's not out of his character to do something like that, I've seen him do it in the past. He could've won so easily against me and Celestia all those years ago, but instead he insisted on drawing out the fight as if it were some sort of game."
"That's completely despicable," Nightmare Moon muttered, fury flitting across her glowing blue eyes.
"No objections from me," Luna agreed. "We should get moving. Discord's had free reign over Equestria for four years. Now that you're here, I can finally wake myself up and we can end this."
Nightmare Moon thought upon that last sentence and couldn't help but be filled with an almost child-like warmth. After all she had done to Luna, and yet she had still waited patiently for her return instead of simply leaving her behind.
Luna's magic lit up the area around them, and when Nightmare Moon looked up she saw that Luna was standing with her eyes closed with an expression of content concentration.
"Wait!" Nightmare Moon said abruptly. "Celestia's letter! Aren't you going to read it before we go?"
In an instant Luna's magic dissolved as she opened her eyes. Nodding, she floated the letter out of Nightmare Moon's grasp and yawned again. It looked to Nightmare Moon like she simply did not care about the letter, leading her to believe that Luna truly did not believe that she had met Celestia.
But as Luna read, her apathetic expression quickly changed. As she read the letter over and over again, her face remained alight with almost every emotion possible; happiness, sorrow, confusion, surprise, familiarity. Whatever Celestia had written, it looked like it had impacted Luna quite greatly. Eventually, curiosity got the best of her, and Nightmare Moon shuffled behind Luna, who looked back at her companion and nodded, non-verbally agreeing that Nightmare Moon should read this.
"Thank you, for bringing me this, Nightmare." Luna sniffled, finally breaking eye contact with the letter and floating it back to Nightmare Moon for her to read. Luna used her hooves to wipe away a few stray tears, and sniffled several more times. Nightmare Moon hadn't even realized Luna had been crying. "This has...it's changed everything for me, Nightmare. Thank you."
It is with great care that I write you this letter, with the desperate hopes that despite the wild odds it will reach you, and you will have the desire to read it.
Where to begin? Good heavens, I have so much to tell you and yet I have no idea how to begin. Firstly, I would like to inform you that I have met your friend and traveling companion, who claims to go by the name of 'Nightmare Moon.' In her behavior, I can see your own reflected quite clearly.
That's a compliment. Tell her that.
Does it surprise you to hear me say that? I certainly hope not. I certainly hope you still realize how important you are to me, Luna, even after all that has transpired. After what you have done, at the end of the day, you are still my sister and I will always love you no matter what. But you already knew that, didn't you? Your friend has told me about the lengths you have gone to in order to repair your wrongs, about the sacrifice you were willing to make to give me the gift of life. Luna, I don't think I've ever seen you try anything stupider in my life. I'm honored, I'm touched, and believe me, I appreciate it with every fiber of my being, but ultimately I must laugh at the entire ridiculousness of the sentiment.
It isn't that I don't want life. Of course I do, I'm no fool. It isn't that I don't want our your subjects to see the sunlight again either, although I would have just as much control over that issue as you did. To put it simply, I cannot possibly justify any reason why I deserve life while you don't. I'm happy here, Luna. I've found peace, and everyday that passes is one full of positive thoughts and fond memories. I'm in a good place here.
I hope that in time, you will be too.
Do you remember the beginning? When it was just me and you and the world? Ah, how those times flew by, can you believe they were millenniums? I think so dearly of those times, they are the lifeblood of my existence. I cannot help but smile as I think of me and you, naive young fillies without a care in the world, doing the foolhardy things that young spirits will do.
There was the fear, too. (Even those memories I think of with a certain ray of fondness.) Because we might have had each other, but we were alone in the world, just ourselves in a new, vibrant realm full of wonder. There were some nights when you were frightened of lowering the moon because you were paranoid some new danger might loom on the horizon of the new day that ensued.
I suppose it was fear this time, too, that prevented you from lowering the moon. I should have been there for you, Luna. It shouldn't have built to what it did that night, and I'm sorry I let you hurt for so long.
Those carefree times had to end eventually. And when they did, my goodness, it was like suddenly we were both goddesses being smothered by offerings from every pony from all around. It's funny, really, how casually we raised and lowered the sun and moon, completely unaware of the importance of the act. Suddenly, there were responsibilities, and obligations, and chaos, and through all of this our carefree existence was all but lost. And as the centuries bled on, I realize now that we, too, became lost, separated from each other by the shadows we cast.
When I think of you, Luna, I think of that beautiful, innocent filly. The one who was my mischievous younger accomplice, the one I went to when I felt sad or angry or afraid. My best friend. I don't think of that dark shadow you became that night, because that's not what you are. You, Luna, are my sister, and nothing you could ever do to me could change that.
Whatever you do after this, Luna, I wish you the best of luck, because you are a wonderful mare and will make a fantastic leader in my stead. Whatever you become in the centuries to come, I hope you never make a mistake as grave as when you took my life all those years ago, but I know that you won't. I will not lie to you about your future, it shall be grim and sombre for a very long time, and you may have to do many things that may not seem right, but it is important to be strong and persevere.
I can write about these for all of eternity, but I fear that any more delay on your part may result in further troubles back in Equestria. You are needed there more than I need you now. These are the last words from me you'll read for a very, very long time, and I have striven to make them as positive and uplifting as I could.. We will see each other again, Luna, although how soon I can only guess. It may be many years, and I dearly hope that you live a long and happy life, even after the strife that has split it apart. But regardless, I know that in time we will meet again, and I look forward to that day more so than any other.
Wishing you the best in life,
Celestia.
P.S. Ah, wait! I'm a fool to have not mentioned this immediately! Twilight Sparkle! Remember this name, my dear sister, for it shall be a long time before it is relevant. But know that if any hope lies for the sun's return, it lies in HER hooves. If any mortal pony can wield the Element of Magic...it is her.
The first dream, the dream Luna had taken to referring to as 'the Moon Dream' for simplicity's sake, collapsed with little to no effort. Not that she had doubted her own success, she had been crossing the dreamscape for centuries and in many ways knew it better than reality. And despite Nightmare Moon's morbid warnings that if she were wrong, then she was irreversibly killing her own consciousness, she had the utmost confidence her prediction was accurate.
So then, as the moon began crumbling and breaking into itself like paper in a fire, she simply stood her ground with her eyes closed and mind focused not on the chunks of rock being flung about in slow motion, but on forcibly collapsing her own dream. And with her eyes closed, she did not have to watch as Celestia's letter was captured in the impossible wind and carried into the abyss with everything else. The last sound she heard before the dream ended was one final, jarring explosion half muted by her own humming magic.
And then the next thing she was aware of was the pain.
"Ah!" She screamed in surprise as she stood and then immediately fell back onto the ground as her hoof bit back in protest. "What the...my hoof! It's broken!"
She would've loved to have seen where she was now, and in what state Equestria was in, but her vision was completely red and her head was throbbing with an agonizing headache.
"Oh no..." Nightmare Moon muttered. "Oh no no no..."
"What?! What is it?"
"Well I've got good news and I've got bad news." Nightmare Moon said. Judging from the volume of her voice, it sounded like Nightmare Moon was a literal present force...which meant that she still must be...
"You made it out of the Moon Dream." Nightmare Moon consoled. "So that's good. The bad news is...you've just fallen a thousand feet onto a marble floor after loosing your wing and now nearly every single bone in your body is broken."
"No...no matter." She mused, as Discord's 'Tartarus' castle came into focus through the red. The floor was still littered with shards of glass from where she had crashed through the ceiling, and off to the left somewhere the wall by the balcony was almost completely destroyed. To Luna, it looked as if it had remained unchanged during her four years on the moon. "I just have to collapse this dream layer as well."
"I dunno if you can just do tha—" Nightmare began, but was cut off by Luna's magic springing to life. Under normal circumstances, the light humming wouldn't have been distracting to her, but when Luna attempted to cast magic the soothing hum did not occur. Instead, it shrieked, sounding painfully labored and disjointed. "Luna, your horn is broken, too! Stop before you hurt yourself!"
"My horn isn't—" Luna gasped, squeezing her eyes shut and digging into the ground with her left forehoof, which fortunately wasn't broken.
"Stop!" Nightmare Moon snarled. "Besides, if it's a comatose nightmare you can't force your way out of it."
"What do you know of dreams and nightmares?!"
"As much as you. Listen. The Tree of Harmony is where we need to go. But you can't fly and you can't cast magic."
To Nightmare Moon's fury, Luna said nothing but continued trying to cast her magic, grimacing against and ignoring the ensuing pain.
"LUNA!" She bellowed. "Stop!"
"Nightmare, my horn isn't broken. My wing isn't missing. It's a facade of the mind."
"Yes, right." Nightmare Moon snorted. "A particularly rich facade, I must say."
"That's what dreams are! There are no walls around us, the ground underneath us does not really exist, there is no air or wind or sound or anything! Nothing is real! Therefore, any pain or injuries I sustain here are simple illusions." The sound of Luna's magic was sounding more pained then ever now, its horrifying shrieks echoing across the empty concrete halls.
Above it all, Luna suddenly screamed out loud, her eyes suddenly opening wide and billowing with dark, purplish light. Her scream was long, painful, and anguished, but also frightening and malicious.
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow and blinked several times in disbelief. Surely she couldn't be sinking into further darkness and insanity? After all they had been through? Had the stress of the whole ordeal already done its damage?
No, that wasn't what was causing Luna's madness.
It was them. The Nightmare Forces. She had felt their presence for some time, but never so much as now. For so long, she had thought she was the only one left, and certainly the only voice in Luna's head. Apparently she wasn't alone. And now she was helping Luna, a kind-hearted, guilt-ridden alicorn who genuinely wanted the best for everypony except herself. The Nightmare Forces weren't going to like that. And Nightmare Moon knew this more than anypony, after all, it had been her desire as well to harness Luna's dark desires for long enough to overpower her and take over her mind completely, thus ruling Equestria under the darkness and despair she required to live. An eternal night. An eternal feast.
But not anymore, she had abandoned those desires in favor of helping her friend, and by extension she had abandoned all the other Nightmare Forces that she did not know still lingered. Perhaps she would explain everything to Luna eventually, but it seemed as though now was not a very appropriate time.
"Luna, hold on!" She screamed out. "It must be working because they're trying to stop you, so keep doing it, but don't let them gain control!" Nightmare Moon implored frantically, not wanting her only friend to sink into insanity when they were so close.
"Silence, demon!" Luna hissed suddenly...no, it wasn't Luna. It couldn't have been. It was her voice and the words left her mouth, but she was certain something else was saying them. "You've betrayed us in the past and now you'll pay the price for your actions!"
Definitely not Luna. Nightmare Moon thought to herself as she dissipated just as Luna stood on hooves that technically should have been completely broken. The green glow in her eyes had only grown in intensity, and her coat had darkened to the point of being almost indistinguishable as blue or black. She snarled as Nightmare Moon disappeared, but fortunately made no further move to assault a foe she could no longer see, and therefore by her limited reasoning posed no threat. Instead, she too dissolved into the same purplish light, teleporting upwards to the Tree of Harmony far above. It was a distance of more than a thousand feet, but she teleported it with complete ease, not even hesitating before reaching out a hoof towards the silvery root.
Nightmare Moon had the strangest sensation that they would be returning to this place before long, and that there was much more at play than they had thought. Nevertheless she kept her suspicions to herself as Luna firmly grasped the root of the Tree of Harmony.
"Luna, are you still in there?!"Nightmare Moon breathed from within her mind. "If you are...hold on...things are about to get rough."
Luna...or the corrupted beast that she had just inexplicably turned into, did not have a chance to respond as the magic of the Tree of Harmony immediately kicked in, leaving the Dreamscape behind once and for all.
"Hello?!" Luna screamed. All around her was...well, she had no idea WHAT it was. She was standing, or perhaps flying, or walking...and all around her strange shapes of every shade of grey and black were swirling around like snow in an infinite expanse of empty space. Although it wasn't empty like a void, there was certainly things around her, but they all looked like mirages or shadows of things that should have been there but weren't. Looking up she could see the faint outline of the roof of some important looking building, her and Celestia's castle is she wasn't mistaken. The more she focused, the more she could make out various things, like her throne which was tipped over and lying in the center of the room, or the moon shining through an exposed bit of ceiling.
A pony-like shadow caught her attention, and with no other leads to go on, she started to walk towards it. However, the moment her hoof touched the ground again, her world exploded into a dissonant explosion of color, sound, and light. Everything was blinding and deafening, and it only got worse with every ensuing step she took. While she had been able to make out shapes and forms before, they existed now as warped and distorted images that came and went through a swirling hurricane of colored, glowing mist. The sound of her hooves touching down on the marble floor echoed into infinity in a never-ending feedback loop, and her head was throbbing with the same agonizing headache from earlier.
Eventually she made it to the pony figure and did her best to see who it was through all the chaos. It was an alicorn, she could tell by the unfurled wings and huge flowing mane, as well as the long horn that was nearly twice the length of an ordinary unicorn. This alicorn was standing in an offensive stance, with her rump angled towards the ceiling and her eyes squeezed shut.
Through the swirling mist and deafening sound of her hooves still echoing despite her movement having stopped, Luna had very little difficulty identifying this alicorn as herself. Specifically, it looked like her mere moments before she had attacked Discord while he was breaking free from his stone prison. Now, ironically, she was the one encased in stone, preserved in this fighting stance for nearly four years.
"Not a bad pose to be remembered by..." She murmured, but instantly regretted it when it was screamed back at her from every direction. Her headache piquing up again, she did the only thing she could think of and lunged towards her stone self, praying that somehow, the contact would be enough to free her from whatever new hell she was in.
Fortunately, it seemed like it was, because the moment she made contact with herself her world exploded into sweet, peaceful, silent darkness, but for a second, before a familiar voice was heard.
"Luna! You made it!"
"Yes, Nightmare." Luna said, although her words made no audible sound. She tried speaking her next ones louder, but received the same result. Instead, she tried thinking her sentence, expressing it as if she were speaking to a mare in her mind. "Have you any idea what just happened?"
"What do you mean? Describe it to me."
"Well, I was in this strange...it looked like my throne room, but everything was wrong. It was dissonant and chaotic and every one of my senses were overloaded by the sheer presence of everything. It was like simply existing was a task."
"Really?! That's what you experienced?" Nightmare Moon sounded completely shocked. "Well, yeah, I sure can explain what that was. That, is what I experience all the time. Perpetually. When I'm not in your consciousness like I am now, my world is pure insanity. But now, I'm seeing through your eyes."
"And seeing nothing."
"Well, your eyes are currently stone, so yes. But what happened to you...that's what every living thing experiences when it doesn't have a body, or, vessel if you will. It's one of the reasons why a creature like me needs something like you to leech off of."
"I see." Luna said, not understanding in the slightest. "Well, it looks as though I'm currently encased in stone now. Brilliant. What an improvement."
"Quit griping." Nightmare Moon demanded. "This stone should start shattering any moment now. When it does, run. Or fly. Just, get out of the immediate vicinity of your current surroundings as quickly as possible."
Now this Luna understood. After all, Discord most likely ruled Equestria now, and her return was most certainly not going to be met warmly. Even if he didn't rule Equestria, there was a very heavy chance that her subjects had found out about what happened to Celestia. Either way, it was evident that things were going to get a lot worse before they improved.
After less than a minute, her rock prison began shaking and cracking, and she flinched at the sound, wishing for it to be more silent. Crags of light were the first thing she noticed, but it was the dim light of nighttime and not the dramatic blinding flash she had been prepared for. Blinking profusely, she moved every single one of her limbs, looking for one that was free of the stone. The first one to show signs of life was her left wing, and the rest quickly followed suit, until she fell onto the floor in front of her headfirst.
Although her wings still felt stiff and lifeless, Luna instantly complied and took to the sky, flying through a hole in the ceiling and into the night. Because of their complete inactivity for four years, Luna was instantly exhausted as she beat them much harder than normal to keep herself aloft. Nevertheless, she shot through the hole in the ceiling like a bullet, and sailed forwards into the night.
Equestria was in a state of complete destruction, but Luna had been expecting as much. In fact, she was almost relieved that the damage wasn't as bad as she had been anticipating. Most of the trees that had previously been dead were now scarred and burnt by fire and unicorn magic, showing signs that her subjects had responded to Discord's arrival with hostility. Luna couldn't refrain herself from grinning proudly at that, while also worried that no pony had survived through the battle.
Then again, genocide was seemingly beyond even Discord, perhaps not because of morality, but simply because without ponies Discord would become bored. As disgusted as it made her, it at least meant the preservation of ponykind for the time being. Hopefully.
What looked like floating rock caught Luna's attention, and squinting her eyes she realized that it was the wreckage of somepony's house...or perhaps it was a bit of her own castle. Either way, it looked like it was caught up in some residual chaos energy, still affected by Discord long after Discord had left it alone. Several other inanimate objects such as tree branches and even circular drops of river water were also floating around, free of the confines earthly physics. Above her the night still reigned supreme, leading her to believe that even Discord had been unable to free the day from its eternal banishment.
"Where is Discord, anyways?" Luna wondered out loud.
"Hmm. Good question. If YOU were the Spirit of Chaos, where would you reside?"
"I wouldn't." Luna reasoned. "Why settle for one town to terrorize when you could constantly travel across Equestria, spreading chaos to unsuspecting ponies?"
"That's true. After several years, ponies in a singular town or place might even start to get used to the unpredictability of life under Discord's rule. But leave them alone for a few months, make life seem almost normal to them...and THEN appear! It would take a long time for that to grow stagnant."
"Precisely what I'm hoping." Wherever Discord was now, it did not look like he was anywhere close. But he was out there somewhere, an omnipresent danger that eventually she would have to confront...and ultimately defeat.
She'd barely done it with her sister AND the Elements of Harmony. Now, she had neither and was expected to take on Discord and prevail. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to do, but it was an unfortunate necessity. She'd agreed with Celestia to spare Discord's life in their past confrontation, but now she had to weigh her subject's lives against his own. It was perhaps possible for him to reform, but it just wasn't a chance she was willing to take anymore.
The trouble of actually defeating Discord was still Luna's biggest concern anyways. If she'd had trouble in her first battle, how could she possibly hope to win now? The very prospect seemed ludicrous. Centuries had passed, and yet she remembered every second of that conflict vividly. The dread of being inches between life and death, the soothing warmth that had enveloped her when she was sure she had finally met her end. But Celestia had been there...the way she always had...Celestia had saved her life in that moment—
"Damn it." Luna muttered as her headache suddenly reared its teeth again. It was enough to actually shake her from her straight flightpath. She rubbed her temples with her forehooves as she flew, a futile attempt to stave back the infuriating pain.
"Luna...are you alright?"
"Fine, thank you."
"You're worried about defeating Discord, I presume."
"It's one of my many concerns at the moment, yes."
"Well I have an idea." said Nightmare Moon.
"Please, share it."
"It unfortunately comes bundled with an alarming revelation."
"As if we didn't have enough problems to snuff out the tiny glimmer of hope that remains." Luna groaned. "Well, go ahead, tell me anyways."
"Well, it might seem a little far-fetched, but it might actually be crazy enough to work. Here goes; currently, I'm not the only Nightmare Force inhabiting your mind. In fact...as of now I believe you're currently playing host to thousands of them."
"What in the name of sanity is a 'Nightmare Force?'" Luna rolled her eyes peevishly.
"It's what I am. We originally resided on The Moon, but we've been trying to free ourselves from that cold prison for eons. But remember... they're not like me. They're not content simply being a VOICE in some ponies mind. They wish to control, and will stop at nothing until they do. You seeing where I'm going with this?"
"No."
"For heavens sake, Luna. It's obvious! If we can find a way to transfer the Nightmare Forces currently infecting you into Discord, what's happening to you would instead happen to him!"
"What do you mean..." Luna began, but something else from Nightmare Moon's sentence suddenly caught her attention instead. "What's happening to me? What did you mean by that?!"
"Your headaches, the...thing...you became in the dreamscape....don't you see? The Nightmare are trying to take control of you. And they're succeeding. If we let them, then whatever is left of you...and perhaps myself, would be destroyed."
"So then if we find a way to transfer them to Discord..." Luna pondered the result. The total destruction of a being's own consciousness, reducing them to a mere ghost in their own mind, simply watching helplessly as a creature other than themselves destroyed everything they held dear. "Nightmare, that's barbaric! That's...that's worse than murder!"
"Need I remind you that if we do not, then you'll meet the same fate?" Nightmare Moon said coaxingly. "You think he would spare you if he were in your position?"
Groaning in agreement and defeat, Luna said nothing in reply. Nightmare Moon was right, after all. It was a necessary evil that she bore the responsibility of carrying out.
"Why would a Nightmare-Controlled Discord be any improvement though?" Luna pondered. "I would think that would be even worse, no?"
"Ah, well that's the best part! We've already established that without negative emotions, guilt, envy, jealousy, et cetera, then the Nightmare Forces starve and die off? In that case...what negative emotions does Discord possess?"
"Surely you can't seriously be asking that!" Luna chortled. "And you say I ask stupid questions!"
"Well, think about it! What is the motivation behind all his terrible deeds?"
"Entertainment!" Luna exclaimed, not caring that the word was spat out loud enough to echo to the ground below. "It's all his sick idea of fun!"
"Precisely my point. There's no actual malice behind his actions. Really, there's no motivation either. He does the things he does because he doesn't understand that it's wrong."
"I hardly think Discord is that righteous."
"But do you think he possesses guilt? Envy? Jealousy? Anger?" Luna had to admit, Nightmare Moon once again had a fairly valid point. "I'm sort of assuming here, but I imagine the Nightmare wouldn't have a lot to feed on. If we're lucky, they'll starve and die shortly after. I think."
"You think...?"
"Well, do YOU have a better plan?"
"Your plan doesn't even sound complete! How do you expect to transfer the Nightmare Forces to begin with?"
"I haven't worked out the details yet! Just...give me a few hours and I'll probably have a more coherent plan. In the mean time...do you think the Changelings could help us when we go to battle?"
"Queen Elytra was opposed to getting involved with Equestrian quarrels."
"She was, wasn't she? That cowardly over-sized cockroach..."
"Nevertheless I suppose I could attempt to convince her to change her mind." Discord's reign, after all, was not only an Equestrian problem if the Changeling's required ponies as a food source. "There is not harm in trying, after all. You're right, I think we could use all the help we could get."
"We might not survive you know." Nightmare Moon said grimly. "We might fail. The odds are all stacked against us here."
"Yes. I'm aware." Luna turned her neck to watch her wrecked castle already disappearing in the distance. "When was the last time the odds were in our favor?"
"Indeed. That's true. Well, I've got some thinking to do. I hope you don't mind being alone for a couple of hours."
"Okay." Luna shrugged. True to her word Nightmare Moon did not speak again, leading Luna to wonder where she fled to in her mind where she was not 'present.' It was a strange concept indeed, but it seemed as though Nightmare Moon traversed Luna's mind as simply as a pony traversed the earth.
With nothing else to focus on, Luna turned her attention to the depressing land below. There were significantly less signs of destruction the further she flew from the castle, which had must have been the epicenter of the initial battle against Discord. Several times Luna had to fly around entire trees floating aimlessly around, some of them ridiculously colored in vibrant patterns and others producing various objects that a tree could never produce. In some isolated patches the ground had gone from being dirt to being a white area with a green grid-shape covering it. At no point did Luna look down and not see something so completely absurd that it failed to remind her that she had a lot of work to do.
Even so, it looked as though Discord's magic touch was...lacking. Mostly everything simply looked silly for the purpose of looking silly, but lacked any personal connection that it was the Spirit of Chaos who had impacted them as such. If she didn't know any better she would've sworn Discord's chaos looked...uninspired. Then again, what did she know about chaos?
Luna flew for hours into the night, with no particular destination in mind. She felt a slight tinge of guilt for simply killing time when there were ponies despairing under Discord's rule, but she wasn't about to rush in and get herself killed either.
Eventually her hours of flying paid off, and she let out a gleeful cry as she beheld what looked like torchlight ahead. Dipping down through the air, she flew over the beacon of light and examined what lay beneath her. Two rough looking carriages surrounded a small congregation of ponies and a small campfire. Luna took note of the fact that they were all Earth ponies save for one, a pegasus. They were all huddled around the fire for warmth, but looked up with terror at the black outline of the huge skeletal alicorn flying above them, turning in circles until she landed on the ground in front of them, giving her wings a ginger shake and yawning.
"Hello! Please do not fear me!" Luna called as she trotted towards the ponies, who were shivering in place. Oh, how she despised having to beg ponies not to fear her every time she greeted them. "I would just like to...to warm up, I suppose. And rest. Unless I'm intruding, of course!"
No response. As Luna approached closer she could see their features more clearly...although most of them were still obscured by their terrified huddling. Nevertheless she was easily able to deduce that four of the six ponies were stallions and the other two mares. Several bore enough resemblance to each other for Luna to decide that she had probably stumbled upon two separate families of ponies traveling together for safety's sake.
Not wanting to cause any further fear, Luna sighed and turned around. Better to leave them behind then, if they were so mortified by her presence.
"Are you...are you an alicorn?"
Luna instantly whipped around and trotted forwards again. The pony who had spoken was a light purple mare with a slightly darker purple mane.
"Yes, I certainly am!" She said, wearing a clearly forced smile. "I realize that...appearance wise I may not look it...but my name—"
"...is Princess Luna." She finished.
"Yes. It is."
Silence.
Her subjects had always disliked her, it looked as though that had only gotten worse throughout her absence. Shuffling awkwardly, Luna was unsure whether at this point she was even coming across as intimidating at all...she couldn't possibly see how.
"M...may I sit?" She asked, pointing at a vacant spot by the fire.
"By all means." The purple mare once again said. It looked as though she was the voice of the group, who were staring at Luna with expressions of amazement and fear at the black alicorn who was apparently the lost Princess of the Night.
"Are you really her?" Another finally piped up, a blue stallion with a spiked yellow mane. "She's still alive?!"
"Yes, obviously she is!" Another spat irritably.
"Is Princess Celestia still alive too?"
"N...no." Luna muttered. "She isn't."
More silence. Luna cleared her throat and stared into the fire, well aware that she was currently being scrutinized by six pairs of judging eyes.
"I have been gone for some time." Luna said, finding it easier to speak if she addressed the fire instead of the ponies around it. "I understand Discord is currently ruling under chaos and tyranny. I'm sorry I have not been around to help you, my dear subjects."
The sound of the cracking fire was the only response to Luna's words. They hated her, plain and simple. Luna had always known that. She had been expected to be bombarded with questions, perhaps even accusations, and she had been ready. But dealing with this silence was a whole new level of difficult.
"Do any of you ponies know where Discord is now? I promise I shall fix all of this."
"No." One of them responded. Luna couldn't bring herself to look up to see which one. "We haven't seen him for almost four months."
"He is still in Equestria though?" Luna inquired.
"Yes."
"I will find him. I will end this, I promise."
Luna yawned again and continued her analysis of the fire. She watched it with intensity for a long while, perhaps minutes, perhaps even hours. Despite its simplicity and familiarity, Luna couldn't stop herself from marveling at the dancing orange flame engulfing a thick dead log of some century old sycamore. Perhaps the tree had been from the Everfree, but Luna did not ever remember there being sycamore trees in the Everfree. Even the White Tail Woods were almost exclusively coniferous, which meant that these ponies must have traveled far. She looked up to ask them where they were from, but was shocked to see that the only pony not sitting with their heads hung in sleep was the other mare. She was still staring at Luna with wide, unblinking eyes, and her coat and mane were both completely grey. Unlike the majority of her traveling companions, she was a pegasus. With a disturbed shudder, Luna realized she had been staring at the fire for at least an hour, and by extension this mare had been staring at her for a full hour, too. Unblinking, with those cold, emotionless eyes...
"Can...can I ask where you ponies are from?" Luna attempted a comforting smile and more than likely failed miserably.
The pony in front of her simply shook her head and frowned slightly.
"I understand." Luna shuddered. "How...how about your names? I'd love to meet you all a little more formally."
Once again, the pony said nothing in response, but once again shook her head, 'no.'
"I...I see. Can you tell me anything?"
"She doesn't talk." A high-pitched voice said, making Luna start and whip around to face it. With surprise, she saw a young pegasus filly staring at her from the shadows of one of the carriages. Like the silent mare, this filly was completely monochromatic.
"Ah! Hello!" In the past, Luna had noticed that young fillies and colts seemed to be the only one of her subjects to ever see her under any sort of positive light. She had been through so many young pony's dreams, but this particular filly was a stranger to Luna.
"She hasn't spoken ever since Discord did this to us." The filly motioned to her mane and coat. Unnaturally monochromatic, it seemed.
A shiver of fury and disgust crept up Luna's spine. She had seen this the last time...ponies who dared speak were permanently silenced. But...but this filly was speaking, which meant that her corruption was of a different nature.
"And...what did he do to you?" Luna dared to ask.
"I...I don't...remember..." The filly stuttered. "Th...that's what he did. I...don't know what I did or who I was or anything."
"He destroyed your memories." Luna concluded. "And those of her, too? She's your sister, isn't she?"
The filly nodded. The resemblance, even beyond the simple black and white coloring, was one of the first things Luna had noticed when she beheld the filly.
"I'm terribly sorry." Luna sighed.
"You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault."
This time, it was Luna's turn to fall silent. The innocence of a child truly did wonders at exposing to her just how much evil in the world she had to correct.
The filly leaped down from the carriage and onto the ground, sitting down beside the black alicorn staring sadly at her hooves.
"But it is my fault," Luna said, turning to look into the filly's sad eyes.
"Everypony said that you're hiding something terrible and that's why you left us." The little filly said, rubbing her eyes sleepily with her hooves. "Some even think that you killed Celestia."
"Yes, I know."
"Well, I don't believe them," she said. "I think you're a great Princess."
"I wish I shared your enthusiasm." Luna sighed. Here she was, spilling out all her troubled to a little filly of less than ten years, and yet it felt oddly fitting. "Sometimes a Princess has to make choices that she isn't proud of."
"It must be hard...making those choices." Luna's heart shattered at how caring this filly sounded. Amidst all the fear and loss, compassion still lived. It was something that no amount of darkness could extinguish.
"No, the hardest part isn't making the choices," Luna saw that despite the fire the poor filly was shivering, and she outstretched one of her skeletal wings around her. She said nothing for a long while, simply sat listening to the little pony's breathing steady and slow into the relaxed pattern of slumber.
"The hardest part is having to deal with the aftermath," she whispered. Looking up, she saw that the other mare had also dozed off, leaving Luna truly alone.
"Well, that was painfully awkward."
"Ah, Nightmare Moon." Luna muttered a lazy greeting. "How goes the search for a solution?"
"Actually, I think I've got everything figured out."
"Yes? Then how are we going to transfer the Nightmare Forces into Discord?"
"It's a three part plan. Quite simple. First, you need to weaken him enough that you can approach him long enough for the whole process to happen. Once you have, you should be able to start the transfer by touching your horn to his forehead. That, however...will potentially be very, very destructive."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Meaning the chance of you surviving the transfer is...questionable."
"Can you be a little more specific, please?" Luna grimaced as her previously dormant headache gave off one painful, isolated throb.
"If I were to give you a survival percentage...it would probably be, like, fifty."
"Fifty."
"Maybe sixty."
"Ah, well the odds are in my favor!" Luna said sarcastically. "Albeit ever so slightly, but they are!"
"There's one other step to the plan, genius. Shut up and pay attention." Nightmare Moon retorted. "You're basically transferring some of your corrupted magic into Discord, but he's a being of pure, unlimited potential. This means that your unicorn magic would basically be minimal by comparison, and it would just be overpowered by Discord's much more powerful magic. That's why we need to use an additional source of magic to help us with the transfer."
"Another source of magic that is pure, unlimited potential?" Luna asked. "I...I think I know of an item."
"You do?! Excellent! Where?"
"With certainty I could not tell you..." Luna thought back to her castle, specifically the hidden room in the library. If she was not mistaken, Celestia had taken it with her when she left. "But I have a hunch. My sister's temporary home."
Thinking back, Luna often called that incident the cataclysm of all the events that transpired since, but in all actuality her and Celestia's strife had started long before.
Was Nightmare Moon present in those years of slowly building mutual anger between herself and her sister? Luna could not remember. But she did remember the hurtful words they had flung at each other, how sibling rivalry had started evolving into a full-on battle. Neither of them welcomed the negative emotions swelling up between them, and both of them had sought some solution. Some way of going back to simply being sisters who loved each other to no end, and no longer separated by their own inner conflicts.
Luna couldn't remember if it was her or Celestia's decision that they should stop living together in the Castle in the Everfree. All she knew was that it was a decision both of them had agreed would be best. Some temporary distance between each other, some time to let their bitter resentment towards each other die off on its own.
If only it had worked.
It was no secret to Celestia that Luna had felt overshadowed, so the ideal solution when they agreed to rule together, apart from each other, was that Luna remained in the heart of Equestria and Celestia moved to some small, peaceful town by the sea. One would get the attention she sought, while the other got the rest and relaxation she deserved. The stress they both carried would die off and the unwelcome emotions would die off, too.
What was that town called? Luna remembered its location, but not its name. She had visited Celestia often and she had liked the town quite a bit, but its name still escaped her.
"Luna, there's something I need to tell you." Nightmare Moon interrupted her thoughts, jerking her back from her memories.
"Okay."
"Your headache is only going to get worse. The Nightmare Forces are growing in strength. I tried to reason with them but they don't care to hear from me anymore. In short...we have less than three days before they have control."
"Then we should get going." Luna rose, gingerly removing her wing off the sleeping filly so as not to wake her.
Lifting into the air once again, she set a course in her mind for Celestia's beach side home, and started off towards the East.
The wind howled as Luna landed on the ground outside of a small settlement on the very edge of Equestria's limits. The sound of something shifting as she began to walk grasped her attention, and looking down she saw that she had landed on a rectangular sign bearing a simple message scrawled in friendly looking block capitals.
"Welcome to Dusk Falls!" The sign proudly exclaimed, many of the letters faded beyond legibility. What had once been hung as a shining beacon of invitation was now knocked carelessly to the ground and abandoned, as was everything else in the town in front of her. There was nary a sound save for the screaming wind as Luna entered the town, although the occasional repeated slamming of a decrepit house's hanging shutter initially made her flinch in surprise before becoming a simple part of the sullen atmosphere. She had heard the town's eponymous waterfalls on her flight in, but they were a dozen miles from the town itself. Why it was named after them, Luna did not know.
There wasn't much of the town left to take in, simply ramshackle old buildings once beautiful under the burning sun. Peering inside one's broken window, Luna saw that absolutely everything had been left behind. It was somewhat troubling to see the affairs of a family of her humble subjects in a frozen freeze-frame that perfectly described the frivolous familiarity of their day to day lives. Especially disturbing to her was a pile of some filly or colt's toys carelessly gathered. She could almost hear the foal's pleading as her parents told her they could spare no room for such unimportant things as they fled Equestria. In Luna's mind, anything that could comfort the troubled soul of a child could never at any point be considered unimportant.
Past candy-stores and post offices Luna walked, not stopping again but still glancing around at each and every building in the small town. Several looked as though they had been looted, but for the most part it looked like the town had been abandoned with it's dignity still intact. Once she was past the marketplace of Dusk Falls, the buildings became much less frequent and further away from each other. The town street continued onwards, branching off in three different directions; to a boardwalk and park down by the ocean, to a lighthouse that no longer produced light, and to Luna's destination. In the distance Luna could faintly see the park, with it's partially collapsed bandstand, lonely looking carousel, and even a Ferris Wheel closer to the beach. Many portions of the boardwalk had been pulled away by the foreign ice, and carried out to sea by the strong current. The portions that did remain sagged in multiple sections, dipping in and out of the water at random.
Sighing deeply, Luna carried on through the town of Dusk Falls until her destination came into full view; looming ahead lay a large white log beach-house with a blue roof which was almost the exact same hue as Luna's coat. Beyond the beach-house lay the ocean, which was thin ice for several dozen feet before giving way to ocean water. There was no snow, but a thin layer of frost did cover mostly every surface, crunching under Luna's feet as she stepped onto the veranda of the log house. Most of the white paint was chipping and peeling away, and a thick veil of dust completely blotted out both large windows in the front of the house. The welcoming wide circular door looked like it had been forced in, and was now balanced precariously on broken hinges. Instead of pushing it aside and heading inside, Luna hesitated.
"Where are we?" Nightmare Moon asked. Despite Luna voicing her discomfort, it seemed as though she had been elsewhere in Luna's mind once again.
"I thought I told you to stay out of my subconscious!"
"Accusations! I've been here this whole time!"
"Uh huh," Luna rolled her eyes. "We're here."
"This is it? Dusk Falls?" Nightmare Moon observed. "What a dump. Whose house is this then?"
"This would be my sister's house."
"You mean Celestia?! I was expecting a palace, or perhaps an oversized pink dollhouse!"
"You don't know my sister at all then," Luna sighed and finally worked up the courage to push the broken door aside and walk into the log cottage. Dust swirled everywhere as she did, it was coating every single surface like freshly fallen snow, causing Luna to cough several times. Like every other building, it looked as if it had simply been abandoned without a second thought, time itself the only variable to lead to it's slow but steady disintegration.
"My sister loved this place. She spent decades here, all by herself," Luna muttered, her eyes sweeping the wide room that made up the majority of the house. If one could consider the kitchen its own room (which, Luna didn't, since it was only separated from the rest of the living room by a strange half-wall that was certainly a bold new architectural statement) then Celestia's temporary home was only four rooms. The main room took up at least two thirds of the entire area of the house, it's ceiling towering and huge windows making up the entirety of the ocean-facing wall. There were bookshelves, a neat and orderly study area, and a large fireplace, but mostly the house had a very Celestia-like minimalistic design. In the places that did not house windows, the floral wallpaper was peeling and rolling upwards, the foreign cold undoubtedly contributing to the beach-house's gradual disintegration. Sitting in front of the fireplace were two large red mats, where Luna remembered sitting with Celestia and discussing each others lives during her occasional visits. Her sister's bedroom was somewhere off to the side, but Luna wasn't quite sure if she had the courage to go in there yet.
"It must've been rough for her staying here," Nightmare Moon said. "Not that it's a poor place, mind you. Just...I guess it's more the reason WHY she was living here."
"I can't even begin to imagine," Luna agreed, shivering with both cold and emotion, as well as coughing once again. "Ugh, this dust is infuriating. Give me a moment."
With a light humming her magic sprung to life, the wide windows creaking open for the first time in several years as she simultaneously created a strong wind to force all the dust out. In mere seconds it was much more tolerable, and Luna promptly re-closed the windows and collapsed to the hardwood floor.
"I actually like this place," Nightmare Moon confessed, her voice evidently showing signs of self-loathing for saying something so uncharacteristically soft. "Very peaceful. If I were a pony this is the sort of life it'd want."
If she was a pony. Although she probably didn't intend for it to be so, Luna felt a bitter sadness in Nightmare Moon's words. Did she really want such a thing? Nightmare Moon had never once admitted it, but really when Luna thought of it, all of her actions in the past definetly hinted towards her being overall dissatisfied and ashamed of what she was. Luna imagined that if Nightmare Moon really had the chance, she would jump into a mortal, physical body in a heartbeat. The only thing that conflicted with this desire was her longing for subjects to rule over.
"I fear Celestia had a lot of difficulty managing an ideal life here," Luna said, before Nightmare Moon decided to listen in on Luna's thoughts of her, "Even with me at the Castle everypony came all the way out to Dusk Falls when they needed the help of the 'Royal Princesses.' If Celestia ever got a moments peace here I would be genuinely surprised."
"I hardly think she's the most sympathetic one because of that," Nightmare Moon replied. "You were right there in the heart of Equestria and nopony even noticed. That must have been insulting."
"It was," Luna confessed, shivering again. She crossed the large room and floated the fireplace door open, placing a few old, half-rotten logs inside and using her magic to ignite them. When she was done she left the door open and sat down in front of it, staring intently at the building flames within. "Well, Celestia, I made it. I'm finally taking a vacation, like you told me too."
"Pardon me?"
"Oh, just something my sister used to badger me about. She said I never rested, which in my case was actually quite literal. I think this house was a last ditch effort to try and convince me to stop trying so hard for my subjects recognition."
"That seems like a selfish thing for Celestia to do," Nightmare Moon chanced. "I know how high and mighty you see her as, but that's just the way I see it."
"I don't want to get into anything with you, Nightmare, so I'll pretend I'm not insulted."
"Fine. But do you not agree that it was her act—"
"Drop it, Nightmare," Luna said sternly. "I am not so petty as to stoop to blaming my sister for her own death."
"Luna, she treated you like you were worthless. When you needed her help, she LEFT. Literally. When her subjects started running here instead of to you in Equestria, like they were supposed to, she said NOTHING. And when she saw that you were trying to fight back the darkness alone...trying to fight back me...she chose to turn a blind eye and pretend what she saw did not concern her."
"I SAID I did not wish to speak about these matters!" Luna snapped. "Why must you continue?"
"Because you need to wake up! She didn't care about you and that's a fact! And this...this fortress of solitude built far away from her own responsibilities only proves that! Stop acting like you're the sole problem in the universe!"
"Fine! If it will make you be silent, then I accept that perhaps me and Celestia BOTH handled out crumbling relationship poorly! Can you please let it go now?"
"I didn't mean to insult you..."
"I know..." Luna took a deep breath and sank to the floor in front of the fireplace. "For future reference, my sister is a topic not ripe for casual conversation. Understood?"
"Yeah, whatever." Nightmare Moon said, and then mumbled a nearly indistinguishable apology. "I shouldn't have said she didn't care about you. That isn't true."
Shifting into a more comfortable position, Luna watched the dust and snow swirl and dance across the high ceiling above. In time, she would rise and begin her reluctant ransacking of Celestia's home, looking for that one book that she wasn't even certain would be here to begin with.
The Tome of Manifestation. That was what it was called...or at least that was what Luna called it. It was probably called something much simpler by it's original author, but Luna enjoyed the dramatic flair. If she remembered correctly, it had been an experiment conducted by Starswirl the Bearded. An attempt to create a source of seemingly unlimited magic. What Starswirl had not anticipated was that he would actually succeed, and when he did he immediately brought the book to Celestia. Not her, but to Celestia.
Celestia had hidden it in the castle, telling only Luna it's location. But when she went to find the book after Celestia left for Dusk Falls, it was nowhere to be found, leading her to believe that Celestia had taken it with her. Why, Luna had never asked, although she distinctly remembered being furious when she found it missing. It felt...insulting, to be treated like a child, as if she was not to be trusted around a magical artifact that powerful.
Luna let out a wide yawn and shut her eyes on the dust's endless caper. Although she had initially only wanted to rest her eyes, sleep swiftly crept on the laying alicorn, and in mere seconds her mind slowly calmed itself from it's past worries with the soothing promise of slumber.
"Not quite yet, Luna!" Nightmare Moon said in a purposefully jarring tone, causing Luna to groggily open her eyes once again. In that moment she realized just how exhausted she had been...not to mention the pain of hunger that she had tried to ignore. Assuming one could disregard her four years in stone, it was still more than ten days since she had anything to eat.
Stumbling to her feet, Luna yawned again and rubbed her eyes with a hoof, before drunkenly making her way across Celestia's living room to the opposite side of the house. There, she saw Celestia's desk and several bookshelves lining the wall, and she began scanning them looking for the familiar harsh spine of the cold and intimidating looking book. It should have stuck out like a sore hoof, but there was nothing out of the ordinary amongst Celestia's compilation of poetry books and dusty hardcovers with spines damaged by a couple centuries worth of reading. Her sister had always been a voracious reader, it had been her first demand when their castle in the Everfree was first erected to have an enormous library with thousands of books. This corner of the house, by comparison, was a mere grain of sand in the ocean of literature that the royal library contained.
Analyzing every row of every shelf again and again, Luna cursed in frustration as the Tome of Manifestation was nowhere to be found. Once it became apparent that the bookshelves did not house the forbidden book, she moved on to Celestia's desk, violently ripping open every drawer and flinging the various papers aside. Her head throbbing in synchronization with her growing fury, Luna eventually grabbed the entire desk in her magic and pushed it over, a resolute slam causing dust and paper to fling up like fireworks into the dark of night. She next moved on to the bookshelves and did the same thing, screaming a frustrated cry as they impacted with the ground and flooded the hardwood floor in a sudden torrent of ancient novels.
Luna stood panting in a sea of fallen books, her frustration gradually seeping away and being replaced with dread. If the book wasn't here...then where WAS it?
Whipping around, all her previous exhaustion gone, Luna stormed off in the direction of Celestia's bedroom, but hesitated at the door. This was the one room in Celestia's house that she felt the most uncomfortable being in...perhaps because it was the only room she had not been in during Celestia's living years. Ultimately, she couldn't deny herself the fact that it was necessary, and she heaved a great sigh and enveloped the wooden door in her magic. She pushed it lightly, found that it was locked, and then pushed it more intensely. A subtle snapping sound was heard from the other side as the deadbolt snapped off and clanged against the floor.
Raising a shaking hoof, Luna pushed the door open the remainder of the way, and took a cautious step in. She slunk through the threshold and into the room, which was almost pitch-dark. Casting a light spell, Luna saw that the room's only window had been boarded up, allowing not even a trace of moonlight in. She did, however, spot a candlestick and in a moment it burst to life, flooding the bedroom in its soft, glowing warm light.
The moment she saw Celestia's bedroom in its entirety, Luna instantly felt her breath be taken away and her eyes well with tears. Crumbling in the entrance way and leaning against the door-frame, she basked in the sight of photograph upon photograph of herself...her and Celestia in regal looking poses at their thrones, herself looking up at the clouds from the summit of Canterlot Mountain, herself standing with her eyes closed, raising the moon from a castle balcony in the middle of a snowstorm...
Almost every dresser, wall, and end-table had at least one eloquently framed photograph of either herself or herself and Celestia. One particular painting filled Luna with the strangest feeling of frisson, it was an artists depiction of the two of them as fillies. Typically, whenever an artist attempted to predict what the two of them looked like as fillies, they would secretly laugh uncontrollably at the hilarious inaccuracies, but this particular painting was an eerily familiar depiction. They'd even got Celestia's sparkly violet mane right...the majority of depictions showed her sister with a light pink mane. The two of them both had their backs turned to the viewer, and were facing a bright and over exaggerated moon. One of Celestia's wings was resting on Luna's back, and from the angle at which Luna was laying on her sister it looked as though she was sleeping.
"We shouldn't have come in here..." Nightmare Moon said eventually. "I can't imagine seeing all this is—"
"No, no. I'm quite alright. I feel as though I needed this. This place has only served to bring forth the memories of our conflict these past few years. But these pictures have shown me the past that I should be remembering."
Stumbling to her hooves once again, Luna started into the room and did her best to not be distracted by the nostalgic artifacts from the past, and simply on finding the book. The room, like the rest of the house, was tidy and well-kept, proving without a doubt that it had once housed the overly neat and organized Princess of the Sun. All four walls, windowless save for the one small one that was boarded up, were covered in floral wallpaper which in the bright light of summer might've looked pretty, but in the cold looked like something from a nightmare. Celestia's bed was still made, although dust and age had rendered it as a mere shade of what it once was.
There were more books stacked neatly on a shelf above another desk, smaller than the one in the living room, and they were the first things Luna checked. Unfortunately, there was less than a dozen and not a single one the Tome of Manifestation. Nervously rifling through drawers and finding every single one of them empty, Luna felt her previous dread slowing giving rise to panic. If the book wasn't here, she would be in serious trouble.
Sudden movement caused her to jerk her head in surprise, but all she saw when she turned was a tall black alicorn with tears dripping down her face reflected in a musty and cracked vanity mirror. Sighing in defeat, she turned and began her deliberately slow walk back to the living room.
"Wait, Luna...did you actually LOOK at the books on that shelf?"
"I did. None of them I recognized."
"Perhaps that was intentional. I mean...if it is the Tome of Manifestation then it isn't unreasonable to assume that Celestia used it's powers to disguise it as something else, right?"
"Ah, a fair point!" Luna concurred, trotting back to the desk. Grabbing all the books in her magic, she stacked them all on the desk in front of her and one by one analyzed their covers and contents.
"No..." she muttered aloud, flinging each one carelessly behind her. "No...no...no....AH! This is it!"
The book Luna held in front of bore absolutely zero resemblance to the harsh stone book she remembered it as. What was once a grey spellbook with spikes decorating its cover was now a pink paperback novel with a generic title and author name scrawled across in golden lettering.
"Creativity's Spark..." Luna read aloud, grinning, "...by Ethereal Sunshine. Very subtle, sister."
"This book is...dangerous...?"
"Yes, certainly. I shan't activate its magic until we face Discord, since it corrupts the mind over time."
Feeling joyful and optimistic, Luna grabbed the book and gleefully carried it with her back into the living room, where her saddle-pack lay strewn over one of the mats in front of the fireplace. She tucked the book inside and turned her attention to the fire, which had consumed the last log she put in and was in need of another, which she willingly opened the gate and placed inside. Accepting it's fuel, the fire once again flared to life, and Luna turned and paced into the kitchen, praying Celestia had left some sort of canned food in one of the cupboards.
Thankfully, she had. Luna found several cans of tomato soup, which she carried with her in her magic and floated with her back to the fireplace, where she levitated them into the heart of the flames and patiently held them there. Her stomach began grumbling in anticipation of the meal, and after only several minutes her willpower failed and she took them back, violently ripping off the tin tops and drinking the icy soup straight from the cans. In that moment, pride was not something she cared too much about.
When her meal was done, Luna laid down in front of the fire on her usual mat, closing her eyes and feeling sleep once again attempt to overtake her. Nightmare Moon did not interrupt her, nor did any dreams or visions of forthcoming doom.
There was another deafening explosion half muffled by the last layer of changeling produced slime, and Chrysalis flinched visibly at the sound as she landed next to Queen Elytra and looked into her mother's eyes with begging terror. They were the last two changelings standing now, every last drone had fallen victim to Discord's relentless massacre.
"We need to go, mother!" She said frantically, knowing full-well that the Queen of the Changelings was prepared to die here fighting for the future of the hive.
"Then go, Chryssie!" Elytra screamed wildly at her daughter in response, as she stood her ground proudly and refused to move. "I am staying. But you...You cannot die here."
"No! He killed the others, he'll kill you, too!" Chrysalis had protested, her adolescent voice inadvertently cracking in her panic. In front of the last two changelings, the wall of thick and fleshy green slime was nearly ready to burst, pushed to the extent of it's durability by Discord's repeated assaults.
"Then you'll make a fine Queen in my stead!" Elytra spat furiously, whipping around to glare at Chrysalis. "Now flee!"
"Mother, please."
"Chrysalis, I have lived long enough and I am ready to die. Please don't let my final moments be spent watching my own daughter perish in front of me, fighting for a fruitless cause. Allow me the guarantee that in a way, my colony can still live on."
"Mother—"
Queen Elytra had never been one for sentimentality, especially with her own daughter, and the pride of a changeling did not falter that day. She did not speak another word to her daughter, simply shaking her head when she saw Chrysalis about to protest again. And then, using her battered wings that had been so damaged by age that they were practically useless, she motioned upwards at the ceiling.
"Go." Elytra breathed through the hivemind, which was now shared only by the Queen and Princess of the Changelings.
She could have refused. She could have stayed next to her mother and tried to fight Discord, and perhaps together they both could have survived. Wave after wave of changelings had tried and failed to hold back Discord, and now they were the only two left, and when she left her mother would be the last standing defense of the Changeling Empire. Her whole life she had secretly looked at her mother as pathetic and weak, and herself as the brave and strong changeling leader who would one day bring her race to greater heights than ever before.
It was quite clear, as she took off into the air as swiftly as possible, who the braver changeling was between herself and her mother. With a blast of magic she easily destroyed a sizable hole of the green slime Discord had so much trouble breaking through, but froze before flying through. She had just enough time to glance back and see Discord break through as well, not even hesitating before slaughtering the Queen of the Changelings right in front of her eyes.
And then she had fled. She hadn't stopped to gather any other changelings, or try to fight back Discord, she simply flew and flew until the Changeling Empire was far behind her and the strange and unknown landscape of Equestrian soil lay underneath.
Panting, she landed, and for the first time in her life, Princess Chrysalis wept. She screamed vile things into the night air, cursing everyone she could think of; herself for not standing by her mother, the changelings for their weakness, Discord for what he had done...
And then another pony flitted through her mind, the thought of her face as insulting as the peace treaty she had shoved under Elytra's nose two years prior. The alicorn Princess of Equestria, the blue demon who was suspected to have murdered her own sister, freed Discord, and fled.
And upon remembering this pony, it was her name that Chrysalis screamed into the wind with no shortage of malice. For her mother, and for the sake of revenge, she would not rest until both Discord and Luna were dead, and she was willing to kill each and every pathetic pony that stood in her way. After all, she had just lost her own species to Discord's attack, which would not have happened if it were not for Luna's actions.
With that thought dancing in her head, Chrysalis realized that they had been HER changelings, if not for a brief moment. Now...with her mother dead...she was Queen.
Queen Chrysalis. The last changeling on Equus. The changeling Queen with a total number of zero subjects.
At least for awhile. There were many eggs below the earth that Discord would never have found...and they would hatch eventually. And when they did, they would find that the hive-mind now led to that of a scared and angry young changeling Queen, with the blood of an alicorn on her hooves. She would have to face that reality, but it was at least a few years before it became a pressing matter.
If the hivemind led to her now it would mean all the changeling's love would also be directed to her. She would start aging slower, as her mother had. She'd been alive for twenty years and she'd been aging normally every second of it, but once the changeling's love started flowing again, she would live for...for centuries.
How old had her mother been? Two thousand years? Perhaps less than that, but definitely no less than a millennium. Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure she WANTED to live that long, but it wasn't like it had ever been her choice anyways.
Equally as troubling was the fact that if she were killed, then the hivemind too would die, and thus the eggs Elytra had laid would never hatch. If Chrysalis died, so too did the changeling race.
Chrysalis cast a worried glance back at the badlands she had left behind miles ago. She knew that if her future changelings were to live a good, complete life, then the onus would be entirely on her to make sure it was so. And she didn't know what she could do to help them, the only thing she could seem to bring herself to think about was making Luna pay for all of this.
Where was that infernal Princess? Would she ever return? Chrysalis truly hoped she would.
How else could she possibly avenge her mother?
TWO YEARS LATER
Queen Chrysalis was starving. Most changelings had been for the past couple months before Discord's attack, but that had been two years ago. And while love amongst ponies still was present, it was scarce and weak and she no longer had enough energy to even transform herself in order to receive any in the first place. For weeks, Chrysalis had felt like the last of her energy would give out at any moment, and she would collapse onto the hard soil, as the last meal of liquified love she consumed disappeared completely, and she would be left for dead on the cold, cold ground. Normally, the hivemind itself was capable of producing at least a little bit of love (contrary to ponies judgement, changelings WERE capable of loving each other) but now the hivemind was as silent as the dying landscape Chrysalis was stumbling across. She had long since given up trying to fly or use magic, and she had instead been skulking in and out of Equestrian civilization by foot.
Without energy to transform, she had no way of disguising herself as she wandered into Equestrian settlements, which were now no more than slums created by the wreckage of greater buildings that once stood there. Ponies saw her, huddling under the wreckage for warmth from the cold night rain, they saw her crossing Equestria from town to town, but what she was looking for they did not know. They feared her, several threatened her in an attempt to make her leave, but she found that if she ignored them then they would ignore her.
Simply put, they did not seem to care. Then again, neither did she. She could die tomorrow from starvation and it wouldn't make much of a difference to her. She had lost everything, so why even carry on anyways?
From the looks of things, Equestria was doomed. Good for it, she wouldn't miss it at all. They hadn't even lifted a hoof to save her empire, and she wasn't about to do the same for them.
"Screw them," she thought to herself as she stumbled across the Equestrian plains. She was on the road again, her next destination undecided. Perhaps Canterville, although she had already been there and her search had turned up nothing. She was looking for a mythical changeling artifact her mother had told her about...although her mother herself had not believed such legends. And no legend was more infamous amongst the changeling population than the legend of the Crystal Heart.
The Crystal Heart was a story Elytra would tell her changeling hatchlings to convince them that ponykind was evil, and that what changelings did to them to survive was in no way barbaric or inhumane. But Elytra herself had always seen the story she had inherited from some archaic changeling leader (Chrysalis didn't care enough to remember WHO, exactly) as a fictional tall-tale. A tall tale about a magical stone discovered by a brave changeling, which emanated love energy itself. Changelings had supposedly lived off this 'Crystal Heart' and it's magic for centuries, but allegedly it was stolen by ponykind and they had taken it for their own benefit, leaving the changelings to fend for themselves.
While Elytra saw it as a silly legend, Chrysalis was always drawn to the Crystal Heart, and it's seemingly unlimited power that it produced. With such a thing, she could easily rule over not only the Changeling Empire, but over all of Equestria as well.
But, more importantly, it was now the only way she could possibly save her race.
Before, she had had desires of revenge against Luna and Discord, as if it were her sole purpose in life now. Looking back, she saw her angst as foolish and impulsive, but not entirely unjustified. It had been so long since Luna's disappearance that Chrysalis slowly began believing that the Moon Princess had also fallen victim to Discord's return, or perhaps taken her own life out of guilt and regret.
"Good riddance. " She muttered. If Luna ever did come back, though, Chrysalis was more than ready to make her pay for what she had done.
In the mean time, she had the Crystal Heart to worry about. And then Discord. She knew that the latter would be....difficult to deal with...but she also knew that she would succeed. To her, it was a guarantee.
In Canterville, she would find a way to head north. Nothing in changeling hivemind suggested any exploration had been made in the North, with the common understanding being that it was the freezing arctic and therefore pony life there would be unnecessarily complicated and costly. Logically, it didn't make sense for there to be anything up there, and therefore the changeling race had never even bothered to check. Why would they, when they had enough love in Equestria anyways?
The North was an option Chrysalis was not pleased about...after all, her insect-like biology was already not used to the frequent strain the cold night put on her, so the thought of wandering through the blistering cold was less than appealing by comparison. Snow and ice were more than likely going to kill her, and starvation had already rendered her as weak as a filly. The journey there would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. And if there was no Crystal Heart there....then there would simply be no return trip.
It took Queen Chrysalis three days to make it to Canterville, and when she finally crept into the city it was clear that it had changed significantly since she had been here last. Namely, the florescent green streets and hovering, upside down buildings and polka dot trees.
Discord himself, however, was not present. There were a few ponies scattered around, scavenging for resources amongst the chaos and rubble, but they stopped what they were doing to watch the foreign creature entering their settlement. Chrysalis could hear their whispers as she walked straight forward, with her head raised proudly and her eyes locked nowhere but directly ahead.
"It's the changeling!"
"She's still alive?"
"What does she want, anyways?"
Blowing some of her long and wispy mane out of her face, she ignored them and kept walking. Stupid ponies. Would a single one ever offer to help her, or ask what her circumstances were? Not likely. They seemed more content to stand aside and mutter insulting things about her in direct earshot.
Of course, she knew she wasn't completely without fault either. She wasn't exactly striving for peace with the ponies, and the only times she ever remembered speaking to anypony, she was quite sure she hadn't come across as pleasant.
From what Chrysalis could see, there were many ponies who looked to be making preparations to leave, for many wagons were being packed with every single worthless article that the magpies could find laying about the wreckage. Like Chrysalis, they had swiftly learned that the only way to survive now was to never stop moving.
She did, however, intend to stay and rest for at least a few hours. They would be her last before she headed North, and she aimed to gather as much strength as possible. Surely these ponies would have food, perhaps even shelter. A changeling could only hope.
Thankfully, Chrysalis took notice that at least a dozen fools looked like they were intending to stay. It even looked like a small, makeshift cantina had been constructed inside a building that was comprised of three walls, with the fourth one apparently destroyed. She would check this place out later for food, in the meantime it would be beneficial to find a cloak to keep herself warm. Even now she was freezing, and the North would be even worse. Looking around, she spotted one of the many wagons prepared to leave, but this one was unique in the fact that it was completely deserted.
Trotting hopefully over to it and looking around to make sure nopony was nearby and watching, Chrysalis sneakily crawled inside. She found some sort of squishy white squares that she assumed were edible, and hastily stuffed them into a saddlepack that was also laying in the wagon. There was a whole lot of empty bottles and baskets, but with no liquid they would simply be a worthless burden to carry.
Disappointingly, she saw no cloak or jacket, but she did find a thick looking grey blanket that would probably suffice. Grabbing it as well, she gingerly crept back outside and slunk behind some wrecked building to analyze her supplies.
She quickly found that the squishy white squares were revolting, broke apart too easily, and were caked in spots by some sort of odd green fungi that she was more than certain was not supposed to be there. Nevertheless it was food and she graciously devoured an entire square, her stomach giving a greedy grumble as it demanded more. Of course, given her changeling diet, she knew the food wouldn't work miracles or anything, but it would still give her at least a little energy. And even a little was better than the nothing she currently possessed.
With a bit of twine she ripped off the saddlepack, she managed to craft the blanket into a fairly functional cloak which did wonders against the cold. The fabric was itchy and uncomfortable and the cloak dragged on the ground, but she didn't really care, so long as she was warm. Placing the remaining squares of pony-food back into the saddlepack, Chrysalis tied it around her sides and used her cloak to conceal it. The last thing she needed was for somepony to try to mug her for supplies.
Trotting back into town, Chrysalis cautiously began to approach the cantina. She could see a few ponies were sitting at a counter which looked like it was made from portions of a shingled roof. They were drinking a beverage that looked like water, and Chrysalis instantly felt compelled to at least try to obtain some. Her throat felt parched and dry, and she was getting sick of drinking muddy water to survive. Perhaps they would even have physical food in addition to the beverage.
Everypony sitting at the cantina turned to stare at her as she marched forwards, standing straight and staring at the pony who had been pouring the beverage into the others' glasses and was now looking at her with a dumbfounded look.
"You!" She commanded, pointing a hoof directly in his face. "Provide me with a glass of that beverage."
Not contrary to what she'd been expecting, the idiot just stared right at her, blinking occasionally.
"What?!" she hissed. "Do you have hearing problems?"
"N...no..." The stallion stuttered. The other sitting ponies were all staring at her now, some looking surprised and others looking angry. Chrysalis took a moment to glare back at them; she hadn't done anything and even if she had, it didn't concern them.
"Then what is it about my request that confuses you?"
More dumbfounded silence. Delightful. Her impatience reaching it's breaking point, she reached over the counter and yanked the glass bottle out of the stallions hooves, and downed the water in one fell swoop. When she was done, she threw it behind her, reached over the counter to grab another and stuff it into her saddlepack, and turned to leave.
"Stupid ponies," she muttered as she left. As she did, she caught a quick glance of a few other ponies rising as well, still wearing their angry looking expressions.
"What is it you want from us, changeling?" One shouted after her.
"Something to drink," she rolled her eyes and kept walking, "...but it would seem that was beyond your abilities."
"Your kind isn't welcome in Equestria." It was a different voice that spoke this time, a mare. From the looks of things, she had inadvertently steered herself into some sort of confrontation.
"I don't know if you halfwits have noticed, but no kind is welcome in Equestria anymore. I have my business and you have yours, so if you'd stop following me, that would be marvelous."
Although she did not dare express it, Chrysalis was terrified. If these ponies really were intending to get some information about her plans, they could very well do it and she wasn't in any position to defend herself if they did. All she had wanted was something to drink...
"Look..." she decided to try a different tact. She stopped, and turned to face a growing circle of suspicious looking ponies, some gawking at her like she was some sort of exhibit in a museum, others looking like feral animals ready to strike. "I don't want any trouble with you ponies. I'm trying to protect my hive."
"You?" Somepony chortled. "You're a little filly!"
Chrysalis felt a wave of indignation sweep over her. Little filly? She was the Queen of the Changelings, and daughter to the legendary Elytra! She had seen and done more in her time than all these ponies combined, despite her youth! And even if she wasn't some ancient, regal alicorn like Celestia or Luna, she was Royalty just like them. If she had the energy, she would've loved to have showed these ponies what a little filly was capable of. Fortunately, Chrysalis saw exactly which pony in the crowd had said it, and she instinctively reared on her, baring her teeth that were long and sharp but still not quite grown in.
"Yes, me! I don't believe you ponies understand who you're speaking to!" Chrysalis exploded, loud and harsh enough to make the mare back down in fright. "I didn't ASK to be Queen, anyways! I especially didn't ask to be chased out of your towns when all I want is a bit of food and water! And, unlike you worthless ponies, I'm actually trying to do something about Discord, instead of just cowering and fleeing! So back off!"
With that, she stormed through the crowd, shoving several ponies aside as she did so. She heard a few ponies shout malice after her, but she ignored them and kept walking. Never before had she felt so weak and vulnerable where she had to fear ponies, but now it seemed like everything was a danger. But with the acquisition of the Crystal Heart, that would all change.
By time Chrysalis finally made it through Canterville and back into the Northern Equestrian Plains, the temperature had dropped by several degrees and she could faintly see what looked like ice sparkling in the distance. Perhaps the Frozen North was closer than she had thought. It looked as though she would be facing the blistering cold of the unknown sooner than she was necessarily prepared for. If it weren't for the touchy ponies in Canterville she might've been able to prepare a bit more, but as it was, going back there would be as suicidal as going forwards anyways.
Instead, she found a straggly tree in the field and decided to rest by it, far enough from both the town of Canterville and the cold of the North to ensure that she could fall asleep and be sure she would actually wake up again. Taking advantage of the cloak's long length, she bunched up the end and rested her head on it, looking up at the damned night and wondering whether or not the changeling race would live long enough to see it's end.
While Luna slept peacefully on the hardwood floor of Princess Celestia's abandoned beach-house, Nightmare Moon was left alone in the darkness, accompanied only by her own thoughts. She'd been looking forward to waltzing through Luna's dreams but was disappointed when Luna's assertion that she 'did not dream' proved to be correct.
Luna had also made it quite clear that she was not comfortable with Nightmare Moon traipsing through her mind, and by extension having full and unbridled access to her deepest secrets and greatest fears. Nevertheless, she had unfinished business that she had to conduct, and would much prefer if Luna did not know about it. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to make sure everything was fine.
The first thing she noticed as she opened her eyes to the fields of the mirrored Equestria was that everything was in fact NOT fine. The previously twilit sky was now jet black with a starless and moonless night, and the ascending particles of darkness had been replaced by a thick black fog which gathered in clouds over various places over Equestria. She was somewhere in the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, but the gigantic arachnids were all but gone, as were the trees themselves. The only way Nightmare Moon recognized it as the Everfree Forest at all was the large stumps that lay where the great trees once stood.
Taking a deep breath and reminding herself that she was really perfectly fine in Dusk Falls, Nightmare Moon lifted into the air and flew off, with the intent of leaving the Everfree and re-entering Equestria. Not long after she did, did she notice that the fog was thick, in fact, it was like flying against a heavy wind, and it took her nearly thirty minutes just to clear the Everfree Forest and touch down in the Equestrian Plains. She hadn't the heart to fly in the direction of Canterville, and she knew exactly what she would find there anyways; nothing at all.
The clouds of black fog congregated closer to the ground now, looking thicker and more intimidating than the thin stuff she had flown through. Where it was coming from she did not know, but she had a pretty solid idea and was praying she was wrong.
It would be them. And they wouldn't be happy to see her. In fact, there was a high chance they would try to kill her then and there. To be honest, she truly did not blame them. But what they were doing was sick and wrong and she wasn't going to let it happen any longer.
Breaking suddenly into a swift gallop, Nightmare Moon charged head on towards the first overhanging cloud of black fog she saw. As she approached it seemed to grow wider as if welcoming her, and a few stray rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning seemed to emanate from it's epicenter.
Without giving herself time to hesitate, Nightmare Moon bolted straight into the cloud and skidded to halt once she was inside. All sound, even the sound of her own nervous breathing, seemed to vanish completely, and although there were a few more flashes of lightning, no thunder followed.
The black mist swirled wildly around, dancing about as if it were trying to communicate. In response, Nightmare Moon cast her magic upwards, the mist momentarily flashing from black to dark purple. The spell she had cast was intended to give the mist a surrogate voice to communicate to her with, but it was complex magic that was prompt to failure.
"Uh...hello, I suppose," she greeted, unsure of how to begin.
"The traitor arrives..." A great multitude of accusing voices rung out at once, all around her. They were every pitch and every volume all at once, at the same time. Thousands of voices, speaking as one. It looked as though the spell had worked too well. "Come to beg for forgiveness, Nightmare Moon?"
"Hardly," she said bravely in reply. "I've come to stop you from infecting the mind of my frie—"
"You shall not speak of your prey as such! The Lunar Princess is no more than a tool to be used, and nothing more!"
"Bullshit," Nightmare Moon spat, her anger growing to a level she did not remember it ever achieving. "She's more than us parasites will EVER be. And you can't win. I'm not going to let it happen."
"You DARE speak against us? Do you forget your place?"
"No, I don't forget it. I reject it. I'm not like you and I never will be."
"You may say that, but the act of saying it does not discredit it as the truth. You cannot change what you are. And what you are is us."
"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I have to be like you."
"You will suffer if you do not."
"Yeah, well, I'm ready for that."
"You cannot stop us."
"YOU know that isn't true!" Nightmare Moon screamed, even as she felt the fog start to swirl violently around her. She found that she was unable to move her legs, they seemed to be magically cemented to the ground she was standing on.
"You will die. You will both die."
"Been there, done that. Listen, I don't know how you're spreading across Luna's mind, but I was here first, alright? Luna is MINE! And I'm going to say it because it's true and because I know it'll piss you off; Luna. Is. My. Friend!"
"You—"
"Shut up!" she snarled, breaking free from the mist's grasp and shooting a random burst of magic upwards. The hole it cut in the fog quickly filled again, and when she went to fire another she found that once again she had been immobilized completely. It felt as though the air was getting thin in the cloud, and Nightmare Moon realized with growing fright that it was. They were trying to kill her.
"You will die." They repeated.
"As will you! All of you! I'll make sure of it! I get it, you're trying to erase Luna's consciousness and take her over. But it isn't going to work!" Nightmare Moon once again tried to break free but found that it was completely impossible. She coughed a bit and gulped back as much of the thinning air as she could.
"You are a traitor and you shall die for your actions. You have betrayed your kind. You chose to save your friend and by extension leave us all to starve."
"Oh, give it a rest!" Nightmare Moon gasped, her vision starting to swim. "You didn't have to try to kill Luna to survive! I never asked any of you to get overly ambitious and try to take over Equestria!"
"You then asked us instead to live out the rest of our lives as parasites. Never to leave the cold of the moon. Never to grasp the light of hope or to feel the welcoming warmth of life."
"You don't deserve it," she said, collapsing to the ground. Apparently the Nightmare Forces had granted her the luxury to die sitting. "Don't kill me. Not yet. There's still a chance for all of us."
"You are begging for mercy?"
"No. I'm telling you that you're making a big mistake if you think killing me is going to solve anything. You'll have sealed your own fate."
"You believe there is an alternative?"
Nightmare Moon couldn't find the strength in her to reply. The black cloud seemed to be dragging away everything, stealing away not only the air she needed to breathe, but the warmth and sound and light of the world. She couldn't fly or use magic, and now she couldn't even speak.
And she wasn't afraid. Because she had gotten their interest. They'd brought her down to her very weakest, but they hadn't killed her yet. Which could mean only one thing; they still needed something from her. Taking light sips of the remaining air, Nightmare Moon managed to compose herself enough to speak again.
"No...no alternative..." she managed, "You...you don't even have the option...to survive."
The second the words left her lips, she knew there were only two things that could happen now. She'd made them angry, but what they did with that anger would determine both her and Luna's fate. They could kill her now, and end all hope...or they could believe her words and chose to delay the inevitable.
"You are threatening us? After leaving us to die and helping the pony?!"
"What are you going to do about it?" Nightmare Moon goaded. They had to have been furious now, as well as incredibly suspicious. They thought she had some sort of plan, and the mere presence of the possibility was enough to dissuade them from immediately taking any action.
"You may speak." They finally replied, after what seemed like an eternity. "But swiftly. Your next words shall determine your fate, so make them wise."
With that, the fog's hold on her seemed to give way, and she leaped to her feet and took a long and relieved gasp of air.
"See the thing is, if you were to kill me now, Luna would find out. And she knows that I'm the only thing keeping you guys back. I don't think you realize what lengths she's willing to go to stop you and Discord from ruling Equestria. But I can guarantee you that sacrificing herself isn't off the table."
"You fool! Her death would allow us to prosper! Her corpse would provide the most sufficient vessel!"
"I never said she would kill herself. I said she would sacrifice herself."
A sudden explosion of thunder resounded and the fog's hold resumed, all the air in the cloud instantly dissipating for a brief moment.
"YOU SHALL MAKE YOUR MEANING CLEAR OR DIE!"
"Fine! The Moon, you idiots! Good luck ruling Equestria from the Moon! She's banished herself there before, and with the Elements, or the Tome of Manifestation, she can do it permanently. You really going to take the chance of going back there..." Nightmare Moon formed a wide and threatening grin. "...forever..?"
Smiling confidently, Nightmare Moon started pacing now, practicing the freedom of walking within the black cloud, as well as guaranteeing every last bit of it bore witness to her patronizing expression. She was Nightmare Moon, and they were some pathetic, loathsome clump of parasites with no individuality, nor emotions to distinguish each other. She'd broken free, and they were still trapped.
"I'm telling you all to wait. Because if you don't..." she pointed skyward. "It's a one-way trip to Crater City. Now, I don't think you want to go there. So stop trying to force your way out of my friends mind and let me deal with this."
"You expect our trust that you shall save us, even after your betrayal?"
"Nope. I don't expect that at all. I'm merely telling you that if you continue trying to forcefully take over Luna's mind, then it's curtains for all of us."
"You make a most convincing argument."
"Damn right I do," she said. "Now, my turn to demand answers. How in Tartarus did you all get here?"
"You travel alone. We cannot expect you to understand the actions of your own kind."
"Are you going to answer me or not?"
"You may not wish to know the answer, but if you so choose then the truth shall be told. We are but a small fragment of the corruption that your presence is spreading across Princess Luna. You ask for the source of our creator and yet you need not look any further than the closest mirror, Nightmare Moon. Since you willed her to the act of fratricide, you have slowly been eating away at her morality and her own desires, replacing them with the inner hatred that has made you complete."
"M...me...?" The color and resolve instantly dissipated from Nightmare Moon's expression as she stuttered for a response.
"You have not even known it, due to the lies of friendship and compassion you have been telling yourself to disguise the truth. You've gotten Princess Luna's trust and you have been feeding on her darkness that has only grown since Princess Celestia's murder. In the act of deceiving her, it seems as though you have simultaneously deceived yourself. "
"That's...well, if I created you then I can end you, too!"
"You cannot. Only the Elements of Harmony can split Luna and you apart. And you have destroyed any chance of wielding them."
"There has to be another way! There's still gotta be a chance!"
Instead of replying, the cloud of black fog once again began swirling, but this time it looked as though it were breaking away. It spread and covered the area further and further away from Nightmare Moon, ascending up into the sky until it was no more and she was standing all alone in the Equestrian Plains again. Whatever the answer to Nightmare Moon's question, it looked as though they did not want her to hear it. But by not telling her she already knew the answer.
There were still dark clouds hanging over many parts of the Equestrian Plains. She may have dissuaded them from action for a brief while, but it was by no means long term. Hopefully Luna had gotten enough rest, because it was about time they got moving.
Queen Chrysalis trudged through the wildly billowing snow, never able to make it more than ten minutes at a time before collapsing to the cold ground and having to force herself back into action, leaving a patch of stained red snow behind each time. Still onwards she trekked, gritting her teeth against the wind that was grasping her cloak and sprawling it behind her. The grey fabric shook and danced wildly like the sail of an old schooner, the pathetic twine tugging at her neck and threatening to come undone any second.
If there really was a Crystal Empire, the ponies were fools to have ever built it this far North. The cold and snow proved too harsh for proper vegetation to survive, for she had passed the treeline long ago. Walking through that one final forest had been a somewhat daunting task, with the knowledge that after it would be dozens of miles of flat ice and swirling snow. She'd rested two days total in that forest, building a fire and consuming the last of her moldy bread by the end of the first day. The pathetic pony food had proved to be next to worthless, so she had set out looking for something else in the forest.
Before long she'd come across prints in the snow, and following them stealthily she eventually came across a herd of caribou. There were several makeshift looking houses built out of and sometimes into the large trees, but they all seemed to be milling about in the clearing around them. Huddling nervously out of sight she watched. They were speaking in a language Chrysalis did not know, but the fear and uncertainty in their voice was instantly recognizable despite the unfamiliar words they spoke.
Fear as an emotion was edible to a changeling, it was how Chrysalis had been staying alive, but it was foul and provided little to no nutrition. There was certainly no shortage of fear amongst the caribou, but Chrysalis could detect trace amounts of love, too. In fact, it was rich and condensed, the scent of it was dripping with warmth. If her instincts were correct, she was detecting maternal love.
Silently creeping around the perimeter of the clearing, her instincts were proven accurate when she caught sight of a mother dear softly singing a lullaby to an infant fawn. Hating herself for doing so, Chrysalis began to salivate as the love she was detecting nearly overpowered her senses. This love would surely be enough to last the journey to the Crystal Empire. However, in her current state pulling off a semi-functional species change was risky at best, meaning the only other alternative would be to forcibly suck out the emotions, by using her sharp fangs. Feeding in such a manner was a practice highly looked down upon by the hive. Changelings who performed such an act were often called 'blood-suckers,'or 'leeches,' both relatively childish names to describe a crime severe enough to get one banished from the hive, or worse.
Licking her protruding fangs, Chrysalis swore to herself that she would never stoop to that low under any circumstances besides the most dire. She might've been a changeling, but she was no carnivorous animal.
And yet the saliva she was forced to repeatedly swallow begged to differ.
Backing away slowly before the desire to feed overpowered her morality, she moved to leave the herd behind and look elsewhere for something else to feed on. As she did, a sudden snapping sound echoed from beneath her hooves as she blindly crept backwards. Nearly every reindeer in the clearing started at the noise and turned towards the bushes she was hiding.
"No no no no..." she thought frantically, cursing the broken stick underneath her now shaking hoof. The deer were moving in her direction now, they would soon be in eyesight and it would all be over.
Adrenaline pumping, Chrysalis closed her eyes to the sight of imminent danger as she visualized the species she was aiming to transform into. She had no energy and felt incredibly weak, but her panic and willpower were pumping as she tried anyways.
A harsh couple of words were suddenly screamed in her direction, and slowly opening her eyes Chrysalis faced the deer who had said them.
He was a full grown, almost elderly stag with enormous antlers. His breath was projected in front of him as quick bursts of billowing vapor in the cold air and his antlers were angled towards her. He beat the snow several times with his hoof, looking more like a raging bull than a reindeer. She wasn't exactly familiar with their behavior but she was almost certain this was an offensive stance.
With dread Chrysalis slowly turned her eyes to herself and saw that she was indeed still the same young changeling queen, and not the caribou doe she'd been aiming for.
The same words were spat at her and she darted her attention back to the caribou stag, still breathing like a bull ready to charge.
"I...I'm sorry. I only speak Equish..."
A few of their ears darted up in surprise at her words, and they all took on a look of uncertainty. For a long while they simply looked at each other in bewilderment, but eventually another stag stepped forward. He looked a lot younger than the first one who had spoke, perhaps only a year or two older than Chrysalis was herself. To her surprise, he bowed respectfully towards her and spoke in near-perfect Equish.
"He has asked who and what you are, my dear."
"Oh..." she said bluntly. "I am the leader of the Changeling Race, Queen Chrysalis."
"It is a pleasure, Miss Chrysalis," he responded, once again bowing. "My name is Corolla. I must apologize, we were not expecting a representative of royalty to be visiting us."
"Thank you. But, I assure you that I am royalty only in name. My species is extinct."
A hushed whisper erupted throughout the gathered company. It would seem that despite the language gap, the word 'extinct' was well known amongst these creatures, too. The first caribou, the one who had shouted at her, said a few words softly to Corolla before he, too, bowed in front of her.
"King Alder, our leader, extends his condolences to you and your species."
"Please tell him that I appreciate his concern," Chrysalis said evenly.
"A lot better than those selfish ponies, anyways," she kept to herself. The title 'king' seemed a little too high a claim for the leader of several dozen, but she reasoned that it was really the same as her going by 'Queen' when she was in fact Queen of nothing.
"What is a creature like you doing this far north, Miss Chrysalis?" Corolla asked.
Normally, Chrysalis would have felt irritated and defensive at these deer's nosy behavior, but unlike the ponies, she had not spent long enough around these creatures to start hating them yet. Besides, they were acting significantly hospitable and she didn't have the strength to waste on pride at the moment. And if they could potentially help her, she would be much better off.
"I am searching for the Crystal Empire. I aim to rid Equestria of Discord's tyranny."
At the mention of Discord's name, another whisper crept across the herd of caribou, much more frantic then the first time. Several began asking her questions in their foreign language, as if expecting her to suddenly understand. In an attempt to stave back their growing excitement, Corolla translated what she had just said and added a few extra words in a stern tone of voice.
Silence fell amongst everyone, even Chrysalis dared not speak again as the King raised a hoof to motion for the attention of his people. Wordlessly he turned and started back towards the clearing, everyone following him as he lead the way forwards.
Once they were in the clearing, the King spoke, presumably to his people, because when he was done they quickly nodded or murmured in agreement, bowed first to him and then to Chrysalis, and scrambled away into the houses or off to the side. Soon, Chrysalis was alone with just Corolla and King Alder. Alder addressed Chrysalis directly, even though Corolla continued to speak for him.
"He says that changelings are not welcome amongst his kind," Corolla began, and she instinctively bared her teeth in fury, not caring who she offended. Alder raised an eyebrow and scoffed, before continuing. Corolla once again translated for him. "But assuming what you state is true, we will do the best we can to prepare you for your journey north."
"Tell him that I appreciate it, but there's nothing you can do to help and I don't need it to begin with."
"Stubborn," he suddenly spoke gruffly, in rough Equish. Even Corolla looked a little to surprise by his leader's spontaneous words. "Like your mother."
"Call it what you want. I've got my own affairs and I don't need you nor anybody else sticking their snouts in matters that don't concern them," she shuffled a bit and cleared her throat. "Uh...with all due respect."
Alder once again rose an eyebrow, and pointed a hoof towards the north. It was trembling, and Chrysalis suddenly realized how ancient he must've been.
"Suicide," he said, pointing again in the direction of the Crystal Empire. "Especially for a changeling. One night."
"I'll survive for longer than one night! I'm not an incapable little filly!"
"No, no," Corolla shook his head and stepped forward. "He means stay here for one night. Please."
"One night?" she looked around at the makeshift village, and the creatures who had been infinitely more hospitable than Equestria's ponies had ever been. Anyways, there might very well be some truth in what she had misinterpreted from Alder, and a little more than breadcrumbs and an improvised cloak was certainly welcome. "Fine. One night. But not a second longer."
The fireplace lay motionless and cold, nothing but ash laying where the log had once been blazing. Gathered in a pile were several more cans of tomato soup that Luna had drank, doing her best to ignore the fact that they were ice cold and at times even slushy. Food was food, but it was by no means pleasant.
"My headache seems to have intensified," she reported, stretching as she rose to her feet and grimaced. "I fear I do not have much longer."
"I know. I saw for myself."
"I TOLD you not to—"
"Yes, I know. But you're going to like this. I found out a lot of information about the Nightmare Forces in your mind."
"Ah yes? Pray tel."
"Well, they seem to have come over from Discord," Nightmare Moon said, her natural tone of voice perfectly veiling the lies she was forcing herself to tell. "Main reason would have to be lack of sufficient 'food.' In addition, I managed to convince them to hold off trying to take control of you."
"Brilliant! How ever did you accomplish that?!"
"Uh...well, I told them that if they continued, you would banish yourself to the moon indefinitely. I was bluffing, obviously, but I think it worked."
"Temporarily, I presume," Luna said, finding her saddlepack with the book still tucked inside and quickly clipping it on. It belonged to Celestia and she felt a little guilty about stealing it, but she probably needed it more than her sister at the moment. "Well, I suppose we are as ready as we're going to get."
"I don't feel ready."
"Nor do I," Luna admitted, starting towards the door and pausing before it. She turned to give Celestia's home one more curt nod, and pushed the door aside again and stepped out onto the partially collapsing veranda. Clouds had gathered during her slumber, and it was beginning to snow, ever so lightly, but it would make flying a little more of a burden.
Finding Discord would be difficult, but attracting him would be simple. A beacon into the sky, or perhaps an amplification of the Royal Canterlot Voice, and then her return would be known over all of Equestria.
Taking a step forward, Luna instantly collapsed to the ground and screamed out in shock, as a biting pain exploded across her hoof. Her pained voice echoed across the derelict town and in one of the buildings a frenzy of surprised birds taking flight was heard.
"Luna! What in Tartarus is the matter?!"
"This....this isn't possible..."
"What is it? Are you alright?"
"My hoof...like before, my hoof is broken! The same one! But...but I was just walking on it!"
"What? How can that be?"
Cautiously Luna raised the hoof in question and prodded it lightly against the ground. The same pain bit back. It was as if her injury from the Underworld was back again, despite it all having been a dream. With a chill, Luna thought of her broken horn and missing wing. If her hoof injury had seeped it's way into reality...was it possible..?
"Do you have an explanation for this, Nightmare Moon?" Luna asked.
"I...I don't. That's a first," she replied, sounding wary and nervous. "Is it just your hoof?"
"I believe so. But perhaps my additional injuries shall come over time."
"That's likely. This whole situation is...impossible! Are you SURE it's broken?"
"Do I look to be jesting? It's broken, Nightmare," she moaned, struggling to her feet whilst avoiding stepping on her left forehoof.
Despite this strange and implausible setback, she still had many things that had to be done and now it looked as though she had to work even swifter. Other than the hoof, everything else seemed fine and after prodding both her wings to make sure they wouldn't fail her as she flew, she took off.
Celestia's house looked just as sullen and sad from above, the lonely light from the still lit candles within casting orange streaks across the snow-covered front lawn. It was facing the black ocean which in itself was forever stuck in a state of low tides caused by the frozen moon at the start of a never-ending night. The snow was slowly turning the sand from yellow to white, and the ice was stretching it's reach further and further across the salt waters. Despite it being a beach-town, it was colder here than the Everfree, in fact as the crow flew it was closer to the Crystal Empire than the Castle.
Suddenly, Luna got an idea.
But just as quickly as it flitted through her mind, she quickly noticed something much more troubling than her hoof or the state of the Frozen North.
"Nightmare Moon...I just saw something from my Dreamworld. Here. In reality."
It had been swift, if she would have blinked then perhaps she would have missed it entirely. But for a split-second one of the rising black rectangles passed out of the corner of her eyes. Likewise, the ambient drone from the Underworld was back, albeit much, much quieter.
"Is it possible that you're still dreaming...?" said Nightmare Moon, who had apparently noticed it too.
"No. I don't dream, Nightmare Moon."
"Didn't stop you before," Her words carried a sort of skepticism in them and it was quite obvious to Luna that Nightmare Moon did not really believe what she was saying.
"But once I considered the possibility it took me mere minutes to figure out that I was unconscious. There is a fine line between reality and dreaming, but when you know what you're looking for you can see it clearly. Centuries of practice have made it very easy for me to decipher the two apart."
"Well then something's seriously wrong here, Luna, said Nightmare Moon, who seemed far beyond worried. "Like...I'm talking potentially catastrophic. I'm going to be gone awhile figuring this out, so in the mean time...keep busy. Do something productive. Just don't be stupid."
"Wait! What are you—" Luna began, but sighed and stopped mid-sentence. Nightmare Moon was gone.
Instead, she looked to the North and started flying in that direction, deciding with a little effort to leave dwelling on the impossible for a later time. Do something productive, Nightmare Moon had said. And Luna knew just what had to be done.
Back in the Underworld, Nightmare Moon wasted no time in beginning her gallop towards Canterlot Mountain.
Something sinister was happening here, something that greatly transcended what she had initially suspected. There was more going on than simple mind corruption at the hands of the Nightmare Forces. Elements and events from Luna's dreamworld were somehow seeping their way into reality, and if that was allowed to continue, Nightmare Moon couldn't imagine the damage it could do. It certainly didn't help that Luna's dreamworld was basically an equidistant Equestria that was extremely similar to the real one. If two parallel worlds collided, the damage could potentially be apocalyptic. Of course, all she had to fuel her fear was a broken hoof and a worst case scenario, but even the possibility was enough to have her concerned.
Dreams were becoming reality. And reality had already been a dream for so long.
For the first time in her life, Nightmare Moon did not even have a theory to explain the situation she now found herself in. She lived most of her life in confusion and dissonance, but nevertheless she was completely clueless as to how and why such an anomaly to reality was taking place. Reality and dreams simply didn't blend together, under any circumstance. And to her knowledge there was no magic in the known universe that could change that. It seemed as though her knowledge was incorrect.
Nightmare Moon had decided that flying against the black fog would be slower than the dedicated gallop she was currently dashing across the land at, and she didn't want to risk using her magic to teleport for fear of interfering further with whatever freak anomaly of nature had infected Luna's mind. If the dark energy of the Nightmare Forces slowly spreading seeped out, it could infect the land of Equestria and bring even further despair to an already doomed land. So instead, she took off on foot to Canterlot Mountain, where hopefully King Sombra still resided and she could press for information.
Even if he was a projection of Luna's guilty psyche, Nightmare Moon had no doubt that the unicorn tyrant wouldn't be too happy to see her. After all, she was at least partially responsible for his defeat when she abandoned him for Luna, and Nightmare Moon was sure Luna herself had known about it. Despite what she had said, Nightmare Moon knew that Luna felt bad about her actions to protect the Crystal Empire, even if they had ended the battle before Sombra had a chance to banish the entire kingdom forever.
She had been quiet in those times, lurking in the background of Luna's psyche and only lightly tapping the strings to drag her into insanity. Really, she didn't have to do much; the actions of the war against King Sombra showed in vivid clarity to every pony in Equestria what their Lunar Princess was capable of. Coupled with Luna's growing jealousy and Celestia's failure to confront it, Nightmare Moon was little more than a cog in the wheel of progress.
Nevertheless, as Nightmare Moon understood it, this world's Sombra was essentially a personification of Luna's violence, and that violence would soon be directed at her as she interrogated him for answers. Whether or not he would have any to give her remained to be seen.
Cautiously, Chrysalis raised the bowl of warm brown liquid and gave it a nervous sniff.
It smelt worse than the bread.
But with a dozen set of eyes locked on her, and her growling stomach proclaiming to each and every one of them that her denial would be an insult, she had no choice but to tip the bowl upwards and take a large swig of the soup. Swallowing the once boiling liquid as swiftly as possible so as to prevent her tastebuds from reacting to it as it flowed by, she downed it in it's entirety and set out her bowl graciously for more. She'd learned a broken version of the soup's name in the reindeer's language, and after hailing over a nearby reindeer and repeated the words until he understood her request for more.
It was some sort of concoction created using a large quantity of fungi that the caribou had collected and were using as their primary food source. She found it ironic that equines saw her own eating habits as disgusting and uncivilized when they were willing to eat mushy growths collected from the dirt, but she kept those observations to herself.
Although the gathered reindeer were all staring at her with curiosity, they were all off to the side and quite deliberately keeping their distance. They had more than likely never seen a changeling before, but she could imagine they'd heard stories about her species. Even the King, who had thankfully remained hospitable, had left her shortly after she had decided to stay. He'd apparently given orders to have food taken to her, because not long after he'd left the bowl was brought over and placed in the snow directly in front of her by a doe who quickly trotted away as if in fear.
And so she was left sitting alone, wondering why she was there wasting time to begin with. At least her request for more food was heard, because in time Corolla trotted over and set the bowl down in front of her as if she were some sort of animal in a zoo. She gave him a curt nod and floated the bowl up in her magic, not even noticing that it was working.
"Do you mind if I sit?" Corolla asked hopefully, sitting down before she had a chance to tell him that she'd prefer to be alone. "Good soup, isn't it?"
"Changelings don't normally eat this sort of thing," Chrysalis replied, moving to take a large gulp of the soup and quickly altering the elevation of the bowl so that it was a light sip instead. "By nature we find almost all material foods disgusting in terms of taste. However, your soup seems to be the most tolerable food I've eaten yet."
"You're quite the charmer, Miss Chrysalis," Corolla chuckled, before shifting the conversation. "So you're going to take on Discord all alone? That seems very brave..."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried. But it's not like I have anything to loose."
"It's hard to believe that such a young changeling like yourself would have to bear so much responsibility."
"I may be youthful in the petty scale of years," she spoke through a mouthful of soup. "But I'm also the daughter of the greatest changeling Queen of all time, Queen Elytra. And it is for her soul that I am fighting."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Chrysalis."
This time it was her turn to chuckle.
"Oh, you are, are you? Well you won't be nearly as sorry as Discord or Princess Luna when I'm done with them," she threw the wooden bowl to the ground and watched it roll across the snow. "They took everything from me. And after I've spilled draconequus and alicorn blood into the soil, I'll gladly take this pathetic world of shadows as a surrogate to my lost kingdom."
If the air between the changeling and caribou stag wasn't tense, it certainly was after Chrysalis had finished speaking. Corolla shuffled a little bit back and picked up her fallen bowl, fearfully turning it over and over in his hoof.
"I like your species, Corolla. If I really am successfully in seizing control of Equestria I'll make sure you all receive the same treatment that you have given me."
Looking around at the vast majority of his own species purposefully shunning and silently judging the young changeling Queen, Corolla wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. If what Chrysalis had said about Luna was true, then she was more than overly ambitious. She was insane.
"What...why do you bear a grudge against Princess Luna?" he ventured, cringing as the question left his lips.
"Why? Because she is the reason for this eternal night! Have you not heard the rumors that she murdered her own sister, Princess Celestia?"
"Those are mere rumors—"
"That exist for a reason! There are eyewitnesses who state they saw a shadowy figure with the same backside mark as Princess Luna! They say the magic used to kill Celestia belongs to the Elements of Harmony! Who, but Luna, could have wielded them?" Chrysalis was on her feet now, nearly shouting down at the terrified stag. If she had not had an audience amongst the reindeer population, she certainly did now. "All evidence points to the Lunar Princess! And therefore she'll get the same treatment as the draconequus!"
A few shocked gasps rung out from the observing population, and Corolla continued looking up at her with wide eyes, still endlessly juggling the wooden bowl. Even the King was looking at Chrysalis and slowly shaking his head disapprovingly. Out of the corner of her eye, Chrysalis saw the mother fawn from earlier shield her infants ears and usher them into the protection of one of the wooden tents. Taking a deep breath, Chrysalis fluttered her wings in annoyance and rolled her eyes.
"What are you all looking at?!" she exploded, only causing them to cower further. Sitting back down, she took another deep breath and took to fiddling awkwardly with her cloak. "So...uh...Corolla. Where did you learn to speak Equish?"
Corolla did not answer.
"Geez you things are sensitive," she muttered. "If you're just going to sit there being mopey—"
"This isn't my tribe. I'm an elk. Surely you noticed?"
Her mother had always been trying to drill in the minute differences between every single equine species, and she had more often than not ignored her mother's teachings or else forgotten them completely. The sad truth even she knew was that there had probably been changeling drones that were more knowledgeable than she was about shape-shifting.
"I grew up close to a small pony village. We did a lot of trading and such there, and many of the other elk already spoke Equish to begin with."
"How did you end up with these lot then?"
"I..uhh...I'm the last one of my tribe. I was out gathering mushrooms from a nearby cave and when I returned...well, everyone was...gone."
"They left?"
"No. They were dead."
"Ah, I see."
"So I fled North."
"Obviously."
After a few moments silence, Chrysalis motioned around at the reindeer who had finally begun to ignore her and go about their normal routines.
"So how'd you end up with all these deer—"
"Caribou."
"Whatever. How'd you end up with them?" She already knew the answer, obviously, but if she could somehow trick this idiot into feeling some sort of connection with her then she might be able to feast on a little bit of his emotions. She'd felt it since he'd first sat down with the bowl of soup; Corolla obviously had some sort of sympathetic drive towards his kind actions towards her. While it was incredibly unorthodox, it wasn't completely impossible to manipulate a creature into expressing emotions that could be feed on, without even transforming. She'd never seen or heard of any changeling doing it personally, but it was always possible.
"This is too easy," Chrysalis thought to herself as she wordlessly watched the stag talk and talk while adding in the occasional nod or exclamation to make it look like she actually cared. What she was really thinking about was whether or not she would keep Luna alive long enough to show her what her kingdom had become under the reign of changelings. Make her understand how it felt to have everything you care about stolen from you.
With a start, she realized Corolla was looking at expectantly for some sort of response to some question she had not heard.
"Yes...uhh, certainly," she muttered, putting on a smug grin. Corolla laughed and nodded his head.
"I thought you'd say that. You're a lot nicer then you seem, Miss Chrysalis."
"You aren't completely despicable yourself."
"Are all changelings as bad as you are at compliments?" Corolla let out another boyish giggle. The moment the words left his mouth and he saw Chrysalis's reaction, her instantly realized what he'd just said and cursed in his own language.
"I'm sorry, Chrysalis...I wasn't thinking."
"Yes, well, it's quite alright," Internally, she was running through a dozen insults and trying to find the one that best suited him. "Not like you wouldn't understand the feeling of being completely alone, right?"
Nearly squealing with gleeful delight, Chrysalis suddenly felt a massive surge of what very well could have been love energy suddenly bursting to life. It was difficult to believe, but it seemed like she was actually doing it. Against all measures of possibility, she was actually manipulating a creature without using anything other than her own tongue. Of course, it came at the massive price of having to swallow all her pride, and she wasn't exactly going to look back at this as one of the greatest moments, but if she really was successful then she would already have done something her mother had already deemed 'impossible.'
For more than an hour she stayed with Corolla, long after the rest of the caribou tribe had gone into their homes and off to sleep. She continued talking with him, occasionally slipping in a compliment or some exaggerated tragic bit of her past for him to seethe and sympathize over. The fact that he was even still with her and had not left yet proved he found something interesting about her, and all she had to do was stoke the flames. Over the course of the time they were speaking, Corolla had slowly repositioned himself to a more casual position than his seat at least eight feet away from a creature he'd initially regarded as terrifying. Now, he was sitting almost right next to her. After a grueling eternity of dialogue, Chrysalis felt like she was finally reaching some sort of emotional breakthrough with Corolla.
"So your species can shapeshift at will?" he asked her. She was almost relieved for a question about herself, listening to him speak about his own trite and boring life was starting to get tiresome.
"Well, yes. We're called changelings, I really though it was pretty obvious."
Apparently he took her insult as joke, because he chuckled lightly at it and continued.
"Can you show me?"
"No." she said firmly, shaking her head. "Not that I don't want to. Normally I could, but right now I have barely enough energy to stay alive, let alone shapeshift at will. Sometimes, changelings get stuck in a disguise because they don't have the energy to change back out. I don't want to end up trying to cross the Frozen North in the body of a monarch butterfly."
"I'd imagine that would be troublesome," Corolla agreed. "So...wait, you mentioned energy...you mean food, right?"
"Is Equestria really this oblivious to changeling biology? We should've invaded you years ago," she grinned, but really was only half joking. "No, I don't mean food, like that brown goo you gave me earlier. Changelings feed on things like love and hate and fear. The latter two are vile and sometimes even harmful depending on the changeling."
"But...but love is good?"
"Love is great. Love is the best."
"That it is," Corolla said idly, and for a second Chrysalis could have sworn he'd leaned in towards her. He was blushing slightly and the scent of love in the air was almost enough to make her cough.
"You know these aren't just for looking good, right?" she warned, pointing a hoof at her long, razor sharp fangs.
"W...what?"
"Oh, come on! I'm not stupid! I know what you're thinking."
"I guess I can't really hide emotions from you, can I?"
"Even if I wasn't a changeling that'd be a given," she sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was as dense as you Equestrians. I'd have a lot less worries."
Corolla didn't reply to her gibe, it looked to Chrysalis like he was reminiscing about something. With growing fear, she started to realize that as he continued thinking, the scent of love was also growing. It would seem that it hadn't been her at all that she'd assumed his emotions were directed at. She must have just reminded him of someone he knew, and caused him to think about them.
"I...I don't suppose you saw any of my tribe on your journey?" He asked eventually.
"No," she muttered irritably. "You're the first ones I've seen since the ponies in Canterville."
"Dammit. I know some of them survived, and I've been looking everywhere for them. One of them was...well, she was close to me."
Chrysalis didn't reply right away, for she quite enjoyed dragging out the awkward silence so long as it was not at her expense. Corolla didn't add anything to his previous statement, but she could tell by the consistent measurements of love in the air that he was still thinking about her.
After awhile, she felt cold, curious eyes on her and turned to face Corolla, who was looking at her as if she'd just transformed into a minotaur.
"You didn't seriously think that I...and...and you..."
"That I thought you saw me as any less than an insect-like freak? No, I assure you I didn't think that."
"I didn't mean that!" he protested.
"But you were thinking it. I'm not offended. I'm quite used to it. My species isn't renown for our 'hug-able' nature." Chrysalis felt a shiver rush down her spine and straightened her cloak so she was both covered by and laying on it, instead of on the snow. "We're not renown for anything, really. My mother said that once, Princess Luna formally declared us 'pests.'"
"Really? She did?"
"Yes. Good to know it was made official," Of course, Elytra had been on relatively good terms with Princess Luna long after that statement had shook and insulted the changeling population. If she remembered her history lessons correctly, Luna and Celestia had once fought a bloody battle to liberate a griffon city that had been taken over by changelings, and Luna had made the statement shortly after.
"Anyways," she shook her head clear of archaic changeling history and cleared her throat nervously. The pulsing of the love had grown dim again, and if she didn't do something she would loose it. "Enough about myself. Tell me about your...umm, doe is the term, correct?"
"Yeah. It is."
And with that, Chrysalis tuned out of the conversation and instead shifted her focus on detecting the trace fluctuations in love energy being triggered by his memories. It would seem that she'd become very talented at simply watching someone's lips move while completely disregarding whatever it actually was that they were saying. An odd, numbing calm seemed to seep over her, preventing her from being surprised when she noticed she was once again salivating, her hunger growing in sync with the pulsating measurements of love in the air.
Suddenly, a massive spike in love energy caused something even she did not truly understand to happen. In a moment, her desperation and instincts overpowered her self-control, and Chrysalis suddenly leaped to her feet. As Corolla started to rise as well, she used her magic to paralyze the elk stag, and before he even had a chance to cry out, she sunk her sharp teeth into the side of his neck, disconnected, and spat blood out into the snow. She'd never fed by way of leeching before, but nevertheless it seemed to be coming natural to her.
Too scared to do anything much more than whimper, Corolla had little defense as she once again fired up her magic and used it to forcibly suck out every ounce of love energy she could. In mere seconds she already felt life start coursing through her veins, and for the first time in years felt like she wasn't inches from fainting from exhaustion. The last bit of love coursed it's way through her horn and into the rest of the body, and she felt relieved and satisfied.
"Oh, shut up," she muttered down at the convulsing elk as licked the blood off her teeth. "You'll live. My apologies, by the way. Circle of life, Corolla, I know you'll understand."
Swiftly, she moved to take to the air and make a hasty escape, but found that her flimsy insect wings were still being pressed against her side by the heavy cloak she was wearing.
Of course, she swore internally. She'd forgotten she'd even had the wings after not having to use them for years.
A loud, furious yell interrupted her thoughts, which were oddly calm and collected, and she whipped around to face half a dozen mortified reindeer. To her knowledge, she'd struck silently and taken enough measures to have prevented being discovered at least for a few seconds, but it seemed like she'd miscalculated a bit. The expression on their faces was the most horrified look Chrysalis had ever seen, and yet she didn't feel any real guilt for what she had just done. It had been to survive, and it wasn't like she hadn't tried to find a violence free solution.
With their translator currently immobilized, Chrysalis had no way of really explaining herself, then again she couldn't think of any words that existed that could justify what she'd just done. She thought of ripping off her cloak and taking to the air, but promptly decided she would still need it if she was heading north.
"I'm sorry about all this," she addressed no one in particular but was genuine and honest in her apology, even if she knew it was in a language only she understood. "A minor little cut is a small price to pay for the survival of my race."
With that, she gave them a curt and only semi-sarcastic bow, and began looking around. Her mind was still operating at a sluggish calm, but despite it she found an opening in the clearing and carefully examined it. It was thick with a great multitude of sharp looking underbrush. The branches and brambles were so dense that Chrysalis could see patches of dirt where snow had failed to perviate through, but it still looked possible for a relatively small changeling like herself to traverse through. Quickly she sprinted towards it, leaping over Corolla and tearing off into the night. The rest of the reindeer were hot on her tail and she was more than certain they would be faster then her, and would catch up in very little time.
Doing her best to ignore the dozens of branches instantly decimating her sides as she ran, Chrysalis shot a quick burst of magic behind her which exploded into flames and caked a large portion of thin underbrush in ashes. In seconds it, too, burst into flames, even despite the snow. The fire quickly crept up the trees but didn't make it a lot further up in the wet and cold. The fires she'd created didn't last longer than a minute as she ran, but the cover of smoke was fantastic for blotting out the path of her escape. Fortunately it seemed like even the wind was on her side, because as she fled it was blowing in her direction, forcing the smoke out of her escape path and into that of her pursuers.
Wincing as a particularly sharp branch dug into her side, Chrysalis tore through the thick foliage and carried on, never ceasing nor even slowing her sprint. After minutes of solid running, she tore through the last of the gradually thinning foliage and tree cover and into the Equestrian Tundra.
Collapsing in a heap, Chrysalis let out a triumphant cheer as she turned to face the forest of billowing smoke, screaming a few choice words at the reindeer and generally feeling fantastic. Her mood did not even damper when she examined the injuries she'd sustained during her escape, nor when she noticed that it was in fact a dull arrow and not a stick that had dug into her side. Grimacing as she yanked out the rusty projectile, she screamed a few more insults in the direction of the forest and piled some snow onto her injuries. Her thick cloak had for the most part helped to shield her, but it was torn in shreds and the icy wind was now no longer a friend and instead a nuisance.
Using a bit more twine from her saddlepack to fix her cloak, Chrysalis crept to her feet and let out a long, exhausted sigh, watching her breath rise and dissolve. Feeling energetic, confident, and only slightly guilty for what she had just done, she took her first step forwards, knowing that the culmination of thousands would eventually bring her to victory.
The echoing slam of the huge doors resounded across the entirety of King Sombra's castle as Nightmare Moon flung them open and marched dutifully across the empty room. It seemed like just yesterday that she and Luna had first been here, with so much more drive and motivation then either of them currently possessed.
"I am here to speak with King Sombra!" she announced, her voice carrying intrusively across every corner of the castle. "And yes, it's Nightmare Moon! Stay your guards, Sombra, because I don't want to have to shed any of their blood on your nice clean marble floor."
"You!" Sombra's familiar voice growled in response, sounding out from the shadows of the dimly lit room. "The monster herself! I must admit, that new look quite fits the pathetic mare you chose to lend your power to!"
"Oh, don't ask so surprised. Nor so hostile. I simply want to ask you a few questions."
Without any further hesitation, King Sombra appeared in front of Nightmare Moon in a fashion she herself had become accustomed to doing. Except while she had appeared and disappeared in a purple mist, King Sombra's was a reddish-black hue that complimented the magic of his horn. He was wearing the same gradient red cape that he had before, along with a silver crown which seemed to be directly connected to his horn, which flowed with a magical aura even when he was not using it. The way he was glaring at Nightmare Moon, it was clear that he intended some sort of assault against her.
"Don't even think about it, Sombra," Nightmare Moon sneered. "You lost to Luna in the past, and I can guarantee you'll meet the same fate against myself."
She kept walking until she was face to face with the unicorn king. Taller than both Celestia and Luna, Nightmare Moon easily dwarfed Sombra, too, and she had to look down to lock eyes with him. It was a good feeling to feel so superior to such a notorious foe. Sombra didn't look even remotely intimidated by her stature, but she had not been expecting him to show it even if he did.
"First of all," she began when he did not speak. "I hate to break it to you, but you aren't King Sombra. And this isn't the Crystal Empire, and out there isn't Equestria. You're living in a fantasy world, Sombra. A dream."
"You're insane. You always have been."
"Well, yes. Obviously. But what I said is true. You're a projection, Sombra. A product of Luna's memory, brought to life by the world of dreams, thinking—"
"Then how d—"
Sombra's sentence was abruptly cut off as he was flung backwards by a sudden blast from Nightmare Moon's horn. He hit the marble floor harmlessly and quickly scrambled to his feet, stunned and surprised but otherwise perfectly fine. Injuring him had not been her intention, after all. The second he was back on his feet he started towards Nightmare Moon and shot a magic bolt at her which she deflected, causing it to ricochet off the roof above and shatter one of the painted glass windows.
"Don't you dare interrupt me again," she spoke, her anger blooming but the volume of her voice remaining consistent. "I don't have time to waste here. Every moment is precious, so shut up and co-operate! Or the next time I'll throw you out one of those windows instead of onto the floor."
"I have no fear of you, Nightmare," Sombra said, letting her name slide of his tongue coated in malice and sarcasm.
"If you weren't such an idiot, you would. All I want is answers but if you want to make this difficult then I'm more than happy to oblige. Surely you, too, have noticed the changes taking place here?"
"Mayhaps I did. Why would I benefit from telling you?"
"Because right now I'm the only pony standing between peace and chaos..."
Realization dawning on her, Nightmare Moon let the rest of her sentence dissipate as the last word she had spoken echoed in her brain. Chaos...of course. She should've known.
"Discord was here, wasn't he? In Luna's mind?"
Sombra shook his head smugly in a refusal to answer. Nightmare Moon let out a frustrated scream of fury that was loud enough to shatter the remaining glass windowpanes.
"Answer!"
"Yes! He was!" Sombra rolled his eyes and looked at Nightmare Moon with an expression that clearly told her he took her for a fool. In retrospect, it was quite obvious.
"Alright. I gathered that much. Lured us both down here, tried to trap Luna forever while I took her place. But this place is colliding with...with reality. How can that be?"
"What are you talking about?" Sombra muttered, clearly lost, yet intrigued. Nightmare Moon took solace in this, after all, it kept him from trying to attack her for the time being.
"Look, we're in a Dreamworld now. Dreams are fake. They disappear when we wake up. That much is obvious. But what happens when our nightmares start bleeding their way out of minds and into reality...?" It was said as a question, and surprisingly enough Sombra answered.
"Fears...fears that could only exist without the confines of reality, suddenly running rampant across the waking world. A nightmare none could rise from."
"And Hearth's Warming Eve to a chaos god," Nightmare mused. It looked as though she was finally getting somewhere. She'd worked out the why, but the how was still a mystery. "Look, Sombra, I realize you hate me and I understand why you do, but I really need your help here."
"What do I gain from helping you?"
"Well, I was trying to be nice," Nightmare Moon lulled, her calm voice a stark contrast against her threatening words. "I'll be more blunt. Help me or I'll end you. Capiche?"
Sombra laughed, a raucous and patronizing laugh. The threat flew completely past him and he put on a wide grin.
"Yes, hilarious," said Nightmare Moon, contemplating flinging the stallion out the window and deciding against it. "Too bad I'm not joking. Is there anyway something like this can be achieved?"
"Why are you even asking me?!"
"Because I need SOMEONE to rant to! Point is, this whole place has been constructed by Discord using Luna's memories, including those of you, and it would seem he's done something additional. Something that allows him to terrorize ponies using their own nightmares."
"Princess Luna's specialty is dream magic, yes?" Sombra pondered, closing his eyes as he thought. "And Discord's magic is that of chaos. So then is it not possible that he could have forcibly used Luna's magic in the realm of dreams in conjunction with his own relative omnipotence?"
"Right. Perfect," Nightmare Moon murmured. "She has the ability to manipulate and walk through dreams, and it looks as though he's tapped into that magic somehow."
"Indeed. If Luna is capable of crossing into other ponies dreams, it is probable that other ponies fears might start manifesting themselves as well. I do not even need to tell you that you can't let that happen."
The dull crunching of glass under Nightmare Moon's hooves were the only reply he received as she paced back and forth. It was somewhat clear to her now what was going on, but she couldn't even begin to think of a way to solve any of it. There existed much worse things in the nightmares of ponies then what could be found in Luna's dreams, and if what Sombra was saying was right, then there would be a whole new level of chaos they would have to deal with.
"You're thinking of ways of preventing this?" Sombra asked. "Well, unless you have some way of preventing ponies from dreaming, there will be no end. My advice to you is to pray Luna defeats Discord fast enough. Anything else is out of our control."
Four days after leaving the forest behind, Queen Chrysalis finally caught sight of what looked like an enormous pyramid-like tower jutting upwards far, far off in the distance. Leading in the direction of the fabled Crystal Empire was a straight path of tall poles that housed long burned out torches, which must have illuminated a road now buried in snow. The second she first spotted one looming ahead out of the snow, she felt her heart skip a beat with excitement and broke out into a full trot until she made it to what had once been the road to the Crystal Empire. The snow was deep enough that she could reach up and tap the glass cylinder that had once contained a candle, but under normal circumstances she imagined these lights were quite tall.
It was also her first clue that perhaps the changelings had been wrong about the Crystal Empire being buried in snow. Evidently it hadn't been if there existed a road leading to it; if she were to wager a guess, the crystal ponies had put together some sort of artificial climate separate from the frigid cold of the arctic. It still seemed unnecessarily complicated, but the desire for isolation was something she certainly understood. And what place was more isolated than the very top of the world?
Even more impressive then the tower or the road or the Crystal Empire itself, was the sun. As she'd continued traveling north, the dark of night had slowly but surely started giving way to a crepuscular twilight, until eventually even the sun was visible, just hardly dipping over the horizon line. The cold was still too intense for it to make any difference, and even with the sun shining, it was faint and the night still reigned supreme even here. But it was the first time Chrysalis realized that not all of Equus had been affected the same way by the eternal night as Equestria had. At the very best they would have a similar state of twilight, albeit perhaps a little darker, and at the very worst even the moon would be gone. The reality of the situation was that the moon hadn't necessarily been frozen, but rather the celestial orbits had been, which in turn would give the illusion of eternal night.
Chrysalis couldn't help but be drawn back in time to her youth, when she was still being taught all the basic of the little blue planet she and every species called home. She imagined the ponies and deer and everything in between would be shocked at the civility and normality of what changeling society actually was. She'd been taught the same way she'd come to understand ponies had been, in collective ensembles of pupils all being taught by an elder. Schools, she believed they were called here in Equestria. In those days, she hadn't known anything about what her future had held, all she knew was that the hivemind was supposed to command her and she must heed whatever the Queen dictated through it. The problem was, no matter how hard she tried, she was constantly unable to hear anything through the hivemind. She remembered the countless times she had gotten punished by an elder because she didn't do what she hadn't known she'd been told to do.
Even as a changeling, she'd been considered an outcast when she tried to explain that the hivemind didn't exist for her. She'd quickly been deemed a worthless changeling, unable to operate functionally and therefore a burden to changeling society. Still she pressed on, teaching herself how to transform and feed off love and showing to the elders that she was still capable. But despite being entirely self-taught and perhaps one of the youngest changelings she knew to possess so much knowledge about the world, it was still not enough to convince anyone that she was worthy of respect and consideration. She could flawlessly shapeshift a hundred times, but her first mistake would result in ridicule and scorn from the elders. Secretly she hated each and every elder she saw, but she didn't dare express it. The ancient changelings used their age to proclaim superiority and call her worthless when they themselves did nothing to help the changeling kingdom.
The life of changelings wasn't measured in years, but a unit called 'cycles' which existed solely to exemplify the grandeur of the Queen. One cycle defined the total average age of a changeling, which was measured at eighty years. A changeling of twenty years would therefore be aged at a 'quarter cycle,' where they would remain at that interval until they reached the next quarter. With such a system, the changeling society was broken into four distinct age groups: the nymphs, the drones, the imagos, and the elders. An elder was a changeling who was still alive at a third-quarter cycle or higher, whilst the imago was the reproductive age of changelings where many died in the process of laying their eggs.
Her mother had been twenty two cycles old when she shocked the entirety of the Changeling Empire with a completely unprecedented announcement.
When Chrysalis was seven in Equestrian years, Queen Elytra announced through the hivemind that she had a daughter, who would be thereby known as Princess Chrysalis. She told every changeling of how this new princess was to succeed her after her passing.
Chrysalis herself had not even heard the news of her ascent into royalty personally as it had been passed across a means she could not access. She'd learned that the reason she couldn't read the hivemind wasn't because she was incapable, but because she was never meant to obey it. She was meant to control it.
It was another common misconception amongst the ponies of Equestria that all changelings were born to a singular mother, the Queen. This was assumed for a variety of reasons, but mainly because the hivemind was known to stem from the mind of the Queen, as well as the fact that at the end of each Queen's lifecycle, the majority of the changeling population would wither and die and only several dozen would remain alive. This was attributed to the severed hivemind links between the changeling drones collecting love energy, which was fed instantly back to the Queen and then distributed across every changeling evenly. With the Queen's death, the hivemind shut down and changelings died as a result.
Regardless of the Queen's exclusive importance in her Empire, changeling eggs were still laid by changeling parents. It was, quite shockingly to many, that easy. However, quite unlike ponies, changelings carried little to no sentimental attachment to their eggs, perhaps because to do so would be to assume the responsibility of a hundred children. Instead, the changelings were left to hatch and when they did it was the entirety of changeling society that brought them up as opposed to a single family.
Of course, the Queen was capable of reproducing without the existence of another changeling, whilst every other imago was not. That, Chrysalis had learned, was what had happened with her. Anticipating her lifespan drawing to a gradual close, Elytra had made precautions for the continued survival of the changeling race.
Shell-shocked but ecstatic, Chrysalis met her ascent with enthusiasm and tried harder then ever to hone her abilities as a changeling. She still required lessons from elders but the respect she had gained meant she almost enjoyed proving her abilities to them now. She saw very little of her mother, who practically existed by mention of her name alone. Still, life in the Queen's immense cavern home was a vast improvement over life in the nymph cavern where the most prominent memories Chrysalis carried were getting into trouble for provoking fights with other changelings.
Eventually, three years after her ascent, on one of the rare occasions when her mother was present, Chrysalis finally posed a single question that had been on her mind since that one fateful day.
"Why not sooner?" she had asked, pushing away her plate of gelatinous green ooze that was essentially physical love.
"I beg your pardon, Chrysalis?" Her mother's voice was cold and challenging, the way it always was even when there was no conflict or confrontation present.
"You waited seven years to tell them I was your daughter. Why?"
"Do I detect blame in your voice, Chrysalis?"
"N...no," she lied. "I'm just asking."
"Well, although I see no reason why it is your place to know, the reason is because I simply wanted to see if you were ready," Elytra pointed a hoof at Chrysalis's plate of love and narrowed her eyes. Reluctantly Chrysalis returned her meal to its unwelcomed position in front of her and resumed eating.
"You see, Chrysalis, independence is not something changelings have in bountiful reserves. The ability to think and act freely is foreign and alien to them. But it is a necessity for a Queen. Do not think for a second I haven't been watching you, my dear. And don't think you haven't made me immensely proud at how much responsibility you have shown at your age."
Looking back at that memory, Chrysalis couldn't imagine that Elytra would ever have imagined the changeling's survival being in as much jeopardy as it was now. Nor the possibility that so much responsibility would end up resting on her kin. She knew for a fact that her mother had never once considered the extinction of the changeling race being a prominent issue, but for Chrysalis it was currently an omnipresent concern. With her death, the hivemind would be split again, the eggs Elytra had ordered stockpiled would never hatch, and the changeling youth inside would eventually perish.
But she wasn't prepared even for a second to let that happen. Putting on a determined face, Chrysalis increased the intensity and speed of her steps and continued on in the direction of the Crystal Empire.
Besides the tall tower dominating the horizon, there were several other smaller looking buildings ahead, also reflecting the orange sun now native to this part of the land alone. They were largely glass (or, crystal now that she considered it) in material, only serving to add to the pathetic impracticality of the whole city existing in the first place. She thought that perhaps for a few fleeting moments, she could hear some sort of drone in the distance, but it was quieter than the wind and only at times when it welled down could she anything else at all. In the end, she decided that it must have been her imagination and the city ahead must have been abandoned.
Of course, she still expected to encounter at least a few Crystal Ponies on her way to the tower, where she assumed the Crystal Heart would be. A few stragglers, refusing to leave their town. With love energy flowing comfortably through her body, she relished in the beautiful fact that they wouldn't be a problem to her at all anymore. Now, she could afford to be ruthless again.
In half an hours time, Chrysalis finally passed through a rickety and sparkling crystal archway that was most likely supposed to look royal and dignified but to her just looked silly. Only a species as materialistic as ponies would waste so much valuable crystal creating so many pointless things, that served aesthetic purposes exclusively. Give them one single year of changeling life, where every day was a struggle for survival, and they'd realize how petty they really were. Truthfully, she couldn't wait until her business in Equestria was finally complete and she could skulk back across the badlands and return to her home for the first time in four years. The trees and scenery here in Equestria were quite beautiful, she couldn't deny that, but it carried no real emotional value to her whatsoever. Besides, the land of the changelings was beautiful in its own right; the horizon doted in every direction with towering natural spires of slime and rock, the moonlight reflecting across the insect-wing-like leaves of the trees native only to her kingdom. True, everything was bleak and dark, the brightest of summer days no more than a dull twilight, but the land carried a certain mystery and abstractness that appealed to her. It might not have been beauty in the conventional sense, but conventional more often than not turned out to be disappointing.
"Perhaps that's why this crystal kingdom looks so strange," she reasoned, craning her neck to watch the orange sun dancing across the falling snow and mirror buildings.
The central tower was undoubtedly the hub of the city, and therefore where she was headed to find the crystal heart. It was a largely pointed structure, balanced almost precariously on four legs. The wind and cold was starting to show wear on the tower, for many cracks snaked along its sides, across broken windows and bits of concrete balcony frozen by ice in an eternal state of collapsing. She felt a chill not caused by the arctic cold rush down her spine as she craned her neck upwards and followed the tower's reach far into the unbridled purplish hues of the twilight sky. Chrysalis considered herself fortunate she'd chosen to come here, because in several decades the castle would more than likely begin the slow waltz of decomposition, the cold preserving it only enough to make it's demise stretch over the centuries. It was both the most beautiful and most depressing thing Chrysalis could honestly say she had laid her eyes on. The latter seemed surprising to her considering she felt no sentimentality towards the creatures who'd built it.
Or at least, she liked to believe she didn't. Stranger things had happened to her in the past four years, and anything was possible. She had half a mind to call out to see if there was anypony else in this frozen ghost town, but couldn't find a reason to justify doing such a thing. Whether or not it would be reassuring to know she wasn't alone, she had no idea. Part of her was simply sick of being alone, while the other had too much pride to agree.
Slowly, Chrysalis reached up to her neck with a hoof and cautiously tugged at the twine keeping her cloak snug against her sides, and in a moment it came undone and fell in a pile in the snow. Immediately, her wings were whipped out and catching the full blunt of the cold winter wind. Filling her gaze again with the uppermost reaches of the Crystal Castle, she began buzzing her wings and lifting off the snow. Unlike a pegasus or alicorn, a changeling's wings relied on speed and not size nor strength to achieve flight. Certainly, the paper thin wings were fragile enough that nearly anything could damage them, and the necessity to flap at ridiculous speeds made flight unpopular with changelings.
Years of being earthbound made her first attempt to take flight end abruptly as she swerved and crashed into one of the legs of the castle. Cursing between heavy panting, Chrysalis shook her head furiously and tried again. Her second attempt at becoming airborne was met with a similar result, but her third finally saw her rising higher and higher until the cracked and broken glass and crystal of the tower was rushing by her on one side and the threatening tundra unfurling like a tapestry on her other. Without her cloak she already felt her muscles starting to go numb as they were beat mercilessly by the elements, but she willed herself forwards.
Looking down to give her watering eyes recluse from the wind, she was surprised to see that her ascent had an audience. Around half a dozen crystal ponies were faintly visible, watching with curiosity at the strange creature rising to the top of the tower like a moth to a torch. They all looked to be wearing layer upon layer of thick clothing, so that only their eyes were exposed. Tracing their deep tracks in the snow, Chrysalis saw that they had all come from one of the many crystal buildings. This one's windows were glowing with the signs of firelight, something she had not noticed until now. Chrysalis wondered why they still remained in the first place; if they were meant to be guarding the Crystal Castle then they'd certainly done a miserable job, but any other reason she couldn't think of. Perhaps they simply did not want to leave home and would rather brave the cold then do so.
It was at least a hundred miles to the forest alone (now that Chrysalis thought about it, she had made better time then she'd given herself credit for) meaning that every time they needed food, they would need to traverse this incomprehensible distance. Falling asleep in the snow had been one of the scariest and most difficult things Chrysalis had ever had to do. She'd slept perhaps three hours, and when she woke up she was quite certain it was her body telling her that any longer without physical activity to warm herself up and she never would have woken up at all. To imagine having to make that journey on a monthly basis perplexed Chrysalis. Then again, the lengths ponies seemed to be going to in order to evade Discord's tyranny really did justify such an act. It was with vivid clarity that she remembered her last and (not counting when her mother was slain) first encounter with Discord.
She had been hiding in the shadows of a long abandoned house as the sounds of screams and wicked laughter run out from outside. Her fear had been so rich in those moments that she was genuinely surprised she hadn't been able to feed on it herself. The most terrifying part of the whole ordeal to her was the fact that Discord knew where she was hiding, and more importantly who she was. He'd killed her mother and yet he'd seen her escape. And then when the opportunity arose to finish the job, he'd chosen not to. The question of why had been at the forefront of her mind ever since.
Almost immediately after she pierced through the clouds did the final spire of the Crystal Castle come into full view. Chrysalis instantly gasped in surprise at a sizable hole that had been forcibly blasted into the side of the crystal by magic. It looked...fairly fresh, but regardless of how old it was it's existence proved one thing and one thing alone.
She wasn't the first one here.
Biting her lip and resiting the urge to scream out in frustration, she slowed the buzzing of her wings and oriented herself so her flightpath would take her through the hole and into the uppermost room of the Crystal Castle.
The interior of the castle should have been dark, but it was lit by the glowing crystals that made up every wall, floor, and ceiling. Intricate chandeliers (also crystal) hung from the ceiling, all leading up a staircase where a black alicorn was standing with it's wings unfurled. It looked like a curtain of dark magic existed around her alone, because despite the relatively well lit room her face and body were both concealed almost completely. The only visible feature Chrysalis could see was her icy blue eyes, which were glowing like the crystals surrounding her.
"Looking for this, I presume," Luna's voice came as a dull, almost disinterested monotone. Carelessly, she flung the Crystal Heart down the stairs where it tumbled down and down. The lost and fabled changeling artifact, Chrysalis's one true chance for salvation, being thrown about like it was some idle plaything. "Go ahead, Princess Chrysalis. Take it."
Anger and confusion fighting for mastery in her mind, Chrysalis looked down at the Crystal Heart that had landed near her feet, frightened to touch it but also amazed to see that it actually existed. But...Luna couldn't just be giving it to her, no, this was certainly some sort of trap. And Chrysalis was no fool. Instead she walked straight past the Crystal Heart and began mounting the steps towards Princess Luna.
"Oh?" Luna stepped forward, out of the veil of darkness so that her armor suddenly burst into reflected crystal light. "You've come so far, my dear, and now you simply disregard the thing you've been looking for? I am correct, aren't I, Princess?"
"It's Queen!" Chrysalis was close enough to Luna now where she was able to follow her furious statement by spitting at her feet. "You treacherous, murderous swine!"
"Q...Queen..." Luna staggered a little on the steps, recovered, and brought a hoof to her head whilst grimacing, as if an unpleasant thought had occurred to her. As if Elytra was no more than an unpleasant thought. "Queen...Then your mother..."
"She's dead! And it's your fault! You and Discord both!"
"I...I'm so sorry, Pr...Queen Chrysalis," Luna took a step forward as if to console Chrysalis, but was promptly pushed back. Even as she lost balance and fell from Chrysalis's shove, she rose to her feet still murmuring apologies. "I am so, so sorry. I had no idea..."
"Apologies..." Chrysalis sneered, surprised by Luna's sympathetic attitude but still remaining on the offensive. "The magic words you ponies spew, thinking that a few 'sorrys' can absolve you of the worst of crimes. You make me sick, Princess Luna."
"Yes, I can understand you feeling that way," Luna answered, and Chrysalis bristled at the unsuspected remark. Had Luna been rehearsing this? Preparing the ultimate phrases to make her look like the villain?
"I know the truth in what you speak," Luna continued. "I myself have had the burden of having to forgive the unforgivable when all they have offered me is their word. Their word, against the crimes they have done, means very little, doesn't it?"
This time, Chrysalis was at a complete loss. The most she could do was curse internally, because this was the absolute opposite of what she had been expecting to happen. She'd been expecting a snide and insincere Princess, and what she got instead was a pathetic lump of pity and sadness. Was Luna seriously sharing her feelings?!
"I suppose you want retribution, then?" Luna said, closing her eyes and once again unfurling her wings wide, like a gargoyle on an old Gothic cathedral. "Justice for your passed mother by way of the death of her killer?"
"Yes," Chrysalis said bitterly through clenched teeth. "That's exactly what I want."
"Then go ahead."
"W...what?"
"Go ahead, my dear. Kill me."
Luna opened her eyes again and a tiny grin joined her cold avian eyes.
"Carry out your justice."
Chrysalis blinked in shock. There was no magic shield around Luna, no magic whatsoever. A quick burst of magic, even a small one if she aimed for the heart, could kill the Princess dead and yet she was doing nothing. Even more striking, she was inviting such an action. And from her voice, she hadn't even made it seem like a trap. She'd said it as if she was genuinely presenting Chrysalis with the opportunity. If she were to take it...what sort of satisfaction would she gain? Striking an undefended mare dead moments after she had apologized and welcomed the end, all the while speaking in the exact same monotone, almost bored sounding voice. There was no fine line between murder and revenge, and Chrysalis had trouble telling herself she lied on the side of the latter.
"Why?" she said warily, preparing her magic but taking no action yet.
"Hmm? I do believe you know why, Queen Chrysalis," Luna replied. "But if you need a reminder I just spoke it prior to your name."
"Yes. I understand that, but why?"
"Do you not think you deserve this? Because you do."
"No, that's not it!" Chrysalis stamped a hoof. "Why aren't you defending yourself?"
"Because I know you won't strike me," Luna said. That same cold voice...Chrysalis didn't think it was possible for somepony to sound so infuriatingly calm in any circumstance, let alone Luna's current one. "My dear, I have seen so many of your type in my days. Do you honestly think you're anything special?"
Chrysalis watched in speechless silence as Luna's grin intensified until it was a fang filled smile that would send shivers down a weaker pony's spine.
"You're a gutless little filly, Queen Chrysalis. You were expecting a ferocious battle, weren't you? That would have made things so much easier. Ironic, isn't it, how so much easier it is to kill somepony in bloody combat then it is that same pony in a state of complete defenselessness."
Luna brushed past Chrysalis and started down the steps, not even turning to look back at Chrysalis as she kept speaking. To her surprise, it looked like Luna was walking with a slight limp, quite deliberately avoiding putting too much pressure on one of her hooves.
"Now, I know you're better then that," Luna continued on, "I know that even you have the strength of mercy. But if you really still think that killing me is going to make you feel better, then put your little theory into practice and see how much better you feel. I would be amazed if you felt anything other than complete dissatisfaction."
"Have you forgotten what you've done?" Chrysalis fumed. "Do you disregard all that you've stolen away from me? My mother, my race, my future...you've destroyed everything! All of it! Was I expecting a ferocious battle? Perhaps I was, I see no reason why I would expect any less after everything else you have done! And then you tell me that you're not guilty?!"
"Certainly, I am guilty. Which is why I have given you the opportunity. Like I said, you deserve your retribution. I deserved light from my sister's shadow, but I would have thrown it all away in a heartbeat if I'd known what it would entail. Will you make the same mistake as me, and succumb to the responsibilities of what you deserve? Or will you weigh them against what the right thing to do is?"
As much as she tried to force them away, Luna's words sunk into Chrysalis's mind as she carefully turned her options over in her head. Luna was still defenseless. She'd made it quite clear that she had placed her entire life into Chrysalis's decision. Would she feel satisfied if she avenged her mother like this? Would her mother be proud? Or would she shake her head sadly, wishing the poor princess she had birthed would have been stronger and less selfish?
With a mighty sigh, Chrysalis made up her mind and let her magic die away.
For the moment, she would stave off her desire for revenge. It simply was not the right time. But it would happen. Someday, somehow, Luna would pay. There was no way she was prepared to simply forgive her crimes and pretend what had happened was not in anyway her fault.
"How did you know I would be coming here?" Chrysalis snapped, trotting down the stairs after the black alicorn who had already reached the bottom. Luna was examining the fallen Crystal Heart in her magic, levitating it closer to her face every once in awhile as if inspecting small crack and dents on the old artifact's face.
"I did not. Like you, I came here expecting to find the Crystal Heart. What I found instead was a pretty little gem in the shape of a heart that possesses no magical ability whatsoever."
"Give me that," Chrysalis yanked the artifact out of Luna's magic and brought it to herself. Examining it like Luna had been, she confirmed that it did indeed possess no magical ability. Either it wasn't the Crystal Heart at all, and was instead an ordinary gem...placed in the highest tower of the highest building in Equestria and normally under heavy guard, or the changelings had been vastly misinformed as to what the Crystal Heart's power actually was.
"It's not magic," Luna muttered. "That being said...it isn't useless either. It has maintained the shield around this place for centuries. It is fueled by the hope and desire of the Crystal Ponies. It is dead now because they have all fled, and their hope has vanished with the last traces of day."
"H...hope?"
"And desire," Luna added. "For those reasons, I believe you would do good to keep it close to you. It is a changeling artifact, after all."
Chrysalis wrenched the Crystal Heart closer and stuffed it into her saddlepack before Luna could change her mind. Shooting Luna a filthy glare, Chrysalis fluttered her wings and prepared to fly off, back to Equestria, where she would find a way to exploit the Crystal Heart to help her somehow. Perhaps there was no magic now, but she didn't believe for a second it was powerless nor possessed no love energy. It might be true that it required the hope and goodwill of the Crystal Ponies to function, but surely she could find a way to use it to harness love herself.
"Queen Chrysalis," Luna held a wing in front of Chrysalis, blocking her way forwards. "You aim to defeat Discord, correct? I, too, have similar desires. While I realize I do not deserve an inkling of your respect nor forgiveness, I do think that you should consider our similar goals. A temporary partnership might be...beneficial...for the both of us. Therefore, it is with a hopeful heart that I ask you to stand beside me when I go to battle."
Chrysalis chortled, shoved Luna's wing out of the way as she walked on, and turned around.
"You're a fool if you think I would agree to help you," she said, letting out another barking laugh. "I aim to kill both you and Discord eventually. If you go to battle, then the ensuing result is that I am saved the task of having to kill at least one of you. I hope you win, because personally I think going against Discord would be suicide. For my sake, good luck."
"Your confidence and pride is boundless," Luna commented, the traces of a threat dripping from her words. "Don't overstate your abilities, Chrysalis. You may have motivation but I don't believe you have the ability to carry out the tasks you aim to. So watch your step, filly."
Chrysalis was unfazed, and she laughed another hollow and humorless laugh as she stormed to the precipice of the Crystal Tower.
"We'll find out then, won't we?"
"I suppose we will, my dear. I gave you a nice little chance and you wisely chose to deny it. Good for you. Don't think you're going to get that chance again."
Luna's nearly malicious grin was back, perfectly complimenting her patronizing and threatening words. Not that Chrysalis was afraid even slightly. Luna may have been correct about her confidence, but underestimating her power would be her ultimate mistake.
"See you later, Princess," Chrysalis said, and with that she took off into the air again.
She flew for a short distance out of the Crystal Empire at a brisk pace but slowed when the crystalline buildings were gone and the fields of snow lay ahead. Quickly she realized that she had no desire to traverse the cold skies again. Instead, she chose to spend the remainder of her gathered love energy into charging a long-distance teleportation spell, and with a brilliant green flash she was gone.
To Nightmare Moon's surprise, King Sombra had decided to indeed accompany her as she set out to track down and hopefully destroy whatever anomaly of nature Discord had invoked into Luna's mind. When she asked why he would ever want to help her, he responded by simply saying it was not for her nor for Luna, but simply for himself that he wanted to foil the plans of Discord.
This was quite striking to Nightmare Moon, since the war between the Royal Sisters and Discord had been waged centuries before Sombra was even born, and therefore he had no relation to the Spirit of Chaos. It simply looked like a matter of pride, but either way Nightmare Moon did not care so long as it meant she was getting help.
Not that he actually was helping. Being a unicorn meant Nightmare Moon had no choice but to travel by foot, or else frequently double back to make sure Sombra was still with her. Most of the time she just trudged forwards across the earth, groaning the occasional insult about his speed or lack of wings.
It was quite clear after only a few short conversations that this was not the King Sombra that Nightmare Moon remembered. He was practically a caricature of what his actual persona had been, quite clearly founded by Luna's memories of him both before and after his corruption. And Luna's memories were limited, meaning it was only through them that this Sombra dream-projection lived on. Nightmare Moon didn't shy-off telling him any of this, either, instead she practically rubbed into his face how not-real he really was.
"I remember back when I first met King Sombra," she ranted during one of her many taunting recollections of her own memories. "He was so...average! I mean, yes, he was charismatic and arrogant, and he secretly wanted to rule the Crystal Empire under an iron fist, but without me he would of been a geeky little unicorn noble."
When inquired about more specific details that she knew Luna possessed no knowledge of, Sombra simply said that those memories were 'a blur' and that he remembered only 'bits and pieces.' Nightmare Moon would have felt sorry for his obliviousness if it were anyone else other than Sombra.
Noticing the faint traces of movement amongst the black, foggy clouds above, Nightmare Moon followed their pilgrimage across the sky and came to the conclusion that they were all moving in the direction of Tartarus, which in technicality was the portion of Luna's mind reserved for her darkest secrets and inner-most regrets. She'd dreamed up a classic piece of ancient mythology which Nightmare Moon found incredibly fascinating. Before, she never would have pegged Luna as a superstitious type.
Crossing the Everfree was much more simple and uneventful, as it had been reduced to a sprawling field of tree stumps. While it had taken Luna and her several hours, this time they were through in less than half an hour and already back at the starlit limbo-river leading to Tartarus. The last time Nightmare Moon had been here was right after the still unexplained Celestia encounter, but in that time it looked quite different. The clear water was now frozen over, and while no snow falling and the ice looked thin and unwelcoming, Nightmare Moon and Sombra had no trouble walking across it. Even the waterfall had fallen silent, clogged to a standstill by the ice. In addition to the frozen river, the sky above was overcast with more black clouds flowing from one side of the sky to another, but they were much, much higher than what normal clouds should have been. The occasional thunder roll or illumination of thunder emanated from far above, an eternal storm having replaced the peaceful starry sky over the lonely and boundless fields.
Tartarus wasn't any different, Nightmare Moon quickly noticed. The lava and maddening heat were both existent only in her memory, instead it was with slight amusement that she noted that hell had quite literally frozen over.
Not long after she and Sombra had started towards Discord's castle did a horrible shrieking sound stop them both dead in their tracks.
"Dear Gods!" Sombra yelled, Nightmare Moon echoing his startled jump. She didn't see his next actions, as her helmet dipped over her eyes as it was jarred by her sudden movements. "What in the name of sanity is that sound?!"
"No idea," Nightmare Moon straightened her helmet, fixed the flow of her mane, and looked in the direction of the sound, which had died a little in volume but was still present.
The shrieking noise was coming from Discord's Tartarus castle, which Nightmare Moon quickly noticed was now perched precariously over the edge of the stone island it was built on. Enough chunks of the rock had fallen into the black abyss below that the castle's foundation was now no longer sitting sturdily on flat ground. One of the many spires looked as if it was charged with dark magic, because it was sparking with electricity and glowing like it was under ultra-violet light.
After awhile, the shrieking sound became louder again. Nightmare Moon noticed King Sombra's ears perk up in surprise at something he was hearing, so she too strained to her what it was in the din that he had heard.
It was faint, barely audible over the near-deafening high-pitched wail, but once she heard it she knew that there was no doubt as to what it had been.
"It's a voice," Sombra said, aghast. "Among all that dissonance...a voice. But it doesn't sound natural at all."
"I know," Nightmare Moon murmured, horrified beyond belief at what was taking place. Sombra simply didn't understand, but she sure did. As her own name was chanted rhythmically at her, the spire started glowing black and floating upwards, being pulled towards the ceiling of Tartarus far, far above. The light outlining it was pulsing at regular intervals, and the sound of stone grating against and ripping from stone was yet another irritating sound that filled the air.
Higher and higher the tower rose, until it was nearing the roots of the Tree of Harmony nearly a thousand feet up. And then, quite suddenly, the entire spire vanished in a split-second after slightly grazing one of the roots. In it's place was a bit of excess black fog, but the entire structure had all but vanished. Both Sombra and Nightmare Moon stood gaping in shock. She'd seen some odd things happen in the various pony's dreamworld she had lived in over the years, but nothing quite like this.
The Tree of Harmony's roots were still pulsating, and Nightmare Moon noticed that it was invoking some sort of light gravitational pull, most noticeable with the clouds and black particles that were all flowing upwards and vanishing upon making contact. As a result, a sort of vortex had formed across Tartarus's high ceiling, so that it looked like an electrically charged hurricane of black smoke.
"This is amazing," Sombra breathed, but his words went unheard, as Nightmare Moon had since taken flight, rising towards the black vortex.
A few more rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning did not deter her from her flight path, which was a point far enough from the Tree of Harmony that it's pull was negligible to her, not wanting to get drawn towards the Tree of Harmony. She knew that touching the roots herself would practically spell the end for herself and Luna.
Or perhaps just Luna. For her, one of two things would happen. Either she would assume control of Luna's body after breaking free from the confines of her mind, or she would be thrown out of it completely and into Equestria as a disembodied consciousness. Considering the latter had apparently happened to Luna the last time they'd made contact, she was unwilling to find out.
Nevertheless, even at a distance of a thousand feet she could still feel traces of the vortex's influence. Her ethereal mane was flowing towards it, as if it were being buffeted by a silent hurricane force wind, and she occasionally had to correct her flightpath to make sure she was orbiting around it and not towards it.
As she watched, the occasional other object would tear itself from the ground and disappear with the same horrible screeching sound. Bits of mortar, rock, ice, and even what looked like Tartarus vegetation were only a few things that vanished the second they made contact with the roots at the vortex's epicenter.
After a few minutes of examining it from her orbiting flightpath, Nightmare Moon started rising until she was flying through the clouds. They sparked as she flew, reacting to her presence with a sort of magnetic resistance. So, she was the reason for these things being here, but that still did not explain anything about this vortex that had formed. When she finally breached the final cloud layer, she found that there was a gap of empty air between the cloud cover and the stone ceiling of Tartarus. Here, there was no longer any pulling force from the Tree of Harmony, which allowed her to finally start flying in it's direction to get a closer look.
Even from a distance, she instantly saw that something was wrong. The Tree of Harmony served as a simple means of travel between the waking world and the world of dream, but whatever had been done to it greatly went against that purpose. The smooth, glowing white surface of the majestic tree's roots were now coated with imperfections and spiky looking vines. It looked not dissimilar to the sort of infections earthly plants were capable of contracting, except that they were all pulsing in a peculiar rhythmic pattern that was synchronized with the glowing flashes of energy from the tree's roots itself.
The bumps on the tree and the vines both were giving off a frequency of magic separate from that of the Tree of Harmony. The last time Nightmare Moon had felt such magic in the air was in this same place four years ago. It was, without a doubt, Discord's chaos magic that was the infection now controlling the tree.
"Nightmare Moon!" Sombra called, his voice echoing over the claustrophobic confines of Tartarus. She had to fight against the pull of the vortex as she followed his voice back downwards, her business there done anyways.
"It's Discord," she gasped as she landed, out of breath from her flight. "That bastard. I knew it."
"I feel as though there is a sort of pull to the vortex..."
"Yes," Nightmare Moon agreed. "And even in the few moments we've been here, I think it's gotten stronger."
"Indeed. Nightmare, I don't think it's going to stop. It's going to keep getting stronger and stronger until it consumes everything."
"Unless Luna kills Discord."
"Even then," Sombra sighed hopelessly. "These clouds are your doing, Nightmare Moon."
"Yes, but Discord's done something else. I felt his magic fueling that vortex up there. He'd placed some sort of...curse, on the Tree of Harmony."
"I know that," Sombra said indignantly. "But what makes you think his death would relieve the curse? The only way to stop it's flow is to stop the magic that is being infected by Discord's own."
"Luna's magic."
"If she were to die, then everything would be solved."
"Shit," Nightmare Moon muttered sadly.
She'd honestly hoped there could be some sort of alternative, but Sombra was probably right. Part of her didn't quite see why a land of nightmares and darkness was so unappealing that Luna had to die to prevent it, while the other more logical part understood that if the black clouds were allowed to continue flowing into Equestria, then they would eventually infect the minds of every mortal pony. In less then a century, she imagined all of Equestria would be nothing but Nightmare Force-ridden evil, inhabited by ponies with no morality or independent thought. Truly, she'd rather see Equestria destroyed by the cold and dark of eternal night then in such a state.
It looked like, whether she liked it or not, her plans regarding Luna would have to change.
Luna watched the lime green light of Chrysalis's teleporting flash slowly fade away and swirl like mist, joining the dancing snow and rising black particles. The sky was now filled with them, and they were starting to seep into a thick overhanging ceiling of pitch black clouds.
It had been two days since she'd left Dusk Falls, and Nightmare Moon had been gone throughout the entirety of that time. Luna was beginning to worry that some sort of trouble had befallen her, wondering if it was even possible for a being like her to die. Nightmare Moon had shown signs of concern and fear when they were in danger, so it did seem possible. With her inseparably fused into Luna's mind, her death would probably inflict damage on herself, too, but that wasn't the sole reason Luna didn't want such a thing to happen.
The prospect of ruling Equestria under the Moon was starting to look less and less infused with despair, in fact it was with hope that Luna looked forward to life, after the business with Discord was taken care of. Her plans for the future were unfurling by themselves with little to no thought, one idea for Equestria's future quickly seeping into another and another until she was like a chess player with the entire game sprawled out in her mind. With magic, as well as the Underworld trees as a sort of template, she had already spent an entire day outside of Dusk Falls creating a sapling that was sensitive enough to thrive off the dull light from the Moon. The catch, however, was it needed constant exposure to the moonlight, and a single cloudy night would be enough to kill it completely. It was a problem that she would be able to solve in time, and shining proof that she would be able to keep her subjects alive even through the eternal night.
The cold was another problem. It had only been four years and already Equestria's climate had gone from relatively warm to a state of eternal autumn. The temperature across most of Equestria was still above freezing, and it would fortunately remain as such. It wasn't like the sun was gone, it was still keeping the planet warm, but it's light was all but gone. There were a few regions of Equestria that would face perpetual winter, but for the most part it looked like those locations were only a few, and the centralized area of Equestria was safe.
A stab of guilt struck Luna as she thought back to Queen Chrysalis, who must have been quite frightened and demoralized by the mass amounts of responsibility she had inherited so quickly. It wasn't a feeling Luna was unfamiliar with, but at least she was the reason for her own problems. Poor Chrysalis hadn't done anything to deserve the punishment she had received. It was a terrible shame she'd been unable to convince Chrysalis to help her, and Luna was not looking forward to the day when she would have to confront the changeling Queen. Even if it was in complete self-defense, the thought of injuring Chrysalis left a sour taste in Luna's mouth, especially after all that she'd lost. All she could do was pray she would come to her senses.
Suddenly, a horrible screeching sound ripped across the tundra, and Luna instantly jerked her attention to the land outside. Gradually ripping across the deep purple sky was a visible black tear that was spilling out more and more of the black fog. The screeching sound did not falter, instead drawling on like a high-pitched thunder roll. Luna stood perched over the edge of the hole she'd blasted through the castle wall, gawking as something large started forcing it's way from beyond the crack of black light.
Over the course of nearly a minute, an immense stone structure slowly crept it's way from the depths of wherever the crack led to and into Luna's Equestria. Finally, when it was all the way through, Equestria's physics kicked in and it tumbled down and down, before crashing into the snow and sending a wild frenzy of powder into the air around it. The whole stone tower looked to be enveloped in the same black mist as what had been billowing from the crack, so that it was dancing around it like an aura of darkness.
As soon as her mind caught up with what her eyes were seeing, Luna realized that what she was looking at was one of the spires in the Gothic cathedral she'd first fought Discord in. But...that had been a dream. What she was seeing here was an exact replication of something that had never existed. In that moment, she realized how much she would have valued some sort of explanation from Nightmare Moon, but her voice still did not come. Nervously, Luna fluttered her wings and leaped off in a glide towards the structure. Far below, the few Crystal Ponies were all staring in the direction of the cloud of snow and fog, which was ascending into the sky and slowly turning the purple to grey. Several of the Crystal Ponies must have already started towards it, because there were three less then fifty feet away when Luna touched down in front of it.
"Don't touch it," she warned, disregarding their screams of surprise as she swooped down in front of them. "A level of dark magic this high I have never seen in all my years."
It was unmistakeably what she had suspected it was, even if what she had suspected made no sense. The ponies instantly backed away in fear of her, leaning in to a panicked bow with their muzzles nearly buried in the snow. Luna saw this, shook her head sadly, and turned her attention back at the current matter.
Extending a hoof until it was sticking into the black fog, Luna took a single step forwards, ignored the slight pain from her semi-healed hoof, and eventually crept her way close enough for her hoof to touch solid stone. It was freezing cold, but it felt completely ordinary. If she hadn't seen it before, and if it weren't for the crack in the sky hanging above and the unnatural fog, she never would have known such a thing did not originate from her world.
"H...how..." Luna muttered, drawing her hoof away from the stone again. She turned back to her still bowing subjects and addressed them in the calmest voice she could muster. "You all can see this, correct?"
They nodded, a quick, shaky ordeal.
"Please, feel free to speak," Luna invited, giving off a welcoming chuckle in an attempt to stave back their fear of her, as well as her own. It didn't seem to work but they at least crept out of their bow.
"It...there's a voice..." One whispered, his words sounding as forced as the possibly could be. "It's sort of...whispering. It's saying...it's saying..."
"Yes?" Luna was instantly intrigued. She could hear no voice, but she could hear the dull drone that seemed to be emanating from the crack above. "What is it saying?!"
"N...Nightmare Moon," Came another pony's reply, which was met with agreeing mumbles from the other two.
Luna felt as if she had just taken a blow to the gut as she heard the name spoken aloud. This was the first time that she had technically heard anypony other than herself acknowledge the existence of Nightmare Moon.
"What could it mean?" One of them asked Luna, too curious to be fully frightened of her anymore. "Is it a name?
"Yes," Luna simply said, composing herself enough to force out a single word. A few more of the other ponies had arrived and Luna could tell by their perked ears that they could hear it too. "I...I believe it is."
Without any further explanation, Luna turned away from the impossible stone spire and flew into the air, ignoring the slight ache in her left wing that came as a result. She knew very well why it was aching, but still she had to force herself to not look at it to confirm. Perhaps if she did not satisfy the problem with the attention of thought then it would go away.
Her resistance to looking lasted less then a minute, and when it gave off another sharp spike of pain she darted her head and saw that it was spilling out feathers at a rapid speed. As she watched, the thought of her ascent towards the Tartarus Tree of Harmony, and the vision of the gap where her wing had been rushed to the forefront of her mind.
"Don't think about it, don't think about it..." Luna whispered to herself as she flew, her frantic chanting only forcing the thought of what she had dreamed further and further into her brain.
Desperately, she leaped onto another thought, one that was somewhat related but different entirely. Discord's reign. Or, more importantly, the lack thereof. The Crystal Empire, like Dusk Falls, had shown absolutely zero signs of it currently existing in an Equestria ruled by the Spirit of Chaos. Discord was, simply put, not present. Wherever he was, Luna had to wonder what had become of his zealous and chaotic nature. When she and Celestia had last encountered him, the entirety of Equestria was covered in at least a little bit of Discord's influence. His power had been strong enough to basically grant him omnipresence as well as omnipotence. Of course, even he had his limits, and it was with great effort that she and her sister had driven him past them. But presently, it seemed like his limits were much closer and within range for her to exploit. She had no doubt that wherever he currently was would be swimming with chaos only he could muster, but it would seem like it would be a single centralized area and not the Equestria-wide span she'd been expecting.
Luna wasn't quite sure whether she should feel relieved or afraid by his drop in power. Ideally it would make fighting him easier, but she had no idea what scheme he could potentially have formulated. There was no safety in assumption, nor relief in the lack of Discord's presence.
Another thing she hadn't thought of until then was how Discord would respond to Celestia's death. Quite obviously the two had never been close, but it was to her understandings that they had always carried some sort of mutual understanding of each other's circumstances. Celestia's stance on trying to negotiate with Discord and not revert to violence would not have budged if Luna had not convinced her otherwise, and even the Elements of Harmony had been a last resort. They'd kept them in their possession after finding them for months, months where Celestia had refused to use them and instead chose to insist that "there was a better way."
Similarly, Discord did not seem to have any desire to inflict any harm onto Celestia. He hadn't cared about Luna nearly as much as he seemed to care about Celestia. There had definitely been something going on between him and Celestia, something that if she didn't know any better bordered on the realm of friendship. She had even spoken to Luna about reforming Discord, admitting it was perhaps a foolish fantasy but still repeatedly bringing it up, as if her insistence on desiring it would be enough to manifest it into reality.
Long ago, in another time, such a thing seemed impossible. But now, with all the cross-reality things happening to Equestria, Luna had no idea what impossible meant anymore. Poor Celestia, dragged down too many times by her mercy and trust, facing every consequence head-on to avoid inflicting any sort of pain on anyone else. And while her sister had been ferocious in battle and at times the most terrifying thing Luna had ever seen, it had been her refusal to act that had ultimately led to Luna's success in their final battle. If she was in her position now, Luna wondered if she would be able to strike down Discord or Chrysalis like Luna would ultimately have to. Hopefully not Chrysalis, but Luna knew that the day would come when she wouldn't have a choice any longer.
If only the Elements weren't destroyed, Luna wouldn't have to disregard the principles of mercy. With all of reality collapsing, would it really be too much to ask for them to work for her again?
A sudden idea struck Luna as that thought reverberated through her mind. Would it just be physical objects and changes to herself alone that manifested from her dreamscape? Or...she had dreamed of Sombra, and Nightmare Moon was essentially a self-aware dream that communicated with her. Could they too be brought to life by whatever magic was at play here?
Because...amidst all the confusion and horror of the Underworld... she had dreamed of Celestia.
When Luna touched down in the ruins of the Everfree Castle, Nightmare Moon returned.
"Hey, Luna," she said, sounding much less boisterous and confident then Luna was accustomed to hearing her.
"Greetings, Nightmare. Where have you been for so long? You've been gone for days."
"Damn it. Seriously?" Of course, eternal night being the case, Luna was only guessing, but it had certainly felt like that long. "Well, whatever. What have you been doing while I was gone? Something productive, I hope."
"I found the Crystal Heart, but couldn't find a way to power up it's magic. I also met Queen Chrysalis."
"Oh, that changeling dinosaur's daughter? Wait...Queen?"
"Yes. I believe Chrysalis is the last changeling alive, since she is traveling alone and looking to defeat Discord by herself."
"Wow," Nightmare Moon said after a short pause. "That's...unfortunate. She's helping us, I presume?"
"I'm afraid she is not. She blames me for contributing to her mother's death."
"Well that's just stupid. She's stupid. You weren't even around when it happened."
"Perhaps," Luna shook her head sadly. Empathy was still something Nightmare Moon hadn't quite grasped, apparently. "Personally, I think she has every right to be angry with me."
"Hmm, well, whatever," Nightmare Moon said again. There was a sort of...demoralized quality to her voice that made her sound very, very different.
"What exactly did you do down there?" Luna started wandering through the rubble towards the staircase that would lead to her throne room.
"Surely you've noticed the..err...strange happenings regarding our adventure four years ago?"
"I've noticed things that defy all sense of logic. The sound, the darkness of the 'Underworld' are in plain sight here, too. But that was a dream."
"Not for much longer. Question: have you seen Discord yet?"
"No, I have not."
"And that doesn't strike you as odd?"
"Yes, it certainly does."
"Me too. I thought that perhaps what we are observing is Discord's doing. And while I still have no proof, I DID determine that whatever's causing all this to happen isn't you. There's no way this can be your doing."
"And yet it is things only I dreamed."
"Ah, see, that's the thing. While it's not your magic intentionally making them appear in reality, it is still your mind conjuring them up. To break it down simply, you fear something, you have a nightmare about that fear, and then something uses their boundless magic to bring that nightmare to life."
Luna kicked a stray stone and listened to it skitter down the steps she was slowly ascending. A flash of white moonlight from below and the sound of crunching glass was the only sound as Luna reached the top and traveled through the gap where two wooden doors had once divided the Castle from the courtyard.
"Nightmare, it's a fine theory, but it makes no sense. Firstly, why would it be necessary? I hardly think Discord has run out of ideas where he needs to stoop to such outlandish extremes. And what use would it be to him anyways? Secondly, how would he even know what it is I am dreaming in the first place?"
"Well, to answer the second question, the same way as you. You watch ponies dreams all the time, don't you? I'm sure Discord, Spirit of Chaos, can do it too," Nightmare yawned and continued, "As for the first question, think of it like this: you're not supposed to be awake at all. You're supposed to still be dreaming up nice little nightmares for him to terrorize your own subjects with, while also fueling him with your magic. Basically, Discord is achieving free chaos tailored to specific ponies without actually having to do anything."
"So...you're suggesting Discord intended to use me as a mother-node of sorts, basically distributing nightmares across Equestria unwillingly? And using his own magic in addition to my dreamwalking magic to accomplish this? I...I suppose that makes a little sense. It still does not explain why it is only now that it's happening. I was asleep for four years and in that time—"
"Don't even finish that sentence, Lulu. How exactly do you know it hasn't been happening in that time? It has only risen in intensity because you are awake and your magic is much more active. And another thing. Discord isn't using his own magic at all. It all seems to be emanating from...you, Luna."
"But you said I wasn't the one casting—!"
"I know what I said! All those black clouds you're seeing in the sky now? The same ones as from the Underworld? They seem to be the powerhouse. And then the Tree of Harmony is the transmitter."
"And Discord created the clouds?"
"No. I created the clouds. Unintentionally, by being in your mind," Nightmare Moon confessed, the reason for her demoralized tone finally becoming obvious to Luna. "Normally, they'd just try to spread until they've taken over your mind and left you as a near emotionless shell. Like...like the night you killed Celestia. It's a damn miracle you grasped control after what happened. I haven't seen anything like that."
Luna flared her nostrils in sudden fury at the exposure of even more lies from Nightmare Moon, finally brought to the light. Yet another addition to the endless stream of guilty confessions and mind-boggling revelations from Nightmare Moon. Truthfully, they were all forcing Luna to seriously regret agreeing to Nightmare Moon's offer for friendship. She didn't doubt for a second that Nightmare Moon did not feel remorse for the trouble she had caused, but the fact that she thought it acceptable to hide the truth from her so frequently and for so long almost infuriated her.
"Anything else you want to tell me, Nightmare Moon? Any other sudden facts that completely change everything?"
"Well...I confessed to being the cause for the spread of darkness, which I suspected you already knew anyways. But the dream-to-reality manifestation isn't my doing. THAT is Discord's. I should've known that slimy draconequus hadn't left your mind undamaged when he locked us into that comatose stone statue."
"I see. So you're saying Discord infected me with some of his own magic?"
"I know what you're thinking Luna, and no, you CAN'T use it to your advantage."
"I wasn't thinking of using it to my advantage," Luna began. She was walking through the throne room now, which was starting to become overgrown with some of the Everfree vegetation that did not require sunlight. Vines and dark green leaves were climbing up the walls and snaking their way across the floor comprised more of dirt then it's original smooth stone.
Nightmare Moon wasn't going to be impressed with what she was about to suggest, but nevertheless Luna decided to try as best as she could to convince her. Then again, why should she even care what Nightmare Moon thought? She wasn't the one in charge, after all.
"I was thinking more about...the possibilities of lifeforms I dreamed manifesting themselves as well."
"Of course it's possible. I imagine it's happened before, with monsters and stuff."
"Exactly. So then if it's possible...perhaps it is also possible for Celestia—"
"NO! Luna, come one! I thought you were over this! She's dead, and I'm afraid you're just going to have to deal with it!"
"But why not?" Luna snapped, stomping a hoof. "If it's possible then what harm would there be—"
"What harm? Are you serious? What shortage of harm would there be if we tried to keep alive a version of the most powerful alicorn in Equestria, created by dark magic and chaos energy?!"
"The only thing we've seen is the existence of dreamworld manifestations. We have no proof that their presence alone is harmful."
"Yeah, well, even if that was true, it wouldn't even be your sister. Would you be alright with that? Or, wait, better question! Would SHE? Imagine if she had a say in that matter, would she really want some flawless dreamworld clone replacing her because her stupid sister was too weak and pathetic to let go?!"
Silence followed, in which Luna slumped against her tipped over throne and ran her hoof through some of the dust that was either her or Discord's former stone statue. Nightmare Moon just didn't understand. To Luna, not doing anything and instead batting an eye at the very possibility for helping Celestia was more weak and pathetic, but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder how indeed Celestia would have reacted.
Even if she was successful, and there was no catastrophic dark and chaos magic attached, it still wouldn't be Celestia. In her dreams Celestia would be absolutely flawless, a mare of zero mistakes and moral imperfections. And that wasn't what her sister had been. Everypony made mistakes and did bad things, and deep down Luna knew her sister was no exception. What was done had been done, and it was time now for Celestia to rest, and for Luna to finish what she had started four years ago. Before the changeling race's near-extinction, before her and Nightmare Moon's friendship, before any comatose nightmares and ghosts of her past ravaged her present.
"Let's end this," Luna whispered, rising from the floor and taking a deep breath in a fruitless attempt to stave back her fear of what she was about to do.
Through a hole in the ceiling she shot a single concentrated burst of magic shaped into a long, rising streak. Like a roman candle it soared, higher and higher, before exploding into a brilliant display of flaring lights. She shot up a few more for good measure, and braced herself for what was to come.
"You think that'll be enough to get his attention?"
"No. But this will be."
Luna took off into the air, flying through the same hole in the ceiling where she had shot her magic and landing on one of the protruding sections of the castle roof where a statue (most likely a gargoyle) had once stood. Now, she stood with her wings unfurled proudly, unwittingly mimicking the ferocious mythological beast's pose. Knowing that there was a high chance she was looking at it for the last time, Luna took in the sight of Equestria. Far above, the clouds had already begun forming some sort of vortex, which was pulling leaves and small bits of dirt upwards. It was growing by the second and before long she knew it would start pulling heavier things as it did, while simultaneously spilling out it's black smoke. It wouldn't stop until either all of Equestria was covered in it's darkness, or the creature fueling it was dead. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and spoke softly while casting her magic.
"Hello, Discord," she said quietly, but her magic carried it as a multi-toned and synthetic sounding din. It was a variation on the Royal Canterlot Voice that she hadn't ever had the use of until now, designed to carry across miles while maintaining the same tone of voice of the speaker.
"You know who this is, I imagine, and that I have returned from the stone prison you created, but I'm sure many of my subjects do not. I'm not speaking to you, Discord, when I say that no harm will befall you. I'm speaking to you, my children."
She paused, listened to the last echo of her own voice bounce off some mountain or gorge miles away, before continuing.
"My dear subjects, in an hour's time there will be no more need for the fear I know you all possess. I, Princess Luna, have returned to my land, only to find that it has been ravaged by this fiend. I speak of course of you, Discord. Don't think I intend to take any of your actions lightly, nor that you shall receive any forgiveness for what you have done to not only my ponies, but the changelings and other races who have had the misfortune of falling victim to your tyranny. And don't think that I have mercy to spare on you. My apologies, Discord, but my subjects come first."
She let her magic die away, knowing that she would need every ounce of it for what was going to happen next.
"You can do this, Luna," Nightmare Moon said warily. "And hey...if not...at least we gave it our all, right?"
Luna didn't have a chance to respond, because just as she opened her mouth to do so she felt a distinct change in air pressure. It was the tell-tale signs of something big teleporting her way from a long distance, and it wasn't unicorn magic she was sensing.
She heard Discord long before she saw him, his characteristically drawn out chuckle just as familiar now as it had been four years ago. When she finally did see him, he did not so much appear as much as he manifested himself from the shadows. As the darkness formed itself into the distinctive shape of the draconequus, Luna felt as if everything suddenly stopped. The wind that had been blowing on the trees froze, as did the ascending particles and the flashes of lightning coming from the clouds above. As a result, the area around Luna's castle remained brightly lit by the stationary lightning bolts.
Discord was colorless save for his yellow eyes, but with one final forced laugh, his color slowly seeped into his fur, albeit faded and worn. He looked like something out of a long faded and sun-bleached painting. The same dark magic that was coating Luna's skies was billowing off his fur, and most prominently from his paws. He gave Luna a ferocious grin that was no shortage of terrifying, and was enough to cause the black alicorn to take a single step backwards.
"Well well well, Princess Luna! Good to see you after so long! How has being a creature of nightmares been treating you? You sounded a bit tense on your sweet little announcement. I'm all for humor, but even I think that was distasteful."
"Shut up, Discord," Luna growled, "I meant every word of it."
"Oh, I'm sure you did. Hence why I found it humorous," Discord cleared his throat, before materializing a clipboard, felt pen, and his characteristically silly reading glasses. "Well, before you exact your venegance, Looney, let's just take a moment to analyze what right you have in judging me. Did I plunge Equestria into eternal night? Oh, my, it looks like I didn't," With the felt pen, he casually checked off some point on his clipboard, with the calmness and organization she'd expect to see from Celestia doing paperwork.
"What else?" he continued, "Shamelessly murdered a defenseless draconequus in cold blood? Nope. Destroyed the Elements of Harmony forever? Nope. Oh! This one's my favorite! I'm sure you're familiar with the tragic demise of dear Princess Celestia—"
"Shut. Up." Luna repeated, successfully vaporizing the clipboard and pen out of Discord's hands. "I know what I've done. I'm not proud of it, but I'm also not—"
"Oh joy! Is this the part where you rant about redeeming your past sins, and that by saving Equestria from a greater evil, you'll some how be forgiven?"
"Oh, I hate this guy," Nightmare Moon muttered. "Don't let him get under your skin, Luna. He's just trying to piss you off."
"Yeah, well, it's working," Luna instinctively answered aloud. Discord grinned in surprise and amusement at what he saw as Luna talking to herself, while she cursed her own stupidity. She really had to find a better way of communicating with Nightmare Moon that didn't make her look insane.
"Still traveling with ol' Moonie, are you? And here I thought she'd come around, instead of falling victim to all that friendship dribble. Her loss, I suppose. "
"Tell him I said 'Go to Tartarus.'"
"Nightmare Moon says she's unfazed by your words," Luna told him instead.
"Yeah? Because she's completely innocent, right? She isn't responsible for all this dark magic flooding Equestria. Nope, she's the ever compassionate, do-good Nightmare Moon! I'm sure the night she took over your mind and helped you kill Celestia was all done with the best of intentions, right?"
"Go to Tartarus," Luna grumbled through clenched teeth.
"Aw, you seem grumpy, Looney," Discord's smile sent another tremor of anger down her spine. "Y'know Luna, you impressed me four years ago. I didn't think you'd do it. I thought cold-blooded murder of a defenseless creature was beyond you. You actually did a lot of damage, I'm sure you would be pleased to hear. If it weren't for my natural genius I imagine you actually would have succeeded in killing me."
"What are you talking about?"
"I wasn't exactly unharmed by your little stone-breaking lightshow hissy fit," With a snap of his fingers, the two of them were suddenly standing in a glowing, hologram-like version of Luna's throne room. There, she saw herself, standing in an offensive position while facing Discord who was encased in stone.
"I'm sorry, Discord!" Her past self wailed as her horn burst to life, sparking in anticipation of what would be a massive energy release. "I'm sorry I'm not the mare my sister was!"
Luna remembered closing her eyes at this point, and sure enough her past counterpart mimicked what she had done. This time, Luna had a clear view of her magic strike Discord, but what happened next she was less than prepared for.
Discord must have slowed down time, because it seemed to creep to an agonizing crawl as the stone exploded the moment her magic collided. She watched as it gradually flew away in every direction, but what was shocking was that even as it did so, the outline of Discord's form was visible the whole while. Once again, with the exception of his yellow eyes (which were opened wide in surprise) he was colorless, a mere black silhouette.
"Yep, you almost did me in," Discord said, looking at his past projection with simple curiosity.
"W...what am I looking at?"
"Considering I was turned to stone, you're looking at the destruction of my being. Of course, draconequus don't have to be bound by your little Equestrian laws of reality, and to you ponies I'm really more of an entity. Destroying my being isn't going to kill me completely. Now shut up and watch, this is my favorite part."
While Discord munched on a bowl of popcorn he'd created, Luna watched in horror as Discord's shadow counterpart suddenly exploded into a mist of the strangest type of magic Luna had ever seen. It wasn't the normal sparkling aura she'd seen alicorns and unicorns use, but instead was a hellish mishmash of chaotic dissonance. It was seemingly ever color at once, as a result it all faded into a dark purple. Green lines zigzagged and crosshatched across the shifting cloud of energy, giving it a sickeningly isometric looking perspective. Luna was more than certain what she was seeing was a limited version of what was actually in her throne room right now, rendered to the mere basics that her mind and senses could comprehend. It was chaos incarnate, the literal essence of the word.
Past-Discord's stone body was still flying through the air while her past counterpart continued releasing magic in slow motion, when the chaos energy suddenly bounded towards the assaulting alicorn.
Luna felt like screaming for her past self to move, open her eyes, do something, but doing so would be an act of pointless foolishness. The chaos energy that was Discord suddenly began flowing into Luna's sputtering horn, and then just as suddenly as it had all begun her magic ceased, the final bits of stone hit the floor, and time resumed.
"What...what just...what did..." Luna stuttered.
She thought the memory induced vision Discord had created would have ended there, and she knew exactly what should have happened next, but to her surprise it do not occur. When she should have collapsed to the floor and call herself a monster, like she recalled, she instead remained standing in the same offensive stance while her body slowly started turning to stone from her tail. She showed no reaction to what was happening, and in a matter of seconds she was in the exact same position she would wake up in four years later.
"It was a last resort, of course," Discord drummed a quick, playful rhythm on Luna's rocky skull and grinned at her speechless present day self. "Oh, not turning you to stone, that was quite fun. No, I mean hijacking your dreamwalking magic. Right here, you just destroyed a lot of my own, so consider it payback."
"I don't understand."
"Oh, sure you do, Luna! Think about it!" Nightmare Moon sounded genuinely distraught and frustrated, "Besides Discord, you're the most powerful being in Equestria. And right now, this moment in time that we just watched, you just became the most powerful being. He's been leeching off your magic ever since! That's why his influence has been so weak!"
"Discord," Luna stepped forward and looked into her own stone eyes, which in their final moments had suddenly jerked open in fear and realization. "You've been using my magic? But why?"
"Because if not—"
"Shut up, Nightmare!" Luna hissed, earning an amused snort from Discord.
"Yes, Nighty! Shut up! She's finally starting to understand! What a shame for your fragile little friendship, but I guess it was good while it lasted. Now then, I believe you asked me a question, Luna?"
"Answer me, Discord! You might be in an eternally gaming mood but I currently have a kingdom to liberate!"
"Fine, Looney. But only because you asked so nicely. Yes, I did steal a bit of your dreamwalking magic, so that I could make sure each and every one of your ponies would have nightmares about me. No sense creating chaos if the ponies you're terrorizing don't know it's you doing it. Eventually I regained enough power from their nightmares to finally start inhabiting a physical form again, but as a side effect to me using your magic, elements from the dreamscape prison I made for you started seeping out."
Discord laughed and motioned towards Luna's frozen stone statue.
"Looks like my magic was too much for your pretty little princess mind to keep contained. The only way to stop it is to stop your magic. So, I apologize, my princess, but you're not the only one out for blood to save Equestria."
"Nightmare Moon. You knew this, didn't you?"
"Of course I didn't, Luna. He's probably bluffing."
"You liar," Luna heard herself say. Even a filly could've heard the insincerity in Nightmare Moon's guilty sounding voice. "All you've ever done is lie. "
"That's not true, Luna. Please don't say that. I just didn't want you to loose hope completely."
"You're still lying!" Discord didn't even matter to Luna anymore. Nightmare Moon had quickly become a greater problem. "I called you a friend! I actually was foolish enough to think that. You knew I had to die and you didn't say—"
"Luna. Please. Listen to me. You don't have to die," It was still there, the untrustworthy tone to Nightmare Moon's voice, the deliberate and tell-tale signs that what she was saying were complete lies. "I get it, you don't trust me, but be aware that you're putting my word against Discord's. Not to brag or anything, but I think I'm the lesser of the two evils."
"Oh, you girls must be having the most adorable little argument," Discord mused. "Such a shame I can only hear one side. Well, you called me here, Luna. Do your business."
With a snap of his fingers, they were back in the ruins of Luna's Castle with the time-stopped lightning storm overhead. The vortex, however, was still swirling just as violently, pulling bricks and mortar upwards until it vanished forever, while it continued spilling out perverse darkness into her world. Even loose feathers from Luna's unnaturally injured wing were pulled away.
Discord didn't waste anytime in starting his assault once it became clear that the time to carry it out had begun. The stone wall behind Luna exploded into nothingness in an instant as she dodged and rolled from the sudden barrage of attacks. She leaped into the air as soon as she had the chance and began beating her wings faster than she ever did in her life.
Luna blew a hole in the side of the wall, folded her wings and legs tight against her body, and flew through it without missing a beat, and quickly whipped around to face her castle now a few hundred feet below. At this height, she could prevent any senseless destruction of Equestria, whose protection was her primary concern.
But that wasn't the only reason she was so quick to be out in the night sky. The stars and moon had since been veiled by the vortex of darkness above, but Luna knew her night sky better than the back of her hoof. Another blast of magic straight upwards utterly decimated a large portion of the dark clouds and the moonlight suddenly shot through. Knowing she had only a few seconds until Discord caught up, she closed her eyes and called on the power of the Moon. A power that was enough to kill a normal pony in an instant, and now one she would wield with complete ease.
"Hello, old friend," she smiled as she felt celestial power start flowing through her veins. The Moon might require her to raise it, but similarly she required it's power to remain the ageless and powerful alicorn she was. And the Moon had no shortage of power to lend her when she needed it the most. She hadn't felt this much power since the Elements of Harmony had last been used.
When Discord teleported in the air next to Luna, he did not see the black alicorn so much as he saw her outline, for the rest of her was enveloped by an aura of silvery light. It surrounded her as a vast sphere of pure energy. Her blackish-blue coat had lightened in color so that it looked more like watery dewdrops at dawn. She was a beacon in the sky, and for the first time, Equestria saw hope.
"If you think..." Luna grinned, shivered as an electrifying burst of flowing magic coursed through her, and continued, "If you think even for a SECOND, Discord, that you are standing on safe ground..."
The last of the Moon's energy forced her to close her eyes and accept it, but when she opened them again she was still grinning, now looking at Discord through white, pupil-less eyes.
"...I strongly implore you to reconsider."
While Celestia's aura of solar magic was capable of transforming her into a blazing inferno, Luna's aura was a freezing sphere of cold that surrounded her in a sphere with a diameter of almost fifty feet.
Discord rose an eyebrow in surprise and curiosity at Luna's ascended appearance. Perhaps this would be a challenge after all. So be it. It would be all the more entertaining.
In synchronization with Luna's rapid growth of magic power, the vortex above was now a mad swirl, uprooting entire trees and pulling them up. Equestria had ten minutes at best before all of it's skies were flooded with the corrupt darkness, which would eventually seep into every pony's mind and render them as senseless zombies of evil and despair. So many lives, instantly so meaningless and insignificant. To Discord, they were. To Luna, they were the only significant thing left.
With a flicker of a devious smile, Discord snapped his fingers and another alicorn appeared, undoubtedly summoned by him. He had summoned an image of the one mare Luna felt she could never strike down again.
Luna's magic flow died for but a second as she beheld her sister in the air in front of her. No, not Celestia. Discord.
She didn't attack her, whatsoever. No shield was cast and no celestial power was harnessed. Discord had wanted Luna to be the first to strike. To see her once again fire a lethal blast at the sister she'd already murdered was all too beautiful a sight for him to miss out on. He wanted to play with her emotions, invoke guilt and pain and longing, and it was certainly working. But she had to do it.
Celestia was looking at her with sad, pleading eyes, but Luna did not hold back as she formed a sparking ball of energy out of the magical aura around her. She contorted and shaped it into a perfect sphere of light, and before she could hesitate she flung it at her sister and forced herself not to give Discord the satisfaction of her looking away.
It made contact, and the second it did Celestia exploded into flame and burned away like tinder. Out of the suspended, roaring flames, she reemerged, the same pearl white alicorn no longer looking at her with sorrow and now looking at her with fury.
"My poor little sister," Celestia cooed, the same fire that was burning where her mane should be also flitting through her piercing glare as she eyed down her polar opposite hovering in front of her. "Luna. Or, Nightmare Moon, if you prefer."
"You're no sister of mine." Luna said firmly in reply, keeping her eyes locked with Celestia and unwilling to break contact. "This game isn't working, Discord. I'll dispose of this pathetic imitation and then you'll be next. You're only delaying what needs to occur."
If Discord was still watching, he did not respond, but Celestia did.
"Luna, Luna, Luna. Always a child, even when you're wielding the power of the moon itself. You'll keep slaying pony after pony even after murdering your own sister, and you won't stop. And for what? Eternal night? Recognition? Equality?" Celestia let out a sickening chuckle, "Like you deserve anything more than a couple eons on the moon to try and get your spoiled little mind sorted out."
Celestia was a burning beacon of pure heat and fire, her aura matching Luna's and causing the ice on the outer reaches to turn to water and fall to the earth as rain. Her mane, tail, and eyes all sparked with the inferno of the sun, yet her snow-white coat remained completely untarnished.
Even so, Luna could see the tell-tale traces of dark fog spilling off her into the night, showing her without a doubt that this was another one of Discord's reality manifestations. Another monster she'd have to slay, and not her beloved sister.
This time, Celestia wasn't holding back to judge Luna's power. In an instant the flames surrounding her built higher, driving the ice of Luna's aura into steam and water while beads of sweat dripped down the black alicorn's face.
Princess Luna snarled and as if commanded by her furious cry, her own aura grew in intensity and she started beating her wings as she charged towards the insulting image of her deceased sister.
There was no clashing of magic, instead Luna collided with Celestia and pushed her towards the earth with a heavy kick of her hindlegs. Celestia fell for a short distance, before whipping her wings out firing an orange beam of solar energy as she glided. Discord's aim had been sloppy and frenzied, but Celestia's struck Luna easily and was only barely stopped by her aura. Nevertheless it was still enough to knock Luna back and leave her dazed long enough for Celestia to catch up to her hovering sister.
A sudden glimmer of moonlight danced in Luna's peripheral, and before she knew what was happening, the feeling of cold metal crept across her neck.
"You're not Celestia at all," Luna could have laughed, had she not felt so terrified. The sharpness of the blade rubbing against the hairs of her mane was enough to deter her from any sudden movements as she beat her wings to hover in place."You're my sister in appearance alone. End this charade and fight me properly, Discord."
"First the new changeling Queen and now you," Discord's voice answered back, sounding out from everywhere in the sky. "It's been quite a productive night indeed."
"Chrysalis," Nightmare Moon said. "Damn it, I hope he's not talking about her."
"Time to die, Luna," Celestia and Discord said in unison.
Luna instantly folded her wings and descended into a dive, the blade intended for her neck instead harmlessly chopping off a portion of her tail. She fell and turned her wings in a glide pattern that was intended to take her back towards the castle. Her coat was soaked with slush and sweat, and she was shivering head to tail, fueled on by adrenaline she'd never felt before. The roof of the castle was covered in many large window panes, and Luna shattered through easily and fell into the main hall where this whole damned business of eternal night had first began so long ago.
Another solar beam struck her, once again throwing her carelessly to the side and causing her to crash through the solid wall and into the next room over. Her back crashed hard against something as her movement suddenly ceased and her vision was instantly flooded with dust.
No pain registered, but Luna felt blood trickling down her coat even before the severity of the injury crept from beyond the veil of dust. She must have fallen straight into a solid wall of concrete, because a jagged steel portion of reinforcing bar was now lodged through her wing.
"Shit!" Nightmare Moon said in shock. The bar was more than an inch in thickness, an important enforcement for an immense turret for a forgotten castle. "A...are you alright Luna?"
"Why...why is it always my wing," Luna panted in response, wincing as she tried to move it and finding the wing held firmly in place by the rebar. Still, her wing was a welcome alternative to her flesh, which had missed only by about two feet.
Nightmare Moon didn't have a chance to respond, because Celestia was now walking towards her with a crystalline longsword balanced in her telekinesis. It was a savage weapon, a hulking mass of steel designed to break bone and shatter shields. It wasn't a weapon Celestia had ever nor would ever use, and seeing her sister wield it now further exemplified to Luna why she must defeat such an inaccurate representation.
As the blade was raised upwards with unmistakable finality, Luna stuck out her tongue and ripped the heavy piece of metal from her wing seconds before it made contact. Metal struck metal, and the dust was lit with sparks as Celestia snarled and tried again and again, the blade bouncing against the rebar almost harmlessly. The vibration alone was almost enough to send it flying from Luna's telekinetic grip, but she gritted her teeth against the pain and continued deflecting Celestia's repeated assaults.
The song of singing metal ceased as both sisters stopped to look at each other, Luna panting and Celestia frowning with subtle disappointment.
"Very good, sister," Celestia said. "Not such a defenseless filly after all."
"I'm not...your...sister!" Luna screamed, bringing the rebar down against Celestia's blade. Her sister was shocked just long enough for Luna to grab both blade and rebar in her magic and send them both flying behind her into the forest beyond.
Discord's Celestia manifestation had just enough time to look surprised before Luna let loose with one final beam of magic and decimated the fake alicorn, her not-sister exploding into the same insipid dark fog. Discord's laughing rung from far above, and Luna dropped the metal bar to the ground with a resonate clang as she unfurled her wings to give chase.
She found him above the castle again, still beaming at her and looking as if he had no concern for the fight he had just witnessed.
"I hope you're entertained now, Discord," Luna spat, mentally calling on the moon for more magic and feeling the last of it's reserves flow into her and repair her wounds.
"Oh, you've been very entertaining, Loony. But you're right. No more charades. Let's end this."
Once again, Luna fired first, whilst cursing herself for not grabbing the claymore Celestia had been wielding. Her magic proved next to worthless, but thankfully the beams of magic he shot also bounced and ricocheted harmlessly off Luna's magical aura. Even the occasional impacts were a rarity as Luna was flapping her wings hard and constantly a moving target. On the rare occasion that she was hit, she grimaced against the force of the magic but kept flying without missing a beat.
The internal pain was a little more of a problem. Her wing was aching and the smell of her own burning feathers filled her nostrils as she flew, and her flight was still a limitation not assisted by the Moon's power. Still she kept on, circling Discord and occasionally firing a beam of energy of her own which also bounced harmlessly off of the black magic surrounding Discord.
Luna was dodging trees and rock as she flew, when an idea struck her head. Instead of simply skirting around a particularly large section of stone, she grabbed it in her telekinesis and flung it at Discord. Amazingly, it struck, uninterrupted by Discord's barrier designed to stop magic attacks and magic attacks alone.
She saw the surprise in Discord' face, and wasted no time in charging another beam of moonlight magic. It did not fire as one short burst, but instead as a drawn out laser that she kept trained on the draconequus for a solid five seconds until he composed himself and deflected it. It flew back wildly in Luna's direction but bounced harmlessly off it's own magic shield around her.
Cracks and dents were starting to form on her magical armor, one solid blast threatening to shatter it like glass. To her horror, Discord saw the damage on her shield too and reformed his malicious grin.
"Damn it," Nightmare Moon might have muttered, but Luna was too distracted to pay any attention. Her following shrill scream, however, did not go unnoticed. "Luna, look out!"
The magic burst from Discord came straight on. It wasn't even traveling at particularly alarming speeds, and with an almost amused sense of confidence Luna shot a beam of her own and decimated the assault.
And then a blinding flash from behind sent her spiraling wildly threw the air. The sound of the blast and the shattering of her shield was enough to replace every sound with the same pedantic ringing, and Luna realized as she felt blood trickle from her ears that both her eardrums had been ruptured by it's volume.
Recovering from her frantic dive, she arced back around in a graceful corkscrew and saw that Discord had multiplied himself with a magical decoy, hitting her from behind when she was busy confidently blocking a shot never even intended to hit her.
"You're going to have to be better than that, Luna," Nightmare Moon hissed, and Luna screamed at her to shut up as she finished her flight maneuver and re-engaged Discord. Even her scream was rendered nearly inaudible by the ringing in her ears that was slowly but surely fading away as they rapidly healed.
She wasted no time in letting loose with another torrent of quickly charged magic beams that bounced and flew wildly in every direction as they were deflected off Discord's shield. Now, with her own shield gone, she had to pay attention not to get hit by any of her own blasts that were flying about. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to land another hit, and she was starting to get exhausted from overly exerting a nearly broken wing and harnessing the power of a thousand ponies at once. With her defenses down and Discord still attacking without cease, she was frequently in the crossfire of dozens of beams of magic at once and was anything but safe from a single one of them.
"Alright, Discord," she thought, turning her muzzle to the ground and descending into a dive. "Time to try something different."
Letting herself fall for a few more seconds, she suddenly angled her wings and carved a steady U-shape into the sky as she suddenly beat them hard and soared skywards. The pull of the vortex did nearly half the work, but also meant she had to now keep the angle of her flight downwards to avoid getting pulled in.
Through columns of frozen lightning she rapidly flew, her nimble flying style and long, powerful wings a stark contrast to the small and pathetic draconequus wings Discord had on his own back. The only way he could hope to keep up with her was by rapid and precise teleportation, which was exactly what she wanted.
"Tiring him out?" Nightmare Moon pondered, "Great idea, Lulu. Just watch where you're flying. These bolts could turn us into fried alicorn in an instant."
Even when Discord teleported in front of her, she still whipped by him, corkscrewed between flying bolts and frozen lightning, and swerved about like a moth in torchlight. At one point he appeared in front of her and swiftly erected a barrier of chaos magic which she instantly teleported through. When that failed, he instead tried creating a gust of hurricane level winds in an attempt to push her upwards into the swirling vortex only seventy feet up. Her magical aura sparked against it and made a horrible screeching sound, but it also seemed to be keeping her away from it like magnetic repulsion.
Still, Discord's magic beams were becoming harder to dodge as his frustration grew, and a sudden explosion to her left finally signaled his first successful hit since her shield had fell.
The pain in her wing didn't register, not even as she started tumbling back towards the earth. The pull from the vortex seemed to have a refusal to keep her aloft, like she was the one thing that it would not destroy. Instead, she descended downwards rapidly, the dark and lifeless trees of the Everfree bounding towards her.
"No! Not this time!"
Flinging her wings open and using her magic to force the injured one unfurled, she managed to pull herself out of the dive just enough to crash through ice materialized by her own aura.
Coughing and shivering, she crawled out of the freezing water and shook herself off. She had landed several yards from the castle, in a small pond that she didn't seem to remember from four years ago. Luna had just enough time to compose herself and re-activate her magic shield which had fortunately recovered from before, when Discord materialized in front of her with none of his characteristic joy. He was bent on killing her with a fiery passion now.
"You're stronger than she was," he said, "Then again, you always were, weren't you? Is that why you did it?"
"Discord, I think even you know that what happened to Celestia was something I never intended to do."
"I should have just killed you while I had the chance. Even if it meant saying goodbye to the rest of your magic. And you, Nightmare Moon..." Discord fueled his voice with even more anger and spite as he carried on. He'd never get a response, but as long as Nightmare Moon heard, he didn't care. "You stupid fool. You have no idea the power you threw away thinking that Luna even cares about you. If she had the chance to free herself from you, she would do it in a heartbeat. Wouldn't you, Luna?"
It would mean being able to raise the sun again. It would mean not being eternally feared by her subjects because of her ferocious looking appearance. It would mean peace and harmony. She genuinely wasn't sure if Nightmare Moon's friendship was worth enough to justify throwing all those away.
"Don't answer him, Luna. I don't even care. I would understand."
Unfortunately for Luna, her speechless look of helplessness served as just a poor reaction to Discord's query. Either way, she looked guilty and ashamed.
"She doesn't care about you, Nighty. What about your ponies, Luna? What if letting a thousand die would bring Celestia back? Would you do it?"
"Discord, look above you! Does it look like we have time to sit here playing games?"
Although she didn't necessarily want to, Luna once again took the first shot, a quickly charged magic bolt that hit Discord in the chest. It was a dirty move, to strike when an unspoken ceasefire had just occurred, but she didn't have time anymore to waste. Desperation was setting in, and although it had previously blinded her decisions and denied her rational thoughts, it was now a welcome veil to stave back her morality and equineity.
She lashed like a caged animal, using both her magic and her environment to her advantage. Rock and trees were flung violently at Discord, some making it through his barrier to hit him but most disintegrating on impact.
Discord himself had reduced his own assaults to strictly magic beams, which could only mean that Luna's plan of draining his already limited magic had actually worked. Of course, they were by no means weak magic beams, something which Luna quickly realized as she was thrown backwards by one, skidding through the dirt for a solid twenty feet.
Her lapse of attention directly after coming to a stop lasted only a milisecond, but it was a milisecond in which another blast once again annihilated her aura's shield. Wincing in as it exploded in another deafening glass-like auditory assault.
Springing to her feet, Luna used her own magic instead of that of the Moon to block Discord's third blow, and rolled out of the way of a fourth and fifth. Grinning at his sudden advantage, Discord grabbed his opponent in a telekinetic grasp, and threw the thrashing alicorn carelessly overhead.
Luna heard the smashing of rock the moment she hit the ground, as she continued sliding and smashed her head against a stone surface. Her vision was blurry from the impact, and her magic temporarily jammed by her hindered concentration. Cursing bitterly, she started to rise, but found that she was still pinned by Discord's magic.
As her vision returned, her courage fled. Looking directly down, all she saw was the endless drop of a ravine, far enough to kill a pony. In her current state of ascended power, it would hardly even be an injury, but that was not the reason for her concern.
Discord teleported back in front of her, his paw glowing with magical energy as he kept Luna pinned to the ground. She couldn't even find strength to move her muzzle as it was aggressively forced into the hard rock. Discord snapped his fingers, and Luna felt her heart sink as the black abyss of the ravine was replaced by a plain of chaos energy. She'd heard stories of Discord sending ponies into pure unfiltered chaos energy simply as a means of fun or confinement, she'd even helped console ponies who she and Celestia had freed from Discord's chaos realm. Or at least she had tried...whatever they had seen in there had all but destroyed those poor ponies.
The patch of chaos energy was the biggest Discord could afford to make while still having enough magic to defend himself, and as a result it wasn't very big. Still, with only one wing to help her manipulate her trajectory, she would undoubtedly make it through.
"An eternity of chaos, Luna. You deserve it more than any of those mortals I sent in there. You'll quickly find out how much your companionship with Nightmare Moon is really worth."
"No, Discord." Luna gasped against Discord's magic. "Just kill me instead..."
"Oh, no, no no. You really shouldn't have made me angry, Luna. This could have ended so much better for both of us if you'd just stayed a statue. I don't want you to ever forget how royally you screwed everything up."
"I don't...I don't care what you want."
A lone rock tumbled down and down and vanished when it went through the portal. Luna tried to thrash and fight and actually managed to break free for a second. She had time only to fire a beam of magic which went wildly astray before Discord laughed and started pushing her over the edge of the cliff, relishing in Luna's frantic kicking and protesting shouts. She spat insults, she managed to force out a few other pointless bursts of magic, but it was all for naught.
"Luna, it's alright. We'll find a way out. It's never over."
She thought a reassuring agreement but internally knew that Nightmare Moon was wrong. It wouldn't all be bad...her magical tie with Discord's chaos magic would probably be severed and Equestria would at least be spared from complete corruption. Even the chaos hell such a realm would entail did not phase her so much as the prospect of eternity, and not being able to die.
She was ageless, not immortal. She would die like everypony else, but it would take tens of thousands of years. But not if this was allowed to occur.
No. She said it first in first in her mind and then again out loud, sternly and confidently.
"No!"
Dying was not a luxury she was about to have taken away from her.
Discord's amused grin was instantly cut short as he was hit by an unexpected magic beam from behind. Even Luna blinked several times in shock as the draconequus' hold on her broke enough for her to scramble up to her feet and re-engage the shield.
Discord slowly turned to face the source of the blast, and Luna did too. It hadn't been her who had fired it, so then who had?
"Get away from my sister, Discord," Princess Celestia growled, her swan-like wings unfurled as long and threatening as she could make them and her eyes glowing white with rage. There was no dark magic this time, no signs of imperfections whatsoever. This wasn't one of Discord's ploys nor her own mind's manifestation. This truly was...
"Tia!" Luna gasped in wonderment. Green magic was billowing from the end of her horn, confirming to both alicorn and draconequus that it had been she who had fired. It wasn't Celestia's natural hue but Luna didn't care. As her surprise died away to overwhelming joy, Luna forgot about Discord and about the imminent doom spinning above and made a wild dash for her sister.
Her sister caught her aggressive, flying embrace, not breaking her stern glare but giving Luna a comforting nuzzle in return.
"I thought you were...I thought I...All I wanted to tell you..."
"I know, Luna."
"I'm sorry, Tia! I'm so, so sorry!"
"I know, Luna," Celestia gave her another nuzzle and abruptly separated their embrace. Luna knew that there should be a thousand questions swimming through her head, namely how and why her sister was here, but she simply did not care. There didn't have to be a reason, she was back.
"Discord," Celestia addressed the draconequus who was still peering in dumfounded surprise at the solar Princesses return. "I'm not going to let you harm anypony any longer."
"Tia...what an amazing surprise!" Discord slipped a bit of carelessness into his voice but it was still eclipsed by his rage and confusion.
Celestia turned back to look at Luna, not breaking the determined flare to her eyes even when she gave Luna a quick glimpse of a smile.
"Luna, stay where you are. Don't. Do. Anything."
Before her sister could react, Celestia turned back to Discord and started charging her magic into another assaulting burst. Luna couldn't help but notice that Celestia wasn't making any move to protect herself, instead transferring all her magic into the same concentrated attack. Her sister was no stranger to combat and she really should know that such a move was foolhardy, but whatever her reasoning might have been Luna decided Celestia deserved her trust.
Before she had a chance to even release her energy, however, Discord's own hit her first and sent her sprawling backwards and crashing hard into the ground. No magical aura, not even a small shield broke the force of the blast and it instead hit her full on, throwing her like a plaything through the air and hard onto the stone.
"Celestia!" Luna screamed, scrambling up and clearing the distance between herself and her injured sister in an instant. Celestia was breathing heavily and grinning a little, but the force of the injury looked alarmingly severe.
Luna shivered as she collapsed in front of Celestia's broken body. It wasn't just alarmingly severe...it was potentially fatal.
"No...not again. I'm not loosing you again, Tia!"
"That wasn't like her. That was just stupid. Celestia isn't stupid."
"Shut up, Nightmare Moon! Not now!"
"Luna..." Celestia chuckled even as her sides beat rapidly like she was drawing her last breaths. Discord wasn't advancing towards them, instead he was watching with apathy as Luna cradled her older sister. "It's going to be alright. Trust me."
"I love you, Celestia! I didn't have a chance to say it. All I ever wanted was the chance to say it!"
"I always knew, Luna. You never had to say it. But it is certainly good to hear it."
"You're going to be fine, Tia. Don't go...not again!"
"Yes, that's good..." Celestia said, sounding bizarrely off-tone....like she was carrying out a different conversation in her mind. More green magic flitted through her eyes as a solid object slipped from underneath her wing and clattered onto the stone.
It was the Crystal Heart.
"That's good...that's excellent..." Celestia continued muttering. Her eyes were a solid green now, and specks of black appeared along her fur. Her wings slowly started developing holes, and with a little trouble she started rising to her feet, pushing Luna aside almost violently. She kept mumbling, and as she did her voice slowly transitioned from her calming demeanor into a cold, snake-like multi-tone.
When her magic exploded to life in a wild green cloud, Chrysalis was visible in her entirety as the white alicorn disguise peeled away in a cloud of magic. Discord's eyes lit up with sudden recognition and pure surprise at the changeling Queen.
"I knew I should've killed you," he said, shaking his head regretfully. "If you're any bit as pathetic as your mother then it wouldn't have been difficult."
At the same moment as Discord unleashed another blast, Chrysalis's magic changed from a greenish cloud surrounding her into a straight, blinding beam. Both of their magic collided, love and chaos, and gradually the love energy Chrysalis was firing crept closer and closer to Discord while his own weakened chaos magic shrunk. Discord's eyes grew wide as the love magic finally overtook his own, shattered through his shield, and kept traveling until it made contact and exploded once again, sending rifts of green light far into the sky above and through the dying trees.
The entire process lasted almost twenty seconds, twenty seconds where Chrysalis was visibly struggling to keep all the love magic she was using contained. It was a surreal sight, watching the conflict between an age old draconequus and a small, barely adult changeling. Luna desperately wished she could do something to help the young changeling, but she didn't know the slightest bit about love magic, other then how immensely powerful it could be.
The beam Chrysalis was firing was certainly no exception. When it finally ceased Chrysalis collapsed as if fainting and crashed hard onto the ground, both her and Discord landing in almost perfect harmony. Luna ran over to Chrysalis first, but by time she reached the changeling she was already on her feet again.
"Hello, Princess," Chrysalis panted, chuckling at her own sarcastic tone.
Luna blinked, looked from Discord to Chrysalis and then at the charred bit of earth where Chrysalis, disguised as her sister, had been hit.
"How..."
"How did I survive?" Chrysalis smiled, and pointed down at the Crystal Heart discarded on the ground. "Not as worthless as you deemed it, Princess."
"I fear it is not the only thing I underestimated. You...you saved my life."
Chrysalis opened her mouth to respond, caught herself, and let out an irritated snort instead.
"Are you going to finish him off or what, Princess Luna?"
"Right! Quit stalling, this is our chance! You can buy dinner or something for Queen Ladybug later, we need to end this! You didn't loose the book, I hope?"
"No, I've got it here," Luna said, withdrawing the pink paperback novel and whipping it open as she started towards Discord.
"I was wrong about you," Chrysalis said behind her. Luna didn't turn around, but she heard the changeling's next words clearly regardless. "I thought you had murdered your sister...but love magic of that magnitude begs to differ."
The unintentional irony of her words stung, but Luna still didn't turn nor respond, instead continued pacing ever closer to Discord.
The draconequus was still out cold from the power of Chrysalis's attack. For all Luna knew, he could already have been dead...it had been a pretty intense blast which had hit him when he was already at his weakest.
"From in the head to out in the world, every thought to action..." Luna began reading, a section of bolded text in an otherwise inconspicuous looking paragraph of senseless literary dribble. "Hold close this book and through its spell, you'll start a chain reaction..."
"This is stupid," Nightmare Moon muttered to herself, receiving a stern hush from Luna in response.
"With magic boundless and enchantment unending, may evil perish with peace extending."
Green magic suddenly started billowing from the open book, flowing into Luna's horn and flooding her eyes with it's translucent green glow. She shuddered as a tingle crept through her entire body, but kept walking until she was standing over Discord's body. Heaving a sigh, Luna looked down, pointed her horn at Discord, and spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"Alright, Nightmare Moon. What do I need to do?"
"Let go, Luna."
"What?"
"You've been fighting back the darkness, right? Well, let go. Stop fighting. Use the book to focus on clearing it from your mind, and straight into Discord."
"O...okay..."
Before the logical part of her brain could catch up and tell her that she was currently carrying out a horribly half-baked plan, Luna cleared her mind, let go of any resistance that was stopping the Nightmare Forces from ending her completely, and gritted her teeth in anticipation.
It happened instantly. Her heart started thumping furiously in her chest, her vision started swimming with blackness, and she felt her mind start rippling and fading. Her breathing was rapid and frantic, and her legs gave out against her will as she fell to the earth.
"No, no, no, no!" she muttered over and over. She leaped to her feet, and once again took control of her mind. The Tome of Manifestation sputtered and died as she instantly ended the spell.
"No way I am doing that. It's suicidal!"
"Luna...d...do you trust me?"
"Pardon me?" Luna stood gasping for breath, startled by Nightmare Moon's sudden question.
"I know, you probably don't. But..."
"Nightmare Moon, you are my friend and I am thankful for your presence, but...I cannot find it in myself to trust you just yet."
"Well, regardless, the moments slipping. You need to finish this."
"I cannot! I felt them, they were threatening to destroy me! Another second and I would have died!"
"No. You wouldn't have. Please, Luna, you have to trust me. Try again."
"You are asking me to give up my life," Luna murmured, "Because you have a hunch that this will even work."
"I know. It's your decision Luna. But...make it quick."
Looking around frantically, as if to find another option lying in the rubble and ruin, Luna's mind raced furiously as she contemplated whether or not she wanted to do this. Nightmare Moon wasn't trustworthy, not even remotely, and this would be the second time she was putting her word against her own fate. But if she didn't do something, then this would all be over. The vortex above would swallow everything, everypony, and it would all be her fault.
Standing off to the side, Chrysalis was breathing heavily and it looked as though she, too, was urging Luna forwards. Luna looked around at the wreckage of her land, and back at Discord. She really did have to take this chance, didn't she?
"Good luck, Luna. I think we might be parting ways here. Thank you for everything. And...I'm sorry about whatever happens next."
She cocked an eyebrow at that last sentence, but it wasn't enough to dissuade her from repeating the procedure again. The Tome of Manifestation began vibrating as her magic started again, and before she knew it her head was once again throbbing. Her vision quickly blurred and darkened, until it looked as though it was fading completely. Soon the world was black and the only sensation other than her own magic flowing was the insistent drumbeat of the Nightmare Forces trying to burst through her mind.
It seemed as though time slowed when the transfer began, so that every second dragged on into infinity. She just wanted this all to end, whatever the end entitled, but it looked as though she wasn't getting that luxury. Suddenly, Luna was aware of another sound, it sounded as though Nightmare Moon was whispering something. But she sounded different, like her voice was coming from elsewhere.
Like it was being spoken out loud. By tongue instead of by mind. And it was her tongue whispering those words.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Luna screamed furiously. "Nightmare Moon!
Nightmare Moon did not answer. Luna felt her headache finally began to die down, but still everything was black. To her knowledge she had her eyes open as wide as possible and yet she couldn't see a thing.
And then she felt herself loosing consciousnesses.
"Nightmare! What is happening?!" she screamed as she did. The sound of her own voice sounded echoed and foreign, in fact it sounded exactly the way Nightmare Moon's had. The last thing she did before she lost consciousness completely was curse herself once again for placing her trust in the one she had thought was her friend.
Her eyes darting open, Luna flung to her feet and looked around frantically. Whatever had just happened...where was she now?
"You're awake..." Nightmare Moon's voice rung out, and Luna whipped around to face it. Nightmare Moon was prodding a small fire with a stick held in her magic, looking sullen and defeated. "That's good to see."
"What have you DONE?!" Luna yelled, looking around frantically. Other than the seemingly floating patch of dirt they were standing on, there was nothing but blackness.
"Look...I'm sorry, Luna. You're not going to like the answer."
"Dammit, Nightmare. I told you it wouldn't work!"
"Well, actually it did work. Which is why I'm sorry," Nightmare Moon was still staring sadly into the fire, deliberately avoiding Luna's eyes. "I'm afraid I lied to you about our plan. There was never any additional Nightmare Forces. There was never any chance of transferring them into Discord or freeing you of them. What I did, I did to save you and to save Equestria, but I imagine you'll hate me for it."
"Then tell me!" Luna urged, beating a hoof against the ground impatiently. Nightmare Moon let out a colossal sigh, and rose to her feet. Using her magic, she stuck the branch she had been fiddling with into the fire and withdrew the makeshift torch she had just created.
"It's...it's sort of like fire in the wind," she began. "Me being the wind and you being the fire. The wind has been getting stronger and it's simply because I'm still here. I'm not doing anything, I don't want to keep corrupting you, but I am and I'm sorry. Any longer and..."
Nightmare Moon took the stick from the smoldering campfire, brought it close to herself, and extinguished the flame simply by closing her eyes sadly.
"Before long the evil I've been spreading would've destroyed Equestria. Instead of letting that happen, I tricked you into locking yourself back down here, in the depths of your own mind, dragging the darkness with you. It's grown...like a tumor, stuck to your consciousness. And after what Discord did, it was expanding even further. But here, it can't harm you. You'll be safe. As will Equestria."
"No!" Luna practically screamed. "I won't be! Why would it be any different here?! And what about my subjects? I'm never going to be able to see them again!"
"Luna, you ARE safe. It can't kill you, or else it'll just die off. And it's influence will be limited to down here again. Instead of letting Equestria perish...I made a necessary sacrifice."
"So that you could have control," Luna turned away in complete disgust. "You're quite the hero, Nightmare Moon."
"Please, Luna! I didn't have a choice! If I wouldn't have done anything we both would have died! You felt what it was doing, it would've spread and taken you over anyways, and there would've been nothing we could do about it! And then Equestria would have a much worse ruler than you or Discord, I can assure you. I'm sorry you're trapped here, Luna, I really, really am, but I saved your life."
"I'd rather die then let you rule Equestria in me or Celestia's stead," Luna replied, Celestia's letter instantly coming to her mind. Her sister had trusted her to save Equestria and yet again she had failed.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Luna," Nightmare Moon sighed in defeat. "I care about Equestria, too, you know. "
Luna snorted and said nothing for a long while, taking in the sea of dreary and dark fields surrounding her, once again making up her reality. In that moment she realized that after all they had been through, she hated Nightmare Moon more than anypony else she had ever known. She saw now that she'd been right when she'd distrusted Nightmare Moon. Celestia had always encouraged friendship and compassion, but what good had it done her now?
"Leave, Nightmare Moon. You've won. Congratulations. Now go." Luna once again fell to the ground, resting her muzzle sadly on the cold dirt. She let out an irritated sigh when Nightmare Moon followed her and sat down, too.
"I don't want to leave on such poor terms—"
"Well I want you to go! I don't ever wish to see you again. Go steal my life! It's what you wanted, isn't it?"
Nightmare Moon stared for a long time at herself reflected in Luna's watering irises, wishing she had something encouraging to say. In truth, she knew there really was nothing left. They'd hit the bottom and although Equestria was safe, she had lost the trust and companionship of a good friend whose presence she'd never deserved. Any apologies she had she knew would be worthless to Luna, who was for the first time starting to see her for what she was; a monster.
"I'm sorry—"
"Shut up!" Luna leaped to her feet and screamed right into Nightmare Moon's face. She felt something warm and ticklish streak down her face and realized she was crying. "I don't want to hear your lies anymore! I don't want..."
Luna stopped abruptly as the tears continued falling silently down her face. Once again falling to the ground, Luna broke out in fresh, half-muted sobs and when Nightmare Moon moved to console her she was violently pushed away, falling off her feet and hitting the dirt hard. Reluctantly rising, she looked at Luna's heaving form, four years of guilt and anger finally reaching it's boiling point.
"I'm sorry, Luna," she whispered inaudibly, turning away from Luna and closing her eyes as she prepared to leave. There would be no triumphant twisting of the odds, they would not be leaving on good terms, and the chance of them ever meeting again was nonexistent. Hope had been extinguished, at least until the Elements of Harmony finally separated them, but that was more than likely never going to happen.
"Take care of Equestria, Nightmare Moon," Luna said suddenly, parting the dirt in front of her absently with a hoof. "You've taken everything from me, please at least promise me that you will."
"I promise, Luna. I swear to you I won't let anything happen to it,"
"Goodbye, Nightmare Moon."
"I'm...Goodbye, Luna."
The first thought that rushed through the black alicorn's brain as her eyes slowly fluttered open was that everything hurt. Even the light, which was in reality a dim candlelight, seemed blinding and disorienting and before long she had to close her eyes again in order to satisfy their protesting groans of pain. She felt small lumps across her body, legs, and hooves, but couldn't find the motivation to open her eyes to see what they were.
What had happened? Where was she?
And then another thought flitted through her mind.
WHO was she?
Once again she attempted to wake herself, and found that on the second try she seemed to respond a little better to the light, but still had to squeeze them shut again before her world had time to come into focus. She felt like she was about to fall back to slumber, but she had a creeping suspicion that she'd been slumbering for far too long as it was. As if in protest to her body's wishes, she confidentially forced herself awake, and flooded herself with as many senses as she could before they could overtake her instead.
She was lying on a plush bed in a dimly lit room. Or...she had been lying on the bed, now she was leaning up and doing her best to orient herself into a standing position on the floor that felt like it was a million miles below.
The room she was in was mostly featureless, as if the bed had just been shoved into a room with a candle to just move her out of the immediate way of some more important pony.
Again the thought rushed to her mind. Who then WAS she? Looking back, she examined her black coat and wings. The lumps she had felt earlier turned out to be thick rounds of bandage tape, which upon removing she found were covering massive burns and cuts. Bringing a hoof to her forehead, she found that she had a horn, too. Which meant she was an alicorn. Even in her confused state, she knew that being an alicorn wasn't exactly a common thing.
The only other feature to the room other than the bed and candle perched on the wall was a sturdy looking wooden door, so she took a step towards it, stumbled and fell to the hardwood floor, rose again, and pushed it open.
The moment she did, she was greeted to several alarmed gasps and nearly tackled down by concerned ponies.
"Princess! You're awake!"
"How are you feeling, Your Majesty? Do you need anything?"
"Need...?" she croaked, her voice coated with dried blood and phlegm. The ponies had been removing and reapplying bandage tape and doting her wounds with stinging ointment, but they looked up in surprise when she spoke. She coughed and tried again. "Need anything? No, I...I think I'm fine. What I would like is an explanation as to..."
"You passed out," Another voice said, colder and more distant than the others. The black alicorn turned her gaze to this new voice and saw that she was different from the other ones. Instead of fur she seemed to have a hard, insect-like shell, with insect wings to match. One was crumbled at a sickening angle and the other was wrapped in thick bandages that made it droop nearly to the ground.
"You're...Chrysalis," she said, memories of this young Queen rushing to her head. Who SHE was remained a mystery, but this changeling Queen was a familiar face.
"And you're Luna. And I'm...shocked to find myself relieved that you are alright."
Luna. Another familiar name, but she didn't feel like it belonged to her. Curiously, she ran it through her mind, trying to determine whether or not it fit who she was.
The black alicorn awoke from slumber. Luna awoke from slumber.
Luna rose from bed. Luna greeted Queen Chrysalis.
Nightmare Moon murdered Princess Luna.
She blinked a few times at that last thought. Where had that come from? It bore no relevance to what she had previously been thinking and really didn't even make sense at all. Who in Equestria was Nightmare Moon?
Then again, that name didn't seem foreign to her either. In fact, it somehow felt just as applicable to herself as Luna did. Perhaps even more so. But Chrysalis had called her Luna. As did the ponies (who, as they assaulted her body with instruments and medical tape, she decided they must be doctors and nurses.)
Rubbing the bridge of her nose with a hoof, she tried to force memories back into her stubborn skull. Memories of Luna. Herself, apparently.
She remembered blood, and battle, and crossing long plains of post-apocalyptic soil with some grand task looming at the forefront of her mind and poking out beyond the horizons ahead. She remembered a freezing wasteland of snow and towering crystal spires, looking at the marble that was Equus from the surface of the moon, listening to the distant lapping waves of the black sea of some lonely and abandoned beach town.
With each memory another one emerged. Her mind rippled like the surface of a pond, each memory a pebble sending cascades of activity across her bewildered mind. When she'd heard the waves, she was on the floor of an abandoned beach house. And that beach house had belonged to her sister. And her sister had been Princess Celestia.
Luna murdered Princess Celestia.
She juggled that sentence over and over. It sent chills down her spine, it disturbed her too no end, but what she feared most was how accurate it seemed to be. All the names seemed to click into place, whilst filling in the gaps of her memory. She turned again to Queen Chrysalis, who was currently engaged in an argument with one of the ponies who had been tending to her bandaged wing.
"Quit prodding me, you idiot! It's membrane, it grows back!" Chrysalis was snarling, as she shoved the shocked unicorn nurse away.
"Queen Chrysalis," she said in an irritated and tired voice, recovering from Chrysalis's shove and resuming her contact with the wing. "The membrane isn't my concern. The intersecting bone that connects it to your body is just about ready to give out."
"I said I was fine. Why are you ponies so hospitable all of a sudden? Did you miss the part where I tried to kill your Princess? Oh, speaking of which..." Chrysalis turned her gaze towards the black alicorn still hovering in the impasse between her temporary quarters and the throne room.
"Maybe we can come to another arrangement. I don't really have any desire to dish out anymore revenge then I did with Discord. It's in the best interest of my future changelings that I've decided forming an alliance would be better. What do you think, Princess Luna?"
"Chrysalis...I'm not really in the correct state of mind to be making these sort of negotiations. I'm experiencing some sort of memory lapse."
"Don't ever call me Chrysalis again. It's Queen Chrysalis. I call you Princess Luna, after all. And fine, whatever," At the unspoken request of the nurse, Chrysalis sighed and lifted her wing to give better access to the protruding marrow. "You did have a pretty nasty magic surge. For awhile you were just...laying there, your eyes all cloudy and featureless. You looked possessed or something."
"You shot down Discord with a love magic surge," she recalled, feeling the memories poking out onto the surface of her mind, if not as small and random pinpricks of information.
"That's right. Your sisterly love for Celestia. It was the strongest I think any changeling has seen. Then you trotted over, had a one-sided screaming argument with yourself, and bang! Magic surge the size of the Everfree! Probably would have killed him, but he turned himself to stone."
"Then does that mean...the black clouds? I remember there being black clouds of dark magic..."
"Mhm, well, those have been dissipating over the past few days. Chronological days, I mean. Discord's nothing but a tacky lawn ornament and the sky doesn't rumble and spill out random objects. It seriously looks like everything is going to be fine."
"Thank you for your help, Queen Chrysalis. Without you I surely would have fallen."
"Yeah, whatever."
"No, really, Chrysalis. Thank you."
"Queen Chrysalis. And you're welcome, Princess Luna."
"Why would you help me? Why not let me die? I thought you blamed me for your mother's death..."
"I did. And...I still sort of do. I know that what happened to her wasn't your doing, and that you didn't flee for those four years like I thought you did. Besides...my mother forgave you in the past. And she did what was best for her changelings, and not herself. If I ever hope to be as good a Queen as she was, then I need to do the same."
"You'll make a fantastic Queen."
"Oh, I know I will," Chrysalis said. "I've already been speaking with some changelings through the hivemind. Infants. They hatched at just the right time, giving me just enough energy to transform into Celestia..."
Chrysalis suddenly raised her voice accusingly in the direction of the medical ponies tending her injuries.
"...and I'd be there helping them if these vultures weren't picking at my wounds!"
She let out another entitled 'humph' and stormed back in the direction of her temporary room in Luna's castle to be alone, ignoring the protesting shouts of the nurses and doctors.
Surrounded by nothing but the black starry sky, Luna simply looked on. Looming high above her was the moon, it's size absolutely immense. Every crater and crevice was visible with utmost clarity, so that it looked almost a stone's throw from the floating circle of dirt she was sitting on.
The fire had died out when Nightmare Moon left. In fact, even the traces of it had disappeared. Likewise, the moment that her former friend and companion departed, Luna felt a slightly obtrusive weight manifest itself on her front hoof and looking at it she saw that she was now wearing a silver shackle that was attached to the ground by a chain of several feet. She didn't care. It didn't matter. If she could move, so what? Where would she go?
Her horn did not produce even a spark of magic, and without magic even her ability of flight had vanished. Not that there was really anywhere for her to fly to, except maybe the moon above. She'd been there plenty of times and it was yet another thing she didn't care about anymore.
"So this is it," Luna said, her voice carrying out into the darkness for miles, uninterrupted by any earthly laws of physics. "Until the Elements of Harmony free me, this is my world. That's alright. I can wait."
How long she would HAVE to wait she had no idea. It could be a thousand years, it could be a million. Nightmare Moon had trapped her here and Luna couldn't see any reason why she would be leaving any time soon. She had to rely on the thought that her own subjects were the last hope that she would ever breathe Equestrian air again. And it wasn't a very comforting thought.
Even more disturbing a thought was one Nightmare Moon had only lightly touched on, but Luna's bored mind dwelled on and enhanced until it was a fully formed theory. When Nightmare Moon took over, she would be thinking with her mind and brain, and therefore might not even realize that she was not Luna at all. If this was true, then the chance of Nightmare Moon ever making any sort of move to help her seemed completely out of the question. She couldn't help a pony she did not even know existed, after all.
Even that was founded on the belief that Nightmare Moon even cared about her, something that Luna knew was a stretch. All in all, her future looked rather bleak and hopeless, but she refused to feel as such.
She'd been feeling bleak and hopeless for too long. She'd nearly driven herself to death with negative emotions and thoughts. Now, even though her chances were negligible, Luna did her best to remain positive and optimistic. Surprisingly, she was not completely unsuccessful.
There was a little bit of guilt, too, not only towards Equestria or her sister but also towards Discord. In many ways, she'd failed to find a solution that used a harmonious way out. To hope her magic didn't kill Discord would be to hope Equestria was still under his reign, but to hope it did meant that for the second time in her life she had murdered in cold blood.
She closed her eyes and rested. Her dreamwalking magic had taught her how to phase in and out of dreams at will, and it too gave her the ability to manipulate her own dreamworld and how long she spent in it before waking. She could make her dreamworld a blank slate and sleep for decades if she wanted. The waiting would not be the hardest part of her time here.
Optimism. It was the only thing she had left as she slowly lost awareness of the world around her and prepared for a slumber of a few decades. She could waste her time thinking hatred of Nightmare Moon or pity for herself, but for now she would save those thoughts for later. She had plenty of time to dwell on them, after all.
By contrast to Luna's carefree slumber, Nightmare Moon had no choice but to experience the flow of time in the order that she had no ability to alter. For her, days passed normally, and without long periods of peaceful dreams.
Soon, those days became weeks, where she simply walked through the halls of her wrecked castle or spoke with ponies relieved to be under her rule again. Across these weeks, she and Queen Chrysalis did not speak again. Not that Queen Chrysalis was avoiding her specifically, nor that she was avoiding Chrysalis, but simply because the two had both preferred their own utmost solitude as they recovered. Slowly, Nightmare Moon began fitting into the name of Princess Luna more and more, but still every time she heard it she had the sensation one has upon being called out for thievery. One would call her by name, and she would turn with surprise and guilt, feeling as though she had been committing some sort of crime. Luna was the name she remembered herself by, and it was the name by which she was referred to, so why then did she feel so strange thinking of herself as such?
She stayed in her makeshift bedroom for a long while, simply trying to remember as much as she could. She didn't see Chrysalis leave for the Changeling Empire. She didn't hear the delicate cries of infant changelings through her hivemind, nor the uncharacteristic tears of joy the Queen had shed upon hearing them. Chrysalis had never flown as fast in her life as when she was rushing back to her kingdom.
She wouldn't see Chrysalis nor another changeling until two centuries later.
Months passed. In the blink of an eye, so did years. Slowly, Nightmare Moon remembered. No, Luna remembered. The name slowly became hers again, and her past life as Nightmare Moon vanished like a bad dream. Who she had been was extinguished by the promise of who she was now. She had Luna's memories, she had Luna's emotions, she WAS Princess Luna.
And Equestria was her kingdom. Under the light of the moon, it was her responsibility to keep it safe. Plants were created, trees were grown, nature was forced to adapt. Equestria survived, albeit with a large amount of effort on everypony's part. Almost joyfully, Luna reigned over her subjects, and as they saw the truth of her leadership their fear of her gradually vanished. She had saved them from Discord, she was feeding them and maintaining peace, and although she was frequently hostile and commanding and arrogant, she was a good leader all the same. She might not have been the Luna they remembered, but any variation of the moon princess was better than Discord. What they did not know was that they were completely wrong in their assumptions of Luna's return. They did not know of Nightmare Moon's actions, nor that the black alicorn they saw before them was not Luna but instead a being whose own mind had been wiped clean the moment it became that of Princess Luna.
And so, over the years-turned-decades, Nightmare Moon was forgotten and replaced by Princess Luna, all the while oblivious to the true nature of her being. There was still guilt, after all, she was still living with Luna's brain and therefore Luna's morality, but unlike before, it was not enough to eclipse the light of what needed to be done. On the eve of the hundredth year since Discord had been defeated, she announced that over the century she had managed to reduce the starvation mortality rate by twenty-five percent. After two hundred, her night crops had spread and cultivated most of Equestria, and the starvation that plagued her nation was no longer enough to cause the mass sweeps of death it had in the past.
The striving peace lasted for almost six centuries, but Luna was not oblivious to the growing fear and suspicion amongst her subjects. Five hundred and fifty years after Celestia's death, the first signs of what would become a devastating war bubbled to surface of the black waters that were her dangerous kingdom.
It was during this war that Nightmare Moon returned. The ponies who opposed her started flinging it about like an insult. How they knew of the significance of the name she did not know, but over time it's meaning started to truly seep in. There had always been the inkling doubts about who she was, and during the decades of war she finally decided to let go of the lies she had been telling herself about being Princess Luna, and finally embrace the truth.
With that understanding, it wasn't long before the war ended. Nightmare Moon decimated the resistance with reluctant efficiency, the terror she projected serving as violent of a weapon as the lethal blasts of magic she used to strike her opposition dead. At great costs to her conscience she swallowed her morality, knowing that by doing so she was ending a bloodbath that otherwise would see no end.
After the fifty year war, the fear of Nightmare Moon did not die off. While the ponies were free under the laws Nightmare Moon upheld, it was quite clear to them that to disobey their leader would result in a swift, final punishment without exception. Their leader lived alone in her Everfree Castle, few ponies seeing her again and her existence fading into an almost mythological belief. For decades at a time she would stay there alone, letting the quarrels and conflicts they petty mortals faced come and go as if she simply did not care. Occasionally she did show herself, suddenly walking directionless through her towns and wearing a slight smile and scrutinizing everything under her watchful eyes as blue and cold as the depths of the sea itself. She never spoke, never interacted with a single one of her subjects, she simply walked and watched and then disappeared for another extensive stretch of time.
Some thought she was mad, turned insane by the isolation she brought on herself. Some thought her guilt was the reason she stopped existing in the public's eyes. These beliefs were not unfounded, nor were they entirely incorrect, but what they could never have known was that Nightmare Moon was simply waiting. Waiting in silence for the birth of the prophesied mare, the one that Princess Celestia had claimed would bring about Equestria's salvation. It was the only hope she had and it was a fleeting glimmer at the end of a tunnel in which light dared not tread.
But her waiting did not go uninterrupted. She knew of the rumors and anger building towards her. She knew of the plans of the Rebels and the assassination attempts that had gone unperformed due to fear. With her as a non-existent presence, even the fear started dissipating and the hatred started replacing it.
And so she reinstated the laws of terror she'd thought she never would have to enforce again. Equestria was no longer free, the laws were no longer just, and Nightmare Moon was no longer silent. She killed, she screamed, she punished any who opposed her. Until Twilight Sparkle was born, it was her job to keep herself alive and Equestria safe, and to give in and let another war unfold would be to surrender the prospect of day forever.
Equestria became a dystopia, a world in which fear and terror reigned supreme and ponies lived within caged settlements. She stripped her subjects of their wings, horns, and magic to ensure that they were powerless to start a rebellion. Her heart grew cold and lifeless, and all the while the perverse guilt of who she was and what she had done prevented her from succumbing to insanity completely.
Centuries passed. Hope faded. Ponies died and civilizations grew. Eventually, six mares would be born, and their stories would fade into legend the same way the story of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia had since become.
Nightmare Moon still remained amazed at how routine life as a tyrannical, fearsome leader ultimately turned out to be. It became so simple, so ordinary, so mundane and repetitive, that the passing of time hardly existed to her at all. The only anchor that kept her rooted in the minds of her subjects was her furiously loyal student.
Twilight Sparkle had accomplished so much for such a young unicorn. Then again, having spent her entire life under the close and watchful eye of her mentor, the Princess of Eternal Night, she undoubtedly had a significant advantage over her fellow mortals. While Nightmare Moon ruled over the night unending, Twilight Sparkle was also granted a small but significant role of leadership, as the mayor of the core settlement of Equestria known as Ponyville. She ruled with the same hatred and anger she had learned from following her mentor closely, fueled by her own power, her rich desire to never disappoint the mentor she admired, and her pride at how much she had made for herself. She was the most powerful unicorn Equestria had known and she was the closest pony to the great alicorn who foolish ponies prayed to at day's end and wise ponies had learned to treat with fearful respect.
She was praised at nearly every occasion by her mentor. Nightmare Moon was the closest thing to a family Twilight Sparkle had ever known, and the kind yet fearsome alicorn treated her just as dearly as a mother would.
The disappointment lurking beneath Nightmare Moon's smiles and praise remained unnoticed by her student, her subjects, and the rebellious ponies who had rejected the rules of the night and lived in hiding far from Nightmare Moon's watchful eyes. The truth of Nightmare Moon's displeasure with the terrible, cruel, and powerful pony that was Twilight Sparkle remained hidden, as she eternally wished for a better pony to swoop in and replace the prophesied mare scheduled to bring about the day.
"I'm sending you to oversee trade negotiations with Queen Chrysalis and her changelings," Nightmare Moon told her student, pointing out the kingdom of her old friend on a map older than Twilight Sparkle's great grandmother probably was. "They are close friends of us ponies, so please be as courteous and polite as you can, whilst remaining firm to the demands I am enforcing. Do I make myself understood, Twilight?"
"Crystal, Your Majesty!" Twilight assured with a curt nod.
"Good. Have fun, Twilight. A chariot is waiting in the courtyard to take you there."
Nightmare Moon had enjoyed the silence brought about by the temporary departure of her student. She had no doubt the residents of Ponyville enjoyed the silence even more so than she did. It would only last several weeks, but any refuge from Twilight Sparkle's tyranny was undoubtedly welcomed.
As such, it came as a surprise to Nightmare Moon when she learned of Twilight Sparkle's presence in Ponyville at least three days prior to when she was supposed to return. With frustration disguised as curiosity she took off for Ponyville, only to find the small town in a mass state of panic upon her arrival.
The second they sighted their Princess, the guards of Ponyville dropped into a terrified bow. Nightmare Moon twisted her mouth into a grimace as she walked into their midst, grabbing the first guard she came to by his neck and holding him into the air above her.
"What. Happened?" she growled, enunciating each words separately and coating each one with venomous malice.
"The...the yellow pegasus we captured! The butterfly pony with the wings! She...she..."
"What?! What did she do?"
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty! She escaped!"
"That's impossible," Nightmare Moon snarled, adding magic to her grip and cutting off the guards flow of air, not enough to kill him but certainly enough to frighten him further. "No unicorn has a horn, no pegasi has wings...what help could this Resistance worm possibly have received?"
"It was unicorn magic, Princess! Somepony broke her out, I swear!"
If Nightmare Moon felt the first signs of hope in a long while, they did not even for a moment find their way into her emotionless glare. But they were there, shining like the moon above.
Yes. Yes. The Resistance had always been a prominent force, and the battle for the sun truly had never ceased. But...for the first time the impossible had been achieved. They had saved one of their own from the very grips of Nightmare Moon.
On the day that Twilight Sparkle had arrived home earlier than scheduled, in secrecy, without approval from her own mentor. Nightmare Moon wasn't stupid, and the signs had never been so obvious than they were as she released the pony from her grip and stalked towards the tall tree home of her supposedly loyal student.
The shock, followed swiftly by nervousness in her student's eyes was evident as she looked up into the judging eyes of Nightmare Moon.
"Good evening, my faithful student," Nightmare Moon greeted with a sly smile. "How goes the night?"
"Umm...fine, your majesty," Twilight Sparkle gulped, cast a nervous look behind her, and refused to meet Nightmare Moon's direct eyesight.
"Back early, are we?" Nightmare Moon asked, brushing past Twilight and into the library home. Her student continued answering in the same unsure, improvised panicky state, but there was something else entirely wrong as Nightmare Moon listened to her speak. As if Twilight Sparkle was a different pony entirely.
Nightmare Moon rose a curious eyebrow as she entered the home's kitchen, spotting two cups of steaming tea both of which had been in use mere moments before she had entered.
""Are you expecting a guest this late in the evening, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Of course you are," Nightmare Moon thought to herself as Twilight hurriedly murmured the opposite. She'd seen the hiding form of Fluttershy amongst the tree's wispy branches when she had been approaching the library. It was no wonder the pegasus had managed to escape her imprisonment with Twilight Sparkle so suddenly changing allegiances in secret.
"So it's true," Nightmare Moon told herself as she left the library with a tiny grin cracking through her eternally solemn expression. "I've never been so pleased to be betrayed."
Hours later, as she lay reading alone in her castle in the Everfree, the familiar wail of the Ponyville sirens informed her of Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy's escape from Ponyville. She had no doubt as she flew back to the panicking town that the two mares were presently tearing across the barren plains of Equestria, and her suspicions were confirmed as she landed and was instantly barraged with pleading apologies from her entire Royal Guard.
Nightmare Moon stood at her regular spot on the balcony, looking in the direction of Ponyville and dreading what was to come. In mere hours, the full force of the Elements of Harmony would be directed at her, their magic springing to life for the first time in a thousand years. And yet the odds of them being successful were slim, and if that were the case then she might very well have to watch as yet again six innocent ponies died for a fruitless cause. But if they were successful...
Heaving a sigh, Nightmare Moon floated her quill and parchment, and still staring at the industrial smoke billowing over-top Ponyville, she began to write. When she finished, she signed her name, looked for awhile at the blank space between the last sentence and her signature, and added one final sentence above her name.
Your friend,
Nightmare Moon
For a while, she simply stared at the last words before her signature, and contemplated scratching them out and replacing them with a simple 'sincerely.' Not that she didn't believe them, but she knew Luna would not.
In the end, she decided that, for herself, she would leave it as is. Soon her consciousness would be irreversibly eradicated by the Elements of Harmony, and it was with a bittersweet sense of comfort that Nightmare Moon knew those would be the last words Luna would hear from her.
Tucking the letter into an envelope and scrawling Luna's name onto the parchment, she grabbed it in her telekinetic magic and placed it gently on the end table by her bed. Then, she returned to the balcony and spread her wings, flying off in the direction of Ponyville where the six potential Element Bearers would be waiting.
She was finally ready to die.
Admittedly, Nightmare Moon had been expecting a slow rebellion. She had been expecting Twilight Sparkle to gather her strength, to unite an army and ultimately attempt to forcibly overthrow the night. What had happened was nothing of the sort. Instead, as Nightmare Moon paced forward to face her final opposition, she was greeted with Twilight Sparkle and five other terrified ponies who were vital members of The Resistance but had probably never been in combat even once in their lives.
"I was certainly expecting more," she said bluntly, eying her last hope and feeling her stomach sink with disappointment and fear. They certainly weren't aspiring any sort of confidence. Was she seriously expected to believe that these were the ponies who would be able to wield the Elements and purge Luna from the darkness she had invoked?
A tiny pinprick of light began to glow initially from Twilight Sparkle's horn, but over the course of several seconds it continued growing in intensity around all six ponies until they were all enveloped in the same brilliant spheres of white light. In mere moments the light had gone from dim to the brightness of the sun, forcing every onlooking pony to turn their eyes away. Even Nightmare Moon had to squint as the six spheres of light burned brightly ahead of her.
This had happened many times in the past. Six ponies, thinking they had the strength to wield the Elements, and being vaporized by the very powers they had summoned.
But not this time. The light suddenly shifted from white to a multicolored rainbow, before twisting into a beam and bounding forwards towards the pleasantly shocked yet terrified Princess of the Night standing proud in the center of the streets of Ponyville.
The rainbow struck as planned and Nightmare Moon's world exploded in color, for but a brief moment, before re-forming as a sort of celestial hallway, blinding white on all sides but with shimmering traces of the entire color spectrum faintly visible along each side. The sound of her echoing hooves against the glow of the faultless floor filled her ears. Behind her the light intensified until it was like she was walking into the heart of the sun, and in front it carried on and on into darkness.
The whole while, the sound of Twilight Sparkle and the other five ponies straining against the blunt of the Elements of Harmony and trying in vain to wield them joined the echoing clop of her hooves, a striking reminder that she was still partially in charge of where she went from here. She could end all of this by walking back into the light, or she could walk forwards into the nothingness.
Wearing a confident grin, Nightmare Moon put one shaking hoof in front of another as she walked on into the darkness. The white and color around her gradually seeped into a dark shadow, until she was no longer walking through a celestial hallway but now walking through a pitch dark room.
Ahead of her, a sudden flare of light struck out against the darkness and a blue alicorn was visible in the magic she was casting, walking forwards in direct reversal to Nightmare Moon's walk into the dark. She gave Nightmare Moon a light grin and a respectful nod of her head, and brushed past her as she continued her trek into the light. Neither alicorn looked back as they continued on their respective journeys, finally returning to their rightful places.
The light was all but gone now, even looking behind her she could no longer see it, but Nightmare Moon wasn't afraid. Eventually she became aware of the fact that she was no longer walking and, indeed, no longer capable of walking even if she wished, and yet still no sense of perverse fear crept down her spine.
With a relieved sense of finality, she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes on the nothing that there was to see.
It was over. The Elements had worked.
She had won.
Her joy was unrivaled. The sun was shining. Her subjects were smiling. After a thousand years, Luna was free, her ponies were free, and the Nightmare had finally been purged.
It took three days for the sunrise festivities in Ponyville to die down enough for Luna to sneak back to her castle to rest. She felt odd, out of place, wandering across a world with memories of things she had never done, things that Nightmare Moon had done with her brain and her mind. While her memories of what Nightmare Moon had lived were not boundless, she at least had a vague idea what had happened during her absence. Similarly, she felt the obligation to share in the responsibility of having done them since it had been indirectly her that had influenced them.
When she finally slipped away from Ponyville and started off to the Everfree, a few ponies had attempted to follow her. They were trailing at her heels with faces of curiosity, amazement, and respectfulness, which made it all the more difficult for Luna to tell them that she needed to be alone for a few hours. Of course they had understood, and she walked the rest of the distance to her castle alone.
Her memories during Nightmare Moon's life weren't complete enough that she remembered the lesser details, so it was with great surprise that Luna found a letter lying on her bed, tucked away delicately and marked as 'For Luna' in hoofwriting that was none other than her own.
She kicked off her hoofguards, armor, and crown, grabbed the letter in her telekinesis, and fell back-first onto her bed. She had to give credit where it was due, Nightmare Moon could not have picked a more comfortable bed.
The letter was unexpected, but not amazingly so. Some sort of threat was possible, but more than likely it was a simple list of what had transpired during Luna's absence that Nightmare Moon thought she should know. Alone to her thoughts Luna had ultimately come to the conlusion that Nightmare Moon didn't hate her, in fact, she might have actually been telling the truth when she said she enjoyed Luna's presence, but ultimately deemed her own desires as more important. Luna herself saw Nightmare Moon for what she thought she was; a being not inherently evil, but selfish and oblivious to the sympathies of others.
It didn't matter. It was all behind her now. She was home, the sun was shining. Luna had half a mind to throw the letter from Nightmare Moon into the fire, and erase the last trace of that insipid creature's existence once and for all, but some part of her decided it wouldn't be right. One final, hair sized sliver of what she had once called friendship was all it took for Luna to unfurl the parchment, hold the letter up to the light, and begin reading the last words of Nightmare Moon.
Dear Luna,
When you read this, it will be after a moment of great victory for both of us. A moment that we have both been wishing for a thousand years. The moment when the sun finally rises. If not, then it is with great sorrow that I write this letter knowing you will never read it.
I'm not quite sure how much of my memories will become yours when the Elements of Harmony extinguish me forever and return you to your rightful place. Similarly, I have had access to your memories these past thousand years. The moment I left you a thousand years ago and surfaced in control, I woke up not quite knowing who or what I was. I woke up with your memories and thinking with your mind, which is why for a very long time I thought I was you. There was always a nagging voice telling me that I was wrong and I wasn't Luna, I was Nightmare Moon, but I didn't want to believe it and so I didn't. I lived in this state of denial for quite some time, several centuries in fact. There was never a moment when I was entirely sure who I was but when somepony asked my name my automatic response to them was 'Luna.'
Perhaps worthy of note is the fact that I kept our friendship and allegiance with Queen Chrysalis and the changelings alight for the entirety of the millennium. She has helped me many more times since the incident with Discord and I too have helped her. I do think you two are on for tea by the end of the month.
Speaking of Discord, I've seen no activity from beyond his once again stone gaze, this time self-instated. Thankfully for your conscience this means he isn't dead, and I cannot help but wonder what your plans are with him now. Just don't be stupid and try something like reformation, alright? Something tells me you will anyways, so in any case good luck.
I'd be lying if I said I handled everything peacefully over Equestria's history. I'm sorry to admit that I did not. There were wars, and there were many times when peace was simply not an option. The first war broke out after a period of almost five centuries of relative silence, and obedience from our subjects. It was during this war that I eventually started to realize that the mare I thought myself to be was not the mare I truly was. Even our subjects started calling me 'Nightmare Moon,' and one fateful night I decided I could not hide who I was any longer. My memories slowly resurfaced over the ensuing years, and my growing ruthlessness proved not only to myself but to our subjects that I was no longer Princess Luna. I now know I never was, but that's besides the point.
After the war had finished, Equestria relapsed into peace, but it was short lived. It's end in sight and the dawn of a new war looming, I changed my leadership tactics into something I was reluctant to do but ultimately had no choice. I turned my subjects suspicion and doubt into terror and fear, and I turned Equestria into a near-dystopian hell.
I imagine many of these choices I have had to make will be remembered by you as your own, as I have made them using the basis of your memories and instincts. I'm not proud of what's become of Equestria, but I kept my promise. I kept us all alive long enough for you to guide us to the sun again.
As you know, the Elements of Harmony were broken apart when we used them against Equestria. This prevented me from ever using them against myself, meaning the only hope for the sun was for a mortal pony to wield them.
In Celestia's letter to you from the Underworld, she wrote that any hope for Equestria lay in the hooves of Twilight Sparkle. I waited patiently for her birth and when it came I raised her as a protegee hoping she would grow to be the hero I needed. But she didn't. She grew to be a frightening reflection of myself, serving only to show me with clarity why we needed a hero to begin with.
I resolved to the notion that Celestia was wrong about Twilight Sparkle. Indeed, it seemed as such from what I had seen.
I know now that I indeed was wrong. I was wrong twice over. Or so I hope. By night's end, I suppose we shall know for certain whether or not Princess Celestia's prediction in the letter she had sent us was indeed truthful.
If it is, then congratulations. I'm sure ponies will eventually start demanding truths, specifically about your sister's death. If it makes it easier, then blame me. Blame everything on me. Say I took over your mind completely, murdered Celestia in cold blood while you begged me to stop. Doing that would be a lot easier than having to face even more wars if they ever find out the truth.
As you read this letter, it is no surprise to you when I confess that I have already passed. I'm gone now, Luna, and Equestria is yours again. I haven't had the opportunity of speaking with you for a thousand years and when we left, I know that you hated me. I imagine that is still the case, and if it is please disregard the final portion of this letter.
After what happens tonight, the two of us are going to be separated once again. But you already know that. In your case, it has already happened. What you might not know is that...I will change. Who I am now, Nightmare Moon, she's going to die, and whatever I was before her is going to be who I am again. You've taught me friendship and how to care about other ponies other than myself, and overall how to be a better mare. But all that is going to disappear. The memory of myself in your mind will be the only remaining evidence of my existence.
Whatever monster I become next, and whatever further darkness I spread, I want you to know that that isn't me. I, Nightmare Moon, die tonight.
I understand that you will not feel the same, Luna, but I simply want you to know that I cared about you and I'm sincerely sorry about everything I've done.
Looking out across the ocean at the red sun hanging high above the sky, Luna recalled.
She recalled her first waking moments on the strange planet that had no name.
She recalled the thousands of years of happiness and joy with her dear sister, the love they shared and the games they played. They'd meant so much to each other, an inseparable bond not broken by responsibility, indifference, jealousy, or even death.
She recalled the centuries of war and strife, of darkness and fear, and of hopelessness. The times when the sun had abandoned it's humble subjects to the cold despair of the night. The times when blood was spilled and tears were shed, times when civilizations rose and fell and the earth shook with the brute force of a war undesired by both sides.
She recalled every mortal pony who bowed to her and every one that rightfully opposed her during those dark years. Everypony she'd ever known, she had watched live and die while she remained unchanged. Across the long stretches of time when even the gods and Queens died, only Luna and the sunny skies of Equestria remained unaffected. But even now, like the sun was cooling and the light of the earth was dimming again, Luna was no longer the spry young alicorn she once was. Her flowing, starlit mane was still largely the dark blue it always had been, but it was also tinted with traces of purple and yellow around it's edges, a trait reminiscent of the mane of her sister. Now though, even it was beginning to grey with age.
She recalled Queen Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon, two friendship's she never would have imagined making. The brusque changeling Queen who kept her kind heart hidden behind her pride and selfishness, and the black alicorn who lived and died seeing herself as a monster and never realizing how wrong she had been. Both of them had taught Luna so much and helped her in ways she or they could never have imagined. She had first seen Chrysalis when she was a mere two decades, an arrogant and overconfident mare just out of fillyhood, but she had watched her grow into an elderly changeling of three thousand years. She had been so frail, her wings tattered, no more than a jagged bump on her forehead where her spiked horn had once been. Luna had visited her one last time, and learned that several days later she passed quietly with her daughter by her side.
She recalled the Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Heroes of their time now lost to the sands of tens of thousands of years past. Their children's children's children's children had passed half of a dozen millenniums ago, so that even the language they had spoken existed only as a memory in Luna's mind.
Most often, when she looked at the orange night sky and the red sky of day, she recalled Celestia. Her beloved sister, sustained in her memory forever as the good mare she'd known her as. The passing of time had rendered nearly ever mortal life a grain of sand in an ocean far too wide for a pony to sail even in a thousand years time, but the vivid clarity of those who had been close to her had never faltered with time. Once upon a time when she rested, her sister would join her in her dreams like she was really still alive, but when Luna awoke, the truth always dawned and hurt much more as she realized that it had been a mere dream. Eventually, Celestia stopped appearing in her dreams all together, which was probably for the better. Luna didn't dream after that, and even when she slept, the morning crept past the span of time like it had not existed at all.
As the poor old sun had slowly lost it's luminosity over the centuries, so too did Luna feel the end of her lifespan slowly creeping up on her. The unicorns had been raising her sun and moon for millenniums, and it was with comfort that she knew they did not need her anymore.
Luna felt tired and weary. When she closed her eyes, she felt as though if she wished, she could fall asleep and never awaken again. With nothing left and nopony she cared about alive, Luna simply recalled. It was her favorite thing to do, as she waited for the end. In a hundred years or so, she imagined the time would finally be upon her to die and she would close her eyes on her world one last time.
And it wasn't with fear that she thought of this looming guarantee. In fact, it was quite the contrary. She had lived long and, like her sister had requested thousands of years ago, she had found happiness again. There was always sorrow and longing looming behind the happiness, always the desire to see her loved ones again, and it was this desire that now kept her looking forwards with the hopeful optimism a young filly might have on Hearth's Warming Eve. For her, having lived so long, it felt like the same pathetically small yet unbearably long time interval.
For hundreds of years she had simply walked her earth, smiling up at the sun, revisiting all the places that had meant so much in her past life. She walked the boardwalk of Dusk Falls that was now nothing more than sand as red as blood, she crossed oceans that were now deserts or deep, waterless craters in the ground like sinkholes descending into darkness. The beautiful city of Canterlot, the peaceful silence of Ponyville, all civilizations come to dust in all but her memory.
She'd brought about peace. She'd ruled for many years and she had been happy during them. Now, her mane was grey and her eyes felt heavy with the strains of a billion lives, but the sun gave her comfort and warmth and made everything seem trivial and distant. Looking back at the almost twenty thousand years of life she had lived, she couldn't help but smile at the satisfaction of having it all behind her.
In many ways, the unknown future was all she had left. But it would be enough.
