1000 Years...

by Tacticus

First published

The Banishment of Luna

Luna had been banished, the Nightmare has left her, and she is left to suffer for a millennia for her crimes.

Cover art credit goes to the rightful artist.

"Take me back!"

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Luna woke slowly, her head feeling as If it were going to explode. She groaned loudly, and sat up. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get the sleepiness out of them. She shook her head, getting the moon dust out of-

Moon dust?

Luna's eyes widened as she began to take in her surroundings. She was not in the castle, or her room. The sky was as black as night, with stars shimmering light years away. She looked at the terrain. Nothing but grayish soil and rocks, and craters dotted the land like pock marks.

Luna began to remember what happened. She remembered being angry, and getting into a yelling match with her sister. But while Luna spouted off vulgar threats and curses, her beloved older sister tried to calm her, speaking to her in a soothing tone.

Luna wouldn't have none of it. How dare her sister speak down to her? Like a young filly? Luna was no filly anymore, she was far stronger, and better than her sister.

Her rage hit a braking point, and she felt an unspeakable evil take her over. Its dark power seeping into her very soul. She felt her body begin to warp and distort to accommodate such an invasion. Luna screamed in anger as her quick transformation ended, leaving her not the sweet princess everypony knew, but a horrible monster forged in the depths of Tartarus itself.

She had become...Nightmare Moon.

Luna had little control as to what happened next, as her conscious took a backseat and she was put in a position to watch as the Nightmare did its job, per the agreement they struck previously. Luna ginned as she saw the fear in her sisters eyes, the confusion, the horror.

Not so big now, are we sister? Luna thought triumphantly as she saw the Nightmare charge up a beam of magic and shoot at her sister. Celestia dodged it, much to the annoyance of Luna, and began to conjure a shield. The Nightmare fired again, and just before it would of hit Celestia, her shield came up and blocked it, sending shock waves throughout the whole castle.

"Sister please! Do not do this!" Celestia yelled to her from behind the shield.

He pleas fell on deaf ears, and The Nightmare charged up again, this time hitting a critical point. It let it go, hitting the shield dead on, and shattering it like glass. The resulting blast sending Celestia flying into the far wall.

Luna could hear the 'crunch' of ribs breaking and her sisters breath get knocked out of her lungs. She grinned as the Nightmare approached her, ready to deliver the killing blow. Just as it was charging up its final shot, Celestia horn began to glow, and she sent a shock wave out, knocking The Nightmare back and giving her time to get up.

Celestia managed to get up, and she fled. The Nightmare didn't know where she was going, but Luna had an idea.

Her sister was getting the Elements of Harmony. The very relics they had used to stop Discord's reign of Chaos so long ago. Luna felt herself waver a bit in her resolve. But she held firm. NOTHING could stop her, not even the Elements.

The Nightmare flew up, blasting a hole into the roof and going out through that. She hovered in place, waiting for Celestia to come and face her.

She didn't have to wait long, and Celestia came to met her, and as expected had the Elements with her.

"Sister, please, stop this." She said. But with more command in her voice, and not the pleading she had show awhile before. Luna felt her blood boil. Here she was, trying to COMMAND her once more. The Nightmare felt her anger, and growled out as it began to charge up its magic, wanting to end this once and for all.

Celestia closed her eyes, and Luna thought she could see tears beginning to run down her sister's face. Celestia's horn glowed bright once more, and the Elements began to slowly rotate around her, charging up their own power.

In that moment, there was a few seconds of silence. The Nightmare lowered its horn, taking final aim at Celestia. Luna grinned, waiting in anticipation for her sister's demise.

Just then Celestia opened her eyes, and looked straight into The Nightmares own. But her gaze didn't stop there, Luna felt her sister looking into HER eyes, not The Nightmare's.

"I love you so much."

Celestia then let loose the power of the Elements of Harmony, completely engulfing The Nightmare in its golden light. Luna reeled back in horror, quickly realizing that she underestimated the power of the Elements. She felt herself disconnecting from the dark aura that surrounded her, and in that final moment, she looked at her sister.

And saw pain in her eyes. Luna became afraid, and she tried to say something, but she couldn't. The Elements had engulfed her completely, and she felt herself being magically broken down. She knew this feeling...this was a teleportation spell. Luna looked around through the swirling mass of energy, and saw where she was being aimed at.

The Moon.

Luna turned and began crying out to Celestia, begging her to stop. She screamed, pleaded, bargained, all of this in less than a minute.

Celestia couldn't hear her.

But Luna didn't know that.

"Goodbye sister." Celestia said with a hollow and broken tone as she released her spell, sending Luna to her prison.

"Nooooooooooooo!" Luna screamed out as she felt herself beginning to teleport away.

She felt herself flying through the air, faster than she had ever had before. The world below her grew smaller and smaller, her sister...smaller and smaller.

With tears in her eyes she looked ahead, at the satellite that grew larger by the second. Luna showed know intention of slowing down, and she grimaced and closed her eyes just before she hit the surface.

All of this information hit Luna at the same time. She looked back the world that she called home for so long, and she began to weep. She reached out feebly, trying to grasp what she could not have no longer. Luna's weeping turned into heart wrenching cries of despair and fear, loud enough to make the coldest pony wince.

But in space, none could hear her cries.

She was alone.

Forever.