Prologue
Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria there lived many ponies of different types! There were Pegasi(who had wings and could fly), Unicorns(who had horns and could cast magic), Earth Ponies(who were incredibly strong) and, of course, the incredibly rare Alicorns(They could fly, and do magic, and were very strong). Of those many ponies there were six who were the most special: two Pegasi, two Unicorns, and two Earth Ponies, all whom were the best of friends. Together, these six friends were able to withstand any hardship, conquer any evil, and help anypony who needed their help. The first time they helped somepony they saved the Princesses of Day and Night from the evil Nightmare Moon who wanted night to last forever. This story… is not that story. Both these stories start the same, but ours takes a hard left turn fairly early on.
Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia, used the Elements of Harmony to blast the fallen Princess of the Night. The spell destroyed the glamour that hid the pony within, and hit said pony with the force of an asteroid. The impact produced a blinding light and a near deafening blast which pushed our heroines back quite a few feet. When the smoke cleared there lay a bleeding, broken form within the rubble of the blast. What should have housed the malevolent Nightmare Moon, hid instead a much different pony. One with a multicolored mane and a formerly pristine white coat.
“Princess Celestia! NO!” The distraught cry of Twilight Sparkle rang out. She quickly galloped to her mentor’s side. As she neared she saw what damage they, no she, had truly wreaked upon the white-coated Sun Goddess. “No, please don’t be… oh no… please-”
“Oh, oh no. Oh nononono…” the whimper came from Fluttershy, the soft spoken Element of Kindness. The gentle Pegasus quickly began cowering behind her friends, trying to get away from horrible scene that lay in front of her.
Applejack, the headstrong apple farmer that represented the Element of Honesty, gave a loud bellow, “Oh hay no! You witch! Come on out here where Ah kin fight ya fair
‘n square!” She whipped her head back and forth trying to find the real nightmare.
“Okay, that is decidedly NOT AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash, the brash weather-pony flew, literally, to her friend’s side. Being the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow couldn’t bear to see her newest friend Twilight face that most terrible of sights on her own. She didn’t get too close as she had no real skills to contribute, but stayed in case the unicorn needed her.
Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, was not laughing for once, instead just gaping at the scene before her. She started to hum the song she sang when the trees scared them, but it seemed to be counter productive. Rarity, ever a lady, who knew a thing or two about timing and tact. In this case, she threw tact out the window and shoved her hoof in the party pony’s mouth.
“Pinkie. Not. Now.” She growled at the baker before she too began searching for the true location of Nightmare Moon, her horn glowing slightly as she cast a meager light spell to help them see.
“HahahahAHA-HAHA!” Nightmare Moon, the real one this time, cried out from behind them, “Foolish little fillies, since this all began, it has been my illusions you have been fighting. Did you think I would honestly fight you head on?”
The dark Alicorn trotted through the four nearest her. With a flick of her horn she cast them to either side. Rarity and Pinkie were slammed into a wall with such force that a large crack appeared from the point of impact. Both of them fell to the floor dazed at the least, but judging from the small trickle of blood flowing out of Rarity‘s mouth it appeared that quite a bit more damage had been done. Applejack, having launched herself at the villain when she appeared, was cast straight up and out of the ruins. She tried to grab onto the edge of the crumbled ceiling when falling back down. However, she missed by a hairs-breadth and crashed onto the ground with a sickening crunch. She would not be bucking any apple trees ever again, or walking for that matter. And Fluttershy - poor, dear, kind Fluttershy, was thrust out though one of the windows and deep into the darkest corner of the Everfree Forrest, all on her lonesome.
Of the six Elements now there remained only two standing, one of which was busy tending to her injured mentor, so Rainbow Dash did what she did best. She dashed, straight at Nightmare Moon. The corrupted Princess of the Night was not expecting that, so the Pegasus managed to slam herself into the evil Princess.
“Now who’s laughing?” She cried in triumph, but her victory was short lived. She had taken the evil mare by surprise, nothing more. The nightmare smacked Dash away with a swish of magic, and then pinned her to the ground. Two great, magic spears of darkness sliced through her wings and the stone as if they were not even there. Even Fluttershy, now miles away, could hear Rainbow’s howl of pain.
And then, there was one. Twilight Sparkle was still tending to the battered Princess. Luck was on her side, it appeared that Celestia’s wounds were not fatal if treated quickly. Twilight didn’t know many healing spells, but she knew enough that she was able to keep the Princess from dying immediately. The legendary Alicorn, the immortal ruler of Equestria, the invincible Princess of the Sun, with her shimmering white coat and multicolored mane that was constantly floating in the solar winds, looked nothing like the broken, beaten body of the pony at Twilight’s hooves. The once magnificent mane had become a simple pastel pink, the resplendent white coat now slowly being dyed red with the life blood of its wearer, and a sharp grimace of pain contorted a face normally graced with elegant smiles.
“I can fix this Princess! I know I can, please just hold on, let me just…” Twilight moved from spell to spell frantically, hoping that something she knew how to do could fix this, but it was no use. Celestia’s wounds were simply far too great for Twilight to fix completely, not that she stopped trying.
“You know you can’t save her.” By now Nightmare Moon loomed over the incessant Twilight. She whispered so only the unconscious Celestia and the frantic unicorn would be able to hear her, “but I can.”
Freezing in her ministrations, Twilight slowly turned to the evil Alicorn, her eyes dripping with tears. “You… you can? I-wha-why?”
“That doesn’t matter right now, what matters is do you want me to save her?”
“Yes! Please, anything! Just… just don’t let her die,” The lavender unicorn’s words slowly petered off at the sight of the cruel smile that now covered Nightmare Moon’s face.
“Very well, I will save her.” The look of pure, unadulterated joy that graced Twilight’s face was quite a thing to behold. A pity that Nightmare Moon’s next words replaced it with a look of such horror and revulsion that it made the rest of the night seem like one of Pinkie‘s parties in comparison, “If you will use the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the Sun.”
Twilight Sparkle, the faithful student of Princess Celestia, was now faced with a decision that had no right answer. She either let her beloved teacher die or she banished her to the Sun. Banishment to the Moon was not like banishment to the Sun. According to the current theories, on the Moon a pony was simply imprisoned for however long the spell could hold, on the Sun though…. The raw heat would bake a pony in seconds. Since Princess Celestia was the Avatar of the Sun, she would last a while longer (possibly even forever), but she would be in constant pain and torment. Twilight had to choose between essentially killing her mentor or subjecting her to an eternity of torture. And that was if she was even able to cast the banishment spell in the first place.
“Tick-tock Twilight Sparkle, you have only a few more minutes to decide before time decides for you.” Nightmare Moon extended her wing to encompass the horrified mare. As she pulled the Element of Magic to her side she whispered, “I’ll tell you what, I’ll save all your friends too. I’ll undo all the damage I did to these poor ponies if you agree.”
“My friends?” The lavender unicorn now turned to the rest of the chamber. The first thing she saw was Applejack’s crumbled form and knew that no pony should ever bend in those directions.
“Won’t be running a farm like that, now will she? And the Pegasus? Think she can join her precious Wonderbolts with her wings like that?” Twilight gasped at the sight of Rainbow Dash writhing on the floor, her howl having long since given way to mewling gasps and choked sobs, her impaled wings twitching slightly around the massive spears that bound her to the floor. How could she not have heard Rainbow’s cries before? From there her gaze drifted to where Rarity and Pinkie had been slammed against the wall, the blood pooling beneath Rarity’s head a very bad sign indeed.
“I-no, wait! Fl-Fluttershy, where-” Her question was cut off as Nightmare Moon turned her to view into the dark forest that surrounded the ruins.
“I heard she’s good with animals and wanted to see if that applied to monsters too.”
Twilight was silent several seconds, her tears dripping silently down her face. Applejack and Rainbow Dash might live, but they would be crippled for the rest of their lives. The other three though… Everypony had heard of the monsters that roamed in the Everfree Forrest… if Fluttershy had fallen into the den of one those there was no doubt about what had happened to soft-spoken yellow mare. Rarity was no doubt suffering from massive brain trauma, and Pinkie looked even worse than Applejack. It wasn’t likely they would live through the night either… and it was all her fault. Her only friends were dying. Because she hadn’t been good enough. Because she hadn’t thought that Nightmare Moon would use more trickery. Because she failed.
If Twilight had been able to spot the nightmare’s deception earlier, she wouldn’t have blasted Princess Celestia. She, oh Goddess, she hit Celestia. Princess Celestia, her mentor, her teacher, her ruler, the Goddess of the Sun! She had hit her hard enough to kill her. And… if Celestia had never gotten hit they never would have been distracted enough for the dark Alicorn to sneak up on them. If the nightmare hadn’t snuck up on them, then… none of her friends would be hurt. Nopony would be dying. It was all her fault. Because she failed. She was never good enough, and now everypony paid the price.
“Time is up. Decide. Now.” Nightmare Moon drew herself up to her full height and glared down at Twilight Sparkle, who now cowered before the evil mare.
“I-no, but-please-”
“NOW.”
“I-I-,” Twilight mumbled before finally crying, “Yes! Save them! Don’t let them die because I‘m a failure! Please! I’ll do it, just… save them. Please.” She collapsed to her knees and began to sob loudly.
The evil Alicorn began focusing her magic, her horn taking on a dark, ethereal glow as she firmly planted her hooves. The raw power needed for such a spell was more than in her abilities, but she had never before performed a healing spell on anypony other than herself. It took her several more tense minutes before she loosed the spell, a black wave that encompassed everything within the ruin.
When Twilight looked up from her position on the floor and glanced around at her friends, everypony was fine, unconscious yes, but otherwise unharmed. Even Fluttershy was back from the depths of Everfree looking no worse for the wear. The lavender mare turned towards Celestia, her wounds were healed too!
“Now, Twilight Sparkle, you must use the Elements to banish Celestia to the Sun, or I shall undo my spell.” Nightmare Moon’s words struck a cord within Twilight. It was time. She was going to banish her beloved mentor to the Sun. She would never again see Celestia, never learn a new spell under her guidance, never hear her words of encouragement as she struggled with a particularly difficult assignment. Celestia would be gone, forever.
Fresh tears came to Twilight’s eyes, but she did not let them fall. She would not give Nightmare Moon the satisfaction of seeing her cry, not while she did this. The unicorn bent over her fallen mentor and whispered, “Dear Princess Celestia, I am so, so sorry. I‘m sorry I didn‘t live up to your expectations, and I‘m sorry I failed you. I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me. Your fai-” her voice caught in her throat. No, she had to finish this, “Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Finished with her ‘letter‘, the student rose up to her full height and prepared to cast the spell. Suddenly a new thought came to Twilight, one that posed a very big problem. “Um… I don‘t know how to banish her. Is there a spell?”
Nightmare Moon was silent a long time before she finally spat out, “When Celestia banished me it took everything in her power, and I do mean everything, before the Elements reacted. After that she yelled something and I was locked away for a thousand years. I do not know what the spell was, nor do I remember the incantation, but you must find out before I decide to reverse my spell.”
The lavender unicorn honestly had no idea how to use the Elements of Harmony to banish somepony. She had only become a bearer a few minutes ago! Also, she wasn’t even using all the Elements, she was just the Element of Magic. Did the others have to be helping her for them to work or just nearby? There were too many unknown variables in the equation. Twilight had no clue how to proceed but she couldn’t do nothing. So she focused every single ounce of magic she could, her horn glowing brighter and brighter by the second, the Tiara of Magic began glowing as well. Soon it was so bright that it appeared as though it were daytime, but only within the ancient castle.
When Twilight felt she had no more magic to give, she focused on the Tiara, using it to pull on the power of the other Elements. She felt warm, safe, and happy despite everything going on around her. Was this what the Elements of Harmony really were? Peace? Could they even be used to hurt somepony? You almost killed Princess Celestia with them, of course they can hurt ponies. Suddenly Twilight didn’t feel so happy anymore. The Elements turned cold and she filled with dread once more. She thought of the Sun, bright, hot, burning, and eternal. The Princess was going to be there forever. As she thought, the words came to her, no, through her, as she cried out in a voice that was not her own, “Princess Celestia! By the Elements of Harmony I hereby banish you to the Sun!” She targeted the fallen Princess before she loosed her spell. A light brighter than anything she had ever seen, so bright that both she and Nightmare Moon had to shield their eyes, erupted from the Tiara.
When the lavender unicorn felt it was safe to open her eyes again, the room was burned. It appeared that the light itself had burned away all trace of Princess Celestia, for she was gone. All that remained was a gigantic scorch mark Now, when all was said and done, Twilight let herself cry for her Princess, and for herself. What was she supposed to do now?
“Yes! YES! FINALLY CELESTIA IS GONE AND I CAN RULE!” Nightmare Moon’s joyous cries of victory drowned out Twilight’s sobs. She flexed her massive wings and flew to the ancient throne on the side of the room, as she alighted upon it a few moans could be heard from the other ponies.
Rainbow Dash was the first to wake, and she immediately began whimpering. She shuddered and flexed her wings. The cyan Pegasus was shocked… her wings had been healed, but she remembered the lancing pain! Her wings had been speared, how were they fine?
Twilight noticed her friend‘s cries and called out to her, “Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?” Twilight was short of breath, apparently banishing somepony to the Sun took a lot of energy. Her tear-stained face broke out into an uneasy smile as she slowly crawled to her friend’s side.
“I-huh? Twilight?” Dash had finally noticed that she wasn’t pinned to the floor, simply lying on it. She got to her hooves shakily and flexed her wings. They appeared fine and they felt fine. Rainbow Dash was confused. She had just been stabbed! And Twilight was facing Nightmare Moon alone as she tried to save Princess Celestia who ha- Nightmare Moon! Where was she? And Celestia was gone too…
“Oh thank goodness you’re alright Rainbow. I was so worried about everypony.” The lavender unicorn tried to stand, but quickly collapsed again. Dash noticed this and cantered over to her newest friend.
“Twilight, what happened? What happened with Nightmare Moon? Where’s Celestia? Why are my wings better?”
“Oh Rainbow Dash, I…” The full realization of what she had done struck her and her words quickly turned to wailing sobs.
The cyan Pegasus was shocked, what had happened to break Twilight like this? “Sh, Twi, it’s okay. You can tell me,” Rainbow Dash lightly nuzzled the distraught unicorn. She knew whatever it was that had happened, it was bad. Real bad. Her normally brash and abrasive personality would have her charging somepony by now, but her wings still hurt with phantom pain, a sharp reminder of what had happened the last time she rushed in without thinking.
“I-I banished her,” Twilight’s words were barely more than a whisper, but Rainbow Dash heard them.
“Nightmare Moon? Alright!” That was a good thing! Why was Twilight crying then?
“No,” the booming voice of the nightmare startled Dash. She jumped and hovered slightly off the floor. “Twilight Sparkle banished your beloved Princess Celestia to the sun. Because I asked her to.”
The Pegasus turned to stare at the unicorn. For several minutes the rainbow maned mare just gaped at her friend. “No. No. NO! Twilight, you didn’t! Tell me you didn’t!” The pleading tone in Rainbow Dash’s voice brought only more tears to Twilight’s face. She had never considered how her friends would react to the knowledge of what she had done! Surely they would all hate and desert her now.
“I had no choice. Everypony was going to die.” Twilight turned her eyes towards Nightmare Moon as she continued in a whisper, “She… she said she would save you. All of you. And she did. She saved you Rainbow. Nopony died this way!”
“Nopony died? NOPONY DIED? Twilight, you just banished Princess Celestia to the sun! You just helped Nightmare Moon! What now? Huh?” Rainbow Dash questioned her friend, “Are we supposed to use the Elements on her now?”
“I-I don’t think I have anything left…”
“So… so what now? If you can’t do anything now, do we just bow before her? Cower? We can’t stop her without the Elements... can we?” as Dash trailed off the evil Alicorn began chuckling.
“I can hear you! ‘What are we gonna do? Who will stand up to Nightmare Moon?’ Pathetic. Did you honestly think I saved your lives just to kill you now?”
“I-what? You promised you would leave them alone!” Twilight tried to stand once more. Slowly she was able to lift herself from the floor.
“I promised no such thing! We had a deal: you banish Celestia, I undo the damage to your friends. We both completed our parts, so our deal is done.”
Rainbow Dash helped Twilight stand properly. “If you aren’t going to kill us, then what do you want?”
“I want to rule. There is no doubt in my mind that some ponies, as well as most of Equestria’s allies, will refuse to follow me. If they resist me, I will destroy them. To do that, I need an army. To lead an army, one needs generals. You will be my Generals. Who better to serve the Empress of the Night, then the chosen of the Sun? No pony will stand against you. No pony will deny the Elements of Harmony.” The smile that the malevolent Alicorn wore could be considered a happy one. It made Twilight and Rainbow Dash shiver with fear. “Serve me and you will live like queens! All of Equestria will be mine, and you will make it so. Serve me, and know true glory! Serve me, and I will leave your closest friends and family members in peace. Your town will not be destroyed, and your homes will remain unhurt.
“You can, of course, refuse. If you do so, then I will destroy all that your are. I will break you, I will maim your loved ones, and I will burn your homes to the ground.” Nightmare Moon glared down at the two ponies and their wounded friends. “The choice is yours.”