Ghost in the Sun
"Sister you must heed my words, I beg of you!" The dark blue, nearly black alicorn pleaded from the floor of the throne room inside Canterlot castle. She bowed low to the ground even though her position and status were equal to that of her counterpart. The alabaster alicorn sitting on the throne looked down smugly on her prostrating sibling.
"And why should I do that little sister? You've done nothing but whine and complain since becoming a princess and I see no indication of that ceasing any time soon," she waved over one of her guards. "Honestly little sister, I don't think you're cut out for leadership." The Princess of the Sun was being needlessly cruel toward her younger sister. She whispered into the ear of the guard, the two of them exchanging a look of understanding before looking at Luna and snickering.
"I assure you that is not the issue Tia, it is-"
"Again with that foalish nickname," her laughter stopped immediately. She shook her head in annoyance as an intense expression of loathing came to her face. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and you will address me as such," she smirked condescendingly. "little sister."
The smaller alicorn grinded her teeth, the mounting frustration threatening to make her do something foolish. Instead of lashing out she bore the brunt of her elder sisters rudeness and continued to try to sway her position.
"Princess Celestia," Luna growled through clenched teeth. Celestia's smug grin grew wider at her sister's submission. "I implore you to listen to me sister, if you do not, I fear Equestria itself may be in peril."
"Speak your mind Luna, but I warn you little sister, it better not be a waste of my time." Celestia remained bored even after giving permission to the smaller alicorn to talk. Luna noticed this, but had to try and alter the coming disaster no matter what Celestia's attitude may be.
"Sister, Sombra's influence endures in Equestria," the dark alicorn remained somewhat composed, but the desperation in her voice was easily identified. Celestia merely raised a curious brow at the claim. "If we do not act soon I fear he may be able to-"
"To what Luna?" The snow white alicorn scoffed. "What could Sombra possibly accomplish after we so thoroughly trounced him?"
"Celestia we should not underestima-"
"Little sister," Celestia interrupted her younger sibling with a raised hoof. "There is enough to attend to without having to worry over trivial things like an already defeated despot."
"But sister-"
"ENOUGH LUNA!" The Princess of the Night shuddered at the booming volume of her sister's Royal Canterlot Voice. "RETURN TO YOUR QUARTERS AT ONCE LUNA! REST YOURSELF, LITTLE SISTER!"
"I-" Although the dark blue alicorn tried to continue, the fierce glare her sister gave her sealed her mouth shut in an instant. Celestia did not have the authority to order her like so, yet Princess Luna allowed it. "Very well Celestia, forgive my insubordination," she dipped her head low as she trotted out of the room, utterly defeated and nearly overcome by her emotions.
The Night Princess galloped to her room, fighting to hold in the tears that would not be denied. Several guards glanced her way as she ran past but none would leave their assigned post or try to comfort her. Luna threw herself onto her bed, sobbing into her pillow in an attempt to muffle the sound.
There were guards posted just outside of her bedroom and the last thing she needed were stories to circulate about how not only had she been made to look a fool by Celestia, but it had caused her to weep about it like a petulant foal. That wasn't why she cried anyway.
What had just occurred was confirmation of her deepest fear. She collected herself before pulling out the parchment that was hidden in her nightstand. She didn't want to read it again. She didn't want it to be true, but Celestia's actions had all but verified it's accuracy to be one hundred percent.
"Upon the fall of chaos the sister's will thrive. The kingdom will flourish, it's citizens jubilant. Shortly thereafter the corruption of wisdom will drive a wedge between family. Darkness will oppress the lesser. The greater will fail. Separation will follow."
As Luna finished reading she couldn't help but think of her mentor. A few months ago Starswirl had vanished in some unnatural magical accident and his disappearance had left a hole in both her and Celestia's hearts. If he were still here he'd know what to do. It was his prophecy after all.
Then to compound catastrophes, ostensibly out of thin air a dictator rose to power in the north. Sombra. He was a very powerful sorcerer and a self proclaimed king, though Luna would never refer to him as such. A lowly unicorn that gained power by exploiting the weak was no king in her eyes.
Where his magical prowess had come from, Luna couldn't be sure, but the two sisters were forced to take action or allow the north to collapse under his hoof. It wasn't often a unicorn with the power to conquer a region came about, however drawing the ire of the immortal sister's was quite foolish.
None had been capable of standing up to the might of Canterlot's rulers, though many had tried. Sombra proved to be no different. Before his army could even be mobilized Luna and Celestia personally dealt with the faux leader.
While Sombra was indeed a powerful unicorn and could quash any normal wizard with relative ease, the immortal sister's were anything but normal. His dark magic was useless against the sun and the moon. Despite his swift defeat at their hooves Luna sensed something had gone awry, either during or prior to their confrontation.
Though nothing was out of the ordinary for the first few weeks, Celestia began to display an aggression her sister had never seen in her before. The most inconsequential inconveniences would send her off the deep end. Things as small as her morning tea not being hot enough to her quill not working the way she wished sent her into a frenzy.
It was becoming very troublesome, not only for the kingdom, but for Luna herself. One day while scouring the archives for a solution Luna discovered the obscure prophecy and now...
Luna rolled the scroll back up, stuffing it into her drawer. She wanted so badly to show it to Celestia, wanted her sister to understand the severity of what was happening, but the prophecy itself seemed to condemn the Sun Princess, or so Luna had surmised. It was a terrible position for the dark alicorn to be in.
Tomorrow... Why did it feel like tomorrow was going to be particularly awful? Why did her skin crawl when she thought about going to sleep and letting whatever might happen play out? A long yawn escaped her mouth. She'd been staying up ungodly hours, at least for her and her current level of exhaustion reflected that.
"I just need to rest my head... just for a little while," she yawned again. Her poor sleep habits, coupled with the stress of facing her sister yet again, had drained the alicorn of all her energy. The slumber that took her as she laid her head on her pillow was deep and peaceful.
__________________________
"TIA NO!" Princess Luna shot up in bed, soaked in a cold sweat. She'd not had any dreams. What troubled her was in the waking world. Call it a feeling. Call it intuition. Call it instinct. She knew she could not lower her moon nor let her sister raise her sun. If she did, the end of everything they'd worked so hard for would follow.
Without a second thought she teleported to the center of the throne room, no guards to be found anywhere. Even though the room wouldn't normally be bustling at this hour there should be at least a few ponies at their posts.
"You're just in time little sister," Celestia's venom tinged voice caused her sister to cringe. The Princess of the Sun sat atop her throne, an arrogant smirk on her lips. "I thought I might have to have you brought here by force," her eyes glinted with malice. "Lower the moon, it is time for my day." It was not a request, it was a direct command.
"And if I refuse?" Luna's heart pounded in her chest, the courage it took to stand up to her elder sibling nearly making her faint. Despite the fear that was shaking her body she remained defiant. Starswirl's prophecy would not come to pass, she would make sure of that.
"What!?" Celestia spat, her eyes narrowing to slits. She was appalled, as if the very thought that someone might have the gall to disrespect her was enough to make her sick. "You dare defy me yet again little sister?!" she stood to her hooves as her wings unfurled. Standing at her full height with her wings flared was a menacing sight for any creature to behold, her younger sister no exception.
"I cannot lower my moon Celestia," Luna responded in kind, her own stance mirroring the Sun Princesses. "Starswirl made a prophecy before he-"
"I am fully aware of the prophecy, little sister." Celestia stalked toward the smaller alicorn, her expression one of malice.
"You are... aware?" Luna's confidence faltered as she took a confused step away from her sister.
"With whom do you think Starswirl was with when he made such a prediction Luna?" Celestia towered over her sister, the blue alicorn crouching down submissively, though not intentionally. The white alicorn looked down her nose at her cowering sister, disdain the only emotion she portrayed.
"Then... why Tia?" This was not going well for the Moon Princess. She wanted to flee, to hide away and not face the reality that maybe, just maybe, she would have to fight her older sister. "I swear it to be true, Sombra is-"
"Who do you think Sombra was, Luna?" Celestia's face was inches from her sister's, a faint green glow slowly tinting her eyes, her horn burning a dark black.
"What... what do you mean?" Luna was unable to move, her body frozen, either from terror or from a spell Celestia was enacting on her.
"Didn't you find it odd? Starswirl vanishes and then an absurdly powerful unicorn appears out of nowhere." Celestia shook her head as she walked away from her sister, the disappointment in her apparent.
"Sombra is... Starswirl?" Princess Luna gaped at the floor, the revelation shaking the very foundations of her world. "That cannot be, Starswirl would nev-"
"How could one related to me be so foolish?" Celestia glared over her shoulder in disgust. "It's no wonder he favored me over such a... pitiful student."
The alabaster alicorn's harsh comments pierced the heart of the dark blue alicorn. Luna trembled, much too tired, both mentally and physically to continue her endeavor. All the worry of the past couple days compounded with her sister's heartlessness was too much for the Moon Princess to endure...
"No." Luna whispered, her jaw clenching in determination.
"No?" Celestia raised a questioning brow, her head tilting in confusion.
"NO!" Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice reverberated outward, shaking the Sun Princess and blowing her mane and tail out of place. Th Princess of the Night stood to her hooves, pointing an accusing hoof at her sister. "You are not Tia! She would never say such horrible things! Starswirl would never betray us or Equestria! You are nothing but a filthy liar!"
Celestia sneered at Luna, her nose wrinkling up, as if she'd just smelled something especially pungent. As the white alicorn stalked toward her sister the younger sibling did not flinch.
"You accuse ME of deception?!" Celestia pointed at herself with a hoof, appalled at the accusation. "You neglect our ponies," she poked the dark blue alicorn in the chest. "You shirk your royal responsibilities," another sharp jab. "You hide yourself away in your room day by day," she delivered a final authoritative push. "And you have the audacity to question my legitimacy?!"
Each prod had forced the smaller pony back a foot until she had been shoved to her haunches. Luna's rage smoldered. All of Celestia's claims were true and that made it all the more infuriating for the younger alicorn.
Recently, life had not been kind to the Princess of the Night. First Starswirl's disappearance caused disorder for the entire kingdom and complicated all of their royal duties even further. Then Sombra had to be dealt with, another unforeseen problem that could not be ignored. And it wasn't even all world altering catastrophes that plagued her.
Despite her best efforts to comfort and protect the citizens of Equestria, she was openly shunned by them. None enjoyed her beautiful night nor offered her the reverence she deserved. Fear was the only thing she received from her ungrateful subjects.
Initially she'd been able to withstand such disgrace, but as time carried on the disrespect began to wear her down. It'd gotten so bad she'd been driven to the comfort of her sister's embrace, which was a terrible mistake on her part. Celestia belittled her, made her feel less than equine and inadequate both as a ruler and as her sister.
So she withdrew into herself, into her own interests and hobbies. She would perform all her duties as a princess, but she would begin prioritizing herself and her own well being. Equestria had Celestia, it clearly didn't need her... even if that was all she wanted.
"You claim Starswirl has forsaken us," Luna growled, attempting to change the subject. "Why? To what end would he do such a senseless thing?"
"Tch," Celestia rolled her eyes. "And still you flee from the truth little sister? You're nothing but a coward."
"BECAUSE YOU TREAT ME LIKE DIRT CELESTIA!" Luna's anger had finally boiled over, her sister's negligence paired with her own shortcomings too much for her to bear. "What has happened to you sister... If it is you... why? Why do you loathe me so?" Her tears stained the floor of the throne room.
There was no change in the white alicorn, her sister's despair having no affect on the ruler. Her arrogant smile returned to her face as she sat back down on her throne.
"Starswirl realized it," she crossed her back legs. "That's why he sought more power. That's why he turned against Equestria."
"Why!?" The younger alicorn still could not understand. Realized what? What life altering revelation was she still not seeing?
"The peace and harmony we tried to create, that we have created, will never last," she lifted a hoof toward her sister. "Look at yourself little sister. How much have you given them? How many nightmares have you destroyed? How many sleepless days have you worried over their well-being and for what?"
Luna flinched. They were all questions she'd already asked herself countless times over and she'd never come to a satisfactory conclusion on any of them. Still she believed that all she'd done was for something. She'd done what was right. They were her subjects and this was her nation, no matter what they thought of her.
"I-"
"They fear you little sister." Luna noted that for some reason saying this appeared to trouble Celestia. "They want you gone, that I was the sole ruler of Equestria," a solitary tear fell from Celestia's face, though her expression did not change. "They wish you dead sister."
"Wh-what?!" Nothing thus far had crushed Luna's heart like those five words. "Why would..." she couldn't even finish her sentence. It was one thing to fear her, another to want her gone, but... death?
Could Celestia be lying? It wasn't too far from the truth even if she was. One thing always led to another and if the Equestrian's were scared of her one day they'd want her gone the next and worse the next.
"Many a politician or pony with some semblance of power has come to me with propositions Luna," the pain on Celestia's face was different than any she'd shown her sister in the past few months. "First they pushed for your removal as a princess of Equestria," she grit her teeth. "And then..."
It was hard for Luna to believe, but also not very hard for her to believe at all. More like she didn't want to believe, but had always had a feeling. Celestia was beloved by all, the beacon of hope, love, and the light for all the ponies of Equestria.
And Luna... Luna was the darkness. Luna was the terror. Luna was evil. The devastated alicorn fell to a sitting position. This wasn't something she could fight or change. She'd always done her utmost to carry herself with dignity and grace, and yet...
"I..." She didn't want to cry, but it was far too much to endure. To try so hard to be loved. To do everything in her power to help all who needed her. To literally risk life and limb to save her subjects. And still... still it was not enough. It was never enough. It would never be enough.
"Starswirl saw what I was too selfish to," the white alicorn cast a spell, showing her sister the maliciousness of her subjects. "He knew what they wanted. It drove him mad. He knew your heart, knew that there is no kinder pony alive. He tried so hard to change their preconceived notions, but..." Celestia grabbed at her own head with her hooves, the distress too much. "They LOVE me Luna! And they HATE you... for no reason at all, they hate you..."
It hurt. It hurt the Moon Princess so much, but it didn't matter. None of that mattered. Knowing that Starswirl had tried so hard for her sake. Knowing that it troubled her sister so. It was enough for her.
"It is alright Ti-"
"IT IS NOT LUNA!" The Princess of the Night had felt her sister's Royal Canterlot Voice before. Taking the brunt of it felt like her skin would tear clean off. This rage fueled yell made that sound like a kitten purring. It took everything Luna had to remain in place.
"Tia?" she spoke once the flurry of wind had settled down.
"I knew, I KNEW you'd say that!" she jumped up from her seat, her eyes a sickly green color, black smoke floating from them and her horn bubbling both colors. "NO LUNA, THIS CANNOT STAND!" The elder was bearing down on her sister. "EVEN IF YOU CONSENT TO IT, I WILL NOT STAND BY AND DO NOTHING!"
"Then what Tia?" Luna cupped her sister's face with her hooves, a gesture of true love and compassion, one that tormented the older alicorn. "What would you do sister?"
"I... I..." Celestia grabbed her sister's forelegs and slowly lowered them to the floor. "I WOULD RULE OVER THEM LIKE THE MONSTER THEY PERCEIVE YOU TO BE SISTER!" Her horn bubbled greenish-black as she began to rise into the air. "I WOULD FORCE THEM TO RESPECT AND LOVE YOU AS THEY DO ME LUNA!"
The tempest of pure power Celestia gave off rocked Luna's smaller frame. While they were indeed siblings, Celestia had loads more experience and magical ability, and it showed at moments like this.
The conflicting emotions Luna had were like two warring nations within her. Making them pay for their crimes, subjugating them and ruling with an iron hoof sounded... justified. It would be so easy to do. No one could stop the combined strength of the immortal sisters. No one.
But...
"Tia... what if they... what if there is... resistance?" Luna could see in her sister's eyes the kind of answer she would receive.
"Oh Luna, that's not a problem at all," the look of utter insanity on Celestia's face sent chills running down Luna's spine. "If that were to happen then we would simply burn the rebels to ash."
"Sister..." Luna clenched her eyes tightly as her head fell. Celestia would never... would she?
"Luna," Celestia's disdain instantly returned. She scrutinized her younger sister with malicious green eyes. "You're either with me or against me."
Luna's heart was breaking in two and there was little she could do to prevent it. Standing with her sister meant becoming a tyrant that would put an end to any of her subjects that opposed her. Standing against her sister... well, that was something she'd never dreamt of doing.
"Tia..." And then she finally remembered. "You are not my sister... Sombra... or should I say Starswirl?"
"You finally understand..." Celestia's lips lifted into a satisfied grin, her brows rising with excitement. "Bravo, Luna, though I honestly expected you to figure it out much sooner," she shrugged. "Not as clever as I expected."
"Why Starswirl," the devastating raw emotions that were ravaging her due to speaking with her old mentor along with the fact that he'd possessed her sister, made Luna feel ill. "We loved you like a father."
"Don't you see Luna?" he sighed as he landed in front of the younger sister. "That's exactly why I did it, because you're like daughter's to me... and I'd do anything to protect you." Starswirl lifted her head with a hoof. "I saw it Luna."
"Saw it?"
"That cursed future," he averted his gaze, Luna catching a glimpse of his sadness beforehoof. "You were tainted by evil, fighting with Celestia over the throne, trying to..." Luna's mouth fell open, her eyes dripping with disbelief.
"Why would I... trying to what?" The light alicorn refused to look at her. "Trying to WHAT Starswirl?" The dark alicorn insisted.
"Trying to kill her." Luna's legs gave out, her body trembling. That couldn't be true. Things may have gotten especially horrid for the Princess of the Moon but not that bad. Never that bad.
"I would n- why woul- I swear I would not-" she couldn't even form a coherent thought.
"It cost you one thousand years Luna. ONE THOUSAND YEARS! Don't you see? It's because of them! They drove you to it!" For a second Luna swore she could hear Starswirl's gruff voice come through Celestia's mouth. "They pushed you until you could bear it no longer! They must pay for their actions!"
"But that is not what you taught us Starswirl!" Luna knew Celestia wouldn't want that and so, neither would she. "We must seek harmony, can you not see that?"
"I sought harmony!" The white alicorn roared. "Such labor bore nothing but heartache and sorrow," he looked at the younger sister with anticipation, with hope. "Will you not join us Luna?"
"I will give you an answer if you are honest with me," Luna stared her sister straight in her lavender eyes. Starswirl merely looked confused. "Tia... Tia opposed you, did she not?"
"Ugh!" Starswirl groaned, rolling his eyes as if to say you can't be serious. "Celestia saw your pain, she wanted to help you, but she lacked the resolve to do so. She was too weak to do what must be done!" He spat the words out of his mouth as if they themselves had a vile taste.
"Celestia knows right from wrong! Something you hammered into us! But now..."
"You would stand against your teacher? Against the one who gave up everything for you?" His rage was reaching a tipping point. "That spell destroyed my body Luna! Forced me to seek out another and all I was able to find that could handle my magic was that deranged sociopath Sombra! Do you know what it did to my mind to meld with his?"
"Well it clearly turned you into someone else," Luna growled. "Because I do not recognize you anymore!"
"Then burn with the rest of those ungrateful WHELPS!" Celestia's body ignited, the flames intense enough to light the entire throne room on fire. "I DON'T NEED YOU LUNA! WITH CELESTIA'S BODY I CAN CONTROL YOUR MOON JUST AS EASILY AS HER SUN!"
"I will not let you have your way!" Sweat poured from the dark alicorn, the heat bypassing her barrier as if it didn't even exist. "I will stop you!" Her horn flashed with magical power.
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" he raised a brow, though his cocky smirk said he was sure there was nothing she could do.
"You forget what you gave us Starswirl," she cast a simple telekinesis spell.
"Then show me Luna," he cackled. "Prove your existence!"
The ground of the throne room shimmered dark blue as Luna broke the lock concealing Equestria's most powerful trump card. Starswirl leapt back from the hole, looking down at the now exposed Elements of Harmony. He began laughing so riotously that he had to hold his head with a hoof.
"I need your help sister, please do not forsake me," Luna whispered to herself as she lifted the jewels from their hiding place. They floated around the Moon Princess as if she had a field of gravity that they could not leave.
"And what, pray tell, do you expect to do with those?" Starswirl wiped a tear from his eye as soon as his laughter died down.
"Defeat you!" Luna began to empower her magic with the gems, her horn shining with a beautiful rainbow sheen.
"There is no harmony here little moon," Starswirl's horn burned like Celestia's sun. "The Elements are useless." It was Luna's turn to smile.
"You are wrong Starswirl," her horn continued to shine brighter and brighter as more colors joined the rainbow, one after another. "I can feel her fighting against you, doing all she can to aid me."
"Oh really? Let's see just how true that is," he grinned deviously. The wave of sunlight that shot out of Celestia's horn made the initial temperature her body had put out seem like a warm summer day.
Luna recoiled at the energy rushing toward her, unable to defend herself. The Elements were not ready yet and neither was she. Besides, in comparison to the full might of Celestia's sun, she wasn't sure the Elements could hold their ground either.
The light became unbearable to witness, forcing the dark alicorn to look away. In moments she would be ash. She'd failed to stop him. She'd failed everyone...
But the attack never landed. As it drew close to her it changed trajectories, flying upwards and destroying the ceiling as it sailed high into the sky.
"Celestia you WRETCH!" Starswirl bellowed, as the white alicorns horn fizzled out.
"Sister..." Luna stared up at her sister's possessed body. She still fought. She still believed. She had not given up... and neither would Luna. The myriad of colors in her horn combined, shining as bright as her sister's sun. The Elements were ready. It was time to put an end to this.
"Enough of this foolishness!" Starswirl ignited his horn with the magic of hatred causing it to bubble jade and charcoal once again, Celestia's beautiful sunlight snuffed out. "If the two of you wish to resist me so adamantly," the waves of darkness emanating from Celestia's body were the complete opposite of the sun she'd been giving off seconds ago. "Then I will treat you like the disobedient malcontents you are!"
The amplification Luna received from the
Elements lifted her into the air, the power coming from her rivaling what Starswirl was emanating. She struggled to control the immense amount of mana, her body twitching and shaking.
"Give me back my sister!" Luna roared as the magic she could no longer contain blasted out of her horn. Starswirl was stunned for only a second before he clenched his jaw and attempted to counter the rainbow of blinding energy.
The combined force of Princess Luna and the Elements of Harmony pressed down all around Starswirl, his entire body rumbled as he pushed more and more hatred into his horn. Celestia's body began to shine brightly, her own consciousness crippling the intruders magic.
"Very well!" Starswirl raved. "If you wish for that future to come to pass so passionately then," he cut all flow of magic to his horn. The magical blast of multicolored energy encompassed the white alicorn. He made no cries of pain or even tried to move away or resist the spell. "Suffer."
The ethereal mana forced the ghost of Starswirl out of Celestia's body, pushing him away with ease as the soul evaporated into the air with resounding laughter. Despite freeing her sister Luna could not halt her spell as it continued to pummel the Princess of the Sun.
"L-Luna?" Celestia's face contorted in pain, her eyes squeezed shut as the mana continued to flow through and over her.
"CELESTIA!?" Princess Luna tried to turn her head, tried to cut off the mana flow but to no avail. The Elements of Harmony continued to fuel her spell, her sister's body beginning to shimmer and sparkle. "T-TIA!" The dark alicorn cried as she watched her elder sibling begin to disintegrate.
"It's okay Luna... Thank you, for freeing me..." Celestia had calmed as the pain she'd been experiencing subsided. "Farewell, sis-"
"NO!" Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice exploded. With more magic than she'd ever utilized Luna cast the last spell she could think of. The Elements were already active, they'd given their energy freely and demanded a target... any target. Luna's spell reversed the flow of magic, the blast instantly coming right back at her.
"Lulu?" Celestia's exhausted body fell to he floor as the severity of her sister's attack slowed to naught. Though it was impossible for her to recover that quickly, her body was no longer glimmering.
"T-Tia..." Luna sighed in relief even though her own body was now feeling the full brunt of her and the Elements spell. "I'm glad."
"Lulu, what's going on? What can I do?" Celestia struggled to her hooves, staring up at her little sister's suspended body.
"It's alright sister," Luna smiled down at the one she loved most. "I'm sorry, but I would never make you pay the cost for my poor decisions."
"What do you mean Lulu what's-"
"Farewell Tia, I pray these years will pass us by swiftly..." Tears fell from both sister's faces. "Perhaps Equestria will change it's perspective of me and I can finally..."
"LULU!" No matter how hard Celestia called out or what spell she casted, her sister was already gone. The Princess of the Sun looked up at her sister's moon through the collosal hole in the ceiling. Her younger sisters visage now decorated her moon.
The sorrow-filled scream that left Celestia echoed throughout all of the land of Equestria.