Decent into Dark
The battle was bloody. I remember it so well, at least I remember the beginning, before Celestia sent us away. Chrysalis was there, with her changelings, but they were just for show. Smoke and mirrors. Between the elements and Discord, Equestria was bound to win.
We never say Somber coming.
He slipped in as mist, sliding unseen in the dust of so many hooves. Slicing holes in the defense, weakening our walls and frightening the crystal ponies into a stampede. Then he made the killing blow. He ate Discord. Laterally. He rose from the ground, and simply swallowed him, spitting his bloody bones onto the ground at Celestia's feet.
Then he focused his eyes on me and Celestia told us to run. I took my friends and the elements and ran. Very few others survived. From what I heard he forced Luna to become Nightmare Moon. Whatever happened to Celestia, no one can or will say. They don't say much at all really. Just stare into space.
It's not really a surprise he went after Cadence and my brother next. I have no word about my brother, but Cadence...Cadence calls herself Malice now that she has devoured the Crystal Heart. The Crystal Empire crumbled, the streets lay in ruin, the buildings are ruble. The ponies that survived are slaves. The few reports that reach me say some have even shattered from the fear and strain.
The castle is the final strong hold now. Somber, Malice, and Nightmare Moon control everything else. I shelter those I can. The food and water is running low, but it hardly matters. The enemy is at the gate, and they will be here soon. I have sent everyone below, with luck the Spike and the guards can sneak them out of the castle. I don't know where they will go. But I prey Celestia is alive and will somehow see them to safety. I must believe that.
I have gathered the Elements. I only wish my friends could stand with me. But Discord gave him more than power, he gave him knowledge. Who we are and what he hold dear. Rainbow Dash was the first to go. Somber burned Cloudsdale from the sky. Rainbow did her best, she saved so many young pegasi, but she could not save herself. The Sonic Rainboom was seen for miles, it shattered several windows in the castle. No one has seen her since, they say she gave everything and there was simply nothing left. I think Somber ate her too.
Pinkie Pie was next. It was Nightmare Moon to took her. She could laugh at anything, but not the things in her head. She screamed for days. Her voice gave out on the third day, but he mouth still made the mouth still made the motion, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Nothing could wake her. It was almost a relief when her heart gave out.
Fluttershy's death was the cruelest, of course. Dear, sweet, quiet Fluttershy. We don't even know how he did it. Just the results. All her animals were in pieces, blood, fur, feathers were everywhere. Their bleeding heart piled up like nest. Fluttershy lay on top, her own chest opened to the sky. The guard who found her said she was still alive.
Perhaps it was fate that Applejack and Rarity went together. They knew it was a trap, but Malice had their sisters. After what happened to Fluttershy, they had to try. AppleBloom and SweetieBelle were dead long before they arrived, replaced with changelings. It is how they got inside, I can see them now, rushing to the masters to open the gates. I don't know what became of Applejack or Rarity, and I don't think I could stand it if I did.
They will be here soon, I can hear their hooves on the marble. Clop... clop... clop... unhurried. They have me cornered and they know it. I know it.
I call on my magic, it won't be enough. Not without my friends. Not without the Elements. The doors swing open on silent hinges. Somber came in on a cloud of smoke, his eye aglow with hate. To his right is Nightmare Moon, cold and cruel as a winter night. To his left in Malice. My old foal sitter is long gone, drown in hate and sorrow and fear, her body wash in blood red and coal black.
I can feel the Elements clustered around my hooves, but I focus my attention on the beings before me. I refuse to think of them as ponies. I can't fight if I remember. The crown is warm now, it's glow casting everything into sharp relief.
"My dear Miss. Sparkle," The voice belong to Discord but it came from Somber's mouth. "Do you really think you can stand against us. All alone. Where are your dear friends?" I don't reply. I won't let him goad me. This is too important for petty insults. "It's too bad you used that Time Travel spell so many years ago. Wouldn't that come in handy right now?" His thick mist rushed forward, surrounding me, chocking me.
The Elements begin to float and I can feel them, my friends. I can almost hear Pinkie's laughter. Rainbow reminds me she will always stand at my side. Fluttershy agrees, her feather soft voice almost lost. I can feel Applejack leaning against my flank, lending me her incredible strength not words could convey. Rarity comments on Somber's armor, and I smile.
I reach for power, more than I have ever tried to wield before. It hurts, but I can't relent. I need it. Equestria needs it. Every window in the hall bursts and the marble beneath my hooves cracks. I can't tell where Somber and his mares are, everything is too bright and too loud. The earth shakes. I think I am screaming.
Then it is quiet, so quiet. Nothing moves. I'm too tired to care. Is there even anything left to care about? Somehow I open my eyes. But there is nothing to see, all is dark. I've lost. Equestria is lost. The tightness in my chest is painful
I feel the wet warmth of tears on my cheeks, but no sound comes, even with the heaving sobs. They will leave me here, I know, because it is the cruelest thing they could do.
A gentle hoof touches my shoulder. I look up, but there is still nothing but the emptiness. I try to ask who is there, but still there is silence. The emptiness even swallows my voice. The hoof leaves and a horn crosses my own. The touch is familiar.
The magic comes next. A deep, aching throb like an overused muscle being stretched. I feel them. Cadence. Luna. I smiled and lay my head down. I'm not sure I went to sleep, the silence and emptiness were all around me, but Luna came to me then, chasing the darkness away.
Somber was gone, and so was Canterlot. She said I had burned too bright and so burned out. My eyes and ears would never be the same. It was an irony, I suppose. I did as Celestia wished, I gave of myself, until there was nothing left.