LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
Clovenshire, 1,003 years ago
In the southernmost stretch of Clovenshire's wall, there was a sewer pipe that drained out into a little canal, leading into a wretched swamp. It was silent save for the trickle of the filthy water, and ever since Celestia's repeated attempts to breach the city via the front gate only, it was unguarded.
Celestia popped out of the foliage that bordered the canal. She winced at the sight of the huge sewer pipe, but held her breath and boldly entered the city. The pipe was wide enough that she could fly in it without touching the walls or the water—something for which she was exceedingly thankful.
A few dozen yards into the city, she came upon a sewer grate. Raising her front hooves over her head, she dramatically burst out of the ground and spread her wings, her commanding gaze staring out over the streets.
There was silence, until the grate she had punched out of place clattered to the ground. To her disappointment, nopony had seen her. Celestia shrugged, reminding herself that that was entirely the point, and replaced the grate before sneaking out into the city, hugging the shadows.
Making her way toward the castle via back alleyways, Celestia caught only glimpses of other ponies, but each one she saw appeared to be wandering around aimlessly, looking gloomy and depressed. She bit her lip in concern, staring after them, but calmly continued pressing forward.
She was distracted from her calculated task of a stealthy approach when she happened to spot a pegasus flying overhead. Celestia flinched, thinking it was one of the sinister palace guards; a civilian pegasus was a rare sight in the unicorn-dominated Clovenshire, but a second glance at the silhouette quickly made Celestia realize she was seeing exactly that.
She narrowed her eyes and took to the air, pursuing the pegasus slowly; forgetting, in her single-mindedness, to stay out of sight.
As Celestia suspected, the pegasus landed on the roof of a familiar snowmaking workshop, the crystalline building truly popping out amongst the more mundane architecture that surrounded it. In the light provided by the building's surface reflecting the fire of nearby lampposts, Celestia saw that her quarry was indeed the pony she suspected.
There was an entrance on the roof, a simple staircase leading down into the store. Celestia dropped from the sky and landed on the top steps, blocking the pegasus' path. "Working late, Snowdrop?"
Snowdrop seemed unfazed. "I've always worked nights," she said with a casual smile. "Princess Luna was usually awake at that time, so we got to spend time together. Plus, it was much easier to work without the sounds of the city and ponies disturbing me. And, needless to say, I never had trouble working in the dark.
"Although, what constitutes 'late hours' has grown somewhat blurred in the past month. Without the cycle of daylight, ponies aren't quite sure when they should be awake and asleep, so they just rest whenever it feels right for them. It seems like the city is active at all hours now, it's quite a sensation to behold. You never know who you may run into. For instance, not five minutes ago, Princess Celestia started following me. You believe that? I began to wonder, why would she return from exile just to come after me? Would you have any insight into that, mysterious stranger?"
Celestia scowled. "You're mocking me."
"Yes, Princess, I know it's you," Snowdrop chuckled, gently squeezing past Celestia and down the stairs. Celestia snorted indignantly and followed her into the workshop, which was lined with sacks of snow.
"You're still just… making snow every day?" Celestia said skeptically.
"When the eternal night first set in, there was mass panic, riots, a few disasters, but after a couple of days, ponies had nothing better to do than to try to resume their old lives." Snowdrop stared calmly at Celestia, uncannily making perfect eye contact. "Oh, ponies gathered at your shrines to pray to you, to be sure, but that practice started dying the more you were seen trying and failing to reenter the city. It became clear then that we would not find any salvation from you."
Celestia scowled as Snowdrop opened her front door and tilted her head to listen to the subtle and quiet noises of the city.
"The ease with which you were exiled, your repeated failure to return…" Snowdrop went on. "Honestly, with the way they think of you now, I don't know if ponies would welcome your aid now or even want it. Why don't we find out?"
Snowdrop stepped out into the street, and turned over her shoulder, beckoning Celestia to join her. Reluctantly, the princess slowly stepped outside, refusing to look at Snowdrop. For her part, Snowdrop simply turned her sightless eyes to the sky and smiled lightly.
And so they stood, for several minutes, waiting. A few ponies passed by during that time, and each one shot Celestia a dirty look of disdain.
When the silence became unbearable, Celestia released a loud sigh, and Snowdrop turned to her curiously. "Look…" said Celestia. "I'm in now, aren't I? I'm here. Can you help me get into the castle and figure out where Nightmare Moon is so I can defeat her?"
"Why would you think I would want to help you?" Snowdrop said innocently. "You know I like the cold and the dark. And you know that I like Princess Luna. So wouldn't you think I'd want her to be in charge? To a certain extent, this whole thing was my idea. So why would you come to me of all ponies for help?"
"Because you care about ponies," Celestia replied promptly. "You can see that this eternal night is crushing their spirit."
"See?" Snowdrop countered playfully.
Celestia sneered, not amused. "Shut up, you know what I mean."
"I do," Snowdrop agreed. "I see many things clearly. For instance, I always knew that Luna was the good sister. It's quite refreshing to see that most other ponies are starting to realize what I and Luna knew all along. Out of curiosity, have you heard any prayers lately? I'm sure you still get some, but how many, exactly?"
"Stop," Celestia said calmly. "Please, just stop. I've been getting the 'good-for-nothing' speech plenty of times since the sun stopped rising, thanks. I admit a few good points have been made… and you, since you actually live in this city and my sister happened to confide in you, I might give your words a bit more merit. But regardless of what you think, whatever reasons ponies have for disliking me now or in the past, I know that there can be no happiness in THIS!" She stomped her hoof, hard enough to crack the cobblestones.
Snowdrop shrugged. "Happiness? That's hard to say. But the thing about life is… it goes on. This isn't the end of the world."
Celestia quivered with rage for several seconds before breaking down in a wordless tantrum, screaming in anguish repeatedly. With each furious shout, a gold outline flared up around her mane while her eyes glowed intensely, beams of concentrated light flying in every direction, leaving scorch marks on the streets and buildings. The light flared up as Celestia's screams escalated, and she rose into the air through magic alone, the glow around her body turning the night into day on this street. She unleashed one final yell, holding onto it until it faded away completely, along with all of the magic and light, all of her frustrations leaving her body through the bursts of energy and vocalizations.
The tantrum ended as quickly as it had begun, and Celestia dropped to the ground, her head drooping and her mane falling over her face. All the while, Snowdrop stood patiently on her threshold with a little smile.
Celestia stood up and started pacing around, still twitching with agitation, straining and grumbling a few times before finally bothering to toss her hair out of her eyes.
"Look," she snarled as she paced. "I know that Princess Luna is your friend. I understand that you want to protect her. That's admirable… or something." She stopped in her tracks declaratively, standing up as straight as she could. "But the pony you're protecting now, it's not Princess Luna anymore! She's a twisted and insane… thing… who's going to destroy the world if she's not stopped soon. And I'm the only one who can stop her. So…"
She unexpectedly lunged at Snowdrop, picking her up in her two front hooves, and slammed her against the wall of her snowmaking workshop with enough force to send cracks radiating along its crystal walls. "TELL ME WHERE SHE IS, SNOWDROP!" Celestia screeched in her magical voice. She sneered, and proceeded in a normal voice, though her eyes continued glowing a blinding yellow. "Or I swear, the pain and suffering you will endure will be the greatest and most memorable accomplishment of my life."
Snowdrop strained to speak through her intense pain, but managed a derisive smirk. "Have you tried the castle?" she said condescendingly. "Isn't that where you were going before you decided to pursue me for some reason?" She laughed, though it sounded more like a cough. "I don't know how I feel about a savior who's so easily diverted."
Celestia released her, and the pegasus clattered to the ground. Celestia looked around wildly, her eyes still glowing, and realized numerous ponies had stopped in their tracks and were staring at her in horror.
"WHAAAAAAT?" she demanded, her eyes flaring with golden flames. "I'm here to save your skins from Nightmare Moon and bring back the sun that gives you life! You're welcome!"
The crowd scattered, and Snowdrop slowly struggled to her hooves. "Are you through?" she asked coldly.
"Yes," Celestia shot back. "I'm going to the castle."
"One more thing," said Snowdrop, holding up a hoof.
Celestia sighed in exasperation. "Whaaaaat?" she demanded again.
"You simply must stop looking at this as a personal vendetta. Luna didn't just betray you. It affected all of us. Luna promised that when there was no sun, she would help us grow food. But she hasn't. I've asked Nightmare Moon about it in person. She recognizes me, but you're right, she's not my friend Princess Luna anymore."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "And you're telling me this now? What was with all the pretending to be a Nightmare Moon supporter?"
"I just wanted to make sure you're doing this for the right reasons," said Snowdrop.
"It's… not a 'personal vendetta'," Celestia said slowly. "I'm not out for revenge. Haven't I said that I'm trying to save the citizens of the world?"
"That's not quite the way you've been phrasing it," Snowdrop said gently. "You've talked of doing this for other ponies, but only in the sense of wanting them to support you, or thinking they're putting too much pressure on you, or hoping for their appreciation. But you don't seem to have indicated that you're actually doing this for anypony but yourself."
Celestia pounced on Snowdrop, so their faces were practically touching. Celestia growled deep in her throat, then calmed and softly caressed Snowdrop's face. "I'm doing this for my sister," she whispered.
Snowdrop gasped and displayed the brightest and most beautiful smile Celestia had ever seen.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Celestia crept through the halls of the castle, stepping back in alarm when Discord popped up in front of her face.
I can't help but notice a little flaw in your plan, he said cheerfully.
She gritted her teeth and growled, "Go ahead."
Well, you know as well as I do that the Elements are completely useless without your sister wielding them alongside you. Remember how much you had to connect with her to get them to work against the first two enemies you defeated with them. I hardly think you can replicate those circumstances when the target is her.
Celestia nodded and continued walking. "Nightmare Moon is not Luna. We will be wielding the Elements together. And this time… this time, after they're done… things are going to be different between us. I won't hurt her again."
Promises, promises… Discord mused.
"You're in my head, you know I mean it," Celestia said simply.
You always mean it, Discord taunted.
"You're just giving me more incentive," Celestia chuckled. "Another reason to change, as if I need one: proving you wrong."
She used magic to open a pair of huge double-doors, where the six stone spheres sat on a marble altar twenty feet high. Celestia swiftly flew to the top of the platform, and touched the center stone, which promptly changed into the white pearl, while the other stones shattered to reveal the gems within.
With those five jewels circling the huge orb of Magic, the Elements of Harmony went flying into the halls.
"Whoa!" Celestia exclaimed, flying off in pursuit of them.
As the Elements unhesitatingly made their way through the maze of halls, Celestia started to realize there was no way to catch them. When she slowed, they slowed as well. And when she turned a corner and stopped, they stopped as well, at the foot of a staircase at the opposite end of the long corridor. Celestia stared them down from her distant vantage point.
"They're always directly between me and Luna," she realized. "I can follow them to her."
She kept walking, following the Elements as they floated up the stairs and around another corner. Celestia raced to get them back into view, taking a single soaring jump to the top of the stairs, and saw them gliding toward the closed double-doors of the throne room, which were guarded by a battalion of the bat-winged guards.
"Oh, this won't be much of an ambush," Celestia muttered grimly.
The guards flew forward to attack, but the Elements fought back of their own volition, emitting multicolored beams of light which unerringly blasted the guards in the face, knocking them unconscious.
"Oh… huh," Celestia said nervously. After a few moments of uncertain pondering, she grinned. "Now we're cooking!"
The Elements hovered in place, spinning around and occasionally brushing up against the door. Celestia approached, relieved that they could go no further. With the Elements hovering above her, she peered through the keyhole, and could see Nightmare Moon sitting on the sun-themed throne.
"I wondered when I'd be seeing you again," Nightmare Moon said to someone somewhere in the room. "You and I have been kin for a long time, Princess Annihilara. Perhaps now more than ever."
A shadow passed by on the wall behind her. "Perhaps…" it muttered.
"The whole of the world now basks in my beautiful night," Nightmare Moon said proudly, lifting her head. "And what goes better with night than shadows and death?"
Annihilara's round red eyes turned toward the other throne.
"Long have we been cousins, but perhaps it's time we admitted that in our hearts and souls, we are the true royal sisters," Nightmare Moon continued. "Join me, beloved Princess Lara, and together we shall rule over an entire world of darkness. Side by side, it can be ours. Wouldn't you agree that such a thing would be lovely… sister?"
Celestia gulped. "Oh, Annihilara… no…" she whispered.
Annihilara slid across the floor and lifted off the ground in the form of a swirling pillar of smoke with her head on top of it. "Lulu…" she said slowly. "You know I've always loved you. We've been like sisters for further back than I can remember. You… you… you were there for me. You always helped me feel strong. So… maybe this is my fault. For not being there to return the favor." She rose up higher, her body solidifying slightly as she spoke, with more confidence and a profound bitterness. "Because you're weak. You just gave up, didn't you Lulu? You've finally given in… given up on yourself and turned into Celestia."
Nightmare Moon's jaw dropped, but only for an instant before she clamped her mouth shut and curled her lips into a sneer. "You dare?"
"Oh, I dare," Annihilara replied simply.
Nightmare Moon stood and slowly advanced on Annihilara. "You dare compare me to that unworthy, bullying snob?"
"Yes," said Annihilara, forming into her true body, spreading her wings menacingly and growling in pain as her cutie mark appeared. "Yes, I do."
The doors burst open, and Celestia burst in, the Elements preceding her. "And you'd compare me to this world-destroying tyrant?" she roared.
Annihilara bowed. "It's my genuine pleasure to do so… princess," she spat.
"Celestia," Nightmare Moon said delightedly. "At last you found your way." She laughed and looked at the Elements of Harmony, floating at the exact halfway point between herself and Celestia. "And what good do you suppose those will do?"
"Guess we'll have to find out," Celestia shot back. She reared up, then pounded the ground with her two front hooves, sending a shockwave made of pure light spreading across the throne room floor.
Nightmare Moon skidded backwards from the force of the magic, then braced herself and gritted her teeth. Her horn lit up, and her entire body was covered by a transparent shell that made her black coat shimmer. With a flourish, a tidal wave of acid burst from her horn and raged across the floor, overwhelming Celestia.
When it passed over her and vanished, Celestia stood tall and proud, her wings spread, for she was well-protected: she was contained in a transparent purple cylinder, which was itself contained inside a transparent blue sphere. Two gold-and-white shields floated in front of her, protecting her further.
Nightmare Moon growled and conjured up some thorny vines, which started bludgeoning at Celestia's defenses. When that failed, a gray-green beam of energy shot from Nightmare Moon's horn and burned at a single point in the force field. Celestia smirked as the beam continued burning to no avail.
Oh come on! Discord urged. Hit her!
Celestia ignored him. Nightmare Moon's brow furrowed more and more as it became clear that the shield was unaffected. The pupils of her eyes expanded angrily until her eyes were completely black orbs, and she lunged forward, breaking through all of the shields physically, tackling Celestia to the ground with her much-larger body.
Celestia rolled back to her hooves, but Nightmare Moon jumped up and hit her in the forehead with an elbow, flattening the smaller pony to the ground, then beating her further down with a wing.
Nightmare Moon's blue aura surrounded Celestia's entire body and slowly lifted her off the ground. With a devious grin, she fired a beam of energy that blasted Celestia across the room. The Elements of Harmony slowly crossed the room to resume their position between the two sisters.
Celestia stood, and cast a spell that sent white light swirling around her pale pink wings and horn. Her horn became long and sharp with a light curve, and made of pure white light. Her wings grew similarly massive and bright.
That's the spirit! Discord whooped.
Celestia charged, goring and slashing with the ethereal horn and wings, and Nightmare Moon grappled in return. They brought each other to the ground, rolling and twisting together until their manes were tangled with one another. They glared and attempted to pull apart from each other to no avail, only succeeding in painfully pulling their own hair.
They stopped and nodded to each other, both simultaneously producing a spark of magic that blew them apart. Celestia went tumbling through the air, spreading her wings to stabilize near the ceiling.
She'd been hovering there for scarcely a second when Nightmare Moon launched herself off the floor and pushed her straight through.
The magical wings and horns faded away as they went up higher and higher into the night sky, as did Nightmare Moon's shiny protective shell. Nightmare Moon flapped her wings once to separate from Celestia—hesitating for a second as the Elements of Harmony came up from below and passed between them to take their place above them—before spinning in mid-air, connecting two twirling kicks to Celestia's jaw, then a swipe with her front hooves. She threw another two kicks, which Celestia managed to deflect with small burst of magic, then gave an angry swipe of her horn, which missed, and finally attempted a front-hoof punch which overshot.
Celestia took advantage of the error to finally act offensively, gripping Nightmare Moon's extended hoof between both of her own and dragging her larger opponent through the air. Once she had picked up some speed, she pushed Nightmare Moon out in front of herself and started flying her toward the wall of a tall tower. As they neared the tower, Nightmare Moon pulled hard and spun to make Celestia and herself switch places, and Celestia was the one to hit the wall, face-first, her body being pinned against the outside of the tower. The Elements of Harmony caught up to them at that point, scraping against the spire and scattering erratically before regaining some balance and resuming their orbit around the pearl.
As Celestia struggled to turn around, Nightmare Moon's eyes burned black once again as she prepared a beam. Celestia managed to twist her head around and prepare a beam of her own at the exact moment the dark princess fired; the beams collided, neutralizing both attacks, and Celestia quickly fired a spear of light into Nightmare Moon's gut, sending her flying back just far enough that the smaller pony could free herself.
Nightmare Moon turned and flew away at an unbelievable speed; Celestia shot another spear of light, but it missed, barely managing to illuminate Nightmare Moon in the darkness. Celestia squinted, cursing at the poor night vision that had plagued her for all of her life.
She barely noticed the Elements of Harmony first drifting away from her, and then drifting back, finally passing directly over her head. Barely having time to register the implication, Celestia spun around just as a chill raced up her spine—a cloud of purple mist was rearing up behind her, and she hurled another golden lance at it. The mist parted around the projectile, leaving a hole behind, but the cloud conjured up a pair of toothy jaws made of pure dark magic, which advanced on Celestia, opening wide.
Celestia teleported, reappearing on the mist cloud's other side, and the smoke promptly reformed back into Nightmare Moon, who shot a barrage of simply enormous meteors at Celestia.
Celestia dodged, most of the meteors disappearing into the night but one taking off the top of a tower, and Nightmare Moon then shot a spiral of silvery missiles which were unerring, chasing down Celestia despite all her attempts to dodge, sinking deep into her muscles and sapping her strength.
Struggling to stay aloft, Celestia shot a radiant lightning bolt right into Nightmare Moon's belly, and the villain twitched wildly, her uncontrollable spasms not stopping her from slowly growing a pulsating orb of pure darkness on the tip of her horn. When it grew to a significant size, Nightmare Moon tensed her neck muscles and tossed her head, hurling the orb at Celestia. It exploded on impact, and Celestia started tumbling down to the ground, the Elements slowly following her.
Nightmare Moon dove downward, fast enough to break through the Elements' formation, and conjured numerous whips, spinning them like a propeller as she and the whips both collided with Celestia's falling body.
The pain and jostling sobered Celestia, and she called up a discus made of pure flame, desperately attempting to hurl it the scant few inches separating her from Nightmare Moon, only for it to be deflected against the swirling whips and sail harmlessly away on a new trajectory. Nightmare Moon brought the whips closer, and they cut little lines across Celestia's chest and front legs.
Celestia struggled to use her magic, producing a dozen little orbs of electricity, which slowly made their way around the swirling whips and attacked Nightmare Moon, who simply absorbed them into her body. With a loud slurping sound, the magical whips were drawn back into her horn, which started sparking with the electricity stolen from Celestia's attack.
She conjured an enormous lightning bolt which morphed into a giant snake made entirely out of electricity. Nightmare Moon retreated as the snake turned its eyes to the alarmed Celestia, who conjured up a golden sword and held it up defensively.
The snake struck, first once, then again, and Celestia deflected its fangs with her sword. It continued to drive her backward with its weaving feints and thrusts, while she remained focused and on her guard until it lunged at her with its fangs again, at which point she thrust the sword into the roof of its mouth. Both snake and sword faded away into nothingness.
Celestia spotted the Elements of Harmony, and beyond them, Nightmare Moon. The two combatants now hovered in place, staring each other down.
Nightmare Moon drew back a hoof and launched a punch at nothing. A gigantic hoof, made of pure energy and nearly invisible, launched in an arc toward Celestia, hitting her with the force of a train, pounding her back down toward the castle, where she landed on the roof of the throne room, near the hole that had been left there. Nightmare Moon pounced on Celestia, creating another hole and sending them both tumbling to the ground.
Celestia lifted her head. She was damaged and scuffed, her mane no longer flowing, and she had trouble keeping her eyes open. She could barely see Annihilara, casually lounging in Nightmare Moon's throne, staring back at her blankly.
Nightmare Moon, meanwhile, seemed to be entirely undamaged. With a wave of her horn and a gesture from her hooves, she encased Celestia in a casket made of ice. Celestia promptly teleported out of the tomb, but Nightmare Moon quickly trapped her once again in a sticky black spiderweb. Celestia struggled, but managed to teleport again. The act brought her once again to her knees in exhaustion.
Celestia attempted to shoot a beam of light at Nightmare Moon, but her target deflected the attack and swiftly became invisible.
The Elements of Harmony drifted into the throne room through the holes in the roof.
"Luna," Celestia croaked, out of breath. "We need to end this."
"I'm still not Luna," Nightmare Moon retorted from somewhere in the room.
"I'm not talking to you!" Celestia snapped. "I'm talking to Luna!"
Whoa. Deep, Discord commented.
"Luna," Celestia rasped, shakily getting to her hooves. "The Elements of Harmony will only work if we use them together. I know you're inside Nightmare Moon somewhere. Fight your way out of her mind and help me… and together we can strip you clean of her influence and set you free."
An orb of electricity was hurled at Celestia. It hit her hard, but she shrugged it off.
"Feel my love for you, sister," she coaxed gently. "My real love. I swear it won't be like it was before."
An identical orb came from a different direction. Celestia cried out in pain and almost stumbled, but managed to remain standing, if slightly hunched.
"I know you have no reason to trust me," she continued. "No reason at all. After all, I've faked my way through using the Elements before. All I can offer is my word."
She shed a single, golden tear. The Elements started spinning faster, and Celestia glowed white, managing to stand up taller with no effort, her scrapes and wounds healing almost imperceptibly slowly.
"Things will be better when this is over," she announced. "I promise. I swear."
A spear of white light shot from the Elements' center, striking the invisible Nightmare Moon and rendering her visible once again.
"What is this…?" she demanded.
"Yes," Celestia said eagerly. "Yes!"
Two beams were fired, one golden and one black, and met exactly in the middle, directly beneath the floating pearl, sparking and humming at their point of collision.
Annihilara leaned forward slightly, intrigued.
Discord appeared before Celestia's eyes as she strained to keep her beam active. Come on, come on, the Elements! he cried. You've got to use the Elements!
She eyed him. When did you become so invested in me winning? she thought.
He shuffled his feet nervously. Oh, well… about that… while I'm perfectly capable of watching the world go by from within my stone prison… it just wouldn't be worth it without you. He caressed her face.
"Get back!" Nightmare Moon shouted in alarm. "You are mine!"
Celestia stared with intense focus at Nightmare Moon, and to her shock saw her foe's catlike pupils expand, but not into the sinister black orbs they had become before. Instead, her harsh eyes were becoming the soft, sad eyes of Princess Luna.
Tendrils of Luna's blue magic burst out of Nightmare Moon's horn and made their way to the point where the beams met… and slowly began pulling Celestia's beam closer to Nightmare Moon.
"YES!" Celestia whooped. "You're finished, Nightmare Moon! Together, my sister and I shall rip you away from her spirit!"
Celestia's beam, supported by both the Elements and Luna's pull, began overpowering Nightmare Moon's, slowly edging closer and closer to her, and the Elements hummed with energy and spun even faster.
"…Wait," Celestia said with dawning realization. "Luna, what are you doing?"
Luna's eyes simply stared back at her.
"No," Celestia gasped. "No! That's not what I want to do!"
Annihilara straightened in her seat.
"I want you back, not this!" Celestia cried out. "Not this! LUNA!"
More of Luna's energy emerged, and pulled on Celestia's beam harder. Nightmare Moon was very nearly overwhelmed.
Celestia's eyes quivered. "…Your magic was always more powerful than mine, little sister," she said sadly. "You've won. You've won, but please don't… please just let me free you, don't do this…"
The golden beam reached Nightmare Moon, and there was a massive, blinding explosion that knocked Celestia onto her back. She heard the Elements of Harmony clatter to the ground, and when her vision returned, she was looking straight up at the ceiling. Through one of the holes she and Nightmare Moon had left, she could see the moon… only now, the glowing white orb, once pure and flawless, had a crater pattern on it in the shape of a pony's head.
"No…" she peeped. "No." She rolled onto her belly, burying her face in her hooves. "This is my fault… all my fault… I made you choose this." She broke out in anguished sobs. "I made you."
Blinking tears out of her eyes, she noticed Annihilara, who was still on the throne, but now lounging casually.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Just… you know," Annihilara said with a shrug. "Place to sit. Trust me, this is the last place I would ever want to be on a regular basis."
"Why didn't you help me?" Celestia accused. "You hated what Luna had become."
"Yeah," Annihilara agreed. "But I hate you more."
She was consumed in a pillar of darkness, which turned into black dust, which blew away as if on the wind and vanished.
Armored guards burst into the room, armed with spears. With a twinkle, they transformed from bat-winged horrors back into ordinary pegasi. Dazed, they clutched their temples or shook their heads vigorously. One by one, they took notice of the moon.
"I didn't want to do that," Celestia said rapidly, frantically, scrambling to a standing position. "Luna did it to herself. It was her choice." She blinked rapidly. "I… I realize how that sounds, coming from me. Um, what I mean is… is that… it… it was her magic. I wanted to save her. But she… did not want to be saved. She overpowered me. She chose to imprison herself there in the moon rather than set herself free. She didn't think she deserved…" Her lip quivered, and she let out an agonized shriek of, "SISTER!"
She flew out one of the holes in the roof and straight toward the tallest spire of the castle, sitting on its balcony and weeping uncontrollably.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Hours later, as the moon hung static near the horizon, Snowdrop gently flew up and sat beside Celestia. "Is it true what they say?" she asked softly. "Scars on the surface of the moon?"
"Yes," Celestia replied numbly, a few tears dripping to the floor.
"And is it true what they think it means?"
"Yes."
Snowdrop inhaled sharply, then cooed in sympathy and leaned against Celestia, who stared back at her in alarm.
"It seems quite… still," said Snowdrop. "Has the sun returned?"
"Maybe," Celestia muttered.
"You should raise it, Princess."
"What's the point? I failed."
"You did not!" Snowdrop exclaimed. "You saved your sister. And if you choose not to see it that way, fine, but keep in mind you also did this to save the rest of the world from eternal night."
Celestia sniffled and nodded.
"Doing the right thing is never easy," Snowdrop said tenderly. "But please finish what you started. There are millions out there waiting for the sun's precious light to return."
Celestia's lip quivered. "I… I don't know how to bring the sun back."
"Just try. Try it, the same way you used to every morning. And try it quickly… it should be dawn right now."
"You…" Celestia stared at her in disbelief. "How can you know that?"
"Princess, it's me," Snowdrop said dryly. "I have a feel for such things."
Celestia lowered her head and shut her eyes tight. Her horn glowed, and the crater-covered moon resumed slipping away.
The second moon, pure white, appeared on the opposite horizon, and slowly but surely, melted away and was transformed into the sun, which bathed Equestria in its light and spread a pleasant blue color across the sky like paint.
Celestia still was too numb to look in any particular direction, but she heard cheering throughout the city… and it only made her cry harder.
"And the crowd celebrates me," she wailed. "I've done it again! I've—"
"Shh…" said Snowdrop, flying up and placing a hoof on the princess' lips. "You have done well, you great and glorious princess. Please don't cause yourself any more anguish. Your sister would be proud to see you celebrated once again."
"That's not true!" Celestia wailed. "She'd hate me all over again if she saw this."
Snowdrop nodded, still hovering in front of Celestia's face. "I am here for you, if ever you need a friend."
Celestia smiled. "I might take you up on that. But not now, please. If you could leave me…"
"As you wish, sweet princess."
Snowdrop flew off, and Celestia was left to stare out at the cheering masses flooding the streets of Clovenshire.
"It's not true," she said in pain. "It's just not true."
Discord appeared before her and applauded slowly. Well done, Princess, he said. Here: take a little something to ease your mind.
The mental image of him leaned close and kissed her. She closed her eyes in alarm, but could feel every bit of the sweet, passionate kiss in her imagination. When he parted from her and vanished, she found herself feeling very serene.
A few minutes into this trance, she suddenly came to the horrible realization of what exactly had left her so calm and peaceful. "No…" she muttered angrily. "No, no, NOOOOOO!"
With that furious scream, she collapsed, hooves over her face, crying even harder.
On a nearby spire, Fork lowered his charm bracelet to the ground and simply watched her. Shedding a single tear, he lowered his head and vanished in a puff of magical energy.