Fandom MLP: Age of Exploration - Nightmares Rising

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon Cyan Hide Shadeofshade
Daybreaker didn't even know what to do anymore. The one thing she had to protect in her life... gone. She failed again. It didn't even need to be said that she had failed again, even if it wasn't her fault this time. It felt like her own fault. Luna has every right to blame her for not doing her duty once again. How many ponies can say that they failed to protect their wife, their child, not once but twice now? This is the second time she was not able to save Luna. The first time she has not been able to save Aurora. If her self-esteem could have possibly gotten any lower since their banishment a thousand years ago, it would have. Celestia is already at rock bottom.

Her ears flicked at the sound of a heartbeat suddenly forming. She didn't believe it at her, but a second one came. A third, fourth, fifth, sixth seven eight--a heart was beating in Luna's chest. A hopeful glint suddenly showed in Daybreaker's eyes, mouth opening in a wide gape as they seemed to be coming back to life. Yet, unknown to Avedon, she felt something disturbingly wrong. The body is living but the soul is not. Nothing could be felt from Luna. As far as she could tell, they are still dead.

But then... how could she seemingly be coming back to life right now? It wasn't until they spoke that she realized what was happening.

Daybreaker couldn't even react in that brief moment, caught between shock and hope that Luna was returning to them. The words are all wrong, yet also so right. These are the words that Luna would never speak, but the both of them still know. It sounds like Luna, smells like them, looked like them, but this is undeniably not Luna. The bond is not there. No, somebody else is inhabiting her wife's body, and she knows exactly who it is. The same being that had caused all of this to happen in the first place. They dared to once take her wife away... and they have done it again.

Daybreaker's mouth closed, a very passive look was on their face for a moment. The curling of her lip was the only thing that foretold what was coming, a sudden wave of heat in the area. The blood around her evaporated in an instant. Her body seemed to glow even brighter, her mane and tail becoming more chaotic, erratic, somehow becoming an even greater blaze, feeding off the pain, rage at the audacity of this bitch, and the absolute hate she was feeling at the moment. Hate of herself that she allowed this to happen again and hate for Nightmare that they would even attempt it, desecrating her wife's corpse.

Leaning down as if to kiss them, she instead moved next to their ear, baring her teeth, whispering into their ear with a soft, malevolent voice. The underlying growl returned in full force. "... Crack my wife's skull...? No. I'm going to destroy your skull. Not even Harmony will be able to bring you back after this one. This will be the last time you terrorize my family ever again."

She didn't even wait for a response. Pulling back her hoof, horn igniting to restrain the mare in that same moment, she threw her whole body weight into that punch, made even more impactful by the fact that their head was parallel with the ground. Her hoof decimated their face, pulverizing it in an instant, if not outright blowing it apart. The crater that she left in the ground from way over eighty tons of force pile driving into the dirt, blood and brain matter flying everywhere, was all that remained of their face.

Avedon would find Night's Wrath ripped from their person, flowing into Celestia's hooves. She went absolutely berserk, flames lighting up along the blade, sunfire fueling each strike. She slashed, smashed, stabbed, cut, eviscerated, punching--she was intent on leaving absolutely nothing of this body behind. If there is a shred of it left, Nightmare will probably come back again, taking the guise of her wife once more. She cannot allow that. This will be the final time they're ever seen again. She didn't stop until they were unable to be recognized as the corpse of a pony anymore. Through all of this, all the rest of them could hear is incoherent screams, some resemblance of an insult thrown in here and there, usually in another language entirely.

When she was finished with it, she tossed Night's Wrath away, panting and huffing. Her hoof raised to the sky, calling upon the might of the sun itself now. It glowed brighter, the horrible sound of something large moving through the air. The area quickly was growing brighter and brighter, the grass incinerating. So much sunlight present that it even began to burn Avedon, Starlight, and Twilight as well. That's going to leave a very nasty sunburn.

Twilight was utterly horrified to witness such a thing. She had never seen Celestia filled with so much fury before. Not just that--she was blind at this point, focused solely on the task of removing Nightmare from existence. It was actually terrifying to see. At least she didn't have to look any longer, glancing upwards and seeing what was coming. It was just... a massive beam of light hurtling down to them from the sun itself.

"AVEDON!" Twilight yelled, grabbing the stallion and the others as well, teleporting away just a couple of seconds before impact, landing them all on a cliff roughly a quarter mile away from the point of impact. She was left on the ground, sprawled out, scrambling up quickly to look in that direction.

The beam of light hit the ground, right on where Nightmare was. If they somehow were not dead before by the many blows Celestia dealt with Night's Wrath, leaving hardly any trace of them remaining, this will even remove the body permanently. Nothing will remain. The light hit the ground and sent what used to be Ponyville, the part of the Everfree Forest, and the field they were in sky high. Explosive fire like a mushroom shot upwards, beyond the clouds, sending all sorts of debris rocketing into the atmosphere. The display of power was massively overkill to remove Nightmare from the picture permanently, but it seemed that Celestia wanted to make absolutely sure that they could not come back.

There was a few seconds of nothing, just the blinding light of the explosion as what appeared like a localized volcano. A wave of force traveled across the land, demolishing practically whatever was in its wake. By the time it reached them, it completely knocked Twilight over, sending her rolling backwards and struggling to even hold on to not be pushed back even further. Intelligently, she thought to put up a shield around them all to protect everybody further from the blast.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
... Nightmare was gone after the first strike from Night's Wrath. The weapon did as it was designed to, striking deep into the weakened Primordial's soul and drawing her essence forth. Daybreaker would have been able to feel the soul entering the blade, if she weren't so lost in a mindless haze of rage and depression. Because really, that's all it was. Nightmare watched all of this from the discomfort of the blade, and knew what she was seeing. Anger, rage, but most of all... pain.

This entire outburst by Daybreaker was driven by her guilt at having been unable to save her wife... again. It was driven by the pain she felt in her heart, and all of it was directed at Nightmare in the form of rage. Yet in truth, Daybreaker was only hurting herself further. Every blow after the first did not strike Nightmare, it only struck Luna's corpse. It made the Primordial... happy? This blade would be her prison for the rest of her days, but she could at least enjoy this last moment of watching Celestia suffer. It made her feel accomplished.

Mount Canterlot was the absolute symbol of strength and power in the world. It housed the most grandiose city in the world, and contained within it the power of several of the world's most important divinities. And yet even the foundations of Mount Canterlot shook at the culmination of Daybreaker's rage. The shockwave rocked the very mountain itself, shattering windows in the city and causing absolute panic among the population. They had no idea what happened, but to the average pony the blood red sky and shockwave made it seem like the world was truly ending this time.

Ponyville was just... gone. But that had happened before, and it could be fixed quickly with magic. The Everfree Forest was badly damaged, the impact of the sun creating a permanent dead-zone in the area. The Sun's energy bled into the ground and into the creatures that inhabited the forest, forever changing them. Some evolved, some devolved. Some became other creatures entirely.

As the beam of light incinerated Luna's corpse, Nightmare's cackling voice wormed its way into Celestia's ear. Along with a hundred other voices. This is what Luna had to deal with every time she held the blade. She had trained for centuries to tune them out. Celestia had no such training, but Nightmare's words overpowered the other souls in the blade. "A final stunning failure, Celestia... Any chances of saving your wife disappeared with her body."

 

[Avedon]

Dumbledoof Dreamweaver
Avedon was stunned under the blinding onslaught of light even as his shadow-form endured...but that quickly began to fade. Infact most of his lunar magic seemed to begin to bleed out of him with his goddess's death. He was stunned and if it hadn't been for Twilight...He gave her a thankful nod as he looked on at the devastation wrought by the maddened sun-god.

"We need to get to her Twilight...In this state I don't know what she's going to do to Equestria...or to herself. I'm not wizard like you, I can't explain it but when we were in the Weave, ripping all that magic apart and letting new spells bleed together, I think one was made that could stop her. That can resurrect Luna....in a way."

He got up and looked to the alicorn as he got back to his feet and folded down his ragged wings.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon
Celestia
Daybreaker panted, fire surrounding the landscape still, columns of smoke taller than the clouds rising into the air. She just... couldn't control herself after seeing the eyes of Nightmare on her wife again. So she had to make sure that it couldn't happen again, both in part of trapping Nightmare in Night's Wrath forever, and to get rid of the body. This place became their funeral pyre... a funeral fit for a queen. Or an Empress.

Her form as Daybreaker faded away, leaving Celestia by herself in the flames. Her eyes scanned the sword, hearing Nightmare's words, but too numbed to really acknowledge them. Celestia was just... drained. "... Enjoy your eternity of hell, Nightmare..." She whispered, horn glowing and planting Night's Wrath on the moon, far away from where anybody can reach it.

After that, she took in a deep, shuddering breath. Avedon said there was a way to save Luna. She should probably go find him. Drawing the wretched flames back into herself, absorbing them and leaving the land as just a charred husk, she disappeared into a flash of light.

Twilight Sparkle
Twilight was horrified at what she witnessed. Celestia just destroyed practically everything over there, just over the sheer fact that Nightmare possessed Luna's body. She had never seen them quite so angry before. More than that, she could recognize their magical aura, but they were completely different! This new form of Celestia did not act like they normally would at all. Celestia is never quite so quick to violence, or has ever been willing to completely destroy life in an area like that, even if it is the Everfree Forest.

She didn't like it in the least bit.

The devastation went on for miles in all directions. She didn't just destroy the land--it was uninhabitable now. Nothing left but ash and blackened earth, all nutrients burned away in purging fire. Oddly enough, the flames seemed to suddenly move, drawing into an epicenter of some sort. Celestia? Why even bother to remove the fire when everything is already in ruins? Soon enough, it was all gone, remnants of smoke floating up into the atmosphere. She doubted any debris managed to survive the initial blast to hurl anything.

Celestia appeared before them once again. They looked somber, broken. A dead look in her eyes. She regarded Twilight shamefully for a moment, but then turned her head to Avedon. "You said there was a way to save her. What is it, Avedon?"

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
The devastation that Celestia had wrought was unlike anything seen since the Eclipse War, when her clash with Nightmare Moon had torn open the Ghastly Gorge that spanned miles in every direction and was several hundred feet deep. Equestria had since forgotten about the destruction that Celestia had caused during that time, things had returned to normal. Now they were once again reminded that their primary ex-ruler was in fact an extremely powerful Sun Goddess, not just a nice Princess. This kind of devastation would take decades to be forgotten about before the mortals felt comfortable around her again.

As the inferno was pulled back into Celestia's body, the clear sky above them began to suddenly change. The blood red sun and sky was covered by thick rain clouds, which spanned hundreds of miles in every direction. It was impossible for such a large storm to form naturally so suddenly, so it was certainly the doing of magic. As lightning flashed through the air, thunder soon followed it; the warning of a very angry Goddess. Not long after, a torrential downpour began. The rain beat down like a war-drum, soaking the land and its inhabitants. It would not stop for days. The entire land must be flooded, so that the healing can begin.

Far above them, the clouds began to swirl. The storm clouds took on the face of Silvanus, who stared down at the group. Yet even still, it was obvious that her eyes were directly on Celestia. As she spoke her voice echoed out as thunder, the sound waves shaking the ground."... I understand your pain, Mother. I feel it as well. But what you did here is unacceptable, there will be consequences. You and I are going to need to talk about what happened here today. For now... grieve, Asa and I will be there soon."

And just like that the face in the clouds disappeared.

 

[Avedon]

Dumbledoof Dreamweaver
Avedon looked once more of the burning waste. So much of his home, ravaged, ruined...but it paled in comparison to the disaster they had averted. His eyes fell once more on Daybreaker, looking at her directly now, able to truly see what she had become unlike in the haze of recovering form near death before. This was the Celestia that the cult who raised him had taught him she was. A mad, burning titan. A tyrant of light and flames. His time over the years had dispelled that notion. He knew the gentle being she normally was. To see her so lost in rage and pain...His tone was unusually soft for the scarred vampire as he stood weary under the wave of the light that poured off the divine being.

"Yes...a spell created by the first magic surge I experienced in the Weave. I'd almost suspect Nightfall's hand in making sure I noticed it. It's a resurrection, it demands a life for a life. My life. If it was as simple as that I'd give it now and be done with it but with her body gone...the only thing I could bring her back as is a phantom, a shade...I think the only other way is to create a vessel by the blood and essence of her...of her sister. The only way to bring Luna back is not with my death, but the death of your divinity."

"You would both be mortal."

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon
Celestia made a mistake getting that lost in her anger and pain. She should have fought harder against transforming into Daybreaker in the first place. Or, at the very least, fought harder to control herself as Daybreaker. What she did there was not good. While nobody would ever miss the Everfree Forest except Silvanus for whatever god-forsaken reason, she did just obliterate Ponyville. Again. And much of the surrounding life. It's going to take time for the land to heal, that she will be sure to help with as much as she can.

Glancing up at the sky briefly when Silvanus decided to say something, Celestia didn't even bother giving a reply to them. Consequences? There have already been consequences. Her outburst isn't really her top priority at the moment, unfortunately for them.

Turning her attention back to Avedon, she nodded her head shortly. "That's it? It isn't even a question of whether I will do it or not, Avedon. I will do anything for Luna. We began in this world as mortals together, almost fitting that she will be returning to it as a mortal with me." Sacrificing her divinity is a paltry offering compared to getting Luna back. "What must I do? Channel my divinity into you so that you may sacrifice it?"

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
He nodded, a little uncertain, he had never cast such a thing before and he knew they could only do it the once. Celestia's divine nature would prove...problematic. He knew that. Even though he still carried some faint blessing from Luna to shield him from the worst of the sun's effects, outright channeling that divine font would sear him body and soul.

"I would say that you should consider the consequences of it too. Losing the two mightiest gods at once in this world? There will be consequences. For you and Luna, for Equestria, and for the world itself..."
His eyes fell to Silvanus and a small encouraged smile worked it way onto his face. He stretched a hoof out at Celestia.
"It's fortunate then that no matter what happens, our children seem to be in good standing to take stewardship of the world...I am ready to accept whatever happens if you are."

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
Although Celestia and Luna didn't actually share any biological relation at all, the tribute of a deities essence should be enough to fuel the spell. Hopefully. If they really needed reagents for the spell, Silvanus was the only current living pony who actually shared blood with Luna. Speaking of Silvanus, she decided it was now time to show up! This was kind of a serious event, missing it would dishonor both of her mothers. If Celestia were to die here, Silvanus wanted to be around.

The ground spit out Silvanus, who landed daintily on her hooves, and then spit out Asa as well who probably didn't land so daintily. It was actually a good thing that Luna's body was gone, so Silvanus couldn't be hit with the shock of seeing it. Without a body, it kind of just felt like her mother was on temporary vacation. If she saw the body... that would be something else entirely. "Mother..." Silvanus approached Celestia with tears in her eyes and wrapped her forelegs around Celestia's neck, squeezing her tightly. She didn't really know if Celestia was going to survive this spell or not, and she didn't want her mom to think she hated her for what happened here with Daybreaker.

"I love you... if I don't see you again, I want you to know that. I know I wasn't always the nicest foal, but I've always loved you even if it seemed like I didn't." And this was the mare that Luna had spoken of over a millennia ago. She turned out pretty good. Slowly letting Celestia go, Silvanus wiped at her eyes and turned to regard Avedon. "Do you need anything from me? Blood? Bone? Or should I... step back?"

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon
Celestia knew that this sacrifice may have problems that occur later on, if anybody else were to know about it. She is throwing away her divinity so that Luna may live. There are a lot of mortal enemies out there, many of which would love to have the chance to kill them. Taking down Equestria, the mighty Celestia and Luna, it's something that anybody wants the credit for. She trusted that Silvanus and Aurora, when they're back alive, would be able to protect Equestria... and each other. Their lives are more important to her than losing a part of the empire.

Turning when Silvanus suddenly appeared, she was afraid that they wanted to talk now. She really wasn't really to talk to them now. Rather than coming to discuss what just happened, she was taken aback by what she saw instead. Her little girl was crying, tears in her eyes. She wasn't expecting Silvanus to pop up and be all emotional, but it hit Celestia like she had just hit herself with that blast just a few minutes ago. "Oh, Silva..." Celestia said softly, sitting and reaching out for her foal to come into her arms, hugging them just as tightly as they were hugging her. She stroked her hoof through Silvanus's mane, gently trying to calm her baby down. For how grown Silvanus gets, they will always be her baby. Age and size doesn't matter.

Perhaps it would be wrong of her to sacrifice everything for Luna, as much as she would wish to. If this is any indication, it would effect the rest of the family severely. Pulling back, she helped wipe away their tears, smiling at them. "I love you too, with all of my heart. I was told a little over a millennia ago that I would have another foal. I was so excited to meet them then that I asked so many questions about you!" Celestia grinned at them. "I'm so glad to have you, dear. I'm sorry that I hurt your land, I... I should have been better. If I survive, I'll you help fix what I did here."

Standing back up, she turned herself back to Avedon. Her heart felt unusually heavy with the new possibility that she will be leaving her foals behind. Celestia was crying again, rubbing at her eyes. "I-I'm ready, Avedon. Cast the spell."

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
"You will survive, and then you and Luna are going to help me fix this." Silvanus pointed out, her voice drowned out by the drumming of the rain and the crack of thunder up above. Rain collected in Silva's mane and dripped down her face, masking her tears. The ground beneath their hooves was already turning to a puddle as the rain beat down relentlessly upon them.

Silvanus really wanted to point out that Luna would not want this. There's no way that Luna would want Celestia to risk her own life pursuing this. If it was just the two of them, fine... but they had a family, they had children to look after. Luna wouldn't want Celestia abandoning their children like this, with a slim possibility of it actually working. But... Silvanus did not point that out. Instead she gave Celestia the best fake smile that she could manage, and stepped away while they prepared to cast the spell.

Taking a look around her, Silvanus took a deep breath as she moved back over to stand with Asa a good distance away. Silvanus looked visibly weak in this scorched environment, like she had a terrible flu or something. The usually vibrant blue flower in her hair was wilted and dying, and the embers on the tip of her wings had progressed into visible flames, not quenched by the downpour. This environment was not exactly the healthiest for her to be in, where all of the life around her was dead. Just a scorched, barren wasteland.

Thankfully the massive storm she had conjured was the first step in restoring things.

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof
Avedon watched the somber familial moment. He had little left on this side of life and death, if he failed, then he was certain he and Nightfall could share words. For now he clasped onto Celestia's hoof and let the divinity roll through him. His veins turned gold as the solar energy seared through his body, just as his undead nature spread into Celestia's perfect ivory hoof, bringing the sickly, cancerous touch of death to the eternal being. The rush of power and the pain of the flames seared Avedon within and without. His golden eyes pouring to blaze like suns while his skin seared and shone with the inner light, his bones melted and flames took the bat-pony. Celestia felt her eternity, her immortality, and her power all slip away, replaced by a numbing cold that lanced into her soul. Helplessness and horror in the fact of encroaching death - the natural state of all mortals. Her ivory coat darkened and wreathed in shadow and ash until the spell reached a breaking point. The Weave claimed their sacrifices and in an instant a surge of truly cosmic power erupted between them.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
As Avedon's undeath seeped into Celestia, she would begin to feel the strangest of feelings... fear. For the first time in perhaps thousands of years, the cold touch of death gripped Celestia's heart. As her divinity was stripped away, the mare would be left with one undeniable truth; she was once again mortal. Every beat of her heart now mattered, for it might be the last. Every breath, every smile, they were all now on a clock. There's nothing she could do about it, one day she would simply smile for the last time. One day her heart would stop beating. This was the natural state of all mortals; the truth that one day, it would all just come to an end.

The power of the Sun and the Weave exploded forth between them, a column of azureflame mixed with sunlight going for miles up into the sky. And then it slowly began to arch... and arch... until it was coming right back down at them! The column landed just a few feet ahead of them, and began to grow brighter. Azureflame and sunlight flickered and caressed each other as the power of their sacrifice bore the seeds of new life.

Celestia would feel her divinity stripped away more and more as the columns power increased. It was devouring everything that had made Celestia who she is, every ounce of sunlight and energy in her body. Celestia would feel herself shrinking, her wings disappearing as her body returned to its natural mortal state.

Avedon felt something else entirely. The sunlight burned, yet didn't kill him. His spark of the Weave shielded him from the worst effects of that. Still, it left terrible scarring that would no doubt take a while to heal. Lots of blood drinking was going to be necessary.

As the column reached the apex of its power, a form could be seen inside. When the column began to lose its power, the form only became clearer. Soon enough the column disappeared completely... leaving a small pegasus mare on the ground. She had light blue fur and an even lighter mane, with a moon as her cutie mark. She was currently unconscious, and would stay like that for a very long time.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon
Celestia thought that she was actually dying at that moment. The cold embrace of death came to her, and if Nightfall were still here, she swore that she would probably glimpse them at that moment. It made her panic slightly. She very nearly resisted against the spell, unwilling to part with her life. She couldn't. Her children still needs her in the world--Silvanus more than Aurora. Having both of their mothers die because of Nightmare's doing would be traumatizing to the highest degree. But it did not come to that. She felt her divinity seep away from her, channeled through Avedon and searing him, but it did not affect her life aside from taking her immortality. Something that has become recently familiar with her.

Something that she has been antiquated with before. Mortality isn't a strange concept to her, as she started out just like all of them. A mortal unicorn, blessed with powerful magic, leading the creation of Light Magic. Her form grew smaller, but not as small as what others might think; Celestia was rather tall for a pony even as a mortal. She dropped a few feet but still managed to be as tall as Luna was as an alicorn, perhaps an inch or two more. The weirdest part was not feeling wings on her back anymore.

Celestia stared directly into the flame, her sunlight and azureflame mingling together, marrying together to create new life right before her. Or, rather, recreating a life that already existed. The entire process left her exhausted, yet adrenaline from the feeling of near death kept her upright and hyper-focused. When everything faded... a little blue pegasus laid before her.

Tears filled Celestia's eyes, gasping and rushing forward immediately to protectively wrap her forelegs around Luna's smaller body, crying in relief and absolute happiness. It worked! Her love is back! She didn't even care if any of the others were watching right now, she was far too emotional about managing to save her wife, with Avedon's help.

Celestia turned her attention to Avedon, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She gushed. Her eyes went to Silvanus then, waving for them with her hoof. "Silvanus, meet your mother and I... before we became goddesses."

Twilight was completely startled by what just happened! She just witnessed Celestia become a unicorn, and now Luna is a pegasus before her! She stayed back and watched in both fascination and confusion, not wanting to interrupt this moment for them. It's rather important for the family.

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof
Avedon's vision had seared white, his batlike wings charred, his skin gaunt against his monstrous features, his chest cracked open as the flickering remains of sun-fire poured out as crimson light alongside his blood. Even as it flooded the system he felt the light-borne energy burn him less than it once did, a catalyst for a change in him.

While Avedon slowly recovered from the infusion of the sun-essence he'd see a swirl of painful colors form. It would be several long and unsteady moments before he began to piece together what he was looking at. Luna and Celestia, but...smaller. Their colors different. Their presence no longer radiating the divine. They had done it. For weal or for woe both of Equestria's mightiest deities and the paragons that had defied the nation were now mortal.

And seeing the small fragile Luna alive and breathing made it all worth it. He turned to Celestia's overjoyed face, unable to resist smiling alongside her. He'd let out a sigh and settled into the grass as the warm light poured down on them.

The final chapter had been written in of Equestria's most primeval horrors.
Two lovers were reunited from the brink of death.
A family made whole again.

Of course hundreds of ponies were now homeless and the Everfree was half-charred.
The nation was never more vulnerable to attack than it was now.
He would need a long time to recover from his wounds and properly learn his vampiric nature.


But Avedon was a warrior to the end. He'd face those battles in the future. Right now, just for this single moment, they could all rest under the light of a godless sun, and simply enjoy the fruits of victories that had been earned here against the face of eternal evil by the very mortals they all were.

"...Luna is alot scrawnier than I expected her to be."

And of course...Trixie. Lost somewhere out in the Weave. He'd turn his head and hold a thought on her, wondering if she could hear him. He didn't forget what she had done. If she could feel, him, hear him, he knew she had helped them win this final battle...she also knew he was going to shove a firework down her throat for all the spells she cast on him if he ever found her again.

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof

As Titania was coming too, her head was killing her. All her senses were slowly coming back and the first thing she heard was, "...L..a.i…..t.scra...er..han.I.ex..ct.d..er.to..e." As she heard that she slowly got up to a sitting position, groaning all the way. Placing her hove on her head and slowly coming to her senses. When she looked up, she did a double take. Luna was...alive? “Err…Can anyone tell me what happened while I was unconscious in as few and simple words as possible please? I feel like I missed something important.” Asked Titania to everyone who was there.

HP 1/186
AC 18
Grit 3/4
Action Surge 2/2
Second Wind 1/1
Racial Spell 1/1
Age 31

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
... Silvanus wandered over and crushed her skull. Long live the Empress!

Silvanus had been about ready to intervene the whole time. She wasn't willing to let Celestia throw her life away for the slim chance that this spell would actually work. If it was even a spell? It seemed more like the will of the universe bringing Luna back, not a spell. Either way, Silvanus was going to interfere if this seemed like a bad idea. Her muscles were tight as she watched Celestia's divinity be stripped away, but they relaxed when she saw the small form beginning to appear in the light.

When the surge of power finally faded, Silvanus was left with her fur standing on end. That was a lot of power... more in one place than she'd ever seen before. She didn't really know what to make of it, but she did know what to make of the scrawny, fragile, sad little pegasus currently unconscious on the ground. "... Wow, she's kind of pathetic, isn't she?" Silvanus said, nodding in agreement with Avedon's words that Luna looked like a weak little bitch! She came over and nudged Luna a bit with her hoof, though Luna was showing no signs of waking up anytime soon.

With Luna saved, Celestia mortal, Nightmare defeated, and Trixie currently deceased, that left only one question remaining.

... What should they do with Starlight Glimmer? That was for the heroes to decide.

 

[Avedon]

Shadeofshade Dreamweaver
Silvanus was Celestia's coolest kid to Avedon. The wounded vampire moved over to Titania, rolling onto her back, his smoldering form limping as it moved. He took a deep breath to mess with her but a painful cough cut him off
"...I was going to say we were sent to an alternate timeline where dogs rule the world and ponies are the human pets but it hurts too much to laugh...Nightmare Moon is dead. I see you're awake. Where's...Starlight?"
He asked as he looked around for her.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof Avedon Shadeofshade

Maybe it was something in Starlight's unconscious mind being summoned by her name. Maybe it was coincidence. But Starlight Glimmer began to stir. She opened her eyes, and slowly got to her hooves. She was still clearly in pain, as she looked around, but what she saw woke her right up.

"Luna?.....Celestia? What? I....I don't understand!"

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon Shadeofshade Cyan Hide
Twilight decided to let the royal family do their regrouping and coincide with each other for now. That isn't something she wants to interrupt, the reunion of Celestia and Luna, even if one of them may be asleep right now, and Silvanus. They were the ones that got hit the hardest throughout this entire mess. Losing Aurora and Luna in a single day is tough to swallow. Celestia also lost her divinity. Equestria just became much more vulnerable right now as a result of this sudden shift in power.

For that, Twilight has work to do. Getting Equestria back up and running and hiding the fact that they've suddenly grown weaker. The rest of the world likely does not already know--in fact, if they saw anything at all, Celestia's display of strength may ward them away for the time being. They will look at the Everfree Forest, a place reviled and feared for its dangerous nature, and Ponyville's destruction, and see only the kind of power that Equestria wields. Or did wield. They must make sure that Equestria looks just as strong as ever.

Twilight knew what to do right now. Stepping over to Starlight, her eyes narrowed at them. "For better and worse, we've fixed the mistake that you have made, mostly. Trixie is still dead and may remain that way now." She said in a monotonous voice. This is the sound of a very tired and broken mare. "Starlight Glimmer, you are hereby placed under arrest for treason against Equestria, unleashing a terrible evil on the land again, and for the ponyslaughter of Luna and Trixie. Normally this would be public execution, but seeing as Aurora wants you alive... you'll be going under maximum security in the dungeons for the next year until Aurora returns."

Horn glowing, she put her hoof to Starlight and the two of them vanished in a flash of light. Off to Canterlot!

Celestia, on the other hoof, didn't even pay attention to anything that was happening behind her. It's probably for the best that she did not hear what Twilight said. Rather, she snickered and nodded at Silvanus and Avedon. "She looks small but Luna was always surprisingly strong for her size. Particularly good with a bow and a blade."

She picked up her unconscious wife carefully, depositing them on her back. Without her divinity, she cannot fly anymore, as unfortunate as that is. Not with wings anyway. So they will have to settle for simply returning home by magic. Celestia turned her head to Avedon. "Twilight will probably need your help back in Canterlot, Avedon. That's where I'm assuming she went because... I don't see her here still. Starlight too."

It's surprising that they decided to take off so quickly after the fight. Normally they like to stay after and relax momentarily. Shrugging her shoulders, her eyes landed back on Avedon again after a quick glance around. "She is Empress now until Aurora reincarnates. The sole Empress... a fate I wouldn't wish on anybody. I know the burden far too well. Other than that... I'm going home."

Her horn started glowing. "You can come too if you want Silva." And then Celestia vanished with Luna back to their house, far far away.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dumbledoof


Starlight noted that Twilight was too tired to even try to sound mad. Starlight felt that. As she listened, she visibly winced and looked away in sorrow when Starlight mentioned that Trixie was dead. She knew it in her mind, but it would still take a while for it to sink in, and every time she thinks it doesn't hurt as much as the first time.

Starlight didn't say anything in response. She had completely surrendered to her fate. Imprisonment was nothing compared to the greater punishment of living with what had happened as a result of her weakness. Honestly, by the time she was let free, would she still not yet be ready to look her children in the eye?

Starlight let Twilight teleport them both away to Canterlot, where Starlight would be spending the next year.

 

[Avedon]

Dumbledoof Cyan Hide
Avedon watched Starlight be dragged off in chains. Metaphorically anyways. He had his own thoughts on the matter but currently his mind was clouded by Celestia's words.
"Sole Empress..."

For all his youth being raised to be a dutiful soldier, he had broken free of that and only Luna had ever truly earned his loyalty. He did not know if he could follow another, at least not in the same capacity. His greatest foe was dead, and for all his sacrifices he was left in this undead twilight forced to continue even after his duty had finally been finished. Equestria needed him, Twilight needed him, and thus he had to go on for now at least. To remain Equestria's lunar general and continue as if naught had changed in the world. At least that pillar of Equestria had to remain unshaken, even if it was only a lie he needed to project to the outside world.

"Yes lets be off to Canterlot..."

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof Shadeofshade
"As if I'm going to leave my weak little mothers alone now..." Silva said quietly, sighing a little as she looked around at the land. With the small group of ponies now all gone away, it left only her. Just her... and this dead wasteland. With the others now gone, the last remnants of life having left this place, she felt even more sick. She had been feeding off of their essence, other than Avedon, but now it was just her and this... place.

With a sigh, Silvanus teleported away.

One Year Later...Though the war with Nightmare Moon was over, the scars of this day would take years to heal. Equestria had been in a state of panic as the ponies returned to Canterlot, and that panic only became more intense when the truth was finally revealed. Where was Celestia? Where was Luna? Where was Aurora? Why had the sky turned red? What happened to Ponyville and the Everfree Forest? It's obvious that it had been Celestia's doing, but now that Celestia was gone it seemed to the mortals like perhaps she was dead.

The days came and went rather quickly with Equestria in a new state of vulnerability. Guards had to be doubled, even tripled in some areas. The whole nation didn't realize just how vulnerable they truly were, but those in power and those close to them knew. Silvanus was currently Equestria's only remaining deity, and so she spent everyday doing whatever she could to help safeguard this nation... in the most passive, neutral ways imaginable, because she was still Mother Nature and had to be neutral to things.

Starlight was confined within Canterlot Mountain itself. At the very bottom of the mountain, miles underground, was a prison for the most powerful unicorns. For the worst unicorns. Aurora's personally built prison. This prison was literally a cube cut into the ground, with no entrance at all. The only way in or out was via teleportation, and you had to have a special Weave badge to even do so. For the purposes of this prison, the entire thing was an antimagic zone. There was no rings that suppressed the unicorns magic, there was no magical chains that made it impossible to cast spells. It was worse than that. Inside of this prison, no magic functioned. Not arcane, not light, not shadow, nothing. The unicorns here were not simply having their magic suppressed... they were wholly cut off from the Weave that they'd been a part of their entire lives. There was nothing special about them here.

Just as bad was the squalor. It wasn't an abusive prison, but it wasn't really cared for much at all. The ponies who were here, were ones who deserved to rot as far as Aurora was concerned. Unicorns who abused their magic. Ones who hurt others with their powers, meaningfully damaged the Weave, or simply could no longer be trusted. Torches lit the damp, hard stone hallways. Every prisoner was given a small mattress, and a few non-magical books to read. That's it. Of course there was a gym area and such, but this prison was not nice.

..... Pop. Pop. Pop pop.

One by one, Avedon, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Luna appeared inside of the prison. In front of them was a swirling mass of brilliant Azureflame, which soon coalesced into the form of Aurora! She stood there for a few moments blinking, and furrowed her eyebrows at Celestia and Luna. "... You both look absolutely ridiculous."

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
In the preceding year Avedon had largely recovered from his solar infusion. After such an intense burn the light of the sun hardly seemed to effect the vampire these days but his skin still carried a few scars that were slow on the mend. He had taken in Starlight and Trixie's fillies for the year, doing his best to comfort them when they suddenly had both their mothers stripped from their lives. It'd not been easy on them and despite all his efforts the situation in Equestria had kept him occupied for months without any sleep. Avedon had swiftly learned to embrace his new powers, especially since the power of the moon waned every night from him. It gave him the strength to carry on where no mortal force of will could sustain such a tired body. His efforts in reigning the nation back into law had been swift and harsh. When so much had spiraled from Equestria's lofty grip so fast the people just needed to feel some kind of control was present, any kind. That however was a discussion for another time.

Right now...
"You don't know the half of it...You can absolutely grab her arm and make her poke herself and she just wriggles...and then kicks you in the throat but it's very funny until then."
He gave Aurora a weary smile.
"Welcome back..."

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Avedon Dumbledoof


One year was a long time to be alone with your thoughts. Starlight had grieved for Trixie. She'd reflected on her actions and decisions. It had taken her months to grow numb to the guilt and pain, and more months to accept it. She hadn't forgiven herself. Could never forgive herself. But she had made peace with herself. No longer harried a grudge. What good would it do? She would never be able to move forward if she let herself be defined by her past. She learned that twelve years ago. She thought she'd also learned to be a good person. But she'd come to realise. She had never been a bad person. She does kind things because she cares. And she does bad things because she cares. The difference is she's usually misguided in the latter half. She lets her emotions get the better of her too often. That was why she needed Trixie, who contrary to appearances had always been the mature, level-headed and logical of the two. Now she was gone. And Starlight had learned to be her own Trixie. To imagine a voice in her head that says what Trixie would say when she was in wife mode. A voice to ground her.

Though she hadn't happy since the last Gala she attended, she was in a neutral state she referred to as a 'good mood' today. But that changed. She had visitors. Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Avedon. Of the four, she had only seen Avedon since the fight. And that was just very rare visits to tell her how her children were doing. She hadn't looked at Celestia or Luna properly that night, so it was shocking to see them look so....mortal. The biggest surprise, though, was her old master, Aurora, appearing in front of them, alive. Starlight got up from her bed and dashed to the bars to get a better look. She was staring bug-eyed. Combined with her messy mane and generally rough appearance, she looked like a crazy.