Princess Luna's eyes scanned across Equestria for any signs of danger. Normally, she would stand at the top of the palace tower in Canterlot and gaze out across the dark lands as her moon illuminated the villages and towns, but for the past few days she had been having trouble merely standing by, and she could no longer do so. If her fears were realized then Equestria would be placed in the utmost danger and she wasn’t sure it could survive this particular danger, no matter who stood against it.

Still, if she could prevent it, if she could stop it before it began, then nopony would have to worry and she could keep her secret to herself. She hated herself for allowing the situation to get this far out of hoof, but she wasn’t thinking right all those years ago, and up until very recently she hadn’t given thought to her dark creation. She had created it shortly before she became Nightmare Moon, and that monster was going to be the ace up her sleeve. It was the perfect weapon to fight alongside her and vanquish any foe that stood against her. She dreaded the thought of having to face what she specifically made to be unstoppable.

The signs were clear; she could not put it off any longer. If it was awakening, she had to be there. Her presence might just complete the awakening cycle and unleash her dark creation, but if she could arrive in time and stop the process altogether, then this hellish curse could be ended once and for all and disaster would be averted.

The mountains were cold and quiet as Luna descended upon them. She was almost out of Equestrian territory by now, but she had intended for her weapon to be kept hidden from Celestia’s gaze all along. To both her relief and dread, Celestia never did find out about her secret work here. Part of her wished that her older sister did figure it out, but the creature had been asleep for over 1,000 years and it was being awoken by something…she was sure of that now. Perhaps its power had just grown too immense to remain in a state of slumber.

She could feel the power flowing out of the cavern’s maw, enticing the monster to retreat from its sleep and return to Equestria to fulfill its mission. Her royal etiquette and posture left her as the mountain wind blew past her backside and through her mane, leaving her to quietly and quickly enter the darkness of the cave. Her very presence was disturbing to the natural order of the cavern and the chills she got when she wandered in were proof of that. She heard her words from long ago echo throughout the rock passages; dark magic was a truly awful force to get involved with, and a horrifying opposition to fight.

Let one rise that shall not fall; let one come from beyond who cannot fail,
Let him conquer in the name of night; let him make the sun’s light frail.
Let one come who will not be deterred and will not be defeated,
Let one come who knows death, and Tartarus, has cheated.
Let my champion arise from black fire and complete his lunar task:
Let him vanquish all the sun’s light; let nopony in such things bask.

The words of Luna’s ancient enchantment crept along the walls and whispered in the wind. She vaguely remembered her words echoing around her as she brought it to life, but they were hardly noticeable. Now, they overtook any possible majestic qualities of the mountain and corrupted it entirely, made it shadow, kept it in darkness and despair.

Luna looked behind her before going down another dark passageway that had been forged from the rock long ago. She followed it down as the enchantment rang out again, slightly louder and more intimidating this time. She had to compose herself every so often, for the darkness inherent in the cave was shed from her own spirit once upon a time, and she knew that while that side of her was completely subdued, it was not destroyed. It could never truly be destroyed, not in her, not in anypony. Yet as she drew near the creation of her dark magic and evil spirit, that side of her screamed and fought to come out again and rule her as it once did. She was the slightest bit tempted to unlock the prison for it and let it possess her in an unholy corruption, but such thoughts were immediately swept away by the light inside of her.

At last she came upon its chamber. The entrance was sealed away by a magical spell that was impossible for almost anypony to undo, but being the caster, she was easily able to release it, and did so with uneasy confidence.

A foul wind shot through the stone gates as they opened. A black, magical aura encased the lone, still figure of a pony in its power. When she last left it, the magic around the figure was barely sustaining it, but keeping it preserved until she needed it. Because she was never able to summon it to her before her banishment, it had been resting all that time, gathering in strength and raw power.

Let one rise that shall not fall; let one come from beyond who cannot fail,
Let him conquer in the name of night; let him make the sun’s light frail.
Let one come who will not be deterred and will not be defeated,
Let one come who knows death, and Tartarus, has cheated.
Let my champion arise from black fire and complete his lunar task:
Let him vanquish all the sun’s light; let nopony in such things bask.

Her old words were now encased in a shadowed voice that instilled doubt and fear into Luna’s soul. She shed a single tear and gathered her magic to her horn, preparing to forever end what she had desecrated and brought back so long ago for such a futile purpose.

Yet as her horn glowed brightly a new aura entered the room and blew past her. Her eyes widened with shock as the familiar energies of the Nightmare Force, that which stalked her as she descended into jealousy and frustration, and later even possessed her and turned her into Nightmare Moon, entered the dark aura of the still figure.

She fired her magic at it and encased within her blast as much power as she could muster, so much so that her horn was singed and smoked as she saw the figure’s eyes go white and absorb the power of her attack. It had been lying on a rock slab when she entered, but now it levitated and slowly turned its face towards her.

“No…” She whispered in disbelief and fled as it set its hooves on the stone floor, keeping its head down and white eyes looking into the mountain below it.

She was too late; doom was certain for Equestria now, for The Reaper of the Night, the Darkest Warrior of the Moon, the horrifying and dreaded Deadpony had awakened.