When my eyes adjusted from the red flash, I found myself floating in an black sea of stars. I extended my wings to fly, but there was no air resistance. I tried to take a deep breath, only to be met with an airless void. I started darting my head from side to side to get my bearings, my eyes falling on an endless expanse of gray dust hundreds of meters below my hooves.

I cast an atmosphere bubble around me and took several deep breaths of air, the flames around my body dying in order to conserve oxygen. I carefully manipulated the gravity field to land on the surface of the moon, eyes falling on the blue orb that was home.

I stomped my hoof. The quake picked up a cloud of gray dust. “HOW DARE HE DO THIS TO ME! HOW DARE HE TREAT ME LIKE A FOOL!” I shut my eyes and tried to hold back tears of frustration. “I really am useless!”

I shook my head and took another deep breath. “No! I-I ju-just miscalculated!” I croaked.

Miscalculated? More like outright underestimated! Worst part is this is not the first time. Remember Chrysalis nine years ago? How about Tirek ten years ago? Do I even need to bring up Luna and Sunset Shimmer? Maybe it's time you stopped being so ‘nice’ and reminded everyone why you were so feared back in your prime.

I shook my head and started taking quick controlled breaths. Just like how I had taught Cadence more than a decade ago. “No,” I said, relaxing my posture and puffing out my chest. “A-a fair and kind que—Princess, does not give in to her baser desires. She does not let herself be ruled by the aspiration to rule.” I sighed to that. “And now, I am talking to myself.”

Still, there was some validity to my inner thoughts. I am standing on the surface of the moon because of a changeling with the power of an elder god who still has my sister under captivity. Worse, he’s planning to bring back my greatest single mistake.

Still, there was something that didn’t quite add up with Grogar. He was powerful; unfathomably powerful, even. He had slapped one of my most potent spells aside like a pony slaps a piece of paper caught in the wind. Yet, in doing so, he prevented the ruins from being destroyed. That was what worried me the most. At the moment of my attack, I had not cared about collateral damage. I hadn’t felt rage like that for more than a millennium.

What’s happened to me? Ten years ago, I would have welcomed anything to get me out of the monotony of daily life, even going so far as to plan for the unusual! Now, I got annoyed by the slightest of things going wrong. Ponies avoid me more than ever before. Even Twilight chooses to tread lightly when I am around. I have changed, but why?

I think I’ve gotten tired all the nonsense over the last thousand and ten years. Grogar’s antics are merely the point where it’s all spilled over. His actions have proven just how feeble I really am! I was the foundation of Equestria once upon a time, but now there are others that can take my place. Like Twilight. How about letting her take the throne while I go back to doing what I used to do best?

I felt my heart skip a beat. “Wh-what I used to do best?” I shut my eyes. “N-no! Harmony chose me and my sister because we demonstrated the needed qualities to rule at a time when fear was the predominant emotion!”

But harmony left me…

A blade of light formed in front of my eyes. I lifted a shaky hoof towards it, unsure of just who was really controlling my body at this point. The thoughts running through my mind should have disturbed me, but they didn't.

Grogar has powers that can easily destroy the world. I can’t just allow him to continue existing if he really is that powerful. I could feel the fire in my heart intensify. Have to prove that I’m not just sitting on my flank and looking pretty anymore. I allowed the blade to become a part of my magic as I felt newfound power surging through me. I have to act now, before it is too late. The blade radiated like a small star. Because if I don’t… No! Better safe than sorry.

I snapped my eyes open with newfound resolution. A fire once more surged through my veins. Grogar had dared to assault my family, and dared to defile the laws of nature with the creation of his star womb. He was evil through and through. With the power he wielded, he could be unstoppable. I have to strike now, before it is too late. He is distracted; he is weak; he is unfocused and full of conceit!

I charged my horn and set my mind on a teleportation target.

The ethereal sun blade vanished after piercing Grogar’s chest. The wound instantly bleed. All blood splashed on Celestia’s armor, leaving a stain that looked much like a wound of its own.

The Necromancer God looked down at his wound and grimaced. “Oh...” he started, voice devoid of the joyful conceit it had bore just minutes earlier. “I... don’t think this... is how it was supposed to turn out.” He fell on all four knees and turned to my sister. “Celestia. I-I can’t believe you—” he hacked again. Some of the blood landed on her face. She instantly brought a hoof over to wipe it off. Yet, in that second, I saw a hesitation in her movement.

He covered his mouth and wiped away the loose blood, leaving only a small smear running down into his beard. “You… you—cheated!” He put on a sad—disappointed, really—grin as he shook his head. “You… supposed to—teleport and appear... in front—me,” he solemnly snickered. “Well. M-maybe—I’m the stupid one—expecting you to follow—” he coughed again. “C-can’t blame you. A-after…” He turned to face me. “I... am. The... Stu—bad guy, here.” He wheezed, then coughed, and finally broke into laughter. “Wow… this, really hurts! I don’t, think I can bounce... back from this one as easily. My magic’s not, c-closing the wound.” He turned to look at Celestia. “You... used magic, to prevent me, from healing. D-didn’t you?” he asked, snickered solemnly. “Well played, C-C-Celestia. Maybe you aren’t a fluffy pretty—p-princess, after all...”

I took a step forward. “That’s it then?” I felt anger rising in me. “All that talk and you’re just going to die?!”

Grogar’s head perked up. “I’m... not, going... to die!” He retorted, snorted, and muttered something under his breath which I did not catch. "I—I... I can't..." He cleared his throat, spitting some of the blood that had started to pool in his mouth and fixed me with a determined look. “I’ll admit... this injury, is the gravest I—suffered in... ever! But it’s n-not going to kill me.” A wide grin formed on his lips. It held no joy. Only bitterness. "I am... immortal..."

Celestia stepped forward. “So, the injury I gave you is not enough?”

Grogar turned to look at her, his brows furrowed. “Do I—to repeat... myself?”

Celestia’s eyes once more lit up with rage. The blade was once again materialized. “Then maybe if I chop off your head this time?!”

I got ready to step between the two when several blurs of blue streaked pass by me. When my mind caught up to the situation, I realized that at least twenty of Grogar’s followers now stood in front of their boss, horns alight and ready for battle. Some still bore dents on their masks from my sister's earlier attack.

Celestia, probably just as surprised as I was, took a step back. “If you value your lives, you will move out of my way!” she bellowed, voice loud enough to cause a few of cultists to recoil. Still, they stood their ground, horns only glowing brighter with each passing second.

“That’s... enough!”

Celestia and I both stood in shock at the loudness of the shout. Our attentions fell on the source.

Grogar clumsily stood back up, wincing as he tried to keep his hoofing even. He had to wrap his hind legs in telekinetic magic to get them to move. The three steps he took might as well have been a hundred by how contorted his face turned. “My... followers. I truly—thank you for... loyal services.” He set his eyes on Celestia. Eyes that now held nothing short of contempt. “But—cannot allow yo...you—more pain. At least... not—my behalf.”

The masked ponies turned to face their boss. None said a word.

Grogar lit his horn. Unlike his normal ruby aura, this one was a bright green. “I... release all—from your contracts. Go... to the great beyond, knowing that—have more than paid back. May—find more peace... in that world, that you did in... this one.”

The magic faded. Each and every masked pony fell to the floor, their robes and mask unfolding to reveal nothing. Yet, from the nothing, ghostly silhouettes floated upwards. Dozens upon dozens travelled up and away into the sky, their forms becoming one with the stars above. One of the ghostly beings—a colt who couldn’t have been older than nine—stopped in front of Grogar. The changeling gave the spirit a warm smile, and the colt in turn hugged his muzzle. He then floated up into the sky, where he too became nothing more than another star in the night sky.

Grogar sighed and allowed himself to fall back on all four of his knees. “Okay.” He fixed Celestia with another grin, his voice no longer as shaky as before. “You may... proceed with the decapitation attempt.”

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “Were those.... ghosts?!”

Grogar chuckled. “Not ghosts. Souls.” He levitated one of the masks from a former follower of Tambelon. “A sad... unfortunate truth. A lot of ponies die... with unfinished business.” He levitated one of the robes this time. “As a necromancer, I have the power—commune with such lost souls. Most other necromancers would force souls into servitude.” His grin grew. “But I’m not ‘most’,” he allowed himself a chuckle. “I make a contract with them: in exchange for... their help, I allow—a chance to return and... complete—pending business.” He looked skywards. “What you saw were... all the spirits—chosen to stay behind. I’m r-really going to... miss them. At least, I know they are going—a better place.”

I was left with no words. What could I say?

Celestia stomped the ground. “STOP IT!” she yelled, her voice uncharacteristically cracking. “Y-you are a vile... fiend... whose goal is to bring about ruin to this world! You are a villain, not some misunderstood cur!”

Grogar allowed himself to fall back on all four knees. “Celestia. Answer me this question.” He turned to look at the Star Womb. It was now pulsating once per second. “Say I— you kill me. Would you... allow the star womb to exists?” He turned back to face her. “Would you... give the mare inside that sun—chance to exist?”

Celestia’s eyes grew hard and cold. “No.” Her voice carried with it a chill that made my very blood turn frigid.

Grogar mournfully grinned. “I... had a feeling—you would, s-say that.” His horns started glowing once more. It was faint at first, but the glow grew with each passing second. “I—don’t have much of a choice... do I?”

“What are you—” Celestia started, but never got to finish her words. Grogar’s trio of horns glowed so bright that the light enveloped the entire room. I felt so much magic that for a second I feared he had opted to create another sun right on top of us.

When the light faded, Celestia and I immediately started scanning the room for any changes. Immediately, we noticed a lack of blue light. I paused and set my eyes on the small crater still flooded with molten rock where the star womb had once been.

Celestia was the first to speak. Though ‘speak’ was an understatement. “Where is the star womb, Grogar?!” she roared, grabbing hold him with her magic and dragging him up so she was snoot to snoot with him.

Grogar gave Celestia a weak grin. “She... will—born. A-and she will—given a chance... to live! That y-you are… determined to take a-away.” He set one of his eyes on me. “True, I do not know... what she will be bo—desiring. But, everything deserves... life.” His gaze fully turned to my sister, where it hardened. “Used what remained—magic that I haven’t already exhausted… healing, to teleport—star somewhere... you—not find it!” He chuckled and stuck out his bloodstained tongue at her. “You... lose. Good night to—you.”

Celestia growled as she glared daggers at Grogar. She looked just about ready to try and run him through with her horn.

At that instant, the cacophony of several dozen hooves filled the room. First to enter through the already busted doors of the ruins were Twilight and the other five elements of harmony. Following closely behind them was a mixture of royal and dusk guards.

“Princess,” Twilight started, her and her friend’s bodies already altered by the power of the rainbow of harmony. “We came prepared to—” She stopped abruptly, her eyes falling on the still fresh stain of blood on Celestia’s chest.

My eyes widened as the implication became all too clear.

Twilight’s stance changed, her whole body arching as she set her hooves apart, eyes falling on Grogar with a sharp glare that seemed capable of carving stone. “What did you do to Celestia?!” She growling through clenched teeth.

Celestia, to my shock, let go of Grogar and took a step back, putting a hoof over her ‘injury’. “Twilight... he is more powerful than he looks! I managed to deal a stunning blow, but he won’t be out for too long. Use the Rainbow Power before it’s too late!”

I winced. Celestia wasn’t lying about Grogar’s power levels, but that didn’t change the fact that she—who was princess of the sun all that was supposed to stand for righteousness and justice the world over—had just lied! And not just any little white lie either.

Twilight charged her horn, the magic surging and swirling around her. The other five members of the Elements of Harmony stopped forward, Twilight’s magic surrounding them as well. “Alright girls, let’s do this!” Twilight said, her words triggering each of the mares to polymorph into their respective Rainbow Power personas. A rainbow of raw magical power circulated the six, growing only more intense with each passing second.

I felt myself rooted in place. I was very familiar with the power now forming a rainbow of arcane might over the six friend’s heads. I had been at the receiving end of it ten years ago. I had felt it strip me of my magic and madness, leaving me only at half of my original power, and in the body of a much younger mare. While grateful for the event, the agony I had felt that day still haunted me, forever serving as a grim reminder of what awaited me should I ever be tempted to turn back to the madness of Nightmare Moon.

The six friends directed their magic at Grogar, and the rainbow of power took flight. I looked at Grogar, who eyed the rainbow now traveling towards him with curious awe instead of fear. I couldn’t help but feels an absolute sense of dread wash over me. He was not only weak from teleporting the Star Womb, but he was also injured in a way that would have killed a regular pony a hundred times over by now. If he gets hit in his state… My eyes widened as much as they ever would. I tried to get my legs to move, my wings to flap, even my magic to spark, but it was futile. By the time I managed to get one of my limbs to stretch forward, the rainbow had struck Grogar and consumed him, his figure vanishing into the multi-colored lights.

I set my gaze on Celestia. I wanted to shout at her, shove her forward, demand she do something! but what I saw left me wordless.

Celestia, who had been standing but a short distance from Grogar the moment the rainbow struck, was cowering away. I could see parts of her being smoking just by being near the rainbow of harmony. H-how is… that possible?!

As the rainbow receded, it left behind a plume of dust. Twilight and her friends panted from the exertion, yet gazed on at the sight of their combined spell’s impact. Meanwhile, Celestia looked at herself in horror as she tried to process just why her being had reacted to the rainbow of harmony like that. I too wondered the same thing. A few ideas crossed my mind. None of them pleasant.

We heard a groan, followed by a soft chuckled. We all turned out full attention to the source of the sounds.

Grogar still lay on all four knees, even if the floor around him was scorched black and filled with smoking rubble. His shape looked smaller than before. It only took a closer look realize why: a lone horn instead of three; eyes of a solid pupil-less ruby color; and body size at least two sizes smaller—in fact, he was no larger than a young mare entering her adulthood. The blue beard and mane remained, but they were considerably shorter. The only thing that still looked identical was his ancient bell necklace.

Grogar picked himself up just enough to set his eyes on me. He chuckled, voice low and distant. “Healing… magic’s returned. Now… I sleep… and—recover” With those last words, he let his body fall and his eyelids drop. “Wake me… up… in a few—” He never got to finish those words, as all traces of sentience faded from his eyes. By the time he had fully entered into his ‘deathless slumber,’ he was nothing but a gently breathing changeling that looked far too fragile to be dangerous, and far too innocent to be some kind of malicious elder god.

Celestia allowed her magic to fade, the armor vanishing and her mane and tail returning to their original rainbow coloration. She walked up to Grogar and fixed him with a glare as her horn began to glow. For a second, I worried she was going to take the opportunity to finish him off. She settled with only yanking the bell necklace off him and sending it away with a flash of gold light. She turned to the guards, who stood at attention at her sight.

“All regiments, sweep the area. If you see or feel any kind of magical anomaly, inform me right away!”

“Understood, your highness!” Both dawn and dusk guards replied, gathering their forces and carrying out their orders without any further word.

She turned the guards nearer to her. “Sweep up that… fiend… and take him into custody. If he moves… inform me.” The guards replied with a salute, quickly surrounding Grogar and carefully levitating him off the floor and into a stretcher used by the medical corps.

Celestia finally turned to face Twilight and her friends. “As always, thank you—” she paused for exactly one and a half second, “—for saving Equestria.”

Twilight sighed and smile. "Glad we got here just in time. Are you still hurt?"

Celestia coyly laughed. “Don't worry about me. I healed myself while you casted the rainbow of harmony. Also, I think the rainbow itself helped with the healing process.”

I grimaced at the words. Lies.

Twilight and Celestia started talking. Whatever it was they discussed, I did not pay attention. I set my gaze on Grogar. Now that he looked more like a changelings, he was harmless. I found it hard to believe that such a small body held enough power to outmatch Celestia and myself. I shuddered to think how things would have turned out had Grogar really been out to cause harm to the world.

Something in the back of my mind bothered me to no end though. I still didn’t quite know what to make of all the events that had happened tonight. Something compelled me to stick close to Grogar, however. Maybe a perceived sense of injustice? No. I wasn’t sure what it was.

I felt a hoof fall on my shoulder. “Where are you going, Lulu?” Celestia asked, concern in her eyes.

I gazed at her for a second and turned back to face her fully. “Nowhere.” I sighed and hardened my gaze. “Tia. We need to talk.”

Celestia looked around a few times, as if to make sure there were no prying eyes on us before nodding in agreement.

“Why did you lie to Twilight?” I bluntly asked.

Celestia coughed. “Whatever do you mean?”

I cocked my eyebrow. “You know well what I mean,” I snapped back.

She laughed and fixed me with a grin. “Oh Lulu, I think tonight’s drama has got you remembering things that didn’t happen. A good night’s rest will do you good.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Tia, you lied about being injured.” I hesitated on my next set of words, but I had to speak them. “And you lied about the Rainbow of Harmony… it was affecting you.”

Celestia’s eyes widened, causing her posture to slip for just long enough that I could see the fatigue. I was surprised she was still managing to stay standing after everything that had happened tonight.

“I think you might be suffering from stress-induced delusions!” Celestia chimed, her eyes darting from side to side, as if to check that no one else could see her. “No such thing happened.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but I found no real words to say. I closed my eyes and sighed. “Maybe I was seeing things. It’s been a heck of a night.”

I saw it. I know I did! Why am I trying to go along with her deception? Am I still afraid of disappointing her?

Celestia placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Everything’s fine, Lulu.” She sighed and sat on her flank. “Maybe lying wasn’t exactly the best thing to do as a princess, but it was a tactical choice that sprung up. One I had to take to beat Grogar.”

I looked her in the eye. “But did you really have to deceive your own family to do it?”

Celestia’s brow creased. “You know as well as I do that a little lie is sometimes needed for the greater good,” she said nonchalantly.

But grogar was beaten. You could have killed him with that choice of yours. I caught myself in that thought. Why do I care? He was the one who abducted me in the first place!

“We’ll find the star womb, and we’ll put an end to Grogar’s scheme,” Celestia said, her words catching me off guard.

“But what if we’re too late? What if new Nightmare Moon is born?” I asked.

Celestia’s eyes hardened. “You let me worry about that.”

I felt myself gulping. Even if new Nightmare Moon was a separate being, a part of her had been—was—me. “Are-are you going to… kill her?”

Celestia straightened her body, standing to her full height. “I will do what I must to keep Equestria safe.”

I chanced a gaze at Grogar, who was now strapped to the stretcher and ready for transport. “And what about him?”

Celestia’s eyes turned to ice. “With any luck, he won’t wake up again.”

“And if he does?”

It was a simple question. I hoped for a simple answer. Instead, Celestia said nothing. She only gave me a light tap on the shoulder and turned away, back to her guards and to Twilight, who welcomed her presence with open, yet cautious, hooves.

I considered following her to try and coax an answer out of her, but a part of me knew well she would not really give me a satisfactory answer.

So I sat there, under the pale light of the moon, thinking back to everything that had happened that night. The guards who hadn’t already departed to look for the star womb gathered the discarded masks and robes and formed ranks once more before marching out of the ruins. Twilight’s friends went along with them. The small garrison was probably returning to the Palace of Friendship in Ponyville, the other five elements tagging along for protection. All that, and I still sat there.

“Luna. Are you coming?” Twilight asked as she stood next to Celestia. She fixed me with a curious gaze. “Don’t worry. You can rest in my castle tonight. Heck, you can stay as long as you wish!”

I gave my sister-in-law a warm smile and a nod. I could not deny that I needed rest.

I spread my wings and took flight behind my siblings, just barely able to keep my wing beats even. The three of us flew towards Ponyville in relative silence.

Good thing too, because I had a lot to think about. Not just about the possibility of being faced with a doppelganger of my darkest hour, but also of the implications that tonight’s events held.

I had to find out more about the Rainbow of Harmony.

Author's Notes:

So, Grogar has been defeated, evil has been stopped in its tracks, and the only lose end now is the Star Womb and the evil being ready to be born from it. Evil will be stopped, and all those who are guilty will be punished.

But are things really as they appear?

Stay tuned for the final part of the Prologue act that will drop right after this chapter goes live.