The castle must’ve been taller than I thought, because we began to fall into the open night sky. A city lay below, several buildings in the distance on fire.

I ignored it and pulled myself up to pummel the stallions face with both hooves, the Moon’s Blessing rising behind me again. I felt the amulet behind me to the right as it sang its Alicornian music.

Bloodmoon was having trouble hitting me with the blades beginning to push against his limbs as he flailed to attack.

I pummeled his face furiously as we fell over a great height. Somehow, he pushed his forelimbs to block my punches, but then I remembered the Blessing and brought it ruthlessly down towards his head.

He only managed to stop it by sacrificing half his arm.

“To the strongest!” I heard him clearly say despite the rushing wind.

He didn’t give me an opportunity to think about what he said. Bloodmoon tried to rush for my throat, his sharp teeth gleaming in the night.

If he got his teeth on my throat, I knew this battle would be over.

But at the same time, my swords were going as fast as they could, and the Moon’s Blessing was briefly trapped.

I had no choice but to wrestle the trapped blade into a position to discourage those teeth from getting any closer.

I only barely managed to get the knife between our faces, forcing him to bite one of my forelegs instead.

“RGH!” I grunted in pain, already feeling all the blood in my body migrate towards the wound. “No! You! Don’t!” I grit my teeth and snarled. I pushed the Moon’s Blessing towards my bitten limb. Bloodmoon’s eyes glinted at the glowing blade, before letting go of my arm and willingly pulling his face away from the encroaching weapon.

While I had wrestled the blade around, I couldn’t push again to attack with him still occupying my forelimbs. So I tried to kick and stomp with my hindlimbs. The swords begin to cycle over again. Already I could see the minor scratches on his face begin to seal. He grunted in pain and annoyance as he tried desperately to keep my front hooves restrained and to counter kick with his own back legs. Then I heard the amulet drifting somewhere around one of my swords. I sent the blade to wrap its hilt with the amulet’s string.

I managed to get my hooves on the Moon’s Blessing and pulled it back into a stabbing position, his hoof hung off, all but disconnected. The first swords began to pull his other hoof away, leaving his face open for attack.

I pushed the knife downward as we hit the roof below.

It was by sheer accident that I wasn’t on the bottom as we impacted.

With a thunderous crash, we plowed through and over several flights of a stone spiral staircase. He had absorbed most of the fall, letting me continue my assault. With his injured hoof, he began to block again.

The moon’s blessing bit into a different part of his arm, and he visibly winced as his head began to get pounded from behind by stone steps.

“Huugh!” he growled as he tried to lift me to the side.

“Rrgh!” I growled in reply as I tore the Moon’s Blessing free again, bringing more swords from behind, one of which I had caught the amulet on.

He managed to lift me to the side, forcing me to take some of the brunt of us still falling down the stairs.

I couldn’t counter his vampiric strength, so all I could do was continue slashing furiously with the glowing blade. He managed to get above, and had a free moment to get away from the swords floating behind him.

“Oh no y-” I snarled, grabbing one of his back hooves to pull myself with him as he began to fly.

The swords couldn’t get to him in time and I couldn’t keep a grip, allowing him to speed down the stairs.

“Damnit!” I growled as I hit the ground. The swords floating above me to discourage a counter attack.

He pushed his advantage and disappeared down into the darkness.

I snarled wordlessly as time began to swirl back into normalcy.

“Coward!” I shouted, bringing up the swords ready to attack, pressing the flat of the Moon’s Blessing to the bite wound in my leg. Hoping the holy nature of the blade would fight any toxins in Bloodmoon’s bite. That done, I then banished the Moon’s Blessing, solely so he couldn’t see it coming.

He was speeding through a distant hallway too far away to properly pay attention to me. I began to follow, another curse on my lips. The battle ax with the garlic finally recycled over my shoulder, probably because it had caught the vampire early and had just been dislodged somehow.

Using another blade, I cut a small wound on the garlic's surface, spilling its pungent juice slightly. That done, I pushed the ax ahead to spread the garlic stink in the area ahead before my scent could taint the air.

I saw the blur that was the Vampire Lord duck through a doorway. I swung the ax ahead savagely in an attempt to surprise a potential ambush.

It almost caught the vampire’s open fangs as he dived for where he expected to bite my throat.

But Bloodmoon managed to turn his head as the ax caught the side of his head. The Moon’s Blessing flew into position with a flash, already beginning to fall from above like a guillotine.

The vampire managed to escape another pinning and began to force itself away again.

I managed to get a hoof onto the tail edge of his cape, beginning to pull myself up his length. The Moon’s Blessing rose from behind again. The ax of garlic had wound itself up and was beginning to descend again.

The ax managed to catch on a leg as he began to fly away again, the glowing knife speeding forward for another assault, more swords not far behind.

The vampire turned through a double door, breaking out into one of his “exotic” gardens.

I inhaled deeply as I began to charge another spell, the swords began to descend again as he flew over a pollen cloud. I pulled myself up to his waist as I brought the Moon’s Blessing down towards his torso.

The vampire flew in loops and jerky stops to try and dislodge me into his dangerous plants.

I redoubled my efforts to grab into his cloak to pull myself ahead further. The Moon’s Blessing couldn’t miss the stallion’s stomach, biting deep into his belly.

“RaaGH!” he growled in pain as he lost control of the flight for a second. He managed to pull himself together to pull up before he landed in a trap of one of his own plants.

The spell I had been building activated, spewing flaming sparks in a beautiful orange shower into the garden. The Ax bit deeply into Bloodmoon’s chest, securing itself solidly in the stallion’s ribs.

The vampire began to lose control of the flight, and was swiftly stalling. I grabbed the handle of the stuck ax to pull myself up into a standing position over the falling vampire, hoping to use him as a shield for when he plowed into the ground. The glowing blade disappeared, letting the vampire’s dark red ichor begin to leak from the wound.

That finally must’ve done a decent number on the stallion as he finally took an immediately lethal wound.

Already his head began to kick up dirt and rocks as it began to plow into the earth. The Blade with the Amulet wrapped around its hilt floated helpfully nearby.

He growled in pain as he began to flail again as he sunk inches into the dirt. We plowed through the horizontal trunk of a large flower.

It slowed him just enough that he broke through under the next parallel trunk, but I got caught over the top.

“Damnit!” I grunted, pulling myself to stand on the flower’s trunk. Several of the blooms began to turn towards what they hoped would be their next meal.

The vampire hissed in pain as he tried to push himself to get away. Growling still, I began to jump over the trunks he had slid under, the sword with the pendent floating above for a chance to slam itself through the stallion’s chest.

Bloodmoon had been severely wounded enough that even with his vampiric speed, he couldn’t hope to match what he needed, and thus began to flag as he rapidly grew weaker. I dove with a furious war cry, a readied sword with an amulet dangling from it hilt, the sword already beginning to descend. The glowing silver blade soared above once again.

We must’ve been much higher than I thought, for we fell through a low garden wall into open air.

Again.

I pushed the sword with the amulet downward, hoping to touch the dangling thing to the leech’s flesh even if by accident.

“Ruuughh!” I groaned loudly as the blade began to kiss into the stallion’s chest.

“Grah!” he snarled as this fresh wound began to hurt more than even his undead constitution could handle.

We crashed onto another lower tier in the castle, this time only a few stories below and into a grassy courtyard.

We bounced off stonework, sending us both flying.

It took me a few moments to recover from the stun of hitting the ground, but Bloodmoon was too weak to go more than a few feet. I growled again and dove towards the fleeing vampire, the sword with the pendent sticking halfway into his chest, the amulet dangling merrily from the hilt.

I dove forward, trying to use my weight to push the hilt downward, not caring how much the blade would be blunted.

The stallion saw the pendent could be taken from my control for at least a few seconds and twirled suddenly, yanking the sword from my grip and making me hit the stone again.

I snarled and pushed myself forward before I had even properly hit the ground, lifting the two weapons I had left, the Moon’s Blessing and the battleax... Only half of the garlic was still attached.

The stallion wasn’t paying attention, and he tripped over a hunk of debris, falling to the ground gracelessly. I snarled and pulled myself forward with renewed vigor, just out of reach for my weapons to attack instantly. The vampire began to scramble at the ground, his dignity long forgotten. The knife rushed low in an attempt to keep it out of his wide eyed sight before it was too late. The Axe glinted dangerously as it began to descend from above.

I pounced as I pushed the Moon’s Blessing for a final plunge into where the stallion’s heart should’ve been. The glowing blade sunk deeply to the hilt, cutting through a rib bone with relative ease.

“Grooooooow…” he moaned. He no longer had the fight to struggle, I took this chance and threw my whole weight into the hilt of the impaled sword. I must’ve bent the whole blade at some point, because it felt like was was trying to push a plate of sturdy steel through garden dirt.

The vampire could hardly struggle. If he wasn’t conditionally immortal, I would’ve been surprised he hadn’t died, even as a vampire.

But finally, I got the hilt of the sword deep enough to where the amulet could touch and intermingle with his dirty coat hair.

It was done.

I clearly saw the amulet touching his fur, a rivulet of blood running down its surface.

The vampire lay still, and I found myself breathing heavily...

I had won.

Now that I had the time to begin to think again, I unwrapped the amulet from the ruined sword. The wind was beginning to pick up, far colder than what this night should’ve been capable of.

A dark chuckle began to sound in the back of my skull.

“You have failed me…” It chortled.

“N-no! Please!” the stallion, who had been nothing but confident up until our fight, for the first time sounded afraid. “Spare me my Lord! I can still deliver it to yov!”

“Humph” the deep voice harrumphed, before a pressure that had been thus far unnoticed, began to fade away.

As it did, a cloud moved from in front of the moon.

But for the first time in thousands of years, the moon’s glow was not baleful.

It was such a glaring but subtle change, that Bloodmoon seemed to be startled from the evidence of his imminent demise, and had a moment of dazed confusion.

“Som’thin’... Diff’r…” he slurred, casting his gaze around for something out of place. My wounds were catching up with me, aching and bruised,, I pulled myself forward over the fallen Vampire.

“I need you to know.” I whispered into his face, lifting him by his collar. I knew not if his curse still remained. But even if it did, the stallion before me was in no state to take his vengence. “I never came here for you. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have bothered about you for years.” I half sighed half grunted into his face that was beginning to grow concerningly black and rotten.

“I-I-I- F-” he tried to mumble out, his reality slamming back down on his withers.

“And you will continue to fail.” I promised. “Every one of your monstrous ilk will fail to defeat Ponykind. So long as I exist… I will make sure they will all fail.”

I unceremoniously dropped him back to the ground, he wasn't dead yet, but he was swiftly fading, and he was longer a concern for my true purpose.

I looked up to the moon, which was almost unrecognizable with it's pale, almost white light. Not pink, not ruddy, not red, and certainly not bloody crimson.

It was white.

Pure unadulterated white.

More pure than freshly fallen snow.

So bright you could see as if it were day.

I sat on my haunches, admiring her full revealed beauty for a moment.

But a promise, was a promise.

I could not enjoy this hauntingly beautiful moment forever.

I closed my eyes, committing the sight to memory. I reached up with both hooves and began to fiddle with the amulet.

It took some strength, somewhat difficult to muster after the fight with Bloodmoon, but I pulled the dark bars around the white stone free.

I barely registered that the stone began to glow as I reopened my eyes. Even though I had forced myself to end the moment, I still had only eyes for the gorgeous silver orb in the sky.

I opened my eyes.

Which was odd because I didn’t remember closing them.

In fact I was beginning to fight my eyelids so they remained open just a little bit longer.

The sight wasn’t of the bright pure moon, but it was even more beautiful.

Stars.

Stars as far as the eye could see.

Stars of every color, of different brilliances, all slightly thrumming in a chaotic, yet harmonious manner.

“Well done young one.” I hadn’t noticed her before, but the now familiar silver mare sat on something in the distance.

“Moon!” I cheered, trotting forwards eagerly. “I did it! I- Uh… Where are we?” The aches and pains of the fight seemed to have vanished without my awareness, because I felt well rested and oddly cheerful.

“All in good time young one.” the mare smiled gently. “I am so proud of you, young one! My Luna! My friend! My Champion!”

I couldn’t help but smile at the compliments, but I couldn’t say if it was because of my odd cheer or I actually enjoyed them.

“You’ve passed the test!” she beamed pleasantly. “You truly did it!”

“But uh…” I hesitated despite myself. “What now? I thought this was my end goal, and I don’t really have any plans beyond today.”

The mare smiled but suppressed a polite chuckle.

“No Luna. This is not your end. In fact, this is only your beginning.” She waved a hoof, and illusions began to dance around us. “You are a great pony Luna. And you always have been. Never forget that. Just like your sister, you have a great amount of say over the fate of my sister Gaia.”

“I’m… I’m not sure I understand.” I admitted, not willing to lie, especially here. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the illusions depicted me playing ball with a much younger Tia.

“No Luna… I know you understand what I’m offering. You just don’t think you are worthy of it.”

The heretical question roared in my mind.

An image of Tia floated into view.

And not just any Tia.

It was the moment that “Tia” became a true Alicorn. A battered mare wearing armor, with her swan like wings extended, standing at the head of the Unicornian Cathedral... Looking like she was performing a sermon to even the clergy.

Her mark of destiny boldly emblazoned on her flanks.

That was what she was meant to do.

No one who was there that day would ever doubt that Tia was meant to rule. She had been made specifically for the role.

My mind briefly thought of my own bare flank.

And with it, that damned question.

'Am I to be an Alicorn as well?'

“It’s funny…” I began, the weight of my realization settling down. “I went to Bloodmoon’s manner fully expecting to die at any moment. I just got lucky. And now you’re telling me…” Tears began to well in my eyes. “I won’t have to leave Tia? I could be by her side and be there for her when the centuries grow long?” The tears were at critical mass. “I-” An emotion that I couldn’t quite name seemed to crash on my soul like a hurricane.

“Yes Luna.” the moon said patiently. “You and Celestia were always meant to rule side by side. As different as the night and day, and yet in perfect harmony.”

I couldn’t respond, not adequately anyway.

I fell to the floor, wrapping my head in my hooves as I began to do my best to flood the void.

I don’t know how long I let my emotions run rampant. All I know is that the silver mare had never left my side.

“I understand.” she said good naturedly when I began to become coherent again. “Do you still want-”

“Yes.” I immediately stated. “Yes I accept.” I looked up at the mare, tears threatening to begin forming again.

“Then it’s settled.” the mare said with finality. “Just…”

She reached a hoof for her veil.

“Look…” she started to pull it upwards revealing the top half of her face.

“Into…”

I gasped loudly in surprise.

“My…”

The two orbs I saw bored into me with light beyond even the brilliance of the sun.

“Eyes…”

White.

I was rising. More power flowed through my veins than I had ever felt. Dimly I became aware of my hooves leaving the ground underneath. The sight of the silver full moon hanging above a city that looked to be in the end stages of a riot greeted my vision.

I could hear gasps behind me.

“No longer shall the Moon be a symbol of evil lurking in the darkness!” I exclaimed, somehow turning myself around midair towards my audience. Several Halfbloods and former prisoners had begun to gather in the grassy courtyard below.

“No longer shall Ponykind fear the light of the Moon!” I proclaimed again, the ground beneath me getting farther and farther away. A strangely shaped shadow crept along the ground towards the crowd who were struck dumb with awe.

“Let all evil doers and monsters hear me! From this day forth the Moon shall be known as a symbol of justice! ” I began to gesture wildly with my arms.

“From this day forth the light of the Moon will bring terror to those who lurk in the shadows!” Several of the closest Halfbloods in the front of the crowd had begun to bow.

“Never again will the Moon herald the coming of a grim monster or the disappearance of a loved one!” The shadow of a pony with great sweeping wings gracefully slide over the gathered crowd.

“May her silver light be an anathema to those who would do harm to the innocent!” Bloodmoon must’ve still been alive, because I could suddenly hear him screaming in pain, with even more vampires suddenly dying in the distance. By now, all of the Halfbloods had prostrated themselves on the ground, but the dayborn ponies were mostly still standing. Although they looked like they were moments away from joining their night brethren.

“May the light of the Moon shine true justice where even the Sun fears to tread!” I spread my forelegs dramatically wide.

Everypony was now bowing, even those far away in the distance.

The dawn of a new age had come indeed, as the Moon rose.

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