With the sun already lowering did the three crusaders managed to walk back into Ponyville. None of them were happier to see the buildings arise over the hill they were trotting upon. They could actually let the horrors of the woods as both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom saw them right back behind them, while Sweetie could forget that mysterious feelings. But if it only was actually that simple. For even though they could be forgetting it, their minds would never delete the memories.

"Hey girls." Scootaloo spoke up as the three of them stood on top of the hill and admired the little town engulfing itself into the sunset. "I'm going back to the clubhouse for a little bit to set a few things straight. Catch you two tomorrow!" With those words had the orange coated filly just darted away like nothing happened. But the fears of seeing that savaged Rainbow Dash right behind her was something that she never could be forgetting. It was her fuel for the nightmares to come.

"Where did she ran off to?" Sweetie asked to the little earth pony who gave a shrug in response. It became apparent that she didn't wanted to talk about it and it seemed to be better that they wouldn't be doing just that. "Hey, you mind if I walk a bit with you? The roads to the Acres and my home are pretty much the same."

To that did Apple Bloom turn her head over to Sweetie and gave her a small nod. "Yeah, I don't see a problem in that really. Let's go," she spoke up before she started to trot once again.

"Hey! Wait for me!" the young unicorn yelled up as she had lost herself in the sight for a moment or two. A moment or two that cost her a bit of time to catch up with her friend.

When the two fillies eventually did separate their ways did went Apple Bloom straight back to Sweet Apple Acres to be held in the hold of her family. Though she never would tell them just what she saw in the forest. She didn't wanted to make them scared for their lives, especially her grandmother given the age. Not to mention there was the fact that the rumors seemed to be true as it showed one's worst fears and dreams.

That alone was more than enough for Apple Bloom to realize that it wasn't really there. Nonetheless, when she laid in the bed later that evening did the shivers went down her spine as the images returned to her in their fullest of glories. It would become a night in which she would be getting little to no sleep all because of a stupid bet or promise with the pegasus. "Ah hope you'll pay for it as well Scoots," the filly grumbled under her breath as she looked up into the skies and thought to see a figure appearing in the moon.

"What in the hay's name?!" she spoke up before the eyes blinked a couple of times. When she then wanted to see if the thing was still there, it was just gone. Vanished like if the wind itself had carried it away. "Am ah going crazy here?" she questioned herself aloud before leaving the bed. The red maned filly walked up to the window and began to stare even deeper towards the moon. Something about it caused her to be even more frightened than that she already was. "Don't tell me she's coming back, again…"

On that same evening had Sweetie Belle entered her home again and was almost right away greeted by both of her parents who were surprised by the fact that she was back that soon already. The filly explained the trip and what happened to them but left certain things out as she didn't wanted to scare her parents with all the information. Not to mention that not even she knew just where the two had been running from.

The family had their dinner together before Sweetie went back up to her room and unpacked all of the things with a sigh. She had hoped for a calming night under the starry skies, but that didn't seem to be happening anymore. With everything finally being unpacked and stored in placed either temporarily or permanently, the filly herself laid down on her bed while her eyes looked out of the window as well. Something about the whole thing continued to bug her like nothing before.

That very moment that she could hear her sister's heartbeat in the forest had to mean something if not everything. It chewed and chewed upon her mind and wouldn't let itself go no matter what. At a certain point she even considered to have gone crazy because of all the rumors of the forest. But if she heard the heartbeat, did that mean that her biggest fear was actually Rarity?

Questions like that filled the mind of Sweetie Belle more than anything and it caused the gears of her head to be getting stuck perhaps more than once and a while. "It can't be, it just, it just can't be possible," she whispered to herself before another growl left her mouth. At that point in time she seemed to be a lot like her sister when she didn't understood something. A rather comical sight some could have called it but her brain had gone itself into overdrive.

That was until a loud and massive yawn left the mouth of the filly. Time and time again she had been thinking about it all and it had worn her out more than anything else that entire day. "Maybe some sleep will do me good, put it to rest, maybe," were the last words to be mumbled by her. The young unicorn crawled her way into the bed before covering herself into the blankets and snuggled up with her plushie.

The green rimmed eyes of the filly closed themselves off from the world and before she even know it had she departed to the realms of the dreams in the hope to wake up better the next morning.

With the moon high in the skies it was deemed to be time to set the crime. Princess Luna herself had been standing before the abandoned Carousel Boutique for what seemed to be like hours. Ponies often approached her but when they discovered she seemed to be like this massive statue that not even they could interrupt, they simply let her be again. While the lights of the moon were being cast upon both the alicorn and the building, the time for answers to be discovered had fallen upon her.

"Sister, may you see through the crimes I'm about to commit for the sake of our land." Luna spoke up to herself before her hooves came into motion once again. She wanted to have answers whether or not it was actually Rarity who had caused all of their misery in the past few weeks, if not months. In the back of her head she knew it was Rarity but the evidence that the sisters had was silenced before all. They needed to come with other bits to prove their statements.

The horn of the alicorn charged itself up into the cobalt blue aura as she came closer to the door. With a flick of it was the lock opened on itself without a problem before the door opened like a breeze. Luna was granted access into the darkened estate of the fashionista. But only forces higher than herself could protect her from what she would be encountering in there.

Celestia always had to be the one for talking and not much action, Luna was exactly the opposing side of that. She loved to investigate and get into the troubles. Even if it meant that there were higher prices to be paid then she originally had wanted. Not something that was a particular bad thing in her eyes, as it meant that she knew pretty much exactly just what was going on in the lands they both ruled over.

"I sincerely hope, that it isn't you." Luna whispered to herself as she walked into the darkness of the building and closed the door gently behind her. The only light that was actually visible, was that of her horn while the eyes started to go over the main shop area to see if there already was anything that seemed to be unusual.

The troubles that she had caused as her own nightmare persona were still lingering fresh in her mind as she had a thousand years to actually think about them, they might not have been the cause. For the thought of something far more gruesome had come to mind and it caused the lunar princess herself to actually shudder on the spot.

If the force that had managed to transform Luna into Nightmare Moon, who was to say that that same force, hadn't managed to take over Rarity as well? It was that thought that kept the mare in her grasp. A force that seemed to be friendly at first before it toppled its host into an endless pit of misery while it took control over the body. She could truly just pray that it wasn't the thing that had affected Rarity.

As she did a step further inside was the exterior of the building being recalled by her and everything upon that seemed to be more than perfect. That was with the exception of some wear and tear for not being cleaned in such a long time. Outside of that, everything seemed to be more than perfect for the unicorn to just come straight back into it.

But while she was just 'standing' in front of the building, there was also another thing that she was doing. She heard the minds of every single pony that was coming in her nearby area and specifically listened whether or not they knew something about the boutique and the state it was in.

The things she got to hear were pretty much the most unbelievable things there were. Many knew that the owner of the place hadn't been seen in a long time, even that the lights weren't on every night was something the caused them to awake some curiosity. Vanished like the wind, others told in their minds. Thoughts of the past were the words that had entered the mind of the lunar princess who continued to just look around the building from her position. "And yet, you disappeared just like that, my subject. Who or what could have been able to do such a thing without leaving any physical trace? That is of course, unless you happen to be right here and stand here invisible next to me but…"

The silence took over while the horn of the mare increased itself in power before a blast was given off in the form of an orb that went through all of the walls. A massive overflow of light came out of all the windows of the boutique which caused some of the bystanders to actually tilt their head at it. Some couldn't believe the things they saw before they saw the gestalt of Luna herself. Then they knew pretty much instantly just what was actually going on and went on their way again.

"…That's not what it is." Luna grumbled up before she took yet another step into the place and looked further with her eyes. The things on the shelves, the mannequins and the dresses were covered in a layer of dust which meant that they hadn't been moved in a long time. "Not too much, but promising. Nopony has been here to move things around or to actually clean. This is becoming better and better." The sarcastic words of the alicorn only caused herself to release a deep sigh through her nostrils before her head turned over to the back area of the shop.

Almost instinctively she knew what she needed to be doing and with a thorough investigation she wouldn't leave a single room untouched. Instead she would be going systematically through them all. Her hooves brought the mare over to the working area of the boutique and with the light of the horn did her eyes looked into every last possible corner while also going through the books of designs, administration and more personal documents of the unicorn.

The information that she received from them wasn't necessarily something she could use and thus wouldn't have been stored in her mind. With a sigh she turned herself around and shone the light upon some of the unfinished dresses on the mannequins. "Seems like you really wanted to leave in a hurry, now didn't you? But why didn't you leave anything for us to trace…not to mention, these designs are wonderful. You knew your trade very well Rarity, I must admit that to you," the lunar princess whispered to herself before she continued to the second room on the bottom floor.

Which happened to be nothing else then the main shopping area where the investigation continued. Not a single corner was left untouched and all of the items on both display and behind the counter were lifted up just ever so slightly to see what could possibly be hidden beneath them. Though once again she was just out of her luck. None of the items cast another light upon the case. Much to Luna's personal annoyance.

The living room was the thing that was next and her eyes swept themselves over every last inch but once more without luck to be had. Every last bit couldn't help her with anything she was looking for. Everything in the room seemed to be just so normal. It was almost starting to scare the alicorn. "You aren't going to tell me, that you just left out of free will here, now are you lady Rarity?" Luna whispered up to herself before she sat herself down on the sofa for a little bit.

Both of her eyebrows rose themselves up when the realization of just how comfortable the thing actually was, was made to her mind and she released a small chuckle to herself. "Now I understand why you carried that thing with you those times. Really comfortable indeed." It was a much needed relief to the cracking of the enigma that she had gotten herself into without a single doubt. A couple little bounces were made on the thing before the mare rose up once again. There was one last place where she needed to be looking on the ground floor and that was the kitchen. Out of all the places that the entire building had to offer to her, she thought that in the kitchen there would be something that could be helping her in her aid.

With a couple of careful and gentle steps did she pass through the archway that would lead her over to the place and the alicorn looked at everything that was there to be seen. Every last detail she tried to take up into herself. But as with the whole lower floor of the boutique, there was just nothing that seemed to be out of the ordinary for her nor was there anything that she could be using to strengthen the case. It almost seemed to be like she had reached a dead end.

Another grumble left her throat as the head hung itself lower to the ground and the eyes closed themselves a little bit. "It's hopeless Luna, she disappeared with the northern sun, vanished from the face of the land literally without a single trace to be discovered. But that can't be done right? Just leaving like that? What in the name of Equestria happened to you lady Rarity, what caused you to make such a departure from the land that you have always known and loved?"

It was yet another ramble that left through the mouth of the mare and she couldn't stand it for one bit. Everything was turning itself inside out as the paranoia of having something forgotten in one of the earlier rooms was already crawling right up to her. Though she still had the top floor of the building to be needing to look through and it wasn't something that she preferred doing. As it meant that she had had to go through the really private stuff of her subjects.

Though it was different that time, a lot different actually. For it felt like she needed to be doing it in order to make certain that she had every last detail of everything. Somepony had to do the dirty jobs and in the case, it happened to be nopony else but Luna herself. A confident nod was given to herself before she walked up the stairs to the second floor of the building. But little did she knew, just what leads she would be discovering there.

On the hallway of the second floor had the alicorn looked over each of the doors and quickly managed to identify just which one happened to be which. Though if she wanted to find the evidence that she needed in order to find Rarity which meant that not a single room needed to be left untouched. Even if it meant that she had to go through the attic above her. A place she never truly was fond of. "Please, please, please let me find something here that I can use so I don't have to go up there," she whispered to herself before her hooves carried her over to the room of Sweetie Belle.

The door of the room was opened and the light of Luna's horn shone itself in with the lunar might. The eyes of the alicorn began to scan through the room as she walked further inward. At first glance did everything seem to be just nice and tidy as the mare would have wanted it. On second glance had the trouble that the little sister could cause was visible like a sore thumb. Though it wasn't the something that she happened to be looking for. In contrast actually, even the bedroom of Sweetie Belle seemed to be nothing but normal before the eyes of the princess.

She was getting more and more annoyed as there was nothing that she could find and in both the bathroom and the remaining guestroom there wasn't much luck either. It was something that almost seemed to be driving her over the edge of insanity and back again. Mumbles, growls and groans all left her when the guest bedroom door was closed and the eyes focused themselves upon the final two remaining doors. The one of the inspiration room while the other was the master bedroom. "Pray you find something in one of those Luna," the mare whispered to herself as she closed in the distance between herself and the inspiration room itself.

Her hoof was set upon the doorknob and gently turned it around until she heard that signature click of it having opened. Much to her relief, the alicorn carefully stepped into it and looked at the sights that were there to behold.

Within her blue rimmed eyes, she got to see the things of a lifetime. It basically was looking like the working area downstairs but with a whole lot more mass to it. "This is, unbelievable." Luna spoke up in a genuinely impressed whisper to herself before she shook her head again and realized just why she was there. Once more was the investigation continued by her. The light of the horn shone itself into all the possible corners and hole where there could be something hidden, but without much luck.

Disappointed by the fact she still hadn't discovered one bit, her head turned itself over towards the massive walk-in closet that seemed to be connecting both the room she was in, as well as the master bedroom. "Last shot Luna, make it actually count this time." With those words did the alicorn open the door of the closet and once again she was stunned by just how much things the unicorn had in her possession.

Dresses, suits, outfits for recreation, hats, glasses, all of them could be found within the realm of it. It was truly something that she never ever could have expected to be witnessing. "My goodness, how much…how much things you have in here?! And, all of it made by your hooves as well? I don't believe that." Luna whispered to herself as she walked through the closet to the other door that led over to the bedroom of the unicorn herself.

With her hoof she opened the door and then she was given the glance of the bedroom that nopony had seen for their own eyes. All rooms in the building were open for public, but the master bedroom was something kept deeply private. The scents of the unicorn herself entered the nose of the alicorn and it wasn't a scent that she was truly happy with. For it was an old one, one that spoke to her that she hadn't returned in such a long time already.

"This is it…the final stretch." Luna said before she stepped further into the room and began to gaze deeper into it.

The sweep that she made from right to left caused her to be witnessing the windowsills as one of the last things and it was in one of those that her eyebrows rose themselves. For what she sees in her eyes, is something that she never even could have held possible to be true. In her eyes she caught a letter written by somepony for somepony but also a book that seemed to be vaguely hinting towards the diary of the unicorn herself.

There suddenly was this massive feeling of just over-enjoyment in the body of the alicorn as her lips cracked her a genuine smile. Both the letter and the book were being levitated as with a couple of happy steps Luna made her way over to the bed and sat down upon it. Finally had she discovered something that could be helping her in her quest of finding the things out. Little did she knew, just what she had found.

For when her eyes first looked over the letter, it was the invitation of Emerald Masquerade to meet the ivory mare in the old castle during the summer sun celebration. It was something in and of itself that caused questions to rise in the head of Luna. "Why does anypony want to meet up there when such an event is happening? Perhaps a wedding proposal? Best done in the silence of commotion, but the setting of that old thing?"

Something about the letter just didn't add it to the alicorn and no matter how many time she continued to read over it, sense was about the last thing she got out of it. "Vague, complete and utter vague I would call this," the alicorn mumbled up before she shook her head. "But I suppose she knows him better than that I do, I hope." The last words were spoken in a tone of a rather genuine concern that came off of Luna. Who knew just who this figure happened to be, but she had at least one lead she could be following.

Then it was time to commit perhaps the biggest crime done again the ivory coated unicorn thus far. And that was to read through her personal diary. The blue rimmed eyes of Luna looked over to the book as her hoof stroked the outside calmly. All the energy that it gave off was absorbed through that hoof. The alicorn felt all of the possible and different emotions. Emotions that were written straight into the pages of the book. There was not a single doubt any longer, it happened to be the diary of the ivory coated unicorn. The question remained whether or not she had the guts to actually read through it like that.

Though the matter wouldn't have been one of guts or do or dare, it was about finding somepony who had been seemingly lost through time itself. Vanished from the records of history with the clap of a hoof. Something that caused the alicorn to take the book in both of her hooves and she started to look through it. Never she would be reading an entry until the date was above that of the element's their victory over Nightmare Moon. From that moment onward would Luna be reading all of the entries at her own pace.

Page after page was flipped over as the eyes read every last magical written word aloud in her mind. Some of them were pretty meaningless while other openly spoke about different views on each of her friends. Some were good while others were a little bit less friendly. Though one thing she picked up almost straight away and that was the fact that one word simply continued in almost every entry that was being made.

And that word was nothing else but nightmares.

Without a warning given to her could the alicorn almost hear the church bells ring in her head as the connections had been made right in front of her eyes. Everything that she needed to be knowing was presented right in front of her. All of the knowledge, all of the leads, were literally presented to her in just those two paper made items. Luna simply jumped straight of the bed and held the book in her magic as she started to pace up and down into the room. Entry after entry was being read and covered the last six months of the unicorn her life.

Day after day had she been living into the nightmares but never spoke to anypony about it. They would always have been the same, the fact that all of her beloved friends would be leaving her like nothing. It was something heartbreaking to read for Luna, but the more she read into it, the more she could hear the desperation scream for the nightmares to stop. "This…this is everything but good for us all." Luna spoke up as she came to the last entry. It was just the date of a day. A day that was actually the mark of the one thousandth first celebration.

"No, no, no, don't tell me that you actually went towards the castle. E-Everything but." Though the pages that followed were just blank. Nothing after that date of the celebration had been added to the book or removed. There was only one thing that Luna could be doing and that was to just set her wings for the castle in Everfree. If she wanted to know anything, however little, of what happened to Rarity. She needed to go to there and pick up the trail by looking into the past itself.

It didn't happen often that Luna felt herself the way she did but when she was frightened it had a very good reasoning behind it. She, out of every single pony who hadn't gone mad, was one step closer of discovering just what had happened to Rarity before she went missing. The trail would be leading her to the ancient castle, so that was the place she would be going to.

Before she would be leaving the boutique though, the alicorn would have one last glance on both the letter and the diary before they dematerialized out of the world. They were actually teleported over to a small safe in the room of Luna herself back in Canterlot. Nopony could be laying their eyes upon them until she found it was time to do so. Not even her beloved sister Celestia was allowed to see them.

Only after that did she look over to the moon on the outside world and began to gallop back to the front door of the building. Doors that happened to be in her way were opened by her magic before closed again. Even the front door listened to the rule and in the moment that Luna stood in the fresh air were her wings majestically spread and she took off into the air like nothing. The front door of the boutique was closed and locked again while the mare of the night made a sharp turn as her heading changed itself straight towards Everfree. "I will discover just what happened to you, even if it is the last thing I do for you." Luna whispered to herself as she left the town behind her.

The lunar alicorn almost crashed through the circular window that was one of the few remaining pieces from the time that the place was in used and landed straight before the altar of the elements of harmony. Wheezing and panting softly from the speed she had flown with, Luna rose her body back up to its regal height and gave her wings a flap or two before they were being tucked back against her body.

She had arrived at the scene of the crime but there wasn't anything that indicated that something terrible had happened there. In contrast really, everything seemed to be peaceful and calm. Serene some would have called it. Yet the haunting atmosphere that it carried for Luna was something she would have never forgotten. The night that her sister and Nightmare Moon battled it out in the place, was a memory that would always be sticking out in her head like a sore thumb. Whether she liked it or not.

Her eyes looked at the altar itself and a deep sigh was released in response. Once it was the center point of everything that the land stood for, but as time progressed and the elements were discovered in their pony-form had caused that the interest in the thing slowly became less and less. Much to the princesses their own sadness. Yet the time to moan wasn't there, for she needed to be getting her answers preferred sooner than later.

And for the princess there seemed to only one way in which she could be doing that. It was a technique that she had mastered over the course of time and one that Twilight wanted to know ever so badly.

Her horn charged itself up with a tremendous amount of power while the charging sounds became almost deafening. In her mind were the tomes yelled together with the dates of the events in an ancient tongue. From there on outward, Luna could only pray on the fact that she would have a successful cast. The eyes of the lunar princess closed themselves off from the world and the light that came from the horn, almost seemed to be burning like the sun before the blast finally came.

A blast that seemed to be so powerful, that she had blown up the entire castle more than once to say the least. When the voices of two unknown stallions and Rarity spoke up in her ears, the eyes opened themselves quicker than anything.

The blue rimmed eyes began to dart themselves through the room and everything she was looking at was at least a tint of gray. What Luna had actually done was turning time back to the time of Rarity's disappearance and was allowed to not only look, but also walk through the past. Creatures couldn't be seeing her but she saw everything that there was to be witnessed.

And right in front of her, behind the altar, it was happening. The two shadow stallions that stood before Rarity trying to persuade her into becoming their queen. "Impossible." Luna spoke up as she witnessed the events. "You shouldn't be existing anymore, you should have all died after Moon was blasted into oblivion."

The scenes that played themselves out before her almost seemed to be impossible and she quickly got her body moving. Her legs brought her over to the place where she had a bit more of a clear view upon the matter as a whole. And she actually looked straight into Rarity's eyes.

What she saw wasn't the usual happy unicorn who wanted to help everypony. Instead she noticed a scared to death foal who hadn't even one clue of what she needed to be doing. It was the sight that Luna herself only could be fearing. For a strong as Rarity happened to be, so weak she also could be if the tables were drastically turned. And from the looks of it, that was exactly the thing that happened.

A gentle nod was given by the unicorn before the eyes of the lunar princess opened themselves widely. She couldn't believe the fact that Rarity had actually gone into the offer to become the queen of those horrible nightmare forces. Everything that she knew and loved about the mare, suddenly was smashed against the wall and shattered. "No, no, no, no! You can't be doing this Rarity! You couldn't have done this!" she shouted towards her, but the words were never heard except by her own ears.

Out of the portal behind her came the clouds that would be causing the transformation to be happening. Clouds that caused the unicorn to actually become invisible to the naked eye and Luna desperately wanted to know just what was going on. She wanted to see the monster in which the mare was turned into. There was no more doubt to any of it, Rarity was behind everything but how did she looked like? That was the only remaining and unanswered question.

Though the more she actually waits for the revelation, the more the trail of clouds is being drifting towards her horn as well. And it was only when the two made a connection with one another, that a shock of pain rushed through the mighty alicorn. A shock of pain that caused her to break the contact with the past as the corruption was also trying to get back at her again.

With another massive bang and a blinding light, Luna was dropped back in the present time and shook her head heavily. The shimmer of clouds that was still attached to her horn, just floated away before it dissolved itself. "Out of every possible outcome that could have been there on the matter, it had to be that horrible thing." Luna whispered to herself as she turned herself back into the direction of the crashed circular window. "It's impossible that you have returned. You were destroyed by them once and for all. How could you have even survived!"

The more she spoke her words, the louder her tone eventually got up to the point that she was yelling in the Royal Canterlot Voice. A tone so powerful that it caused the walls, ceiling and foundation of the castle to tremble a little bit. But if she only knew just what the monstrous looks of the unicorn were after the transformation, a lot of still to come trouble would have been saved.

Speaking of the nightmarish unicorn, she stood in the open courtyard of her domain while the savages brought back the beaten up Shadowfright and –blood. With her expression standing on everything but friendly were the two being cast before her and she stomped her hoof right into the ground, causing a few cracks to appear.

It was a massive wake up call for the two of them and they dared to look straight into the eyes of the queen herself. "You two, you two think you could take over just like that? Just because my soul is merged with some dumbfounded unicorn, you truly think I wouldn't hold the same powers as before?!" Nightmare Rarity spoke up in a tone that was more hinting towards Moon than anything else. "Well here's a newsflash for you two idiots."

Both Fright and Blood looked up to the mighty mare with a deep gulp as they were bleeding the liquid shadow from their wounds created by the savages. Savages that were still wandering behind the two of them, growling softly as if they were waiting for the command to end their lives.

"You two are not going to be taken over anything. You won't even be thinking about taking over anymore as long as I reign!" the unicorn yelled at the two of them. With the thoughts of it, it seemed to be that she would be casting another spell upon the both of them in order to keep them at bay. But instead she would be doing a whole lot more devilish and perhaps even sadistic.

"If I hear one more thought about either if you taking over while I am still your queen, you'll be having a date with the four behind you within the hour. And next time, you won't be getting off of them that easily."

Without a further word spoken by her had Nightmare Rarity turned herself around and began to walk away while leaving the two commanders literally frightened for their lives. There was one price though, for the savages merged themselves with the shadows and were actually returning to their posts up into the tower of the mare. But they had their lessons learned, that much was certain.

With Luna knowing what happened, the race had begun to end the frightful tyranny of the unicorn over the land. But it wouldn't have been that straight forward. The road would be long, covered in traps and revelations. The clock was ticking and every side could be the victor in the cold war.