The moon illuminated the magical city of Canterlot as ponies across the land prepared for slumber teeth were brushed, nighttime clothing was dawned, prayers were said to the princess of the night, and tired little ponies were tucked into bed as they fell asleep to prepare for another day.

However one little unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle was wide awake much to the dismay of her foalsitter Cadance, the two ponies were currently in Twilight’s room as the little pony bounced up and down chanting “sleepover with Cadance, sleepover with Cadance!”

“Twilight” said Cadance her eyes following the bouncing filly “it’s time for bed”.

“But Cadannnnnnnnce” Twilight whined “we still have so much to do” she said as she looked at one of the many books in her room “makeovers, and pillow fights, and smore’s” she read but suddenly the book was closed and shelved by Cadance’s magic.

“Bed” Cadance repeated as Twilight crossed her hooves and pouted “We’ll have plenty of time to play tomorrow” she promised “but now it’s time for bed” said Cadance. “And if my little pony friend goes to brush her teeth now I’ll read her a story when she gets back” Cadance promised.

Twilight’s ears perked up “a story?” she asked with a grin even though she could read herself the little filly loved when Cadance read to her.

Cadance chuckled “Okay, a few stories” she said.

“Yay” said Twilight happily as she trotted to the bathroom.

Cadance chuckled again as she went to work, her horn glowing the light blue aura it always did as the blanket from Twilight’s bed spread it’s self on the floor, the big book of pony fairy tales levitated from Cadance’s bag to the floor, the jar of fireflies she and Twilight had caught that afternoon joined the book at the edge of the blanket, and finally Cadance tucked two pillows under the blanket.

Cadance just finished her work when Twilight came back into the room the two ponies made themselves comfortable under the sheets and Cadance smiled “what story would you like to hear Twilight perhaps the sun and moon sisters?” she asked knowing that was one of Twilight’s favorites.

“No, I wanna hear the one about the unicorn king” said Twilight.

Cadance looked at her little friend surprised “I don’t know Twilight that’s a pretty scary story” said Cadance reluctant to tell Twilight the dark fable “how about "good night pony" your old favorite?” she offered.

“Unicorn king!” said Twilight stubbornly crossing her hooves again.

Cadance sighed “oh alright” she said opening the book to a page entitled “The dark king and his amulet” underneath the title was a picture of a palace turned dark with a top pillar that seemed to stretch far into the sky and levitating just above the tip was a heart. “Are you sure Twilight?” asked Cadance as she turned off the lights, soon the only source of light was the fireflies.

“Yes” said Twilight simply.

Cadance cleared her throat “The dark king and his amulet” she read. “Once upon a time there was a kingdom that they say was made entirely of crystal why even the ponies who lived in the kingdom seemed to each have a coat of crystal, the crystal ponies led lives of happiness and love all of which fed into the heart of their kingdom which spread all the happiness and love all across Equestria” said Cadance joyously.

“However” Cadance read in a darker tone “the crystal ponies were unaware of the recent deeds of their ruler King Sombra” Cadance shivered slightly at the mention of the king’s name.

“The king himself grew tired of depending on the magic of love and hope to fuel his kingdom for it could do nothing to amplify his own power” Cadance read. “So the king began to experiment deep into the night with magic of the darkest kind, creating spells, potions, and objects of evil nature” said Cadance.

“One night his experiments yielded an amulet that amplified his own black magic and because of the great power the amulet bestowed upon its wielder King Sombra dubbed his creation “The Alicorn Amulet” and decided it was time to share his creation with the world” said Cadance. “One day the crystal ponies awoke to find the heart of their land gone, frightened the ponies ran to their king who only chuckled from under a large cloak” said Cadance.

“There is no cause for alarm my crystal slaves” Cadance read in a dark voice “the king went on to say “I have taken the heart and hidden it forever” much to the shock of the crystal ponies “the heart is weak it fuels my empire on ridicules things such as love and hope what a laugh” the king said with a grin. “The time has come for the Crystal Empire and soon all of Equestria to bow to a new power” the king announced pausing as two red and green eyes began to glow from beneath the cloak “mine” he finished and with that he threw off his cloak revealing his dark and twisted form eyeing his subjects like a vulture eyes its prey and the crystal ponies gasped in horror.

King Sombra’s horn had turned red and twisted, his mane and tail now flowed through the air like black fire, and he now wore armor that covered his entire body in addition to a regal cape at this point King Sombra could be barely recognized as a pony at all” said Cadance.

“Soon the crystal ponies were chained and forced into work by their dark king who continued to practice his dark magic using his own subjects as guinea pigs, the madness of king Sombra amplified and soon reflected off the heart of the kingdom and soon all of Equestria was shrouded in despair” read Cadance.

“However the king soon met his match in the form of the two magical rulers of Equestria who fought Sombra with the Elements of Harmony, in the battle that ensued the king was defeated but not destroyed rather his body was turned to shadows, his amulet was lost, and due to the king’s last evil spell the Crystal Empire vanished entirely” said Cadance.

“There are many legends surrounding the amulet, the king, and the empire” Cadance continued “some believe that the amulet has passed from pony to pony and has powered many great evils that have threatened Equestria, many believe the Crystal Empire gone forever and some challenge its very existence, many believe the land where the kingdom supposedly stood to be void of any life at all, but others believe that there is one form of life, an ancient evil in who hides in the shadows… waiting” below the last words of the story was a picture of King Sombra seemingly roaring at the reader “the end” Cadance finished in a happy tone.

“What did you think Twilight?” asked Cadance turning from the book to find a large, shivering, and Twilight shaped lump in the blankets next to her. “Twilight, come out from under there” said Cadance in a calm tone.

“No it’s dark out there the king will get me” said Twilight fearfully.

Cadance smiled “Twilight, it’s even darker under there” she pointed out.

Suddenly Twilight screamed and grabbed onto Cadance “I felt something, he’s under there, he’s gonna get me!” she screamed.

“Twilight no he’s not” said Cadance.

“Yes he is I felt him touch my hoof” said Twilight.

“Alright Twilight let’s see this “king” and find out what’s going on” said Cadance as she searched under the sheets.

“No Cadance” said Twilight grabbing onto her foalsitters tail. “He’ll get you, he’ll make you his slave, he’ll…” Twilight began before she heard Cadance giggle as she emerged.

“Stare into the face of evil Twilight” said Cadance still giggling as she held up a tiny white mouse for the little pony to see.

“Dumb mouse” said Twilight blushing “pretending to be the unicorn king” she added.

“Simply at the wrong place at the wrong time Twilight” said Cadance levitating the little creature outside the window. “It’s going to be "Good Night Pony" from now on Twilight” she added closing the window with her magic.

“Cadance” said Twilight nervously Cadance looked to her young friend with a smile “what’s an element of harmony?” Twilight asked.

“Elements” Cadance corrected charging her horn turning the pages in the book to a picture of six jewels each one a different color. “And I think this story could answer that question” said Cadance “and hopefully get her mind off Sombra” she thought to herself.

“Is this story scary?” asked Twilight timidly.

“A little” Cadance admitted “but I think you’ll like it” she added.

“The spirits of Harmony” Cadance read. “Once upon a time” she continued “in a land of chaos, there were two Alicorn sisters who watched as a mischievous spirit ruled over their land” said Cadance. “This spirit was said to rule his world by bringing out the very worst in all creatures for his own amusement” Cadance went on sadly.

“As the sisters grew from foal hood, to filly hood, to mare hood they watched the spirit bring chaos to the land and devised a plan to stop him” said Cadance.

“It was the elder sister who proposed that if the spirit would rule by bringing out what’s wrong with the world they could stop him with what’s right with it” Cadance continued.

“And so together the two sisters used ancient and powerful magic to enchant five magical gems with five magical spirits” said Cadance smiling as Twilight leaned closer to her at the mention of magic. “The five spirits were said to be the elements of harmony itself” Cadance continued.

“Using the elements the sisters challenged the spirit of Discord” Cadance went on dramatically. “In the battle that ensued for each dark and chaotic ability Discord had and for every one of his tricks the sisters countered him with the elements” Cadance went on. “Soon the sisters used the elements in a unified attack and it seemed Discord vanished” said Cadance.

“Yay” Twilight cheered.

“However” Cadance continued “after what seemed to be a moment of peace Discord appeared again” said Cadance. “Discord commended the sisters for creating such a powerful attack but mockingly declared it not powerful enough” said Cadance. “He then attacked the sisters and sent them falling to the ground” Cadance read Twilight gasped. “Discord stood over the dying sisters declaring victory” said Cadance.

“However the two sisters opened their eyes and using the care they had for each other summoned the elements one last time this time using them with the spark of their bond creating a sixth element!” said Cadance dramatically Twilight gasped yet again.

“Using the sixth element in combination with the others the villainous Discord was turned to stone and harmony was restored to the land” said Cadance the last page of the story was a picture of the two sisters turning Discord to stone. “The End” said Cadance.

“That was a great story Cadance” said Twilight with a yawn.

Cadance giggled “I think it’s time for bed” she said closing the book only for Twilight to put a hoof on the cover.

“No” Twilight begged “I’m not sleepy” she said yawning.

Cadance smiled “yes, you are my little pony” she said sweetly.

Twilight stood up and looked at Cadance with puppy eyes and a lip “come on Cadance, one more story pretty please?” she asked.

Cadance chuckled “oh alright” she said opening the book “but just one more” she added as Twilight returned to her seat. “This one is called “beyond the scales” and it’s one of my favorites” said Cadance looking at a page picturing a large, full grown dragon holding out his clawed hand to a pony.

“Once upon a time in a high mountain where no pony has ever set hoof, there lived a clan of dragons, dragons small, dragons large, dragons of every color, all the dragons happily lived their lives” Cadance read. “Every day they flew, explored, and ate gems and they were all happy with their lives lived far away from the mysterious ponies so foreign to them” Cadance went on.

“But there was one dragon, a very young one named Flare who was not content with her way of life, while the other dragons regarded ponies as something to be ignored she was curious about them, they did more than survive they created, prospered, and grew.

“One day I wanna go to a pony village and live with them” Flare told her parents.

“What’s this nonsense!” demanded Flare’s father.

“Sweetie you’re not a pony you’re a dragon the ponies have their world and we have ours” said Flare’s mother.

But Flare ignored her parents and her passion for the world of ponies only grew, soon the young dragon was asking everyone about the world of ponies and soon found herself the object of ridicule among dragons her age and shame among older dragons” Cadance read sadly.

“Poor Flare” said Twilight her eyes half closed and yawning.

“Maybe we should finish the story in the morning” said Cadance beginning to close the book.

“No, no please Cadance I wanna know what happens” Twilight begged.

“Ok, ok” said Cadance opening the book. “As Flare got older it was clear she was different from the other dragons in ways other than her passion for the pony world, while the other dragons began to fight over gems and grow bigger Flare was content with what filled her stomach, but for some reason remained small but she wasn't too worried because seeing what her fellow dragons were becoming she knew her childish form would only help when she one day went to explore the world of ponies.

Finally the day came when Flare with only a small bundle of gems and a dream left her home to live among the ponies. Her journey took her far from her home and took many weeks until finally she came across what she was looking for a village of ponies.” read Cadance.

“I’m here” Flare said to herself as she entered the village and came across a pony “hello” said Flare trying to be nice “my name is Fl….” She began.

“Dragon!” shrieked the pony running away.

“What’s with her?” asked Flare of another pony who was out with her young filly. The young filly smiled at Flare oblivious to the situation and extended a hoof in greeting.

However in the shock of being addressed by a dragon the elder pony quickly shielded her child from Flare and threw her necklace at the dragon “take this and spare my child and I” the pony begged.

“But I don’t want…..” Flare tried to explain only to find the pony running away with her filly. This continued many times as Flare would try to introduce herself to the villagers only for them to run away in terror sometimes leaving behind an offering. That night Flare took shelter in a hallowed tree with only her “offerings” “they think I’m a monster” the dragon said to herself crying.

“But they did give me some nice things” she said looking over her loot and admiring every detail of them “they’re nice” she said looking at a jeweled necklace with lust and a flicker of something darker “in fact very nice” she said in a darker tone “very, very, very nice!” she said her tongue becoming forked and emerging from her mouth and her eyes shifting into those of a cat.

The next day Flare once again journeyed across the village this time accepting her offering happily eventually demanding them, soon she was taking offerings stealing anything not nailed down, it was not long before she began demanding villagers bring offerings to her layer and as her greed grew Flare grew into the very monster she always repelled.

Soon the villagers began plans of revolt against Flare’s demands “How long will we allow this?” one brave villager asked “that beast has taken my food, my wife’s jewelry, and my village yet still it wants more!” he cried. It was not long before the villagers headed to Flare’s cave in revolt the dragon fought back but was out-numbered and soon tied to the cave floors as the leader of the village mob prepared to strike and finish the job.

“Stop!” came a sudden cry the entire village looked to see a young unicorn standing in the caves entrance and rushing to Flare “can you not see what you’re doing?” she asked “this beast as you call it was created by us, we who fed into her greed have transformed her into this form” she said.

“What nonsense do you speak?” demanded the lead villager. The unicorn put a sympathetic hoof on Flare’s face “I like many of you first thought this dragon a monster and that was when she first came to us, she offered us greetings and we treated her with fear and revolt” the unicorn told the villagers “in our fear we offered what we had to this dragon and triggered a deep nature in her for greed, she is our creation and now we must rectify not with anger and destruction but compassion and kindness” said the unicorn her horn and the ropes holding Flare down glowing a hot red.

“Young maiden do not be foolish!” the lead villager cried only for the unicorn to magically pull the ropes from Flare freeing the dragon.

“How dare you!” cried the lead villager, suddenly the pony found himself pulled up by Flare’s claw and dangling over the dragons mouth as the other villagers screamed.

“No mighty dragon I know you” said the unicorn “I was there when you first came to this village, I tried to extend my hoof to you but my mother stopped me, for years I believed you to be a monster like many however I always remembered your first day when you came not with demands but with greetings and offerings of friendship, It’s taken years to realize that we created you out of our own ignorance and I now believe there is still a chance to save you, a flicker of good still inside you beyond all that greed but if you swallow that pony you’ll only be proving yourself a monster!” the unicorn declared. Flare breathed heavily about to drop and devour the pony when suddenly deep inside her a memory stirred of her first day in the village when she extended her clawed hand many times only for one young hoof to try to extend back.

Flare let out a might roar and released the villager who screamed only to find himself on the cave floor. The unicorn smiled as she extended her hoof “mighty dragon my name is Red Bloom!” she cried. The dragon still breathing heavily looked down at the little pony before she too extended her hand and touched Red Bloom’s hoof with her claw.

At that moment a radiating red light began to shine in the cave and the dragon returned to her young form “my name is Flare” she said.

“The End” said Cadance as she looked at the last page which pictured a Red Bloom and Flare happily meeting as happy villagers took back their things. “That was a great story don’t you think Twilight?” asked Cadance.

“Yeah” said Twilight struggling to keep her eyes open “one more” she asked.

“No, no, no Twilight time for bed” said Cadance.

“No” said Twilight with a yawn “one more” she said softly.

“Here’s a story that’s not in the book” said Cadance. “Once upon a time there was a little pony named Twilight Sparkle” said Cadance. “She was a beautiful, curious, and loving young filly with a thirst for knowledge. Twilight considered herself very fortunate because her foalsitter was a princess.” said Cadance as she released the fireflies into the night. “But the foalsitter always knew that she was the lucky one for never was there a filly as sweet, charming, funny, and loving as Twilight” said Cadance watching her little filly fall asleep. “And she knew” Cadance went on slipping Smarty Pants into Twilight's hoofs “that her little filly was destined for great things” she said kissing Twilight on the head before laying down next to her “the end.”