Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qMm-DpsG_vbXpGOJ5KvjyVB7wgN2AgL8ohU7myutQcc/edit

“Dearest Twilight Sparkle. By our sister's will, we were given the great honor of hosting this year’s Grand Galloping Gala and arrange it in the ways we find most appealing. So we ask thee and thy friends be of attendance. We have decided to host a masquerade ball, therefore masks are mostly required. We are most expecting to hear of thy participation. Signed: Princess Luna,” Spike read out loudly to the group at Rarity’s boutique.

“Oh my gosh! A masquerade! This sounds like fun!” Pinkie Pie cheered.

“Well that’s something different for a change!” Applejack commented.

“As much as I like the idea of a masked dance, I am not sure if I actually want to go there again... Nothing against Princess Luna, of course. I just don’t want to stumble into that disaster of a royal etiquette known as Prince Blueblood again,” Rarity explained, greatly displeased.

“I do have information that Prince Blueblood is on a diplomatic trip to the griffin empire. It is unlikely he will be there,” Obsidian Shards replied, who as usual was a bit distant from the group and observed the actions around the building.

“Oh, in this case, those are great news! I can’t wait to see what kind of decor Princess Luna has chosen!” Rarity spoke.

“But we still need to get masks, don’t we?” Fluttershy asked with a concerned tone in her voice.

“Ah, that’s no problem,” Rainbow Dash commented, hovering in the air above them, leaning on an imaginary sofa. “I know somepony in Cloudsdale who is making masks for a living. They’re pretty cool, too! And I’m sure I can get him to make you a custom, Spike!”

The baby dragon, though, looked displeased.

“Guys, I’m not going there. It’s in the middle of the night!” he declared.

The keepers of harmony were a bit disappointed to hear that, but Twilight agreed with him.

“You’re right, Spike. A baby dragon should not stay up all night,” she spoke.

“Well, Obsidian can have my ticket!” he offered.

The six mares agreed this would be a great idea. But the reaper thought otherwise.

“A most generous offer. But I have to deny it,” he spoke, confusing the group a bit.

“But we would love to party with you! And it’s in the night! I thought you liked the night more than the day,” Pinkie exclaimed. Obsidian nodded.

“Maximē. It is during night time. Therefore I can not come,” he explained.

“What do you mean? Is it because of Princess Luna?” Rainbow wondered.

“Irrelevant. Just give the ticket to somepony else,” he replied, then walked out of the building to avoid further questions.

The group became silent and disappointed. Obsidian joined them on everything and agreed on most of the things so far. Now, all of the sudden, he would not join them at the gala?

“Wait here, girls. I’ll get him right back,” Twilight spoke and ran after the reaper.

---

“Now, now. Isn’t that quite an odd behavior from your side, Obsidian? First you make Rainbow Dash believe you are there for the group all the time, and then you refuse to go with them to something this big and important?” Odd Cirs stated in a mocking voice.

“Silentius es,” Obsidian growled quietly while walking down the main street.

“Don’t you think you are missing some great opportunities to improve the trust between you and the ladies?” Odd Cirs kept on asking.

“I do know that. But there is no other way. This is all I will tell you,” the black stallion replied.

However, he soon had to realize he won’t be able to keep this decision up as Twilight approached him with an angry face. The reaper stopped and turned around to her, bowing down.

“You can’t act that way to Princess Luna! Maybe she was Nightmare Moon and maybe she is the reason... and...” she shouted, but then found herself unable to continue.

In her anger, she forgot to keep Maledictum Insania and the events leading to the creation of this curse to herself. But the curse of secrets cut her off before she could say even a single word.

“Ah, you know what I mean! She is not evil anymore!” Twilight finished.

“If you are implying I dislike my mistress’ sister, then I can ensure you, this is not the case. It requires emotions to like or dislike a being, which I, as I told you, lack,” he replied.

“Then why can’t you come?” the purple mare wondered, still angry.

“As I said, it is irrelevant for you to know. Just do not mention reaper-kind or me to the Princess when you meet her,” he answered and continued walking away.

Twilight would not accept this answer. She wanted to know what the reason behind this was. So she used the power she was granted by the black stallion against him.

“Obsidian Shards, I order you to tell me why you can’t go to the masquerade!” she ordered.

The reaper instantly stopped. He had to obey now. After a short hesitation, he turned around and bowed down again.

“As you command. Please follow me,” he spoke.

The black stallion then lead Twilight to a silent corner, ensuring nopony else would be listening.

“It is forbidden for reapers to be in Princess Luna’s range of sight. This is an official, high priority order given by Mistress Celestia to all reapers,” he explained.

“What? Why would she order that?” Twilight asked disbelieving.

“Princess Luna does not have any memories of the time she fell to madness. She simply believes she had a very heavy quarrel with our mistress and caused some trouble. She thinks this is the reason she was sealed into the moon for a millennium. Princess Luna is unaware of Maledictum Insania, the demons, the reapers, undeads and the millions of ponies that had found a terrible end through her. Our mistress wants to keep it this way,” the black stallion answered.

“Oh...” was the only thing Twilight could say.

This was something she really did not expect. But it made sense. Luna’s spirit was in a state of coma during those events. She didn’t come back to her senses until Twilight and her friends purified her. Anyway, the purple mare really wanted Obsidian to join them. So she tried to convince him.

“But it’s a masquerade! I know we can’t do much about your curved horn, but she won’t even notice your identity! As long as you hide your wings, everything will be fine!” she stated.

Obsidian, though, shook his head.

“No, Twilight. Our mistress is very strict about us staying away from her sister. She threatened to execute the one of us who dared to reveal the existence of reapers to her,” Obsidian countered coldly.

But Twilight only got irritated from these words.

“Are you kidding me? I know Princess Celestia better than to believe she would actually order the execution of a pony or reaper,” she countered.

“I am not making jokes, Twilight. Those were her words,” the reaper said, becoming serious.

The purple mare started getting angry again.

“I believed every word you told me so far, Obsidian. But I’m not going to believe Princess Celestia is cold-hearted like this!” she persisted.

In the last few years, Twilight had been overly afraid of displeasing the Princess, fearing to be heavily punished. But now, she learned Celestia would never do such a thing and nothing in the world was allowed to shatter Twilight’s impression of her infinite tolerance, kindness and wisdom.

“Twilight-” he started again, but got instantly interrupted.

“Enough! I don’t want to hear another word of this! I order you to join us on the Grand Galloping Gala Midnight Masquerade!” the purple mare commanded.

Obsidian became silent. He found himself stuck in a conflict between two orders. He either had to disobey his mistress, or the pony that she wanted him to comply with as well. The reaper had no chance to resolve this. So he just bowed down.

“As you command. Though I have to say, you are playing a risky game, Twilight Sparkle,” he replied.

“I said, I don’t want to hear any more of this! You’re coming with us, just to prove everything will be fine! Now, let us go back to the others!” Twilight insisted loudly, almost shouting.

Obsidian did not expect her to abuse her authority and their friendship like that. If Luna discovered him during the masquerade, it would rearrange everything. Mistress Celestia might be very kind and have a lot of tolerance for her subjects. But reapers are not classified as official members of pony society. Everyone of them knew she still hated them for the horrible things they had done and are still doing.

---

The Summer Sun Celebration passed by and summer reached its peak. The six friends were quite excited about the masquerade and prepared a lot. This time, they wanted to stick together during the festival. Applejack worked extra hard on the apple orchard to be ahead of schedule when the great night would come. Rarity created some new outfits for everypony. She also had a talk with Rainbow Dash to make sure the masks she arranged for them would fit to her designs. Twilight did a research on correct behavior during a masquerade.

But Obsidian did not involve himself in any of this. He had demons to hunt, monsters to slay and dying or already undead ponies to reap. Fluttershy kept on meditating with him more and more often. She rapidly advanced, approaching the black stallion’s level step by step. What usually took months for a pony to learn, she seemed to gain in just a few weeks. She then also developed an interest in the tasks of the reaper. Obsidian had still not found out what granted her her ability, or why she was so curious about the things he did. But somehow he seemed more and more attracted to her as well.

Then finally, the day of the gala had come. While the keepers of harmony were getting dressed in the changing room, the black stallion was outside, guarding the door. He had some time to think about what would be best to do tonight. He obviously would have to avoid both Mistress Celestia and Princess Luna. But how would he be able to hide in the crowd? With his cloak, he would stick out in a hall full of ponies wearing very high class attire. But going without it would make him even more noticeable, not to mention he would leave behind the only kind of protection he needed. It would get tricky, that was for sure.

After a while, the changing room door opened and the six mares stepped out. Rarity once again did an amazing job. She decided to go more with the natural colors of the ponies this time, so the friends could find each other in the masses again.
Twilight’s costume was cut to look like a royal enchantress uniform, colored in purple with dark violet and pink stripes.
Fluttershy’s dress was long, light and of a delicate shade of yellow with pink decor.
Rainbow had a multi colored, feminized suit.
Rarity’s dress was of a deep indigo, cut slenderly around her figure and highlighted with white elements.
Applejack’s costume was rather simple, yet still noble for a country dancing dress in yellow and orange.
Pinkie’s dark pink dress was the shortest, ending in a skirt.

Now they put on their masks, all perfectly matching their outfits. They looked elegant and mysterious, which only made them more excited.

“Are you ready, ladies?” Obsidian asked calmly. The group of friends cheered in approval.

“I took the liberty of arranging you a carriage. It is waiting outside,” he continued, bowing down.

“Thank you, Obsidian. That was very kind of you,” Twilight commented.

They were already heading outside when Rarity made a surprising statement.

“Girls, I will catch up later. Obsidian and I have a little something to do before we go there too,” she announced.

Everyone turned around to her.

“What kind of business would that be, Miss Rarity?” the reaper asked, distrustful.

“Yeah! Why didn’t you say this sooner?” Pinkie wondered.

“It’s a surprise! Just get on your way and you will see once we are there,” Rarity explained.

“Oh! Oh! I love surprises! Can’t wait for you two already! See you there!” cheered Pinkie and bounced outside, followed by the others.

Obsidian became alert. The keepers of harmony may trust him, but he still did not trust them very much. He looked grimly and lowered his head a bit, ready to go in battle stance if necessary.

“What are you planning, Miss Rarity?” he asked.

“Oh please, Obsidian. You don’t have to look at me like that. Did you really think I would forget about your outfit?” she replied, smiling widely.

The black stallion actually almost forgot about that. Rarity then guided him over to Carousel Boutique and positioned him in front of a curtain.

“Now, I hereby present you my darkest creation yet!” she announced and pulled on a cord to open the curtain.

Even though Obsidian had nearly no emotions, Rarity managed to get him wide-eyed at the sight of his garments.

“You made this?” he wondered, causing Rarity to grin proudly.

“Oh yes, my dear. It took me forever to figure out how the dark style works, but I think this is among my greatest masterpieces! It only needs one more thing to make it perfect,” she explained.

“What would that be?” the reaper asked.

The fashion diva gave him a cunning glance.

“Your cloak!” she replied.

---

It was already getting late when the five friends finally arrived at Canterlot castle. Yet, the masquerade was still only about to start. They handed their tickets to the guards, who were masked as well for this event, and waited with the masses in front of the castle. Hundreds of ponies had come. All of them wearing formal attire combined with masks. The mass was excited. Most of them had never been on a masquerade before and with Princess Luna hosting it, they did not know what to expect. Then finally, dozens of fanfares announced the beginning of the masquerade. The drawbridge lowered and grand gate of the castle opened. Two unusually tall ponies wearing royal garbs stepped outside. Princess Celestia, who was dressed in white and gold together with a white, winged mask and Princess Luna, who was dressed in dark blue and silver, wearing a dark blue, star-shaped mask. Luna stepped forth and made an announcement in the traditional royal Canterlot voice.

“Beloved subjects. We are pleased to welcome you to the Grand Galloping Gala Midnight Masquerade! I am your host, Princess Luna. We hope ye have the most wonderful time tonight!” she promulgated.

While most of the time, using that voice was simply too loud and threatening, the volume was just right so even the ponies in the backmost line could hear it. The guests cheered and stepped forth. They were all personally greeted by the princesses once more. The five friends decided to take off their masks to greet them back.

“Ah! Look, Luna! Twilight and her friends have arrived!” Celestia stated to her sister as the friends came close. Princess Luna was delighted to see them coming to her masquerade.

“Twilight Sparkle! We are pleased to see thee and thy friends! Though we do have to say, it is not the purpose of a masquerade ball to know one another’s identity,” Luna greeted, chuckling a bit. The mares giggled along with her.

“Don’t worry. We just wanted to say hello and thank you for the invitation,” Twilight replied.

“Thou art most welcome! The masquerade would not be the same without thee. But, pray tell, Is one of you missing?” the Princess of the Night wondered.

“Rarity had a surprise to finish! So she and -” Pinkie Pie started, but got interrupted by Twilight, who held a hoof in front of her mouth.

“Yes, yes... Rarity is coming a bit later. But don’t worry, your highnesses. We will be complete soon!” Twilight threw in quickly, smirking a bit awkwardly.

Although she did not believe Princess Celestia would actually punish Obsidian for coming against her will, Twilight did not want to risk putting him into trouble. Princess Celestia became suspicious by her student’s behavior. But she considered it would be best to not make any comment. Luna took this for just the normal way the mares behave among each other and didn’t think about it further. Instead, she invited them to enter the castle and see what she had prepared. The mares put their masks back on and stepped inside.

---

It seemed as though Luna had changed the entire interior just for this event. The checkerboard marble floor was enchanted to look like the night sky, giving a very dreamy and magical feeling when walking over it. Where usually endless red carpets covered the ground, paths made of countless small stars had been created to guide the guests around the castle.

Huge dark blue banners were attached between the pillars, which as well had been changed in color to a dark, silvery tone. The tessellated windows all showed beautiful night scenes and star constellations.The air was filled with tiny, sparkling particles, hovering just above the guests. The only source of light was a large, crescent shaped crystal, emitting an unspeakably beautiful blue light.

Canterlot Castle was always astonishing, but tonight, filled with all this dreamy decor and Luna’s magic, it made the ponies feel like they were in a different world, where darkness was beautiful and walking in the night sky was the most natural thing for everypony.

Exploring the castle alone consumed a good portion of time. Although most of the activities were taking place in the ballroom, it seemed like Luna had prepared a little game for the ponies. Many paths were open to them and each lead to more decor, beautiful windows and fascinating midnight art. After an hour of venerating the castle and talking to other ponies, Rarity finally arrived and met up with the others.

“There you are, girls! I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Wow, I absolutely admire what Princess Luna has prepared for tonight! The colors! The lighting! The decor! The details! It is all so, so magnificent! Don’t you think so?” she asked.

“Hey Rarity! Yeah, it’s pretty damn cool in here! Um... where’s Obsidian?” Rainbow Dash wondered. Rarity looked around.

“What? He was just behind me a moment ago. Maybe he... Oh, there he is!” Rarity stated, pointing in his direction.

If she would not have said this is him, the ponies would not have recognized the reaper again. The fashion diva spiffed him up as much as she could. His hair had been cut, now only going down to his shoulders. They were brushed back and appeared silky and shiny. Obsidian’s face was covered by a black and red, demonic mask. None of his scars or stitches were visible as Rarity used all her make-up tricks to cover and hide them. She even gave him a manicure, making his hooves look shiny and spotless. His flawless, dark appearance was underlined by his costume, which made the jaws of all the other keepers of harmony drop. The reaper wore a black and blood red vampire suit, along with a long, black cape. The suit was cut to look very aggressive, yet also dangerously seductive as it revealed his chest partially. Obsidian made quite an impression. Dangerous and yet fascinating like a vampire, elegant and mysterious like a phantom. He finally spotted the group and walked over to the others.

“Salvē, amīcae,” he greeted them.

That masked stallion in front of them really was Obsidian. The five mares were so stunned by his appearance they found themselves unable to reply. Rarity correctly took the silence as a huge compliment and grinned widely in pride.

“Isn’t he just fabulous?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash slowly turned her head over to the fashion diva, still with wide open mouth.

“Rarity, if there was a prize for the most creative mind in Equestria, it would so go to you!” she stated, then turned back to the reaper. “This is amazing! You look super cool, O!”

“Oh my gosh, Obsidian! That really is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge surprise!” Pinkie Pie agreed, stretching her front legs in the air, attempting to symbolize the level of her astonishment.

“By mah apple trees. That is a kind of fancy I can only compliment!” Applejack stated.

“This outfit is mind blowing, Rarity! I never thought you would create something dark like that!” Twilight honored.

“That is only thanks to Obsidian. He inspired me to try a darker fashion and I have to say, I grew to love it! I can’t wait to make a whole collection and publish it! What do you think, Fluttershy?” Rarity wondered.

The yellow Pegasus did not reply. She was still staring at Obsidian, blushing under her mask.

“Fluttershy? Are you okay, my dear?” Rarity asked, snapping her out of trance.

“Oh, um. I. Um. I mean...” she replied, not knowing what to say.

Obsidian bowed down before the mares.

“Thank you all for your kind words and a special thanks to you, Miss Rarity,” he spoke.

“It really is okay now. So, how about we go to the ballroom and have some hors d'oeuvres?” the fashion diva suggested.

They agreed and started walking back. Obsidian constantly looked around for signs of his mistress or Princess Luna. Rarity improved his chances of getting through the night unnoticed dramatically with this outfit. Despite of its very unique style, he blended into the crowd much better now. Also, if anything would go wrong, he even had his cloak. Rarity folded and sewed it to the suit to make it look like a cape. In case of emergency, he could easily tear it off. It seemed like everything would turn out fine for all of them.

---

After a few snacks and some more talking, the ponies decided to go for a dance. While most of the other ponies looked for a partner to dance with, Fluttershy and Obsidian were not participating. Although he could dance, the reaper had little interest in it, as it brought him no joy. Fluttershy was too afraid to ask anypony to dance with her. So they both just had a little talk and watched the others.

The night continued and all the guests had a lot of fun. Near midnight, Princess Luna held a speech about how glad she was to be accepted by ponykind. During that time, Obsidian left the ballroom and hid himself.

Shortly after the speech was over, another pony bumped into Twilight and both of them collapsed. The purple mare lifted her head to see who ran into her.

It was a unicorn mare of about her age. She had a white coat and long red hair. Her dress was rather short, revealing her cutie mark: a red crescent moon surrounded by multiple red stars. Twilight recognized this symbol.

The collision also knocked her mask of, so Twilight could see the mare’s face. She knew this pony. Very well to be precise.

“Moondancer!” Twilight exclaimed happily. The other mare was still dizzy.

“Ugh... I’m sorry. I should have... wait, you know me?” she asked.

“Of course! It’s me, Twilight! Twilight Sparkle!” the purple mare spoke and removed her mask.

Instantly, Moondancer’s eyes went wide open. She was paralyzed.

“T...T-Twilight?” she asked disbelieving her own eyes.

“It’s so good to see you! How are you? Doing good on your studies?” Twilight asked.

Moondancer slowly got up and approached her. She just could not believe what she saw and heard. So she had to make sure this is not just another daydream or illusion of her and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. As she realized her hoof was not passing through Twilight’s figure, she was finally able to believe she was really just in front of her.

“It is you... it’s really you...” she replied, very shaky.

“Moondancer? Are you okay?” Twilight worried.

“I... I haven’t seen you for years! Where have you been?” Moondancer asked.

“Oh, you didn’t know? I live and study in Ponyville now!” Twilight replied and turned around to call her friends over. “Hey, everypony! Come here for a moment! I need you to meet somepony!”

Twilight’s friends came over and took off their masks.

“Everypony, this is Moondancer. We were in the same class when I was still living in Canterlot. Moondancer, these are my friends from Ponyville. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and... where is Obsidian Shards?” Twilight asked.

The others looked around, but could not find him.

“Ponyville...” Moondancer spoke quietly.

“Well howdy doo, Miss Moondancer!” Applejack greeted.

“A friend of Twilight is also our friend!” Pinkie added.

Moondancer remained silent. This whole situation was a bit too much for her. Twilight had changed. She was so open and social now. And all these ponies around her...

“So how are your studies doing?” Twilight resumed.

“Oh... well... since you left the class, I became the best pupil,” she replied.

“Heh, I knew that would happen. You were always quite talented,” Twilight commented, smiling happily.

Though Moondancer just dropped her head.

“Is something bothering you?” Twilight worried.

Again, Moondancer stood silent for a few moments. Then she looked back at Twilight.

“Can we talk in private please? Just for a moment...” she asked.

The six mares became confused.

“Oh, um, okay sure. I will be back soon, girls!” Twilight replied.

The two mares put their masks back on and walked outside the castle and to the gardens.

---

The castle gardens were quiet. Most animals were asleep by now. Moondancer led Twilight deep inside to ensure they were undisturbed. What was about to happen was a very private thing, only meant to be known between the two of them. As even the music coming out of the castle became very quiet, Moondancer stopped.

“So, what is it that you want to tell me?” Twilight asked, a bit unsure.

Moondancer did not reply. She just stood there, removing her mask again and staring at Twilight. Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears. She embraced Twilight, sobbing heavily. Twilight’s confusion grew even further.

“Oh dear! What’s wrong, Moondancer?” Twilight wondered,very worried.

She couldn’t reply instantly. Her crying was just too heavy and she even had problems breathing because of that. She needed a moment to catch herself again and calm down. Then, she was able to talk to the purple mare again.

“How dare you...” she spoke, confusing Twilight even more. “how... how... just... dare you.”

“Moondancer?” Twilight asked.

She had no idea what was going on right now. The red-haired unicorn lifted her head, looking at Twilight with a mix of great sadness, anger and relief.

“I’ve been looking for you, Twilight! I turned all of Canterlot upside down to find you! From one day to the other, you were gone and nopony had any idea where you could have went!” she started, beginning to sob again. “I spent every break I got searching for you all over Equestria! I never stopped looking for you until a few weeks ago, as I used up my last money for a trip to Manehattan, just to search for you there! And now... after four damn years... you have the guts to just come back, tell me you were in Ponyville the whole time, made a lot of friends there and pretend nothing ever happened? Just... just, how dare you?!”

Twilight was moved. She never thought that anypony would miss her the day she left. She had next to no social contacts back then. Twilight removed her mask, too.

“Oh, no... oh, Moondancer... I’m.. I’m so sorry... I had no idea...” Twilight apologized.

This caused Moondancer to tear away from her and look at the purple mare angrily.

“Of course not! You never had any idea about anything! All the time, you were just ignoring me! … The invitations, the gifts... Do you even remember any of that?” she kept blaming Twilight.

At this moment, a flashback ran through the purple mare’s mind. Yes, she did remember the invitations and the gifts. The last thing she experienced before she left to Ponyville on a mission to prepare the Summer Sun Celebration for Princess Celestia was that three of Twilight’s classmates invited her to a get-together with Moondancer, which she denied.

Then she went to her library to find out more about the elements of harmony. Spike had a gift box pierced on his tail. The baby dragon meant it to be for Moondancer, since Twilight denied her just too often. She, though, didn’t even care about it getting destroyed by accident.

Those were by far not the only times Moondancer tried to get in contact with Twilight or show the purple mare her appreciation. Twilight Sparkle realized she was very cold back then. She denied everything that came from others and barely spent any time with any of her classmates.

Twilight came back to the present and stared at Moondancer, whose eyes started getting sore from all the tears.

“I... I just wanted to have you around... I wanted to be with you. Was I asking too much? You didn’t even care! No, you didn’t even notice me!” the white mare continued.

“I’m so incredibly sorry... I was a different pony back then, only interested in books. I wish I could make it up for you...” Twilight apologized again.

Moondancer calmed down now. Hearing Twilight was really sorry for how she treated her filled the white mare with feelings of finally being understood by her. She slowly walked back to Twilight again.

“It’s okay now, Twi. You’re back. You’re finally back. That is all that matters,” Moondancer spoke and embraced the purple mare again.

Twilight hugged her back. The two mares remained in this position for several minutes, surrounded by the silence of the night. Then, Moondancer spoke up again.

“Twilight... there is something I need to tell you,” she explained.

“What is it?” the purple mare asked gently.

Moondancer looked her deep into the eyes. For some reason, she seemed to become nervous. She was shaking a bit and a blush grew on her cheeks. Then, all of the sudden, she stopped shaking, closed her eyes and kissed Twilight on the lips. The purple mare’s eyes went wide open in surprise. The unexpected intimacy of her old school friend caused her to blush as well. Twilight, usually very literate, found herself in a situation she had no idea how to react to. She just stood there, her body solid like stone. Then finally, Moondancer ended the kiss.

“I love you, Twilight. I loved you all the time. I was just too afraid to let you know,” she explained, blushing even more. “All the time, I kept this secret. When you disappeared, I thought I lost all my chances to ever tell you what is going on inside me. The weight became unbearable.”

Twilight was shocked. Of all the things that could have happened tonight, this is something she definitely did not see coming. Moondancer closed her eyes and sighed in relief.

“It feels like a huge burden has just been lifted from my heart. I said it... I finally, finally was able to say it,” she spoke and attempted to kiss Twilight again.

However, the purple mare backed away, causing Moondancer to look at her in confusion.

“Wait... Moondancer. I’m sorry I put you through all of this, but-” Twilight started before she got interrupted by the red-haired unicorn.

“It’s okay, Twilight. I forgive you,” she stated quickly, grinning a bit.

“I-It really flatters me that you have such feelings for me, but-” Twilight attempted again, but found herself interrupted anew.

“I love you, Twilight. More than anything,” Moondancer threw in again and slowly started walking towards Twilight.

Her grin kept on growing slowly. Twilight felt she did this on purpose. She would not allow Twilight to waver and tried to force agreement out of her. She had to make it clear.

“But I’m not lesbian!” Twilight stated clearly.

Moondancer, though, seemed to be very little impressed by this.

“That’s okay. You will get into it,” she replied.

Her eye began to widen and her grin started to creep Twilight out. She had seen this face before... on Trixie. A terrible suspicion filled the mind of the purple mare... could it be? Before she thought any further, Twilight attempted to reason with Moondancer again.

“No, really... I can’t do this...” she said in an almost begging tone.

Moondancer was indifferent to that statement. Her breathing quickened. Her pupils shrunk to small beads. Moondancer looked very creepy now. The purple mare felt how fear spread through her body. The more Twilight backed away, the more Moondancer tried to come close again. It was clear now: Moondancer had lost her mind. But why? And how could this happen so suddenly?

Twilight panicked, causing her to commit an irrational action. She figured that she had no other choice anymore but to say something that would definitely break Moondancer’s heart. Either that, or who knows what she would do to her.

“I don’t love you!” she spoke out loudly.

Moondancer stopped immediately, her face now showing complete shock.

“No... no! Please! Don’t do this to me, Twilight!” she begged.

“I’m sorry. But you are only a friend to me. I could never have a relationship with another mare,” Twilight explained.

Moondancer collapsed and started to cry again.

“P-please... please just love me...” the white mare pleaded desperately.

“I do love you as a friend, Moondancer. That is all I can do,” Twilight spoke guiltily.

“No... no... this can’t be true... this can’t be happening...” Moondancer stated, crying heavily.

“I’m so very sorry...” Twilight concluded.

Moondancer lost all her strength and crumbled to the ground, crying so heavily that she had to cough because she inhaled the water running out of her eyes and nose. She just lost everything that kept her going. She had nothing left.

Twilight, blinded by a deep feeling of guilt, came over to the white mare. She wanted to give her a hug and cheer her up. But Moondancer suddenly shot up and pushed Twilight away hard, causing her to fall over.

The white unicorn was shaking all over. Her eyes unnaturally wide open and bloodshot. Her grin as well of unnatural size, letting a giggle escape through her teeth while the tears ran freely down her face. She towered over the purple mare and spoke again, in a voice bothering on hysteria:

“You will pay for this, Twilight Sparkle. You will pay with all you have!”

Twilight tried to crawl away, but Moondancer held her in place. She was more afraid of the white unicorn than she had ever been of any monster.

“I curse you, Twilight! I will make you feel what this pain is like! I will destroy you! I... I...”

Moondancer suddenly seemed to faint. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she started twitching, staring straight into the sky.

“M-Moondancer? Moondancer! What is happening to you?” Twilight shouted.

No response was given. Moondancer just kept twitching and gagging, as if she had a seizure. As unexpected as it started, it ended again. Moondancer was completely motionless now, still staring into the night sky.

Her mouth began to open. Further and further. Even past the physical limits. It tore open along the corners and ripped down her neck, her chest, until half way down her body. The giant, macabre door opened widely.

Twilight gasped in terror. What on earth was happening right now? Just as she thought that, a dark purple hoof reached out of Moondancer’s mouth.

Twilight was unable to move. She just sat there and stared as the blood covered creature crawled out of her friend. Then it lifted its head outside. The magical mare felt like something big just hit her with full force. This creature... this thing... it looked just like her! Just its coat was darker, it had a black mane with a red stripe in it and the eyes were red. And another thing was different.

As it fully crawled out of what used to be Moondancer, Twilight could see that the chest of this creature had a deep, bleeding, heart-shaped hole. The creature stared at Twilight, grinning a bit. Twilight stared back and for some unknown reason, she saw flashbacks popping up in front of her eyes. The events of tonight in backwards order, starting with the creature crawling out of Moondancer.

“Wha... who are you? What are you?” Twilight screamed in panic.

The glowing red eyes of the look-alike seemed to stare directly into Twilight’s soul. It slowly walked towards the purple mare, who was so terrified that she could not even move anymore. It stopped right in front of her.

“Despair,” it spoke with a voice completely identical to Twilight’s.

The flashbacks rushed past her vision, faster and faster the longer they had direct eye contact. The past few days, the past week, it all came and went like a reversed, super speeded movie. Then suddenly, the creature that introduced itself as Despair broke the eye contact and looked sideways.

A black scythe came flying towards it. Despair dodged it in the last moment. Seconds later, Obsidian charged towards Despair from above and picked up his scythe again.

The look-alike ran away, grinning wickedly. The reaper chased after her, casting multiple spells to try to catch her. Despair, though, seemed to possess a lot of magical abilities herself. She dispelled several of Obsidian’s summonings and broke through the magic traps he set up before her.

The red eyed creature then ran in the castle. Obsidian’s face became troubled and he followed her as fast as he could.

Twilight was still paralyzed, confused and deeply horrified. She was shaking all over and breathed heavily. Minutes passed until her friends finally found her.

“Twilight!” they shouted.

The purple mare slowly turned her head to her friends. Then she began to cry. The five mares knew something terrible must have happened and held her tightly.

“What’s wrong with you, Twi’?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I-I don’t know. Moondancer. She... she is... she has...” the purple mare tried to explain and pointed over at the bleeding remains of her old school friend. The friends gasped.

“What in tarnation happened here?!” Applejack asked in dread.

Before anypony could say anything, the friends heard screams coming out of the castle. Lightnings flashed up in the ballroom. The five friends helped Twilight on her hooves and they all ran inside to try to help.

---

A fierce battle between the Twilight copy-cat and Obsidian held place in the middle of the commotion, right before Princess Luna’s eyes. They attacked each other with a large bandwidth of spells, while Despair occasionally tried to either attack a guest or use one as a shield. The reaper was able to exclude everypony from getting hurt, but that only caused Despair to proceed further and further towards the exit.

The guests screamed in panic and ran around wildly, making the battle only even harder for the black stallion. In the end, he was unable to even harm Despair and the creature escaped.

The keepers of harmony were too late. They could do nothing to help, other than unsuccessfully trying to calm down the guests. Finally, Princess Celestia arrived in the ballroom and casted a strong spell to calm everypony down. It was silent in the castle now. She then turned to the reaper, hovering in the air.

“Obsidian Shards!” she shouted.

Her face showed a level of anger nopony had ever seen on her before. The reaper immediately landed on the ground, took off his mask and bowed down before her.

“Meet me in the courtroom! Luna, please stay here,” she ordered in a very serious tone.

“Yes, my mistress,” replied Obsidian

Princess Celestia teleported away and Obsidian flew to the courtroom soon after. Now, Twilight realized Obsidian was not exaggerating when he said he would get punished if Princess Luna would see him. And the Princess of the Night saw everything. She was very confused. It all happened so fast, she had nearly no time to react or even follow the battle. She just stood there, not knowing what to tell her guests. Twilight and the others ran through the castle. They had to get to the courtroom before it was too late.

---

“How could you dare to disobey me? I gave you a clear order to stay away from Luna!” Celestia shouted at Obsidian, who was kneeling before her.

“I am aware of my actions. I have nothing to defend myself. I failed and disappointed you, my mistress,” Obsidian replied calmly.

“Then you know what you have to do now,” she stated coldly.

“Yes... my mistress,” answered the reaper and stood up again.

He grabbed his cape with his teeth and ripped it off his costume. Then he dissolved into a black cloud, causing the suit to fall to the floor and materialized in his cloak again. Obsidian got upright and summoned his scythe in his front hooves, turning the blade upside down and placed the sharp tip against his stomach.

“I pity the foal who has to carry my curse now,” Obsidian whispered to himself.

Just when he was about to ram the scythe through his body, the keepers of harmony rushed into the room, shocked to see Obsidian was about to commit suicide.

“Wait! Stop! Please, Princess Celestia! It’s not his fault!” Twilight shouted, running towards them. Obsidian did not move. He waited for an order.

“Twilight, please leave. I don’t want you to see this,” Celestia commanded and turned back to Obsidian.

“No! Please! I ordered him to come with us!” Twilight kept shouting desperately.

Celestia’s eyes went wide open.

“Is that true, Obsidian?” she asked the reaper. He nodded.

“Yes. I followed her order to join her on the masquerade. But that does not excuse my actions. Your order was of higher priority, my mistress,” Obsidian stated.

“What are you talking about, Obsidian? You did the right thing for attacking this strange monster!” Twilight protested.

“Monster?” Princess Celestia questioned. “What monster was that?”

“A demon, my mistress. It was just born a few moments ago in the castle gardens. Twilight Sparkle was present as it came out of one of the guests,” Obsidian explained.

This statement visibly shocked Celestia.

“An insane pony was among the guests? And it gave birth to a demon? Here?” she asked.

“This is what seemed to have happened, my mistress,” Obsidian spoke.

After a short hesitation, Celestia made a gesture to tell Obsidian to remove the scythe again. The reaper understood and obeyed immediately.

“M... Moondancer was insane? And she gave birth to... a demon?” Twilight asked, unable to believe what she just heard. Obsidian nodded.

“How is this possible? Moondancer seemed just fine until that moment!” Twilight kept on asking.

Obsidian turned his head towards his mistress. She nodded, agreeing that he should explain it to Twilight and all of her friends. Then, the reaper focused the purple mare again.

“For that to explain, I need you all to answer me a question first,” he stated. The friends nodded in agreement.

“What is a demon?” he asked.

The room became silent. None of them ever really thought of what a demon actually is. They just knew they were evil. As Obsidian realized he would not get an answer, he started to explain.

“Demons are the materialization of all the bad things inside a pony. They are made of the darkest desires, the most twisted thoughts and the most gruesome memories. Due to Maledictum Insania, there is a fragment of Nightmare Moon in every pony that lives in Equestria, as you know. It is due to that fragment that ponies are able to grow insane.

“The more a pony falls to insanity, the stronger the negative forces in the pony become, slowly forming a demon out of the fragment of Nightmare Moon. Some ponies can be saved by overcoming the negative forces inside them. But for most, once this process started, it can not be stopped anymore.

“A demon stays bound to the pony it rests inside until the moment it completely surrendered to its negative side. If the pony is reaped while it is still struggling with the demon inside it, the demon will be completely destroyed, too. Like when you break an unhatched egg. But when the last barriers around the pony’s soul shatter, the demon consumes the soul and therefore becomes material.

“Once that happened, the reaper scythe is no longer enough to defeat a demon, as they do not have any life force or a soul on their own. A reaper has to consume the demon to break it apart and add its powers to his own,” he revealed.

The six mares were terrified. It all made sense now. Especially for Twilight, since she was present when Moondancer died and Despair was born. The years she had to fight her feelings for Twilight and the desperate search for her robbed Moondancer of all her mental strength.

“B-but we have to save Moondancer’s soul! We got to do something!” she shouted.

Celestia and Obsidian were silent and slowly shook their heads.

“There is nothing we can do for Moondancer anymore. It is far too late already. The demon consumed her soul and broke free. She is lost and will never be able to experience rest,” Obsidian explained.

Twilight collapsed on her haunches as she heard this. An unbearable feeling of guilt overwhelmed her and she began to cry.

“This is my fault. I broke her heart and that is why she grew insane!” she spoke. Her friends embraced her immediately, trying to comfort her.

“No, Twilight Sparkle. Don’t start thinking like that. If there is anyone to blame for this, it is Nightmare Moon. Without her fragment, Moondancer would have never been able to grow insane,” Princess Celestia explained, trying to cheer up her star student.

Again, silence filled the courtroom for a few moments, as they all processed the recent events.

“But... what do we do now?” Rarity wondered.

“I don’t know. I will have to clean up the chaos the new demon has caused and try to cover it up somehow... but how am I going to explain this? Especially to Luna?” Princess Celestia replied.

“Explain what, sister?” another voice spoke, coming from the door.

The Princess of the Night entered the courtroom.

“Luna!” Celestia exclaimed in surprise and shock.

“Our guests are uneasy and we are greatly bewildered about what hath just happened. So we were wondering what might be going on... Wait. Who is this? Another alicorn?!” Princess Luna wondered in surprise at the sight of the black stallion with the curved horn and the bat wings.

Once again, it became silent for a moment, as Celestia tried to think of an explanation.

“No, Luna. He is-” she started, but suddenly became interrupted by Twilight.

“He is a reaper!” she shouted out loudly.

“Twilight!” Celestia exclaimed in shock.

“Forgivest me?” Luna asked.

“Princess Celestia. I can’t let you punish Obsidian. He did nothing wrong! If it wasn’t for him, who knows how many ponies would have died tonight!” Twilight shouted.

“Twilight, I-” Princess Celestia started anew, but got interrupted again.

“This covering and hiding has to end, Princess! If not towards all of pony-kind, then at least towards your sister! Reapers have changed since you command them! You should know that better than anypony else! I alone owe Obsidian a lot for saving my life twice so far! He has done so much for us and now, you want to punish him for that? Reaper-kind deserves to be treated much better! Please, Celestia,” the purple mare insisted.

The demi-goddess of the sun had to think about this. She stared at Obsidian, who bowed down before her. Luna just stood there in great confusion.

“You are right, Twilight Sparkle. I think I was too strict and unforgiving towards the reapers all the time. Obsidian. I hereby declare your execution for void,” Princess Celestia announced.

The reaper looked up, apparently surprised. Did Twilight just... save his life? Celestia then turned towards her sister.

“Luna... there is a lot I need to explain and it will not be easy. Everypony, please leave us alone for a while. Thank you for everything,” she stated.

The keepers of harmony and the reaper then left the courtroom and went back to the ballroom.

---

While it was unclear how the night would end in Canterlot, it was very peaceful in Ponyville. Spike was asleep for hours now when he suddenly got woken up by noises coming from downstairs.

“Oh, Owloysius. I’m trying to sleep,” he mumbled.

It sounded like books were falling down the shelves. One by one. Spike forced himself out of his bed and walked down the stairs, very sleepy. There was a pony in the dark, scanning through the books. The silhouette was familiar to him.

“Twilight? You’re back already? What are you doing in the dark?” he asked.

The creature did not reply. It just turned around to the baby dragon and stared at him with evil, glowing red eyes. He became scared and backed away.

“Spike,” the demon said in Twilight's voice, grinning at him while coming closer.