As the initial shock began to wear off, the ponies gathered began whispering among themselves. What was going on? Where was Princess Celestia?

"Remain calm everypony," the mayor stated. "There must be a reasonable explanation."

"Ooh, ooh," Pinkie squealed, "I love guessing games. Is she hiding?"

Up on the balcony, Rarity came toward the banister after looking around.

"She's gone."

This announcement caused a collective gasp from most of the ponies.

"Ooh, she's good," Pinkie announced, now making Shining Armor seriously question the mare's grasp on reality. The pink pony suddenly let out a shocked cry, followed by another round of gasps and drawing the stallion's attention back to the balcony.

A strange blue cloud full of twinkling star-like sparkles of light started to appear. The strange cloud grew larger, swelling and shifting as it twisted and roiled. Then it suddenly dispersed.

Standing where the cloud had been was a figure. It had to be twice as tall as the average pony, and looked to be a mare. She had both a unicorn's horn and pegasus wings, which she flapped and spread out wide. The form was a midnight black in color, with dark blue on a chest plate and helmet she wore. Her flank was the color of the night sky. It and her chest plate were both marked by a glowing blue crescent moon. She had no visible mane or tail. Instead, the cloud of shimmering blue made an ethereal version. Strangest of all were her eyes. They were a deep teal in color, with a lighter shade where the white should have been. Instead of round pupils like a normal pony, she had vertical slits similar to a cat. The appearance made them look draconic.

"Oh, my beloved subjects," the black mare said. Her voice was deep for a female, but soft and velvety. In a different situation, it would be powerfully charismatic. "It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." The way she emphasized the s in sun sounded like a snake's hiss and the f of faces like she was spitting venom.

"What did you do with our princess?" Rainbow Dash shouted. Her lowered brows and bared teeth made it look like she was snarling at the intruder. The rainbow-maned pegasus tried to take off and attack the black alicorn, only to be stopped by Applejack holding tightly to the multicolored tail.

The black mare in blue armor let out a chuckle that turned into a rolling, seductive laugh.

"Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Ooh, ooh," Pinkie squealed, "more guessing games. Uhm... Hokey Smoke. How 'bout... Queen Meanie? No. Black Beauty Black Beauty." She finally stopped talking as an apple was shoved into her mouth.

The large black mare moved, looming over Fluttershy, who cringed, and causing the birds to fly away.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I've been imprisoned for a thousand years?"

The black mare moved from the cowering pegasus to Rarity, rubbing the unicorn's chin with the ethereal mane.

"Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

"I did," Twilight spoke up, nearly shouting, "and I know who you are. You're the mare in the moon. Nightmare Moon." This announcement brought another round of grasps from the gathered ponies.

"Well well well," Nightmare Moon said, "Somepony who remembers me. And a filly no less. Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to..." Twilight's courage started to falter " to..." She was unable to say more. Her body crouched down, her legs shaking at the knees slightly. A shriek escaped the filly as she was encompassed in Nightmare Moon's ethereal blue magic.

"Perhaps I should take you with me," the black alicorn said as she lifted Twilight up toward her. "A chance to be a herald and my personal student. The first to serve me and to receive the best of it."

Twilight said nothing. Instead she pulled herself as small and tight as she could. The filly trembled with fear, lip quivering and tears started leaking from her eyes.

A bubble of pink energy burst out from around Twilight, dispersing the magic of Nightmare Moon and pulling the filly free and levitating her away from the wicked mare.

"What?" Nightmare Moon cried out in shock. "Who dares?"

"I don't care who you are!" Shining Armor shouted as he stepped forward. "You do not touch my sister!" His horn glowed with magic as he levitated Twilight away from Nightmare Moon as set her down by Applejack.

"Insolent foal!" Nightmare Moon snarled, showing her fangs at the stallion. "You dare to think you have the power to defeat me? Or that you know what is best for your sister? I could give her opportunities you could never even dream of. The chance to be something great in her own right. Not something that can never measure up to you. Not a pony that is forever stuck in my sister's shadow!"

"Your sister?" Shining Armor repeated, thrown off by the statement.

Nightmare Moon look like she had been slapped. The snarl of anger vanished as she snapped her head back, eyes growing wide. For a second, Shining thought they looked different. The mare closed her eyes, giving her head a shake as she brought a hoof up to the side of it. Whatever happened passed and the look of a predator returned as she glared at them all.

"Keep your sister," she stated, "It matters not." Her voice grew louder. "Remember this day, ponies! For it shall be your last! From this moment forward, the night will last... Forever!" Once again she began to chuckle, and once again it turned into a full, rolling laugh. As she did, the ethereal blue energy grew above her, stretching all the way up to the ceiling. From it came flashes of lightning and booms of thunder.

"Seize her!" the mayor ordered. "Only she knows where the princess is." At the order, three pegasus guards took to the air, flying directly toward Nightmare Moon.

"Stand back you foals!" Nightmare Moon shouted. Her eyes glowed the color of moon light as lightning flashed between her and the guards, stopping them where they hovered before knocking them back. Laughing, the mare turned into the ethereal blue cloud and shot toward the door. The ponies moved out of her way as she made her escape.

"Come back here!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she got free of Applejack and chased the cloud outside. She stopped as she watched it escaped, floating in mid-air. The pegasus let out a growl of frustration as she watched Nightmare Moon escape. Another shout drew her attention back to the town hall.

"Twilight!" Shining Armor called out as he watched his sister run out the doors. Using his magic, he grabbed Spike and chased after the fleeing filly. Catching up, the two of them continued to run as fast as they could back to the library.