“Welcome back, my child.” The voice spoke to me softly, as it always did. I loved to listen. We would spend hours upon hours just talking, but nothing was more tranquil than allowing it to please my ears. I looked down, shuffling my hooves over the soft grass underneath. My head lifted upwards, admiring the star-blanketed sky. I had seen it a million times, but that did not alter my glee. It was just like how it was at home.

“The night is as intoxicating as your coat, my child.” I giggled. “Such perfection, just like this realm of which we exist. Your beautifully enthralling mane flows through the night with such grace; look, even the stars mimic your beauty.” I tilted my head above, adoring the sea-like motion of the twinkling lights overhead.

“There is but one problem,” the voice reminded me. I did not divert my attention from the sky, but my elation vanished.

“Are you ready to try again?” After much thought, I nodded. It was too soon I thought, but the voice always knew best. It would lead me on our other adventures… It never steered me wrong, and tonight, I would not doubt it. The past few nights have been different. I used to just enjoy the simple fun we both shared at this hour, galloping among the glorious glow of the heavens. Recently though, that fun has been replaced. It’s trying to find something, and I want to help. I am afraid of the change, but I will do what I must to get what I want.

“Follow me,” it said. The constellations became my light. Pressed firmly against the sky, the yellow moon cast a hazy glow upon the ground I trotted on.

“Over the gates again, my child. Be quick, the enemy will soon be upon us.” I stared upward, scowling at the radiating chains that dared to restrain my heaven. I was initially powerless against them and the glowing beings, but through the aid of the voice, I would always manage.

I soared over the barbed chains, memorizing exactly the route I had used before. My eyes scanned the ground below, where a few stray feathers lay.

“We learn from our mistakes,” the voice comforted me as it spoke. “Tonight we shall meet our goal.” My hooves rested gently on the other side of the fence. The light from behind cast my shadow upon the floor. It loomed ominously over the cracked earth, forcing me to shut my eyes.

“Do not be ashamed…” I cracked a peek. “This is not your fault, it is hers,” it said. My eyes lifted from the floor, locking onto the foul creature ahead of me. She stood stalwart, defiant in nature, and strong. Once more, I had overcome the pitiful defense around the door. She no longer worried over the glowing chain fence. Lately, her concentration has been on the dusty earth and the door behind her.

“Her defense is waning, yet our power waxes,” the voice revealed. Use the night child, and break your barriers down.” I examined the sky again, making note of the four moons in the air, each as dark as the deepest black. They were only visible against the violet sky, now riddled with murky cloud and listless appeal. Those few bright dots that did penetrate the blanket colored the air red. I was angry. This creature was to blame for this deface.

I charged, stirring up a cloud of dirt as my hooves further desecrated the land below me. I could tell the figure was upset, and she released a bright light from her horn. Will-o-wisps of light danced over the floor, giving birth to shining birds of beauty. Had it not been for their hostility, I would have admired the creatures.

“I will protect you, my child. Remember, you are more cunning than she is.” My resolve did not weaken. The first moment I had laid eyes upon the shimmering beast before me I could not stand in its glory. Now, all of that splendor faded. The voice was right, my power does rise with the night.

One of the creatures screeched into the air, halting my charge. Two more dove from the sky, aiming at my body.

“If you are hit, you will be returned home. Do you remember how to use your magic?” I removed my hooves from over my ears and summoned the power from within me. My horn began to glow, just as the creature’s did. “Trust in me, my child. You are strong, stronger than her.”

I released, enveloping my body in a surging flash of magic. The blue flames licked at the feathers of my attackers, bringing them to the floor.

Why must you be so stubborn?! The image flashed through my mind. It was distorted thanks to the voice.

“She will try any manner of trickery to deceive you,” it whispered into my ear. “Do not listen, my child.”

Once more, I began the assault. The remaining birds converged, planning to rush me all at once. I repeated the spell from before, burning the fiends within an all consuming blaze.

Tis my right as it is yours! I flinched. I clutched the side of my head, swooning back and forth as the pressure increased.

“Press on, my child. The night has given me the advantage this time,” I heard. Immediately the pain ceased. The glowing creature flared its wings, startled at my sudden recovery no doubt. She was right to be fearful. Tonight I would prevail.

My hooves met the ground at a swifter pace, prompting a similar response from the creature. As I neared, it beat the ground ahead of me with a blinding light. A cage erupted from the ground covered in mirrors, swallowing me up in a single motion. There I waited, waited until the images began to form.

Do not defy me!

Why must it be… I want… vain efforts!

... Selfish…

Guard your heart…

“My child, do not listen. We shall prevail this night.” I bent my head down, covering my ears and shaking my head. She had captured me again, locked me in this infernal chamber and subjected me to these images of pain.

You… know your place!

... Do not… there… darkness…

My mind faltered. I could feel the energy drain from my body as I allowed the milky visions to cloud my head. As my head drooped, so too did my eyelids. Once more she caught me. Once more, I failed.

“I implore you, resist the urge to sleep.” I started awake, pushed to continue by the voice. That sweet voice. “I have defeated this, so shall you.” Slowly I began to rise. I rested my hoof over the reflective surface, and a flood of images poured into my mind. “Break it. Defeat it. Do not listen, my child.” I pressed harder, pushing against the glass that confined me. The images did not stop, but neither would I.

“Break free, break free of the illusion and step into the world as the overcomer.” The last image, a pair of sisters, sitting happily under a large tree. One, fair and gentle, cradling the younger, small, timid, and lost. “That is not you, break free.” I did.

The glass shattered, startling the creature once more.

These dreams… are they frequent? The vision faded. I brushed the feeling off and readied my being. She lay now but a few marks ahead.

Do not… darkness…

“Be wary, your foe is not as skilled, but still dangerous.” I faced her, ready to finally tackle the one who would deny me my heaven; my dream. “You allowed her to invade, my child. It must be you who defeats her now, I cannot help this time.” At that moment, the voice left. I gasped, startled at the realization. Never had it just vanished. No longer could I feel its presence. I was truly alone now.

The radiating creature narrowed its eyes, motioning with its hoof to retreat. I stood defiant, ready to finally overcome this threat. The voice’s words echoed in my mind. I would use my power to overcome; I would use the night.

She charged, blowing forth breaths of fire in my direction. I raised a defense, an ethereal shield to surround me. The flames collided against the transparent wall, gliding over it and harmlessly dispersing in the air. I moved now, firing a beam of magic onto the floor, upsetting the cracked earth below. The figure stumbled, staring at the ground as it began to open up. An unholy smoke billowed from the fissure, releasing a ghastly chain from its depths.

The creature evaded, fleeing to the air by flight. I pursued with my magic, weaving the chain in the air to try and grasp the being. My inability to capture her increased my fury. I raged, digging deeper into myself for the power. Then I remembered, the night. I focused again on her, though I did not rely on my power alone. I welcomed the tingling sensation that stayed stagnant in my chest. This is what the voice instructed me to do. As the sensation overwhelmed me, I could feel the power that came with it. It was glorious.

I fired again at the ground, causing more of an upset than before. The ground trembled under my power, and rightfully so. A forest of chains burst through the ground all around me, invading skyward as the glowing creature avoided the lone chain from before. It looked to its behind, but did not move quick enough to evade the oppressive claw that snatched it from the sky. With one hurl, it brought the creature down in front of me before returning to the depths.

I lifted my forehooves and brought them down hard, shattering the ground below, but the creature was not there. She had managed to recover and sneak behind me, firing three consecutive blasts of magic at my hide. I took each hit, rolling on the floor after she had finished her assault. The magic stung, eating away at the blackarmor that had miraculously appeared over my flank. No, not armor… hair. The magic was eating at my coat!

She looked at me with those empty eyes, infuriating me further. Her expressionless face led me to hate her existence even more. The tingling sensation returned, stronger now, and I allowed it to consume me.

Don’t… Darkness!

Dark… mare...

Nightmare

I charged again. The creature could not counter as my hindhooves collided with her face. Before she could recover, I had again attacked, knocking into her side with my horn. A burst of magic escaped from the tip, repulsing her away from me once more. Like smoke I glided through the air, appearing before she crashed into the floor.

Don’t lose-

I would not. I destroyed the image, preventing it from finishing and slamming my forehooves into the golden mare. She exploded under my body, splitting into millions of tiny glowing dots. I stood still, panting, tired, and oddly cold now.

“You have done well, my child.” I darted my head back and forth. “I am here, I always was.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she stopped me.

“It was a test, to see if thou really wouldst do anything for me,” she said sweetly. I began to cry. “Do not weep, my child. Thou hast done my bidding, and as I promised, we shall rid your world of this unholy blemish.”

The tears would not stop, though I couldn’t understand why I was so upset. The voice simply carried me onward, past the ruined field and up the steps of retreating light. At once, the area was devoid of all shine. The once before beautiful light had been replaced by the eerie hue of the yellowed moons above.

“Open the box, and together we shall blight the land of the thing thou most hate.”

I clutched the object, studying the beautifully graven image of a shadowy mare over the top. Her archaic eye seemed to stare at me, searching through my soul for something. I could have sworn I saw it move. I undid the latch, easing the box open, taking care to not break anything. The moonlight intensified, shining down on the darkness within.

“Thank you, my child.” I suddenly felt ill, my constitution failing as quickly as my balance. I collapsed, spilling the gooey contents of the box all over my body. My mind flashed, and the images from before began to replay. I begged the voice to stop them, to come back and comfort me as it always had before. However, all I could hear was the soft chuckle of a demon as the vibrant colors assaulted my mind.

”Why must you be so stubborn?! Celestia shouted at me. I did not back down.

“Tis my right to be adored as much as it is yours!” I stamped my hoof on the carpet.

“There is no right that we are due, sister,” she said softly. I would not take it. She could try her reasoning and gentleness, but I would not relent tonight.

“Then why parade around during the day, enlightening your subjects while I am forced to endure the night alone? You know not of the feeling of emptiness, I will not lower it!”

“Do not defy me!” Her voice boomed throughout the room. Immediately she ceased, looking to the floor as I stared at her. “I apologize,” she said.

“Thou dost enjoy the glory she receive,” I muttered.

“Why must it be like this, sister?” She trotted over to me, lifting my down head. “I want you to be known, to be loved. However, you cannot find happiness through vain efforts.”

“It says you are selfish,” I added. “I did not want to believe, but you have demonstrated that already.”

“What speaks to you about these matters?”

“The only one who understands my plight,” I bit back. “I welcome it in my sleep, I can only hear it in my dreams.”

“These dreams, they can be dangerous, my sister. Are they frequent?”

“Why would you care? Do not try to change the matter at hand.”

“Guard your heart from this ill will, it seeks to consume you, my sister.” I growled at her. How dare she accuse my companion of such treachery.

“Do not speak about it like that, you do not know of its will, you do not know of its comforting words. It has been more of a sister than you.”

“You know not of what you mess with,” Celestia nagged. “If you are not careful, this being could influence you negatively. Know your place! Do not delve in things you know little about.”

“I do not delve in the works of darkness,” I argued.

“The threat of the Nightmare always looms over the unwary alicorn,” my sister said solemnly. “Don’t lose yourself to her.”

“What have I done?” I struggled to find the breath to finish my thought. The darkness swallowed me, burying my face under the rotten stench of shadow. I did not want this. This was not what I agreed to.

“Be still, I shall do as promised as purge this land of its blemish,” I heard the Nightmare say before it all went black. The large double doors of which the golden mare had been guarding parted. “You will receive all the worship you so desire Luna. Sleep well, and dream happily now, my child.”

Author's Notes:

Sooo.... I realize this idea has been done to death, but I can't call myself a true Fimficcer unless I've done one.
Yeah, conforming to the masses. I just feel bad that I haven't come up with anything "fresh" in a while, so this was my way of trying to kick-start my original ideas...

Verdict? It didn't work...