It was not hard for Luna to do any of this, it was not difficult at all. A simple wave of her horn and she can turn anypony's dreams into a spiralling nightmare. Luna stood proud and true inside the Nexus. The plane where all dreams exist and nopony else does, other than Luna and a handful of others that can control its waves. Luna took it to heart knowing that most of her ponies slept well and soundly, none having a dark nightmare.

Slowly but surely she was on the right path of regaining the trust of her faithful ponies. Some staying up late to look at Luna's nights. a spectacle that nopony had seen for a millennium. There was a lot more to bringing forth the night than just raising and lowering the moon, it is not like the sun. The sun warms and burns like a torch in a void of eternal darkness, all it does is burn eternally. While the moon reflects the suns brilliant rays, healing the land with its pale light and soothing the boiled earth. This was the spoils of the moon and stars, while Luna had no particular control over stars she could change a star's brightness and how far from Equus it really is.

Luna sighed as she remembered all the lessons that her father, Nox, had taught her. All those days and nights Luna had spent just to gain control of her source of mana. She knew her destiny and she will always remember that night where her father will tell her something that always resonated with Luna.

"You will always be the sun's shadow. You will always know that Celestia's sun will burn brighter than your moon ever will. You will always want to have a brighter light than her, but you will always know that it can never be as bright. But know that your moon is not alone, your moon is accompanied by billions and billions of allies and friends. Remember this Lulu, when your heart is darkest. You will always have stars to guide you."

That memory alone was the reason Luna was alive that day, that memory alone. If the path that she lead down went any longer and she did not have that memory then she would be nothing that day. She would be long dead. Nightmare Moon not only corrupts but she is sure to remove the former possessed mind. Her mind did not stay on this path, as it drifted back to her father. Her father had always been so wise and so caring of Luna and her sister. Nox was always kind and generous to others, despite his inheritance. But Luna had seen the truth long ago, he went down the same path that she did a long time ago. He was the nightmare before her. The things that he wished upon the ponies of Equestria were too dark and too terrible for a mortal or a goddess as young as she, to even begin to understand. Nox had warned her of the consequences she would get from listening to the dark stars and accepting their offer.

Luna shot her head up in attention, her eyes large and scanning the waves of the Nexus. She felt something rise in power and something spike through the roof. She moved her gaze over the spectral waves and saw a strand of one that was glowing a bright fiery orange. Luna stood up on her hind hooves and held her hooves out, the strand hovering over towards her. Luna scanned the strand up and down and with horror in her tone she whispered, "That's impossible..."

Luna choked back a lump as she heard a dark ominous feminine voice erupt the peace of the Nexus, You very well know that you cannot be rid of nightmares, Princess Luna.

That voice was all so familiar and caused Luna to crawl in her own skin. It was impossible, Luna saw with her own...

Your eyes deceived you, princess. You know the trials and tribulation of being rid of an immortal goddess. We are not easy to kill...

Luna felt her hooves start to warm up and the strand slowly rose in heat and it became white hot. Luna screamed as she could not get her hooves off of the dream strand. Her hooves burned and singed to the dream strand. She fell to her knees and cried out, her mind being forced into the strand. Her conscience ripped away from her and pushed into the strand.

Ten thousand years is a long time, princess of the night...still all too long in the eyes of an immortal...it is enough time to gather power and wait for the right time to ask the stars for escape.

No...they would never assist the likes of you... Luna hissed back.

But they helped you with your escape, Nightmare Moon...why would I be any different? The stars were given form so that they can even the balance...and I am here to break the balance...your stars are now nothing more than spinning balls of ash and dust.

No...It could not be true. The stars were...Luna sensed with every fibre of her being to try and sense the stars but felt only emptiness and void where the stars should have been. All those stars...gone...all those sources of power...destroyed. Luna fought back tears as she felt her mind vibrate and reverberate that corrupted voice throughout her mind,

Now you will see your precious Equestria reborn in the flames of my vengeance...

Luna shook her head violently and attempted to free herself from the magical reign that she had a hold of. Luna strained and used her magic over the Nexus to try and pull herself away from her but only succeeded at having a ripping sensation in her mind, feeling as though her mind was splitting itself apart. To make things worse, the heat and fire increased and steadily rose in speed. The white hot tongues that once only consumed her were now spreading out and wished to consume everything in its path. Luna's vision and conscious was still being pulled away from her and her vision spiralled into darkness as she was fully pulled away from the Nexus. Screaming as the flames shot her forth into pitch darkness, consuming her flesh and part of her soul. Screaming as she went sailing into the darkness.

"AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!"

Luna screamed as she went sailing through blackness and opening her eyes, filled with the same heat and color as the tongues of flames that were attached to her. She watched as she saw a large orb of blue and green come screeching towards her...no, her towards it. The heat and flames intensified as she pierced through the veil that protected the planet. Even though Luna pushed with all of her magic from the magic fire from completely devouring her flesh, it still stung as it burned on her immortal skin.

Luna flinched as she shot through the sky and was now falling towards the planet. Luna's heart and soul sunk as she looked and what she saw she could not describe purely in words other than...

...Everything was burning...the countryside, the country, Equestria, Griffonia...everything...it was all burning into nothing but ash and dust. Luna strained her muscles and tried to fly or open her wings, anything to help lessen the impact. Nothing. Luna closed her eyes as she braced for the heavy impact. She clenched every fiery muscle as she slammed into the burning earth.

Everything hurt, she did not skid nor did she skip over the earth of Equus. She only slammed into. Every immortal bone in her body ached and pained. She struggled to her hooves, stepping hard on the charred debris that she once called her home. She looked around and everything was black and charred. Covered in soot and ash. The sky black and choked the life of the planet with its black smoke. Orange embers billowed ominously on the wind and rose and fall with no real purpose. The fires that wanted to consume her subsided, shrinking away leaving only smoke to billow off of her. Scorch marks filling all over her, patches of black on her midnight coat. Dust and ash gathering on her burned fur and skin, causing her to groan in pain. Luna struggled to support herself on her hooves and felt tears tear passed her eyes as she shouted, "Ailana! Enough of this madness! I...I do not want to see anymore..."

Her voice trailed off as she felt an influx of magic and knew who it would be to stand in front of her. Luna fluttered her ashen eyes open and looked up, despite her tightening muscles. A tall thin mare as pale as the snow, her mane and tail pure fire given the form of such mortal confides of beauty. Pale wings folded onto her and a long horn protruding from her head. Then there was the eyes. Smoke and ash billowing out of the corners and embers following close behind and finally evaporating into nothingness. Her eyebrows crooked and staring down angrily at Luna. This was Ailana, the Shepherd of Fire. Her cutie mark a yellow star being consumed by fire. Telling very well what she was good at.

Ailana growled, "You want me to stop? You want me to show mercy!? You want me to CEASE!"

Ailana took one of her hooves and gripped it hard around Luna's throat, choking her and raising her in the air. Luna struggled to try and break the strong grip around her throat to even give the slightest chance of opening her airways. But could not. Ailana shouted, "Where was mercy when you and your whore sister fought ME!!! When you and your sister thought you would try and stop me! I was never shown mercy, why should I give it?"

She stretched out her other hoof and said, "Look around you Luna. The ashes around you...that empty feeling inside...that is what I felt when you imprisoned me in that star...And now I am going to reduce Equestria to ashes because of you and your bitch sister! Be ready to fight ...your friendships will not save you from my fires!"

Luna strained and choked out, "But...you cannot live on Equestria without...a vessel?"

Ailana gave a cruel smile as she said, "You are smarter than you look Luna...yes you are correct...now I want you to think hard...who is the strongest wielder of magic on Equestria at this very moment?"

LUna thought for a minute or two. Who was the strongest wielder of magic on Equestria? Usually she would answer with Starswirl but he was long dead. She could not answer with Discord considering that Chaos could not be measured in power. Who...

"No..."

Ailana kept her cruel smile and said, "Yes...with the right push I can take over her mind and my mission complete...prepare for an upheaval, princess."

Ailana took Luna and smashed her head against the ground. Her conscious forcing back into her body.

Luna shot her head up in her bed and shouted, "Twilight!"