1055 AD, February 13th

Shadow’s ears perked up as he heard the faint jingle of keys.

Eyes glowing bright with excitement, he hopped down from the couch and raced over to the front door, claws click-clacking on the linoleum floor. He made it in time to see the front door opening.

Nightmare Moon entered with a sour expression.

Sensing her mood, Shadow whined and ducked his head, though was pleasantly surprised when she paused long enough to offer a small smile and scratch his head.

It didn’t last long; she frowned once more and shut the front door with more force than necessary, but that single pet told Shadow that at least she wasn’t angry with him. Reassured, he followed his master as she climbed the stairs to the second floor of her home.

As she usually did when she came home, Nightmare Moon entered her office. However, instead of sitting at her desk to work, she moved aside a two file cabinets side-by-side. With a flare of magic, she took hold of and pulled out a square section of the wall that had been carved out.

Shadow sat on his haunches, cocking his head curiously as his master reached into the hollow space in the wall and dragged out a large burlap sack, covered in dust and plaster.

Nightmare Moon pulled out several objects from the sack. Shadow didn’t know what they were for, but they gave out the same tingling sensation he only got whenever his master or other unicorns used magic. It put him on edge by a minute amount, but he felt safe with his master there; she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.

He watched as small, hoof-sized canisters were laid out on Nightmare Moon’s desk, vaguely resembling the cans his master’s friend drank from. There were small indentations in the top; he didn’t know what for.

The next thing Nightmare Moon pulled out were the shiny rocks that emitted light. The tingling he got from them was the strongest, but they didn’t seem dangerous; his master had temporarily placed one within his chest a few moons ago and it – though a bit uncomfortable – ultimately did nothing.

Next were little trinkets that often adorned the mares he saw strutting about like they were trying to attract mates, but then getting angry when their attempts were successful. They had shiny rocks embedded in them, but they gave off the same tingling; it wasn’t as strong though, and they didn’t glow either.

After that came the metal fur.

Whenever her master shed her skin, she was always clad in pieces of metal, until one day, she removed the metal and hid it away. This was the first time in many moons Shadow had seen the pieces again.

He watched as Nightmare Moon did just that; she shed her skin, becoming physically larger and sprouting huge, feathered wings. He liked it when she did that because it usually meant they would go out to the woods and run around.

Nightmare Moon did not tell him ‘train’ or ‘hold’ though, but instead started attaching the metal to her body. It was like they had a mind of their own; each piece clasped onto her body, seemingly twisting and stretching to fit her perfectly. With every piece that set into place, a low hum of energy passed over the gleaming surfaces, causing them to almost glow with barely supressed power.

Shadow’s tail thumped against the carpet and he started panting; he really wanted to go romp around in the woods.

His master craned her neck about to examine herself, a toothy smile spreading across her face as she gave a huge stretch.

“Yes, this should suffice…”

His master had a habit of talking to herself. Shadow wondered if it was similar to how he liked hearing himself howl when the moon was full.

Nightmare Moon turned to trot towards the door, but suddenly halted and turned her head towards the wall. Shadow followed her gaze, but was disappointed to find that it wasn’t because of a rogue squirrel.

It was just those pictures of his master’s pack mates.

One was of the slender mare called Fleur; she looked towards the camera and struck a pose while smiling seductively. Nightmare Moon was in the back, her eyes in the middle of rolling.

One was of Fleur’s mate, Fancypants; he and Nightmare Moon both stared with raised eyebrows at a pink mare he did not recognize. Whoever the pink mare was, she had the impressive ability to unhinge her jaw and swallow an entire cake. Shadow wished he could do that and not have to require his master to connect his mouth afterwards.

Another was of Fleur, Fancypants, the grey mare that accompanied his master’s closest pack mate, and Nightmare Moon; they all stood amongst a dancing crowd. If Shadow strained his memory, he could remember strange bug creatures that didn’t taste very good on that same day. Fleur and Fancypants were in the middle of a tango, Octavia was balanced on her hind legs with her hooves in the air, and Nightmare Moon was nodding her head to the beat.

However, it seemed his master took particular interest in one framed photo.

It was the one where Nightmare Moon and Vinyl were side-by-side, baring their teeth like they were warding off rivals, if only their body language wasn’t relaxed. It was also one of the rare times his master looked genuinely happy, without the usual underlying of malevolence behind it.

Shadow gave a short huff of confusion as he sensed Nightmare Moon’s confliction. A few seconds ago, she was primed to hunt, but now her body language suggested some other mood entirely.

It was all so frustrating! Were they going out to play or not?

Despite Shadow’s impatience, he kept quiet and remained seated on his haunches; his master was the Alpha because she was the strongest, so was worthy of his respect and loyalty, not insubordination.

Thankfully, she turned away from the pictures with a shake of her head, and headed towards the door. Her every movement carried energy that was primed to go off at any moment.

With an excited bark, Shadow leapt to his feet to follow his-

“Guard.”

Shadow whined and flopped down on the floor so quickly, he felt an inner branch break off.

His master was very strange at times.

Nightmare Moon arrived at Hazel Blaze’s business as a cloud of incorporeal purple mist. She weaved her way around the building; practically invisible in the darkness of the night, and looked in through the first and second floor windows.

The first floor windows had ponyequins in fashionable attire on display and beyond them were clothing racks. Sometimes the owner was down here, sorting through her ledger book, but not tonight it seemed.

Rising to the second floor, Nightmare Moon looked in through the windows, and she would have grinned if she had the body for it.
The owner – much like many others – lived in the upper floor above their business; Nightmare Moon spotted a fridge, an oven, a small, round table holding a bowl of fruits, a couch, a TV, and a coffee table bearing a few stains.

Finally, pushed up against a wall, was a single-sized bed, occupied.

Willing herself forwards, Nightmare Moon entered the building, experiencing a brief bout of nausea as she phased through the solid windows. She misted towards the side of the bed and became solid once more.

Hazel Blaze…

She wasn’t what you would expect a leader of a cult that revered Nightmare Moon to look like. For one, her colours were quite warm; her coat was a dull brown but her mane was orange; she looked like she would be right at home in autumn.

‘Still, looks can be deceiving…’

Nightmare Moon lowered her head to the mare’s ear and, with a smirk, whispered, “Hazel…”

Hazel’s ear flicked at the sudden brush of wind and she stirred, rolling over. Her eyelids lazily opened, revealing dark green irises, glazed over with fatigue.

“Hmm…” She swallowed, eyes taking in but not quite registering Nightmare Moon. “Yes?”

Nightmare Moon bared her teeth in a toothy smile. “Hello.”

“Hello…”

“…”

“…”

Hazel’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and gave a frightened and unflattering whinny as she shot up and made the mistake of jolting backwards. Predictably, she tumbled over the edge of the bed and hit the floor with a solid whump.

Nightmare Moon supposed she could have formulated a less… startling way of introducing herself, but she was supposed to be powerful and frightening, was she not?

At any rate, she made a memorable first impression.

Nightmare Moon drew her smile back into a casual smirk, waiting patiently as Hazel slowly poked her head up, eyes wide and bloodshot.

“N-Nightmare… Moon?”

“Lovely night out, hm?”

Hazel stuttered, “Y-you’re… you’re here… in m-my store. Are… are you real or am I dreaming?”

Nightmare Moon hummed in mock-thought for a moment before reaching forwards and rapping her metal-clad hoof against the base of the smaller mare’s horn.

Hazel yelped at the all-too-real pain and shied away, hooves flying up to instinctively protect her horn.

“Does that answer your question?” Nightmare Moon questioned, resting her foreleg back on the ground.

“I-I can’t believe…” Hazel wiped the sleep from her eyes and stood up to slowly come around the bed and towards her, mouth agape with shock and awe. “It is y-you. The Mare in the Moon… the Pony of Shadows… Ruler of the Night…”

“Well, technically that last title is Luna’s, but I do like the other ones.”

“I… I…”

Hazel’s face broke into a huge smile and she quickly fell into a bow so low it was practically a face-plant. Her entire body trembled with nervous excitement.

“I-I’m so… honoured that you’ve appeared before me. I knew you would be back, but… not so soon after the Elements… maybe another thousand years, but…”

Nightmare Moon was thoroughly enjoying the effect she was having on the smaller mare and the praise she was receiving, but she couldn’t help but wonder why Hazel thought she would have come after another thousand years after being struck by the Elements of Harmony.

Tartarus, Nightmare Moon herself didn’t even think she would have survived the Elements the second time around.

‘And the reason I did still eludes me…’

Obviously, the Eclipse had their own ideas about her, and Nightmare Moon was adamant to find out every one.

Fortunately, the most prime source of information was bowing right before her.

“It doesn’t matter, my loyal subject,” Nightmare Moon said dismissively. “I am here now and I am mere inches away from taking my rightful place as ruler of Equestria.”

“Of course, M-Mistress,” Nightmare Moon perked up at that title. “I’m sorry – this is all such a shock to me,” Hazel looked up at the alicorn, still crouched low. “Oh, b-but the Eclipse is at your service, Mistress. I’m the leader – Ebony.”

“Ebony?”

“W-well, Hazel Blaze is my actual name, but… I prefer Ebony,” She quickly hid her face in her forelegs. “Y-you can call me Hazel if you want…”

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes and reached out with her ethereal mane. One smoky tendril snaked under Ebony’s chin to tilt it so round pupils met reptilian ones.

“If you are to be the leader of the Eclipse, then you must act like it. A ruler needs her general, after all.”

“Right, sor… Right, Mistress,” Ebony paused and blinked. “General?”

Perhaps that was stretching it – quite a bit to be honest – as Nightmare Moon took in Ebony’s rather… soft demeanour. Ebony really didn’t look like she was made out of stern stuff, but Nightmare Moon wouldn’t pass judgement just yet; she needed to go deeper, see for herself if the mare had what was needed to be an effective general.

“There will be a battle,” Nightmare Moon said bluntly. “One which will shake Canterlot to its core. Us… against the princesses. You shall by the general of my army.”

“Oh…” Ebony balked, but to her credit, did not completely freak out. “I… I’m willing to follow you and I’m certain the others will, too… but there’re only five of us.”

Nightmare Moon didn’t think there would be many in a cult dedicated to her – as much as it stung her pride to admit so – but five was actually better than she was expecting.

Of course, five regular ponies couldn’t go against the entire Royal Guard, but they didn’t have to.

The Royal Guard was like a chicken; cut off the head – the head in this case being the princesses – and the body would run around in a blind panic. However, Nightmare Moon also had to contend with other factors that were detrimental to her coup.

Discord may have still been somewhat of a wild card despite having been ‘reformed’, but she wasn’t going to take a chance on him having a convenient relapse that would make the coup proceed more smoothly.

Besides, there was no way in Tartarus she’d share power with him.

The Elements of Harmony and their bearers were something she’d have to make a plan for at a later date. For now, she had several ideas, the majority of them playing on the fact that the mares all had loved ones that could easily be exploited.

For now though, she’d concentrate on giving her new followers the means to battle the Royal Guard on somewhat equal grounds.

Apparently taking her silence negatively, Ebony quickly said, “Although, Fade and Veil are good flyers. Haze can pull a few strings to-”

“Never mind that,” Nightmare Moon cut the sentence short with a wave of her hoof. “I have a way of evening the odds.”

“You do?”

“Yes. However, I require your cooperation.”

“Anything, Mistress.”

“Good,” Nightmare Moon smirked. “Then you have no problem with me entering your body and rearranging a few things?”

“Of course no-ahh…” Ebony recoiled with wide eyes. “P-pardon?”

“I can make you stronger, faster, and more powerful than you’ve ever dreamed of being. The equivalent of several unicorns stored in one body – your body,” Nightmare Moon leaned down, so she and Ebony were eye-to-eye. “All you need to do is let me in.”

“I…” Ebony frowned, suddenly unsure and frightened. “I don’t…”

“I thought you were a loyal follower,” Nightmare Moon sighed, her stare quickly becoming cold. “I thought you wished to serve me.”

“I-I do! I do, Mistress!” Ebony protested. “It’s just… W-will it hurt?”

“From what I can tell, yes,” The mouse Nightmare Moon experimented on had erratic and simplistic thoughts, but she was able to recognize whenever it was in pain. “My entire essence – my life-force – is going to take over and manipulate every cell in your body. Temporarily, of course.”

“Oh…” The mare gulped. “But… you’ll make me stronger?”

“Yes.”

She paused. “And then what happens after you… do the thing?”

“Then I’ll leave,” Nightmare Moon lit up her horn momentarily with the smallest fraction of her power. “Easy as that.”

Ebony bit her lower lip. “So much is happening right now… but I… I wish to serve you, Mistress, so…” She inhaled and closed her eyes. She held it in for a few moments before exhaling and opening her eyes. There was a steely glint in them. “I’ll do it. I’m ready.”

Pleased by the answer and courage, Nightmare Moon nodded and said, “Good. Then lie down,” She knelt into a comfortable position; belly flat on the floor and legs curled beneath her. “And relax.”

Ebony copied her position, tense with nervous anticipation. Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and focused.

She reached out with her mind and touched her inner pool of magic, feeling it crackle and pop in response.

‘Focus… focus…’

Nightmare Moon’s concentration remained steady as she picked up Ebony’s breathing.

‘Focus and become that which is lighter than air, become that which light cannot see…’

Gradually, the hardness of the floor against her legs faded, and the urge to breathe became less significant.

‘Become what you always were…’

Nightmare Moon felt herself rising.

‘Now open our eyes and see what you are.’

Regaining sight, Nightmare Moon looked down to see if her physical body was intact. It was, so she turned her attention to Ebony.

Surrounding the smaller mare’s body was an aura of crimson light; it coiled and flowed, tendrils lazily flicking at empty air. At the core of her body floated a small orb of pristine whiteness, like a miniature sun.

Nightmare Moon didn’t know for certain if this orb that resided within every creature – great or small – was truly the soul.

What she did know was that playing around with it led to interesting changes and that she herself did not have one.

Wasting no time, Nightmare Moon willed herself forwards, and reached out to touch the aura.

Ebony gave a sharp gasp and her aura recoiled from the initial contact. The vibrations of Ebony’s movements and the way her aura shuddered, sending out impulses of fear, made Nightmare Moon’s predatory instincts flare. She stopped herself from pouncing though; a forced possession would have nasty long-term effects.

Waiting until Ebony had calmed somewhat, Nightmare Moon made contact again; it was a lighter touch, and it allowed Ebony to get used to the sensation. Nightmare Moon moved again and her non-existent nostrils flared in delight as she tasted the aura – it was strong and heady; Ebony had some potent magical potential.

Inch by inch, Nightmare Moon wrapped herself tighter around Ebony, choking the crimson aura. She could feel Ebony whimpering, struggling to remain calm. Realizing she was seconds away from having a complete freak-out, Nightmare Moon did what she never bothered to do for anypony else.

She stole her way into Ebony’s mind and communicated with her.

‘Calm yourself – it will be over soon.’

The reassurance helped a little, but it wasn’t until Nightmare Moon dug around in the unicorn’s mind and drowned her in happy memories while simultaneously stimulating several nerves to cause an over-production of endorphins and adrenaline. Within seconds, Ebony was in a state of complete serenity.

‘Now, let’s see what you have for me…’

Nightmare Moon stabbed her claws deep into Ebony’s mind.

‘You… were born on November 4th… 1030 AD. You’re not from here, are you? Where then? Ah, Little Plains Drop – the village that was tragically laid to waste by changelings in 1047 AD. You’re fortunate that you left when you were sixteen; a rather young age. Hm…’

She shifted the claws deeper, eagerly absorbing the memories that bled out.

‘Well now…’

Somewhere far away, Ebony twitched and moaned in distress.

‘… That explains why you would choose to join a cult devoted to me. What a bitter past you have. Well, no matter; you’ll find your place with me.’

Having gone off-track due to her curiosity, Nightmare Moon oriented herself, and sought out information about the Eclipse.

‘Hmph, speculation mostly. No matter…’

Extracting her claws, Nightmare Moon turned to behold the shimmering orb. It had a much stronger presence than the mouse she had experimented with and so much more power. She gave it a firm prod, relishing in the way her own essence caused it to vibrate.

‘Yesss…’

Nightmare Moon surrounded the orb, her mind filled with images of teeth, claws, and spikes. She watched as the orb vibrated, as if struggling with all its might to try and get away from her. She could even feel Ebony sluggishly trying to take back control of her body.
It was too late however, Nightmare Moon was in control.

‘And one... two… three…’

She fell upon the orb.

Ebony shrieked and started thrashing against the invisible chains holding her in place.

‘Oh Faust, what’s going on?! I can’t move! What is this, what is this?’

‘Steel yourself – it is far from over.’

Nightmare Moon bled into Ebony’s aura, changing it, enhancing it. She reached out and moulded the cells and nerves of her horn, making them more robust and conductive. The mare’s pool of magic – transformed into a maelstrom in its host’s panic – was treated to a sample of Nightmare Moon’s essence.

She started working on the body; reinforcing the bones, packing the muscles, and hardening the skin. Despite Nightmare Moon’s precision and care, one of Ebony’s ribs broke from the sudden strength of her diaphragm muscles, and it pushed against the skin grotesquely.

‘N-no, stop! Please! It hurts!’

‘A minor miscalculation; bear with me, will you?’

Nightmare Moon guided Ebony’s body into pushing the rib back into place so it could heal correctly. That done, she left the body in that position, and stabbed deep into Ebony’s mind to start the more complex work.

It was fortunate she had thought to practise beforehoof otherwise Ebony would have been a complete mess of quivering, twisted flesh.

‘Gyaagh!’

‘Ah, there’s your amygdala. I got a bit turned around for a moment.’

Fortunately for Ebony, Nightmare Moon finished up shortly thereafter, and gave her body one last jolt of magic before leaving. Ebony’s aura was more than happy to see her gone.

Nightmare Moon returned to her body, the speed no longer sickening, and opened her eyes. Shaking her head a bit, she languidly stretched, and looked at her work with pride.

‘I’ve still got it.’

Ebony had undergone a rather drastic change.

No longer was her coat brown but a light grey and her mane had darkened to a blood-red tint with black highlights. Her previously stubby horn was a few millimetres longer and tapered off to a sharp point, red sparks of magic spitting from the tip. She was physically larger as well, though not to the same degree as Nightmare Moon’s ‘Star Secret’ persona.

“Unngh…” Ebony groaned in pain and rose to meet Nightmare Moon’s eyes, revealing emerald irises with cat-like pupils. “Did…” Ebony wiped her face. “Did it work?”

“See for yourself.”

Nightmare Moon stretched out her hoof.

Ebony stared blankly for a moment before realizing the greaves covering the leg were polished to a mirror-like sheen. Stretching her neck forwards for a better look, Ebony’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she caught her reflection.

“I-I… I’m… different. I feel…” Ebony sat back on her haunches and ran a shaking foreleg down the soft fur on her belly. “That was so… painful, but now I… I’m…” She inhaled sharply and her horn lit up; scarlet red energy swirled around the protrusion. “I feel amazing; like I can do anything! This power…”

Bemused, Nightmare Moon lowered her leg and watched as red coronas surrounded nearby furniture.

Ebony let out a breathy chuckle and closed her eyes as her horn shone brighter and the crimson magic enshrouded her body, lifting her into the air along with the furniture. She giggled and spread out her forelegs theatrically, raising her horn to the ceiling as the tip continued to shine, brighter and brighter before-

“Ahem.”

All magic ceased as Ebony’s eyes shot open and she looked at Nightmare Moon, apparently surprised. She blinked, looked down, and then back up.

“Uh-oh…”

She fell.

Nightmare Moon winced at the impact. “Yes, let’s not get drunk on power just yet, hm?”

Ebony groaned and got back on her feet, smiling sheepishly. “Y-yes, of course, Mistress. I was just… Thank you for this gift. I feel so powerful.”

“And you need skill to wield that power,” Nightmare Moon rose, towering over the other mare. “I will train you how to use it, to become a great force to flatten my opponents. Gather the rest of the Eclipse, so that I may bestow the same gift to them. In the meantime, wear this.”

From a recess in her armor, Nightmare Moon pulled out a silver-chain necklace attached to a dazzling ruby.

“It is enchanted; so long as you wear it, you will appear as you once were,” Her gaze hardened as Ebony reached out to take it. “So don’t lose it.”

Ebony nodded. “I won’t.”

“Then until next we meet, Ebony,” Nightmare Moon’s body dissolved into purple mist, starting from her tail to her head. Just before her face vanished, her eyes shone menacingly. “I have taken great risks in including you and the Eclipse. Do not make me regret it.”

Ebony shuddered in fear and awe, but her eyes spoke of confidence as she replied, “I won’t, Mistress. I am your loyal subject.”

Nightmare Moon did not have a mouth to curl into a grin nor the lungs to let out a hearty cackle, but her glee was all too tangible as she misted out of Ebony’s home and into the night.

‘Yes… I think she will make a good general…’

Canterlot was in for a very big surprise.

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Nightmare Moon does not trust easily; she may have given Ebony great power, but if she detects even the slightest hint of a betrayal, she can take it all away and more in the blink of an eye.

Note 2: In memory of the mouse that Nightmare Moon bought from the pet store - he shall not be forgotten.