Luna had a good bit of time before she needed to head to the library. She felt like just hanging out in her room. First thing she felt needed to be taken care of was the bed. After Fearwing's little visit, it was all a mess. The sheets were all ruffled and a pillow was out of place. Not wanting to look like a slob if Celestia stopped by to check in, Luna let her magic do it's thing. With her horn aglow, the sheets straightened themselves out and the pillows were fluffed and perfectly set back.

The alicorn smiled. "Excellent. Although, I'm pretty sure those are just going to get messed up again." She thought for a moment about what to do next. Then it hit her that she hadn't stopped by her mirror in a while. As she made her way to her nightstand, she hummed a little tune that would buzz about her head in a slow moment. It wasn't a real touch up, she just used her magic to pull out her brush and run it through her mane. She was in no sense self centered, but she had to admit, she was beautiful.

Luna found herself admiring her reflection. "Ah, how do I do it? I don't know if it's the sparkle in those teal eyes, or that cute little smile, but I'm simply a treat." Her gaze left the mirror for a glance at something in the corner. "Awww, I almost forgot about you." It was a flower, planted in a uniquely decorated pot of soil. The cryptic images etched in white on the black pot caught the eye, but the real beauty was in the rare flower it held. A blue rose with a black stem. This flower meant a great deal to Luna, although she would only admit it to herself.

She left the stand for a second or two and came back with a small watering can. "There, you like a nice little drink huh?" She heard somewhere that talking to plants helped them grow. She didn't know if that was true, but she liked it because hardly anypony other than her sister dropped by to chat, and of coarse Fearwing would find a way to open the window from outside if he had missed her the night before.

On that thought, she gave a little sigh. The flower brought mixed emotions into her heart, with memories of the night she tried to take over Equestria as Nightmare Moon. She hated herself for all the terrible things that happened, all that she had done to her sister and the ponies. However, one thing kept her from crying, the one thing that made it the best night of her life as well as the worst.

It was well into the eternal night plan. Everything was shrouded in an unnatural darkness from which it would not return, Ponyville was in a panic, and six certain ponies were trying to stop Nightmare Moon. The sinister, self-proclaimed, queen had tried to deal with them at two separate points and had just set up the third. She was becoming increasingly frustrated.

Nightmare Moon, angered by the group's progress, went into a deeper part of the forest to blow off some steam. "Rrrrr, those little pests! A thousand years I spent trapped on the moon, a thousand years! Now, I'm finally back home, turning things in my favor for a change! If they take this from me I..I...I'l just...Rrrrrrah!" She kicked the tree behind her in a rage and it shook to it's very roots.

She was then surprised by a sudden snap and a call from above. "Look out!"

Just as she turned to see what it was, something fell on her back, knocking her to the ground. She raised her head, wincing from the sudden pain from the impact. It only hurt for a second, but it was the last thing she needed to have happen at the moment. She looked back to find the object was a pegasus. A coat that was pure black and his mane and tail were white and messy. He was still on her, his back to hers, rubbing a hoof on the top of his head.

He looked at her, eye to eye, and gave a little smile. "Heh, nice kick."

The wicked alicorn was not amused. She shot back up on her feet and sent him to the ground, belly first. "How dare you? Do you know who I am?"

He pulled himself off the ground and answered as he stretched out the impact. "Let's see, you are Nightmare Moon, if I'm not mistaken. You took control of Equestria from your sister earlier tonight, correct?"

Not expecting an answer, her eyes widened. "Uh...yes. How did you...?"

The dark pegasus finished his stretching, spreading his wings as far as they would go. "Oh, I snuck into that little party they were throwing in town, so I could raid the snack table. You caught me with your grand entrance just as I was about to make my getaway."

Nightmare was, confused. "You seem so relaxed. The others reacted to me with fear."

He smiled. "Well, I'm not easy to scare. Matter of fact, I'm usually the one doing the scaring. Besides, I kinda like the idea of an eternal night."

The mistress of the night just couldn't lose the look of wide eyed wonder. "Really? Why?"

Her reaction made him smile more. "Well, what's not to like. You see the most fascinating creatures at night, hear the most wonderful sounds. Plus, it's easy to find ways to frighten ponies in the dark."

She smiled. "You're a strange one aren't you? What's your name?"

He gave a bow. "Fearwing Shadowhoof, master of fright and demon of night. At your service."

The fallen princess tried to suppress a little laugh. "Hmhmhmm, a very odd name. It doesn't seem real."

Fearwing blushed a little. "Well, it's not my real name. Just something I came up with to go with my new life here in the forest. It sounded better at the time."

Nightmare took on a serious note. "As interesting as this meeting has been, I have business to attend to."

As she turned to leave, Fearwing said something that shocked her. "Still trying to deal with those ponies heading through the forest?"

The alicorn turned back to him wide eyed. "How do you...?"

Fearwing sat back against a tree and folded his front hooves behind his head. "Oh, I make it my business to know everything that goes on in this forest. After that little show at the party, while you were tailing that unicorn who ran to the library, I was tailing you."

Nightmare glared at him. Her eyes flashed and a clap of thunder rang through the air. "Of all the nerve! You'd dare stick your nose into my business?"

He held up a hoof to silence her, then met her gaze with his own, unnerved one. "First of all, no need to raise your voice. I'm right here. Secondly, I never got in your way, I was simply watching. And from what I've seen so far, you're not doing so well."

She rolled her eyes. "And I suppose you could do better?"

Fearwing gave her a bit of a look. "Sister, I could have those girls running out of here, exhausting their lungs screaming, in a manner of minutes."

Nightmare smiled for a moment. "Then why don't you? It would certainly save me a lot of trouble."

He laughed a bit. "Hahaha, trying to tempt me with my favorite pass-time, to do your dirty-work eh? Nightmare, you naughty minx." The flirty way he said it actually got the great mare of darkness to blush like a school filly. "Sorry, but like you said, who am I to stick my nose in your evening-o-fun."

She was a pinch miffed by that. "You certainly are brave, or stupid, to speak to me like this. Fine, then would you at least offer some advice."

Fearwing stood back up with a rather happy look about him. "Certainly. Now, I've noticed a few flaws in your schemes. First, the cliff fall. There were two pegasai in the group so there wasn't any real danger. The manticore was better; it put them in a situation that they couldn't control, but it was something they recognized, which made it easier to over-come. Also, I saw that little thing you did with the faces on the trees. It's creative, but it won't work. It's wild and they don't understand it, but it's all an illusion. All it would take is for one of them to call the bluff and it all falls to bits."

Nightmare didn't like being critisised. "Okay,okay. Enough pointing out flaws, tell me something I can use."

He took an apologetic bow. "Right, sorry about that. I'm not used to teaching. What you should do is give them something that's both real and something they won't understand. For example, if they continue their path, they'll have to cross a river where a particularly vanity obsessed serpent resides. If you can cause him some sort of misfortune, enough to make him an obstacle for the ponies, then they'll be faced with a real problem that they don't understand. I suggest doing something with his mustache. The fool treasures it above his own life. I know, because, a few times, I had to remind him to fight the current. The blasted fool was so obsessed with grooming that thing, he almost went over a waterfall."

She raised an eyebrow. "How do you know so much?"

The dark pegasus put a little more confidence into his speech. "Well, that leads me into my next point. Find out what lies in the heart and use it against them, should you run out of options. Find out what drives them, like a wish that went unanswered. Give them the chance to make it come true and they will fold."

Nightmare nodded. "You speak with a wisdom beyond your years, Fearwing. I will put it to good use."

He raised his wings. "Good? Hmhmhahahahaha! My dear, good left us a long time ago." With a flap of his wings he was in the air again. "I'll be watching. Remember, no matter what, stay positive."

She watched him take off into the night sky. In all her years, she had never seen a pony so enthralled with the night. Fearwing knew what she had intended for Equestria and he was actually looking forward to it. The way he spoke, gave her a bit of a chill. It was as if he enjoyed making other ponies miserable, but there was a friendliness about him. He wasn't afraid of her, he just saw someone that he might be able to help.

Those of you who know the rest of the story well, will know that these ideas didn't go quite as planned. The elements of harmony had been brought to light and cast their full strength upon Nightmare Moon. After being forced to 'taste the rainbow' Luna had been returned to her former self, Celestia returned, and to the great surprise of the moon princess, all was forgiven. They even threw a party in honor of her return. That day was something Luna would never forget. Fearwing was right, even in defeat, there was still a reason to smile. When she got back to the palace, she found that her sister had kept her old room exactly as she left it. Luna did notice one small difference. The window had been opened and sitting on the window ledge, was a strange rose in an enchantingly designed pot.

On it was a note that read: 'I know the night didn't last as long as we wanted, but it was certainly one of the best I've had in a long time.'

And ever since, each time Luna went out on her routine flight to bring about the night sky, she would always be visited by that strange pegasus with the 'skull and crossbones' cutie mark. In a way, he brought about a mixed sense of guilt and gratefulness in Luna. He didn't treat her any differently from when she was Nightmare Moon, which made her feel that she was responsible for what happened. On the flip side, Fearwing didn't care who she was or what she did. He just wanted to be her friend and as the days went on, Luna thought it was turning into something more.

There was a knock at the door that shook her out of her thoughts. The door creaked open and Celestia poked her head inside. "Sister, the chefs have prepared lunch for us. Come down and have a bite to eat, you didn't have breakfast this morning."

The young princess found her eyes fixed on the blue rose. She let out a little sigh. "Yes sister. I'll be down shortly."

The white alicorn could sense something bothering her little sister. "Are you alright, Luna? Is something the matter?"

Luna smiled and turned to her big sister. "I'm fine, Tia. It's nothing, really." Celestia returned the smile and slipped back out the door. Luna's eyelids sank a bit, but kept on smiling. She looked back at the rose, and admired the enchanting darkness of it. "Just a wonderful nightmare." She faced forward and walked to and out her bedroom door. She promised herself she wouldn't worry about the Fearwing situation until sundown, when the fun began. Next Chapter: Chapter 5 Estimated time remaining: 9 Minutes