As Nightmare approached the Wall, she heard the clang of iron. Then, something or somepony attempted to set the Wall on fire. She also heard shouting and determined commands coming from the enemies. A violet aura escaped her horn, and strengthened the wall even more. The thorns thrashed about, endured the fire, and grabbed some of the stallions.

Then, the stallions were catapulted far from the forest, one by one. Nightmare cackled as she reveled in the misfortune of her enemies. "You can't stop me!" She taunted.  

"Urgh! Kill the mistress of all evil!" A stallion commanded.  

"I can't!" Another knight retorted. "The king will kill us if he finds out!"  

Nightmare grinned deviously. Surely, the king would murder his own soldiers out of anger. She cackled louder as she allowed the thorns to thrash the knights about. More and more soldiers were catapulted away from the forest as she watched on with twisted amusement.

"Ahahaha! You fools! You can't win the war!" She lashed out.

Soon, the fires disappeared, and the army retreated to the castle. Nightmare watched on with satisfaction as she trotted to the Everfree Pond. She sat upon the throne, and looked on to the quaking creatures. Owlowiscious sat near her left side. The dark alicorn gently stroked Owlowiscious as she chuckled darkly.

Meanwhile, the king grew darker as midnight approached the land. The guards entered the war room to meet with their king.

"We can't destroy the wall," The captain admitted. As soon as he felt the cruel gaze of the king, he quaked in fear.  

Sombra scowled as he glared at the captain. "I can't believe you, cowards! Nothing is indestructible! Not the Wall, not the Everfree Forest, not Nightmare Moon! Wait..." He hollered as he slammed his hoof onto the table. An iron dagger came into view as he levitated the dagger. He grinned maliciously as he glared at the guards.

"Are you plotting something?" One of the guards wondered.  

"Bring me the iron workers," Sombra muttered.  

"Fine," The captain spoke.

"Hurry up and get to work! We have only sixteen years before the curse fulfills itself! Fetch the newborn colts in every town, city, and kingdom and bring them to me! I shall know of their backgrounds. I will need to know whether they were destined to be knights that will kill Nightmare Moon!"  

"They're still young," Another guard reminded him.

"It doesn't matter! Push them into training by the time they turn one year old! Then, they shall go to war at age ten! I don't care about their lives! I only care about Twilight!"  

"We-"  

"Don't talk back, fools! Get to work before I chop off all of your heads! I want the newborn colts to be raised in the knights' headquarters!"  

The guards ran out of the war room as quick as they could. Sombra felt even more hatred towards Nightmare Moon with each passing second. "Fools... everypony's a fool..." He grunted as he scowled deeply.

He didn't know that the owl watched him from a distance. Owlowiscious flew away from the castle, and returned to the Everfree Forest to bring the news to Nightmare Moon.  

Nightmare Moon watched as Owlowiscious appeared in front of her. She waved her hoof and transformed the owl into a stallion. "What are the news?" She pressed.  

"The king is twisted. He demanded that every newborn colt be pushed into war by age ten. They would be pushed into training by age one. He swore that whoever was the worthiest colt would rescue Twilight and to murder you," Owlowiscious replied.  

"I've always known that he is a sniveling coward. But, pushing the young ones into war? Somepony will surely get hurt." Nightmare tried to ignore the part of her that felt bad for the young ones. She could have sworn that her old self managed to surface and to save the innocent ones.

"Can I see the princess next time?"  

Nightmare gasped, and shook her head. "No. You're surely infatuated with her-" She started.  

"She's small!"

"Stop it!"  

"About the cur-"  

"I'm not planning to save her!" Nightmare stood her ground as her voice echoed throughout the forest.  

"You like her. You hate Sombra," Owlowiscious reminded her.  

"If you turn into an owl, I'm putting you into a cage unless you promise not to check on the little beast!"  

"I prefer my original form."

"Fine." With that, Nightmare Moon waved her hoof and transformed the stallion into an owl.

Owlowiscious was about to leave the forest, when, suddenly, Nightmare Moon warned him to stay. "Watch it," She muttered. "You don't want to be in a cage! Next time, I'll change you into a diseased hound!"  

Owlowiscious hooted with annoyance as he landed onto a log near the throne. Weeks passed, and transformed into months. Nightmare Moon grew curious of the young princess; the youth reminded her of her own innocence, eager to trust the world. Nightmare once trusted somepony, but that came with a price; the horrid loss of her wings and the disappearance of her sister.

Once, when the Breezies were having a picnic out in the sun, a two-year old Twilight giggled as she chased a nearby butterfly. There were sweets and food in the picnic basket, but she didn't care about the delicious food nearby. She was only curious about the world around her, for she was quite young.

Nightmare Moon was perched atop a branch in a large tree, and observed the scene before her. Owlowiscious, in his owl form, sat near his mistress as he observed the innocent little princess.

Since there was no drama between the sisters, Nightmare quickly grew bored. She mimicked the movement of slapping somepony's cheek, and the magic purged from her horn as she watched on with mischief.

"Ow!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as the pain stung her cheek. She pounded Scootaloo across the cheek, thinking that it was her fault that she got slapped.

Apple Bloom attempted to intervene, but, however, she joined in the drama. They were oblivious to the fact that Twilight ran towards a cliff, trying to capture the butterfly.

Nightmare looked on as she watched the innocent princess running closer and closer to the cliff. "Oh, look," She hummed. "The little beast is about to fall off the cliff!"

Owlowiscious hooted with worry as he flew towards the quarreling sisters. One of the sisters absent-mindedly shooed him, too absorbed in the drama to take notice. Nightmare Moon climbed down the tree, ran towards the cliff, and looked around. The coast was clear as she watched Twilight fall off the cliff. She levitated Twilight up, and placed her on the ground.

Twilight smiled at the ominous alicorn before the alicorn swiftly disappeared from view. "Huh?" She breathed out, mystified by the alicorn's habit of acting as a shadow to her. She was grateful that this mysterious figure saved her from death, though. She wanted to thank her, but as she looked around, there was nothing to see, except for a figure perched atop a tall tree.

Was that her? Twilight decided not to chase the figure away, for her aunts would suspect something. Nightmare Moon watched from a distance as the young princess approached the bickering Breezies. Owlowiscious appeared on the branch once again, and looked to her.

"What?" Nightmare hummed innocently. "I just wanted to keep her alive until her sixteenth birthday... you know, for dramatic effect. I don't care for the brat."  

Owlowiscious ignored her sarcastic remark as he watched the drama before him. He knew that the alicorn was drawn to the innocent princess, but, what of that? Someday, the alicorn might love the princess unconditionally, just as a mother would love her child. However, Nightmare Moon didn't believe in any kind of love - whether familial or romantic. She firmly believed that love didn't exist, just because she lost her wings to the crazed king that night.

The betrayal resulted in the spawn of her enemy, that's what. Nightmare Moon climbed down the tree, beckoned the owl to follow her, and cantered to the Everfree Forest. As soon as she arrived in the woods, she paused as she noticed a spot on the tree that turned light brown. Cerulean magic surged from her horn as her horn gently touched the bark.

She didn't realize that somepony tried to follow her, and she heard a sweet little chuckle behind her. Nightmare turned to face the little filly, and her cerulean magic disappeared from view as the bark turned brown.

"Hello," Twilight murmured innocently.  

"Go away. I don't have time for young ones like you. Go home," Nightmare demanded, but her voice was softer than she intended her voice to be.

Twilight only approached the alicorn, and embraced her. Nightmare groaned in frustration as she struggled against the filly's hug. "I don't like foals," She lashed out, but her voice was soft and sweet instead of hard and bitter.

"Up, up!" Twilight begged.  

Nightmare Moon managed to shove Twilight, which caused the innocent princess to tumble and fall onto the ground. The princess sobbed silently before wailing out loud. Nightmare Moon felt a strange twinge of guilt, but repressed the guilt and forced a chuckle. She knew that her old self loved young ones, but that didn't matter anymore. This was the spawn of Sombra, not the spawn of Nightmare Moon's!

Then, Twilight embraced Nightmare Moon tightly and sobbed endlessly. Nightmare Moon felt a strange warmth surge through her chest, and she felt the urge to protect the filly from further harm. She also felt the urge to apologize for shoving her, but repressed the maternal instincts instead of showing sympathy for the innocent princess.

The filly sniffled as Nightmare managed to pull her into an embrace. Then, she levitated the filly into the air, so that Twilight could look directly into the alicorn's eyes. Twilight brushed her hoof against Nightmare's helmet, but the alicorn turned her head away. Twilight wailed once again, and then Nightmare Moon glanced at Twilight. Curious to see what would happen, she craned her head forward so that the filly could touch her horn and her helmet.

The filly's hoof gently touched the alicorn's horn, and stopped crying. Her lips quivered, and then she looked into the alicorn's eyes once again. Nightmare Moon gently placed Twilight onto the ground, and convinced her to go to the cottage. "Go home," She said.  

Twilight tumbled away from the alicorn, and Nightmare Moon could only watch on. She was more curious than ever, and she saw how innocent the little one was. The little beast was so adorable, so innocent, so pure... she was like a bright star trying to light up a starless night whenever the moon forgot to shine. Something stirred in the alicorn's heart; she recognized the pleasant feeling, but she knew that the feeling led her into heartbreak and betrayal.

"What is wrong with me?" Nightmare asked herself, conflicted. She let out an exasperated sigh as she trotted into the Everfree Forest.  

As the days and nights passed, she continued to feel drawn to the little princess. Curiosity began to get the best of her. There were times when she wanted to open her heart and appreciate the little one's kindness, but her heart was still frozen shut. It was if she had managed to turn her heart into ice, but the ice might have began to melt, simply because of Twilight's warmth and kindness.

One time, when Nightmare Moon was quite young, Celestia told her that only true love can thaw a frozen heart. However, the alicorn didn't believe in true love. The alicorn shook her head as she strode towards a tree with the bird's nest. She peered into the nest, listened to the chirping, and observed the little Breezies that were so absorbed in a quarrel against each other.

The baby birds kept pecking at the air hungrily as they continued to chirp. Nightmare Moon nearly felt sorry for them, so she levitated a cluster of worms out of the dirt, and placed them into the nest. The baby birds swiftly ate at the worms and finished their fill.

"Here you go," Nightmare murmured as she walked away from the tree. As she strode past every creature and every one of the mythical folk, she approached a wolf and a pup resting near the riverbank.

The maternal wolf licked the pup's face and washed the fur with her tongue. The pup whined and crooned softly as Nightmare watched with curiosity. She felt even more curious about motherhood and what it was like, even though she never had her own foal. What really piqued her curiosity was that she began to feel maternal instincts whenever Twilight was in trouble or whenever she needed attention.

However, Nightmare Moon still enjoyed pranking the three Breezies. Once, when Twilight was almost four, the alicorn trotted to the cottage and climbed up a tree. She lounged on a branch, and transformed Owlowiscious into a stallion.

A cerulean aura emerged from her horn as the magic entered the cottage. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were playing a board game, and they just started to bicker.

"You cheating dum-dum brain," Sweetie Belle taunted Apple Bloom.  

"You irresponsible twit," Apple Bloom retorted.  

"You girly worms!" Scootaloo shouted.  

A tiny droplet fell into Apple Bloom's mane. "Don't. I said no magic," She warned. "Watch it..." She pointed at them.  

Three more droplets fell onto Apple Bloom and caused her to lose her temper. She stood up and stared down the two. "You imbeciles! I said stop it!" She repeated.  

"I didn't do nothing," Sweetie Belle replied with an innocent stare.

"She did it," Scootaloo disagreed.

"No, it was Scootaloo!"  

Outside, Nightmare Moon watched on with amusement when the storm started inside the cottage. "Oooh," She hummed as more cerulean magic escaped her horn and into the cottage.

Owlowiscious, however, seemed unamused as he turned to his mistress. "Mistress, I want to talk about something..." He whispered.  

"What? Oh, come on! It's funny," Nightmare replied as she chuckled. Why would the owl want to ruin her day?

"When are you going to revoke the curse?" Owlowiscious gave the alicorn a questioning gaze.  

Nightmare snorted derisively as the cerulean aura disappeared from view. "Why are you asking me?" She demanded. She waved her hoof as the violet aura surged from her horn.  

Suddenly, Owlowiscious placed his hoof onto Nightmare Moon's horn to stop the magic flow. Nightmare only scowled with contempt.

"I'm not turning back into an owl," Owlowiscious asserted. "Answer my question."

"I already told you. I dislike the little brat. Why do you love her so much?" Nightmare answered defensively.  

She also wondered why Owlowiscious wanted to save his little friend. It was not like they would be romantic with each other someday... the mere thought made Nightmare cringe. No, Twilight would see Owlowiscious as a father figure, not a lover. If they fell in love instead...  

"She's innocent. Deep inside, you love her. You loathe Sombra," Owlowiscious reminded her.

"Oh..." Nightmare turned away, and didn't intend to quarrel with the owl any longer. With that, she allowed her magic to transform Owlowiscious back into an owl.