Nightmare Moon eyed the mare before her, taking in all the details she could. The soft green mare was small, even for filly standards, standing at approximately half a head shorter than Twilight and half the weight. She wore her bright blue mane in a braid that she let hang off the side of her neck. Her tail was similarly braided. The feature Nightmare Moon took note of above all else were her eyes. They were a turquoise similar to her own and radiated with a kind warmth despite their owner's obvious fear. Her cutie mark depicted a swirl of water dotted with flowers. Nightmare Moon smiled, pleased at this new development.

"It would seem I had no need to search. Very well." She turned to address the congregation before her. "You have all volunteered yourself into my service and spared you and your families from suffering. It was a wise decision. I find myself curious though. How did you know it was I that had graced you with my presence? My pet here was the only foal to recognize me when I first restored myself to this world."

Silent Brook spoke up again. "Um.... It was me, Your Magnificence...." Her voice was still shaky, unsure of what Nightmare Moon might do should she change her mind. "I saw you when those royal guards attacked.... I panicked and ran.... When I came back you were gone so I had everypony help me clean."

Twilight watched Brook's facial features, taking in every emotional change that altered her expression. She noted the pride when Brook spoke that last sentence. She's trying to get in good graces while she-

Twilight's stomach grumbled quite audibly. Her eyes widened and she blushed, looking away from everypony else. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt...." She hid her face and cringed, expecting punishment. Once again, to her great relief, none came. She looked up at Nightmare Moon whose face was ecstatic.

"Ahhh...! It has been far too long since I have enjoyed the tastes of food." She turned to Silent Brook. "Summon the royal chef and have him prepare the most grand feast possible. I believe tonight shall be the night I announce my return to all of Equestria and there must be a banquet to match my glorious news. Until then have a light meal and the master artisan of Canterlot sent to the library's back room." Twilight's stomach growled once more, drawing her Queen's attention. Nightmare Moon's smile dropped into a scowl. "Have somepony bring my pet some food as well."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nightmare Moon turned on her heels and began the return trip to the library, Twilight hot on her tail. Twilight's thoughts roamed, sorting through the events that had just transpired. I was not expecting the caretakers to devote themselves so quickly. I can see their need for change though. If what Silent Brook was saying is true, and they all cleaned the... guards out of the throne room, then they know that Nightmare Moon wouldn't hesitate to.... Her mind trailed off, not wanting to think the word. Now that I think about it, I think I've seen that mare before. Hmmm..., I wonder if we've met before today.

By the time Twilight had finished that line of thinking, the two had reach her old room turned Queen's chambers. This time Nightmare Moon didn't open the doors with her magic and Twilight ran face first into the sturdy wood because of her lack of focus. "Owwww...." The pain settled in her skull as a mild headache. Shaking it off, Twilight looked up at her Queen, only to find her staring back down at her expectantly. It instantly clicked in her mind what Nightmare Moon wanted. Twilight turned to the door and braced herself against it, pushing with as much strength as her tired body could muster. It opened slowly, creaking as she shoved the heavy doors out of the way. These doors were definitely meant to be opened by magic, she noted after falling to the floor when her weight shifted off the doors.

Nightmare Moon stepped past her, ignoring her completely, and strode to the bed. She lay upon the sheets, stomach down, and moved her astral tail to hang off the foot of the bed and waited patiently. When she did not hear the clopping of hooves coming up to her, Nightmare Moon spun her head and glared at the unicorn. "Your Queen demands your services! You are to massage my body and help me to relax."

Not wishing to incite her wrath, Twilight sparkle shot up and rushed to the bed. "Yes, My Queen!" Twilight was nervous. She had never given a massage before let alone receive one herself. I have no idea how to do this! She stared at the sleek body before her, taking in all the details, noting every muscle that twitched under the black hair. With a heavy gulp, Twilight raised her front hooves and gently brought them down upon Nightmare Moon's back, applying the slightest pressure. Well that's not entirely true.... Maybe I could follow the example of that one... Novel... I read a few years back. A light blush formed on her cheeks as she remembered exactly what kind of book it had been. NO! Nononononononono!! I will certainly not do EVERYTHING that book had in it. Just the.... Safer stuff.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight began to work, gently kneading Nightmare Moons back with her hooves, focusing first on her shoulders. She could feel the tense knots in her muscles even with her untrained hooves. She applied more pressure, rubbing the mare's back as she worked the muscles to relax. Nightmare Moon let out a noise that vaguely resembled a cats purr causing Twilight to smile slightly. At least it seems I'm not terrible at this. She slowly moved lower, massaging the middle of her back and then further down to her lower back, all the while twisting and kneading. As Twilight approached Nightmare Moon's flanks, she came to a halt, hesitating.

When the pleasure from the massage had abruptly ended, Nightmare Moon snorted in frustration. She spun her head back again and stared into Twilight's eyes, commanding her without words. Reluctantly, Twilight resumed massaging the alicorns flanks and rump, eliciting short gasps of pleasure as her Queen seemed to melt underneath her work. She may be a cruel tyrant, but Nightmare Moon does have a 'weakness' it would seem. She could now feel the heat coming from Nightmare Moon's body and responded to it by moving to her cutie marks. That was a mistake.

Nightmare Moon's horn flared to life instinctively and she lashed out with it, ensnaring Twilight in her magical grasp. Twilight choked, and tried to gasp for air. She hadn't been expecting to be grabbed and had been unable to get a good lung full of air. Just as she thought she would lose consciousness, Nightmare Moon released her, dropping Twilight to the hard floor like a rock. Nightmare Moon turned to the mare that was coughing and sputtering on the floor, clutching at her neck. "How dare you touch the cutie mark of Your Queen!? I should kill you for this!"

"PLEASE NO!" Twilight's face was once more covered in tears from a mixture of absolute terror and the effects of being strangled. "I didn't mean to do it! You were enjoying it so much...! I-I thought you would...!" She couldn't finish her sentence. The racking sobs preventing her from forming any more words.

Nightmare Moon continued to stare daggers at her until there was a knock at the door, drawing her attention. "Fine. I shall overlook this transgression seeing as you were merely trying to please your owner and Queen, but the next time will be your last." Her words pierced Twilight's clouded mind and she nodded in response. Nightmare Moon turned from the pathetic mess before her and opened the door with her magic to reveal Silent Brook carrying a large silver platter covered with many types of little sandwiches and salad. Beside her was a burly earth pony stallion with a pastel green coat and slightly darker mane. He had a cutie mark in the form of a blueprint. "Good. You have arrived. You will set the food on the bed and return to your regular duties. I shall speak with the artisan."

Silent Brook merely bowed slightly, performed as she had been told, and left, giving a slight worried glance at Twilight who had watched her the whole time. Nightmare Moon turned to the stallion, ignoring the food for now. "What is your name?"

"I-It's Marble, Your Majesty." He was visibly nervous.

"Just Marble?" He nodded. "Very well, Marble. I want you to head the planning and construction of my new palace. I want it to be more exquisite than anything known in the history of Equestria. And I want it built upon the ruins of my old temple at the site of old Mareland."

Nightmare Moon sat at the head of a grand dining table, one of many in the royal dining hall of Canterlot Castle. Before her, spread across the expanse of hard wood, were sets of plates and dining utensils, laid out for use in the upcoming feast. She had invited the elite of each city to come and join her for the celebration of her return, a momentous event that would officially signify her reign as their returned queen.

The black alicorn watched with distaste as the upper class ponies began to file in. While she couldn't tell from where each pony had come from, she could easily discern the difference of their upbringing by the types of clothes they wore. She saw the rich clothes of the pompous snobs, the fine yet worn garments of the refined upper-middle class and even the occasional pony without clothes. They all bowed as they entered, paying respect to the Queen more out of obligation than actual reverence, and made their way to whichever seat they wished.

Nightmare Moon glanced to her right and saw Twilight sitting with her head lowered, avoiding the gazes of everypony around her. She smirked at the dejected unicorn before gazing about once more. The ponies were finally beginning to find their places and soon every seat was filled with the attendees. They murmured in hushed tones, nervous about the upcoming event as they had no particular knowledge of the lunar alicorn or her intents. They had been told this was to be a feast in the mare's honor, but were not given any details as to what would proceed.

Nightmare Moon stood, drawing the attention of everypony present in the room, and ignited her horn. "Mares and stallions of the high class, I welcome you as you join me to make official claim to the throne!" Her voice rang out through the hall, enhanced by her magic. "Tonight, I am announcing my return to Equestria and am declaring myself your Queen!" Gasps echoed as everypony listened to her words, the truth about the night finally coming to light. Celestia was gone. Replaced by this unknown alicorn. "I, Nightmare Moon, shall rule over you, my beloved subjects." The final words dripped with malice towards the ponies she considered nothing more than foals. "Now, I declare this feast begun! Let us eat as you bask in my glory!"

The doors behind her burst open and several ponies flooded out pushing carts laden with silver trays filled with a wide variety of foods. Nightmare watched as the ponies reluctantly filled their plates from the many dishes set before them, not trusting that their new queen had left their food untouched. The alicorn grinned at their hesitation, their fear filling her with immense satisfaction. This... is the beginning of something wonderful.... she thought before glancing back to the lavender unicorn. The mare had taken small portions of the various greens about her and was eating slowly, and perhaps a little clumsily because of her lack of magic, relishing the taste of the meal. Nightmare Moon scowled before bringing large heaps of the desserts and salads onto her plate, intent on enjoying herself and her subject's fear while she was able.

Weeks had passed since the feast. The order to have Nightmare Moon's palace built was sent out along with the announcement of her return to power in Equestria. Many foolhardy ponies, all loyal to Celestia, had tried to take her life only to have their existences snuffed out. With the help of Silent Brook and Twilight, Nightmare Moon had learned all of Equestria's new features, where each city was, the names of those cities, and the various mountains and forests that hadn't been there when she was banished. The palace was nearing completion, and, as the time passed by, Nightmare Moon had regained nearly all of her lost magic. Twilight had earned some trust from Nightmare Moon, and Silent Brook had been assigned as her head maid, overseeing everything that went on in the sun castle. Today the three were preparing to make the move to their new quarters in Nightmare Moon's Castle of the Night.

Twilight was running about the library's back room with a checklist in her mouth, organizing all the items she would be taking with her to the new palace. She spat the paper down on the ground and went over it for the fourth time. "Blanket...? Check. Saddlebags...? Check. Various reading materials...?" She looked back to her saddlebags and giggled at what she saw. Standing behind her was Silent Brook, staring dumbfounded as she watched the lavender unicorn go about her obsessive actions. Twilight stopped what she was doing and walked over to her. "You're going to catch flies if you leave your mouth hanging open like that." she teased.

The green mare merely smiled and blushed slightly before nuzzling Twilight. "You are quite the mare, Twilight. I don't think anypony else could make the nerd look be quite as adorable." This caused the lavender mare to blush in turn, her cheeks stinging with embarrassment. They both laughed. "I'll let you return to what you were doing. Our Queen would be quite displeased if we were too slow in packing our things for the journey." Silent Brook turned and left, swishing her tail along Twilight's nose as she did so, teasing her.

Twilight marveled at the mare before her, and wondered how she was lucky to have a friend such as her. She still didn't know anything about how to act around friends, but that did not stop her from embarrassing herself in front of Silent Brook. She tilted her head up, let her thoughts drift back to when she had first grown to find solace in the lime earth pony.

Twenty-two days ago:

Twilight sat alone in the darkness of the library's back room, swimming in pain from the beating Nightmare Moon had given her. She had tried to pleasure the Night Queen at her request and had failed miserably. A single misplacement of her horn brought forth the fury of the night, nearly crippling her with its sheer force. As she lay there, bleeding and cold, a knock sounded on the door followed by the creak of the door's hinges. A bright blue mane poked in and found Twilight huddled up on the corner, bleeding and covered in bruises. A gasp came from the pony as she rushed to Twilight's side, taking in all the damage. Twilight thought the pony had spoken, but she could not make out any words due to her inability to focus. The last thing she saw before passing out was the look of worry on Silent Brook's green face as she started to lift the lavender unicorn onto her back....

Nightmare Moon stood in the middle of the Canterlot castle courtyard, watching as the pegasus ponies she had ordered to pull her carriage went about finishing all the preparations needed before their flight. She had been down here for nearly half an hour observing her subjects as they scurried about performing their duties. Something about watching worthless souls do such menial jobs brought her a slight joy. She loved it when the ponies did her bidding. Satisfied with the progress, the Moon Queen turned about and headed back into the castle, meandering her way past the crowds of ponies as they scampered out of her path. Every now and then, one of the fillies or colts would get too close so she would swiftly kick them to urge them to move faster. She laughed every time.

Nightmare Moon wasn't without her worries though. She could still remember all the times she had walked through this hall only to be attacked by a pony she thought had been just going about his job. The last such pony had done it in a large group of other ponies. He rushed in holding a freshly sharpened knife in his mouth and lunged at her. Just before the knife would have struck home in her neck, Twilight Sparkle had tackled the colt to the ground while taking a rather deep gash to her cheek. Nightmare Moon responded swiftly, incinerating the pegasus with a beam of moonlight she had refracted from one of the windows, displaying her true abilities. This act of the lavender unicorn earned her some respect and gratitude from the Moon Queen. The usual every-other-day attacks had seemingly ceased. It's now been five days since that last assassination attempt.

Nevertheless, Nightmare Moon continued her way back to the library, looking to have her stuff brought out to the sky carriage and to fetch her pet. She smirked again, eager to get to her new castle and begin the preparations for her minion’s recovery.

Twenty-one days ago:

When Twilight awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in the back room of the library. She was laying on a soft white cot on the floor, covered in white blankets. She started to panic and searched the room frantically for any clues as to where she might be. A large bright poster of a pink mare wearing a nurse’s cap tending to a young filly gave her the answer she sought. This was the infirmary. As soon as she began to sit up in her bed a noise caught her attention. A slight cough as if somepony was clearing their throat. Twilight turned her head to the other side and saw the green mare sitting beside her, shaking her head to tell Twilight not to move. She obeyed after looking down dejectedly.

"You really should take it easy. You were hurt quite badly when I found you.... Umm...." Silent Brook tilted her head up to think.

"Twilight." Twilight smiled a little and relaxed a little more "My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight.... What a lovely name." Silent Brook didn't notice the slight tinge of red on the lavender mare's face. She looked off around the room, seeming to check for any eavesdroppers, then turned back to Twilight. "Ummm.... So why were you alone in there? If I hadn't found you, you would have been in quite the predicament."

Twilight blanched and hung her head, looking away in shame. "I.... I can't tell you.... Nightmare Moon would be furious.... Thank you for helping me though." She smiled at her savior as she said this. "It means a lot to me for somepony like you to come to my aid.... Everypony else is too scared of what she might do to them." Her smile turned to a frown. I just hope she doesn't hurt you....

"It was my pleasure. Besides, I've known of you for quite some time. I've been serving as one of Celestia's maids since I was just a little filly and I was there when you first moved into the castle as her student." Twilight smiled at the memory. It had been the happiest day of her life. "I've always admired you from afar, you know.... Watching you study and silently cheering when you'd master a new spell."

When Twilight turned to look at the mare she flinched back in surprise. During the few seconds that she had looked away, Silent Brook had moved in close, just inches away from Twilight's nose. "I- umm...." Twilight couldn't finish her sentence as the green mare closed the gap and locked her mouth on Twilight's, kissing her words away. Twilight couldn't move, bound by shock and the feeling of Silent Brooks lips on her own, but as the initial surprise wore off she pulled back quickly and fell off the cot onto the cold stone floor.

Silent Brook covered her face, a deep red blush coloring her cheeks. "I'm s-so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" Tears began to well up in her eyes as she stepped back further away from the lavender unicorn. "I'll.... I'll just go. I'm so sorry!"

Before she could even make it to the door, Twilight called out to her, "Wait! Uh..., wait, please." Her own face was a bright scarlet from the blood that had rushed to her head. "It's okay.... I was just surprised.... Nopony has ever had feelings for me before." Twilight's smile was genuine, radiating acceptance. "Just, next time, can we perhaps take it a little slower? I.... I don't want to rush into anything...."

Silent Brook's face lit up, joy swimming in her turquoise eyes. "Of course." she replied, moving back beside Twilight.

Twilight surveyed the library, taking in as many features as she could so as to imprint it into her mind. She had guessed that this would likely be the last she would ever see of her old home. Nightmare Moon was planning on razing the entire city as soon as her new palace and the town she was going to have built around it was completed. The books would be moved to the new library in Nightmare Moon's castle, but it just wouldn't be the same. With a final look back, Twilight made her way out of the library and into the hall where the Moon Queen was standing, waiting for her.

"I am finished, My Queen."

"Good. We shall make our way to the carriages where the head maid is currently waiting for us. We will be leaving as soon as our stuff is secured to the cargo carriage." Nightmare Moon was exuberant. She was going to be taking her place as Queen in her new castle and finally living in a room that fit her status. It was only a matter of time before she could begin her conquest of the surrounding nations.

They arrived at the courtyard swiftly, neither of them wanting to tarry and delay the departure. Silent Brook stood beside the sky-carriage they would be taking, watching for the pair to appear. As soon as her eyes met with the green mare's, Twilight lit up and she found herself smiling. Nightmare Moon took no heed, stepping into the opening of the carriage as Silent Brook bowed at her passing. Twilight handed her saddlebags off to a baggage colt, who set them in the cargo space, then stepped in after the Queen. Silent Brook followed after her and shut the door. The carriage was large, spacious enough for ten ponies of Twilight's size and perhaps four of the royal alicorn's. The seats were posh and comfy and the walls lined with soft cushions in case a passenger were to fall asleep. Nightmare Moon sat in the back of the carriage facing where the pegasi would be hitched and Twilight settled in opposite her with Silent Brook sitting just to Twilight's left. No words were spoken as the pegasus team were strapped into position and began the long journey to New Mareland.

Sixteen days earlier:

Nightmare Moon and Twilight were sleeping in the library's bedroom as they had for the past week, the alicorn on the bed and Twilight at the foot of the bed on the floor, the magical shackles about her fore-legs. Soft breathing escaped both of the ponies as they dreamt, warm under their blankets, the rise and fall of their chests being the only movement. Until the door creaked open.

The door glowed with a soft orange light and a similarly orange colt stepped through the crack he had made, closing the door silently behind him. He was a plain-looking pony with an orange mane and tail matching his fur. On his flank was a pair of twin tomatoes. He crept up to the bed, making almost no noise, and drew a shining knife from a sheathe on his right foreleg with his magic. The orange glow lit the room, casting shadows against the walls as he raised the dagger above Nightmare Moon's head. "THIS IS FOR MY FARM YOU VI-"

His shout was cut short by a pair of hooves connecting with his right shoulder, sending him skidding across the floor. The light from his horn had awoken Twilight, and, seeing him poised to kill the alicorn, she bucked him as hard as she could. "I won't let you kill anypony!"

The colt recovered quickly, but not quick enough to escape. Nightmare Moon had awoken at his scream for justice and now had him in her telekinetic grip, dangling him by the throat. "Did you think to murder me in my sleep? Insolent cur! I shall have you dropped from the balcony for your inso-"

"Please, Your Majesty! Don't kill him!" Twilight's plea stopped Nightmare Moon mid sentence. "I didn't save you from being assassinated just so you could kill him in return." Tears had welled up in her eyes, her face filled with anger.

The Moon Queen looked to the colt and dropped him to the floor. "Very well. I shall respect your wish this once since you have saved my life." Her attention focused once more on the gasping form at her feet. "Why were you here to kill me? Was it not for your... Princess?"

The colt glared daggers at her and responded through clenched teeth. "Your moon is slowly killing the plants all across Equestria! Without the sun all the crops will die and we'll all be left to starve!"

Nightmare Moon's features shifted as she took in his words. She had been gone so long that she had forgotten how the plants needed energy from the sun to sustain their life. "Ah, yes. I had forgotten that.... It would be quite the problem if all my subjects died. I'd no longer have anypony to worship me." She looked back down at him. "You may go this time. If you ever try this again, know that nothing my pet can say will spare you from your fate." Her words rang with malice, making the unicorn's composure falter. Without a single word, he dashed from the room, never to return.

"My Queen.... How do you propose to fix this? I... I've been quite worried about it myself."

"You shall see, my pet. You shall see."

After that night, Nightmare Moon had enchanted the moon, giving it similar qualities to the sun. During the previous daylight hours, the moon would give off heat and provide the plants with the solar energy needed for photosynthesis. At night, it would return to its previous nature.

That had been the first assassination attempt since Nightmare Moon's battle with the guards.

Ten days earlier:

Nightmare Moon sat upon her throne in the throne room with Twilight laying beside her, a slight gash on her shoulder. They both were watching the green earth pony before them, Nightmare Moon with a pleased look and Twilight with one of affection and pride. "You have done well to serve me, Silent Brook. You informed me of a possible attempt on my life and it came to pass. If not for you then my pet may have been killed. I shall compensate you for your loyalty to the throne by assigning you the role of head maid in my court. You will be overseeing all happenings in my royal palace in New Mareland after construction is complete and shall have a room of your own to do with as you so please. Know that it is a great honor I am bestowing upon you and that, should you continue your services as faithfully in times to come as you do now, you will be rewarded even more."

Silent Brook bowed, showing great respect for the black alicorn before her. Her Queen. "Thank you, Your Majesty. It brings me such joy to be able to serve you as such." She raised her head and smiled sincerely, casting a worried glance Twilight's way.

"That is all. You may now return to your duties." Nightmare Moon stood up and circled the room with her eyes, noting each of the ponies that served her in the castle as they began to go about their daily tasks once more. "Ah, wait. I would like something to eat delivered to my room. My pet deserves a reward as well for defending me for the second time."

The fourth assassination attempt had utterly failed. The assassin's death only angering the others more.

Eight days earlier:

A group of earth ponies gathered in a dining hall in the western wing of the Canterlot palace. The ponies were all part of the cleaning staff, assigned to clean this section of the castle. As soon as their superiors had sent them about their task, the group dispersed only to converge here, in this unused room. The assigned 'leader' of the group stepped forth and cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the rest of the assembled. He shook his black mane out of his pale white face before beginning. "As you all know, tonight we are going to strike a blow to Nightmare Moon in order to weaken her resolve. All previous attempts on her life have failed. We have lost many comrades to her power, but tonight, we shall inflict a lasting wound. Thanks to our new recruit here," he motioned to a green mare sitting in the back of the crowd, "we now have a plan. We are going to take out her favorite toy. The unicorn named Twilight Sparkle."

Nervous murmurs rose from the crowd, but everypony in attendance nodded in approval. They were uncomfortable with ending the life of somepony other than their hated enemy, but sacrifices would have to be made in order to accomplish their goal. "We shall wait for Twilight to be left alone and strike then. We'll need to be swift so only four of us will go. I will be going along with three volunteers. Who will be accompanying me?" The crowd conversed among themselves and came to a decision. Three ponies in the crowd raised their hooves. "Very well. You three come with me. We will wait until we have her to ourselves."

Twilight sighed, and looked around the library. Nightmare Moon had left her here after she had failed to please her once again. "At least this time I didn't slip up too bad..." Her face was still red from the encounter. She went about the library, searching for something to read in order to take her mind off of her current life when she heard a noise. It sounded like the clopping of hooves. She spun around, warmth spreading across her face as she expected to see Silent Brook coming into the library to visit her. Twilight always anticipated the visits from her new friend as she was the only thing currently bringing any happiness into her pitiful life.

What she saw turned her frown into a mask of fear.

Silent Brook dashed through the halls, searching for Nightmare Moon. She had heard news that some of the staff were going to try and kill Twilight in order to break the Moon Queen and needed to inform her immediately. Before it was too late. She found her sitting in the central dining hall, eating a cake made to please her. "YOUR MAJESTY! I'VE HEARD WORD OF ASSASSINS AIMING TO KILL TWILIGHT!" She skidded to a halt beside the Queen, not even bothering to bow. "Please! You have to go find her before they kill her!"

Nightmare Moon's face contorted into a mask of sheer rage. "THEY DARE TO TRY AND TAKE MY PET FROM ME?!" Her mane swirled above her, burning with primal fury. "THEY WILL TASTE FEAR THAT NO MORTAL HAS EVER KNOWN!" Nightmare Moon's eyes turned a light-consuming black as her horn burned. A flash of light and she was gone, off to kill all who would take anything from her.

The four stallions were gathered around Twilight's sob-stricken body. She was covered in bruises and cuts from the beatings they had inflicted upon her and her right eye was swollen shut. They were now discussing how they were going to end it.

The first earth pony frowned. "I think we should just kill her quickly.... It doesn't seem right to do this. We were only supposed to kill her in the first place...."

A larger pony to his right scoffed. "What would be the point of that? If we're going to kill somepony we might as well have fun while we're doing it!"

The third pony chimed in, "Why don't we have our way with her? It's not like Nightmare Moon knows of our plan and besides, it'll help to add fuel to the flame and relieve us. What do you think boss?"

The larger leader just grinned maliciously, his demeanor changing from when he had given the speech in the meeting room. "That's a great idea. I will be the first to go." He moved above Twilight and glared down at her. She was still crying her eyes out, but had given up trying to move. She knew this would be it.

Just before the stallion was ready, a blinding flash pierced the darkness of the room, burning the eyes of the four colts. Twilight had been spared, she already had her good eye closed, trying to block out what was to come. Nightmare Moon towered above the party, her astral mane whipping about her in an invisible hurricane. "YOU FOALS SHALL REGRET THE DAY YOU EVER CROSSED YOUR QUEEN!!" Lightning flashed from her mane, illuminating the terrified faces of the four before her. "FEAR THE WRATH OF THE MOON GODDESS AND BURN IN MY FURY!!"

A maelstrom of magic filled the room, lifting the four off the ground. They flailed and screamed as they were caught up in the spinning force of Nightmare Moon's mighty spell. As they continued to spin, the magic burst into a bright white flame, burning the air and igniting them. The fire danced around as it seared the flesh off their muscles, yet left the rest of their bodies intact, still alive. The force of the cyclone intensified and soon even their muscles and organs were ripped from their skeletons, spraying across the room and decorating it in a gruesome manner. The four continued to live, their screams tearing out of their skeletal frames. With a final burst of power, the ponies flew off towards the four walls, their organs, muscles, and skin returning to them, and crunched against the cold hard stone. They flattened from the sheer force, dying instantly on impact, their blood splattering like a new coat of paint.

Her fury sated, Nightmare Moon turned to the huddled mass on the floor, Twilight sobbing uncontrollably after what had happened to her and witnessing the horrible deaths of her four assailants. The Moon Queen lowered her head towards the unicorn only to have her flinch back. She frowned and simply brought forth her magic, healing the injuries Twilight had been given. "I do not allow others to break or otherwise bring harm to my possessions, you included. I shall be the only one to do with you as I please and if anypony wishes to believe otherwise then they too will meet the fate of those four." Nightmare Moon's voice was heavy and full of hatred, but it sounded somewhat comforting to Twilight.

"T-T-T-Thank y-you, My Q-Queen...." The lavender unicorn passed out just as Silent Brook entered her line of vision, a look of relief passing over her face.

The sky carriage neared its destination, the outline of the Castle of the Night looming on the horizon. The unicorn and earth pony were asleep, curled up on the large cushion they were situated on, exhausted from the packing and supervising of the initial move. Nightmare Moon simply sat at the window, a smirk on her otherwise stoic face, as she watched the shadow grow closer and closer as her transportation drew nearer.

Author's Notes: Hey guys! Peppy again. Sorry this one took so long to come out! Work schedule changes and retarded sleep habits along with being easily distracted REALLY makes it difficult to do anything productive, but here it is! Chapter 4! Longer, better (hopefully) and filled with fun goodies! I quite enjoyed this chapter and hope you all do as well! Well I'm off to go to read the updated stories i need to then head off to bed! Let me know what you think in the comments (as you always do!)

Editor's Notes: Wonderful. Jekyll here. Don't have much to say for this one that I haven't already said. The addition of the feast scene makes this the first chapter breaking the six-thousand word mark. Yay. Enjoy the next chapter, everypony.