Nightmare Moon Nocturnis’s dark voluptuous frame melted into that of the sky above her, her armor making her look like she was a soaring star. Her misty mane and tail billowed behind her as her bat wings flapped silently through the air. The draconic eyes in her head shone brightly in the near pitch-black darkness of the forest, the Moon being the only thing giving any light to the forest whatsoever. Her fur, blacker than any sin, seemed to merge perfectly with the shadows of the Everfree as she glided her way through them. The mare’s bat-like ears took in any sounds of any animal that was sent her way, from roars, bellows, and screeches, and chirps and bleats of any nearby plant eaters.

“I can see that this place hasn’t changed in the slightest the last three thousand years I was away.” Nightmare Moon said to herself in a reminiscing tone. She closed her eyes and let herself feel the magic flowing throughout the jungle-like woodlands. “Hmmm, yes, the magic in this forest feels quite nice indeed...and its shadows make me feel like I’m at home. I can certainly see why that little Lunar Queen of a mare liked being around it and why her meddlesome sister didn’t. It’s just so black, so raw, and so…dark and bloodthirsty. Exactly my cup of tea if I do say so myself. No wonder Celestia couldn’t stand to be anywhere near it whenever they did travel through here. Hmph, only goes to show just how much of a weak mare she was become, just her dear little sister.”

Laughing to herself, Nightmare Moon gave another few hard flaps of her wings, pulling herself higher into the air and going past the giant trees. It didn’t take very long before she found herself at the very top of the forest of giant trees, allowing her to see the fast number of trees and the mountains beyond. As she looked up, she could see the night sky glittering with the stars that were twinkling above her. Right in the middle of the sky, the moon cast her in it’s pure white glow, bringing a warm comforting feeling to the alicorn. A peaceful expression made its way to her face, a content sigh leaving her as she closed her eyes in relief. It didn’t leave her face, even as the sound of screeching birds and the clapping of thunder echoed about the sky above her.

“My my, this forest has grown as much as it has become lively.” Nightmare Moon murmured to herself as she looked around the air. “It wasn’t quite this big when I was still here, with nowhere near this number of animals. Of course, with a magical and chaotic forest like this, I suppose I can’t really expect it to not grow at least a bit bigger. It would seem that these dear creatures have gotten quite busy after me and my sister had left.” She let out a laugh, the sound flowing out of her like smooth silk. “Well, they’ll get even busier when I begin to take back my rightful power and extinguish the dawn and my sister for good. With a few wonder-eyed precious little spectators there to witness it all.”

Looking behind her, Nightmare Moon smiled in amusement as she watched the seven foals encased within her ethereal mane and tail. Each of them were floating in various parts of them, bearing looks of fear and anxiety and their young adorable faces. Their legs flailed about in the see-through mist, as if they were first time swimmer, trying to get back to the surface of a vast ocean. Even though they could still breath, this did nothing to cease their struggles as they scrambled about within the starry smoke.

“Awww, what’s the matter, little ones? Not enjoying our little right?” Nightmare Moon asked, chuckling at the frightened expressions on the foals’ faces. “No wait, I know. Are you afraid that you may suffocate in there, is that it?”

“P-please, please don’t drop us!” Scootaloo pleaded, her cries coming out in short and ragged breaths as she sobbed with fear. “This is too high! I-I don’t like being this high at all! I’m scared, I don’t wanna fall!”

“Not to worry my dear, my dazzling is mane is specifically designed to encase things, living or not without any harm to it.” Nightmare Moon said sweetly, winking at the hysterical bright orange filly. “So, you don’t need to worry about anything like losing air or even falling out into the forest below you.”

Firestreak snarled, glaring heatedly at the mare that took them hostage. “Dammit, you won’t get away with this you moon assed bitch! Just wait, Rainbow Dash and the rest of her gang are going to come and save us! But not before they kick your ass first!”

“Ha, I am very much doubting that will happen young one.” Nightmare Moon said casually, looking more entertained than upset by the filly’s defiance. “I do have to admire your faith in those measly seven ponies though. It makes me wonder if it’ll be even worth my time of confronting them when we meet. That is, if they’re even coming after me at all.”

“Okay, I know that you are a dumbass now.” Firestreak said with a huff, snorting roughly. “You really think that our sisters are going to just stand idly by and not do anything?! You have no idea who you’re badmouthing off to about right now!”

Nightmare Moon chuckled, marveling at Firestreak’s naïve hypocrisy. “This coming from a filly that’s using words that are not fit for somepony her age.” She said, turning her head a bit more so she could look at her. “It appears that your parents and your big sister failed to discipline you accordingly. I can certainly see why your little friends were trying so hard to keep you from doing anything foolish. It looks like I’m going to have to help your poor family in teaching you when to mind your tongue.”

“Come and try it! I dare you!” Firestreak challenged as her little body began to produce flames that matched her mane. “You even think of trying to touch me, and I’m gonna burn your tongue right out of your mouth!”

“Is that a challenge, my feisty little filly?” Nightmare Moon asked coyly, turning her whole body around so that Firestreak had her full attention. “Why don’t you come and make true on that vow, if you think you have what it takes…”

“Oh, don’t think so! I fucking know I-GAH!” Firestreak cried out in pain when she felt pain burst on the back of her head. She rolled around in Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail for a moment, before whipping around to glare at the guilty party. “Dammit, who the hell did that?!”

“Ah did, ya fire-brained idiot!” Apple Bloom shouted, glaring at Firestreak. “Ah don’t know if yer jus’ playin’ a tough front ‘r just bein’ plain stupid, but ya need to simmer down! Ya do realize who yer talkin’ to, right?! This is Nightmare Moon buckin’ Nocturnis, th’ Dark Queen an’ th’ Goddess o’ th’ Red Moon for land’s sake!”

“I don’t care if she’s the queen of the entire fucking universe!” Firestreak shouted, flapping her wings despite knowing she couldn’t fly at the moment. “Nopony bad-mouths Rainbow Dash and gets away with it! Especially if somepony does it in front of me! If they do, they’re going to find themselves in a world of hurt!”

“Funny you should say something like that, Firestreak! Because you looked like you were about to get all of us hurt just a couple of seconds ago!” Sweetie Belle cried, her own face streaking with tears as she hugged herself within the mist. “Seriously, are you trying to get our blood sucked and leave us as husks! Like how Nightmare Moon did to that guard’s pony when he was trying to keep Nightmare Moon from getting away?!”

Melon Cake stuck her tongue out in disgust at the unpleasant memory. “Please don’t remind me of that Sweets!” She gagged, shaking in midair as she scrunched her eyes shut. “The last thing that I want to think about is somepony getting their own blood sucked out of them like a lollipop!”

“Yeah, well Nightmare Moon’s skull is gonna looked like a crushed lollipop by the time I’m don’t with her!” Firestreak said as she glared back at Nightmare Moon. “Ya hear me?! You are mine as soon as we find some way to get out of here!”

“Believe me, I’ll be eagerly awaiting when I can give you that chance little one.” Nightmare Moon said, not bothering to look back at her this time. “For now, I’d suggest you quiet down so I can focus on my flight. I wouldn’t want any of you to fall out of my mane and tail before we’ve even gotten sight of our new destination.”

“Are you fucking shitting me?!” Firestreak yelled, making the other foals wince. “You talk shit about my sister, foalnap us out of the Town Square, and you’re telling me I should shut up! I think you’re the one who shou-mph!”

“Firestreak, stop it!” Crescent Shield hissed desperately, using her magic to seal the other filly’s mouth shut. Firestreak struggled to get her lips free, but was held firm by the magic the winged unicorn used. “I understand that your angry right now, but will you please give it a rest?! I am just as scared as you are, and I know the others feel the same way, just like you! Even so, we’re not going to get anywhere if we do what you’re doing right now! We are in the clutches of the most powerful pony in the world, and the last thing we want is for her to vaporize us because you don’t know when to stop talking! So please, for our sake, and Rainbow’s sake, calm down! Or else I’ll keep your mouth sewn until we’re at wherever we’re heading!”

As Crescent tried to keep the lid on Firestreak’s boiling temper, Sheton remained quiet, not even paying attention to any of the fillies. His thoughts were nothing but a giant whirlwind right now, and it wasn’t just his friends he was thinking about. The colt’s thoughts were mainly on his sisters, and what they could be doing at the moment. He knew that she, along with Goku had to be looking for her, along with the rest of the mares he had met that morning. There was no way she couldn’t be, not after what transpired back in the Town Square. Goku had even tried to get them back before Nightmare Moon had taken them all out of Ponyville. Something that he believed she would’ve succeeded at had Nightmare Moon not blindsided her at the last second. Sheton could still see the look of horrified fear on her face, even as she was sent flying by the Dark Queen, a sight that made him want to cry thinking about it.

‘I wonder of big sis will be able to make it through this forest before Nightmare Moon decides to do anything really bad to us.’ Sheton thought, imaginations of his sister’s fate in the Everfree worming their way into his mind. The colt flinched and shut his eyes, one of his hooves coming to slap his cheek hard. ‘No, don’t think like that Sheton! You’re making it seem like she’s not going to make it and save you! Goku will save you! You know she will, along with the rest of your friends too! Just keep Scootaloo and the fillies safe until then and keep your chin up high!’

Yet as much as he tried to tell himself that, Sheton know that was a lot easier said than done, especially on the latter.

Even though he was, rightfully, scared out of his mind, he couldn’t help but be transfixed by what he was currently seeing. That sight being the giant forest that they were all currently flying over, presenting itself to him in all of its natural glory. He was unable to keep his innocent eyes from taking in the giant trees and dense bushes that covered the area, the shadows covering the bottom. Sheton could see no animals on the earth’s floor, but he could hear them loud and clear, on the ground and in the air. At one point, he heard the screeching of what sounded to be a bird of prey that sounded to be up close to them. Yet as he looked around, he couldn’t see the bird anywhere in sight, making him think that may have been hearing things. Except…he couldn’t have; his ears were sharper than any of the other pony tribes. There was no way he could’ve misheard something as loud and piercing as that.

‘Well, we are in the Everfree Forest right now, and the animals here are very much different than the ones found in any normal wilderness.’ Sheton thought to himself, looking up into the direction of where they were flying away from. ‘At the very least, that could’ve been the famed Death Raptor, or Shinomōkin I’ve read about. Oh, I really, really hope it doesn’t find us, I do not want us to get eaten!’

A soft hoof then made contact with his shoulder, and he looked over to see Scootaloo next to him, looking at him with concern. As Sheton stared at, he could see the outlines of tried tears staining her white cheeks, making them a crusty grey. The sight of seeing such a pretty filly and tears broke Sheton’s heart, and he turned to give her his full attention.

“Are you okay Scootaloo?” The thestral colt asked softly. “What’s the matter?”

“I-I could b-be asking you t-the same t-thing.” Scootaloo replied, her voice just as gentle as she moved closer to the colt. “Y-you’ve been a-awfully q-quiet for this entire trip…i-is everything alright?”

Sheton sighed, letting his head slump as his mane fell over his face. “No…everything isn’t alright Scootaloo. In fact, what kind of a question is that? Just an hour and a half ago, were nearly crushed to past in the Town Square, we stood face to face with the Dark Queen, and now, we’re being foalnapped and taken to only Faust knows where! How can anything about that be alright?! Well, let me tell you, it’s not!”

Scootaloo winced at the outburst, but didn’t shy away, her desire to comfort the colt outweighing her fear of his anger. “Y-you’re right, t-that was a stupid question. I’m sorry about-”

“No, I’m sorry for shouting at you, that wasn’t very nice of me.” Scootaloo shyly interrupted, shaking her head. “I-I’m just…really scared about what’s going to happen t-to us.”

“You and be both Scootaloo.” Sweetie said, sniffling as she continued to cry. “I-I’m really scared of what Nightmare Moon will do to us now that she has us. I-I mean, I know she said she wouldn’t hurt us, b-but, I-I’m still scared! I don’t wanna b-be one of Nightmare Moon’s p-puppets, I-I wanna be with my sister again!”

“I do too!” Melon Cake cried, pouting deeply. “This is not a party that I wanna be a part of! I know that it will be dark, scary, spooky, and frightening, and not even the good kind! This is gonna be the bad kind that is going to make us never participate on Nightmare Night ever again!”

“I think that’s the least of our worries right now Melon. It’s only July, and Nightmare Night is another three months away!” Apple Bloom frowned as she crossed her forehooves. “I can still see yer point, Ah don’t wanna have any part o’ this! Ah jus’ wanna git away from this mare, outta this forest, an’ back t’ where Applejack is!”

“I wanna be reunited Twilight and Spike too, but we don’t have that option right now.” Crescent replied solemnly, looking back at Nightmare Moon. “From the way I see it, Nightmare Moon isn’t going to let us go. And if we try anything, we’re going to be getting more than just a fright, so it’s best if we just comply with her for now.”

“Are you crazy?!” Firestreak shouted incredulously. “There is no fucking way I’m doing anything for this bitch! If anything, she should be letting us before I-OW!”

Apple Bloom shook her white-stocked hoof, steaming rising off of it as Firestreak nursed the lump on her head. “Shut yer trap b’fore ya git us all zapped!”

“Well, you seven seem to be having quite lively the conversation back there.” Nightmare Moon murmured, causing the foals to look over at her. “Have you all calmed down a bit now that you’ve alleviated some of your stress?”

Scootaloo gulped, her politeness and fear of getting vaporized making her speak up. “U-um…not really M-Ms. Q-Queen Moon. I-I do feel a l-little better n-now that I’ve gotten over b-being so f-frightened, b-but…I am still p-pretty scared.” She ignored the annoyed glare Firestreak shot her as she poked her hooves together. “I-if you would b-be so kind…c-could you please maybe, t-take us a bit lower? I-if, um…if that’s okay with you?”

“Really? You don’t like being this high above this beautiful forest?” Nightmare Moon cooed, giving her wings gentle flap. “Poor thing…well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose I could take you all a little lower. Though I do have to go deeper through the trees and move around a bit more. I don’t want to damage my wings by hitting one of those thick branches, and that would probably lead me dropping you.”

“Oh, r-really?” Scootaloo asked, her ears perking. “W-well, never mind then, y-you can just keep going at the p-pace you’re going. F-forget that I said anything…”

“Actually wait. There’s no need to do that.” Nightmare Moon suddenly added, catching the other foals off guard. “It would appear that we’ve finally found our destination.”

“Wait, we made it already?!” Firestreak shouted, looking around. “I don’t see anything! All I can see are these damn trees!”

“Oh, I’m sorry my mistake; I forgot where you couldn’t see from where you are.” Nightmare Moon said absentmindedly. “Here allow me to adjust my flight pattern.”

With a sudden flap upward, Nightmare Moon flew even higher above the trees, ignoring the cries and squeals from the foals as they were pulled along. It didn’t take them very long for them to finally be above the trees, allowing them to see beyond that and ahead. Looking to the left, a few of them could even see the outlines of Foal Mountain, looking to be on the north side of the Everfree. What most of the foals didn’t know, was that there was also where Hallow Shades was, a revelation that left Sheton in a silent shocked stupor. He didn’t have time to dwell on it long, for Nightmare Moon’s smooth, yet powerful voice drew his attention back to her.

“Well, here we are little ones! We’ve made it to me and my sisters old him! The sin black alicorn said as she observed the building in front of her. “Or at least…what is left of it, which will soon be mine, and my home alone.”

As Nightmare Moon flew closer to the ruined building in front of her, she lowered herself a bit, allowing the youngsters to see it. The chorus of gasp she heard come from them let them know just how taken aback they were as to where she had brought them. So much so, that Crescent Shield could help but verbally express it.

“No…no way, t-that…it can’t be!” The ocean blue filly shouted, instinctively flying back within the alicorn’s fused mane and tail. “There’s no way that can be the place where you’re taking us!”

“Indeed, it is my little filly, this is the castle that I will soon take as my own, and use to rule once I get rid of my retched sister.” Nightmare Moon declared, laughing at the filly’s expression. “Of course, I can’t do it with the way that it is. I’m sure you and I can agree that it does needed a little redecorating to make it more fit for a Queen.”

Redecorating was probably not the right word to use for the building that the mare and foal hostages were currently flying towards. The castle looked, for the lack of a better word, in utter ruins, yet still looked to be standing, despite most of it being gone. One two smaller towers could be seen on either side, looking to still be in peek condition, even after all the time it was left behind. Thick coats of algae were growing on random parts, and a few or so trees could be seen growing around it from the inside. Some distance away from the old ruins, was a large dirt trail that led to a fallen bridge no longer connected to where the castle was. The far end of the bridge looked to be hanging right into the pit that separated the castle form the rest of the forest surrounding it, looking all but ready to snap.

“Redecorating?! That place looks like it needs to be built from the ground up!” Melon exclaimed, her jaw slightly hanging open. “It looks like a stack of a hundred birthday cakes ready to topple over and splatter the ground with frosting and…and cake!”

“That’s a very…tasty way of putting it, little filly.” Nightmare Moon mused, mulling over the filly’s comment before shrugging. “But you are right, it does look like it’s going to fall with just the slightest blast. Luckily, I just happened to know just how to get it back in proper condition.”

“Oh really, you’re going to but that entire castle back together all by yourself?” Firestreak asked in a snarky tone. “Yeah, like even somepony like you can accomplish that.”

Sweetie Belle glared at her friend. “Are you trying to get yourself bitten?!” She snapped sharply.

“Don’t underestimate the power of an alicorn my little filly.” Nightmare Moon said smugly, completely ignoring Firestreak’s remark. “You should especially not underestimate my power either. I haven’t spent the last thousand years just sitting on my moon doing nothing but staring out into my endless starry universe.”

Sheton suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable by that statement, “What…are going on about that?”

The bat winged alicorn glanced behind her, giving the colt a feral grin. “Just wait and see my little fledgling…just wait and see.”

None of the other foals were able to ask Nightmare Moon about that, for they found themselves landing right in front of the old castle. Her mane and tail finally released the younger group, and they fell to the ground with soft thumps. Some of them landing on each other as they struggled not to inhale the dust cloud surrounding them. Scootaloo ended up falling right on top of Sheton, and they blushed upon feeling themselves pressed against one another.

“Owww…did ya have t’ let us fall so carelessly like that?” Apple Bloom asked, rubbing at the side of her head. “Ya could’ve at least given us some warning b’fore ya did that!”

“Hmhm, I’m sorry about that young one, it appears I was a bit more excited than I thought.” Nightmare Moon chuckled as she turned to face the apprehensive foals. “Now, how about we go inside and-”

“TAKE THIS!” Firestreak suddenly yelled out leaping in front of Nightmare Moon with her indigo hooves outstretched. The next thing Nightmare Moon knew her vision was enveloped in a sea of yellow, red and orange as the filly blasted a stream of fire right into her armored face. The fire went right past her, striking the doors with a such a force that it made them slam open with an echoing bang.

“Ha! How’d you like that you bitch?!” Firestreak smirked taking a couple steps back. “Can’t take the heat can you?”

“FIRESTREAK!” Crescent screamed, looking at her friend in absolute horror. Was she seriously that idiotic?

Scootaloo fell to her rump, looking like she was going to have a heart attack. “Y-you d-d-did not j-j-just d-d-d-do t-t-t-that…!”

“Oh, hell yeah I did!” Firestreak smirked, turning to look at her friends as the fire continued to roar around Nightmare Moon. “And it was fucking awesome! Bitch just stood there and took it like she actually could!”

“YOU IDIOT!” Apple Bloom screamed, running over and tackling Firestreak to the ground. The farm filly began repeatedly slamming her into the ground, her orange eyes wide with panic. “DO YA HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YA JUS’ DID?! YOU SERIOUSLY CANNOT BE THAT STUPID!”

“Oh, relax Apple Bloom! Now’s our chance to escape from here.” Firestreak said once Apple Bloom stopped throttling her. “Sure it may not be much, but my flames will definitely be enough to slow her down! So whaddya say we go ahead and make a break for it?”

Sheton stared in absolute fear at Firestreak, completely at a loss for words at her stupidity. ‘This filly is a complete idiot!’

“What, you seven are leaving already?” Nightmare Moon’s voice silky voice asked from within the flames. “We haven’t even gotten to explore the castle yet.”

If the situation hadn’t been so petrifying, Sheton and the fillies would’ve laughed at the comically terrified expression on Firestreak’s face. Every single trace or bravado and toughness seemed to have been ripped from her face by Nightmare Moon’s words. Beads of sweat bounced off her face as she slowly looked behind her to see Nightmare Moon smiling down at her. Her fur was slightly burnt along with some of the feathers on her wings, but otherwise looked fine. Although that didn’t mean the other foals were scared of what would happen next.

“Dang it…” Sweetie whimpered. “Now you did Firestreak…”

Nightmare Moon exhaled deeply, as if trying to suppress the rage building inside of her. “Hmmm, I guess I was kind of cold there, thanks for warming me up.” She said, ruffling her wings as she looked down at a trembling Firestreak. “To be honest, it was rather cold back up on the moon, so it feels very relieving that I’m finally able to feel something other than freezing cold.”

Firestreak backed away slowly, her heart beating uncontrollably in fright at the aura of authority Nightmare Moon was giving off. She suddenly realized that she may have recklessly signed both her and her friends’ death warrants.

“Of course, that wasn’t quite the best move to pull…not to mention you interrupted me when I was speaking.” Nightmare Moon continued, her tone not changing as she stepped closer to the foals. Her turquoise eyes gave a faint flash of red, something that Sheton picked up on as the alicorn closed her eyes. “It looks like I have to discipline you, my feisty one.”

“W-w-wait a second, why don’t we take a step back and talk about this!” Firestreak said as she began to stagger back, running right into Apple Bloom. “I-I was just kidding! Yeah, that’s right kidding, I wasn’t really trying to-”

Flashes of red were the only thing that Firestreak could see as Nightmare Moon’s eyes snapped open, revealing two large orbs of crimson. It didn’t take up the entirety of her eyes, for her slitted pupils were a bright orange, with an iridescent yellow ring around them. They pinned the crimson filly in place, burning away every single ounce of toughness she may have had, leaving her a whimpering mess. She wasn’t the only one though; the rest of the fillies were feeling the heat as well in their own way, some more scared than others. Crescent’s wings were fluttering madly wanting desperately to take her away in flight, while Sweetie whimpered and whined, fighting to look away. Apple Bloom’s mouth opened and closed, trying to utter out some form of apology, unable to thanks to the power behind Nightmare Moon’s stare. Melon’s eyes were as wide as balloons, looking like they were going either pop our burn right out of her head. While Scootaloo sobbed violently, looking like she had just woken up from a nightmare.

The only one who was managing to maintain himself was Sheton, yet even had had a few tears racing down his eyes. As he stared into Nightmare Moon’s glowing eyes, he couldn’t help but sense that there was something…familiar about them, along with her. It was the same sensation that he got when he saw Nightmare Moon for the first time, one that made him feel as if she was familiar to him as well. He knew there was something off about Nightmare Moon, something that almost made him feel as if she was a part of him somehow…but what was it?

Nightmare Moon’s gaze of red eventually receded back to their normal color, breaking the spell she had on the foals and allowing them to break free. She watched as they collapsed on the ground, panting, sweating and crying as they tried to recover from the horror that Nightmare Moon had glared upon them.

“There, I think I’ve gotten the message across loud and clear.” She said, smiling in satisfaction as watched them struggle to stand. “Now, have we all learned our lessons?”

“W-what? B-but we didn’t do anythi-” Sweetie stuttered, but was cut off when Scootaloo’s hoof clapped over her muzzle.

“Yes, we have learned our lesson, we swear Queen Moon!” Scootaloo wailed, legs still shaking as she stared straight into Nightmare Moon’s eyes. “We won’t ever go against you like that again, we promise!”

“Scootaloo, we didn’t-!” Melon said, but she too was cut off when Crescent shut her mouth with her magic. At that moment, both she and Sweetie got the message, and they went quiet, along with the others.

“Good, I’m glad that you remember your places.” Nightmare Moon nodded as she turned around, gesturing for them to follow. “Now, shall we proceed?”

The seven foals knew that it wasn’t a question, and they obediently followed after the sin black alicorn as she went through the open doors. Each of their eyes were greeted with the sight of the large hallways, and the multiple rooms adoring the sides of it. There was also old paintings and ancient art of the sun and the moon hanging off of the sides of the hallway. At the far end of the hallway, was a set of stairs, going to two ways with a tapestry hanging in the center wall, above a window.

“So…I was right after all; this castle is what I thought it was.” Crescent said as she looked around the hallways. “This is…the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.”

Apple Bloom glanced at the ocean blue filly. “The what now?”

“Oh, you you’ve heard of this castle before, have you?” Nightmare Moon looked over at Crescent. “I take it that this was form some sort of history lesson?”

“U-um…yes, something like that.” Crescent replied with a blush. “I go to a pretty advanced school in Canterlot City, so the teachers there are pretty knowledgeable. With teachers like that, it’s not all that hard for foals like me to guess places like these.”

Nightmare Moon raised a brow at this explanation, before it clicked. “Oh, so you are, what other may affectionately call, a bookworm?”

“Er…yes.” Crescent said bashfully. “I come from a whole family of b-bookworms. So, it’s easy to pick up on their habits.”

“Hmmm…yes, I can certainly it. Your eyes and body language alone let me know that you are quite knowledgeable.” Nightmare Moon nodded, her eyes trailing over to Sheton. “And it looks like you’re not the only one of this little group who is either.”

The stormy grey colt flinched, covering his head with his large fedora. ‘How the hell did she guess something like that?!’

“Wow…this castle is in much better shape than I thought! I really did think that it was going to fall like stack of pancakes!” Melon gasped as she looked around the hall. Her multi-colored eyes took in the sights of doors that he was pretty sure were headquarters. “Um, Queen Moonie, are uh…do these doors lead to bedrooms?”

“Why yes they are my sweet-toothed filly.” Nightmare Moon replied as they began walking up the stairs. “Me and my sister’s old castle used to have plenty of rooms for our guests, even those of the Lunar and Solar Division when we were both in power. It looks like those haven’t been entirely destroyed. It makes things all the easier for me for what I’m about to do.”

Sweetie looked at the larger mare curiously. “W-what’s that? What’re you gonna do?”

Nightmare Moon smiled anticipatingly at the alabaster filly. “Just wait and see my little melodious filly…just wait and see.”

As the group went up the right stairs, Scootaloo noticed something out of her peripheral vision, and found herself looking into a beautiful tapestry. Judging by how it was made, along with the pony inside of it, it was clearly one made for nature, something that surprised her. From what she was able to gather of the castle, it was something made for both the day and the night, so she wasn’t expecting any other symbolic items to be in it. Which made her curious as to how something like this ended up in a castle that completely contrasted with it.

As the filly good a closer look at the tapestry, there was something that she noticed about it, an aspect that left her wide-eyed. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any more time to think on what she had seen, for Sheton’s voice called her over.

“Scootaloo?” He asked, making the filly turn over to where the colt was. He blushed upon seeing his, and the rest of the group’s eyes focused on her. “Are you coming?”

“O-oh, yes, I’m sorry!” Scootaloo apologized as she rushed over to where her friends and the foalnapper were waiting for her. She took a quick glance at Nightmare Moon, but the alicorn said nothing as she continued to lead the group up to the throne room. Unbeknownst to the foals, Nightmare Moon knew just what Scootaloo was looking at, something that made Nightmare Moon frown on sorrow.

‘Get ahold of yourself Nightmare Moon, now is not the time to be worrying over such things.’ The sin black Alicorn firmly thought to herself, giving a slight shake of her head. ‘You have far more important matters to attend to. First you must get rid of those meddlesome mares that my sister sent to stop me, eliminate her, and taking my place as the rightful Lunar Queen of Equestria.’ She looked back at where the tapestry was, making sure that the foals could not see the frown on her face, or the pain in her eyes. 'And then, you can find someway to undo that.'

The trek up to the old throne room wasn’t very long by the foals account, since it was just above the hallway that they were recently in. They found themselves looking into a room, that was just as long as the last one. Multiple mirrors and statues and tapestries could be seen dotting the sides of the throne room, with a deep red rug, just like the one in Canterlot Castle. At the very end, were two aged chairs that had symbols of the sun and moon on each of them. With the moon hovering from behind them through a large glass window.

“Hmmm…my old room my sister and I used seems to also intact as well.” Nightmare Moon said, mostly to herself than the observers behind her. “Looks like this castle was just as intact on the inside as well as outside…even if it is mostly destroyed.”

“T-this is yours a-and Queen C-Celestia’s old t-throne room?” Scootaloo asked observing the scenery around her. “T-the one you used to share?”

“Indeed, it is my sweet one. The one that I had also blindly wrecked in my rage against my sister…something that I regret to this day.” Nightmare Moon shook her head, that part of her memory she was not fond of. “It matters not now, for I plan to fix any bit of damage that we both did to our old home that will soon my mine.”

Sheton, with all of the fear he was currently feeling, could not help but make his curiosity about that known. “U-um…n-not to sound rude or anything, b-but…how do you plan to do that Ni, er…Q-Queen Moon? N-no offense, but…you don’t really have a-anypony to help fix t-the whole castle to how you want it…a-and we’re not exactly construction material.”

Nightmare Moon burst out laughing, the sound so sudden that it made the foals jump back. “Well of course you can’t help me! You are only foals; I don’t expect you to suddenly know how to rebuild an entire castle!” She let out a few more giggles before she regally regained her composure. “And even if you did, you wouldn’t need to. As I stated before, I have not been sitting around on the moon for the last millennium.”

Crescent’s ears perked. “W-wait, so…you mean to imply that you’re going to have this entire castle reconstructed?! A-all by yourself?!”

“You’re seriously going to try to do that?” Firestreak asked, only now realizing just how serious Nightmare Moon was the last time. Once that realization sunk in, the only thing she could find herself asking was, “H-how?!”

Nightmare Moon smirked, walking up to the stairs and stopping just in front of them as she ignited her horn. With a flash of her eyes, she shot a large beam of magic straight through the windows behind the throne chairs. It shattered on impact as the beam flew through the air, straight towards the moon as its glow washed over the room. Turning back around Nightmare Moon flared her wings, she sent a powerful gust of wind rushing over the foals as they stared dumbfounded.

“W-what did you do that for?” Sweetie asked, the tone in her voice showing that she was not preparing for that to happen.

The smirk on Nightmare Moon’s face grew slightly wider, the fangs from within her mouth becoming more existent. “For this~.”

Closing her eyes, a turquoise aura of magic surrounded her, lighting up her glittering set of armor, as well as the old throne room. It grew larger and more powerful in strength, the same streaks of it flowing about the room as clouds of dust swept all over. Some of them even went out the window, floating around in the air and up into the sky where the moon was gleaming at the largest window. This went on for a few moment, Nightmare Moon’s aura growing in intensity as she prepared to unleash the power behind it. Suddenly, her draconic eyes snapped open, and with a neigh that echoed about the entire castle, she reared up and slammed her forehooves down.

The effects were immediate.

The millisecond Nightmare Moon’s hooves touched the ground, a wave of magic washed over the floor, along with the entire room. The colt and fillies squealed as it raced towards them but quieted down once they saw they wouldn’t be frozen. The dusty stone-grey grounds and walls of the old throne room turned into a beautiful icy blue color that glittered as brightly as the stars in the sky. Cracks in the floor vanished, replaced by smooth and cool floors, made in a way that would allow somepony to look at their reflections. Broken and demolished windows were replaced by new ones having pictures of a nocturnal nighttime landscape, with the moon hovering high above them. Behind the sin black alicorn, a brand-new throne was being made, replacing the two ones that she had just destroyed. Or rather, fusing the two chairs together into one massive one made to Nightmare Moon’s liking.

Rooms, hallways and other areas of the castle’s interior were going through magical repairments as well outside of pony eyes. Old fabric and imprints of the sun and moon were obliterated, leaving ones of only the latter while the former was demolished and disintegrated. Even the floor was given light and dark blue color, with a giant crescent moon in the center of the hallways. Outside, the towers, both big and small, as well as what looked to be sheds, were going through the same effects from the Dark Queen’s magic. Even the castle itself was growing in size, becoming twice, no, four times as big as Canterlot castle. It consisted of different twilight colors, ranging from pink, purple, and even green, with a few parts of it being blue and black. It was so large that it could easily be seen across the wide-open golden plains, and the glow emitting from the moon made it easily noticeable. As a finishing touch, a long icy white trail slithered across the ground. It went all the way down to where the bridge was, where a new icy bridge formed, while the old went merely fell into the pit below it.

Back inside the newly reformed throne room, Nightmare Moon stood in place, marveling at her work while the foals stood gob smacked. She made no other movements, nor did she speak a word as the aura of power around her slowly vanished. Her mane and tail floated behind her as her eyes slowly opened, taking in the newly made sight of her castle. Another smile came to her face as she took in her new home’s beauty, everything looking to be to her liking.

“Oh my…that turned out even better than I thought that it would!” Nightmare Moon said jovially, as she ruffled her wings. She looked up at the newly fixed roof, and smiled up at the large blue chandeliers having crescent and full moons on it. “I’ve that picture in my head for so long of what I wanted my own castle to look like. Now, after a thousand years, I’ve finally done it at last, and it looks positively divine!”

“H-holy shit…s-she did it!” Firestreak exclaimed. “She actually managed to rebuild this whole place…all on her own!”

“A-and she did it all with just her magic.” Crescent fell to her haunches, her wide golden eyes shaking in awe at what she had witness. “I…I-I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Whoa, this floor is so…flat!” Melon cried as she slid along the floor. “I can actually slide on it, and I’m not even wearing ice skates!”

“Uh-huh, a-and it’s so…so…pretty.” Sweetie breathed, walking around in circles as her green eyes ran over the windows, ceiling, and chandeliers. “I don’t think even Queen Celestia can do something like this.”

“Of course she cannot!” Nightmare Moon guffawed humorously as the foals took in their new surroundings.“At least, not anything like this that I can recall. Of course, I really don’t need to for I’m sure that my sister has not even come close to increasing her magic to do something like this! Unlike me, who spent century after century mastering my magic for my inevitable return to this world on the thousandth day of the thousandth year!”

“Um…t-that’s v-very n-nice, Q-Queen M-Moon, a-and you’ve d-done a w-wonderful j-job in m-making it.” Scootaloo said softly, giving a polite bow to the Dark Queen. “S-still, I have t-to ask, i-if I may…w-why d-did you d-destroy t-the um…t-the window?”

Nightmare Moon’s grin was the only thing that Scootaloo was able to see before she and the rest of her friends were blindsided by a flash of red. It was so sudden that the foals cried as pain flashed within their eyes, making them cover them out of fear of getting blind. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, allowing the foals to try to adjust their eyesight again. When they did, the first thing they looked at was the moon…or what was the usual moon. Their eyes slowly grew to the size of paper plates, as they saw that the moon was no longer its soft white color.

It was a burning scarlet red.

“Does that answer your question, my sweet?” Nightmare Moon cooed, taking delight in the younger ponies faces. “That was a little upgrade that I wanted to give to the moon…and it would see that it has worked.”

“W-wait, are you saying that you turned the moon into…t-the…Blood Moon?!” Sheton asked, paling as he saw Nightmare Moon softly nod. “Oh no…oh no, no, no, no! If she did that…t-then that means that-!”

“Indeed, my little fanged pup! Tonight, this castle and the Everfree will truly come alive all those who thrive in its shadows and worship its darkness!” Nightmare Moon declared, gesturing to the moon with a sin black foreleg. “And what better place for that to take place then in the one forest that foolish nopony has touched for the last thousand years?! Last I was here, it was full of creatures who cherish the darkness in all its glory, so there’s no doubt they’re still here now!”

“C-creatures of the n-night?” Crescent gulped, her pupils shrinking within her eyes. “Y-you c-can’t mean…t-those creatures…d-do you?”

“Oh, but I do mean those creatures my wonderful little princess. The very same creatures that your dear sisters will be facing when they enter this forest.” Nightmare Moon said gleefully, whipping her tail skirt back and forth. “They did seem rather determined to go in their when we visited them inside of that little library, did they not? I’m sure they’d be more than eager to get to me more than ever once they face those beautiful beasts…if they can get past them that is.”

“They can, and they will!” Firestreak shouted, stomping a hoof on the newly fixed floor. “You just wait Nightmare Moon! It doesn’t matter what our sisters go up against; they’ll burn it all to ashes and then some when they finally get to you! No matter what you throw at them they’ll overcome it and throw it right back at you, and you’ll be sorry!”

“T-that’s right!” Sweetie nodded as she glared sharply at the alicorn. “They’ll make you sorry that you ever took us, especially Sheton! Since his own sister is a bat pony, just like him!”

“Hmmm…indeed, she is a bat pony…and a rather fine looking one at that. It would appear that things with my night children have changed little while I was gone.” Nightmare Moon mused, gaining a thoughtful look. “In fact, it would seem that they have learned to adapt while still maintaining the power I bestowed upon them so long ago. I am so…” She paused to savor the word as she looked pointedly at Sheton. “…happy, that they are still as resilient as ever…at least my sister hasn’t let that change. I can’t wait to see just how resilient and battle-hardened they gotten for the last ten centuries.”

Sheton whimpered nervously, pressing himself against Scootaloo, who wrapped a wing around him in comfort. Even as she shook, she did her best to comfort and sooth him under the piercing gaze of the mare who may as well have been a demonic godly founder of his clan.

“That reminds me…I’ll need to see to it that I have my own army up and ready for battle.” The sin black alicorn said quietly. “I do hope that they’re resting beds are still within this forest. That would make it so much easier for my plans to regain power. If not…” A wicked smirk strewed across her face. “Well, I can always improvise…but first…” She looked at the foals with a softer expression. “…I need to get you situated.”

Suddenly, the seven foals were encased in soft aura of blue magic that glowed brighter as they floated higher into the air. Their expressions grew fearful as they looked back at the Dark Queen, terrified of what was going to happen.

“W-what’re you doing to us?!” Melon cried, flailing her forelegs wildly. “A-are you gonna turn us into cherry frosting?!”

“Oh no, don’t worry dear, just relax.” Nightmare Moon replied in a surprisingly sweet tone, knowing what Melon was implying. “I’m just going to show you to your new headquarters; give you all sometime to take it easy after everything that’s happened.” A tinge of excitement came into her voice as she added, “I will be back for you though, and when I do, I’ll give you a little tour of what will soon be your new home.”

Sheton’s heart froze in his chest. “N-new…h-home?”

“Yes…after I rid myself of my sister, and have fun with yours, I’ll swiftly dispose of them for good, and have you all be a part of what will soon be my kingdom. You will grow under my care, and I will teach all the ways of the night and the darkness.” She chuckled upon seeing their horrified faces. “You won’t worry, you will get a chance to say a final goodbye to them before I drain them of their blood and their magic. I’m sure they’d love that to be the last thing they see, though probably not while they look like shriveling husks. Oh well, we’ll come to that route when we get there.”

With that, all seven foals vanished in a whisk of sparkling blue light, their cries of protest being the last thing Nightmare Moon heard. She watched as the remnants of her magic floated to the ground in twinkling particles of light, before they vanished before her eyes completely.

“There, now I’ve gotten my adorable little guests situated.” Nightmare Moon sighed, turning back around and walking back to her throne. “It’s about time I wake my millennium old army from their long overdue sleep. I do wish that I could let them rest more, but I need them for what will no doubt be coming for me. I wonder, just how much stronger will they be once I’ve given them each a piece of my power." She looked down at her beautiful form, running a hoof through her chest fluff. “One thing though, I must dress myself in proper attire fit for a Lunar Queen of my stature.”

A bright light engulfed her entire body, vanishing a second later as Nightmare Moon was revealed once more. Her once naked form was now adorned with azure blue armor going down to her lower stomach, which also adorning wing blades. Her hooves were adorned in azure horseshoes, while her horn had a pure white crown having a crescent moon at the top, with a smaller blood red one right in the center of her head. To top the new attire off, a long indigo cape flowed about, attached itself to either of her shoulders.

“Now then, all that’s needed to do is gather my army and prepare them for the battle that is soon to come. Oh, how happy they’ll be to see me again…” Nightmare Moon said to herself. “I swear to you Celestia, I will finish you off this time, and make you pay for what you did to me. Once you’re gone, your sun will fall, my Moon will rise, and the night will last…forever.”

Alright now, I want to make something very clear, because I am sure a lot of you guys are going to be going ham on me for this. Why did I have Nightmare Moon reconstruct the Castle of the Two Sister single-hoofedly? It's because it was an idea that I had gotten after watching the movie Frozen, where Elsa had created that beautiful icy castle after running away from her home. It was the one thing that could really make sense to me for Nightmare Moon to start to take back her reign and try to win within a within hours of her returning to the moon...with a few reluctant guests along the way. Also, I apologize if I didn't make this chapter very dark or dramatic on my part with the foals and Nightmare Moon, couldn't really see much of that happening. I do hope that you all liked that little red moon addition I put, because things are totally going to get real bloody as the girls go on their trek through the Everfree Forest. Not gonna give out just what creatures the girls will face, but based on the Blood Moon...I think you guys have a hint of what they'll be.

Next time: Zephyr and the girls begin begin through journey into the immortal forest...and get a fateful of feathers and thunder from the mother of all raptors⚡!!!