Unlike many foals his age, Sheton Crimson Flash Nightstalker Shenron was given the luck of being raised in the protective confinements of a royal castle. He was given even greater luck of being able to socialize and bond with the ones that ran and took care of the castle while he was growing up. It may have been seen as unusual for anypony to be allowed to live with their king or their queen, let alone a bat pony, but that was just how Celestia Daybringer was. It wasn’t every day that the Queen gave somepony to privilege to live with her, despite having a many other ponies living with her already. Though those just consisted of royal guards, politicians, chefs, teachers, doctors and mages, the ones that any ruler would need for a castle. What was unusual about it was that the ponies Celestia did allow to live with her were not of any of the ponies that were required of somepony of her status. Those ponies being ones such as him, even if they didn’t have fangs, bat wings and supernatural powers that would make them seem like creatures of folklore. For ones with families not like Sheton’s, it was like inviting a colony of cockroaches into a clean secure home. Letting them invade and infest all that they managed to get their creepy crawly little legs on, tainting the glorious home they had built for themselves. It was just something they could not understand, not unless they were in the horseshoes of the Equestrian Clans.

For said clans, on the other hoof, it was like a haven of safety for them. A haven that would shield them and protect them from those who wanted them gone form the society of those that hated their mere presence, the bat ponies most of all. One where they could help each other grow stronger to fight back against those forces, until they were ready to face them again. To prove to them that they are not the monsters that they believed them to be, and they had just as right to be among them as all other creatures. It was what Sheton respected Celestia for, and why he loved living in her castle, but she and it provided that safe haven. Not that he didn’t think his own family didn’t to the same, but Celestia and her home seemed to provide that extra amount of security. That no matter what happened to him or his family, or his friends, it would always protect him and never allow him to suffer unjustly.

As Sheton walked through the halls of the Lunar Moon Castle, huddle close to his friends, he felt none of these feelings he felt in Celestia’s castle. All he felt was pure unadulterated fear as he walked behind the alicorn currently leading them down the hall. It was heightened by the dark and ominous feeling the castle itself was giving off. The beauty that it held did nothing to hide it, and the foals could feel crawling its way into them like an earth worm crawling through soil. Even with the intense fear they had, it didn’t stop them from marveling at the uniqueness the castle produced.

“This castle is enormous.” Crescent Shield murmured, her voice breaking the tense silence. Her mouth slightly agape like a fish struggling to breath as she looked around the large hallways. “It’s almost unnaturally huge…so much bigger than Queen Celestia’s own castle.”

“It is my dear little shield, and for a very specific reason.” Nightmare Moon nodded, smiling at th praise the filly gave to her castle. “Admittedly, it does seem a bit over the top and I may have gotten a little carried away with making it so large. I suppose I was just so excited with how I was able to make my own castle with my own magic that I didn’t think of how I may overdo it.”

“I’ll say! I can still remember the smile you had on your face when you did it.” Melon Cake nodded, her nose twitching like a baby bunny’s. “You looked like you were give the best birthday present of your life, and there weren’t even any presents at all! Though, I guess this castle could be considered your birthday present.”

“Indeed, it can, since it is a birthday present that I decided to give to myself.” Nightmare Moon chuckled, patting the earth pony on her head with her tail skirt. “The first present that I have given myself in the last one thousand years…”

“How the hell can you even give yourself a present anyway? On your own birthday no less?” Firestreak asked, eyebrow raised. “Birthday ponies usually have the presents given to them and not giving themselves presents. That just doesn’t make any sense to me…”

“I know it doesn’t, but that’s what someponies like to do for themselves sometimes.” Scootaloo explained. “Somepony’s don’t really have anypony to celebrate their own birthdays with them, so they decide to give themselves gifts to ease the loneliness.” A solemn sigh left her as thoughts of a pink and blue maned pegasus filly entered her mind. “I know one pony that’s going through that right now…” She said, low enough for none of her friends to hear.

“You speak the truth there, my little caterpillar.” Nightmare Moon crooned, hearing the last thing Scootaloo said but choosing not to comment on it. “In the time that I had ruled before my cursed sister sent me to my moon, I have met ponies without families. Families that were not there for their dear ones to celebrate the most important day of their lives. And even those that did have families had none of them to celebrate it with, be it because they’re not able to…or don’t want to.”

“But that doesn’t make any darn sense!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, a hard frown going down her face. “Why wouldn’t anypony not have at least their friends at their birthday?! Most of all their own family! Ah jus’ can’t see how that’s even possible!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle squeaked in agreement. “In all of my birthdays, there hasn’t been one where my mom and dad didn’t at least try to celebrate it with me! And even if they weren’t there, at least my sister did something fun with me! How can family not want to celebrate one of their own family members birthday of all things?!”

“That’s because not all families are the same as your own girls.” Sheton said simply, his mane shadowing his eyes as he spoke. “My Mom used to tell me all the time that there are just some families who aren’t as close as we are, and probably you as well.” He gestured to the two fillies along the other fillies with him, minus Nightmare Moon. “Trust me, I’ve seen plenty examples of that back in Canterlot and how a lot of families treat each other, even their foals. It mostly comes from the ones that are of nobility and are a part of Queen Celestia’s political court, but there are a few that are normal families who’re just as bad.” He shook his head as he sighed. “Me, Crescent Shield and Spike have seen plenty of examples of it.”

“We have.” Crescent confirmed, her lips going as flat as her ears. “Me, Spike and Sheton have seen plenty of other colts and fillies who’re unjustifiably punished for a lot of things. Many of them that they didn’t do, but their parents, and even older siblings believe that they did, even if there’s something to suggest otherwise. A lot of them get even harsher punishments, ranging from grounding to even not being able to celebrate birthday parties.”

Apple Bloom’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Are…are ya serious?”

“She is, very.” Sheton replied lowly, keeping the disgust out of his tone. “We’ve seen it all before, every time we go to restaurants, shops, playgrounds, movies, zoos, libraries, parks, you name it. We see at least one other foal going through that, even the ones that bullied us and Spike back in our school. Even if they were mean to us, that doesn’t mean that their Mom and Dad are allowed to treat them so unfairly. Most of all if they’re innocent of something that they had nothing to do with!”

“I agree.” Scootaloo nodded heartedly, frowning just as hard as Sweetie just was. “I just can’t understand how some ponies can be so quick to accuse another, foal or otherwise, for something they didn’t do. Even if it seems like it does, that doesn’t always mean it is like that, and that means that ponies going to suffer for something another pony did do!” She stopped when she realized her voice was raising, and she brought it back down like a rope pulling down a storage door. “It makes me so lucky that I have a big sister that’s so understanding and doesn’t go off of what just one pony says. Even if it is me, I’m glad that she takes the time to get all of the facts straight, and see if they’re false, before making a conclusion.”

“It’s the same with me Scootaloo.” Crescent smiled at her friend. “In a way, your own sister is just like mine, even my big brother Spike. Never judging too quickly and always trying to see the other side of things. Sure, Twilight may overreact at times, but she always makes sure she doesn’t make conclusions too quickly. Even if she does, she always has Spike to reel her back in before she goes completely insane…he’s so levelheaded and in tune with himself.”

Sheton giggled, the mirth inside of him helping alleviate his fear a little bit. “I guess that makes three of us then, doesn’t it?”

“Ah bet it does.” Apple Bloom sighed, bowing her head. “Y’all are really lucky to have sisters who’re like that. Makes me kind o’ wish that Applejack was like that sometimes…”

“Same here.” Sweetie said dejectedly, her face flushing as a little cloud appeared on her head. As if she could feel her sister’s razor-edged glare from behind her. “I am not even going to get into how it is with me and Rarity, but…its bad sometimes.”

Firestreak shuddered like she was suddenly out in the cold. “You have no idea what it’s like with me.”

Nightmare Moon glanced over at the foals, mainly at Sheton, silently listening as he spoke of his life experiences. While she didn’t show it, she found herself deeply impressed by the brains, intellect and, dare she say it, the wisdom he and his friends had. She had met many foals that were like that during her time, with nopony else able to really see it other than her. Of course, not all foals were like that, with some being the usual blissfully naïve foals that couldn’t stay out of trouble. Still, she had the pleasure of meeting some foals who were smarter and more mature than many adults, even their parents. Even before her corruption, it still amazed and impressed her how such young youth could be so much than they typically were. Which made her all the sadder that not everypony shared the same thoughts as her.

It reminded her all of all of those time that her own sister didn’t always listen to her when she came to her about her own problems. That no matter how many times she tried to make her see it, Celestia just could not see the main she was in. Not until it was too late, and she was too far gone in her anger and her jealously to listen when her sister did try to reach out to her. It wasn’t like she really cared what her sister finally wanted to help back then. She had made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t going to, and that Nightmare Moon was all on her own to deal with it. Her heart went out to any and all foals that were going through and had gone through the same issues and drama as she did, even while she was on the moon.

Some part of her feared that the insightful foals she met during her rule would no longer exist. That Celestia would make the same mistake she did with her and not listen to them and let their voices be heard like with her. Looking at the foals now, she could see she was wrong about that, just like with how much the bat ponies had changed. There weren’t many times that the Lunar Goddess found herself glad to be wrong, which was a rarity in itself. It looked like she could count this time as one of those times where she was glad that she wasn’t right.

“You young foals…you have to be some of the most insightful foals that I’ve met since I finally left my precious moon.” Nightmare Moon said softly, in an almost reminiscing tone, her voice making the foals draw their attention over to her. “The way some of you are speaking. It’s like you’ve been given a taste of what the real world is like before you even began to start to realize how it really is. You are certainly not like many of the foals I have met during my time period.”

Melon blinked up at her. “What do you mean, Queen Moonie?”

“I think what she means that some of us aren’t the kind of foals that other ponies usually expect us to be.” Came Scootaloo’s soft reply, locking her gaze with the multi-colored one of the soft green earth filly’s. “The way that we’re talking about our lives and what the experiences are with other foals. It’s not what she was expecting of us, even since we came here.” Her single purple eye looked at Nightmare Moon. “That was what you were thinking…w-wasn’t it, your Highness?”

The sin black alicorn nodded slowly. “Yes, it was. I’m impressed that you managed to figure that out so quickly.” She smiled a bit when she saw Scootaloo’s cheeks flush a cute pink color. “You are indeed correct. You are certainly not like the foals that I bonded with and met in my days. Of course, not all of them were the same. Some of them were a lot like you, insightful, able to see and understand things ponies thirty times your age could not.”

“Insightful?” Firestreak asked, not quite understanding the word. “Um, I don’t think I’ve heard that word before. I don’t even think that’s a word at all.”

“Actually, it is.” Crescent corrected. “It means having an accurate and deep understanding. Or, to put it more simply, being perceptive.”

This only made Firestreak more confused. “And what does that word mean?”

“Having or showing sensitive insight.” Scootaloo replied patiently. Before Firestreak could speak again, she added, “Which has the same meaning as perceptive.”

“Yeah…not really following you here.” Firestreak sighed, shaking her head. “I have never heard those words before in my life.”

“Probably ‘cause nopony ever told her ‘bout them.” Apple Bloom muttered to Sweetie. “Maybe that’s why she’s so slow...”

Sweetie nodded. “Most likely.”

“I heard that!” Firestreak shouted, her head gaining a tick mark.

Sheton shot both fillies a reprimanding look, his ears having picked up what they had just said. “Girls…”

“See? You’re doing it again right now.” Nightmare Moon chuckled softly, watching as the foals conversed with one another. “Having such insight and intellect that makes you more like adults than young foals. I must confess, I was afraid that such mature youth like you was gone from this planet while my sister ruled alone.” He breath left her nostrils that held as much relief as she intended it to be. “Looks like I was wrong about that too…”

“Why is that Queen Moon?” Sheton asked, his curiously replacing the disappointment he felt in Apple Bloom and Sweetie just moments ago. “What had you so scared that smart foals like us were gone?”

“Nothing my dear pup, don’t worry about it.” Nightmare Moon shook her head as she composed herself. “I’m just remembering a dear pony that I used to know before I became the true Queen of the Equestria.”

Scootaloo found her mind going back to the tapestry she and her friends saw when Nightmare Moon took them to her throne room. To the image of the eagle-winged alicorn surrounded by the animals, the trees and the other symbols of nature. An unsettling feeling came to the timid filly’s gut as she continued to mull over it. While thinking about the words Nightmare Moon had said, she wondered if that statement and the tapestry had anything in common. Could it be that the alicorn in that picture had been one of Celestia’s dear friends?

An explosion of power suddenly burst out nowhere, hitting the filly and her friend group like somepony stepping on a landmine. It was so fast that none of them even had the change to cry out as it enveloped them like their heads were being pulled underwater. Only Nightmare Moon was left unaffected, and had it not been for them being weighed down, they would’ve seen the giddy look on her fanged face.

“Whoa…what in th’ name o’ Harvest Saplin’ was that?!” Apple Bloom asked, once she had managed to regain her composure. “Did th’ rest o’ y’all feel that?!”

“I sure did!” Melon cried, shuddering like she had just drunk a giant cup of coffee. “It felt like somepony was trying to make me go on a massive sugar rush! And not the good kind of sugar rush either!”

“It felt like something was trying to grab me and drag me somewhere deep and dare.” Sheton said shakily. “L-like a v-vampire or w-werewolf trying to get at me in a deep and scary grove of trees.”

“You are not incorrect to think that my little foals.” Nightmare Moon stated, the tone in her voice making the foals pause. “In fact, your various reactions have told me that my little pets have finally awoken.”

“P-pets?” Sweetie asked, blinking as she struggled to keep her eyes from getting watery. “You have pets here in the castle?”

“I do, but not the type of pets that your probably used to.” Nightmare Moon replied, turning around to face the foals for the first time since their little tour. “Do remember when you all saw me summon my dear Nightmare Army? The army that I am planning to unleash on my sister and her little sun-worshipping town?”

“How can we not?” Firestreak asked sarcastically. “You literally summon their skeletons from their bodies right in front of us. I don’t think I can ever not see that from my mind.”

“After seeing a sight like that, Ah don’t think any of us will.” Apple Bloom deadpanned. “But what does that have to do with these pets o’ yers?”

“I’m just getting to that, patience little filly.” Nightmare Moon admonished as the farm filly’s mouth snapped shut. “Now, onto my next question? You know how you all felt that rush of power before I brought you all up to my throne room? I neglected to inform you, but my army was not the only force I was summoning.”

Sheton felt his heart suddenly clench as fear gripped it like the claws of a mountain lion digging into the hide of a white-tailed deer. “Y-yes…?”

“And do you remember when I had turned the moon red, and with that act, the creatures of the night and darkness would come out?” Nightmare Moon continued, her smile growing slightly wider. “And that I just said that I wasn’t just trying to summon my army?”

“…No.” Sheton’s heart clenched even tighter, feeling like it was going to burst into blood. “No, no, no…you cannot mean…!”

“Indeed, I do little pup.” Nightmare Moon replied as she suppressed a giggle. “My dear pets of folklore have finally been summoned form their millennium long sleep! And now they’re all nice and rejuvenated and ready to play!”

“W-wait a minute!” Melon exclaimed. “You mean they’re here under the castle too?! Right under our hooves!? And they’re going to come out of the ground?! Again?!”

“…That’s what you’re worried about?!” Firestreak shouted, slapping Melon upside her head. “She just told us that a bunch of vampires, werewolves and zombies are about to come out to feed like pack of wolves and that’s what you’re worried about?!”

“Well, yeah!” Melon frowned. “It’s not every day that you actually have real life werewolves, vampires and zombies rising from out of the ground and coffins like they actually existed! And if I recall, you were just as shocked as we were when Queen Moonie pulled her army out of the ground!”

Apple Bloom ran a hoof through her scarlet mane. “She’s…got a point there.”

“She does not!” The crimson filly shouted comically. “Melon’s got fucking nothing dammit!”

“Actually, I’m going to have to agree with dear Melon, my little storm of fire.” Nightmare Moon said with a shrug. “How often is it that you come face to face with creatures you thought were myths, only to realize they were actually real all along? Not at all of you were to question me.”

“See?!” Melon shrieked as she shot a hoof in Nightmare Moon’s direction, pressing her muzzle against Firestreak’s. “Even she agrees with me! The Dark Queen herself!”

“Wow…now that’s something I didn’t expect to happen.” Sweetie Belle muttered, looking dumbfounded. “Then again, when somepony agrees with Melon Cake of all ponies, then you know she’s right.”

“Now that’s the truth if Ah ever heard it.” Apple Bloom snorted as she side-eyed Nightmare Moon. “It’s even more true if the one who’s supposed t’ be our enemy agrees with us.”

Crescent nodded lightly. “It really does.”

A loud rumbling sound burst from all around the castle, knocking some of the foals off of their hooves and roll across the ground. They looked around frantically, apparently thinking the sounds were coming form on either side of the hallways. When they saw nothing come out and pounce at them, the foals looked to Nightmare Moon questioningly, who smirked down at them with a bit of bloodthirst in her eyes.

“I’m assuming that you are all wondering what that sound was.” Nightmare Moon guessed, while still knowing the answer. “I do apologize for that. It would seem that my pets are getting rather restless. Perhaps I should go and let them out before they get out of control and start trying to dig their way out. In the meantime, I’ll send you all somewhere you can do a little bit more…exploring~.”

Nightmare Moon ignited her horn as she once again grabbed each foal in a magical aura, lifting them off the ground. She stomped her hoof on the rug-covered ground a couple of times, the symbol of moon in the middle glowed, rising up just enough to reveal a large opening in the middle of the floor. The foals watched with bated breath as Nightmare Moon levitated them over to it, feeling their fear morph into surprise when they saw the inside formed like that of a slide.

“Um…M-Ms. Queen Moon?” Scootaloo asked as politely as she could, her frightened eye looking into the alicorn’s eyes. “W-why is there a s-secret slide here?”

“Oh that? That’s a little entrance way to where I’ll have you be for the time being.” Nightmare Moon replied. “I was going to show you there myself, but I’m afraid that I’ll have to cut it short and let you discover it yourselves. Don’t worry, I’ll have somepony come and keep you safe, so you don’t get lost underneath that secret chamber. I will warn you; what you may find in there may be a bit…shockingly barbaric~.”

Those were the last words the foals heard from Nightmare Moon before her magical aura suddenly vanished. Nightmare Moon watched in amusement as the foals flailed around for a moment, before vanishing inside of the entrance in the floor. As she closed the secret door, she could the sound of the foals sliding down the secret slide, before the door shut with a click. With the foals now occupied, she closed her eyes and vanished in a burst of telekinesis.

Nightmare Moon reappeared outside of the castle, the cool breeze of the nighttime air being the first thing she felt. She also happened to notice that the sky was a different color than it was the last time she was outside. Instead of the ebony blackness that was over it like the sea of the Everfree, it was a burning crimson, even darker than the blood moon itself. It was somepony had dipped a paint brush dipped into a bucket and painted the sky red instead of blue or black. While that was impossible, it was a little humorous thought that admittedly amused Nightmare Moon greatly, even if it could never happen.

“Oh my, it looks like my magic had worked on the moon better than I thought.” Nightmare Moon said to herself, looking up at the moon as it gleamed a mixture of red and white. Her slitted draconic eyes could see the outline of the unicorn head that had been there, and her smiled faltered a bit. “It looks like it didn’t make that disappear. Oh well, maybe I can improvise it sometime to make it more to my liking.”

The sin black alicorn felt another pulse of power come from underneath the ground, this one being much stronger than before. It came in the same blackish purple wave that washed over the forest a mere fifteen minutes ago. Nightmare Moon felt a grin come to her face as her mind went back to when the foals told her when they first felt it. A part of her wished that she had been there see their faces. Oh, how laughable that it would have been.

“I can think more on that later~.” Nightmare Moon said quietly, as she walked in the center of the front of the clearing. “It’s time to wake my pets up and send them on their merry way. I wonder, how Celestia’s little town will react when they see the most feared creatures of the darkness come to devour them all!”

With a sinister laugh, Nightmare Moon’s eyes and horn began to glow brightly, the former a color as red as the moon and the sky instead of blue. That same magic traveled down to her front hooves as they began to glow a mixture of blue and red, eventually turning to a dark purple. Flaring her wings, Nightmare Moon let out a massive whinny as she slammed her forehooves down. A massive purple and black ring washed over the clearing, around the castle and spanning into the forest all around it. With small cracks in the ground glowing the same purple color as the magic within her hooves.

No sooner did the magic vanish, the ground beneath the sin black alicorn’s hooves began to break apart and rise up in chunks. It was faint at first, but it grew louder, expanding all across the clearing the Lunar Moon Castle was nestled in the middle of. She watched as limbs burst out of the ground like a baby flower form within rich soil. Some of them were in the form of hooves, others were in the form of claws, while a few were a combination of both. Other bodily figures began to appear as well, such as horns wings and even tails. More rose from the ground, moans, growls and hisses coming from as they surrounded a wickedly smirking Nightmare Moon. They turned to the mare, auras as sinister as their figures surrounding them as stood to attention the Red Moon Goddess.

In front of Nightmare Moon, coming around and latching on the castle, were creatures that could’ve only come from the deepest and darkest pits of Tartarus. Not even that, but the very underworld of hell itself. There ponies looking like bat ponies, with wings like that of bats, fangs like that of saber-tooth cat’s and eyes like that of bats. Some of them even had goat-like horns on their heads, with leonine tails having heart-shaped blades at the ends. Many of them may very well have passed off as bat ponies had it not been for the fact that clawed digits adorned the bottom of their limbs. Others were mixes between that of equines and wolves stood beside them, covered in fur as wooly as a mammoth with long luscious yet wild manes. Wolf-like paws replaced their hooves, with wolf tails replacing their actual tails that swayed wildly behind them. Some that had bits and pieces of bony army covering them, some on their legs, others on their chests, with a few on their heads.

In the very middle, were large werewolf-like dogs, ones that could have passed for being monstorous with their sinister dark fur, fiery flaming eyes, muscular frames and saber-adorned teeth. Others looked like the werewolves at the far front, only they hardly had any pony features, looking more like actual canines. There were even beasts that were neither canines nor vampires at all, but ones that could’ve passed off as lions. All of them were adorning wings that were like that of a raven’s, larger than any known lion on the planet of Equis. At the far back were gigantic drakes, ones that could’ve passed off as demonic dragons given their dark and edgy appearances. Their massive shadows loomed over that of the vampiric, canine, and zombie ponies, their eyes burning like scorching hot coals. Clawed wings that were even bigger could be seen partially spread at their side. Each of them looking like the would span over the entire army if they chose to let them stretch out all the way.

“Hello, my dear pets. It is so good to see you again after so long.” Nightmare Moon cooed her voice seeming to echo about the massive army. “I do apologize if I had kept you all waiting. I had some other matters that I needed to attend to.”

The beastly army let out vocalized moans, grows, hisses and barks as they bowed to their queen, similar to how the Nightmare Army had done so. A smallish werewolf trudged up to Nightmare Moon and sniffed at her armored chest, making the mare chuckle as she patted its head. She pulled it into a hug as she nuzzled the top of its head, earning a whimper of contentment as its tail wagged like a puppy meeting its owner for the first time.

“As much as I’d like to play with you all, I am afraid that I have more pressing matters at hoof to attend to. One that I will need your help in.” She said softly, making all of them quiet down a bit. “To put it simply, I have a town that I want you to after, one that I hate with a passion within my soul. I am sure that you all know where you need to go, don’t you?”

Roars, screeches and howls the beasts gave out in response were all that Nightmare Moon needed to hear as the army went wild. The malicious smirk she had strewn across her face was back, replacing the motherly smile she just had one. She could see the bloodthirst in their eyes, the desire to rip, tear, main and destroy as they were made to do. Nightmare Moon could sense the dark magic coming off of them, the barely contained magic the beasts wanted to so desperately release. If not to satisfy the primal beasts inside of them that were yearning for their wielders to let them out. It was just about ready to burst, and Nightmare Moon wasn’t about to let them contain it one minute longer. They wanted blood and she would give it to them, knowing where she’d send them would offer plenty of it.

“Wonderful, I am so happy that you know what you need to do in order for this land to truly become your home.” Nightmare Moon praised, letting the werewolf she was patting back into the fray as she shot her forehooves out into the sky. “Now, go my dear pets! Go and feed to your heart’s content! Show those who feared you why none should ever go against the creatures and queen of the darkness!”

The beast’s reactions were simultaneous, some of them taking off to their while some of them chose for galloping and sprinting across the clearing. The wide gap in between them and forest meant nothing to them as sailed over like a kangaroo leaping over a picket fence. They followed their fanged, furred and winged brethren into the trees, tearing and ripping up ground and foliage along the way. Nightmare Moon watched them all go, a small part of her wanting to follow to watch the bloodbath soon to come. She shook her head, knowing she had no time. Not when she still had a few things to do to reclaim her reign.

“There! That should be a good taste of what those little day-loving ponies should expect once they meet their true Queen.” Nightmare Moon said, turning tail and walking back to the castle’s open doors. She suddenly stopped a few seconds in, looking up at the scarlet moon looming in the sky like beacon of light, showering her in its color of red. “I hope your little ponies are able to take the little gift I’ve sent them Celestia, and that you are prepared to lose some of your precious followers. Because when you do see them again in that little town of theirs, it will run deep and red with blood~.”

Okay, I gotta admit, I had lots of fun writing the other scene in this chapter, mainly because I'm bringing out every creature of darkness there is to know when it comes to folklore and legend, mainly with ones like vampires and werewolves. It is mainly for this reason that I decided that I would not add the tantabus in this newly edited version of Knights of Equestria - Book 1: War of Eternal Night, because...that was just such a bad idea on my part. I don't know what I was thinking when I did that, especially with Nightmare Moon of all ponies being the one in charge of bringing forth Eternal Night, along with all the creatures of said night coming out to wreak havoc. It was a bit harder for me to Nightmare Moon and the foals, since I really couldn't see anything that dark and dramatic going on in between them, other than the minor little scuffles, jump scares and parts where Nightmare Moon reprimands them...while not laying. a hoof on them in the process. Other than that, I really enjoyed writing this chapter...just as much as I'm sure I know I'll enjoy writing the bloodbath soon to come in Ponyville. As for that little part with Nightmare Moon dropping the foals off somewhere in the castle, that will be stated much later on in the story, and it'll tie to another one that I'm currently writing. Oh, and for anyone who was misled by the last "Next Time" note, I apologize, I meant to put that in this chapter .

Next time: Ponyville gets a furry and bloodthirsty nightmarish surprise...for real this time. And Spike shows just how much of a badass drake he is in the face of a canine.