A/N: Adjust your canon to where Twilight never moved to Ponyville, or obsessed over the return of the evil Nightmare Moon.

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The Return of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 1: Prologue

Celestia looked demurely across the round, stone platform. It was raised perhaps a foot or two from the grassy field in which a massive crowd had gathered. It was almost time, time for the Princess of the Night to return. They’d read the stories, they’d seen the signs, and the stars were slowly aligning. The Princess of the Day smiled a little anxiously, studying the dais. It was marked with massive runes and power symbols. The moment her sister’s chains came undone she would be drawn to this place as an easy point of teleportation reception, like a beacon.

The giant crowd of gathered ponies milled about, chattering and smiling and waiting to meet their long lost Princess. There were massive, glittering streamers everywhere. Poles with star-covered ribbons had been erected. Little games with prizes were being played here and there, it was like a tame sort of carnival. Everypony was very eager to see Equestria’s other Princess. No one had seen her in an age.

It had been a thousand years since the Battle of Moon’s Apex. In a moment of jealousy and sibling rage, Nightmare Moon had fought Celestia to bring about nighttime eternal-- a sort of endless night with no dawn. But, in a thousand years the Day Princess had never allowed her sister to be villanized. She’d kept a close eye on all the history books, all the official mentions of her sister, and made sure everything was stark and correct. Yes, there had been a battle. Yes, Celestia had used the Elements of Harmony on her own sister to seal her in the moon as punishment for her destructive ways. Yes, the massive whiplash had left a giant scar on the land, and that scar had become the uncontrollable region called Everfree Forest.

Some ponies had tried to paint her as a monster, or just a jealous bitch who couldn’t stand not having her way. But no, Celestia would have none of that. Nightmare Moon was her sister, and she was still a Princess of Equestria. She would be respected as such. Celestia would greet her with open arms and her subjects would too, hopefully. Then, when all was said and done, all of Equestria would celebrate the return of their Princess. Celestia smiled, hopeful. She opened her wings briefly, to stretch them.

Twilight Sparkle approached, nodded to by the guards as they made way for her. “Princess, is everything going according to schedule?” she asked curiously. The purple unicorn mare put on her reading glasses, poor farsighted thing, and flipped open a dusty tome that had hovered out of her saddlebags. “According to this… ‘the stars will aide in her escape’ and we’ve got,” she looked up at the moon. There were four massively bright stars moving in conjuction around the mare in the moon. “One two three four of them. Is that going to be enough? Will Princess Nightmare Moon make it okay?”

“I hope so Twilight.” Celestia said gently, casting her eyes skyward. “This day is a long time coming… I hope so.” she mumbled, folding her wings extra tight to soothe the tension in her heart. Twilight had never seen her teacher look so anxious, so ready for something to happen. She was usually the picture of patience, simmering happiness and joy. Tonight, however, she was waiting with baited breath along with everypony else. “A thousand years ago today I smote my sister with magic more powerful than even I could control alone.” She whispered to her faithful student. “I can only hope she’ll arrive safely back, and we can begin to make amends…” she trailed off a little, and the little purple mare saw a softness in her eyes. Her teacher was seeing the distant past, some long-forgotten battle of the gods, and wincing in pain because of it.

“I-I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Twilight said, bringing up a big smile and putting the book away again. She pulled off her adorable reading glasses, putting them away. “I bet she missed you just as much as you missed her, probably more!” Celestia smiled kindly at Twilight, her usual motherly expression of peace returning. Twilight felt a little warmth in her chest as she often did when the Princess looked at her like that. It meant she really was happy.

Suddenly, the four moving stars touched the silvery outline of the moon. The mare in the moon flickered, flickered, then vanished. Instantly ponies in the crowd noticed and a great shout came up. Everypony craned their necks back, pointing and crying out. It was almost time! It was almost time! She was already free, she was on her way now. Daddy stallions scooped up their young, putting them on their backs so they could see over the crowd. Foals leaned eagerly with perked ears. Ponies surged forward, pressing in tightly and eager to greet the mysterious dark alicorn the moment she arrived. All eyes were trained on the heavens.

“H’ohmigosh, h’ohmigosh…” Twilight said nervously, jittering on her four hooves in an adorable I-have-to-pee sort of dance. Celestia smiled in a motherly way, extending a wing over the mare and pulling her closer. One might mistake them for mother and foal because their size difference, but the purple mare felt the same sort of comfort. Celestia’s body was always much warmer than the average pony. Being a goddess of the sun tended to make one hotter than average, Twilight supposed. She pressed lightly against her mentor’s side for support, peering around. Even the guards had their eyes on the sky, their neutral-line-lipped frowns opened into little o’s of anticipation.

Then, it began. Clouds began to melt into existence, glittering and swirling over each other. The quiet purr of thunder slowly rose into a growling, rolling sound of gathering magic. The sky and its beautiful starry night began to be blotted out. A slow vortex of turning clouds encircled the field-like clearing where everypony was waiting. The moon was at the top of the shaft, shining brightly and pointing a moonbeam directly down onto the platform where Celestia and Twilight stood.

“Stay still Twilight, the platform is activating…” said Celestia softly, her eyes getting wider and wider as everything began to fall into place. Without the blot of darkness, the mare in the moon, on the surface of the celestial orb it looked brighter than ever before. Its milky surface shone like a spotlight down upon them. Ponies in the crowd started whispering excitedly. This was it! This was it!

The raised dais began to hum like a tuning fork, every dark crack and rune and marking one it turning a glowing white. Twilight lifted a hoof, looking down curiously. It was like some sort of nexus, a gathering point of natural forces that anypony powerful enough could draw upon if they knew how. Massive symbols of power were flickering on and off, back and forth in a dizzying pattern that made the purple mare’s eyes dance.

“Look! Up there!” Somepony suddenly shouted, thrusting his hoof up. Everypony gave a great gasp. There was a sparkle of light coming down from the moon, glowing brighter and brighter as it came. It was ocean-blue, sparkling, and surrounded by an aura of black.

Descending from on high, surrounded in a divine aura of concentrated magic, a cloaked figure with wings and a horn rode the solar winds through space. She began to take shape, her aura igniting like wildfire as she came through the atmosphere. The powerful friction screamed at the figure, blazing heat that would destroy any lesser being. There was a super-sonic explosion of parted air as she finally came down into the oxygen rich environment. Massive black wings rose out of a threadbare cloak, and sterile white eyes homed in one the rune-covered dais. Twilight could feel the explosive, raw power of the one coming down connecting herself to the runes and feeding off them to make a safe landing.

Cli-cli-cli-clop, she landed. There she was, at long last.

“*Huhhhh*… *huhhhh*…” Her ragged, tired breathing could be heard aloud. The audience was dead quiet as they strained to see… to see… The massive pony laid her eyes on Celestia as the sterile-white glow of magic faded from her. “Sister, it’s… it’s eternity up there…” she whispered quietly under her breath. Celestia started forward to embrace her, her eyes alight with joy and wings opening-- until the black alicorn suddenly crumpled to the ground as though struck dead. Feathers from her wings went in every direction like a little cloud of sickness.

“Nightmare!” Celestia shrieked, aghast and fear in her eyes.

The crowd gasped when the Princess of the Night’s threadbare cloak flapped open in her fall. She was like a skeleton. Her ribs were sticking starkly out, the pudge of her belly was little more than a pot of organs and nothing else. Her legs were spindly and thin, shaking weakly. Her pelt was not of beautiful liquid night like the stories said, but a dry and pasty grey. She was covered with a strange grey dust, and her lips parched dry and cracked. The teeth in her mouth looked like jagged, unworn fangs. Her mane, the stuff of legends, stuck in all directions in a disarray of dust, grime, and centuries of no care. She looked wild, feral… and nearly dead.

Twilight gave a shriek of terror. This was not the beautiful Princess of the Night from all the stories, she looked like a skeletal monster! “Doctor!” she shouted while Celestia threw herself to her sister’s aide. Solar magic ignited to preserve the frail, dying alicorn. “Somepony get a doctor!” the Day Princess’ protégé gave a feminine cry of distress as guards closed ranks around the platform. Everypony who ever called him or herself a healer began to force their way through the crowd. Banners started coming down and fear set itself into the massive gathering. Was their newly returned Princess dead?!

“Wait, wait!” Celestia called out over them. The ponies steadied themselves as medically trained ponies were let up onto the platform. “She’s still breathing! She’s still breathing!” Celestia’s queen mask had fallen away in distress over her sister. “Make a path! We must return to the palace and get her to the medical wing!” Guards rushed to do her bidding, to part the crowd, while others made a fast and thick litter to bear away the battered Princess on.

Nightmare Moon moaned as Twilight came to her side. She looked up at the purple mare with dull green, serpentine eyes. There was little comprehension in her gaze, but the purple mare was certainly the focus for the moment. “Y-you’ll be okay! I promise!” Twilight said lamely, leaning down on her belly next to her mentor. Celestia was focusing hard, trying to feed magic into her sister’s skeletal form. But, solar magic and lunar magic did not mix well. It was very difficult. Twilight gazed upon her fretfully, not able to help at all while the doctors gathered around. They murmured back and forth about malnutrition, bad hygiene, infections, starvation, a thousand years with no oxygen around her body—all sorts of terrifying things the poor mare didn’t even want to know about.

Her armor was chipped, archaic, and ingrained with the same grey dust as the rest of her. There were cracks and splints all over her, some of them horrifically made with hair from her own mane and tail. The cloak had been tied and sewn here and there much the same way. It was little more than a shade of its former self, bare and coming apart as they watched. The clasp was dirty, unclean metal whose seal had been worn away by the centuries. Twilight couldn’t help staring at her jutting, hungry ribs. Listening to her quiet breathing, she reached to touch her. Celestia turned and nipped her a little, horn still alight with solar magic. “Owch!”

“We have to be very, very careful touching her, Twilight.” Celestia said with apologetic eyes. “Make sure they get the litter over here fast. Get the crowd to make a wider path.” It was a command, not a request. Twilight rose and spun about with great purpose. Swallowing, she quickly gathered up her courage. Lighting her horn to augment her voice, she shouted over the crowd to get them to make way. They had a very sick Princess to rush home.

End of Prologue