The holodeck had been programmed to resemble the conference lounge, but with more chairs. Everything was in place, and Picard, Troi, Riker, Worf and Data waited for the 6 visitors.
“Sorry for our delay. I had to force Applejack to put her bra on.” Said a woman in a black dress.
“Ah am telling ya, ah don’t need any bra!” Said the country girl.
“You made all of these clothes in two hours?” Troi said, as all of the six guests had a custom outfit now.
“I made seven. The first one I made for the nurse so I could get used to these fingers. What do you think darling?”
“Impressive. You literally got their souls on their clothing.”
“It is my special talent.” She looked at Worf. “Worf dear. You certanly changed.”
“Yes, this is what a klingon actually looks like.” He said. Rarity was now by his side, examining his cranial ridges with an amazed look. She reached her hand to touch them.
"Ahem! I don't want to interrupt the two lovebirds, but this guy's wanted to talk to us." Rainbow said. Rarity blushed while Worf seemed to not mind.
"Very well. As you already know, my name is Jean-Luc Picard. This is the starship Enterprise. I must ask: do you know any possible reason of why Q would want you here?"
"No." Twilight said.
"That is because I have no reason." Q had appeared on the other end of the conference table.
"Then why are we here?" Twilight asked.
"I am paying back a favor. By the way Worf." Q looked at Rarity and left out a whistle. "Damn! I told you all the mares would want a piece. Let me just get her dressed." He vanished on a white flash. Rarity blushed again.
"Who is 'her'?" Rainbow asked.
"We don't know. He didn't say." Riker said. Q came back with a woman acompaning him.
She was about only two inches smaller then Worf. She was wearing a dark grey cape with silver trim and an ornate metal scabbard on a belt around her waist that held a silver sword with a design much like the one used by musketeers. A second belt, black with a siver belt buckle that was shaped like a crescent moon. Her trousers a royal blue, tucked into the long boots that went halfway to her knees and were made of midnight blue tanned leather. Her shirt was a long, close-fitting dress shirt fastened in the front with mandarin buttons, Royal blue with silver trim. A mountain shaped tiara, made of black onyx, on her haed, but it was he hair that gave her identity away: It was translucent, blue like the night sky with small white dots on it. It was waving as if an impossible wind went by it.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight and her friends bowed, exept for Pinkie. Who, forgeting that she had changed bodies, tried to bow as a pony, her head hitting the ground with a soft 'thud'.
"It is an honor to have you aboard your majesty." Picard said, bowing as well. His embassador skills never failed him.
"It is an honor to me as well to be aboard thy ship." The moon princess said. She started to examine her clothing. "Was this really necessary Discord?"
"But of course Luna! You ARE royalty after all. I also had to repay you for that afternoon." Luna blushed.
"I thought we agreed never to speak of that afternoon again."
"But it was so much fun!"
"What afternoon?" Pinkie asked. before either Twilight could ask her to leave the princess alone or Luna said that it was a private matter, Q answered.
"That afternoon!" There was a white flash and an screen apearded on the air.
It was showing a filly Luna, her hair still made out of real matter and eyes of a diabetes inducing size.
"C'mon Lulu, let's do it! I can give you a gift, what about a favor?" A younger looking Discord said. The older Luna blushed heavily and tried to hide her face.
"Only Tia gets to call me Lulu!"
"Don't be shy. I know you want it."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Ha! I said you wanted it!" The filly shook her head.
"You tricked me!"
"What did you expect?"
"Okay, I give up. But don't tell Tia! She will mock me forever!"
"Fine." Discord had a glow on his eyes.
"And it is the last time!"
"Then let's do it in style!" Discord snapped his fingers and a paper triangular hat appeared. Luna got it on her head. Then the draconequus glowed on a white light, becoming smaler and mor young looking. Another paper hat on his head.
"Whenever you are ready, general Cord!" He snapped his fingers, and several fake ponies, griffins and dragons made of cotton candy, marshmallow and other delicacies. To finish, each one got a wooden sword.
"Lets do it. General Cord, are you ready?"
"I was born ready your majesty!"
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" Luna shouted as alicorn and draconequs ran towards the candy enemies. The screen dissapearded on a white flash.
Everyone present looked at the princess and Q. While she was blushing and hiding her face with her hands, Q was cleaning the tears of joy from his face.
"It was a beautiful day in the history of chaos." He snifed. "Don't you agree Lulu?"
"Shut up."
"But you have to admit you liked it. Those fake battles sparked your intrest for the dynamics of the battlefield. I heard that during the Pony-Griffon war you called some of your top commanders 'Genral Cord' more than once."
"Just shut up Discord, you said you wouldn't tell anyone."
"No, I said I wouldn't tell Celestia. And I didn't. By the way, I have to go. Some business on the continuum. Bye!" He vanished.
The room stood on an awkward silence for about thirty seconds. Surprisingly, Fluttershy broke it.
"You two were cute as foals."
"Yeah, I think I need some insulin now. Those big eyes were diabetes inducing size." Rainbow said.
"Could all please not talk about my foalhood?" Luna said, her blush still strong. "It is not the reason we are here."
"Then what is?" Twilight asked.
"We are looking for 'The key of darkness' Twilight."
She gasped.
"But that is just another Nightmare Moon myth! Isn't it?"
"I am afraid not."
"What is this 'key of darkness'?" Picard asked.
"I think I should tell the complete story.

____________________________________

Equestria, 1001 years prior Ep. 1.
"Milady." The unicorn in black robe called.
Nightmare Moon. Luna's dark counterpart. She was looking at the latest reports from the battlefield. Her troops were holding against Celestia's, even though they were in smaller numbers. The fact that her army was openly taught dark magic and had permission to kill made a solider of hers worth ten of Celestia's.
"Yes, apprentice of the night?" It was how she called her science division subjects, mostly because of their loyality to the cause and for their black robes.
"Professor Richtofen wants to see you, he says it is urgent Milady."
Richtofen.
Nightmare never liked Richtofen. He was too... emotionless. The only moment she ever saw the stalion smile was when she started her army. They went to a village to get new recruits, and somepony loyal to Celestia thought that he could end the revolution by killing Nightmare. With a knife.
As soon as he jumped to stab her, Richtofen turned to the loyalist and threw him at a wall. Before she could say anything, the professor took the knife from the stallion's hooves and stuck it in his eye. A loud cry of pain filled the air and, again, before Nightmare could say anything, Richtofen stuck the knife in the loyalist's throat. Blood flew through the air, hiting the professor on the face. Whe he turned around, a sinister grin was on his face. A few teeth red with blood.
She congratuleted him. But deep inside, she feared his psychotic tendencies. A pony that enjoyed killing was something she didn't like. More than once she would hear the faint sound of opera records, echoing through the walls of her fortress late at night. And Richtofen would sing toghether. This would be a good habit if it wasn't the fact that he would sing at the midlle of night, While dissecting or sometimes, acording to stories the guards told, vivisecting enemy troops. Searching for a close look on injuries and developing new healing spells.
"I will be on my way, thank thee apprentice."
The unicorn bowed and steped out of the way.
A she made her way to the professor's lab, Nightmare started to feel uneasy. That was very unsual to her. She also felt as if there was some sort of magical energy bulding up very close. One of his new spells. Nightmare thought. As the doors oppened, she saw Richtofen reading some scrolls.
He had a Black coat and a dark gray mane. He had been born with a genetic disease and his irises were white, making his pupils the only spot of color on his eyes.
"You requested my presence professor. This better be important."
"It is, Milady Nightmarre." His accent made him allways pronounce the 'r' more then needed. "You see, while working on a new healing spell for broken bones three weeks ago, I came across a verry interresting piece of literature." He threw the scroll at her.
"The key of darkness: design and problems?!" Nightmare's eyes went wide. "What are you doing with these? They are forbiden material!" Richtofen ignored the comment.
"I fixed it's problems. herr Nightmare." Her jaw dropped.
"What? But how?"
"Doesn't matter. It is ready to be used. The night shall last forreverr!"
"Richtofen, that machine is NOT to be used!" He looked at the misstress of the night.
"Why?"
"It was concieved as a weapon of bluff! I can transform the sun into a black hole! It can not be used!"
"Why not Milady?"
"It will consume the planet! Everything will die!" She shouted.
"Yourr point?" He asked, unamused. The dark alicorn jaws dropped again.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY POINT?!?!? I WANT PONIES TO LIKE MY NIGHT! NOT DIE ON IT!" Richtofen sighed.
"Then why eterrnal night? The eterrnal darrkness will kill everything."
"I won't let it. I will personally keep an close eye and provide the plants just enough moonlight so they wont die. I will make ponies LIKE my night."
"Too bad. I already activated the device."
"WHAT???" Richtofen laughed. Not even Nightmare could make a laugh sound so diabolic.
"I activated it, Milady. There is nothing you can do to stop it!!!" He uncovered the device that had been siting on the corner of the room.
It shined in black, a series of gears and magic gems on it's inside. The whole thing reminded one of a canon. It had an opening on the front and was quickly charging.
"YOU FOOL!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???" Richtofen kept laughing.
Nightmare knew it was hopeless, the weapon couldn't be deactivated. Unless...
"RICHTOFEN GEISTESKRANKHEIT !!! I DECLARE YOU GUILTY OF THE CRIME OF TREASON AND CRIMES AGAINST PONYKIND !!! YOUR SENTENCE: BANISHIMENT!!!"
"To where?" He stopped laughing, he was growling at her. "It doesn't matter now!!! EVERRYTHING SHALL DIE BY THE WORRK OF MY OWN HOOF!!!"
"I HERE THEREFORE BANISH YOU AND YOUR CREATION TO THE VOID!!!" He stoped.
"You wouldn't dare..."
Nightmare's horn started to glow as a portal appeared on the middle of the room.
"YOU CAN NOT DO THIS TO ME!!!" He shouted, as he started to fly toward the rip on the very skin of the universe.
"You are foolish Richtofen. I just hope you have a quick death." The stallion grabbed the edge of a table.
"I will revenge myself Nightmare!!! I SHALL SEEK YOU UNTILL HELL ITSELF FREEZES AND THE SUN GOES OUT!!! AND I. WILL. KILL. YOU!!!!!" His grip was lost and he flew toward the rift. His screams could be heard as he fell in the compleate nothing. The key of darkness shortly following.
The dark alicorn closed the rift. How could I let this happen? She asked herself. A few scrolls about the device were still in the room. She burnt them down.
"None shall have this knowledge." She said as the paper burned.

________________________________________

Everyone on the room was silent.
"So, the key of darkness basically allows the one that posseses it to transform any star into a black hole?" Data asked.
"Yes." Luna asked."I kept one of it's power crystals. It should provide us with a viable way to locate it."
"And once we locate it?" Riker asked. Luna took a scroll with a picture of the device and opened it on the table.
"We will take..." She removed her sword from the sheath and hit the table with it, piercing a hole through the scroll and sticking it in the table. "And finish this!"