And now, for the thrilling conclusion to... Past Sins (Were the ellipses really necessary? YES.).
Also, I threw in a single riff at the beginning. Because I can.

---

RatherHomely: That's right! I even have my magic right... shoot, I can't find it.

Twilight looked on in a half daze,

Anon13: Someone should tell Pen that one of the Habits of Highly Successful Fanfics is NOT DOING THINGS BY HALVES!
Ezn: and half-cousined half-shouted

watching as Nyx gingerly

Svensvenderson: Since when is Nyx a ginger?
Hellioning: That would explain so much.

ate at an apple. The pair were sitting on the grass behind the apple stand currently being worked by Big Macintosh,

Ezn: although at the time of this event it was empty

the red stallion allowing the pair to hide away from the crowds after the tree incident.

Shadix: They will never see trees the same way again.

The unicorn was in full on panic mode,

Ezn: Sparkler’s pickle jar got stuck again!
Isphone: I thought it was peanut butter.
Ezn: Mmm, peanut butter...
DiStort: Maybe it was a jar of peanut butter pickles?

though she was doing her best to keep up a calm facade so that Nyx wouldn’t feel like she had done anything wrong.

CTOONfan1: When in reality, her very existence was wrong.

Still, Twilight’s mind was spinning

RLYoshi: right round baby right round.

faster

RatherHomely: (Singing) Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of brain.

than Dash could fly.

Dragon shaped eyes could be hidden with

Ezn: dragon-shaped

glasses,

Crazy56U: AKA The Clark Kent Maneuver.

wings with a vest but... but Nyx had practically blown her disguise right out of the water with that display of magic.

Disco: She’s sunk her own battleship!

Every pony at the Learn and Play Day had to be talking about what happened. A tree as tall as the school house had popped up out of nowhere and just as quickly turned back into a yellow pegasus.

Ezn: Just in case you... well, this IS a new chapter.
Disco: Yes, there’s no way we could possibly remember something that happened five paragraphs ago.
DiStort: Why? What happened five paragraphs ago?
Vimbert: Sorry, guys. What were we talking about? I forgot.
Crazy56U: Who are you people?!?
RLYoshi: So we're riffing Conversion Bureau, right? That's what this fanfic is?

Twilight wasn’t even sure she could pull off that kind of magic, and not only was she an adult

Anon13: Coulda fooled me.

she was one of the most gifted unicorns in Equestria. Her special talent was magic itself;

Vimbert: Just in case you forgot. Do you need a picture? A wiki link?
RatherHomely: Wait, there's MAGIC in this show?!

if anypony could do something like that it would be her...

Isphone: Jealousy overtook Twilight as she picked up Nyx and threw her in the street.

but here that feat of magic had been done by Nyx... a normal filly.

Svensvenderson: No, Nyx is a Mary Sue. Haven’t we figured that out, Twi?
Anon13: Yeah, Nyx blew ‘normal’ away several chapters ago.
Disco: They’re still washing the blood off the pavement.
Drizzel: And the bloods making everything sparkle-no offense Twilight.

No, despite what Twilight told herself and everypony, Nyx wasn’t entirely normal.

Ezn: She had a birthmark in the shape of a porkchop under her chin. Oh, and she was the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon.
Crazy56U: She had made friends with her ticks; Twilight has gotten concerned.
Hellioning: Nyx is perfectly normal for her species. It's just that her species is an abomination unto Celestia.

She was an alicorn, and there were only two other alicorns Twilight knew.

Ezn: She hadn’t made a very good impression at the alicorn singles mixer the previous month.

Luna and Celestia,

RLYoshi: Because, y'know, that isn't plainly obvious or anything.

and those two had the magical power to move the sun and moon.

Vimbert: Are you sure? PROVE IT.
RLYoshi: Pics or it didn't happen.

They were immortal princesses...

Was... was Nyx the same way? She wasn’t Nightmare Moon,

Crazy56U: Nope, Chuck Testa.

Twilight was dead

RLYoshi: YES! THE END AT LAST!

sure of that.

Vimbert: For no apparent reason.
Svensvenderson: Foreshadowing, perhaps?

But... she had come from the spell meant for Nightmare Moon

CTOONfan1: Don't you hate when your spell is sent to a neighbor?

and she was an alicorn.

Disco: Oh man, I’m having Chapter 1 flashbacks! Make them stop!
Vimbert: So clearly, there was no way she could be Nightmare Moon. Clearly.

Had the filly somehow inherited a gift of immortality?

Shadix: Come One, Come all! Fresh Immortality to any fine filly or colt!
Crazy56U: If she's immortal, does that mean she can only die if her head's cut off?
RLYoshi: Please let us test this theory...

Would she, when she was older,

CTOONfan1: develop interesting character traits?
RLYoshi: Hm... nah, probably not.

be able to move the sun and moon or other heavily bodies?

Ezn: Would she be able to help Twilight move her bookcases around without pay?
Isphone: Could she create a rock that's impossible to move, and then move it?
Private Sprinkles: Could she create a taco so huge, even she couldn't eat it?
Crazy56U: Could she make "Jersey Shore" enjoyable?
For The Plot: Other heavily bodies? Heavy bodies! Obviously, not only is she good at magic, she's incredibly strong.

Would she become as grand and regal as Celestia?

Ezn: Would she ever be rid of her tick infestation?
Disco: That’d require divine intervention.
Svensvenderson: “Would she be as perverted as Molestia? As mean as Trollestia?”
Crazy56U: What if... what if she became all three?
Anon13: She’d be the Sue to End All Sues.

The full weight of parenthood came crushing down on Twilight at this moment.

Svensvenderson: Twilight made her reflex save, and only took half damage.
For the Plot: At this moment? Not the other moments... THIS MOMENT?

What was she getting herself into?

Disco: The readers are asking themselves the same question.

She was taking care of this filly like a daughter, like she was Nyx’s mother... and she was barely an adult herself.

CTOONfan1: How old exactly IS she?
For the Plot: She was an adult just a few sentences back.

And, for all the unicorn knew, she was raising a filly that could someday sit beside Luna and Celestia as another immortal princess.

DiStort: You ever notice how ponies make a big deal out of what is essentially a birth defect?

And how long would she be able to keep the truth hidden?

CTOONfan1: I'm betting a few more hours.
For the Plot: At least two more chapters...
Drizzel: And even then we'll all be left in the dark...

Dragon shaped eyes could be hidden, wings could be hidden, but...

Ezn: copy-pasted lines could not be hidden as well.

that kind of magical power, how much longer would it be before Celestia heard of this prodigy in Ponyville and came to investigate herself? And even if the hiccup with turning Fluttershy into a tree

Anon13: That was a hiccup? What happens when she sneezes?
Crazy56U: The world ends. Duh.
Ezn: Everything gets 20% cooler, Scootaloo becomes a chicken and the fun gets doubled.
Disco: Everyone would suddenly find their manes drenched, and their hooves covered in poorly-drawn socks.
DiStort: I believe the scientific term is “Memetasm.”
Drizzel: And it would be beautiful.

was a one time thing, what would happen as Nyx got older?

Disco: She’d probably turn emo and use her magic to write crappy poetry.
Anon13: Or go completely meta and write atrocious fanfics.
Vimbert: A Mary Sue that wrote other Mary Sues. It’s like some kind of dystopian nightmare.
RLYoshi: Yo dawg, I heard you like Mary Sues...
Svensvenderson: I would think anatomy would have been one of Twilight’s favorite subjects.
CTOONfan1: She's very self-conscious about that.
For the Plot: hey! She's working on that! You see her going to the gym...

Would Nyx’s magic get more powerful? How big was the filly going to get?

Crazy56U: Based on what I know about future events (in order): Yes, very big...

Luna, after all, was only a little bigger than the average pony

CTOONfan1: She's very self-conscious about that.

but she was still the younger sister; she might get bigger in time just like her older sister. And speaking of Celestia.... what if Nyx got to be as big as her? You can’t hide a pony that big.

Batman_the_Dino: Unless you build a very large barn in the middle of nowhere.

And what about her mane? What if Nyx’s mane started to turn magical, turning into that night blue field of magic with stars like the real Nightmare Moon?

Crazy56U: Then she has become Nightmare Moon...
Ezn: I, for one, would really like her mane then.

She could dress Nyx in a full body suit

Vimbert: That would be made out of rubber for completely innocent reasons

and that mane would still give her away.

Ezn: to charity, as a warm black blanket.
Disco: She’d be sent back in an attempt to avoid further tick infestations.

And what would ponies think when they began to realize what Nyx was? That she had some connection with Nightmare Moon? How long before the torches and pitchforks came out?

Crazy56U: They'd be angry, they'd be scared, they won't (unfortunately)...
DiStort: Ooh, I sense a fun new sport in the works.

How long before the royal guard was hunting Nyx down? How long before Celestia would banish Nyx to the moon?

Crazy56U: They won't, and she won't. ...oh yeah, spoilers.
Ezn: How long before Pen Stroke’s question mark key gets worn out?
Disco: Not soon enough.
RLYoshi: Next time on Ponyball Z!

Nyx didn’t deserve any of that.

Anon13: WRONG!
Disco: She deserves far worse.

She wasn’t Nightmare Moon, she just wasn’t.

Ezn: Except that she actually was.

She just looked like her... and had her power...and some of her memories...but she wasn’t-

Disco: Denial is magic!
Svensvenderson: If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck...
Crazy56U: Then it’s a rabbit. Obviously.
Hellioning: She's not a duck! She's an ANTI-duck, a counter-duck if you will...

“Twilight, you okay? Yer lookin’ a might pale.”

Crazy56U: She turned white out of anxiety? ...meh, at least she didn't have another "tardy" episode...
Disco: Twilight is clearly a mood ring.
Hellioning: "Might Pale" sounds like an anime character name.

The unicorn was snapped out of her spiraling thoughts

CTOONfan1: Her thoughts that will pierce the heavens!

as she looked up at Big Macintosh,

Batman_the_Dino: with the dreamy eyes of a schoolgirl,

who had a moment free from customers to check on the pair.

“Oh... yes, sorry... I’m fine. Just... just a little light headed.”

Anon13: “Internal monologues are exhausting.”

“You want another apple?”

Anon13: “They’re pretty much all there is to our entire family.”
Vimbert: They’re one trick ponies, if you will.
Hellioning: Ba-dum-tish!
RLYoshi: (crickets)
Crazy56U: Boooo!

“No, no thank you Big Macintosh.”

Disco: “Save the shipping innuendo for another fic.”
Crazy56U: Please, that wasn't Big Macintosh talking; all he can say is "Yup" and "Nope". Season 2 taught me that.

The unicorn replied. “Uh, have they started the afternoon activities?”

“Don’t think so, but I reckon’ it’s going to start right soon. Saw Applejack and Apple Bloom headin’ in that direction.”

CTOONfan1: "That's the afternoon activity direction."

“We’re still going to that, even after what happened?” Nyx asked, a bit surprised.

Ezn: “We need something to pad the rest of this chapter with, silly!”
Vimbert: AND FILLER MAKES IT ALL COMPLETE!

“Yes, both because you didn’t really do anything wrong

DiStort: “Y’know, besides break several laws of magic and ethics.”
Vimbert: “And being a horrible abomination that perverts the natural order.”
Hellioning: But who's counting, really?
Crazy56U: I’d answer, but the Count from Sesame Street keeps screening my calls.

and because I know you’ve been looking forward to it.” Twilight replied, getting to her hooves.

Anon13: “Also, I left my brains in my other pants.”
Disco: It’s been through wash a few times.
Drizzel: "And I don't have pants."

Those were two valid reasons for them to stay and participate in the afternoon activities.

Svensvenderson: Twilight apparently doesn’t know the definition of ‘valid.’
Crazy56U: Please, “valid” to her is “insane” to us.

The greater and unspoken reason, however, was that Twilight was worried about what would happen if they left.

CTOONfan1: She feared if Nyx left the story, it would be much more enjoyable.

The two leaving abruptly would seem out of the ordinary, which would make her friends worry. They would then come looking for her and Nyx expecting an explanation,

Vimbert: Which would be happening anyway if any of them had come down with Common Sense Syndrome.

not only to why they left but even why Nyx was able to turn Fluttershy into a tree.

CTOONfan1: It's magic. She doesn't have to explain.
Crazy56U: That may work for Joe Quesada, but that won’t fly here, buddy.

Leaving would invite more unwanted attention.

Svensvenderson: And then she would be TARDY!

But if they stayed, then they could try and act like what had happened was nothing out of the ordinary.

Ezn: “Nyx turned me into a tree just the other day! It’s totally normal.”

That Twilight wasn’t at all surprised that Nyx was able to turn Fluttershy into a tree and that it was perfectly normal.

CTOONfan1: Yes. Turning fellow living creatures into trees happens every Tuesday where I'm from.

This was the farthest from the truth, but at the moment Twilight was hoping that maybe, just maybe, ponies would think Nyx was just a very, very gifted little unicorn

CTOONfan1: who may be the spawn of evil incarnate.

and not Nightmare Moon reborn.

Disco: Twilight: strategist extraordinaire.
Vimbert: “HI GURRRRRLZ! If you’d just drink the Kool-Aid...”
Hellioning: I'm the only one who cares, but it was FLAVOR-AID that the cult drank!
RLYoshi: ...I care...

For the moment, however, they would continue to hide behind the apple stand, if only to give Nyx a few more minutes to eat in peace.

RLYoshi: Are we still talking about food?

================

“I know you’re here some where Spy Spyerton McSpy.”

Svensvenderson: O.C. Copyright Pen Stroke.
Vimbert: He can have him.
Hellioning: Gentlemen...

Pinkie Pie whispered to herself, eyes focused in a hard glare

Disco: She’s gotten into the coffee again!
Crazy56U: Back under the table for me. (does just that)

as she surveyed the crowd of ponies moving about the lunch area and the exhibits. Whoever had been watching her, Dash, and Fluttershy had slipped away once, but now Pinkie Pie knew the spy was there,

CTOONfan1: meaning he wasn't a very good spy.

and she would find him

DiStort: and get him back for sapping her sentry.

or her.

Itchy Neck...

Private Sprinkles: You know, maybe she just needs to scratch her neck?
Hellioning: Stop making sense, it's making the fic look even worse!

Pinkie Pie’s head snapped to the right,

RLYoshi: and she fell down and died of a broken neck.
Crazy56U: (to the sky, shaking his fist) SPY SPYERTON MCSPYYYYYYYYY!

her eyes zipping through the crowd

Ezn: injuring hundreds
For the Plot: And suddenly, injuries.... Thousands of them.

to meet a pair of brown-gray eyes.

Ezn: It was love at first sight.

Her eyes remained fixed on those eyes for a moment, the pony who owned them

CTOONfan1: wanted them back desperately.

realizing Pinkie Pie was looking right in that direction and quickly ducked around a corner.

Creaky Knee...

Ezn: I have a creaky knee too. It’s from an arrow.
RLYoshi: (eye twitches) Ezn... could you stand there? Riiiiight there? Thanks. (pulls out bazooka)
Crazy56U: "You got your over-used meme in my riffing!" "You got your riffing in my over-used meme!"

“Gotcha...” Pinkie Pie whispered with a slightly devilish grin, starting to

Batman_the_Dino: imagine their life together once she was finally with him.

gallop. Creaky Knee was

Ezn: a nice pony.

one of her twitches that told her somepony was trying to get away from her...

Ezn: It told her this by whispering into her ear.
Vimbert: “KILL YOUR FAMILY! KILL YOUR FAMILY!”
Crazy56U: Hey, cool! I'm a HUGE fan of the "'Kill Your Family' Show"!

and most importantly the knee closest to the pony was the one that got creaky. Which meant she could track the spy.

Private Sprinkles: Pinkie Pie: living deus ex machina.
Hellioning: So Pinkie is a Pyro?
For the Plot: "most importantly the knee closest to the pony was the one that got creaky. Which meant she could track the spy." Sounds legit.

Rounding a corner the spy had just disappeared around, Pinkie Pie maneuvered through the crowd in hot pursuit.

Disco: She narrowly dodged a sheet of glass, and burst through several fruit carts.
Hellioning: "My cabbages!"
Crazy56U: Well, since pizza is now a vegetable, why NOT make cabbages fruits?

She caught small glances of somepony at a full gallop just ahead of her, rounding corners.

Disco: The pony was desperately trying to escape the story while it still could.
Anon13: If you make it, come back for us!
RLYoshi: You know, if you really want out of the story, the exit is right there... am I the only one who's noticed this? Really?
Crazy56U: Really? Because the only exit I see is a brick wall with “Exit” spray-painted on it. ...jerk.
RLYoshi: That might explain why I got a bloody nose when I tried to leave...

The spy knew she was onto him, but that wouldn’t stop her.

Mastr13: Oh yeah? What if I said... blargen fedibble no-hip!?
Crazy56U: Sorry, I don’t speak French...

Nopony went about being a nasty Spy Spyerton McSpy, especially around her and her friends.

Batman_the_Dino: However, if they were a polite Spy Spyerton McSpy, they could do whatever they pleased.

Creaky Knee Front Left... Creaky Knee Front Right... Creaky Knee Front Right... Creaky Knee Back Left... Creaky Knee Front Right... Twingy Ankle...

DiStort: Has Pinkie considered that she might she might just be having a seizure?
CTOONfan1: This is the weirdest Hokey Pokey I've ever seen.
For the Plot: Clopfic material right here.

Pinkie Pie put all four of her hooves to the ground, breaking hard and sliding to a stop. Twingy Ankle... now the spy wasn’t running, the spy was hiding.

For the Plot: "Twingy Ankle... now the spy wasn’t running, the spy was hiding." Again, sounds legit.
Anon13: Damn, I hope Pinkie came with a user’s manual.
DiStort: She did, but it has several trillion pages, all of which are written in sanskrit.
RLYoshi: Stonewall was supposed to bring it, but... well... you know the drill.
Crazy56U: So it was a drill that kept stealing Stonewall’s things! THE FIEND!

Pinkie Pie’s eyes narrowed, the pony finding herself on one side of the food court area that had been set up for the Learn and Play Day.

CTOONfan1: It was to be lent next week for "Shut Up and Read a Book Day."

There were ponies at almost every table, eating their lunches while other ponies mingled about, talking and laughing.

“Oh, he’s good, but Hide and Seek

Ezn: are two of my favourite ponies.

is one of my favorite games. ”

Ezn: “Mainly because I can cheat.”

Pinkie Pie whispered, before taking in a deep breath

Ezn: Spell Nexus, who was standing to the side, beamed with pride and wiped a solitary tear from his eye. He then did other things.
Batman_the_Dino: ...like inhaling and exhaling passionately.

and shouting, “YOU HEAR THAT!!! I’LL FIND YOU!!!”

Crazy56U: Yep, it's official: she's gone full-on Captain Ahab.
Ezn: You are so dumb. You are really dumb. For real.
Crazy56U: (as Antoine Dodson) Wellst... Obviously we have a breathing-fetishist in Ponyville.
Disco: *Facehoof* Real smooth, Inspector Javert.

All the ponies who had been eating their meals and chatting turned to look at Pinkie Pie, most quite

Ezn: hungry for some pink pie.

startled by the pink pony’s sudden and very loud proclamation.

Svensvenderson: The town of Ponyville hasn’t gotten used to Pinkie Pie yet?
Hellioning: Is it possible for anypony to get used to Pinkie Pie?

Still, Pinkie Pie ignored the confused stares

CTOONfan1: as that’s the normal look she gets.
Ezn: Haters gonna hate.

as her eyes scanned the crowd, eventually taking sight of a pony sitting alone at a table who had not turned around,

CTOONfan1: believing a party is needed to make him some friends.

her eyes falling on the back of his slicked back navy blue mane.

Ezn: and getting tangled in it.

“Gotcha... again.” Pinkie Pie offered

Vimbert: An attractive going-away party to Hide and Seek before they left the story.

with a menacing

Ezn: eyeless

grin. The pink pony moved across the food court slowly,

Ezn: swaying drunkly and drinking some berry punch.
Drizzel: Berry Punch: Put me down!

stepping between ponies as she did her best to approach the spy from behind.

Ezn: RAPE IMMINENT

She was within a few tables

CTOONfan1: Tables are now storage devices. Also, Pinkie is in pieces.
RLYoshi: Pieces? Like jigsaw pieces? I always thought she was quite puzzling!
Drizzel: Boo!

when a face popped in front of her.

Ezn: splattering blood and eyeballs all over her coat.

I was worried when you ran off.”

CTOONfan1: "You're not trying to escape this story, are you?"
Drizzel: If you are TAKE ME WITH YOU!

Dash said, hovering just in front of the pink earth pony.

Ezn: “Dash! I’m over here! I hate it when you confuse me with Berry Punch!”
Vimbert: “What? All you earth ponies look the same.”
Crazy56U: Ah, nothing like a little casual racism to go along with a fan-fic riffing.
Drizzel: You know, for kids!

“It’s almost time to start the afternoon sports and games. You still want to help?”

“No... I don’t... because... I’m tracking... a pony and...”

Anon13: All these ellipses are covering his tracks!

Pinkie Pie replied, trying to strain her neck to look around Rainbow Dash.

CTOONfan1: She had gotten really fat lately.

Eventually, the earth pony gently pushed the hovering pegasus out of the way, only to find the pony she had been creeping up on had vanished.

CTOONfan1: Obviously he turned invisible.
RLYoshi: Dammit, he must have the Cloak and Dagger! Stupid lucky drops...

The pink pony grunted in aggravation, turning accusing glare on Rainbow Dash.

Disco: Pinkie SMASH!

“And you let him get away!”

Ezn: “Now I’ll have to make cupcakes out of you instead!”
RLYoshi: NO. (snaps Ezn's neck) WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT... THAT.
Crazy56U: (hits you with a frying pan) It’s a running gag. Deal with it.

“Whoa... sorry, I didn’t mean to mess up... whatever it is you’re doing.”

Creaky Knee Front Right...

CTOONfan1: That means “kill the rainbow one”.

Pinkie Pie’s frown quickly turned

Ezn: into a jet and bombed the Russians.
Hellioning: At this point, she promptly flew into Celestia. Now she's dead. And on the moon.
RLYoshi: LIKE A FAUST!
Crazy56U: TRANSFORMERS! MORE THAN MEETS THE PIE!

back to a sinister smile,

Anonymous: Crazy, I suggest you get back under the table.

her head snapping in another direction.

“Don’t worry about it Dashie; now the spy is trying to run away form me again and nopony can run away from Pinkamena Diane Pie.”

Ezn: “No rock or bag of flour either!”
Batman_the_Dino: twitch

“Wait, you’re still chasing this imaginary spy?”

Ezn: “It makes me happy, okay! It helps me cope with the pain!”

Pinkie Pie, however, offered no answer

Ezn: at CRAZY LOW PRICES!
Disco: for a LIMITED TIME ONLY!
Private Sprinkles: Made in Germany, you know the Germans always make good stuff.

as she galloped across the food court. She caught sight of a navy-blue tail ducking behind the front of the school house, and the earth pony broke into

Ezn: five pieces and had the tail surrounded.
CTOONfan1: SONG!
Batman_the_Dino: several houses before following the spy.

a full sprint to catch up. She leapt around the corner, eyes darting about to see where the pony went.

Ezn: Two of the pieces were her eyes - they served as scouts for the mission.

Creaky Knee Front Right... Twingy Ankle...

“Oh, you silly spy.

Crazy56U: Hmm... anybody in the mood for Team Fortress 2?
Hellioning: Right behind you, gentlemen.

You thought you could hide in the school house, but nopony can hide from Pinkie Pie.”

RLYoshi: Am I the only one thinking her special talent should have been stalking rather than partying?

With that the earth pony moved to the school’s front door,

Ezn: “The rent’s pretty cheap, and there’s a nice view.”

taking a moment to gather herself

Ezn: into one piece again.

before bursting through the door

CTOONfan1: covering herself in hundreds of splinters.

and jumping up onto her back hooves, pulling a few karate poses

Ezn: out of Hammerspace and flinging them around
Disco: Everypony was kung fu fighting!

as she shouted

Svensvenderson: HIKEEBA!

into the dark.

“Come on out now, Spy Spyerton McSpy!

CTOONfan1: “the Spyth from Spyville, Spysylvania!”
Crazy56U: And so’s his dad.

I know you’re in

Ezn: “the stable! You’re a brony! Admit it!”
Crazy56U: "NEVER!!!"

here, and you’re going to tell me why you’re being a big meanie and spying on me and my friends!”

“Enough of of this.”

arcaneterror: The the eye creatures

A voice offered

Ezn: “This phrase comes with a spare ‘of’, in case you lose one!”
Anon13: SAY ‘OFFERED’ AGAIN, MOTHERFUCKER!
Crazy56U: I DARE YOU! I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU! Heck, I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU!
Ralphie: Hmm... Crazy56U created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple-dare and going right for the throat!

from the back of the dark room. Pinkie Pie turned,

Ezn: into a tree. Twilight glared at Nyx.
Batman_the_Dino: Nyx proceeded to cry. A lot.
Anon13: And then the universe exploded. THE END.

her eyes meeting the same brown-gray eyes she had seen among the exhibits.

Ezn: “Don’t you see! We were meant for each other!”

The eyes closed, and then, upon reopening, had turned a brilliant turquoise.

Ezn: SHOCK AND HORROR
Crazy56U: (woodenly) "Birdemic"! What a great movie! That's it, I'm going to buy more coat hangers!
Disco: How harrowing!

================

“All right, ponies!” Rainbow Dash half shouted

Ezn: half-cousined

over the remaining crowd.

CTOONfan1: The rest had been turned into trees.

“It’s time for the last awesome event of the day.

Ezn: “Enjoy it, because we’ve got like ten lame events afterwards.”
CTOONfan1: The rest had been turned into trees.

The Tug of War Tournament.”

DiStort: Not that I disapprove, but what exactly is educational about Tug-of-war?
Vimbert: It lets the ponies... uh... I got nothin’.
Anon13: Oh, that’s easy... it teaches fillies that the strong usually have their way regardless of intelligence or morality. A valuable life lesson.
RLYoshi: It teaches them about physics and science and leverage! Strong pony pulls one end, weak pony pulls other end, weak pony's end moves. Now for homework...
Crazy56U: It's educational because shut up.

The parents and other ponies

DiStort: who had nothing better to do that day
Drizzel: Except get turned into trees.
Anon13: Beats the hell out of a school board meeting.

who had come out for the Learn and Play Day all cheered,

Svensvenderson: Knowing it was almost over.

having formed into a sizable audience around three different colored tug of war ropes

Batman_the_Dino: , all of which were shades of turquoise.
RLYoshi: PLOT TWIST! THE SCHOOL IS PART OF NIGHTMARE MOON'S CULT!
Drizzel: Teaching all the students to be fabulous!

. “So, here’s how it’s going to happen.

Anon13: “You’re all going to make valiant efforts, and then Nyx is going to Mary Sue her way to winning everything.”
Ezn: SPOILERS!
DiStort: Is it spoilers if it’s obvious?

There are teams of four,

Ezn: “One for unicorns, one for pegasi, and two for second-class citizens.”

and each team has been placed on our tournament roster.

Ezn: “It’s printed on like A0-size paper.”

There are also three age groups and teams will fit into the age group of its oldest member. The last teams standing in each age group will get prizes,

CTOONfan1: The rest will go to the moon.

and then we’ll let the top teams tug it out

Ezn: Nah, too easy.

to see which one is the Tug of War Champions of the day.

RLYoshi: Tomorrow they will be overthrown.

“Now teams, report to the colored rope you were assigned to and let’s get tugging.”

Ezn: Spell Nexus complied at once, using a colored rope he’d brought himself.
Isphone: "This sweatshop wall won't raise itself!"

Another round of cheers as fillies and colts, some younger and some on the verge of being mares and stallions, filtered

Ezn: incredibly painfully

to one of the three ropes. At the red rope, for the youngest age group, Rarity stood with a clipboard levitating gently in front of her

Batman_the_Dino: , ready to smack the losers.

. Cheerilee had the middle age group and Applejack was keeping the oldest ponies in line.

Svensvenderson: Since being able to wrangle sheep automatically makes you leadership material.
Hellioning: If nothing else, she could just ask.
Crazy56U: Applejack: "Losing a game of tug-of-war? A night in the Box. Cheating in a game of tug-of-war? A night in the Box. Refusing to spend a night in the Box? A night in the Box."

“All right.” Rarity half sang

Ezn: half-moaned

above the sizable crowd of little fillies that had crowded around her.

CTOONfan1: "I NEED BREATHING ROOM!"

“First up are the Cutie Mark Crusaders vs The Carrot Clan.

Svensvenderson: Do they go around wearing big orange hoods?
Hellioning: EARTH PONY POWER!
Crazy56U: Hippies? RUN!

Those two teams get to your sides of the rope and everypony else stand back please.”

Vimbert: Isn’t it cute how she asked a question without asking a question? No? Okay.

The young ponies followed the directions. On one side of the rope were three colts and a filly, all of them with some form of a carrot themed cutie mark,

Ezn: clasped in their teeth.

who took up the rope in their teeth. On the other side of the rope, the four fillies wearing bright red Cutie Mark Crusader caps

Ezn: Baseball caps were in that season; cloaks were out.
Disco: Hasbro should get on that.

got into line. Sweetie Belle was in the front, Scootaloo behind her. Nyx, who had been officially inducted into the Cutie Mark Crusaders just after the Spring Festival,

Svensvenderson: Of course.
jelfes1: Oh my... just how Mary Sue can she possibly be?!
Hellioning: This is the Mary Sue singularity. We need to stop her before she destroys the universe.

took up the third position while Apple Bloom became the team’s anchor.

Ezn: Almost the correct pony race hierarchy.
Disco: Give them time. They’ll figure it out.
CTOONfan1: "I'm at the back of the Tug of War line. Will we win? More at 11."

“Remember, the goal is to pull the flag in the center of the rope across your line.” Rarity replied,

Ezn: “If you can’t manage that, you will have failed at being a pony.”
Crazy56U: "For that, I award you no points. And may Celestia have mercy on your soul."

motioning towards the white

Ezn: Stripes, who were providing the afternoon’s music.

lines that were painted on the ground. The two teams nodded their heads in agreement, already starting to pull the rope taut between them.

CTOONfan1: Cheaters!

Able to notice the eagerness in the team,

Ezn: thanks to her degree in psychology

Rarity didn’t waste another moment.

“Ready... Set... GO!”

RLYoshi: ROUND ONE! FIGHT!

The two teams tightened their jaws

Ezn: by adjusting their braces

and began to pull on the rope,

Ezn: but then let go and ran off to ride bikes.

struggling to drag the other team far enough the flag would cross the line. For a moment the Carrot Clan team began to get the advantage,

Ezn: but then got bored with it and wanted to see what the disadvantage was like.

the four earth ponies managing to pull the Crusaders a few steps forward. Still, the tides turned back

CTOONfan1: It was now low tide.

as Scootaloo began flapping her wings,

Batman_the_Dino: So unicorns can't use magic, but pegasi can use wings? RACISM!

much like when she was riding on her scooter. The added force let the Crusaders regain their footing, and soon, with a few hard pulls, they had won the first match.

Ezn: Once more proving that earth pony is the worst race.

“YAY! Cutie Mark Crusader Tug of War Champions!”

Ezn: “Did we get our cutie marks for playing a useless schoolyard game?!”

The four cheered in unison

Ezn: “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SYNCHRONISED CHEERSQUAD YAY!”
Drizzel: And everyone's ears started to bleed.

before stepping away from their side of the rope, letting the next two teams approach.

Svensvenderson: I hope they clean the rope afterwards.
Vimbert: Heh... nope.

=========

Due to the tournament ladder, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had

Ezn: three years of bad luck.

two more rounds of tug of war before they reached their age group’s final match, and

Ezn: would be able to use it to take a smoke break.

the Crusaders couldn’t be happier who they were facing.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon

CTOONfan1: Why don’t they just die?
Crazy56U: Well, Diamond Tiara can’t because she’s the anti-Celestia, but I can’t explain why Silver Spoon won’t.
RLYoshi: Because her name has alliteration, and as we all know, alliteration is the most important part of cartoons.
For the Plot: Scootaloo: "I'm liking this idea."

had gotten two of the strongest colts in the age group on their team,

CTOONfan1: Jean Colt van Damme and Arnold Schwartzenbucker.

and they had gotten to the final match by basically relying on those two strong colts.

Ezn: “SNOOTY RICH FILLY MANAGERS YAY!”
For the Plot: They don't care, though. They're getting all the fillies.

Still, the Crusaders weren’t about to lose to fillies who liked to call them blank flanks on a regular basis.

Ezn: They would much rather lose to fillies who liked to call them annoying characters.

That and Nyx still had a bit of a personal score to settle with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon for

Ezn: killing her father.
Crazy56U: So... is Nyx Luke Skywalker now?
RLYoshi: Well, she definitely has enough magic to lift an X-Wing out of a bog...

the whole Everfree Forest prank.

DiStort: Winning at Tug-Of-War is an equivalent act to attempted murder. Eye for an eye, folks.
Batman_the_Dino: Note: both of those eyes are turquoise.

“Ready... Set... Go!” Rarity shouted, the two teams quickly pulling the rope taut. Almost immediately the Cutie Mark Crusaders began to lose ground,

CTOONfan1: Okay. Who's the one who enchanted a shovel?

the two colts on the other team starting to drag the three fillies back.

Ezn: Three fillies? Nyx is a colt!
Disco: I knew it!
Hellioning: Won't Spell Nexus be disappointed?

They were colts just barely in the youngest age groups; one of them literally had a birthday within a week.

Svensvenderson: Hey! That’s... perfectly legal.

“Come on!” Apple Bloom grunted through the rope in her mouth. “Pull!”

“We are!” Scootaloo grunted back. “But our hooves are slipping!”

Ezn: “And my mom isn’t here to cheer for me!”

“Ha ha ha! Looks like you four are going to be losers and blank flanks.” Diamond Tiara called, actually taking her mouth off the rope since the two older colts on her team were doing all the work.

CTOONfan1: She's gonna make a great Bella Swan one day.
Crazy56U: (slap) DON’T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT!

“Oh... It. Is. On!” Sweetie Belle offered,

Ezn: having pilfered Rarity’s closet earlier that morning.

the unicorn in the front digging her hooves into the ground and finally managing to halt the team’s slow defeat,

CTOONfan1: Everyone, Sweetie Belle is now the most badass dictionary ever.

the flag on the rope just short of the other team’s line.

“Everypony.”

Ezn: “And you too, Scootaloo.”
Isphone: “I’m speaking to every pony, dictionary, and chicken!”
Crazy56U: You forgot "Mary Sue".
RLYoshi: So a pony, a dictionary, a chicken, and a Mary Sue walk into a bar...
Crazy56U: The punchline is “The Aristocrats”, isn’t it?

Nyx mumbled out. “Pull hard together.

Ezn: Spell Nexus excused himself to visit the bathroom.

Ready... PULL!”

The four Crusaders put their weight into their unified tug,

CTOONfan1: adding 6 pounds.

and actually managed to regain some ground, each taking a single step back.

Ezn: Spike then greedily gathered up their hard-won collection of steps.

Nyx made the “Ready... PULL!” again, and

Ezn: offered it to somepony.

again the fillies were able to reclaim a single step,

Ezn: in the name of The Children of Nightmare!

slowly dragging back the older stallions.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon tried for the first time in the tournament to really help pull, not wanting to see the Crusaders win. Still, Nyx’s strategy was working, enough that they were able to get the flag on the rope back to where it had started.

Hellioning: How the hell does "pull at the same time" count as a strategy? I know common sense is neither but this doesn't seem that impressive...
Ezn: DT and SS simply did not have their opponent’s Mary-Sue reality-warping powers.
DiStort: In the TV Tropes hierarchy, the Libby is vastly inferior to the Black-hole Sue.
Crazy56U: Where does "The Scrappy" fit?
RLYoshi: Where else would a scrappy fit? Right at the bottom, in the pit of hellfire.

At that point, however, Diamond Tiara’s team

Ezn: noted that the graph had an inflection.

figured out a counter strategy for the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ tactics,

Ezn: “We’ll throw counters at them!”
Disco: Horizontal Surface’s teachings were forever corrupted.
Crazy56U: Darn it. Now we have to make a new file for his teachings!

the four of them leaning hard into the rope whenever Nyx called out pull. It lead to a tense stalemate.

Ezn: It was so tense that the quotation marks in that paragraph ran off to hide.
Disco: Just like most of the readers.

“My jaw is starting to hurt.” Sweetie Belle mumbled out.

Disco: My head has been hurting for a few chapters.
Svensvenderson: Maybe if they stopped trying to talk while pulling on the rope it wouldn’t hurt.

“Just hold on, we can win this.” Scootaloo countered,

Svensvenderson: “Scootaloo used counter! It’s not very effective.”

trying to pep up the team as she beat her wings like mad.

“We can’t over power them.” Nyx grunted

CTOONfan1: Yes, the filly who turned a full grown mare into a tree doesn't have enough power for this.

as the Crusaders began to lose a little of their hard earned ground. “We have to out think them.”

Disco: That shouldn’t be too hard.

“And just how are we supposed to do that?” Apple Bloom asked,

Ezn: “What’s this ‘thinking’ thing?”
Isphone: Sounds like somepony needs a Party Time Menthol.
Vimbert: Oh, Apple Bloom. Leave the thinking to your betters.
RLYoshi: I can't think. I have the dumb.
Crazy56U: I’LL SAVE YOU! (hits you with a book)

only for Nyx to start whispering, just loud enough for her friends to hear

Ezn: “This is no time for- Dinky Doo said what?”

but keeping the plan secret from their opponents.

Anon13: How exactly can you do that while pulling a rope with your teeth?
Disco: Very carefully.

When the plan had been conferred to all Nyx began to count.

Ezn: Applejack narrowed her eyes in concentration.
Vimbert: “One... uh... two... um... four?”
Drizzel: "Three sir."

“Ready... PULL!” Nyx shouted out through the rope in her teeth.

CTOONfan1: She had practiced using ropes as megaphones for weeks.

Diamond Tiara’s team, hearing this, quickly pulled, trying to counter act the tug the Crusaders were about to perform. The crusaders, however, did not pull back. They instead let Diamond Tiara’s team have some of the slack.

RLYoshi: Only a small amount, though. Slack is very valuable, so they wanted to keep some of it, but they were willing to offer about thirty percent of it as a peace offering.

The sudden lack of opposition threw off Diamond Tiara’s team, causing the stallion they had in the back to

Ezn: suddenly hit puberty, apparently.

trip over his own hooves and fall off the rope. This was what the Crusaders had been hoping for, as Nyx shouted out another “PULL” and the four fillies took back all the slack they had given and then some.

Ezn: The slack was later donated to poor orphan earth ponies.

“Match over; the Cutie Mark Crusaders win!” Rarity sung out

Ezn: as she snapped the match with her hooves, decrying the CMCs’ filthy smoking habits.
Crazy56U: For the love of Batman, "Past Sins", please don't turn into a musical...

to the cheers of the crowd, and the defeated shouts of Diamond Tiara.

Ezn: The amazing cheer vs shout battle was what the audience had really come to see.
DiStort: It’s like a rap battle. Only louder and less musical.
Crazy56U: And less epic. And less pertaining to history.

Still, her minor tantrum was ignored

Crazy56U: as nopony gave a crap.

as the four Cutie Mark Crusaders high hoofed and then went over to where Dash was hovering to wait for the other age groups to finish.

Ezn: Scootaloo: “Did I do good, Rainbow Dash?”
Dash: “What? I wasn’t watching.”

============

“All right, it’s time for our awesome championship round.” Dash announced,

Ezn: “It’s awesome because instead of a championship round, we’re all going to beat up Nyx!” “YAY!”

only one tug of war rope remaining. “It’s going to be between the Cutie Mark Crusaders and The Boulders.”

Hellioning: Won't The Boulders feel conflicted about having to fight four young fillies?
Anon13: They’re doing a Flintstones crossover?
Crazy56U: Why not? If there's a Flintstones/Jetsons crossover, why not a Flintstones/MLP crossover?
Ezn: Ponies! Meet the ponies! They’re the perfect Equestrian bunch of pals!
Ponies! With the ponies! Making quality television for gals!

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Nyx

Ezn: The hierarchy is wrong again!

all looked wide-eyed

Ezn: as a consequence of their eyes being wide.
Batman_the_Dino: and turquoise, as a result of Spell Nexus growing bored.

at their opponents. By some luck they had managed to beat the middle age group champion team,

Ezn: They used a secret earth pony Winter Wrap Up technique.
Vimbert: In a scene too boring for even this story.

but now the four little fillies were facing a team of four colts that were arguably full grown stallions, or very close to being considered young adults.

“Now, since one team has an obvious advantage,” Dash said,

Ezn: “We’ll let the Boulders choose an OC alicorn from the crowd.”

motioning towards the four earth ponies of The Boulders. “We’ll allow the Cutie Mark Crusaders to have an advantage.

CTOONfan1: "Nyx, turn them into trees."

They can either add another pony to their team, have one unicorn be allowed to use magic, or they can pick a pony from The Boulders to sit out.”

The Crusaders quickly huddled up, Apple Bloom quickly offering her opinion.

Ezn: Silly Pen Stroke, earth ponies don’t have opinions!

“We should ask my big sister to join our team, no, wait! ... we should ask Big Macintosh to be on our team! I bet he could beat those four big ponies all by himself.”

Ezn: “Eeyup.”

“No, I want to beat these colts ourselves.

Ezn: “I have a feminism quota to fulfill.”

I say we take the biggest and make him sit out. It be four vs. three.” Scootaloo argued.

Ezn: Applejack quickly borrowed Luna’s abacus to double-check Scootaloo’s counting.
Disco: She collapsed in agony shortly after.

“What about magic? I’m not that good at it, but Nyx is really good at magic. She turned Fluttershy into a tree!” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

Svensvenderson: “Since she’s a Mary Sue, she’s good at everything!”

“You heard about that?” Nyx asked, a bit embarrassed.

Ezn: “I was going to turn her into a forest, but... I couldn’t. Twilight was so disappointed.”

“Hard not to, considering everypony here saw the tree. Still, I think Sweetie Belle is right.

Ezn: “She’s a unicorn, after all!”

Nyx is wicked awesome at magic, and just think how cool it would be to beat those big ponies without help from anypony else.”

“I don’t know.” Apple Bloom admitted. “Nyx, do you think you have enough magic?”

Crazy56U: Nyx, are you a bad enough filly to save the President?!?
Anon13: Are you kidding? She’s MARY SUE!

“I... I think so. I mean, I did turn a pony into a tree.”

DiStort: OKAY. WE GET IT. SHE TURNED FLUTTERSHY INTO A TREE. STOP REMINDING US.
Vimbert: Are you following the plot, readers? Do you need a recap? A Past Sins wiki link? (oh Celestia I hope one of those doesn’t exist)
Crazy56U: Not if I have anything to say about it! (runs off)

10 MINUTES LATER

Crazy56U: ...I've been banned from "Wikipedia".
Disco: There’s a wiki for everything. Everything.

“All right, it’s decided then. Nyx will be our anchor

Batman_the_Dino: She fixed her hair, turned around, and attached her mic, getting ready to deliver the evening news.

and use her magic.” Scootaloo concluded,

Ezn: And suddenly this fic became the lost Nyx arc of The End of Ponies.
Vimbert: NOT ON MY WATCH.
Crazy56U: (Sharpies what Ezn said on your watch) Hah, and hah.

the Crusaders ending their huddle and telling Rainbow Dash their choice. The pegasus echoed their choice to the crowd,

Ezn: Their choice their choice their choice their choice
Drizzel: (slap) Darn thing, always breaking...

most of the ponies cheering while one particular purple unicorn looked a little anxious.

Batman_the_Dino: "Do I have time to go to the bathroom before the match starts?"
Ezn: “I still can’t get this jar open!”
CTOONfan1: Where are the Powerpuff Girls when you need them?
Vimbert: Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, cheered like an idiot, seeing no way this could possibly go wrong.

Soon the two teams were lined up on the single, remaining tug of war rope. And, since it was the last final

DiStort: Wait, I thought we were on the final last.

, there was even a proper mud pit.

Anon13: Imported, too. Rarity could barely keep herself out of it.

The rules were classic:

Svensvenderson: As opposed to the post-modern rules.
For the Plot: You mean the Reformist rules they had before.

once all the members of one team were in the mud they lost. It was a tug of war to the last pony standing.

CTOONfan1: They had a janitor on standby to mop up the blood.

The four nearly full grown stallions on the other team took the rope in their mouths, smiling like they had already won.

Ezn: “This defeat of four tiny fillies shall be our greatest victory!”

Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo took the rope up as well, biting down hard as they prepared for what was going to be a very hard match to win.

Ezn: Scootaloo started getting withdrawal, and nicotine patches were rushed onto the field.

Nyx stood at the end, gripping the very end of the rope in her teeth while her horn glowed, the filly deciding to use her magic

Batman_the_Dino: as opposed to ignoring her magic and failing miserably.

to help her keep her hooves from sliding.

Disco: Which promptly failed, causing her to fall on her face.

“All right, is everypony ready?”

CTOONfan1: NO!
Crazy56U: Interesting arguement, but I offer this as a rebuttal.

Dash asked, looking ta the two teams. Every pony gave a nod,

Ezn: “And you, Scoots? Is every chicken ready?”
Disco: Nah, she’s still undercooked. Give her another five minutes in the microwave.
DiStort: What about Sweetie Belle? We need to make sure every dictionary is ready, too.

and with a smile Dash lifted a hoof high into the air.

Ezn: I STICK MY HOOF UP IN THE AIR SOMETIMES

“Ready... Set... GO!”

SPLASH!!!

Anon13: Nice to see sound guy’s branching out.
Disco: It’ll look good on his resume.

Sweetie Belle was in the mud pit within moments of the match starting,

Ezn: Rarity bit her lip with jealousy.

the big stallions on the other team just having to give a sound tug to

Ezn: a deserving little child for Hearth’s Warming.

drag the little white unicorn into the mud. The other three fillies did their best to pull back, but even with Nyx’s trying to bewitch their hooves to hold tighter to the ground The Boulders

Hellioning: have gotten over their conflicted feelings and are ready to bury them in a ROCKALANCHE!

were able to drag them.

SPLASH!!!

DiStort: Mud’s supposed to be semisolid, it shouldn’t be splashing! Aw, man, they must’ve sprung for the bargain bin stuff.

Scootaloo was next, Sweetie Belle just barely able to get out of the way before the orange pegasus joined her in the mud pt.

Ezn: Team effort! There’s no I in mud pt!
Crazy56U: Darn budget cuts! What k_nd of world _s _t when we can't spr_ng for a s_mple letter l_ke "_"?!?
CTOONfan1: There was only a pint of mud? How are they all getting in it?
RLYoshi: Very carefully.

SPLASH!!!

The older kids weren’t even trying that hard, practically just dragging the Crusaders into the mud.

Vimbert: Except that’s what they would be doing even if they were trying.

Nyx was the last left, the magical filly’s hooves sliding across the ground as she was inched closer and closer to the mud pit.

CTOONfan1: Oh NOW it's a pit.

“Come on NYX!” Apple Bloom called out,

RLYoshi: Making sure to use capslock on the alicorn's name to make it sound important.

the farm filly already out of the mud. “Use more magic!”

RLYoshi: "The answer? Is magic. And if that don't work? Use more magic."

“Yea, don’t let them beat you!” Scootaloo offered,

Anon13: >BANG!<

stomping a hoof.

Ezn: because it just wasn’t fair.

The black filly glanced at them, knowing they were right.

Ezn: They were master-race non-blacks, after all.

All she had that might have been stronger than the other team was her magic, but how could she use it?

Ezn: With her horn, duh!

She couldn’t do anything too complex, otherwise she’d lose concentration and be pulled off her hooves,

CTOONfan1: A slightly more violent way to fall in love than swept off her hooves.

and she couldn’t just pull harder because her hooves were sliding across the ground.

What she needed was traction and strength,

Disco: and some common sense.
DiStort: And a tick bath.
Crazy56U: What, no force, balance, and push? (What? At least I didn’t mention arrows.)

and one of the spells had to be something she could cast and forget

CTOONfan1: Amnesia spell. Of course!
RLYoshi: Make the other team forget how to play Tug-of-War! It's genius!

because she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on more than one spell at a time. The mud pit was drawing closer,

Ezn: threatening to take the Pictionary World Champion title yet again.

the older colts playing with Nyx

Ezn: Chris Hansen: I’d like you boys to take a seat over there.
Crazy56U: And then the colts promptly shot themselves.

as they inched her closer and closer to the pit without even really trying.

Batman_the_Dino: Oh, and did I mention they weren't trying very hard?

That was the first thing she needed was to them from pulling her closer to the pit.

Anon13: No, the first thing she needed was a “stop” in that sentence.

Nyx’s horn began to glow a little brighter, and with a flash Nyx was suddenly rooted to the ground,

Batman_the_Dino: as she had suddenly become a tree. Get it? Rooted?
RLYoshi: Leaf it alone, pal. You need to start branching out.

her hooves no longer sliding. The older colts were caught off guard by the sudden stop,

Ezn: HAMMERTIME

but didn’t get to process

Svensvenderson: Being Earth ponies, it would have taken too long.

what was going on before Nyx began to shift

Ezn: Proper Etiquette stood off to the side, beaming with pride and wiping a solitary tear from his eye.

her magic.

She began to just pour the mystic energy into herself,

Ezn: adding a pinch of cinnamon for flavour.
Crazy56U: only to realize that it was actually gas. She cursed the burrito she had for lunch.

bending the magic from her horn down into her legs and muscles and jaw. When ponies are directly exposed to magic, it can have a profound effect.

Ezn: A profoundly magical effect, you could even say.

Celestia’s hair was a constant example, the magic that naturally flowed from the sun princess giving her the amazing, regal mane.

Ezn: I thought she just used special shampoo.

Fill a pony with magic, and their body will

Ezn: explode twice.

use the energy to make itself better until the magic is gone.

Anon13: And suddenly we’re in a Discovery Channel documentary.

And Nyx could feel it working, feel herself getting just a little stronger.

Ezn: Your magicalness has increased. Please find a bed to rest in.

Her jaw was no longer hurting and she was able to bite down harder on the rope. The black filly lifted one of her hooves, revealing the fact that her first spell had transfigured some of the dirt on the ground into

Ezn: a tree.

horseshoes with long spikes,

CTOONfan1: So horsecleats.

the perfect thing to keep Nyx from sliding.

Magic flowing through her and her eyes shut tight in concentration, Nyx took a step back and began to pull, and the rope gave a little.

Ezn: yelp of fright as her ticks crawled all over it.

Not much, but just a little. It was enough to tell Nyx what she was doing was working and all she needed was more magic.

Ezn: “Construct additional magic pylons,” it said.
RLYoshi: She promptly ragequit.
Anon13: WE WISH.

Calling on her horn,

Ezn: “Horn? You there?”

Nyx began pouring as much magic as she could into her little body,

Batman_the_Dino: leaving her big body devoid of magic.

feeling it giving her strength. It also made her mane and tail feel weird, but the filly couldn’t focus on that as she took another few steps.

Anon13: Mary Sue Powers … ACTIVATE!
Crazy56U: Form of: A POORLY WRITTEN CHARACTER!
Vimbert: Shape of: NEEDLESS RECAPS!

The other team offered valiant resistance,

Ezn: Which Nyx promptly accepted, using it to win a quick victory.

and at times made Nyx have to take a step forward again.

Ezn: She did the pony pokey! She did the pony pokey! That’s what I’m talking about!
Vimbert: So, she’s giving them an advantage, since she’d need to step backward in order to drag them. Truly, our Sue is a gracious Sue.

Still, the match had become very one sided,

Ezn: as Spike had just grabbed the other side and added it to his horde.

and soon Nyx’s ears were greeted with four sounds.

SPLASH... SPLASH... SPLASH... SPLASH...

Ezn: The sound guy sobbed into his hat, as some evil villain had stolen the top bits of his exclamation points.
Crazy56U: THE FIEND!
RLYoshi: That's almost as bad as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stealing those cookies!
Drizzel: And that’s terrible.

The moment Nyx heard the fourth splash she

Ezn: chastised the sound guy for forgetting the fifth one, adding to his sorrow.

dropped the rope and released her magic, panting heavily as she stared at the grass.

Ezn: “Mmm... grass. Almost as good as hay fries.”

The magic began to evaporate from the filly,

Svensvenderson: “Where the magic will gather in the atmosphere, completing the magic cycle.”

her body releasing the high concentration of arcane energies that had been poured into it.

Disco: The smell was horrendous.
Crazy56U: Ah. So it smelled like coffee.

Nyx began to feel sore all over, her jaw especially tender, but she was still smiling.

Ezn: “This is just like last night!”
jelfes1: "With Big Macintosh, you know, there's a reason he's called Big Macin---err, never mind!"
Crazy56U: ...where’d Chris Hansen go; I think he’d like to hear this.

She had beat the big kids,

DiStort: How many classes does Cheerilee teach, anyway?

just her, and now everypony would be cheering and happy

CTOONfan1: that the Mary Sue got her way.

and she’d get a first place ribbon just like her friends and...

Ezn: maybe the reader would finally like her!
Drizzel: Pfft-BAHAHAHAHAHA...
RLYoshi: Yeah, not gonna happen.

It was at this moment Nyx noticed how very quiet it was.

Ezn: SOUND GUY!
Anon13: I think we caught him in a coffee break.

Looking up, the black filly was surprised to see everypony that had been watching the match was staring at her,

CTOONfan1: Big surprise.

many with their jaws hanging open.

Ezn: It was for the bonus audience participation fly-catching round.

Nyx even caught sight of Twilight,

Ezn: It sped by as she enacted her secret plan to bring eternal night to Equestria.

the unicorn looking like she was about to faint, her narrow eyes darting about the crowd

Ezn: and stealing everypony’s wallets.

like it could turn into something very dangerous very quickly.

Ezn: And then the crowd became a very scary-looking tree.
Hellioning: Where's Pinkie when you need her?

The silence wasn’t pleasant at all,

Ezn: It’s not The’s fault! She had a hard childhood! Mr and Mrs Silence abused her!

Nyx starting to feel like she had done something wrong.

Svensvenderson: “But she was a Mary Sue, and thus could do no wrong.”
Drizzel: Unless she's an Angst-Sue. in which case GOD HELP US.

The black filly shrunk back a bit, her own eyes moving about the crowd

CTOONfan1: having abandoned her a while ago.

as she tried to find eyes

Ezn: for her evil gypsy magic.

that weren’t looking at her like she was weird.

Svensvenderson: Because the embodiment of an evil force that attempted to cast the entire world into a perpetual night isn’t weird.

And Nyx did find those eyes,

Ezn: and Nyx did subsequently toss them in the cauldron. And Nyx did create a wormhole and travel back in time.
Crazy56U: Well, it's an easier time-travel method than using a DeLorean, that much I can say.

three pairs looking at her with disbelief but slowly building with joy.

Ezn: “Slowly” because joy’s a lousy building material, and their towers kept falling over.

It was her friends, the other Cutie Mark Crusaders slowly coming to terms that their friend

Ezn: was Nightmare Moon.
Crazy56U: It isn't chapter 10 yet, dagnabbit! STOP JUMPING THE GUN!
CTOONfan1: Dude! Spoilers, much?
Crazy56U: Yep! And I give not one fuck! :)
RLYoshi: WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, BITCH!
Drizzel: DO I NEED TO GET FLUTTERSHY IN HERE?!

just beat four big colts at a game of tug of war all by herself. And, when that realization hit them,

Ezn: it gave Scootaloo a black eye but nopony cared.
Vimbert: “Remember, kid, you fell down some stairs, alright?” “Yes, Rainbow...”
Crazy56U: Scootabuse... you went there. (facehoof)
RLYoshi: TVTropes says it's a running gag, so we have to keep doing it. Can't argue with the Internet.

the three fillies raced towards Nyx in their excitement.

“That was awesome!”

“You did it! You did it!”

“I don’t think even my big sis could have beat all those colts by herself!”

Ezn: “Oh, I have other methods of dealing with colts, dear Sweetie.”

The cheers and admiration from the Crusaders snapped the crowd

Ezn: in two, right down the middle, killing hundreds.
Vimbert: I’m okay with this.

out of their stupor, and many began to applauded as well, some offering

Anon13: >BANG!<
Crazy56U: Dude, stop shooting the fan-fic; it doesn't deserve it.
RLYoshi: YES IT DOES.
RingmasterJ5: Eh, there’s worse.

very well meant cheers

Ezn: at very affordable prices!

while some were just stomping their hooves on the ground

CTOONfan1: as, you know, they can't clap. No hands.

since it was what was expected.

Ezn: Sheep! They’re sheep, not ponies! Always doing what the Man wants!
Vimbert: So what you’re saying is that Celestia is male now?
Hellioning: It would explain a lot.

Others didn’t applaud at all, whispering to each quietly.

Disco: Wait, were they full whispers or half?
Eclipse: Thirds.
Vimbert: They may have even been the legendary quarter-whispers.
Crazy56U: My guess? They thought the magic BS they saw was fake.

Amongst those who applauded was one pony with brown-gray eyes and a blue, slicked back mane.

CTOONfan1: He wasn't evil or anything.

He applauded with a gentle smile on his lips, eyes focused on the little black filly.

Ezn: I WONDER WHO HE COULD BE WORKING FOR
Vimbert: The sound guy, of course.
Svensvenderson: Where’s the Sound Guy with a ‘DUN DUN DUNNNNN!’ When you need him?
Crazy56U: I thought he was on a coffee break?
Anon13: He is. It’s a union thing.

============

“Man, that was crazy.” Rainbow Dash said as she fluttered in the air, carrying a box in her hooves.

CTOONfan1: Rainbow Dash's hooves are now storage devices.

“I mean, little Nyx beating that whole team of older colts.

Disco: “It’s like one of those Tumblr accounts!”

What are the chances?”

Ezn: Almost 100%, actually.
Svensvenderson: Dash hasn’t figured out Nyx is a Mary Sue either.

“It really was amazing.” Fluttershy replied,

DiStort: Deciding to leave her traumatizing experience as a tree for her therapist to worry about.

the pegasus pony walking along the ground. She too was carrying a box on her back,

Ezn: like a good non-unicorn packmule.

the pair taking some of the leftover prizes and other things into the school house,

Ezn: where they would offer them as a sacrifice to prevent Spike from destroying the town.

helping to clean up from the Learn and Play Day.

CTOONfan1: There would be no more learning or playing until next year.

“To do all that, Nyx has to have as much magic as Twilight.”

“Or more!” Dash added,

Ezn: Twilight hung her head and went to sulk in a corner.

the pegasus pushing open the door and into the darkened school house. Still, before the pegasus could get two feet into the door,

Ezn: She realised that she had hooves, not feet!

she ran into something. The blue pegasus jumped a little, quickly flying backwards

Batman_the_Dino: Wait... so did she jump or fly?
Crazy56U: SHE CREATED A TIME PARADOX!
Drizzel: QUICK! TO THE TARDIS!

as she tried to register what she had run into.

“Pi...

Ezn: “...is approximately 3.14!” Somewhere off to the side, Applejack groaned.

Pinkie Pie?” The pegasus eventually mumbled, she and Fluttershy setting down the boxes they were carrying and moving around in front of the earth pony.

Ezn: “Yo Hayseed.”

Pinkie Pie was standing still as a statue on her hind legs in a fake karate pose with her eyes focused on a point on the far side of the room.

Ezn: Rainbow Dash nodded ever so slightly, letting Pinkie know that her interpretive dance had artistic merit.

“Is... is she even breathing?” Dash asked, noticing how very still Pinkie Pie was standing.

Ezn: “If she’s not, I want her party cannon.”

“Oh no! She’s been Stared!” Fluttershy offered.

Ezn: BILLY MAYS HERE TO SELL YOU SOME OH NO! SHE’S BEEN STARED!
Crazy56U: Billy Mays: Pitchman brony from beyond the grave!
RLYoshi: That right there is proof that bronies will stay bronies even when they die. YOU CANNOT GET RID OF US!

“Stared, what’s Stared?”

“You know The Stare.”

Ezn: The Stare’s such a nice pony.
Vimbert: The Stare used to look in my window and just watch me.

“Oh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash replied. “It’s when you stare an animal or pony down

CTOONfan1: "until you get the evidence out of them."

and it makes them do what you want them to.”

Ezn: JUST LIKE IN S01E17 “Staremaster”.
Disco: Yes, this chapter was in desperate need of a pointless continuity reference.
Vimbert: We clearly need a wiki link, STAT!
RLYoshi: I'd post one, but Stonewall forgot to bring it.

“Well, not exactly... but, yes.

Ezn: “You’re wrong, but also you’re right.”

Well, sometimes, when I use The Stare and I don’t mean too...

CTOONfan1: She uses the stare and is really nice about it.

well, sometimes I can make

Ezn: extra “o”s appear on the ends of words.

the pony or animal I’m staring at just freeze up.”

Ezn: “And then I get the sudden urge to make an ice pun in an Austrian accent.”

“Wait, so you did this to Pinkie Pie?”

Ezn: “And I would’ve gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for you darn kids and your colony of ticks!”

“Oh no, it wasn’t me.” Fluttershy quickly defended.

Ezn: “It was Colonel Mustard in the Billiard Room with the dagger! He used to the dagger to do the Stare! Nyx helped.”

“I haven’t done this to anypony in years.

CTOONfan1: "I HAVE done it to several chickens, a cockatrice, a dragon, and the writers to give me better scenes."

It was only when I first found out I had The Stare that I accidentally did this once in a while, but I’d never do it on purpose to another pony. No, some other pony did this.”

Crazy56U: ...can we please hear more of THAT story? ...please?
Disco: I smell a spinoff!
RLYoshi: It probably smells like trash, considering what it'd be a spinoff of.

“Well, how do we fix it?”

“Well, um... I usually just throw a bit of water on them, but anything that gives the pony a little shock is enough to snap them out of it.”

Svensvenderson: “But not warm water, otherwise they’ll shrink.”
Batman_the_Dino: Unfortunately, Stonewall had forgotten the water.

“Oh, then I know just the thing.” Rainbow Dash said, hovering up near Pinkie Pie’s ear

Crazy56U: Hmm... to make a Rainbow Pie joke, or not to make a Rainbow Pie joke... that is the question.
Hellioning:The answer is "yes".
Anon13: The answer is always yes.
RLYoshi: At least, when it's not magic. snort snort

and beginning to whisper. “Hey Pinkie Pie!

Ezn: “All your friends hate you!”
Crazy56U: Damn it, we don’t want a repeat of “Party of One”!

Twilight just got a letter from Princess Celestia.

CTOONfan1: "You are now more popular than Fluttershy."
Drizzel: LIES!
Crazy56U: (pulls out pitchfork) GET HIM!!!

She wants you to plan the next Grand Galloping Gala so it’ll be, like, 200% more fun.”

Ezn: “And also, like, 20% co-” *is shot*
Crazy56U: (hides gun, turns to you, the reader) You owe me.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes, which had been narrow and transfixed on a spot on the far side of the room, suddenly went wide,

Svensvenderson: Caught the ball, and ran for a touch down!

and in a flash the pink pony was bouncing off the walls and ceiling,

CTOONfan1: It appears she has become Flubber.

giggles filling the air.

Ezn: “Oh Berry Punch,” said Pinkie from the floor.

“Oh, that is so super dupe amazing!

Ezn: “What? Super dupe. It’s gonna be a thing.”
DiStort: Oh, Pinkie. Always the trend setter.
Hellioning: "Hey, kids, wanna try some Super Dupe? First one's free..."

I am going to make it the best party ever! I’ll make it the most amazing incredible tremendous super-fun wonderful terrifically humongous party in all of Equestria!

CTOONfan1: Maybe, but will it be the most splendiferous party ever?

Oh the Grand Galloping Gala will be the greatest party. Oh the Grand Galloping Gala will be the greatest party. Hip hip, Hooray, It will be the best all thanks to me, to Pinkie!”

Crazy56U: When in doubt, reference season one!

“Yeah, Pinkie Pie... I was lying.”

The party pony froze up practically mid-jump, defying gravity for a moment before

Batman_the_Dino: realizing that stopping for a moment is normal at the peak of a jump.

dropping down to the ground. Springing back to her hooves, Pinkie Pie trotted over to Dash, glaring coldly at the pegasus.

Ezn: And tasty rainbow cupcakes were enjoyed by all.
Private Sprinkles: I didn't get one. :(

“That was not an okay prank, Dashie.”

Svensvenderson: “Bitch.”

“Sorry, but it wasn’t meant to be a prank. I needed to say something to snap you out of being Stared.”

“Stared... wait, I was Stared?”

CTOONfan1: Yes, Pinkie. People Stare at you all the time through computer screens.

“You actually know what that is?”

“Oh... um, yes.

Crazy56U: I do too. ...involves weirdos on the bus, right?

When... well, when I first met Pinkie Pie she kind of, well... scared me

CTOONfan1: (sarcastically) No way.

and, I didn’t mean to but... I used The Stare on her and she got Stared.” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly.

Ezn: This is how the Stare works, kids. True story.
Svensvenderson: First a tree, now a sheep? Fluttershy’s a shape shifter!

“It was the last time she ever did it.” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “Unless you count today.”

Ezn: “And she won’t be doing it again...”

“But Pinkie, I wasn’t the one who used The Stare on you.”

DiStort: Can you really call it “The Stare” if Fluttershy isn’t the one using it? I mean, she has it copyrighted and everything, so...
RLYoshi: Has she? I didn't see no TM in the corner!
Batman_the_Dino: No, silly, that would mean it was trademarked!

“You weren’t? But then who...” Pinkie Pie began, only for her eyes to narrow as turned to look at the far end of the room,

CTOONfan1: "The house has eyes."

intending to glare at a pony that was no longer there. “It was HIM!”

RLYoshi: -who-shall-not-be-named.
Ezn: And suddenly this became a Powerpuff Girls crossover.
Vimbert: Please, can’t this fic stick to making a mess of only one show?

“Him who, Pinkie?”

“The Spy!” The party pony seethed

Anon13: Bland. James Bland.
Crazy56U: Wait, Sebastian Starchild is now in this? Man, won't Linkara be thrilled!
Disco: License to bore.
Ezn: Red or Blu?
Hellioning: The scout is a spy!
CTOONfan1: You must've been mistaken for the Black Spy.

as she trotted across the room and pointed to a spot on the floor.

Ezn: “Out, damn spot!”

“I followed him in here and he was standing right here and I had him cornered but then he opened his eyes and they were turquoise instead of the color they were

Crazy56U: And since she's Pinkie Pie, she obviously knew that those eyes weren't that color. I'm not making a joke; I'm just saying.

and then the next thing I remember is you telling me Celestia wants me to plan the next Grand Galloping Gala, which, by the way, is still a very mean prank.” The party loving pony forced out in a single long breath before turning her gaze back on her friends.

Ezn: “Berry Punch, you silly party-lover! We’re not your friends! Go sober up!”

“Look, Pinkie, I said I was sorry.” Dash countered as she flew over by the earth pony.

CTOONfan1: "But let me brag about how I've got wings and you don't."

“But, I guess you weren’t kidding about the spy. I mean, its not like an imaginary pony could have Stared you.”

DiStort: Why not? She’s had stranger things done to her by imaginary creatures.

“But why would anypony be spying on us?” Fluttershy asked as she made her way across the room, choosing to walk between the desks.

Ezn: “We’re not even involved in an interesting story right now!”
CTOONfan1: It's not wrong.

“I don’t know, but I sure as sugar am going to find out... after all the fun afternoon games though. I would hate to miss the seven legged race, or watching the tug of war.”

“Uh, Pinkie Pie, you did miss all that.” Dash admitted.

“WHAT!?”

Ezn: “It’s okay, you mainly just missed Nyx warping reality and turning stuff into trees.”
Anon13: Pinkie: “Nyx warped reality? That’s MY shtick!”

“Yea, you’ve been in here all afternoon. We’re actually cleaning up right now.”

“Oh... oh now I am going to find that spy!

Not just because he was a Spy Spyerton McSpy.

Ezn: but also because he killed my father.
Mastr13: Hello, my name is Pinkie Pie. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

No, now it’s personal. No pony makes Pinkie Pie miss Pin the Tail on the Pony!”

Crazy56U: EVERYONE GET DOWN; PINKIE IS GOIN' TO BUCK SOMEONE UP!
Eclipse: Sorry Crazy, but I'll be going under the table this time.
Disco: In a world where ponies can’t party, one mare will even the odds.
Ezn: Pink vs. Spy. Coming Summer 2012.
Private Sprinkles: This time, it's personal.

=====================================================================

Disco: Um, I have Questions, Comments, and Concerns? Hello?
Vimbert: Pen Stroke stopped pretending to care about the readers.

Crazy56U: Aw, no Gmail link?
RLYoshi: Wanting to spam Pen Stroke's email, are we?

DiStort: The horrible truth is... NYX IS A MARY SUE!
RingmasterJ5: He said “horrible”, not “obvious”.
Anon13: The real horrible truth is that we’re still reading this.
RingmasterJ5: What’s worse: This is only the SECOND MST fic. There’s going to be many more...
CTOONfan1: That just means more trashing to be done. No problems.
Disco: GASP!
DiStort: FORESHADOWING.
Crazy56U: DUN DUN DUUUUUN!
Isphone: SORRY! I’M SORRY!
Vimbert: Ugh. Just kill me now.
Drizzel: … … OK. (shoots you)
RLYoshi: Got another bullet in there? If so, take aim at my head and pull the trigger, please.
Drizzel: (aims gun)
Drizzel: (gun clicks)
Drizzel: Buck! sorry.

Twilight walked back to the library with Nyx as the sun began to set near the western horizon. Rainbow Dash and a few others were staying to cleanup the Learn and Play Day.

Ezn: There was so much blood. And tree sap.

It was a moment the unicorn was thankful she hadn’t volunteered to help

DiStort: Because menial work like that is better left to non-unicorns.

, since staying around the school at that point was the last thing she wanted to do.

Ezn: All the nubile schoolfillies had left, you see.
Hellioning: Crap! Spell Nexus got to Twilight!

Nyx was happy as she could be, bouncing along with her first place ribbon

CTOONfan1: She didn't get a trophy? That's no way to treat your Mary Sue.
RLYoshi: Do you really want to treat her like a proper Mary Sue?

from the tug-of-war competition, wearing her Cutie Mark Crusader cape and a kazoo in her mouth,

DiStort: Oh, good. Let’s make Nyx MORE annoying.
Disco: Huh, I didn’t think that was possible. Thank you, Pen Stroke.
Crazy56U: (proceeds to jam cotton balls in his ears)
Hellioning: At least it's not a vuvuzela.

Vimbert: HE’LL HEAR YOU, YOU FOOL!

her chosen prize from the prize box. The little filly was content to play the kazoo in a triumphant fan fare

Svensvenderson: Truly, the kazoo is the noblest of instruments.
Drizzel: Right up there with the cow bell.
Tavish Dougherty: We need more of it.

that only she knew the notes to,

Anon13: A lovely little piece entitled “You’re All Gonna Die Soon”.
Wild Trotter: Or "Nobody Told Me About Equestria".

a sight that made Twilight smile a little.

Wild Trotter: Secretly, her ears were bleeding a little.

Twilight was happy that Nyx had a good day, and that it had ended well.

Disco: That was a good ending?!
Ezn: I’mma reload from the last save and try again.
Hellioning: Would you like your possessions identified?
Svensvenderson: You probably need to use New Game Plus to get the best ending.
Anon13: Either that or shell out the cash for the strategy guide.
RLYoshi: Personally, I'd just say "screw it" and go watch a let's play on YouTube.

The silence from the crowd

CTOONfan1: Was bliss compared to this noise.

after the last round of tug-of-war had been deafening.

Ezn: SOUND GUY!
Drizzel: Earl! you've been sleeping on the job again?!

Had it not been broken by Nyx’s friends, Twilight could only imagine how bad the filly would have felt,

Ezn: Twilight cackled in glee at her musings.

wondering if she had done something wrong. But thankfully Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had ran up to her and cheered her on, making the black filly very happy.

Ezn: It helped that Scootaloo was wearing a KFC bucket on her head.
Hellioning: Nyx, however, was jealous of the unnamed black filly's enjoyment.

Yet, it was only a small drop of happiness in a sea of a very bad situation.

Wild Trotter: With an island of common sense isolated from the rest of the landmass that is her brain.
RLYoshi: And the boat she was on kind of lost its compass, if you know what I mean.

While Nyx was unaware of what had happened, Twilight had been in the crowd watching when she began to use her magic to try and win that last round of tug of war. She was using her magic, a lot of it... and that was when it began to happen.

Disco: Yes, please remind the readers of what happened a few paragraphs ago.
Vimbert: Wait, who’s Twilight again? WIKI LINK PLZ

Nyx’s mane at first just seemed to start shimmering, something that may have just been contributed to a trick of the the light.

Ezn: Twilight promptly contributed Nyx’s shimmering to a trick of the light, beating Notch’s donation by a hair.

But as the little filly began to use more and more magic her mane and tail began to change more, her hair reflecting the arcane energy that the filly was using.

RLYoshi: Nyx's hair is now a mirror. IT IS CANON.

Her hair began to get lighter, and then actually began to float and wave in the air,

DiStort: In other words, she went super saiyan.
Crazy56U: Just like Hitler! :D
Hellioning: She can't have gone super saiyan, it only took a couple of paragraphs!
Disco: She finally ascended to a new level of Mary Suedom.

as if Nyx was floating deep underwater instead of standing on solid ground in a tug of war grudge match. The shimmering of the hair also began to get more noticeable, starting to focus into a few dots.

It was one of the worst things Twilight could imagine happening.

Disco: But not as bad as being tardy.
RLYoshi: Twilight: "Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE! WORST! POSSIBLE-"

Rarity: "You finish that statement and I'm suing."
Crazy56U: (sigh) Another lawsuit for the pile...
RLYoshi: Eh, when you've got a username like mine, you get used to them.

Nyx’s mane and tail had been changing into the night blue mane and tail that Nightmare Moon was known for, infamous for...

Anon13: She tried to cover Equestria in eternal night, and she’s infamous for her mane and tail? What, did they clash with the drapes that badly?
RLYoshi: Equestria really liked her mane.
Vimbert: And Rarity was never put in charge of Equestria’s police force again.

and the change had started to happen right there with everypony at the Learn and Play Day watching.

Ezn: “I knew I shouldn’t have tried that new shampoo brand!”

By some small miracle Nyx’s hair didn’t completely change. It reached a point very close to changing completely but it didn’t finish the transition.

Hellioning: Did I mention that it didn't completely change? Because it didn't completely change. Did you know that?

If anything, it more closely resembled Celestia’s mane, which was still made of hair even though the follicles were in a rainbow of pastel colors and moved constantly.

DiStort: Celestia’s hair didn’t actually move on its own, she just always had a little fan running offscreen.

Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail, in contrast, were clouds of magical energy, which was why she was able to use and manipulate them like they were extra appendages.

Svensvenderson: Now that we’ve thoroughly covered Celestia and Nightmare Moon’s mane and tails, any other pony we want to talk about?
Crazy56U: I’m all for talking about Derpy.
RLYoshi: EVERYONE is all for talking about Derpy.
Wild Trotter: What about Sapphire Shores... or Photo Finish, even?

And it all brought several unwanted thoughts back to the forefront of Twilight’s mind.

Disco: They involved things like logic and common sense.
Ezn: Twilight thought about how she really didn’t like her mane.

For the first time since that evening Nyx called her mom, Twilight was starting to doubt herself. Could Nyx really be Nightmare Moon?

DiStort: Oh for.... How many times has she asked herself this, now?
Crazy56U: I'd answer, but that would involve the "OVER 9000" meme. And I'm above that, dagnabbit!
Anon13: Anyone who tried the Nightmare Moon Drinking Game has probably dissolved by now.
Disco: I’m still goin’...*falls under the table*
Crazy56U: OK, considering how many times it was said, either you are immune to alcohol poisoning, or God loves you.
Wild Trotter: The latter part, maybe a little too much.
RLYoshi: I haven't mentioned it, but I've been doing a variation where I slam my head into the keyboard every time it's said, since I'm not of legal drinking age. I'm currently writing this from the hospital after being admitted for massive brain damage and concussions.

The unicorn had always argued that Nyx just looked like the infamous Mare in the Moon, but... with those memories coming back and Nyx’s unbelievable level of magic... was it possible she really was Nightmare Moon?

Hellioning: Copypasta; making your stories that much easier to type.

Another part of Twilight’s mind snapped at this, cracking a mental whip

Svensvenderson: Whips always made Twilight smile.
Vimbert: As Spike was well-aware.

like some wild animal tamer trying to drive a beast back into its cage. No, Nyx was not Nightmare Moon!

DiStort: But on the other hoof, what if she was?

The filly was too sweet, too well behaved.

Disco: It’s like she’s somehow ridiculously perfect in every way!

She had friends and was happy. While Nightmare Moon laughed at times, it was because she believed she had won.

Crazy56U: Either that, or she remembered a really good Jeff Dunham joke. ...nah, who am I kidding, I making crud up.
Vimbert: Or because she’s cleverly manipulated a herd of main characters into following her will.

A maddening laughter that was not born of true happiness.

CTOONfan1: It was born of happiness that lies on occasion.

But Twilight was starting to wonder if she’d have to deal with the fact that Nyx had the fallen princess’ power.

Wild Trotter: But not her sex appeal to the ponies. Well, not yet, anyway.

And... possibly even her immortality. That the filly she was taking care of, was raising...

Crazy56U: To quote the Nostalgia Critic: STOP! USING! ELLIPSES!

would possibly be alive for thousands of years after she had gone, with the power to do things like move the sun and moon.

CTOONfan1: Yet she will never move her readers.

Was she really up to that kind of responsibility, to shape the life of a filly that could live for the rest of time?

DiStort: Wait, didn’t we have literally THIS line of thought just last chapter?
Anon13: Goldfish rule, DiStort. Last chapter was SO long ago.
Disco: Can I get a wiki link? I’m so confused.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Nyx asked, breaking the unicorn’s train of thought.

Ezn: “Damnit Nyx, that was a one-of-a-kind model train!”

The little black filly had taken notice of how quiet Twilight had been and had ended her happy kazoo playing

Disco: Much the relief of everyone around her.

to look up at her unofficial mother.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Twilight lied, putting on a smile as she and Nyx neared the library. “Just tired, that’s all; we’ve had a busy day. Now, why don’t you run in and show Spike your ribbon? I’m just going to stay outside for a little while longer.”

Anon13: You want lots of space and minimal fragile stuff around for your truly epic nervous breakdowns.

Nyx nodded, replacing the kazoo in her mouth and blowing on it loudly as she ran inside, scaring one particular dragon quite well.

Disco: The resulting kazoo phobia haunted him for the rest of his life.
Svensvenderson: Because an alicorn with a kazoo is the epitome of stealth.

Twilight smiled at this sight, a smile that faded quickly as the truth of the situation weighed down on her.

Disco: This is heavy, Doc!
Crazy56U: Great Scott!

============================

“Dear, you really should drink your tea before it gets cold.” Rarity lectured before taking a sip from her own cup. She looked across the table at her desk, though she might as well have been having a conversation with a statue.

CTOONfan1: Maybe she was. (dramatic music plays)
Drizzel: Weeping pegasus man

Twilight hadn’t hardly said a word since her arrival, choosing to instead just stare at her cup of tea like it held all the answers in the world.

DiStort: It probably did. I heard some detective ID’d a guy on a case once because he saw his initials in his morning cup of coffee.
Disco: The Coffee Whisperer is truly the hero of our times.

“Twilight... Twilight!” Rarity snapped

Vimbert: Nyx’s neck as revenge for Twilight not listening to her. THE END
RLYoshi: That's not revenge. That's mercy.

, bringing the purple unicorn out of her thoughts.

“What... oh, sorry Rarity. I... I was just thinking about something.”

Disco: “How can I escape from this story?”
Crazy56U: Please, at this rate, resistance is futile. ...wait, ESCAPE! I MEANT ESCAPE!
Wild Trotter: Take me with you!

“That’s all you’ve been doing since you got here, Twilight.

Ezn: “It’s all you ever do! There’s no passion! No feeling!”
Disco: Your dialogue is empty! Empty like your soul!

All you’ve said to me is that you wanted to talk,

CTOONfan1: "I didn't know you meant to yourself."

but you haven’t said a single word since then. What is wrong?”

Anon13: How long a list would you like?
Hellioning: An easier question to answer would be: "What is right?"
Vimbert: Give me a sign... WHAT IS LOVE? Baby don’t hurt me... Don’t hurt me...

Twilight sighed, lifting the cup of tea magically as she drank it all down in a single gulp,

CTOONfan1: CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!

something that made Rarity squirm since it wasn’t at all the manners of a proper mare.

Vimbert: Luckily, Twilight had enchanted her throat to be fire resistant after the first time she had to give CPR to Spike.

“I’m sorry Rarity, I’m just worried about Nyx.”

Ezn: “She’s proving very difficult to kill.”
Vimbert: WHY WON’T SHE DIE?

“What for Dear? Don’t tell me she’s gone missing again.”

Crazy56U: ...well, that was... nonchalant. It's as if you WANTED Nyx to go missing... herm...
Disco: She just implied what everyone was thinking.
Hellioning: "What for Dear" sounds it look should be the name of an indie band.

“No, she’s at school.”

“Then why are you worried?”

DiStort: “Because she’s at school. I’m worried she might corrupt more children.”

Rarity asked as she refilled Twilight’s cup of tea,

Svensvenderson: So what kind of tea is Twilight’s cup of tea?

silently hoping the purple unicorn would drink it properly this time.

Ezn: Much to Rarity’s delight, Sparkler jumped in through the window and sipped Twilight’s tea beautifully.

“Rarity, every pony in Ponyville has heard what happened at the Learn and Play Day.

CTOONfan1: "So much learning and playing. It was terrifying!"

They all know Nyx turned Fluttershy into a tree

DiStort: One more reminder for good measure.

and how she won the tug of war tournament by herself with her magic. They all also saw her mane and tail start to turn

Ezn: “FABULOUS!”

magical... start to resemble what Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail used to look like. I worried that I won’t be able to keep

Ezn: “my tenses consistent.”

her safe much longer.

Svensvenderson: Let’s see, you’ve already lost her once, and had Nyx reveal her identity how many times? How ‘safe’ has she been so far?

That every pony in town will realize how strongly she resembles Nightmare Moon, that Celestia will swoop down from the palace...

Wild Trotter: "And likely take her to her bedchambers."

that they’ll take her away from me.

Disco: They’ll never get...my precious!
Wild Trotter: My precious. My precious! My precious!! MY PRECIOUS!!! AHAAA... (falls over)
Crazy56U: Easy there, Gollum.

“I... I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just lock Nyx up in the

Vimbert: Dungeon of Love

library and hide her away, at least until things calm down.”

Disco: No, for the rest of her life. Please!

“Twilight...” Rarity began, speaking softly. “Locking Nyx up is the last thing you should do.

Crazy56U: Speaking for everyone riffing this, that's a load of crock.
Disco: “You need to do far, far worse.”
RLYoshi: According to this checklist, you should take away her kazoo, yell at her, beat her into submission, THEN lock her up.
Drizzel: In the place you banish her to, of course.
Crazy56U: ...Alex, I’ll take “Too Far” for a thousand, please. Oh look, the Daily Double!

That would be no better than Celestia banishing her to the moon.

Vimbert: We still wouldn’t know if Nyx likes bananas!

She’d be separated from her friends, from doing the things she loves like going to school, and it would break her heart having you go from the pony she loves to the pony that’s keeping her unfairly imprisoned in the library.”

DiStort: So... what’s the problem?
Anon13: Upset Sues are like whiny WMDs.
DiStort: Ah. Point taken. Give the baby its bottle, Twilight.

“But Rarity... I’m just so worried-”

Anon13: Us readers are past worried and well into apoplectic by now.

“And that’s perfectly normal. Heavens knows I

Vimbert: can’t make a subject and a verb agree to save my life

worry about Sweetie Belle every time she goes off with her friends to do her Crusading.

Vimbert: So is “Crusading” some kind of euphemism, or...?

Those three fillies have gotten into more danger then I ever did growing up... and I’m always afraid that somepony will come running into my shop telling me Sweetie Belle got hurt... or worse.

Disco: Her binding could come loose.

“But I can’t let my concerns keep Sweetie Belle from enjoying her childhood. She should be out there with her friends, having fun and even getting into trouble...

CTOONfan1: If you love something, let it potentially harm themselves or people around them.

not too much trouble mind you, but some.”

Svensvenderson: "Not too much, not too little. Just the right amount."

“Sweetie Belle is just a normal little unicorn, Rarity. Nyx is...”

Disco: An abomination?
Svensvenderson: A Mary Sue?
Anon13: Same thing, really.
Crazy56U: Polish?
Isphone: HEADCRAB ZOMBIE?
RLYoshi: YOUR FATHER?
Crazy56U: Nyx has been spending too much time with Proper Etiquette, me thinks.

“Nyx is just as normal.” Rarity retorted. “Yes, she is an alicorn, and yes she

Ezn: “is the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon”

has magical power that you and I could only dream off. But, she is still just a normal little filly.

Disco: Uh, that kinda negates the whole “normal” thing, Rarity.

She goes to school, she has friends, she gets teased by bullies,

Svensvenderson: Right, because getting teased by bullies always ends well.

and when she scared or when she is in trouble she has somepony that cares about her to come to her rescue...

CTOONfan1: Pen Stroke.

a certain purple unicorn who is quite the maven at magic herself.”

Ezn: “Wrong! That useless babysitter can’t even open a peanut butter jar!”
Hellioning: This guy either plays League of Legends or is reading from a thesaurus cause that is the second time I ever saw that word.
Anon13: If it's the latter, the book's missing the section on 'offered'.
Isphone: My personal thesaurus doesn't have offered. It only has offer. I will be shooting the thesaurus at dawn.

Twilight smiled a little.

Ezn: What with the recession and all.

“I... I guess you’re right Rarity.”

“Trust me Twilight; it’s a good thing you are worried about her,

CTOONfan1: "Because the readers are too busy worrying about their sanity."
RLYoshi: Can you blame us?

never think otherwise. But don’t ever let your worry make you do things that wouldn’t be in Nyx’s best interest.

Ezn: “She is the only reason any of us exist, after all!”

Yes, there is a risk of the truth being discovered when she is out and about Ponyville... but that’s only a risk.

Ezn: “I can get you an insurance quote on it if you like.”

You try to hide her away in the library, and I guarantee the only thing you’ll really accomplish is making Nyx hate you.”

Ezn: “And that’s why it’s such a good idea!”

“How do you know all this Rarity?”

Disco: She’s read Jane Eyre dozens of times.

“Learning from experience.” Rarity offered softly, now staring into her own cup of tea.

Ezn: “In my youth, I was also the caretaker to demonic hellspawn.”

“After all, I’ve been taking care of Sweetie Belle all by myself for the past several years now. After... well... after what happened to our parents.”

CTOONfan1: I'd like to take a moment to thank the actual show for making Pen Stroke wrong.
Ezn: “They passed away in a tragic breakfast accident.”
DiStort: What’s Rarity got to be depressed about? Her dad looks like the pony version of Magnum P.I.. That’s pretty awesome.
Anon13: Yeah, but … he wears Hawaiian shirts.
DiStort: Don’t you mean HAYwaiian shirts?
RLYoshi: BA-DUM TISH.

“You want to talk about it?”

Ezn: “Not until Season Two gives me something to work with.”

“Maybe another time Twilight.” The white unicorn replied. “I tend to get misty eyed when I think about it too much

Disco: Just like everything else.
Vimbert: People thinking about something too much? In this story?
RLYoshi: Now I've seen everything.

and I’ve got ponies coming into get fitted for some dresses in an hour so I need to look presentable. Still... another time for sure.”

DiStort: One day, they’re gonna sit down and watch the entire series run of Magnum P.I..

“Of course Rarity.” Twilight offered with a

Vimbert: Dinner mint.

smile.

“Now, in light of all this, I do hope you’re going to let Nyx go to the Cutie Mark Crusader sleep over Apple Bloom is having at Sweet Apple Acres. I can only imagine that Nyx is just as excited about it as Sweetie Belle is

“Probably more excited considering it’s her first sleep over. And... yes, I think I will let her go.”

Ezn: “I’ll make sure to quiz her on the contents of my numerous sleepover guidebooks before she leaves.”

“That’s good. Not only will it make Nyx happy but seeing her going out with her friends will help dispel any thoughts ponies around town have that what happened at the Learn and Play Day was out of the ordinary.”

Ezn: “Everypony will be watching the sleepover.”
RLYoshi: CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS STALKER VICTIMS, YAY!

“Yeah, and, if our friends are any indication, they all just think Nyx is really good at magic, like me.

DiStort: But, considering we’re in a fanfic, that would mean she’s all the more likely to BOTCH magic, like you.

So... for the moment I can just say that strong magic runs in our family and most ponies seem to believe that.

CTOONfan1: The others just needed some... “convincing.”

After all, I turned my parents into potted plants

Crazy56U: “and they were scared of me ever since. ...so I got that going for me.”

and made Spike grow to a full grown dragon when I was taking my entry exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and I was still just a filly myself back then too.”

Disco: Yes! More needless continuity nods! Bring ‘em on!
Vimbert: Needless? No way! This one totally reinforces... um. *runs away*

“You mean the day you got your Cutie Mark? Yes, I heard it was quite the impressive display, at least from what Sweetie Belle told of the story.”

“Yea, it was pretty crazy.”

“Mind sharing?”

Disco: I don’t think you want to get anywhere near Twilight’s mind.

Twilight shook her head, taking a sip of her tea before going into the story, though she’d try to keep herself from jumping around endlessly saying “Yes!” as she had done with the Crusaders.

Crazy56U: It's a good thing she did, otherwise she would've lost Rarity's respect for her. And that's terrible.
RLYoshi: Because by this point Rarity has LOADS of respect for her.

============================

“Well, I don’t think our Cutie Marks have anything to do with bein’ rodeo ponies.”

DiStort: G’night, everypony!

Apple Bloom offered dejectedly as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Nyx were all following close behind, their sleeping bags already rolled out on the floor in the yellow farm filly’s bedroom.

“Though, it was kind of fun seeing Big Macintosh tied up like that.” Scootaloo offered with a chuckle.

Ezn: It was a buy one, get a free chuckle sorta deal.

“He didn’t even know what hit him.”

Disco: Oh no, it’s turned into one of those fics!
DiStort: I SAID G’NIGHT.

“Tell that to my sister.” Apple Bloom replied as she jumped onto her bed. “Because if she had found it funny we wouldn’t have been sent to bed already.”

“Still, I’m pretty tired.” Sweetie Belle admitted, lying down on her sleeping bag.

“Aw, don’t tell me you want to go to sleep already?” Scootaloo whined.

CTOONfan1: "We all know sleeping doesn't happen at a sleepover. Duh!"

“Sure, we had to go to bed but there is still a lot of fun things we could do.”

Ezn: Oh my!

“Like what?”

Ezn: Please don’t turn into a clopfic!

“We could tell... ghost stories!”

Crazy56U: Oh, goody! I have a great one concerning film-makers in the Black Hills!

The orange pegasus replied, grabbing a flashlight and holding it under her face, using it to create a spooky face.

Ezn: “We’ll start with the one about when I created a spooky face with a flashlight and used it to build a Frankenpony.”
Anon13: Or the time the four of us were filler in a mediocre fanfic!

“No offense, Scootaloo, but your scary stories aren’t that scary.” Apple Bloom commented.

Ezn: “The stuff about what your mom used to do to you before she left is pretty funny, though.”

“Okay, then what do you think we should do?”

CTOONfan1: Read a different story, instead?

“We could play a board game?”

DiStort: Aw no, if this turns into a game of Mario Party, I quit.
Crazy56U: ESPECIALLY if it's Mario Party 1. The control stick spinning mini-games in that tore my hand apart.
RLYoshi: Then sue them for some gloves. Duh.
Crazy56U: (sobs) B-but they don't make them anymore...

“No.” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said in unison.

Crazy56U: They speak for the audience.

“Well shoot...

Svensvenderson: BANG!
Vimbert: Idiot! You’re firing blanks! C’mon, shoot those annoying fillies like you MEAN IT!
Crazy56U: And that’s why you aren’t around fillies anymore.

what are we goin’ to do then?”

Ezn: Please don’t turn into a clopfic!

“Well, Twilight did give me a book she said really helped with her first slumber party... which is kind of what this is.”

Ezn: Twilight had forgotten to drill her on the important distinctions between a sleepover and a slumber party.

Nyx offered, horn glowing as she levitated a book from her saddle bags, which were stacked with the rest by the bedroom door.

Hellioning: Even at explaining what to do at slumber parties, Nyx has to beat everypony else.

“Are slumber parties the same as sleep overs?”

Crazy56U: Speaking as someone who never went to either, I can safely say no, they aren't the same.

Sweetie Belle asked as Nyx cracked open the book.

Ezn: The lecture lasted for hours.

“Well, you spend the night with friends. So, I guess they’re the same. Still, I don’t want to do any sort of makeup stuff.” Scootaloo said, scrunching up her nose at the thought.

RLYoshi: "That kind of stuff is for girls! ...wait..."

“Well, we could have a pillow fight.” Nyx offered

Vimbert: with a dinner roll.

, looking up from the book.

Ezn: “This phrase came free with the book! Anyone want it?”

“We only got four pillows and my bedroom is too small.” Apple Bloom countered.

Ezn: Horizontal Surface beamed with pride, wiping a solitary tear from his eye.

“We could make s-mores.”

“We don’t have marshmallows... or chocolate... or gram-crackers... or even a fire to roast the marshmallows on.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

Ezn: The other three narrowed their eyes at Sweetie, taking note of her white coat.

“Well... Ghost Stories are in here too, but I think we’ve already decided not to do that...

RLYoshi: But I've got this great story about a rainbow factory!
Crazy56U: So... does that mean I have to put away my copy of “Pattycakes”?

um, what about Truth or Dare?”

CTOONfan1: How's this for an answer: I dare you to be less important.

“That could be fun.” Scootaloo offered. “Let’s give it a try.”

“How do you play?”

Nyx held a hoof on the page in the book, quickly reading it over before speaking. “Okay, rules are simple. Somepony starts by asking if another pony wants to tell the truth or take a dare. If the pony chooses truth, they have to answer one question truthfully. If they take the dare, they have to do whatever dare the first pony gives them. Once the question is answered or the dare is complete. Then, the next pony in the circle takes their turn. Play continues for as long as desired.”

Crazy56U: Amazing. One paragraph spent on the rules for bucking "Truth or Dare". I thought Pen Stroke learned his lesson after spending 2/3rds of a paragraph describing a yo-yo trick back in Chapter 7!
Disco: Wonders never cease.
Vimbert: I dunno, man. Somepony might not know what “Truth or Dare” is. I think we need a wiki link.
Crazy56U: OK, even you’re questioning the intelligence of the audience? (to the sky, shakes fist) DAMN YOU, PEN STROKE! YOU HAVE CORRUPTED ONE OF US!

“That sounds kind of boring actually. I mean, the truth part sounds all right but the dares, what could we dare each other to do?”

Ezn: And then this did become a clopfic.

“Oh, I know!” Apple Bloom perked up. “Let’s make Truth and Challenges. If you don’t want to answer a question then you have to complete a challenge. If you can’t, then you have to answer a question.”

Hellioning: So... um, what's the difference?
Crazy56U: The difference is shut up.

“Oh, that sounds way better.”

Disco: It’s just like Double Dare, but without the slime!
Svensvenderson: But where’s the fun in that?
Crazy56U: Exactly.

Sweetie Belle agreed. “Let’s do it.”

RLYoshi: LEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOY JEEENKIIINS!
Crazy56U: Oh my god, they went in.

Nyx nodded, putting the sleep over guide book back into her bags. “So, who wants to go first?”

“Oh, me! Me!” Scootaloo offered, putting a hoof in the air. She then turned her attention on Apple Bloom. “Truth or Challenege?”

Ezn: Scootaloo, weren’t you listening? We’re not doing challeneges here!

“Um... I’ll go with the Challenege.”

Ezn: “Whatever that is.”

“I challenge you to stand on your head for ten seconds.”

Ezn: “I can do that in ten seconds fl-” *is shot*
Crazy56U: (turns to the reader) What? ...It wasn’t me this time, swear to Luna!
RLYoshi: (turns to reader) He's telling the truth. (cocks gun) It was me. (shoots Crazy56U)
Crazy56U: (dodges bullet) … ...dude, what the hell?!

“Ha, is that all?” Apple Bloom replied confidently. Within moments the yellow filly was balancing on her head, legs waving around as her friends

Svensvenderson: And Nyx.

counted down.

“10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0!”

Ezn: I like this elevator music, how about you guys?
Crazy56U: … (backs up) ...what kind of elevators have you been on?!

Apple Bloom got back on her hooves, smiling but then wavering a little big, having to shake her head. “Whoa, that makes my head all swimmy.”

DiStort: “This must be what Pinkie Pie feels like when she sniffs that funny sugar.”

“Really, let me try?” Sweetie Belle chirped,

Ezn: Sweetie Belle was desperate for approval, even from Nyx.
Anon13: You do realize befriending the Mary Sue is Fanfic Survival 101, right?
Wild Trotter: Either that, or avoiding any screentime in the fanfic altogether if said Sue is beyond intolerable.
Vimbert: So what you’re saying is that everypony’s doomed.

the unicorn quickly flipping onto her head. Soon, all four Cutie Mark Crusaders were on their heads, laughing and giggling as the blood rushed from their legs into their skulls.

Disco: All four were rushed to the hospital soon after.
Vimbert: And they were never seen again...

====================

“Okay, Nyx... Truth or Challenge?” Apple Bloom offered about an hour later.

Ezn: The special had ended, so Nyx had to pay full price.

The game had turned into a perfect way to spend the last bit of the sleep over.

Disco: They had wasted the rest on pointless dialogue.

The four friends had done a lot of strange and silly challenges, from holding their breath to having hoof wrestling contests.

Ezn: Plenty of other things as well...

Nothing that would be considered a proper dare but plenty of very fun challenges.

The black filly stuck out her tongue, turquoise

RLYoshi: WILL IT NEVER STOP.

eyes focusing on Apple Bloom as the black filly tried to decide which thing she would do.

“Truth.”

“Tell us something you’ve never told any other pony.”

Drizzel: "I'm actually a Mary Sue."
Drizzel: CMC: (gasp in horror)

“Like what?” Nyx asked, caught a little off guard by the very general nature of the question.

“Anything.”

Ezn: “Hi, my name’s Nightmare Moon.” “Hi Nightmare Moon!” “...and I’m here to bring about eternal night.”

“Yea, just make it something cool.” Scootaloo added.

Ezn: “Tell us about the time you snuck into Rainbow Dash’s house to watch her sleep. Everypony does that, right?”

“Well... I can’t really think of anything to tell you... but...” Nyx fell silent at this, glancing back at her vest. “There... there is something I can show you.”

Crazy56U: Hmm... I can't tell, but I think things got 20% more uncomfortable.
Vimbert: Damn it, that’s not what “show don’t tell” means!

“Really, what is it?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I think it’s better if you just see it but... you got to promise not to tell any other pony.

Crazy56U: 40%...

Twilight knows, but she told me I couldn’t show what I’m about to show you to anypony.”

Ezn: When you see it...

“Oh man, this has to be good if Twilight told you to keep it a secret.” Scootaloo offered.

CTOONfan1: Everyone in this town is really freaking generous, offering things this way and that.
Ezn: If I had a bit for everytime ponies offered something in this story, I’d be able to buy it all.

“But yea, we promise not to tell nopony.”

Ezn: “We’ll just tell Zecora and Spike, and then they can do the hard work spreading the gossip around.”

Nyx turned to look at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, the two other fillies also offering their promise. Still, Nyx wasn’t done.

Ezn: She needed to know if their promises came with warranties.

“And... you have to promise we’ll still be friends after I show you.”

Crazy56U: 56%...

“Well, that’s a silly thing to promise.”

Ezn: “We were never your friends in the first place!”

“Yea, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We’re going to be best friends for life.”

“No matter what.”

Hellioning: "Unless you turn out to be the reincarnation of a tyrant. Then it's off."

Nyx smiled, looking at her three friends.

Ezn: “I love you, Mr Turnip, Rocky and Sir Lintsalot.”

Decision made, the black filly got up from her sleeping bag and walked across the room into Apple Bloom’s closet. The black filly shut the door, and for a moment there was only the sound of rustling from behind the door.

RLYoshi: Crazy56U isn't around to say it, so... 70%...
Crazy56U: ...I’M SITTING RIGHT HERE, MAN.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all craned their necks, watching anxiously until the door opened.

Ezn: “I’m gay!”
Disco: First the broken wings, now this? Forget Nightmare Moon. She’s Rainbow Dash!

Nyx kept her eyes shut as she walked out, carrying her glasses and her vest in her teeth.

Ezn: It’s times like this that I’m glad this is a pony story.

Once she was a few steps out of the closet

CTOONfan1: They all screamed, "HOLY CRAP! SHE'S A COLT!"

the black filly spread her wings out,

Ezn: *POMF*

stretching the feathered appendages for a few moments before finally opening her eyes, the dragon shaped pupils

Ezn: The Filly With the Dragon Pupils

no longer disguised and hidden from the world.

Ezn: Just hidden from the world.

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom all stared with their eyes wide and their jaws hanging open.

Ezn: “Bet I can catch more flies than you!”

Nyx could only offer a weak smile,

Ezn: which was immediately returned for a full refund.

taking a moment to set down her vest and glasses.

Ezn: “I set down my vest and wizard glasses.”

The silence in the room was a bit unnerving, Nyx wanting her friends to say something, anything.

DiStort: How about: “You have ten seconds. Start running.”

She was just beginning to wonder if she had made a huge mistake about revealing the truth when her three friends zipped up beside her, inspecting her long hidden

Ezn: I’m a terrible person.

wings.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner you had wings?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, Twilight said that if ponies knew I had both a horn and wings some would get jealous.”

Ezn: “Especially the filthy earth ponies.”

“Oh yeah; you could so make Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon jealous.” Sweetie Belle admitted,

Anon13: Hey, Pen’s using other verbs...

offering

Anon13: D’OH!
RLYoshi: Way to tempt fate.
Disco: I knew it was too good to be true.

the thought like it would be something amazingly fun to do.

“But you girls aren’t jealous, are you?”

“Naw, why would we be jealous? It’s just part of who you are. It be as silly as me being jealous of how well Sweetie Belle sings.”

Crazy56U: ...um, who's talking?
Anon13: If it's not Nyx, does it matter?

“Or me being jealous of how well Scootaloo rides her scooter.”

Disco: Or how she tastes like chicken.
Crazy56U: Wait, why would [insert name of character talking here] know what Scootaloo tastes like?
Vimbert: *raises hoof* No, too easy.

“Or me being jealous of how good Apple Bloom is at fixing up things like our clubhouse.”

“Yea, it’s like my big sister Applejack says: ‘There ain’t no point in bein’ jealous, because it doesn’t change how things are’.”

“Still, why do you have wings and a horn? The only ponies I know that have both are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” Sweetie Belle offered.

Ezn: “I’m more special than you, that’s why.”

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at her friends who only answered her with silent, blank stares. “Well... okay, maybe not so obvious.”

“Just spit it out Apple Bloom.”

“I bet that one of Nyx’s parents is a unicorn and the other is a pegasus.”

“Is it really that simple? I mean, doesn’t somepony in our class have a mom that’s a unicorn and a dad that’s a pegasus?”

DiStort: Well, if the fanon is to be believed, then Dinky Doo has a mom that’s a Pegasus and a dad who may not even be from this dimensional plane.
Crazy56U: And who may or may not be in his "fezzes are cool" mindset yet.

“Maybe it doesn’t happen all the time. I mean, isn’t there also a pony in our class who has a pair of unicorns as parents but doesn’t have a horn of her own?”

Ezn: One of nature’s little jokes.
Vimbert: The filthy earth pony genes prove surprisingly difficult to weed out.

“Yea, I think you’re right.” Apple Bloom agreed. “It must only happen some of the time. Still, it’s pretty cool.”

“Whoa, I didn’t even notice her eyes. I was too busy looking at her wings.”

Disco: What’s wrong with your faaaaace?

“Nyx, isn’t that what your eyes looked like during the Spring Festival play?”

The black filly could only nod. “Yes. You see, Twilight put a charm on my glasses so my eyes look like everypony else’s eyes when I’m wearing them. I don’t even really need them, I can see just fine.”

“Twilight sure makes you do a lot of weird things, don’t she?”

Disco: They usually involve blood sacrifices to the Book Gods.
Svensvenderson: The papercuts will never heal.
Hellioning: "Point to where she touched you on the doll..."
Vimbert: Nyx plushies: they exist. Pardon me while I go cut myself a little.

Apple Bloom pointed out. “I mean, wearin’ glasses you don’t really need and wearin’ a vest to hide your wings. Makes you wonder why, don’t it?”

“I... I have wondered sometimes, but Twilight is nice...

Disco: but ridiculously stupid.

I don’t think she’d make me do anything without a good reason.”

“Yea, Twilight is pretty cool.... a bit nerdy,

Crazy56U: UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE FRIGGIN CENTURY.

but cool.” Scootaloo offered.

Ezn: “If she were one of my classmates, I’d only give her swirlies on Tuesdays.”

“Still, it’s your turn Nyx.”

The black filly smiled, lying down on her sleeping bag and enjoying the feeling of not having to wear her vest or glasses.

Vimbert: Equestria: a nudist’s dream.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle, Truth or Challenge?”

“Truth!” The little white unicorn answered without a moments hesitation.

Ezn: or a moment’s apostrophe.

“What’s the funniest story you have of your big sister Rarity?”

Sweetie Belle snorted. “Oh, you guys

RLYoshi: And then they were all colts.
Crazy56U: When did we stop riffing “Past Sins” and start riffing “On a Cross and Arrow”?

are going to like this.”

Ezn: “Scootaloo, your birthday’s not for another week, so block your ears.”

And the story began, Sweetie Belle getting into it and soon all four fillies breaking out in

Ezn: horrible sores from tick bites.

loud laughter. Laughter that was only ended when a pounding came

Ezn: Just gonna leave this here.

at the bedroom door.

“Apple Bloom, you and yer friends get to sleep right this minute or I’m goin’ come in there and hogtie

CTOONfan1: Hogtie! It's been forever since you were overused in this story!

all of you in your sleepin’ bags!”

Ezn: “How can you hogtie Scootaloo? She’s a chicken, not a hog.”

Applejack threatened, having been kept up by the girls and their sleep over. “I got buckin’ to do in the mornin’ and I won’t have you four keepin’ me up all night.”

The four fillies chimed back an apology and, with their game ended by Applejack, the Crusaders decided to call it a night.

Ezn:”Truth or Challenge is such a long name anyway.”

Nyx flipped the room’s light switch with her magic, and soon the four fillies were lying in the darkened room.

“Whoa... Nyx, did you know your eyes glowed in the dark?”

Crazy56U: Well, to be fair, that is a common trait among cartoon characters. But only one pony in town knows that.

Apple Bloom whispered.

“They do? Nyx said, looking in the direction of Apple Bloom’s voice. As her eyes adjusted to the weak light,

Svensvenderson: Wait, her eyes are adjusting to the light of her eyes? How does that- *head a splodes*.
RLYoshi: "Here lies Svensvenderson. He tried to divide by zero."

Nyx began to make out her friends in fairly good detail, the filly having excellent vision in the dark.

“Yea, and by the way, it’s awesome.”

Hellioning: "I really like her eyes!"
Vimbert: And then this became a clopfic.

Scootaloo offered before stifling a yawn.

“Thanks girls. And... thanks for still being my friends, even after I showed you my wings.”

Ezn: “They weren’t tasty chicken wings like Scootaloo’s, but they were still pretty yummy.”

“Of course.” Sweetie Belle offered as she laid down, on the verge of going to sleep. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders; that’s like being friends for life with a cool theme song.”

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
On a quest to find out who we are.
And we will never stop the journey
Not until we have our cutie marks.

Disco: Make it stop! Please!
Crazy56U: Why should she stop? Sweetie Belle can sing. If it was Scootaloo, I understand, but it isn't. ...unless you were freaking out about the canon nod?
Disco: Think about it. Everyone is so out of character in this story, so she obviously can’t sing worth a buck.

While Sweetie Belle had been the one to start singing, the other three started singing as well. Not in the intense and arguably painful rock ballad that the had been performed at the talent show.

Hellioning: Pen Stroke, we watched the same show you did. You don't need to remind us.
Crazy56U: He has no respect for the reader's intelligence; that has been made apparent by now.

Instead, the three sang it softly, softly enough that even Scootaloo’s voice was bearable.

And with that the four soon drifted off to sleep, none resting as well as Nyx who had been able to reveal a truth about herself to her friends, who accepted her all the same.

Ezn: They hadn’t heard about the bounty.

That and she found out her eyes glowed in the dark, which was really cool.

DiStort: At this rate, she’s going to have more pointless powers than Superman.
Crazy56U: Like rebuilding stone walls with his mind (ala "Superman 4")?
DiStort: Or as I like to call it, Gumby-vision.

====================

Nexus

Disco: Epic Failure

stared up at the moon through his study window, glass of orange juice floating in his levitation magic nearby.

DiStort: Man, has Nexus just been sitting there drinking orange juice this whole time? Well, points for knowing what he likes, I suppose.
Disco: He’s going to have such a hangover.

He swirled the contents gently, a visual indication of the fact

Ezn: that orange juice turned him on almost as much as breathing did.

his mind was chewing over new information he had been presented. He had received the reports from the spy,

RLYoshi: And learned that the Heavy was about to come barging into the Intelligence room, so they had to set up a Sentry or two quickly.

and while some of the information was welcoming other bits were troubling.

Disco: Hoof polish was terribly expensive this time of year.

His plan had gone off without a hitch; a few flyers sent out in the mail inspiring some local teacher in Ponyville to have the Learn and Play Day.

DiStort: I knew it! Cheerilee IS a plagiarist!

It was the kind of public setting where Nyx wouldn’t be around Twilight Sparkle the whole time and thus could be observed and even spoken to. And the spy had done all that until the pink earth pony started chasing him. He had watched, he had observed,

CTOONfan1: He did things in the bushes he isn't proud of...

and even gone up and spoken with Nyx at her booth. He had also witnessed and reported the two feats of magic the little filly performed. Turning a pony into a tree...

DiStort: Ugh...
Crazy56U: ...line?

winning a tug of war game by herself against four much larger and stronger opponents.

Wild Trotter: Not to mention humiliating two bland earth filly libbies as well.

It was the kind of magic that no filly, even one as naturally talented as Twilight Sparkle, should possess, let alone be able to control. It was the kind of magic held only by two others, the alicorns who sat upon the royal thrones.

Hellioning: And we all know how much Celestia and Luna love tug of war.

But while the magical potential was there, the queen was not. The filly did not act like Nightmare Moon, did not speak condescendingly to the country bumpkins of Ponyville. The spy described her as

Wild Trotter: A plague to those with common sense everywhere.

pleasant and energetic, with friends and a good standing in the community. All words that Nexus wouldn’t have believed would be attributed to Equestria’s true queen,

Wild Trotter: Spell Nexus: "If she isn't fabulous enough yet, she will be. That much I guarantee."

at least when dealing with the common pony.

Wild Trotter: Not that Nexus sees anything wrong with Equestria's "true queen" going all Mrs. Robinson on her subjects. (beat) Wait, what?

Could he have possibly done something wrong?

CTOONfan1: You were trying to bring back an evil tyrant who wished eternal night. That's all kinds of wrong.

Could the spell have gone wrong?

Ezn: It’s fanfiction. These things happen. A lot.
Crazy56U: Well, considering that his new nickname is "Epic Failure"...

Was the filly truly Nightmare Moon, or just a pony that had been gifted with the queen’s power?

Disco: How many times has this been asked? I’ve lost count.
Crazy56U: Whenever this question gets repeated, a goldfish cries.
RLYoshi: And then forgets why it was crying.

These questions, in a variety of forms, rolled around in Nexus’ head,

Disco: Much like the text of this fanfic.
Ezn: “Damn bureaucrats!”

clattering together like marbles

Svensvenderson: You mean the ones he lost?

as the unicorn tried to discern some truth from what he already knew.

A process interrupted when the door to his study opened.

“Sir?”

“Yes Proper Etiquette?”

“Princess Celestia is at the front door and wishes to have a word, but wants it to be known this is a request and not a demand.

CTOONfan1: Celestia: "I request he gets his flank out here before I think of things worse than moon banishment."
Drizzel: ... And done.
Anon13: Let me guess: being in this fic?
Drizzel: Something like that...

Shall I see her in?”

“Yes, please.”

DiStort: “Did you see anything?” “No, sir. I didn’t see you playing with your dolls again.”
Crazy56U: Great, now I'm picturing Spell Nexus as Lord Helmet. Darn you, DiSort. Darn you.
Hellioning: That is an unfair comparison. One is a comedic take on a common villain archetype, and the other is played by Rick Moranis.

Nexus replied, closing his eyes. Upon re-opening them the turquoise orbs, a blessing given to those who were of the order,

Crazy56U: You know, I don't care what anyone says, those eyes are cool.

disappeared and were replaced by Nexus’s old, slate gray eyes. He then downed the rest of the orange juice in his glass, shivering a little as the perfectly chilled juice gave him a minor brain freeze

Disco: Is this guy ever sober?!
Crazy56U: ...OK, either I'm going insane, or that was word for word copied from chapter 7.
Anon13: You're still reading this. "Both" is a distinct possibility.

before he moved over to a chair and picked up a book,

Disco: The Joys of Varnished Countertops, a Memoir by Horizontal Surface.

wanting to look like he was enjoying a quiet evening at home

CTOONfan1: When really he was craving a loud dance party.

when the princess stepped in.

Ezn: He hoped she’d make the evening less quiet, and more enjoyable!

And the timing was near perfect, Nexus just getting settled into one of his chairs with a book when the doors opened, Princess Celestia strolling in while her guards remained stationed at the door.

“Thank you for allowing me into your lovely home at such a late hour Nexus.”

Ezn: “I only visit important schoolboard ponies at night.”

Celestia offered as she strode across the room. “I do hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

CTOONfan1: Spell Nexus: Oh nothing but me thinking about my plans to overthrow you and put Nightmare Moon on the throne. How was your day?
RLYoshi: Celestia: Oh, it was fi - wait, what?

“A good book and nothing more.”

DiStort: “Have you ever read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Princess? It’s lovely.”
Crazy56U: Unless it's written by Horizontal Surface, I don't care.

Nexus lied expertly with a reassuring smile as he set the book he had taken up on a nearby end table.

CTOONfan1: He didn't realize the book was actually The Blockhead's Guide to Fooling Your Princess Into Thinking You're the Good Guy.

“Still, I find it surprising you are out and about at such an hour. You are usually in bed around this time.”

Ezn: “I know because I watch you sleep.”

“Yes, but I have received a bit of news late in the afternoon and I’ve been working to prepare for the morning.”

“And just what happens in the morning?”

Crazy56U: OK, he must be friggin’ hammered if he seriously asked that.

“In due time Nexus. First, I want to inform you of the situation at hand.”

Ezn: “Twilight botched a spell and teleported a human into Equestria!”
Anon13: Again?

And with that Celestia began, taking a seat on a cushion Nexus kept in the study just for the royal visitor. Celestia began telling Nexus about the spell in the forest, about the research his co-worker Bastion was doing on the spell, and of many other things that Nexus knew already about.

Disco: He had several wiki links on hoof.

Still, he feigned interest, and the appropriate levels of shock and disbelief when told some new piece of information.

Wild Trotter: And that is not even mentioning Celestia's secret affair with Twilight.

“To think, ponies trying to resurrect Nightmare Moon. It is hard to believe some would be so foalish.”

Wild Trotter: "Or worse, turning that certain showpony into the new owner of Midnight Castle... buuuut I digress."

Nexus offered several minutes later, pouring a fresh glass of orange juice for himself.

CTOONfan1: Pony Joe: I think you've had enough, kid.
CTOONfan1: Spell Nexus: I'll tell YOU when I've had enough!
RLYoshi: ANOTHER ORANGE JUICE! EXTRA PULP!

He silently made an offer to pour a glass for Celestia, but she offered a smile and a gently shook of her head in reply.

Ezn: “I’m a little frightened of whatever it is that you put in that stuff.”
Crazy56U: We'd tell you about the last time she got drunk... but that is a tale that must never be repeated.
Vimbert: A Drop of Moonshine?

“Yes, it is disconcerting that there are those in Equestria who would turn to Nightmare Moon for some grand revolution instead of speaking to me about what’s driving them to make such a horrible mistake.”

Wild Trotter: "Maybe I was either hitting on them a little too much... or not nearly enough."

“But you stopped them; the spell was interrupted.”

“Yes... but I fear that while not returned to her original power, Nightmare Moon was still reborn.”

Nexus lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Really? What makes you say that?”

“You, of course, know my student Twilight Sparkle.”

“The most magically gifted unicorn I’ve ever seen, of course.”

Crazy56U: Nexus: "And in no way did I ponynap her a few chapters ago."

Celestia: "What do you mean by-"

Nexus: (quickly) "What? Nothing. You were saying?"

“At the Spring Festival in Ponyville I discovered my student was taking care of a young black coated filly by the name of Nyx, a filly she said was her half-cousin.

Ezn: “I was thoroughly embarrassed at the next Klan meeting.”

A filly that, if my sources are to be believed, started living with her the day after the cultists casted their spell in the forest. A filly who, in recent days, performed two very profound feats of magic at a school weekend event.”

“Well, I can only imagine magic runs in her family.” Nexus offered before sipping on his orange juice.

Ezn: “I’m going to phone her up now and tell her to go catch it! Ha!”

“Yes, I would believe that as well if Nyx was related to Twilight, but I have checked the family’s records. There is no listing of any relative of Twilight having a daughter named Nyx, and in fact there is no listing of a Nyx being born in Equestria in the past several decades.”

Crazy56U: "Then again, I know this thanks to Wikipedia, so I'm not 100% sure."

“Perhaps that is not her real name.”

“A consideration I have taken into account Nexus. While there have been a few black coated unicorn fillies born that would be at the right age, they were all born in very different parts of Equestria and they are all living happily with their families. It is like this filly appeared out of thin air.”

Nexus, who had been taking another sip from his orange juice glass, froze up for a single moment.

Disco: His binge drinking finally caught up with him.
Hellioning: Spell Nexus has suffered a fatal error, and needs to reboot.

Not long enough for Celestia to notice but a small sign that the true Nexus, who was hiding behind sweet words and feigned interest, was a bit concerned.

“You believe this filly was created by the spell?”

DiStort: Either that, or another one of Equestrian Innovations’ escaped test subjects.

Celestia nodded. “Yes, a very clever deduction Nexus.”

CTOONfan1: You don't have to be Batman to figure it out from that.
Drizzel: You don’t even have to be Inspector Gadget.
Anon13: The characters in this story have about a 10% chance assuming they lay off the marker huffing.

“You give me far too much credit, Princess. After all, we were speaking of the spell and Nightmare Moon before you brought up this little filly, and since you believe she came out of thin air... well, I can only assume you believe she is a product of the spell.

CTOONfan1: Did you just use logic in this story? Shame on you!

The question I do have, however, is whether or not you believe she is Nightmare Moon.”

“I am unsure.” Celestia admitted. “The reports of her magical ability are troubling,

Ezn: “I swear if I read the word ‘tree’ one more time...”

but at the same time she has been living in Ponyville for months now with no incident. From what information I have been able to gather, she acts like any normal filly. She goes to school, has friends, and is known to most of the town as a sweet, happy pony who gets into a little trouble once in a while with three of her friends, the four of them together calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

Hellioning: Why does Celestia feel the need to tell Spell Nexus this much about a random filly that she doesn't think involves him?
RLYoshi: Even princesses get to hold the idiot ball every now and then.
Vimbert: Everypony gets a turn!

“Hmmm... such behavior does seem out of character from what stories I’ve heard about the Mare in the Moon.

Ezn: “But then again, this is fanfiction.”

Tell me, what does Luna think? Surely she, who was once Nightmare Moon, would be able to offer the most honest analysis.”

Disco: Her abacus would surely give an accurate answer!

“All Luna knows is that Nyx is a black filly that is staying with my student Twilight Sparkle. She knows nothing of the cult, the spell, or any of my concerns... and I would prefer if it stayed that way.”

“You are keeping Luna in the dark?

DiStort: BA DUM TISH.
Crazy56U: She better not be alone, or she'll run across Uwe Boll and Christian Slater. And Celestia help her if she does.

Do you not trust her with this matter?”

“No... no, I trust my sister... I know my sister all too well and I know that I could trust her with the truth... but I choose to keep this a secret for her own sake.”

Crazy56U: In other words: "I do, except I don't."

Celestia admitted, “My sister has come a long way in the time since she was freed from her driving jealousy and hatred. She has come to terms with what she was, enough so that she was able to sit through and even enjoy a Spring Festival play about her mistake.

“She did not see that play as something mocking her and the evils he did, but telling the story of how my student and her friends helped my sister escape from what she had become. Gave her a chance for her and I to truly be loving sisters again.

“But...” Celestia continued, the gentleness in her voice over the memory of the spring play being quickly replaced with firm seriousness. “If I know Luna, she would bear of all this on her own shoulders. She was hold herself responsible, since it was she who became the original Nightmare Moon.

“I... I choose to keep this as secret from her simply because

Disco: “I have no common sense whatsoever.”

I feel Luna has suffered enough for that mistake, and that she doesn’t need be troubled by this. If I can fix this without her ever knowing... then I have done my duty as an older sister. I will not let Nightmare Moon take Luna away again, physically or metaphorically.”

Disco: Hey look, a road paved with good intentions! Wonder where it leads...

“What are you going to do then?”

“This is actually why I came to you Spell Nexus.

Ezn: “You’re going to make my sister feel better by giving her some of that orange juice.”

Despite the filly’s benign nature, the risk of her being Nightmare Moon is too great. The truth has to be ascertained.

“So,” Celestia continued, “I’ve come to you, my trusted magical advisor and the pony I’ve placed in charge of my school. If I were to bring the filly to you, do you believe you could determine whether or not she is Nightmare Moon and whether or not she means Equestria harm?”

Disco: *Facehoofs* Density, thy name is Celestia.
Svensvenderson: You know, for a sun goddess, Celestia isn’t all that bright.
Wild Trotter: Neither is her best student, apparently.
Crazy56U: My guess? She and every other pony involved sniffed some markers before appearing in this fanfic; it's the ONLY explanation for this kind of stupidity.

“I... believe so.” Nexus offered, licking his lips as he had to choose his words carefully.

Disco: He kept slurring them, despite his best efforts.

“But to ascertain that kind of truth through questioning alone will not suffice. It would require a spell, one that would allow us to view the filly’s true nature. I would need time to research and prepare such a spell.”

Wild Trotter: Nexus: "And in no way will that reveal MY true nature as well."

Celestia: "I... did not catch that last part. What did you say?"

Nexus: "Erm... nothing."

“Take what time you need, Nexus.

Ezn: Celestia symbolically broke an hourglass and poured its sand on his head.

For the moment the filly poses no threat. Even if she is Nightmare Moon her powers are too weak to even attempt moving the moon or holding it in place in the sky.

Crazy56U: (chuckles) Oh, how wrong you are, Celestia. Oh, how wrong you are.

I fear for the safety of my student, but at the same time I know that if Nightmare Moon is just trying to bide her time then she will not risk hurting Twilight without reason.”

“It will take some time, but I will tell you when I have the spell prepared.” Nexus assured.

“Wonderful! I knew I could trust you Nexus. You were yourself, after all, once my faithful student.”

DiStort: Celestia sure has some low standards.
Disco: It all makes sense now! He’s jealous of Twilight!
Hellioning: That's a subtle way of adding new backstory. It was so well-woven into the dialogue, I just couldn't help but look away.

Nexus laughed a little, getting up from his chair. “Yes, but this faithful student is now the headmaster of your school and your advisor,

Disco: And a cross-dressing alcoholic,
RLYoshi: With a sister who used to be a brother,
Anon13: And in the running for the "World's Cheesiest Villain" title. Again.

and I advise you to go back to the castle and get your rest. You do have a sun to raise in the morning.”

Celestia chuckled a little, getting up from the cushion. “Of course. you always were one to remind me of my duties, Nexus.”

Ezn: “But sadly not my sentence capitalisation.”

“I do it out of concern and nothing more, Princess.”

“I know, and thank you for assisting in this matter.” Celestia offered

Vimbert: a free trip to the moon

as she and Nexus drew close to the door, the butler Proper Etiquette opening said doors for the princess as her guards snapped to attention, ready to move out.

“I will send word via letter when I have completed research on the spell you requested. I don’t imagine it will take me very long, considering my special talent is creating new spells.”

Disco: and failing epically at them.
Hellioning: Wouldn't Celestia already know his special talent if he was her student?
Vimbert: EXPOSITION!

Nexus offered. “Now, I wish you a pleasant evening Your Highness.”

Wild Trotter: "And do not forget to contact Stonewall in case your... nightly urges resurface."
Crazy56U: Wait, I forget: is Stonewall allergic to bananas?

“And a good night to you too, Spell Nexus. Don’t stay up too late, my faithful student.” Celestia offered as a final farewell. Nexus returned it with a laugh and a wave of his hoof before slipping back into his study.

CTOONfan1: Stupid banana peels.

He moved to the window, smiling gently as he watched the courtyard below. Celestia flew off with her guards a few minutes later.

It was only when Celestia was out of sight that Nexus closed his eyes, opening them a moment later to reveal the slate gray orbs had returned to the turquoise color that marked him as a member of the Children of Nightmare.

Ezn: Trololololololololol.
Crazy56U: He out-trolled Celestia?!?! BLASPHEMY!
RLYoshi: THIS IS MADNESS!
Anon13: Madness? (chuckle) … THIS. IS. BAD FANFIC!

His gentle grin turned menacing, and the dark blue unicorn had to fight the urge to laugh out loud.

DiStort: He RESISTED the evil laugh? Isn’t that, like, against the rules or something?
Disco: He even fails at being generically evil!

Horn glowing, Nexus began pulling books off his study shelves.

Disco: “Hmmm, let’s see...Desks And You, The Virtue of Tables... Appledash clopfics?!”
Ezn: One of them’s probably that DashxCoffeeTable fic.

Yes, he would need time to prepare, but now he had all the time he would need.

Ezn: Spell Nexus danced merrily in his tiny sandpit.

He had no fear of Celestia acting, for the princess was waiting for him to help her act.

Ezn: She had debilitating stagefright.

A second opportunity, a second chance to complete the spell, had been laid in his hooves by none other than the sun tyrant herself. It was like fate and destiny were on his side, that the world itself worked to help him bring back Equestria’s true queen.

Ezn: There’s no accounting for the world’s taste, I guess.

“Celestia, you have become a contributing architect in your demise.”

Crazy56U: "And providing that you don't cut corners like the construction team in 'The Towering Inferno', said demise will go off swimmingly. ...god, I need friends."
Wild Trotter: "Wait a minute, nightly urges? I... might actually be doing those royal servants a favor."

Nexus offered,

Ezn: I wish I could offer a joke here but this word has been offered up so many times that I’m considering taking a suicide pill... if someone offers one.
Anon13: Dude, word choice is no reason to offer yourself- off yourself. Damn it!
Crazy56U: I offer that you calm down, and I offer that you stop offering suicide suggestions over your offered hatred over the word "offer". Offer. Offer offer. Offer offer of offer. Offer offer. To suggest. (My head hurts.)

the one bit of gloating he allowed himself before diving into the

Ezn: decadent swimming pool filled with “orange juice”.

work that laid ahead of him.

=====================================================================

CTOONfan1: But wait! I have questions about a comment that quite concerned me!
Tavish Dougherty: Well take those questions and shove ‘em!

Crazy56U: Coming up next in the "Past Sins MST": Watch as we make jokes during Celestia's most controversial move (in this edit)! :)
RLYoshi: Yaaaay! (dances)
GelidEnmity: ~RL can dance if he wants to, he can leave his friends behind, cuz if they don’t dance, well they’re no friends of mine~
Crazy56U: That don’t rhyme.

GelidEnmity: Treachery so treacherous that the treachery turned teachers treacherous!
Crazy56U: (nosebleed)

Anon13: As a service to other fanfic authors, I’d like to offer... excuse me, propose the Offer Vocabulary Expansion Project (OVEP). For each time the verb ‘offered’ is (over)used in this document, the public is encouraged to offer... suggest a new and better predicate to replace it.
Disco: Remember, kids: Vocabulary Is Magic!
DiStort: The more you know~
Casca: I propose we make it a drinking game instead.
RLYoshi: One drinking game is more than enough, thank you very much.
Drizzel: We'd all die of alcohol poisoning before this was over.

The doors to the Ponyville School House erupted open

Anon13: I lava this time of year.
Crazy56U: Wait, I think you spelt that sentence wro- Oh my lord... you made that pun.
Drizzel: That pun... it burns...
GelidEnmity: Oh god... Drizzel, that second pun BURNS!!!
Crazy56U: STOP USING THAT WORD!

with cheers and flying papers, all the little fillies and colts racing out with wide smiles.

Svensvenderson: There must have been a sale on smiles.
Drizzel: Smiles! Get you smiles here! Toothy grins and psycho smirks half off!

Among them were the Cutie Mark Crusaders,

Svensvenderson: And Nyx.
Drizzel: Zoidberg too.
GelidEnmity: Hell, why not add a kicky beret?

who were laughing and giggling

Ezn: at Nyx

right along with all the others. Cheerilee watched with a smile as the ponies raced off towards town, walking back into a school house with a bounce in her step that she only got once a year.

Disco: “I’m free! FREE!”

The cheer for both Cheerilee and the student

Vimbert: Only one student was happy about this? I call shenanigans.

all stemmed from the same source:

Ezn: Nyx’s witch trial was scheduled for that evening.

school was out for the summer.

Crazy56U: And later that day, the school would be blown to pieces.

“No more school, no more school, no more school!” Apple Bloom cheered several times,

Ezn: Earth ponies have to constantly repeat stuff like this so they remember it.

bouncing around like Pinkie Pie as she and the other crusaders made their way into the center

RLYoshi: to heal their Pokémon.

of Ponyville.

“Yea, a full summer vacation to find our Cutie Marks! This is going to be awesome!” Scootaloo offered.

Anon13: OVEP: sleazily insinuated

“So, what should we try first? Skateboarding? Paragliding? Oh, no... we should try to be Cutie Mark Crusader Bungee Jumpers!”

“That all sounds kind of dangerous Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle offered

Disco: OVEP: blandly proposed
Crazy56U: OVEP: bluntly stated
Drizzel: OVEP harmoniously squawked

a little anxiously. “Maybe we could start off with something easier. We... uh, we don’t want to go through all your awesome ideas straight away, do we?”

CTOONfan1: Then we can cross off Cutie Mark Crusader Speedy Montage Makers, then?

“No, I guess not.”

“Hey, I know what we should do!” Nyx offered

Disco: OVEP: vaguely implied

with a chirp.

Ezn: “No, Nyx, we’re not going to be Cutie Mark Crusader Bird Flu Patients again.”

“We should each try to think up a whole bunch of things we can try and make a master list for the summer, so we know what we’ve tried and what we haven’t.”

Ezn: Nyxius and CMerb are gonna do it all!
Svensvenderson: Silly Nyx, being anal retentive is Twilight's special talent!
Crazy56U: I thought it was magic?
Anon13: Damn, that puts her cutie mark in a very very different light...

“Yeah!” The other three cheered in agreement. After hammering out a few

Ezn: dents in Nyx’s skull.

details, the four agreed to meet at Twilight’s library the next day after lunch with their lists.

RLYoshi: "I've got a very important lunch meeting with the Lists and I can't be late!"

And with a final “Cutie Mark Crusaders” chant the group disbanded,

CTOONfan1: only to have a reunion concert 10 years later.

each running home to try and think of as many things they could try during the summer in their search for their cutie marks.

Svensvenderson: After several weeks, they had collectively come up with two.
RLYoshi: Obviously, it was Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle who came up with them. Earth ponies and Mary Sues can't think that fast.

Nyx practically galloped all the way back to the library, bursting through the door.

Disco: She’d been working on her Kool Aid Man impersonation.

Twilight and Spike had been working in the library’s ground floor, Spike checking out a few books for an earth pony

Vimbert: Implying earth ponies can read. Oh Pen Stroke, you so crazy!
Disco: They were obviously Horizontal Surface’s coloring books.
DiStort: That Horizontal Surface. Truly a literary jack-of-all-trades.

while Twilight was putting other books back on the shelf. The purple unicorn didn’t know what hit her

Ezn: It was the Kool-Aid Man.
CTOONfan1: OH YEAH!

as Nyx tackled her unofficial mother, giggling almost nonstop.

Ezn: Poor Sparkler was rushed to the hospital, ruining the heartwarming scene.

“I’m home!”

DiStort: “OH GOD. QUICK SPIKE, HIDE THE DRUGS.”

“So I see.” Twilight replied, sitting up from her new location on the floor while Nyx bounced excitedly around her.

Ezn: “Now go clean my toilet with your stupid hair.”

“And how was your last day of school?”

Drizzel: And I mean that literally.

“Really fun. Cheerilee ordered some treats from Sugar Cube corner

Vimbert: Generic Cupcakes reference.
Crazy56U: Sounds like a crappy treat. I'm sticking to Rice Krispies.

for us and she handed out our final grades.”

Ezn: “She put the grades in the cupcakes which, in retrospect, wasn’t the greatest idea ever.”
RLYoshi: Have you ever eaten a cupcake with a hint of F? It's better than you think.
Drizzel: MMmm... Tastes like failure.

“And how were your final grades?” Twilight asked. Nyx was more than eager to reply, magically opening her saddle bags as she pulled out her grade report and held it out.

Ezn: “An F for Character Flaws and Relateability? Oh, Nyx...”

Twilight took the note in her own magic, holding it at an angle she could read.

Vimbert: Twilight reads everything upside down. Fact.

Her face then lit up

Ezn: The fire raged for hours, consuming half of Ponyville.

in a smile, seeing the stellar grades Nyx had managed to achieve. They weren’t perfect,

Crazy56U: "An A-?!? Well then, no dinner for you tonight!"
Vimbert: Oh god, what if Nyx isn’t a Mary Sue? EVERYTHING I KNOW IS A LIE!
Crazy56U: (slap) GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF MAN!

but still pretty darn good for a filly who started two thirds of the way through the school year.

“So, did I do good? Cheerilee said I did good but did I do good?” Nyx asked.

Ezn:”No. Remove your vest. Forty lashes!”
Crazy56U: (scoffs) Yeah, screw the teacher's opinion. All she gets paid to do is teach; that's not a real job!

“You did amazing.”

DiStort: “As in: it’s amazing that Cheerilee actually had to invent a new grade below an F just for you.”
Crazy56U: Huh. She's the first I know of to get a G- in school.

Twilight replied, setting the grade report on the nearby table. “In fact, I think we need to celebrate. What do you think Spike? Should we take the rest of the afternoon off and do something fun?”

Disco: Like running away from this story?
Wild Trotter: Sounds good to me.

“What about the library?

CTOONfan1: "Doesn't the library get to have fun, too?"
Drizzel: "Nyx how many times do I have to tell you the library is not alive?"

You’re the one always saying we have to keep it open during the day so that ponies can check out books if they want.”

“Oh come on Spike, it’s a special occasion. The end of school only comes once a year.”

Ezn: “Besides, this town is mostly earth ponies, and you just lent out the last colouring book.”

“Yea Spike, come on.” Nyx added.

“Hey, you don’t have to ask me twice.”

DiStort: They weren’t asking you, Spike, they were TELLING you. You don’t get a choice either way.

The baby dragon said with a laugh, making a few final notes in the library’s ledger about the books that were just checked out before slapping it shut. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I think Nyx should decide.”

Crazy56U: Whether you should live or die?
CTOONfan1: For as you know, the entire universe revolves around this one kid.
Drizzel: She’s a black hole! She’s drawing us in, run!

“Really? I get to pick?”

“Yep, whatever you want to do Nyx.”

Disco: This won’t end well for anyone.
Vimbert: And they were never seen again...

“Can we get lunch at the Sugarcube Corner?”

“Yes.”

“And then can we go play at the park?”

“Yes.”

Ezn: “And then can we shroud Equestria in eternal night?”
RLYoshi: "Ye-waaaait a minute..."

The little filly was practically on the verge of exploding in excitement,

Crazy56U: Crud. Someone remind me, which do I cut: the red wire or the blue wire?
Disco: Doesn't matter. She'll just explode twice.
vimbert: Cut the red wire. It's the wrong one.
Crazy56U: But I hate dying! :(
vimbert: But it'd take out Nyx! TAKE ONE FOR THE FANDOM, MAN.
Crazy56U: (cuts the blue wire) ...hah!
Batman_the_Dino: "BOOM!"
Crazy56U: Shouting won’t get you anywhere, young man.

bouncing over towards the door like a certain pink earth pony.

Vimbert: Berry Punch!
For the Plot: Cheerilee?

Twilight and Spike quickly followed, the trio locking up the library for the afternoon and heading off to celebrate.

Svensvenderson: It's official: Twilight closing the library is the most out of character moment in the entire fic.
Crazy56U: ...give it a minute... Celestia hasn't appeared yet...

============

“That was the best afternoon ever!”

RLYoshi: "Too bad the readers didn't get to see it!"

Nyx cheered as she, Twilight, and Spike began making their way back to the library as the sun drew close to the far horizon. All three were smiling ear to ear

DiStort: Considering a pony’s ears are on the top of its head rather than the sides, this has rather frightening implications.

, having spent the whole afternoon basically just playing in the park.

Ezn: Gross! Not in public, you guys!

Games of tag, hide and seek, and Twilight taking the part of a pretend monster that Nyx and Spike fought to defeat a number of times.

Svensvenderson: Twilight as a monster Nyx has to defeat? There's some disturbing subtext.
RLYoshi: Not to mention pretty ironic.

The kind of random, unplanned day of fun that Twilight had often missed growing up considering all the time she spent reading books.

Drizzel: Her planner just didn't have room for it.

“Can we do it again tomorrow?” Nyx asked.

“Maybe not tomorrow.” Twilight replied, smiling though slightly worn out from all the playful running. “But maybe this weekend. After all, weren’t you going to do something with your friends tomorrow?”

“Yea; we’re each supposed to

Ezn: practice replacing our “h”s with semicolons.

think up a bunch of things we could try out over the summer to try and find our Cutie Marks.” Nyx chirped in a reply. “OH! ...I forgot to start my list...”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much. You have until noon tomorrow. I’m sure if you start on the list tonight you’ll have more than enough things to share with your friends tomorrow.”

Vimbert: Wait, is Twilight advocating procrastination? What if Nyx is TARDYYYY?

“Yea, don’t worry about it Nyx.” Spike offered,

Batman_the_Dino: OVEP: sarcastically lied

“You got all night to... hey, Twilight?”

Svensvenderson: "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
Vimbert: "That depends. Does it involve a pile of books and Big Macintosh?"

“Yes Spike?”

CTOONfan1: Spike: "Are we getting to the good part now?"
RingmasterJ5: No, Mike - er, Spike, we won’t.

“Why are there royal guards outside the library?”

DiStort: CHEESE IT! IT’S THE FANFICTION POLICE!
RLYoshi: "Stop right there, Mary Sue scum!"
Drizzel: Sargent Sprinkles: You'll never take me alive coppers!
Crazy56U: Your impression needs work.

Twilight, who had been paying most of her attention to the baby dragon and filly riding on her back, looked forward and took notice that

Ezn: her attention account had a deficit balance.

there were in fact

Ezn: technically in fiction
Drizzel: (dryly) heh...hehheh...ehe
Crazy56U: Boo!

a pair of royal guards standing outside the library. Upon getting closer, Twilight was even able to recognize the guards in particular;

CTOONfan1: You can tell the difference in the guards?

they were Celestia’s personal body guards.

Svensvenderson: Fred and Steve.
Vimbert: Biggs and Wedge!
Private Sprinkles: Abbot and Costello
Wild Trotter: Soldier and Demoman.
Drizzel: Chuck Norris and Chuck Norris's Shadow
Crazy56U: Tommy Wiseau and James Nguyen

Curious, Twilight walked up to the library door. The guards did not move to stop her, so the unicorn used her magic to open the door and step inside.

“Ah, Twilight, I was wondering where you were.” Celestia offered,

Vimbert: OVEP: purred seductively

the regal princess sitting on a cushion at the library’s reading table, which was more of a coffee table for the very tall princess.

Ezn: Her magical aura would sometimes turn books into coffee. What I wouldn’t give for a sip of Horizontal Surface’s Ode to a Washstand...
Drizzel: I tasted 20,000 leagues. I found it to be a little dry.

“I do hope you don’t mind that I dropped in for a visit.”

Drizzel: "I especially hope you don't mind the hole in you roof."

“Not at all.”

Ezn: “As long as you did it just like you did in S01E15 Feeling Pinkie Keen. We’ve got a reference quota to fulfil here.”

Twilight replied as Nyx and Spike jumped off her back. “I just wished you had warned me you were coming;

CTOONfan1: "I could've prepared a long list of excuses."

I would have cleaned up the library.”

Disco: Translation: “OH GOD CELESTIA IS HERE AND EVERYTHING ISN’T PERFECT!”

“Yes, that and you would have made the whole town put up decorations for my arrival... and I needed some subtlety for this visit.”

Svensvenderson: Says the pony who put royal guards outside a public building.
Disco: Trollestia strikes again.
Drizzel: On herself.

“Why? And shouldn’t you be in Canterlot for the sunset?”

Disco: “Don’t you have better fics to be in?”

“Luna is covering for me this evening, a benefit of having my sister back.

Ezn: “I make her do all that princessing stuff these days. I just spend my time eating bananas and oppressing ponies.”

As to why I am here, perhaps we could discuss that in private?”

Twilight began to realize that the visit from the princess wasn’t a casual one.

Ezn: She bit her lip in anticipation.
Svensvenderson: It was one of those talks.
Disco: Get your popcorn ready, folks!
Drizzel: Butter, salt, or both?

“Oh... of course. Spike, please take Nyx into the kitchen

Ezn: as she is female

and start dinner.”

“Sure thing Twilight. Come on Nyx, let’s make your favorite:

CTOONfan1: "The scenery. I know how you love to chew it up."

celery soup with daffodil sandwiches.”

Vimbert: No hay fries?
Anon13: Wrong fic.

The dragon replied, the little black filly more than eager to help make her favorite meal, mostly because it was the first meal she had ever eaten in the library.

Ezn: *holds up “AWWW” sign*
RLYoshi: Nyx has not been fed at all to this point. It is now canon.
Drizzel: Almost makes me care. Almost.

Twilight and Celestia watched until the pair had gone into the kitchen, the princess using her magic to pull the door gently shut and ensuring the privacy of her conversation

Vimbert: "conversation"
Crazy56U: (chuckle) ...I-I don’t get it.

with Twilight.

Ezn: And then this fic became Composure.
Private Sprinkles: If only...

“So, what do you need to talk to me about?” Twilight asked as she walked over and sat next to Celestia at the reading table.

“I need to talk to you about Nyx.” Celestia said,

Ezn: “Her tick infestation has become a national crisis!”

her usually warm and constantly welcoming voice gaining some undertones of seriousness. “Who I know is not your cousin.”

Disco: She’s your evil twin!

“What... what are you talking about? She is my-”

Svensvenderson: Little Cthulhu.
Crazy56U: Meh. My Little Zalgo is cooler. Its eyes bleed black goo! :D

“I can appreciate the fact you’re lying to protect her, but I know she is not your cousin. Now I need to know the truth, Twilight, and I expect you to tell me everything.”

DiStort: Ooh, bust out the Phoenix Wright music, it’s cross-examination time!

The unicorn slumped, realizing this was the visit form Celestia she had been dreading. The princess had found out about Nyx, and had come to know that she

Ezn: couldn’t handle the truth.

wasn’t really her cousin. While it didn’t seem like Celestia knew it all, she knew enough that it was easy to see Twilight had been lying.

And now, the lying had to stop. Twilight

Ezn: had run out of FibQuarters.

could feel her mouth going dry, needing to lick her lips before

RLYoshi: puckering up.

speaking. She told Celestia everything about where she had found Nyx, about the events in the Everfree Forest... everything.

Disco: Even the ticks.
Drizzel: And the sex change. Which Celestia didn't really need to hear.
CTOONfan1: Celestia's so lucky. She only heard a summary.

The whole time Twilight slipped it in as many times as she could that she didn’t believe Nyx was Nightmare Moon,

Disco: Much to the frustration of readers everywhere,

but at the same time she didn’t dare try to conceal anything from the princess.

DiStort: She also made sure to tell the Princess about how Nyx turned Fluttershy into a tree. Vital information, lest we forget.
Batman_the_Dino: Also, how The Boulders didn't try very hard.

Celestia listened to the whole thing silently, hardly moving until Twilight had finished. The unicorn looked up into her mentor’s eyes, trying to read what Celestia was thinking... but a thousand years of being a monarch of Equestria had given Celestia the best poker face in Equestria.

Crazy56U: Lady Gaga should sue her.

There was no way to tell what she was really thinking.

Finally, after a few moments of uneasy silence, Celestia spoke.

Ezn: “Your grammar needs work and I could do without all the episode references.”
Batman_the_Dino: "Also, why did you keep offering me things?"
Drizzel: "And fix your library. It has too many corners."
Crazy56U: “The fact that you kept mentioning ticks concerns me.”

“Twilight... you had good intentions, I can see that. You found a young filly lost in the forest, took her in, and cared for her. These are all actions you should be commended for. Not all ponies would have been so kind.

Disco: They would have had common sense.

“But,” Celestia continued, not offering Twilight the chance to reply. “I don’t think you realize the danger you put yourself in, put Equestria in.

Ezn: put grammar in, put commas in, spliced with.
CTOONfan1: Put every single reader of this thing in.
Crazy56U: The basket you put the lotion in! Now she’ll have to get the hose!

The spell cast in the forest was meant to resurrect Nightmare Moon,

Ezn: NO WAY

and you found this filly in the same place the spell was cast. Surely you noticed her resemblance to Nightmare Moon...

CTOONfan1: No, I thought she looked like Super Mario.
Crazy56U: Wait, she thought that at some point?!?! I guess me not notice too good. DERRRRRRR...

surely you realized just who the little black filly could be.”

DiStort: Don Knotts?

“But she isn’t Nightmare Moon.” Twilight argued.

Svensvenderson: "And don't call me Shirley."

“She is an alicorn who possess magical powers well beyond any other pony her age. She bears memories of Nightmare Moon and resembles her like no other pony I’ve seen.

CTOONfan1: It's almost as if she was born to be Nightmare Moon or something crazy like that.
Anon13: Really, what are the odds?

What further evidence do you need that Nyx is Nightmare Moon?”

Disco: The evil laugh? The horribly cliched and poorly conceived schemes?

“All that proves is that she came

Ezn: Twilight Holmes: Sex Detective: in 3-Double-D
Crazy56U: ...I’ll be right back; I just now got the sudden urge to bathe.

from Nightmare Moon. I saw the ritual as it was happening. They burned shreds of Nightmare Moon’s body, the pieces left behind

Batman_the_Dino: Yet another item that Stonewall forgot.
Drizzel: He tried making a list but he forgot it was taped to his forehead.

after we hit Luna with the Elements of Harmony.

Ezn: “They was trippin’ fo’ days on dat shiz.”

Nyx came from those shreds, but that doesn’t mean she’s Nightmare Moon.”

CTOONfan1: It means she's part Nightmare Moon, part poorly executed story.
Disco: Chapter 1, briefly summarized for the benefit of exasperated readers everywhere.

“If you carve a statue from stone, then it is made of stone. If you form a statue from clay, it is made of clay.

CTOONfan1: Don't get all meta on us, Celestia.
Crazy56U: And when you make a redundant statement, it becomes redundant because you decided to make a redundant statement that is now redundant! :D

If Nyx was made from what remained of Nightmare Moon, then she is-”

Svensvenderson: "Made of wood, and weighs as much as a duck!"
Isphone: What else floats?
Crazy56U: Everything floats in the sewer. Pennywise taught me that!

“She is not Nightmare Moon!”

DiStort: “But what if she was?” Twilight wondered.

Twilight snapped, tears starting to pull at her eyes as she saw where the conversation was going.

Crazy56U: And in all seriousness, I wouldn't blame her.

“Would Nightmare Moon have lived like a filly for months? Would Nightmare Moon have gone to school, made friends? Would Nightmare Moon have let me take care of her, read her to sleep with stories?

Ezn: “Would Nightmare Moon have turned Fluttershy into a tree? That happened, not sure if I told you....”
DiStort: Well, if she was waiting for the perfect moment to reveal herself and stab you in your sleep, then yeah, probably.
Crazy56U: Errrrm... I’ve read too much of the weird “Friendship is Magic” to not get unconfortable from that question... (shudder)
CTOONfan1: Maybe! You knew her how long? Maybe she'd prance through the forest whistling nursery rhymes!

NO! Even if Nightmare Moon lost all her memories she wouldn’t be the sweet, caring, and curious pony Nyx is.”

Disco: She’d actually be interesting.

“Twilight, you are too close to this filly to see the danger she represents.

DiStort: See, this is what happens when you stand to close to a Mary Sue. You catch The Stupid.

She may act like this now, but what happens as she grows older? What if

Ezn: Pen Stroke starts listening to The Cure and changes this story’s genre? OH WAIT-

more of her memories return, and she remembers her hatred for Equestria and the ponies who call it home? What if she remembers her plans, her desire to plunge the kingdom into eternal night?”

Disco: Just imagine all the crappy fanfics!

“Nyx wouldn’t do that!” Twilight half screamed,

Vimbert: half-yodeled
Drizzel: And a quarter-whistled

tears running down her face openly.

Ezn: They were having a Tear Pride March.
Crazy56U: “We’re here! We’re tears! Get used to it!”

The scream was met only by silence,

Ezn: Half-scream and Silence lived happily ever after.

Celestia’s face shifting from the hard, unreadable poker face she had been wearing to one of compassion and sorrow.

DiStort: Welp, so much for “best poker face in Equestria.”

“Twilight... I hope you are right.” Celestia offered

Vimbert: OVEP: patronizingly replied

quietly. “I hope you are telling the truth. That Nyx isn’t Nightmare Moon,

DiStort: God forbid her character becomes MORE unbalanced.

that while she may have inherited that witch’s appearance and power she is her own pony.

Ezn: Her own little pony?

But... I cannot risk the safety and future of Equestria when you have offered no solid evidence that Nyx and Nightmare Moon are not the same.

RLYoshi: >present evidence "OBJECTION!"
Crazy56U: >dismiss evidence due to plot “HOLD IT!”

“But I must be sure. That is why I have come to take Nyx.”

Disco: Yes! Do it! Please!

“NO!”

Vimbert: “DAMN IT CAN’T YOU TAKE MY COMPLETELY ILLOGICAL REASONING AS EVIDENCE?!”

“She will be taken to Canterlot, where

CTOONfan1: she will stay in the castle to be treated with the care a Mary Sue deserves.
Anon13: Are beatings involved?
DiStort: I’ve got a medieval flail I’m not using.

Spell Nexus

RingmasterJ5: A name that I’m pretty sure Twilight has to have heard at least once while she was captured. My god, these characters need to be at least 20% more rational.

will perform a spell to determine, once and for all, if Nyx is Nightmare Moon.

Disco: I had to bribe him with orange juice and hoof polish.
DiStort: And a “Spice Fillies” CD. Don’t ask me where I got that.

If she is proven not to be the Mare in the Moon, Nyx will be returned to your care and I will award you

Ezn: a bronze medal and authorship rights to her memoirs.

legal guardianship of her, to be contested by nopony.”

Svensvenderson: "And we all know how trustworthy he is, right?"
Crazy56U: To the readers starting to feel uncomfortable with Celestia’s sense of judgment here... just wait... it gets worse.

“And if you think she is Nightmare Moon?”

“Twilight, do not ask about things you do not wish to know-”

“WHAT WILL YOU DO!?!”

Disco: The Hustle?
Isphone: Call the Ghost Busters?
DiStort: Bail?
Crazy56U: ...some marker huffing?
Drizzel: ALL THESE ANSWERS AND MORE! COMING SOON.

“She is a product of a spell, and well be dealt with as such. She will be dispelled and the lingering energy purified.”

Crazy56U: So... in other words, you're going to kill a filly to confirm your paranoid suspicions... ...yeah, um, lady? WHAT IN HOLY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?
vimbert: Killing one to save millions? Sounds worth it to me.
Crazy56U: In that context, yes. But, consider this: she has no remorse for this mind set. She's acting out of pure paranoia. Like I said, saving lives or not, she is literally killing a filly to confirm her suspicions. Besides, spoilers, this lack-of-judgement makes things WORSE later! ...yeah, I know, this just took a dark turn. But seriously... what the hell?
Exn: And suddenly this became the EqD Past Sins comment thread.
Crazy56U: I regret nothing.

“NO!!!” Twilight cried in rage,

Svensvenderson: Full rage, not half rage. Twilight must really be pissed.
Crazy56U: I don't blame her. Celestia just admitted the possibility of killing her sort-of child.
Batman_the_Dino: half-child
Crazy56U: (angry) Not. Now.

getting up from the table as she glared at Celestia through tears. “I won’t let you hurt her!”

Ezn: “Only I am allowed to hurt her!”

“Twilight...”

Ezn: “No you silly filly, it’s already nighttime!”

“And who cares if she is Nightmare Moon? What difference does that make?

Vimbert: “Besides meaning she’s the biggest threat to Equestria’s peace and safety right now, but D’AWW LOOK AT HOW CUTE SHE IS!”

She hasn’t done anything wrong!”

Ezn: “Except derail my character!”
Disco: Aside from being utterly annoying?
DiStort: Don’t forget spreading ticks.

“Hasn’t done anything wrong? Twilight, have you forgotten she plunged Equestria into an eternal night? That she imprisoned me within the sun?

Svensvenderson: Turnabout is fair play, Celestia.
CTOONfan1: That was Nightmare Moon. This is Nyx. You've become really crazy, haven't you?
Crazy56U: Well, considering previous events...

That the panic she caused lead to a number of ponies getting very seriously hurt?

Disco: “Did you even watch the show?!”
Ezn: “Come on. It’s My Little Pony. Of course I didn’t.”

You can not just ignore all those past sins as if they did not exist.”

Ezn: >can not just ignore all those past sins as if they did not exist.
>can not just ignore [...] past sins as if [...] did not exist.
Well.
Svensvenderson: So that’s where the title comes from.
Disco: Yeah, there’s no way the readers could have figured it out on their own.
Drizzel: (holds up sarcasm sign)
Crazy56U: (as a certain Canadian) SUBTLE!

“But she doesn’t remember doing any of that! She’s just a filly. She deserves a chance to live, to be happy.”

Ezn: “Just let her bring eternal night to Appleloosa or some other place nopony cares about.”

Celestia’s face turned down,

Ezn: Twilight’s face’s advances, saying it wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment.

the princess putting her impressive stature to work,

Ezn: SHAKE IT

overshadowing Twilight as she glared down her pupil.

DiStort: “I’m taller than you. Your argument is invalid.”

“And what if later she turns against Equestria? What if later she attacks me and Luna and locks the kingdom in a night eternal?

Ezn: “And throws away the key eternal!”

Would you have me forgive her then? Would you bear the responsibility of her actions?”

“YES!” Twilight screamed back. “I’ll be responsible! The moment she does anything wrong you can take her away from me and throw me in a dungeon in some place you banish me to!

Vimbert: Yep, check another meme reference off the list.

I’ll take full responsibility!”

Twilight’s fell

Svensvenderson: She has a fell now?
Ezn: I wish I had a fell.
RLYoshi: Those things cost way too much.

quiet at this, her angry screams shifting to soft begging as she looked up at the white princess

Ezn: Your chess game has hax!

who was her teacher and mentor.

RLYoshi: I NEVER KNEW.

“Just... please... don’t take Nyx away from me.”

DiStort: C’mon, Twilight, the repo guys are waiting outside. You know how much they hate being told to leave? A lot.

Before Twilight even realized it, Celestia had moved over to her, the great white alicorn wrapping her wings around her. Twilight tried to resist, but soon found herself crying into Celestia’s chest,

CTOONfan1: piercing it with her horn causing her to stab Celestia's heart.

tears staining the perfectly pristine coat of the princess.

Disco: It was the last thing she saw before she suffocated.

“Twilight, my dearest Twilight... I know you believe Nyx is no threat to anypony.

Disco: “Your gullibility is so endearing.”

You have cared for her, sent her to school... you have done everything in her best interest. Again, I am proud to know that you were willing to take on such responsibility. And I know you believe Nyx is not Nightmare Moon.

Vimbert: “You think you can snow the God-Princess of Equestria just like that? Well you’re wrong!”
Anon13: You need to actually be the Sue to pull that off.

“But I ask you to think about what will happen if you’re wrong. If Nyx grows up, becomes the Nightmare Moon we fear, what will happen to Equestria?

Ezn: “It could end up more fragmented than my sentence!”

How many ponies will she hurt trying to overthrow me and Luna? How many would she panic by causing an eternal night?

Disco: “How many readers would she drive into a frothing rage?”
Ezn: How many rhetorical questions can one story contain?
RLYoshi: Next time on Ponyball Z!

Would you doom the safety and happiness of every pony in Equestria for a single filly?”

Ezn: Blackhole Sue, Blackhole Sue, won’t you come... and wash away the plot... Blackhole Sue, Blackhole Sue...

Twilight was still for a long time,

Ezn: She was training to become a guard (or if that didn’t pan out, a statue).

but then replied by shaking her head from side to side, not removing her face from Celestia’s chest as she continued to cry.

“I promise Twilight, I will not hurt Nyx

Crazy56U: Lies.

unless Spell Nexus is one hundred percent convinced she is Nightmare Moon.

CTOONfan1: Then we shall rip her into tiny adorable shreds.

If there is any doubt, then she will be kept safe

Disco: Encased in carbonite?

until such time that we can be absolutely sure. I do not wish to punish an innocent, Twilight,

DiStort: Y’know, unless it’s REALLY funny.

but I cannot ignore the threat she poses to the kingdom and to my own sister.

Ezn: Your own little sister pony?

“So please, I ask you to trust in my judgement as you have before. Let me take Nyx.”

Disco: Let’s give this fic some dignity.

“Can... can I at least go with her?”

Ezn: “Good idea! Maybe you’re the real Nightmare Moon!”

“No, it will only cause you more pain Twilight... and I think you will have enough to deal with.” Celestia replied, pulling herself away from her unicorn student

Ezn: Spell Nexus sighed deeply.

as her horn began to glow. The library door opened, and within moments Celestia’s guards moved in.

“Take the filly into custody,

Crazy56U: "Yes, that filly is under arrest because I have suspicions of her." ... (facehoof) You could've said that better, lady.

she is in the kitchen.” Celestia offered

Ezn: This is the worst one. Was Pen playing a game of Truth or Challenge where the challenge was to write "offered" over and over?
Vimbert: OVEP: boisterously commanded
Drizzel: OVEP: plainly offered.
Crazy56U: DRIZZEL! (OVEP: suggested)

quietly as she stepped past the guards, heading out for her chariot.

“Understood!” One of the guards replied, the two moving to the kitchen door as Celestia got back to her hooves and began to head towards the door. There was a ruckus in the kitchen, but a few moments later the guards re-emerged from the kitchen, one guiding Nyx towards the door while the other restrained Spike.

“I told you to get her hooves off her!” The baby dragon protested, struggling to free himself.

Crazy56U: "I swear, if this was 'Secret of My Excess', I would WRECK you!"

“Twilight, they’re trying to take Nyx! Do something!”

Ezn: “We’re supposed to use her as the sacrifice to ressurrect Cthulu tomorrow!”

The unicorn remained utterly silent, staring at the library floor as a pool of tears formed at her hooves.

Ezn: The public library thing wasn’t working out, so she was considering opening a public pool instead.

“Twilight... Twilight, don’t let them take me!” Nyx cried, trying to get away from the guard. He, however, quickly scooped the filly up in a front hoof, pinning the little black pony against his chest while he used his wings to hover towards the door.

Ezn: The other, more experienced guard hovered to the door using his eyeballs.

“Twilight... TWILIGHT!!!” Nyx called as she continued to struggle, her eyes starting to fill with tears as the unicorn remained still as stone. “Please, don’t let them take me! Twilight! I’m sorry! If I did something bad I’m sorry! Please, I don’t want to go with them! I don’t want to go Twilight! Twilight.... TWILIGHT!”

Disco: Bye, kiddo! See you in hell!

Nyx’s protests hung in the air

Ezn: where Spike greedily snatched them up and added them to his horde.

as the filly was taken outside to the waiting chariot, where Celestia stood ready for the return trip to Canterlot. Once the guard was close enough Celestia took over dealing with Nyx, the princess drawing the filly

Ezn: a picture of a banana.

into the chariot and using her magic to hold Nyx inside.

“Twilight, what are you doing!? Don’t tell me you’re going to let them take Nyx!” Spike half shouted,

Disco: half offered
Anon13: Disco!
DiStort: FOR SHAME, DISCO.
Crazy56U: SON, I AM DISAPPOINT!
Ezn: OVEP: rambunctiously half-chortled

only to find himself being pushed back into the kitchen a moment later.

Ezn: “Make me a sandwich, girl!” shouted the guard.

The guard who had restrained the dragon then used a chair to pin the door shut. With Spike contained the guard glanced once to Twilight before heading out of the library to join the princess and other guards.

Despite all this the unicorn continued to remain still, the only thing she could do.

Ezn: Twilight was resolute in her dreams of becoming a royal guard.

Every fiber of her being was telling Twilight to run out and steal Nyx back but... but the princess was right. She knew she was right. It was the logical answer.

Disco: Common Sense Syndrome claims another victim.

She had just been kidding herself for the past few months. If Nyx was Nightmare Moon, then she was putting all of Equestria in danger.

DiStort: And you can’t just round up your friends and make her taste the rainbow again because...?

This was what needed to happen... it was the only thing that made logical sense.

CTOONfan1: Logic? You're using logic NOW? This is when logic is SUPPOSED to be thrown out the window!

They needed to be sure Nyx wasn’t Nightmare Moon, and if she was... then...

Crazy56U: I love this part. It seems like Celestia's silver tongue managed to rework Twilight's mindset into thinking her mentor's right...

“MOMMY!!!”

Svensvenderson: And this is where the manure hits the fan, colts and fillies.
Disco: Can someone open a window, please?
Crazy56U: PANTS TO BE DARKENED!

Twilight’s head snapped up, eyes narrowed into dots.

WHAT WAS SHE DOING!?!?!?!

Ezn: Horribly abusing grammar and typography.
Svensvenderson: Finally, the fic asks what everypony else has been asking since the prologue.
Disco: How meta!
Crazy56U: Only for Twilight to realize how stupid that was. A positive use of Common Sense Syndrome!

It didn’t matter if Nyx was Nightmare Moon or not. It didn’t matter if someday Nyx would bring about the destruction of Equestria. Nyx... Nyx was her daughter. It didn’t matter if this was the logical choice, that Celestia thought this was what had to happen. Twilight had treated the filly like her own flesh and blood child. Nyx was her daughter... and Twilight was her mother.

Ezn: This kinda stuff happens when you hang around time-travellers in blue boxes.

And no real mother lets her daughter get taken away without a fight.

Disco: Or at least a feeble, laughable attempt at it.

Without a moment’s pause Twilight

Ezn: smiled and swept the sweat off her brow, saying “Thank goodness I’m not a real mother!”

bolted for the door, horn already glowing. She didn’t know what she was going to do;

Disco: It’s not like she’s thought anything else through, after all.
Crazy56U: She decided to channel her inner Kool-Aid Man and burst through the door.
CTOONfan1: She just ran out the door screaming "LEEROY JENKINS!"

she couldn’t really hope to face off against Celestia and the royal guards... but she couldn’t just let them take Nyx away. She’d do what she could, she’d fight with all the magic she had... even if it got her thrown in a dungeon or banished.

Ezn: Or banished and then thrown in a- *is shot*
Svensvenderson: No, we’d never be that lucky.
Wild Trotter: Or worse still, molested by Celestia.

Nyx deserved that much.

Disco: She deserved far,far worse.

But by the time Twilight got outside it was too late.

Ezn: Twilight met Late Hour and became her pretend mother instead.

The chariot had taken off, and was now flying away. Twilight tried to chase it, running with her eyes turned skyward. It was something doomed for disaster

Disco: Like this entire story.

as Twilight didn’t watch the path ahead and tripped, crash

GelidEnmity: Bandicoot.

ing down hard on the ground. When she looked up again the chariot was even father away, being whisked back to Canterlot by the strong wings of the royal guards who pulled it.

DiStort: Little late on the draw there, Twilight.

Twilight broke down into tears

Ezn: of joy

right there, not caring who saw her or where she was as she cried openly.

Ezn: She couldn’t wait for the Emo Pride March any longer.

She had just done the unforgivable. Even if Nyx was returned to her the next day, even if Nyx was officially decreed to not be Nightmare Moon...

CTOONfan1: She would always be the Mary Sue people love to hate.

she would never be able to forgive herself for what she had done.

Disco: Nor would half the fanbase.
Drizzel: The other half would strangly be alright with it.

It all came rushing in too fast, the realizations and pains filling the unicorn to the brim.

Ezn: Damn waiters watered it down with ice, though.

She couldn’t cry hard enough and fast enough.

Ezn: She was going to lose the Best Young Criers Competition.

The pain was just too severe. In the end, Twilight couldn’t contain it all and there,

CTOONfan1: She exploded twice.

she screamed. She cried out to the night with the loudest, most pain filled voice that had ever escaped her lips.

“NYX!!!!”

Crazy56U: Yep, the loudest scream she could muster. Which is why we turned down the volume.
Disco: KHHHAAAAAANNN!
Crazy56U: WHHHEEEAAATTTOOONNN!
Private Sprinkles: FREE BIRD!
Wild Trotter: NNNEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRD!!!!
RLYoshi: HAAAARRRRYYYYYYY!!!!!!
Drizzel: WOLVERINES!!!
Crazy56U: I AM A MAN!!! (punch)
RingmasterJ5: THIS. IS. SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Anon13: Fluttershy: yay!

============

Spell Nexus stood, slate gray eyes focused on the chariot that approached from the sky. He stood just outside a door,

Disco: hooves freshly polished,
Drizzel: And eyeshadow delicately applied.

the entrance into the grand throne room of the palace. Inside, the Children of Nightmare worked to set up the spell, though they did not look the part of Nightmare Moon’s followers.

Wild Trotter: Nor the part of the members of the future Lunar Republic.

No, for the moment the cult

Ezn: had decided to mix things up with Sailor Moon cosplay instead.

looked simply as ponies Nexus had brought to assist with the spell. The royal guards were none the wiser.

DiStort: Wasn’t easy to get them to take off their official cult tour jackets, lemme tell you.
Crazy56U: They didn't even notice the one pony wearing the "I ♥ Nightmare Moon" shirt.

The royal chariot came down from the sky, landing at the door. Celestia stepped down, and soon after a pair of guards moved to the chariot and brought the now sleeping Nyx.

“I was forced to use a sedation spell.

Wild Trotter: "A dozen of them, I meant. Boy was she a doozy."

I... I could not bear to hear her crying as she was.”

DiStort: “You ever played Yoshi’s Island, Nexus? Yeah, take crying Baby Mario and like, quadruple it. Worse than hooves on a chalkboard.”
Crazy56U: Nexus: “Oh my Celestia.”
CTOONfan1: She just kept screaming stupid things like "Mommy!" and "Help!"
Crazy56U: (massages temples) T-thanks for that, really.

Celestia admitted, watching as the guards carried Nyx inside the throne room.

“One with a heart as tender as yours should not have to pry such a young filly away from the mare who cared for her.” Nexus offered

Anon13: OVEP: ridiculously mouth-farted
Crazy56U: OVEP: jibber-jabbered
Anon13: I pity the foal!

solemnly. “Hopefully, you shall be able to return her to Twilight unharmed in the morning.”

“No...the harm has already been done Nexus.”

Ezn: “The space after my ellipsis is lost forever.”

Celestia countered as she and the dark blue unicorn moved into the throne room. “If Nyx is truly not Nightmare Moon...

CTOONfan1: "I may have been overly out of character for no good reason."

then the harm I’ve done to her and Twilight... I doubt I will ever truly be able to make amends.”

Disco: Or you could just retcon everything.
Ezn: I see what you did there.
Crazy56U: "Yeah, if I'm wrong, then I've lost all my brownie points with those two."

Nexus offered

Ezn: OVEP: violently spewed forth

no words in reply as he and the princess moved across the hall. Nyx’s sleeping form was

Ezn: filled out in triplicate.

placed in the center of the complicated spell which had been setup in the royal throne room. Four columns stood in a perfect square

Ezn: still as guards

about the center, torches burning at their tops. Unicorns that Nexus had brought in to aid with the spell, secret members of the Children of Nightmare, fed their magic into the columns which glowed with ancient runes.

Ezn: OM NOM NOM

At Nexus’s request, Celestia remained back while he moved towards the sleeping Nyx.

Wild Trotter: No doubt checking to see if she was breathing.
Batman_the_Dino: She was, and he became aroused.
Crazy56U: WOW. There’s that urge to bathe again!

His horn began to glow, and from the top of the four columns that stood around the room threads of light began to take shape.

Isphone: Only to be derailed by a spider mare thread.

As thin as spider web,

Ezn: And suddenly this fic was The Spiderses.

the lines of magic floated and danced in the air as if caressed by an unfelt wind.

Ezn: Whatever gets you off, man.

It was the kind of threads of magic that made up Celestia’s manes, magic that flowed with its own accord.

Ezn: It’s a kind of thread of magic!

Nexus used his magic to pull on the threads, draw them close to him as he began to weave them together.

Svensvenderson: Within moments, he had a really nice blanket.
Disco: It was fabulous!

With a few minutes of time,

Ezn: and some metres of space

Nexus had tied the threads of magic into a square frame that hung centered above Nyx.

Ezn: Hipster Rarity approves of this avant-garde artwork.

One of the ponies aiding in the spell brought Nexus a pitcher of water, the unicorn drawing the water out with his magic before throwing it up at the frame of magic. The water soared through, rising above the frame before coming back down. But instead of falling all the way to the floor the water crashed again an invisible barrier, pooling and settling.

In the end, the threads of magic looked as if they were supporting a square of perfectly still water in the air above Nyx, water that slowly began to turn from transparent to reflective.

Ezn: I want to read about the water’s character arc instead of Nyx’s!

The spell was cast, and Nexus motioned towards Celestia, allowing the princess to draw close.

“A spirit mirror.”

Ezn: And then this fic became Fallout Equestria once more.
Crazy56U: Spell Nexus: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the prettiest of us all?"
Mirror: "You know how uncomfortable that question makes me-"
Spell Nexus: "JUST ANSWER!"

Nexus offered

Ezn: OVEP: daringly put forward, revolutionising academia

as he motioned to the surface of water, which now looked as liquid

Ezn: as

silver,

Ezn: isn’t
Drizzel: (slap) Proper sentences man!

reflecting the scene below it. “A rare bit of magic, from a far kingdom beyond Equestria.

Ezn: “I’ve heard they’ve got this amazing way of wrapping up winter!”

It can show much about those who are caught in its reflection. With but a touch, it can be changed to reflect so many things.”

Nexus reached out his magic, and gave the surface of water a gentle touch.

Ezn: LOW BATTERY. Please recharge your iReflection.
RLYoshi: And of course Stonewall forgot to bring the charger.

The single ripple cascaded across the surface, and with the ripple the reflection changed. Suddenly, both Nexus and Celestia looked as fillies

Ezn: Nexus made an especially pretty filly.

in the mirror’s reflection, no older than Nyx.

“It can show us what we once were, our fears, our dreams...

Wild Trotter: "Not to mention our inner lusts... buuuut I digress."

but

Ezn: only if you upgrade the firmware and purchase additional modules.

for tonight, we simply wish to see the reflection of our souls.” Nexus added, touching the liquid mirror once more on the far side, the ripple cascading slowly across the surface. “For most ponies, a soul looks very much like their normal bodies, though there may be slight differences. They may look better, and sometimes even worse... especially if the pony had endured a hardship or great pain. But, it does show who a pony truly is.”

Ezn: And then this fic became The Glass Blower.
Svensvenderson: Nexus’ reflection has ‘DUMBASS’ tattooed across the forehead.
Anon13: So does everyone else’s.
Wild Trotter: And Nexus, despite his nickname, is probably the LEAST stupid character in this fanfic... and even that's not really saying much.

The ripple cascaded across the liquid surface of the mystic mirror. It passed over the reflection of Celestia, the sun princess looking once more in her regal size though there was a fresh wound across her chest, right over where her heart would be. A sign of the pain Celestia was feeling for having to rip Twilight away from the black filly.

Wild Trotter: And unbeknownst to her, several hidden lumps on the back of her head. A sign of the severe loss of intelligence for her involvement in this fanfic.

For Nexus, his reflection was all but the same, though his coat shifted to become several shades darker and his eyes were turquoise in the image.

Svensvenderson: “I’m not a villain!”
Ezn: “I’m just a fashion victim!”

But as the ripple passed over Nyx’s reflection,

DiStort: all that came up was “ANSWER UNCERTAIN. ASK AGAIN LATER.”

the little black filly was replaced with a pony far larger, clad in

Wild Trotter: A pony's equivalent of a dominatrix outfit.
Drizzel: A saddle?

midnight blue armor and with a mane and tail of flowing magic. And for a time, Celestia and Nexus just stared at that reflection, the sun princess having to draw in a short breath and shut her eyes. She mouth words to herself, not putting voice behind them but saying her apology in utter silence.

“I am so sorry Twilight.”

Disco: “I’m so sorry that I’m in this story.”
Crazy56U: “I’m so sorry... that I’m going to enjoy what I’m about to do, that is.”

Celestia let this apology linger on her mind and lips for but a moment before she opened her eyes, the pink orbs once again becoming firm and cold as determination swelled up in the princess’s

Ezn: loins.

reflection. A strong visage, which hid the wound deep in the princess’s heart.

“Then the truth is revealed. Nexus, we will need to begin preparations to dis-spell Nyx. The truth of her origin and her existence cannot be denied now.”

Disco: It has its own wiki link!

“No... it cannot.” Nexus offered

Batman_the_Dino: OVEP: steamily announced, rubbing his horn

in reply, his horn starting to glow. “She is who she is... Equestria’s true queen.”

Disco: Lauren Faust!
Wild Trotter: "If she ends up requiring her subjects in her bedchambers, however... they are on their own."

Before Celestia could properly process what Nexus had said she felt the power of several unicorns grab her.

CTOONfan1: DOGPILE!

In a single solid push the princess was thrown across the room, her body crashing into the doors and nearly breaking through them.

Crazy56U: Nearly? ...the Kool-Aid Man is SEVERELY disappointed with her.

The sun princess, however, was back on her hooves in a matter of moments, glaring down the group of ponies that had attacked her.

DiStort: Somepony’s taking a trip in the moon cannon.

All the ponies that had been about the room, setting up the spell to determine the truth about

Ezn: Soylent Green

Nyx, had now formed a tight group around Nexus,

CTOONfan1: And began to sing and dance in a pre-choreographed fashion.
Anon13: All we wanna do is frown, frown, froooown, fill our hearts up with nightmare, nightmare...

who looked back across the hall at Celestia with a smile, his slate gray eyes replaced with a striking, familiar turquoise.

Ezn: “I have more followers than you! Nya-nya-na-nya-na!”

“For the night eternal, for Equestria’s true queen!”

Wild Trotter: "And for everlasting fabulousity!"

Nexus called, grinning devilishly before his horn lit up. In a moment the enchanted stone columns, which were supporting the mystical liquid mirror, changed color.

Ezn: Fashions change quickly in Equestria.

Instead of glowing a soft white their color changed to

Wild Trotter: Plaid.
Drizzel: Or worse; turquoise.

a harsh red, a red that grew brighter and brighter as it enveloped Nexus and all the ponies. Then, with a flash of light, it all disappeared.

It was all too late that Celestia realized the treachery that thrived in her royal court.

Disco: She’s only caught on to this now? How the hell did someone so oblivious last that long?!
DiStort: It’s just like I said, Disco. Prolonged exposure to Nyx has infected Celestia with Stupid.
Crazy56U: Huh... I guess Lord Helmet was right after all... ...although, in truth, I put my money on marker huffing.
Wild Trotter: Paint sniffing's my guess.
Ungulateman: Well, she needs to dye her hair some way or another. Paint keeps.

============

FLASH...

Disco: Savior of the Universe!

KRAC-CROOO-OOOM!

Svensvenderson: Hey Sound Guy, you’re back!
Disco: And he’s brought the Polish Nightmare Moon with him!

Nexus and the rest of the Children of Nightmare appeared in the center of Ponyville,

Disco: Yes, perform your secret ritual in plain sight. How many orange juice shots has Epic Failure had tonight?
Crazy56U: It's Epic Failure. The proper question is how many he DIDN'T have.
Batman_the_Dino: And the proper answer is two, which were enjoyed by Spike and Twilight, hoping to drown their sorrows.
Drizzel: FOOL! Epic failure is drunk on fabulousness!

their arrival announced with the a flash of light and a rumbling sound of thunder ten times louder than what any storm could produce.

Ezn: If only their music was as inspiring as their pyrotehcnics.

It was a thunder that woke every pony in the town from their sleep, many drawing outside to see

Ezn: how good they were at drawing abstract concepts.

where the noise had come from.

“Form a perimeter.” Nexus said to the ponies around him. “Let none draw near.

Ezn: “The Pictionary grand prize shall be mine!”

The spell that will finish our queen’s resurrection has already begun, but it will take time for her to draw in the magic needed.”

Svensvenderson: Good thing they didn’t do anything that might draw attention to themselves.
DiStort: “Don’t forget to set up the giant glowing weak spots, guys! We gotta do this by the book!”
Crazy56U: "Yeah, and be sure nopony attacks them for massive damage! ...granted, that applies to crabs, but still!"

The cult members nodded, quickly spreading out, the earth ponies and unicorns forming a tight ring of bodies around the still glowing red pillars while the pegasi took to the sky and circled, becoming a threatening air force. Other members of the cult, who had been told to wait in Ponyville, quickly began to rush from the nearby homes and shops. They brought with them saddle bags filled with cloaks, the members of the order donning their uniforms while their eyes changed to turquoise.

Disco: Ponyville can’t handle that much fabulousity!

Among those who had been waiting in Ponyville were Night Wind, Gray Gale, and Stonewall

DiStort: Wonder what he forgot this time.

... Nexus’s lieutenants.

Crazy56U: In case you transmogrified into a goldfish in between chapters.
RLYoshi: In which case how in the hell are you reading this?
Drizzel: Blub glub?

Joined by them was another in armor, a thin earth pony with a regal blue mane and a gently turned mustache.

CTOONfan1: He was quite fabulous.
Anon13: But not more than Epic Failure if he knew what was good for him.

To the locals, he was known as Horte Cuisine,

Crazy56U: Even when a cult's plan is nearing completion, there still will be a broken wiki link.

a waiter at a local restaurant.

Ezn: and the owner of a broken wiki link.

To a certain pink pony, he had been a spy to be hunted.

Disco: To everyone else, he was just a useless earth pony.

To Nexus, Horte Cuisine was the informant that was his eyes and ears at the Learn and Play Day held by Ponyville Elementary.

Ezn: To his family, he was a... wait, never mind.

Somepony in the community, one who would not be suspected of being an agent.

CTOONfan1: Mainly because no one cared who he was.

After all, who would think that a pony that brings food would be working for a cult

Disco: They’ve obviously never heard of Jonestown.
Crazy56U: Yeah. Only the cool cults engage in mass suicide; these guys are posers.

bent on resurrecting a

Wild Trotter: former memetic sex goddess?
Drizzel: Hi, TV Tropes!

fallen princess?

DiStort: Well GEE, when you put it like that.

“So, is it really her?” Gray Gale asked,

DiStort: Wow. The Stupid is even spreading to the bad guys. It’s an epidemic!

looking at the black filly who was still sedated from Celestia’s spell.

“Yes, the mirror confirmed it. Our queen lies before us.” Nexus offered,

Ezn: OVEP: gleefully squeed
Crazy56U: That... disturbingly enough fits.

looking skyward. The red glowing columns were acting as magnets,

Ezn: keeping the Mormon ponies occupied.

drawing in the wild magical energy that lingered in the air. Amongst that magic were trails of purple smoke, which began to circle and spin, spiraling down like water in a whirlpool before feeding into the sleeping Nyx, who physically began to grow and mature.

DiStort: Cover your ears and eyes, everypony. She’s about to go through puberty.
Crazy56U: OH GOD NO! (hides under the table)
Drizzel: I CAN'T LOOK AWAY! AAAAAAHHHH-(BOOM)-(BOOM)

“Should we be worried about the villagers?” Stonewall asked, seeing the crowd of ponies growing very quickly, drawn in by the bright glowing red color of the columns, which was visible from everywhere in Ponyville.

Ezn: “As long as they pay for their autographs, it’s all good.”

“Our brothers and sisters will keep the crowd at bay,

Crazy56U: "Be sure to use the pepper spray!"

and Celestia will not be able to follow us quickly enough to interfere.

Disco: There’s no way an omnipotent goddess could stand against our plans!

Look, our queen is already at half the size she should be.

Ezn: “ Nexus half-cackled.
Drizzel: Half-sneezed.
Ungulateman: Half-baked.
Disco: Half-assed.
Ungulateman: Much like this story.

We have nothing to fear... nopony can stop us.”

Svensvenderson: Once again, Epic Failure shows us how he earned that name.
Disco: How long do you think it’ll take for this to crash and burn?
Crazy56U: 10 bucks says fate throws him a curve-ball.

============

Twilight galloped at a full sprint towards the center of the village,

Crazy56U: She hoped to reach 88MPH and undo the earlier stupidity seen in the chapter.
Drizzel: One point twenty one jigawatts?!

Spike barely holding onto her back. She had seen the flash of light, heard the thunder, but more importantly was that she

Ezn: really wanted to meet the SAVIOUR OF THE UNIVERSE.

had felt something. It was the same feeling that had caught her off guard when she and her friends were searching Everfree Forest for Nyx. It was the same strange feeling that told Twilight where to find Nyx.

Ezn: She was hungry.

And it was a feeling that told Twilight that Nyx was in the center of town.

Disco: The flashy magical spells and cross-dressing cultists weren’t obvious enough.

The unicorn rounded a corner and saw the huge crowd of ponies gathered around the glowing red stone columns in the center of the town. She also saw the ponies that were keeping the crowd away from said columns, recognizing the cloaks.

Disco: It’s the CMC!
Ezn: “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PLOT DEVICES YAY!”
RLYoshi: What would a plot device cutie mark look like?
Anon13: Duh... Nyx.
Crazy56U: My guess? Pen Stoke at a typewriter, smoking a cigarette.

It was the cult who had kidnapped her, and if they had Nyx...

Twilight felt her blood turn to ice,

Disco: FATALITY!
DiStort: Pony Ermac must’ve called up Pony Sub-Zero.

the unicorn entering a panic as she tried to push her way through the crowd and get closer. She... she could stop this, she could still stop it.

Svensvenderson: The power of positive thinking, everypony.
Disco: Delusion is Magic!

She could make up for letting Celestia take Nyx, she could still save the filly. She just had to get through the crowd, she just had too...

Anon13: much faith in the author

A crack of thunder made Twilight stop in her tracks, eyes turning skyward. Above the town, trails of purple smoke circled, conducting sparks of fierce blue energy. The crack came as a surge of energy spread out across the sky, spreading across the night sky like a ripple across a pond.

Disco: Thundercats, HOOO!
Drizzel: I have the power!
Crazy56U: I AM EVERYTHING!

The ring of energy, however, then abruptly stopped and began flowing back, drawing into a single tight sphere in the air right about the center of town. The purple smoke and other lingering magics in the air were drawn into the growing sphere of energy, and, then with a single crack of thunder, all that energy flowed down to the center of the spell being cast, striking the black pony who laid there on the ground.

Disco: Hey, something smells good! What’s cooking?
Drizzel: Mary Sue. It tastes like sparkly chicken.

============

Nyx awoke just as the last of the magic fed into her, body crackling with the last traces of energy. She lifted herself off the ground, standing up taller than she had ever stood before. She looked down as the five ponies that had been standing around her quickly back up and bowed.

And as Nyx looked upon them, she began to smile... and then laugh. It wasn’t the giggle of a filly but more of a dry chuckle, one that grew in volume, becoming loud and haughty.

DiStort: She remembered a joke she had heard and just got the punchline.

The alicorn then raised her head, looking at the night sky as her laughter became deafening, ringing loudly over the dead silence that had fallen in Ponyville and taken on a crazed, maniacal quality. It was the laughter of somepony who had just realized a great and terrible truth.

Crazy56U: Well, it's official. She became aware of the characterization Pen Stroke gave her. (hides under table)

She finally understood everything.

DiStort: “Oh! Forty-two! Now I get it.”
Svensvenderson: Like how hot dog buns come in packages of 8, but hot dogs come in packages of 10?
Disco: Does she know why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
Wild Trotter: Does she even know about... gulp ...shipping stories?
RLYoshi: "Everything... I vant to know... everything!"

She understood why she woke up in the Everfree Forest when she did. She understood why she had memories of fighting Twilight and wanting to harm her.

Disco: All that repressed trauma finally bubbled to the surface.

She understood why she was able to say those lines in that school play so well. And she finally understood why she looked the way she did.

She remembered what she was. Who she was.

CTOONfan1: A large plot device meant to evoke emotion from the readers?
Disco: The biggest Mary Sue in recent memory?

Nyx turned her gaze away from the night sky, looking at the huge crowd of ponies that filled the center of Ponyville. Ponies who had towered over her mere moments before, but were now dwarfed by her stature. She remembered another time when she stood over them, looking upon their sun loving faces. How, on the day of the Summer Sun celebration,

Crazy56U: She had the audacity of interrupting that party Pinkie had for Summer Sun. THE NERVE.

they looked on her with fear, even though they didn’t know who she was.

Now they were looking over her with greater fear, for they now knew who she was. It should have made her happy to be able to inspire such fear in them.

Instead…it made her feel uneasy….but why?

CTOONfan1: Do I sense a change in character due to experiences in her past?

Nyx gave a very slight shake of the head to banish the thought,

CTOONfan1: Of course not, that'd be stupid.

putting on a wicked smile

Svensvenderson: “Wicked smile, dude!”

before beginning to speak with her normal tone of voice that managed to be regal, smooth, and threatening all at the same time.

“My friends, neighbors….subjects….

Crazy56U: “Lend me your hooves... wait, I did that wrong. BUCK.”

why do you look at me with such fear?

DiStort: Dude, turn around, Slendermane is RIGHT behind you.
Crazy56U: Please show him the way out. We don't need this to go all "Marble Hornets" on us.

You of all ponies should feel honored! For you will be able to tell your children and your children’s children that it was you who witnessed the queen’s rebirth, when she gained flesh of her own.

CTOONfan1: You witnessed the moment the story got good.
Anon13: Define ‘good’.
Svensvenderson: Better than ‘Magic is Believing’.

That it was you who witness her moment of accession and enlightenment… and that it was you who showed her kindness when she was incomplete.”

Ezn: “And it was you who first shared my royal tick infestation!”

Nyx took a step forward, moving past the cloaked ponies who bowed to her and moving into the crowd of scared Ponyville residents.

Ezn: The rent was cheaper there.

Those she approached quickly moved out of the way, clearing a path, as they should.

Ezn: Well, yeah. Ticks.

“Yes, I was among you this entire time, though I was by no means trying to deceive you…though it is very easily within my power to do so now if I choose.

DiStort: Well, considering you just told them that...

No, I truly had no idea where I was, what was going on…who I was. And yet you graciously accepted me into your town. When I take what is rightfully mine, I’ll be sure to remember your kindness… as long as you obey and give me the respect I deserve.”

RLYoshi: The respect you deserve? Okay. (pulls out shotgun)

Nyx continued to walk through the crowd, none of them daring to move, speak, or take their eyes off her.

Ezn: DAT FLANK

“There are, however, those who deserved to be mentioned. Ponies who deserve special thanks, for without them I may not be standing here tonight, my power once again at its peak and my mind clear. Among those are two very special fillies. Now, I wonder where they could be. Ah, there you are…Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.”

Wild Trotter: "Doing a more... intimate Sugarlump Rump shake, I see."

An entire group of ponies suddenly back away,

Ezn: tripping on the tense-changing switch as they go

the two young fillies in question shaking in their hooves as Nyx now towered over them like a giant.

Drizzel: "Banana?"
Crazy56U: Well they ARE a good source of potassium...

“Yes, everypony, take a good, long look at these two. When I was still but a confused and curious filly, it was they who set me up with a prank, a prank that lead me to wander the Everfree Forest. And it was there, amongst the trees, that I came across some of the lingering bits of my magic. It was because of them that I made it to the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, where I regained my most important memories…and regained enough of my power to attract the attention of those who would finish the spell to give me a life and body of my own, no longer bound to that foal Luna.

“Yes, you could say that they are directly and fully responsible for me being able to stand among you as I am, for without that fateful trip I may have simply stayed a harmless little filly.”

Disco: They also stole cookies.
DiStort: And that’s terrible.

Nyx leaned her head down, staring at the two fillies who were now terrified beyond belief from the very same pony they had once bullied and teased. Nyx, however, gave them the most gentlest of smiles. “Thank you, you two,” She offered

Ezn: OVEP: surreptitiously spat

in her sweetest voice, which felt like poison in the fillies’ ears. “From the bottom of my heart for helping me change from a nerd into a queen.”

Crazy56U: OK, I know Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are jerks, but singling them out as the main reason you're now Nightmare Moon? ...I'm shocked that I have to say this, but... that's a little... harsh.
RLYoshi: That's not the important part! The point is that they stole cookies! AND. THAT'S. TERRIBLE.
Crazy56U: OK, that joke is running thin. Knock it off.

At that Nyx stood up again, smirking maliciously as several ponies began to glare at the two fillies with the highest levels of anger and contempt. Oh yes...this was a revenge much sweeter than merely beating them in a game of tug-a-war. Maybe her new subjects might do her a favor and take care of the two eyesores for her.

DiStort: That would be the first thing Nyx has ever done that I approve of.

“N-Nyx? Is that you?... Why are you doing this? What’s wrong?”

Nyx froze at hearing the small voice, her body become rigid

Ezn: Bodyboner? Chris Hansen wants a word, NMM.
Crazy56U: EYES. PAIN. BURNING.
Drizzel: Actually Nyx is part fainting goat.

as her dragon-shaped iris pulsated feverishly with surprise. She let her eyes fall to the source of the voice,

Ezn: and immediately grew new ones
Ungulateman: Pointy ones.

seeing a single young filly staring up at her. It was Scootaloo, the orange pegasus looking at Nyx not with eyes filled with fear but ones brimming with sadness and confusion.

Ezn: “You dropped these, lady.”

For a moment, Nyx remembered that Scootaloo lived near the center of town,

CTOONfan1: at least according to Pen Stroke.

which would explain why she was so close to the center of the crowd.

She, however, could not stand to meet Scootaloo’s gaze or speak a direct reply to the orange pegasus’ question. She could only close her eyes, making a violent turn as she moved through the crowd in the opposite direction.

She only stopped after taking several steps, casting her head back, but keeping her eyes closed. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Scootaloo.

RLYoshi: She was an embarrassment to chickens everywhere.

“No, I am not Nyx... or, more accurately, I am her no longer.”

Ezn: “I will now be addressed as The Pony Formerly Known As Nyx!”

With those few words spoken, Nyx then turned her head forward again. She then caught sight of a familiar mulberry pony in the crowd, Cheerilee.

Ezn: “Sweet hat, Cheer,” she said.

Instantly Nyx’s mind latched onto verbally attacking the teacher, if only to forget that Scootaloo was watching her from a distance.

“Hello, Cheerilee, my teacher.

CTOONfan1: "Yep. She taught me everything I know. Just thought you should know that too."
Crazy56U: Random Crowd Member: (shouts) “Stop explaining things that the audience already knows; they aren’t stupid!”

Yes, I am no longer Nyx... but I am sure you could tell all these ponies who I really am.

Wild Trotter: "And no, I certainly do not remember you doing any "F Grade" drinking games with Twilight." (beat) "Wait, what?"

After all, you saw the resemblance just as everypony else did. And was it not you who called me ‘wicked and dastardly’?

Ezn: “WAH! YOU HURT MY FEELINGS!”

Was that not why I was perfect for the part in your little spring play?”

Svensvenderson: You mean the one you suggested?
Disco: And blatantly plagiarized?

Cheerilee shakily took a few steps back, cringing as Nyx’s mystical blue mane held and flicked at her chin. The fear was easy to see, Cheerilee watching the mane as if it would

Wild Trotter: French kiss her the first opportunity it got.

strike out like a snake at any moment, but after a few tense seconds Nyx stepped away, her eyes drawn to a pony that was forcing her way through the crowd. Within moments the purple unicorn push herself through a final few ponies, coming to a stop directly in front of Nyx... her eyes streaming with tears, both ones fresh and others that had long dried.

Ezn: “No, Sparkler, I’m not going to use my magic mane to open your peanut butter jar.”

“Hello, Twilight, my savior, my best friend…and the only one I have ever called ‘mother’.” Nyx said coolly. “Are you here to lie to me again? Tell me that I’m not a ‘bitter, vengeance driven mare’? Tell me that the most obvious answer is wrong even when the proof is right in front of your face? Try to comfort me with false words!?

DiStort: “Depends. Are you still thick enough to believe me?”
Drizzel: The Crowd: Ooooooohhh.

“Or are you here to apologize to me? To beg and grovel at my hooves? Admit that you were wrong to keep this information from me? Or were you simply so desperate to care for a filly of your own that you didn’t want to believe the truth?”

Disco: “Or are you really that stupid?!”

Twilight couldn’t bring herself to say anything,

CTOONfan1: mainly because she totally did.

which made Nyx furrowed her brows and grit her teeth.

“Well?!? ANSWER ME!!!”

Crazy56U: HOW'D IT GET BURNED?!?! HOW'D IT GET BURNED?!?!

Nyx shouted, anger

Ezn: and exclamation points

welling up inside her from the mere sight of Twilight.

CTOONfan1: Twilight just gives off that "anger" feeling.

It was, however, not anger from Twilight’s past actions,

Ezn: Actions? Way to pass up a title slip, Pen!
Crazy56U: As if he cares anymore; he gave up on the readers a while back.

from the part she played in Nyx’s defeat. It was not even anger spawned by the

Ezn: love of a Mommy anger and a Daddy anger.

pain of having her very soul and mind torn apart by the Elements of Harmony, at least that wasn’t the core of her current anger.

No, the core of the anger

Ezn: took a whole lot of licks to get to.
Drizzel: Or you know, three.
Crazy56U: If the third lick is a bite, of course.

she felt came from a sense of betrayal. From her feeling that she had been lied to…had been abandoned.

“You have nothing to say….how typical.”

Disco: Just like an Earth pony.
Ezn: Twilight: “Well, I never! Calling me an earth pony! The nerve!”

Nyx offered when, after several seconds, Twilight still couldn’t muster a reply.

Ezn: Thankfully, she couldn’t offer one either.

“You also said nothing when you let the Royal Guard take me away

DiStort: Twilight replied: “In my defense, it was really funny.”

…which lead to this very moment. Thank you so much for abandoning the only pony you called your daughter.”

Crazy56U: I... I... I... got... nothing.
Wild Trotter: "And you didn't even tell me of your affair with Celestia!? For shame!"
Crazy56U ...for some reason, that isn’t helping for me...

Nyx turned, unable to stand looking at Twilight another moment longer.

Wild Trotter: No doubt further embittered by Twilight's secret romance with her teacher, all things considered.

She could feel her eyes trying to water,

Ezn: the roses at her feet

but by sheer will and anger she

Ezn: let them wilt, much to the flower ponies’ horror.

made them stop and dry.

CTOONfan1: Will and anger are hotter than the sun she hates.

She shut them, and, as she walked away, she offered

Batman_the_Dino: OVEP: tumultuously defenstrated

a few final words to Twilight.

“I am ashamed that I had ever called you my mother.”

Drizzel: ...ouch.
CTOONfan1: FATALITY.
Crazy56U: (ALL OF THE FACEHOOF)
Disco: Ugh, this is going to leave a mark.
RLYoshi: Being serious for a minute... am I the only one who literally cringed at this when reading the story the first time?
Crazy56U: (rubs head) Nnnnnnope.

The black alicorn moved back towards the center of the crowd, to the area that had been left clear by the ponies in cloaks. The five who had been standing around her when she first awakened galloped up, quickly bowing as the blue unicorn spoke.

RLYoshi: "The Great and Powerful Trixie demands some form of recognition!"

“Nightmare Moon, our most powerful and majestic Queen.” The unicorn of the group offered

Ezn: OVEP: boot-lickingly grovelled

to Nyx who, despite her missing armor, eye shadow,

CTOONfan1: Nightmare Moon is Batman?
Crazy56U: B-b-but Captain Falcon is Batman! Proton Jon said so! (sad face)

and cutie mark,

DiStort: Ah, that’s what Stonewall forgot.
Disco: Hasbro’s toy accuracy standards have hit rock bottom.

was truly the same mare they had long to see in her full glory.

CTOONfan1: How does a queen work? We've had princesses for so long.
Crazy56U: Let me consult an expert. … Okay... “Как мне кажется, да.” ...that’s the last time I buy a Magic 8-Ball from eBay.

“Celestia and Luna can be seen in the distance along with a large contingent of the royal guard.

Ezn: “Nope, that’s a terrible opening sentence. Start your fic with something less telly.”

It would not be wise to linger here and face the Royal Sisters. You are reborn but your power may not be complete. Let us retreat so that you can gather your strength, so that, when you are ready, you can bring the princesses beneath your hoof.”

Wild Trotter: "And have them be... your slaves."
Drizzel: "If you know what I mean." "...No I don't sorry."

Nyx looked at the unicorn, smiling. Already there were those who were willing to accept her,

CTOONfan1: even with all of her faults.

to regard her with the same respect they had for the Royal Sisters.

Ezn: Uuh, “bring the princesses beneath your hoof”? This has disturbing masochism connotations.

“I assume you have someplace prepared.”

“Of course, my Queen.”

Disco: “It has all the Appledash fics ever written.”

The black alicorn offered

Ezn: OVEP: twisted her evil lips into a cruel mockery of

a smile, turning back to the crowd.

“Remember this night well ,” She called out, “For it marks the beginning of the end of the old order of Equestria! Treasure the days that come, for they shall be your last! For soon, the night shall last forever and I, Nightmare Moon, shall be Equestria’s one true queen!”

Wild Trotter: More of a true queen than Lauren Faust? Oh Nyx, surely you jest.
Drizzel: I do not jest but I like that name; Nyx Shirley.

With that Nightmare Moon broke into

Ezn: Six pieces, bringing this story to an anticlimatic end. The moral is “don’t buy your evil cult resurrection of a goddess spells from the side of the road”.

her maniacal laughter, her mystical mane swirling. The magical aura consumed all the cloaked cult ponies,

Ezn: and got a nasty tummyache.

drawing them up in the swirling magic before, in a single flash, they all disappeared into the night, leaving the shocked ponies of Ponyville to stand in utter silence.

Wild Trotter: "I'm outta here, man!" One of the ponies shouted amongst the crowd, quickly fleeing the scene.

The silence continued even when Celestia and Luna landed with the royal guards, arriving far too late. Nightmare Moon had returned.

Disco: And this time, it’s personal.
Crazy56U: Well... I can safely say that Celestia's well-thought out plan of dealing with Nyx went over PERFECTLY!
CTOONfan1: Wow. What a sad ending to this story. Oh well. Time to move on with my-

Crazy56U: In the style of Dr. Seuss.
Ezn: Is it a looking desk?

Batman_the_Dino: half yet-to-be-completed
Drizzel: And a quarter to-be-riffed.
CTOONfan1: ...wait. WHAT?!

Crazy56U: Unfortunately for you, dear sir, we're only here for 3 more chapters. So, HAH!

Wild Trotter: And believe me, it's all downhill from here.
RLYoshi: No, really?
CTOONfan1: Thank you, Zecora, for this foreshadowing to our dark future.
Crazy56U: Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do than speed on. (plays “Jumping Jack Flash”)

Crazy56U: Great! I'll get some angry birds and a slingshot to make this fun!

Anon13: Remember folks, the OVEP is still going! Anytime you see That Verb, put in an alternative! Only you can prevent word burnout!

They were too late.

CTOONfan1: The story was still being written.
Drizzel: That’s everyone’s fear.

Even when they had her in their sights they were too late. Celestia’s worst fears came true.

RLYoshi: Snakes everywhere...
Crazy56U: Celestia and Indiana Jones would be the best of friends.

The monster that had stolen her sister away

Wild Trotter: And no doubt snogging her in the process.

for over a thousand years had returned with a body of her own and vanished into the night, vowing to conquer the royal kingdom for herself and plunge Equestria into eternal night.

Isphone: but before that part, it was just soooooooo cute!
Wild Trotter: Failing that, vowing to become Molestia: Nighttime Edition.

The sun princess, however, couldn’t panic or rage as she would have liked to.

Anon13: She just wasn’t METAL enough, maaaaan!

No, she had to keep up her composure, remain stone-faced as she listened to anypony willing to give their accounting of what had happened. But the same could not be said of the moon princess.

Luna

Crazy56U: This is before she upgraded to "CANTERLOCK" mode, btw.

was looking distraught and kept staring off into the space where the mare she used be had stood just before their arrival.

Svensvenderson: She needed comfort from Abby.
Disco: Its incessant clacking soothes the nerves.

After confirming what she had feared, Celestia saw no reason to linger on in Ponyville;

DiStort: Town’s doomed, time to GTFO.

she had, after all, much to consider and think about.

Wild Trotter: Not to mention, which "friends" to accompany her every night.

This situation was much different than it was a thousand years ago. It was true that she no longer had to worry about Luna’s safety, but at same time Celestia wasn’t sure she could rely on the Elements of Harmony.

DiStort: Especially since they’ve all probably been infected with the Stupid from hanging around Nyx. I wouldn’t rely on them either.

One of the bearers of the elements, after all, was a certain purple unicorn that could not or would not

CTOONfan1: Eat green eggs and ham.

want to put aside her feelings in order to do what was right for Equestria.

Svensvenderson: Gee, I wonder who that could be....?
DiStort: Sparkler?

It was all matters that could be dealt with in the morning.

Disco: Yes, the fate of the world as we know it can wait until morning.

It had been a long day,

and while she could go for much longer without rest it didn’t mean Celestia wasn’t looking forward to lying down in her own bed. So, after ordering the royal guards back to the castle, Celestia took off, only to stop and hover a few feet in the air when she noticed somepony was lingering behind.

“Luna, are you coming?”

Crazy56U: Ahh... too easy, nevermind.

Luna shook her head, being snapped out of whatever train of thought had been occupying her mind.

“Y... yes Sister, I’m coming.”

Crazy56U: I SAID “TOO EASY”!
Drizzel: Either you do it or someone else will (grin)

The moon princess replied as she took flight. “But...there is much that I need to discuss with you once we’re back in Canterlot....in private if you don’t mind.”

Disco: Oh no, it’s turning into that kind of fanfic.

“Of course not, Sister.” Celestia said, her tone utterly blank,

Ezn: It hadn’t found its special talent yet.

lacking the warmth her words usually carried but at the same time none of the firmness she used when she confronted Twilight Sparkle earlier in the day. A further sign that the sun princess was weary from recent events.

===========

The flight back to Canterlot was passed in silence.

Ezn: It only just scrapped by on its final exam.

Celestia passed glances at her sister, but Luna kept her eyes forward. The look in her younger sister’s eyes... it made the white alicorn dread the discussion she would soon be having with Luna.

Isphone: “It’s about the fan fiction you found in my closet, isn’t it?”

Upon arriving at the palace, the sun princess ordered for her generals to be summoned. She didn’t care if they needed to be roused from their beds or pulled from their spouses.

Svensvenderson: Interesting word choice.
Wild Trotter: Or have their spouses join in.

She needed to speak with them immediately, and was making rare use of her royal rank to ensure it happened. Still, once the guards were off to find the generals, Celestia was left alone with Luna, the pair standing on the castle balcony they had arrived on minutes before.

Celestia took in a deep breath to shore up her courage before she turned to fact her younger sister.

Disco: “So, how about that local sports team?”

“What was it that you needed to speak to me about, Luna?”

Ezn: “Was it bananas?”

“Not here.” Luna mumbled. “I want to speak with you in private, remember?”

Crazy56U: "Just to let you know, the phrase 'what the hell' will be used plenty."

“Of course. Let’s talk in the throne room.” Celestia offered,

Anon13: OVEP: unabashedly blathered

only to be surprised when Luna suddenly cut in front of her, leading the way. While she didn’t explicitly showed it, Luna was angry.

DiStort: Buy her a pack of socks. That always calms her down in fanfics.
Ezn: Lecture her!

When the two were both awake at the same time, they always walked side by side with each other.

CTOONfan1: Especially when there was an explosion behind her.
Anon13: They walked in slo-mo during very special occasions.

For Luna to suddenly break that unspoken rule between them meant that Celestia’s other fears were about to come true tonight.

Luna swept into the throne room, horn glowing as she shut any side doors. She then waited for Celestia to follow her inside before shutting the main doors and flipping their latches, sealing the room from the inside. She then turned and approached Celestia, the pair meeting at the base of impressive throne.

Ezn: AAAH INCEST

“Why don’t you trust me, Celestia?”

Anon13: Because with all the stupid going around I can’t trust anypony.
Disco: Paranoia is Magic!

Celestia winced. Luna always called her Sister or just Tia when she felt affectionate; there was only two times when Luna addressed Celestia by her full name. It was either when they were having a very serious discussion....or she was angry. And the current situation probably fell under both of those categories.

“Luna, what are you talking about?” Celestia offered with a slight laugh,

Wild Trotter: OVEP: giggle-snorted

a rather...nervous laugh. “You know I can trust you with anything.”

Disco: Except for that whole “usurp the throne” thing.

“So why is it that when a mare that looks and acts like I did when I was still Nightmare Moon appears,

CTOONfan1: I'm not allowed to share a house with her and start a sitcom?

you seem to act like you know what’s going on? As if you knew this would happen?”

Anon13: Because plot and bananas. Duh!

“Luna, I-”

“You know something.” Luna accused as her eyebrows furrowed. “You know what’s going on. You’re acting far too collected for this to be a complete surprise. What have you been hiding from me?”

DiStort: “Would you believe me if I told you it was an overly elaborate set-up to a surprise party?”

“Luna, this isn’t anything for you to concern yourself with.

CTOONfan1: "Your evil side is just walking around and is preparing to overthrow us. Nothing of your concern."
Anon13: "Just go on with those tea parties and gigglefests you do so well!"
Disco: G3 flashback...*shudders*

I only called you to accompany me because I needed you...Equestria needed you.”

“But we were too late, weren’t we?

Ezn: “Today’s episode of Desperate Housemares ended five minutes ago!”

Whoever that mare was got away and was vowing to do the same thing I once tried to do over a thousand years ago, something I almost succeeded at last year. Now, you still haven’t answered my question, Celestia. What. Have. You. Been. Hiding from me?”

Celestia turned to face the other direction, unable or unwilling to look Luna in the eye.

Disco: “I... I’ve been using your abacus.”
Drizzel: He really gets around.

“Just a little after the end of winter, a cult ponynapped my personal student Twilight Sparkle as part of an elaborate spell that would have done the unthinkable.

DiStort: Hoo boy. Strap in, folks, it’s recap time.
Crazy56U: Oh goody! Nap time! (snore)
Anon13: Exposition Man III: The Quest for Sheesh!
Disco: In 3D!
Svensvenderson: And this time, it’s personal!
Drizzel: Part 1!

I am happy to say that Twilight suffered nothing worse than a very small cut on the hoof and some rope burns.

Disco: “I’ve done far worse.”

The spell in question, however, would have taken the shreds left behind when you were saved by the Elements of Harmony, and used them to create a new Nightmare Moon...

Crazy56U: “Robot Alicorn Attack: Night Mare Moon Edition”!
Ezn: AALLLWAYS I WANNA RULE YOU AND MAKE THE NIGHT WITH YOU AND LIVE IN DISHARMONY DISHARMONY OH MOON

giving her a body of her own.”

“I...what?!? How is that possible?!? I was Nightmare Moon! I let my anger and jealousy get the best of me, let my magic corrupted me

CTOONfan1: You let your word tense corrupted the sentence.

for the sake of gaining power. Power that I lost because of the Elements of Harmony, but all I lost was my power.

Disco: It’s a recap within a recap!

How could that be enough to make a complete mare?!”

Disco: Duh, Mary Sues can do anything! Haven’t you been paying attention?

“I do not claim to fully understand it...

CTOONfan1: Trust me. No one does.
Anon13: Not even Pen Stroke.

but you know how magic works just as well as I do, Sister.

DiStort: Which is to say, not at all.

Truly pure magic is a rare thing;

Ezn: Magic’s a dirty whore.

any magic from a unicorn can carry with it an echo of its owner. It is why some spells are stronger when driven by emotions like anger or happiness, why no two unicorns have the same magic.

Svensvenderson: So magic is like fingerprints?
Crazy56U: Just like how logic is poison.

Magic and the soul are very closely tied.

“And, because of this, I’ve come to believe that the magic that remained in those shreds left behind by the Elements of Harmony contained an echo of what you were... an echo of Nightmare Moon.

Ezn: NIGHTMARE MOON MOON MOON MOON

This was what the resurrection spell was meant to focus and strengthen, drawing in not only the magic in the shreds but any of your old power that remained in the Everfree Forest. Anything the spell couldn’t find it would replace by

Ezn: Pressing Ctrl+H.

drawing in on the magic of the forest itself.

“It would be from that concentration of magic and your lingering emotions and thoughts that the cult would have formed a new Nightmare Moon.”

“But... but even if the spell formed a body from that... for Nightmare Moon to even be alive, for her to be a completely separate mare from me...wouldn’t that mean she would now also have to have her own-”

DiStort: “Brain? Yeah, that’s the part they forgot.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Celestia interrupted. “She is back and since I can not rely on Twilight Sparkle to do

Svensvenderson: “Anything intelligent. EVER.”
Crazy56U: I don’t blame her for that kind of thinking, to be frank.
Frank: Yep.

what needs to be done for the sake of everypony, then we must face this shade ourselves.

Ezn: “Where we’re going, you won’t need sunblock.”

Together, we will ensure that she will never rise to threaten Equestria...or you... ever again.”

Luna rushed to Celestia’s side, trying to look her sister in the eye.

“Wait! What do you mean we can’t rely on Twilight? What else are you hiding from me?!?”

Wild Trotter: "Are you hitting on Twilight again?"
Disco: “I couldn’t bring myself to read more than the first few paragraphs!”

“....do you remember Twilight’s cousin Nyx? The one who

Ezn: had ticks

played Nightmare Moon during the children’s play at the last Spring Festival?

Anon13: “Turns out it was clumsy foreshadowing. I know, who woulda guessed?”

That filly.... was never Twilight’s cousin,

Ezn: NO WAY

nor is she even related to Twilight by any familial connection.

Ezn: GET OUT

She had never been seen before until her arrival in Ponyville a few days after Twilight was rescued.”

“No.......no, you can’t be saying what I think you’re saying. You...you don’t mean to tell me that-”

Svensvenderson: Jello is made of ponies!
Crazy56U: Glue is made from jello! ...wait...
Disco: It all makes sense now!

“The filly

Ezn: -formerly-

known as Nyx

Ezn: “would like you to spell her name with a &.”
Crazy56U: … “N&x”?

was the product of that spell, an incomplete copy of the mare they were trying to resurrect.

CTOONfan1: Little did they know they were low on toner.

She was always Nightmare Moon.”

Svensvenderson: Celestia obviously hasn't read just how many times Twilight had an internal monologue about that.
Disco: She's repressed such traumatic memories.

Luna went narrowed

RLYoshi: She needed to lose weight anyway.

eyed, remember the filly that had talked and laughed at the dinner that they shared with those who carried the Elements of Harmony.

“That... that is troubling, Sister, but surely we could convince Twilight to act with us

Ezn: “in this year’s drama production!”

against Nightmare Moon. The Elements of Harmony are our best chance against Nightmare Moon.”

“Even if Twilight could be convinced to go against the pony she once knew as Nyx... my actions in the past few hours...”

Luna moved directly in front of Celestia, forcing the two sisters to lock eyes

Ezn: and throw away the key.

as the moon princess’ coat started bristling, her wings spreading out in anger.

Disco: *POMF*

“Celestia... what did you do!?”

“I did what was necessary.”

DiStort: “To move the plot forward.”
Disco: Yes, and we all appreciate it.
Crazy56U: Huh. I didn't know "necessary" meant "horrifyingly stupid". More you know.

Celestia forced out, trying to keep her voice level even though it was still wavering. “When the truth about Nyx needed to be ascertained I had the filly taken into custody and-”

“YOU TOOK HER AWAY!?!” Luna shouted in disbelief.

Crazy56U: Even Luna's shocked about the depths Pen Stroke made her sink to!

“Celestia, Twilight’s your student and she cared about Nyx! I knew them for a single hour we spent with them after the Spring Festival and I could tell they cared about each other. Why would you do something like that?

Disco: Ends, justified, etc.

That has to be the... the most monstrous-”

Disco: Psh, Luna obviously hasn’t read many fanfics.

“I KNOW!!!” Celestia snapped, her composure breaking like a frail twig, the alicorn’s face painted with the pain that had been eating her up on the inside.

“Do you actually think for a moment that I wanted to do any of this?!? To cause a dear student and friend of mine such pain?

Anon13: And not the fun kind?
CTOONfan1: "It's the plot's fault, not mine!"

The only other decision that pained me more than this was when I was forced to banish you to the moon! I do not need to be told the heinous nature of my actions!

Disco: “The readers aren’t nearly as dense as we are!”

I went to Twilight’s home to take the child unaware of how much my student had grown to care for the filly. She had become a like mother while I was only expecting a mere caregiver.

“But what was I supposed to do!?

Crazy56U: Oh, I don’t know, maybe something that wasn’t founded on paranoia and filly-murder? Just a thought.

Nightmare Moon is a threat to this kingdom, to me, and to you. I have to consider what is best for all of Equestria, and while Twilight would deny it, there was a chance Nyx would have grown into a new Nightmare Moon even if what happened tonight never occurred.

Svensvenderson: Nature versus nurture.
Disco: Freud would have a field day with this fanfic.

“I had to take Nyx away. I had to be sure, and if there was any doubt I would have spared the filly until such time I could be sure, but I had to take her away and convince Twilight to stay at her home.”

“Why wouldn’t you let Twilight accompany Nyx?” Luna asked.

Crazy56U: "Because I was being stupid, what of it?"

“Would you have had me torture Twilight, have her watch as Nyx’s fate was decided?

Disco: “This isn’t a clop-fic, Luna!”

If Nyx was found to be Nightmare Moon, would you have had me torture my student further still by forcing her to watch as the filly was taken away to be dispelled?

Anon13: Considering you have no qualms about torturing the readers...

Bringing Twilight along would have only deepened the pain she was feeling... and I did not want to hurt Twilight more than I had to.

“I did not want to hurt her....but I had to be sure.” Celestia continued, her outburst ending as she reigned in her emotions and regained her composure. “Nightmare Moon is the single greatest threat Equestria has ever known.

DiStort: In the royal garden, a single tear appeared on the face of Discord’s statue.
Crazy56U: Good. I don't care for him. (holds up a "Nightmare Moon" pennant)
RLYoshi: In all honesty, "eternal night" is probably more threatening than "cotton candy clouds and chocolate milk rain"
Ezn: ^Some stay dry, after all.

The only alicorn to ever best me. The only alicorn with the power to perform a banishment spell without the aid of the Elements of Harmony,

Wild Trotter: "The only alicorn to REALLY get around when it comes to those ponies who sleep at night. But... I might be getting ahead of myself here."

and now that she is her own mare, now that she is no longer part of you, I can expect no mercy from her. She could just as easily seek to kill you and me so that we could never threaten her rule over Equestria.

“I have to think about what’s the worst that can happen,

CTOONfan1: The six words you're never supposed to even THINK about.
Anon13: That’s not just tempting fate, that’s sashaying up and French-kissing it.

foresee the worst of the situation possible.

Anon13: And then actually make that happen just for funsies.

That is my duty as a princess of this kingdom, to protect it from all dangers inside and out. I also have a duty to protect you, Luna... for you are my sister, and I won’t let that monster take you away again.”
“And you never thought to tell me about this?!?” The moon princess bristled, her wings again unfolding in her anger.
“I didn’t want to have to burden you with this knowledge.

CTOONfan1: "Your feeble brain wouldn't understand."
Anon13: Her feeble brain?

It was something that I was supposed to deal with so you wouldn’t have to.”

Disco: Our wise goddess, folks.

“Wouldn’t have to?!? Celestia, what is wrong with you?!

Crazy56U: My thoughts exactly.
Svensvenderson: The fic goes meta again!
Disco: It's about time.
I was Nightmare Moon once! Everything that mare did was my fault!

Wild Trotter: "Especially the part where I slept with those royal guards every night."
If somehow somepony were to bring that...that....pony back as a complete mare, then it’s my fault for being her in the first place!”

Ezn: I think we need some synonyms for “complete mare” and “mare of her own”.

“Luna, stop it! You aren’t responsi-”

“YES I AM!!! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” Luna argued. “If I didn’t let my jealousy and anger get the better of me, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation in the first place! When were you even going to tell me about this?
“Were you...were you ever going to tell me about this?”

Disco: Silly Luna. If you have Questions, Comments, and Concerns, you need to send an email!

Celestia didn’t say anything...she couldn’t say anything...

Crazy56U: Damn, she forgot her line. Celestia shouldn't go into acting.
and Luna got her answer from that silence. A look of disbelief grew on the moon princess’ face as she leaned back and lifted a hoof in disbelief.

“....you weren’t ever going to tell me anything... ever. You were hoping to keep this whole thing a secret!”

Crazy56U: "Like that banana incident! And look where THAT got you!"

“Sister, please...I was only trying to protect you, keep you from having to-”
“Keep me from what?!? Keep me from taking responsibility for my past mistakes?

DiStort: Or, Past Sins, if you will. (HIYOOO!)
RLYoshi: DiStort, you should know that title drops are not to be tossed about willy-nilly. They're serious business.
DiStort: Clearly, you haven't seen "We Bought a Zoo."
Crazy56U: Or any of the “Pulse” films... or “Redneck Zombies”... or “The Happening”... or a good amount of the stuff covered on “That Guy With The Glasses”, to be honest.

Keep from doing what I can for the sake of our kingdom, for our ponies?!? Nightmare Moon, either as what I was or...or what she is now, is still my responsibility! You should have told me about this from the very beginning!
“If anything, Celestia, the fact that she and I were once one and the same makes me more qualified to deal with this situation than you ever would be. At the very least, if our roles were reversed, I would have told you the truth.”

Disco: Luna’s Common Sense Syndrome is terminal.

Celestia began to bristle herself, the disagreement devolving into an argument.

Ezn: This is obviously something that only happened at this point in the narrative, and definitely not before.

“Luna, stop this! I was trying to protect you, trying to fulfill my duty not as a princess but as an older sister! And older sisters always keep their young sisters safe!”

Anon13: AHHAHHAHHAHHAHHAH
Crazy56U: The funniest thing I've heard all night! (wipes a tear away)
Disco: We need a [Comedy] tag, stat!

“Stop talking to me like I’m filly! You are only a few years older than me, and that’s not much considering how long we’ve both been alive! Also, I am not just a younger sister, I am also the co-ruler of this kingdom! Did you not tell me, when I finally was freed from my own psychosis, that were meant to rule together?

Ezn: “Yeah, but it was a joke.”

“Because part of ruling together means trusting each other and not keeping secrets!”

Disco: “Did you even watch Season 1?!”

“Luna....Luna, I do trust you, I-”

CTOONfan1: "Just don't trust you enough."

“Then answer me this.”

RLYoshi: RIDDLE ME THIS!
Disco: What's black, turquoise, and annoying all over?
Crazy56U: We don’t need the Riddler!

Luna stated, starting to walk towards Celestia and forcing the sun princess to back away. “Why have you been treating me like a filly ever since I’ve come back? I understand there was so much I had to catch up on. I was gone for a thousand years, but if anything I’ve exceeded your expectations. I’ve learned about how Equestria has changed, and I’ve been helping you rule. I sit through the same meetings you do and I hold court like you do.
“But, whether or not you’ve realized it, I can’t help but feel that you’ve been talking down to me, treating me like a filly, just because...because I...”

Ezn: “It’s okay, Luna, wetting the bed is totally normal for a mare your age.”

“Luna, please...please don’t do this to me...I...I need you stand with me right now...Equestria needs you...”
“Yes....yes, you’re right. Equestria does need me. Which is why I’m going to confront Nightmare Moon myself.”

Crazy56U: "Yes, I'm so angry with your stupidity, I'm going to do something even STUPIDER!"
Anon13: We may be well on our way to the theoretical stupidity singularity, beyond which we cannot comprehend the dumb.
Disco: *facehoofs*
Svensvenderson: Anyone want to take bets on how badly this is going to go?
Bugermandan: 20 bits on the Mary Sue.
Crazy56U: Please, that's what's going to happen BY LAW! ...I like making easy money; 50 bits on Nightmare Sue!

“L-LUNA! Luna, no! You can’t be serious!”

Disco: A common reaction to this story.

“There you go again...talking to me like I’m just a filly.”

DiStort: I don’t think I ever heard the phrase “you can’t be serious” when I was a kid.

“Luna, enough of this! You don’t know what that monster is capable of!”
“I KNOW exactly what that monster is capable of, or have you forgotten that I was that very monster not too long ago?”
“Luna, I am not going to let you put yourself in harm’s way.” Celestia stated firmly, stamping a hoof to punctuate her words. “You are going to stay here and-”
“No! I’m going to confront this new Nightmare Moon...and I’ll see for myself if she is half the monster that you seemed convinced she is.”
Disco: “I’ll measure her quite] thoroughly.”
Ezn: Somwhere in the background, Rustle salivated.

“Luna, I love you and trust you more than you will ever know but this I can not allow.”
“Try to stop me.” Luna challenged, seemingly vanishing into the air itself. Celestia, however, knew what really happened... her sister was just using one of the many illusion spells she was adept at.

“Luna? Luna! Get back here this instant!”

Disco: “I don’t know how to use an abacus!”

“You’re not my mother!”

RLYoshi: Oh really? (gets to work on fanfic)

was Luna’s only reply as the doors to the throne room suddenly opened and shut, the very magic manipulating them as invisible as the moon princess herself. Celestia could only stare at the door, feeling anger that her younger sister would not heed her words, but at the same moment feeling dread for both Luna and her kingdom.
The alicorn shut her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof. By the stars above she was tired,

CTOONfan1: Bringing the whole world to absolute heck is exhausting.

but by now the first of the generals would be arriving and she’d need to start discussing with them the plans for finding and smoking out Nightmare Moon.

That... and the sun princess doubted she could sleep if she wanted. There was too much on her mind to sleep. Worry about Twilight, guilt for putting her student through so much pain, and above all her concern for Luna. She’d never be able to get to sleep now.

Disco: It was time to break out the chloroform.

So it was better to be productive than to lie tossing and turning in her bed.
===========
Nightmare Moon stood in an elegant hall carved of fine marble. Regal columns flanked either side of the hall, rising to a high arched ceiling which was dotted with diamonds to portray a copy of the night time sky, a particularly large diamond set to mimic the full moon. Rich purple curtains were draped everywhere and torches glowed with glowing white gems, making the room much like the elegant night.
“Does it please you my Queen?” Spell Nexus asked, bowing respectfully.

Wild Trotter: "Is it not fabulous enough, my queen?"

“It does.” Nightmare Moon replied, striding up to her new throne.

Svensvenderson: “I can’t wait to put in the air hockey table.”
Crazy56U: Nexus: "Um... yeah... we couldn't afford to get you an air hockey table. But, we got you something better!"
Nightmare Moon: "It's not a ping pong table... is it?"
Nexus: "...well-" (gets sent to the moon)

Rich night blue

Ezn: Poor day flu! Twitch fight skew! This is a fun game!

cushions set against rare black oak from the dragon country.

Ezn: Mutilated sentence fragments set against fanfiction.

She sat down in the throne, wings fluttering as she settled into it. Nightmare Moon could only smile,

Ezn: I Have No Ticks So I Must Smile

looking across the room... her throne room.

“Though I am curious as to how you manged to construct such a grand room in secrecy.”

CTOONfan1: “We play a lot of Minecraft.”

“It is not just this room my Queen, but a whole castle.” Nexus replied, lifting his head. “We found unexpected allies in a clan of wild mutts known as the Diamond Dogs.

Ezn: Were they in the show? Which episode? I need a wiki link!

They were a more than willing workforce once we promised to assist them in their search for the precious gemstones that fill this underground area.

Anon13: Gratuitous show reference #620-D check!
Crazy56U: Stop pulling numbers out of your ass!

“They dug out this entire cavern, and then assisted in the construction of the castle.

CTOONfan1: “When they wanted breaks, we discovered whining seemed to frighten them.”

Once you have defeated Celestia and Luna, there is but a few dozen feet of rock separate this castle from the surface and, with your unmatched power, you could easily raise the castle to the surface... a proclamation of your new place as Equestria’s ruler.”
“And the Diamond Dogs were willing to put forth so effort for the gemstones? To what end?”
“We, honestly, do not know Your Majesty.

Disco: “They kept muttering about whining and marshmallows.”
Crazy56U: "We never planned ahead beyond ‘resurrect Nightmare Moon’. We're now playing this by ear."

We never questioned why the Diamond Dogs wanted the gems... they just do. Perhaps they are like dragons, and eat them. Or perhaps they just like to roll around in piles of gemstones as hogs roll in mud.

CTOONfan1: Or perhaps it's because they're Gollum ripoffs.

Still, whatever their purpose they were a strong, fast, and willing workforce.”

Drizzel: "They still weren't as fabulous as me though."
Ezn: Maybe they like to use gemstones to wrap up winter.
Crazy56U: ♫Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up! … I don’t re-mem-ber the words!♫

Nightmare Moon’s eye flashed,

Ezn: She had a photographic memory, you see.

a spark of curiosity rising in her as she suddenly found herself wanting to know just what the Diamond Dogs did with the gems.

DiStort: Better break out the bendy straw again.

It was a spark of curiosity that made her remember sitting in class, when Cheerilee began a lesson about a new subject. How she found such joy in learning new things from the mulberry pony.

Wild Trotter: Said mulberry pony's private drinking habits, notwithstanding.
Anon13: That’s Berry Punch.
Svensvenderson: I don't know. If I had to deal with the CMC on a daily basis, I'd drink too.

Nightmare Moon shut her eyes, forcing the thoughts that had started to run out of control in her mind back into line before she looked down upon Nexus.

Disco: She could smell the rancid orange juice on his breath.

She could not think of those memories anymore; she was a queen. Cheerilee was no longer her teacher, just another

Wild Trotter: potential bedmate that would provide her sensual solace.

subject that needed to be brought in line. That’s what they all were.

Wild Trotter: Save for the ones that wisely made themselves scarce.

They were just subjects, nothing more.

Wild Trotter: And all they could hope for is to avoid getting anymore screentime in this story.

============
“And here is the royal library.” Nexus offered, providing his queen with a tour of her castle. “Please forgive the lack of books on the shelves.

Ezn: “We haven’t got enough signatures on that printing pledge yet.”
CTOONfan1: A library in Ponyville has hoarded them all and made them into a fort.

We built it to be able to house the collection from the Canterlot palace, should you decide to keep this castle once you’ve overthrown the Royal Sisters.”

Wild Trotter: "Shipping fics will have their own... private shelf, shall we say."

Nightmare Moon looked upon the shelves, which were mostly empty.

Disco: Epic Failure was in charge, after all.

A few pegasi ponies of the cult fluttered about, putting away some books that had been gathered for the collection.

“Why do all of you have eyes the same color as mine?” Nightmare Moon asked.

CTOONfan1: Mary Sue is contagious.
Ezn: “It makes you all look the same. You should look into serial numbers.”

“It is your blessing, my Queen.

DiStort: They were fans of Nightmare Moon before it was cool.
Crazy56U: HIPSTERS! (grabs a bat)
As you may know, I was once the headmaster of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Upon your initial defeat, she tasked me with disposing of your shredded remains.

Ezn: “Man, was I ever wasted that day... talking to schools.”

It was upon examining and interacting with those shreds that I became enlightened to your wisdom and power.

Svensvenderson: So the moral of the story is never touch the remains of an evil goddess. Got it.
Ezn: A truly practical moral of particular relevance to today’s youth.

“It was on that same day my eyes turned the turquoise color you see now, and it became a sign of the order.

Wild Trotter: "Need I mention how much more fabulous I felt that day?"
I bestow upon each pony who joins the Children of Nightmare, who pledges their service to you, the same blessing which grows and thrives within me.”

Ezn: “Yes, that’s right... HALF-OFF MOVIE TICKETS EVERY SECOND THURSDAY!”

Nightmare Moon found it a relatively interesting truth.

Anon13: Relative to what, the tax code?
Disco: This fanfic?
Ezn: A Relatively Interesting Truth: a film by Algoremare Moon.

Still, it was only a minor curiosity and as Nexus guided her about the library she let her dragon shaped eyes float across the shelves.

Ezn: Nexus had been sharing his orange juice with her.

One book caught her eye in particular, a book with a

Wild Trotter: cover that showed Rainbow Dash fleeing everypony else under the influence of a love potion.
Ezn: I think I’ve read that one... fifty times...

green cover and a laughing pony on its spine.

Ezn: “I wish I could have a laughing pony on my spine,” she sighed.

Coming to a stop, Nightmare Moon used her magic to remove the book from the shelf, gently flipping it open to the title page.

Svensvenderson: Horizontal Surface, A Biography

1001 Party Pony Pranks.

Crazy56U: This was the "Binary" edition. And since it contained only 9 pranks, it was the worst edition.

****
Disco: Pointless Flashback Sequence, GO!

“Oh yea, these are gold.”
Crazy56U: "Now let's get these gold rocks to the nearest pawn shop and retire wealthy!"
“Are you sure Twilight won’t mind?”
“Yea, she’ll be fine. She knows how to take a joke.” Spike reassured, only for the baby dragon to freeze up as he heard hoofsteps on the stairs. The baby dragon quickly pushed Nyx down under the table in the main part of the library, the pair trying to stifle their giggles as Twilight came down the stairs.

The unicorn didn't take notice of where the two were hiding, moving over to the writing desk where she had been

Ezn: contemplating ravens.

working moments before,having just gone upstairs to get a fresh bottle of ink. Setting the ink down, Twilight let her horn glow to open the cover of the cover of the book.

Ezn: Late in life, Horizontal Surface dabbled in altering the physical forms of his books to further convey meaning.

The book, however, snapped open on its own accord as a big toy snake jumped out.

Ezn: One of Surface’s more controversial works.

Twilight jumped straight up, getting enough height that the unicorn was

Ezn: catching some unreal air.

now hanging from a rafter on the ceiling, shaking like a leaf with her eyes narrow.

Disco: Trauma is Magic!

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!” Spike roared with laughter, Nyx soon joining in as the pair climbed out from beneath the table. Twilight glared at them for a few moments as she used levitation magic to lower herself back to the floor, but then she got a devilish grin on her face as she took the toy snake out from the book and proceeded to chase Nyx around the room with it, the black filly also not that fond of snakes.

Crazy56U: Another friend for Jonesy!
Ezn: In the unrated version, we dispense with the “toy snake” euphemism.

****

“Your Majesty?”
Nightmare Moon shook her head, snapping the book shut and replacing it on the shelf.
“My apologies; I can get caught up in my reading.”

Disco: “That Fallout series is amazing!”
Wild Trotter: "Now why does everypony want Rainbow Dash again? ...Whatever."
Crazy56U: “Hell, Fluttershy wanting her in a diaper makes the LEAST amount of sense!”

“No apologies necessary my Queen. This is, after all, your library. It is yours to enjoy whenever you see fit.” Nexus replied.

Ezn: “As am I...” *wink wink nudge nudge*

“Though, there is still much of the castle to see.”

Disco: “Just wait till you see my wardrobe!”
Wild Trotter: Do I sense a "Rarity Horror Picture Show" joke?

“Then lead on. Let me see all that you have prepared for me, my faithful subject.”

Ezn: “Ten gallons of orange juice! We are getting so wasted!”

============
“Here we have the guard barracks, where we train those new to the order to defend this castle. The good news is that word of your return is spreading,

Ezn: “#NMMIsBack is one of Twitter’s trending topics.”

and those I have sent out to recruit new ponies to our cause are finding several eager to try and get on good terms with you. It would seems not all Equestria are foalish enough to stand against you.”
Nightmare Moon didn’t offer any words in reply as she saw soldiers in black armor attacking training dummies, each of which was dyed and designed to look like a familiar set of mares.
“Why do the training dummies look like Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies who bear the Elements of Harmony?”
“It is because they are the greatest threat to you, my Queen. It was they who defeated you, and we shall not let them even draw close to this castle should they get it in their heads to attempt to bring their unified power against you again. Should the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony be seen by anypony of the order, they will be dealt with immediately.”
This comment was punctuated as a guard attacked a training dummy that looked like Twilight Sparkle, and, with a single swift motion, beheaded it, the cotton stuffed head bouncing onto the ground.

DiStort: The Fluttershy dummy sat quietly in the corner, as nopony would dare to attack it, for one reason or another.
Crazy56U: B-but I wouldn't attack it! Fluttershy is best pony in MY book! (hugs said dummy)

“No.” Nightmare Moon said firmly, her eyes fixed on the beheaded training dummy.

“My Queen?”

DiStort: “Why are my guards using Kung Fu?! I specifically asked for Capoeira experts! It’s more fun to watch!”
Crazy56U: That's it. I'm calling Kung Tai Ted and having them learn how to fight the RIGHT way.

“Should the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony come to the castle they are not to be harmed. Twilight Sparkle is to be brought directly to

Svensvenderson: “My bedchambers.”
Wild Trotter: "Do not forget to bring that "Reform School Fillies" book as well."

me and the rest of her friends locked in the dungeon until have decided how I want to punish them for standing against me once before. The Elements of Harmony themselves are to be taken from them for safe keeping. They will all be dealt with by me when I see fit.”

CTOONfan1: In other words, "DON'T KILL MY MOMMY!"

“Of course.” Nexus replied, his smile positively devilish. “I can fully understand your desire to punish them with your own hooves.”
“Yes... and I want one of the training dummies brought to my bed chamber as well. One of the training dummies that looks like Twilight Sparkle... and it is to be intact.”

Wild Trotter: "And what I do with it is... my own business."
Anon13: "Before that, have the unicorns install this vibr... um, mystical... sigil. Yeah, that's it."
Crazy56U: (scoots away)
Disco: Creeeepy.

“It will be there before the end of the tour.”

Disco: “It drags on for another few pages. Plenty of time.”

============
“The dinning hall is, of course, spacious enough for any sort of event, should you ever be interested in holding a gala or other such frivolity.”

Svensvenderson: “Say a gala, of the grand galloping sort.”
Crazy56U: A Nightmare Moon-helmed Grand Galloping Gala would be a VAST improvement over the one shown in "The Best Night Ever", I can tell.

Nexus offered as the pair walked along side the long regal table, made of soft brown oak covered in a night blue table cloth.

CTOONfan1: Because what we really needed to know in this world where Nightmare Moon could potentially take over was what the table is like.

“And you’ll be happy to know we already have employed a royal chef who is eager to tickle your taste buds with some of his deserts.”

RLYoshi: and possibly other areas...
Disco: The Sahara is particularly spicy.

Without warning Nightmare Moon found an eager unicorn standing beside her, levitating a filled-to-the-brim tray with expertly decorated cupcakes. The cupcakes had purple frosting above a black cake, with a single curl of white chocolate set delicately on top of the thick swirl of frosting.

*******
“Seriously, who would have thought making cupcakes would be so hard?” Scootaloo grumbled, the four Cutie Mark Crusaders standing in the middle of an utterly destroyed kitchen.

“I told you.” Apple Bloom said.

Crazy56U: Okay, Pen Stroke is doing this deliberately now!

“So Girls, how are things going?” Pinkie Pie chirped, the earth pony sticking her head into the kitchen.
“Not so good.” Sweetie Belle admitted.
“Please don’t be mad about the mess!” Nyx half begged.

DiStort: Half-demanded.

“Oh Girls, I’m not mad!

Crazy56U: "I'm furious! I've made better messes without TRYING! Clean this up and try again!" (and yet she remains cheerful while saying it...)
You should have seen the mess I made of the bakery when I first started working for the Cakes. After all, my special talent is throwing parties, not baking; it was something that took practice for me to get any good at.” Pinkie Pie reassured. “Now, why don’t we get this place cleaned up and I’ll show you how to make cupcakes one more time?”
The four fillies lit up, eagerly helping to clean up the mess and trying to make another batch of cupcakes. With Pinkie Pie offering close supervision and unending enthusiasm, by the end of the day each filly had a batch of cupcakes to take home that were at the very least passable if not pretty darn good.
*********
“My Queen, do the cupcakes displease you?”

DiStort: “Yes. The baker CLEARLY didn’t follow the Cupcakes song. He added something sour instead of sweet.”
Disco: And for that, he dies.

Nexus asked, noticing Nightmare Moon had zoned out again.

Disco: Even she’s getting bored of her own story.

“No.” She replied, using magic to gently nudge the tray away. “I am just not hungry at the moment. Have some delivered to my chamber. I will taste them later.”

Anon13: “The cupcakes, or the guys delivering them?”
“That’s. My. Sister. You. Idiot.”

The cook nodded, practically galloping off at that moment to place a select few of his desserts in the bedchamber while Nexus showed Nightmare Moon into the kitchen, to show her that it had all the modern conveniences and the capacity befitting a queen such as her.

Svensvenderson: I’m just going to leave this open for a microwave joke.
Crazy56U: Hmm... "Is It a Good Idea to Microwave The This?" staring Nightmare Moon? ...nah, too dumb.
Disco: Set that thing for 27 minutes on high, and the night will last FOREVER!
Crazy56U: Because that’s how microwaves work!

============
“And we finally come to your private chambers, my Queen.” Nexus offered, his horn opening the large, elegant door. “You will find a pair of guards stationed outside at all hours, should you ever need any assistance.
CTOONfan1: They are also sworn by oath to do... other... things.

Only the finest furniture was selected and the decorations were picked out by myself.

DiStort: That explains all the pink and frills.

Does it please you?”
“Yes.” Nightmare Moon replied, barely even looking at the room as she stepped inside.
“I am honored to hear you say that my Queen. Now, you are undoubtedly tired, considering you were resurrected just a few hours ago. I will leave you to rest as long as you desire.

Disco: “I need to go freshen up.”

When you are ready to begin the

RLYoshi: Dungeons & Dragons

campaign to seize Equestria for your own, simply have one of the guards come find me.”

Disco: He’ll be in the lounge, drunk off his flank and muttering about hoof polish.

“I will.” Nightmare Moon replied flatly, watching as Nexus offered a final bow before leaving.

Disco: She’s not used to so much fabulousity.

The great black alicorn glanced at the two guards set outside her room before shutting the door, locking it, and putting up a magical barrier to block not only entry but sound. She then turned and truly took in the room.
Like the rest of the castle it was decorated like the night sky, with dark blues and purples accented by moons and stars. A perfectly circular bed set in the dead center of the room, easily large enough to fit the princess-sized alicorn comfortably while it stood beneath an intricate depiction of the moon on the ceiling. The walls were lined with the rest of the room’s furniture: a fireplace, a vanity mirror, a set of dressers, a few tables, a bookcase, a door to a small exterior balcony, and a writing desk. Everything somepony would need to enjoy a quiet night in their bedroom.
Nightmare Moon circled the room once, looking over all the new furniture before she turned her attention to the bed. Placed there were all the things she had requested during the day, carefully presented to her. The cupcakes from the chef and the training dummy of Twilight Sparkle.
She lifted the cupcakes first, gingerly taking a bite from one. They were good... they reminded her of Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes. Hers were always so moist... so tasty...

Svensvenderson: *does a spit take*
Disco: Wow.

maybe the chef-
The cupcakes hit the door a moment later,

Wild Trotter: They were probably poisoned, or something.

thrown there by alicorn magic where they formed a sticky mess, slowly sliding down the wooden surface. Nightmare Moon glared at the cupcakes as if they were demons,

Wild Trotter: Cakeodemons, perhaps?
Anon13: Fortunately she'd gone through a secret level and collected a BFG.
Crazy56U: I guess she had enough time to read "Cupcakes".

and as a final measure she took the tray that had been holding the desserts and smashed it against the door as well, flattening the cupcakes before she let the whole gooey mess drop to the floor.

DiStort: NO! THE TRAY WAS INNOCENT!
Crazy56U: YOU MONSTER! (breaks down in sobs)
Disco: There are no innocents in this story.

The next thing to fall under Nightmare Moon’s hateful gaze was the training dummy of Twilight Sparkle. She lifted it up with her magical mane, holding the cotton stuffed doppelganger gingerly for a moment before her magic began to squeeze tightly around its neck.

DiStort: “I find your lack of intelligence disturbing.”
Crazy56U: I think George Lucas gonna sue somebody!

Nightmare Moon stood there, strangling the lifeless doll for a few minutes before she threw it on the ground and proceeded to stomp on it.

Disco: Bah GAWD, Kang! She’s beatin’ that thang like a gubberment mule!
Wild Trotter: Aww, no piledriver?

Time and again she brought her hooves down on the stuffed dummy

Wild Trotter: "I'M BUCKING THE DVD!!! I'M BUCKING THE DVD!!!"

and, when it was leaking cotton from a number of holes, she lifted it up and threw it across the room, the mess flopping once before landing far beneath the alicorn’s new writing desk.
Nightmare Moon let out a slow, heavy pant after the exertion of taking out her anger on the dummy of Twilight... and as the anger was burnt away other emotions began to crawl to fill its place. Without even thinking about it Nightmare Moon dropped down onto her bed, not even trying to find her pillow.
She lay there for a time, her eyes shut... but when she did open she saw herself staring back. A mirror placed along one part of the circular room’s wall was what held the reflection. It was not a true vision of Nightmare Moon, not as many ponies knew her. She lacked her armor, she lacked her purple eye shadow...

Disco: the hoof polish, character depth, redeeming qualities...

and oddly enough she lacked her cutie mark. She was simple a very large black alicorn with a flowing mane of a star dotted nighttime sky... but that alone was enough.
She was Nightmare Moon, and soon everypony in Equestria would be her subject. She would rule with a iron hoof and plunge the kingdom and world into an eternal night.

Wild Trotter: An eternal night that would no doubt slowly leave Equestria dying.
Crazy56U: Yeah, whenever a villain decides to remove the sun, they don't consider that side-effect. It confuses/infuriates me.

After all, it was what she wanted... it was what was expected of her.

Wild Trotter: It was what the plot forced her to do. Sheesh, even Nyx herself has come under the sway of the stupid side of the force. How can this get any worse, you might ask?
Crazy56U: Three words: "Twilight's break-in mission".
RLYoshi: Dude, spoil - ah, screw it.
Disco: This won't end well for anyone.

RLYoshi: If that were the case, wouldn't the "queen" in question actually be a princess, and the mother would be the queen?
Shyguy5104: Are you really trying to make sense of this fic? 'Cause if you are I sense failure in the future.

“Can’t believe Nyx turned out to be Nightmare Moon. It... it just makes about as much sense as a blue apple.”

DiStort: I didn’t know blue apples were so common.
Drizzel: (eating one right now) Huh?

Applejack commented.
“I can’t believe you were in on it the whole time and didn’t tell us!” Dash snapped.
“Twilight made me promise not to tell! And it’s not like she knew either.” Rarity argued. “Or didn’t you notice that she was crying her eyes out after Nightmare Moon disappeared? I had to carry the poor thing all the way back to the library and tuck her into bed.”

Wild Trotter: "Not even Reform School Fillies helped calm her down, and it was one of her favorite books of mine."

“Do you think she will be all right?”

DiStort: Are you kidding me? Her adoptive daughter was taken away from her, transformed into an immortal demon princess, and confessed her undying hatred for her. She’ll be over it in like, a week.

Fluttershy asked.
“I... I don’t know Dear.” Rarity admitted. “Twilight... Twilight is taking what happened very hard.”
“I’d be more surprised if she didn’t. She loved that little filly like she was her own.” Applejack pointed out.
“I’d try to cheer her up, but... the only way I know how to cheer up ponies is with parties...

Wild Trotter: "Or was it smoking poison joke that does it better?"

and Twilight doesn’t need a party right now...”

Disco: She needs ice cream. Lots of ice cream.
Pinkie Pie said, her voice lacking much of its usual enthusiasm.

Svensvenderson: That makes Pinkie Pie a *slips glasses on* one trick pony.
Crazy56U: (takes glasses) NO! We’re not doing that CSI meme! This is a CLASSY riffing! (throws them away)
RLYoshi: If what we’re doing is classy, I’m the Polish Nightmare Moon.
Svensvenderson: Aw, my glasses...

“No, she doesn't; right now Twilight just need some time. But... I'm sure she'll be back on her hooves soon.”
“She better! Nightmare Moon is alive, and that means we need to stop her again and we can’t use the Elements of Harmony without her.”
“Dash! Ssshh, Twilight will hear you!”

Disco: “It might get the plot going again!”
Applejack scolded. Still, the five friends that currently talked in the main level of the library didn’t realize how well their voices carried in the old tree.

Svensvenderson: You mean the one that’s just a single giant room?
Disco: It does have many corners, though.

Despite talking in normal voices, their words were able to bounce all the way up stairs and reach the bedroom and Twilight’s ears.

RLYoshi: Their words must be made of some weird kind of rubber.

The unicorn laid in bed, eyes utterly red from crying as she stared out her window.

Disco: She tried to read this entire fanfic in one sitting.

She laid on the top of her bed, hugging a ripped purple vest and a pair of cracked glasses to her chest, all that had been left in the center of Ponyville after Nyx became Nightmare Moon.

Disco: She’d outgrown her Velma fixation.

Twilight hugged these items to her chest as tightly as she could, but they offered her no comfort. They could not replace the little black filly Twilight desperately desired to hug. The filly she wanted to be able to talk to, to beg forgiveness from. They couldn’t replace Nyx.

RLYoshi: either.
Crazy56U: Actually they could, but that would involve recreating the Prologue. And we can’t have THAT.
Anon13: Considering what we have, I’m inclined to think it’s worth a shot...

She knew why she had done it... she knew why and that simple fact was tearing up Twilight’s insides like a Parasprite. A pain that was only growing more numerous and ravenous with each passing second.

Disco: Heartburn?
Drizzel: I hear they have pills for that.

Celestia... she was the princess and a mentor to the purple unicorn. Some would argue she was like a second mother to Twilight, considering how close the pair had gotten while the unicorn was at Celestia’s school. And when one of the ponies you trust in the world above all else, a pony who always seems to be right and know just what to do, tells you... tells you that the filly you’re caring for needs to be taken away, at least part of you wants to disagree.

RLYoshi: As we’ve seen in the past, that part is usually the illogical, stupid part.
Anon13: As we’ve seen in this story, that’s all they have.

She had fought, argued, but Celestia didn’t waver and, to Twilight, it became like she was trying to move the sun itself... an impossible task.
So part of her submitted, part of her agreed with what Celestia was saying and shut down. The logical part of her brain

CTOONfan1: It exists?
Disco: It was noticeably underdeveloped.

conceded even though her heart and other parts of her were screaming for her to do something. She... she had just shut down... become shell shocked, the thing she feared the most in the world coming to pass

CTOONfan1: This story becoming big enough to actually get an MST style riffing!

and her unable to convince Celestia that Nyx wasn’t a danger to anypony.
But then Nyx called out... called out

Crazy56U: “called out... called out... called out...” (punch) Damn it, stop skipping! We’ve got riffing to do! (punch)

and Twilight realized what an idiot she was being...

Svensvenderson: FINALLY!
RLYoshi: I knew it would happen! George owes me ten bucks!
Crazy56U: PRAISE THE LORD!
GelidEnmity: And pass the ammunition...

but it was too late. They were gone... and now all she had left of the filly she cared for like a daughter were her things.
But things couldn’t replace Nyx... they would never be able to replace Nyx.

Disco: They would never want to.

There was only one thing Twilight desire more than having the little filly back. She wanted to say she was sorry, to just say the words whether or not she was forgiven. She honestly didn’t deserve to be forgiven, but... she wanted somepony to know that she was sorry. That she’d take it all back if she could.

Wild Trotter: Well, Twilight, good luck with that,

But there was only one pony those words would mean anything to, and Twilight had no clue where Nightmare Moon was. She had vanished, and despite the all out search by the royal guards and the Equestrian army there was still no sign of her. It was like she and the cult ponies just disappeared into thin air, which was actually an accurate description of the spell that was casted.

RLYoshi: Perhaps they went to SPAAAAACE! ...No?

Twilight herself had tried a number of spells to locate the alicorn. Scrying Spells, locator spells...

Crazy56U: Google...

they all failed. Twilight could only guess that the cult were purposefully masking Nightmare Moon’s location, to keep Celestia and Luna from finding out where they had hidden.
“Hey, did I tell you yet that I figured out who the spy was?” Pinkie Pie’s voice echoed from the library’s main floor, drawing Twilight’s attention back to eavesdropping on her friends’ conversation.
“Spy? What spy?” Applejack asked.
“There was a spy at the Learn and Play Day.“

Disco: He was hiding under a cardboard box.
Drizzel: He captured my control point!

Dash answered. “Pinkie Pie chased him around until he used The Stare to make her freeze up.”

DiStort: Fluttershy’s copyright lawsuit against him is still pending.

“Yea, and you know who it was? That waiter pony, Horte Cuisine,

DiStort: Oh, good, another broken link. I was beginning to miss those.
Disco: Why must you taunt us, Pen Stroke?!

from the cafe in town. I saw him standing with all those nasty cult ponies, and I recognized his mane and those super creepy weepy turquoise eyes of his.”
“Pinkie, they... um.... all had turquoise eyes.” Fluttershy pointed out.

Drizzel: IT’S AN EPIDEMIC! (puts on hazmat suit)

“I know, but I could still tell it was him. When he saw me, my nose got scratchy and my ears got floppy, which means that somepony recognized me and he was the only one looking at me.”
“Well shoot, makes you wonder how many other ponies around town were working with those crazy ponies.”
“Yes it does Applejack, but I’m sure we’ll find out the extent of that particular poison in the morning when we see which ponies are still around and which are missing.” Rarity offered.

RLYoshi: OVEP: provided drunkendly.
Crazy56U: I’ll have whatever she’s having.

Rainbow Dash said something after that, but Twilight didn’t hear it. The unicorn’s horn was glowing, stuffing her saddle bags with a number of different items. She then pushed open her bedroom window, jumping out onto the small balcony before using her magic to levitate herself down to the street below.

Disco: The spell failed, and she spent the rest of the story in traction.

============
Within minutes Twilight had made her way to Horte Cuisine’s home, the waiter stallion a bachelor

CTOONfan1: He’s single, ladies.
Anon13: In case you have a thing for minions.

that lived a few blocks away from the restaurant where he worked. Twilight made no effort to be stealthy or discrete

arcaneterror: Well I suppose not disintegrating is okay.

as she used her magic to force open the door before heading inside. The home looked positively pleasant. Warm, welcoming, and well cleaned. Not at all the kind of home Twilight would expect a cultist to live in.

Wild Trotter: Not enough occult stuff in display, I see.
Svensvenderson: What was she expecting? Shrunken heads, candles, and upside down pentagrams?
RLYoshi: ...If I was going into a cultist’s home, that’s exactly what I’d expect to see, in all honesty.
Disco: She’s obviously never watched Bridle Gossip.

Climbing up the stairs, Twilight found her way to the one bedroom, again finding the room warmly decorated and welcoming. Wasting no time, Twilight opened her saddle bag before taking out a carefully rolled piece of parchment and spreading it out on the bed. It was a very detailed map of Equestria, showing the entire kingdom. Twilight made sure the map laid flat on the bed before she began rummaging in the bedroom.

DiStort: Random maps on the bed make her feel more at home.

She gathered a number of items a pony might call personal. Bits of jewelry, pictures, anything and everything.

Wild Trotter: Not to mention romance novels, exercise tapes, hoof polish for Nexus...

Then levitated each item above the map, and began casting a spell on it. When the spell had no effect, she’d quickly toss the item away and try the next. After going through almost everything

Svensvenderson: She found Horte Cuisine’s clopfic collection.
Wild Trotter: “No Twilestia clopfics... huh...”
Disco: “Twixie? What in the hay is that?!”
Crazy56U: “My God, how much Appledash does he have?”

Twilight tried an old pocket watch she had found in the drawer

CTOONfan1: Horte Cuisine's a Time Lord. It is now canon.

of the bedside table.
When she cast the spell upon the watch, a thin line of light formed between the watch to a place on the map. A smile crept onto the unicorn’s face. While Nightmare Moon and some of the cult were being protected by anti-scrying magic, Horte Cuisine was not. The scrying spell was working, and it was pointing to an area near Ponyville.
Seeing this, Twilight took out another map and laid it out across the bed. This map was a more detailed, showing the area just around Ponyville itself. Again, Twilight cast the scrying spell, and looked to where it was pointing.
It was the rock fields outside Ponyville, the fields were Rarity had been kidnapped by the Diamond Dogs.

Wild Trotter: Well, now I know why the Diamond Dogs left the fanfic.

Twilight used a quill and some ink from her bag to quickly draw an X on the map where the spell was pointing before she packed all her things away. She made no effort to clean the mess she had left in the room upon her departure, finding it a very small way for her to get back at the earth pony who had been spying on her, her friends, and undoubtedly Nyx.

Wild Trotter: In more ways than one, that is.
Svensvenderson: “I made a mess and didn’t clean it up! Take that, Horte Cuisine!”
Disco: How heinous!
Crazy56U: Blast! His plans are foiled!

The sun was just starting to rise as Twilight set out from Horte Cuisine’s home. While the unicorn had been up all night, most of it was spent crying to herself in the bedroom and she did not feel tired. She was a pony on a mission with her eyes bent forward and her eyebrows tucked down

CTOONfan1: Her face must be made of molding clay.

in determination as she walked the streets of Ponyville and headed for the distant rock quarries.

Disco: She didn’t notice everypony laughing at her ridiculous facial expression.

============
“Twilight... Sugarcube... are you awake?” Applejack asked. The five friends of the purple unicorn had decided to spend the night at the library, just in case Twilight needed them or Nightmare Moon decided to try and attack them.

RLYoshi: Because libraries are well-known to be safe bastions of defense against alicorns of darkness.

Each had slept through the night with their Element of Harmony necklace, and Spike had ensured Twilight’s Tiara was safely tucked away in her bedside table. Not the best place to hide such an important artifact, but better than leaving it out in the open.

RLYoshi: But if you left it out in the open, the villains would think it was a trap and not take it! It makes perfect sense! ...right?
Crazy56U: It makes about as much sense as the explanation Mr. Cake gave in “Baby Cakes” in regards to his children.

Applejack saw a mound beneath the covers of the bed, moving over close beside it. “Sugarcube... I know your beatin’ yerself up ‘bout what happened, but... well, you can’t just lie here mopin’.

Disco: “You need a bucket and some water!”
Anon13: that’s mopping, Disco.
We got to go deal with Nightmare Moon before she can attack the princesses, and we can’t do it without yer help.”
Twilight didn’t offer a reply, and, after a few anxious moments, Applejack reached out a hoof to poke the unicorn and make sure she was awake. When her hoof sunk deeper into the mound beneath the covers of the bed than it should have, the orange farm pony tore off the covers.
Where she thought Twilight had been lying was instead several strategically placed pillows, one with a note attached.

Crazy56U: Why do I have the feeling that if it weren’t for the note, Applejack would’ve assumed that Twilight transmogrified into a pile of pillows?

By the time you read this, I will undoubtedly be long gone.

Crazy56U: “I’ve made a break for it. You’re on your own, suckers!”

There is something I have to do, and I won’t let any of my friends or anypony else put themselves in danger trying to come with me. There are somethings I have to say to get off my chest, apologies that have to be voiced.
And there is only one pony I can say them to.

Disco: The readers?
DiStort: Derpy Hooves.
I do not know where I am going, and I doubt that I will return.

CTOONfan1: I could easily end up in a different story entirely. Pray this happens.
I don’t expect everypony to understand why I am doing this but I have to see Nightm Nyx my daughter

Crazy56U: Pen Stroke... there IS a thing called the “backspace” key...

one more time. I have to tell her how sorry I am, even if she doesn’t believe me.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
P.S. I have left my Element of Magic Tiara in the bedside table.

Wild Trotter: "P.P.S. I don't regret being stupid, really."

“Horse-feathers!” Applejack cursed. “Twilight, girl, what are you thinkin’?!”

Wild Trotter: You have no idea how much of an understatement that is, Applejack...

============

Crazy56U: It begins...

Twilight peaked around the corner,

RLYoshi: She reached the height of her fame around the corner?
Crazy56U: Tonight, on a special “Behind The Ponies”...

taking note of the two guards standing in the earthen tunnel. After reaching the empty rock quarries outside Ponyville, it hadn’t taken long for the unicorn to figure out that she needed to head down into the elaborate tunnel network of the Diamond Dogs.
A few hours of navigating corridors and Twilight knew she was in the right place, having almost walked into a pair of patrolling guards. In a twisted mockery of Celestia’s royal guard, the unicorns were wearing armor of a similar build but it was midnight blue, like the armor worn by Nightmare Moon.

Wild Trotter: Oh no, the guards are joining in on the crossdressing craze now? Has Epic Failure’s “Fabulous blessing” gone right to their heads?
Disco: No one can resist the hoof polish!

Also, like some of Celestia’s soldiers, the armor was enchanted to change the coat color of the pony wearing it. The sturdy built unicorn stallions were a haunting, almost sickly gray tone beneath the armor.
She had managed to avoid most of the wandering patrols, but now Twilight faced a pair of guards that stood vigilantly at a single door in the tunnels. She had no clue what was behind the door.

CTOONfan1: She was confident it was at least a room.
Anon13: My money’s on hoof polish storage.
Disco: Or an orange juice stash.

It could be where Nightmare Moon was or it could easily be a guard barracks filled with a whole platoon of armored soldiers.

Svensvenderson: What she needs now is a cardboard box.
Wild Trotter: Or maybe Nyx’s entire fanbase, under the sway of Nexus’ blessing, are just waiting to go “rip and tear” on poor Twilight.
Crazy56U: Yeah, he wants them to rip and tear Twilight’s guts out. He’s working under the assumption that since Twilight is huge, she must have huge guts. ...yeah, Nexus is weird like that.

Twilight slipped back behind the corner, having to swallow the nervous knot in her throat and shore up her courage. She then picked up a nearby loose gemstone with her magic, floating it in the air for a moment before chucking a distance down the tunnel. The gemstone clattered against the stones, its tinkling noise echoing across the solid stone of the walls.
A few tense moments passed, but the guards did not move.

CTOONfan1: Curses! These guards are competent.
DiStort: If only Twilight had an alarm clock to throw. That always works for Sly Cooper.

When Twilight looked again, she saw the two unicorns hadn’t moved an inch. They remained still as statues, minus their ears which now stood in a little more erect attention. The purple unicorn’s attempt to draw the guards away from the door did nothing but make them more alert, a little fact that made Twilight grit her teeth in aggravation.
“Okay, time for another tactic.” Twilight whispered, horn starting to glow.

Crazy56U: LOOK OUT, TWILIGHT’S PACKIN’!!!

She’d have to do this quickly, but maybe it would work. Peaking out from behind the corner one more time,

RLYoshi: She will rise to fame once more!

Twilight cast out her magic. The magic reached the door, and after taking a few moments to build strength Twilight unleashed it.
The heavy wooden door swung open with a slam, crashing against the stone wall on the far side.

Disco: !

Despite being trained, the two guards jumped

RLYoshi: and wet themselves

a little when the door opened so suddenly. They quickly looked inside, trying to see who had thrown it open. Twilight, however, did the best she could to study and focus the room beyond the door. She took in every detail she could,

Disco: They were mostly vague and blandly written.

painting a picture in mind as long a she dared before hiding behind the corner again.
She then waited there until she heard the guards re-close the door, and then waited a little longer after that to make sure they weren’t going to come searching for her. When both of those conditions were satisfied Twilight smiled and began picturing the far side of the door in her head, trying to recall every detail. When she held a solid image of the destination in mind, her horn glowed with magic and she disappeared in a flash.

Drizzel: (gasp) Twilight’s a jumper!
Crazy56U: Don’t bother, no one saw that movie.

Twilight didn’t dare open her eyes for a moment, fearing she may have aimed incorrectly and appeared directly in front of the guards. Still, when nothing reached out to grab her, the unicorn risked a look and smiled when she saw she teleported to exactly where she wanted to be, on the far side of the door. With guards bypassed and a new trick for getting by any future obstacles, Twilight continued down the tunnel. It went straight for a long time before ending in a right turn, and upon reaching the right turn Twilight peaked

RLYoshi: Misspell it once, shame on you. Misspell it twice, shame on the spellcheck. Misspell it three times...I give up.

around the corner and almost let out an audible gasp at what she saw.
A huge cavern had been carved out of the solid rock. It stretched on for what had to be twenty or thirty stories and was easily easily

CTOONfan1: It was easily very easy.

several dozen city blocks wide across. Even more impressive what was built in the cavern. A castle, both elegant and terrifying, had been erected in the deep underground cavern, its tallest tower just a few feet short of scrapping the ceiling.

Svensvenderson: Somepony is addicted to Minecraft.
Tower: Ehh, I think we should restart. Try sheetrock next time.

It was undoubtedly the castle of Nightmare Moon, and Twilight was suddenly regretting not bringing her friends along. Still... she quickly shook this fear from her mind. If she had brought her friends along it would be to face and defeat Nightmare Moon using the Elements of Harmony and she... couldn’t be a part of that.

Wild Trotter: And besides... she wanted to spite the readers even further with her idiocy.
Crazy56U: Yeah, screw getting help! It's best to be stupid by yourself rather than in a group.

That wasn’t why she had come searching for Nightmare Moon.

DiStort: She needed to get her fondue pot back from her.

Twilight hung back in the small access tunnel for a time, watching the many patrols of guards that kept watch from the castle’s high walls. As if being underground wasn’t enough the castle still had defensive walls, which only made Twilight’s approach that more difficult.
Yet, remembering her trick for getting by the last pair of guards,

CTOONfan1: She guessed every set of guards were equally stupid.
Anon13: It works in action movies!

Twilight began looking about the castle. She then saw an opening, a balcony on the tallest tower, and after focusing for a magic for the time the unicorn soon found herself standing on that very balcony, having bypassed all of the castle’s outer security.

Wild Trotter: (in a British accent) "Teleport!"
Crazy56U: Twilight has a long night tonight: after apologizing to Nightmare Moon, she has to stop Bowser's time machine and then take his evil test.

She’d have to be sure to tell Princess Celestia about this little trick. Her mentor would undoubted like to know how easy it was for the magically inclined unicorn to sneak into such a heavily guarded

Disco: More like ineptly.

castle by just popping around using her teleportation spell.

DiStort: Wow, Twilight teleporting. Never seen her do THAT before.

For the moment, however, Twilight shelved that thought and poked her head into the room the balcony was attached to. It seemed to be a room that existed only as a means of accessing the highest balcony of the castle, a room elegantly decorate with a night time sky on the ceiling and a map of Ponyville on the floor but otherwise completely devoid of furniture. It seemed a shame to waste such a perfect room, but Twilight didn’t think about it long as she moved towards the far stairwell and made her descent.

Crazy56U: A paragraph describing a room. A PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING A- (twitches) Bah!
Drizzel: (soothingly) It's okay, just let it out.
Crazy56U: ...okay. (punches you out and then wrecks everything in anger)
Drizzel: … ow...

=============
Twilight felt a lot less sure about what she was doing, having almost screamed when she came across a room filled with dismembered and broken training dummies. Training dummies that looked a great deal like her and her friends. After seeing a number of the dummies were missing their heads, Twilight couldn’t help but lift a hoof to her neck and swallow nervously. It was a good thing she had been able to avoid the castle guards so far.

CTOONfan1: Being beheaded would so ruin her weekend.

After slipping back out of the storage closet she had hidden in,

Disco: She wanted to admit her undying love for Rainbow Dash.

Twilight made sure the pair of patrolling guards were well past before continuing down the hallway. The castle was kept lit with a number of enchanted gemstones, the precious jewels a fairly easy to come by resource in the tunnel network of the diamond dogs. That and with the castle so far underground that there was no hope for natural lighting, it made sense that everything had to be lit, and smoke from torches would just choke every pony since Twilight doubted the ventilation in the cavern was very good.
These, however, were all side concerns. Twilight had been scouring the rooms for probably an hour with no sign of Nightmare Moon but the castle was pretty large. It didn’t help that there was no guarantee Nightmare Moon was staying in the same place. She could have moved to another part of the castle Twilight had already checked for all the unicorn knew.

RLYoshi: (sigh) Backtracking, how I loathe you.
Crazy56U: And thus, "Past Sins" became a Let's Play. Quick, call Chuggaconroy; he’ll make this funny!

These worrisome thoughts were dispelled when Twilight heard another patrol of guards approaching, the unicorn quickly ducking into an open door. She didn’t have time to shut the door without drawing suspicion, so Twilight hid in the dark room as she watched the guards pass by just outside.
The guards stepped into view, but with them was another pony... a pony Twilight recognized. Spell Nexus, the headmaster to Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns.

Wild Trotter: Unfortunately, also the pony behind this whole mess...
Drizzel: He was looking a lot more fabulous than Twilight remembered.

The purple unicorn could only panic and wonder why he was in the castle. Had he been kidnapped? Was he being held captive? Did Nightmare Moon want to torture him for information?

Disco: *Facehoofs* Twi’s constantly pushing the idiocy envelope.
Wild Trotter: ...And yet, Twilight doesn't even KNOW that it was HIM that got her into this debacle.
Crazy56U: Please, a good amount of the ponies in this story lack the ability to rationally think; does this honestly surprise you?
Wild Trotter: Not really. Then again, the Diamond Dogs DID make themselves scarce.
RLYoshi: Next time on Ponyball Z! ...how many times have I made that joke?

Despite the danger to herself, Twilight also saw an opportunity. If she set him free he could go tell Celestia and Luna where Nightmare Moon was.

Wild Trotter: And here's where her attempt to "storm the castle" ends.

That way they could prepare and plan an attack against the castle. He was also a unicorn with a talent for magic and that meant he might be able to wield the Element of Magic in her place. He could possibly complete the Elements of Harmony, since Twilight doubted she’d be leaving the castle once she presented herself to Nightmare Moon.

Svensvenderson: “Best laid plans of mice and idiot ponies gang aft agley.”

Before Twilight even really knew what she was doing

Disco: It’d take far too long for her to figure out.

she jumped back into the corridor with her horn glowing. With a single resounding clang the unicorn had used her magic to smash the helmets of the two guards together, making them slump over on the floor in a daze. She then wrapped her magic around Spell Nexus and drug him away as she galloped down the halls, putting as much distance as possible between her and the guards she had just attacked.

For five minutes Twilight ran and, when finally satisfied she wasn’t being followed, she came to a stop and released Spell Nexus from her levitation magic, the blue unicorn

RLYoshi: Wait, Trixie? What are you doing here?!

looking at her in disbelief.
“Don’t worry...” Twilight said between pants as she poked her head around a corner. “I don’t know why Nightmare Moon kidnapped you but you don’t have to worry. I can get you out of here.”

Crazy56U: "On an unrelated note, I may have sniffed some markers before coming here, so if I start acting stupid, there you go."

“But Miss Sparkle, what in the world are you doing down here? How did you even find this place?” Spell Nexus asked.

Wild Trotter: "And how have you been oblivious to my REAL allegiance for so long?"

“My friend, Pinkie Pie, figured out that a pony in Ponyville named Horte Cuisine was part of this crazy cult.

Wild Trotter: "And he had a thing for Twixie of all things."

So I used a scrying spell on some of his things and figured out I needed to look in the gemstone quarries.”
“But how did you get by the guards?”

Wild Trotter: "Scratch that, why am I surrounded by flankholes?"

“Oh, that was easy.” Twilight replied, still looking around the corner to make sure no guards were coming. “I know a teleportation spell, so I just popped by the guards whenever I needed to. That’s actually how I plan to get you out of here. Once I’m sure the coast is clear, I’ll teleport us up to a balcony. There, I can teleport us down to a cavern entrance. You’ll have to find your own back to the surface from there but I’m sure you can manage. I’ve got something I have to do here.”

Wild Trotter: "To make the long story short, I had cheats!"
Crazy56U: It’s official: Twilight's a BAD Let's Player. (sigh) I’m going to save us the trouble and contact slowbeef and Diabeetus myself.

“Oh, I can assure you, Miss Sparkle, that won’t be necessary.”

Wild Trotter: "For Celestia's top student, you must lack quite the amount of common sense today... sucker!"
RLYoshi: Obviously she made a stop at the hospital to make sure she didn't have any signs of Common Sense Syndrome before coming here. That stuff can ruin an entire plot.
“Won’t be- what do you mean-

THUNK
Wild Trotter: In the words of the Fatt Mann: "PWNED!"
DiStort: Keep doing what you do best, Sound Effects Guy.

Twilight felt something firm strike the back of her head, and the world fell away in an instant.

Wild Trotter: Game over, suckality!

Behind her, Spell Nexus stood with a firm, wooden baton grasped in his magic.

Wild Trotter: Well, looks like Twilight earned the title "Little Miss Epic Failure" after that one.
Disco: That trophy takes hours to unlock.

With a flash the baton returned to its original shape, one of the many bits of wood used to hold the gemstones that lit the underground castle. He returned the gemstone to the piece of wood and then set both back into the metal mount on the wall before looking down at the now unconscious unicorn.

CTOONfan1: Nexus: Boy, aren’t you stupid.
Anon13: Pot, meet kettle.

“GUARDS!”

Crazy56U: Nexus, you fool! Now Bowser has won!

Nexus’ bellow brought three pairs of guards running, including the pair that had been attacked by Twilight.

arcaneterror: Stop right there, criminal scum!

Nexus looked at each set of guards and pointed to them in turn.
“You, take her to the dungeons for the time being. And if she resists, don’t be gentle.

Wild Trotter: "Whip her cutie mark, if you have to."

You, go fetch the best unicorn sorcerers we have and tell them we need to expand the defensive spells. We have to protect everypony here from scrying spells, not just the queen.
“And you two,” Nexus said, pointing a hoof at the two guards who were supposed to be protecting him. “Be thankful I need you for something, otherwise you’d be in the dungeon for letting yourselves get so easily defeated by single unicorn mare.

RLYoshi: "I will completely ignore the fact that said unicorn mare is one of the Elements of Harmony and possesses more powerful magic than anypony seen so far just so I can yell at you some more."

Now, I want you to go and alert all the tunnel guards to be on the look out for the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It sounds as if Twilight came here alone, but I do not want to be surprised by the others showing up.”
The three pairs of guards all snapped to attention and saluted before quickly going about their tasks. Nexus followed the guards that carried the unconscious Twilight, smiling to himself gently.
“You shall be presented to the queen in time, Twilight. But first,

Disco: “A drink. You like orange juice?”

I need to hear how you do that lovely little teleportation spell of yours. Can’t have other unicorns like you sneaking into the palace, now can we?”

Wild Trotter: "Or for that matter, having other unicorns like you come peeking into our shipping fic stashes... or getting into MY hoof polish."

=============
The pair of servants at the entrance of the throne room pushed the large doors opened, quickly bowing as Nightmare Moon stepped through. The fallen princess had been returned to the frightful image so many ponies knew her by.

Wild Trotter: And yet, deep down, that same image is one of world-weariness.

She once again had on her purple eyeshadow, something to accent her otherwise utterly black appearance, and she was once again clad in her regal armor. Elegant horse shoes, a chest plate with a crescent moon, her neck plate, and the sleek helmet which fit her head so perfectly.
All that was missing was her Cutie Mark, something that perturbed Nightmare Moon to no end. She was a full grown alicorn and a queen and she was still a blank flank.

DiStort: Your cutie mark is invisible. It means your special talent is being a failure.
Crazy56U: Then again, the two fillies who would mock her for this were now scared of her, so this was no big deal.

Nexus had offered an explanation that her original cutie mark was actually Luna’s cutie mark, that it had been the moon princess’ special talent to move the moon across the sky. Now that she had her own body and was her own mare,

CTOONfan1: She didn’t have to depend on any stallion.

Nexus surmised that Nightmare Moon might have a different special talent.
He then of course quickly went about flattering Nightmare Moon endlessly, saying her Cutie Mark would undoubtedly be a crown or something else that would appear when she defeated Celestia and Luna and took her rightful place as the queen of Equestria.

Wild Trotter: Or maybe a heart of passion as well as some other symbol of kinkiness.

Nightmare Moon let her thoughts linger on her blank flank for just a few minutes before she looked to the far end of the throne room.
Nexus was standing near the throne, smiling gently as he drank from a glass of orange juice, his favorite drink.

Wild Trotter: Secretly, he's slipping orange vodka into that juice.
Crazy56U: NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE!

Orange juice was good, but Nightmare Moon had tasted some of Applejack’s famous Sweet Apple Acres apple juice. Now that was a good juice.

Wild Trotter: Don't forget the apple scrumpy.

She had first tasted it with Twilight, when she was being introduced to the unicorn’s friends for the first time. Applejack had been kind of scary, but the moment she tried that apple juice she had-
Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and cracked her thoughts back into line, forcing herself to end her recollection of the memory as she sat in her throne.
“My Queen, you are looking positively radiant in your new armor.”

DiStort: “Kiss up all you like, Nexus. We’re not putting a dance floor in this place.”

“Thank you Spell Nexus. The blacksmith you recruited does fine work.”
“The finest, my Queen. You deserve nothing less.”
“Is there anything else you wish for me to attend to today?”

Drizzel: “I can do birthday parties!”

“There is but one matter; a bit of good news.”
“News?”
“Bring her in.” Nexus called. At the beckoning of the unicorn a set of doors to the side of the throne room opened and a pair of guards came trotting in. They dragged between them a partially limp body, which they then deposited on the floor just below Nightmare Moon’s throne.
“She was found sneaking around the castle corridors, and it appears that she came here alone. Something rather stupid to do, considering she is supposed to be the smartest one of her rag tag group of friends.”

Wild Trotter: Way to go meta on us once again, fanfic.
Crazy56U: He ad-libbed that line; even he knew this part was stupid.
RLYoshi: You know it's bad when Epic Failure thinks something's stupid.

Nexus chuckled at his own insult but Nightmare Moon remained still as stone. The breath had got caught in her chest, and her eyes were fixed on the battered figured on the floor below her.
It was Twilight Sparkle, and the unicorn looked like she had been on the losing end of a brutal fight. Her mane and coat were a mess and there were a few visible scratches here and there.

Wild Trotter: And dozens of whip lash marks on her flanks.

The unicorn’s right eye also looked puff and swollen, like she had been hit in the face.

Wild Trotter: The other eye, however, ended up cross-eyed from the head trauma.

“Stand before your

Wild Trotter: "New mistress!"

Queen!” Nexus barked,

Disco: Epic Failure speaks fluent Dog.
using a bit of magic to lift Twilight off the ground. The sudden movement seemed to snap the unicorn out of her stupor, her legs flailing around a moment until she realized she was being levitated. When Nexus was sure Twilight would be able to stand on her own to hooves,

RLYoshi: Not only does Pen Stroke think Twilight has two hooves, but he didn't even spell "two" right! That's a double-fail right there.
Crazy56U: DOUBLE-FAIL ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY! What does it mean...
CTOONfan1: SO DIM-WITTED AND OBVIOUS!

he lowered her back to the ground. And Twilight did stand, though she lifted up her front right leg, as if it hurt to put weight down on it.
“So, how do you wish to have her dealt with my Queen? I can only imagine some of the tortures you could inflict upon her... and then after you’ve had your revenge perhaps a beheading? Or maybe it would send a more powerful message to have her hanged?”

Crazy56U: ... (scoots away) Um... You're a little too eager there to see Twilight's punishment, Nexus. ...I mean, I know you have a breathing fetish, but still...

“Leave us.”
Nexus was a little caught off guard.
“Pardon, my Queen?”

“Leave us.” Nightmare Moon repeated, her dragon eyes focusing on Nexus in a firm, angered gaze. “No other pony is to be in this room except me and Twilight, and nopony is to enter until I call for you.”

Drizzel: Ah... nah, too easy.

“Of... of course.” Nexus partially stammered, quickly galloping around the hall. He did not have to echo Nightmare Moon’s orders to any of the ponies who had been in the room, all of them quickly fleeing and locking the doors in. Nexus was the last to leave, slipping out the front entrance. Nightmare Moon waited until she heard a click of the door’s great locks before she turned her gaze back to Twilight.
The alicorn rose from her throne, wings spreading wide as she cast her shadow across Twilight, the unicorn taking an anxious step back in fear, the terror glinting in Twilight’s one unharmed eye.
“What are you doing here?” Nightmare Moon asked, her voice dripping with hatred and paranoia, “Have you come to try and purify me as you did before? Come to use the Elements of Harmony to save Equestria? Have you come to destroy what you helped protect? To fix the mistake you made believing I was not Nightmare Moon!?”
“I... I... I...”
The black alicorn slammed a hoof.

Crazy56U: Even Nightmare Moon believes in the Rule of Three trope.

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?!?”

Wild Trotter: "WHY ARE YOU EVEN IN THIS STORY!?!?"
RLYoshi: "WHY DOES THIS STORY EVEN EXIST?!?!?"
Crazy56U: "WHY ARE YOU ALL YELLING?!?"
RLYoshi: "BECAUSE THIS SITUATION CALLS FOR VERY LOUD VOICES!!!!"
Drizzel: “AND TIS TRADITION TO SPEAK IN THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!”
Crazy56U: Well knock that off, this isn’t MSNBC.

“I came to say I’m sorry.”
Twilight’s words echoed hauntingly across the hall, the unicorn’s voice lingering in the air. Nightmare Moon remained still as stone for a time, but then she stepped back. The alicorn folded her wings and sat back down in her throne.

Wild Trotter: This is gonna hurt, isn’t it?
Crazy56U: Ooooooh, yeah. (pulls out tissues)

“It is too late for apologies. I have learned just how much....or rather, how little I must mean to you when you let them take me away.”

Wild Trotter: "Either that, or using your brain was too much to ask."

“But I still want to say I’m sorry Nyx.” Twilight countered, looking up at Nightmare Moon through her one good eye, the other still completely swollen shut.
“My name is not Nyx. It is Nightmare Moon.”

Wild Trotter: "You may call me Nightmare Nyx, if you wish."

“You can call yourself what you want. Nightmare Moon, Queen Moon, the Empress of Equestria.
You’ll always be Nyx to me.”

DiStort: Dumb, boring, tick-infested Nyx.

Nightmare Moon’s gaze hardened, the black alicorn glaring at the unicorn.
“Oh how so very sentimental of you, Twilight. Pity that sentiment wasn’t there when Celestia was taking me away. Though, now that I think about it, you probably wanted her to take me away.”

Wild Trotter: "And all just because you slept with her. Isn't it?"

“No... no Nyx I didn’t-”
“Yes you did! You saw who I was, you saw the truth, and no matter how much you denied it you were scared of what I would become... so you let Celestia take me away... just take me away so you could forget about me... act like I was never even there.”

Wild Trotter: "Besides, have you even seen all those pictures of you getting all intimate with Celestia!? You were denying those all this time, I know it!"

“I... I was scared. I admit it.” Twilight tried to defend, taking a single anxious step closer to the alicorn. “Celestia told me of everything that could happen if you became Nightmare Moon again... and she convinced me that... I had to let her take you... so that you could be tested. So she could be sure whether or not you were Nightmare Moon.

Crazy56U: "So please... blame her, not me! She's the one who needs your wrath!"

“And if you weren’t, she’d bring you back to me... make me your legal guardian, so nopony could ever take you away again.
“But... but then I heard you call out to me... and not as Twilight. You called out to me as your mother... and I realized what I was doing.

CTOONfan1: The plot can’t control me anymore!
Anon13: Oh, you have NO idea.

Nyx... you remember that night, don’t you? That night when I told you that you had a family.

Disco: She’s obviously forgotten. Someone get her a wiki link!

That you had Owlowiscious and Spike as older brothers... that you had me as a mother.
“I raced out to try and stop Celestia. I was willing to fight her to get you back... but the chariot had already taken off. I chased it... but I was too late.”

Wild Trotter: "The power of the plot was too much for me. Honest."

Nightmare Moon fluttered her wings before she turned and sat back down on her throne.
“A touching story... but that’s all it is. No matter what your intentions were, it was your actions that set all this in motion. It is through your actions that you have done ill against me, and for which you shall receive no forgiveness.

DiStort: “Let’s see how YOU like mister naughty stick!”
Wild Trotter: Sheesh, misunderstandings like this make me want to vomit blood.
Crazy56U: (holds up a bucket full of glass shards) Me too. (downs the bucket)
RLYoshi: Save some for me.

“And do not think I have forgotten the stream of lies you have filled my head with. You said I was not Nightmare Moon, that I could never be her. Well, if that was true we wouldn't be sitting here now would we? I can only wonder if the lie was more your own sake than my own... if you weren’t trying to deny the truth that stared you in the face.”

Wild Trotter: Like many readers had pointed out, if only Twilight didn't have such a deathgrip on the idiot ball... Scratch that, if Celestia hadn't held onto said ball...
Anon13: Pretty much everyone in this fic is hugging and squeezing the ball and calling it George.
Crazy56U: I keep telling you people, (waves a box of markers) there’s a better explanation!

“It wasn’t a lie, Nyx... and it still isn’t a lie... or at least, it doesn’t have to be.”
“You are truly in denial when you can look upon this face... this form and not see me as Nightmare Moon.”

Wild Trotter: "And yet, I act nothing like her. ...Something must be wrong with me!"
Crazy56U: I think the real reason is that Lauren Faust owns the rights to Nightmare Moon (I’m guessing, don’t sue me), and so if Pen Stroke uses the ACTUAL Nightmare Moon, he's going to be sued for copyright infringement. ...and considering his track record so far...

“Nyx, ponies choose who they want to be. We all have that choice, and so do you.

Wild Trotter: "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on the other hoof? Well, they're just DESTINED to remain friendless."
Crazy56U: In my mind, this is slowly turning into "The Iron Giant". ...wouldn't that make this more interesting?

You are only Nightmare Moon if you want to be... and the Nyx I know wouldn’t want to be doing all this.

CTOONfan1: She’d be too busy annoying neighbors with her kazoo.

She wouldn’t want to take over Equestria, or make her friends worry.”

“Worry? HA! Who is foalish enough to worry about me?!”

Wild Trotter: Your fanbase, of course!
Crazy56U: Oh honey, you have NO idea how stupid that question was. ...kinda sad if you think about it. (reaches for a tissue)

“I can think of three... three Crusaders who were your closest friends.”
A memory flashed in Nightmare Moon’s mind, of Scootaloo staring up at her. The one pony in the crowd, besides Twilight, who hadn’t looked at her in fear. Whose eyes had been filled with concern and sadness.
“They will need to learn that their friend is never coming back. That she’s gone forever.”

Wild Trotter: "Except... not really."
Disco: Just like Scootaloo’s mother.
Crazy56U: Of course she is! We aren't going to riff the whole fanfic; this gets no resolution!

“She doesn’t have to be Nyx, you don’t have to be-”
“ENOUGH!!” Nightmare Moon bellowed, her wings unfurling for a dramatic effect

Wild Trotter: Thank you, that was totally necessary.
Crazy56U: Are you kidding? Pen Stroke used the word "dramatic"! This is SO necessary!

before the black alicorn carefully tucked them again. “Nexus!”

Drizzel: “I need to borrow your eyeshadow!”

The blue unicorn slipped into he room within seconds, galloping up and bowing to his queen.
“You called, your Highness?”
“With Twilight Sparkle in our custody there is no threat posed by the Elements of Harmony. Celestia and Luna are defenseless. We must simply wait for the prime opportunity to strike against the Royal Sisters. Soon, I will fly for Canterlot to take the kingdom, but for this day I wish to retire to my chambers and rest.”

“Of course your Excellence. And what would you have me do with Twilight Sparkle?”

Disco: “She is going to...’rest’ with me.”
Wild Trotter: Do I sense some 70's music going on?
Crazy56U: I don’t what you’re sensing, but I sense some sexophone. ...I love alliteration.

“She is to be taken to the dungeon and be given a cell of her own. Tend to her injuries and ensure she has a blanket and pillow. She is also to be fed properly, and not just bread and water.

Crazy56U: "I may be evil, but I have standards, dammit!"

She is to be given real food, food you yourself would be willing to eat, Nexus.”

Crazy56U: "Orrrr, maybe not."

“But... but Your Highness. She-”

Wild Trotter: "She dared to be more fabulous than me!"

“DO YOU QUESTION ME NEXUS!?!”

Crazy56U: "DOES NIGHTMARE MOON NEED TO CHOKE A BITCH?!?"
Anon13: Please do!

Nightmare Moon snapped, standing up from her throne. “I will deal with Twilight Sparkle in my own way at a time of my choosing. Until then you shall follow my orders and treat her as I have directed.
“And... if I discover she has been harmed by you or the guards again it will not be her hanging from the gallows!

Crazy56U: You know, it's too bad this riffing stops at chapter 13. Because chapter 17 proves that she was bucking serious in this regard. And I commend her for it.

Do I make myself clear?!?”
“O... of, of course Your Majesty. I will see to it personally.”
“Good. Now, am retiring for the day.”

RLYoshi: "And am gettin' an accent as ah do it."
Crazy56U: I think she got drunk off of smelling Nexus, and has begun slurring.

Nightmare Moon said coolly, standing from her throne as she strode by Nexus and Twilight, heading for the throne room doors.
“Yes my Queen.”

Wild Trotter: "No flank whipping today? Blast!"
=============
Nightmare Moon moved into her bedroom and slammed the door behind herself, throwing up her magical sound proofing before she began to stomp around the room.

DiStort: There’s always time for a royal temper tantrum.

She was tempted to topple furniture, to cause destruction for the sake of it. She was just so angry...

Drizzel: NYX SMASH!

But the source of the anger was making Nightmare Moon’s mind spin. She was not angry at Twilight, even after all the unicorn had done wrong. No, her anger stemmed from a far different source. She was enraged at Nexus and her guards for what they did to Twilight,

CTOONfan1: How dare they attack and ensnare an intruder!
Anon13: Didn’t they learn anything in minion school?

for bring the unicorn to her their queen’s hooves beaten and with a black eye.
The worst of it was Nightmare Moon didn’t understand why she was angry. What did she care?

Disco: She was far too one-dimensional for that.

Twilight had given her up, abandoned her... had lied to her constantly about the fact she wasn’t Nightmare Moon. She should have been happy to see the unicorn get a small fraction of the

Wild Trotter: Kinky whipping.

punishment she deserved. Nexus was right; Twilight deserved be tortured
CTOONfan1: TO be tortured, NMM. TO!

before finally being hanged from the gallows... but then why was she still so angry that the unicorn had been hurt?
Nightmare Moon stomped around her room for half an hour,

Disco: To the tune of the Imperial March.

her mind going in circles as she tried to figure out why she had been so angry, why she was still so angry. She even tried throwing a few books across the room,

Disco: A whole section of Appledash fics was never recovered.

doing anything to try and relieve her rage but it still remained.
The alicorn‘s horn began to glow, armor floating off and landing in a pile at the door. She needed to think and the armor was starting to become too much of a distraction. It fit her well but armor was always in someway uncomfortable.

RLYoshi: At least she wasn't a stallion. Then it would just start riding up in the crotch.
Crazy56U: Image... can't... remove... eyes... brain... bleeding... (drops dead)

Armor removed, Nightmare Moon flopped down onto her bed, not even bothering to clean off her eye shadow as she tossed and turned violently, trying to expend the frustration that just continued to boil inside her.
Who was she angry at? Was it Twilight? Was it Nexus? Was it the guards? Who was it?

Crazy56U: (regenerates) Honey, don’t you remember? When in doubt, blame the author.

The alicorn finally stopped tossing, flopping to one side as her eyes gazed off into the distance. Once again, the alicorn found herself staring at the mirror on one side of her room...

Crazy56U: "GOD, I look pretty."
Drizzel: “But I’ll never be as pretty as Nexus.”

and for the first time in the half hour of rage and confusion, Nightmare Moon asked herself a single, silent question.
Was she angry with herself?

Wild Trotter: Was she angry at how she was characterized? If so, I can't really blame her.

It was a thought that took root like a seed and began to grow into other thoughts.

Wild Trotter: Such as the sudden urge to feel up Luna.
DiStort: The first signs of logic. Truly a foreign concept to Nyx.
Anon13: Or Pen.

The first of those thoughts was it didn’t make any sense. What reason did she have to be angry with herself? She was a queen, with loyal servants and soon a kingdom of her own. If anything, she should be happy of how successful she was going to be.
But it was success that became tainted with the thought of Twilight in the dungeons below. Did she really want to succeed when it meant Twilight had to get hurt?

Wild Trotter: Except if such pain was directed towards the latter's flanks, getting her excited?

Not just physically either. Nightmare Moon was about to attack Celestia, the pony that was a teacher and mentor to Twilight, a pony the unicorn cared about deeply. How much would it hurt Twilight when she heard the news that Celestia had been defeated.
And why did she even care?

Crazy56U: It's that confusing notion called a "soul", honey. You should be proud you have it.

Nightmare Moon’s rage returned, but only for a few moments as the alicorn struggled with herself. The alicorn was mentally exhausted,

Disco: That didn’t take long.

and she decided to try and disregard her thoughts as she turned over on the bed, putting her back to the mirror.
Her gaze now was focused on her writing desk and soon drifted to the item that had been thrown beneath it the previous evening. The mostly destroyed training dummy of Twilight Sparkle. Without even really thinking about it, Nightmare Moon lifted her head, horn glowing as she drew out the tattered and ripped dummy. Her magic flowed into it, the ripped threads repairing themselves as the puffs of cotton were drawn back inside. Within moments the training dummy was once again in pristine condition.

Crazy56U: You know, if the "ruling over Equestria" thing doesn't work out, at least she can have a prominent career in item restoration.

After looking at the dummy for a time, Nightmare Moon floated it into bed beside her, hooking her legs around it.

Disco: *spit-takes* Really? Really?!
DiStort: (Kisses hoof) Mwah! G’night everypony!

The material was rough, but with a bit more magic Nightmare Moon turned the sturdy, unforgiving potato bag fabric into something softer, a substance that felt almost like a real pony coat. In her legs the training dummy became much more a doll.

CTOONfan1: Does widdle Nightmare Moon need her widdle dowwy wowwy? (violently killed)

Her grip on the life sized doll tightened as Nightmare Moon thought of Twilight,

Wild Trotter: "Maybe I really should've let her "rest" with me, instead."

alone in the dungeons, in pain from her injuries... in greater pain because of what she had done. Nightmare Moon had seen it when the unicorn was in the throne room. There was true remorse in her eyes. Twilight meant every word she said, every apology she offered.

CTOONfan1: (Brought back because they like me to suffer) Which means YOU are the asshole here. Who knew?
But Twilight was wrong about one thing. She was Nightmare Moon. She was the Mare in the Moon. There was no escaping the truth, and thus there was no escaping being Nightmare Moon.

Wild Trotter: And for the subjects, no escaping her newly-surfacing kinky side.

She was Nightmare Moon... and she could never be Nyx again.

Wild Trotter: And good God I need a stiff drink.

Crazy56U: "But I do own the stuff that made you cry... so I got that going for me!"

Disco: Yes, finally! The end of this MST is so close I can almost taste it...And it tastes like chicken.
Anon13: Quit chewing on Scootaloo!

Crazy56U: No thanks, I stick to hailing the king. Ash Williams has a chainsaw, which instantly makes him best pony.

CLANG... CLANG CLANG... CLANG CLANG... CLANG

DiStort: We already agreed to give you a raise, Sound Effects Guy. You don’t need to convince us anymore.
Crazy56U: Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!

“All guards to your posts. I want every approach to the castle on watch.” A gruff captain ordered out to the willing ears of his lieutenants. “Have all our unicorns do whatever they can to secure the castle magically.

CTOONfan1: "To everyone else... good luck."

Barrier, wards, or even just making the castle disappear. They can do whatever the hay they want as long as it works.”

Isphone: “Also, I want the meat-shield earth ponies to form a living wall around this place, pronto!”
Crazy56U: Wait, I thought meat-shields were only used in those Youtube microwaving shows.
CTOONfan1: Because nobody likes roasted nuts.

“Yes Sir!”
“Now listen to me stallions. Celestia has been up straight for the past seven days worried sick ever since Nightmare Moon has returned and she is at the point of exhaustion.

CTOONfan1: "I still want no one to help her cope. She has to deal with this problem on her own."

What is worse, Luna has still not returned since she left to confront Nightmare Moon;

Drizzel: But I’m sure she's fine! (huffs markers)

we still have no idea what her current status is.
Some of her advisers have finally convinced Celestia to get some sleep. She cannot face Nightmare Moon tired, so that’s our job. We have to keep the castle secure so the princess can rest and recover her strength.”
“Uh... Captain?”
“What is it?”

CTOONfan1: "Are we boned?" "Yes, yes we are."

“You know how the moon used to have craters that looked like a unicorn on it?”
“Yes, that was before Luna returned.”

Crazy56U: Captain: "Why are you asking these questions?"

Guard: "Somepony, I think his name was ‘Pencil Strike’, paid me 25 bits to ask you that. He said it had to do with ‘pointless canon-nods’."
Captain: "You sicken me."
Guard: “Acknowledged, sir.”

“Um... they’re back.”
“What the hay are you blabbering about soldier? What do you mean they’re...” The captain began, only to look to the far horizon where the moon had just risen, the moon once again having the image of a unicorn across its surface that wasn’t there the night before.

Wild Trotter: Surely, the moon isn't alive... and hungry.
C TOONfan1: "The moon's gonna fall! Fetch me Link!"

“Horse-feathers.”

DiStort: Understatement of the year.

The captain cursed. “Somepony tell the servants that Celestia is not to see the moon. If she sees that image she’ll assume the worse and never get any sleep, and she needs to regain her strength.”

CTOONfan1: "Got it. Men! Board up every window in the castle!"

“Yes Sir!” The lieutenants said with a snap to attention before quickly running off to their tasks. The captain could only huff

arcaneterror: paint.
Crazy56U: markers.
Private Sprinkles: oxygen. Who's to say he doesn't have a breathing fetish too?

, the aged earth pony soldier moving over to the edge of the castle’s battlements as he looked out across the landscape of Equestria.

Drizzel: And was pushed over by his exhausted soliders.

The moon continued to rise into the sky and the late hours of the night wore on. It was an anxious wait, the air heavy with anxious tension.

Disco: As opposed to calm and relaxed tension.

With Luna’s disappearance, the Royal Guard knew Nightmare Moon was coming,

CTOONfan1: and Luna has become her again.

but they did not know when she would strike and the waiting was beginning to get to the soldiers. New recruits were jumping at shadows, and even some of the most hardened veterans began looking around anxiously, trying to find some sign of the powerful alicorn they were meant to stop.

Wild Trotter: And the even more hardcore amongst the royal guard were barely missing a beat.

It seemed as if the castle would start attacking the night itself,

DiStort: Cast magic missile at the darkness.
arcaneterror: You are eaten by a grue.
Crazy56U: Yeah, that's what you get by going DnD on their flanks, DiStort. You silly, silly, guy, you.

just to break the tension, when a gentle breeze cascaded off the mountain. It took with it the tension, the anxiety, and like a fresh gust of spring air it allowed all the guards to breathe easily again. The wind continued, the guards only relaxing further. A few of the new recruits even dared to sit down, some stifling yawns. While the princess had been up for days, the guards had also been pushed hard on their shifts and many wouldn’t turn down a few extra hours of sleep.

Wild Trotter: The most fanatical guards, however, have been slugging down caffeine like it was going out of style.

The captain shook his head to keep his own eyes from drooping, cursing at himself for acting like such a rookie. Still, as the veteran guard took off his helmet and rubbed the top of his muzzle, his ears perked up... there was something on the wind. A very, very faint sound but it was there.

It was music.

Crazy56U: He didn't find this odd, since at least he wasn't hearing voices again.
Drizzel: But he did wonder where those instruments were coming from.
CTOONfan1: "Dave! What did I say about playing music while we are about to surprise attack?"

The guard captain quickly looked around, his mind snapped away from the comfortable sleep it was being drawn into.
“To your posts! We are under attack!”

DiStort: “Quick! Call our resident guitar warrior! We need some heavy metal!”
Crazy56U: So... we need a guitar hero? ...unless he’s playing “Through The Fire and Flames”, I don’t care.
Wild Trotter: "Do the voodoo that you do so well!"

He bellowed, and such an order would usually lead to the stomping of armored hooves and the panicked echoing of the order across the battlements... but there was no such commotion. There was no call to arms and many of his soldiers had already drifted off to sleep and those few who had not drift off could not bring themselves to stand.

Wild Trotter: The fewer still were too coked up on the coffee to even fall asleep, becoming jittery instead.

The captain, however, refused to slip off... even as he felt his eyelids growing heavy again.

CTOONfan1: He needs to stop tying weights to them.

He broke into a sprint, galloping around the castle to find any of his soldiers that were awake. He was, however, the only soldier still on his hooves.

Isphone: and he was still much to shy to try actually waking anypony up.

The other guard captains and even the general in charge of the castle’s whole defense had all fallen asleep. He was the last of the guard standing, but he would not back down.
“Come out you witch! You will not be able to draw me peacefully into the night! I will protect this castle and Celestia until my final breath. You will only reach her over my lifeless corpse.”

Wild Trotter: "Even then, I would rather suffer that, then deal with Celestia's... strange nightly urges."

The guard captain called out to the night before drawing his sword. His call seemed to be answered as the music in the air ceased... and for a moment all the night was still.
“I seek the fall of only one pony this night, and it is not you.”

Disco: “I seek Pen Stroke.”

The guard jumped, spinning on his hooves as he brought his blade around and sliced at whoever had spoke. The blade, however, just cut cleanly through the air... or, more accurately, a cloud of blue-purple smoke which had taken shape behind him. The cloud was unharmed by the blade,

CTOONfan1: "WHY! CAN'T! I! CUT! CLOUDS?!"

and after a few tense seconds a pair of eyes flashed open, locking on the guard as a single word cut into his mind.
“Sleep!”

Wild Trotter: "Clop for me!"

A combination of The Stare

DiStort: And now Fluttershy’s gonna have to sue Horte Cuisine AND Nightmare Moon.
Crazy56U: Why not Pen Stroke; he's making this all happen!

and the single command was all it took, the guard captain collapsing right where he stood into a gentle slumber. The mystical cloud cared enough to catch the guard captain’s head before it could smash against the cold stone of the castle floor, since he had left his helmet several yards away. And, after ensuring all the guards were asleep, the cloud swirled as several ponies appeared amongst the battlements, one a tall black alicorn.
“Why did you ask to come with me again?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“To induct more willing soldiers into your army.”

Wild Trotter: "And make them more fabulous... just not as much as I am."

Nexus replied as he and a few other unicorns from the Children of Nightmare began moving away from their queen,

CTOONfan1: As everyone is afraid she may still have ticks.

spreading among the sleeping guards.
“They hardly seem the type to come to my side willingly.”
“They merely need to see the wisdom and glory that is your rule, just as I did. They require merely a blessing of your magic, and they will fight for you with the same loyalty they showed Celestia.”

DiStort: “Or we can just give each one a cookie. You’d be surprised how often that works.”
Drizzel: I can vouch for that. NOM NOM NOM...

“I thought the blessing you discussed was only given to those who had already come to the order; you did not mention it was part of the recruitment.”
“The full blessing is not given to those unwilling, no... just a small blessing. Just enough to let them see you for what you truly are, the Queen of Equestria. Then, if the ponies desire, he or she may join the Children of Nightmare and receive your full blessing.”

Wild Trotter: Unfortunately, they may not be more fabulous than I am... erm, I mean... more fabulous than YOU are, my queen.

“Very well, do as you wish... it is no concern of mine how the ranks swell as long as they continue to do so.”

Disco: There’s no way this could end badly.
Wild Trotter: "Even if it means creating a new lunar republic in the process, I would not mind that at all."

Nightmare Moon offered

Disco: OVEP: babbled incoherently
Crazy56U: OVEP: half-consciously mumbled
with a turn. “I now have to deal with Celestia.”
“Offer her no quarter my Queen.”

Disco: “Only dimes and nickels!”
Wild Trotter: "And they will be needing a flankload of dimes!"
Private Sprinkles: Why, is there a tollbooth?

Nexus offered

Disco: OVEP: guffawed annoyingly
Drizzel: OVEP vomited

in a semi-cheer as the black alicorn spread her wings and took flight. She looked back across the ponies now sleeping on the battlements. The music had been the result of wind and reeds, a trick Twilight had used to defeat the Ursa Minor.

CTOONfan1: SO MUCH CONTINUITY!
Anon13: You’d think this was a fanfic or something.

A story she had told Nyx and a magic that was now turned against Equestria.
============
While she had been in the throne room once before, Nightmare Moon did not remember it. She had been asleep at the time, put under by a sedation spell

Wild Trotter: Or rather, the several dozen sedation spells, seeing how persistent she was,

by Celestia. Still, from what Nexus had told her, this was the room where he determined the truth, that she truly was Nightmare Moon... and this was the room where he showed his true

Wild Trotter: fabulous

colors to

Wild Trotter: the not-so-bright

Celestia, stealing her away to Ponyville so she could be resurrected without interruption.
Upon entering the throne room, Nightmare Moon was partially shocked to find her quarry was waiting. Sitting on her throne, unguarded and without a servant

Wild Trotter: or bedmate,

in sight, was Celestia.

DiStort: She had a little sign over her head that read “Come at me, bro.”

The great white alicorn almost seemed to be meditating, or perhaps sleeping sitting upright. Her eyes were shut, and the only movement came from her pastel rainbow of a mane as it waved in the air.
Nightmare Moon approached, walking up the regal red carpet that lead from the throne room’s front doors to the grand, golden throne that Celestia sat upon. For a moment Nightmare Moon couldn’t help but nicker a bit, realizing how grander and more elegant Celestia’s throne was in comparison to her own.

CTOONfan1: Why does she ALWAYS get the nicer stuff?
Anon13: It’s an older-sister thing. Jealous?

Still, getting a bigger throne would never be a problem, and at the moment she had other things to focus on.
“Answer me one question Nightmare Moon...”

arcaneterror: Do these horseshoes make me look fat?
Wild Trotter: "Who was Scootaloo's mother?"
Crazy56U: “Why do you deny our love?”

Celestia began once the fallen princess had drawn closer, proving that the princess was awake and aware of her guest. “What have you done with Twilight Sparkle?”

Wild Trotter: "Have you had your fun with her, yet?"

“Your precious student is alive and well... for the moment. She is tucked safely away in my dungeon.”
Wild Trotter: "For her... protection, shall we say."

Celestia opened her eyes, the pink orbs hard and steely as they looked down upon Nightmare Moon.
"Why do you even seek to take Equestria? You were but a shade of my sister’s desire to have ponies look upon her night and see its beauty... but you are no longer Luna. You are not my sister, so why do you care?”

Drizzel: And why should we?

“True, I am not that feeble little filly anymore... but I was born of her, and my desire is the same. I shall make all embrace the beauty of the night, and embrace me as Equestria’s true queen.”
“You will find no love in such an embrace, only fear and loathing.”

Wild Trotter: "And maybe Bat County might spring up in Equestria."
Crazy56U: Along with a dinosaur bar.

“Yet they will embrace me still,

Wild Trotter: "In bed, anyway,"

and they will come to love the night eternal. It won’t take them long to forget about you and your precious sun.”

DiStort: “Course, as soon as they do forget, they’ll probably all freeze to death, but it’s a victory for me nonetheless.”
Crazy56U: Again, they reveal their plans of taking away the sun, and yet they don't reach that conclusion. WHY?!?!
Disco: Logic or cliched villainy. You can't have both.

“You don’t have to do this.”

DiStort: Think you could have told her that thirteen chapters ago?
Crazy56U: ...she didn’t exist thirteen chapters ago.

Nightmare Moon broke into a bout of laughter, her voice echoing like a hollow taunt across the empty throne room.
“Oh, Celestia, you sound just like your student! How truly you must fear me and my power

Wild Trotter: "Or do you fear being the... submissive one? That, I do not know."

to try and turn me away now, when I am so close to my final victory.”
“So, you shall not relent from your attack? You will come at me,
arcaneterror: bro

seek to harm me?”
“It is what you feared I would do, is it not?” Nightmare Moon asked, spreading out her wings as she prepared for a fight. “Is that not what you told Twilight Sparkle I would do if I regained power? Is this not what is expected of me?”

Wild Trotter: There's that "expected of me" bull yet again!
Crazy56U: Even though we’re nearing the end of this... I think one more drinking game can be squeezed out of this.

“Yes... and for my dear student I dared to think that the young filly she had raised might still hold compassion enough to heed one final word of advice, but... you are Nightmare Moon... in entirety, you are the shade that my sister became... given a body and flesh of your own but still nothing more than a monstrous shade.”

Wild Trotter: "And if you think Equestria will tolerate a nymphomaniac like you in our kingdom... You have... uhm...."

Celestia stood from her throne at this statement.
“And know this, Nightmare Moon; you shall receive no quarter from me.

Wild Trotter: "Nor dime, nor nickel, nor even penny."

You are a wolf growling at the door and I will not let you harm a single pony in Equestria.

Crazy56U: So... Nightmare Moon has wolf blood? ...meh, not as insane as tiger blood.

So know that tonight, should you fall to me, banishment is not the fate that awaits you. I will not risk you threatening my kingdom or family for a third time. If you fall to me, Nightmare Moon... it will be in death.”
“Very well, then this is to the death.”

Wild Trotter: "You and me only, no Elements of Harmony, Final Destination!"
Crazy56U: No Fox? THAT'S CHEATING!

Nightmare Moon replied without a hint of worry in her voice, taking a few steps back as Celestia rose from her throne and began to descend to the floor. When the pair finally stopped, each alicorn stood on one end of the room. Celestia stood, backed by her great golden throne while Nightmare Moon stood with her back to the hall’s grand doorway.
The sun princess was the first to make a move, her horn glowing as she built up magic in the air. After a few moments and a flash, the magic became condensed and focused, a glowing metallic sword. The sun princess used her magic to twirl and maneuver the sword in the air before eventually bring it up with a sharp snap, holding the blade just in front of her face.
Nightmare Moon understood in an instant; Celestia wished to fight with honor. She wished the two to clash in a duel, a test of both magical prowess and skill. For a moment Nightmare Moon thought to forgo such formalities, to just attack all out and be done with it...

Wild Trotter: Or rather, just banish her to the sun right then and there. After all, if you expect a fair fight, your strategy sucks.

but at the same time the challenging look in Celestia’s eyes beckoned her... taunted her.

Disco: Show me ya moves!
Crazy56U: You’re too slow!

She would beat the sun princess at her own game, and perhaps spare Canterlot the destruction that two warring princesses could cause. After all, it’s hard for subjects to live and be productive if their homes and businesses were destroyed.
Manifesting a

Wild Trotter: whip, eyeing Celestia's flanks devilishly.

sword of her own, Nightmare Moon took up a similar pose to Celestia, the pair glaring at each other around the sharp edges of their blades. They then, in unison, swished the blades down...and the duel began.

Disco: This battle is about to explode!
Svensvenderson: ROUND ONE, FIGHT!
Wild Trotter: Cue the Darth Maul duel music.
Crazy56U: It's time to d-d-d-d-du-du-du-du-duel! (YuGiOh theme starts)

Lunging out, Nightmare Moon galloped as she levitated the mystical sword to her side, swinging it in a wide arch where Celestia was standing. The sun princess dodged with a single flap of her wings, body shooting up into the air as she twirled once, arching over Nightmare Moon. The white alicorn tried to strike out at the black alicorn’s neck, but her sword clattered against Nightmare Moon’s neck armor.

CTOONfan1: It's almost as if the armor was to protect her or something.

Undeterred by the failed attack, Celestia landed behind Nightmare Moon, the pair spinning to face each other as the sun princess took the offensive.
Each clash of the swords brought a small flash of magical energy, the room lighting up with each blow as the pair’s shadows were cast across the grand walls and columns. Each alicorn came close to making a killing blow, but each blow was blocked by the other. Each took small cuts and scratches, times when a blade drew a little closer then was hoped, but nothing that kept either from pursuing the duel with their full strength.
But the wear of the fight began to show. Celestia, who had not slept in days, was beginning to get sloppy.

Crazy56U: Remember kids, always get your rest. You may never know when you have to fight a resurrected evil in a death battle!
RLYoshi: I can't wait for this to be a moral in canon.

Her moves were becoming less elegant, less precise, and that allowed Nightmare Moon to take on and push the offense. At the moment their blades clashed, Celestia managing to block a downward strike from the black alicorn before using her wings to jump back, putting some distance between herself and Nightmare Moon.
“You seem tired Celestia. Perhaps you would like to rest?” Nightmare Moon taunted, offering a sinister smile. “I can certainly offer an eternal one.”

Wild Trotter: "Yes, you may give your most faithful student one last goodbye kiss."

Celestia only met the grin with a hard glare, using a hoof to brush at the cut on the side of her face, which slowly wept her royal blood.

Crazy56U: Dammit, Nightmare Moon! You're making her cuts cry! Knock that shat out!

A secret of Equestria’s royalty was not that they were truly immortal. The magic the alicorns possessed, which far surpassed the natural arcane energy found in common ponies, made them much tougher and granted them eternal youth.
But it was not a true immortality, and with enough punishment and injuries even an alicorn could be killed. That was the purpose of the magical blades the two alicorns now wielded. The blades formed of magic were able to injure an alicorn like no normal sword of iron could. It was with the magical blades that the pair could swiftly kill the other.

Disco: I still don’t know what this ‘sword’ is. I need a wiki link.

“I would think you’d offer more of a fight.”

Wild Trotter: "Where's your "Hundred Crack Hooves of the North Star", now?"

Nightmare Moon continued to taunt, the pair circling each other slowly. “At least more of a fight than your sister.”
Celestia bristled.
“What have you done with Luna?”

Wild Trotter: "No one touches Luna... but ME!!!"

“Oh, now what did I do with that scared little filly of a princess? I remember catching her when she was out in the sky, searching for me. It was so humorous... instead of attacking me out right she tried to talk to me. She tried to
Wild Trotter: "hit on me. Ah... erm... I mean-"

confront me, tried to convince me that I didn’t have to do what I was doing, much like...you and Twilight. It was so terribly pathetic, like a bug telling you don’t have to squish it beneath your hoof.”
“I asked you. What. Did. You. Do. With. Luna!?”

Crazy56U: Don't. Make. Me. Go. "300". On. Your. Flank.

Nightmare Moon smirked a little.
“Well... at first I laughed at her. Laughed at her silly notions that this isn’t exactly what I want to happen. After all, I am Nightmare Moon; it’s what’s expected of me, isn’t it? And when your sister realized she wasn’t going to sway me...

Drizzel: with her romantic advances...

that I’m every bit the monster you all believe I am... she tried to fight. But she is so weak after the Elements of Harmony took away so much of her power. I like to think even Twilight could have put up a better fight against me.
“And then do you know what happened? She ran... she flew away to try and find her big sister. To find dear old Celestia so that she could be safe. But, oh... those small wings of her just couldn’t carry her that fast. But... now what did I do when I finally caught her?”
“TELL ME WHAT YOU’VE DONE!!!”

Crazy56U: "GIVE ME BACK MY SON!"
Disco: “GET OFF MY PLANE!”
Private Sprinkles: “YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”
Drizzel: THIS IS SPARTA!
Crazy56U: “NO, THIS IS PATRICK! AND I AM A MAN!” (Falcon Punch!)

“I banished her to the moon, just like you did. I thought she might like to return to her home of a thousand years.”

Disco: So Nyx took out a goddess off-screen. How much more of a Mary Sue can she possibly get?
Drizzel: Well she could have defeated Luna with THE POWER OF LOVE (gags).
Crazy56U: Now stop that, I like that song...

“I banished you, Nightmare Moon. I banished you, the shade that had overtaken my sister.”
Nightmare Moon laughed openly.
“AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Celestia, you are such a foal trying to protect yourself from the truth.

Wild Trotter: "Or rather, you were a foal for lacking a brain! ...I am surrounded... by IDIOTS!!!"
Back then, Luna and I were one and the same, no matter how much you would deny it. She was Nightmare Moon just as I was her. It was only your precious Elements of Harmony that changed that, tearing away my power, my drive, my desires from that foal.
“So, perhaps I should be thanking you, your precious student, and her friends. They and the Elements of Harmony gave me the chance to become a mare of my own... no longer held back by your sister and her petty morals.

Wild Trotter: "And... her lack of the Canterlock Voice. Oh how I envy that voice."
Crazy56U: Me too. Seriously, if I had that voice, I’d get, like... ALL the ladies.

I can now truly be the Nightmare Moon Equestria deserves,

Disco: “but not the one it needs right now,”

and all shall come to love me as their queen.”

Wild Trotter: "Especially in bed, that is."

“None will ever love you...

Wild Trotter: "Take my place as a sex goddess? Hah! I mean..."

and I will not let you take Equestria for your own. I will not let you

Wild Trotter: "make out with other ponies... erm, I mean..."

make ponies suffer.” Celestia glowered. “And I will not let you hurt Luna!”

Wild Trotter: "Nor her abacus!"
Isphone: “NIGHTMARE MOON YOU WILL SUFFAR!”
Crazy56U: Celestia has to kill fast, and bullets too slow!

“Sorry to break it to you, Tia, but you’re too late.”

Disco: A shattered abacus clattered to floor, beads scattering everywhere.
Crazy56U: (anguished, to the heavens) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Celestia’s eyes flashed with an unbridled rage, sparked to life by having this mare she loathed call her by the nickname only ever spoken to her by Luna. Celestia cried out her frustration and anger as she launched herself forward.

Wild Trotter: "WAAAAAAAARRRR!!!"
Drizzel: WOLVERINES!!
Crazy56U: FOR BOSS TIME!

Nightmare Moon met the charge with one of her own, the pair clashing at the center of the throne room as their blades met for a final time.
The two struggled against each other, but when fighting with magical weapons the strength of the metal depends on the strength of the one wielding it. Celestia’s strength was fading fast and this was mirrored in her blade.

Wild Trotter: I guess she forgot to... recharge.

Under the sharp, strong sword Nightmare Moon produced, the regal white blade cracked under the strain... and before Celestia could retreat back the blade shattered.
The breaking of the sword threw the sun princess into the air, the magic kicking back on her. She rolled and bounced across the throne room floor,

CTOONfan1: Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy.

eventually coming to a stop at the base of her own throne. Shards of the shattered blade had speckled Celestia with small cuts, and her breathing was labored

Crazy56U: So... she's about to give... birth to breath babies?
Disco: Epic Failure must be so proud.
Crazy56U: His approval fills me with shame.
as the the pain of the magical kickback pulsed in her body.
When Celestia was finally able to recover, it was too late. Nightmare Moon stood over her, the black magical blade she wielded placed against Celestia’s neck.

DiStort: Cut off her head and take her power! THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!
Crazy56U: If that's the case, then I should contact Connor MacLeod-pony; he'd want in on this.

It would take only the slightest twitch to end it all, and for a moment the pair just stared at each other.

Svensvenderson: Trollestia then formed a magical gun, and popped a cap into Nightmare Moon’s flank.
Crazy56U: Nah. That's what she would've done had she not huffed markers prior to this.

“Well... aren’t you going to do it?” Celestia eventually asked, lifting her head just enough that Nightmare Moon’s sword began to dig into the alicorn’s neck. “Aren’t you going to finish me off as I would you?”

CTOONfan1: "I want out of this story as quick as possible. Act like Nike and just do it!"

“Do not tempt me, Celestia, for at the moment I am feeling merciful... or maybe... it would be better to say that I feel death is too easy of an escape for you. After all, the pain of death is over in but an instant.

Svensvenderson: Bond villain stupidity in 3... 2... 1...
Crazy56U: HAPPY NEW YEAR! (blows kazoo) ...what?

“Imprisonment, however, is a far more longstanding torture; I would know myself.”
“Then what are you going do to me?”

CTOONfan1: Imprison... you?
Drizzel: Remember; marker huffing...

“I shall do what I did when last we met. I am going to imprison you in your precious sun,

Crazy56U: That... actually makes perfect sense; they never explained in the show what happened to Celestia, so... this makes sense!

just as I have imprisoned Luna in the moon. The two Royal Sisters, held captive in the sky bound spheres they tended to diligently. You’ve made your bed Celestia; I think it’s high time you lay in it.”

DiStort: “Hope you packed some sun screen.”

Nightmare Moon’s magical mane began to wrap itself around Celestia,

arcaneterror: "I want your mane inside of me!" "Haha, that's ridiculous."
the fallen princesses drawing on the sun princess’ magic as she prepared her spell.

Crazy56U: So... Nightmare Moon had Celestia prepare the spell that sent her to the sun? ...I'm confused...
RLYoshi: She was a very willing prisoner.
When the magic had built up, Nightmare Moon completely encased Celestia in her star field of a mane, and from within formed the banishment spell.

Disco: FINISH HER!

There was a flash of light, and when Nightmare Moon removed her mane Celestia was gone.

Wild Trotter: Off to get a drink at an inter-dimensional canteen, no less.
Disco: Nightmare Moon leveled up!

============
Whispers and hushed voices filled the Ponyville square, every pony in town gathering just outside the town hall. The sun was supposed to have risen several hours ago, but instead the moon still lingered in the center of the sky, looking down upon the world with its pale glow. On the steps of the town hall, the Mayor of Ponyville moved up to the podium, looking as she had been crying. Still, she rubbed her eyes and cleared her throat.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville it...it is my duty... my solemn duty... to announce that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have... have been defeated...”

Wild Trotter: "In... in thirty... seconds... flat, no less."
Crazy56U: Not that I blame her... but she sounds like she had a glass of “orange juice” before announcing this.

A hushed gasp cascaded through the crowd, ponies looking at each other with disbelief, but none daring to speak

CTOONfan1: As they didn't have voice actors.
Drizzel: Actually, Bon-Bon has three.
CTOONfan1: Four, but who’s counting?

as they hung on every word that left the mayor’s mouth.
“I received word from the Royal Guard just after sun... when the sunrise was due to occur. Yesterday, a great... tragedy befell Equestria. During the late afternoon, Princess Luna was attacked by and imprisoned in

Wild Trotter: "the domain of Nightmare Moon, herself."

the moon. And then, just after midnight this past evening... Nightmare Moon met our dear Princess Celestia in hoof to hoof combat...

Svensvenderson: With magical swords.
Crazy56U: Funny how that bit’s omitted in the story the Mayor was told.

and was victorious. The Princesses of Sun and Moon have been banished to the celestial bodies they once guided across the sky.
“Nightmare Moon has hereby decreed herself Queen of Equestria, and the Royal Guard of Canterlot has sworn their allegiance to her. I have been told that... that any open rebellion against the new crown will be met harshly

Wild Trotter: "and that anyone willing to lay with Nightmare Moon is most welcome to do so... except the minors..."

and... and that...”
The mayor had to lick her lips
“And that we have seen the last of the sun. That this night... will last... for... forever.”
Another gasp cut through the crowd, a few ponies even fainting on their hooves.

Wild Trotter: And a still smaller group of ponies, not wanting to be around when Nightmare Moon shows up, flee the scene abruptly.

“Oh Miss Mayor, you speak as if this is some great travesty.”

DiStort: The slow, freezing death of all ponies? Pfft, I’ve seen worse.

Every head in the crowd spun around, looking back to see Nightmare Moon striding towards the crowd. The two of the guards who had once served Celestia now walked in the queen’s wake, their armor exchanged for the more befitting

Wild Trotter: Read: fabulous

night blue armor while their eyes now had the same brilliant turquoise as their queen’s.
The crowd quickly parted and made a path, much like they did the day Nightmare Moon first returned. Some even bowed as she passed, a sight that made Nightmare Moon smile a bit. It was a start; she couldn’t expect them all to be so eager to

Wild Trotter: fawn over her right on the spot.

bow right away. It would take time, but now... she had all the time in the world.
Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed as she moved the podium off the town hall stage, the mayor quickly retreating back as the black alicorn climbed on. She passed a glance at the mayor who was shaking like a leaf but still managed to bow her head respectfully. Satisfied with that sight, Nightmare Moon then turned to face the crowd, her voice ringing out through the night.
“Citizens of Ponyville, it is hard to believe that merely a week ago I stood amongst you freshly reborn, and now I am already your queen.

DiStort: Politics are weird like that.

One must truly wonder how sturdy your monarchy was that it could be so easily toppled.
“But toppled it I have, and I now stand as your one true queen. Under me Equestria shall flourish under the eternal night.

Svensvenderson: Care to tell the rest of the us how that’s going to work?
Crazy56U: Nightmare Moon: “No.”

You need not fear for your crops or your homes, for while the night can be cold, those most loyal to me have already begun the act of making this kingdom a place that can thrive beneath the moonlight. They have been long prepared for the night eternal.

Wild Trotter: "Of course you are all welcome to join my... picture show in my castle tonight."

“And there is further reason to rejoice. For as I promised on the day of my return I have not forgotten the kindness you all offered me when I was but an ignorant filly. For this, I have decided to give Ponyville a great honor, bestow upon it a gift no other town or city in Equestria will share.”
The ground shook, a distant rumbling reaching the ear of everypony as Nightmare Moon’s eyes glowed. All eyes turned to the distant rock quarries, in the hills just beyond Ponyville. For a moment there was nothing, but as the rumbling continued a single pointed spire began to rise up. That first spire was joined by others, and soon a whole castle had risen up like a mountain from the quarries,

Wild Trotter: Stretching all the way to the heavens, dwarfing all of Equestria with its magnificent height.
Drizzel: A CASTLE THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS!

looking down upon Ponyville like a giant ready to strike.
“For the time being, Canterlot shall remain the administrative capitol of Equestria. The bureaucrats and politicians shall continue their labors amongst the white stone streets of the mountain built city. But Ponyville shall be the true heart of this kingdom, for it is here I make my castle and my home.
“So rejoice residents of Ponyville, for this town shall soon see prosperity unmatched as it slowly becomes the beating heart of Equestria.”
“You... you,” The mayor tried to utter out, her voice shaking. “You... honor us, Your Highness. We... we will gladly serve as your home.”
Nightmare Moon smiled. “Well chosen words Mayor.”
“Well, some of us ain’t goin’ down without a fight!”

Wild Trotter: "Combat time!"

The black alicorn flicked her gaze up, seeing six ponies standing at the far end of the street. Five of them she recognized. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all standing, wearing the Elements of Harmony. The sixth pony she did not recognize however; a unicorn who quickly stood there shivering, wearing the Element of Magic tiara as she hid behind Applejack.
“Well well, I was wondering when you five would show up. Who’s the new mare?”
“No one, just a simple show pony that’s all!” The blue unicorn replied, ducking behind Applejack.

RLYoshi: Spell Nexus?!
Wild Trotter: Has Trixie been discordified on us?
Crazy56U: Nope, what Trixie is demonstrating is fear! The best emotion! :D
Wild Trotter: Well, that figures.

“Her name is Trixie, and while she ain’t no Twilight she is a unicorn whose special talent is magic which means she can use the Element of Magic.”

Wild Trotter: I can guess how well that one will go.
Crazy56U: If they decided Trixie was there best bet, then they must've ran out of ideas. This concerns me.
Disco: Someone's been reading Pony POV.
Crazy56U: ...before it was ever written. … …PEN STOKE IS BEST PSYCHIC!
Wild Trotter: Pony POV? The one fanfic that makes ponies no better than humans? ...Yeah, I'm not reading THAT one.
Crazy56U: (turns to Trotter, glares) I happen to like it, you jerk...

“What are you doing?!” Trixie hissed. “I mean, I couldn’t even defeat a Ursa Minor and you expect me to go up against Nightmare Moon!?”
“You were the one that agreed to help!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Now start helping.”
“But I don’t know what to do! How does this thing even work?”
“Just try puttin’ some magic into it or somethin’.”
“That isn’t how magic works! I can’t just ‘put some magic into it’ and expect something to happen!”
Nightmare Moon had to lift a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Whether they were a threat or not didn’t really matter at the moment; the grand entrance of the group of ponies had attempted was quickly turning into an impromptu comedy act as they argued with their substitute unicorn.

CTOONfan1: Now someone bring out the cream pie!

“Just quit with yer fussin’ and try before I buck some sense into ya.”

Svensvenderson: I can hear the shippers now...

Applejack finally snapped, the minor threat of physical violence finally making Trixie step forward. The blue unicorn began to focus her magic, and as she did the Elements of Harmony began to glow. It was the first sign that the six ponies were actually going to pose a threat, the jeweled necklaces and tiara coming to life as they lifted the ponies off the ground.
Nightmare Moon instinctively worked herself down into a defensive position, ready to leap clear of the attack from the Elements of Harmony. The six ponies were enveloped in light, and after a few tense moments the rainbow appeared... and again Nightmare Moon was struck with the overpowering desire to laugh.
The rainbow spat out by the Elements of Harmony was the size of a small candy bar, and floating through the air lazily with mismatched and sickly colors. It drifted on the wind like a leaf, and when it finally did reach Nightmare Moon and struck her, the only effect it had was that it made that one small patch of her body

Wild Trotter: Not even stating which patch it was.

feel slightly warmer than the rest.

Disco: It’s not very effective...
DiStort: Well, points for trying, girls.

It was too much, simply all too much. Nightmare Moon could only break out in laughter as she spread her wings and took flight. She soared over the crowd, approaching the sphere of light as it faded. The six ponies who had attempted to use the Elements of Harmony were sprawled out on the ground, trying to recover from the after effects of using the ancient magical artifacts.
The black alicorn landed gently, looking down at the ponies as she stretched out her magic. She took each of the Elements of Harmony, examining the fine jewelry and smiling at her reflection in the gems before turning her eyes back to the ponies.
“Did... did I do it?” Trixie asked, the show pony’s head swimming.
“I... I don’t think so.” Fluttershy replied, pointing a hoof. Trixie turned, eyes narrowing to pin points when she saw Nightmare Moon was towering over her, not even a hoof step away. The black alicorn leaned in, smiling devilishly as she met eye to eye with Trixie.
“Boo.”

Wild Trotter: "ZUUL, MOTHERBUCKER! ZUUUUUUUUUUL!!!"
Crazy56U: CAAAAAAAAAAT!

With that single word Trixie was off like a shot, galloping out of Ponyville in an utter panic.

Wild Trotter: Read: Stormed out of the town in disgust.
DiStort: Hoo boy. Someone call Seth from Equestria Daily and tell him Trixie needs a hug.

“Told you we shouldn’t have used her.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, glaring at Applejack.

“Oh hush up; she was the only unicorn we could find who had a special talent for magic and even that was a long shot.”

Drizzel: "And she needed an obligatory cameo anyway."
Anon13: Now we have a shot at getting on EqD!

“So, my little ponies,” Nightmare Moon offered, looking over the five remaining wielders of the Elements of Harmony as she held the elements themselves in her swirling, mystical mane. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Do whatever you want,

CTOONfan1: (best Takei impression) Oh my!

you can’t make us talk!” Dash shouted defiantly.
“Yea!” Pinkie Pie agreed, only to look quizzically at Rainbow Dash a moment later. “Wait, what would we talk to her about?”
“Pinkie Pie, Shhhh...”
Nightmare Moon chuckled. “Perhaps I should keep you five as court jesters. Your bickering alone is very amusing.”
“Your Majesty, the law dictates that there is only one punishment for those who dare to attack you.” One of her guards quickly offered with a respectful bow.

CTOONfan1: "They must read Cupcakes and Sweet Apple Massacre in a row."
Crazy56U: Personally, having them read “My Little Dashie” would be a better punishment. That has the added benefit of having it tear your soul apart.
RingmasterJ5: Nah, then they could just go all MST3K on them like we’re doing.
“Let me guess... this is one of Nexus’ laws.”
“Yes Your Highness.”

Drizzel: We know because he wrote it in his signature sparkly ink.
Anon13: There was also a smudge of eyeliner on the paper.

“And what does this law say?”
“That any pony that attacks your royal grace is to

Wild Trotter: "be bound and gagged for public flank flogging." (beat) "Wait a minute! What!?"
meet the gallows.”

DiStort: Nexus plans on manipulating the gallows and new justice system so he can pursue his TRUE goal: The annihilation of anypony more fabulous than him!

“Did... did he just say... gallows?” Rarity offered in a hushed, disbelieving whisper.
“He... he did Sugarcube.”

Wild Trotter: "Then again, at least we ain't starring in no more clopfics. Right? ....Right?"
Crazy56U: Well, he's bat-shit insane at this point; why WOULDN'T he suggest the gallows?
Wild Trotter: He likes the slow-and-painful deaths, doesn't he?

“But... but what about the animals at my cottage? There are some that need their medicine. I have to go take care of them.” Fluttershy offered, starting to tear up in a panic. “There is a little ferret that needs his bandages changed and... and there are song birds that are just about ready to take their first flight. What will happen if I’m not there to catch them if they fall?”

Wild Trotter: "And PLEASE don't get me started on Photo Finish finding someone else to do "Da Magicks" on."
Crazy56U: You know, if I didn’t know the context, I’d be disturbed right now.

“You be strong Sugarcube. I promise all those little animals will get along just fine.” Applejack tried to reassure. “Just... just like how Big Mac and Apple Bloom and Granny Smith will get along. It will be hard, specially when the next Apple Bucking season comes. Don’t think Big Macintosh will be able to handle all them trees himself... but Apple Blooms gettin’ big. She’ll be buckin’ apples any year now... she’ll be able to help.”
“But... but I can’t go to the gallows! I just can’t! Who will...who will look after Sweetie Belle? I’m...I’m the only family she has left...”

Wild Trotter: "And I was one page away from finishing "Hearts and Harnesses Asunder", too!"
CTOONfan1: I truly do appreciate canon debunking everything Pen Stroke types.

“And... and who will throw the parties when I’m gone?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Who's going to make the cake when I'm gone?

Crazy56U: Pinkie is now channeling GLaDOS. She must be really upset.
The Cakes will have their anniversary party soon, and there is a wedding party that we have to cater, and then there is a birthday party for Lyra, and...”

Wild Trotter: "And Photo Finish is getting ready to celebrate her bachelorette party!"

"This isn't fair...” Dash complained, trying hard not to sob or cry, even though the tears were starting to form. “I was going to go to the Wonderbolt tryouts this summer... I was going to be a Wonderbolt. And I promised Scootaloo that I would teach her how to fly next year when her wings were stronger...I promised her that I would...who's going to teach her now? And...and who's going to clear the weather in Ponyville if I'm not around?"

Svensvenderson: Celestia forbid they have this conversation while running away.
Anon13: This is ridiculous. NM is threatening their lives, and their reaction is basically “Dang, that death thing will be such a bummer.” HEL-LO?!?
Wild Trotter: "And who will take my place as the "launcher of a thousand ships" kind of mare? Oh, horse apples! Did I say that out loud!?"

Nightmare Moon watched as all five ponies began to break down, many beginning to cry as they realized the cost their attempted rebellion would bring. Nightmare Moon felt a tightness forming in her chest as she focused in on what each was saying, of all the lives that would be effected if the five were forced to face the gallows.

CTOONfan1: Is it possible she's feeling... EMOTIONS?!
Drizzel: (scoffs) Dont be ridiculous

And the black alicorn couldn’t help but think of Twilight, the unicorn still being kept in the castle dungeons.
“Shall we take them into custody, Your Majesty?”

Wild Trotter: "Your custody, that is?" (wink wink)
Anon13: “Again. That. Is. My. SISTER. You. Bucking. Moron.”

The guards asked, moving a few steps towards the five mares, only to suddenly be stopped by Nightmare Moon’s wings.
“No, you are to let them go.”

RLYoshi: Being serious for a moment, I mentally cheered when I first read this.
Crazy56U: I don’t blame you. HOORAY FOR COMPASSION!

“WHAT!?”
The question had come from not just the guards, but the five mares as well... who stared up at Nightmare Moon in disbelief.
“But, my Queen, the law says-”

Wild Trotter: "Anyone more fabulous than Spell Nexus must be hung at the gallows. ...Horse feathers, is Spell Nexus listening?"

“AM I OR AM I NOT

Anon13: MARY SUE?!?
Drizzel: Is that a trick question?

YOUR QUEEN?!” Nightmare moon snapped. “Now, return to the castle and inform Nexus I want him to take me through all the new laws he’s enacted. Every single one!”

CTOONfan1: Especially that one people have been calling SOPA.
Crazy56U: Sooooo... Spell Nexus wrote that in this universe. … (pulls out shot gun) ...interestin’. (pumps gun)

“But my Queen, we aren’t supposed to leave your side for any-”

“NOW!!!”

Drizzel: Or so help me I will take away your hoof polish!
The guards jumped into the air and took off, soaring as fast as their wings could take them to the now above ground castle. Nightmare Moon kept her her eyes on the guards for a few more moments before turning her gaze down on the five mares.
“You’re... you’re letting us go... just like that?” Rarity asked in disbelief.

CTOONfan1: "I'm sorry. Do you WANT me to kill you?

“It is a repayment of kindness and nothing more.” Nightmare Moon answered coldly as she spread her wings. “For the kindness you showed me when I was but an ignorant filly, I am now sparing your lives.
“Do not expect the same mercy should you try and rise up against me again.”

Wild Trotter: "Or better yet, do try again. I will have something... very special in store for you if you do."

And with those final words the black alicorn took flight. She circled once over Ponyville before turning in the direction of her freshly risen castle, the Elements of Harmony floating behind her, cradled in the alicorn's magic.
===========
With a flutter of wings Nightmare Moon landed on her bedroom balcony, stepping inside. She floated the Elements of Harmony to a nearby dresser,

Crazy56U: Yep, don't destroy them or anything, just keep them in your dresser. ...maybe she plans on giving them to Nexus to play with.

tucking them away along with the pieces of her armor, removing her helmet last and hanging it off a stud in the wall.
Using a wet cloth from her vanity, she cleaned away her eye shadow. The now simply black Nightmare Moon gently laid down on her bed, mind turning as she struggled to understand the choices she had made in the last few hours.

Wild Trotter: Such as not forcing Rarity to read her naughty books in public.

First, she didn’t finish off Celestia or Luna. Why had she done that? They would still be a threat to her; while it may take centuries there was a chance they could escape the sun and moon. It would have been smarter to just kill them. But no, she hadn't done it. Even though it would have made her rule truly eternal, she chose not to kill them, even when they had expected her to.

Wild Trotter: I guess the "expected of her" part wasn't really in full effect after all.

And then she let Twilight’s friends go, completely unpunished. She didn’t even think about locking them in the dungeon with Twilight.

DiStort: Actually, that probably would’ve been an even worse idea, what with friendship being magic and all that.

Those six together were the greatest threat to her rule, being the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Even if there would always be more ponies with the virtues that powered the ancient magic, it would have made more sense to take them out... permanently.
But she hadn’t. When they started to worry about not being there for their family and friends, Nightmare Moon felt an emotion she didn’t remember feeling when she first faced them, when their paths had crossed in the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters... back when she was still just a shade of Luna.
Compassion.

Wild Trotter: Common sense.

She honestly, truly did not want to kill them, not only because they had friends and families that would have been devastated, not only because it would have broke Twilight’s heart, but...she truly did not want to see anypony face the gallows.

DiStort: Good. Let’s keep it that way. Even I have standards, and I’d rather not read about a lifeless pony hanging from a rope.
RLYoshi: Lifeless ponies in general turn me off too.
Crazy56U: That’s why I don’t care for G3. ZING!

If she couldn’t even bring herself to openly attack any of the guards just before her battle with Celestia, there was no way she could send a pony to her death by hanging.
Nightmare Moon violently shook her head, standing up tall, regal and proud. What was she doing? Feeling sorry for herself? Questioning her actions? This was supposed to be the greatest day in her entire life!
She had won, in all aspects her victory was absolute. Celestia and Luna were banished to the sun and moon respectively. She now held the Elements of Harmony, the one force that could defeat her, and there was no other alicorn or unicorn powerful enough to challenge her magic.

Wild Trotter: There are still ponies more fabulous than Spell Nexus, such as Sapphire Shores, but that's another story.

Her victory was absolute, she would reign as Equestria’s queen for millennia to come.
It was her victory... so then why did it feel so hollow?

DiStort: Probably because your victory will never go anywhere. Fillies and Gentlecolts, this is the end of the original unedited version of Past Sins. And thank Celestia for that.
RLYoshi: Next time on Ponyba-wait...
Disco: It’s over! IT’S FINALLY OVER!
Crazy56U: (breaks out the champagne)
Drizzel: Done! (jumps out the window)
Wild Trotter: (slugs down beer like crazy)
Crazy56U: Although, to be fair, at least this wasn't the (fan) sequel. (Sequel Hook?!?!)
RingmasterJ5: This one’s over, yes, but the darkest days are yet to come. Days of emo, one-dimensional alicorns. Days of believing. Days of... Mykan. *shudder*

Drizzel: What? You're still here? The riffing’s over, go away!
Anon13: Might be a variant of Stockholm Syndrome.

Next Chapter: Texas Hold'em With The Humans of Equestria Estimated time remaining: 23 Hours, 55 Minutes