“Nightmare…” Strawberry repeated. He shut his mouth and took a gulp. He forced himself to quit jiggling in place for a second, and he managed to find some inner strength to steel himself. “My Nightmare…” He held his right hoof up in the air, and he made contact with the door. His hoof still wouldn’t stop wobbling. My love… My Princess. He pushed forwards, and then the doors opened.

He saw... nothing. What is she doing... playing with me? The unicorn rustled forward into the pure, inky blackness. He barely even breathed as he took each step. This had... better not be... Strawberry's hooves lost the sensation of touching anything. The unicorn flipped over-- his heart beating faster and faster-- and thumbed down into the nothingness. He could barely even begin to describe the sensation. Every last inch of everything around him had disappeared.

He felt absolutely nothing below his hooves. Yet he didn't fall. He didn't feel any air whooshing past him. His insides scrunched into a big knot as he realized that didn't even seem to feel gravity anymore. He just floated about in empty space. He concentrated with his magic and lit up his hoof with a sharp pink light.

He saw his chest, and then he glanced out to spot his legs dangling about. The perpetual darkness around him lapped up against his skin like the tide up a beach. His horn dimmed and dimmed. What's... What's... NO! What kind of... magic is... Black spot after black spot erupted up his body, leading right up his bottom hooves.

It creeped up his stomach, this chest, and then going up his neck towards his face. Strawberry's mind screamed out to struggle-- to jerk around and fight as he concentrated his magic. His body refused. I... can't... what... Every last inch of his body seemed to tell him to just accept it all peacefully-- to fade away like the last stub of wick on a candle.

"I... I..." a voice sounded from somewhere. Was that... me? The voice seemed to come out of his own head.

"What!" Strawberry screamed. He snapped inside. I just... I screamed. Something actually came out. Senses clicked right back to him. He thrust himself forward, and then he bounced backwards. He kicked around in all directions.

"Oh... oh... I just... I need to tell you something..." the voice went on. It seemed so soothing, so soft, and so feminine. A yellow blur flashed in Strawberry's mind.

"F-f-f-f-f-f-futtershy?" Strawberry eked out. He kicked again and again. He somehow twirled about on his back. He threw out his front hooves. Suddenly, something tender and feathery rubbed up against them.

The unicorn bumped into the yellow pegasus, and he flipped over for the umpteenth time. His hooves clutched a tight bundle of feathers. He felt another hoof touching his side. He had no idea what happened, but he suddenly seemed to land on something hard and flat. He knocked together his bottom hooves and gasped.

"Ahhhh... ahhh.... ahhhhhhhhhh...." Fluttershy loudly moaned. Her face contorted in emotion. Strawberry held onto her wings with a firm grip-- rubbing and massasing them every which way in the process. "P-p-p-p-please... S-S-Strawberry..."

The unicorn slowly let bunch after bunch of feathers out of his grip. He breathed in and out uncontrollably, but he felt... stationary at last. He couldn't see himself at all. Yet he clearly sensed himself lying flat on his stomach.

Fluttershy did exactly the same thing, facing him and lying down on some kind of surface. Although the inky blackness bathed everything, the pegasus glowed with a sunny light from deep inside. He could see her perfectly. It's like... Her kindness is shining through. Her love is showing.

"I... I don't have much time..." Fluttershy went on.

I have-- have-- so many questions! Strawberry began, "How did--"

The pegasus thrust her hoof into Strawberry's face. He froze. He felt so surprised at how... un-shy she acted.

"I'm, I'm s-sorry, but I have to t-tell you a l-lot right now," she said. He took a good, long look at her face. Her tears had flowed again and again to the point that it almost burned along her cheeks. "Just listen."

He nodded. I will never listen to somepony as intently in my entire life.

"Don't, d-don't let Moon..." she stammered, and she clearly had a hard time forcing the words out even though she had rehearsed them multiple times, "S-set us... f-free."

WHAT! DON'T set you free! Strawberry wanted to scream. Her hoof stayed right on his face. He glanced over, and his heart almost stopped. His eyes traced up the ugly looking black and red marks pitter-pattering all up her leg. He stared at the thick gash along the edge of her chest-- bright yellow skin mixed with yellowish-brown scar tissue.

"DON'T," Fluttershy declared-- her face deadly serious in a way that Strawberry had never seen, "LET. HER. SET. US. FREE."

Strawberry didn't know whether to cry or vomit. The pegasus leaned forward. The even deeper slash across the back of Fluttershy's head that he saw burned into his eyes for the rest of his life.

"Moon s-stole part of me, part of a-all of u-us," she stammered, trying not to cry, "And she m-made t-that part of our a-ability, our e-e-essence, into her o-own m-magic." Strawberry's eyes locked onto hers. "That's how s-s-she finally defeated Celestia, at least for n-now..."

The unicorn couldn't keep a few tears from dripping through.

"I know what you... you want to do," she said, tearing a little with him, "And... t-thank you. But not yet... Not. Yet."

Strawberry nodded despite his total confusion.

"I'm... I'm..." the pegasus said, "I'm a p-part of her n-now, and that means m-my essence is being filled with h-her... hatred. I'm c-cursed like p-poor Moon is." Her eyes dipped down to her broken hoof on Strawberry's mouth. "You have to... do it."

She leaned in even closer. He gazed at her. So beautiful... Gosh, another life, another time, and another place... We could have been...

"I don't have m-much more t-time," she went on, and her voice grew a little frantic, "She s-stole my element, my e-e-essence, my s-soul-- to add to her p-power. And she's t-tainted it, t-tained m-me with herself. Hurt it. Broke it. So, And if she returns it, returns m-me then..." She trailed off. The black nothingness nipped at the edges of her body. Little black splotches popped around on the edges of her hooves.

"Then..." Strawberry stammered. Her hoof flew off of her face, and she clutched her body. The unicorn eyed her face-- scared to death yet also incredibly determined.

"You have to give it to her. You have to SAVE. HER. FIRST. THEN, save me. Give it to her," she finished, the fears flowed and flowed although she sounded stronger than ever, "LOVE. Just... LOVE her. Bring back Luna. Cure her. Cure me. Then, she can save me. Then, she can sent me back. ONLY then. Or its the end of--"

"Back..." Strawberry moaned, and he worked himself into a scream, "BACK WHERE? WHEN? WHAT'S GOING ON!" She did nothing but try to smile at him. Dark splotches ran up her body towards her face.

Strawberry shut his eyes tightly. This can't be. This can't be. I'm not here. I'm at Moon's room. I'm not here. I'm at Moon's room. Little fluffy sensations curled around his hooves. "Moon's room." He built up his voice to a shout. "Moon's room!"

"Yay," the alicorn replied.

Strawberry popped his eyes open. Moon's... Moon's... The alicorn gave him her familiar smile. She tossed about on the black sheets of her bed seductively. She opened up her mouth to reveal her tiara in her mouth. She licked the gigantic diamond. In another time and another place, Strawberry would be wiggling in place from the hunger in between his legs.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Strawberry screamed at Moon. He almost keeled over on the bedroom's rug.

"Oh, that," the alicorn said, and she turned a little red along the sides of her face, "Hehe, we were thinking that we'd surprise you with an illusion spell when you walked in. We guess it didn't work. It did look funny, though. You walked in and then threw yourself on the ground." She tried to keep from laughing. "Wiggled like a fish out of water..." She let out some chuckles. "And oh, you were moaning..."

"Illusion," he repeated. There's no blasted way that was an illusion. I could taste Fluttershy's blood from her hoof. I could smell her burned skin. He glared at the alicorn-- overcome with emotion. Some lines had gotten re-crossed in his heart.

The alicorn sat down on the bed, totally confused. She spat the tiara out. She shifted a little over to the side-- the black sheets rubbing up against her long dress. "Aren't... we..." she muttered. Her eyes met the floor beneath them, and then they traced over to the grandfather clock. "Going... you... we... to..." She took a bit of a deep breath. "Take... one... on... with... me?" She met eyes with him again-- showing those deep, pretty blue orbs with all of the wonder of the night sky.

"Just... just..." Strawberry muttered. He tried to sit down to think. He tried to come to his sense. He just felt so overwhelmed. The little voices in his head wouldn't calm down into complete thoughts.

"Strawberry?" Moon asked, stepping off of the bed and nudging over to him.

"Just-- SHUT UP!" Strawberry screamed at her. She flinched. A horrible twenty seconds of silence passed between them. "It's... it's..." His mind wouldn't let him forget. The burns. The gash. The slash. The stinging blue spots. I'll bet Moon decked Fluttershy like... NO! NO! NO! He scrunched his hooves upon his face. NO! NOT NOW!

Moon had had enough. She curled down over him, and then she nestled herself down upon the rug. Her wings fluttered down just atop his head. He felt like a little teddy bear held by a sleeping puppy. "Strawwwwwwwwwwwwberry..."

The unicorn, somehow, forced the tears to stop. He smashed deep down into his subconscious every last thing about that certain yellow pegasus... except for that once sentence. Save her first. Then, save me. Save her first. Then, save me. Save her first. Save her. Save... Strawberry looked straight up at Moon's beautiful face. Her bridal-like veil rubbed up against his skin-- feeling already like dozens of tender kisses.

"Save her... to love her..." he whispered so quietly that he could barely hear it himself. He turned a little bit around, and he met with Moon eye to eye. It didn't seem to matter what she said, what she did, or what he heard about it. It would never matter. He would never want anything else-- or need anything else-- besides that shelter in her eyes.

Moon could see through him like a window. He knew it. She knew it. The alicorn moved her hooves over down his side until they held hooves with each other tightly.

Now! Now is the moment! It has to be! He leaned a bit forward— almost paralyzed by his nervousness. He found himself up against a little bit of air between them. Come on!

Moon paused, and she cocked her head in confusion— wondering why he hadn’t started yet. Her eyes made a playful kind of ‘oh, you’ look. She then moved her face up against Strawberry. A little jitter went through the unicorn, and he finally kissed her.

Their lips locked closely. She didn’t hold back anymore. Her tongue lapped up all around the sides of his mouth. He tried to do the same— still not quite knowing what he was doing. The unicorn trembled from head to hoof at the inky black magical feelings that poured into him.

Their heads turned back and forth as they went at each other. Their tongues danced. Jolt after jolt seemed to pulse into Strawberry until he thought he would be electrocuted. Not a moment had passed until she had poured her tongue right down and almost gone into his throat. She nudged herself around and, then, their hooves grasped each other’s chests tightly.

They shifted their mouths up and down, left and right, and all around— again and again. As they bumped up against each other once again, Moon felt to him like a shimmering, depthless pool that Strawberry waded into further and further as well as deeper and deeper. Time seemed meaningless.

Moon nudged her body upwards and closer— going from pinning him down to a full and total embrace. They kept on kissing. Her wings flapped in pure joy. Strawberry banged his hooves in pleasure. They then suddenly stopped making out.

Strawberry hesitated a moment. He wanted to think up something— some clever turn of phrase, some little bit of poetry, or anything that conveyed the pang in his heart for her. He came up empty. “I… I l-l-love y-you…”

“I can’t believe I left you in that forest clearing…” Moon said, a flash of regret flowing through her face. Her inky skin went a tiny bit red once again.

Strawberry instinctively reached his head forward in another embrace. They buried themselves in each other’s shoulders and hugged tightly. “You never left me…” said the unicorn. Tears of happiness went down his face. “As long as I have the night sky, you’re there. Now. And forever. You’ll always be a part of me. ”

Moon somehow squeezed him even tighter. He felt a little bit of her own tears dripping down his back. Every little drop burst on his skin with her magic. He then opened his eyes again.

"We'll never be as happy as we are right now," the alicorn said, "Oh, Strawberry..." Misty wet spots ran down Moon's back in return as Strawberry hugged her. "You’ll always... Be my… Prince."

"Prince," he repeated, and then he chuckled. The night sky in the window behind him fit the mood perfectly. "Doesn't that..." He paused. Some odd white something trailed down in front of the gigantic Moon. "Mean you'd... be..." The white spot grew bigger and bigger. "Be..." That's... not a shooting star. It's coming right for us.

Strawberry slipped out of Moon's grasp. She dangled for a second-- lips out to kiss the empty air. The unicorn's jaw dropped. Right. For. Us. Light poured across the room. It built up, and room lit up to the point that the endless night might as well have ended.

"What!" Moon exclaimed, her hooves waving in exasperation. She finally flipped her wing over and glanced where Strawberry's eyes had locked. "Oh..."

"OH!" an unfamilar voice erupted in through the window. A gigantic white pulse blasted into the room. Strawberry bounced back. He clutch the rug for a second-- afraid he would be sucked outside or blasted out through the doors.

"You," Moon growled. Strawberry-- flat on his back-- gazed up at her musuclar body now tensing up in a way that he had never seen before. The unicorn clutched the alicorn's leg like a little lost foal, and he eyed back at the window.

"Hello... sister," replied the visitor. Her mane fluttered through the air-- the purple, blue, and green trails sparkling from her own inner light. Her shark white body shone brighter than any lamp that Strawberry had ever seen. "You've been... busy I see..."

Her eyes then flashed at Strawberry. Although he had only ever seen one more beautiful pony in his entire life, he felt terrified. Her deep, pretty purple eyes pulsed with rage. Her horn aimed straight at Strawberry as if she was about to skewer him.

"Nice... toy..." she mouthed, spitting out that last word in pure contempt. She stepped closer.

Moon braced herself with all of her strength. Strawberry could sense in the deepest part of his soul her magic. She clearly prepared for battle-- what would be the toughest fight of her life.

The white alicorn kept stepping closer, and her eyes almost seemed to shoot laser beams right into Moon. "The fun is over, sister," Celestia declared. She paused, and then she looked over at Strawberry again. Celestia's face-- once an object of sheer, perfect beauty-- contorted in disgust. "You can put away your toy, now. It's time."

Moon might have forced the unicorn off of her-- had she tried. She bent down her hooves. She pounded her wings over and over again. Strawberry clutched her so tightly, so snugly, and so deeply that his flesh seemed to embed into hers. He shivered in fear. Yet he felt Moon's magic flowing through inside him. She felt so strong, so ready, and... so powerful. He shut his eyes, but he couldn't keep out the tears.

Nothing separated them. Her thoughts were his. Her fears were his. Her sheer hate for Celestia-- something that survived and stuck deep inside her like tea leaves at the bottom of a giant pitcher in spite of all of the love that filled the rest of her heart and-- wanted to be his sheer hate. He wouldn't let it, but that didn't matter.

*BANG*

"TIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Moon screamed. Strawberry felt as if his brains and his heart both melted. The world whooshed by him. He cracked open his eyes, and he saw himself hurling through the air underneath Moon. The inky blackness in the sky around them almost seemed to burn. The Canterlot castle shrunk into a speck. Room after room, garden after garden, and banner after banner sped right past him in split-second as looked down.

It's... Celestia pulled down below them-- flying every little bit as hard and fast. My... Celestia curled her right wing over, tossing herself into a somersault. My worst... She burst through the air straight up like a rocket.

MY WORST NIGHTMARE!