Written by RandomString Proofread by Knight of Cerebus

Twilight woke up, stretched and saved. Now that her relationship with Luna was stable, and the pressure from the fire-keg intensity that their relationship had had when they shared the same roof was gone, Twilight was finding herself far more relaxed and much happier besides.

Her love was only a dream away, even if their dreams together had been chaste so far. They were working to build intimacy based on trust and common interests. Astronomy, history and magic theory weren’t as exciting as sex, but they were a lot more practical as building blocks to making a lifetime together.

This last dream, a tour of a griffon eyrie from the time just before Luna was banished, had been fascinating, with Luna showing scenes that Twilight had only read about in books and Twilight telling Luna the history of the griffons after Luna’s departure. Despite her interest in the topic, and the cool breezes in the eyrie, Twilight had found herself getting distracted by the heat of her desires. Luna had admitted to the same needs, and hinted that she intended to make up for lost time with her soon.

Something was different this morning, and Twilight soon spotted what: a roll of paper on her bedside table had caught her eye; it had not been there when she turned in. The scroll paper was black, it was sealed with red wax and had Twilight's name written on the outside in silver ink.

To: Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Lackey of Celestia

Impudent foal,

Your profit from luck and the work of others ends now. I have a book that you are missing from your library. If you wish to claim it, present yourself at the clearing on top of the waterfall in Whitetail Wood an hour after sunfall tonight.

The Nightmare Lives!

P.S. This is a trap.

P.P.S. Be prepared to be ravished many times.

P.P.P.S Come alone.

Twilight gulped.

--------------

Twilight knew what to do in situations like this. She made a list.

The first item on the list was breakfast with Spike, which he gobbled down as fast as he could, eager to get outside and play with the crusaders. Twilight managed to slow him down enough to dress him up warmly, give him some bits to buy the group lunch and explain that she would be out late that night and would possibly be sleeping in. Spike took the clothing with great reluctance, the information with equanimity, and the money with alacrity.

Second, she tried to identify the missing book. She didn't have time to do a full inventory, and her giddy excitement didn’t help her concentrate, but considering the source and nature of the note, she felt she could restrict her search to the more interesting tomes. As most of the 'erotic' section had been borrowed by bat ponies and hadn't been returned yet (she'd have a word with Luna about that later), that left the books on magic. A search turned up nothing: all her books on magic were accounted for.

Unless Luna had stolen a tome on the ancient art of knitting or the like, Twilight had no idea what was missing. She would have to turn up, if only to find out what had been taken.

Next Twilight started preparation for the evening, and ran into a classic problem. What would she wear?

Twilight had two options that she could think of off-hoof. If Luna wanted Twilight in a trap, then Luna would want to be in control. Twilight could play along and wear her pet collar, or she could go dressed as Mysterious Mare Do Well and challenge Luna.

If she was to be Luna's pet, which was fine with her, then the collar would be appropriate. Maybe change the tag from 'I belong to Luna' to 'I belong to Celestia' if she wanted to be in character for something a little rougher than usual, or 'I belong to the Nightmare' if she wanted something slightly more tender.

If she wanted Luna to see her as an equal, which she did, then she should let Luna know that she intended to challenge her. In that case, the Mysterious Mare Do Well costume would be ideal, with a few slight adjustments (the hat wasn't really combat-suitable and, win or lose, Twilight would want certain parts of her anatomy more easily accessible than the current costume allowed).

How did Twilight want this night to go?

Twilight was torn, staring at her two options and unable to make up her mind.

-------------------

Today was spa day, and Twilight's dilemma was interrupted by Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack, who had come by to pick her up.

"Applejack! Are you joining us?"

"Yup. What with it being winter and all, there's a lot less work on the farm right now. Ah can take the time to relax a little."

"What she means to say," said Rarity, "is that Big MacIntosh bet her that she couldn't go a whole day without doing some sort of work."

"Oh dear. How are you holding up, Applejack?"

"Ah'm fine. Ah'm fine. Ah can do this."

"She's already got the shivers. I caught her asking Derpy if she wanted any help delivering letters earlier, and let us just say that I'm glad no foals saw the way she was watching Time Turner shovel snow from his front path."

Applejack hung her head in shame as Twilight and Fluttershy laughed and hugged her.

"Ah just hope that some time with good company will help take my mind off all the chores that need doing."

----------------

It seemed to take forever before their hooves were pedicured, their muscles massaged and their fur muddified and then unmuddified. Finally, they were left alone to soak in the pool.

Twilight delicately broached her dilemma.

"So, girls, I've got a date with Luna tonight," she said, surprising and delighting her friends, "but I don't know what to wear–"

"Oh, darling! I have the perfect dress for you! I can make a few adjustments and it'll be ready in time for your date. It'll be just perfect, I promise."

"Um, it's not that kind of date, Rarity. Thank you, though."

"Well, what kind of date is it? Stargazing? Monster hunting? Oh... It's one of those dates, isn't it?"

"Aheh, yes."

"Pardon, what kinda date we talking about now?"

A red-faced Twilight conjured the scroll she had found that morning and wordlessly handed it over. Rarity and Fluttershy craned their heads over to read. All three mares were blushing furiously when the scroll was handed back.

"Uh, you've got a strange taste in relationships, Sugarcube."

"I know," said Twilight, blushing, "but this is what I've always dreamed of for a lover. Somepony mysterious, powerful and exciting."

"Darling, if this is what you want, what's the problem? It seems as though clothes would only get in the way with what Luna has planned."

"I don't know. I want this, but I want Luna more. I want to be her marefriend, not just her plaything. If I just turn up and roll over, I'll just be her pet again. She might love me, but she might not respect me."

"What else can you do, sugarcube? From that there note, there's no way that Luna'll be in the mood for a night of 'just talking and holding hooves'."

"I can fight. Sort of. Play fight. If I go dressed as the Mysterious Miss Mare Do Well, I can make the challenge a game. If I do well, impress her, we can talk. You know, after..."

"But you're worried that you might offend her? Think she might not want to 'play' with you like that?"

Twilight nodded, nervously.

"Um, Twilight," whispered Fluttershy, "I don't know much about this sort of thing, but I think you are putting too much emphasis on getting everything right the first time you try. Luna loves you. She isn’t going to run away if things go wrong or if things change over time. Just go how you want to go. It will all work out in the end."

----------------

Twilight was feeling refreshed after the spa treatments and a quick sandwich. Fortified, Twilight set off into the Everfree Forest at a brisk trot. She knew the way to the Zecora's hut well by now. She carefully avoided the usual hazards, although she did file away the thought of exposing Luna to some Poison Joke for later consideration.

"Hello, Twilight. Welcome again, my very good friend. Can you say what pulls you my way?"

"Hello, Zecora. Normally it’s the scent of your tea that pulls me to your door, but this time I’d like to purchase some potions."

"You don’t want tea? How could this be?"

Twilight laughed with Zecora.

"I’m sorry, Zecora, I’m just in a bit of a hurry and it’s getting late. I need, hmm, an endurance potion, something to keep me warm for a night and, let's play safe, a couple of healing potions, please. Oh, and I’ll pick up our little friend, too, if that’s all right."

"These are things that I can brew, but how I worry now for you. If you must go in danger’s way, I bid you now do not delay. Healing potions can be strong, but they do not last for long."

"Don't worry, Zecora. If I need them, it will be tonight. I'm not planning on hurting anypony, or getting hurt, but it's good to have a backup plan."

Satisfied, Zecora started brewing the three different potions, assisted by Twilight. Twilight was fascinated by alchemy, but could not find enough time to learn much, despite Zecora's willing tutelage.

The sun was getting low on the horizon by the time Twilight trotted back into Ponyville, a basket held in her teeth.

-------------

Only a fool tried to hurry a summoning ritual, but that didn't stop Twilight from dearly wishing that she could. As it was, Twilight had only just finished packing her saddlebags when there was absolutely no more time and she had to go.

Downing the warmth potion to offset the chill, and the endurance potion for other sensible reasons that made her warm to think about, Twilight set out towards the clearing at the top of the waterfall in the Whitetail woods. Her ascending path was lit by the glow of her horn and the waxing moon high above her.

Just before she reached the clearing, she took off her saddlebags. The air spirits, as agreed, would hide the bags from curious animals with an invisibility spell. They would fly them back to the library if Twilight were to leave the area without collecting them. Before she gave them over, she took out the Mysterious Mare Do Well outfit and the pet collar. Twilight looked at both in contemplation.

Twilight made up her mind.

-------------

Twilight trotted into the clearing, feeling hot, excited and very nervous. She was a few minutes early, she guessed, but the note that called her here wasn’t particularly precise.

The only signs that this was the place were several pale red hovering orbs lighting the scene, and a rectangular shape resting on a stone block that had been brushed clear of snow. There were no hoofprints in the snow around the makeshift table. Twilight's bibliophile's senses told her that the mysterious object was a book.

Unable to resist, she trotted towards the block and then stopped a short way off. There was only one path she was likely to take to get to the clearing. The ground was covered in snow. Somepony had taken the time to make the snow look undisturbed.

With a blast of air (good old number 18), she cleared the path of snow, exposing the large unicorn magic cancellation circle that had been hidden beneath.

Delighted at her cleverness, Twilight walked around the circle and approached the book. The wrapping paper around the book had the pattern of Twilight’s cutie mark, the ribbon the colour of her fur. Tucked under the ribbon was a small folded card with a pink ‘Hearth’s Warming Eve’ heart. Twilight curiously pulled out the card and read it. On the inside was a symbol of stunning.

Twilight was stunned.

---------------

<Author's note>: The next section contains clop. F/F, F/M, consensual, movement restriction, a little spanking, and mild use of a riding crop. If you want to skip to the next non-icky bit, please head to the next section break </Author's note>

Twilight hadn't noticed the night-shrouded alicorn mare patiently watching the clearing. Stunned, she didn't now notice the mare snigger as she calmly trotted into the clearing, holding various toys in her aura. Symbols of stunning didn't last long, particularly for fast-thinking ponies, so Twilight was quickly lifted into the magic cancellation circle.

With speed and skill, a rectangular framework of blackened iron telescoping tubes was assembled under Twilight. Black silken cords attached to each corner were tied around each hoof, spreading each leg some way apart. A very large, thick warm blue blanket was put on Twilight's back and then another silken cord was woven into her tail and mane, keeping her tail lifted and her head held high.

Whilst speedily weaving the cord into Twilight's mane, the mare noticed the pet collar she was wearing, and the writing on the tag earned Twilight a tender kiss on her cheek. Twilight smiled, but her eyes remained unfocused and her body still.

Satisfied with her work, the alicorn sat down facing Twilight, using the stone block as a throne. No sooner had she sat down than Twilight shook her head. When she opened her eyes, they focused on the mare sitting before her and widened. She tried to turn to run, and found her legs restrained. She tried to look downward to see the restraints, and found the cord in her mane preventing the movement.

She looked back up with a little fear and a lot of defiance.

"Nightmare Moon! I should have known! Release me and return the book you have stolen!"

Nightmare Moon smirked. She stood, tall, regal, resplendent in her battle armour and towering over her captive. Her laughter send chills down Twilight’s spine.

"Little foal. 'Stolen'? We assure you, We have not stolen anything from you. You, on the other hoof, have taken so much from us. Our victory, our land, our future," the Nightmare leaned in, glaring into Twilight's eyes, her draconic irises blazing.

Twilight tried to shrink away, struggling in her bonds, but could not hold back a little moan. The moan didn't sound particularly fearful, but Nightmare Moon chose not to pick up on it. Instead, she wheeled away and returned to her seat.

"No, little pony, We have not stolen from you and nor shall We let you go. Our dream for Equestria is shattered. That traitor Celestia is too entrenched on her throne for us to overthrow her. We cannot have Equestria. We cannot have Eternal Night. But We can have revenge against you."

The Nightmare smiled, showing her sharp teeth. Twilight trembled.

"You won't get away with this! Princess Celestia–"

"Celestia cannot help you now. If she ever hears of this, it will be far too late. Now settle down. We have long looked forward to this, having you in our power with no 'friends' to save you. Mmmm." The Nightmare closed her eyes with pleasure. Twilight said nothing, but struggled harder, to no avail.

"Little pony, do you know what book this is?" The book was held aloft in a blue magic aura.

"No," said Twilight in a little voice.

"Well then, let us unwrap it and find out."

With deliberate slowness, Nightmare Moon slowly started unwrapping the book, putting the ribbon and paper neatly aside as she did so; she knew that curiosity would be driving Twilight crazy.

The book had a black cover. Twilight stared, fixated on the book. The cover was edged with silver and had complex scrollwork. Twilight silently urged the Nightmare to speed up, desperate to identify it. The demon toyed with the half-unwrapped book, turning it this way and that as Twilight strained against her restraints to get a closer look. Nightmare Moon turned the book so that Twilight could see the luxurious marbling on the fore-edge of the book. Twilight was rapt. The paper was slowly, slowly, teased away from the front cover. This book had definitely never been in the Golden Oak library. Nightmare Moon finally turned the front cover to Twilight so that she could read it. It was a very ornate copy of The Karmare Sutra. Twilight moaned with joy and desire.

"Mmm, look at this lovely book. So full of secrets and delights. You want this book, don't you?"

Twilight swallowed back her saliva. She did indeed want the book.

"Well, if you want the book, you must earn the book. Tormenting Celestia's favourite would be one thing, but having her torment herself at my command? So much more delightful." The Nightmare laughed her diabolical laugh and another delicious shiver went down Twilight's spine.

"No! Have mercy!" said Twilight, her lust diminishing both her acting skills and her grasp of dramatic dialogue.

Nightmare Moon laughed. She stood once more and approached Twilight, who could only try to shy away helplessly as the nightmare slowly and deliberately licked her neck. Stalking with exaggerated poise around the captured mare, Nightmare Moon trailed her tail along Twilight's body. She noted with satisfaction the clear signs of Twilight's arousal. Twilight moaned.

Nightmare Moon stood behind Twilight and waited. Twilight couldn't turn or lower her head to look behind her, and without her magic she could only struggle in her bonds while she was forced to wait to see what the Nightmare would do. The wait grew longer and Twilight's imagination grew wild, offering up terrible scenarios that drove the delicious thrill of fear to greater and greater heights, until finally Nightmare Moon slapped Twilight's rump.

Twilight’s little shriek was resonant with harmonics of surprise and joy, music to her captor's ears. Nightmare Moon spanked her again in the hope of more. Twilight yelped each time, and tensed in preparation for the next blow. Each time, the Nightmare waited patiently for the unicorn to relax, and then quickly struck again, never hitting the same place twice.

Twilight was helpless, and could only wait for the sting of the next slap. Soon both of her buttocks felt searingly hot, as though they were radiating waves of pleasure through her. This didn't stop her from yelping when the Nightmare struck again. Nightmare Moon laughed as Twilight squirmed.

Eventually, once Twilight stopped yelping and just started moaning, Nightmare Moon declared herself temporarily satisfied. With another peal of her dominating laughter, the Nightmare returned to stand once more in front of Twilight.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you, little pet?"

"Never!"

"Ah, ah, ah!" said the Nightmare, shaking her head, "If you want the book you must be honest with us. Did you enjoy our spanking you?"

Twilight whimpered.

"Well?"

"Yes." said Twilight in a small voice.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Very good, little pet. So here is how you will earn our book. You will be obedient. You will do absolutely anything we require of you. And maybe, just maybe, We will generously give you our book. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Very well then, pet. You may demonstrate your gratitude to us for magnanimously spanking you. Do a good job, now, or you will be punished."

"Oh, thank you, mistress."

Nightmare Moon turned to face away from Twilight and took a backward step until her rear was nearly touching Twilight's muzzle, tail held high.

Twilight eagerly leaned forward as much as she could and tasted her dark goddess, who whinnied with pleasure.

The Nightmare was clearly aroused, giving off a beautiful pungent scent that filled Twilight’s nostrils and made her heart pound even harder. Twilight started by nuzzling the dark goddess' inside legs, shying away from directly touching the Nightmare's most private area with anything stronger than her breath.

Nightmare Moon shifted herself closer and more forcefully to Twilight’s muzzle. Twilight realised that she didn’t really want to tease the Nightmare. Twilight’s own needs hadn’t abated in the slightest, and the sooner and better she got the Nightmare off, the sooner she could have a little more attention herself.

Seeing that her mistress was more than ready, Twilight started licking the Nightmare’s lower lips in earnest, fast, light flicks of her tongue along the full length of the demon’s marehood. Her lover shivered with every lick, and soon Twilight became bolder, tasting her and breathing in the musky odour of her excitement.

"More..." whispered Nightmare Moon, and Twilight pushed harder still, briefly penetrating the Nightmare. The demon gasped in a breath and held it briefly before it was released in a low moan.

"Again..."

Twilight smiled, an inner warmth and confidence spreading through her body as she obliged. Despite the situation, it was Twilight who was in control here, and she always enjoyed the experience. All the petty inconveniences of the moment, from the sweat forming under the blanket on her back to the flicking tail that was rubbing against her horn and the slight ache from the uncomfortable position her legs were held in, faded away as she focused on her happy task.

The Nightmare’s breathing sped up as Twilight communicated her rising excitement without words.

Twilight was having difficulty maintaining the intensity of her actions. Her partner was starting to move more insistently, pressing hard against her muzzle and grinding her hips, and her own arousal interfered with her concentration. Reluctantly, she withdrew a little, and the Nightmare whimpered and stilled.

Twilight resumed her assault, curling and twisting her tongue, exploring the wet caverns held in front of her. Even deprived of her magic, Twilight’s training was useful to her here. While her horn couldn’t help her, her experience with summoning chants and practice of languages not meant to be spoken by any pony had given her great breath control and lingual dexterity. She used it well, drawing quivering shrieks of joy from her trembling charge.

The erratic twitches and movements of the Nightmare’s hips told Twilight that she was on the brink. Reaching forward as far as she could, she enveloped Nightmare Moon’s nub in her lips and sucked.

The Nightmare shouted with delight as she came, fiery bolts of pleasure shooting up her spine. When her heaving breaths came back under her control, she stepped forward and dropped her magnificent tail.

"Mmmm... very good job... my little pet... I think it's time for a little reward," said the Nightmare with a grin, and then took a lungful of air to call out, "Lieutenant Cudgel!"

Twilight turned quickly to see a large Nocturne stallion wearing the armour of Luna's guard fly into the clearing. Twilight suddenly felt very exposed.

"Uh, amber."

Cudgel froze, absolutely motionless, a few hoofs above the ground. The Nightmare was quick to reassure Twilight.

"Lieutenant Cudgel is a phantasmal shadow construct. He would feel normal and is moderately well endowed, but the only sentient creatures here are you and me."

"Phew! Sorry. I'm not saying 'no' to threesomes, but I'd need to get to know, like and trust the other pony first. Sorry."

"Of course, Twilight," the tender words sounded strange in Nightmare Moon's voice, "I wouldn't expect otherwise. I just thought you might enjoy something different. Are you okay with Cudgel?"

"I'm fine with him, thank you. I just hope he doesn’t act in keeping with his name–"

"He will be gentle, I promise. You ready to go?"

"Oh, just one more thing. Could you please take the blanket off? I drank a potion of warmth earlier, and I’m pretty sure I'm going to get a lot hotter..."

The Nightmare laughed and set aside the blanket.

"I see we both thought ahead. Did you take any other potions?"

"Just an endurance one. I wasn't sure what you had in mind."

"That's a shame. I was looking forward to rutting you into exhaustion, casting a revitalisation spell and doing it again. Oh well, something for next time."

"Ooops. Sorry. Um, next time," the prospect of 'next time' warmed Twilight more than the blanket had. It also made the actual prospect of Nightmare Moon's promise pass by without registering. She blinked, nodded as much as she could and then said, "Green."

Lieutenant Cudgel sprang back into life and landed gracefully in front of Twilight. Nightmare Moon cleared her throat and continued her speech.

"Lieutenant Cudgel came second in the most recent 'This Week’s Shiniest Armour' competition, so you're his reward," said the Nightmare mockingly, "You didn't think the reward was for you, did you?"

"Second?!" shouted Twilight indignantly.

"Oh yes. First prize was a fruit basket. Lieutenant Cudgel was so very disappointed. Please do try to make it up to him."

Twilight didn't have an answer to that.

Cudgel approached Twilight and stood for a moment, illuminated by the orbs. Twilight was happy to see that he ably met the criteria that she had previously discussed with Luna: a theatre star's face on an athlete's body, tall and handsome. With him standing close and in reasonable light, she could also see that there was something missing in his eyes and something awkward in his posture. He was not a true pony.

Her mounting excitement as he circled her quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant. It wasn't his mind she was interested in at that moment. She had a lot of pent up tension, her body was flooded with energy and it had been several days since Twilight had had any release. She waited impatiently as he sniffed her now well lubricated loins.

Twilight loved sex with mares; the taste, the excitement, the deeper understanding of each other's bodies. That being said, there was something incredibly satisfying about the weight of the stallion pressing against her hind quarters as he mounted her. Twilight hummed with pleasure. Nightmare Moon watched with hungry intensity. Twilight proudly met her gaze.

Having been in a stallion’s shoes, however briefly, Twilight could see in her mind's eye his posture as he drew back. She could feel the tip of his stallionhood pressing against her entrance and she braced her legs as best she could in her bonds.

"Yessss!" she shouted as he drove himself home.

He pulled back, dragging a moan from the bound mare, and held still a moment before driving forward again. Twilight arched her back, leaning back into the stallion whose fore hooves clutched her sides and whose hot breath ran along her neck.

Twilight closed her eyes and moaned. Almost in response, Cudgel huffed, pulled back, and thrust forward harder than before. Twilight growled with satisfaction. She became aware once more of her bonds as she futilely tried to press herself closer to the warm body on top of her.

Cudgel soon set up a rhythm to his thrust which he kept up with mechanical exactitude. With such little freedom available to her, Twilight could not move with the forceful thrusts of Cudgel and instead could merely brace herself for each withdraw and impact.

Opening her eyes, Twilight found the Nightmare's face a hoof-length from her own, staring at her with hungry intensity. She pushed her head forward to breach the gap, but was pulled up short by the ties that bound her mane to her tail. She grunted with frustration. Reading her intent, the Nightmare leaned forward for a fiery kiss as Lieutenant Cudgel pounded Twilight.

Her mouth was full with the Nightmare's tongue and all she could see were the Nightmare's glowing eyes. When she had been pleasing Nightmare Moon, she had been in charge. Now, she was as helpless as she had ever been, no more able to resist the powerful thrusts from behind than the demanding tongue that commanded her mouth.

Twilight's senses swam.

Drawing panting breaths through her nostrils, her body shuddering at every thrust, Twilight moaned through her kiss, surrendering to the experience. The Nightmare caressed her neck, caressed her chest, and then grabbed her mane, pressing harder and deeper into Twilight. Cudgel’s thrusts, as powerful and regular as a golem at work, pushed Twilight closer and closer to a limit she could feel inside.

Nightmare Moon pulled away, leaving Twilight’s mouth open and empty. A bridge of saliva briefly kept them connected, before breaking. With feigned arrogance, the majestic alicorn turned her back and walked away, wings spread wide, leaving Twilight lost in confusion. She stood at the brink, where nothing made sense except the reality of the stallion on her back.

Twilight felt a stab of betrayal at the sight of the star-sparkling tail pulling away, lost, until Nightmare Moon turned and flashed her an evil smile. Cudgel pulled all the way out. Twilight gasped. Tensed. And then he thrust forward, suddenly larger than he had been before, with a rapid series of harder, faster strokes that threw Twilight past her limit and made her she scream her joy to the heavens as she came. Her voice was soon matched by a wordless yell coming from Cudgel. The Nightmare watched, hungry.

Twilight was panting hard as Lieutenant Cudgel awkwardly dismounted. She felt the gust of air as he flew away, but the Nightmare was quick to step up and regain her attention and shatter any half-formed thoughts of abandonment with a kiss.

"Well done, toy. He may even have preferred that to the first prize."

The Nightmare brought out a wineskin and offered the sloshing contents to Twilight, who drank thirstily. It was water – bitterly cold but extremely refreshing.

"Drink up, little toy. You'll have to work a lot more if you want to earn that book. Hmm, what shall we do next? Oh, I know. Let's have a little fun."

Twilight looked at her quizzically before she remembered her role and tried to look more afraid. The Nightmare noticed the lack of fear and smiled. Twilight's look became a lot more authentic when a riding crop appeared, held aloft by Nightmare Moon's aura.

"Let's get a little exercise done, shall we? You've been standing still for a long time, and a quick gallop will warm you up. I will make things interesting. If you manage to run all the way back to Ponyville, I shall reward you with the book without any further 'entertainment'. To keep you motivated, I have put some friends on the route. If they catch you, you shall be honour-bound to satisfy them before you can move on." The Nightmare smiled.

"So, let's get started." The Nightmare slapped Twilight's rump with the riding crop. Twilight yelped with surprise. Seeing that Twilight didn’t move, Nightmare Moon slapped her a couple more times. Twilight's already sensitive buttocks stung with each gentle blow, but when the stinging faded, it left behind a pleasant warmth that contrasted with the chill air.

"Well? Get running, or I shall have to- Oh, I am sorry. Did I forget to release you from your bonds? How remiss of me."

Contrary to their roles, the Look that Twilight gave the Nightmare was pure evil, and her answering laugh was happy and joyful. Almost as an afterthought, the Nightmare scuffed out a portion of the magic circle, and Twilight felt her magic coming back to her.

-------------

Twilight briefly thought of fighting back, but quickly struck the thought down. Instead, she teleported out of the circle, her bonds, and the way of the descending crop, which passed harmlessly through the air.

The silken cord that had bound her mane to her tail drifted to the ground in the middle of the circle as Twilight lowered her head and galloped for the path to Ponyville.

She was almost there when a pack of shadowy creatures, all claws and fangs, raced up the path towards her. Barely breaking stride, Twilight turned aside and raced through the pitch black undergrowth. There was a crash as she struck a branch. Her thigh throbbed from the impact. She paid the pain no heed as she crashed through the dark and into the dim moonlight. She could see ahead the downward path to Ponyville.

Howls from behind her echoed through the woods. The slight throbbing where she had struck the branch did not slow Twilight down as she galloped as fast as she dared down the trail.

The glowing orbs from the clearing soared through the wood, passing unimpeded by the trees and bushes, following her and lighting her way. They were a mixed blessing, as while they helped her avoid injury on the road, they also attracted attention...

Dark shadows rose around her, twisting and writhing, the dark in stark contrast with the light of the orbs. Twilight leapt to avoid reaching tendrils of darkness, leery of what would need to be done to satisfy their desires. Landing a little awkwardly, she scrambled forward, aided by her momentum. She kept galloping, leaving the silent shadows behind.

Twilight hadn't memorised the path, and a sudden branching ahead of her gave her pause. She didn't recognise the area, and wasn't sure she was on the fastest way back to Ponyville. Her hesitation cost her. The riding crop, carried aloft in a blue aura, silently snuck up behind her and landed another blow on her well-punished rump. With a yelp, she dived down a path, picked at random, not daring to look behind her to see how closely the crop followed. Laughter echoed in her ears.

Twilight didn't recognise the path she had chosen, but she could now hear thudding hoofbeats behind her. A sharp turn in the track let her look briefly behind her. She regretted doing so, as she was being chased by a demon pony stallion with glowing red eyes, black fur, and a wickedly curved horn. The demon pony was clearly better endowed than even Lieutenant Cudgel, and ready to use his equipment. Hungry tendrils of shadow sprouted from around his mouth, seemingly drawn towards Twilight.

Twilight lowered her head and galloped as fast as she could. Her mind’s eye could see the demon stallion behind her, reaching for her, getting closer and closer. The stallion was gaining ground. Lacking the breath to even whimper, Twilight desperately pressed on until she could feel the hot breath of the demon pony on her back, the tendrils on his mouth pulling at her tail.

In desperation, Twilight teleported. Backwards. The stallion suddenly found himself ahead of his quarry, and tried to turn too fast. He fell over and crashed into a tree, stunned. Twilight hadn't waited to see what happened, and turned and headed through the bushes to what appeared to be another path, hoping to leave the stallion behind while he recovered his hooves.

The new path took Twilight out of the woods and onto a broad plain of rough ground, the snow brilliant white in the light of the full moon.

Twilight ran alongside the edge of the wood, afraid of being out and exposed in the open. Her fears appeared well founded when a great shadow passed over the moon.

Twilight looked up and saw Nightmare Moon gliding silently in the air, seemingly oblivious to Twilight's presence. Then the Nightmare turned her head, the green fire in her eyes sending a chill of fear stabbing through Twilight's heart.

Nightmare Moon turned and started flying towards Twilight, maniacal laughter filling the air. Twilight wheeled around and dived back into the forest, glad beyond words for the shelter of the trees.

The wood didn't stay friendly for long. The ancient, towering oaks seemed to get taller and darker the further down the trail Twilight went. Their branches seemed to threaten, as if frozen in the act of swiping at the path with sharp claws. Whispers on the wind spoke of evil intent and hazards unseen. Despite the warmth of her labours and the potion she had imbibed, Twilight felt herself shiver as she ran.

She could hear the demon pony thundering towards her with his relentless stride. She could hear the fell laughter of Nightmare Moon as she swooped over the tree tops. She could hear a filly's voice, crying out for help.

Against all reason, Twilight galloped towards the weak filly's voice. There was a path ahead, darkly lit by the orbs and what moonlight came through the trees. Twilight was forced to slow down, weaving between trees and leaping over fallen branches. She seemed to be leaving the demon stallion behind, but could not shake the feeling that she was running towards danger, not away from it.

There was a large clearing ahead with a tree in the centre. The voice seemed to be coming from a cave at the far side of the clearing. As Twilight rushed towards the cave, she suddenly noticed that some of the vines hanging from the tree were remarkably smooth and round. That realisation gave her a moment's warning before the nearest 'vine' whipped towards her.

She dodged aside and it wrapped around her hind leg. With instinctive motion, Twilight managed to kick her leg free before the tree could get a better grip. She scrambled backwards. From the edge of the clearing, she looked at the tree and the vines. A brief idea of playing along crossed her mind. It was certainly unusual, and she knew that the tree wouldn't hurt her. Her throat tightened at the delicious prospect… The filly's voice made up her mind. There would be other chances. The Nightmare had promised.

Skirting the edge of the clearing, Twilight entered the cave. The glowing orbs behind her didn’t follow her in. There was, however, a faint green glow up ahead to guide her way. Turning around a bend in the cave, Twilight found the source of the light: a pool of glowing green slime. Two sleek and slimy seaponies were swimming in the pool, their heads poking above the surface. As Twilight got closer, she could see that they looked like twins, the only difference between them was that one had an iridescent green mane and the other’s was dark blue.

"Ooh, surface pony, come play with us!" said the green-maned pony, "Be our slave! We'll let you go eventually, I promise!"

The blue-maned pony was cheerfully waving a thick iron neck collar above her head, presumably to tempt Twilight to come closer. Twilight swallowed. The pool was easily big enough for three, and the seaponies were beautiful...

The voice called out again, closer now. Regretfully, Twilight pressed deeper into the cave, leaving behind the disappointed slime-coated ponies.

With the glowing green pool behind her, Twilight lit her way with the light from her horn. The sound of her hoof-falls reflected by the walls of the tunnel suddenly changed, and she could no longer make out the walls on either side. She had entered a large chamber.

"Help," said the foal's voice, "won't somepony please help me?"

"I'll help you," said Twilight, loudly, "but where are you?" She conjured a light orb of her own and cast it out into the rock-strewn cave. Her eyes adjusted to the light from the orb, making the light from her horn insignificant. As the orb moved away from her, Twilight was shrouded in darkness.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. I'm over here."

The orb got closer and lit up a pony's head resting on the ground. The head was surrounded by long coils of scales. Twilight shuddered at the sight, but bravely moved forward to help the trapped mare. The head was too large for the foal's voice coming from it. The mare's eyes were open. The eyes were serpentine. The head moved. The coils moved. The head rose on a thick serpent's body until it was towering over Twilight.

This wasn't a pony. It was a nag-naga.

"Oh, thank you, little pony. I'm so horny–"

A coil of the nag-naga's body touched Twilight, trying to wrap around her barrel. Twilight panicked. The blast from Twilight's horn took the naga's head off. Twilight kept blasting. There's wasn't much left when Twilight's wits returned to her.

"LUUNNNAAA!" screamed Twilight, "RED RED RED! LUNA!"

Nightmare Moon teleported in front of Twilight, looking almost as distressed as Twilight. Before she could speak, Twilight started shouting at her.

"NO SNAKES! I TOLD YOU. NO SNAKES. That means no darn nagas. No snakes. No snakes!" There were tears in Twilight's eyes.

"Twilight! I didn't know. I swear to you I didn't know."

"I can't. Not snakes. Please. I can't–" Twilight was barely coherent in her upset. Nightmare Moon quickly rushed forward to embrace her with a tight hug, holding her close and wrapping her wings around her.

The cave was silent except for Twilight's sobs for a while.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you, Luna. I'm sorry. I– I can't. There was a filly. I came to help. It was a really big snake. It wanted–" Twilight was mumbling into Nightmare Moon's chest armour at this point, "–I killed it. It's dead. She's dead. I killed her. I–"

"Twilight, calm down. There was no-one, pony or otherwise. You have not killed anypony. Everything is fine."

Twilight's laboured breathing calmed and her tears were drying. The trembles took longer to subside, but they did. Twilight could be very rational at times.

"Not a person?"

"No, Twilight. In all your excitement, did you notice a bruise on your leg?"

"What? I bruised my leg on a branch as I galloped through some bushes–"

Despite everything, the Nightmare's grin was positively smug.

"Did you really think I would let you gallop at full speed down steep mountain paths covered in ice and snow in the middle of the night? You are very precious to me, Twilight Sparkle. You know, I think it is time that you woke up."