Nightmare Lulamoon

by RenegadeAlias

Chapters

• Lulamoon
• Nightmares and Memories
• Enemies and Friends
• Monsters and Mistakes

Lulamoon

Lulamoon. That was her last name. Few actually knew that Trixie had a last name. She hadn’t mentioned it during her years as a travelling performer, and no one thought to ask her.

Not that it mattered anyway, her name mean't little now. Trixie's time as a travelling entertainer ended before she could make a name for herself. Her career was destroyed, cut short by that insufferable know-it-all Twilight Sparkle.  That’s not to say Trixie didn’t deserve what she got, she had been an arrogant braggart that faked her way through magic shows rather than taking the time to really master the art. But hey, not everypony got to live in Canterlot and attend Celestia’s exclusive school for gifted unicorns.

But that was all one big excuse, and Trixie has no need for excuses.  The self-proclaimed ‘great and powerful’ Trixie  would never admit that her rival was better than her at magic. Nope. Trixie was the best at magic, at being loved, at life, and just about everything. Or so she thought anyway. She just needed to level the playing field, something that could compensate for Twilight's cheating.

Cheating happened to be lots of study and many hours of practice.

However Trixie did learn something from her last encounter with Twilight, the power of the alicorn amulet could not be denied. Its power allowed Trixie to claim victory over her rival for a short time, and showed her how powerful magical artifacts could turn the tides of a duel. But unfortunately for her, the amulet was lost to her now. She needed something to replace it.

This is what lead Trixie to the ancient castle of the royal alicorn sisters, deep within the everfree forest. She was searching for another powerful artifact that she could use in her quest to defeat Twilight. It was rumored that Celestia had left behind several powerful artifacts, other than the elements of harmony, when she abandoned the castle a thousand years ago. Trixie figured she could search the castle and would hopefully find something to use against Twilight. At the very least she expected to find some sort of  trinket she could sell.

“There’s got to be something useful in this dump,” Trixie  remarked irritably to the empty room. "Trixie does not like to waste her time." She sidestepped a piece of rubble and ascended a large curved staircase that opened into a large room that was missing its ceiling.  

She spent the next few minutes rooting around the room, kicking over various piles of rubble. She was about to give up and move on when a glint of light caught her eye. It was the reflection off of what appeared to be an old war helm.

At first she expected it to be another dilapidated relic not worth her time, the helm was probably something a guard lost in a fight long ago. But that expectation quickly evaporated, she could sense that the helm was imbued with magic. However, as she approached she could sense something else. It was subtle, but she could have swore it the helm was calling to her.

“Well what do we have here?” Trixie asked aloud as she picked up and inspected the cobalt blue helm. It had to be enchanted with very powerful magic for her to feel emanations from across the room. But now that she had it in her grasp, she could practically feel it radiating energy. It appeared to be made for unicorns and had a hole for a pony's horn.

A thousand thoughts went through Trixie’s mind. Most of which were speculation as to what the magic of the helm actually did. Being a helm, Trixie assumed that the magic would assist her in fighting in some way. Hopefully it would enchance her magical abilities just as the alicorn amulet did. If it did she would teach Twilight the meaning of the word 'revenge.'

She cast aside her hat, and promptly made the mistake of putting it on.

At first it was far too  big for her, the hole for her horn was far too wide. She was in the middle of adjusting the helm, so she could see, when the helm itself suddenly shrank to a perfect fit. The hole for her horn was now exactly the right size and the helm no longer obscured her vision. The problem was it was so snug that she couldn't take it off.

“Alright,” Trixie began. “Let Trixie see what this thing can do.” She lit up her horn in the direction of a large pile of rubble, attempting to lift it off the ground. It would have been a decent test to see how the helm affected her magic. However, the moment she lit up her horn it felt like massive amount of  magic flowed into her head rather than out. So much so that it hurt. At first the pain was managable, but in a few short moments it escalated. Now it felt like someone had turned her horn into a drill was trying to lobotomize her with it. She was starting to black out.

“Ahhh!” Trixie wailed before stumbling. She lost her balance because her vision went all black for a moment. Her coat flashed deep blue, almost black, but Trixie's momentary blindness made sure that she didn't notice.  “What kind of worthless junk is this? Helms are supposed to help their wearers not hurt them!” Trixie cried as she began pulling at the helm, trying to pry it off. It wouldn't budge.

“How interesting. . .” said a cool liquid voice that seemed to flow into Trixie’s ears from every direction. Trixie immediately stopped struggling with the helm and started scanning the room for the source of the voice.

“Who's there? Show yourself!” Trixie demanded.  The room was well lit, given the fact that it didn’t have a roof anymore. However, it was late afternoon and the sun was nearing the horizon.

“I’m here.” The femine voice whispered in Trixie’s ear. She spun around only to find nothing there. After a moment of staring at the empty air next to her, she brain registered something shifting and brushing up against her other side. She recoiled immediately and turned to face whoever was invading her personal space. However, again she was met with empty air.

“Come out!” Trixie demanded. “The great and powerful Trixie will not be toyed with!” She lit up her horn threateningly.

“Great and powerful?” The unwelcome visitor laughed from behind Trixie. She turned toward the source of the voice. To Trixie's shock it was a black alicorn standing in the shadow of a pillar. She was at least twice as tall as Trixie, and had a billowing blue mane that housed bright star-like dots. She had a pair of cold colbalt blue eyes that seemed to pierce Trixie's core.

The large newcomer’s sudden appearance startled the blue unicorn and she started to back away. Just  as Trixie started to flee a blue magical aura caught her hind legs and caused her to fall over onto her back.

The nightmare walked forward, the darkness formed by the shadows of the room’s broken walls seemed to advance with her. She continued until she stood over Trixie, smiling down at her. “Of all the ponies in Equestria to find and adorn my helm, It was the one with the name Trixie Lulamoon.”

By now Trixie had stopped trying to flee all together. She just laid there tensed up, waiting for whatever was the come next. But some part of her was confused, how did this pony know her last name? Not many ponies knew after all. Why was it significant to her?

As if reading Trixie’s mind, the alicorn lowered her head and peered directly into Trixie’s eyes. “It means, my little pony, that I - like the powers that are - do not play with dice, and do not believe in coincidence.”

“W-Who are you?” Trixie managed.  

“Oh, don’t worry, 'great and powerful' Trixie.” The alicorn leaned its head in closer to Trixie, such that its muzzle was pressed against the side of Trixie’s face. Her fur was cold, but her touch had a strange alluring feel to it. Alluring to the point where it was hypnotizing. Darkness encroach on Trixie's vision as a wave of sleepiness washed over her.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” She whispered into Trixie’s ear. Trixie’s vision was completely dark now, she was passing out. But she could feel the Nightmare pressing up against her. “And by the time I am through with you, you’ll know what ‘great and powerful’ really means.”

---

Far away in the Canterlot royal palace Princess Luna bolted upright in her bed. She was trembling and her coat was covered in sweat. Luna didn't know how, but she could feel it. The part of her that haunted her in her dreams and cast a shadow over the rest of her life, the part of her that she thought she was free of, it had been awakened. Yes, she could tell that Nightmare Moon was no longer dormant.

Nightmares and Memories

Disclaimer: Ponies made by Lauren Faust, Owned by Hasbro

Celestia stole a glance at the night sky through the window to her chambers, the moon had already risen. The white alicorn was burning the midnight oil again, trying to make a dent in her ever self replenishing mountain of paperwork.

She stole another glance at the night sky. A small part of Celestia was jealous of her sister's work with the stars, though she'd never admit it. Still, Luna got to make a work of art each night while the day always painted the sky in the same blue hue.

Even Celestia's own student studied the stars of the night sky.

And maybe if Luna had known all this things would have been different. . .

It was a shame though that their subjects didn't appreciate it for the longest time. They were too young and too primitive to appreciate the things in front of them. Being busy with their own survival did that.  Unfortunately, Luna was too young herself to be patient and her heart became bitter. That bitterness culminated in Nightmare Moon.

Or so it seemed.

Something bothered the white alicorn about the whole ordeal, something she couldn't put a 'hoof' on. Whenever she recollected about the circumstances of Luna's banishment, she always recalled details that didn't add up. Small things  that didn't make sense. But in the end she resolved that they didn't matter, Luna was back with her now.

The clicking of four hooves landing on the stone broke Celestia from her thoughts. She had left her balcony door open, and anyone could have come in. But she didn't need to look up from her mounds of paperwork to know who it was. There was only one pony she knew of that would have the audacity to fly straight into her private chambers in the middle of the night, and stealthy enough to do so without  stirring up the guard.  Even Celestia didn't detect the approach until her guest was already in the room.

"Luna," Celestia  began. "Shouldn't you be holding night court?" When she didn't get a response she looked up from the scroll she was reading.  

Luna was standing silently in the middle of the room, looking at the floor. Her regalia was missing, her coat was disheveled. Her mane was also a mess, it had reverted from its normal ethereal state. But what Celestia had noticed the most were the streaks under her eyes, she had been crying.

"Luna!?" Celestia immediately abandoned her scrolls and came to her sisters side. Her normally warm voice overflowed with concern. "What's wrong?" She asked while pulling her younger sister into an embrace.

Luna didn't respond, her eyes began to water.  Normally Luna was stronger, more prone to hiding her emotions than crying. She was also one of the most powerful users of magic Celestia knew, maybe even more powerful than herself. Whatever was getting to her must be bad.

It took Luna a few moments, but she started to speak.

"S-Sister," Her voice was shaky, tears still flowing. "W-Whatever happens, know that I love you. . . and  that I don't want to h-hurt you a-again." She nearly choked on the last word.

"Luna?" Celestia began cautiously. "What's wrong? What are you talking about?"

"N-Nightmare Moon."

---

The last thing Trixie remembered was the dark Alicorn smiling down at her, just before her world went black. The lingering sensation of Nightmare Moon's ice-cold touch was the only thing Trixie could feel.  The rest of her body felt numb, unmoving and floating in total darkness. She tried to struggle or to move, but her body didn't respond. It felt as though she didn't have a body anymore.

Maybe the Nightmare had stolen her body and put her mind inside the helmet?

Now that was a truly horrifying thought, and it caused Trixie to panic. She struggled, trying to thrash her non-existent limbs or use her magic, doing whatever she could think of to kick her way of this limbo.    

But this state of limbo didn't last. Her senses were suddenly flooded as the dark void around her was replaced with a familiar room. She recognized it as one of the rooms she had searched in the everfree castle.  However it no longer appeared to be an ancient ruin, but rather in pristine condition.  

Something about her surroundings seemed off, other than the fact that the thousand  year old room looked like it was built yesterday. It felt as if she was in a dreaming, yet it was the most vivid dream Trixie had ever had. She tried to move, to get a better look around the room, but her hooves didn't respond. In fact, her body didn't respond to any command of any kind, though she could see, hear and feel everything.

She attempts to move were interrupted t when she heard the door of the room slam shut. A black unicorn in cobalt blue armor had entered the room and bowed before her, much to Trixie's surprise.

"Your Highness," he began. He appeared short to Trixie. In fact, everything in the room seemed smaller for some reason. "We've prepared the runes you requested from the vault." He levitated a set of blue discs toward her, setting them down at her hooves. They were metallic and each had a unique symbol carved into their sides.

"Thank you. You may go now," Trixie heard herself reply as she turned away. It wasn't her own voice Trixie heard when she felt herself speaking, nor was it her who commanded her hooves to move. Somepony was controlling her.  

"Your Highness?" The unicorn guard continued. Trixie turned back to face him.   "Those runes can produce some very powerful seals, ones that wouldn't be broke for centuries. Are you sure there isn't anything else I can do to-"

"No," She cut him off, her voice was suddenly ice. She now recognized it as Nightmare Moon's "You and my sis. . . princess Celestia have all the information I am going to give you."

The guard appeared surprised, and fearful, at her reply.  He opened his mouth to protest. However, the world around Trixie was consumed by darkness again. It was only a moment before another scene appeared before her.  Now she was standing on what appeared to be a tower of the everfree castle. It was no longer night, the sun was rising on the horizon.

"Luna. . ." Trixie heard a chastising voice. She craned her neck and an irritated princess Celestia filled her vision.

"What?" She spat. It was Nightmare Moon's voice again.

With a sigh Celestia started over, this time in a softer, almost pleading, tone. "Sister, please. I’ve been trying to avoid having another confrontation with you, but we really need to discuss a few-" Trixie felt herself scoff in reply as she turned, walking away.  

"Lulu-"

"Don't call me that!" Nightmare hissed. She again turned to glare at Celestia, a flash of regret the was leaving the white alicorn's face. It was quickly replaced with a more stern demeanor.

"Luna," Celestia said. "I have no interest in repeating our prior. . . disagreements. But entire villages of my little ponies were burned to the ground, and we found no survivors.” She paused, expecting a response but continued when she didn’t.  “and I think you know something about it that  you're not telling me."

"I don't tell you everything Celestia," She answered. "And I don't need to."

"No. . . No I think you do," Celestia approached the younger alicorn. Using her slightly larger size to take up a more intimidating posture. "I got reports that you were in the north last week, around the same time as the fires.  I don't think that was a coincidence. In the very least you must have noticed something while you were there."

"So what then? You get my guards to spy on me?" Resentment was added to the ice in her voice.

Celestia didn't reply. She only answered the question with a slight look of surprise.

"Didn't think I'd find out about it? " Nightmare's voice continued.

"Not. . . so soon," Celestia admitted, her voice revealing her growing frustration. "I wouldn't have to force them into spying on you if you weren't keeping secrets from me."

"And I wouldn't have to keep secrets from you if you weren't so, so . . ." Her voice now oozed contempt.  She had turned to face Celestia now, barely contained rage in her eyes.

"What, exactly?" Celestia's tone lowered a threatening hiss.

"Weak." There was a moment of silence as the two alicorns glared at each other. "I will deal with my guards. You are not to twist their tails into spying on me again. " Nightmare's voice had taken a threatening tone. "Now I'm leaving."

"You still haven't answered my question, or told me anything I want to know." Celestia replied through gritted teeth.

"You're so duplicitous. You demand that I be open while keeping your own secrets." Nightmare deflected again.  

"I don’t trust you because you don’t give me a reason to. Now stop avoiding the question," Celestia demanded with a stomp of a forehoof. Normally a pony would only hurt their hoof with such a stomp, but for the alicorn it produce a healthy crack through the floor. "What happened to our subjects?"

"I don't have to put up with this." Nightmare again moved to leave, but she couldn't take a single step before she felt herself being paralyzed by an light gold aura surrounding her.

"I am tired of your deflecting, your manipulation and your stalling." It was now Celestia's turn to sound threatening. She took matters very seriously when the lives of her little ponies were on the line, and Nightmare had been giving her the round around for a few days. "Now I want answers."

Celestia's aggression didn't seem to faze Nightmare Moon. However, to Trixie, who happened to be watching the whole exchange as though she were Nightmare Moon herself, the sight of the angry sun alicorn glaring at her was terrifying.

"Really?" With a flash of blue magic the paralyzing aura disappeared. Nightmare turned toward Celestia, instinctively shifting into an aggressive stance. "Because, from the way your acting, it looks more like you want a fight."

"What happened in the north?" Celestia shouted the demand.

"Stop asking for answers you're too weak to stomach."  

There was another flash of limbo, and Trixie's surroundings had again changed. She was now standing in what appeared to be a small home. Strangely, all the doors and windows of the home seemed to be bored up and barricaded. There was only one other pony in the room, an elderly earth pony. He looked afraid, of what Trixie could only guess.

Hopefully it wasn't angry Celestia's death glare.

“The hay are you still doing here?” Trixie felt herself ask, again with Nightmare's voice.

“I’m too old to go running through the woods, your highness. I’d just slow the others down.” He replied. “Besides, I’ve always fought to defend my home, I'm not going to run now.” He picked up a spear that was propped against a wall.  

“Are you sure? It’s not too late . . .” Nightmare offered.

He didn’t have time to respond before a loud, bone chilling shriek pierced the walls of the house.

“Well, too late now,” She said with a twinge of regret in her voice.  Trixie felt herself turn to the front door.

There was another shriek from outside, followed by a torrent similar screeches in the distance. Trixie couldn’t imagine what was making the sounds, it was like nothing she had ever heard before. Each shriek sounded pained, but also frenzied; and they growing in volume.

“Get upstairs,” She ordered the elderly stallion. “They’ll break in through the second floor and flank us by coming down the stairs.”

“Yes Ma’am,” He replied before darting up the stairs with his spear.

It was only a few moments before the screeching reached and surround the house, and the walls of the house came under attack by what sounded like hooves, claws and teeth ripping through wood.

Now Trixie wasn't a coward, but she wasn't the bravest of mares either.  Though she didn't know what was trying to get inside, or if it was the same thing making those terrifying screeching sounds, but something told her she wouldn't want to stick around and find out. She could see the silhouette of ponies outside the windows, though it was too dark to see much of anything. They were all moving very quickly. Were they the ones making the shrieking sounds?  Something was definitely very wrong.

She wanted to bolt, teleport, run. Anything to get out of there.

But unfortunately she was not in control, so she stood unmoving in the center of the room.

Trixie’s focus was drawn to a crashing sound from the floor above, followed by another set of ear piercing shrieks. Her eyes and ears directed toward the ceiling.

“Get outta my house you monsters!” Came the elderly stallion voice, followed by another crash and more shrieking. “No! Help! No!” A combination of the stallions pained screams and muffled shrieks followed. It wasn't until his screams died away did she realize that everything else had fallen silent.  

The pony controlling her body responded by sending a powerful burst of magic upward, causing the ceiling to collapse.

What came tumbling down with the ceiling nearly  drove Trixie's mind to the edge. It was several bodies and a mountain of blood and guts, which seemed to explode on impact with the floor. Blood and gore spewed everywhere. Some blood was splattered across Trixie chest.

At the center of it all was the pony she had seen not moments ago, or at least what was left of him. His coat was completely covered in blood and bite marks. His rear half had be completely torn off, intestines and bile hanging out of his midsection. Something had gone to town ripping his guts out while something else had been busy chewing on his face.

Trixie wanted to scream.

"Well Old-Timer," Trixie heard the Nightmare say, regret filled her voice. "Sometimes I regret always being right. . ."

However, at the sound of her voice, one of the closest 'bodies' that had fallen with the ceiling snapped upwards and instantly locked it's gaze on her.

It looked like a pony, and it might've been one at one time; but definitely wasn't one anymore. It had an eerily yellow glow to its irises and a lower jaw that housed jagged teeth. It had a horn, though it was cracked.  His coat was pale and covered in gore, his neck was ripped open. Other wounds and bite marks littered the rest of what she could see.  

But despite the hideous condition of the pony before her, Trixie did notice one other odd thing about the creature:  it had a set of wings. They were twisted, misshapen, gored up, but they were there. So it had both wings and a horn. Was it once an alicorn?

It stared at her for a moment as if it recognized her.

"Rrrrrrrrrrhhhhighnesssssss," It rasped through the remains of its throat, before it's face contorted in a feral rage.

She responded by sending a bolt of electricity out from her horn. It struck the creature in the chest, which let out a shriek before falling back to the floor. However, At the sound of the spell discharging, the other bodies in the room snapped to their hooves, all of them fixing her in the same creepy stare. One of the particularly bloody ones had a spear sticking through his chest.

Even the half eaten remains of the elderly stallion decided to partake in the group glare.  

Now, at this point Trixie's mind was in a state of shock. If it wasn't for the fact she couldn't control her own actions she would have curled up into a ball and starting crying at the sight of the monstrosities before her.

And it didn't help that they were trying to kill her.

The group of them surged at her, and they were fast. Nightmare was hardly able to react before the first one was on top of her. Another pulse of magic from her horn and it was blasted back.  

She continued blasting them with ever stronger bolts of electricity as they came at her from all sides. But the electricity didn't seem to do much. Those she struck fell to the floor stunned, only to get back up. And by now the ones outside had succeeded in breeching the walls and windows in several places, and were pouring into the room at an alarming rate.

"That should be long enough. . .time to end this," Trixie heard Nightmare declare. Her magic lit up again, and the room exploded into an inferno of blue fire. The color bore a resemblance to Nightmare Moon's magic.

But despite the heat, the creatures shrieked in response and tried to fight through the fire toward her. The last thing Trixie saw were their golden eyes being swallowed by the blue flame.  

---

Trixie woke with a start, jolting upward onto her haunches. She was shaking, her coat was drenched in sweat. There was still a lingering sensation of fire over her coat. Flashes of the creature's contorted features bounced through her mind, conjuring more fear and revulsion.

Trixie knew it was only a nightmare, and she was happy it was over. She was especially happy now that she appeared to be in control of body again, a fact she noticed as she started to subconsciously rubbed her coat. She continued patting nervously until her hoof collided with something, producing a metallic clink.

She was still wearing that old war helm. . .

“Pleasant dreams?” It was that cool voice from before. Trixie’s eyes darted around the room, looking for the speaker. The room was dark, but Trixie’s gaze finally rested on a pair of blue eyes staring back at her.

“From the way you were screaming and thrashing,” The voice continued. “It sounded like you were having a nightmare. I’d say you still have a nightmare by the looks of it,” She added nonchalantly.

“W-who are you?” Trixie asked, though she had a good idea what the answer was. She could see her because of the dark, but Trixie recognized that voice and those cold blue eyes.

It was Nightmare Moon.  

“Describe it.” The Nightmare replied, ignoring the unicorns question. Trixie was about to repeat her question before she was cut off. “Listen, my little pony, things will be a lot easier for you if you just do what I say. Now describe your dream.”

Nightmare emphasized her point by sending a jolt of pain through Trixie’s body, causing the unicorn to cringe.

Out of fear Trixie quickly complied, summarizing what she could remember. The entire time the other mare said nothing, casually observing objects around the room with an impassive gaze. When Trixie finally finished silence reigned for a few moments.

“Well, I guess I’m to blame for that.” The alicorn shifted in the darkness.

“W-what do you mean?” Trixie replied.

“That dream, it was actually a memory of mine.” She admitted. “I thought the barriers between our minds were strong enough to stop you from being sucked into them, but I’ll strengthen them so that it doesn't happen again.”

“A m-memory?” Trixie asked. “That - That actually happened?”

“Yes,” The alicorn replied bluntly, a little irritation in her tone. “Don’t dwell on it, unless you want to find yourself sucked into more of my memories. You might find some of them. . . unpleasant”

"A-and those th-things are real?"  

"Yes," Nightmare answered, Trixie could have swore she heard a little regret in the Nightmare voice. "They're unfortunate victims of a . . . curse."

"Curse?" She asked in disbelief. "What kind of curse could do that?"

"It's not important at this point, and we shouldn't be discussing it." She warned. "You don't want to stress that mental barrier between us by talking about my memories. If it fails, you die. And we wouldn't want that to happen now would we?"

The Nightmare was concerned with Trixie's well being? Yah right,  Trixie wasn't buying it.

“What are you doing putting mental barriers in Trixie's mind?” Trixie asked more assertively this time. “And why does Trixie have your memories?"

"That's complicated" The dark figure replied. "Suffice it to say, we'll be stuck with each other for a while." That was not the answer Trixie was hoping for.

"What have you done to the great and powerful Trixie?" Trixie was foolishly starting to get angry. "The great and powerful Trixie does not like being foalnapped, and she will see to it that you pay f-for f-ff . . .” Trixie trailed off as the alicorn walked out of the darkness and unfurled her wings, towering over the blue unicorn.

“Go on,” Nightmare moon replied, eliciting a gulp and a look of fear from the unicorn. “I want to know how the ‘great and powerful’ Trixie is going to make me feel so sorry about all the bad things I’ve done to her.”

“I-I. . .” Trixie trailed off, this was her first good look at the black alicorn. "P-princess?"

“I am Nightmare Moon.“ She replied.

“Nightmare Moon?" Trixie asked in confusion. She remembered the name 'Nightmare Moon' from the news papers she read the day that princess Luna ‘returned’ to rule alongside her sister.   “Aren't you p-princess Luna?”

“Sort of. . .” The dark alicorn replied. “I’m separate from princess Luna, but I am still a part of her. It would be better to describe me as her alter-ego. Almost like a second personality.”

"So you're not princess Luna?" Trixie asked.

"Not in the conventional sense, No." Nightmare Moon replied.

"But you are the evil form of princess Luna, Nightmare Moon?" Trixie continued.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call myself evil. . ." Nightmare began before offering a toothy smile. "but, yes."

---

"Trixie sees. . ." Trixie nodded faintly, remembering what she had read the day Equestria returned to being a diachry. The stories about Nightmare Moon, the 'dark side' of princess Luna were not very flattering. In fact,The Nightmare was regarded as the most reviled and terrifying pony in Equestria's known history.  

‘And I'm alone, with this demon, inside the basement of an abandoned castle; in the middle of a vast and forsaken forest. ’

This was the last straw, Trixie was going to lose it.

"Calm yourself Trixie, You have no reason to be afraid." Nightmare ordered.  She could recognize the early signs of a panic attack. Needless to say, her command didn't have the intended effect.  

"Calm down?" Trixie asked hysterically.

“And I’m not a demon,” Because passively letting Trixie know that the Nightmare could read her mind would have a soothing effect.

"What the BUCK do you mean 'calm down'?" Trixie exploded, her voice growing quickly and her face contorted in panic. "I just lived through the worst nightmare in my life, only to wake up and be told that it was real, by FREAKING NIGHTMARE MOON of all ponies.  All while being stuck in the basement of an abandoned castle in the middle of a forsaken forest, nopony knows I'm here to look for me! did I mention I was with the most notorious villain in the history of OUR FREAKING PLANET? CALM DOWN? I'M ROYALLY SCREWED. I'M-"

"Royally screwed?" Nightmare deadpanned. "Don't flatter yourself."

Trixie's shouting, which used some colorful language to describe how 'screwed' she was, lasted long enough for her to spot the door.

"Freedom!" She bolted toward the exit. Unfortunately for her, just as she reached the exit a blue magical aurora slammed the door shut in her face.

So, instead of stopping, she crashed through it.  

"Be careful you foal!" Nightmare reprimanded as she appeared next to a now prone Trixie, who only replied with a dazed groan. She had managed to crash through the door and into the wall of the hallway beyond. It would have probably knocked her out if she wasn't wearing the protective helmet.

"There's two of us in here now! And I am not accustomed to the fragility of a mortal body." Nightmare continued before motioning at the destroyed door. "And you broke my door!" A quick flash of magic and the door was mended. Another flash and the stunned unicorn felt herself being dragged back inside, the door slamming shut behind her.

After the room stopped spinning, Trixie sat up and pressed a hoof to her still pounding head. "W-What do you mean 'there's two of us in here now?'" Trixie thought Nightmare was talking about the room.  

"Isn't it obvious foal?" Nightmare began. "Remember that helmet you picked up? The blue one?" Trixie nodded, albeit nervously. "It housed my consciousness, or rather my personality. And when you put it on . . ."

"Wait? What!?" Trixie felt around her head and realized she still had it on. Immediately she started to yank and pull at it. Nightmare merely rolled her eyes before sitting on her haunches, watching Trixie's futile struggling to remove the helm. She didn't say anything until Trixie's panic started escalating.  

"You can't get it off while it's magically fitted to your head, foal." Nightmare remarked. "Not unless you want to saw off your horn."

This didn't stop Trixie. Nightmare shook her head, and with a flash of magic the helmet suddenly returned to its original, much larger, size.  Trixie immediately threw the helm off; it hit a wall and fell to the stone floor with a clang.

Panting, She looked around the room and found it empty of the nightmare. "She’s gone?" Trixie breathed in relief. "She's gone!  The Nightmare Moon is gone!" A sense of giddy relief started to build up in Trixie's chest, and she giggled a little. That's when a muzzle pressed up against Trixie's ear.

"Boo."

Trixie yelped. Well, it was sort of a cross between a yelp and a frightened squeal. Nightmare might have been amused if it wasn't accompanied with Trixie bolting again.  This time she managed to crash through a table, destroying it. It didn't help that a rather important looking gem on the table fell and shattered.

"You foal!" Nightmare shouted, almost as if it wasn't at all Nightmare's fault for scaring her. "Now we'll have to get a replacement!"

Still panicking, Trixie got up to for round two with whatever else stood between her and the door. But just as she was about to bolt again, she found herself immobilized by an aura of blue magic. The aura then slammed her into the stone wall, pining her back to the wall.  

"Now listen to me, my little pony. If I wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead." Nightmare spat, her eyes burning holes into Trixie's. "But I am not going to, so whether you like it or not I am inside your head and we're stuck  with each other. Your foalish panicking is not going to change that. So. Calm. Down."

Trixie nodded, though she had no other intent except to try and escape again.

"Don't lie to me Trixie." Nightmare said in a threatening tone, approaching Trixie until their faces were merely inches apart. "I'm in your head, I have your memories and I know what you're thinking. I can tell when you're lying." Nightmare released the aura around Trixie, causing her to fall to the floor. "Now are you going to stop acting like a foal or I going to have make these matters more painful for you?"

"Y-Yes" Trixie nodded vigorously, still a hostage of fear. "W-What do y-you want with Tr-Trixie?"

"What?" Nightmare Moon tilted her head in slight confusion. Trixie repeated her question, still using the third person.

"You're going to stop that third person 'great and powerful' Trixie crap, right now." Nightmare Moon ordered, displaying a high level of irritation. "I'm not going to deal with your annoying stupid choice of speech, got it?"

Trixie nodded.

"Now repeat your question." Nightmare said.

"W-Why T-Tri-" She was cut off by a huff of irritation by the nightmare. Taking a breath, she began again. "Why me?"

"Because you were the foal who put on my helm. The moment you did I was shunted into your head." She replied non-chalantly as she began to wonder the room. "Not my number one choice, I would have preffered Twilight Sparkle, but you'll do.  Fortunately you're compatible, so my entry didn’t kill you. I suspect your recent use of the alicorn amulet may have had something to do with that. Your use of it also showed me you have the capacity to channel alicorn level magic without dying, something I’ll definitely need.“

She looked back at Trixie. “I can use you. In fact, I am going to need you. So from now on, you’ll do what I say.” Simply like that, Trixie had a new master.

“B-But what if Tri- I don’t want t-“ Trixie was cut off by a deep laugh from Nightmare Moon.

“So what then? You want to continue scrounging around Equestria looking for trinkets or other garbage you hope will allow you to beat Twilight in a childish one ups game?” Nightmare replied. “Please. . . you can’t even get revenge right. The last time you tried you ended up deluding yourself into thinking you had come to friendly terms with her. But now you've relapsed after what? a few weeks? Because you realized that your life was still in shambles and you were forced to either face your shortcomings or blame Twilight again?”

Trixie sat silently, contemplating what the Nightmare had said. It was true, she had relapsed into hating Twilight again.  Old habits die hard, and the fact of the matter was that it was easier for her to hate others and blame them for them for her failing career.  

“But ultimately what you want doesn't matter,” Nightmare continued. “You. Belong. To. Me. Now.”

“What gives you the right to-“ Trixie tried again to protest.

“I'm the most reviled villainness in history remember? I wouldn’t thinking twice about using you as a marionette.” Nightmare Moon responded coldly.

Trixie shrank under the Nightmare’s glare.

“But fortunately for you, I can’t just kill you or destroy your mind. It would make the situation untenable for me.” Nightmare stated matter-of-factly.  “ And I have a mission, a job to do. You're going to help me.”

However, this time Trixie felt something odd about what Nightmare Moon said. She could sense that the alicorn was lying. She knew that the Nightmare Moon could destroy her mind and have an easy time at doing it, but for some reason she didn’t want to.

Nightmare Moon took a long steady breath, an attempt to calm herself down. She walked around behind Trixie and, and much to Trixie's surprise, pulled her up into an embrace. “Besides, isn’t this what you wanted?” She whispered into Trixie’s ear, almost seductively. “Power? Strength? I did say I would tell you what ‘great and powerful’ really means. And I intend too.”

Now that did sound good to Trixie. But something also told her that Nightmare knew it would. It was rather strange for Trixie to her head with someone else.  She would of questioned what she was sensing further if it weren't for her shock at the Nightmare's sudden change from threatening to affectionate. That, and the soothing sensation her touch brought.  

“But you have to use what I give you for what needs to be done." She nuzzled Trixie.

“But to make sure that I am not subtle about it at all,” The Nightmare’s words suddenly became harsh again.  The pleasant touch from her nuzzling suddenly became bone chilling cold, followed by pain at every place their bodies touched. “If you betray me, I will make you pay."

Enemies and Friends

‘You ready?’ Trixie heard the Nightmare’s voice echo in her head, though she couldn't see Nightmare’s form anywhere. As Trixie understood it, Nightmare Moon could only been seen by Trixie. But that was actually an illusion, Nightmare Moon was really in her head and saw out of Trixie's eyes.

“Yes,” Trixie replied eagerly. She felt a large surge of energy pass through her horn as a wave of magic enveloped the room. When it was gone the cracks in the floor, ceiling and walls had all vanished.

“Wow!” Trixie said as she looked over the newly mended room. Normally, spending enough magic to repair a thousand year's worth of decay would have caused Trixie to pass out from exhaustion. However, now she hardly noticed it. It felt as though she was at least ten times more powerful than she was with the alicorn amulet, and this type of power is exactly what Trixie wanted.

But what is power with no free will? There was a nagging feeling in the back of Trixie's head that her current dilemna was no better than being under the influence of the alicorn amulet. Power at the price of control. The only question was, how much control did she have now?

But her musing was abruptly ended by the sound of Nightmare's voice.

‘Well, we’ve fixed this place up enough. It'll be our living quarters in this region,’ Nightmare responded as Trixie looked around the room. It had been fully restored and the furniture mended to pristine condition.

“So why are we staying in a basement of an abandoned castle?” Trixie began.  “I mean,- “

‘Stop talking aloud,' Nightmare Moon interrupted the unicorn. 'Think what you want to say and I will hear it. No one else can hear or see me, so it looks like you're talking to yourself.’

‘So why are we staying here?’ Trixie tried again. It was strange to think something in her own mind to expect an answer from someone else. 'With this amount of power we could easily make some bits and get a better place to stay.'

‘It will serve the purpose I need it to,’ was Nightmare moon's short explanation. ‘No pony visits, its isolated and it's familiar ground. I am not concerned with luxuries, and I prefer my quarters to be spartan.’

Looking around the restored room once more, Trixie noticed that there were no sources of light. No torches, no candles and no windows.

‘umm... princess?’ Trixie thought. She summed a flame and lit the candle on the newly mended table. For a moment, the little flame was blindingly bright. But once her eyes adjusted she could still see everything in the room; shadow’s cast by the flame were noticeable but failed to conceal anything.

‘Benefits of being a nightmare,' The dark alicorn replied, responding to Trixie's curiosity of her newfound night vision. 'You can see in and through the dark. Oh, and don't call me princess, call me Nightmare Moon.'

'Okay, Nightmare Moon. Why don't you speak in old equestrian like princess Luna?' Trixie asked, She had read about how the princess of the night spoke in a dated dialect.

'Well, in reality I am. But I just cast a translation spell between old equestrian and the modern dialect, so nopony can tell the difference.' The Nightmare replied as another pulse of magic from Trixie extinguished the candle.

'Really?' Trixie scoffed in amusement. 'That's a . . . shortcut, almost like cheating if you ask me.'

'Another benefit of being a Nightmare, you get to cheat.' She replied smugly. 'By the way, you won't be needing those’ Trixie spotted her hat and cape seconds before they went up in flames.

“Hey!” Trixie protested, a moment too late. They were nothing but ash now.

‘Shut up. They’re the only way anypony would recognize you now.’ Nightmare responded.

“What does that mean?” Trixie replied.

‘Didn’t we discuss the hole talking to yourself thing?’ Nightmare answered snarkly.

Trixie growled in response. ‘What does that mean?’

‘My presense may have . . . caused a change in your appearance.’ Nightmare replied. Trixie sensed a little dread from Nightmare Moon. 'Only a slight change.'

It took Trixie only a few moments to find the remains of a mirror, and a quick restoration spell later . . .

"THE HAY HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!?!" Trixie shouted, observing her knew appearance. Her coat was now several shades darker. Not dark enough to be completely black, but a very dark blue. Her mane and tail color didn't change, nor did the color of her violet eyes. But what was shocking was her cutie mark.

It was no longer a wand with pixie dust flowing from it. The stem of the wand had disappeared, leaving only the star. The pixie dust itself had morphed and shifted to form a moon, with the crescent facing away from the star and up toward Trixie's front.

'Beautiful isn't it?' Nightmare Moon replied. 'I must say, the star is a nice touch.'

"B-b-But how is that possible?!" Trixie stammered. "I mean, aren't cutie marks supposed to determine our destinies? Isn't it a part of who we are?" Trixie asked.

Nightmare scoffed before replying. 'Contrary to popular belief, your destiny is for you to decide. You're not limited by a mark on your flank.  Besides, I know you want more than stage performer all your life.' Before adding with certainty.

Trixie took a few more moments to examine her new cutie mark before sitting on her haunches in front of the mirror. She could grow to like her new appearance. But she was still mortified that her cutie mark had changed. It was something that she thought would always be a part of her, something that would always single her out. Unique and immutable.  

'The moon is just like the one in Nightmare Moon's cutie mark.' Trixie thought to herself, almost forgetting that she had an audience.

'Yes, it is. And if you're going to be wearing it in public you'd had better not make a foal of yourself.' She replied, almost threateningly. And though Trixie could see that the new mark wasn't all too similar to Nightmare Moon's, Trixie could sense no small amount of pride coming from the Nightmare when it came to said mark.  

‘Speaking of public, it's almost dawn. There's some stuff I'd like to take care of and it would be easier for me to do it than to tell you what to do. . .' Nightmare Moon paused, searching for the right word 'umm... move over.’

Trixie felt what was the mental equivalent of a shove, followed by all the sensations that accompany her rising to her hooves. Though, It wasn't her controlling her hooves this time.

"THE HAY!?!" Trixie shouted in suprise, before trying to jump. However, she was surprised by a  sudden return in control over her body, and it caused her to trip over her own hooves. Her face hit the floor with an audible smack.  

'Don't do that,' The Nightmare replied. Trixie felt another mental shove, followed by her body rising to its hooves outside her control. 'I can only control your body if you let me.'

"I suppose that's a plus-" Trixie remarked before she felt her snout snap shut.

'Think what you want to say...' Nightmare reminded, again.

Nightmare, now in control of Trixie's body again, grabbed a blue messengers satchel in her an aura of magic. With another pulse of magic, several objects from around the room flew into the bag.

Other than a coin purse and other basic essentials, she spotted one object in particular before it disappeared into the bag. It was a blue disk with a symbol carved into its side. Trixie recognized it to be one of the runes she saw in Nightmare Moon's memory.

'We need to go into the nearby town, let me handle the talking, the walking... and just about everything else. . .'

---

By the time they had arrived in Ponyville the sun was already up. Trixie could have swore that presence of the sun had somehow soured the Nightmare's mood, jugdging from what Trixie could sense from the her. But the dark alicorn didn't openly reveal any of her emotions, at least to the outside world. Trixie wasn't sure if Nightmare's mood would translate into something more vindictive against the residents of Ponyville. Though it did give her comfort to know that she could retake control of her body at any time.

At least she thought she could.    

On top of that, Trixie wasn't entirely sure how the ponies of ponyville would react to her return.  However, judging by their reactions to her, they had either forgotten about her  completely or didn't recognize her at all. Most likely the latter. This was only confirmed as Nightmare had enter an antique shop and an older brown coated earth pony stallion greeted her, asking if she was new in town.  

Now, it turns out that the bag of coins Nightmare had taken from the ruins contained an older currency which was no longer in circulation. This proved to be a boon. The older coins were highly sought by collectors,  and it was also composed of solid gold whereas the modern bits were only gold plated.

She was able to trade in ten of the ancient coins for five hundred bits.

'Wow, easiest half a grand I've ever made,' Trixie remarked with a little regret. If only she had searched a little deeper into the ruins without picking up that old helmet . . .

'Umm... Nightmare Moon?' Trixie thought again, 'How did you know that we'd need to get bits. In fact, how did you know that this antique shop would be here?'

'One, I have all your memories so I know what you know,' Nightmare answered. 'Two, I can pull information from the dreamscape of all these ponies.' She motioned toward the stallion behind the counter, who was busy eyeing the coins. 'I glean whatever information i want. Including where I can find somepony willing to pay for those ancient coins. . . don't worry, I didn't stiff him. He should make a nice profit reselling those.'

'Really? I didn't take you for the nice type.' Trixie  retorted.

'Not really, not to be nice anyway. I'm hoping a nice profit margin will make him want to keep his mouth shut about where he got them. He's not the type to appreciate competitors buying out  one of his sources.' Nightmare replied as they left the store.

'Who cares if anypony knows where he got them?'

'Greatest villianess in history remember?' Nightmare reminded. 'I'll do whatever I can to be cover my tracks, no detail is too minute to be overlooked when tricking a pursuer.' She sounded slightly paranoid.

'You think the princesses and the elements will be coming after us?' Trixie asked with a slight amount of fear.  

'Well,' Nightmare began. 'If I know my other half, that is Luna, they'll be relentless. . .'

---

'That's like the fifth magic shop you've taken us to,' Trixie complained. Nightmare Moon had been walking her around all morning, from shop to shop. They had visited every last magic related store in the entire town. Granted, it wasn't a very big town, but that tid bit of knowledge did little to sooth the aching Trixie was starting to feel.

'Quit complaining,' Nightmare Moon responded non-chalantely. 'If you weren't out of shape your legs wouldn't hurt.'

'But we've been walking around all morning...' Trixie replied, elliciting no response. 'At least tell me what you're looking for.'

After a few moments of silence Nightmare replied, still with her less than sympatric tone.  'You remember that crystal you broke when I first woke you up?' Reading Trixie's thoughts, Nightmare Moon didn't need a confirmation. 'Well, it turns out I need one to remove an ancient seal. . .'

'Really? Can't you just overpower it or something?'

'No,' The Nightmare replied, now turning to walk through the market. 'I designed the spell on the runes myself. The seal is made to prevent any meddlesome ponies, who had significant power, from overpowering the runes'

Trixie saw the image of Celestia flash through her mind.  

'The runes need a specific object nearby to activate them,' Nightmare Moon explained. 'It helps to keep the identity of said objects secret so that no pony else can breach the runes. In this case, a type two arcane crystal made from moonstone.'

Trixie was about to respond with another question when the familiar scent of apples hit her nose. That's when she realized that she hadn't eaten the entire morning, or the entire night before.

It caused her mouth to water and her stomach to grumble. Turning toward the source, Nightmare spotted a large stand occupied by an equally large red stallion. Judging by the line, the 'sweet apple acres' vendor was rather popular.  

'Oh. . . right, you mortals need . . . food' Nightmare remarked. Was Trixie sensing disgust from the Nightmare's Moon?

'umm. . . excuse me?' Trixie asked.

'It's so revolting,' Nightmare made no effort to hide a growing disgust. 'The idea that you ingest foreign objects into your body, things that used to be part of plant life . . . and that you enjoy it. . .'

'What?, Theres nothing wrong with eating. . .' Trixie would have harrumphed if she was controlling her body. 'And us mortals have to eat, so we might as well enjoy. Are you telling me that immortal alicorns don't eat?'

'I didn't . . . but Tia did. I never understood her disgusting compulsion to consume that. . . oh what was that brown stuff she kept trying to get to to taste? chocolate?' The Nightmare sighed, trying to convey to Trixie exactly how much she didn't care for eating.

"WHAT? YOU'VE NEVER TASTED CHOCOLATE BEF-" Trixies mouth snapped shut before she could finish the question. Though a few nearby ponies heard what she blurted out, which earned her a few strange looks as they noticed she wasn't near enough to anyone else to be talking to them.

'Shhhh, you idiot. Think, not speak, you start talking to yourself in public and we'll look insane.' Nightmare chastised. Trixie could sense the Nightmare's sudden anger at her mistake, as well as what she could describe as a pressure on her neck choking her.

'Okay, Okay! Im sorry!' Trixie responded. After a few moments the pressure on her neck receded. Nightmare looked back up toward the crowd of ponies, they all seemed to have stopped paying attention to her and went about their business.

'See that you dont make that mistake again, foal.' Nightmare warned once more. She turned back toward the stand, eyeing it from afar. 'You know what? on second thought. . . you deal with it.' Nightmare responded curtly as she returned control of Trixie's body to her.

Unfortunately, Trixie wasn't prepared to take control again. This resulted in her legs collapsing under her, followed by a face plant with a loud thump.

That earned her another series of strange looks from nearby ponies.

"Ow, the hay? What did you do that for?" Trixie said as she pulled her face out of the dirt, using a hoof to wipe dirt off her face.

"Ah hope yer not expect'n the ground ta reply, ma'am." Came a voice from above her. Looking up she saw that the red stallion from the stand had walked over to her and was now offering a hoof to pull her up.

"Hehe . . ." Trixie gave a nervous chuckle, followed by an equally nervous smile. She took hold of his hoof and pulled herself up.

"Are you okay miss?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? heh, I'm fine." Trixie replied, though he didn't appear entirely convinced. "Well, I had a late night" She continued. "And I haven't had a breakfast, so I was wondering if you still had some apples to sell."

"Indeed I do ma'am," He replied as he turned toward the stand. "What'll ya have? We have most popular types of apples, as well as some apple pastries and desserts" He said as they reached the stand, he took up his place behind it.

Trixie took a moment to think before a mischievous grin crept onto her face. "Do you have  any chocolate covered apples?"

'I am not amused, mortal.'

'Go back to brooding'

"Yes we do," He hoofed over a chocolate covered apple, though hesitated for a moment when he noticed her grin. This mare was a tad bit unsettling. "Ah'm not the one usually run'n the stand, but ah don't think ah've seen you before? You from around here?"

"No, I'm just here visiting a friend." Nightmare Moon was impressed with the ease in which Trixie lied.

"Well, Ah'm Big Mac. What brings ya ta market? Ah' saw ya walking around earlier." He asked.

"I was looking for a crystal used in . . . advanced magical research," Trixie answered. "It's a gem with unique magical properties, apparently none of the vendors here are carry it. Which isn't surprising."

"Well, if yer look'n fer anything with advanced magic, ya outta try an' talk to the town librarian; Twilight Sparkle. If anypony in this town has special gems for magic, it'd be her." He replied as she put the bits on the stand and pushed them toward the red stallion.

'You know, thats not a bad idea,' remarked Nightmare Moon.

"In fact, mah sister is over there right now." He continued before he noticed the bits she placed on the table. "Oh, no charge miss." He said as pushed the bits back toward the mare.  "Consider it a welcome to ponyville treat. Just don't let Pinkie Pie know ah beat her to the punch."

Trixie smiled, picking up the treat "Why thank y-"

'No,' The voice of Nightmare Moon in her head cut Trixie off.

'What do you mean, No?' Trixie answered with surprise.

'I mean no, I will not be indebted to this bumpkin.'

"Bumpkin? Jeez, He's just being ni-" Trixie felt her snout snap shut with a clack.  All the while the red stallion was clearly getting unnerved, did she just call him a bumpkin?  

'Pay him...' Nightmare ordered more forcefully.

'We don't have to' Trixie could sense the pride inside Nightmare Moon, It  wouldn't let her accept a handout. 'He's trying to welcome us to-

'PAY HIM  NOW.'

---

"Why thank y- . . . Bumpkin? Jeez, He's just being ni-" CLACK.  

"Uhh, Miss?" Big Mac started, the mare before him was starting to creep him out. For a second time."Are you sure yer okay?" He asked as he looked over the mare once more. She seemed familiar, like she was someone he'd seen before. But he would have definitely remembered that her color scheme. It wasn't often he saw somepony with a midnight blue coat and a set of dark violet eyes.  

His uneasiness wasn't helped by a sudden twitch from the mare,  followed by those violet eyes flashing blue for a moment. They snapped to focus on him.

"Well actually sir, I insist." Now there was no emotion from the mare, and the bits had reappeared on the table.  

Yah, this strange mare was definitely creeping him out. Then again, living in ponyville Big Mac had seen plenty of strange ponies. Maybe the unicorn was just a relative of Lyra's or something?

"It's really not necessary miss," He pushed them away again, trying to offer a reassuring smile through the awkwardness.

"No, I Insist." She pushed them back toward the stallion.  Her voice was a little more forceful this time.  

"Well if ya dont  want ta take a Ponyville welcome, you can still take back some of them bits" He said, pushing all but one bit back. "Ya over paid," Her head jerked down at the bits then back up at the stallion, the emotionless facade was starting to crumble.

"There's no way that cost only one bit." She stated, only a little anger managed to make it into her expression and voice.

"Yer tellin me how much ah’ sell my apples fer?" He had her there and he knew it.  Though his moment of smugness didn't last. His smile was quickly wiped off his face by a pair of blue hooves exploding through his stand; sending pieces of wood, shrapnel and the bits in every direction. His brain didn't have time to process what was happening when mare grabbed his head, and  yanked it down to her level.

He would have been impressed at her speed and strength, had it not felt like his head was about to be twisted off.

"Listen to me you big red simpleton," Her eyes were threatening to drill a hole in his head. "I don't need your charity, and I will not be indebted to a small town bumpkin like you."

For a unicorn, this mare had to be strong. Oh wow, look, she's strong enough to lift Big Mac off the ground and . . .

-Crash-

and that was the sound of Big Mac's back being used to pulverize what was left of his humble apple stand. He never expected to be used as an impromptu wrecking ball, but the experience had made him regret building the stand out of such strong wood.

"Ow. . ." Big Mac groaned at the pain in his back. He sure wouldn't be pulling any apple carts for a while.  

He peaked open his eyes. The psychotic mare was standing over him, pinning him to the ground with a hoof to his chest. She was still angry. She was sort of hot when she was angry.

"Now just take my money," She said as she used magic to throw a rather large coin pouch down at the stallion, he just barely managed to catch  it. "There is some extra to pay for the stand."

There had to be at least fifty bits there, if the weight and size of the bag were any indication. Wow, she's pretty and she pays well. Though fifty gold plated bits was far too much for replacing the stand.

The mare was about to leave, retrieving her chocolate apple. "B-But yah ova p-paid." She turned to fix Big Mac in another glare. The violet of her eyes pulsed blue again. "The s-stand would o-only o-only-"

Yah, he decided to save his own life by shutting up now. But that wasn't enough for the mare, she had to make sure.

Place her hoof back on his chest. "So you accept the payment?" She hissed, Big Mac only responded with a week nod before shrinking under her glare. "Good," Her tone drastically shifted to its original apathetic tone. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

He only gave a another pained groan as she got up to walk away. He tried to move, but his back still felt like it had been run over by a train. He tried to move, but only managed to shift around the pulverized mess that used to be the stand.

How was he going to explain a broken stand, the small fortune in his hooves, and the bruises on his body? No pony would believe him if he said that he had gotten smashed up by a mare not half his size.

He turned his head toward the mare's retreating form, but she was no longer walking. She was standing completely still with her eyes wide.  The chocolate apple floated in a blue aura in front of her, a big bite-shaped chunk missing from it.  

She then proceeded to attack it like a ravenous pinkie pie let loose on a cupcake. The way the mare ate it made Big Mac wonder if she had ever tasted chocolate before. Or eaten for that matter.

He shifted and tried to pull himself up, but only succeeded in letting out another pained groan before giving up. He resolved to just lie there until the pain receded and he could regain feeling in his back. But he decided to chance once more glance at the crazy mare. . .

Oh no, she coming back!

---

‘The hay was that?!?’ Trixie protested, ‘You didn't have to do that to him, he was just trying to be nice! And I thought you didn’t want to draw attention!’

‘Oh don’t worry Trixie,’ Nightmare replied smugly, organizing a half dozen chocolate apples in their satchel. ‘He’s not about to go and tell anypony that he got beat up by a mare half his size.’

‘Well, I don't know how you 'conducted business' a thousand years ago,’ Trixie countered angrily. ‘but us up-to-date ponies don't respond to hospitality by throwing others through wooden stands! You should've been nicer.’

‘Pff,’ NIghtmare scoffed. ‘As if you're the one to know what nice is.’

'At least I can recognize when a stallion is trying to be nice to a mare." Trixie replied hotly. 'What? You never had a stallion hit on you before?’

'For the most part? No. . .' The Nightmare replied nonchalantly, commanding Trixie's hooves to move. 'Most stallions were not so bold. . . I think they didn't like fangs.'

'Wow. . . no chocolate and no romance, no wonder she tried to end the world with an eternal night.' Trixie thought to herself, completely forgetting that she was sharing her head with the exact same pony she was thinking about.

Which was a stupid mistake that she regretted instantly, she could sense the Nightmare's mood  plummet dangerously. Suddenly her entire body felt painfully cold.

'Silence foal, you know little of the reasons why I did what I did.  Do not equate them to the trivialities of your mortal perspective.' Nightmare hissed threateningly.

With that Trixie decided not to say - or think- anything for the rest of the trip. It was clear to her that she had pushed the wrong button.

However, the one thing Nightmare Moon had taken from the apple vendor for free was his advice. They were headed toward the library. The town librarian, Twilight Sparkle, prized student of the princess and bearer of the element of magic, was the only individual in the entire town that was likely to possess the crystal Nightmare Moon was looking for.

It didn't take long for them to reach the Ponyville library. Thankfully Nightmare Moon’s mood had improved before they had arrived, which made Trixie brave enough to formulate a question. She was wondering how Nightmare Moon planned on getting what she wanted from Twilight without the lavender unicorn recognizing either one of them.

‘Don’t worry about it Trixie,’ Nightmare answered. ‘Let me do the talking. Oh, and try not to interrupt or do anything. Looking crazy in front of her is more dangerous than looking strange in front of a vendor in the market.’ Nightmare's tone became more threatening.  'And don't try to ask the elements for help, or  any other stunts. If the elements of harmony try to banish me to the moon again, your coming with me; that's if you don't get killed.'

She knocked on the door. Which was answered with a shout. She couldn't tell exactly what was said, just that someone had shouted a reply. Another knock on the door elicited another shout, this time it was understandable.

“Coming, I’m coming!” It answered. A few moments later the door swung open to reveal a purple lizard. “Hello?”

“You must be Spike.” She addressed the baby dragon that looked up at her.

  “Umm. . . do I know you?” He replied.

“No, I’m new in town.” She answered. Trixie felt a small amount of relief at the fact that Spike did not recognize her. Nightmare was right, her changes in appearance made her look like a totally different pony.

“Well, Welcome to the Ponyville library.” He said, welcoming her in. “What brings you here?” He closed the door behind her.

“I’m actually looking for the librarian.” She replied.

“Really? Well you have great timing.” Spike replied. “If you’d come ten minutes later you would have missed her.”

Nightmare Moon was going to ask why, but her question was answered when the three of them entered the main room of the library. It’s walls were filled with books and it had a round table in the center of the room. On that table were two sets of luggage. One of the sets of luggage was sitting next to an orange earth pony. She had a blonde mane and a stetson hat, and she happened to be reading a book that, judging by its cover, had something to do with apples.

The other set of luggage was still open, a set of books floated in a purple aura above it. There appeared to be a slightly flustered lavender unicorn trying to decide between which of the books to pack.

“Hey Twi!” Spike called to her, interrupting her thoughts. “Somepony’s here to see you.”

“Hello,” Twilight greeted as she put the books down.

“Hello, You’re the librarian correct?” Nightmare asked as if she didn't already know the answer.

“Yes, I am.” Twilight replied kindly. “But I don’t believe we've met. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this here-” She motion toward the blond pony. “Is my friend Applejack.” The blond pony reach up and tilted her had in acknowledgement.

“Pleasure to meet you, my name is . . . Lulamoon. I’m new in town.” She replied. Trixie felt like she wanted to face hoof. Why would she pick the name Lulamoon, especially if she is trying to prevent ponies from recognizing her as Trixie. Granted not many knew that Trixie had a last name, and certainly no one in Ponyville did; but it was an unnecessary risk wasn't it?

Her question was answered by Nightmare Moon before she thought about asking it. Nightmare Moon considered in ill-advised to lie while the element of honesty was nearby; and with Lulamoon actually being one of Trixie's names, it was technically a truthful response to Twilight's question.

It was strange sharing her head with someone, that Nightmare Moon could sense and answer her doubts before she even chose to express them.

“Lulamoon? That’s a pretty name.” Twilight complimented, before tilting her head to get a good luck at Trixie's new cutie mark. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I came here because I think you can help me with something,” Lulamoon answered.

“Well, I’d love to.” Twilight answered with hesitation. She was honestly hoping the newcomer only wanted to check out a book. “ But I’m sort of in a hurry, can it wait a few days?”

Lulamoon glanced at the luggage than back toward the lavender unicorn. “I only want some information, it should only take a few moments.”

“Go on Twi,” Applejack added with encouragement. “By the time you finish picking which book to bring it’ll be apple bucking season anyway.”

“Alright,” She said, casting an annoyed glance at her friend who remained hiding behind her book.

“One of the merchants in town said you were quite adept at magic, and that you would probably be able to tell me where I could find a type two crystal lattice of moonstone?”

“Type two, moonstone?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Those are rather rare, and only ponies doing highly advanced magic have any use for one. What do you want one for?”

“I plan on doing an. . . experiment, of sorts, which involves high level magic.” Lulamoon answered. “And, unfortunately, the last stone I had shattered.”

“Oh, an experiment?” Twilight asked, her enthusiasm now growing. Twilight, ever the curious scientist. It excited her even more that there may be another high-level mage in town performing experiments. “What are you researching?”

“You could say it's astronomy related,” She replied.  It wasn't entirely the truth, but thankfully it appeared that Applejack stopped paying attention and went back to her book at the first signs of nerd speak.

“Really?” Twilight asked, clearly indicating that she wanted Lulamoon to elaborate.

“Sorry, Twilight Sparkle.” Lulamoon replied. “You know how it is. The first pony to discover something, something not put there by princess Luna, gets to name it. I’ll be happy to tell you more after I’ve finished my experiments.”

“Fair enough, I look forward to it.” Twilight nodded. If anypony in Ponyville  could appreciate some scientific competition it was Twilight. “SPPPIIKKKEEEEE” She called toward the upstairs room with a sudden burst of volume. “CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE PLEASE?”

When the baby dragon had returned, Twilight directed him to retrieve a case from the basement. Upon his return, he dropped the case on the table before disappearing upstairs again. Twilight opened the case to reveal an assortment of various gems.

Trixie didn’t really recognize any of them, but Nightmare Moon did. They were very rare.  

“Wow, you’re family must be very wealthy.” Lulamoon remarked as she inspected the gem’s in the case.

“Well, yes.” Twilight hesitated to admit. “But these aren't mine. Princess Celestia lent them to me.”  

“I hope you keep a lock on your door then,” She replied. “I’d hate to have to explain to the princess of all ponies if those went missing.”

“Oh, in a town like Ponyville I’m not too worried.” Twilight said before turning toward the case. “Now let's see, type three ruby. . . diamond-sunstone composite. . . ah, here it is. Moonstone crystal with Type two lattice structure.  You can borrow it.” She put the stone in a smaller case and passed it over to Lulamoon.

“Uh, you sure?” Lulamoon asked. She was surprised that the mare would be so trusting with complete stranger to let her borrow a valuable and precious gem. “This is rather expensive.”

“Oh, it's no problem.” Twilight assured. “I know how rare those are, and I am virtual certain that you wouldn’t find another one in this town. In fact, I’m pretty sure the nearest place to find another one would be Canterlot.”  

This seemed to be too good to be true, this mare couldn’t be that naïve. “Oh, and in case it gets lost, princess Celestia has a tracking spell on it.” Twilight added. But the underlying meaning of it was not lost on Lulamoon. The convenient way to keep track of a small valuable item was also a major deterrent to theft.

“Well then, for your kindness you can at least take this.” Lulamoon opened her satchel and brought out one of the larger pouches filled with bits. She dropped it on the table next to the moonstone with a loud thud, the coins clanging together. At the sound of the thud, applejack put down her book and Twilight’s eyes bugged out.

“That’s got to be worth at least five times the going rate of that stone!” Twilight exclaimed as she lifted the pouch with a hoof to feel it’s weight. “Ones of superior quality too!”

“Yes,” Lulamoon answered calmly as she picked up the moonstone and examined it. “You can hold on to that until I have returned the moonstone.”

“Well thanks but,” Twilight pushed the pouch away. “It’s not necessary.”

“No, it is.” Lulamoon replied, pushing the coins back to Twilight. “My experiment may result in the moonstone’s destruction. And you saved me a lot of trouble of having to hunt one down, thank you.”

“Well okay. . . I guess.” Twilight replied. “You can bring back the moonstone in a about a week, I am going to be gone for the next few days or so.”

“Really?” Lulamoon replied, it was her turn to be curious. “You travelling for your own research?” Nightmare Moon highly doubted that such was the case. But being here, with Celestia’s prized protégé, presented the opportunity for gathering some information. An opportunity the Nightmare wouldn't pass up.

“No, were traveling under a royal directive.” Twilight replied. “I can’t really talk about it.”

“Fair enough. But if it is royal business, is it wise to keep everypony waiting on-“ Lulamoon craned her neck to look at the books Twilight had set on the table. They were both reference books that she didn’t recognize “on a pair of books?”

“I-I know,” Twilight admitted, which elicited a nodded from Applejack. “I just can’t decide which book to take.”

“Well, when I’m travelling for business I try to select my books by utility.” Lulamoon explained as she turned toward the shelf of books. “And if I were on royal business, I would probably take a few political science books.”

“No. . .” Twilight replied as she turned toward the bookshelf herself. “Were going to be within Equestria’s boarders, so I don’t imagine politics will be much of an issue.”

“Well then, maybe a good history book?” She suggested.

“Perhaps a history of magic book used around the end of the first diarchy.” Twilight answered. The reply itself didn't seem to reveal much, but it had given Nightmare Moon all the information she needed.

“Well, I'm sure I could find a few good reference books for you, but seeing how I am new in town I don’t know the stock of your library.” She said to twilight who responded with a nod. “I’m sure I can find the way out.” She said to dismiss herself.

“By the way Lulamoon,” Twilight said before Lulamoon could turn to go. “The library is usually open from nine to five, and ponies can freely come and go to check out any of the books. Just remember to sign them out.”

“Thank you,” She replied before turning to the blond earth pony. “Applejack was it? Lend her a hoof, you might get her to choose faster with a suggestion or two.”

Applejack nodded and moved to Twilight’s side. Once both of their backs were turned toward the book case,  Nightmare Moon unzipped her satchel and extracted the metal rune from the bag.  

She quickly cast a cloaking spell on the rune and, judging by how the blue aura levitating the disk moved, stuffed it into a space in one of Twilight’s bag.

‘What was that for?’ Trixie asked, both curiosity and concern in her tone. She had mixed feelings toward Twilight, but she didn’t want to see the lavender unicorn hurt.

‘I’ll explain later,’ was the only answer Nightmare gave before turning to leave. It wasn’t until they had left the library and walked halfway through ponyville before Nightmare Moon began again.

‘Well, that couldn’t have gone better.’ Nightmare Moon remarked. ‘Though, I'm not entirely happy about what we’ve learned.’

‘Wait, what?’ Trixie replied. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Well, there is only one reason why Celestia’s number one student would be interested in magic from  around the time of my banishment while getting ready to travel for ‘royal business’ that she can’t talk about.’ Nightmare Explained.  ‘Princess Luna and princess Celestia somehow know that I am active, and they’re probably looking for me.’

‘Well, then why did you put your rune in Twilight’s bag?’ Trixie asked. 'Aren't you going to need it?'

'No, I dont need it at this point, and planting it in Twilight's bag is an attempt at misdirection,' Nightmare began to explain as the pair continued walking. 'When Twilight discovers it, hopefully when she’s far away from here, She’ll pass it off to the princesses. Celestia will recognize it because she knew I used it a thousand years ago. However, Luna won’t remember anything about it at all.’

‘So?’ Trixie asked. ‘How does that help you in any way?’

‘It helps us because it will get them to spend a few weeks scratching their heads to figure out what it means.’ Nightmare continued. ‘ and, because an alicorn’s memory is photograph and near perfect, Celestia won’t believe Luna when she says that she doesn’t remember the rune. And over time that doubt might turn into mistrust . . . and well, it’s all downhill between the two of them from there.’

'Thats. . . wow,' Trixie processed what Nightmare just relayed. 'Scheme much?'

'I may have put a little thought into it,' Nightmare admitted with a small hint of enjoyment. 'But to tell the truth the biggest threat to my plans is those two working together in harmony.  So I'll take any chance at sowing discord between them.'

'They've been sisters for thousands of years, I'd imagine sowing distrust between them would be a little difficult.' Trixie asked.

This got Nightmare Moon to laugh. It wasn't mocking or condescending, but rather something Trixie said was genuinely funny to Nightmare Moon.  

'You're kidding right? You seem to forget that I was princess Luna. If there is anypony that I know well it's those two,' Nightmare claimed with certainty. 'though making their relationship dysfunctional will be difficult, it is far from impossible.'

'Do you really think they are hunting us already?' Trixie asked slightly afraid.

'Yes, with unrelenting determination,' Nightmare Moon replied with certainty. 'I know because it's what I'd do. In fact, both Tia and Luna will become obsessed with finding me. And if they do, were both going to end up on the moon.'

'So. . . I guess we'll need to be prepared.' Trixie replied, betraying a hint of fear.

'We will be.' Nightmare answered. 'But dealing with them will have to wait, There are a few things we need to take care of.' At those words, Nightmare retrieved their newly acquired crystal and started to inspect it.

'Like what?' Trixie could only wonder what was more important than evading the princesses.

'Well, were going to need a friend.'

---

Nightmare Moon had Trixie walk a few miles outside Ponyville, where no one could see them, before re-entering the Everfree forest. She didn't want anyone to see them going into the forest, claiming that it might arouse suspicion. Trixie thought she was being overly cautious, maybe even paranoid.

She was more concerned about running into some of the dangerous animals or monsters that lived in the forest. Nightmare Moon only replied with  a laugh before responding, 'I am the darkness of this forest, what creature do you think should be feared more than I?'

However all that was of little concern to Trixie now, she was more disturbed with what had happened early in the morning; namely what happened with the apple vendor. Trixie, from what Nightmare Moon had told her, was able to retake control of her body at any time. That Nightmare Moon could only control Trixie's body if Trixie let her.

But that didn't seem to be the case this morning. It felt as if Nightmare Moon was easily able to brush her aside and assume control. Which made Trixie worry, she didn't willingly give up control. Admittedly, she didn't try to prevent Nightmare Moon from taking control; at the time Trixie was too surprised at Nightmare's sudden outburst to put up that much of a mental defense.

Trixie also remembered the first time Nightmare Moon had experimented with taking control over Trixie's body. At that time it was easy, if not accidental.  So Nightmare Moon may have been telling the truth, that Trixie could retake control whenever she wanted. Though, how easy retaking it would be was something probably determined by Nightmare Moon.

However, there was something else on Trixie's mind. It was remarkable how easily she was able to throw around that large red earth pony. The earth ponies were known for being heavier and having stronger builds than the other two tribes. So the idea that a average sized mare like her could trash a rather larger earth pony stallion, without breaking a sweat, was rather surprising.

When she asked Nightmare Moon about it, the dark alicorn simply responded. 'I've “enhanced” your physiology.' Followed by some quip about how 'this mortal body' was miserably inferior  to her original one.

Though Nightmare Moon's words weren't particularly encouraging, Trixie was glad to hear that she was at least getting something back from the hitch-hiker. If her physical strength had increased like her magical strength had, Trixie should be able to lift a train car by now.

By the time they had arrived at the Everfree castle, it was late evening. Nightmare Moon led them to another basement room, deep under the castle.

The room itself was plain, it looked like an ordinary store room. However in the center of the room, cover by a cloth, was the statue of a pony. After a spell or two to remove the covering and dust the statue, Trixie realized that it was the most detailed statue she had ever seen.

The statue was of a stallion, a unicorn to be more specific. He was larger than the average pony, and sported a beard.  He was wearing an elaborate hat and cape with star patterns on them, not unlike the set that belonged Trixie's before they were burned. However, his  hat and cape also had bells.

The interesting part was his cutie mark. It was what appeared to be a constellation of stars that followed a swirling pattern.

"Who's he?" The oblivious Trixie asked.

'Just an old friend,' Nightmare replied cryptically. 'A friend that's been waiting a long, long time.

"For what? I don’t think he really cares about what is done with his statue ten centuries after he lived." Trixie eyed the statue.

'Be quiet Trixie.' Nightmare replied. A surge of magic shot its way through Trixie's horn, and with a loud pop Trixie and the statue teleported to their living quarters in the run down castle.

Nightmare Moon then took control over Trixie's body again, something Trixie didn't resist. She directed their gaze toward the statue, and what followed was a burst of magic stronger than Trixie had ever thought possible. So much magic was flowing out of Trixie's horn that, under normal circumstances, she would have passed out instantly. But like last time, she felt almost nothing. Barely any fatigue at all.

The spell itself was covering the statue in a blinding blue aura. But after a few moments the aura disappeared, and Trixie’s jaw dropped.  

A pony now stood in place of the statue.

His coat was a dark grey, and his eyes were a dark golden color. For a moment he didn't move, standing completely still. However, after a few moments the stallion let out a miserable groan before closing his eyes and crumpling to the floor.

'Did you just bring that statue to life?!?' Trixie asked in awe.

'No,' Nightmare replied. ‘Thats impossible.'

'Well then, what happened? Who is this?" Trixie replied with more curiosity.

'Tell me Trixie,' Nightmare began with a smug grin as she checked the stallion over, making sure he wasn't injured. ’If you turned somepony to stone, would the age? Or could they wait a thousand years?'

Monsters and Mistakes

Nightmare trotted over to the stallion that was stone a moment ago and shoved him over onto his back. A few taps to his cheek elicited a pained groan.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Nightmare grinned. He responded by giving her a pained squint. He then tried to rise, but was forced back down by Nightmare’s hoof. “Don’t try to get up, you’re going to need a little while to recover.”

He responded again with nothing other than a pained groan before attempting to roll over. His movements were jerky and sluggish, and his breathing labored.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Trixie asked.

‘Nothing’s wrong with him,’ Nightmare replied internally. ‘I just hit him with a rather nasty stunning spell before I knocked him out and turned him to stone.’

‘And you did this to your ‘friend’?’ Trixie questioned.

‘It’s complicated. . .’ Nightmare answered, killing Trixie’s hope for an explanation.

With her magic, Nightmare Moon lifted the stallion onto one of the restored beds. He laid there for at least half an hour, letting out another groan or two while he waited for the pain in his body to recede.  Nightmare Moon occasionally cast a spell or two every few minutes, to ‘speed up’ his recovery.

Eventually he was able to sit up.

“Oi, what n’ tha bloody blazes happ’d ta me?” Irish accent . . . Why? Maybe it goes with the beard. Taking a few moments to observe the room, he redirected his gaze at Trixie/Nightmare Moon. “And what does a pretty little lass like you tink she’s doing in a place such as dis?”

“I revived you, Starswirl.” Nightmare replied. Though with the new host, and the new cutie mark, the stallion had yet to recognize her.

“And o’course I tank ya fer dat.” He tried getting up again, only to be forced back down by Nightmare’s magic. “What was dat fer?” He protested.

“Stay in bed,” Nightmare ordered. “The disorientation can’t have passed yet. The last thing I need is for you to trip over your own hooves and smash your head in.”

“I don’ tink ya exactly understand who ya’ve revived, lass.” He replied before attempting to stand again. “What makes ya tink your the boss here?”

Nightmare simply responded by walking over and looking him in the eye before using her magic to force him down again. He replied by shooting her a glare, but after a few moments his expression turned to a smug grin.

“O’course,” He began with a suggestive tone as he sat up. “Dere might be another reason why a pretty mare like yer’self would want ta keep a stallion in a bed?”

‘Did he just?’ Trixie began in shock. Her jaw would have dropped had she been in control.

‘He did. . .’ Nightmare Moon replied ominously. Trixie could feel a surge of annoyance flare up in Nightmare Moon. That and a sense of indignation.

A sudden bolt of electricity from Trixie’s horn prompted a pained howl from the stallion as he fell back onto the bed.

“Ah. . . Ah’d be taken that as a no. . .” He replied with a new bout of pained breathing. He was about to say something else when a dagger, one that Nightmare Moon had retrieved from under the bed, sunk into the mattress a few inches from Starswirls nose.

Stabbing straight through his beard.

“Now dat’s just not polite.” He replied in his accent, obviously not intimidated yet.

Nightmare Moon seized him in her magical grasp and pulled him to eye level, a portion of his beard being ripped away by the dagger still stabbed into the mattress.

“Don’t you remember what I told you the last time you hit on me?” Her words were harsh now. Starswirl face contorted into a mixture of anger (over his beard) and confusion. “That I’d teach you the dictionary definition of the world ‘gelding,’ if you ever made a pass at me again, even if it was in jest?” She withdrew the blade and brought it up to eye level.

It took a few moments for Starswirl to process what she said, but the dramatic shift in his expression showed that he realized exactly who said it . . .

“Yer Highness!?!” Starswirl shouted in surprise. Nightmare Moon nodded. “Well, ah . . . Ah didn’t tink it was you yer highness! Honest! I thought ya looked familiar but . . . but. . .” He just finished with a gulp before putting on a pathetic and almost pleading frown.

“Oh don’t worry, Starswirl. I’m not goint to punish you.” Nightmare put the dagger down. “The circumstances are punishment enough.”

“Yer Highness?” He asked, most of his fear gone. A little uncertainty lingered.

“Well. . . do you remember our last conversation? You know, When you decided to unwisely make yourself an obstacle to my plans and I stunned you.” Nightmare Moon began.  

“Aye, I remember. Ya stunned me twice!” He confirmed.

“Yes well, that should teach you a lesson about getting in my way.” Nightmare remarked before continuing. “That little ‘disagreement’ of ours occurred about a thousand years ago.”

“What?” He asked in confusion. He rubbed his ears before pointing it back toward the mare.  

“You heard me correctly, It has been a thousand years since I put you to sleep and turned you to stone.” Nightmare Moon spelled out.

“A THOUSAN BLEED’N YEARS?!?” He shot up from the bed, only to lose his balance and fall onto the floor. But that didn’t stop his outburst. “WHY DID’N YAH WAKE MEH TILL NOW?”

“Well,” Nightmare began as she used her magic to hoist him back onto the bed. “I was . . . unavailable during the intervening millennium.”

“an what in tha hay does that mean?” He asked, still hysterical.

“It means . . . you were right, Starswirl.” Nightmare Moon answered with what Trixie could swear was regret. Maybe shame? “There was another way, I just didn’t see it.”

The stallion didn’t respond. A look of shock still plastered to his face. Though Trixie didn’t know his shock was from finding out that he had missed a thousand years of birthday parties, or the fact that Nightmare Moon had just admitted to being wrong about something. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Starswirl decided respond.

“Ah, Well.” He finally replied dejected. “At least Ah got ya ta admit ta makin a mistake, too bad I got turned inta’ a bleed’n rock fer it. An ta tink I said ya’d never admit ta being wrong, not in a thousand years ah said. Oh wait. . .”

“I’m . . .” Nightmare began before stopping in hesitation. “If everything had gone according to plan-"

“The spell woulda been broken when ya duped Celestia inta killing ya.” He cut Nightmare Moon off, anger growing in his voice. “And ah woulda been turned back to normal, yah yer highness, ah figured as much. Trapping me in stone fer a thousand years was an accident.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Starswirl was obviously fuming at first, but it didn’t last.

“Well, It’s not like ah had a lot of friends, an’ there’s not much ah can do about it now. But ah’m glad you’re okay yer highness.” He replied with less anger now. “A thousand years into the future ay? I guess it could be interest’n. I wonder what advances they’ve made in magic since I’ve been gone.”

“I’m glad to see you haven’t changed.” Nightmare Moon grinned.,happy to see that Starswirl wouldn’t dwell on it. “Ever the curious mage.”

“That, an I’ll always have my two best friends.” He replied more cheerfully. Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow in response.  “You o’course yer highness, fer one.”

Trixie could have sworn his Irish accent got thicker.

“An’ the mare who’s always running out on me, Whiskey.” He grinned. “Ah tell ya yer higness, I can even tink of all the ways they’ve probably made alcohol better. I can’t wait ta try out all tha new beverages they musta invented.”

“Uh, Starswirl?” Nightmare began. “A few hundred years ago. . . Celestia banned alcohol. . .”

---

It took a few minutes to convince the Irish accented stallion that Nightmare Moon wasn’t playing some cruel joke on him. However when she finally managed it, oh boy. . .

Trixie had never heard of alcohol before, or why it was banned. But judging by the look of on Starswirl’s face, and the following freakout, it seemed like Celestia had commited genocide.  

The next half an hour was filled with Starswirl’s rants and protests, all about reasons why alcohol shouldn’t have been banned. Some of them were actually pretty good arguments too. However, Nightmare Moon finally managed to calm him down; but only after he promised to bring whiskey back to Equestria.

Something Nightmare Moon deemed to be his “side project,” if he felt so strongly about it.

At this point, Trixie unwisely revealed her presence by taking control for a moment to ask “What’s alcohol?”

That act opened up another can of worms entirely, which took another half an hour for Nightmare Moon to explain how she was cohabiting another pony’s body. The explanation involved a lot of magical theory, most of which Trixie didn’t understand.

Until Nightmare noticed this and forcibly placed enough magical theory  and knowledge into Trixie’s mind for her to understand. A rather painful, but quick, way for Trixie to learn.

“So you see Starswirl, the result is that my consciousness is inhabiting another body at the moment.” She said to conclude what felt like a college lecture. “So now there are two minds in this body, mine and the original.”

“That’s. . .  rather fascinating.“ He replied as rubbed his beard in thought. “Though I suspect it would kill a normal pony if they tried it.”

“Yes well, I’ve never been normal have I?” She answered with a grin.

“But one question yer highness, if you left yer old body then it probably would’a died; and the spell keeping me in stone shoulda broke?” He pointed out.

“Yes well, my mind wasn’t completely transferred out of my original body. Only the part of my mind that was not in harmony with Equestria” She answered. “I am a part of princess Luna, always have been. I’m just separated from her now.”

“I see. . .” Starswirl responded, once again in thought. “What makes you different from her?”

“In a word,” Nightmare said frankly. “Memory. Princess Luna doesn’t remember everything I do. I know for a fact that many of her memories are buried or blocked. That’s why I’m the one reviving you and not her.” Nightmare remarked.

“Aye, I tink I’m start’n to understand the situation.” He replied as he came out of thought. “So what’s yer name, lass?” He asked, focusing back on the mare.

“Huh?” Nightmare Moon replied.

“Not you, ya body-snatch’n hitch-hiker fer a princess, Ah’ma talking to yer fine hostess.” He clarified, though his tone and word choice elicited a glare of annoyance from the Nightmare.

“I’m Trixie,” Trixie answered. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Starswirl, you’re actually quite famous.”

“Well-mannered and good look’n” he shot her a smile. Though something told Trixie that his compliment was partly meant to annoy Nightmare Moon.  “Famous am ah now? Well, that’d make sense seeing how I was famous before I left. Ah’m tinking I might need somepony ta show me around this new, horrific, alcohol-banned-dry, future. Would you?”

“Umm. . . sure,” Trixie began, though she didn’t know where to start.

“That will have to wait, Starswirl.”Nightmare Moon cut in. “Right now, you need to rest. You won’t be able to use your magic for some time, and while we are waiting for you to recover Trixie and I have work to do.”

“Aye, yer highness!” He replied before giving a mock salute before Nightmare turned to leave.

“Umm. . . Yer Highness?” Starswirl called as she walked toward the door. She stopped and turned back to look at him. “When you say you have work to do. . .” he began with some hesitation. “Does that mean yer still the 'bad pony’ in all this?”   

A grin slowly crept into Nightmare’s expression. “I won’t stop being the bad pony until the job is done.”

Now that reply didn’t sit well with Trixie at all. But what concerned Trixie more was Starswirl’s response.

“Well yer highness, I’m glad ta hear yer not a quitter.”  Starswirl replied with a grin and a nod. Nightmare was about to leave again when before she stopped and looked back at Starswirl

“Oh, and to motivate your recovery. . .” Nightmare began. “It turns out Celestia’s prohibition didn’t get everything. There are a few bottles of wine in that liquor cabinet. I can’t speak for their quality, Celestia left them behind a thousand years ago. However, the cabinet itself is enchanted, it can only be opened using magic.”

Starswirl’s eyes lit up, and his gaze darted between the chest and Nightmare Moon. After a few moments his eyes adopted a pleading expression. Though Nightmare Moon only laughed.

“Get well soon, Starswirl. . . and shave your beard, it looks weird with a chunk taken out of it.”

- - -

‘Well, that was . . . Interesting.’ Trixie remarked as Nightmare Moon guided the both of them out of the castle. It was night again, and something about the cool night air of the forest seemed to brighten Nightmare’s mood.

Trixie, however, was hardly able to get over the fact that she had just finished talking to a thousand year old wizard. One who also happened to be a reputed historical figure.

However, finding out that said mage was involved in Nightmare Moon’s ‘work’ was a little unnerving. Nightmare didn’t have a shining reputation, and mixing that with a mage of Starswirl’s caliber could only mean trouble.

‘Starswirl has been a loyal and rather useful servant,’ Nightmare Moon responded, sensing the other mare’s uncertainty. ‘It pleases me greatly that he is still alive, despite the fact that his persistence was an accident.’

‘He still makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. . .’ She replied. Though not willing to elaborate as to why he made her feel uncomfortable. However, Trixie couldn’t hide her thoughts from the mare inside her head.

‘Don’t let Starswirl’s friendly demeanor or flirtatious attitude trick you, you’re right to be cautious of him’ She continued. ‘He is incredibly intelligent, highly motivated and goal oriented.’ Nightmare paused for a second. ‘Though he’s been known to show some . . . slightly sociopathic tendencies.’

“What?” Trixie blurted out, alarm in her voice. “Are you telling me we just woke up a really powerful psycho?” Though the irony of the situation wasn’t lost on Trixie. . . if she hadn’t picked up that helm.

‘No, not a psychopath, a sociopath.’ She replied.

‘. . .’

‘Yes there is a difference . . .’ Nightmare continued.

‘Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better. . .’ Trixie countered.

‘Don’t worry, he’s not dangerous, to us anyway.’ Nightmare answered. ‘He’s loyal to those select few he regards as friends. Though becoming his friend can be rather difficult . . . he never really had many friends.’

‘I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. . .’

- - -

The rest of the trek through the forest was spent in silence, or rather, without any more mental exchanges between the two.  Trixie spent most of the time contemplating her situation. She had only known Nightmare Moon for a day, and considering Nightmare Moon’s reputation, didn’t trust the dark alicorn at all. Now, Nightmare had brought back a ‘friend’ and was obviously planning something.

Which made Trixie wonder, should she be trying to resist Nightmare Moon? Could she? Could she force Nightmare Moon out of her head? Could she offer enough resistance to Nightmare Moon to stop her plans, or get Nightmare to leave her? Could the princesses help?

‘Such thoughts are dangerous, Trixie. And I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.’ Nightmare Moon warned, her voice was venom; and it killed Trixie’s train of thought. If she was going to resist Nightmare Moon, she’d at least have to be able to think freely.

Their walk came to an end when Nightmare Moon charged a teleportation spell, which deposited them in another part of the everfree forest. Confused, Trixie asked why they were walking at all when  Nightmare Moon could just teleport them.

‘Just covering our tracks, Trixie.’ Nightmare Moon responded. ‘I don’t want the princesses to trace our teleportation spell and find out where we are staying.’

‘Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid?’ Trixie asked. ‘Do you think princess Celestia is even awake right now?’ Trixie said, stealing a glance toward the starry sky.

‘Paranoid?’ Nightmare asked. ‘Not at all, and I’m not worried about Celestia much right now. What concerns me more is princess Luna, she’s in her element right now just like me; and she’s just as clever as me.‘

After a few more minutes of walking they arrived at an ordinary clearing. However, a few spells cast by Nightmare Moon revealed a large circular stone, almost like a plate, barely an inch underneath the surface. In center of it was a blue metallic disc, with a moon shaped symbol on it. Trixie recognized it as one of Nightmare Moon’s magic seals.

‘What is this?’ Trixie asked. ‘Why do you have a locking seal here?’

‘This,’ Nightmare directed Trixie’s hoof to tap the stone slab they were standing on. ‘This is a long-range  teleportation rune, capable of sending the user very long distances with only little magic. But it only teleports to another plate that it is specificly linked to. Usually they’re smaller than this, no larger than a bed. Luckily the sealing ruin over the center piece hasn’t been broken or removed, so it should still be in working condition.’

‘Why haven’t I seen one of these before?’ Trixie asked. It would have been amazingly useful to her in her previous profession as a traveling performer.

‘They cause some rather nasty side-effects to most ponies, especially non-unicorns, who use them. Which is why I suspect they’re rarely ever used. If I had to guess, they’re probably reserved for military use, if they haven’t been forgotten about altogether.’

‘Well, where are we going?’ Trixie asked as Nightmare Moon retrieved the moonstone from their pack. A quick spell with the moonstone and Nightmare picked up the seal, revealing a blue crystal underneath.

‘Oh, about a mile straight down,’ Nightmare Moon replied before sending a small pulse of magic into the crystal.

---

After a brief flash of light, Trixie found herself standing on another stone slab.  However this one appeared to be in some sort of chamber. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made out of stone. It almost felt like she had been teleported back into the everfree castle’s basement.

But when asked, Nightmare revealed that it was actually an underground structure she had built a long time ago. Someplace she claimed would allow her to safely conduct research without being discovered.

Though, what was different from the castle basement was the atmosphere. The air itself felt stagnant, with a weird smell that Trixie couldn’t identify. It was strong enough that she could taste it when she inhaled. Needless to say, there were no sources of light.

However, the darkness didn’t stop Trixie from being able to see. She still had Nightmare Moon’s ability to see in the dark. Though something she did notice with night-vision was that everything was in black and white.  There were no colors.

‘How far down are we again?’ Trixie asked, looking around the room.

‘We are about a mile underground,’ Nightmare Moon, sounding lost in thought.

‘Oh, I don’t feel like dungeon diving today. . .’ Trixie complained. ‘The last time I did that I got a crazy pony stuck in my head.’

‘Haha very funny. But I guess it’s only fair that I warn you.’ Nightmare replied. ‘It’s been a thousand years since I’ve been down here. I don’t know what we’ll find . . . but it may be unpleasant. It’s very important that we get what I came for, otherwise decades of work may be lost.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Trixie was starting to feel uneasy. Though she couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but something seemed very off about this place. However, before she could ask she spotted the entrance to the chamber they were in.

It was a set of double doors, but it appeared that there was a small pile of rubble in the way. Getting closer revealed that the rubble was actually the remnants of a barricade. Someone had placed furniture in front of the door in an effort to keep it closed, though wasn’t successful. One side of the barricade was pushed back with top half of the door missing; like something had torn its way through.  

A small part of Trixie was rather surprised it was still standing after a thousand years. She suspected it was magically reinforced at one time. However, she didn’t get to inspect it much further before she felt Nightmare take control, who directed their gaze to a black object draped over the broken door.

Getting a closer look, Trixie suddenly realized it was the badly burned corpse of a pony. Trixie would have recoiled had she been in control, but nightmare continued to inspect it. The burnt corpse had a set of misshapen wings and a horn.

‘By the stars Clover, tell me you didn’t . . .’ Nightmare began, Trixie almost missed a sense of dismay coming from Nightmare Moon. However, it was soon replaced with anger. ‘Clover, what have you done?’

‘W-What is it?’ Trixie asked as Nightmare cast a spell to levitate the corpse out of the way. Though she didn’t need to ask to in order to sense from Nightmare that something was wrong. It didn’t take long for Trixie’s memory to kick in. The last ti me she had seen something with boths wings and a horn, that wasn’t a princess, were the monsters she had seen in Nightmare’s memories.

Nightmare didn’t respond to Trixie, but rather pushed what was left of the half door out of the way before peaking down the hallway beyond the door.

‘Nightmare? ‘T-Those things couldn’t still be down here after a thousand years cou-?’ Trixie tried to press her question but was cut off.

‘They were built to last Trixie,’ Nightmare replied. Trixie picked up on her choice of words, what did Nightmare mean by ‘built.’

‘Built to last? Exactly how long were they ‘built to last?’ ’ Trixie did nothing to hide her anxiety.

‘Forever,’ Nightmare stated simply.

---

“What the hay do you mean forev-“ Trixie began before Nightmare Moon forced her mouth shut.

‘I can’t stress to you the importance of shutting up,’ Nightmare responded, with both urgency and annoyance. ‘We need to stay hidden in the darkness, and we can’t do that if you’re yapping away. Think, don’t speak.’

However, it didn’t take Nightmare’s tone to convince Trixie to be quiet. Trixie could sense some of the emotions Nightmare Moon was having, and none of them were good. The most prominent was a sense of urgency, followed by determination and apprehension; and even a small amount of fear.

‘Nightmare Moon, w-what’s going on?’ Trixie asked with apprehension.

‘You remember those monsters you saw in my memories?’ Nightmare Moon began, still with urgency , as she pushed aside the door and peaked down both sides of the corridor beyond. When she didn’t see anything of interest she continued. ‘ They’re called the reanimated, and I suspect Clover . . . didn’t do what I told her to do, so now this place is going to be full of them.‘

“WHAT?”-CLACK

‘Outbursts like that are going to get you killed, Trixie.’ Nightmare Moon replied with more anger this time, after snapping Trixie’s mouth shut. Nightmare then stepped back into the room and emptied their courier bag on the floor. ‘The reanimated can sense magic, and the magic from teleportation plate definitely woke some of them up. Make no mistake, were not alone down here. And making slightest sound is not wise.’

‘L-lets just leave!’ Trixie replied, almost pleading.

‘Really can’t do that at the moment Trixie,’ Nightmare replied as she started to remove any enchantments from contents of their bag, ‘The larger teleportation plates, like that one, have a cool down time between uses. I’d say about thirty minutes before its functional again. And since were a little over a mile underground, the only other exit is another teleportation plate on the far side of complex.’  

‘Why don’t you just teleport us?’ Trixie asked. ‘I’m sure you’re strong enough to not need the rune.’

‘Out of the question,’ Nightmare replied. ‘Teleportation spells that are casted, unlike plates, can be traced. Teleporting to the surf opens up the possibility of one the princess or somepony else tracing the spell back here, and that cannot happen.’

‘Then we can j-just wait here,’ Trixie suggested.

‘That’s also a bad idea, I guess we have about ten minutes before the ones that are awake pick up on our scent and start hunting us, fifteen before they find us if we stay still.’ Nightmare replied, finished removing all magic from items they were carrying and placing back into the bag. ‘Trust me, you don’t want to be caught in a room with them pouring in through the only exit.’ Trixie got a feeling that Nightmare had done this before.

‘Teleport us to the other plate?’ Trixie was getting desperate.

‘That would be a mistake,’ Nightmare replied. ‘When you’re dealing with the reanimated, the last thing you want to do is teleport into a room that might be filled with them. You’ll be instantly surrounded, and if you’re not, they’ll know exactly where you are because they can sense the magic.’

‘W-What are we going to do?’ Trixie asked, some part of her hoping that this was all one cruel joke.

‘Well, our best option would be to get to the other teleportation plate. There’s a route there through the lower level, which fortunately takes us near where I need to go.’ Nighmare answered, her tone shifting from critical to focused. She had finished stowing everything back inside their bag and was peeking out the door again. ‘I came here to get something and I am not going to leave without it.’

‘Do I have any c-choice?’ Trixie replied.

‘You wouldn’t have a better one if you did . . .’ Nightmare replied. Thought she could still sense Trixie’s growing fear. Feeling the need to reassure her, Nightmare continued. ‘Don’t worry Trixie, I’m going to get you out of this. I’ve been through situations like this before.’  

---

Trixie had never moved so quickly so quietly. She would have argued that it was physically impossible, but Nightmare Moon seemed to be getting hey body to do a lot of things Trixie would have thought impossible for her to do.

The ‘research site,’ as Nightmare put it, must have been huge.  The pair had passed countless doors and corridors as they worked their way deeper underground. Nightmare peeked around every corner, always checking if the coast was clear before move ahead. To their fortune, most of the rooms were completely empty of anything that would want to rip their head off.

Although, the tenth time Nightmare peaked around a corner almost gave Trixie a heart attack.

What she saw looked like several ponies, just standing in random places throughout a small hallway. Each had their head drooped, typical of ponies that had fallen asleep standing up. They were completely covered in a strange rough looking material Trixie had never seen before. All of them were completely still except for the slight movement of their breathing.

‘Are those-‘ Trixie started, noting that they were all had both a set of wings and a horn.

‘Yes,’ Nightmare Moon cut her off before cursing. ‘They’re in our way, we’ll have to double back and go around.’  Nightmare remarked as she pushed up against the corner, trying to get a little bit of a closer look.

Though Nightmare Moon took a moment to study it, noting that it’s wings were not misshapen like the ones she had seen before. A closer look also revealed that the ‘rough’ coat wasn’t a coat at all. In fact it appeared as though the pony’s fur and skin had completely disintegrated; leaving dried and exposed muscle underneath.  ‘Interesting . . .’ Nightmare thought to herself. ‘These ones are a little different from the ones I’ve seen before.’

‘W-what do you mean? Is that good or bad?’ Trixie asked out of fear.

‘Well I can’t tell if it is something Clover did, or just the effects of a thousand years . . .’ Nightmare replied. ‘But they appear to have been altered. As for good or bad, I doubt it changes anything. They’ll probably still try to kill us if they wake up.’

After doubling back, they had finally reached the room Nightmare Moon had been looking for. It wasn’t until they were at the door that Trixie was able to sense how much Nightmare Moon had wanted to get here. She was obsessed.

Peeking inside revealed a large room. It was filled with cages.

And bodies.

A small battle had occurred inside. Weapons and the bodies of armor clad ponies lay everywhere. The closest one, just inside the entrance, appeared as though his hind half had been torn off. Wherever it went was anyone’s guess. And he wasn’t the only one that looked like he was torn apart. Many of the bodies in the room appeared to be mutilated in some fashion.

But what scared Trixie the most was that all the ponies appeared to be skinless, just like the horned pegasi that they had spotted standing in the hall.

The cages in the room were organized into long rows, and some of the cages were occupied by more of the skinless ponies.

All of which served to terrify Trixie.

Nightmare, however, had a rather different reaction. When she first spotted the bodies she started counting them. As she did, Trixie was surprised to find a sense of guilt welling upside the dark alicorn. It grew to be crushing by the time she had counted to five or six, but continued to grow until she quit counting at thirty.

‘I’m responsible for this . . .’ Nightmare Moon said to herself, Trixie was certain that she forgot Trixie was there. ‘All these loyal ponies died horrible deaths . . . and it’s my fault.’

Though, after a few moments of standing silently, the guilt Nightmare  felt seemed to dimish to the point of almost vanishing. Whether she had buried the feeling or just shrugged if off, Trixie couldn’t tell. Trixie was more concerned with Nightmare’s apparent interest with the room, namely what Nightmare had spotted on a table on the far side.

That’s when, much to Trixie’s dread, Nightmare rounded the corner and started cautiously walking into the room.

‘Nightmare!’ Trixie mentally cried out in terror. ‘What are you doing?! Those things are everywhere in here!’

‘Shut. Up. Trixie.’ Nightmare replied in a stern and threatening tone. ‘I need my full concentration; we can’t afford to make a mistake. We can sneak past them, they’ve been sleeping for a thousand years.’

Those words didn’t comfort Trixie at all. Nothing Nightmare could say would. Here they were, weaving their way through a crowed of corpses. Any one of them could, in theory, jump up and attack her at any moment.

Though, she could sense complaining would only be met with a similar, if not harsher response.

‘I’ll suppress your mind if I have to Trixie,’ Nightmare answered the terror she felt building up in Trixie. ‘In fact, I offer it if you think you can’t handle this.’

Though, Trixie had learned a few things from Nightmare Moon. Nightmare had played on Trixie’s emotion’s before, and Trixie could still sense Nightmare’s lingering sense of guilt. ‘Are you going to trade away my life to get whatever you’re after, just like you did all of these ponies here?’

That actually got Nightmare to freeze in place, putting her hoof down silently.  Though she failed to realize it grazed something in the process. A pang of guilt shot through Nightmare, threatening to break her stoic demeanor.

‘Trixie. . .’ Nightmare began, ‘I wont let you die . . . I don’t want anypony to die anymore.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Ironically, that’s what this is all about.’

It wasn’t the reply Trixie was hoping for, but it definitely raised more questions than it answered.

Navigating the room was relatively easy once they had made it passed the entrance area, where most of the bodies were located. Beyond the final row of cages was an archaic lab, ancient alchemy tools littered several tables. Though, on the central table were several journals and a crate labeled ‘active samples.’

Nightmare Moon quietly collected the journals into her bag; before opening the crate. It contained a number of small metal canisters, which Nightmare opened one by one. All of them were empty except for the last one, which contained a set of glass test tubes that held a yellow glowing liquid.

At this find Trixie could feel sheer elation coming from Nightmare Moon. Whatever it was, Trixie could tell Nightmare had found exactly what she wanted.

Though that yellow glow seemed familiar to Trixie, but she couldn’t place it at the moment.

Sealing the canisters killed the yellow glow, the only source of light and color in the room.  At least that’s what Trixie thought, but that’s when Trixie remembered where she had seen the yellow glow before.

‘N-N-Nightmare?!’ Trixie began, spotting something that Nightmare was too busy to notice.

‘What is it Trixie?’ Nightmare replied with annoyance as she placed the canister in their bag. ‘I need to focus.’

‘C-Can they see in the dark?’ Trixie asked.

‘Not as well as us. Now be silent.’ Nightmare began, she was still obsessed with securing the bag such that there was no chance of it dropping or falling open. However, to communicate her point, Trixie tried mentally shooting Nightmare what she knew instead using any words.

Trixie could tell it worked because that’s when Nightmare cursed inwardly, rather loudly too.

Freezing in place, Nightmare gazed up. One of the ‘dead’ ponies had lifted its head up, his eyes open and giving off the same eerie yellow glow as the contents of the canister. He had what appeared to be a rather old guard helmet on, and his hind half was pinned underneath one of the cages that had fallen over.

He also wasn’t moving; instead he was staring off in the direction he had awoken to.

‘I don’t think it spotted us’ Trixie said, her blood running cold. ‘We can sneak around behind it!’

‘No, we can’t.’ Nightmare replied. ‘The reanimated have excellent hearing, and one of his ears is pointed right at us.’ Nightmare’s answer excited Trixie’s mounting fear. ‘He knows we’re here, he’s been listening to us.’

Nightmare continued to stay perfectly still, trying to think of the next best thing to do. However, after Nightmare went completely silent, the reanimated guard flicked his ears a few times before sniffing the air.

“Intrrrrruuuddddeeerrrrrr.” The former guard rasped, before letting out a series of shrieks.

Another loud curse came from Nightmare’s mind, as the pinned creature started struggling. He worked his unpinned legs in an attempt to get up, shrieking loudly and rattling the cage that pinned him.

Almost at once, the rest of the ‘dead’ bodies awoke and shot to their hooves. At least those who were not dismembered and still could. Soon the only entrance to the room was flooded with the creatures, who haplessly bumped into and tripped over one another as they searched their side of the room in a frenzy.

All the while, Trixie and Nightmare watched while standing perfectly still; Nightmare had even held her breath. Though no thanks to Trixie; She was now in full blown panic mode.

The reanimated rummaged around the entrance for a few more moments, their continuous shrieks and howls pierced Trixie’s ears like needles. They were obviously affected by the dark somewhat, a few of them bumped into each other and started to pick fights with one another. However, this ended when many of them started sniffing the air.

Then the whole room got quiet, as every last one of the now fully awake creatures stopped sniffing the air and directed their collective gaze directly at the mare by table in the center of the room. The only sound came from the one creature that had awoken first, still struggling undernearth the cage that had him pinned.

‘Oh No! This is IT! WE’RE GOING TO DIE!’ Trixie began wailing internally, ‘THEY’RE GOING TO RIP US APART AND-‘

‘SHUT UP TRIXIE!’

The closest of the creatures bolted at Nightmare, wailing the whole way. The rest of them followed in his wake.

Nightmare summoned her magic, producing a fireball from Trixie’s horn. It impacted one of the oncoming ponies in the center of the chest before exploding, incinerating it completely. Its pony shaped remains collapsed to the ground in a pile of fire and ash.

After the first explosion, Nightmare charged another fire spell. Though, Trixie could feel this one was much stronger.  A wave of fire erupted from Trixie, arching out across the room and consuming the center of the rapidly approaching herd. Several more of the creatures turned to piles of ash, with several more being lit flame.

Though, the flaming ones kept coming.

However, one of the creatures used its wings to dodge the wall of fire and flank the unicorn. Though, it let out another blood chilling wail before lunging at Nightmare; giving her just enough warning to react in time. She brought up a forehoof to meet it, slamming the deformed alicorn with enough force to send it flying across the room where it crashed through a few unoccupied cages.

Spotting another one of the reanimate approach, Nightmare cast another fire spell. Like the ones before it, the fireball exploded on impact. However, the flame quickly went out, leaving a badly burned but still very angry looking monster barreling down on her.

“What the?” Nightmare asked in surprise before casting a force spell that sent it flying backward. She tried the fire spell again, only to find the same results.

‘What are you doing Nightmare?!?’ Trixie screamed in their minds. ‘Don’t undercharge your spells, burn  them! Burn them with fire!’

‘I’’m trying,’ She said, before casting another fire ball. Again the spell failed to destroy the creature it struck, which had to be knocked back with another powerful hit from Nightmare’s forehoof.

By now, more of the creatures had arrived. They were flooding in through the entrance, quickly spotting Nightmare and joining in the attack.

‘Fire’s not working!’ Trixie said in panic. ‘Do something else!’

‘Fire is the only way to destroy them for good!’ Nightmare replied. ‘Now shut up!’

Immediately Nightmare cast another explosive force spell, this one much more powerful than the last. It knocked all the creatures in the room against the walls, shrieking as they impacted the hard stone with hideous cracks or grotesque splatting sounds.

When the spell was over Nightmare stood in the center of the room panting. She was out of breath and her entire body felt tired.

“What is this?” She breathed, feeling suddenly weak and light headed. “What’s . . . wrong ?”

Though she didn’t get much time to think of an answer. She turned to see one of the closest creatures getting back up. It had been thrown into one of the empty cages by Nightmare’s spell. It’s body had been torn by the metal, it’s leg broken and a large gash ran across it’s chest.

Though, after a few seconds of from standing up, it appeared to Trixie as though it were starting to heal. The various smaller cuts on the creature’s body seemed to seal themselves up, while the broken leg looked like it mended itself, and the large gash slowly closed itself.

To Trixie, it was rather grotesque. Though healing in a matter of moments was also incredible.  

Though she didn’t get to revel in it very much, as the creature let out another shriek and starting running at her again.  It was barely deflected by a now panting Nightmare Moon.

“Of course!” Nightmare breathed to herself. “Were underground . . . oxygen exchanging spell . . . worn off by now . . . fire used up all the air.” Her vision was starting to get blurry, as a wave of sleepiness hit both of them like a train. Nightmare glanced at the entrance, the creatures were still pouring into the room. “No other choice.” She panted.

Trixie, feeling as though she were about to pass out, felt another surge of magic through her horn. There was a loud popping sound, followed by heavy breathing of her own body.

At first it appeared as though all the reanimate that were attacking her had suddenly disappeared, but then she noticed she was in an entirely different room.  It looked like a bedroom, judging by the decaying furniture.

“Oh, That was close.” Nightmare said while panting. The air in this room had not been used up by fire yet, allowing them to catch their joint breath.

However, their moment of reprieve didn’t last for long. As soon as the dizziness and sleepiness wore off,  a loud shriek cut through the air.  It was followed by an exploding pain in Trixie’s hind leg, on her flank just above her cutie mark. A quick buck shook it off as Trixie cried out, though the explosive pain soon returned; this time in Trixie’s chest.  

Opening her eyes, Nightmare saw one of the reanimated biting Trixie’s chest. Blood trickling down her coat. A powerful blow with a forehoof sent the creature sprawling across the room.

Checking the wound, Nightmare cursed loudly. Louder than anything Trixie had ever heard from the Nightmare before. The bite wound was deep. ‘He got us good.’ Nightmare said, before checking the wound on their hind leg. ‘He got us good, twice.’

Nightmare turned back to the reanimate that bit them, which was getting up again. It had the typical horn and wings, though Trixie noticed something strange about it. Of all the creatures wearing armor, this one was the only one that had a sun emblem on it instead of a moon emblem.

Trixie really couldn’t say she cared since she only wanted to leave.

However, there was surge of anger from Nightmare, who promptly rushed the creature. She slammed a forehoof into the creatures skull, smashing it against the stone wall. As she did this, her hoof crushed the creatures skull and cracked the stone wall behind it. No small amount of blood and gore poured down Trixie’s hoof.

“He was an idiot anyway . . .” Nightmare said angrily as she withdrew the hoof, shaking the gore off as the creature’s body slid to the floor. The dark alicorn could apparently recognize some of the creatures, at least recognize who they used to be before they became pony shaped monstrosities

.

Wasting no time, Nightmare bolted toward the door. A large amount of shrieking could be heard in the distance down both directions of the hallway, and they were growing in number and volume.

‘Can we get out of here now?’ Trixie nearly screamed to Nightmare.

‘Yes, we’re leaving . . .’ Nightmare replied.

The journey to the other teleportation plate was interrupted by only a few of the reanimated. Each being dispatched by fire. Though, the whole way there Trixie could of swore that every last one of these creatures in the complex was following them, if the louding shrieking and wailing that seemed to be following behind every corner was any indication.

Her  fear wasn’t helped when Nightmare confirmed that they were being followed, by a growing horde of them.

They finally came upon a room that looked like it was once a bed room, but a rather large one at that. Though a quick inspection of the furniture revealed several lunar emblems, it must have been Nightmare’s chambers at one point.

Nightmare threw several pieces of archaic and rotten furniture against the door, creating a barricade. And almost as she had finished placing the last piece of furniture did it seem to come under attack, countless shrieks and wails accompanied the pounding being brough down on the ancient door.

‘That’s not going to hold for long Nightmare!’ Trixie cried in a panic. ‘Get us out of here!’

‘Sorry, I couldn't risk any of them getting to the plate while I activated it, hold on.’ Nightmare said as turned to where the bed used to lay, where she immediately found the teleportation plate.  

Just as Trixie felt a pulse of magic leave her horn, she could hear the sound of wood snapping. Though, the next moment was met with silence.

---

Trixie found herself standing in an open field.

It was quiet, no shrieks or ear piercing wails.  

Nightmare looked around; they were on the edge of the everfree forest again, and dawn was breaking.

“I think we’ve had enough of that.” Nightmare said before looking down. The teleportation plate had apparently burned its way through a layer of grass and dirt that was hiding it from view moments before. After removing the crystal in the center of the plate, Nightmare stomped her hoof down onto the stone slab leaving a set of large cracks radiating from her hoof.

However, despite the change of scenery, Nightmare found that she still had a fight on her hooves.

“The hay was that?” Trixie said aloud, momentarily breaking Nightmare’s control.

‘What was what? Be specific.’ Nightmare stalled, though she new exactly what Trixie was asking about. She could still read the unicorn’s mind.

“You know what I mean!” Trixie said more assertively, starting to inflame the dark alicorns temper. But she didn’t care.

‘I don’t have time for th-‘

“You drag me out into the middle of the forest, send me miles underground, have me chased by a horde MONSTERIOUS FREAKS who managed to rip two, not one, but two CHUNKS OUT OF ME,” She motioned toward the wound on her chest and flank. “AND FOR WHAT? THIS?” Trixie patted the courier bag, feeling it’s contents.

‘Trixie, I will explain in due time, but this incident represents a breach of quarantine. We must-‘

“NO! I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU CAME HERE, WHAT WAS SO IMPORANT THAT I ALMOST DIED FOR IT? I WANT SOME ANSWERS AND I THINK YOU OWE ME SOME.” Trixie shouted at the top of her lungs. A small part of her was surprised by how loud she managed to shout, her voice echoed off trees in the distance. “AND WHAT THE HAY DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE ‘RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THIS?!?’ “  

Normally Nightmare would have gotten angry with the way Trixie was addressing her, though she knew this outburst was Trixie coming off of the fear and adrenaline from the chase that had ended a few minutes ago. That and a part of Nightmare couldn’t blame her. Trixie had just gone through the most traumatic event in her life.

‘Trixie, I need you to calm down, it is very urgent that we get back to the castle.‘ Nightmare said calmly, keeping her voice level.

Though, what Trixie said next completely crushed Nightmare’s composure and conquered destroyed her patience.  

“WERE YOU THE ONE WHO MURDERED ALL THOSE PONIES DOWN THERE, OR DID YOU TURN THEM INTO FREAKS FIRST?!? NO WONDER  EVERYPONY HATED YOU AND YOUR SISTER SENT YOU TO THE MOON YOU-“ Trixie’s rant was killed by the sudden sensation of pain; though it wasn’t like anything she had ever felt before. Her body felt like it just been covered in a blanket of agony, one which was smothering her with such intensity that she couldn’t ever describe it. Instantly she felt to the forest floor with a thud, her body completely paralyzed as she twitched in spasms.

‘DON’T You DARE SPEAK ANOTHER WORD,’ The sound of Nightmare’s voice roared out in Trixie’s mind, it was the only thing that was not drowned out by the pain. ‘YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE THINGS I’VE HAD TO DO, WHAT I’VE SACRAFICED. EVERYPONY HATES ME FOR WHAT I’VE DONE, BUT IF I DIDN’T ALL YOU MORTAL PONIES WOULD BE DEAD.’

The pain was so intense that Trixie’s mind couldn’t even form a response. She could barely understand what Nightmare had said. Trixie should have passed out from the sheer intensity of the pain, but she could tell that Nightmare Moon was keeping her conscious for every second of it.

Though, as soon as the pain came it suddenly vanished.

‘Come Trixie . . . We really must go, We. Do. Not. have time for this.’ Nightmare’s voice finally said, though this time it was both calm and cold. Very cold.

“I-I won’t l-let you u-use me to-to k-kill anypony.” Trixie replied, her voice stuttered. She was still in shock from the pain she had just felt. Though she didn’t know where she got the strength to say that, or the courage to declare that she would stand up to Nightmare Moon.

‘That’s fine, I don’t intend to kill anypony.’ She replied, her voice still ice. ‘Though it’s a shame you didn’t grow that spine fifteen minutes ago when the reanimated were trying to kill us.’  

---  

The journey back to the everfree castle was instantaneous, thanks to another teleportation spell.

Opening the door to the room they had left Starswirl in revealed it to by empty. Though, it looked like someone had torn apart the liquor cabinet in an attempt to get it open. Judging by the torn and broken doors on it, he had succeeded.

“Yer already back?” A familiar voice came from behind. “That was fast.” Nightmare turned to face him, he had a bottle floating in an magical aura. His beard had also been trimmed; it was much shorter now and no longer looked awkward from a piece of it missing. He opened his mouth to speak again; however before he could get a word out Nightmare threw their courier bag into his chest. He stumbled a bit catching it with one of his hooves.

“What n’ bloody blazes . . .” He said as he looked down at the offending bag. “What is this?”

“Don’t ever go back to the Everfree research site,” Nightmare replied, ignoring his question. “Its overrun, and there is nothing of value down there anymore. Let it be buried forever.” She said glancing toward the bag Starswirl was holding.

“Well, I’m guess this is a sample of the . . .” He began before trailing off as he noticed the wound on Nightmare’s chest. “Yer Highness?” He started, now fear and uncertainty in his voice.

Nightmare Moon didn’t respond, but turned away from Starswirl. She walked into the center of the room and began clearing it by pushing away all the furniture in the room, except for the bed.

“Nightmare!” he called after her as he followed her into the room. “There is still a chance we might be able to-“ His words, however, were cut off by Nightmare Moon.

“Listen to me Starswirl,” She began, her voice was stern and threatening. “I don’t need your ideas or any brilliant plans. I need you to do as I say, and I’m telling you to get out. You of all know what the stakes are.”

“Nightmare,” Starswirl replied while shifting in her grasp, “I wouldn’t stand by and let you kill yourself a thousand years ago, what makes you think that’s changed?”

Nightmare responded by slamming him into the wall. “And like last time, I won’t let you get in my way. There can be no chance that this disease escapes into the population, and unfortunately there is a small town nearby. Now I don’t have an army like I used to, I only have you. I need you to do what I say.”

Starswirl didn’t reply, he just kept a strong and defiant glare fixed on Nightmare.

“Starswirl . . . I can’t let an outbreak happen again.”

“Do we need her? Ya can still abanadon ship so ta speak. . . Cold as it sounds.” Starswirl asked. What he was implying was lost on Trixie, but not on Nightmare Moon. Whatever it was, it got Nightmare Moon to pause for a moment before eliciting a small bout of guilt. But her hesitation was suddenly replaced with barely contained rage.

“Don’t you DARE suggest something like that AGAIN.” Her anger grew with every word. “If I didn’t need you now I’d turn you back to stone for suggesting that.” She hissed.  

After a few moments, Starswirl gave a small and reluctant nod. At which point Nightmare dragged him to the door and threw him out of the room.

He was able to pick himself up and face Nightmare for her to say one more thing.

“In forty-eight hours, you incinerate everything in this room. No. Matter. What. Understand?” She said, glaring at him. Though when he didn’t respond, she began to shout. “SAY THAT YOU UNDERSTAND.”

“Ah understand yer highness.” Starswirl replied, not wavering from his stoic expression.

Satisfied, Nightmare directed a large burst of magic into the ceiling above the door, causing it collapse. Stone and rubble buried the only entrance to the room, sealing it away from the rest of the world.

‘What’s going on?’ Trixie, who had watched the whole exchange with mounting fear and confusion, “Why’d you trap us in here?”

‘Lets just say Trixie . . .’ Nightmare began. ‘If you . . . if we manage to live through this . . . it’s going to be a long day.’