Of Nightmare Moon

by BronyWriter

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Spike, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 10642

Twilight comes to Ponyville to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Somepony else has other plans...

Twilight Sparkle is sent to Ponyville to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, but her mind is elsewhere. This is the thousandth year of the Celebration, and it is prophesied that the stars will aid in the escape of Nightmare Moon, and she will shroud the land in eternal darkness. Twilight wants to get through it quickly so she can do her research, but things are going strangely. Some ponies are reacting oddly, some even violently, to her presence, and Spike is becoming increasingly ill. Is it all coincidence, or is something far more evil going on?

Cover art by Zero Devil

Published 2013-10-10 19:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-10 19:40:02 UTC

Of Nightmare Moon

The golden chariot pulled by two white armored pegasi touched down in the middle of the town square, allowing Twilight Sparkle and her dragon assistant to hop off. Twilight inclined her head to the pegasi in a thanking nod, and they took off, allowing her to begin trotting through the town.

Spike looked up at her with a grimace. "I dunno, Twilight, Princess Celestia said that Nightmare Moon is just an old pony's tale. M-maybe we should just follow the checklist, watch the celebration, and then get back to Canterlot."

"We'll do that once I've figured out what to do with Nightmare Moon," said Twilight, her eyes staring straight forward. She ignited her horn and lifted a scroll out of her saddlebag. "Princess Celestia told me that I have to check up on preparations for the Celebration. As you helpfully pointed out..." Twilight gave her assistant a smile. "She arranged for me to stay in the town library."

Spike tightened his jaw, but nodded and walked alongside Twilight. "I dunno. I've never really liked small towns. The sooner we're out of here, the better."

Twilight snorted and looked over at pink pony who was walking in their direction. "Come now, Spike. There's nothing wrong with small town settings like this. I think that they have a little charm to them."

Spike was about to respond, but he was cut off when the two heard a loud gasp. The pink pony had stopped in front of them, and was regarding them both with wide eyes. Twilight flattened her ears and took an uneasy step back. "Uh... can I help you?"

The pink pony squealed and, to Twilight, surprise, wrapped her in a crushing hug. "A new pony!" she squeed. "I realized you were a new pony when I saw you and figured out that I had never seen you before and I thought that was weird because I know everypony and I mean everypony in Ponyville and that means it's my job to make you feel as welcome to Ponyville as I can!"

Twilight tried to wiggle out of the pink pony's grasp, or at least adjust so that she was able to breathe, as she tried to register the rapid-fire speech. "W-wha..?"

"My name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours? Where are you from?!"

Twilight managed to push Pinkie Pie far enough away that she was able to take in a deep breath. "Twilight," she said with an intake of breath. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm from Canterlot. I've been sent here to organize preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration."

Twilight fell backwards with a yelp as Pinkie Pie instantly released her. She took a second to regain her bearings before looking up at Pinkie Pie, who was staring at her once again. However, there was no joy in her eyes this time. Instead there was something that Twilight couldn't quite pinpoint.

Pinkie Pie chuckled and extended a hoof. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you fall. I guess I can get a little enthusiastic with my hugs."

Twilight took Pinkie's hoof and allowed herself to be pulled up. "Er... it's no problem."

"That's good." Pinkie gave Twilight a smile that seemed to match the look in her eyes. "That's very good." Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around Twilight's shoulders again, but this time there was no vigor. It was almost as if Pinkie was comforting her. "I work at this bakery called Sugarcube Corner." She released Twilight and looked her in the eye. "You wanna try one of my cupcakes? We make the best ones in all of Equestria!"

Twilight shifted uncomfortably and glanced down at Spike who crossed his arms and nodded. Twilight sighed and returned the nod before turning back at Pinkie. "Uh... yeah, sure, I guess."

A hint of Pinkie's former enthusiasm returned, and she began bouncing. "Superrrific!" Pinkie giggled and nudged Twilight towards the bakery. "Like I said, we have the bestest cupcakes in all of Equestria! You're gonna love 'em!"

The three walked towards Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie talking Twilight's ear off the entire time. Most of it was about the town and how wonderful the ponies who lived there were. Twilight only responded with the occasional nod and word of affirmation. Pinkie Pie was talking so quickly that she couldn't get a word in anyways.

Within a few minutes they reached a building that looked to Twilight like a giant gingerbread house. She smiled at the bright design. "I take it this is Sugarcube Corner?"

Pinkie Pie nodded happily and opened to door so Twilight and Spike could go inside. "Yeppers peppers!" she chirped. "I live in the big cupcake in the top."

The three walked into the building, and Twilight was blasted with the overwhelming scent of pure sugar. Still, the scent wasn't entirely unpleasant, even if it was a little overpowering. The first thing she saw was a large display case filled with every type of sugary delight she could imagine. Despite the fact that the back of her mind told her that she should have denied Pinkie's request and finished up her overseeing duties, she couldn't deny that the pastries and sweets presented looked delicious.

Pinkie Pie led the two of them to a corner booth. "You two sit down there and I'll get you some cupcakes." Twilight nodded and ignited her horn to pull out her coin purse, but Pinkie Pie shook her head and waved her hoof. "Free of charge."

Twilight frowned and was about to protest, but Pinkie Pie had already bounced over to the display case and was taking four cupcakes with red and orange frosting out of it. She placed them on a tray that she deftly balanced on her head just as two earth ponies, a yellow stallion and light blue mare whom Twilight could only surmise were the owners, walked out of the nearby kitchen. Pinkie turned to them and they exchanged a few words, sparing Twilight and Spike a few glances as they did. The stallion nodded, and all three of them walked towards Twilight and Spike. Pinkie smiled when she approached and slid the tray onto the table.

"Hello there," said the stallion, "my name is Carrot Cake and this is my wife, Cup Cake. Your name is Twilight, right?"

Twilight nodded as she took a bite out of one of the cupcakes. Her eyes widened as the divine flavor washed over her tongue and a goofy smile crossed her face. She swallowed her bite and set the cupcake down. "These are really good!"

Cup Cake smiled warmly at Twilight. "I'm glad you enjoy them, dearie. We can give you a few for the road if you want."

Twilight waved her hoof and shook her head as she finished off the first cupcake. "No, no, that's okay. I wouldn't want to take too many without paying for them." She smiled at the Cakes. "They are delicious, though."

Twilight looked over at Spike who had, to her surprise, only eaten half of one of the cupcakes he had been given. She frowned. Normally Spike ate sweets like he ate gemstones, but now he was simply staring down at the half-eaten cupcake. "Spike? Are you okay?"

Spike blinked once and snapped out of his reverie. He gave Twilight a smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just a little tired from the chariot ride over. That's all."

"Well then we'd better be on our way," said Twilight as she stood up. "We'll finish preparations and get you to bed, okay, Spike?"

Pinkie Pie lifted the tray onto her head again and walked over to the counter where she put the remaining cupcakes in a brown paper bag that she hoofed over to Twilight. Twilight thanked her, and Pinkie Pie led her towards the door.

"Well she seemed really nice," said Twilight, "wouldn't you agree, Spike?"

"Huh?" Spike snapped out of a similar stupor to the one that had gripped him in Sugarcube Corner and looked up at Twilight. "Uh... yeah." He shook his head and looked forward. "Sure."

Twilight smirked at him and lifted him in her magical aura, placing him on her back. "I get it: you're tired. You just rest on my back and we'll get you to bed when we get you to the library, okay?"

"Okay," Spike muttered.

Twilight nodded and opened up her saddlebag. She took a list out and scanned it. "Okay, the first order of business is food."

* * * *

Twilight trotted down the streets of Ponyville, waving at the townsponies she passed. Most of them didn't so much as make eye contact with her, something that gave her a little pause. Still, she figured that they were just busy. The whole town had to pull their weight to get ready, after all. In the distance she saw a large apple farm that her mental bank registered as Sweet Apple Acres: her destination. As she walked down the path, she heard one of the most beautiful sounds she had heard in quite a while. A chorus of birds was singing flawlessly, and that could only mean one thing. Twilight smiled as she checked her list. Through a stroke of good fortune, she had passed by music on her way to food.

She walked over to the source of the noise and saw that the birds were being directed by a butter yellow pegasus with a light pink mane. She trotted over to her with a smile. "Hello!"

The pony squeaked and the birds squawked and flew off of the branches. Twilight flattened her ears and glanced down at Spike who merely rolled his eyes at her. "Oops," she muttered. Twilight shook her head and walked up to the pony who by this point had landed and was kicking the ground. She gave her a comforting smile. "Hi there. Sorry for scaring off your birds like that."

The pony mumbled something and retreated into her mane. Twilight swiveled an ear in her direction. "I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that."

"'S okay," the pony whispered.

Twilight's smile returned, and she extended a hoof. "Wonderful. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I understand that you're--"

Twilight was cut off when the pony let out an ear piercing shriek and took to the air. Twilight flinched backwards as the pony landed on top of a tree branch and flared out her wings. "STOP! DON'T COME NEAR ME!" she screeched.

Twilight took a step back and flattened her ears. "I'm sorry... what?"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" the pony screamed. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

The pony bent her knees as if she was going to take off again, but her eyes landed on Spike before she could. Her eyes widened, and she straightened back up with a small gasp. "Who... who is that?"

"Him?" Twilight looked down at Spike who was staring at the ground, his hands over his ear holes. "This is Spike. My assistant. He--"

The pony pointed a hoof in Spike's direction. "GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"

Twilight flinched back and looked back up at the pony who was glaring daggers at her now. "W-why?"

"If you value him, get him out of Ponyville RIGHT NOW"

Before Twilight could ask anything more, the pony took to the air and flew off into the distance. Twilight squinted her eyes as she watched her go. "That was strange," she muttered. "It's almost like..." She sighed and shook her head before nudging Spike to his feet. "You okay, buddy?"

Spike nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah. I'm just tired. It was kinda scary when she was yelling too."

Twilight returned his nod and lifted Spike onto her back with her magic. He instantly latched onto her neck. "Okay. We only have three more stops to make and then we can get you to bed, okay?"

"Okay," Spike muttered.

Twilight turned towards the farm in the distance and resumed her trek towards it. It wasn't more than a five minute walk, and she made the trip just in time to see an orange earth pony wearing a worn Stetson charge at a tree at high speed. Just as Twilight thought that she was going to collide with it, the pony whirled around and slammed both hind hooves into the trunk, sending the ripe apples tumbling into the waiting buckets below. The pony leaned down to slide one of the buckets onto her back, but raised her head when she saw Twilight coming through the gate of the farm. She fixed Twilight with a beaming grin and trotted over to her.

"Why you must be the supervisor for the Summer Sun Celebration!" said the pony, taking Twilight's hoof in one of her own and shaking vigorously. "Ah'm Applejack, and Ah run Sweet Apple Acres with mah family."

Twilight returned Applejack's smile. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Applejack." Twilight took her hoof out of Applejack's crushing grip. "I hear you're in charge of the food?”

"We sure as sugar are! Would ya care ta...?” Applejack's grin faded, and she tilted her head when she saw Spike laying on Twilight's back. "Is he doin' okay?"

Twilight turned her head back to give Spike a small smile. "I think so. He says he's just tired. We had a long flight from Canterlot, so I think that would do it."

Applejack nodded and gave Spike a gentle pat on the head. "Yeah, Ah know whenever Ah travel Ah need a good, refreshin' nap afterwards. We have a guest room in the house if'n y'all wanna put him up there for a few hours."

"I think he's okay for a little while." Twilight motioned back towards town. "We have a few more stops to make then we're headed back to the library."

"Fair 'nuff." Applejack inclined her head towards a large table loaded with food with even more of it being laid out by dozens of smiling ponies chatting animatedly with each other. "Ah take it y'all will wanna check things over then be on yer way?"

Twilight gave Applejack a small smile and followed her to the table. "Sorry we can't stay longer. It's just that he's sleepy and... well..." Twilight glanced back to the town. "I have a little extra work to do."

Applejack raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. "Extra work?"

"Yeah." Twilight began walking down the row, looking over all over all of the food that had been laid out. "I uh..." She shot a glace Applejack's way. "I was going to do some research on Nightmare Moon."

Applejack let out a quiet gasp, and a few of the ponies who had heard Twilight went quiet and walked away. Sensing that she had crossed a line, Twilight flattened her ears and lowered her head. "Sorry. I didn't know it was a sore subject."

Applejack shook her head and waved her hoof. "Y'all had no reason ta know, sugarcube." Applejack sighed and beckoned Twilight towards the farmhouse. "If y'all wanna know 'bout Nightmare Moon and why we Ponyville folk don't particularly care fer that subject, Ah'll tell ya."

The two ponies walked a short distance towards the farmhouse and went around the back where Applejack directed Twilight to sit on the porch. Twilight gently lifted Spike off of her back and set her down next to her, wrapping him in a one foreleged hug. Applejack took a deep breath and sat down across from Twilight, looking out into her vast apple orchards as she did. "Did y'all ever hear about the Lunar Rebellion?"

Twilight nodded. "Of course I did. It's where Nightmare Moon tried to overthrow Princess Celestia and shroud Equestria in eternal darkness. She lost and was banished to the moon."

"Right." Applejack scooted backwards a few hooves and leaned against the trunk of a nearby apple tree. "If ya know that then Ah take it ya know that it was a civil war?" Twilight nodded. "Good. Now, Ponyville has been around quite a while longer than a lot of folks in Equestria know. We were just a new town when Nightmare Moon tried ta take over; only three or four years, Ah think. We, uh..." Applejack it her lip. "We were one of the places that chose the wrong side, if ya wanna put it that way."

Twilight flinched back and averted her eyes. "I see. Yeah, that would be... something that I wouldn't want to talk about if I lived here too."

"Yeah, well, it goes a little past that, ta be honest." Applejack crossed her forelegs and stared directly into Twilight's eyes. "When the war started, Nightmare Moon wanted ta make sure that we were loyal, ya see? So she ordered the citizens of Ponyville ta..." Applejack cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. "Ta start doin' pony sacrifices."

Twilight gasped and put her hooves over her mouth. "Like... what kind of sacrifices?"

"She had 'em burn ponies alive." Applejack sighed and poked at a bruised apple that had fallen from the tree. "Especially high rankin' ponies from Celestia's army that she caught. It was a big deal and everythin'." Applejack clicked her tongue and shook her head. "So you can imagine why some of the ponies 'round here don't exactly like the idea of Nightmare Moon." Applejack looked back up at Twilight. "Some of their ancestors engaged in ritual sacrifice, Twilight."

"Oh..." Twilight cleared her throat and got to her hooves. She lifted Spike onto her back, and he once again latched onto her neck and nuzzled the back. "Right. Yeah, that would..." She shook her head. "I've gotta get to the last two things on my list. The food looks really good, okay?"

Applejack stood up and gave Twilight a sad smile. "Ah understand, sugarcube. Ah'm sorry if Ah disturbed ya, but..." She put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Ah only brought it up because it'd be a good idea ta be careful when talkin' about Nightmare Moon 'round these parts. It's a touchy subject."

"I understand." Twilight looked back to the gathered family, some of whom smiled and waved at her. "And I didn't mean to offend at all. It's just that I do have to do a little research on... her tonight."

"It's not a problem," said Applejack with a reassuring grin. "Ya didn't have any reason ta know." She patted Twilight on the shoulder. "You go on ahead and finish up so you can get that feller ta bed. If ya need anythin' at all, you just come talk ta me. Heck, if yer ever in Ponyville again come look me up. Ah'd be happy ta have you. Heck, our family is havin' a big get together a little bit before the celebration if y'all wanna come ta that too."

Twilight returned Applejack's smile. "Thanks Applejack. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

* * * *

As Twilight walked through town, the sense of unease that had shown up when the yellow pony had yelled at her and flown away began creeping up again. Having grown up in Canterlot, she was admittedly used to not exactly being greeted with a warm, friendly welcome every time she passed somepony on the streets. However, she had been told by many ponies that small towns like this were full of friendly ponies that were more than happy to greet somepony with a smile and a wave. Here, though, they weren't. The more she thought about it, the more Twilight swore that the ponies were almost pointedly ignoring her. The first few ponies she saw she greeted with a smile and a nod, but they would only spare her a passing glance before staring straight ahead and continuing on their way.

At first glance, that is.

A few times Twilight chanced a second glance back at the ponies who passed her by, and she saw that they had chanced a second glance back at her as well. Not her exactly, but Spike. Each time she looked back she saw the townsponies she passed had their eyes locked on Spike. Twilight always put on a small burst of speed when she saw this, and the unease inside of her grew.

Twilight stopped her journey when she reached a small bridge in the town, and looked down at her list. "We're almost done, Spike," she muttered. "Just weather, decorations, and then we can get you to bed, okay?"

"T-Twilight?" Spike whimpered. "I w-wanna go home. I don't like it here."

"I know," Twilight soothed. "I'm going to try to see if we can't get on a train after we finish preparations, okay? You can sleep on our way back to Canterlot."

Twilight's stomach tied itself into knots when she heard Spike sniffle and tighten his grip around her neck. "I... no. I'll be okay, Twilight. You wanted to find out about Nightmare Moon. She might be coming back this year, right? I-if she is, then that means I can be brave and just nap at the library, right?" Spike nuzzled into Twilight's fur. "I know you'll protect me."

"Of course I will." Twilight nuzzled one of Spike's arms. "I'll do some reading, send what I find straight to Princess Celestia, then we can go home and be done with this place, okay?"

"Okay," Spike whispered.

Twilight took a deep breath and nodded before looking into the sky. According to her notes, there was supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds away. If the sky was any indication, she did a fairly good job. Twilight's first examination of the sky revealed that it was completely bare of clouds. She smiled and checked it off of her list. One less thing to worry about.

"You the overseer pony, or whatever?"

Twilight looked towards the source of the voice and saw a cerulean pegasus pony with a vivid rainbow mane reclining in a tree; one foreleg hanging down and the other draped over her torso. Twilight gave her a single nod. "Yeah. I'm Twilight Sparkle. I came here from Canterlot to--"

"I know why you're here." Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs and raised her eyes to the sky. "Did I do good enough?"

"Uh..." Twilight blinked a few times then looked into the sky for one last look. "Y-yeah, I guess so. Everything looks pretty clear to me." She lowered her head to look back at Rainbow Dash and saw that she was looking straight at Spike. Twilight's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed. "No."

Rainbow Dash leaned her head up and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I said no!" Twilight yelled. She stomped towards the tree. "Look, Spike has been getting weird looks all day from you weirdos, and I've just about had enough of it! What is your freaking problem?!"

Rainbow Dash stared down at Twilight quizzically for a few seconds as if trying to figure out what she had just said before snorting and standing up on the branch. "Excuse me, your ladyship. You ever think that maybe we simple little redneck country folk haven't ever really seen a dragon before?"

Twilight's glare slowly faded, and she took a step back. "W-well--"

Rainbow Dash cut her off with a scoff and a wave of her hoof. "You noble types are all the same. Shoot you one weird glance and you think we're disrespecting you or something." She scoffed again and shook her head. "I don't know why we're even going to bother."

Twilight frowned. "Bother with what?"

Rainbow Dash shot her a mocking smile. "Why do you care? You're a high-and-mighty Canterlot pony. We're just little backwater rednecks who have never seen no baby dra-gon before! Our business is our own."

With one more scoff, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and took to the air, flying towards the town. Twilight watched her go, the uneasy feeling rising in her stomach again, though this time it was less potent. The mare was right, after all. A baby dragon would be a unique sight in any part of Equestria, much less a small town like this. They were probably just surprised to see Spike.

That's all there was to it.

* * * *

The walk to the town hall where the actual ceremony was to be held was a mere minute's walk across the bridge, and as such, Twilight and Spike soon found themselves surrounded by a finely decorated main room. Whoever had done the decor had clearly gone all out, and it showed. A quick look showed that said pony, a white unicorn mare with elegantly styled hair, was on the other side of the hall, looking through a box of ribbons with her magic and tossing the ones she didn't like aside.

Twilight walked up next to her and cleared her throat. The other pony perked up her ears and turned her head, smiling when she saw Twilight. "Oh, hello there, darling. How are you this fine evening?"

Twilight returned the mare's smile. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm just going to do a once-over of your decorations and then I'll be out of your hair." Twilight scanned the main hall. "They look absolutely beautiful."

"Why thank you," the pony replied, extending her hoof. "My name is Rarity. I'm a dressmaker here in town."

Twilight shook Rarity's hoof. "Sounds good." Twilight let go of Rarity's hoof and took a deep breath. "Well, not to be rude or anything, but my baby dragon needs his rest, and you look like you still have a few more things to do, so I'll get out of your hair."

Rarity frowned and cocked her head. "Baby...?" Twilight moved her head aside, allowing Rarity to see Spike. Rarity let out a loud gasp and rushed to Twilight's side, putting her hoof on Spike's back. "Oh my goodness! Is he okay?"

"I think so. He's just a little under the weather. We had a long flight from Canterlot." Twilight grimaced when Spike let out a quiet moan and nuzzled the back of her head. "We're going to the library now so he can get some rest. I'm going to do a little more work and then we're going to go straight back to Canterlot after the Celebration."

"You're spending it in Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah. Princess Celestia herself sent me here to supervise preparations. I have to be here in case something goes wrong. Besides, by the time the next train arrives to Canterlot, Princess Celestia is already going to be on her way for the Celebration, so I think I can wait three or four hours." Twilight smiled sadly and nuzzled one of Spike's arms. "He's just tired. He'll feel better in the morning."

"Well..." Rarity straightened up and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Let me escort you to the library myself. I know you're going to take good care of him, but it would give me a little peace of mind to know that he's safe."

Twilight gave Rarity a small smile and a nod. "Thanks, Rarity. I'd like that." Rarity took a moment to organize a few boxes before the two started walking out of town hall to get to the library. "I have to admit that this day has been kind of weird," said Twilight.

"Oh?" Rarity cocked her head. "How so?"

"Well..." Twilight grimaced and sighed. "It's just that I've run into some odd ponies since I've gotten here. That's all. You and this other pony I've met named Applejack have been perfectly nice, but there were these other ponies who have just been acting strangely around me, not to mention the fact that one or two of them have been straight up hostile."

"Hostile? Here?" Rarity scoffed and shook her head. "Twilight, darling, I have lived here all my life and I have never heard of such behavior from any of these ponies. I mean, sure we dislike it when strangers try to pry into our business, but were you doing that?"

Twilight shook her head. "Absolutely not! I was only asking a few of them about their jobs for the Celebration; nothing more."

"I see." Rarity clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I don't know why anypony around here would be acting like that, then. Maybe it's the stress of getting ready for the Celebration that's gotten them all worked up."

"Maybe," Twilight muttered. "Although..." She hesitated for a moment. "I mighta said some stuff out loud that I didn't know was a touchy subject for the town. I wasn't aware that..." Twilight dropped her voice to a whisper. "Nightmare Moon was a raw subject here."

Rarity flinched back with a sharp intake of breath, and she raised a foreleg as if she was about to bolt, but she put it down and pursed her lips. She deeply exhaled and pointed a hoof at large tree in the middle of the town. "That's the library. Please follow me inside at once."

Twilight flattened her ears as she followed Rarity inside the library. Rarity opened the door with her magic, allowing Twilight to walk inside before going inside herself and slamming the door. The first thing that Twilight saw was a set of stairs which led to an upper balcony on which rested a large bed. Twilight instantly trotted up the stairs and tucked Spike into the bed, leaning down next to his head as she did. "You're going to be okay, buddy. We're going to get out of here the moment Princess Celestia comes for the Celebration, okay?"

Spike's eyes were already closing as he settled into the pillow. It wasn't more than a moment before Twilight heard a soft snoring coming from him. She smiled softly and kissed him on the forehead before walking back down the stairs to join Rarity, who was tapping her hoof on the floor impatiently. Twilight grimaced and looked away uncomfortably. "Look, I know that she's a touchy subject, but I--"

"Twilight, I really think that you don't understand that gravity of what is going on here with this whole Nightmare Moon business." Rarity shook her head and walked over to one of the bookshelves. She ignited her horn and took out one of the books. Twilight recognized it as the same book that she had first read about Nightmare Moon in earlier that day. "This is your main source of information for Nightmare Moon, correct?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah. It's where I first read about her and how she was defeated."

Rarity scoffed and tossed the book over her shoulder. "Twilight, that book is for foals. The only reason Nightmare Moon's legend is put in there at all is because it is so deeply engrained in Equestrian culture, what with Nightmare Night and the Mare in the Moon and all that." Rarity trotted over to another bookshelf and took out another book, this time a dark blue book with no visible markings. "Princess Celestia has done a good job of covering up what happened and making it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but when the country is involved in a civil war that claimed the lives of over fifty-thousand ponies there are marks left."

"Applejack told me that some of the ponies around here used to..." Twilight bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. "Perform ritual sacrifices to Nightmare Moon."

"The ponies who lived here when Nightmare Moon tried to take over Equestria completely sided with her," Rarity confirmed. "When she demanded ritual sacrifice, they happily complied." Rarity sighed and opened the book. "If you ask me, it was just a tactic to horrify Princess Celestia. I think it worked."

"I had no idea," Twilight whispered.

Rarity scoffed quietly. "Why would you? Only small towns whose histories were deeply tied to the Lunar Rebellion would have any inkling. Equine sacrifice isn't a sin that's just erased from the public consciousness of a town, Twilight."

"But the book said that after a thousand years, Nightmare Moon with escape!" Twilight ran over to the book Rarity discarded and flipped it open to the proper page. "That's this year, Rarity! If that's true, don't you think that she's going to come back to Ponyville since she knows that it was loyal to her during the rebellion?"

Rarity tightened her jaw and looked out the window of the library. The sun had completely disappeared over the horizon, leaving the land shrouded in darkness. Twilight walked up to Rarity and looked at the book in her aura. "If she comes back, we need a way to stop her, don't you think?"

"Yes," Rarity said quietly. She lifted a bookmark out a basket full of them and slipped it between two pages before snapping the book shut. "Yes I most certainly think that Nightmare Moon must be stopped if she is indeed returning, but I'm just a fashionista, Twilight. I would really rather leave that for the royal guards or Princess Celestia." Rarity put the book down on a nearby table and walked towards the door. She opened it with her magic, but paused in the doorway. "I understand if you feel like you need to stay because Princess Celestia told you to or you want to research things that are better left to the guards and the princess..." Rarity clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I won't stop you. However, I will ask that you get Spike out of here. I don't care how you do it, just get him back to Canterlot."

Without another word, Rarity walked back through the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Twilight stared at the closed door, her mouth hanging open as Rarity's words went through her mind. Something was going on, that much was clear to her. The whole town seemed fixated on Spike, and even though Rarity wasn't, she seemed to know why the rest of the town was.

There was that book, though.

Twilight turned her bead back and looked at the book that Rarity had left on the table. The bookmark was still sticking out of where she had left it, and Twilight felt herself drawn to the book. Slowly she walked over to it and took it in her magic before opening it to the marked page. The bookmark fluttered to the floor as she began to read.

In the first year of the Lunar Rebellion, the then fledgling town of Ponyville decided to give its full support to Nightmare Moon in the hopes that she would use her new position as Queen of Equestria to give the families there a higher position in the lands. In order to test their loyalty, Nightmare Moon had the ponies of Ponyville engage in equine sacrifice, and some estimates theorize that some two hundred ponies were killed in these rituals. When the Lunar Rebellion was lost by the forces of Nightmare Moon after a four year war, Princess Celestia cracked down on the ponies involved, and many of the cult leaders were publicly executed.

That did not mark the end of sacrifices, though. As religious freedom is one of the basic rights granted to a pony, the cult remained in Ponyville, though they moved on to things such as grain and fruit harvests. They did make an agreement with Princess Celestia to keep their worship of Nightmare Moon secret, however.

Given that their practices are largely secret, it is unknown if the Nightmare Moon followers in Ponyville practice more rituals other than harvest, but it is largely accepted by the few who are aware that they do. Some circles even believe that dragon's blood is a key ingredient in many of their rituals.

The book clattered to the floor as Twilight's magical aura fell away. Her pupils were reduced to pinpricks as the words she read replayed themselves through her mind and the pieces fell into place.

Nightmare Moon's return.

Cult of Nightmare Moon in Ponyville.

Dragon blood used in rituals involving live sacrifices.

Spike in Ponyville.

Twilight let out a shriek and bolted up the stairs towards the bed, praying to Celestia that her fears were unfounded and that she was merely making connections that weren't there; that Spike was safe and that Princess Celestia would be here soon to take them out of this wretched town and back to the safety of Canterlot. She reached the top of the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Spike still sleeping peacefully in his bed. She allowed herself a small sigh, and she tucked the covers tighter around him. "I'm not going to let anypony hurt you, Spike," she whispered. "Princess Celestia is going to be here in a few hours and then we can go home, okay? We just have to make it until then."

It was just then that the door opened.

Twilight sharply inhaled and straightened up to see a lone pony dressed in black standing in the middle of the library. The pony's face, save for his or her muzzle, which was twisted into a mocking grin, was obscured by a black hood. Twilight's eyes narrowed, and she fired up her horn. With a snarl, she shot a blast of magic at the pony who rolled to the left, the spell missing by a wide margin.

The pony chuckled, and Twilight heard a mare's voice that she didn't recognize. "We just want the dragon, Ms. Sparkle. Heck, we don't really want all of him. Just a half-pint of his blood, maybe a few scales, then we'll give him back to you good as new."

"Keep away from him!" Twilight snarled, firing another spell that the mare dodged. "You will not touch him!"

The mare chuckled again and jumped back to avoid another spell. "You know, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Twilight growled and shot another spell, but the mare knocked a book off of the shelf and kicked it into the air, colliding with the spell. The book exploded, sending pages everywhere. "The easy way to do this is if you let us take the dragon. Heck, you can come with and hold his claw while we take the blood and maybe we'll give him a band-aid and a lollipop once we're done!"

"Get out of here!" Twilight fired up her horn, but this time she used her magic to incinerate all of the pages obscuring her vision, revealing the mare still standing in the middle of the room. Twilight jumped over the bed and ran halfway down the steps. "Get out of here and leave him alone!"

"The hard way is we severely injure or kill you, then we keep the dragon for good." The pony's smile widened, and underneath her hood, Twilight thought she saw an evil glint in the mare's barely visible eyes. "Our Mistress of the Night's time has finally arrived, Twilight Sparkle, and your little dragon is our key to her victory." The mare scoffed and began idly examining one of her forehooves. "Now which is it going to be, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I'm going to paste the walls with your blood if you touch him!" Twilight screeched. "Get out of here and don't even think about coming near him again!"

The smirk on the mare's face faltered. Twilight's snarl was replaced with a smile, and she felt a rush of satisfaction. The mare's left ear twitched, and she lifted a foreleg as if she was about to bolt. She ended up lowering it, but her smile shifted to an uneasy frown.

"Uh... look, there's no need to get really violent, okay? Like I said, we don't really want to hurt him too badly. We just want... a little, ya know?"

Twilight's eyes narrowed, and she began walking down the stairs, causing the mare to begin backing away towards the door. "You're not going to hurt a single scale on him. Do you understand? I don't care what you think your sick, twisted rituals are going to do! You're not going to take him!"

"Okay, okay!" The mare held up a hoof defensively as she reached the doorway. "I get it: you don't want us to hurt him."

The mare lowered her hoof and cocked her head, and, to Twilight's surprise, her smile returned. She flicked a hoof in Spike's direction, and Twilight turned her head to see what she was pointing at. Twilight's eyes widened, and she let out a loud gasp. The large window right above the bed was wide open, and the covers were pulled back revealing an empty bed where Spike once lay. Twilight let out a shriek as she registered what she was seeing, but it was cut off when two powerful hooves collided with her side, sending her sprawling into a nearby bookshelf.

"Shoulda payed better attention, Ms. Sparkle," the mare said with a snicker. "Isn't that just too bad for you? If we're feeling nice, we'll save a little bit for you."

Twilight clutched at her side, rubbing the spot where she had been kicked as the door to the library slammed shut. She let out a low moan and tried to push herself to her hooves once the pain had dulled enough. She had to find Spike. She couldn't let those ponies murder him.

Twilight opened the door to the library, but the mare was already gone. The night was still and quiet, and not a soul was around. Twilight took a few steps forward before falling to the ground, clutching her side as the pain shot through her again. She groaned and slammed her hoof on the ground as she tried to will herself to stand. She needed to find Spike.

Slowly, Twilight stood up, gritting her teeth through the pain. She wracked her brains, trying to think of where the ponies would have taken Spike. They were potentially situated anywhere in Ponyville, so she had nowhere concrete to start looking. They'd need someplace secluded enough that any worshipers of Nightmare Moon could perform their rituals uninterrupted.

Someplace like the giant forest at the edge of town.

Twilight's eyes widened, and she turned her head in the direction of the forest. She had heard the stories that the Everfree Forest was dangerous, but some place like that would be ideal to perform rituals. It was secluded, secure, taboo... It was perfect.

"I'm coming, Spike!" Twilight began limping in the direction of the forest. She expended a few moments to cast a healing spell on herself, clearing up the worst of the bruises, allowing her to move much faster. "I promised I wouldn't let them hurt you! They're not gonna hurt you!"

Within a few minutes, Twilight reached the edge of the Everfree Forest and ran inside without hesitation. She ignited her horn to light her way and used the light to scan the ground for any pony tracks.

She didn't make it more than a hundred hooves into the forest before somepony slammed into her side. With a yelp Twilight crashed to the ground, allowing whoever had tackled her to throw their entire weight on top of her.

"I got her! She's here!"

The voice which called out sounded vaguely familiar to Twilight. It belonged to one of the ponies that she had talked to that afternoon, but she couldn't remember who. It didn't matter in the end. All that mattered was finding Spike. She let out a snarl and tried to struggle out from under the pony as she heard more hoofsteps running in their direction.

"Get off of me!" Twilight screeched. "Let me--"

Twilight's words were cut off when a hoof connected with her stomach, and she curled into a ball. The momentary distraction allowed the approaching ponies to hold her down and begin tying her legs together. Twilight attempted to struggle again, but whoever was on top of her roughly shoved her face into the dirt and leaned in next to her ear.

"Stop. Just stop it, okay? Do you want to die? Is that it? Because you are going to die unless you do exactly what we say, got it?"

Twilight continued struggling under the pony's weight, even as she registered that it was the weather pony from earlier. She tried to arch her back and buck the pony off, but the pony landed another blow on Twilight's side that caused her to curl up again.

"Rainbow, we don't want to hurt her!" said another voice that Twilight recognized as the bird choir director.

"Firstly, don't use my name!" Rainbow snapped. "If they're watching, then how the heck are we supposed to get away with this if they know who we are? Secondly, would you rather she escape?"

"Of course not, darling, but that doesn't mean that you have to put her in the hospital. It goes against everything we're trying to accomplish."

Twilight let out a small gasp and her eyes widened when she recognized the third voice. Rarity. Rarity was one of them. She was one of the ponies who had foalnapped Spike.

On the other hoof, Rarity had told Twilight what was going to happen. She had tried to warn her. Maybe she was an ally who would help her find Spike. Twilight turned her head as best as she could to see that she was surrounded by five or six ponies, all of whom were wearing black jumpsuits and masks that obscured every recognizable feature. Twilight's face hardened into a glare, and she let out another snarl.

"How could you?" She fixed each one of them with a glare in turn. "He's just a baby, you sick freaks! I don't care what you believe; hurting him isn't going to make Nightmare Moon any stronger!"

Rainbow groaned and grabbed Twilight's head in her hooves. Before Twilight could say a word of protest, she slammed Twilight's head into the ground, stunning her long enough for Rainbow to muzzle Twilight.

"That's better." Rainbow scoffed. "Stupid Canterlot nobles always running their loud mouths without even asking what the heck is going on."

"Rainbow--"

"I said don't use my name!" Rainbow snarled. "Let's just get her out of here and--"

Rainbow's words were cut off when Twilight regained her senses and charged her horn. Before Rainbow, or anypony else, could do anything, Twilight let out a blast of magic that sent Rainbow flying before casting another to cut the ropes around her legs.

"Dang it, she's loose!" Rainbow cried.

"Pinkie, cut her off before she gets away!"

One of the ponies hopped in front of Twilight, blocking her path, but Twilight charged her horn one more time. Knowing she couldn't fight all of them, Twilight channeled the energy into herself and vanished into thin air, reappearing outside the forest. She stopped briefly to tear the muzzle from her face before running as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

That was it.

There was no pony left to help her. She would have to find Spike all on her own before the cult of Nightmare Moon hurt him. There was nopony in this town that could help her; nopony that she could trust not to be in this cult.

No.

That wasn't true. There was still one pony that hadn't been out in the group. One who hadn't shown any interest in Spike from the beginning: Applejack. If Twilight was wrong, then she could always use her magic to escape and look for Spike on her own. As it was, she had no reason to believe that Applejack was amongst the cultists, and thus she was her best bet to save Spike. Twilight turned tail and ran towards Sweet Apple Acres.

The farm soon appeared in the distance, rapidly approaching with each step that Twilight took. She could see lights from candles coming from the farm, and vaguely remembered Applejack saying that her family was having a party that night before the Celebration. As she approached, she saw the various members of Applejack's family mingling about; talking to each other, eating, drinking, and swapping stories, by the looks of things. Applejack herself was reclining on a bench next to a yellow filly with a red bow in her red mane, and both were listening to a wrinkly green mare telling a story of some sort. Applejack glanced over at Twilight and smiled at her as Twilight ran up.

"Howdy, Twilight. So nice of ya ta come--"

"Applejack, you've got to help me!" Twilight grabbed Applejack's shoulders. "Th-they took Spike! The Nightmare Moon cultists took Spike and they're going to sacrifice him to her!"

The effect was immediate. The subdued, but pleasant atmosphere of the party evaporated, and all eyes turned to Twilight. The filly next to Applejack flattened her ears and looked up at Applejack. "Applejack, Ah thought we weren't supposed ta talk about Nightmare Moon."

"We ain't, Apple Bloom," said Applejack as she patted the filly's head. "Twilight here is just a little stressed is all."

"I'm not stressed!" Twilight screeched. "I put Spike to bed when I went to the library and ponies broke in and took him away! I went out after him and they tried to capture me in the forest! I barely got away!"

A gasp went through the crowd, and even Applejack had a small frown on her face. "Now... hold on a minute. Yer sayin' that Spike was foalnapped tonight?" Twilight whimpered and nodded. "And ponies tried ta foalnap you and you got away."

"Yes! They just came into the library and took him!" The corners of Twilight's eyes became wet with tears, and she allowed Applejack to wrap her in a comforting hug. "I r-read that some ponies use dragon's blood in sacrifices and rituals to Nightmare Moon, and she's prophesied to escape from her imprisonment tonight!"

"Now don't you worry none, sugarcube," Applejack soothed, "it's gonna be alright. We're gonna help ya get Spike back, ain't that right?"

A cheer went through the gathered Apple family, and Applejack released Twilight from the hug. She held Twilight at foreleg length, and gave her a comforting smile. "Mah family has lived in this town for as long as there has been an Apple family. If some insane group of ponies is tryin' ta hurt Spike, they ain't gonna stay hidden from us fer long!"

The gathered Apple family let out a cheer, and Applejack hopped onto the table and raised a hoof to quiet them. "Alrighty now: Twilight's dragon Spike has fallen into the hooves of some pretty nasty ponies, and it's up ta us ta get him back! Ah want y'all ta know that it may be dangerous, these ponies ain't somethin' ta be trifled with, but we're Apples, and we ain't never said no to a pony in need!"

The gathered ponies let out another cheer, and Applejack let them for another few moments before she raised her hoof again. "Okay..." She motioned to a third of the crowd. "You all start searchin' the town proper. Try ta be subtle about it. They ain't gonna be real friendly if they think yer lookin' for 'em. Now, Princess Celestia should be here for the Celebration soon. If ya see her, tell her what's goin' on pronto!" The ponies saluted and galloped out into the night. Applejack motioned to another third. "Y'all look around the outskirts of town. Roads leadin' out, outlyin' fields, that kinda thing." The group saluted and galloped off. "The rest of y'all, were gonna search someplace that Ah know you don't quite fancy goin' into, but if Spike is there, it's our duty ta find him: the Everfree Forest."

"I was ambushed by a few of them in the Everfree Forest!" said Twilight. "They had me pinned down and tied up, but I got away before they could do anything."

Applejack nodded and hopped off of the table. "Then that's a good place ta start. Come on: let's find Spike, okay?"

The remaining members of the Apple family circled around Applejack, and she spent the next fifteen minutes explaining her plans and rules for the forest; both for dealing with the creatures that might lurk there and the cultists that may be waiting for them if they weren't careful. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom calmed Twilight down over a mug of refreshing cider.

Finally, Applejack was ready, and she beckoned Twilight to follow her as the dozen or so ponies ran out of the farm towards the Everfree Forest. The tall, imposing trees were closer to the farm than Twilight had noticed before, and it wasn't more than a minute or so before the rescue party silently ran inside.

"There's a clearin' not too far in," Applejack whispered to Twilight. "If they're there, we can ambush 'em and get Spike back. We just got to make sure that we don't get--"

Applejack was cut off when a mare to the left of them let out an ear piercing shriek. Twilight turned her head to see a pony in black tackle one of the Apples' to the ground before smashing her in the head with a hammer in his hooves. Blood splattered all over him as the pony under him began violently twitching.

"No!" Applejack wailed. She ran towards the pony, but she too was tacked by a cultist that appeared out of the shadows. She managed to land on her back and push her attacker off before the pony could use his or her weapon, but some of the other members of the Apple family who were themselves being attacked by the increasing number of ponies coming out of the shadows were not so lucky. The air soon became filled with the sounds of battle and the screams and moans of dying and injured ponies. Twilight flattened her ears against her skull and pressed her hooves against her head, trying to drown out the screams. She chanced a glance up and saw a cultist jamming a large knife into the gut of a mare who could hardly have been too many years older than Apple Bloom. She screamed and tried to pull the knife out, but her spasms became less pronounced, and she lay still.

Twilight let out a scream of her own as she was grabbed from the side, but she was relieved to see that it was Applejack, who had a large gash across her forehead and was missing her hat. "Twilight! You have to get to Spike!" Applejack pointed deeper into the forest. "The clearing is that way! If they're all out here, they'll have Spike out here! Get to him before it's too late and get out of here!"

"Princess Celestia is going to be here soon! She'll put a stop to them after I get Spike!" Applejack nodded and helped Twilight to her hooves. She slapped Twilight's shoulder, and Twilight began running as fast as she could towards the clearing. One of the cultists moved to stop her, his bloody knife at the ready, but Applejack tackled him before he could do anything.

Twilight ran through the dense foliage of the Everfree Forest, half of her exhausted to the point where she felt that she was going to drop at any moment, but the other trying to tap into energy reserves she didn't know she possessed. The clearing, and Spike, were close. She would find him and free him and then they could go home. Celestia and the guard could raze this town, and Nightmare Moon would be stopped. Everything could go back to the way that it was before this living nightmare had begun.

Twilight didn't know how long she ran, but she soon saw the foliage become less dense, and she saw moonlight streaming through the trees. A short ways away she saw breaks between the trees that led to an obvious clearing, and she put on one more burst of speed and broke through the gaps in the trees. What she saw made her scream.

Spike, still unconscious, lay on a large bed of sticks bundled together to make a pyre. The base of the sticks was wet with what Twilight could only assume was some sort of fuel to feed the fire, and the pyre was surrounded by flaming torches. Twilight whimpered and ran over to the pyre and lifted Spike off of it, wrapping him tightly in her forelegs.

"I got you, Spike," she whispered. "I promised you that nopony was going to hurt you, and I'm going to keep that promise." Twilight gently levitated Spike onto her back and began walking out of the clearing, but she leaped back with a yelp when she saw more cultist ponies come out of the shadows. Many were bloodied and beaten, but all of them had large smiles on their faces. Twilight whimpered and began running in the opposite direction, but she soon realized that the cultists were coming from all directions.

She was trapped, and she knew it.

A snarl etched itself onto her face, and she spun around, glaring at each of the cultists in turn. They all stopped about thirty paces from her, save for one who took a few more steps forward. The pony gave a chuckle that Twilight recognized as belonging to the mare that helped foalnap Spike in the library. "Hello, Ms. Sparkle. So nice of you to join us. I'm glad you're here."

Twilight glared at her and gripped Spike tightly in her forelegs. "I will kill you if you touch him."

A chuckle went through the crowd, and the mare shook her head with a smirk. "Yes, you've already said something to that effect. However, you don't really have to worry about that, Twilight. We don't actually want him."

Twilight's glare faded, and a subtle frown crossed her face. "What? I don't..." She looked back at the pyre. "You had him and you were about to burn him!"

The mare laughed again. "Oh, Twilight. We didn't set this up for Spike."

"We set this up fer you."

Twilight's eyes widened, and she spun her head around to see none other than Applejack come through the crowd of ponies, a large grin on her face. She was covered in blood, but a second look revealed it to be fake. Indeed, more Apple family members began showing up, many of them covered in fake blood too.

"No," Twilight whispered. "I don't... I don't understand."

"It's fairly simple, Twi." Applejack walked up next to the mare, who took off her hood. Another member of the Apple family. "Publicly our family worships the sun, but we've been secret followers of Nightmare Moon fer a thousand years; performin' harvest sacrifices ta our mistress of the night." Applejack raised her gaze to the night sky. "Tonight is the thousandth year. Princess Celestia will be here soon, and Nightmare Moon will be waitin' fer her after we, her loyal children, help her escape." Applejack looked back down to Twilight. "But before we do that we halfta give her a little help. Stars are good and all, but we need ta give her somethin' ta help her regain her full power."

"And who better than Celestia's prized pupil?" the mare cackled.

Twilight whimpered as the cult began closing in on her, and she tried to draw magic into her horn one last time. Applejack merely chuckled as she saw Twilight straining. "Ah wouldn't bother with that, Twi. Ya see, we slipped a little magic drainin' potion into the cider we gave ya earlier. You can't cast any more spells than we can."

Before Twilight could say anything more, she was tackled from behind by two powerful stallions, while a third ripped Spike from her forelegs. They carried her kicking and screaming over to the pyre, while the whole family circled closer to it. Twilight was forcibly laid onto the pyre, and roped were tied around her legs, chest, and neck. Applejack, who by this point had slipped on a black ceremonial robe with Nightmare Moon's cutie mark emblazoned on the side, walked up to Twilight and put a hoof on her head, smiling at her. "Ah guess Ah'm sorry for alla this, Twi. Ah know it was kinda mean, making it so that you had ta run all over town lookin' fer Spike, but it wouldn't have really had the same effect if we had just knocked you out and brought you here." Applejack snorted. "Dinner and a show, and all that. Ya had ta come here on yer own." Applejack chuckled and turned around to address the gathered ponies.

"Well, y'all know why we're here: We're here ta celebrate our Queen of the night: Nightmare Moon. She was imprisoned in the moon a thousand years ago tonight, but she has chosen us, her loyal followers, ta perform a sacrifice in her name. Tonight she will be freed and usurp that evil ruler Celestia!" The crowd of ponies let out an ear splitting cheer, causing a sobbing Twilight to flatten her ears against her head to block out the noise.

"It sure is somthin', ain't it?" Applejack looked up to the moon and smiled at it. "We'll be seein' a lot more of it." The crowd chuckled at the joke. "Yep. Well..." Applejack cracked her neck and walked back over to her hat. She plopped it back onto her head and walked up to one of the torches. "The night ain't gettin' any younger. It'd be a terrible thing if it was, so let's honor our great and mighty Queen Nightmare Moon!"

The crowd let out another ear-splitting cheer and more ponies came up to take the torches. Twilight continued screaming and attempting to summon magic, but even in her tired, fear induced state she felt the connection to her horn was dulled. The torch-bearers reached the pyre and leaned down with the flames they carried. The flames interacting with fuel instantly caused the wood to spark, and the pyre was set alight.

Twilight continued trying to struggle out of the ropes and teleport away even as the flames grew ever closer. She began hearing more cheers, followed by fiddle music, and saw the gathered ponies begin dancing with each other around her pyre. The flames grew closer and hotter, and she felt her fur begin to singe at the edges. The flames around her began increasing in height, and they soon obscured her vision as they consumed her completely.

The last thing she ever saw was the moon shining brighter than it ever had before.

* * * *

Applejack pushed her hat back and let her hood fall back against her neck as the focused moonbeams that had emanated from the moon before the remains of the pyre that held the remains of Twilight Sparkle faded away, revealing a tall, black alicorn with a starry mane and silvery armor. All around her, ponies fell to their knees, muttering their praises to Nightmare Moon.

Applejack gulped and took a few tentative steps towards her queen. She inclined her head in a bow. "Mah queen. We are honored to be in yer presence. We hope we have honored you thins night."

"You have restored me to full strength, and you played your part well in getting Celestia's precious pet here willingly." Nightmare Moon let out a cackle that, despite her love for the alicorn standing in front of her, sent a shiver down Applejack's spine. "Tell me: has Celestia arrived yet?"

Applejack smiled and inclined her head towards Ponyville. "She's on her way. She's thinkin' she's gonna get ta raise the sun tonight. We had ta bribe a few ponies ta keep quiet and get us a few things, but most of Equestria ain't gonna know what hit 'em."