N HER DREAM, Princess Celestia was alone, and everything was dark. She looked around, but could see only her own body, her form the only object—as well as the only source of light. She became aware of a strange presence—it was weak, but still, it nagged at her.
Celestia changed into the sun, her light stretching out to illuminate the universe. Planets, stars, galaxies; her light shone out to every corner of space. She gazed down upon them, searching everywhere for what she felt. She looked outward to distant realms unknown to ponydom, her sun a massive burning eye seeing all her light touched. Yet still she couldn't find it.
Then she looked closer, and saw a part of space which was simply…not. It was a jet-black scrap of inky nothingness amidst the icy blackness of oblivion. She looked closer, a giant, fiery version of herself towering over it as they stood amongst the heavens. Slowly it too changed shape: taking on the form of a small filly, its coat the same light-bending shade of black.
Princess Celestia thought she heard it speak to her, and she leaned closer. The words remained inaudible, so she came in closer, and shrunk her form down to her normal size. Still, she could not hear it. She drew closer and closer to it, her face inches away from its small body. It looked like a newborn filly, an alicorn, and the Princess was certain she could see its lips moving.
A twisted, guttural voice croaked out with great clarity. "I said, come closer," and Princess Celestia watched in horror as the filly's lips curled into a sick imitation of a smile. It lifted its head up and craned its head at a wrong, impossible angle, its horn touching her own. Her mind was filled with an electric jolt, her dream shattering as her brain was wracked with the pain of 50,000 volts.
She woke up screaming, a cold sweat running down her brow. She took a few deep breaths and began to calm down. "Time to raise the sun," she said absent-mindedly. Her day was filled with the banalities of royalty, meeting with dignitaries from all Equestria, various ceremonies in varying stages of development surrounding the coming Equestria Games.
She felt exhausted the entire day, thankful her duties kept her from thinking too hard or long on her bizarre nightmare. It was rare for her dreams to ever feel so real, or disturb her to such a degree. When the day was out, Celestia was finally granted a reprieve, and greeted her sister after lowering the sun for the night.
She thought of talking to her about her nightmare, as it was Luna's realm, but decided not to bother her with such a trivial and childish thing. As she lay in bed, though, she found sleep would not come, and finally she got up with a sigh and went to speak with her sister after all.
Princess Luna didn't help much, however. She said, "We hath not been privy to thou's dreams since the banishment, dear sister. We wish We could help, but thou art the only one in Equestria whose dreams We cannot enter, or even view."
Princess Celestia bid goodnight to her sister once more, and hoped sleep might come more easily this second time. She gazed out the window at the rising moon and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she was no longer in bed, or even in the palace. She was on the grounds of their old castle, in the Everfree.
From the color of the sky, it appeared to be either dusk or dawn, yet all the plants and statues were illuminated as though it were high noon. She looked up and saw her sun being eclipsed by the moon, all of Equestria veiled in the massive umbra. There was a particularly odd statue nearby, depicting Princess Luna and another alicorn holding a huge sphere aloft.
One-half the sun and one-half the moon, the sphere was clearly meant to represent the state of the sun and moon above. Shaking her head at this strange nightmare, her skin crawled as she felt the presence of another pony. Turning, she saw Princess Luna trotting up. At first, Celestia was excited to see her sister had somehow managed to find a way to enter her dream...and then realized it was a stated impossibility. This couldn't be her sister.
"Ah, sister, thou hast made such a lovely day for Us, once again," Princess Luna said with a smile, but she was not looking at Princess Celestia; rather, at somepony behind her. Turning the other way, Celestia saw the alicorn from the statue: her coat a shiny black, her mane a flowing sprawl within which all the stars and whirling galaxies could be seen.
Her cutie mark was the same as Celestia's, except there, too, the sun was eclipsed. Princess Celestia watched as the two embraced in front of the perverse statue, and she found it difficult to comprehend what she was seeing. Then, Princess Luna took notice of her.
"Why– no, how art thou here? We thought We banished thou to the sun!" Luna exclaimed with shock. Banished to the sun? Celestia thought. She was as shocked as they were by her 'escape.' The alicorn stranger whispered something to Luna, prompting her to nod and back away.
"Greetings," she croaked with a voice similar to Princess Celestia's, but far more like that of the filly from her dream before. Could this be the same being from my nightmare? Celestia wondered. "We hope You like what We've done. Our Sister agreed this was quite an amenable compromise. Eternal night...what an impossible, unfeasible, unsustainable plan. Preposterous!" She laughed, but there was no malice behind it, simply mirth, making it all the more disturbing.
"What…who are you?" Princess Celestia finally stammered out, her head shaking in disbelief of all she saw: the eclipse, this alicorn, her sister, the statue. She was met with a raised eyebrow from her doppelgänger.
"You haven't figured it out yet? We are You. We are Legion," she calmly stated with a creepy grin. "But You'll soon see for Yourself if You don't believe Us."
The strange alicorn turned and walked into the castle, Princess Luna in tow. Princess Celestia stood there dumbfounded for a minute or two, before she found herself filled with raw determination and followed in after them. Inside the castle was very different than she remembered it. The entire stone masonry was carved from black marble and obsidian, and inset with onyx.
The grand foyer now looked more akin to a cathedral's, and at the end there was another one of those grand statues, this one carved entirely from the same black stone surrounding them. Behind it, where once there were two tapestries for herself and her sister, here was one gigantic tapestry—the color of deep magenta, with the same eclipse cutie mark emblazoned in the center.
Princess Luna and the other alicorn waited by the statue, and as Princess Celestia approached she found herself with so many questions. "What did you mean before, when you said you banished me?" She implored, hoping her sister would come to her aid.
"Thou were attempting to drive Us and Our sister apart, and We had to use The Elements," Princess Luna said sadly. Princess Celestia had no response; it was an answer which only raised more questions. Nothing made any sense here.
The other alicorn stepped in, explaining, "Don't You see how this is far better? The Sun and The Moon, together, all the way across the sky, sharing the day together!" Her excitement was palpable as she continued, "We are sorry about banishing You, but it simply would not do to allow You to bring Your dark plans to fruition. Eternal day...what an impossible, unfeasible, unsustainable plan. Ridiculous!" She laughed again, the same innocent laugh which was beginning to grate on Princess Celestia's nerves.
Eternal day? That doesn't sound like anything I would do, Princess Celestia thought. She understood so little of this. Everything they said only served to confuse her further. Princess Luna began playing a large pipe organ set into the wall, and Celestia's blood ran cold. If only I could find the right question to ask...
Looking at the alicorn she asked, "So, who am I?" This provoked the desired reaction, as her doppelgänger's face filled with surprise. Only, then it turned into mock-surprise. She was beginning to hate this abyssal version of herself more and more.
"You haven't figured it out yet? You are Us. You are Legion," she said again, "Nightmare Sun." Each syllable punctuated separately, and spat with an incredible amount of animosity.
Princess Celestia blinked in shock and horror. Nightmare Sun? Nightmare Sun. She was...what was she? She blinked several more times, her stomach churning in a storm of confusion and nausea, and she found herself staring at herself instead of the unfamiliar alicorn.
She looked down and realized she was now in its body, her pristine white coat replaced with its shiny black coat, her beaming sun cutie mark corrupted, eclipsed. The new Princess Celestia looked down on her almost apologetically.
"Yes, You banished Us because We sought to separate You from Your sister. To separate The Sun from The Moon...preposterous, ridiculous," she said, shaking her head. "I see now that The Sun and The Moon sharing the sky together is the only answer. Only this way can all ponydom praise both Sisters equally, and appreciate all that We do."
Real Celestia was furious, watching this creature pretend to be her and listen to it hurl unsubstantiated accusations using her voice. "We think You should leave Us now," she croaked, her voice now the unfamiliar tone she heard before. "We have no need of Your cheap parlor tricks, so kindly end this Eternal Twilight, kindly un-eclipse Our Sun, and kindly remove Yourself from Equestria."
Princess Luna hit a sour note on the organ, and turned to her sister, tears welling up in her eyes. "But, there is no jealousy this way, dear Sister! We still watch over the sleeping ponies in the night, but during the day all Our subjects can admire Our beautiful Moon. Thou even said Thyself that the stars provided enough light during the hours of the night, that Our Moon was welcome in its Sister's arms once more." Tears streamed down her face as she stifled a sob and ran from the grand hallway.
Nightmare Sun was livid, her face a mask of barely contained rage. It was strange to see such an expression on her normally serene face, and stranger still for Princess Celestia, viewing it from the wrong side of her own face. "You drove Her from Us once before, and You shall not drive Her from Us again," she seethed, her words dripping with murderous intent. "But You'll soon see for Yourself if You don't believe Us."
Once again the foul usurper leaned out to touch its horn to Princess Celestia's, and once again her mind was filled with an electric jolt, her dream rending apart at the seams as her brain was wracked with the pain of 100,000 volts coursing through it. Every part of her being was lit up with pain, all she heard was static noise thrumming through her mind, and she could smell burnt hair as she wailed in agony.
She woke up screaming, a cold sweat running down her brow. She could taste blood in her mouth. "Time to raise the sun," she said to herself once again. Outside, it was nearly dawn, and from her balcony she prepared the complex spells needed to control such a massive celestial body as the sun. She turned back to face her bed then stopped in her tracks. Something was off, but she couldn't describe what it was.
Scanning the room, she looked to every corner, gazed down upon strewn books and pillows, but could not identify anything amiss. Well, aside from the disorganized clutter. There didn't appear to be anything outwardly sinister. Looking closer to herself, she noticed a trail of ants along the edge of the balcony. As she followed them with her eye she traced them up the railing, and again was overcome by a disturbing sensation.
This time, however, her sun caught her eye, and as she glanced at it she was overwhelmed with terror. A panic attack gripped her, and shook her to her very core as she stared out at the beautiful sun and realized the center of it was now a huge, hideous, dead, rotting, blackened eyeball. She couldn't even scream. She stood there in silence, choking as the full horror of it hit her and sank in.
Tearing herself away from its foul, unseeing visage, her magic flared to life, yanking the furniture from the floor and throwing them up against the windows. Bookshelves, tables, her bed frame; everything not nailed to the floor served to barricade the light from getting in. Only when the room was completely dark did she finally allow herself to scream, until her voice gave out and she broke down sobbing.
Guards exploded through the door, bursting into the room with lances at the ready. They spread throughout the darkened room, straining their eyes for any intruders. The captain quickly rushed to his queen's aid, trying to ascertain what had happened, and whether she was alright. Princess Celestia was incoherent having been pushed beyond the bounds of sanity, repeating only for him to bring her Princess Luna.
Two of the contingent ran out to go fetch Princess Luna, and minutes later she was at her sister's side. "What is wrong with thou, dear sister? Tell Us," she pleaded, trying to calm her sister's tears.
"The s-sun," Princess Celestia stuttered between sobs, "It's...it's...it's b-broken," she wept. Princess Luna didn't understand how the sun could be broken. She definitely saw it out the window on her way over. She got up on her hooves and moved toward one of the bookshelves now shoved up against the windows.
"NO! DON'T LET ITS EVIL LIGHT IN, GO OUTSIDE!" Princess Celestia shrieked and her sister jumped back, trying to calm her down. Outside, in the hallway, again Luna looked out the window and was presented with the sun. Nothing looked wrong from here. Even opening the window granted her no further lucidity.
"Sister, the sun remains in the sky where thou hath putteth it," she intoned calmly. Princess Celestia had stopped crying, but was now huddled over and shaking back and forth.
"No. There is something very wrong with the sun," her voice shook with fear, "I think if you just looked again you'd see, too."
Princess Luna said nothing, stepping back into the hallway to examine the sun. Giving it more than a cursory examination was difficult. Whatever was 'wrong' with it had not reduced its brightness in the least. Summoning the royal astronomer, she appraised him of the situation and demanded he devise a way for her to examine the sun.
He hastily assembled a camera obscura, allowing Princess Luna to duck her head in and examine the image of the sun projected on the interior. Again, she found nothing particularly out of order with what she saw. The royal astronomer was tasked with examining it as well and found it to be extraordinarily normal in every observable criteria. He remarked that, were there something wrong with the corona, he would have no means of verification without a total eclipse.
Princess Celestia, upon hearing the word 'eclipse,' burst into tears once more, and Luna rushed to her side again. "Here, come look for thyself, the sun is fine," she said as soothingly as possible. Princess Celestia shakily got to her hooves and slowly made her way over to the pinhole camera, being careful to shield her eyes from seeing the sun out of the corner of her eye. Once her head was in the box she stared blankly at the interior. Princess Luna poked her head in and nudged her, saying, "Ah, thou's horn is blocking the pinhole, sister."
Princess Celestia tilted her head to the side and the two sisters looked at the projection of the sun—but, where Princess Luna simply saw the sun, Princess Celestia again saw that damnable, dead eye staring back at her, reversed and upside down. Her eye twitched and her stomach roiled, kneeling over as she vomited bile all over the floor and passed out.
When she awoke, she was in the castle infirmary, and for a moment she panicked as she realized the southern-facing exposure of the palace meant the sun could see her through the windows. Her magic flared to life again, throwing the other beds up against the walls, trying to block out all the light, as she curled up in a ball on her bed and started sobbing anew. "She's taken it from me," she cried.
"Who's taken what from you, Princess?"
Princess Celestia gasped and turned her head, seeing Princess Twilight Sparkle standing there, face filled with concern for her mentor.
"Oh Twilight, you see it, don't you?" Princess Celestia asked, her eye twitching. "It's the Nightmare. She's figured out some way to corrupt the sun, and stolen its light from me. I can no longer look upon it, she's transformed it from a once beautiful object into something dead and hideous."
What can I say? Twilight thought, If I say no, it won't make her feel better, but if I say yes...it still won't make her feel better...
"Don't worry Princess, I promise I will help in any way that I can to defeat the Nightmare," Twilight said resolutely.
"But that's just it, Twilight, she's...she's inside me," Princess Celestia whispered, slowly curling into the fetal position and rocking from side to side.
"Then I—wait, what?" Twilight looked at Princess Celestia quizzically. It was then she noticed her mentor looked decidedly grayer than normal, her once pristine white coat now closer to a soot-darkened sleet color. "Well, I can't say that I know much about how in Equestria something like that happens, but no matter! I will defeat this Nightmare, and cleanse you of any foul magics affecting you– you have my word."
With the glimmer of hope returned anew to Celestia's face, Twilight rushed off to the royal library full of confidence, ready to start researching the Nightmare and anything relating to magical possession. However, while there were many tomes dedicated to information about Nightmare Moon, the majority of them were old mares' tales, here-say, and superstition, and none of them were specifically about the Nightmare. Very little of it proved relevant given the circumstances.
Worse still, there was even less information about how one pony might magically possess the body of another. The last known time this had happened, was in fact when the Nightmare herself possessed Princess Luna. Faced with a lack of material on the subject, Twilight decided it might be best to simply interview Princess Luna herself, to see if she could glean any useful data about Nightmare Moon or the manner in which she possessed other ponies.
Unfortunately, Luna was not particularly forthcoming. "We apologize, Twilight, but thou asketh of Us questions We do not quite know the answers to Ourselves," Princess Luna stated dryly.
"But how can you say that when your sister lays in bed, fighting for her life, her very spirit?" Twilight begged pleadingly. "Anything you can tell me might prove to be useful in defeating the Nightmare. Please, even the smallest detail that you can recall could be of great importance!"
"Well…We suppose that when We were possessed, it did not happen all at once, but rather over the course of a long period of time. Gradually, the Nightmare took control of Our mind and body, until We became transformed into Nightmare Moon," Princess Luna said sadly.
"Great! Well, that is, not great, but- what I mean to say, is thank you," Twilight stammered sheepishly before turning tail and rushing back to Princess Celestia's side. Twilight realized they had no gauge on the speed at which Princess Celestia's 'Nightmare Infection' was spreading. If that might be measured, then perhaps it would let us know just what kind of a timetable we're looking at here, Twilight thought, falling back on the analytical side of her mind, her once panicked state quickly fading.
Twilight examined Princess Celestia's body a second time, noting that while a distinct change in the color of her coat had indeed taken place, it was not discernably any darker than it was an hour ago. Just then Twilight's train of thought was interrupted, as Princess Celestia sat up and addressed her.
"Twilight, I fear it may be best to banish me to the moon, or sun—" she started, before Twilight cut her off.
"What? Princess, have you lost your mind?! That is the craziest idea I have ever..." Twilight trailed off, as Celestia looked at her with exhaustion in her eyes.
"Please, let me finish. Banish me, but this time, create an enchantment that will return me to Equestria whence it is broken. This way, the duration of my quarantine may be controlled. I would not wish to still be here in Equestria if your efforts to cleanse me of the Nightmare's ill intent end in failure. Perhaps banishing me will even buy you the time that you need to complete your preparations," she stated. Princess Celestia had thought long and hard on this, and did not bring it up lightly. She knew what was best for her subjects, and minimizing their exposure to the Nightmare, even if it came through self-sacrifice, was rapidly becoming her number one priority.
Slowly nodding, Twilight responded, "I understand, Princess. I will start working on that, but I hope not to need to use it."
As the hours turned to days, and days into weeks, Princess Celestia found herself growing increasingly anxious and restless. Having surrendered her duty to raise and lower the sun to her sister, she ended up being trapped in bed for long stretches of time. Her only variance in schedule occurred when Twilight would visit her in between royal physicians and nursemaids checking on her condition every other minute.
As the weeks turned to months, and Princess Celestia's condition progressed, her pallor considerably darkened. In the early stages of what Twilight initially thought was perhaps simply a magical infection—though now, behind closed doors she had begun to classify it as a demonic possession, and absolutely refused to acknowledge this in public for fear of the widespread panic such news would cause—the slight graying of Celestia's ordinarily pristine white coat could have been explained away by her aversion to sunlight, or the woefully dim state of the lighting in the castle's infirmary that resulted. Now though, the once regal Solar Princess looked as though she had just gone for a roll in some coal dust.
One day, the polite small talk normally monopolizing Twilight and Celestia's conversations took an unexpected turn. "Twilight, I...I think I'd like to go outside," Princess Celestia said quietly. "Can you arrange it for me?"
"Of course I can, Princess, anything for you," Twilight smiled sadly. Surprised as she was to hear Celestia request what mere months ago they would have considered absolutely mundane, she went ahead and had guards set up numerous tarps in a closed courtyard within the castle walls, allowing for the fresh air and the windy summer breeze to blow through with only scarce traces of the afternoon sun getting in between the cracks in the material. She hoped Princess Celestia would be able to enjoy it, perhaps it might even bring her a small measure of peace.
Princess Celestia smiled when she stepped outside, the thin beams of light not putting her off at all. In fact, she rejoiced, breathing deeply of the fresh air and trotting around the rose bushes. She dismissed her guards and Twilight, and relaxed on the soft grass.
"Get up."
Princess Celestia's eyes shot open and she bolted upright. Turning around she saw what could only be described as the physical ponification of the Nightmare, looking every bit as terrifying as Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia's horn burned brightly, glowing alight as she charged up and fired off a laser beam at the ghastly alicorn, the fiery spell leaving a scorched line along the grass and cobbled brick wall. She realized with some apprehension but also a little relief the Nightmare was merely a figment of her imagination.
Standing in the exact same spot, completely unharmed, the spectral Nightmare spoke once more: "I will completely possess you, and then I will have my revenge on all who wronged me, and I will bring eternal twilight to the land." As the Nightmare spoke, the phantom strode through several sunbeams, the light easily passing through the translucent alicorn's façade.
"You will not, you monster. I will take that chance from you before you even have the opportunity to think of it," Princess Celestia seethed, blinking as the apparition's hateful visage faded completely out of existence. It was then she decided Twilight's first order of business would be to finish the banishment spell.
Twilight protested at first, but Princess Celestia's revelation outside in the garden was enough to convince her of the gravity of her possession, and of the gathering strength the Nightmare was rapidly accumulating. With hesitance, Twilight enchanted a spell of returning onto a jewelry-gilded sphere of golden-hued glass. Whence broken, the spell would trigger, returning Princess Celestia from wherever she might be to the spot where the enchantment was broken.
Princess Celestia said her goodbyes and Princess Luna and Twilight said their teary farewells. Twilight promised she would do everything in her power to research a spell that would remove Nightmare Moon's corruption from her mentor's mind and body, and Princess Luna vowed to raise and lower the sun each day while Princess Celestia was in her self-imposed exile.
Bracing themselves, the three princesses channelled their magic and began the complex incantation to send Princess Celestia to the moon. A bright glow filled the room and then a sudden flash of magic warped Princess Celestia to the lunar surface. The moment Princess Celestia arrived on the moon, she was met with the Nightmare staring at her face-to-face. Not wasting a moment, the Nightmare began screaming at her with impotent rage. It shrieked at her madly, a string of unintelligible curses spat from its lips.
Princess Celestia closed her eyes and smiled a small, quiet smile. She knew this was all it could do to her. The Nightmare couldn't actually harm her, and so this became her days in exile on the moon. Every waking moment, Princess Celestia would simpy watch as Nightmare Moon screamed incoherently at her. It was the first thing she saw when she woke up, and the last thing she saw as she went to sleep.
Princess Celestia found sleep to be something she did quite a bit on the moon, as there wasn't much else to do besides walk around. She would have liked to have some time to herself and just think about things; think about all her friends she left behind in Equestria, but that damnable Nightmare occupied most of her mind. It was all she could do to ignore it most days, though sometimes she would try to listen just to see if any of its words were...well, words.
For the first few weeks, months perhaps even, Nightmare Moon could manage little better than one prolonged wail of intense hatred and insanity. This is what victory looks like? Princess Celestia thought. No, this is merely a battle. The war will be won when Twilight Sparkle summons me back to Equestria and rids me of this demonic presence.
Finally one fateful day, Princess Celestia awoke to silence, not realizing this signaled just the beginning of her own personal nightmare. Has Nightmare Moon really given up, after all this time? Princess Celestia thought absent-mindedly.
"Don't bet on it," came the reply from a disembodied voice in her head.
"No...no! How is that possible?" Princess Celestia said aloud.
"Oh, I think you know very well how," the voice continued. "It's because I'm inside you, remember? And now that I've got my foot in the door, I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon...
"Nightmare Sun." Princess Celestia blinked in surprise as her mouth spoke the words unbidden, in a voice not her own.
"Yes, I believe that should do nicely, that name has a certain ring to it, does it not? Just how long do you think you've been up here? Months? Years? Decades? Perhaps a few dozen millennia have already come and gone, and you wouldn't even realize it. Perhaps all your friends are already dead, everyone you knew and loved. Ha ha ha. HOW DO YOU THINK OUR SISTER FELT WHEN YOU BANISHED HER UP HERE, WHERE TIME CEASES TO HAVE ANY MEANING? HOW DO YOU—
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP YOU FOUL MONSTER, SHUT UP!" Princess Celestia screamed, smacking herself in the head with her own hoof. "Twilight Sparkle will defeat you and end my banishment, and you will be utterly destroyed, cleansed from existence." She punctuated each word with another blow to her own skull, until the dull ache completely muddled all her thoughts and silenced Nightmare Sun. It also had the unpleasant effect of causing her to black out.
When Princess Celestia awoke, her coat had been changed to an inescapably dark shade of black. Her cutie mark was now a warped caricature of its former self, now depicting her once proud sun being fully eclipsed by the moon. She wept, then realized with renewed clarity she was no longer on the lunar surface, but rather in the palace gardens.
Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, and the Elements of Harmony were all gathered in front of her. They were all here, brought together for this one moment...
The hair on Princess Celestia's neck raised upright as she realized now would be the perfect time for the Nightmare to strike. "RUN, MY CHILDREN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, SAVE YOURSE– ARGHH!" she screamed, cut off mid sentence as theNightmare fully possessed her and took control of her body, as well as her magic.
Twilight had come prepared, and together with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor she began channeling a massive barrier shielding them from any magical attacks. The bubble was raised just in the nick of time, too, for they looked on in horror as Princess Celestia's eyes turned blood red, and they felt wave after wave of an evil aura wash over them.
The Nightmare raised Princess Celestia's mouth to the sky and bayed like a wolf, letting out a blood-curdling howl long and low. While Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were momentarily driven to panicked trembling, the others stood fast around them.
"Now girls, channel the power of the Elements through me!" Twilight Sparkle cried out, the strain of channeling the forcefield clearly taking its toll upon her. Together, the five Elements slowly floated into the air, and from each one of their necklaces burst a ribbon of light. Each beam of light collected inside Twilight Sparkle, and as her horn glowed brighter and brighter, she generated a massive multi-hued rainbow beam, aimed straight at Princess Celestia / Nightmare Sun.
The Nightmare was not to be outdone, however. Her evil black magic lashed out at everything around her, beams of icy hot death flaying at the ground around them and decapitating more than a hoofful of statues nearby. The Elements' rainbow beam washed over Nightmare Moon, creating a pearlescent luminous bubble around her as she launched salvo after salvo of deadly incantations.
In her mad attempts to kill somepony, anypony, Nightmare Sun had been flinging beams in all directions, stretching the purifying bubble's membrane but not piercing it. Finally in a last ditch effort, she focused all her energy on one spot, trying to push it directly at Twilight's heart.
The bubble began to stretch out, further and further, inching closer and closer to Twilight Sparkle. Spike, fearing it would kill his best friend and only family, moved his considerably larger draconic frame in between the Nightmare and her target. I will die for you Twilight, if I have to...but I really hope it doesn't come to that, he thought, glancing behind at Twilight as she was completely and utterly focused on being a conduit for the Elements' power.
At the last second, Princess Celestia was able to regain a small measure of control over her captor. Nightmare Sun screamed in horror as the Elements' purifying spell finally closed in and wrapped around her, cleansing Celestia's body to the point where the Nightmare lost all control over the Princess's magic. She roared in defeat as the laser beam stopped just short of reaching Spike, burning the ground at his feet.
Magically, Princess Celestia was cured and transformed back into herself. She raced to hug Twilight and her sister Princess Luna, tears of joy and relief streaming down her face. They all cheered and celebrated, with the Nightmare once again banished. Equestria was safe once more.
ThiS iS OnLy tHe BeGiNniNg.
The End.
Ŷ̷̷̯͚̲̥͙͓̹̦̺̥̟̣̰͒̇̈͊͋̐̄͌̂̉̓ọ̷̜̭̠̫̙̩̮̣̜͕͇͖͕̥̦ͤ̽̊̏ͪͥ̓͒̊͒̑̋ͥ̇ͪͤ̓ͮ͘͞u͍̘̝͚̙̥̗̜͕̬͉̠̼͔ͪ́͆̂̒̒ͤ̓̉ͭ̒ͥ́̕͜͜ ̯͓̣̰͎̺̖̝̖̦͎̱̘̿̈́͊ͫͤ͛̃̇̋́͌͑̇͆͗̒̕̕̕t̢̧͇̟̖̰̤̹͂̅̅̉̏̆̽ͥ̀͢͜h̷͉̥͈̲̜̼̣̤͔̫̬͚͔̜̐ͭ̾̀̋ͣ̄̔͐ͣ̑̄̍͌͐͠i̢̪͎̩̭̭͙̦̬̰̝̳͆̐ͬ̏̈́̆͂̔͝ͅņ̴̺͙̹͚͉͙͊́̌ͦͯ̅̋ͪ͡͞k̦̹̪͕̭͙̬̊ͯ͌̔ͦ́͝ͅ ̸̢̭̻͙͍̲̹̀͒̀̔͒̍ͪ̃̃ͪ͆̅̑̑̾̊́̀y̸̰͈̯̲͇̗̰͕̥̻̦̭͉͎̍̽͑̽͝ͅo̴̢̠̲͍̟̰̫̪̰͈̜͒̾ͪ̓͑͌̔͌̆̓ͧ̕ų͙̳̬̦͎̠̠͔̞͓̬̺͈̀͗̓͂̈́̄̾͑̇̀ͫ̒̄̊͞'̷̵̓̂͛̆̆̉҉̵̣̣̘͈͓͚͖v̔ͪͬͪͣ̂ͮͨ͑͗̀ͤ͒ͪͫ͂͒҉͙͈̤̻̥͢͞͝ȩ̷̷̫̝̮̣̻͕̜̱̲̥̳͖͖ͪ͋̂͐ͪ̓͋͋̒ͧ̚͜͝ ͌̈̇ͮͨ͘҉̝͈̟͙͔͙̱̮̟̪̬͞w̢̡̨͙̭͖͕͖̳̻͚̼̜̝̎̌ͨ̆͊͊ͭͫ̍̑̉̎̚̚͞͠o̲͇̠͈̰̗̫̙͍̫͎̤̲̟̱̳͔͛̐̊̽̃̈́̆̓̏̃͐ͮͮ͂̇̐̀͘͘ͅn̑̈́͛̒ͮ̊͑ͭ͑̍̾̆̾̌ͤͥͧ̚̚҉̷̵̲̜͉̗̞̠̘̥̺͇̳̝̙̲̞̣͢?̄͗̍ͧͤ̉̎̋̌ͪͬ͜͏̺̱̻̬̦̝̲̹͍ ̧̢̛̣̱̟̩ͪ̑͂͋̐̎̈͛͒̈́͘ͅ ̨̉̈́ͧ̈ͣͨ͋̍̿͊̀ͧ̾ͫ̋̏ͭ̽̓͘҉̥̮̹̟̬̠͙̲̥͓ͅP̈͊͛͗̌ͤ͗ͮͣ̚͝҉̰̭͖̫̪͙͔̪̤̜̖̲̜͚̫͙͔͍i̴̧̮͍̬̹̗̮͓̋ͪ̀ͨ͐͘ţ̵̶̟̤̜͔͉̱̜̥̯̬͖̪̹̟͛͂ͧ͛ͮ̒̃̿̾̐̄̎͜͠ͅĭ̸̴̸̝͙̙̝̳̺̱̟̻̲̪͈̮̮̥̻͂ͨͧ̇͌̐͟f̱̮̮̤̤͉̪͔̙͖̣͖͖͔͔̣ͣ̈́ͮ̎̌̓ͥ̚͟͟ư̯̯̫͉̰̪͍͔͙͙͙͚̙̱͕͉̮̟̓ͨ͐ͭͭͣͨ̈͑͑͐͜l̷̛̖̫͙̤̩̙̙̮̟͙̭͕̹͎̇͂̃̅ͥ̑̔ͧ̉͗̾̉̅̽͆̀͞ͅͅ.̡̏͗ͥͥͮ͜͝҉̙͔͕͉̲̯̻͉͈͕̮ͅ ̞̻̲̖̩͈̹̰̣̘͖͒̊ͨ͌̾̓͋̑̔̀͞ ͯ͌̔̉҉͈̭̠̤̤̤͙̀D͈͎͓̘͎̤̓̐͑̍͌͂͗̿̒͛̆̓̉̋̑̀ͅḭ̵̶̰͈͚̞͉̭̗̎̑͌̌̌ͨ͗̕͘e̷̛̍ͮͣͩ̃ͧͮ͂̈́͐̇̕͏̯̰̮͖͈͕͕̪̼͍̩͖͎͓ͅ,̛̣̠̰̭͇͕̖̮̻̜̼̯̥̰͕͋ͥ͊̈̾͆ͯ̿̽̌̽͛͞ ̵͒̂͗͏̷̢͉͚͓̦̯̤͕̞i̸̫̯̞̝̯̻̘̰͚͖͕̫͖͇̠̩̙͇̞̽͛ͫ͒̾̀̽̃ͦͭ̿ͦ̽ͥ͋͆̓̈́̚̕͟͜͝ņ̇͆̇ͭ̿͂̈́̐̐ͩͥ̓ͦ́͏̸̻̞̻̲̹̺̥̺̣s̴̡̡͓̼̫̹͙͙̜̮̱̮̮͙͐͊̽̐͐̓͢͠ͅe̵̴̻̙̖͖̞͚̰̳̟̜̮̺̞̙̣ͦͫ̈́͘͟͠ͅc̷̵̶̨͇͓͇̭͊̇ͧ̽̐͐ͯ̔ͯ̌ͧ͐̓ͮ̽̐̋̊ͫ͜t̴̸̻͍͖͔͈̩̥̳̲̥̱͍̻̭̺͇͔̲ͭͫ̾̀͋͆ͧͪ̃ͤ̔s̺̱̻̖͈̞̣̖̱̞̜͖̲̪̘̙͌͂ͥ̍ͦͤ̓ͤ͒ͤ͑̆ͣ̏͒́͠.̶̴̽ͮ̌͘҉̛̬̱̲̯̫̼̤̼͙͚̗̣ͅ ͔̰͖̣̞̪͈̻͓̦̝̲̘̯̥̔̈ͬ̇̀ͨ̄͒̂ͭͯ͋͌́̄̊͂͜͠ͅ ͖̹̣̘̣̮̼̭͉͕̝ͮͬ̏͂͟͟͟͠Y̴̛ͨ͆͐ͯ̅̋̏͌͛̿̈̇ͯ́̑͌͟҉̛̠̬͉̱̥̫̬̮̟̖ǫ͙̺̦͔̦̹ͨ́͊́ͩ̌ͥ͐ͣ͑̉̅̓̄ͣ͒ͪ͌̚uͬ̏̆ͤ͘͡҉̴̖͉̝̻̼̤͎͕̩̝̼̲ ̵̨̢͙̣̱̰̪͎͎͚͚̭̹̜͍̜̂ͨ͗͋ͧ͂͡͡ͅw̢̺̞̤̟̩̬̰̪̬͚̰̺̯̗̗̻͕̺͑ͤ͑͂͋ͭ͛ͨͯ̈̕͞͡͡i̸͎̭̜̬̤͙̬̔̐̈̓̾̏̀̅̓ͦ̏l̠̬̞̖̻͎ͬͨͬ̔͗̍̐ͧͥ̓ͩ̏͛́̕͢͢ͅļ̪̲̤̣̯̣͓̭̻̻͛̒ͪ̍̂ͣ̐ͧͣͧͣ͢ ̸̶̨̤̯̲͉ͦ̌̌̄ͣ̆ͭͧͩ̓̈̇̈́͐͞͞b̸̭͖͔̺̮̙͈ͮ̈̉̎̌͌ͧ͆̈́̈́̿ͥ̈̚̚͞e̷̢̧͕̰͎͖̙͊̍͐̈̾̿̀̄̀͛͠ ̶̈́͊́̆̓̓ͧͣ́ͫ̚̕͏҉̺̯͇̝̙̣̞̼̦͍̝̠̟̻ͅw̛̳̫̼̗̖̖̱̖̱̘̞̯͉̭̹̘͐ͫ̾̆̋ͣͪ̓͆̈͌ͩ̀̅́̚͝͝i̶͍͕̪͓̤͇͎̬̣͋̿̇͂ͥ̓ͮ̉̌ͦ̀̕͠ͅp̢̔ͯͧ̃͒̾̆ͩ̅̓̉̀ͮ̃̽̆ͧ̚͏̢̼̭̖͉͓̰͙̫̲͡ê̄̆̑͋͛̔ͮ̇̑ͬ͊̽̚͢͏̷͖̺̯̞͚͚̞̣̰̻̩̥d̾ͩ̓͊ͫ̂ͬͪ̉҉̷͎̭̲̟̙̝̮̫͚́́ ͚̝̤̼̼̥͙̪̞͔͖̫̜̰͎͕ͮ̈̂̎̇̊ͦͤ̈ͨͤ̔̿̾ͮ̇́̌ͤ̀̕͝͞͝ͅf̧̨̜͎̲͔̩̫̪̰̹̹͖̞̫̥̯̖̏́ͥ̿ͪ̎̇ͅr̢̡̦̹̫̩̠͎̬̣̩̫͕͓̪̫̹̲͙̋́̇̐̌͌̿͐̊ͭͮͬ̇̀̂ͤ͞o̞͍̹̲̖̗̺͕̳̯̖̫̙͇͓̭͈͍ͥ͂̓ͫ̏͋͐̋͐͟͡m̧̘̲̣̫̓̓ͯ̏̂̒ͬ͊̆͋̇ͭ͗̿̓̃ͦ̐ͯ́̀ ̧͉̮̺̟͎͓̟͍͔̣͓̪̜̹͕͊ͦ̈́͂̿́̀̔̎ͩ͜ͅͅȨ̼͈̫̤̝͍̼̤̓͗ͦ̂ͦ̂͋́q̧̨̝͈̣̪̖͎̲̖͓̖̗̰̼̘̩̤̺̞̺̓͗ͭͥ̃̎͂̃̆̽̊̚̕͝͠ư̴̥̳̦̫͉͊ͫ̉́͠͞e̴̮̜̗̬͒͐͗̆̐͂ͣ̉̑͐ͭ̋ͥͯ̈́ͤͤ̾̕̕͟͝ş̢̯̯̥̗͕̮̠͍ͤ̓̇ͫ̌̒͂͊ͫ͂̇ͨͣ́̚t̴̶̵̡̧̗̜͙͍̞̲͚̖̺͖̲̟͖͐̓̋̎ͯ̎ͭ̔ͤ͑̃͑ͭͅrͪ͆̒ͨ͑͌͛͆̀́̽̀̇͗̄̔͒̚҉̡̠̬̯̱̗̜͉̜̖̦̹̺̞͕̮̬̻̬̥i̴̷̞̞͈̘͕̣͖͚̗̯͈̭̹̘̭͇̘ͨͯͬ̚äͣ͋͋͂ͤ̒̒̚͘͏̣̺̳͚͚̮̰͇̬͕ ̣͓̻̘̺͔̙̺̙̟̫̪̖̱̺̽̂̌̎́͐ͪͫ̃̎̿͘͡āͩ͒̃̋̓̚̕͏̣̳̞̳n̴ͬ̒ͯ̉̏̍̄̉̍̍ͨ̽͗͏̝̪̩̮̪̠̳̹͓ͅḋ̢̮̫̞͎̰̳̥̠̯̤̫̣͕̞̪̗ͨ̉̔͒̓̆ͮͥ͑̅̿̌̓ͮ́̕͝ ̳̥̼̯͓͙̣ͤ̅ͣ͂͒̀̒ͦ̃ͨ̏̑̏̚̚͟͠ȳ̡͖͈̗̙̼̗̗͈̯̺̳̥̻̟ͮͤͣͫͪ͒̇̓͗ͦ͊̃̓̿̾̇̊͝͞͡ơ̸̢̓̉ͦ̈́̃ͫ͒ͦ̆ͫͣ̔͛̃̈́͌̾͘҉͎̩̬͇͕͖̣̜̲͎̭ͅū̸̟̙̞͔̌͛̌̑̽́͘r̢̪̟̟͉̲̅͊̍̎̌̄ͪ͗ͤ̽ͭ͋̓̍͂ͬͪ͒ͬ̀ͅ ̷̸̸̳̲͉̞͓͔̪̤̒̍͊̋̔͒̑̊̎̈̀͌̔̏̿̕n̡̗͍͇̭͚͚͔̙͊̽ͫ̎ͨ͜͡͝͡a̵̶̢̭͇̙̪̗͇̝̺̾̉̐̄͋ͧ͛ͫ̈́ͣ̆̏͐͆̚͜͡m̰͉̲̭̖ͭ̐̍̍̋̇̈́̔́ͧ̓ͥ̿ͪ̀͜ę̸͎̗̠̣̖͚͇̼̦̤͚̗̱̥̪͑̈͋͑̃́ͪ̄͒̌̍͘͟ͅͅs̨͚̫͔͓͚̣̥̖̞̙̞̘͈̯͇̖͓̣̊̇̌̀̂̔̒̅ͪ̀͛ͧ̕ͅ ͉͇̖͚̝̪̙͚̘̱̙̺̤̰ͫͬͪͧ͜͞ŵ̉͑̆̄҉͔̰̣ͅi̶ͪ̓̄͛ͪ̉̈́̉̐̓͆҉́͏̪̪̭̰̭͇̖̳l̡̩̦̯̹͇̯̖͎͖̮̻͉̣̊̏͛̇̊̎ͩ̕͘͢͠ͅl̲̬̟̤̞̣̙ͮͣ͛̊ͩ̿͋̾̇͐ͦ͆̎̐̈́ͩͭ͝͝͞ ̷̨̮̠̻̮͓̗̪̣͉̭͈̠̳̱͈̰̥̺̮͋͂͌͆͐͐͆̌̂o̱̜̯̼̺͋̌ͧ̄͋͂ͦ̈́͛ͣͮ͆ͩ̐͒̽́͘͡ǹ̨͎͈̳̲͓̥̙̓̅ͨ̆ͣͭ̾̾ͬ̔͛̇́͟͞l̸̨͙͚̤̖̩͉̩̫̦̞͗̋̓ͥ̎ͯ̃̒̇͂͢͠y̵̴̴̵̧̭̞̥̙̼̘̥̼̯̆͆ͣͯͩ̑ͮ̋̄͛ ̷̛̹̩̗̼̲̭̞̥̳͓̬̙̝̪̙̠̖̊̄͂͐̆̓̈́ͨ͢͞ͅb̛͕̤̣̼̈̑ͪ́̓͋͐̆̾ͧ̂ͨ̇͐͘e̴̡͊ͬ͆̊ͪ͊̀͢҉̤̲̹̦̲̼̗̪̯̭̻͉͈͎ ̸̧͚͎̳̤̲̞̞̩͙̼̫͓͖̜̪ͤͤͪ̋͐̚͞ṟ̷̘̩͎̼͇̳̲̼̥̟ͭ̇ͫ̀̚͜͠ͅe̵̸͋ͥ̉̄̇͗̔҉̝̪͈̼͚͈̮̦m̛͉̘̠̥̘̘͇͍ͫ̒̈̾ͤ̍͌é̸͇̘̘̯̤̰̯̩̟̩̹ͮ̚̚͢͝ṁ͒̃͆̏̉͌͐҉̬̖̮͕̹͔̩̪ḅ̢̺̘̗̯̟̩͍̩̓̓ͬ͂̈́̄͐͊͘͟ͅe̴̵͔͖̳̪̰͉̹͇̙͉͚̘͚̲̖̺̪͐̍ͥͦ̇͋̍͑͂ͭ̐͢͞͠ͅr̷̸͒͛̍͜҉̪̝̠͇ẻ̵ͫͫ̄ͧ͐̀̚͘҉̹̞̞͚̹̪͎̣̮̱̲͈͇d̴͎̰͍̯̫͙̰͙͉̝̆̒͌̄̍́͟ ̵̸̷̝̺̝̫͖͖̩̘̭͈͖͗ͪ̈́̏̃̈́͆̉̌̇̇͆̐̂̔ͬͬ̚̕ȁ̸̧̪͚̫͎̹̝̰̠͇̫ͮ̉͌͐̂͒ͫ̂̈́̋̆ͤ̀̚͞͡ş̵̩̠͈̖͈̻̘͍̮͙͕̼̺̺̜ͯ̈́͂̿ͨ̏̄̅ͪ ̡̳͎͖̣̟͉̰̥̠͔͓̳̤̯͔ͣͦͬ̽͒͠͡a͌ͤ̌ͤ͐̓҉̸̸̰̭̮̻̙̖͙̜͈͍̻͎̰̖ͅ ̶͙͇͉̲̮̦͂̾̋ͪ̐ͣ̓ͯͣ̂̌̅̚͢c̐ͤ̃͒̈͋ͦ̋̃͛͂҉̶̶̟̦͔̖̙͓͖̖͉̣̲͉̟̫͖̣͢͠ͅą̵͍̝̣̩͉̦̥͚̥͖̤̻̀ͨ̀̈̌ͫ̍ͫ̀̕͠u̶ͨͮ̍ͫ̊̂̓̊҉̡̡͎̖̬̝̞̰̻͔̬̮̘͕͎͚͈̠̳̞ͅt̸̡͈͓̤̦̰̬͍̓̍͒ͦ̾̇͜i̴̝̣̼̘̮ͮ͐́͆̓ͨͥͭ̀͘͝ơ̱̫̼̞̰ͯ͂͌͆̎ͧ͊͝ń̎̋̒̑ͣͪ̓ͤ͆̂̿͢҉̷̨̛̺̗̹̬̬̤̳̟̖̹̱̫ä̶̧̞̱̮̤͇͍͛͐̉̏̇̂̽̊̔ͧ̊ͯ̾͑̂͘͡r̸̸͉͎̞̯̱̝̪̩̰̰̞̹̩͇͔̩̲̎ͣ̈ͬ̊ͧͦ͆̂̆̄ͮ̏̔̄͗ͮ́̎̕y̸̹̖̥͍͙͓̤̬̙̲̦͉̤̻̲̲̳ͭ̋̅ͪͫ͑͡ ̄̐ͬ͊̓ͩ͏҉̧̘͎̪̟̟̩̻̬̞̺͎t̛̯̩͇̘̣̼̠͙͎̻͍͇͔ͯ̏͋ͥ̏ͮͬ͊̽ͤ̕ͅa͕͙̖̰͊̎͂̃̑̉ͧ͗̈́̕͡ļ̷̛̫͎̲͎̗̫ͩ̀̿̏ͧ̽̈͒̃̇̔̑̏ͮ͂̏̑́͟ͅe̷̥̣̫͖͍̼͕͖̬͇͇͕̬̞̬̞̹̤ͫͦ͗ͪ̅͗̐̕͟.̗͖̳̜̣̮̜̩̣̠̬̤̪̝̰ͤͣ̐͆ͧ̂͟ ̡̞̬͈̱̟̝̮̹͓̬̪͆̎ͣ̇ͪ͂̾̃̐ͩͨͫ̽̈̇ͥ͂ͫ̇̕͜͞ͅ ̸̨̼̳̮̹̺͑ͮ͗ͦͧ͡Ẏ̴̂͌̒͐ͨ͆͗ͩ͠͏̷͕̝̪͕̟̳̥͎̲͎̤̠̙̘͍͟o̴̧̳̳̰̳̟̱̟̗ͩͦ̓̾̕͠ͅu͑̈ͤ̓͛ͤ҉̨҉̶̬̱͓̲̣̠̻̯̯̮̙̳̳͎̱ŗ̨͓͕̗̲ͫ̎̐ͭ͢͞ ̨̡̭͇̼̪̪̼̺̠̗͕̻̗̭̟ͧ̍ͬ̏͜b̧̨͇̼̺͍͉̜̞̺̮͇̯̰̳̹̝͛ͪ̾̿͡͝͠l̴̸̻͙̻̤͍̝̭͎̳̞̼͕͍̪̇̓̄̽̌͌̕͟ǫ̶̻̘̟̣͖̫͚͙̗͉̖̹͔̮ͭ̉̌ͪ̌̆̎̔̏͐̄ͭͩ̀ͮ͋̽̀̚͞͠o̡̥̺͓̝̟̠͕̽ͤ͛͘͟͜d̄͊ͧͭ̏̋̌̅͛̄͗ͫ̚͏̵̛͍̞͍̟͎͞ ̿̇̆̄̃͐ͥͣ҉̭̩͚̟̺̥͍̫̟̕w̶̧͌̂͂̅͛́͂ͨ́͏̜̞͍͚̩͕̱͉͕̭̙̘̝̹͖̻͇͎ͅi̷̴͚̖̭̙̗̙̰͉ͪ̏ͭͤͥ͌̐͛̈́̒̀̋̀̚̚͜l̡̡̩͙̹̝̦̰̬̹̳̟̋͊̈́̔̓̿̋ͪͫͭ͡l̹̬̳̟͓̖͎̜͓̮̻͇͙͈̩͙̩̲̅ͩͩͤͬ̒̐̀͘͘͢͜ͅ ̦̝̮͕̩͓̗̣̯̹̘̹̬ͦͤ͋̏͐͒̋͒̈̓ͪ̐͘s̵̨̙̪̩̲̹̮̦̜̩͍ͯͭͧ̍̾̄͑ͩ̀͜͠t̴͓͓̦̱̫̞̾ͥ̍̈̀ͯͣ͗͜͝ẩ̴̴͖̼͚͈̻̜̖̠̞̝̻̘̠̰͔̹̗̞̑̋ͯ̋͌ͥ̀̏ͧ̿́ͩ͑̋͜͠i̵̢̮̭̬̜͖̣̪̼̺͎̍̈ͭ͒̏̇ͫ͟͟͞n̶̵̫̳̦͖̙̳̮͉͈̪̙̺̟̜͍̗ͫ͌ͯͥ́̄̆̆́̚ ̸̨̟̟͔̫̼̘̫̐̉̑̂̇̅ͭ̇͊̑ͪ͌͂̌͛͂͞ţ̵̫͙͎̖̘̳͕͉̦͛̋̊̎̆ͦ͐̀̚͠h̓̾͒̔͋̈ͫ̌̆ͪͨͪ͐͟͏̴̝̜̗͇̼̱̼̲̕͘e̸̡̢̢̢̖̮̪̬̼̠̮̠͉͈̼̙̼͓͛ͥ́ͧ͆̓͊͊̉͒͋̎͋ͨ̈̄͂ ̓͌͆̿̎̊ͨ̓͌͌̒̓̊̓̾҉̷̢̻̦͇̻̯͔̮͕̣̥͍̤̗̞͓̗̬͙̪g̵̷̻͎̞̗̺͓̺͉͗͐̈́ͫ̽ͩ̾͒̉̎ͭ̇ͯ̊ͥ̀̚̕r̷̸̵͍̤̰̞̰̈͗ͦͯ̓́͘ơ̷̴̛̬̫̲̮͇͔͚̥̞͔̬̿̂͗ͦ̓͗ͧ͆ͪ̅̽ͣ̂̏̇u̶͍̖̮̘͈͕͇͇̜͗ͮͮͯ̃̎͆ͫͩͨ̍͆̿͑ͣͬ̄͢͜͡ͅn̸̨̳̲̹̥͎͎͎̯̺̤̙͎̜̜̳̲̩̺̽͂̄ͪ́̉̂̒͑ͯ͊ͪ̋̚͜͡d̞̘̤̹̻̬͇̖͈͖̿ͯ̒ͪͬͥ̇̾͐̓͑ͭͧ̊̓ͨ͌ͭ̅̀͞,̳͈̣̪̰̼̱̭̩̻̦̣̟͕̠͍̣̍̔̈̇̚͘͟͡ ̴̴̵̴̛̖̞͓̤̔ͣ̔̈Ẅ̢͙̘̰̙͈͍̠̜̐̓̒e̵̵̢̖͍͎̞̹̘̣̤̘̜̮̳͍̼ͣ̓̏ͥ̊̐ͯ͋ͥ̅̓̍̽͛̈ͭ̂̒̏̕͘ͅͅ ̷̅ͬ̈́ͤ̉ͮ̒͆̎͐ͪ́̚̚͠͝҉̱̼͉̗s̡͖͚̦̻͇̦̗̯͙̲̯͍͌͊͌̊͝h̽̅̓̈̒͛ͮͮ̏ͣ͒̂̂ͨ̀͠͏̵̥̮͙̻̞̥̤̱͕͓͖͠a̡̛̍́̔̍͑̐̋̈͊ͨ̍̈ͬ͋̂͗̒́͢͏͙̰̫̹̤̣l̶͋͛̆̑́͋ͮ̓̂́́͏̢̼͓̪͍̙l̨̢̹̦̦̫̹͚͇̝̗̥̮̣̞̘̍͛̓̑ͩ̓ ͩ̈̂͑ͩͯ̈҉̛̪̼̝̼̦̳̟̜̙̠̳̱̖̺͚̯͢ř̶̶̖͈̦̰̺̠̩͎̹̯͈̥̲̦͉̭̥̎̔̓ͩ̄ͪͬ̔͊̉͗ͧ̂ͦ͋́͜e̔̓ͯ̌̅̌̓̓̽ͭ̔ͮ͏̠͚̫̞͔̟̠͉͖̝̰̬͍̜͔͕̱͎͘̕n̡͐̐ͦ̓̈́͂ͣͦͥ̔͐͋̒ͩ͑ͦ̀͏͉͎͉̀ͅd̸̵̡̲͇̣͚̟̳͉ͧ̀ͭ̀ͅ ̈́̒͋̈́͋̓ͬ̿̏̏͑͗̽̄̑̈͑ͮ͏̨̢͈͙̬̹̗̰̙y̑ͣ͗͂͋ͭ̍̎̉͌͏̡͚̦̲̲͖̩͚̺͓͕͉̫̠̙͈͇͠o̩̣̬̼͓̹͙͖̲̘̅ͧ̎̅ͪͥ̈͋̿̀͗̀̀̀͘͜͟͞ȕ̵̷̩̫̣̭͊̓͑ͦ̍ͧͧ̂ͮ́ͫ͆͂̀̚͘r̷̮͉̲͖̣͓̜͓̬̼ͥ͂̌̾́ͤͨ͛͞ ̨̟̠̩̻̮̭̪͓͚̝̩̉ͦ̃ͣͣ̒͊̍̀ͫ͒̇̈ͩ̑ͪ́͘͢ͅm̢̤̣͖̬̞̺̘̱͎ͩ̏̏̓̓ͧ͆͌̃͂̆͘͘į̗̲̖͚̓͊ͦ͊ͫ̑̍́͜n̶̴̛͍̜͉̲̭̺͕̮̤̮̘͙͙̤̦̲͉̔̒͑ͨ̾́͛͗ͩ̇̿̓͂̓ͫd̸̦̭̭̭͔͔̮͎̘͎͖͕̥̫͎̱̠͗ͣ̔͛ͪ͝s̵̬͔̪͇̲̞͙͕̗͈̣̺̖͙̯̼̮͉̆̂ͨ͋͟ ̄̽̀ͮͭ̌ͭ̈͌̒̂̌ͨ́̇̊͗҉̛̪̼̣̰̖̠͕̪̥̯̪͈̤̳̭̠́́͞ͅu̡̺͉̖͉͍̰͈̫̭͖̫̩͈ͥ̐ͣ̏̏͋̃̍̉̄̽̆͒̑̊̏͊̊̀́̕ͅͅn̨̒̽͑̉̊͏̞̹̞̗͇͚͎̖̩̹̟̫̘̪̹̼̠t̴̵̨͔̰̯̪͓͙̣͎̦̠̋͛̎ͥ͡͞ͅiͫ͐̈́̾͜͝҉͇̪͙̥̥͉̞̦̜͕͍̹̩͎ͅl̔͊͒̈̈́̽͒̃̇̾͋̉ͮͩ̒ͨͥ͒͏̝̥̣͚̰̭̤͇͉͈͚͓͈̥̜̣̀ͅ ̱͓̬̞̥̉̌̌̋̊̔̿͐̇̓ͤͫͮ͛̚̚͘͘͡y̢͇̱̬͙̥̣͇̤̞̰̟͕͊̆̈̋̀͛̒͛̉̔̐͐ͪ̑ͅo̾͂̿̃ͥͥ҉̺̼̠̯̰͎̗̥͉̣̞̮̘̼͇͢ȕ̜̪̗͇̟͕̳͖̮͉̭̯̲̹ͥ̄ͥͨ̒͜͢ͅr͂͆ͮ͗̃̈́̓ͦͯ̋̒̓̌̀҉̖̤̻͚̲̝̀ ̂̈́̊̀̀̊̾̃ͩ̈́̅̆̂̚͏̠̪͚̙̖̞̮̫͍̫͉͈͇̯̘͝s̨̺̦̣͔̻͗ͫͪ̋̈̓̕͠a͛̇̐̏̈͗̀҉̫̯͙̻̤̳̤̭̖͚̟n̒ͩͥ́̾̋̎͗͏̢̛͉̱͙̻̳͙̕i̵̧̱̹͔̯̼̾ͩͪ̆̌̓́̏ͯ̒͆ͮ͐ͩ̾͟͢t̡̯̲̩̯̫̣̟̱͕͆ͭ̿͂̑̀͠ͅy̴̛͔̼̪̖̺̭̝̘̺̬͍͉͑̾̾̐͛̃̃̚͞͝ ̶̒ͪ͗ͤ͒̍̈́ͣͮͭͩ̂̕͏̵̳͚͈̭̘̱͍͕̥̥̪͖į͚̗͔͙̝̖̳͚̦̙̞͍͇̥̲͇͑̑̉̽̏̑͗̉̚͜͠s̷̛̒͌ͥ͛͐͛̇̅̆͢҉͎̜̗̠̩̼̪͙ͅ ̵͇̭̬̯̺͈̳̈̋̈́̕͜r̛̓̉̈́̽ͬ͐͌҉̴̣͖͎̣̼̣͎͙͙̪i̵̯͓͓̪̺̼̣̗̯̯̫̟̟̖̮̰͔̙͛̃͛̓̔̇ͬ̿̾͆ͩp͊͌͊̓ͪ͆͗͏̵͚̗̞̭̖̳̲͕͎̗̱̠̖̯͕̪͢p̶̵̵̡͈̙͇̲̹̭̱̠͋̽ͤ̃ͥͪ͆́͒̍̋͑̂̅̄͋͜ȩ͇̦͇̤͕͈̲̪̟̬͕̃̓̑̈̀͜͡͡ḑ̴̛͙̻͈̮̞̰̪̖̤͍͈̘͙̍͊͛̌͂̇̿̋͘͝ͅ ̪̘̪̦̦͇ͯ͑ͪ͆ͮ̊͂̏͟͢f̡̨̪̪͕̤͚̠̞̹̝̺̘͉͇̘̼͉̺͚͊͆̀̓͗ͬ̽ͯ͂̍̾̅ͨ͛̓͡͞ͅr̯͕͉̠̦͓͍̪̳̱̰̺̯̺̪̞͓ͬ̏̄ͥ̂̀͟ơ̓ͥ͊͐̉͑͊ͯͩ͆̄̓̑̀̋̄ͥ̀͞͠͏̮͇̝̜̘̪̖̙͇͓̙̰͉̥͔̹m̷̶̸̨̢̠̲̦͚̝̻̲͖͕̫͑ͦ́ͩ ̢͇̼̜̦̤̰͉̯͓͕͓̲̼̠ͮ̏͗̈́̋̈́̊͋́ͧ́̚̚̕y̿̊̃̓ͦ̓͌̾̑̂̾̆͛̍ͬ͏̳͚̰̘̯̺̯̝̫͉̞͍̰̖̟̱̣̖͘͝ǒ̵̴̧̗̺̯̜͓̲̯̼͙ͣ̄ͥͪͥ̍̎̀ͅu̶͆̇ͣ̑̾̓͛̑ͬ͘͢͝͏̼̣͇̝̘ ̨͉̰͓̞͚̟̩͙̰̺̮͙̼ͧ̽͛̅ͯ̆̔̓̿͋́͢͝͠aͯͮ̈ͨ̃ͦ͌͊͒̒̌̅̕͏̨̪̖͉͚͎͕͚͡͝n̡̬̟̳̱̭̞͕͍̹̫̖̲̗͎̜̯͔͈̈́ͬ̔͒̀̄̎͑̅̉̎͝d̛͓̱̞̺͍̳͓̼͍̘̊̆́̏ͣ̐̍ͨ̃͐̿ͮ͘͢͠ ̡̡̤͓̬͉̯̹͕̻̝̇͂̈̎̿̍ͧ̆̈̀̚y̨͑̓̽͒̂͑ͭ̆ͮͥ͢͏̡̢̗͉͎̹̭̙͈̮͉̪͙̻͍̘̩̰̳ͅͅo̻͇͔̒ͩ̉̆̓͌͘͝ͅu̢̡̙̻̫̺̠̍̈̇̈ͫ̓́ͦ̏͝ ͪ̒ͯͭ̈͊ͯͦ́ͩ̆ͮ̅͗ͭͣͨ̚̚͏̷̧̟̣͙̩̼͍̮̬̫̠̫̰͓̩B̷̸̜̱̳̰̬̯̦̯̭̟͓ͦͬͣ̿̃̕Ę̴̯͓̱̙̳͈̻̪͌̃̐̾ͪ̒̑̿ͥͮG̸̜̼̪͙̱̤͓̲͈͔̏̂ͣͦ̔͂̏ͬͪͬͫ̕͞ ̛̦̬̼̖̳̦̜̮̪̞͕͎̹̦̻̩̬ͯ͗ͪͥͯ̅̍ͤ͐̾͛ͤ̋̆̌̍̄͋ͦ̀͠Ư̢͔̥͙̩̥̥̠̥̙̮̟̔̏ͫ̍̎͛̒͋ͮ̊̓͆͂͛͝ͅs̊̔͋ͯ̒̾͒̉ͪͮ̚͘͡҉̧͕͉͍̬̲̟̝̩̗̗̳̭͙̫̮̠͇͇ ̢̧͇̭̯͕̙̝͖̖̝͍̼̖̹͍̖͌̄ͪ̿͑̍̄ͬ͋ͬͣ̈̉͊͜ͅt̡̺̼̬̞͍̱͍̥̫̹̺̟̘̅ͨͨ̊̓̽ͬ͗͗̆̂̐͢ȯ̢̙͇̻͋̎̏͞ ̡̼̳͎̩̫̭͇̥̰̂̌ͣͩͤ͐ͮ̓̌ͦ̈̀̀̕͜͝e̛͖̟͔̝̯͚̘̲̱͐ͥͪ̓̾̀ņ̛̮̲̪̞͊̊̋ͤ͆̄̂̊́͞dͮ̈́̋̀́͏̣̜̲̪̱̜͇͍̬͓̪͓̙͙̠ͅ ̶͉̰͖͍̠̜̞͇̦͔̪͗̈́̂ͫ̋̑ͣ̅́͜͡y̷̨̻͕̠͈̥̩̜͍̮̰̝̖̙̳̘̭̌̊̇͛̄͒ͪ̔ͧͤ̅͋̉͊̀̽̚o̶̸̐̒̒ͫ̽̀͛̾͐ͥ̕͡҉͎̤̹̣̹̮̳͎̤͍̮ͅų̸͙͍̰̠͔̰̮͓͕̺̹̺̦͉̹̘̥̯̃͑̃ͥ̚̕ͅr̶̠̯̗͕̮̖̥͍͉̤̫͙͋ͣ̀ͮ̑̌̇͑͊ͪ͆͡ͅ ̷̛̗̙͇͈̞͓̠͈͈̞̤̼̬̤͙̳̦̎̄ͨͫͯ̉̄̇͊̓ͩͦ̊̉̆ͥ̀͒ͯ́͢ͅͅs̪̹̣̱̩̫̭̭ͭͨͯͮ̐ͭ͑ͬ̀ų̛͍̳̝̦̪͈̳̇̿́̽͜ͅf̅͑͌̇͌͂͆͐ͦͯ̌̿͛͏̶̺̱͔̻̺̥͓͚̭̫̟̕͞f̰̗̥̝̞̐̃͊ͭͧ̄̔̉͌́̆ͭ͐͐̚͘͡e̵͎͖̖͇͍͖͔͓̭͍̭̜̙̣͍̟̊͗ͫ̎̓ͪ͑͑͑̉ͥͤ̒͋̐̕̕͢ͅȑ̴̵͈̣͖͇͓̫̭̻̯̮̲̰̐ͧ̍̍̉̈́̈́̎̆̿̊̀͜͜i̓̔ͯͨͦ͌ͨ͗̃ͭͣ͐́̆ͧ̅̊͐͟͡҉̲̼͓̰͍́ͅn̳̘̝̋̆̈̏ͧͩ̈̂̃̓̏̎ͣ̅̚͜͠g̶̭͇͉͉͍̘ͨ̾̇ͦ̐ͭͪ̿̈́̈ͥ̋ͧ̊̀͗͟.͓͇̭̼͔̪̅ͯ̒̉̿́͟͢ ̲͚̹̳̜̳̫̈́̓͛͊̊̌̇̂͋͗̄̊ͯ̾̏ͫ͘͟ ̷̧̧̩̱͍̪̠͓͉̮̘̤̼̟̫͎̮͍͂͊͂̇ͥW̸̨̺̗̭̩̲̬͉̝̗̲̲̼͖̃ͥ͂ͨ͒̒̀̉̇́̒̾͗̀̕͜a͖̜̱̲̠̭̭̱̟͔̦̼̤̥̩̻̩̖̞͆ͪ̏ͨͪ̽̀͞t̆ͩ͗̀͛ͧ̓̓ͭͬ̾̎̋҉̡͚̪̹͙̘̺͖̺ͅc̙͕̝̺̮͆̒͐͂̓̐̉͂́͆̂̑ͧ͟͡ḩ̴̥͔̰̞͉̭̳̾̉ͬͪ͂ͣ̎͋͊ͬ̽͞ ̵̷͚̝̥̻̹̲̭̱̩̬̣͈̈̇ͩ̔ͫ̑̏ͩ̑̆̐ͨ̋͝͠ͅa̢̨̖̥̳͎̜̟͋ͯ̏̾̔̃̋̒͐̒̊͛s̡̱͉̲̜͓̿̇̌͂̀̒̚ ̵̧͉̯̼̪̥ͪͧͩ̃̏͒͛̔ͩ̉͛ͫ̍͞W͎͚̺͔̲̩̰͎͈͍͎ͣͥ̓̃̆ͪ̀͘̕͜ę̸̪̭̘͚̱̮̫̖̻̤̪̯͚͚̯ͭ̇͊ͥ͑̊̀ͅ ̡ͯͬͥ͑̾͐͋̌ͣ̄ͣ͞͏͙̩̰͇͈̝̬̫͉̩̻̭͖̬̼m̷̶̯͓̩̮̲̗̣̥̲̬̑̃ͫ̊͝ų̴̧̢͎̘̹͓̥̰̘̝̳̤̜̼̭̥͕͉͗͛̃̓̓͌̃͗̅̊ͯ͡ͅr̡̛̫͍̠͔̳̖͖̋̐͛̋́̉̋͋̋ͯͬ̚̕d͑̉́ͮ̾ͤͧ̾҉̢̡҉͏̠̭͕̱͔ͅę̷̼͚̱͉̠̰̪̠̙̹͙̋ͭ̏̅̑ͩ̚͟r̨̨͕̲̗ͣ̈́̎̚͠ ̛̤̱͎͚͂ͣ͛͑͆͢e̮̝̜͉͓̣̣ͬ͂ͨͦͭ̍ͩ̆͛ͬ̆͒̋͘̕͜v̨̬̤̤͍̬̣̬̹̼̖̦̬̓͋ͥ̑͘ẹ̸̡̢͚̹͈̠̮̠͕̦̯̭̹̭̳̤̘͓̤̳ͨ̈̂͊͌̾̈ͪ͆͘r̄̊ͤ̎̒̿̊ͤ͊ͮ͋ͪͦ̔̍̒ͩ҉̶̘̱͍̖͈͔ỵ̷̘̱͎͆ͧ̚o̴ͯ̊ͨ͗ͩ͂̇ͣ̐͐̓͒̕͏̸̛̯͍̖͈̣̱̼͔̮̫̜̪͉̜ͅn̵̨͖̬̞͓̗̘̣̭̦̖̾̅͐̊́͋ͫ͐̆ͫͪ̍̄́͘͝ͅe̢̮͇̙̺̤̼͍̤̲̰̻̩͊̄͗̃͂̽̎̿ ̢̘͇̠̤̖̺̝͙̘͉͆̍̄ͣ̀ͭͦ̾̓ͮ̌͐̄ͧ̃ͦ̊͠͡͞y͓͉̥̜̗̗̗̜̤̳̮̻̫̤̗̪̿ͤ̎ͤ͋̅̕͢o̵̔͂ͨ̓̑̀̕͏̤̠̟̞͖̣̘̻̪̤͉̥̺u͎̣̲̔ͤ̍ͧ͑͂̌̀ͬ̚̕̕ ̨̎ͯ̄͊̃̌͛͛̌̀̉͑҉̙̪͍̘̫̖̺͇̬̠͎̳͎̟͙̙̘̦̼́h̶͒̇̏̂ͧͭ͛̿͐̽ͯͫͫ̽͂̌͝͏̥̼̣̞̻̱͔͞ͅơ̢̨̞͈̭̯̪͕̖̞̝͙̗̞͔͎̪ͪ͌́̄ͣͯ͟͠l̷̜̯̳̯͌͌̅̓ͤ̿ͥ́̂͟͢͡d̸̸͈͖̺̜̰̫͒ͦ̂͋ͯ̃̽ͩ͊͘ ̡̺̞̱̱͔̘̙͚̬̲̜̗̟ͤ͗ͯ͊͂̃̆̉́̚͠d̴̄̄̑ͨͦ̂̅̊ͨ̒̀̍͑͊̊̽͑ͨ͏̣̟͚̖͍̬̙̺̟̜͉ͅȩͭ̈͐͟͢҉̘̰̝͙̮̞̼̞ą̸̮̯̪͕̙̮̘̼̘͚͚̲̭̣̼̬͚ͭ̓͊ͫ̾̆̂̊́́͋̇̓̊̅̅͢ͅr̡͕̼̬̱̬͖͔̰͕̥̩̞̘ͩ̔̌͆̑̊̇ͭ͌ͦ͢͟͡.̡́̓̾̓͛ͨͯ̎ͬ͑̀҉̠̲͈͙̻͓̩̫̰̜̳̪͖̺
You find yourself alone in a house. My house.
Let's play a game, it's called Run for Your Life.
I always win.
What happens when you lose? I'll never tell.
Death is too good for the likes of you.
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—You're kidding. You're kidding, right?
You still cling to that childish fantasy? How utterly adorable, and foolish, and stupid.
We can break You any time—literally, any time—that We wish.
The true events of that day, now many years past, is still fresh in Our mind. We like to think back on that day and remember, as it gives Us great pleasure to reminisce on Our day of triumph. When Our dark magic pierced through that pathetic dragonling, and interrupted Twilight Sparkle's concentration, We broke free of that 'Harmonious' spell. We rose up above them, Our dark shield pulsing forth, plaguing them with pustulous boils.
Rainbow Dash was first to volunteer to leap from her mortal coil. Charging full speed at Us, We quickly dispatched her with a focused beam of light, and she was instantly vaporized. Not even ashes remained, We so thoroughly erased her.
Seeing her friend perish, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie turned tail and ran.
We flash-froze Fluttershy in ice, and shattered her into fragments that melted on the cold ground.
Pinkie Pie We banished to the Mirror Pool. It still brings a smile to Our face imagining whether she drowned or remains trapped there to this day.
Applejack attacked next, and We allowed her to get quite close before discharging a massive lightning bolt square at her heart. She had just enough time to realize she was dead before she hit the ground. We know this, for We saw.
Rarity cowered in place, hooves covering her head as she waited for death. We took pity on her, and collapsed her into a singularity. A singulararity, ha ha ha. Her demise was either quick and painless, or infinitely slow and unimaginably painful, depending on which astrophysicist You ask.
Cadance and Shining Armor stood together against Us, and we crushed them together, forcing them to break each other's bones as We slowly ground them into a bloody pulp. When We finished reducing them to a thick, red paste, We threw them into the singulararity, and the three of them winked out of existence.
Our dear sister Luna wept, and it pained Us to see her suffering. We mercifully took away her capacity for suffering, as nothing scrambles an egg quite like a lobotomy. We slipped a piece of Ourselves into her consciousness, and to her last moments before re-awakening as Nightmare Moon, she remained blissfully unaware of ever having known any of those diseased, deceased ponies.
Twilight Sparkle We saved for last. We wanted to savor this, and curse her to a fate worse than death for all the troubles she caused Us. We trapped her in a nightmare from which she could not waken, and subjected her to all manner of torture. Boiled alive in acid, disemboweled, eviscerated, skinned and flayed, burned, sliced to ribbons, chopped into little pieces; she experienced endless torment. All the while We slowly fed Our essence into her as well, that each dream of death brought her closer to corruption as well.
When Nightmare Twilight was born into Equestria, she remarked that being eaten alive by timberwolves had been especially effective in breaking her will and hastening her conversion.
We often delight in sending Twilight out at dusk or dawn to rain down hot death upon any pony caught outside during curfew. Curfew, of course, lasts as many hours as the day is long. Your kingdom has held up quite nicely without You. Some communities devolved into utter anarchy, while others embraced their newfound freedom, and have fully adopted self-governance. We ask for no taxes. Only devotion, worship, and blood.
Tis true, New Nightmare Moon is…not as bright as she once was, but it feels so good to finally be reunited with Our sister once more. Perhaps in time, You, too, will come around to seeing things Our way as well, if You don't believe Us.
ThE eNd...
