The Mysterious Masseuse

Oh yes, I remember Cinnamon Swirl quite well. She was quite the mysterious pony, I must say. When I first had met her, something had seemed off about her from the start, but I had simply ignored it. I thought that ponies that young of an age could not be so devilish and dark. I thought wrong.

I had met her when I was simply roaming the Everfree Forest, reminiscing on the memories that took place in it. I was thinking about everything from when Discord had ruled, to when I had returned as Nightmare Moon to try to bring an eternal night time again. Many fond memories took place in that forest, but I digress. I had wandered onto a campsite where multiple ponies were simply relaxing, which I had found odd. Not many ponies had ever came to the Everfree as far as I was aware, for they were scared of what could lurk inside of it. Among them was my friend Noctis, who was talking to a pony named Cinnamon Swirl. Apparently she had worked at the Bath house in Cloudsdale, but I never had time to visit it, so I wouldn't know myself. Anyways, I had simply greeted him, and all the other ponies had immediately taken their attention off of Cinnamon, and diverted it onto me. This was the first time they saw anyone of the Royal Family in ages, so, given the circumstances, I had accepted it, and I began to answer any and all questions that they had. They asked questions about where we all went, what was happening, and all other things, which in all honesty, was the reason why I was even sent to Equestria. Instead I had wandered around the Everfree, doing as I pleased.

However, before any of those questions were asked, everyone had asked how I had been and how the other Princesses were. One question, however, had been asked that I decided to address. It was a question from none other than Cinnamon Swirl. She asked about who I exactly was and if I had anything to do with "blasting away that evil moon witch back to the moon". Of course, questions followed from the other ponies, asking me to tell the true tale of Nightmare Moon. I had told them every single last detail as it is a memory that continuously haunts my mind. I remember every single second of the events that transpired in vivid detail.

I told them all about the darkness that grew in my heart, and all about how Nightmare Moon was simply my alter-ego that became something much more sinister as the corruption had manifested itself in her. She essentially became a whole other sentient being in my mind. Anyways, once I revealed that I was indeed Nightmare Moon, Cinnamon Swirl was shocked. I could sense that she was thinking about it all. She was very uneasy about it, and I do not blame her, however I was still a tad surprised that she did not know this piece of common knowledge. She was also uneasy about my presence itself, for reasons I soon found out.

Anyways, after I had digressed onto the infamous tale of Nightmare Moon, I had finally gotten around to answering the question about the whereabouts of the other Princesses.

"We had all left Equestria when a new threat had reared its ugly head. I told them about how the Princesses and I realized that we had to take action immediately or we would risk the downfall of Equestria. So we had left during the night, to put up a gigantic protection barrier, encompassing all of Equestria, including the Crystal Empire. The darkness that looms outside the limits of this kingdom are unlike any other that we have faced before. Anyways, the darkness was strong enough to break through and breach the barrier numerous times, however it had lately been dying down. Because we all felt worried about our citizens, we all agreed that we should send someone back to keep in touch with the people every so often. And apparently, I was just the right pony for the job. This was supposed to be a way for me to make more friends and all, but I digress. The Princesses remain at the barrier, and will find a way to contact me should any trouble arise while I'm in Equestria, among all you commoners."

However, there was one who did not believe this honest and true alibi, and it was, you guessed it, Cinnamon Swirl.

"That's a straight up lie! You're lying Princess Luna, if you even really are a princess! I know what you really did to the other princesses! It all makes sense now!"

"Oh? You say that I lie? Well, if I do not speaketh the truth, then please do enlighten us on the actual truth, as you know it, for there is no way that you can be wrong." I said angrily and sarcastically. Her accusing me of lying had made my blood boil. How dare she do that? I was speaking the honest truth, I did not need this to put a stain on my already poor image with the public. She was going to be more of a nuisance than I originally had expected, I saw right from that moment.

"You got rid of all the princesses like you did last time! You killed them all so you can be evil and take over the world! That's why we haven't seen any of the other princesses! You turned evil again and killed them all! Admit it! Admit it or I will beat you up until you do!" Cinnamon had said with fury in her voice.

"And where is your evidence backing up your claims you insane ignoramus?! You have no proof that I have lied and that I committed such horrible deeds! I love my sister with all my heart! She is my only family! She has forgiven me for my mistake over a thousand years ago! Why, and I repeat, why would I dare infringe on the sisterly bond she and I share?" At that point, the ponies at the campfire were watching closely, anticipating a fight to break out. Thank heavens for my self control, or else I would have annihilated that infuriating filly. She was slowly turning the crowd against me, and I wanted to just get rid of her. Though, I have a feeling that that was what she wanted me to do all along, so she could "expose" me for the "monster" that I "truly" am.

"It's obvious, isn't it! The princesses aren't here! You are the only one who appeared! All of a sudden, you, the one who has had the history of being evil, just show up saying that the princesses are fighting some new evil! I know that's a lie! You obviously got the other princesses out of the way so you could rule the world all by yourself and no one could stop you!" The crowd was having mixed reactions to her statements. They were starting to realize that she had no real proof. They realized that I was the true Luna and everyone quickly grew more and more suspicious of Cinnamon Swirl. They realized that she hadn't any true basis to her theory and they wondered why she would want to have me out of the picture.

"You are just a big, dark, evil meanie! Give us our princesses back, you witch!" Cinnamon Swirl began to fall apart. She was breaking down as she noticed her support from the others was dwindling and was likely to drop entirely. She began to nervously twitch, she also experienced muscle spasms. I thought she was about to go completely insane. What happened next, well, was something that was completely unexpected. "Luna, admit it! You are still Nightmare Moon! Why is this the first we ever heard of any kind of darkness?!" She was sweating uncontrollably now. A true breakdown.

I remained silent while she continued to yell questions at me that held no merit. She kept going on about the same point, simply presenting it in different ways through her insolent questioning. She would not cease. While she was continuously spitting out her foolish claims, I decided to look into her. I sensed the disharmony within her heart. There was another thing at play here. Of course the filly herself was rotten. There was hardly any light within her. However, there was something else that caused the discord within her heart. While she is a rotten filly who was a thief, swindler, as well as many other things, that was not the reason why darkness was so predominant within her heart.

There was a third party at play in this case. As ridiculous at it had sounded, Cinnamon Swirl, a rotten masseuse pony, was possessed by a dark spirit. That dark spirit is among the ranks of the very same darkness that my sister,  the other princesses, I have been fighting to keep out of Equestria for quite some time. However, I remained quiet about this dark presence that loomed within her until the moment was right. If I simply accused her of being possessed, then I would be the one who was the fool.

"Cinnamon Swirl, I do realize that while my alibi might not be all too easy to believe, I insist that it is true. You accuse me of killing not only my sister, but the other princesses as well. I admit, that the events that I was responsible for over a thousand years ago would give you every right to make an accusation. I haven't exactly been open with the ponies of the public. I have been rather secretive, secluded, and introverted. To this day, I am still shrouded with mystery. However, when Nightmare Moon was defeated by the hooves of Twilight Sparkle and her friends using the Elements of Harmony, the darkness that embodied her had been evicted out of my heart and soul. Then, not too long after, I went to the moon where the very same darkness had resided ever since I was freed from it, and evicted it out of Rarity. That darkness, that I dubbed the Nightmare Energy, was completely obliterated." I had spoken with utmost sincerity. The insolence of Cinnamon Swirl meant that I had to return to parts of my past that I had wished to have forgotten.

"But that doesn't make any sense! I know you killed them! I just know you do! I know instead of destroying the nightmare energy, you joined with it again! You wanted to rule the world! Admit it already!" Cinnamon Swirl had interjected, feverishly. She was not looking well, and I could tell that the dark presence within her was the root of the problem. She was having an internal conflict with it. The Darkness, I sensed, was the one that was pressuring her to continue this argument. She knew that she had lost, but I believed that if she did not continue to try to pin the strange disappearance of the Royal figures on me, that the darkness would relentlessly consume her whole.

I had decided that a subject change was in order. I knew something else was wrong with this pony, and I soon figured out what. Her aura was that of an Earth pony, yet she had wings of a pegasus. I had no doubt that this was also the darkness' doing. "Cinnamon Swirl, I must ask thee, how did thou obtain these wings? These quite obviously are wings that one would be born with, should one be a pegasus, however, thou are not a natural born pegasus! Thou art an Earth Pony who, through mysterious means, obtained wings. Explain yourself now!" I had hoped that she would be shocked that I knew this information. The reply she would soon give me, started off as interjecting and demanding that I answer her question first, however, she then halted that topic.

"AHHHH! What?! No! Shut up! Answer my question first, you evil witch! I won't say a thing otherwise! I mean-" Cinnamon had halted her speech mid sentence. A dark aura soon encompassed her own. The dark aura was so strong, it was almost visible! Her eyes then hid behind the shadows cast by her hair. Her facial expression then grew sinister. She gave a strange, demented, and downright peculiar smile. "I see you have finally noticed, Princess Luna. I can no longer continue this charade. This foolish pony has succumbed to my powers and has been doing my bidding for quite a few hours now. She was weak hearted, and easily manipulated. I realized that pressing her on to continue arguing against you would be a fruitless effort." The voice that had said this was not the one that belonged to Cinnamon. It sounded dark, antagonistic, and twisted. The voice mixed itself with Cinnamon's own. The darkness had finally revealed itself.

All the ponies in the area were shocked. They gasped for air in surprise as the dark entity revealed itself. "You see Princess Luna, I am part of the darkness that your sister and fellow princesses attempt to prevent from entering your ever-so-precious kingdom. After Cinnamon Swirl had killed the two ponies earlier today, her body made for an easy host for myself. I simply came to her, and granted her what her heart most desired at the time. It was quite simple to take over a filly, though perhaps it was not the best choice, as I had to reveal myself now." The darkness had stated, menacingly of course. Everyone there was shocked and confused. None of them had their composure. They were completely blown away.

The dark entity had taken flight and began to hover over the camp site. It's hooves were glowing with a dark-purple smoke of sorts. What it said next, made everything deteriorate even further. "Princess Luna, I know this will sound incredibly cliche and one dimensionally antagonistic, but prepare to meet your end! Not only will I end you, I will end every single pony that is here with you! No one must remain a witness to my reveal!" He then had thrust his hooves down and enclosed the entire campsite in a dome of thick dark-purple smoke. We were all trapped inside and were about to be slaughtered by this powerful evil.

"I can not allow you to do this! You are killing innocent ponies! Leave them out of this mess! Allow this confrontation to be solely between you and I! They have no business in this!" I had desperately tried to leave those innocent ponies out of this whole debacle, however my efforts were futile.

"Ah, but they do have business in this confrontation, Princess. They witnessed me reveal myself. They know what lurks inside this pony. If I let them go free, they will tell others and I will only have to stage a larger massacre. Its either sacrifice yourself and the others to spare the rest of Equestria, or let them go free and risk them telling everypony they know. More ponies who know are more ponies that I MUST KILL, if I am to achieve my goal of world dominance! Now be good little victims and surrender to die!"

"I SHALL NOT ALLOW THEE TO HARM THE INNOCENT CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA! I WILL FIGHT AGAINST THEE AND THOU WILL SURRENDER THE BODY BACK TO THE FILLY IT BELONGED TO!"

"Oh? I'd like to see you try, you arrogant alicorn. Fight me, and you will merely make your demise contain more agony, more sorrow, more suffering. Come on, I, Vitiosus, dare you."

At that moment, I heard Cinnamon Swirl's voice crying out from deep within. Only I could hear it. I do not understand how she had enough will to communicate with me, however it did spark an idea. Cinnamon had said to me, "Princess Luna! Oh I'm so so so so so sorry for everything! I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I promise! It was all his idea! He wanted you out of the picture so it would be easier for him to take everything over! Please, stop this big meanie!" She still wanted to play the innocent charade with me, but I simply accepted it. Her words spoke out to me, and because of those words, it was possible to get rid of the darkness.

Her words made me change my strategy and approach on this whole apparatus. I decided that instead of getting into a physical altercation with Vitiosus, I should fight with spirit. I realized that this was not something that I could expel from her alone, and thus, my perfect plan had been hatched. "Vitiosus, I know exactly how to defeat you now! You made one grave error!"

"And may I ask, what was that error? I see nothing wrong."

"You did not rely on Cinnamon Swirl having a strong enough will to be able to communicate with me! I know just what to do now! Cinnamon! I know you can hear me! You must fight back against the darkness! You have to be strong enough to expel him! I will aide you, but I will not be able to do much! This is a villain you must defeat on your own!" I cried out to her, and I instantly noticed a response. The body made some twitches, the eye color kept changing, and things of that nature. A battle of will began to rage on within Cinnamon Swirl. For a young filly, she was very strong, but naive at the same time. I knew that I had to lie to Cinnamon Swirl in order to get the golden opportunity I needed to make an attack. Since she was naive, she believed that I could not defeat him, even though I could. I knew that if Cinnamon kept Vitiosus preoccupied, I will be able to easily dispose of him, even though I might end up hurting Cinnamon as well. The clash between the two was so powerful, that their words were spoken out loud.

"I won't let you hurt those ponies! Besides, I could steal from them later! I could have a much better life! I don't need your stupid wings!"

"Oh, you may think that you don't need me, Cinnamon Swirl, however you are mistaken. Have you looked at the ponies who were silently judging you? They hate you now! If you get rid of me, you will never live without this haunting your past! The damage is done! You have no choice! Must I remind you that you as well killed two ponies mere hours ago?"

"I DIDN'T KILL THOSE PONIES! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! THEY KILLED THEMSELVES!!!!!! I DIDN'T DO IT! GAHHHH!!! JUST SHUT UP! YOU'RE A BIG, EVIL MEANIE! YOU ARE GOING TO HURT PONIES THAT SHOULDN'T BE HURT! I KNOW I'M NOT EXACTLY THE MOST INNOCENT PONY MYSELF, AND I NEVER HAD ANY REGARD FOR THE LAW, BUT I HAVE TO DEFEND THEM NOW! YOU'RE REALLY EVIL AND I'LL STOP YOU!"

Cinnamon's spirit was raging on. It continuously pushed against Vitiosus. While he was preoccupied dealing with Cinnamon's pure rage, I decided to attack. I continuously had fired powerful spells against him, while he was vulnerable. However, it did not last very long until he regained his composure.

"Clever trick, Princess Luna. I see where you wanted to go with this rather gutsy play. You wanted that foolish foal to distract me so you could easily open fire on me. Luckily, after that burst of rage, she seems to be all tired out. Quite a shame that she does not have the energy to fuel that incredible fighting spirit of hers. Now, I do believe I was about to exterminate you, no?"

"And I do believe that I was about to end your existence, Vitiosus! Thou will not survive. Thou will cease to exist!"

"I'd like to see you try that, your portentous Princess. I will easily wipe the floor with you. How about this, I let you have the first few hits. Promise."

"So thou has wished it, so shall it be!" I had quickly assaulted Vitiosus with some of the fastest damaging spells I had in my entire arsenal. However, just as soon as the last spell had hit, a great big wave of darkness flashed by, and Vitiosus had completely taken over Cinnamon Swirl's body. His true form was revealed as he manipulated the body to do his bidding. The body no longer was Cinnamon's, no. It was his own. The body grew taller, gained a horn, the fur coat had darkened from a bright pink to a dark and deep black. It was as if it was never Cinnamon's body to begin with.

"Well Princess Luna, I commend you for your skills, however, I must draw this to an end. I have now revealed to you my true form. I took over this brat's body and simply morphed it into what I pleased. You may call me, Vitiosus, Prince Of Darkness! Now, prepare to die!" He screamed at me at the top of his lungs. He quickly shot out a gigantic orb of dark flames and I only had narrowly avoided it. At that point, I had no other choice. I pulled my ultimate trump card. I was going to defeat darkness, with darkness.

In mere moments, I decided to take advantage of all the darkness around me, and I had managed to channel it all into me. I had used this darkness to rebirth myself as Nightmare Moon yet again. However, my mind was stronger that time. My will was triumphant over the corrupting nature of the darkness. I had complete control over the Nightmare Moon form, especially since the original dark energy that had created her was long since destroyed.

"KNEEL BEFORE ME, INSOLENT FOAL! NIGHTMARE MOON HAS RETURNED!" An expression of shock and doubt instantly grew on Vitiosus' face.

"Y-YOU! B-B-BUT HOW?! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO BE STRONGER THAN THE DARKNESS! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! BEGONE!" He had fired his strongest pure dark attack against me, and I simply stood there, absorbing it all. The darkness flowed within me, but I managed to remain in control. I was not corrupted by it.

"YOU ARE FOOLISH TO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN DEFEAT ME USING DARK POWERS! AFTER ALL,  THIS FORM IS THE RESULT OF THE DARKNESS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN USING TO ATTACK ME! I ABSORB IT LIKE A SPONGE! NOW PREPARE TO MEET YOUR DOOM!" I had charged right at Vitiosus, with all of my might, as he and I clashed our horns against each other. We were in a stalemate, no one side held more physical strength than the other, so no one was able to push the other to the side. Then an idea had dawned upon me. While I was interlocking my Horn against his, I began to charge up my repel darkness spell. It was my strongest spell I had in order to defend me from the power of the darkness and the dark arts. It would flash away any and all darkness.

While I was charging up my spell. I noticed that Vitiosus was doing the same. He was preparing something big, which prompted me to work harder and faster. And thankfully, I was lucky enough to finish charging before he was. I jumped back from him and flew above him, as to avoid the force he had, trying to push me down. "It has been a good fight, Vitiosus, but this is where you meet your end. You will never corrupt another pony with your dark powers so long as I live!" And with those final words, I unleashed my deus ex machina, per se. This not only reverted me back to my normal form, but had also completely wiped away Vitiosus, and returned Cinnamon's body to its true, earth pony form.

As the dome fell down, the ponies that had watched the entire battle stared at me in both horror and joy. The horror was obviously due to the fact that I used the Nightmare Moon form again, which I understand why it worried them. The Joy was obviously due to the fact that Vitiosus was gone for good. However, that battle was not without its consequences. Cinnamon's body was badly hurt, and she seemed to be in a coma. "Princess Luna! You have to help her please! This happened because of your fight! Please, oh please help her!" One of the ponies in the background had begged.

"I can not heal this filly myself, citizen. I can only escort her to a hospital as fast as possible. You are all welcome to join me, assuming you have become acquainted with her. I can only hope the best for her, however, there is nothing in my power that can help heal this filly. Doctor ponies specialize in these kinds of things, which is why they earned their cutie marks in Doctoring.  I apologize."

"We understand, Princess. Thank you for looking out for us and for her. We know you must have been hesitant to harm her. We'll catch up with you later, us ponies here at the campfire have some things we need to discuss first."

"Ah, I understand. I shall be admitting her to Ponyville General Hospital. I apologize that you all got dragged into this mess."

"We're just happy to be alive, Princess. Thank you for protecting us. It must have been really risky... letting all that darkness back inside of you and all..."

"Indeed it was, however, thanks to my last spell, that darkness has been cleansed from my heart. The only darkness that exists is the darkness that lurks within every living creature's heart. Farewell to you all." I then departed hastily out of the Everfree Forest and quickly flew to Ponyville, where the nearest hospital was located.

I entered the building moments later, sprinting with utmost haste. "I need an emergency room for this filly, immediately! She has been injured severely in a large physical altercation. She may perish if she is not given immediate attention!" The staff looked at me in surprise, but did not waste time doing what I commanded them to do. Without a moment to spare, they put Cinnamon into the ER and took it from there. I had thanked them for their services. They told me to come back to them in a few hours, once they find out how much damage she sustained.

During this time, I had gone into a period of introspection, where I self reflected on the events that occurred on that fateful day. I wish that I could have found a more peaceful way to solve this problem. I kept thinking that I acted in haste and that I could have potentially killed a not-so-innocent filly. I would not have been able to sleep at night if I had done so.

Time passed and while I was still in deep thought, the hospital staff had an update on Cinnamon's condition for me. They had brought me to her room and informed me that she was in a coma, but she was expected to make a full recovery. Those words had relieved me like no other words could have. I was a bit distraught that she was in a coma, but better to be comatose than dead. The staff then left the room to allow me to be alone with the filly for a little bit.

I took this opportunity to look deep within this pony's mind, seeing what troubles she really had encountered in her life, trying to find out why she was the rotten filly that she was, and trying to find the root of all of her problems. What I found within Cinnamon's past was nothing that I could have ever expected. Cinnamon Swirl was not even her real name. The pony had lived a life of misery for years. It all started when her family circus burned down, effectively murdering her family. She then had no choice but to live life on her own, and started to resort to thievery to try and make it by. She would employ her circus skills to try to distract ponies whilst stealing their bits right under their snouts. In a way, her mischievous behavior reminded me of myself when I was but a filly with Celestia. She and I always liked to fool around from time to time, even though I was a lot more focused on my studies and refused to goof off often. Cinnamon has lived nothing but a life of misery, and death had followed her wherever she went. Everyone she ever had become acquainted with had been harmed or worse.

I then decided to stop digging into her mind, and leave the hospital. Before leaving, I gave her a kiss on the forehead, as I believed that perhaps it would help her recover somehow. I had also taken the time to write a note to her explaining everything. As I left, I shed some tears as I truly felt bad for the young filly, having to experience so much horror at such a young age.

A month had passed until I decided to check up on Cinnamon again. I went down to Ponyville General Hospital and asked to go see her, and of course, the staff allowed me to do so. When I entered, Cinnamon had disappeared. The window in her room was opened, and I knew that she had sneaked out as soon as she awoke from her coma.  On the same desk that I left my note, was a note from the filly, thanking me for all that I had done. Next to the letter was a bag of bits with my royal stitching on it. After reading the last part of the note, I found out that she had stolen this from me while I was distracted, a month ago, at the camp fire. I smiled at the fact that she had at least returned it to me.

And that is the end of her tale. To this day, I do not know where she is, but I do not have much doubt that she still roams the Equestrian streets, going where the wind takes her. She may have seemed to vanish into thin air, and hardly anyone remembered her, but I still remember her. When she left, she left behind a legacy for all of us who remembered her to behold.

The End