Bliss in Darkness

Internal Affliction

"Ah, but you are wrong my dear Luna. You can never be rid of us. We are a part of you, as you are a part of us."

"What do you want Nightmare?" Luna responded, her voice devoid of all emotion. She had learned from her time on the moon that anger and hate will only fuel Nightmare. The only way to hold her off was internal harmony.

"We want you, Luna. We want you to join with us again. We can help you get revenge on the one who has hurt you." Luna heard inside her head, whispering to her in a snake like tongue.

"I've heard that before Nightmare, you only bring about the worst in me. Last time you had control, I regretted it. I will not make the same mistake twice." Luna said, her emotions running cold inside her. Nightmare was nothing without a source to feed.

"We almost gave you want you wanted! We had the world in our grasp, and you are going to sit there and give it all up? Are you not the smallest bit angry with what he has done? He called you an animal. He never loved you. Nopony ever loved you."

"That... that's not true." Luna retorted, feeling her resolve slowly fade.

"Do you not you want to see him burn? Do you not want to see them all burn? We are the only ones who truly understand you..."

"No! Charlie..."

"Thinks of you as an animal. A filthy, stinky, worthless animal."

"..."

"Come now. We can make it all better..."

***

Canterlot stood glowing in the morning light, the alabaster castle gleaming in the early light. The clouds were like cotton, the winds were a breeze. Ponies were shuffling about their business on the street, while pegasi patrolled the skies keeping the weather in check. It was the perfect day for everypony, save for one Princess Celestia.

'I can't believe this is happening again...' She thought as she paced about her room. Shortly before, she was experiencing that same magical disturbance she had encountered when Charlie first entered Equestria. 'It can't be Nightmare Moon again... not this soon.'

She spent her morning relaxing. She decided that the stress from the recent events had her magical senses thrown off a bit. She took a brush in her magic and started combing her ethereal mane. Once all the colors of the springtime bellowed forth and flowed in an eternal wind, she decided that was enough brushing for the day.

"Hmm. I wonder if Luna can feel this aura as well..." Celestia said to herself as she noticed the magical hum grow stronger. After donning her royal vestments, Celestia departed her room in search of her sister.

As she walked through the halls, she felt the presence increase. Ever since she was a filly, Celestia was able to sense the magical aura of all living things. She was especially able to sense the darker energies, since they were in such a contrast to her own. It felt like a deep vibration pulsating through her body, numbing all other senses. Whatever magic she was picking up on, it was powerful and it was close.

Almost unable to breathe, she finally reached the hallway leading to Luna's room. The dark presence had almost drowned out all of Celestia's physical senses, leaving nothing but a dull droning stupor. She staggered through the passageway, using the glowing energy of the sun to cut through the thick fog that had taken up residence in her castle. Noticing the state of their princess, multiple castle guards gathered around her as she stumbled through the darkness that was visible only to her.

'This has to be Nightmare Moon...' She finally admitted to herself. She had been hoping all morning it would not come to this, but apparently she had been hoping in vain. 'Luna must have given in when she had trouble with Charlie...'

Prepared for the worst, Celestia called out to her and knocked three times on the door. Upon hearing no reply, Celestia signaled the guards to back her while she opened it. Much to her surprise, Celestia found nothing but a letter on the black marble floor before her.

***

"I can't believe I'm listening to you again."

"Quit your bickering. We always knew you would come crawling back to us..."

Luna was having a difficult time coming to terms with herself. At first, she thought that Nightmare was evil and wanted nothing but to bring about the suffering of others. A terrible being forged from her own jealousy. One thousand years of solitude will do that to a mare.

She thought the Elements of Harmony had destroyed Nightmare Moon, not just expelled her from physical form. Ever since Charlie, however, Luna had been thinking about how she actually created Nightmare Moon. It was a long shot, but Luna had a plan. She was a cunning young princess, and thought she had control of the situation. She could only hope that she wasn't in over her head.

"So what's this plan of yours Nightmare? Eternal darkness? Death to all outsiders?"

"Do not mock us, Pitiful One! You are the one who needs our help, not the other way around."

"Oh but you do need me Nightmare. Just as I need you."

"Is that so? Enlighten us."

"I prefer not to, thank you very much."

It was then Nightmare let out a piercing scream, heard only by Luna's ears. Instinctively, Luna blocked it out as she had many times before during her exile on the moon. Luna knew all Nightmare's tricks, and she had a workaround for most of them. All she had to do was block Nightmare's access to total control of her body. Once Nightmare assumes total control, Luna could be lost forever. Luna was playing a very dangerous game.

After an hour of flight, Luna finally reached Nightmare’s destination, the Everfree Castle. It looked glorious in its semi-finished state, and the sunlight absorbed into the walls. It was as if the castle was alive, and was trying to destroy all the light around it. It certainly did not look this way the night before when she was there with Charlie. There were several cracks and holes in the walls that she had not noticed either. In fact, the whole courtyard was torn up and in general disarray.

"So what's your plan of dealing with the Elements? They already defeated you several times now..." Luna provoked Nightmare once again. It was all according to Luna's plan. The angrier Nightmare got, the more mistakes she made and the more brashly she acted. If you poke a beast with a stick long enough, it will let its defenses down and lash out, creating the perfect opportunity to strike.

"The same as before. We will kill them all." Nightmare hissed, her anger growing and seething.

"You do know that Celestia has probably already felt your presence don't you? She is probably gathering the Elements right now as we speak."

"Let them come. They are pathetic."

"They are obviously less pathetic than you, they cut right through your plans like butter every time."

"SILENCE!" Nightmare suddenly exploded in anger. She much preferred when Luna was young and afraid. She acted as Luna's pillar of strength in her time of need. Before, at least she had the element of surprise. This time Luna was onto her from the start, which was proving difficult for the mare of eternal darkness.

With that shout of pure hate, Nightmare banished Luna to the deep recesses of her own mind, much like she had done with Charlie. Luna anticipated this, and prepared for phase two of her scheme. Taking the monster down from the inside.

***

"We need to save her! Now!" Celestia was frantic as she searched Luna's room for clues of where she had gone. Luna wished she could have told Celestia of her plan, but if she had Nightmare would have surely discovered it. Celestia assumed Luna had simply fallen prey to her temptations again, and as a result, was very dangerous.

"Do you know what Nightmare is capable of when she has Luna to feed off of?" Celestia shouted.

"Please relax, Princess. I'm only trying to suggest we take this one step at a time. We should act carefully, and with precision." said Storm Blade, the captain of the royal guard.

"I'm well aware of your military 'tactics' Storm, but I know more about magic than you do. If Luna gave in willingly to Nightmare Moon..." Celestia ranted on and on about the horrible evils that could befall the world, while Storm argued the disadvantages of a rushed battle plan. Celestia was right of course, time was of the essence. If Luna had surrendered to Nightmare, she could just take Luna's powers instead of having to chip away at her resolve slowly over time.

After several more minutes of needless arguing, Celestia came to her senses and stopped the needless fight.

"I understand where you’re coming from Storm. Thank you for your help," Celestia sighed, "but if we are going to fix this, we are going to need to compromise."

"Agreed your highness. I suggest we rally the Elements. We will most likely need them."

***

Luna's mind was a peaceful place. She had been here for quite a long time, and she had created it to her liking. Her happy place took the form of a peaceful night time oasis. Cool grass beneath her hooves, and an endless expanse of sky that she could use to act out any of her creative desires. Her mind was a blank canvas, and Luna, the painter.

Only now, she was fully aware of what was going on outside in the real world. Nightmare would begin reconstructing the castle, and building up her dark forces for the coming battle between darkness and light. A battle that she would hopefully halt before it even began.

Before she got lost in her thoughts, Luna began feeling around with her mind. Stretching and reaching through her body, she found Nightmare Moon. She used her body's senses to detect her location. 'Not flying or swimming, perfect.' Luna thought. She had no desires of killing her body when there was nopony around to control it for the next short while.

With her mind, Luna severed her body's connection to Nightmare Moon and dragged her down, one fragment at a time. Once she had brought all the pieces of Nightmare to the realm, they reassembled into the terrifying form of the mare of eternal darkness. Somewhat stunned, Nightmare took a moment to gather her surroundings. The look on her face shifted from confusion to a look of pure rage as she realized what Luna had just done.

"How did you do this to me!?" She yelled in a voice that sounded more like a snake than a pony. Her eyes were slit like Charlie's and her teeth were showing in a wicked snarl.

"When you are forced to live here for one thousand years, you learn how it works." Luna answered calmly, her plan working perfectly so far.

"I will destroy you, pathetic worm!" Nightmare screamed, her voice cracking from the stress.

Luna answered with a beam of brilliant dark energy careening from her horn towards Nightmare. To Luna's dismay, the beam missed and Nightmare was standing several feet behind the blast mark. Luna took to the sky in an instant, her wings shimmering under the light of the full moon above.

Dodging energy blasts, and ignoring insults from Nightmare Moon, Luna prepared to charge. Wings tucked back and magic blazing, Luna screamed through the sky and impacted the ground where Nightmare had been moments before. Laughing at Luna's attempted attack, Nightmare fired another beam of dark energy that clipped the tip of Luna's left wing. Crying out in agony, Luna stepped to the side to avoid a third blast.

"Give it up, pathetic one!" Nightmare half hissed half screamed as she charged a swirling mass of energy and fired it directly at Luna. Unable to change directions quickly enough, Luna was caught right in the middle of the dark bolt. Had it been meant to kill her, it would have. Instead, it was a thick impenetrable spell that had trapped Luna in midair. Unable to act, or use magic, Luna was at now at Nightmare's mercy. Or so she thought...

"You thought you could defeat me? I laugh at your pitiful plan."

"..." Luna responded in silence, preparing for the final stage of her conquest.

"You are pathetic. An utterly weak and pointless creature."

"..."

"As soon as we finish you off, we will enjoy peeling Charlie's flesh like a bloody fruit. His body will work nicely for..."

Nightmare would never get to finish the sentence. Luna disappeared into a black flash of light, and reappeared inches away from Nightmare Moon, her long horn piercing the dark one's chest. Nightmare did not scream in agony, nor did she back away to relieve the pain. She simply did not have the time. Luna charged her magic the same way she had when she created Nightmare in the first place. The evil mare in front of her started fading, and Luna walked into Nightmare's essence, effectively absorbing all her old feelings of jealousy, hate, and regret back into her her own mind. Right where they belong.

Luna smiled as she realized her plan worked. Nightmare Moon was gone forever, and she was now whole again. Luna felt at peace as her old emotions took their rightful places inside her heart. Just before the last traces of Nightmare were absorbed, she heard a faint whisper. Not in her ear, but from the recesses of her soul.

"I will always be a part of you now...pitiful one..."

With that final insult from the embodiment of Luna's corruption, there was only one mare left standing in Luna's mind. Never again will Nightmare feed off the innocent and put Equestria in danger. Luna almost skipped through the hills in glee, the former blank canvas of the sky blazing with the emotions of the excited lunar mare.

"Tia will be so proud of me!" Luna said as she closed her eyes contently. Her mind surged upward and outward, like it had been under water and was surfacing for a breath of fresh air. Luna opened her physical eyes and saw that the castle was no longer foreboding and ominous, but rather kind and peaceful. Luna outstretched her wings, now repaired, and flew up to the roof of the main building. The sun was dipping down to the horizon, so Luna beckoned the moon to come forth and replace it, starting its twelve hour reign across the sky.

***

"Nightmare Moon. Come, face me, a worthy challenge!" Luna heard Celestia's voice bellow from the courtyard below. Celestia had arrived with a full company of royal pegasus guards, three chariots, and several royal unicorn guards. Luna gasped as she remembered the severity of the problem she had just solved all by herself. She smiled and flew down to Celestia casually.

"What have you done to my sister?!" Celestia half screamed, half cried in disbelief. Luna's emotions were not the only thing that had changed. Her entire body was darkened, and her wings were much larger. Her body was larger and more slender, almost standing as tall as Celestia herself. Luna noticed the change and could not help but laugh at Celestia's concern.

"Do not laugh at me you evil horrible thing! Surrender so that I may spare you your worthless life!" Celestia shouted, ending Luna's giggling fit.

"Tia... It's me. I... defeated Nightmare Moon."

"You... you what?" Replied a stunned alicorn. Did she hear Luna correctly?

"Nightmare Moon was my creation Tia," Luna started to explain, " I took all my jealousy and hate and focused it into another being, trying to spare myself from the pain. Those emotions took the form of Nightmare Moon. I let her think she had won, and then I charged the same spell and absorbed the emotions back into myself." Luna explained without skipping a beat.

"Wait... so.. Nightmare Moon is gone... forever?"

"Foreveeeerrrr..." They both heard a barely audible omnipresent voice repeat.

"Yes Tia... forever. I have all my feelings under control now."

"Well, I'm glad you have the situation under control Luna, but how am I supposed to believe that this isn't one of Nightmare Moon's tricks?"

"I... I don't know Tia. You just have to trust me I guess." Luna said, now somewhat saddened. She didn't think Celestia would just accept her explanation, but she had no idea how to prove that it was her in control now. Only time will tell if Luna was totally in control now.

Celestia sighed and wrapped a wing around her sister as she beckoned her to board the chariot.

"You have much to learn Luna, but if what you say is true, I am very proud of you. I love you very much."

"I love you too big sister."

***

As the golden chariot flew away with the two royal sisters, Equestria slipped into the blissful darkness of the night. The only sound that could be heard in the courtyard were footsteps. Bipedal footsteps.

"What the fuck was that?"

"I don't know, but I think we have done enough recon. We got a visual on Charles and that is all we need to get the green light for full scale recovery."

"Full.... Full scale, sir?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Who knows what sick and twisted things he is doing to these animals here?"