After some time of explaining again the whole business of Nightmare Moon, who was she and how she was born, Mark just stared at the cup of tea placed in front of him, since long ago gotten cold.

Not that it mattered, anyway. His mind was wandering over other places while a cold tea was the least of his worries. A mare, who had tried to plunge the world into eternal night was something serious, after all, which by the way, was some kind of alter-ego of Luna. Based on that, both sisters deduced that if there was Light, there had to be Darkness within everypony. Fortunately or unfortunately, or maybe both, Celestia still hadn’t discovered her dark side.

However, there was something else going on inside of Mark’s mind. Based off in what they said about what happened four years ago, Nightmare Moon was erased from existence. That meant… she died.
“Caeruleo?” Mark turned his head towards Celestia, who had a concerned look on her face. “... Are you alright?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m fine… I just found out about a mare who returned from Death, who’s also a menace for the entire world, that wants to go back to her former plans of plunging the world into a sure massive genocide with eternal night, which might cause the whole planet either to freeze or burn… probably both...” Mark said as he took a deep breath after that. “... Yeah. I’m freakin alright.” He finished with an obvious hint of sarcasm.

Celestia looked at him with a mix of feelings. She couldn’t decide if laugh at his humor, frown at his sarcasm, get nervous at the implications of what he told or something else. Luna, on the other hoof, simply stared at the ground, thinking about something deeply, not really paying attention to the stallion in front of her.

Mark got out of his seat as he started to walk around while thinking deeply about the whole topic at hoof. In a certain way, it reminded Celestia of Twilight. With that walking, the look to the ground and a hand on his chin. Yep, the look of a thinker.

Finally, after a while of thinking about what might have happened, Mark turned his eyes to Luna, who had been quiet the whole time.
“Hey, Luna?” Mark called to her, getting no answer. “Earth to Luna?” Mark repeated, louder as he walked towards her. Celestia turned her head to look at her, too.

Unknown to them, Luna was already analyzing her mind, looking for any traces of resentment, anger or hate; anything that could have something to give place for Nightmare’s return. Conveniently for her, her skill of walking into others’ dreams came with the side effect of having the ability of entering on others’ minds, too. Even her own.
“LUNA!!!”

Luna blinked in surprise as her eyes turned towards the prince, who was in front of her, looking concerned.
“... We’re sorry. We weren’t listening. What were you saying?”

Mark at first had a look of slight anger as Luna gave him such a nonchalant answer. Still, he was worried about her.
“... Luna, are you alright?” Luna looked at him with confusion. “I mean, you looked kinda lost right now.”
“Oh, that. Yes, we are very much fine. You see, we were trying to find that wretched mare.”
“... How can you do that?” Mark asked totally confused since all he could see was seeing her looking to the floor. Luna merely smirked.
“Magic.”

Trolled. Mark thought to himself as Luna chuckled at his face.
“Eh, whatever.” Mark said as he returned to his seat. “The point is…?” He asked while he turned his look to Celestia.
“The wisest thing to do is to tell nopony about this. We really don’t know how Nightmare moon returned. still, she hasn’t done anything… yet.”
“So, we tell no one while all of us start looking for her? Fine by me.” Mark said as he started to think about what to do.
“No.” Celestia suddenly interrupted his thoughts as she answered him rather harshly. “Not all of us.”

Mark looked at her almost as if she suddenly had a third eye. Celestia looked at him with all the seriousness she could muster with a deep sigh.
“Caeruleo, only Luna and I have the power to defeat her. You don’t even remember how to use magic. Your swordplay is admirable, but it won’t be enough to defeat her.” Mark stared at her, offended. Celestia, sensing what he was feeling, went towards him before embracing him lovingly. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

Even when it was the second time he was smothered by her, Mark simply ignored it, feeling more the warm feeling of love and care Celestia shone with at that moment. Mark sighed loudly as he broke the embrace.
“I don’t like the idea of standing away, doing nothing while you two expose yourselves to the danger… but I’ll trust you two.”

Luna, even when she wasn’t on the more loving side, rose from her seat. Mark felt her comforting hand on his shoulder while she gave him a warm smile. Suddenly, she lit her horn as a cane popped out at her side.
“A cane?” Luna nodded as she levitated it to him. Mark took it, looking at it curiously.
“It is no mere cane, Caeruleo.” Luna said as she pointed to a small section, which seemed strange. As Mark looked more carefully upon it, he noticed that it was a separation of some sort. On instinct, he pulled apart the upper part of the cane, revealing a shining and slim sword.
“... If I’m not going to help you, then why are you giving this to me?”
“Only protection, Caeruleo. Only protection.”

Mark nodded as he sheathed the sword back into the cane.
“So… what do I do, then?”
“Go to your home and don’t speak of this with nopony else.”

Mark nodded as he took his jacket from his seat. After that, he walked to the door. Just before he went through it, he turned his head to look at them.
“Be careful, you two.” He said as he finally got out.

Meanwhile, Luna turned to her sister.
“Are you sure it is wise to let him go like that?”
“Pretty sure, Luna. I don’t want to sound mean, but if he were to interfere, it would be more dangerous to him than to us. You saw how Nightmare lifted him almost effortlessly.”
“... Maybe you are right.” Luna said as he thought about it deeply. Suddenly, another question arose in her head. “Don’t you think it would be wise to watch him? Nightmare might be inside his mind.”
“Once again, not wanting to sound mean, but think about it, Luna. Why would she want to invade his mind? He doesn’t posses as much power as us in every sense of the word, and he wouldn’t be able to do something without our consent. Not to mention the fact that he doesn’t remember crucial things about the country.”

Luna thought about it. While something seemed strange about all the matter, Celestia had a point.

They both lit their horns as the hold each other’s hands. Soon, the spell was complete, and they both went deeper into the deepest parts of theirs minds.

Unnoticed by them, a pair of yellow eyes popped out of nowhere, looking at them with sheer curiosity and mischief.
“Ohhh… it seems something chaotic is going on...” The eyes narrowed as they flickered to the door. “... I’m looking forward to see you again… Prince.”

Upon saying that, the eyes vanished from existence, leaving the place completely silent once again.

Meanwhile, Mark walked through the city, not going directly to his house. He hasn’t completely memorized the whole layout of the city. Yet, he remembered that alley clearly.

After awhile, he finally found the very same alley he first saw Death. Being sure no one was following him, he entered the alley.
“I know you’re here.” He said, facing the darkness in the alley. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see something. When that proved to be futile, he walked deeper into the alley.

Suddenly, that bone chilling sensation creeped through his spine as he suddenly felt a presence just behind him. Turning around, he could swear he started to feel the place even colder.
“...” Death didn’t say a word. He just kept “staring” at Mark. “... You do know you can’t just come in here every time you find yourself in troubles, right?”
“I think an evil entity who wants to plunge the world into eternal night isn’t considered simply as troubles.” Mark said firmly, trying to look tough.
“... Hm.” Suddenly, Death started to chuckle lowly while he turned around.
“What the hell!? Why are you laughing!? THIS IS FREAKIN’ SERIOUS!!!”
“It’s as serious as YOU want it to be.”

At that instant, Mark didn’t really know how to feel. Yes, granted. He thanked Death for giving him another chance, but everything seemed to twist and turn around in order of Death’s wishes. Shaking those thoughts away, he replied.
“I don’t care how serious you consider this is! I care about all of this, and I need help.”
“What makes you think that you need my help?”
“Because it was YOU the one who brought her back, didn’t you?” Mark suddenly felt the temperature of the place drop more. Yet, he pushed on. “From what I heard, Nightmare Moon was destroyed, which can be translated as killed. And everything that has something to do with a killed being coming back to life has something to do with you, right?”

Death didn’t say anything. Yet, suddenly out of nowhere, his scythe came in sight once again. This time, Mark had to admit that he seemed terrifying like that.
“... What do you want?”

Mark was genuinely surprised as Death asked him that. Yet, a single question came to his mind.
“... What can I do to help in defeating her?” Death didn’t say anything, but merely floated to another part, revealing the mirror he showed before.
“... There is nothing you can do to help… Because, it is YOU the one who must defeat her.” Mark’s eyes widened as he stared at Death. “It doesn’t matter how powerful the princesses are. Only you have what is required to stop her.”
“... MUAHAHAHAHA!!!” Mark started to laugh loudly, almost falling to the ground. “And here I was thinking you had a bad sense of humor!”
“... I am not joking.” Death said in a serious tone while the mirror sparked to life. As Mark walked further in the darkness, trying to see what was going on, he suddenly saw a blue small filly crying desperately, surrounded by darkness. Mark instantly turned at Death with a confused look. “... I’ve been around for a very long time, my dear friend… and I’ve seen this many times now… you can beat her… but not with weapons…“ Death said cryptically as he started to float away, at the same time the mirror vanished. “... For sickness and pain, there is always one single cure. Not medicine, not magic… it’s a power since the beginning created, which has accompanied the livings since then. It brings pain, chaos. Wars has been fought by it, wars has been won by it. It’s what ties two beings together when the time has come.”

Upon saying those last words, Death completely vanished from his sight.
“... Be careful, for it is also capable of driving being insane.”

After a while, Mark arrived at his house.
“Good afternoon, Master!” Once again, a maid greeted him at the door.
“Good afternoon. How are you doing?”

Suddenly, the maid stopped. Mark turned around to look at her, instantly noticing the look of shock on her face.
“AAAAAHHHHH!!!” Before Mark had any chance to ask, the mare squealed loudly. “MASTER WANTS TO KNOW HOW I AM!!!”

While the maid seemed to be overly excited about him wanting to know her better, Mark slowly backed away.
“What the hell is wrong with this mares?” Mark thought to himself as the mare suddenly turned around, looking at him with huge adorable eyes.
“I am fine, Master. Thanks for asking!” She let out an adorable *squee* as she suddenly stood in front of the prince, their muzzles almost touching.
“Uhh… That’s… great.” Once again, the mare smiled cutely before composing herself.
“Um… sorry for that, Master.”
“No problem.” As he turned around, he noticed something strange. “Say, where are the others?”
“Oh, it’s the time for our meal. Are you hungry, Master? You can eat with us, if you’d like.”

Just then, Mark’s stomach decided to remind him of the current hour.
“That would be lovely.”
“Good, Master. Follow me.”

Once again, Mark regretted his decision. The maid wasn’t trying to catch his attention, but she had one fine rump, even when the maid’s clothes were trying to cover it.

Once the lunch was finished, Mark noticed two things:
It was huge.
He definitely had a lot of maids.

A couple of rows in one part of the room were three huge tables, biggest than any other he had seen before (including his past-life). In there, many seats were in front of the tables, in which, sat a maid with a dish in front of her.

In a quick calculation, he guessed he had around two hundred maids, each and every one as beautiful as the next one (though some were more air-headed than the others).

Leaving the lunch behind, he started to wander around the mansion. It was at that moment when the maids seemed to disappear for awhile. He discovered yet more evidence of the huge ego of his past self. Paintings of himself in various poses, looks, clothes, and other things. Even some statues in “heroic” poses.
“... Jeez… I really hate this guy.” Mark thought as he looked at a particularly huge one, depicting him with a red robe, adorned with a crown and a sceptre, and a smug look on his face.

Annoyed and having enough with all the hall dedicated to his everest-height-like ego, he left the place, already planning what to do with all the paintings.
“... Hmm… Maybe they’d make a good lumber for the fireplace.” He thought with a smirk.

After a few more rooms and halls with nothing impressive, Mark found himself wandering to his room again. Even when “he” was used to walk, he was still a mere mortal. And as such, got tired every once in awhile. This was one of such times.

Even when it wasn’t to the point of nodding tiredly with his head in mid-sleep, he felt like taking a small nap. Therefore the why he decided to go and get some shut-eye. After all, there weren’t any maids around there who might bother him.

Besides, a little nap in the afternoon can help one to keep their energies up, right?

In the castle.

Both sisters opened their eyes quickly. Each looked at the other one with a look of concern and worry. None said a thing, for both of them knew the answer.

Nightmare was nowhere to be found within their minds. And that meant only one thing: she was within the mind of the only one whom they thought wouldn’t be in trouble.
“CAERULEO!!!” Both sisters shouted as their wings sprang from their backs. WIth a single flap, the were all the way out of the castle, floating in front of the castle.

Both started to look around in hopes of finding him in the city, walking around or exploring. Yet, he was nowhere to be seen. That only worried them more. With another powerful flap, both sisters flew directly towards Blueblood’s mansion.

Maids were startled as a powerful blast of wind and sound passed through the house, nearly sending them flying away. Yet, they were oblivious of the problem their master was in.

Once the royal sisters arrived at the room, they nearly kicked it down in the rush of worry that invaded them. Once inside, with one of the doors out of its hinges, while the other left a very deep mark on the wall behind it, the sisters started to look for him.

What they saw nearly froze their blood: There laid Blueblood on his bed, sleeping soundly. A serene expression adorning his face. Yet, his fur had started to turn a deep blue in small patches, while his mane started to take a more magic-like appearance.

Both sisters merely looked at him with an expression that could be compared to that of surprise mixed with fear.

Meanwhile, Mark opened his eyes, trying to see whatever was doing noises so loud. Yet, all what faced him was darkness. Up and down, left and right, in front and behind. Everything was darkness.

Suddenly, a deep feminine voice started to laugh cruelly. Mark’s blood froze as he recognized the voice at the same time it spoke.
“Hello, prince Blueblood. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Say… Do you want to play a game?”

Author's Note

Once again, greetings and thanks for reading this. Please, comment. I like reading your comments.

In case you're wondering how Death's scythe would look, here's something.

And another thing:
In case you haven't seen it, I want to share something with all of you.