Luna still wore a smile as she strode over towards Twilight once the crowd had dissipated back to enjoy the festivities of Nightmare Night.

“Where is Hoof Note, young Sparkle?” she asked. “We wish to personally give him our gratitude for the advice and lyrics he had provided for us to make all this possible.”

“I don’t know, Princess Luna. I didn’t see him ever since the show began.” Twilight herself couldn’t help but feel something wrong about this whole situation. Based on her interactions with him, he seemed to be the kind of pony to stay around for at least a while longer until he congratulated Luna before leaving. “You don’t think he’s in trouble of any sort, do you, Princess Luna?”

“We are not certain. Perhaps he had already left with his daughter beforehand… yet we feel a sense of wrongdoing in the air. It’s as if-” Before Luna could say more, the air began to violently swirl as a rip appeared in thin air. A blackened scroll bound with gold bands popped out of the rip which then disappeared with a pop.

“What do we have here?” Luna levitated the scroll and unrolled it before she began to read its contents. She immediately paled as her eyes widened with shock. She almost told Twilight the contents of the letter, but then changed her mind “Twilight Sparkle, an important matter has just received our full attention. We must depart for a while to resolve it. Do not fret, we shall return once this is immediately resolved.” She immediately lifted off and flew away towards the Everfree Forest.

If the contents of that letter are to be considered true, then we must not waste any time and save one of our loyal subjects from one of the most dangerous forces in Equestria. We only hope that we are not too late…

Well, this is rather interesting. Some mysterious entity has apparently “captured” me and has dragged me back to its secret hideout which turns out to be somewhere deep within the Everfree Forest. Based on the rugged cobblestone I’m lying on, it appears to have made its home in an ancient castle; perhaps the Castle of the Royal Sisters? It’s a good turn of events that it hasn’t checked to see whether or not I was conscious during the whole trip. Now I need to plan my escape without revealing my identity to this individual. Let’s see what it has in store for now.

Dragonok felt his body being strapped onto an X-shaped platform as hoofcuffs latched onto his legs to prevent him from escaping. A tendril slapped him awake to stare face-to-face against a hooded figure glaring at him with only the glowing yellow eyes visible in the darkness provided by the hood.

“Well, well, well… It seems that our little visitor is awake at last,” the mysterious figure chuckled, revealing a feminine dulcet. “Tell me; are you ready to watch the false guardian of the night fall?” She lifted his head with a tendril as she continued to glare into his eyes.

“What are you talking about? Who are you?” Dragonok asked while appearing panicked to grasp any information released from her hidden lips. “What do you want with Princess Luna? She’ll be coming with the Bearers of Harmony once she finds out one of her subjects are missing.”

Out of nowhere, he could hear a haunting melody echoing out from thin air. The mare grimly chuckled as the shadows behind her formed into silhouettes of grinning creatures. She sashayed from side to side as she began to sing to the tune along with the shadow creatures.

Well, well, well, Luna’s coming here?

By darkness' tears!

Oh, I'm ecstatic

Since she’s the guest of honor I’ve invited! Ha, ha, ha, ha!

It’s begun, it’s begun

She’ll be arriving soon

She’ll disappear, trembling with fear

Upon the blood-stained moon

Once she’s dead, we’ll all cheer

I’ll claim my beloved night

After I seal her away

Before I laugh with delight

Dragonok wasn’t certain but he could feel a tinge of sadness hidden away in all that hatred as she continued to sing out her monologue. His eyes narrowed as he swore to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I had a simple desire

To reveal night’s joys

She’d better watch the shadows now

I’ll crush her with my toys

And if she’s not coming

Then I’ll rule everything

Under the domain of the night

Everypony will hear shadows sing, oh…

Oh…

Oh…

Oh…

Oh…

Oh… I'm the Pony of Shadows

Well my wrath’s overflowing

Because Luna stole my prize

For showing all the night’s beauty

Now I plan her demise

And now here’s the final part

That would make it all so sweet

The rise of the shadows to add to her defeat

Oh…

Oh…

Oh…

Oh…

Oh…

Oh, yes, I'm (she's) the Pony of Shadows

The shadow creature all grinned beyond their stretching voice as they sang out a verse of their own.

Once Luna’s gone

We’ll reclaim the starry night with glee

To entertain everypony

In darkness, we’ll be free

The hooded pony laughed at their commentary before she continued on her song.

I’m laughing, I’m laughing

Soon she’ll have much to fear

Once shadows takes over this land

She’ll quickly disappear

She’s a fool, pathetic!

I shall reclaim my prize

And now, when the time is ripe

I'm going to rule the night

The shadow creatures cackled as they swirled around the hooded mare.

When shall we douse the light?

She merely smiled as she dispersed them throughout the cobblestone room.

Once Luna’s sealed forevermore

The hooded mare began to twirl around Dragonok as she continued on her solo.

Oh, the sound of Luna’s screams

To me is music in the air

'Cause I'm the Pony of Shadows

And I’ll watch her despair

It's far more grand, I must confess

Once all cherish my night

Just mine, of course, all mine, mortal

Now that sounds alright

The shadow creatures at this point converged into a single entity coated in wicked smiles all over its body as they sang in complete sync to create a voice distorted with the voices of thousands.

Release us quickly and your work shall

Blossom into fruition

She merely nodded as she sashayed from side to side as she walked up towards Dragonok.

Oh Luna, she’s something

Her reign’s about to end

She will be soon falling

To the Abyss

My dear friend

It's hopeless, she’s finished

Her chances are now zero

I'm the Pony of Shadows

Which everypony shall know

She finishes with a spin followed by a bow that momentarily revealed a silver strand of mane before the hood slipped down to hide it from sight.

Dragonok arched an eyebrow as he noted the details and shelved them into his corridors of his mind for later inspection. I’ve never heard mention of this Pony of Shadows before but she only seems to associate herself with darkness rather than the Corruption. I’ll need to ask some questions in order to obtain a clearer image of her personality and goals besides the obvious hatred towards Luna. But first… he immediately coughed which caught her attention as she and the shadow creatures.

Once assured that all eyes were upon him, he began to speak. “Excuse me, madam, but why exactly do you hate Luna so much and why do you keep on insisting that the night belongs to you instead of Luna? I only want to clear up some confusion if you don’t mind of course.”

The Pony of Shadows sadly smiled as she began to stride away from him. “I’ll give you a little clue, mortal. Who has cultivated the night and its wonders during Luna’s absence? As for the rest, you’ll find out soon, little mortal…”

Luna landed in front of her old castle hidden in the Everfree. She swiveled her head from side to side as her eyes tried to pierce through some invisible force. She was the Mistress of the Night and she will not fail to save her subject from harm.

As she entered its dust-coated halls, she could hear shadows whispering at her arrival. She knew that the creatures that once resided upon the moon and helped in creating Nightmare Moon were nothing more than dust compared to these ancient terrors of the night. She should know; she had faced many of these ancient titans before in their unbound state millennia ago before returning them to the prison where they now roam in their imprisoned state. She had to be prepared for an ambush from everywhere the shadows roam.

“Well, well, well… Look who finally arrived for the party!” a menacing voice boomed out as the walls reverberate to create echoes. A hooded pony with golden eyes walked out of the shadows and mockingly bowed before Luna. “I had hoped the Elements of Harmony would either obliterate you into dust or at least seal you away permanently, but I guess we all can’t have what we desire. After all, all I desired was to show everypony the beauty hidden in the shadows of the night. I worked tears, sweat, and blood to ensure that would become a reality which it became as time flew by during your imprisonment. To think, at the moment of my greatest triumph to make all love the night, you show up and claimed the bounty born of my efforts; leaving me nothing but legends of a boogeymare scaring little fillies. Now we’ll see once and for all who the true warden of the night is.”

Shadows converged around the hooded mare in a circle that ominously pulsed with energy. Gigantic wings tipped with blades burst out of the pony’s clothing as a curved horn erupted out of the hood. Twin trails of purple-tinted black energy flowed from the pony’s eyes. “It’s time to see if either the Lunar Diarch or the Pony of Shadows is the true champion of the night. Let the battle commence!” She charged forth into a sprint as her wing spread forth to grant her lift. With one mighty flap, she soared into the night sky.

Luna quickly summoned her crescent scythes from her wings as she pursued the hooded mare. She threw one of her scythes into a spinning arc towards the enemy, but the Pony of Shadows’ horn momentarily glowed with a violet-black aura before she vanished in a burst of screaming shadows before the scythe could make contact.

The Pony of Shadows immediately reappeared high above Luna and dived towards her as her horn sliced the air into a cone of darkness. Luna noticed the change in air pressure and swiftly sidestepped through the air just before the Pony of Shadows could strike.

The Pony of Shadows rectified this problem by forcefully curving the path of her attack and added more magic to further boost her flight speed to charge at Luna with the force of a thousand battering rams. Black flames began to trail from behind her as she continued to add more momentum to her charge.

Luna instantly teleported away from the charge and tried to counterattack by charging her horn with cerulean magic before she released it into a gigantic beam of magic that surged towards the Pony of Shadows.

The Pony of Shadows smiled from within her hood before she summoned forth a gigantic portal made of squirming shadows that swallowed the beam. She then once again changed her flight path to face Luna as she used Luna’s magical discharge from the beam attack to further enhance her speed.

Luna, upon noticing this phenomenon, quickly erected a barrier around her as she prepared to intercept the charge. She then began to transcribe sigils in the air with her horn within the safety of the barrier.

The Pony of Shadows scoffed at Luna’s attempt at defense as she once again further boosted her speed to new extremes as violet-black flames burst to surround her horn to create a corona that sharpened as she flew straight towards Luna’s barrier.

Luna smiled as she activated her spell. The sigils briefly glowed before minotaurian ether golems appeared between the Pony of Shadows and the barrier. They all stretched their palms wide and arched their fingers before simultaneously positioning both hands together to resemble that of a snarling dragon. In the palms of their hands, orbs of dark blue energy crackled momentarily before instantly expanding to the size of boulders. They all shuffled into battle stances before they released their full fury. The orbs burst out of their hands and changed into beams of pure ether that continuously surged in size as they stretched towards the charging enemy.

More portals opened wide in an attempt to swallow the attacks but, thanks to the beams’ ever-growing sizes, they were decimated before they had a chance to fully drain them of their ether. The beams, despite their diminished state, struck against the cone of dark energy that formed the Pony of Shadows’ flight path.

The Pony of Shadows flinched at the sparks of ether that managed to pass through the cone and touched the parts of her body that weren’t cloaked. She began to mutter out an incantation as she continued on her charge despite the pain. Six shadows immediately split from her wings to form grotesque phantoms with oozing holes for eyes and mouths. Jagged teeth formed into six gruesome grins as they spotted their prey before they flew straight towards Luna.

Before they could even attempt to pass the barrier, the ether golems simultaneously knocked them with uppercuts before kicking them out with a side kick.

The shadows shook their heads before they refocused onto the golems and latched onto them with tentacles that popped out of their mouths. The golems retaliated by attempting to squeeze the life out of their attached foes.

As both groups struggled against each others’ grips, the Pony of Shadow had become a blazing dark comet born of unbound speed as she pushed herself beyond the speed of mortal ponies. The cone of darkness further sharpened until she bucked with her hind hooves.

At that very moment, twin violet-black sonic booms formed of screaming shadows erupted in thin air as they spread throughout the Everfree Forest.

Despite Luna’s best attempts to maintain the barrier’s strength, the first boom cracked Luna’s barrier moments before the second wave forced the barrier to shatter into pieces of cerulean ether that swiftly disintegrated into ethereal dust. Luna fell towards the ground as her consciousness fell silent due to the magical concussion she had received from the Sonic Shadowboom.

The Pony of Shadows smiled from within her hood as she watched Luna’s descent. “This is the end, Luna. Now I’ll continue to bring in the beauty of the night without you there to take the credit again.” She released a laughter that echoed throughout the Everfree.

Then, out of nowhere, a black-and-crimson blur caught Luna in midair and descended back to the ground with a faint thump.

Dragonok smiled from behind his helm as he gently laid Luna at the base of a nearby tree. It was a good thing he arrived to save Luna after turning into ooze in order to escape from that torture device that had held him in place while disguised as Hoof Note. He then he placed wards to ensure that no harm would come to her.

The Pony of Shadows frowned upon witnessing the events that transpired. She turned her attention to the shadows still struggling against the golems and whistled. All six shadows momentarily vanished before reappearing over the golems’ heads and swallowing them whole before returning to their mistress’ phantasmal wings.

“You shall pay for that, warrior,” she said before a flurry of searing fireballs rapid-fired out of her horn and towards Dragonok.

He merely smiled before he thrust his palms in front of the seething attack. The skin on each palm parted to reveal a circular hole stuffed with gnashing teeth. These pseudo mouths eagerly swallowed the seemingly endless avalanche of fire in twin slurps before simultaneously burping out in contentment.

The Pony of Shadows stared in shock as the newfound enemy somehow consumed her attack without any signs of ill effects. “How is this possible? No mortal has ever survived the wrath of the shadows. What matter of creature are you?”

“I am many things, young one. I am the bane of those who touch all with their corruptive taint. I am the warrior who feasts on the knowledge and powers of the Corrupted. I am the traveler who seeks for signs of evil as I travel from world to world, universe to universe, multiverse to multiverse. I am the harbinger of the changes that purify the worlds.” Dragonok smiled from within his helm. “I am Dragonok, Chaos Champion of Power, and I will rid you of the seeds of evil before they sprout to damn your soul to the Corruption. Have at thee!” He vanished in a blink of an eye and, before the Pony of Shadows knew it, he had already grabbed her throat.

The Pony of Shadows struggled against his steel grip as he continuously applied pressure to her throat. She tried to summon the shadows but she felt herself weakening as she slowly grew tired due to lack of air. Her eyes rolled as she fell unconscious.

Dragonok, once assured she wouldn’t cause any more damage in her current state, gently placed her near the slumbering Luna. He lifted the hood off to see the face of the Pony of Shadows and sighed. Her flesh had been long since replaced by shadows that swirled throughout her body as her hair consist that of silver spider webs that glimmered in the moonlight.

Dragonok placed his hands onto her forehead before his mouths began to suck upon the bounty provided to them. He scanned through her memories as he swallowed every piece of her ability to connect with the shadows.

Throughout the process, the Pony of Shadows’ body slowly shifted from shadows and into living flesh coated with ebony fur. Her silvery cobwebs morphed into a silver mane as she moaned in pain as he claimed every part of her powers.

Once he had finished his meal, Dragonok sighed as he stared at the former Pony of Shadows. Had he not been there to drain her of her powers, the Corruption would have likely crashed through the barrier and used this filly as a vessel to usher in an age of Corruption. “May you find happiness, young one.” He took one last glance at her before he walked over to Luna.

He smiled as he watched Luna slumber near the tree. He brushed a stray lock from her face. “I’ll see you soon, Luna.” He began to shadowstride only to pause as an idea popped up in his mind. He summoned forth some parchment and a pen and wrote on it for a few minutes before slipping it between Luna’s forehooves.

Once satisfied of his handiwork, he immediately shadowstrode back to the castle before he reappeared with his arms and legs latched onto the X-shaped torture device. He then morphed back into Hoof Note and waited for somepony to “save” him from the uncomfortable contraption.

Luna moaned as she arose from unconsciousness only to stare face-to-face with a filly she had never seen before. She tensed as she recalled the events that transpired before her fall into unconsciousness. She tried to stand only to feel the brush of parchment against her hooves.

Curious despite the threat facing against her, she plucked the piece of parchment with her magic and noticed the letter inscribed upon its golden-brown surface.

Dear Lulu,

In case you’re reading this letter before you decided to attack the pony sleeping right next to you, ‘tis fortunate you didn’t do so. If not, then you might feel somewhat uncomfortable by the time you finish this letter. The mare right next to you was indeed the Pony of Shadows but I have taken her powers which in turn changed her from a supernatural force and into a common earth pony. I know that her powers will return since I haven’t absorbed her entire being into me as I’ve done with so many of the Corrupted forces in Equus in the past. On that note, it would be best if you either take care of her until her mental state improves or send her off to Ponyville where she can have friends who accept her for who she is, not what she was. I hope we meet again, Lulu.

Sighed,

Dragonok

P.S. Based on the fragments of memories I’ve dug up inside her skull, her name’s Selene Umbra and she’s apparently your daughter although she doesn’t exactly know about that bit. ‘Tis best not to tell her about that chunk of information.

P.S.S. I apologize once again for knocking you unconscious during our last encounter.

Luna, after she had finished reading, gently placed it onto the ground before she glared towards the unconscious former Pony of Shadows with shock in her eyes.

“What?”

Author's Note

Well, we're almost done with Nightmare Night. I'm glad you guys have read what I've had to offer so far. I wouldn't have made it without your support! Thank you! *bows*