Chapters Night Mare carefully crept through the forest until the voices got louder.
"I told you this was a bad idea!"
Night Mare quickly hid behind a bush. She poked her head out, and saw two fillies. One orange and one white. Although both of them looked nervous, the white one looked especially nervous.
"This is a terrible terrible terrible idea!" The white filly was shivering with fright. "We should just go back!"
"We don't have a choice!" The orange filly insisted. "It was a double dare!"
"But going into the Everfree forest this late is too much!"
"Come on! People go into the Everfree Forest all the time! There's nothing to be afraid of!"
Night Mare's eyes glimmered as she watched them. Over the orange filly's head she could see the ghostly illusion of bats. Over the white filly's head she could see the ghostly illusions of all sorts of creatures. Mostly bats and snakes. She blinked, and the images disappeared. Slowly, she crept out from around the bush.
"Please excuse me!" Night Mare called out to the fillies.
Both fillies' heads turned almost instantaneously.
"If you're trying to get out of this forest, I can show you the way." Night Mare offered, trying her best to sound as friendly as she could.
Unfortunately her effort was in vain.
Both of the fillies jumped back and grabbed each other. They both closed their eyes and started shivering. As Night Mare moved in to try to calm down the fillies, the white filly opened her eyes. The white filly looked her right in her yellow reptilian eyes, and let out a blood curdling scream.
"Wait! Please! Calm down! I'm just try to help! I-" But Night Mare was interrupted by a series of flashes in the bushes.
Out of seemingly nowhere, a blue pegasus, a green earth pony and a blue pegasus rushed to the fillies' sides. Night Mare ducked her head, and tried to run back into the forest. But she was cut off. She looked up, and saw a face she hoped never to see again. A face that was all too familiar to her. Prowler.
Although Prowler was mostly nocturnal by nature, he was especially tired this morning. Chasing after fillies taking stupid dares was one thing. But apprehending an ex-accomplice of Nightmare Moon was another. So many questions were running through Prowler's head. "Is she still loyal to Nightmare Moon?" "Does she still aim for eternal night, even after Nightmare Moon reverted back to Luna?" "Does she even know Nightmare Moon reverted back into Luna?" "What was she doing in the Everfree Forest?" "What about the two stallions she was with the last time they saw her?"
And then there was the obvious issue at hand.
"Hey Prowler..." Shenanigans offered.
Prowler had almost forgotten that Shenanigans, Firebrand and Aqua Jet were there.
"You know you don't have to do this interrogation." Aqua Jet reminded him. "You know, especially after what she-"
Prowler interrupted him with an almost venomous glare.
"There you guys are!" Twilight's voice could be heard in the distance. Twilight, Spike, and Jinx came running towards the group. Apparently they had heard the news.
"Of course we're in front of the detention center." Shenanigans said almost under his breath. "Where else would we be?"
Twilight paused before addressing Prowler. "Are you going to be okay? I mean, aside from this being a high profile case and all, maybe we could do something to-"
"It's okay." Prowler interrupted her. "I can handle this."
"You sure you don't want one of us to come with you?" Firebrand offered. "It would be easier to get more information if there's more than one of us."
Shenanigans decided to speak up too. "And we could always pull a good cop bad co-"
"I said, I can handle this." Prowler said very curtly.
Every pony took a small step back. It had been a long time since they had seen Prowler get this tense. On the one hand, every pony wanted to give Prowler his space. On the other hand, now they were even more worried.
It was not often that the solitary confinement cells were used in the detention center. But in the case of Night Mare, who had a history of manipulation, it made sense to Prowler to make an exception. As he walked down the long empty hall, Prowler tried to brace himself. He thought of all the things Night Mare had said to him to try to get him to join Nightmare Moon. He thought of how he lied to every pony to make them think he had betrayed them, a moment he was not proud of. As he rounded the corner towards her cell, he was ready to face the smooth talking seductress he faced so long ago. But that was not who was waiting for him in the cell.
"It's been awhile." Prowler tried to get her attention.
"Yes it has." Night Mare said calmly, not even looking up.
Prowler was immediately thrown off. Her voice was not nearly as tempting as he remembered it. The voice itself was the same. But for some reason, it sounded almost weak.
Prowler tried to brainstorm ways to get her to talk. He had set up his entire strategy assuming she was going to go
Night Mare finally looked up. Her eyes glimmered. And then she smiled, an oddly resigned smile.
Prowler's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"We both can see things no other pony can see."
Prowler wasn't sure if this was a ruse, or if Night Mare was trying to throw him off by referencing their past conversation. Prowler was getting ready to try to change the subject, but Night Mare cut him off.
"You can see through darkness." she said. "You want to know what I can see?"
Prowler stayed quiet. This would be a very useful piece of information. Assuming she wasn't lying.
"I can see the things ponies fear most."
Prowler looked at her quizzically. "What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Night Mare replied. "All I have to do is cast a small spell on my eyes, and I can see the very things that haunt the ponies I look at. I looked at some of the guards here. There was one guard who was afraid of mice. And then there was another guard who was deathly afraid of you firing him."
"What?" This comment was so strange that Prowler had to take a minute to process it. He quickly realized that this was an interrogation. And no matter how ridiculous the notion was, he would have to address it later.
Night Mare spoke up before he could say anything, yet again. "I can tell you what you're afraid of right now."
Prowler looked her straight in her yellow eyes. He was almost certain he could call her bluff.
Night Mare's resigned smile returned to her face. "In this moment, the number one thing you're afraid of is me."
Prowler froze. The idea never even occurred to him. He knew that he was very anxious about the interrogation. And he knew that their history wasn't making it any easier. But he never thought of that as fear.
"So why are you telling me all of this?"
Night Mare looked wistfully at the ceiling. "Now that I think about it, I don't know....I guess I never had the opportunity to tell anyone before."
Prowler raised an eyebrow. He had a very hard time believing that Night Mare had never told anyone about an ability like that.
"For a long time." Night Mare closed her eyes and began remembering a very specific incident.
Night Mare opened her eyes again, and returned to the present.
"Is it safe to assume this...ability of yours, has something to do with why you joined Nightmare Moon?" Prowler asked, seizing this rare opportunity to talk first.
"You could say that." Night Mare responded. "I was living alone in the Everfree Forest when she approached me. And she made the exact same offer I made you." Night Mare didn't even bother looking at Prowler. "Anything. Money, Power, Fame, or....Whatever happens to tickle your fancy."
Prowler immediately straightened his neck. This was the manipulating voice he remembered.
Night Mare finally looked back at him again. "You know what I asked for?" It was amazing how quickly she changed from strong and assertive, back to weak and vulnerable. "I told her I never wanted to be alone again."
There was a pause before Prowler spoke up again. "And what did that entail?"
"It was great." Night Mare almost seemed happy. "She summoned two companions for me. She promised me I could remain by her side so long as I did everything in my power to ensure her reign of eternal night."
"I've seen you're abilities." She recalled Nightmare Moon telling her. "And I am sure you will become a wonderful figure in my new kingdom."
"Of course milady." She remembered saying, as she bowed before Nightmare Moon. "Your wish is my command."
"Good. Then it is time for your first mission." Nightmare Moon summon a puff of miasma, and summoned and image of five stallions, and a unicorn. "I want you to get to work recruiting that pegasus right there." The image zeroed in on Prowler. "He would make a wonderful addition to our ranks."
Night Mare remembered the twisted grin that formed on her face. She remembered the pure joy she felt at the idea of being useful. And she remembered the dark giggle that left her mouth as she set out to complete her first mission.
As Prowler listened to Night Mare describe her first assignment, he couldn't help but feel a little queezy. He knew that Nightmare Moon was trying to manipulate him into joining her. But it felt off to know that she had roped Night Mare into the entire mess, and manipulated her masterfully, for the sole purpose of delaying their search for the Elements of Harmony.
"So what happened next?"
"You know full well what happened next." Her response was very curt.
"During our..." Prowler paused. "...encounter, did you use your abilities?"
"Yes."
"Is that how you knew about my abilities to see through the dark?"
Night Mare let out a dark giggle.
At least that's one thing about her that hasn't changed a bit. Prowler thought.
"I'm not a mind reader." Night Mare replied, as if it were obvious. "I can just see the things people are afraid of in the moment. All the information I got about you was from Nightmare Moon. I wasn't lying when I said she was keeping a close eye on you."
"Did she mention any pony else she was keeping a close eye on?" The idea was highly unlikely, but Prowler wanted to be sure to double check.
"No." Night Mare gave a very simply response. "Or at least no pony she told me about."
Now that that question was out of the way, Prowler went back to the narrative.
Night Mare paused. "Your friends had some very interesting things going on in their heads. Most of them were reasonably concerned about you betraying them. And one of them was fixated on marshmallow men and bald gorillas with vacuums on their backs."Probably Shen. Prowler didn't hesitate to make that assumption. Only he would come up with something that ridiculous.
"And were you using your ability when you were trying to win me over?" Prowler wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but I figured he may as well get a taste of her abilities. Especially if she was so willing to reveal it.
"I did." Night Mare replied. "Or at least I tried."
Prowler gave her a very quizzical look. "What did you see?"
Night Mare paused. "I didn't see anything."
Prowler's quizzical look turned into a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"In that moment, you were so focused, and so determined, you didn't seem to be afraid of anything. No matter how hard I looked, and no matter how much I tried to shake you up, I couldn't see anything."
"Well you said that you could see what I was afraid of a few minutes ago." Prowler said. "So what changed between then and now?"
Night Mare took a minute to respond. "I don't know." She looked down again. "Listen...about what happened. I..."
Prowler watched, as Night Mare's composure slowly melted away.
"I...I don't expect you to forgive me....but I....I'm...." And then Night Mare did something Prowler was not expecting. She started crying. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know what I did was wrong. I'm sorry!"
Prowler had no idea what to do. Of all of the scenarios he prepared himself for, this was not one of them.
After sobbing for a minute, Night Mare spoke up again.
Twilight stared absentmindedly into space. It felt like an eternity since Prowler went to interrogate Night Mare. Since then, Firebrand had retrieved Spark, Snicker and Kindle, so they could hang out with Spike. Aqua Jet and Shenanigans had gotten into a mildly heated discussion about sharks. And Jinx was trying and failing to give Snicker, Spark, Kindle and Spike a basic introductory lesson in alchemy. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the doors to the detention center opened.
Every pony immediately dropped what they were doing. Prowler slowly emerged from the detention center. He looked dazed, but somehow very deep in thought.
"Uh, Spike?" Twilight hesitantly addressed him. "Why don't you take Snicker and Spark to the library?"
"Aaw! We waited here this whole time!"Spike complained. "I wanna hear what happened!"
"Yeah! Prowler got some really big criminal didn't he?" Kindle chimed in. "I want to know what happened!"
"Come on guys." Twilight insisted. "Do you guys really want to stick around for boring legal talk, when you could be.....studying the capital cities of Equestria?"
"Or following up on all that exciting alchemy you just saw?" Jinx added.
"Yes." Spike, Spark, Snicker and Kindle's reactions were almost instantaneous.
Firebrand stepped in. "Do you REALLY want to stick around for all that boring legal talk?"
Spike, Spark, Snicker, and Kindle slowly started trudging towards the library.
"You better tell us what happened!" Spark called back to them.
"Are you actually going to tell them what happened?" Shen asked Firebrand.
"Depends on what Prowler says." Firebrand muttered.
By this point, Prowler had been standing in front of the group for a little while. So every pony immediately turned to talked to him.
"So..."Twilight took a second to come up with the right words. "How did it go?"
There was a pause before Prowler responded. "Great" His response was completely flat. "I got a lot of information out of her."
Aqua Jet piped up. "You don't look like it went great."
There was another awkward silence.
"She didn't try to do anything, did she?" Jinx asked.
"No."
Another silence. This time it was broken by Twilight.
"She was pathetic."
Shen tried to lighten up the mood. "Well to be fair if you try and go against the Elements of Harmony, you're going to come out looking really pathetic!"
"I don't mean like that."
Every pony looked at Prowler with a look of confusion.
Prowler continued. "I mean...she was just...sad the whole time. I didn't even ask that many questions. She just gave over all the information without me asking. Heck, I'm pretty sure she did more talking than I did. Plus..." Prowler paused. "She seems like she was manipulated. I would actually argue she was more a victim to Nightmare Moon than we were."
Every pony stared at him in shock.
"Prowler..." Firebrand hesitate. "You're not....thinking about letting her go, are you?"
Prowler immediately snapped his head to look at Firebrand.
Firebrand cautiously continued. "Well, keep in mind she might just be trying to get to you, and-"
"Do you seriously think I'm considering letting her go?" There was an angry edge to Prowler's voice. He turned to every pony else. "Do you all think I'm considering letting her go?"
Every pony kept their mouths shut.
"Oh course I'm not going to let her go! She was an accomplice to Nightmare Moon! She tried to help take over Equestria! She even took an active role in trying to recruit other ponies into the cause! I can't forgive offenses like that!" By this point Prowler was breathing heavily. "After everything we've been through, don't you guys trust me??"
Every pony's faces were still a bit shocked.
Now Prowler felt even worse than before.
"I'm sorry every pony." Prowler spoke sincerely. "I've had a rough 24 hours, and I've been taking it out on you when none of you did anything wrong."
Every pony loosened up.
"It's okay man." Aqua Jet put a hoof on Prowler's shoulder.
"Yeah." Jinx stepped towards Prowler too. "Why don't you go home and rest. You deserve it."
Every pony stepped up and gave Prowler a pat on the shoulder. And slowly, Prowler trudged off to get a good day's rest.
That evening, Twilight was cleaning up the library. She had told the foals to help Spike clean up. They all did a good job putting the books on the shelves, but they didn't do a good job of sorting them in alphabetical order. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Oh! Prowler! I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."
Prowler smiled. "Yes. It's quite amazing what 12 hours of sleep will do to you."
Well that's certainly a relief. Twilight thought. "So are you going to take the night off?"
"Unfortunately not."Prowler explained. "There's still a lot of paper work to be done after what happened after this morning. I won't be in the field, but I will certainly be in the office."
"Oh, well be sure not to overwork yourself." Twilight was a bit disappointed. She was hoping Prowler could get some slack after such a long work day before.
"Speaking of which, do you have any spare could you don't mind parting with?"
This seemed like a strange request, but Twilight went back to her collection to take a look. "I'll see what I kind find. Anything in particular?"
"Something lighthearted." Prowler stopped to think for a moment. "And the longer the better."
As Twilight sorted through books that fit the description, she couldn't help but wonder why Prowler would want a bunch of books all of a sudden. After all, it wasn't like he could read them while he was working.
"Of course." Prowler replied, as if it were only natural."
"Hmmm." Twilight took the last few books and put them into a satchel. "Mind if I come with you?"
Prowler chuckled. "I guess that's a reasonable request."
So the two ponies continued on through the night, towards the detention center. Prowler carrying one satchel, and Twilight carrying another. It wasn't very often that Twilight got to walk around Ponyville this late, at least not unless there was some emergency. And despite Twilight's concerns, she found the experience surprisingly comforting.
When Twilight and Prowler entered the solitary confinement wing of the detention center, the entire feeling changed. There was no moon, and no stars. Just a seemingly endless hall. Neither Twilight nor Prowler said anything as they walked down this long hall. Twilight tried to think of something to say. But every time she thought of something, she stopped herself. Then they rounded the corner.
When Twilight saw Night Mare, she was a bit surprised. She remembered Night Mare as a miniature version of Nightmare Moon, albeit with yellow eyes instead of Nightmare Moon's bright blue ones. This unicorn, although she looked the same physically, somehow appeared much smaller. Her eyes weren't conniving like Twilight remembered. Although Night Mare's eyes were still very eerie, they seemed more cautious and ashamed.
"And what brings you here this fine evening?" Night Mare's voice was soft.
Twilight focused her attention on Night Mare. She was trying to watch for any signs of magic, especially mind altering magic. After all, Twilight didn't get to see much of Night Mare's original interactions with Prowler on the bridge. So she had to be prepared for anything.
"I brought you something." Prowler calmly unlatched the satchel on his back.
Twilight was taken aback. She wasn't expecting Prowler to be so relaxed, especially compared to how tense he was that morning. Although Twilight was confused, she took the hint, and unlatched the satchel on her back. Prowler picked up both satchels, and dropped them down a small shoot next to Night Mare's cell. The satchels landed in Night Mare's cell, and she started going through the contents. After she looked through the satchels, she very curiously looked at Prowler.
"What are these for?" She asked, with an eyebrow raised.
Twilight was half expecting her to reject them.
Prowler was not phased at all. "They're books, obviously. To keep you occupied. I'm not going to be able to visit you very often. My duties as chief of security keep me very busy. Especially at night. But I thought maybe these could at least make things easier for you." Prowler smiled. "After all, it's hard to see the fear of ponies that only exist on paper."
Night Mare seemed incredibly shocked by this explanation. But after a moment, she let out a dark little giggle. And then, for the first time since she was taken in, she gave a heartfelt smile. "I appreciate the gesture."
"Before I go," Prowler paused. "Do you see anything today?"
Night Mare's eyes glimmered. She smiled. "Not today."
As Prowler and Twilight went back down the hall, Twilight felt she understood. Night Mare clearly wasn't trustworthy. And there was certainly no reason to think letting her go was a good idea. But she understood what Prowler meant when he said she didn't seem like a bad pony.
Later that night, after Twilight returned to the library, Twilight got out her quill and paper to write a letter.
Today, or more accurately tonight, I learned that there are ponies out there who can do terrible things. You don't have to forgive them, especially not right away. But that doesn't mean you should act out at them in revenge or anger. If you're willing to listen, and keep an open mind, both parties can come to an understanding. You don't have to become best friends, but you can still learn to understand each other. And after coming to an understanding, that's when both ponies can start working together towards forgiveness.
Your faithful student,
The crunching of grass echoed throughout the Everfree Forest. It was an unusually quiet night for Night Mare. Normally when she gathered herbs at night, there were at least crickets or snakes. But not tonight. And that only made the night more lonely.
Night Mare's eyes flashed. And slowly, she watched as her reflection grew a twisted and demented smile.
"My my. Are we feeling lonely again?" The reflection sounded sickening sweet.
Night Mare continued watching her reflection.
The reflection continued goading. "You know, not too long ago, we had a chance at the whole 'companion' deal. We almost did it."
It was not long after she had attained her cutie mark. She had decided to go to the candy store. The store was run by an earth pony, who was usually pretty friendly. On her way to the candy store, she heard a loud high pitch scream. She ran into the candy store, and found the candy store owner. He was on the floor, staring terrified at a huge spider on the ceiling. Young Night Mare's eyes glimmered, and she saw the ghostly illusions of spiders dancing on the shop owner's head.
"Don't worry sir!" She remembered saying. "That spider isn't going to hurt you anymore!"
And very clearly, she remembered how the shop owner stared at her. And how the spiders that were dancing on his head slowly morphed into young Night Mare's face.
She remembered how she tried to apologize, and how she ran out of the shop.
She remembered looking at all of the other ponies, and how they were haunted by the images of her face. And her yellow eyes.
She remembered hearing some of the foals talking.
"Oh no! There goes that little Demon-Eyes!"
"Ugh I swear those eyes of hers haunt my nightmares!"
She remembered running.
And running.
And running.
Until she felt like she couldn't run anymore.
And then she remembered Nightmare Moon.