Nightmare Moon is... Maleficent

Weeks passed since the twins' first visit into the Everfree Forest. As the days and nights continued to pass, Nightmare continued to grow more fond of Twilight Sparkle. Discord had grown fond of Sunset Shimmer. Sunset and Twilight would always bring happiness into their lives, no matter how dark their days or nights would seem.

Each time Nightmare and Twilight met with each other, the dark alicorn began to see how kind Twilight was, which conflicted well with Celestia's cruelty, hatred, and wickedness. Discord and Sunset also grew closer. He thought that Sunset was a little like the younger Luna, for they were both energetic and cheery. Both mares were also strong-willed and loyal.

Nightmare began to wonder if she had done herself a disservice for being so frigid and hateful. Perhaps she had done herself a disservice. After all, she had raised the twins right after the christening went wrong because of her. It was her fault that the twins would soon suffer from the curse.

Remorse began to build in the dark alicorn's heart. Sometimes, she would berate herself for her dark side. Other times, she would wallow in shame and guilt whenever she had time to herself. Whether she had moments of berating herself, Discord would remind her that the twins loved her much more than she knew. He also assured her that the twins might forgive her.

Nightmare denied the fact that forgiveness would even exist. She figured that the twins would loathe her if they ever knew the truth. One night in the Everfree Forest, there was a mudfight between the twins and the diamond dogs. Nightmare sat near a tree, and Discord sat close to her. The event took place near the river.

Twilight tossed a mud ball at one of the diamond dogs. The diamond dog ducked the mud ball, and the mud splattered onto Sunset.

Sunset's eyes glittered with mischief as she glanced at her sister. She levitated a ball of mud from the ground, smirked, and tossed the ball towards her twin. Twilight ducked the mud ball, and watched as the mud splattered onto Nightmare's left cheek.

Nightmare turned her head to the right, her lips slightly parted. Her eyes were closed. The onlookers shrank in fright, and feared her cruel side. She then looked to Discord, who broke into a fist of laughter, and smirked. "Well, well... look who will get the joke," She hummed. "Joke's on you, Discord!"

Cerulean magic surged into the mud. The mud splattered all over Discord. Nightmare chuckled, and then broke into a fist of joyful laughter. "Oh, dear! Discord, now there is something on your face," She continued with lighthearted sarcasm.

The twins broke into laughter as they looked at their godparents. They continued to play, and soon, it was midnight and everypony was tired from the fun. Nightmare Moon decided to tuck the twins into bed. She blew cerulean dust at the twins, and levitated them into the air. The twins closed their eyes and breathed slowly. But, she had a reason why she would be in the cottage again. It was time to break the curse... or, was it?

The dark alicorn strode out of the forest and to the cottage. As soon as she entered the cottage, she walked up the steps, entered the room, and placed the twins onto their respective beds.

She began to wonder if the curse wasn't the right way to punish Celestia for her infractions against the royal family and against the Everfree Forest's protector. There was an ancient prophecy involving Solar Flare's wrathful tyranny and how it could be stopped. Nightmare Moon frowned; what if she had to banish her sister instead of redeeming her? Anger flared up and replaced the empathy for her villainous sister. She knew that her sister had become a villainous monster over the years.

She heard rumors that Equestria's citizens secretly planned to dethrone the tyrant and to find the lost sister; not Nightmare Moon, but, the kind and benevolent Princess Luna. There would someday be an open revolt against Celestia or Solar Flare.

Nightmare had a vision of her sister being banished to the sun, and of the kingdom's reaction to the tyrant's exile. The ponies would rejoice. The denizens of the Everfree would feel happy if Solar Flare got exiled for a millennium.

The dark alicorn's vision receded. She focused on removing the curse from the twins. The cerulean aura surrounded her, and lighted the room a little. The violet flames surged from the twins, but weren't willing to be defeated by the cerulean aura.

"I retract the curse. Let it be no more," Nightmare murmured.

The cerulean aura only hovered above the twins, and transformed into a cloud that would try to suck the violet aura into the cloud. The violet aura remained intact. The dark alicorn felt the guilt overcome her heart and mind. She frowned. She knew that there was another way to punish Celestia for a harsh betrayal, but she was so blind in hatred and revenge when she cursed the twins instead of Celestia.

"I retract the curse! Let it be no more!" Nightmare bellowed, her voice more powerful than ever.

The whole room began to be lighted by the silvered moonlight. Light and dark clashed against each other. Cerulean and violet battled with sheer intensity, the lighter aura struggling to pull away the malevolent dark aura.

"Let it be no more! Let it be no more! I retract the curse! I retract- huh?"

The whole room darkened. The violet aura won against the cerulean and re-entered the twins. That left the dark alicorn in an ocean of guilt and despair, never finding a way out of the water. The starlights in her life would soon be whisked away from her side because of the wicked curse.

If the lights in the night sky could die, then so would the twins on the eve of their sixteenth birthday. The moon would be forlorn and isolated, and so would the dark alicorn. She would not see her nieces become the future rulers of Equestria someday. She had tried hard to revoke the curse, and failed miserably.

The curse shall last till the end of time... no power on Earth could change it, The voice whispered.

Nightmare sighed, and her heart dropped like a stone. She shuddered as she lost her balance, and tumbled onto the floor near Twilight's bed. She sobbed into the mattress, her tears threatening to fall from her eyes like a strong waterfall.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have done this to you during the christening... I failed you, my little beasties..." She murmured.

It was all because of her sister. Her sister was involved in the theft of her wings and involved in the horrid betrayal. The twins never tried to hurt Nightmare... not even once. Celestia had caused so much turmoil in Nightmare's life, and she would soon take away the twins. She would be paranoid enough to build a barrier around the twins so that the twins would forever be asleep.

Celestia was the villainous monster who had wrested every ounce of innocence out of Luna and or Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare felt the rage towards her sister build in her heart. She didn't want to hurt anypony, so she rushed out of the cottage. She stared at the castle, and scowled deeply.

"Celestia! How dare you turn me dark?" She hollered to the castle. "How dare you? How dare you? Why are you so cruel? Why are you so dishonest? Why are you so greedy for power? Just because I used to be innocent and good? Just... because? I'm disgusted at you! You are the reason why the curse happened! Your crimes are so harsh! I still couldn't believe that you killed our father out of a need to become Queen!"

She levitated a bucket, and tossed it towards the well. She was still hurt by Celestia's cruelty and dishonesty! She rushed into the Everfree Forest, and blazed to a dark corner in the forest. That corner was where the malevolent creatures lurked. She felt that she deserved to be here because of her curse. Nightmare Moon only stared at the pond. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she sniffled.

She feared that she wouldn't do anything to save the twins from her curse and... herself. She felt like a horrible monster. She felt disgusted with herself. She loathed herself for what she did. She didn't want to love herself anymore. She wouldn't forgive herself. Soon, she felt a paw touching her back. Her back muscles twitched, and she winced in agony.

"Leave me alone," Nightmare implored. "I don't deserve to live! Why can't I just... die?"

"Don't say that. If you died, then the creatures in the forest would become mournful. I would be depressed. The twins would miss you. Well, the downside is that Celestia would only feel fulfilled. You don't want to fulfill her need for vengeance. If you suffered, then the twins would sleep forever. Celestia's vengeance would be enough to bring the world into complete despair and destruction," Discord returned.

"I'm never a hero. I don't deserve to live. Don't call for my name... I don't deserve a life in the sun! Don't come to me if you need advice. I'd be a false prophet by then."

"What about when you were young? You were kind to all you met, especially the trio of breezies. You were like a hero to them. There was a prophecy about the banishment of Solar Flare. You were the hero in that story. You didn't just sit around whenever the twins run into danger. Sometimes, you saved them. You loved them, and they loved you. I'm sure they would forgive you. If you have died, then there would be eternal wars. The forest and the land of Equestria would both fall to ruin forever."

Nightmare only sighed, and shook her head in disagreement. Her heart ached even more. It was hard to admit that her friend would be right. She would not allow herself to live. "Why would you want to be friends with me? I'm a monster. Leave me alone. Stay away from me," She objected.

"I can't stand to see you so unhappy. You were conflicted. You weren't the reason why you turned dark. Celestia was the reason," Discord reminded her.

"I'll make you unhappy if you continue to sit by my side!"

"You won't. You are still kind."

"I'm never kind!"

"Okay..." Discord sighed as he walked away. He couldn't console the dark alicorn. If he couldn't do it, then the twins would.

If the twins couldn't, then would Nightmare think about... committing suicide in front of the ones she loved most in order to "break" the curse? She didn't say anything about whether her suicide would break the curse. It could only be broken by true love's kiss. Discord knew that the kiss would work. The suicide would only worsen the situation. He could tell that his friend was feeling suicidal. He knew, because it was the way she spoke of herself just a second ago.

He hoped that Nightmare wouldn't commit suicide while alone in the darkness. For the next few weeks, Nightmare didn't eat or drink anything. She even had a horrible time sleeping. Her thoughts only focused on how cruel she was when the curse happened. She stayed in the exact same spot, never thinking to emerge from the darkness. She felt as if a dark cloud hovered just above her head, never willing to go away.

Discord tried to make her feel better, but nothing would work. Even his jokes wouldn't work. One night, Nightmare Moon strode out of the darkness and towards the meadow. She only stared at the ground, and sighed. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Her emotions were stronger than ever, but she fought to repress them. She now loathed her emotions, and blamed them for the curse. She shook with grief. She could barely smile or calm down her emotions.

Even the berries wouldn't tempt Nightmare. She wasn't interested in drinking water, either. Her body became more slender and worn. Her cheeks became gaunt, and dark circles appeared around her eyes.

Twilight and Sunset stood near the pond, and watched the breezies dance in the air. Twilight felt a strange pain in her heart. The pain wouldn't die. Years of bonding with her godmother had caused a magical connection between the two. She ran from the pond and found her godmother by the trees. Her godmother barely moved. Sympathy surged through her heart. Why was the alicorn so troubled and so depressed?

"I'm a monster... I'm a monster..." Nightmare whispered.

"You're not," Twilight returned. "Why are you so gloomy?"

"You would run away if I tell you."

"Alright, sorry. Well, the other creatures and the breezies have wings. Why don't you?"

Nightmare sighed. For a reason, she no longer missed her wings. She didn't want them back anymore because of her depression. She'd rather die without wings on her back.

"I had wings... once," She murmured. "That's all..."

"Do you miss your wings?" Twilight queried.

"No! I hate them!" Nightmare jumped as she shrank back. "They were the reason why I'm so glum!"

"No, I want to know how you lost your wings. I'm sure you enjoyed flying. It's okay to talk. I won't judge."

Nightmare Moon turned away, and closed her eyes tight. Hot tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She couldn't bear to reveal the dark truth. She could turn back the clock and simply confront Celestia. It was too late, for she had been part of the evil in the world.

"My wings were strong, although I didn't fly as much. Somepony stole them one morning. I want to just forget about my wings. I will be happy without them," She admitted.

"I don't think your wings were the reason why you're unhappy. That pony must have turned your world upside down," Twilight replied.

Nightmare didn't want to nod. She knew that Celestia was the cause of her misery. Her wings weren't the cause. She had blamed her wings instead of Celestia this time. She felt overwhelmed by a wave of further sadness and self-blame. She simply walked away, and returned to the dark corner in the forest. She blended into the shadows, and intended to stay there for a long time. She lay on the forest floor, and shut her eyes once again. She stayed still. She waited for death to steal her essence of life away from her. She couldn't bear the fact that she had cursed the innocent twins. She wanted to be away from them so that they wouldn't be harmed.

Twilight and Sunset saw how troubled their godmother was. As they walked to the cottage to give the alicorn some time, they thought of the undying remorse in Nightmare's voice.

"She seems to blame her wings for her sadness," Twilight spoke.

"I think somepony was the reason for her turmoil and misery," Sunset affirmed.

"Sunny, I don't think it was the wings. It was the pony that took her wings and made her unhappy. If we find the pony..."

"She didn't say the name, Twily. I think she is hiding something from us."

Soon, the year passed and the month of April came. The twins would become sixteen, but they would suffer from the curse. One morning, Nightmare decided that enough was enough, after she decided that she couldn't die. She felt it was time to reveal the truth, but she didn't want to scare them away. She sat near the river, unable to look at her reflection. Unhappiness continued to grow in her heart. She couldn't forgive herself. Because of her guilt, she created the Tantabus to torture her each time she drifted into dreamland.

Sunset and Twilight played with the breezies and chuckled for a moment. Nightmare only watched them, unable to do anything because of her undying depression. She intended to call them over so that she could speak with them. "Come over," She called.

The twins rushed towards the dark alicorn, and sat near her. Nightmare sighed as she began to speak. "There is an evil in this world... and I cannot keep you from it," She explained.

"I can take care of myself," Twilight replied.

"So can I," Sunset added in.

"We want to live here someday. This place is so beautiful."

Nightmare smiled. "You don't have to wait. You can live here now," She suggested.

"We should tell our aunties," Sunset replied. "Twily, let's go!"

Twilight nodded before following her sister out of the forest.