Author's Note

I want to thank all of you for reading so far, it's been a treat to do so much writing I never knew I would do in a lifetime, the next chapter is on its way so please stay tuned for more and don't forget to comment with constructive criticism and rate!

Also please do note that I have went back and fixed some of the issues in this chapter, deleting mentions about Cinnamon Music being the neice of Celestia as this was false based on the owner's information about Cinnamon Music (OC owned by themselves not me)

Chapter 4: To begin again

"Welcome back Star, it's been too long truly and it felt so good to see you again." The voice was familiar yet so strange, perhaps it wasn't her it was so hard to tell, darkness shrouded her mind, thoughts of creating a new species of ponies, a dominant race of perfect creatures filled her head. What was going on, such rage and lust, she wanted no more than to impregnate every mare, make every pony into her perfect slave and create a dominant race of perfect ponies made to serve her, even Celestia and Luna would submit to her...

"No! Nnngh.. No! Get out of my head, who are you!?" She was answered with silence, nothing around her, just darkness yet it all moved like smoke, everything was distorted and a sudden wave of pain and exhaustion hit her like a train, making her gasp and wobble on her feet.

"W-what is happening!? A-answer me!" The silence was broken by foot steps, metal foot steps slowly waltzing closer all around her, surrounding her and she couldn't get out, they were getting closer and closer until all the sounds moved and focused onto one point off her left side. Taking a closer look she saw two specks of what looked like fire, purplish-red and glowing red from the center before shifting into a pair of eyes looking right at her, a slightly reflecting set of sharp teeth stared back at her from the darkness as the form slowly took shape, becoming separated from the dark clouds of smoke and black background. The deep purple form of a mare staring back at her took shape, a demonic looking mare at first yielded to a draconic mare she could barely recognize stopped just outside of the "light" she cast on the dark world.

"Don't be afraid Star Light, you're not alone after all, the world betrays you and yet you still fight, I like that in you and myself as well, they should be bowing to us and yet that usurper sits on your throne, why is that?" The voice was so familiar yet couldn't put a face to it, it sounded a bit raspy, devious and pursed with a sort of melodic tone, every vowel and movement from word to word was smooth and transitioned almost hypnotically. She couldn't find the voice to speak with, she felt almost as if she had little choice but to trust this voice as if it was the most promising thing in days she had and Zecora's betrayal only made things worse. Her life was upside-down at this point, even her dreams were filled with melancholy and deceit yet she found herself staring into the eyes of her own doppelganger. A near-spitting image but this one looked scarred, eyes as black as the night, aura as powerful as aphrodisiacs, that familiar face roused trust in her but also a deep-set fear.

She gave a growl at the being and it did not flinch, only grinned more and showed off familiar fangs and it drove Star to start to sob and lowering her head to the pitter-patter of tears on the ground. Everything was far too hard to deal with, she couldn't find the will to continue going on by herself and needed help, Star Light knew she could not defeat Nightmare Moon alone. This creature offered an easier path and the power to take back Equestria but at what cost would it take? The creature extended a hoof to the mare standing there and watching the pitiful sobbing of the once proud and strong princess wrought so low now.

"Star Light!" Came a voice, something in the distance of the darkness, it wasn't her voice or the entity's and it wasn't familiar yet it knew her name, how did it know?

"Star Light, Princess Star Light wake up, we need to leave..." the voice was drowned out by the dull throbbing of the darkness but it was enough to open her eyes, looking back at the entity made her gasp and jump back in surprise. Gone was the once scarred mare, proud yet deviously dark by feeling alone and in her place was a monster she had never witnessed, more dragon than mare now, scales and fur turned purple, eyes lit with a black-purple fire burning around the edges of her eyes. The sight of this dominance was both frightening and a powerful urge to give in, submit and to trust in this being as her power could probably be felt for miles but that devious grin turned to a frown. Then a growl escaped the entity's muzzle as her slitted blue eyes turned to anger and she tried to grab for Star Light. A sudden tugging snapped her away from the purple creature as if pulled by a string and all that was sucked away. As the darkness and the dark mare was sucked away into the distance left roaring out and trying to make chase but it was hopeless as the once bitter darkness was traded for a twilight black as what looked like the sun was rising in the far distance.

The world came back into view, a light shining over top of her from an obscured source while her vision began sifting through the light and noticed a face began to appear through it. She must have been crying as the face looked sad, a hoof touched her cheek and seemed to wipe away the tears streaming from her face. Finally the light fades and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she stared up at a purplish pony with curly locks for her mane and pointed fur- tipped ears, thin membrane wings like her own but slightly different, more bat-like than a regal draconic pony. This mare smiles down at Star Light soon and picked her up slowly with a grunt and caused pain to shoot through Star, growling as her body was forced to move after the damage it sustained in the fight with Nightmare Moon.

"W-who are you? Nnngh!" Star Light nearly collapsed right there but was caught by the mare that helped her up.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me, Princess Celestia did introduce us at the gala 4 years ago." The mare smiled and gasps as Star Light pulled away, nearly face planting into the ground again and tried to help the princess of guidance walk.

"STAR you are far too weak to try and keep up this pace, you're going to kill yourself, now I don't know what you did to yourself but you need to rest and heal up!" The mare was halfway screaming at her, it made the blood boil in her to the idea she needed another pony's help after what Zecora did but it was no use, in a matter of a few steps Star was back on the ground.

"Star Light you stingy mare you are far too hurt, please don't move while I get some of these wounds healed." The bat hybrid mare lie down over Star's damaged body and her bright lavender magic began to course through the scales and white fur matted with red, glistening blood. It was a rather painful experience feeling gaping wounds being pulled and tugged and forced to meld together and left the mare panting from the magical exertion from only a few of the major gashes.

"N-nightmare Moon... Gaa-aaahg! C-can you please be more careful!" Star cried out as the magic waned and ended up cutting one of the gashes open further.

"S-star... I'm sorry your wounds are too much for me alone... W-wait, Nightmare Moon did this to you? You're lucky to be alive after that. Look my name is Cinnamon Music, you may be in too much pain to remember me but I remember you and i'm only here to help you so please, just let me help you." Cinnamon sighed and slowly got back to her hooves, using what strength she had left to help Star Light back up, some of the healing did help to keep her on her hooves longer.

"C-Cinnamon Music... I remember you now, you left right after that gala, I never got to talk to you before you left, I-I do remember P-rincess Celestia introducing us, nngh! I-i'm so sorry I failed to save her from her fate... P-please just leave me here I have failed Equestria I-I~..!" Star Light was cut off by the hoof of this bright purple pony pressing to her lips and muzzle and forcing her to stop her speech, giving a look up at the mare and Star knew tears were flowing down her cheeks.

"Shhh... Quite down Star Light, you have done your best i'm quite certain, and based on your wounds you have given it your best, please do not beat yourself down because you are not alone in this, many of the ponies of Equestria still stand behind you and my 'Tia, and so do I." Cinnamon smiles down at Star Light and drapes a wing over the large princess, holding her close and using her magic to pull leaves and nearby bush branches over both of them to help camouflage them from any prying eyes.

Star Light didn't know where the last night ended and the new morning began anymore and she had lost track of when sleep had come over her. Exhausted from the emotional ride and the fight, something inside of her was beginning to break and something else was beginning to overtake her mind, corrupting her thoughts. She was truly scared as a dark blanket seemed to inch its way into every fault and ever crevice of her mind and body. Dreams no longer filled her sleep this night, every night and always the nightmare continued. Star woke up after what felt like days asleep covered in leaves and the mare she had seen before was gone, leaving behind hoof prints and feathered. Star Light stirred from her sleep and slowly rose from the leaves but she no longer felt soreness or pain, her body felt new and unhinged from the physical memories of the fight with Nightmare Moon

Looking around the area yielded little results to her mental inquiries, where did Cinnamon Music go now? How would she find the six ponies now and with the growing mistrust and darkness in her mind, how could she take back herself. Princess Star Light had no answers only more questions and building anxiety but she needed to move forward. Life reinvigorating her once beat and broken body and she took her first real limp-less steps since the near deathly encounter with Nightmare Moon.

The cool night air seemed to shift and move around her and kept Star Light on a constant alert, scanning the shadows and the darkness of the forest until what felt like hours and she began to lose hope of ever finding the edge of this blasted woodlands. It seemed luck was on her side though as moments after she realized the forest had suddenly and abruptly ended, in the distance was the lantern lights of what she could only assume was Ponyville and beyond that was her lost home, Canterlot. The lights of Canterlot were limited as she could imagine smoke rising from the now wasted castle, halfway destroyed from not only one but two battles waged there, one by Celestia and the other by herself, both outcomes were rather known by now and it pulled a sigh from her chest.

Turning away from the destruction and shame that washed over the disposed leader, she began to move southward towards more of the larger cities like Manehatten and Las Pegasus, it was certain that the six ponies had fled but she had to find them. Star Light's head hang low in the ever apparent shame she felt, every step tugged at her mind to turn around and try to depose Nightmare Moon, to take back Equestria once again. She needed to try but the rest of her body still felt the ghost pain of the two fights prior and was forced to keep moving forward, fighting would come soon enough. The flapping and beating of wings stopped her in her tracks suddenly, looking up and around for the owner made her gasp as Cinnamon was coming in with a blaze of glory and a lit lantern floating beside the mare.

"Star Liiiiight!" Cinnamon Music shouted out, floating from the sky and landing beside the larger pony, huffing from the exertion and adrenaline of the rush.

"W-where did you go? I was finding some food for us and I came back to find you gone but thankfully you're a rather large mare and your hoof prints dig into the ground deep, here." Cinnamon Music wasted no time to pull a fruit from her saddle pack slung behind her wings and handed one to Star while biting into the other, it was actually rather cute to watch this mare munching on what she could only distinguish was an apple or mango.

"Thank you Cinnamon Music, It looks good and I actually didn't realize until now I had not eaten much of anything in the past day or two I think, and it's even more surprising they survived this long, bat ponies usually crave these things." Star Light munched on her own fruit, it was definitely an apple and so sweet that it could only have come from Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack's established business she had to abandon after Nightmare Moon vanquished Princess Celestia.

"Just Cinny is fine, it's easier to say and i'm no bat pony silly, I may resemble one but I do differ from them, I am a vampire.. err pony, most just call us Vamponies and before you ask, I am here because of family issues..." Cinny stopped munching on the apple and seemed to stare off into space after this statement and Star Light, though very curious now about the outcome of this family endeavor, did not press her luck with a mare she didn't know so well yet. There would be time for learning more about each other in the future but they needed to find a better mode of transportation before they could get to such a distant city like Manehatten far, far south.

"So what are we doing, Star Light? I heard tales about six ponies that were tasked with the recovery of magical artifacts to try and stop Nightmare Moon and failed... Or maybe request the aid of the northern tribes, dragons or even go eastward to the barrens and perhaps find help outside of the empire? Perhaps try to find Princess Cadence, she is sure to have the ability to help us?" Cinny dragged on the suggestions ranging from ponies and creatures all over the world and it even made Star Light giggle a bit when she mentioned horse pony legends from the far eastern shores before taking the apple from Cinny and putting it into the mare's mouth.

"All very fine suggestions and ones to keep in mind i'm fairly certain but Celestia chose those six you mentioned, they were destined to drive Lu... Nightmare Moon back and defeat her but they failed and I need to know why, they may know the location of those artifacts and they may be the only way to successfully defeat Nightmare Moon. So we are going to Manehatten, that is the most likely place to find at least two of the six and once we have found them our path to the last four will be much easier!." Star looked back at Cinny and both smiled at each other, It was obvious what both of them needed to do now and with a nod from the Vampony and a long journey ahead full of their own dangers and perils in the moon-lit sky. This would be a long and unknown journey, the world had changed for the worst and fear now made its ways into the ponies of this land and they needed to find their path forward from there, this was truly and only the beginning for what lay ahead no pony knew with the war brewing on the horizon of Equestria.