Echoes of her Guilt

by wingdings

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Luna, Applejack, Drama, Original Character, Mystery, Tantabus, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 11273

The backstory of the Luna creating the Tantabus and what spawned from its unstable magic.

Luna, after realizing she's slipping back into the attitudes of Nightmare Moon, creates the Tantabus. However, it comes with unintended consequences...

Like a new alicorn.

Published 2022-09-27 21:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-10-15 14:16:37 UTC

Chapter One - Nightmares and Nightmares

Every time Nightmare Night or the Summer Sun Celebration came around, Luna felt a fresh wave of guilt. What’s worse came the bitterness. Why must these ponies celebrate her wicked deeds and tell frightening tales of her alter ego? Celestia’s celebration was delightful. The Summer Sun Celebration was a joyful and merry festival. Nightmare Night was based around terror, not festivity. She felt that all-too-familiar jealousy creep around her chest and constrict, her hooves digging into the ground and her eyes narrowing.

She knew Celestia also carried her own burdens for the solar holiday. The anniversary of Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon was a little difficult for Celestia to celebrate.

Both solstices made Luna grit her teeth against the negativity swelling in her heart. This year it was the hardest to bear. As she raised the moon on the shortest day of the year and saw the citizens of Canterlot string spiderweb streamers across the streets and set out pumpkin lights, she felt it again. The dual-sided knife, twisting. First the resentment, then the remorse. Anger, then guilt for feeling entitled.

Emotions were complicated, and Luna did not enjoy them. She never had. She envied her beautiful stars and constellations, which softly glowed in the violet sky, turning brighter as the moonrise progressed. Stars were not frightening, nor could they feel jealousy towards their brothers and sisters. Each star was a part of the sky, and each was unique. They were all part of constellations, and each constellation was part of her night.

Canterlot was a bad place to look at the stars. The lights from the city drowned them. It was even worse in Manehatten, where the light pollution was too great to see them. Luna felt conflicted over those large cities. The lights were always bright, and blocked out her sky, but they were on because ponies there worked at night, and were awake to witness her gentle darkness. She was proud of those ponies, the nocturnal ones, working in the night so that in the morning, all would be well. They were like her.

But it seemed nopony truly understood Luna, or her stars.

Nightmare Night was starting, and Luna was struggling to stamp down her resentment towards the holiday. No matter what her friends and sister had said, it felt like a cruel joke. A mockery. A night to seal Luna forever as a scary monster.

Swallowing thickly, the princess of the night turned from her balcony and retreated down the cool corridors of the castle. She lit her horn and levitated withered lavender from their wall sconces, replacing them with fresh blossoms. These lavender bushes were not in every hallway, only the major ones, and next to bedrooms.

She paused momentarily, and her magic grip on the old lavender tightened, crushing some of the dried blossoms. As if anypony would sleep well tonight. No, they would stay up late, and then have nightmares. It had happened often; Luna calming frightened fillies who were scared of her own wicked reflection. She had fought off Nightmare Moon many times.

No matter what she did, Luna could not shake her restlessness and frustration. Everything was reminding her of Nightmare Moon. But tonight, she was not feeling guilt, as she often did, she was feeling anger.

Emotions were complicated, but Luna had felt this one many times. She knew it well. It was hot under her hooves and made her stamp them, it was hot behind her eyes, which watered and made her muzzle twist like she had bitten a lemon, it was cold in her heart, which tightened and beat quicker. Everything was thudding. She could feel her own pulse.

Luna levitated some of the lavender she had crushed underneath her nose and took a deep, long breath of it through her magic to calm herself. Perhaps she needed rest. That was all it was. A little sleep before she had to do her job, before the littlest ponies went to bed and needed her in their dreams. Teleporting to her bedroom, Luna stepped out of her blue shoes and levitated her crown and yoke off herself and onto a shelf, then into her crescent-shaped bed. She shut her eyes and felt unshed tears slide down her cheeks. They were hot on her face.

Everything was hot. Her sheets were itchy. The air was stuffy. She tried to bear it, but after a few minutes that felt much longer to Luna, she gave up and teleported outside, onto Canterlot Castle’s roof. The spired roofs were difficult to reach through normal means, but Luna was practiced at perfectly teleporting herself onto the steep shingles. The cool air helped, but there was still the hustle and bustle below. Luna opened her wings and allowed the breeze to rustle her wing membrane.

Unlike most ponies with wings, Luna’s weren’t feathered. They resembled bat wings, with long dark fingers webbed with a slightly translucent skin. One of the physical leftovers from her transformation. She gracefully leapt from the spire and soared upwards silently, heading for the clouds.

Luna flew, and her mane flowed behind her. It carried miniature stars in its magical field that lagged behind slightly, pulled by strands of magic. She broke through the clouds, dousing herself in a sprinkle of rain, and settled on the top of a large, puffy cloud that sloped down like a hill. Tucking her wings in and resting her head on top of her forelegs, she shut her eyes and tried to sleep once more. This time, the soothing cool of the night air and the angelically soft texture of a cloud, almost incorporeal and loose like a water bed, yet fluffy and light, easily lulled her to sleep.

Luna’s turquoise eyes opened and her hide prickled immediately. She didn’t have to deal with her own dreams and nightmares often, but her acute sense always tipped her off that she was still in slumberland. She stood up and her knees buckled in the soft cloud. Her hooves were much longer than they should be. She felt as though she were standing on stilts. The sky was pitch dark.

Celestia’s voice rang out from underneath her perch in the sky. “Nightmare Moon!”

Luna’s body chilled. Hastily, she pulled water from the clouds around her and held it in a flat, circular shape with her magic, then gazed into the reflection.

Her reflection. Her dark reflection. All her selfish desires and jealousy and capacity for cruelty stared back at her with the same turquoise eyes, but the pupil was long and slitted, and the expression on her face was one of vanity and malice.

Celestia burst through the clouds, wisps of white trailing her. “Nightmare Moon, you have no place in Equestria any more! You should never have returned.” The white alicorn lowered her head, aiming her long pearly horn at Luna’s heart as she hovered in the air.

“Sister, it’s me,” cried Luna, taking a wobbly step backwards on her cloud.

“You cannot trick me.” Celestia’s horn glowed golden and a beam of bright light hurtled towards Luna. She was barely able to leap out of the way. Her long bat wings snapped from her sides and pushed her upwards, into the air. Her mane, now longer and wispier, a trail of stardust and magic instead of a solid mass, streaked behind her like a comet.

“Celestia! Stop this!” Luna lit her own horn, and magic bubbled up into it. She meant to manifest a shield or a screen of energy to protect herself, but it was as if she had slipped on ice. The magic flowed straight to the tip of her horn and shot out as a beam of energy towards Celestia, who thankfully dodged the accidental attack.

“See? All you do is hurt ponies,” Celestia sneered. “You need to be stopped.”

Celestia didn’t say things like that. Although the words cut deeply, they weren’t her sister’s. It helped ground Luna. This was just a nightmare.

But it was much more difficult to face her own demons than it was to drive away others’. Luna swooped downwards and planted her long legs firmly in another cloud, then focused on her magic again, trying to take control of the dream and change herself back. Her magic swirled in her horn for a moment, but once again, slipped, and Luna fired out a beam of magic into the air. Celestia charged, horn aimed to gouge at Luna. She turned to run, but– curse this new body! She stumbled, and Celestia’s horn scraped across her side, drawing blood.

Of course, it didn’t sting at all. It was a dream. But Nightmare Moon was injured, and now Luna had even less control over the body she was piloting in the dream realm. If she was just in a more familiar form, this would be easier, but she hadn’t been Nightmare Moon for years, and hadn’t had her magic for thousands of years while imprisoned in the moon. Luna pawed at the cloud, causing wisps of it to break off and float in the air, then took a running start into the air to escape Celestia’s third charge. One more try. Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna channeled her magic into her horn and forced it to obey her. Transform. Transform. Her magic enveloped Nightmare Moon and shrunk her, shoved the pitch-black mare into herself like crumpling a piece of paper, and refolded it into Luna. Luna’s eyes shot open and she teleported herself out of the way of Celestia’s magical attack.

“Celestia, it’s me! It’s your sister, Luna! Stop your attack!”

Celestia turned in the air. “Luna… Nightmare Moon… The difference between the two is growing blurrier. No matter your form, you will always be bitter. You will always be jealous. It will never be enough for you. You have done unforgivable things.” The Princess of the Sun’s horn glowed, and Luna prepared a shield, but Celestia didn’t fire another beam. Six gemstones floated upwards through the clouds, and Celestia brought them to her side.

Luna’s horn pulsed with magic as she tried to control the dream. In others’ dreams, she would have been able to shape it easily. Control the entire dream realm, fold things down, just as she had molded her form back. Within her own dream, it was more difficult to shape. Like carving a statue from the inside of the stone. “You...you can’t use the elements of harmony. You’re not their bearers any longer.”

The dream gave a little bit more.

Celestia didn’t lose her composure. Her horn glowed brighter as she teleported Twilight Sparkle and her friends into the air. She held the three that couldn’t fly, but the rest hovered in the air without assistance. Each of the gems was given to each pony, and with a flash of light, they transformed into their new appearances - necklaces with the gems inset into them, and a crown for the Princess of Friendship.

“You’re a bad friend,” Twilight said, grief on her face.

With one last surge of magic spurred by emotion, Luna, at last, managed to take control of the dream. It felt like striking the finishing blow with an axe and toppling a massive tree. The elements of harmony and their bearers vanished, and Celestia fell onto a cloud below her, all her power gone.

“This isn’t you.”

The nightmare tried one more time. “You’re a bad pony. You’ll always be a bad pony. You’re angry. Good ponies don’t get this angry. You should never forgive yourself for what you did as Nightmare Moon. If you were truly a better pony now, you would remember that. You wouldn’t feel this way.” Celestia’s face warped. It was hard to tell who Luna was looking at. Some combination of faces she’d seen before. The voices all blurred together.

“If you’ve really changed, you wouldn’t feel this way.”

Luna folded the dream on itself, closing it. Her eyes flew open. She was still on that cloud. It had drifted away, and shifted its shape slightly. Alighting from her soft bed, she flew downwards, back towards Canterlot.

Author's Note

Woo! First chapter done! It's short, but the next one will be longer. I'm writing it rn. Hope you guys like the story :> comments always appreciated.

Chapter Two - Headspace

Luna did not venture out of her room for Nightmare Night. She would not. She would not stoop to scaring children for their amusement.

You sound like her, the voice in her head whispered. You are Nightmare Moon.

Luna argued back. I need my strength to deal with the dream realm tonight.

And so she sat and waited. Using her magic, she entered the dream realm and filtered through dreams as they flowed around her. Good dreams were light, and cool, and soft. Bad dreams were sharp and fast, slicing past her. She was able to easily sense the stress spiking from the ponies’ minds and locate them. The first one was small. A little filly, trying to run, being chased by a dangerous shadow, but unable to move. Luna shifted the moon until it was bright and directly overhead, and the shadow faded away. The next was similar. They were caused by the stress and the excitement of Nightmare Night. Many times, the shadowy figures Luna would chase away had sharp teeth and gleaming aqua eyes, with sharp wings instead of soft round pegasus feathers.

The night dragged on, until light filled the dream realm. Like the stars, the light faded the dreams away, and many would only have fuzzy memories and vague feelings. Some would forget them entirely. Luna drew back from the world of sleep and fluttered her eyes. Celestia would be raising the sun now. She left her room and glanced out the nearest window haggardly. The sunrise was pink now, but soon would be too bright for her tastes. She retreated back into her room and sunk into her bed, ready to forget the past night.

“Luna?”

It seemed that she had only just closed her eyes. There was a knock at the door, and the voice of one of her advisors called again. “Princess Luna?”

A pause.

Then more knocking. “Princess Luuuuna!”

Luna swung the door open with her magic as she dragged her body out of bed. “What is it…” She squinted down at the pony at her door. “Quote Quill?”

“Your presence is requested in the Crystal Empire today.”

The alicorn stared blankly down at the grey and black unicorn. “Pardon me?”

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire requested an audience with you early this morning.”

“It is early this morning.”

“It’s eleven in the morning, Princess.”

Luna nodded tiredly and closed the door before realizing she had more questions. Quote Quill’s hoofsteps were already receding. Why did Cadance want to see her? Why not Celestia? Or Twilight, her sister-in-law? She approached her dresser and ran a brush through her mane, then donned her yoke, crown, and shoes. Using a combination of unicorn and pegasus magic, she summoned a cloud in the middle of her room and strode through the middle of it, appearing on the other side clean and glistening with water droplets, but not soaked. Shaking herself lightly, she exited her room and made her way to the grand hall.

***

“Fetch Quote Quill.”

The guard nodded and set off on a canter to find Luna’s assistant. Luna was sitting on her throne beside Celestia, who was reading through letters from all over. Requests, information, legal issues, Celestia looked through them all. She always formed two piles after she skimmed the letters - ones to leave be, and ones to read through and deal with herself, or have her advisors and assistants deal with. Luna had less to do, and simply watched Celestia’s nimble hooves sort letters until Quote Quill trotted into the throne room. “Your Highness?”

“Tell me more about the details of my audience with Cadance.”

“There are none, your majesty. We simply received word that she requested your presence there as soon as convenient.” The light grey unicorn bowed her head, then pushed her glasses up.

“I hope nothing’s wrong,” Luna remarked, half to herself, half to Celestia and Quote. “I’ll fly there. It’s faster than the train.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“It’s not faster,” Celestia said suddenly, looking up from one of her letters. “You skip over tunnels and winding tracks, but you move slower than the train. It’s about the same length of time. And the snow and cold as you get further north will delay you.”

“I can defend myself from a bit of bad weather, sister.”

“It’s rather unceremonious to fly into the Crystal Empire, too.”

“I desire to fly there.” Luna felt rather snubbed, but Celestia’s disagreement only made her want to prove her wrong.

“Yes, your Highness,” Quote Quill added.

Luna lit her horn. “I assume there are no other pressing matters I have to attend to? If anyone or anything comes in for me, I trust it will be dealt with.”

“Of course, Princess.”

Hearing her assistant’s confirmation, Luna teleported.

She reached the outskirts of Canterlot. Several ponies walking into the city startled and gasped when they saw that a princess had just appeared next to them. Luna jumped into the sky and flew north.

Luna enjoyed flying. It gave her lots of time to think, while also giving her physical exercise that she needed, since most of her job was stationary. She felt the wind lift up under her membranes. It was a different feeling than having the wind ruffle feathers, and still felt a little strange to her.

The Crystal Empire was a long way away, and soon Luna found herself tired and hungry. She descended, finding herself in an out-of-the-way mountain village. Casting an illusion on herself, she became a simple pegasus with a dark blue mane and a pale grey coat inspired by Quote Quill. She explained to the villagers she was traveling and needed food, paid for some of the local street food, which was hot and filling, and rested at the small public library before continuing her journey. The moonrise had to be delayed slightly as Luna had lost track of time, then hastily got out of sight of the village before lowering her disguise and floating the moon up into the sky.

As Celestia had said, soon the snow began to whip at her as she flew. She lit her horn and created a magical construct, a barrier like a windshield to keep the snow off. It obstructed her vision slightly, but worked well enough. Rather proud that she had shown up her sister, Luna got a second wind and put a burst of speed in her wings.

Finally, the sparkling blue shield the Crystal Heart made to protect the Empire came into view, and Luna knew she was getting close. The cold was becoming much more intense, but with a bit of focus, she was able to change her snowshield into a bubble surrounding her whole body that followed her as she flew. The only issue was oxygen, as she found out in time, and landed in the Frozen Wastes to make a few small air holes in the construct before continuing. How smart she was!

When the lights of the Empire came into view at last, Luna was walking at a slow trudge. She felt defeated and exhausted. Her wings ached. Frustration and tiredness was building up and she could only aim it at Celestia. Smart, perfect Celestia. She rolled her eyes and stamped in the snow. It’s unceremonious to walk or fly to the Crystal Empire, Luna! You have to take the train, Luna! I know everything, Luna!

The feeling of the Crystal Heart’s magical barrier made Luna stop in her tracks. It was electrifying, and she wasn’t sure if it was in a good way. The Crystal Heart ran off of light and love - positive emotion. One of the ways it prevented enemies from entering the Empire was by blocking out strongly negative energy, like King Sombra. Luna was caught halfway through the barrier, but every time she moved, her body tingled painfully, like it did when one hoof had fallen asleep, but more intensely. Pushing through the pins and needles, Luna forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down.

Then came that negative voice in her head again. The Crystal Heart knows you’re a bad pony.

I was just frustrated. I’m tired. I’m not in my right mind. I just need rest.

Luna slipped the rest of the way through the Empire’s border and shivered to rid herself of the last of the numb feeling, then began the trot towards the central castle.

***

Luna let her gaze wander through the Crystal Castle as the Empire’s guards led her to the Empress. The high ceilings and majestic pillars were a sight to behold. The doors to the throne room were opened and Luna stepped inside. Cadence sat on her throne, a giant crystalline structure that a seat was carved into. For comfort, pillows were piled onto the flat surface. The guards bowed and one of them announced Luna with a low, yet projecting voice. “The Princess of the Night, her Highness Luna, has arrived, your Majesty!”

Cadance immediately jumped from her throne and ran down the long hallway to greet her friend. “Luna!”

Luna smiled softly and bowed her head in respect to the Empress. “Cadance.”

“Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. I needed your expertise to deal with a problem.” Cadance motioned out of the throne room with one wing and Luna began to walk with her. “I wouldn’t have asked for your help if I couldn’t fix it myself.”

“Of course.” Luna nodded. Cadance was often underestimated, much like Luna, but she was a strong and capable leader of the Crystal Empire, and had remained unshakeable through multiple rising threats against her.

“I have a few guesses on what’s been going on. It’s a bit worrisome,” she admitted. “The Crystal Ponies, the guards, even I’ve been afflicted with nightmares. The first mention of it was about a week ago. They’re about Sombra, and you know how the ponies are sensitive about their memories of him.”

Luna’s gaze hardened and she nodded again.

“We’ve all been a bit on edge and tired recently. Dreams aren’t my forte, but my two cents is a curse or some lingering magic Sombra still has was activated.”

“So you’d like me to investigate the ponies’ dreams?”

Cadance gave Luna a weak smile. “I’d really appreciate it. I haven’t found anything, and we all need a good night’s rest.”

“I see. Of course you’d want me aware of the issue as soon as possible, but I cannot access anypony’s dreams while they are awake.”

Cadance nodded. “I didn’t expect an immediate result. You’re welcome to enjoy the rest of the day here until the night, if you’d like?”

Luna deliberated. Quote Quill did say she would manage anything that came up while Luna was gone, and she did deserve a little bit of pampering…

“What exactly would that entail?”

***

Cadance grinned at Luna, who stared at the pit of green slime dubiously.

“It’s a traditional crystal empire mud bath.” Cadance glanced at Luna with a mirthful expression. “Very rejuvenating.”

“I’m sure,” Luna muttered suspiciously, poking one shoed hoof into the pool of wobbling semi-liquid.

“After the bath, you’ll be relaxed and ready for a makeover. Several of the royal manestylists are here today!”

At the mention of a makeover, Luna’s ears perked. She did love trying different styles of makeup and mane. “Very well, I shall ‘give it a shot’, as ponies say.” She lowered her hoof back into the slime, but before she could step into the bath, a spa pony trotted over to her.

“Your Lunar Majesty?” The crystal pony asked meekly.

Luna looked back at the sparkling spa worker. “Yes?”

“I don’t mean to tell you what to do, but, ordinarily, ponies will remove their accessories before getting into the bath.”

“Oh.” Sheepishly, Luna backed up and stepped out of her horseshoes, then took off her crown and yoke. The spa pony picked them up and hung them on a nearby rack for the princess to pick up later.

Hoping she wasn’t doing anything else wrong, Luna submerged herself in the bath of slime. It was refreshingly cool and felt strange to walk through, but not unpleasant. It wasn’t sticky at all, just gelatinous. She glanced over at Cadance, who was reclining on her stomach as a masseuse worked her hooves into the princess’s back.

“This is truly royal treatment, I must admit,” Luna sighed as a spa pony brought her a glass of iced juice for her to sip as she sank up to her neck in the bath. “Proper for a princess.”

“Oh yes, the crystal spa is luxurious.” Cadance’s voice tremored as the masseuse hit her shoulders gently.

This is how princesses ought to be treated, Luna thought as she stepped out of the mud bath and was cleaned off with a wet towel by another spa pony. This is the respect I deserve.

She leaned down on a long chair and let the spa ponies clean her face and wash her hair before they started their makeover.

***
Luna was delighted at the way her starry mane had been interwoven with gemstones, small and twinkling blue. It and her tail were both braided, while Cadance had her mane tucked up into something shorter. The Crystal Empire was quite extravagant, and even their makeup was made of crushed gems that sparkled in the light. She felt prideful and satisfied with her regal, sparkling appearance, stepping back and forth in a mirror. The mud bath had given her dark blue coat freckled with black spots a sheen as well. She practically glittered.

“Oh, I haven’t had a real makeover in ages! It’s only for important meetings or when friends come over,” Cadance remarked, trotting up to Luna and looking at the two in the mirror.

Out of nowhere, jealousy and irritation panged up. The urge to push Cadance away from the mirror or snap at her. Luna shook her head, feeling disoriented. What was going on with her recently? This was her dear friend. “We both look lovely, don’t we?” Luna said instead, lifting a hoof to her mane.

Cadance nodded. “Now that we’re done spending some time together, I’ll let you go about the Crystal Empire. Do whatever you’d like, but be back at the castle when the lamps go out.”

Luna nodded, and Cadance trotted out of the salon, back towards the castle.

Now then. Luna put back on her regal attire, careful not to mess up her braids or delicate powder makeup, and left the salon herself, stepping into the Empire. It felt secluded here, safe. The ponies of the Empire still noticed her, still knew who she was, but they had their own royal family, and she could walk the streets without being mobbed. Her horseshoes clacked on the stone roads and she absently felt herself pick up her legs further to strike them down. It was a powerful sound, an authoritative sound.

She walked without a goal in mind, but eventually found herself at a communal garden growing Crystal Berries and other fruits and vegetables. A few ponies were watering them and pulling weeds.

“May I try the berries?” Luna asked, adjusting her wings.

“Of course, Night Princess,” one of the gardeners said, passing her a wicker basket. Luna held it in one hoof and plucked some of the small, round, red and pink berries. They were surprisingly hard when she tried one, and it burst in her mouth. They were somewhat sour but quite tasty. She picked a few more for her basket and departed, feeling satisfied.

By the time Celestia, back in Canterlot, was lowering the sun, Luna had talked with some of the Crystal Ponies about the nightmares and took a visit to the statue garden. When she noticed the sunset, she stood up and focused, darkening the sky as she lifted the moon and carved out the crescent a little more. She spun the stars overhead slightly before releasing the sky. Her basket of berries was empty now, and she teleported it back to the garden as she made her way to the castle to meet with Cadance.

The guards led her to the throne room, where Cadance jumped up from her throne to greet her. “Luna! I trust you had a pleasant time?”

“Very.”

“Are you ready to investigate some dreams?”
Shining Armor piped up. “We’re not exactly sure how you do your dreamwalking, but we can provide whatever will make it comfortable. A bed… a lounge room…?”

“And if there’s a way I could follow you?” Cadance added. “I know quite a lot about Sombra now; I’ve been reading up on the history of the Empire to be a better Crystal Princess. I think I could be of some help and I’d like to see.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. A lounge with a sofa, please,” she responded to the crown prince, who nodded and took with him a few guards to prepare Luna’s room.

Once everything was prepared, Luna and Cadance sat around a table and Shining Armor and a few guards were positioned near the door. Cadance had a history book with her that outlined Sombra’s dark magic and spells, and Luna was focusing on preparing a spell that would include Cadance in the dreamwalking.

She cast the spell, and entered the dream dimension. Thankfully, when she opened her eyes, Cadance was with her, looking slightly ghostly and transparent.

“You’re not corporeal here; nobody will see or hear you,” Luna explained. “But you can see everything, and help me.”

Cadance nodded, and Luna morphed both of their appearances from their Crystal Empire garb to something more practical - their manes tucked up, their crowns and jewelry removed, and cloaks. Luna gave herself a blade, and manifested Cadance’s spellbook from the lounge.

“Get ready,” Luna said, pulling the dream dimension forward to start the flow of dreams past them. “Tell me when you sense nightmares or Sombra’s magic.”

It didn’t take long. Luna felt the sharp, cold fear of a nightmare. It looked like an infected cut, black and oozing at the edges. She brought both of them into the dream.

The crystal pony who was dreaming was in the arctic wastes, the empire nowhere to be seen, while Sombra, in his shadow form, whirled in the distance. It was dark, and the wind whipped at the small blue pony. Their tears flew away from their eyes and turned to ice shards.

Cadance flipped through her book, unaffected by the harsh winds. “Sombra commonly used fear magic to keep his subjects in line. It targets their insecurities and terrors.”

Luna tried to ignore the nagging voice that said that she was the same as he and approached the shivering pony, wrapping her cloak around them and then flying into the black cloud that was Sombra, attacking him with her blade and slicing through the nightmare. Once he dispersed, the wind calmed.

The pony hugged Luna and shivered as Cadance inspected the dream, finding a small worm of purple and green magic that squirmed in the snow. “Here’s the remaining magic.” She lit her horn and cast a spell to identify it.

“What is it?”

“Fear magic. I can’t make out much more than that.” Cadance tossed the wriggling blob to Luna, who caught it in her magic and inspected it herself.

The little worm was indeed made of fear magic, but it wasn’t a curse. “It’s a little parasite that magnifies the crystal ponies’ fear of Sombra. It feeds on their fear of him.” She destroyed it with her magic, crushing it into nothingness. “Nothing to do but go through everyone’s dreams and get rid of them.” Luna resigned herself to a long night, patting the crystal pony on the back and standing up. “It’ll just be monotonous. You can go now.”

“Isn’t there a way I can help?” Cadance bounced on her hooves. “I’d love to crush Sombra a few dozen times over.”

Surprised at Cadance’s willingness to help and seeming penchant for violence against Sombra, Luna nodded and returned them both to the dream dimension. “Just jump into any dream you see that’s infected. I’ll make it so the dreams will close once the fear worms are gone.” Luna folded and shifted the dream dimension. Usually she left herself some time to resolve emotional conflict once the threat was gone, but this would already take forever without counseling. There was simply no time.

And so the two princesses went at it, destroying bad dreams and then the little parasites that infected them until the sun rose and the dream dimension evaporated along with the stars in the sunlight. Luna took control of the sky as the sun rose and whirled it around, hiding the moon. She was too tired to make the dawn look pretty.

Shining Armor and Cadance were asleep on the couch together - Cadance’s physical form was still in the lounge, after all. Luna herself blinked, stretched her hooves, and nudged the two awake. “You should go get some sleep while you can. I’ll be in one of the guest rooms,” she said curtly before teleporting herself into said guest room and closing the curtains. She collapsed into the bed and almost immediately passed out, exhausted but satisfied by a job well done.

Author's Note

and thus luna starts thinking about putting stuff in people's dreams. im sure this isn't ever going to backfire /s

we'll get into plot in the next chapter!

Chapter Three - Candle

Luna’s dreams weren’t bad as she slept, just… a mess. She had replaced Celestia as the ruler of Equestria and felt pleasure in ruling the masses, followed by the incessant thoughts of dream parasites and little squishy bugs. Annoyances. She was angry and then she was self-concious. Her feelings were out of whack.

When she woke up, she was disoriented. The sun was setting, and so she rose the moon, feeling a giddy excitement about it. She twirled the stars awake and made them spin and sparkle. Then, she and Cadance made one last check over the dreams of the Empire to make sure Sombra’s last vestiges were eradicated.

The day seemed to pass in a blur as Luna became lost in thought and self-reflection. She spent time with Cadance, being treated like a princess, and then made her way to the train station. During the train ride, she thought. She thought and thought and thought.

Her emotions were spiking and she was thinking thoughts that were awfully reminiscent of how she thought when she was Nightmare Moon. She felt prideful and greedy. And Luna did not like feeling that way. Buzzing with nerves and ideas, she stepped out into Canterlot and teleported away to avoid ponies.

“Luna!” Celestia called from atop her throne, going over papers with Raven Inkwell. “It’s good to see you back. Is everything alright with Cadance and Shining Armor?”

“Yes,” Luna said absently, trying to stamp down jealousy. “Where’s Quote Quill?”

“Here, your Highness!” The bespectacled unicorn teleported to Luna’s side, holding a clipboard. “I’ve been managing everything in your absence.”

“Thank you, Quote. Come with me, I wish to discuss things with you.”

Used to her Princess’s erratic ways, Quote Quill began to trot alongside the alicorn’s longer strides. “Yes, Princess?”

Luna waited until they were out of Celestia’s earshot to start talking. “Quote Quill, you are my closest advisor.” She lifted the grey unicorn’s head up tenderly and gazed into her crimson eyes, making the secretary flush. “I am telling this to you as someone I trust, not as your Princess. Understand?”

Quote nodded, flustered, and adjusted her square frames. “Yes, your High- I - mean, Luna.”

Luna took a deep breath and shook her tail. “I’ve been having trouble with feelings.” She began to walk, slowly.

“You know, I did actually consider becoming a therapist. I took multiple psychology classes,” Quote mentioned.

“I’ve been feeling… I’ve been thinking– Well–” Luna started over. “I’m afraid that I might still be… a bad mare.”

“Go on?”

“I’ve been thinking things that good ponies don’t think. I’ve been feeling jealous and- and angry, and… entitled!” She stamped a hoof to enunciate her point. “We are not worthy of our subject’s forgiveness, and we feel entitled!” She began to slip into the royal ‘we’ as she became more agitated.

“Many ponies experience intrusive thoughts, Highness. And you are not happy with these thoughts and feelings, no?”

“No!”

“Then that shows you want to be a better pony.”

Luna pawed at the floor of the hallway, mane flowing as she wrestled with her thoughts. “I’m afraid of becoming her again, Quote,” she finally spat out. “Or, I suppose, just me. It was me, both times, all the time.”

“You were blinded by bitterness. Those actions do not reflect you now.” Quote levitated some of Luna’s old lavender hangings from near the ceiling and wafted it near her muzzle to calm her.

“Mm. Thank you for talking with me, my friend.” Luna, now empty of pent-up frustrations, felt and looked numb. “I think I will retire. I feel poorly. If anything comes up, please take care of it for me until I have recovered.”

“You are loved by your subjects and family, Princess, and you are a good mare,” Quote Quill called as Luna began to walk to her tower.

“Thank you, Quote.”

***

Luna lay in her bed, musing. Thoughts of Sombra’s fear magic causing nightmares, thoughts of reigning over the land, the beauty of her night and the moon, the coldness and anger she felt while trapped there, dreams and curses.

“I swear I’m going insane,” she muttered, getting up and beginning to pace. Her shoes sounded on her floor.

Celestia.

Clack.

Princesses.

Clack.

Rulers.

Clack.

Sombra.

Clack.

Fear.

Clack.

Nightmares.

CLACK!

Luna stomped angrily. Her thoughts were going in circles. Fear, annoyance, guilt, jealousy, anger at others, anger at herself, nothing was working and she still felt terrible.

She opened her door quietly to find the corridor quiet and dark. Carefully, she removed her slippers and placed them near her closet, then fetched a candle and holder from her dresser and lit it with her horn, the flame flickering to life. Holding her light, she began to trot down the halls.

She passed several of the night guards, who either bowed their heads or completely ignored her as she walked by briskly. As she approached a stairwell, a burst of reddish magic stopped her in her path. When it dissipated, Quote Quill stepped forward, pushing up her dark, square-rimmed glasses. The unicorn bowed her head, levitating the candle from Luna. “Can I be of assistance, your Highness?”

“How did thee know I had left my room, Quote? Thou startled me.” Luna slipped into Old Ponish, too tired to catch herself.

“I have my ways, Princess,” Quote replied, turning and opening the door for her princess. “After all, I live to serve.”

Luna’s assistant accompanied her to the library, where she began to peruse the shelves of the old archives in the dark, the only light the warm flickering of the candle Quote Quill held and her own glowing blue horn.

She picked out books and scrolls that caught her attention and passed them to Quote, who dutifully levitated them in a stack, walking behind the princess. The unicorn assistant briefly glanced at the titles as she stacked them. The Dream Dimension, The History of the Crystal Empire - Vol. 2, Dark Magic (MIND), Self-Sustained Spellcasting, and Forbidden Magics - Vol. 5 (Fear).

“Your Majesty, I do not mean to offend,” Quote began delicately, “But I’m wondering what you could be doing that involves such topics.”

“It is none of your concern, Quote Quill,” Luna said in a dark, authoritative tone as she strode down the aisles of the library.

“Princess, I am your most faithful ward. Whatever you are trying to accomplish, I am sure I can help with.” Quote jumped forward slightly, catching up to Luna’s side.

“I said it does not concern you!” Luna whirled suddenly, mane of stars flowing faster as she raised her head. Her horn sparked and she stamped at the ground. Quote immediately flattened herself to the ground in a bow, her hold on the books faltering momentarily. One of them dropped onto the floor, breaking the sudden silence.

Luna snatched it and the rest of her books up in her magic, sneering down at her ward and walking away.

The candle had blown out.
Luna sat down on a cushion at the back of the library with her books and stared into the darkness, realizing what she had done. Trying to focus on her first book through her eyes, hot and blurry with tears, she opened the cover and flipped to the first page. It was of utmost importance that she complete this task before she hurt anypony else.

***

A soft light broke Luna out of her reading. Two of her books were placed on her right side, five on her left, and one spread out between her hooves. For a moment, she lost track of time - was that the sunrise? Had she been here all night - until it got closer. Her candle, on its tray, floated over to her, surrounded by dark red magic. Quote Quill stood in the shadows near a bookcase and placed the candle to Luna’s right, illuminating the book better than Luna’s magic did.

“Don’t strain your eyes, Majesty,” Quote’s soft voice murmured as she backed away.

“Quote Quill, wait–” Luna started. “We apologize for shouting at thee, but this is my responsibility alone.”

“I’m your faithful servant, Highness, in whatever you need. If you wish, I will leave.” Quote’s glasses reflected the candlelight, her expression unreadable.

Luna was quiet for a long minute before responding. “Very well. Come here.”

The pale off-grey unicorn dutifully trotted forwards. Luna levitated a book to her. “Read this, and I will tell you my plan to prevent the second coming of Nightmare Moon.”

Quote Quill sat opposite of her princess, opening the tome of forbidden magics. “I would follow you even then, Princess,” she said quietly, beginning to read as her horn was bathed in a blood-red light.

Author's Note

Quote Quill's unwavering loyalty to Luna is perhaps a little TOO unwavering? I'm sure a princess slowly being overpowered by an evil presence and her personal yes-mare won't have any bad ideas /s

luna and quote quill after their plan goes wrong: (surprised pikachu)

(Quote Quill design and art done by yours truly!)

Chapter Four - Dark Magic

In the darkness of the library, Luna and Quote Quill prepared a spell. After going through the books Luna had picked out and finding others to read through, they began attempting the magic involved. After the candle had burnt down to a small nub of wax, the only light was the blue and red of their magic glowing for brief intermittent moments before flickering back into the dark.

Too soon, however, more light began to filter in. Luna stood up, stretching her neck and back. She automatically lit her horn to lower the moon, then hesitated.

Why should I?

They stood in the library for a long moment before Quote Quill pressed her hoof to Luna’s shoulder. “Your Majesty, your plan…”

Luna took a long breath. “Yes. You’re right.” She ignored her conflicted emotions and began to rotate the sky, dim the stars, and move the moon away from her sister’s heavenly body, so much bigger and brighter than hers.

Quote Quill began to clean up the traces of their all-night studying session, teleporting Luna’s books safely into her chambers. She pushed up her glasses with one hoof and yawned. “Excuse me,” she said automatically.

“You must be tired, Quote,” Luna murmured, wrapping one leathery wing around her aide, who’s pale grey face colored. “You should rest. We have much to do when the sun sets tonight.” Her voice darkened at that ominous statement, and she folded her wings back, striding from the library.

Quote Quill nodded, following behind her princess. “What will you do today, your Highness?”

“I think I’ll take a visit to my friend, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied grimly, aqua eyes narrow.

Quote nodded, teleporting to her quarters and leaving Luna to herself.

***
Walking into Ponyville, Luna was stricken with how commonly it was. Dirt roads got her crystalline shoes dusty and she lifted her tail to avoid the same fate. She knocked on the door of the Golden Oak Library - She calls herself a princess and yet lives in some tree - and waited for Twilight to answer.

The purple alicorn soon opened the door. “Luna!” she exclaimed happily.

Seeing Twilight lifted her spirits somewhat. Proper company. “Twilight Sparkle,” greeted Luna, stepping into the library. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“What’s the occasion?” Twilight trotted to her cabinets and levitated a few tea bags out of the cupboard. “And do you have a tea preference?”

“Something that keeps me awake,” Luna responded dryly. “I’ve been up all night working on a magic… problem. I was hoping you would have some insight.”

“Of course.” Twilight set the tea bags to soak and levitated over a chair for Luna. She sat opposite her once the tea was ready, and floated Luna’s mug to her. “What’s the matter?”

Luna twirled her cup in her levitation briefly. “I’m sure you’re aware of the dream dimension-”

“Oh, yes, I’ve done lots of reading on it,” Twilight interjected with a smile.

Luna suppressed a glare at the interruption and continued. “-And I want to add an enchantment to it. Or, if that can’t be done, to my dreams specifically. Do you think it possible?”

The two began to talk at length about the dream dimension’s strange magic and how enchantments interacted with the subconscious plane until their teacups were long dry.

***

Today, Quote Quill was not needed.

The unicorn smiled to herself. Her princess’s thoughts amused her. Quote Quill was always needed, whether Luna knew it or not.

She trotted into the royal alicorn’s dark tower and stood in the center of the room, lighting her horn and beginning to clean it. Reddish-pink magic carefully made the bed, tidied Luna’s horseshoes, yoke, tiara, and other royal garments, stacked papers neatly on her desk and disposed of letters that the princess had already gone through so that when she returned, she would find everything in order.

Once the room was clean, she met her sister at the servant's entrance to the throne room. Raven Inkwell was holding a stack of scrolls in her magic. Every so often, a burst of golden light would teleport another into her magical grasp. Celestia and Raven, working together to deal with Equestria’s troubles and queries.

Quote Quill nuzzled her sister’s side sympathetically. She always had more to do, a never ending paper trail. “Work dutifully, my sister,” Quote began.

“-As you are needed yet,” recited Raven in a quiet tone, shuffling through a document. Another scroll teleported into Raven’s magic, and she gave Quote a glance.

Taking the hint, Quote left Raven to work and entered the throne room from the back, taking her place next to Luna’s currently empty throne. Celestia’s warm gaze washed over her briefly. “Luna’s not back yet,” the princess of the sun murmured, half of her attention on the letter she was scanning.

“Did she leave anything for me to do in her absence?”

“No,” smiled Celestia, looking away from her papers for a moment. “Be grateful you have some time to yourself, Quote,” she added teasingly.

Quote Quill returned Celestia’s smile, bowed, and began trotting towards the library where Luna needed her to be.

Her princess’s plan required steps to be taken, things for Quote to prepare. She could sense it in Luna’s mind, a ping in her mind that told her when she was needed. She opened the library door and teleported the spellbooks that they hadn’t read through the previous night to a private corner behind a wall of bookshelves. She browsed the covers briefly, then stacked them.

Still, the nag in her mind didn’t leave. The princess’s needs were getting more detailed and extravagant by the day. Quote didn’t mind accommodating, but Luna was disturbed by herself.

The unicorn paced the library, extending her magic to a storage room near the servant’s quarters. She grasped a few items and teleported them to herself, spreading a blanket over the floor and placing an unlit candle into its holder. The itch in the corner of her mind subsided, and Quote nodded to herself, satisfied with her work.

Today, Quote Quill was not needed.

Her princess was growing fickle and dark. Something was changing, and her princess did not like it. Quote didn’t understand - Luna was Luna, and Quote would never object - but no matter what Luna needed from her, she would comply. If Luna required dark spells and long hours of the night studying magic that had long since been locked away, Quote Quill would do it. And so, to prepare, she lay down on the blanket and picked up the first book on the stack.

The lexicon was old, and the spells were convoluted and complex, but she tried her best to read through it, to find anything that would be useful, that she deemed her princess would need.

Today, Quote Quill was not needed, but tonight she would be, and she would be ready.

***

Luna closed her batlike wings to her side as she landed on one of Canterlot Castle’s walkways. The sun was low in the sky, and Celestia had painted a beautiful splash of blazing orange and pink on the horizon. The sunset light reflected off the ivory towers of the castle. Twilight Sparkle joined her, ruffling her feathery wings. She nosed Luna’s side curiously. “Do your wings work the same way dragons’ do?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m not a dragon,” Luna deadpanned, although she spread one wing for Twilight to inspect. “It’s been so long since I’ve had pegasus wings that I couldn’t say I recall a difference.”

“That’s fascinating. I’ve had an interest in non-pegasi wings since Fluttershy got them when she turned into Flutterbat.”

Luna allowed Twilight to talk as they walked together down the corridors. Vaguely, she noted her aide’s absence. Just as the thought crossed her mind, a crimson flash of light appeared in front of them. Quote’s eyes widened and she bowed to the unexpected visit from the princess of friendship. “Your majesties,” she uttered, taking her place at Luna’s other side.
“You must be Luna’s assistant?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, this is Quote Quill,” Luna introduced. “She has impeccable timing - always right when I need you,” she said to Quote.

“At your service, Highness. Will Princess Sparkle join us in the library?”

“Library?” Twilight’s ears perked forwards and both ponies expectantly looked towards Luna.

The Lunar princess hesitated. Something in her prickled, not wanting to be stopped and fearful that Twilight would meddle. No, the fewer ponies who knew she was dabbling in dark magic, the better. “Not tonight, unfortunately. However, her knowledge and our tests were instrumental in this spell.”

“Out of curiosity, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Luna’s mind raced, blanking on an excuse good enough to fool the magical expert. “A failsafe spell to control the dreams of ponies,” she half-lied. It would indeed control a pony’s dreams - hers.

“Huh,” the element of magic said. For a moment, Luna feared that her flimsy excuse wouldn’t cut it, but Twilight soon added “Well, good luck!” and headed for the main hall, no doubt to go talk with her mentor.

Both Luna and Quote Quill visibly relaxed. “Let us go to the library,” she declared with a sense of finality, flapping her wings once as if to punctuate her sentence.

Quote nodded sharply, falling into step just behind her princess.

As they reached the library doors and red magic surrounded the handles to open for the princess of the night, she lit her horn and raised the moon into the sky, taking it from Celestia and casting the castle into darkness. It took on an eerie glow as the magical torches lining the hallways lit one after the other.

Luna trotted into the library with purpose and slowed at the center of it, in front of the giant hourglass suspended in a wire sphere. Quote Quill took the lead, walking to the corner of the library she had set up that day.

“You have done well,” Luna uttered as she scanned the books and blankets. “But there is something that you could not have managed.” The princess turned and began to trot down the aisles of bookshelves once again, and Quote broke into a gallop to keep up with Luna’s long strides.
They reached the right wall of the library, and Luna lit her horn and rotated a bookshelf containing mundane nonfiction scrolls, revealing a metal door behind it. The door was imposing and old, with a circular lock mechanism that Quote recognised immediately - a unicorn’s horn was inserted and then lit, and only the correct magical signature would unlock it. Luna backed up slightly and slid her horn into the keyhole, then let out a somewhat aggressive burst of turquoise magic. The ancient, prison-esque door let out a series of frightening grinding and ticking sounds before swinging heavily open to reveal a secret, hidden section of the library.

“Welcome to the restricted section,” Luna said dryly, stepping in casually. Quote Quill, with wide crimson eyes, followed.

It was dusty. Everything was coated in a fine layer of it - even the air, it seemed. Quote coughed on it, Luna’s hooves left imprints in the floor, and Quote absently took off her glasses and brushed them against her fur to clean them.

The bookshelves weren’t shelves as much as they were cases. Some were behind glass, others behind bars. Most of the contents were scrolls and tomes, ancient, thick-looking things. Some of them even had chains over them, and a few were specially displayed in their own cases. A few of them let out magical glows from inside the pages or from gems inset in the covers. It all felt off. As Quote passed one of the shelves, she swore one of the books whispered to her, and she pressed closer to her princess.

Luna spared a glance to her servant and opened one wing to lay over Quote’s back in comfort, though she said nothing and continued to scan the dusty room.

It didn’t seem like a place one should talk in.

For the first time, facing these ominous tomes and scrolls, Quote felt shreds of doubt, but her throat was dry. And dusty.

Slowly, Luna prowled the aisles until she found the book she wanted. Carefully, gingerly, she unlocked and slid open the case, and levitated a book bound by a magical spell. Her horn flashed brighter to remove the coils of green magic, one at a time, until the book was barren. The cover looked empty save for the small symbol of a brain right in the middle.

Once Luna had put the case back, the two mares practically galloped back to the door, only to find it closed. Quote huddled closer to Luna. Had she closed it? I didn’t notice her closing it.

Somewhat shaken, Luna hastily placed her horn into the lock and opened it, then slammed the door closed behind them.

It was Luna who was the first to crack a smile. “How silly,” the princess said, pressing a lightly dusted hoof to her mouth.

“That was positively sinister,” Quote remarked, shaking herself lightly. Dust particles flew everywhere, and she sneezed.

“I am an all-powerful alicorn, and that dusty old room gave me the creeps. Ridiculous! I’d like to see anything take the two of us on,” Luna laughed, throwing a hoof over Quote’s neck.

“Yes, your Highness,” Quote agreed.

“Oh, you’re so serious, Quote, like you weren’t scared stiff!”

“Don’t tease me, princess, I’m just an ordinary unicorn!” Quote made a jokingly pouting face. “Not like you. You could vanquish any of those evils in that room - nay, all at once, even.”

Something powerful and greedy flashed in Luna’s eyes, but she still had a lighthearted grin on her face. “Yes!” she cheered, exaggeratedly flexing one of her forelegs. “Now, let’s go read this old thing and finally complete the spell.”

As they were walking back to their blanket, Luna paused. She had been too caught up in her own brags to acknowledge it at first, she realized. “You’re not just an ordinary unicorn,” she said, nosing Quote’s mane with a smile.

Quote’s face reddened, but she smiled up at Luna just the same. “You flatter me, princess.”

Luna looked up again, her smile fading as she became lost in thought. She had become arrogant. The sooner this was done, the better.

Right?

That sudden burst of confidence, the laughter… Not just with Quote. Luna felt more assured, stronger in herself. Maybe it could be good. Maybe she could be good. Her hoofsteps slowed.

The mental image of Nightmare Moon flashed in her head, but instead of a nightmare, it was a daydream. The tall, midnight-black being, graceful as the night sky whirled about her head, adorned in glistening armor as the moon reflected in it, crowds of ponies in awe, shaking not with fear but with respect and adoration. Everything she wanted and more.

Maybe she could be good.

“Princess Luna?” came a quiet voice, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Immediately, a spike of rage seared through her. Rude, lowly pony, interrupting me, how DARE they–

A hoof was placed on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Quote. It was Quote. Luna took a deep breath, somewhat rattled. She opened her mouth to say yes.

“Did you mean it? When you said you would follow me?” Hot tears came to her aqua eyes, and she blinked them away. Why was this happening? She was loved, like her sister, so why did she feel so lonesome?

“Yes,” came the quiet, steady response.

Luna craned her neck slightly, and their horns bumped together, a gesture of comfort for unicorns. “I want to be good.”

Quote Quill lifted Luna’s head, forcing her to look up, into one of the windows and into her reflection. “Your Majesty, you are great.”

Luna’s chest swelled with emotion, and she teleported her books and blanket to that spot by the window, able to gaze out into her beautiful night. Quote lit a candle and set it between them, and they began once more to read, to check things over one last time.

***

First, it would need to persist. A constant reminder as Luna slept, to keep her humble. To not forget. Replicating Sombra’s brain worm was the difficult part. Combining different spells together, trying each combination, Luna and Quote Quill each held multiple spellbooks in their magic, reading incantations aloud, casting them with their horns, trying and failing again and again to get the perfect mix of magics to create something that could live in the mind and in Luna’s dream realm.

But even if they could create such a thing, then it would need something to feed off. What makes a nightmare? Dream magic, dashed with fear and anxieties.

After hours of poring over old tomes and trying and retrying spells, Luna at last reached the end of her already-thinned patience, and hurled one of the books across the library with a distorted yell. “This is a fruitless pursuit!”

Quote Quill had diligently been working just as hard as her princess, and took the opportunity to give her magic a rest. “I’m sure if we just take a breather and come back to it later–”

“Oh, be quiet!” the alicorn snapped, irritable. Her mane flowed and ebbed like an angry tide. “I don’t even want to waste hours in this dusty library trying to make a permanent guilt trip! This is foolish, so foolish.” She began to pace, muzzle curled back in a snarl.

Quote paled slightly, ears pressed back. “Majesty, if you wish to retire, I can do the rest myself, for you…” she offered, trying to placate her princess.

“Silence, knave!” Luna stomped one hoof against the library floor, cracking the tiles. “I shouldn’t need to torture myself just to be a decent mare!”

“I–I–” the unicorn stammered, clueless as to how to respond. Her mind was buzzing, but she couldn’t figure out what Luna wanted from her.

The alicorn’s mane was flowing wildly and her eyes flashed dangerously as she began to pace back and forth, growling to herself.

Why should I?

Why should I be good, why am I so wicked, why can’t I be better, why, why, why?

“You want to,” Quote’s quavering voice answered.

“What?”

“You want to be good,” she repeated. “You’re not an evil pony, Princess Luna.” But her eyes were filled with fear, and her ears were pressed back.

Luna stilled. Her mane flowed back into place and rippled like gentle water. “But I am not a good one, either.”

“But you want to be, and you’re trying to be.” Quote nudged Luna back towards the blanket, the candle, the books. “You can beat Nightmare Moon.”

Luna sat down, tucking her hooves under herself. “How is it you can see more good in me than I can?”

Quote gazed at her princess for a long moment before picking up a spellbook again. “No reason.”

They sat quietly, continuing their long list of spell combinations until something worked. A mix of a memory spell, fear magic, and a connection from Luna produced a squirming, amorphous black vapor that swirled within the confines of Luna’s magic. She staggered away from it, and Quote Quill looked nauseated. The evil energy radiating from the spell was physically palpable.

“Do something to it!”

“Like what?” Luna tightened her levitation to prevent the thing from wriggling free. “I shouldn’t have taken that book from the restricted section, it was bad news.”
“You used a spell from THAT book?”

“Nothing else was working!”

Luna’s bright aqua magic flickered dimmer, the creature’s malice staining the magic around it, and she hissed in disgust.

“Do something!” Quote repeated frantically.

“I don’t–” Luna stammered, flapping her wings. “I– Oh, fine.” Trying to think on her hooves, Luna pulsed a healing spell into the vapor, then a purification spell Celestia had taught her. Both seemed to have no effect on the spawn of the restricted spellbook.

Quote Quill fired a few beams of red magic into the circle of magic enclosing it as well, flipping through a few of her books. “Disenchant, curse removal, purify,” she chanted in tandem with the spells she cast. “Nothing’s working on it!”

“This WAS stupid,” Luna cried, exasperated with herself and her problems. She was even exasperated with her continuously thinning patience. Suddenly, her magic was corrupted again and the magic of the squirming vapor reached her horn. Her wings flared open and she let out a cry of alarm, rearing onto her hind legs, which turned a familiar black hue.

“Nightmare Moon,” Quote Quill gasped.

“Ugh, not again,” groaned Luna, struggling to contain the two different evil magics in her grasp. In an effort to keep everything from going wrong, she lit her horn and poured her own frustration into the black smog she held in her magical grasp. Nightmare Moon’s pelt seemed to be sucked up by the spell, like smoke flying off of Luna’s body. All of the greed and jealousy and temper was vacuumed into the wiggling wisp she held.

The excess magic seemed to thicken it, and the frantic movements of the curse became sluggish. It turned a deep purple laced with flecks of brightness, like stars. Luna exhaled roughly, weakening her grip on the Nightmare Moon sludge she held in her magic, which had returned to its normal bright blue.

Quote Quill approached gingerly. “Is the spell stable now?”

“I think so.” Luna cast another purification spell on it for good measure. It had all but stopped moving at this point.

“What does it do?”

“The original spell was a combination of sombra’s fear magic, my dream magic, and dark mind spells. It should do what we planned. But it has…” Luna struggled for words. “Nightmare Moon essence in it now.”

Quote Quill surrounded it with her magical aura as well, reading a purifying spell from one of her books and casting it on the blob. “Should we let it go and see what it does?”

“Put a magic barrier around it before I drop it.”

Quote’s crimson magic surrounded an area of the library in a half-sphere that closed around where Luna was holding the nightmare sludge. Once the shield was secure, Luna allowed the magic around her horn to dissipate, and it fell to the ground, where it lay, unmoving, for a long moment.

Quote Quill continued her shield spell and both mares stepped closer, curious.

“Maybe the disenchantment spells wo–”

Before Quote could finish her sentence, the purple blob stretched upwards as if rearing, growing as though it was swelling from the inside. Slowly, it formed into a vague shape - four legs, an indistinct head and body - that it slowly refined until a wavering silhouette of an alicorn stood before them inside the sphere of magic.

It looked like Luna - no, it looked like Nightmare Moon’s silhouette, with a mane of sparkling stars that trailed behind it.

“Drop– drop the shield,” Luna said, not taking her eyes off of the featureless form the spell had taken.

Quote obeyed, the red energy sliding downwards as the spell stepped over it, towards Luna.

“Your Highness...?” Quote asked lowly, worry evident on her face.

“It’s alright.” Luna and the spell circled each other, each fascinated with the other. “The spell worked, it did what I wanted it to.”

“Shall I record the spell, Princess?”

“Yes, please.” Luna paused in her pacing around the dark purple silhouette to stare at it. Its outlines shimmered brighter and continuously flowed, like Luna’s mane. Quote began to write down the different spells that were used to create this new being, each book and page jotted on a scroll.

“What shall I call the spell, your Highness?”

Luna considered for a long moment, staring into the empty void in the spell’s ‘head’. “I think I shall call it… Tantabus.”

Author's Note

see, story development, i swear this isn't just a shipfic, the tantabus is here!

(but also, ship nightquill)

my two dysfunctional girls... </3 yall should have consulted princess twilight, maybe then you wouldnt have used forbidden magic in your spell, or, heck, even gone through with this plan in the first place

anyway there's gonna be a bit of a timeskip in the next few chapters, first to the tantabus in effect and then to after the events of "do princesses dream of magic sheep", so just keep that in mind!