Nightmare Mooning

Chapters

Part one of many
Part two of many
Part three of many
Part four of many

Part one of many

The tapping against Luna’s curtained east window interrupted the princess from her scrawling. Rather than drop the quill and close the hefty tome, Luna decided it may well have been a small package or some such, as had happened before, and instead waltzed to the noise. At the second series of knocking, she called out, “Hold on, hold on, I’m coming.” She rolled her eyes as it continued to go on.

With an invisible hand, she pushed apart back both drapes and peered into the night; no guard, no parcel, nothing. For a moment, she bathed in the soft glow of the moon before returning to work, shrugging it off as the wind carrying the leaves. The curtains were closed and she turned around to return to her duties.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Slightly annoyed, she drew the lines once more. Again, there was no guard, no parcel, nothing. However, the moon was outrageously closer and surrounded with a peculiar purple horizon. In fact, it wasn’t even a horizon, she could see the whispy shadows of clouds suddenly interrupted by the purple. She zoomed in to focus on the anomaly until her eyes came upon-

“Oh by the beard of Starswirl!”

Luna stood there, mouth agape at her realization. Right behind this sight was a jet black pony with a wicked grin and a mild blush, wiggling her tush at her. Luna’s magic was stuck in between closing the curtains immediately and keeping them wide open and shooing the demon away.

“Why are you staring? Isn’t that beneath royalty such as yourself?” the offending alicorn teased. Though slightly muffled thanks to the glass, the voice was certainly recognizable.

The official princess of the night looked up at her face. “ Are you N-nightmare Moon?”

“The one and only,” she replied, keeping her pose.

Luna made an effort to close half of the curtain to shield herself from the night, but Nightmare Moon perfectly mirrored her. “I’m sorry, is this in your way?”

Disregarding the delicate twilight sky in front of her, Luna replied, “What is the meaning of this? And…” she tapped the glass, “of this?”

“Well, I’ve only been up for three days so I’m not too sure where we are on the bloodline, but I’m here for my revenge,” she stated as a matter of fact. “I’ve attempted striking you with lightning twice now, which ended up in my own clouds blowing up. I tried getting within striking distance of you with my own hooves when you were walking the hallways, but that failed as well.”

Luna had to blink for a few seconds after hearing such blunt news. “What happened?”

“You know that shattered window on the fourth floor?”

“Was that-“

“Yes,” she admitted. “It would seem I do not yet have control over my powers, perhaps because of my rejuvenation, but I still lust for revenge.”

“So, allow me to recollect your plan… you’re going to try and scar me through emotional impact? Through your cutie mark?”

Nightmare Moon paused for a second. “I didn’t say the plan was brilliant, but at least it will amuse me. As for you, why aren’t you more traumatized than you should be?”

She sighed. “I’ve lived for thousands of years; I’m pretty much immune to such trivial concerns with the nude body. I was more surprised with your return.”

She turned around and looked her counterpart in the eye. “I suppose my plans weren’t always very thought out,” she admitted with a little regret. “But, I am still evil, so I need this.”

“Regardless of stature or relation, I will not allow you to scar my subjects. Cease now and you can end this silly feud.”

With a sinister smile, she spread her wings and turned around on the porch, allowing Luna get one last look at the dark side of the moon before taking off. The alicorn of the natural night pushed open her windows but failed to charge her horn before her target was out of her range. As she crossed the imaginary border of Luna’s aim, Nightmare transformed into her cumulus form and scattered away in a small poof.

.-~V~-.

By night, without her armour, Nightmare Moon was indistinguishable from the darkness. Most of its citizens had gone to rest and disregarded her precious night, but a few houses still had candles flickering in the windowsills. One house, or rather a twisted natural version of one, was wide awake compared to its neighbors with a familiar silhouette walking across the light.

It was unmistakable. The hair was cropped neatly, her walking gait was professional yet approachable, and the horn was slightly longer than that of average unicorns. Softly descending as to not give herself away, she began circling the premises. Her flight pattern reminded herself of birds of prey getting ready to strike. The owl came to mind specifically though it didn’t circle as she did, but more sensitive ears would be a bonus for gathering information. Silently conjuring slightly warped owl ears, she eavesdropped onto the unicorn’s residence.

“Dear Princess Celestia-

Sometimes a pony just needs to relax, we all get stressed after a while. After Applejack had worked herself to exhaustion, I would have thought Rarity would have learned from her friend’s mistakes. However, she failed to pace herself and we found her in the nick of time trying to sew her cat to a dress as a new design idea. As her friends, we should have been watching her more closely. We thank you for your generous offer to rehabilitate her through strenuous therapy in Canterlot. Nothing should be so important that it makes you neglect everypony and you should always try and find time to socialize.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Nightmare Moon perched herself on the balcony just as the letter finished and found this as a perfect opportunity for revenge. She heard the lavender mare call for somepony named Spike to send the message. Astoundingly, as she peered through the glass with extreme caution, a small purple dragon walking bipedal came out and sent the message aflame. The puff seemed to move of its own ambition, flying high into the sky and traveling in a linear path to Canterlot.

“A pony trained dragon? My, my, Ms. Sparkle, you are full of surprises.”

Pulling a quill and ink along with some parchment out of thin air, Nightmare began to dance her pen across the page. Within moments, “Celestia’s reply” was ready. “Perfect,” she said while rubbing her two front hooves together in a mantis pattern.

A blue puff of magic almost immediately replied to her message. “Wow, I would have thought she was asleep right now.” Immediately, she opened the scroll with the midnight blue bow and began to read it out loud.

“To my most faithful student,

Seeing as you’re up writing letters so late, perhaps you should go to your balcony and appreciate the night some more? I’ll return with a more appropriate reply tomorrow.

~Princess Celestia.”

Not feeling sure if it was sarcasm or an actual late night response, the unicorn decided to fulfill her master’s endeavor. She shook her head at the notion her teacher was upset with her over the letter as she waltzed up the stairs. Opening the balcony door, she stepped out onto the terrace and looked up at the sky…

The midnight alicorn summoned three speakers, some colorful fireworks, some lighting equipment, and a record player as she heard her first target go up the stairs. Summoning an old vinyl disk with the appropriate music, she popped it in and waited. At the sound of the doors creaking and hoofsteps walking, she put the needle on the disk.

She flared her wings out, raised her rump into the air, and fluttered her wings so that her moon would rise at a slow pace in tune with the music.

Twilight heard the sound of a trumpet playing in the distance… sounding as if it was far away yet it seemed so close. Then, many came in and the percussion followed back through with a sensational thumping pattern.

Suddenly, a purple object came into her field of vision along with the flare of the trumpet which was in a crescendo, rising above the balcony ledge. Above it was a swirling void of light blue stars and on the field of purple was a small crescent moon. From inside the branches of the tree, a light popped on and shone on the thing’s surface.

The hushed sound of fluttering wings came through the music as the thing rose into the air. It was lifting the object in front of her as far as she could tell, but she didn’t realize what it was until an eye with a draconic slit looked directly at her from the side.

Twilight’s eyes widened as the full extent of the situation filtered into her brain along with the climax of the song. She stood motionless as the ass in front of her continued to rise effortlessly into the air. She couldn’t help but stare at it in complete fear and awe as the dreaded Nightmare Moon’s rump invaded her eyesight. More lights came on and made it impossible to miss and in the background a symphony of fireworks appeared.

Just as she was about to freak out, the act of optical villainy and its accompanying sound track ended with a mysterious poof. The mare sat on her haunches and continued to look at where the mooning had just occurred. One final explosion, resembling a pink heart, went off into the sky.

“Twilight,” Spike called from the door, just missing the event, “aren’t you going to bed?”

Without turning around, Twilight said, “Spike, get me another letter…”

.-~V~-.

“That was brilliant!” Nightmare Moon congratulated herself while dispelling her owl ears. “Her face was priceless and she shall forever be scarred. A wonderful success of many to follow.” As she flew through the air, a residency designed to look like sweets and confectionaries made itself glaringly apparent against the actual moon’s light. There was a window alight on the very top floor and the temptation to investigate was too good to resist.

Perching herself on the roof and bending down so that her vision was upside down, she carefully observed the pink mare inside. For some reason, she was intensely staring at a calendar. Her hair was incredibly poofy and she resembled of the one who had helped stop her at the castle. The balloon cutie mark definitely jogged her memory that this was one of the six she was after. The hour hand was resting on the tenth spot with the minute right at the top (or bottom, respectively).

“Tomorrow…” she said with enthusiasm. “I should probably get to sleep now but I’m hungry. I dunno, what do you think tummy?” She looked down at her belly.

Finding opportunity, Nightmare quickly conjured a voice modification spell and attached it to the window pane. “I think you should get some food now.” From the soon-to-be victim’s reaction, she would have guessed the voice displacement spell worked without fail.

“Tummy!? You can talk now?”

The alicorn rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ve always been able to talk. Now get me some food.”

“Hmmm, I would have thought I would have taught my belly to have better manners. What do we say?”

“Ugh, get me some food please,” she added with venom.

“Ok Ms. Cranky Wanky, after I get you some cake you’re going to manner school.”

The mare went through her door and down to the first floor. Nightmare Moon followed as well but with an air light descent to the bottom.

From the side of the window from where she now resided, the midnight pony carefully observed the current room. It was painfully obvious that the place was a kitchen if the multiple ovens and utensils weren’t enough of a clue. She turned her head to get a better look but noticed her horn cast a shadow on the ground. Pulling back, she realized she’d need to get inside. She also realized the fool was still blabbering to her innards, so she transferred the magic from the top window to the bottom floor.

“- and that’s why I have Pinkie Sense.” The one apparently named Pinkie stopped and looked down at her belly.

“Oh yes, fascinating,” replied the belly with sarcasm. “Now, can we please get some food? I demand nourishment.”

Pinkie frowned.

"…please?”

“That’s better. Now, what would you like?”

The question took Nightmare by surprise. “What?”

“Well, normally I feed myself but now I can ask what you want for once.”

The stomach paused as if in deep thought. Realistically, the actor behind the scheme was pondering how to moon her in the kitchen. Also, getting some free food wasn’t a bad bonus to the plan either.

“Very well, I’ll take some cinnamon buns.” Nightmare licked her sharp teeth. “Extra icing.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie! Breakfast for dinner it is! You just sit tight and wait for me. Well, I don’t know if you can sit, but I guess just… stay there I guess.” Immediately, the baker gathered the supplies she’d need and went to work. Coincidentally, so did the mooner.

Pinkie heard the ding of the oven go off. She hoped her stomach was OK; she hadn’t spoken in a long while. Maybe her stomach was starved! Wait, if her stomach was starved, why wasn’t she starving? She was moderately hungry, but not in any mortal danger… unless her stomach talking was a new Pinkie Sense she hadn’t realized before.

Pinkie pulled back the door and a huge blue cloud imbued with millions of stars poofed out and swirled on the ceiling. Pinkie reeled back and grabbed a frying pan hanging off of a hook. Out from the smoke dropped four legs… backwards from where she was facing. Then the rest of the figure dropped.

“Two cinnamon buns,” laughed Nightmare as she balanced the sticky pastries on her hind quarters. Pinkie choked for a second as the purple scenery in front of her, though admittedly it smelled delicious, was no farther than two inches from her face. Nightmare then turned around and zapped the confused mare on the head, leaving a small but harmless scorch mark.

“W-what was that!?”

“Me, stealing your stomach’s voice too! Also, I’m taking these to go and not paying for them!”

A tear dripped from Pinkie’s face. “You monster!”

With an evil laugh that would scare the most jaded horror fans, she dissipated out of the house. Pinkie sat her bottom on the floor as the sudden realization sank into her mind. Then, her hair went completely straight.

.-~V~-.

Not feeling quite up to flying just yet, the mooner landed out of her teleport just outside the bakery. She looked inside for a moment as she watched the pony bawl. She had always wondered why ponies were so leery of such a trivial act of nudity, but she had never pressed the issue too far, concluding that knowing the answer would ruin the fun. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

“And now, after that victory, I feast upon the spoils of glory,” she thought to herself with pride.

She levitated the sticky pastry from her backside and maneuvered it up to her mouth, which was open and waiting impatiently for the succulent reward. As she bit into the soft bread, a scuffling of hooves rang about her ears. She stopped looking at the bun and towards the sound and soon discovered, panning from the ground up, a female mint unicorn staring at her with large eyes. Her ears twitched as the pink one let out an incredibly loud sob through her driveling.

Nightmare watched as the unicorn’s eyes trailed from her own face to her tail and then back to her face. She herself followed along and discovered her backside had been covered in long sticky white strands that trailed up from her bottom to the upper regions of her back.

“Worry not denizen of the night, this is not what your mind may perceive it as. This is only pastry cream.”

The mare backed-up slowly as another wail penetrated the walls. “D-did you…”

“No! She’s crying because I was messing with her buns! NO! I mean! She had some buns in her oven and-“

Hearing everything she needed to, the horrified pony turned around immediately and galloped away into the protection of the crowded building space.

“Damn it.”

.-~V~-.

“That could have gone better,” she spoke through the last of her recently stolen food. As she gulped down the last bit of the admittedly delicious confection, she licked her lips with anticipation. “ Still, two for six…” She did one more precursory glance at her body, now completely clean, before resuming her original plans.

Hovering over the town, a ruckus in the distance caught her attention. Near the forest of where she once ruled, a cottage had turned its lights on and a miniature stampede of small creatures bustled out the front door. At the door’s arch stood a silhouette of one that looked increasingly familiar. The hair was long and flowing and the wings looked about the right height. Changing directions to get another angle on the situation, Nightmare flew towards the house.

“Now come on, it’s time for your shots everyone,” the pony cooed to the animals. Her voice was sweet and angelic… it was disgusting.

“Nopony should have a voice like that after they are grown up. After causing her some turmoil, I’ll perhaps extend a hoof and teach her to garner some respect properly.” Circling down and landing gracefully on the roof, she observed the animals cowering in fear over the pegasus with the small needle. “With this new light, I can even see she is pink and yellow, the colors of weakness. It is no wonder that she is residing on the outskirts of this quaint town, she must be too weak even for them.”

“And yet,” she continued, “she was an Element of Harmony. I must not get too cocky.”

“Mr. Eagle? Do you want to have your talons infected again like last year?”

The majestic bird perched on the flamingo’s back looked down at its claws and then back at its owner. It shook its head no but still refused to fly back.

The pegasus walked forward a little. Nightmare watched with interest as they didn’t scoot back any further. “She seems kind to animals and perhaps everypony. In fact, I don’t need an extremely detailed plan to horrify this weak little creature, I could just land down there, wiggle my stars, and take off…”

The matriarch of eternal darkness began to ready her assault…

.-~V~-.

Spike finished scribbling down the last bits of the letter with a vigorous yawn. “Okay, sending to the princess-“

Before he could conjure the flame, a belch erupted from him and with it a letter. “Oh, it’s a letter from Princess Luna.” Before he could swipe it from the air, the shaken unicorn already had levitated it to herself through a complex consortium of books and library furniture.

“D-dear Twilight Sp-Sparkle,” she read while shaking under a chair. “I have n-need to inform you th-that my malevolent coun-counterpart has conjured herself into a physical form a-and is now off to go terrorize my night. If you observe an-anything that is out of the norm, I insist you report to me at once any findings on the matter. We will need to ap-apprehend her immediately for questioning and before sh-she can cause m-mental traumas. Sincerely, Princess L-Luna. P.S., this letter might come to you much later than normal. Th-the dragon mailing system is more complex than it used to be.”

“Great timing,” he added with a roll of his eyes. After his blatant use of sarcasm, he sent the message to the princesses and then waltzed over to his barricaded companion. “Come on, Twilight. You read the letter, she needs us to go find Nightmare Moon!”

The unicorn’s head popped out of a hole in the top. “But what if it’s another trap, Spike? She’s basically telling us to go look for her so she can do it again!”

“Last time the letter appeared out of thin air instead of through me,” he reasoned. “I guess we didn’t notice it because we weren’t thinking about it. This one definitely came through the mail and-“

“Oh no, this just means she’s getting better at it.”

As she sunk back into her fortress, Spike sighed.

“Okay, I guess I’m looking for Nightmare Moon this time.”

Part two of many

The alicorn walked out of the cottage with another snide grin that resembled victory. She could hear the stifled sniffles of the victimized pegasus ring in her ears like an echo of a canyon, beautiful and everlasting. Levitating a needle out of her hindquarters, she laughed manically and took off into the night sky.

“Another wonderful success,” she congratulated herself. “I must admit, her little rabbit friend put up quite the fight and was terrifyingly resistant to my charm, but I managed to work it out in the end. That face of pure terror will be one to remember for all of eternity. Maybe when my full power is restored, I shall have her for entertainment. Speaking of...”

Out in the distance, one bright window panel made a stark contrast to the sky, and like a spider with food freshly caught in its web, she was inevitably drawn to it.

.-~v~-.

Spike jogged through the moon-lit town towards his first destination. After Twilight’s reaction, he figured he would need to gather the other elements to stop the issue from proceeding any further. The first location, Pinkie’s place.

As the confection-themed building came into view, a mint unicorn mare ran up to him.

“Spike, that is your name right?” she asked with a sense of urgency. “A friend of Twilight’s? Right!?”

He halted to address her. “Uhm, yeah.”

“You’ll never believe what I saw! I was walking home when I suddenly saw Nightmare Moon walk out of Sugarcube Corner! She had this... stuff... on her back -”

“Stuff? What kind of stuff?”

Her eyes darted left and right for a moment. “N-nevermind. A-anyways, I knew I had to find somepony but nopony I knew was even awake. But I remembered Twilight Sparkle knowing The Princess so I turned around and then here you are! And I heard Pinkie Pie in there! Crying!”

The dragon silently mouthed the words “oh no” before rushing inside. While the building seemed normal, the sobs from the kitchen in the back told him otherwise. He followed the sound until he found the source, a cabinet near the floor.

He softly knocked. “Pinkie Pie? Are you ok?”

“Nice try Nightmare Moon! You can be my stomach, but you can’t be Spike too!”

He shook his head. “What?”

“Nopony’s home!” she barked.

Spike took a deep sigh. “Pinkie, it’s Spike.”

“Oh sure you are, but I’m obviously Star Swirl the Beardless!”

“Just ‘Bearded,’ and I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, that I’m Spike.”

The crying from under the counter ceased for a moment. Through a choked cough, the baker replied, “Ok, I trust it’s you Spike, but I’m not coming out until it’s daytime.”

“But how would you know if you’re in the cabinet the whole time?” he argued.

After ten seconds of silence, Pinkie Pie cautiously opened the door and stepped out. Her hair was remarkably straight as opposed to its usual curly bounciness. The dragon took a moment to notice the space was impossibly tight in there with a giant sack of flour and a pile of… rocks to keep her company. He parted with any logical notion about how that was possible and moved on.

“Ok, tell me exactly what happened here.”

“… and that’s when you arrived and gave me a pinkie promise that you were Spike,” she finished with a glum sigh.
Rubbing his temples, he tried to absorb the painfully accurate recreation of the scene, especially when she used a pile of rocks to portray Nightmare Moon. “So, she left after… doing that… and then she stole your cinnamon buns?”

“Yup, that’s pretty much it.”

He furrowed his brow. “All right, you should meet up with Twilight at the library. In the mean time I’ll go talk to the other girls to see if they’re alright. Try and cheer her up a bit, she’s a little shaken after Nightmare Moon visited her too.”

“You mean, I’m not the first?” she asked curiously. “You don’t think Nightmare Moon is-“

“Yes, we do. We even got a message from Princess Luna to report any findings we get. Since Twilight doesn’t want to leave, you should go there and write a letter.”

“But don’t you norm-“

“Yes, but we need you there and I’m needed elsewhere.”

With her head raised a little higher, Pinkie nodded and galloped out of Sugarcube Corner. Outside, Spike could faintly hear the unicorn he had met ask if she needed to be escorted to the library.

“Ok, Rainbow Dash’s house is the closest, I should head there next. If I get her on board, I’ll be able to get to Applejack’s and Fluttershy’s house in no time.”

.-~v~-.

Her lust for entertainment eventually lead her to an obscure little farm house just outside of Ponyville, and a matching farm full of ripe, perfect apples to accompany it. While the produce looked tantalizing in the midnight glow, she was far more interested in the light from the window.

“If somepony enjoys staying up late… they must also enjoy the moon,” she snickered.

Summoning her most prominently used spell, Nightmare Moon vaporized once again into her cloud and, as soon as she saw it, plunged down the chimney.

The rest of the house, mostly empty except for a few pieces of furniture and minor décor, was empty. She slinked through the home and soon found a staircase with a small orange light at the top. Like a snake, she slithered up each step, as if increasing her own sense of suspense. She hovered just above the door crack and stayed out of the light, pressing an imaginary ear to the wood.

“Ah dunno Sweetie Belle, Ah don’t think yer sister Rarity would like it too much if we borrowed some of her sewing supplies again. She seemed pretty upset about the capes you made for us.”

“But we’re only going to be using the needle and thread. We just need to fix up a coat we already have for our scarecrow. How are we going to be farm protectors without a good scarecrow?”

“I don’t get why we have a scarecrow in the first place. Why don’t we just scare the bids as they come in?”

“Ah don’t think it works that way, Scootaloo. Applejack says we need them to keep the ravens away from stealing our food. They’re nice birds but only when it ain’t fall time.”

Nightmare Cloud rubbed her non-existant chin. “Hmm,” she thought, “a scarecrow for pre-teens, eh? Perhaps I could show them just how scary scary is…”

Slipping through the door frame, she hugged the walls and slinked behind the furniture in the room. Gaining a glimpse, she noticed that the three ponies were a little younger than she imagined, so mooning them wasn’t perhaps the best plan of action. Exposing them to such wonderful horrors during such a critical age might harm them more than toughen them up… plus it would be in bad taste. On a bonus thought, she needed a master plan, soon.

Just as she fully concealed herself, the door opened.

“Now girls, why are ya’ll up so late? You know that you need yer sleep.”

“We’re sorry, Applejack, we just couldn’t sleep yet. We need to figure out how to get our cutie marks.”

“Yeah, can’t we give up a little sleep for a lot of talent searching?”

Nightmare Moon could hear a thoughtful sigh from the one named Applejack. “Well, that might be true, but how can you build your scarecrow if you’re too tired to do it tomorrow?”

“She has a point you know.”

“Ah do need to do some farm chores tomorrow. Well, Ah guess we can go to sleep then.”

“Don’t worry Apple Bloom, we can help you with your chores tomorrow so we can get to it earlier!”

The collective clack of hooves rang through the air. That seemed like the perfect opportunity to strike.
Like a lightning bolt, the alicorn flashed into place on the spot with all her radiance and glory. She flared her magnificent black wings and raised her chin high. “Hello my creatures of the night!”

The three fillies and the mare all gasped in shock and scrambled to a nearby corner.

“It’s Nightmare Moon!”

She gave a maniacal laugh, more for show than actually being evil. “I’m so glad to see some of my little ponies remember me. Tell me young ones,” she said while lowering her head to glare at them with her draconic eyes, “are you enjoying my night?”

The eldest in the room stood up first. “I don’t know how you got in here, but I know how you’re about to get out!”

Facing her directly, Nightmare Moon conceded her bravery. “I remember you, you were the one who convinced Twilight Sparkle to let go of the cliff? And you three… you were on the balcony, weren’t you?”

The middle one, a yellow filly with red hair and pink ribbon gulped, “y-yes.”

Out of nowhere, the kind of ‘out-of-nowhere’ that sparks uninfluenced brilliance, a sinister idea popped into her mind. It may not have occurred to her if she hadn’t been eavesdropping but it was perhaps the most perfect ultimatum; in other words, her master plan for the town of Ponyville. She smiled and then returned her body to a more relaxed pose. “Well, fear me not young ones, I am not here to bring upon eternal night. I actually was flying by and couldn’t help but hear you three were in need of some scaring lessons.”

They stopped their cowering for a moment and gave each other glances of confusion. “Y-yeah, we were going to make a scarecrow to keep the ravens away this year,” the middle one replied again.

“I see. As it just so happens, I may have something better for you three to put your collective talents together with.” She smiled as they perked up at the mention of “talents”.

The one she assumed was Applejack stood up. “I don’t know what it is you’re up to but you’re-“

“Applejack, correct?” she interrupted, “Forgive my rudeness, but you need to shut up. Are you really so self-centered that you would deprive an opportunity for their cutie marks?”

“Hey, you can’t talk to my sister like that!”

“Of course,” she deadpanned. “I’m sorry Ms. Applejack, it’s been one hectic evening,” she feigned while trying to conceal her tone. “Anyways, I’m willing to enchant your orchard so that your apples will gain nutrients from my glorious night in exchange for borrowing these three for one hour.”

“Ok, sure, lemme just grab mah fancy shmacy contract givin' away my own kin to some evil crazy lady who pops into my sister’s room.”

“We could all do without the sarcasm Ms. Applejack.”

“And Ah don’t like you after what you did to Equestria!”

“Could we at least hear her out?” the orange filly piped up.

“Nuh uh, no way. I don’t talk to snakes.”

Nightmare Moon easily recognized how far south this was going, and fast, so she paused for a moment and scanned over the room. Obviously, this backwards hick wasn’t going to allow her the opportunity to put her plan into action without some emotional reinforcement. Then, she hung her head low. “I- of course, you’re right. I apologize for my rudeness. I just figured since I was around and all that maybe I could maybe do right for once.”

She could see the effect slowly taking place on the children. They raised themselves off of the floor and kept looking into each other’s eyes and communicating purely with expressions alone. If there was one thing she had a talent for, it was manipulation.

“I mean, did I actually ever do anything wrong? Sure, I elongated the night for about two hours, chopped off a moustache, made trees look evil and made a fake Wonderbolt’s team, but was that actually so bad? It could have been worse, could it not? Your group stopped me before I even had the chance! I was just so excited with my return and so amazed that ponies would try and stop me so soon that I over reacted. Does one over-reaction really characterize me, a newly reformed separated embodiment of the one you know as Princess Luna, forever? But no, I suppose you’re right.” She raised a hoof to her head dramatically. As she walked out of the room on three hooves, she continued her sob story. “Once a villain, always a villain.”

She watched with secret glee as the children’s noses began to sniffle.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Alright, you can help them with their scarecrow tonight, but on three conditions.” She began to walk forward with a stern expression on her face. “No magic on the kids, don’t get within five feet of em, and the moment I think you’re up to something more than yah already are, you get outta here.”

Something was to be said for sisterly protection. “Fair enough.”

“So, Ms. Nightmare Moon,” the yellow filly spoke up, “w-what did you have in mind to help us?”

“I’m glad you asked. Instead of making scare crows… we’re going to make a scare pony.”

Author’s Note: “Cosmic! What the hell is this!? I want some more mooning!”
I can assure you there will be more. Much of the plot has yet to be eclipsed; this chapter merely acts as a transition.

Part three of many

“Rainbow!” Spike yelled into the sky, “wake up!” He clenched his claws as he inhaled another immense sum of air. “Rainbow Dash!”

The sound of a cloud door swinging open, much like a regular door but muffled, broke the silence following the scream. One droopy eyed pegasus began to glide in circles down below with hooves rubbing her eyes. “Spike wh-“ she yawned, “what time is it?”

“Rainbow, Nightmare moon has returned and she’s turning Twilight and our friends paranoid… amongst other things.”

Though dreary, she raised an eyebrow at the last phrase. “Like what other things?”

“It’s, uhh, hard to explain. Can we just… go?”

“Are you sure you just didn’t have a bad dream, Spike?”

A pair of terrified shrieks pierced the silent ambiance over Ponyville. “Does that answer your question?”

.-~V~-.

Earlier…

The alicorn took a hearty sniff of the farm air as she shuffled her bare hooves in the lush grass. “I must say Ms. Applejack, your residency has an aroma that is… enjoyable. I did not get much of a chance to explore the world during my short reign; this place is starting to grow on me.”

“Thanks,” Applejack apprehensively replied. She turned her head to watch the three fillies behind her. They seemed to be whispering something to each other but they were doing a good job of keeping quiet.

Nightmare Moon stopped in a sparse clearing where the night sky was clearly visible. The silver disk in the sky was just about to begin its descent, leaving her with plenty of time. “Now,” she began without turning around, “do any of you three know of the Constellations?”

“Oh, I remem’er Ms. Cheerilee talking about them in class. Like the Ursa Major, right?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Correct. While the depiction of these beings in the sky have been around for eons, the physical manifestations of them were a recent creation. They were created by none other than myself when Luna first became me. They were meant to be more of a hollow threat, but I had to take it one step further when Celestia threatened banishment on the moon.” She sighed, remembering her personal experiences, but quickly shook it off. “More to the point, we’re going to reproduce one here, tonight.”

“Awesome,” Scootaloo whispered.

Applejack, however, was less than impressed. “You brought us out here to kill us with one of them dangerous animals!? I kn-"

“As if you were worth my time,” she stated promptly while turning around. “I meant just the illusion of one. When I overheard those three talking of scarecrows, I was reminded of these, which was their intended purpose. They were supposed to disappear after I had conjured them, but I was sent away, unfortunately. I have no clue what happened to them.”

“Then, why do you need us?” Sweetie Belle innocently replied.

“I’m glad you asked. As of recent, my magic hasn’t quite fully recovered to create an independent clone of one of my astronomical abominations. This is where you will come in. I shall create controls for you three and I’ll help you practice your scaring abilities.”

“Now I said-“

“What you said was to not use magic on them, which I’m not. I’m giving them magic. I’m not going to get within five feet and I’m definitely not going to destroy anything. Scarecrows are perfectly harmless, but why do they work? Because the crows believe it’s real. That’s the very definition of an ‘Illusion’, Ms. Applejack.”

A huff of smoke came out of the farmer pony’s snout. “Now there’s just one thing I don’t understand. What do you get out of all a this?”

Nightmare snickered. “A little bit of fun, that’s all.” And an entire town facing a full Lunar Eclipse. She illuminated her horn and began to position herself on the ground as if preparing for a heavy wind. “Are we ready?”

“I guess so…”

“Yup!”

“Ready when you are!”

Applejack sighed. “What did I just get myself in to…”

.-~V~-.

Present…

Spike frantically held on to Rainbow Dash as she zoomed across to the town, now almost completely alight with windows from the houses. In the middle, standing in the town square, was a gigantic Nightmare Moon laughing manically. Spike tried to shout something, but Dash veered to the right at a sharp angle, trying to avoid the creature ahead of her.

“Was this what you were talking about?” she said with half-concealed fear. “Because we may need some more help to tackle something like this.”

“You want to tackle this!?”

The dare devil gave him the “are you serious” face.

The humongous villain’s eyes caught the duo in the sky and lifted a hoof into the air. Just as soon as it appeared as if it was going to try and smash them, it began to wave it as if meeting a friend. “Hi Rainbow, hi Spike!” it bellowed into the night, sounding suspiciously like Apple Bloom. “Look what we made!”

Both Spike and Rainbow Dash rubbed their eyes.

“It’s really us!” a projected voice of Scootaloo confirmed.

“It’s a giant scare pony. Look what we can do with it. Ready, Apple Bloom?”

“Ready.”

The monster began to bob and weave side to side, much like they had done during the cider season. The dragon and the element of loyalty had to close each other’s mouths’ in amazement, much like the rest of the town that was gathering outside.

“How…”

“So, it turns out that Nightmare Moon is back,” Scootloo began enthusiastically, “and she’s helping us get our scaring cutie marks!” The town shrilled with raw terror. “Don’t worry though, this giant thing is harmless!” As if to prove a point, it pounded a house with its left hoof and happily observed that no damage had come of it. “Isn’t this awesome!?”

“Looks like you weren’t kidding, Spike,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath. Returning her attention to the issue at large, she asked, “Where is Nightmare Moon now?”

“Applejack said something about her needin’ a restroom.”

Spike saw two ponies looking outside of a window near the library and pointed his transportation towards it. Nodding, Rainbow Dash glided to the building and softly landed on the balcony. The two let themselves inside and ran down the stairs.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, “do you see that?”

“Oh gee, how could we miss it?” she sarcastically replied, popping her head out of the fort.

Pinkie’s hind leg itched her back and her tail, somewhat poofy, swayed back and forth. “I don’t like this one little bit.” She nudged the mint unicorn beside her at the window and pointed at something in the distance.

“Ok, what exactly is going on here?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

Twilight began to explain. “It looks as if Nightmare Moon has been tricking ponies into being mooned all night and somehow she’s gotten the Cutie Mark Commodores-“

“Crusaders,” Spike corrected.

“Crusaders,” she said with an eye roll, “involved. What’s worse, she’s somehow gotten them to control a giant effigy of herself! With everyone outside and making a commotion-“

“She’s free to do whatever she wants elsewhere!” the mint unicorn finished.

“Exactly.”

My my my, it seems that not everypony can be fooled into my rouse twice. I commend your foresight, Ms. Sparkle.

The gang looked every which way, but failed to find the source of the voice echoing in the library. As if to further hinder them, the candles extinguished themselves.

“Come on out you coward!” Rainbow Dash yelled, raising a hoof into the air.

You really think I’d just give myself up like that? No, I’m having quite a bit of fun with this and I’m going to keep continuing my fun. However, I am a firm believer in giving my opponents a fighting chance.

“Really?” Pinkie questioned, staring at the roof.

Yes, really. Did I not give you various trials to overcome while traversing the Everfree Forest? If I was really focused on eliminating you, I would have stopped you long before you reached my domain. I was not expecting the Elements of Harmony to actually be restored, so I’ll give you that.

“How did you convince the Cutie Mark crusaders to help you?” Spike questioned.

Oh, I mentioned something about their talents and their attention was as good as mine. Any eager talentless flop like those three would be willing to bend over backwards for any hope at getting it. Don’t worry, no harm will come to them.

“What about Applejack? The girls were supposed to be at her place tonight.”

We struck a deal. She’s quite the negotiator.

Now, Luna will be arriving here soon. I can feel her presence… If you want even a glimmering chance of defeating me, summon your own illusion and fight me properly like we should have, Twilight Sparkle. You’ll be needing her to create the clone as only Alicorns can sustain the spell. If you lose, the entire town will be bathed in my moon’s glorious radiance and I will slink into the shadows to attack at my own will. If you win, which I doubt, I’ll come peacefully.

The library seemingly laughed from every corner. Oh, and I wouldn’t try and rely on your friend, “Fluttershy”.

All of the mares in the room gasped. “What have you done to her!?”

I might be inclined to tell if you win. Call that your motivation. If you try and rescue her now, I’ll end this silly charade and traumatize this entire town. It’s your move…

At those last words, the candles relit themselves and a shimmering smoke entered the room. It solidified into none other than Princess Luna. “I’m here to assess the situation. Twilight Sparkle, what progress have we made?”

“Princess Luna,” Twilight replied while exiting her fort, “we’re in trouble.”

“Hey Apple Bloom! Let’s make her do a back-flip!”

Part four of many

Applejack watched as Apple Bloom and her friends, hidden behind a building, gleefully made a fool out of the giant illusion, occasionally getting a laugh out of it herself every now and again. She especially got a kick out of Nightmare Moon singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. The audience they had gathered, though some were upset about losing sleep, was excited too. If something had to be said, it was that they definitely knew how to put on a show.

The actual Nightmare Moon walked up beside the earth pony. “I must say, at first I was disappointed to see them act so childishly, but they are somewhat comical in their impression of me. Do they always veer from their intended goal so quickly?”

“Nah, it was just after a few minutes of scaring they didn’t get it so they moved on.”

“Ambitious, I like it. I trust everything went ok while I was gone?”

“Yup. I’m assuming you found the restroom ok?” She suddenly realized how close she was to the enemy and scooted off slightly to the side.

The alicorn said yes as plainly as possible.

Applejack watched as she genuinely smiled at the larger version of herself retell the tale of her arrival.

“Ms. Applejack…” Nightmake Moon spoke up somewhat hesitantly.

“Yes?”

She looked into the mare’s eyes. “I appreciate your understanding and your willingness to cooperate tonight. You’ve made my night so much easier. I apologize for what’s about to happen next.” The alicorn flared her wings out and stared into Applejack’s eyes. “I’ll make this easy on you.”

“What in tarnation!?”

.-~V~-.

Luna stared outside, watching the Giant Nightmare continued its frolicking. “I must admit, when she first visited me earlier this evening, an enormous effigy was not the first idea I had in mind.” She turned around to face Spike. “Are you sure that this is an accurate report of your findings?”

“Straight from the pony’s mouth.”

She turned back around to the window. “Then this is not good. It would seem as if she’s positioned herself pretty well. Using innocents to discredit her own vindictive nature through comical follies, only engaging in mediocre acts of villainy, and now challenging Twilight Sparkle to a fight…”

“I don’t know. I mean, even if we did nothing, the worst that could happen is everypony being mooned, right?” Spike questioned.

All of the other ponies in the room turned to him with a frown. “Spike,” Twilight began, “mooning is a serious matter that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

“But why, it’s not like ponies wear clothes anyways?”

Pinkie Pie strode up to the prepubescent dragon and drooped a leg over his shoulder. “Listen Spikey, here’s the reason why.”

“Pinkie!” Twilight screamed, “you can’t just tell him. He’s too young to know!”

“Well it’s not like he won’t figure out. We might as well tell him why ponies find it offensive. I mean, if somepony told me potatoes were bad, I’d like to know why, wouldn’t you? Do you not want Spike to know about bad potatoes?” Once again being the voice of reason in a sea of confusion, Pinkie Pie eagerly awaited her confirmation that she was correct. Everyone turned their heads to Princess Luna, awaiting some invisible order.

“Twilight, it may be in the best interests of everyone if he is told,” she said distantly. She gave a glance at Twilight who in turn looked at Pinkie and confirmed it with a sigh. With a gentle nod, Pinkie covered her mouth with her other hoof and began whispering into his ear.

“What… Oh… Oh, gross… Ew… Ew gross!” He grabbed his stomach and ran off into the restroom. “I think I’m gunna be –burp- sick!” He slammed the door behind him.

Calling out, Pinkie continued, “and don’t forget Spike! Most of this town has mares! MARES!”

“Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuugh!”

Rainbow softly shook her head from side to side. “Poor little guy.”

“Just why would anypony- bluugh- doo-hoo that!?”

“Geez Pinkie,” the mint unicorn spoke up, “did you tell him everything?”

“Well duh, that’s what I was asked to do.”

The toilet flushed and a greener dragon exited the room. “Next time, I’ll wait until I’m older…”

“Unfortunately Spike,” Luna interjected, “there may not be a next time if she goes through with this. We need a plan as I doubt she’ll wait forever on us to respond.”

Twilight looked down and shuffled a hoof. “But, I don’t know how to fight. When we fought her at the castle, I was just running for the elements. Without those, I don’t think we can win.”

“Maybe we don’t have to,” the mint unicorn said softly, as if in deep thought. “Before I found Spike tonight, I ran into Nightmare Moon walking out of Sugarcube Corner. She was upset that it-” She gave the dragon a passing glance. “Uh, Spike, you should cover your ears for this.”

He did as he was told and Pinkie Pie covered his eyes as an extra precautionary measure.

“It looked like she had done something terrible to her when it was just frosting,” she finished in a half- whisper.

“So what,” Twilight began her bout of sarcasm, signaling the moment was over,“you want me to slap butter on my flank?”

“Yes. I mean! No, well, sort of. Maybe you won’t need to fight her if you can guilt her out of it.”

Pinkie Pie cocked an eyebrow. “Sooooooo, fight heat with heat?”

“I think you mean fight ‘fire with fire’, Pinkie.” Spike corrected, holding back another bodily surge.

“No, I don’t like ponies getting burned. I did that a lot to my own hooves when I started baking.”

“Ms…” Luna paused.

“Heartstrings,” the unicorn replied.

“Ms. Heartstrings, what is it that you suggest?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. But first, I need Twilight to put her mane in a ponytail.”

.-~V~-.

The giant illusion suddenly stopped moving , frozen in place with one hoof extended outward with a hind leg in a mirrored position. The audience thought that this was part of the unexpected show for a moment until a minute passed with no movement or sound. A wave of murmuring was sent through as unsteadiness and unnerve went through the mind of each parent and child.

Then, the illusion returned to a standing position with all four hooves on the ground. A shriek form the crowd was the first to determine something was terrifically wrong. “Over there! On top of the Town Hall!”

Eyes darted towards the building as an ominous silhouette stood proudly against the sky. Thanks to the moon in the background, the being made a stark contrast, despite her actual coloring.

As the silhouette flared its wings, so did the illusion. Though the giant did not move, the other clearly did until it was right in front of itself. The crowd created a roomy circle around her. “Good night, citizens of Ponyville. I’m so glad to see you all were enjoying the show. I am intrigued even more that you were fascinated by me.” Nightmare Moon and her effigy both put a hoof to their chest as if heart touched. “I hope you’re all ready for a real treat tonight.”

“Befoul this locale no more, heathen.” From behind the library across the way, a giant Twilight Sparkle emerged, clearly nervous in the way she bit her lip as she approached the square. Her redone hair bounced effortlessly as she trotted into the town square.

“Dressed up for the show?” Nightmare Moon asked in slight disbelief. “I never believed you to be the performing type, Ms. Sparkle.”

“I’m not,” she responded flatly.

“Well, I honestly couldn’t care if your mane was in an afro, I just hope you’re ready to fight.” She licked her lips. She redirected her gaze at the town and coughed to clear her throat. “Welcome, my little ponies, to the greatest fight of your century. When I first came back from my banishment, I was defeated by the very pony you see there.” She pointed a hoof at Twilight, as if the extra measure needed to be taken. “However, she won because she was lucky and had her precious Elements of Harmony to protect her. But, tonight, you’ll see the fight that really should have happened!”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Twilight whispered to herself, keeping her gaze on the ground.

Pretending not to hear that, Nightmare Moon stood proudly, chest puffed, chin arched, wings flared; she looked just like how a princess should. “As I have said before, I am a firm believer in giving my opponents a fair chance. You may have the first move.”

Somewhat surprised, the giant Twilight Sparkle entered the very center of the town square and sat down on her haunches. She then shook her hair, letting the band that held it in the ponytail come slightly loose. The alicorn of the night deflated slightly at the odd move. “Good evening, or morning as the case would seem to be, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” she began promptly. “As we all may know, Nightmare Moon is the envious doppelganger of our own Princess Luna. She once tried to take over Equestria, but now has been reduced to lowly acts of petty villainy to get meager amounts of attention.”

“What is this?” the pony in question responded. “Is your move a... lecture?” She began to laugh.

“My move isn’t done yet,” Twilight shushed, somewhat forcefully. “As I was saying, she can no longer amount to once she once was, relying on children and her own frustrated sexuality to inspire a plan.”

The crowd looked at her distastefully. In return, Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened as she started to realize what was happening.

“Earlier tonight, this ‘villain’ mooned a friend of mine: Pinkie Pie.” The crowd , mostly the feminine percent gasped in horror. “But do you know what else is worse? She came out with frosting on her bottom!” The crowd backed away, murmuring things about how terrible it was. “And, according to Spike, my number one assistant, she’s been mooning only mares tonight!”

“Th-that is merely a coincidence! They were only the ones I had found!”

“You mean out of the entire town of Ponyville, you couldn’t bother yourself to find one stallion?”

“It’s not like that! I was gaining a well deserved and justified revenge on The Elements of Harmony!”

“I think it is like that!” Twilight stood up and walked slowly towards her opponent. “I think that you were bluffing earlier when you said you’d moon the entire town if I lost this fight because you don’t want any stallions to see your… uhm, business!” she finished, trying to save her momentum. “In fact! I think you’re out for only mares!”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a lesbian, and even if I was one,” she faced the crowd, “which I’m not,” she then returned her view back to Twilight, “you could never prove it.”

“Actually, I think I can.” As if fully prepaired, Twilight ran a hoof through her hair and delicately pulled out the band. When her glorious coiffure was released, she swung it slowly about her head, batting her eyes as she did so.

Nightmare Moon’s knees wobbled slightly. “This p-proves nothing.”

“Your knees aren’t wobbling because of wittle me, are they?”

She cringed at the seductive use of wittle. “The air is a bit frostier than I expected.”

As if changing into a whole other pony, Twilight suggestively walked to her opponent, swaying her hips generously from side to side. “Frosty, huh? Then, maybe you need a great big hug.” She held a hoof to her mouth, teasingly biting it.

On the alicorn’s face, two small patches of red began to surface. “You can’t hug an enemy!”

Twilight leaned in closer and approached the Nightmare face to face, so close that their breaths could be felt upon one another. “It’s ok Nightmare, we’re all friends here.”

“She’s doing much better than I expected,” Heartstrings commented from the ground. “I didn’t think she’d actually get this far.”

“Your idea on the variation of the ‘Want it- Need it’ spell is proving fruitful so far.” Luna commented, keeping her horn alight to work the giant clone of Twilight.

“Stay back Twilight Sparkle, come any closer and I’ll moon this pathetic town and its people where they stand!”
Twilight giggled. “Oh, silly. I’m not after the moon.” Their breath’s steadied into a synchronized tempo, their mouths so close to touching that a slim magazine could be held in between them. As quietly as she possibly could, she moaned, “I’m much more interested in the Mare.”

With surprising passion, Twilight wrapped her forehooves around the neck of her enemy and forced her tongue inside, making Nightmare Moon’s eyes roll backwards inside her head as she overstimulated her senses. Nightmare joined in the embrace, pulling the unicorn in front of her ever closer.

“Quick! Now Luna, while she’s stunned!” Twilight suddenly yelled, pulling out of the kiss. As if her illusion was made of glass, the frame shattered into tiny pieces and collapsed onto the ground. Almost immediately, the pieces turned a deep blue and began to reanimate themselves. On the ground, the normal sized Twilight cast a gigantic visual barrier across the roof tops of the town, closing off the citizens from the night sky. Fragment by fragment, in a total time lapse of two seconds, a new form appeared and it was none other than Princess Luna herself. However, they did not meet face to face. With her haunch high in the air, Luna bellowed, “Fear the night! For the wish you have made hath been granted!”

As if a laser beam shot through her brain, Nightmare Moon’s nose practically exploded with blood, sending her flying backwards and onto the ground. Unable to handle what she had just seen, her effigy disappeared along with her consciousness.

Luna turned around and looked at the damage she had caused. Twilgiht, knowing the deed was done, retracted the spell. The alicorn, at regular size now, walked to her counter-part and hoisted her on her shoulder. “I never would have guessed that was the way to defeat her,” she said out loud, returning to the library along with Twilight. “Ms. Heartstrings was quite perceptive in her defeat. Who knew that it was simply just giving her a taste of her own medicine? And her liking it too?”
“Yeah, but did I really have to kiss her, even if I couldn’t actually feel it?”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I’m not so sure you couldn’t considering the end result.” She hoisted the fallen alicorn on her back, getting her into a slightly more balanced position.

“That was the spell!” she argued with a tinge of embarrassment. “You don’t... think any less of me, do you?”

Luna giggled. “I’m jaded to such things, Ms. Sparkle. It comes with experience. As my other half prudently put it, I couldn’t care less if you had an afro. You are who you are, and ponies will accept you for it.” The two laughed a little and then stopped at the Library door. “That, and having a pretty nice ass helps.”

“Princess!”

“Don’t deny me, I have a glorious backside. I know exactly where Nightmare Moon got her good looks.”

“Yeah, but you just don’t say things like that!”

“Twilight, it’s just the body.” She opened the door and walked inside. “Maybe one day you’ll come to appreciate what your parents gave you.”

One stallion from the crowd belted, “what the hell just happened!?”