“What in tarnation is the matter with you?!” shouted Applejack, as she snatched both her keys and her Element of Harmony out of her brother’s hooves. “Ya could’ve tried a little harder to wake me up!”

“Eyup,” said Big Mac, hanging his head in shame.

“Applejack, he said he was sorry,” said Spike. “Besides, we really needed it.”

“Oh, yeah?! What for?!”

Spike sighed. “Last night, Nightmare possessed Rarity.”

Applejack’s expression softened.

“Big Mac, Ms. Pommel and I challenged her to a race, and we wagered your Elements if she won,” he said.

Spike tensed his muscles in case he got bucked out of Ponyville. Thankfully, Applejack is an understanding pony.

“Elements? Y’all took more than one?!” asked Applejack, baffled.

“W-well, we needed to sell it,” said Spike. “So we gave them to Coco, who raced Nightmare Rarity on the mountain pass. And hey, she beat her!”

Applejack looked at her brother.

“Ah shucks. Ah’m sorry for shoutin’ at ya the way Ah did, Big Mac. Ah reckon that was a little too harsh,” said Applejack. “And thank you, Spike. Why don’t y’all find Ms. Pommel and Rarity, and we’ll go to Twi’s castle to tell her about your night.”

“Rarity’s probably getting her beauty rest right now,” said Spike. Not that she needs it, he thought.

“Yer right,” said Applejack, chuckling. “Let me just tell Granny Smith and Apple Bloom that we’ll be out for a bit, and we’ll go.”

“She’s here!” said Spike.

A shiny-white Suzuki Cappuccino pulled up to the Castle of Friendship, and out stepped Coco Pommel. Spike left the castle to greet her, and led her to the throne room. Twilight sat in her personal throne, at the end of the Cutie Map. Next to her sat Big Mac and Applejack. Across from them sat the Princesses of the Day and the Night themselves. A wave of anxiety washed over Coco as she saw the two most powerful ponies in Equestria. Sitting before Celestia was one thing—she was known to be quite the benevolent pony—it was Princess Luna that was freaking her out, since all she knew about her was her imprisonment and brief reign over Equestria as Nightmare Moon. It didn’t help that Luna had a “resting bitch face.” They sat in silence for a bit, but thankfully, Princess Twilight broke the silence.

“Ahem… Thank you all for coming,” she said. “Princesses, as you know, these three creatures encountered Nightmare last night, when it possessed the Element of Generosity, Rarity.”

“Of course,” said Celestia. “I brought my sister here, because she has the most experience in dealing with it. Sister?”

Luna cleared her throat. “I’d like to hear everything that happened last night, starting with you, Spike.

“M-me?” Spike froze up for a moment, but regained his composure. “Big Mac and I were driving back from Manehattan to Ponyville, when I noticed a completely black car with a blue-purple underglow. Kinda like what forensics investigators would use to identify DNA in a crime scene. It was dead-quiet, too. As it passed us, the scenery in front of us began to spiral, like a portal, and we were back in Manehattan. It drove into Rarity and Ms. Pommel’s shop, and then Rarity’s car flew out of there, and we chased it. We caught up to her, but she wasn’t the same. She was super tall—like, as tall as you, Celestia—and her mane was all flowy, and she wore silver plates on her hooves and head. She agreed to race us after we bet the other Elements if she won. We didn’t race her, but Ms. Pommel did,” Spike said, sucking in a deep breath.

“Can you confirm this, Stallion?” Luna asked.

“Eyup,” said Big Mac.

Luna then turned her head toward Coco, unnerving the off-white mare. “Could you provide the rest of the story?”

“Y-yes,” stammered Coco. “When it came into our shop, I didn’t see any car, just a black-and-purple cloud. Rarity was upset about something, and the next thing I knew, the black cloud enveloped her, and teleported her to her car. As soon as she touched the door handle her car turned all black… A-and it also had the same underglow that Spike just described! Anyway, she drove out of the shop—she didn’t teleport or turn into smoke—and we all chased after her. As Spike said, I raced her. I don’t remember anything special happening when we raced, she just suddenly stopped being possessed.”

Celestia stroked her chin. “What do you make of this, sister?”

Luna stayed silent for a few moments. Finally, she spoke up.

“It is certainly a new development that the Tantabus knows what driving is… You all can go about your day. Princess Twilight, please oversee our daily tasks in Canterlot. Sister, you and I will go to the Crystal Empire.”

Both Celestia and Twilight looked baffled. “What for?” they asked in unison.

“We must seek the wisdom of our dear mentor,” said Luna.

Twilight squealed.

The ground vibrated as the Europonian electrics raced through the valley. In the front was Celestia’s Lotus Evija, and—though not as fast—chasing it was a black Audi R8, like a shadow following a fire. Only a few kilometers ahead of them were the mountains that separated the rest of Equestria from the Crystal Empire. Eventually, the two cars met the front gate of the Crystal Empire. Guardponies in white Hummers surrounded a matching Phantom Syntopia. Celestia and Luna parked, and stepped out of their cars.

“We’ve been expecting your arrival, Princesses,” said a formally-dressed stallion, walking to the front of the entourage.

Celestia and Luna looked at each other.

“We were sent by Princess Cadence, on request of one Star Swirl the bearded,” said the stallion, clearing his throat. He stepped aside, opening the door to the Phantom.

The Princesses climbed into the car, and most of the welcoming party left for the heart of the city, while some of the Hummers stayed behind to watch over their cars. Soon, they approached the palace. As they were let out at the plaza of the Empire, Celestia had a question for the stallion.

“Are Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor here?” she asked.

The stallion adjusted the glasses on his muzzle. “I don’t believe so, m’lady. They are on their ‘royal anniversary.’”

“Again?” grumbled Luna.

“Thank you for your service,” said Celestia. “We will find Star Swirl on our own from here.”

The stallion nodded and climbed back into the Phantom. Meanwhile, the sisters made their way to the royal library, an infamous collection of tomes, almost as expansive as the one in Canterlot. No doubt, Star Swirl would be there. They opened the crystalline doors of the library, and to nopony’s surprise, a gray, long-bearded pony was rummaging through the archives.

“Master Star Swirl!” announced Luna, using her Canterlot voice.

The bearded pony looked up, clearly caught by surprise.

“Oh. Why, hello Princesses,” said Star Swirl. “What brings the two of you here?”

“The Tantabus returned, Master Star Swirl,” said Celestia.

“And you know… I’m the Tantabus’ number 1 opp :3” said Luna.

“What—?”

“—Nothing.”

“Ahem,” Celestia cleared her throat. “Last night somepony was possessed by the Tantabus. According to the witnesses, it physically possessed them, instead of going into their dreams. It took the form of a car. It was subdued by Ms. Coco Pommel in a street race. Ms. Pommel had three of the six elements of Harmony and the Fire Ruby in her passenger seat.”

They sat in silence as Star Swirl pondered, filing through scrolls for answers.

“Hmm,” hmmed Star Swirl. “What is most peculiar to me is that some ordinary pony was able to use the influence of the Elements to overpower the Tantabus, though I believe it had more to do with their presence, which weakened the pony possessed by the Tantabus.”

“After we have apprehended it, how will we destroy it?” asked Celestia.

“The Tantabus is unkillable,” said Luna. “The best we can do is send it back to the realm of dreams.”

“I see,” said Celestia.

“Princess Luna,” said Star Swirl, his tone stern. “How could you let this happen?”

“I—What? M-master Star Swirl, This wasn’t something I was even aware of until this morning,” said Luna, befuddled.

“The Tantabus could’ve only escaped because there was somepony who you were unable to protect in their dream.”

“Master,” interjected Celestia. “The Tantabus managed to materialize outside of the dream realm by taking the form of a car. This was not something that Luna could’ve prevented—”

But she could have been prepared for its escape into the real world.”

“Master Star Swirl, Luna really couldn’t have made it to the Tantabus’ location before it was able to possess Rarity—”

“The ‘Element of Generosity’ Rarity? By Faust, do not give me that excuse! Knave-princess!”

“Ex-CUSE ME—”

“I apologize, master,” said Luna, as she clamped her wing over her sister’s mouth. “It will not happen again.”

She knelt before Star Swirl, and dragged the fuming Celestia behind her to the plaza, where their escorts were waiting.

“GAH! Who does that Star Swirl think he is?” pouted Celestia.

“Now, sister,” said Luna, trying to calm her down. “Let’s just go back home and relax.”

Celestia grumbled something under her breath, and climbed into the Phantom.

After they were dropped off at their cars, the two Princesses began their journey back to Canterlot. After only a few minutes of driving, Luna realized that it was about time to raise the moon, so they stopped by a mountain so she could do that. The entire time, Celestia was fuming over her interaction with Star Swirl. Luna sighed. My sister isn’t known to let things go easily, she thought to herself.

They continued their journey through the frost-covered alps. Somewhere in the corner of her rear-view mirror, Luna noticed a rapidly-moving shadow. Suddenly, dim violet lights lit up at the front and sides of the shadow. The object crept closer to her R8 e-Tron. She finally got a clear view of it as it passed her on her left. Black body, and sleek curves. An angular, trunk-mounted wing, and a UV underglow. She read a GTR badge on the rear, a charm of invincibility that meant this was the baddest set of wheels she’d ever seen. Unfortunate that most would never get close enough to read it. The GTR rapidly accelerated toward Celestia, phasing through snow and rocks that previously forced the alicorn to slow down and carefully maneuver.

Meanwhile, Celestia had been more focused on their earlier interaction with Star Swirl than she was on the road behind her. Thankfully, her sister began rapidly flashing her high beams into her mirrors, forcing Celestia to consciously look behind her. It was then that she saw the blacked-out R33 closing in on her. However, this brief moment of distraction caused Celestia to slip on a patch of ice and spin out into a massive mound of snow, disappearing in it. Luna caught up to the cloud of snow, sliding to a halt before it. Suddenly, she saw the tail lights flash through the mist, in a spinning motion as Celestia burned out in the fog.

“Sister! Are you alright?!” asked Luna as she rushed out of her car.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Celestia, rubbing her neck.

“I see,” said Luna. She may not be pouting, but I still sense an air of misery from her voice. And it seems as though the GTR has disappeared, though judging from its description, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of it come tomorrow night.

Having taken the full night to arrive in Canterlot, Celestia quickly raised the sun, and left to her room, with the intention of sleeping the whole day. She did embark on a sleepless journey to the Crystal Empire, after all. Exhausted as well, Luna retired to her room, but before she slept, she wrote a letter.

I hope this message reaches you in fine health. My sister and I have encountered the Tantabus, though I doubt she was truly aware of the situation. I am certain that the Tantabbus will possess her, and I will not be able to vanquish her possessed form on my own, in or out of her dreams. At the first sight of dusk, travel to Canterlot, and you are to bring only the most trusted few, in order to keep damage to a minimum. Sincerely, Princess Luna.

As soon as the golden seal was placed on it, the letter was enveloped in a green fire, and sent to Spike.

As night had begun to set, Luna ordered the guards to take the night off and go home. She didn’t want anyone to see Celestia in her possessed form and shun her the way they did to herself, but most importantly she didn’t want anyone to be hurt or dead. In the distance, she heard the sound of engines, followed by a trail of headlights that led itself onto the palace grounds. At the head of the convoy was a Porsche 911. The Princess of Friendship stepped out.

“Is this enough people?” asked Twilight.

“Yes. A few more may join us but this is an ample group,” responded Luna.

Everycreature else disembarked from their cars, to approach the Princesses. A yellow pegasus flew toward Luna, with Equestria’s own Lord of Chaos in tow.

“Um, Princess Luna, I hope you don't mind, but I brought Discord,” said Fluttershy.

“Not at all,” assured Luna. “Actually, I was hoping that you would bring him.”

The Draconequus gave a bow. “To what do I owe the pleasure, dear Princess?” he asked, batting his suddenly elongated eyelashes.

“I want you to wait until the Tantabus arrives—a jet-black Nissan GTR R33—and when it does, I want you to erect a floating course starting from these very grounds. Have it loop around Canterlot,” she said. “You can add whatever you want to it, but she and I must be able to race on it.”

“Erm, question, your majesty,” said Twilight. “Why don’t we all just wait outside her bed and ambush her when she is possessed by the Tantabus? Why are you gonna race her?”

“Because that’s what this story is about,” said Luna.

Discord quickly formulated a levitating circuit in his signature pink-and-blue checkerboard pattern, spanning all of Canterlot and wrapping around the mountains and palace, decorated with trees, houses of cards and his sentient pineapples. The entrance of the circuit began in front of Celestia’s half of the palace garage. Luna, quite fond of Spike, had him ride in her passenger seat, in order to use the Bell of Grogar, an ancient artifact that had been rotting in the royal archives until then, to nullify Celestia’s magic. Discord, having shrunk down to a much more tolerable size, also rode with them, to modify the circuit anytime Luna needed it. The Mane Six were stationed near the end of the course, Elements of Harmony in hoof. All that was left was the Tantabus. Finally, it showed itself.

The Tantabus barreled into the palace, and a fiery, yellow light flashed from within Celestia’s bedroom window. The garage door opened, and the Lotus Evija, now corrupted, flew out of it. Luna checked her rear-view mirror. Discord created a giant sandwich barrier, forcing Celestia—now Daybreaker—to stop. She did, and stepped out of her car to meet Luna, who had done the same. She took in the “nightmare” form of her sister.

Daybreaker, watching as Luna stared at her, shot her a toothy sneer. “Good evening, dear sister. I am off to incinerate this world and you just happen to be the first pony that I see. Any words I should write on your headstone?”

“Wouldn’t you like to have revenge first?” asked Luna.

“What?”

“Master Star Swirl. I’m sure you would find joy in defeating him,” said Luna. “He is heading here, after all.”

Daybreaker’s ears perked up.

“And, with the recent modifications to his old time travel spell, this may be your last chance,” said Luna, smirking to Spike and Discord.

Daybreaker held her chin with a wing. Finally, she arrived at a decision. “Yes! I will kill Star Swirl. I’ll take part in this race, sister. Think of it as a final goodwill from yours truly. Yes, that is a good way of rationalizing it.”

They both got back in their cars, as Starlight Glimmer stepped between them.

“Five… Four…”

“Are you sure it was a good idea to offer Star Swirl’s life like that?” asked Spike. “How did you know that she would take the bait?”

“Three… Two…”

“You know that my sister is the type to hold a grudge. And without moral limits, she will be far less merciful than a millennia of lunar imprisonment,” said Luna. “This was the only way to goad her into a race.”

“One…”

Discord raised the sandwich. At the same time, Luna ran a hoof against her cutie mark, drawing the black splotches on her fur, changing them purple. Suddenly, her car adopted a light blue underglow. Her eyes shone with the same hue.

“Go!!”

They two cars danced around the floating course. Though Daybreaker’s Evija had nearly seven times the hoofpower as Luna’s R8, she had only a third of the torque, and because of that they remained strung along as the race went by. Occasionally, Daybreaker would attempt to fry Luna’s car, but the magic stealing abilities of the Bell of Grogar prevented her. If she gained too much distance on the straightaways, Discord would add more obstacles. Eventually they neared the end of the circuit, Luna just barely hanging on to the two-thousand hoofpower shadow. Daybreaaker caught a glimpse of Star Swirl at the end of the circuit, and floored the accelerator through the last corner. She grinded against the guardrail, allowing Luna to swoop into the lead. Then, it was all up to Discord to throw as many obstacles as he could at the mad Alicorn. Finally, Luna and company soared through the finish line. Moments after, Daybreaker did as well.

She stepped out of her car. “Well done sister. I suppose the shallow victory will be a fine final memory.”

Luna stepped out of her car as well. When she did, the light blue underglow dispersed.

“That said, I’m still gonna kill him,” said Daybreaker, charging up her horn.

“Not so fast,” said Spike, pointing the Bell of Grogar at her, draining her of her power. “Everybody, now!”

The Mane Six emerged from the surrounding cliffside, each adorned in their Elements of Harmony. Daybreaker looked around at the ambush. She took to the skies, only for Luna and Starlight to hold her down. The Elements activated, and in a flash of light, Celestia was freed of the clutches of the tantabus.

“Are you alright, Celestia?” asked Twilight, rushing to her side.

“Yes… I’m fine now,” said Celestia. She turned to her sister. “Thank you, all of you. I’m very sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”

“Ahem,” Star Swirl cleared his throat. “The apologies are all mine. I had no place to speak to you in such disrespect. To either of you. I will be better. I am truly sorry, princesses.”

“I accept your apology, master,” Celestia said.
As the group exchanged niceties, Luna looked over the edge of the floating course. I suppose I had better get to my duties. I’ve already spent so much time tonight. In the distance, she watched as the Tantabus’s black GTR disappeared over the horizon.

Author's Note

Name: (Princess) Luna
Car: 2012 Audi e-tron R8
Hp: 313
Weight (KG): 1779.9 (1779.896, 3924 LBS)
Top Speed (KMH): 248.6 (154.5 MPH)

Name: Nightmare (Tantabus)
Car: Nissan Skyline GTR R33 (Whatever their vessel is using), Lotus Evija (Daybreaker), Audi e-Tron R8 (Nightmare Moon) (Unknown Modifications)
Hp: Varies
Weight (KG): Varies
Top Speed (KMH): Varies