You're Going To Fit Right In

Hours Ago

As the fragmented moon began to rise over the School of Friendship’s exterior, two seafoam green eyes shot open. Yawning lightly, the black-furred Alicorn sat up in her bed; the frame cast of pure Silver and Osmium. Sliding out of bed onto her hooves, the mare flinched as her hind hooves made contact with the cold marble flooring.

Stretching, the Alicorn reached for a pair of half-moon spectacles which she placed on her snout, staring through them and smiling as the world came into view. She glanced out her window and gave a small wave to the full moon that slowly rose through the sky. It was time to begin her day.

Heading towards her desk, she picked up a royal blue lab coat that had been draped over her chair, sliding it on and grabbing her cellphone, taking a moment to stare at the odd device. Ever since Twilight had brought Pipp back from the future, cell phones had become a rather convenient way for staff to contact one another, though students were not permitted to use the relatively new devices.

Nightmare Moon paused as she thought about the Ponies from the time warp. How Twilight had opened it, nopony really knew. Then again, nopony knew how Twilight did any of the things she promised. Her methods seemed nonsensical but her results were always what she promised.

At first, nopony believed Twilight’s outlandish claims, that is, until one by one all of them came to fruition. Ever since taking the throne, Twilight had made certain every goal was publicized, though not the methods to achieve them. And every time, she made those goals and dreams a reality. Those who had doubted her, eventually all fell silent with admiration and nopony held any more resentment to her coup de ta and her claim to the throne.

Nightmare Moon slid the phone into her pocket, before heading into the bathroom. Walking up to the mirror with a loud yawn, Nightmare Moon gazed at her reflection, thinking about her past. And her first run-in with her Queen Twilight; back when she was Nightmare Luna, centuries ago.

Her vision was blurred as she stood, her legs shaking from weakness and stretched out her sweeping wings. Cracking her neck, she steadied herself and noticed the gaze of another Alicorn staring coldly into her own. She spat out in annoyance at the mare.

“Who are you?”

The purple Alicorn didn’t say a word, simply staring into her eyes, with a harsh soulless glare, as though she was not merely looking at Nightmare Luna but seeing every facet of her very soul.

“Say something, Damn you. Or are you mocking me?”

Still, the Alicorn just stared at her, saying nothing.

“Who do you think you are? Do you know who I am? I’ll have you know I am a big deal.”

It was then Nightmare Luna noticed the scars that resembled claw marks crossing the Alicorn’s face. The ghost of a smile hovered momentarily on the lips of the Alicorn before turning away in a dismissive fashion, completely disregarding Nightmare Luna’s outburst. She spoke quietly in a soothing feminine tone.

“A big deal, huh?”

Nightmare Luna suddenly noticed the various third-degree burn scars, melted flesh from corrosive acid, and what appeared to be some form of necrosis that crisscrossed the Alicorn’s entire body.

“Well you see, I’ve met quite a few ‘big deals’ in my day.”

Nightmare Luna stared in shocked silence while she watched the Alicorn approach a stone statue with a figure Nightmare Luna knew well.

The Alicorn walked slowly around it, even placing her hoof to it and leaning against it with her ear. After a moment, the Alicorn nodded and stepped back, calling over to Nightmare Moon.

“Big Deals don’t mean anything to the likes of me. I’m your Queen, and you will stay your tongue towards me, or I’ll rip it out and make you eat it.”

The Alicorn’s horn glowed with a golden magic before she cast a spell on the statue. The concrete crumbled away revealing another Alicorn, causing Nightmare Moon to gasp in surprise.

“Sister!”

Nightmare Luna watched as her sister, Nightmare Celestia collapsed from the pose she had been in before petrification onto the ground. Slowly Nightmare Celestia stumbled to her hooves, before collapsing again, the atrophy of her limbs quite pronounced. Her breathing was shallow and labored, the tiniest flame visible on her body.

Nightmare Luna watched in disbelief as the Alicorn from before stared fiercely at her sister, before a warm smile crossed her muzzle. Reaching out, she placed a hoof on the dying mare with her horn glowing a bright golden.

Nightmare Celestia was completely enveloped by the golden glow for several seconds, before Nightmare Celestia’s golden eyes shot open and her body erupted in a ferocious hellfire mane and tail. In no time at all she was standing on her fully healed muscular hooves. She stretched them and yawned, before focusing her attention on the purple Alicorn, who stood there, quietly gazing back into her eyes.

Nightmare Celestia silently gazed at her, before flaring her white feathery wings wide. Before any action could be taken, however, Nightmare Celestia rustled her wings before folding them around her and nestling down before the mysterious Alicorn. A form of submission in Alicorns. In a hushed voice, Nightmare Celestia spoke.

“Cadance, Sombra, Tirek, Chrysalis, Discord, even Luna and myself. Thousands of other creatures as well. I can sense it. All of our magic swirls around inside you. Please tell me, how is this possible?”

The purple Alicorn gave a strangely soothing smile.

“You are a lot more amiable than your counterpart, aren’t you?”

“My counterpart?”

Nightmare Celestia followed the direction in which the Alicorn pointed to, giving an amused chuckle.

“That’s not my partner, that’s my sister.”

The Alicorn smirked and stated.

“Well the difference really is night and day.”

In that instant, the ice between Night Celestia and Nightmare Luna along with the Alicorn was completely broken. Nightmare Celestia began to chuckle while Nightmare Luna walked over to her sister. The Fiery body of Nightmare Celestia shook as she laughed, almost a bit maniacally.

“That was pretty good. You’re alright. My name is Nightmare Celestia, and this is my little sister, Nightmare Luna. What’s your name?”

Twilight’s marred wings flared, revealing every fight, every injury she had experienced, carved into her hide; a truly horrific sight.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

Nightmare Celestia and Luna shared a glance while Twilight gave a flourishing elongated curtsy, sweeping her wings before her; an ancient Alicorn introduction gesture, one that hadn’t been used for tens of thousands of years in their world. Cautiously, Nightmare Celestia asked her.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Twilight, how old are you?”

Twilight just stared blankly at her and replied in a soft tone of pure sorrow .

“Couldn’t tell you. The numbers just sort of lost meaning after a while.”

Nightmare Luna and Nightmare Celestia understood pain more than most. They weren’t sure where they were now, but in the world they called home, the two had gone to the extremes to protect the citizens of their Kingdom to defeat the Lord of Chaos.

Unable to find the fabled Elements of Harmony, the Royal Sisters Luna and Celestia had thrown themselves to the mercy of darker magic. Desperate and hopeless both had pleaded to the Abyss, the darkest heart of magic, itself. Anything it took, both would give anything to save their followers. And the Abyss answered. With her children.

The Nightmares are a parasitic race of sentient black magic that possesses unimaginable magical prowess, that infests a host and takes complete control; unlocking the darkest parts of their souls. The hate, malice, and anger the being possessed were brought to the surface; effectively turning them truly evil.

The sisters were able to use the magic of the Nightmares to defeat and banish Discord from their lands and in return, they gave themselves to the darkness. Both were possessed by the two deadly Nightmares; who it turned out were also sisters, with the elder of the two claiming Celestia and the younger, Luna.

At first, neither had turned evil; with neither sister possessing anything but purity towards their followers. And the Nightmares found this rather refreshing. Both of the Nightmare sisters formed bonds with their hosts; becoming somewhat enamored by them, viewing them as bound rather than enslaved.

Luna and Celestia adapted to the change in control as well, and all four got along greatly. The Nightmares took on the names of Nightmare Luna and Nightmare Celestia; with Luna’s body turning blacker than the midnight hour, and Celestia’s erupting with the fury of the sun. Whereas Luna’s Sapphire Blue iris changed to Seafoam Green with snake-eyed pupils, Celestia’s Amethyst iris now burned with golden intensity.

And though the changes to their forms were a physical manifestation of the bond the Nightmares had with their hosts, the citizens did not appreciate the price the two had paid. Contempt filled the streets and whispers of ‘monsters’ had emerged in every corner. Plans were made unbeknownst to the Sisters. And then in the midst of unveiling a new school to teach magic, a coup was raised.

The Nightmares found themselves surrounded by an angry mob armed to the teeth. Both panicked in concern, not for the citizens but for their hosts. Seeing how violent everyone was towards them, both sister’s hearts broke.

It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right! They had given everything to save, protect and cherish their citizens even having been prepared to offer themselves to oblivion if it would help. And this was their reward? Gnashing teeth, raging screams and violence?

In that moment, the smallest vestige of darkness was planted within their souls, and with every insult, strike, and kick, grew larger and larger. By instinctive nature, the Nightmares sensing this, amplified the maliciousness as it grew, until in an explosive outburst of wicked, cruel energy, the sisters succumbed to the darkness.

The purity within them was completely extinguished as they slaughtered the rioters; leaving nothing but smears on the cracked stone to indicate they were ever there. Standing amongst the wreckage Nightmare Celestia and Nightmare Luna grinned; no longer burdened by morality or empathy. All would heed them or perish. The tyrannical reign of the Nightmares had truly begun.

Yes, both were no stranger to pain but this was strangely deeper and, in that moment, seeing Twilight standing there looking helpless, something awoke in the two Nightmares that hadn’t existed for millennia. Within the smallest crack in their hearts of ice, a sliver of empathy and compassion appeared; its sudden appearance overtaking the malice within, taking the Nightmares by complete surprise.

Nightmare Luna walked over to Twilight and gingerly lifted up her muzzle with her hoof, whispering encouragingly.

“You carry too much weight alone, I can see it in your eyes. Twilight you are unfathomably powerful, and far more wiser in years than my sister or I, but no creature makes it through life alone. Talk to us, let us bear some of that load.”

Twilight’s crimson eyes were glassy as she stared at Nightmare Luna. She whispered.

“Applejack?”

Nightmare Luna shook her head.

“No, I’m not.”

Twilight’s shine returned to those burning eyes of hers as she lifted a hoof to wipe away a tear.

“Sorry, you just- you just reminded me of a close friend I used to have, for a moment there.”

Twilight sighed heavily before elaborating further.

“I’m from a world that was immersed in eternal war. No creature knew why it began or even why it continued, but that’s all there was. Foals and babes of the other species were protected by the bindings of the Equus Convention, but from fillyhood on we were trained to kill.”

Twilight gave a broken laugh that trailed off before continuing.

“Ha…I was quite adept with weapons, runs in my blood you see. My mom was the leader of Queen Celestia’s Sun Guard. Her Right Hoof, as many called her, my mom had a unique talent: Martial Mastery; she could pick up any weapon, ranged or melee, no matter how exotic or complex and instantly know how to utilize it to its maximum. Anything in her hooves turned into a deadly armament. But my mom wasn’t the only powerhouse, her entire squad was famous the world over for their tactics. Each of the six possessing unique talents none could copy.

Wendy Whistles was a Cyan Pegasus mare with a wild mane and tail of natural rainbow hue. Mom told me all the time about how perilous Wendy was in combat. Her weapon of choice was a shotgun-”

Twilight paused to lift up a hoof and her horn glowed Cyan blue, causing a double barrel sawed-off shotgun to appear, hovering above it. The stock was a polished mahogany, with a streak of forked lightning etched along the barrel, and painstakingly enameled with an almost living electric blue.

“She would launch herself at the enemy, dodging bullet fire with ease to blast her target point-blank in the face. The bullets she used were forged out of lightning, like so-”

Twilight’s horn glowed brightly with cyan light once more, this time materializing a lightning bolt that twisted into itself until it formed a crackling shotgun shell, before it levitated into the barrel. Grabbing it in both hooves, she spread her wings, tensing her hind hooves. And like a coiled spring she shot forward towards a stalagmite and placed the tip of the barrel flush against it, squeezing the trigger.

A large explosion of arcing electrical current occurred, blasting apart the rocky formation in a shower of debris, that fell towards the sisters. In an instant, Twilight shot down to land in front of them, touching down before the rubble shower had hit them, with her horn glowing a warm orange.

A radiant shield shot forth and formed a dome over them, with rocks striking the shield and fragmenting into nothing upon impact. Twilight folded her wings amidst the hail of stones while calmly continuing her thoughts. Meanwhile the shotgun vanished.

“Whereas Wendy loved the frontlines with mom, Pear Butter was often stationed in front of Stella Flare and Cookie Crumble in the rear; most often seen chatting with them as she was pelted by bullet fire, not that it bothered her.

Mom swore Pear Butter’s hide was impervious to damage. Acid, fire, lightning, poison, impact, range or melee weaponry, even armor-piercing rounds, none of it had any impact on her. Mom often called her the ‘Living Shield’. Though that shield had spikes; anything that hit her would be returned at twenty-times the destructive power. Ranged, melee, it made no difference. Mom said Pear Butter’s desire to protect her squad was so great that her shield would envelop her teammates sharing her defenses with them.”

The shield faded and Twilight’s horn glowed a crimson red-orange, causing an odd machine of some sort to appear. It possessed many keys and buttons, each labeled with a single letter of the Ponish alphabet. Twilight placed a hoof on it and it began to hum.

“This is the enigma machine, Stella Flare’s choice of weapon; she never fought alongside the others but rather directed their movements. Mom lovingly referred to her as ‘The Chess Master’.

Stella had the talent of seeing the battle playing out; every movement, every pony or non-pony, before the first shot had been fired. Using the enigma machine, she would use her magic to beam tactical information to the various combatants; even implanting misinformation into the enemies heads, sowing chaos amongst them. She saw every combatant of every situation as pieces on a board, to move as she designed. Truly terrifying, though no other creature was said to be able to use the enigma machine, only her.”

With the wave of her hoof, the machine vanished. Twilight’s horn glowed twice, first bright yellow, and then a soft gray; a large chain, with large barbs along it, and metal roses enameled in crimson red scattered on its surface appeared hoving above her left side, and a rather plain-looking kitchen knife on her right-side.

“Meet ‘Rosebud’ and ‘Cupcake’. Posey Shy loved to crack her whip. Though strong enough to inflict much damage, Posey used ‘Rosebud’ for something far more insidious. She was an infiltrator; strolling into the enemy camp as the firelight glowered in the midnight hour.

A buttercream yellow pegasus with a fiery red mane and tail, Posey Shy was best described as a ‘Temptress’. According to mom, she was very dominating in nature and her talent was to completely bend any living creature to her every desire, just by locking eyes with them; referred to as ‘The Stare’. “

Twilight stared into Nightmare Luna’s eyes with pure intensity; placing the Nightmare in a deep trance. Twilight shouted at her with complete confidence.

“Sit, now!”

Instantly, before her mind could even comprehend the words, Nightmare Luna sat down on her haunches. Twilight chuckled at the display, before taking hold of the iron chain whip.

“Taking control of any individual alone was enough to label her a monster by the opposition. However, thanks to Cookie Crumble’s efforts, Posey Shy became downright terrifying as an Infiltrator.

A light pink Unicorn, Cookie Crumble was, in my mom’s words, ‘The Greatest Smith of her generation’. Also the worst cook; never let her cook, mom used to say. She would burn everything, even the water she was trying to boil. But what she lacked in chef skills she made up for in her ability to metal craft. All weapons, armor and vehicles mom’s squad used were lovingly crafted and designed by her. Rosebud was her creation, a chain-like whip of adamantium, designed to resemble a rose vine with thorns and rose blossoms.

Thanks to the incorporation of magic forged into it, Posey Shy could channel her mesmerizing stare into the whip, cracking it upon the ground and forcing all who heard the impact to fall under her control. And as soon as they were, Cloudy Quartz would strike from the shadows.

A light gray Earthpony mare, with striking dark gray mane and tail, Cloudy Quartz was the other infiltrator, and partner to Posey Shy; the two were as thick as thieves when behind enemy lines but Cloudy was a bit of an anomaly.”

Twilight placed a hoof thoughtfully to her chin, as the Nightmares watched, completely captivated by the story being told.

“Mom often said that there were three rules that were indisputable in her squad: Don’t argue with Stella’s tactics, don’t eat Cookie’s cooking, and don’t question Cloudy. Cloudy Quartz just couldn’t be observed. Even keeping her eyes on Cloudy, Stella couldn’t follow her movements. Stella told mom once, that it was as if Cloud blinked right out of reality itself before reappearing within it. She could stand beside you one moment and the next, in plain sight mind you, suddenly be yards away, with no actual indication of when she shifted to the new position.”

Twilight stopped to take hold of the kitchen knife, staring at it for a moment.

“Her choice of weapon was this knife. To any observer, Cupcake is just a chef’s knife. The handle is plain Ash, the blade has no noticeable features. When in Cloudy’s hooves, however, Cupcake became far more; a blade that never dulled or broke, cutting through anything in a single slice and though I can’t prove it currently, mom claimed once it never seemed to need to be cleaned as it apparently absorbed all the blood spilled upon it.”

The knife and whip vanished before Nightmare Luna’s eyes as Twilight shook her head, muttering to herself.

“Even after all this time, I still have no idea how she did that.”

Twilight shook her head in frustration, muttering to herself, though just loud enough for the two Nightmares to hear.

“Look at me, all the might of several universes at my beck and call and here I am prattling on like some doddering grandmare telling little fillies about her glory days in the military. Oh, I must be seeming senile to them, aren’t I, girls?”

Nightmare Luna watched as Twilight’s eyes filled with tears. The Alicorn before her broke down in furious sobs as she cried out.

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore, girls. Please come back to me!”

As her shout shook the cavern, Nightmare Celestia slowly rose to her hooves and walked over to Twilight, placing her wings around her while whispering softly.

“It’s alright, Twilight. No need to cry. My sister and I are enjoying your story time. Please tell us more.”

Nightmare Luna watched as Nightmare Celestia shot her a ‘help me out here’ look, and also rose to her hooves. Placing a wing on Twilight she chimed in.

“Oh yes, I am really excited to hear about your fillyhood. Come on Grandmare, tell us two grandfillies about your golden days, we don’t mind.”

Twilight sniffed and lifted her head up.

“You…You really don’t mind?”

Nightmare Luna shook her head, smiling somewhat lovingly.

“No, we really don’t. We sisters have a literal eternity to hear everything you have to say.”

Twilight’s eyes suddenly narrowed suspiciously at Nightmare Luna.

“Your attitude has changed dramatically from just a half-hour ago.”

Before her sister could respond, Nightmare Celestia gave a soft giggle.

“It’s just a Nightmare’s nature; we are drawn to follow great power. If we are not the strongest magical force, and it takes quite a bit to make us cower, we will naturally prostrate ourselves to the will of the higher power, at least until we can overpower them.”

Locking eyes with the fiery gaze of Twilight, Nightmare Celestia said simply.

“When it comes to you, however, it is clear to both of us that even should we practice and hone our might over several eternities, we wouldn’t even scratch the surface of your magical prowess.”

Twilight was silent for a moment and cast her eyes down in thought. Suddenly, her horn started to glow with a bright bubblegum pink magic. Raising her head revealed something that startled the two Nightmares more. Nightmare Luna whispered in shock.

“Sister, look, her eyes!”

Twilight’s burning hate filled crimson eyes had changed to a bright baby blue. Twilight smiled, an act that sent shivers down the sister’s spines; the smile, while perfectly normal, just felt wrong, almost like it didn’t belong to the Alicorn in front of them.

Just then, two immaculate chocolate cupcakes with pink icing materialized before the two Nightmares. Twilight’s eyes flickered, becoming their usual burning crimson while her horn stopped glowing. She spoke with laughter in her words.

“Pinkie always told me, every introduction should start with a cupcake-”

Twilight glanced down and frowned suddenly, as she muttered.

“Knowing her though, she was referring to slicing their neck with Cupcake-”

Turning her gaze back to the Nightmares, Twilight gave a nervous chuckle.

“But I would much rather offer real cupcakes, so, um, enjoy, as a, uh, sign of this budding friendship.”

The two sisters exchanged nervous glances, before Nightmare Luna spoke up.

“We can’t- we can’t eat that.”

Twilight frowned.

“Why not? Do you not like it? Do you not wish to be friends, is that it?”

Nightmare Celestia stepped forward.

“That’s not it at all, Twilight, we’re vampiric.”

Twilight paused in consideration.

“Oh, vampiric, you mean you drink blood?”

Nightmare Celestia opened her mouth wide to reveal upper and lower rows of very sharp, dagger-like fangs, before explaining rather simply.

“Yes.”

Twilight was quiet as she thought about it, before smiling again.

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

It was in that moment that Nightmare Luna realized why Twilight’s smile was so unsettling. At first it had seemed normal, but on closer inspection Luna noticed the fangs scattered among the usual pony molars. There were six of them, three on top, three on the bottom and all of them evenly spaced.

Looking even closer at the sight, Nightmare Luna noticed that her entire smile was stained with what appeared to be rust. Twilight chuckled.

“I can work with that. Here, let’s try these instead.”

The cupcakes vanished, before a pair of crystal goblets appeared. Twilight looked rather pleased with herself as the sisters took hold of and peered down into the goblets. Inside of them, a chilled, crimson jiggling mass sloshed about.

“It’s a recipe I picked up from a civilization in a world I visited. They were vampiric too.”

Twilight sounded positively gleeful as she continued her explanation.

“They were extremely delighted to see me, just like you were-”

The joy in Twilight’s voice vanished leaving only a dark and malicious tone.

“Unlike you, however, they decided to attack me when the night fell. Very unfortunate for them, but I’m sure the bones I picked clean still tell weary travelers of those woods tales about their now extinct race; rattling alone and forgotten on the forest floor for all of time. Anyway-”

Twilight brightened once more.

“It’s known as Crimson Moon Gelatin. Try it.”

The sisters shared a glance before clinking the goblets together and throwing them back, letting the icy jigglyness flow smoothly down their gullet. Both emitted loud squeals of delight as the gelatinous treat fizzed and swam in their mouths.

Twilight watched on looking pleased with herself, before a soft whisper in a gentle, warm tone escaped her lips.

“Tell them.”

Twilight grabbed the sides of her head and shook violently, as if trying to ignore something. Another voice, this one with a slight rasp slipped out, with Twilight’s eyes changing to a deep magenta.

“She’s right, Twilight.”

Once more Twilight’s eyes changed. And again and again. Over and over, her voice changing a total of four more times as the whispers continued.

“Darling, it’s only right.”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“Might be fun to have new friends.”

“Sweetie, just tell them. There’s no need to hide it anymore.”

Her eyes were a brilliant emerald as she muttered to herself; the two Nightmares now staring at her outbursts in confusion.

“A friendship is built on honesty, Sugarcube. You know this.”

Twilight gave a scream of annoyance as she snarled, her eyes returning to their normal crimson.

“Alright already! I get it! You’re right!”

Tears formed in Twilight’s burning crimson eyes as she hung her head, letting the rivers of her regrets drip down her face and onto the ground below.

“I know that. You’re right, I have to tell them. I get it.”

Raising her head with a loud sigh of resignation and a slight sniffle, Twilight stared directly at the two sisters, shaking her head slightly.

“I owe you two an explanation. My magic isn't mine. Or just mine, that is. It is the culmination of billions of others; their abilities, their talents. It’s not on purpose and yet- Ugh. Applejack always said friendship began with honesty. So maybe I should start at the beginning. This may take a while…bear with me-”

“Huh?

Nightmare Moon’s thoughts were interrupted by something tugging lightly on her lab coat. Glancing down, she noticed the source. With leathery wings, and fangs too small to pierce flesh, a small batpony was desperately trying to get Nightmare Moon’s attention. Bending down, Nightmare Moon smiled lovingly at the little filly.

“What’s wrong, Mango?”

The batpony looked at her, but said nothing, instead gesturing frantically with her wing. Nightmare Moon looked to where she was pointing, and frowned. Starswirl was arguing with what appeared to be a Unicorn clad in a haversack cloak of their own making. Again with this?

Turning back to the batpony, Nightmare Moon conjured up a plump, round Mango; which seemed to mesmerize the now drooling batpony as it stared at the fruit.

“That’s my number one assistant. Here you go.”

Mango pounced on the delectable treat as Nightmare Moon stood up and started over to the two loudly arguing creatures, their words becoming more pronounced as Nightmare Moon got closer.

“Clover, You cannot bring back the Timberwolves. They are evil beasts constructed of dark magic!”

“The mission bestowed on us was clear, Starswirl. We were ordered, we will obey. Our Queen said, ‘Do it.’

“I will not stand for-”

“They are evil, so what?”

Both turned to look at Nightmare Moon who just grinned revealing her sharpened fangs. Towering over the two, she leaned down until she was inches from Starswirl’s face whispering once more.

“They are evil. So what?”

“Nightmare Moon with all due respect-”

Nightmare Moon’s eye twitched, before a soft and silky voice wafted through the air.

“This One will settle this, my Princess.”

All noise in the entire complex ceased with every being watching to see what would happen. The speaker was a gaseous mass of black shadow that appeared to have the form and build of a Unicorn mare with a long flowing mane and tail. The mare possessed no eyes rather, two bright white glowing orbs where they would be. Other than that, the mare’s face had no expression of any kind or any other features.

Nightmare Moon stared at her in silence for half a second before whirling around and heading towards her desk once more.

“Take care of it, Somber, before I take care of them.”

A moment after sitting down, there was the humming of machinery and a bright flash over where Somber had been. Nightmare Moon ignored it and quietly began filling out some paperwork, musing to herself as screams broke out.

“Hm, now then what to name it?”

“Stop it! It’s heading right for Princess Moon!”

“Woody? No, that, that feels wrong. Hm.”

“Stop that-”

Nightmare Moon continued staring at her papers, clearly unaware of the foul beast leaping at her, snarling. In an instant, Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed in rage, her horn glowing with the magic of the night.

A loud yelping was heard along with a sickening cracking of timber, meanwhile Moon continued musing to her paperwork.

“Ah, I got it!”

The whining increased and the yelping grew more frantic.

“How about-”

Turning she stared the terrified beast in the eyes, her own dark with an icy gaze of pure wickedness.

“Yeller? What do you think?”

The creature screamed in pain, only for Moon to speak once more.

“Shut. Up.”

Those two words thundered throughout the lab, causing all the commotion to cease instantly.

Every creature present stared; unable to move or look away, shivering in fear as Nightmare Moon lowered her voice and addressed the Timber Wolf again.

“Now, behave or be firewood. Am I understood?”

The mindless beast slowly nodded and whimpered, before Moon lowered it back down onto the floor, where it stood without moving.

“Sit.”

While the Timber Wolf obediently sat, Moon pulled out her cellular phone and spoke to it.

“Fluttershy. Thank you…Fluttershy dear, I’ve got a- Yes, Yes, that’s right! We succeeded in bringing back a new one for you to tame- Timber Wolf. Oh wonderful, I’ll be waiting.- Hm? No, it's been no trouble- Alright, see you soon. Thanks dear.”

Suddenly, a soft buzzing told Nightmare Moon that some other pony was attempting to call her. Checking the ID, she noticed it was her daughter. Quizzically, she answered the call.

“Hello Nightmare, what’s- Did you just say a Changeling? Don’t panic, here’s what to do…”