Twilight regained her consciousness amid the same chant she heard before, but this time they were louder, closer. As her vision came back, she knew the reason. In front of her was Nightmare Fluttershy, sitting on her throne, with two black mares at each of her sides. One was pink-maned, grinning with devious intent, while the other had dark blue shades on, sitting as well, her face expressionless and fear provoking.

“No, they got you too Vinyl…” Twilight said, noticing chains on her hooves.

“Amazing Luna, she really is not a mannequin. You may continue with your proposal.”

“Thank you, my love.”

Twilight turned around to her right, and saw Luna, in her real body, standing proud and with a flirting look to Nightmare Fluttershy.

“Luna, what are you doing? Let me go, we can fight her!”

Twilight tried to use her magic, but all her efforts are were in vain. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The ring inhibited her magic.

“Luna, how could you!? I thought you were our friend!”

“So narrow-minded, all I need is useful ponies around me. And if they stop being useful, I find ways to make them useful again, like you.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing, yet Luna’s voice; her demeanor seemed genuine and above all menacing.

“You can clearly see, I am a much better host for you then that little pegasi. I am an alicorn, a princess, and above all, your true calling.”

Twilight’s mind tried to make sense of it all, but only one logical conclusion came to her – betrayal, from a friend, perhaps even more. The one mare who knew her deepest desires, shared her most lustful moments with and the same mare that saved her and was saved. She was now the one who made her look like a gullible fool, a stupid little filly who can’t see a thieving, worthless piece of an alicorn.

Hate, true hate began to rise from her. Was it the air in the room; was it the sight in front of her? She didn’t know, or care. The calculative, the ever fair and just Twilight Sparkle was foaming from her mouth and grinding her teeth, while hot tears flew down her face.

“You bucking piece of Changeling excrement! How could I be so blind to not see, that you never changed. You are still that spoilt little brat who couldn’t take it the ponies like the day more. If I have to die to get revenge, I will take you with me! This will n….”

Luna gently came up to Twilight, her magic wrapping up Twilight’s mouth with ease. She then placed her tongue on her face and licked of the pouring tears, much to the delight of Nightmare Fluttershy and her two peons.

“It’s been a while since I did this… how I missed being evil. It’s a shame I can’t complete the ritual, since I am no longer with you.”

Luna’s focus turned to the throne, where now both Pinkie Pie and Vinyl were trying to make their mistress orgasm, working the mouth and the wet vagina.

The scene continued for a minute or two, the chants relentlessly continuing, and Twilight now crying like a river, realizing besides her rage, she had little to offer to turn the tide of this situation. With a strong moan, the main mare in the room was satisfied, coating her two black mares in her juices.

“That was nice, but you remember it too now. You had that feeling constantly with me. The nights were darker, the peons I created were better…”

“Hey!” Pinkie’s new, somewhat deeper voice interrupted Luna’s monologue.

“Silence, Pinkie!” Fluttershy hissed, enjoying how Luna was selling her soul to her.

“Sorry mistress…”

“All I want is for us to be together again, bring darkness to Equestria, like we once did. You smell the hate this pony is offering me. You know she as our prime peon will turn the tide in our favour. Come back to me, so we can rule again.”

A small whirlwind began to engulf Fluttershy, and the black aura began to exit her body and those of Pinkie Pie and Vinyl, until it fused with the whirlwind, creating a dark mist in front of Luna.

“So, ready to be Nightmare Moon again?”

A sly smile came upon Luna’s lips as Twilight looked helplessly on, resigned to her fate as the key to the end of Equestria as she knew and loved.

“Maybe in another thousand years. Now!”

After crashing through the window with great speed, Rarity yelled: “Illuminate!” creating a beam of light and projected it at the towering black tornado that now stood in the middle of the room.

The darkness began to scream in pain, the light piercing it in multiple places, as it bounced off the glass windows and even the smaller pieces of the broken one. Luna engulfed Twilight’s horn, taking the ring off, making Twilight squeal as both her magic was let free, and the fact Luna accidentally licked the surface of it as well.
“Help her Twilight, come on!” Luna screamed as Rarity’s magic began to weaken, and the light diminishing in the crowded city hall.

The mixture of hate, rage, confusion with a dash of pleasure took hold of Twilight’s mind, and she worked on instincts alone, not controlling her magical energy. She screamed, creating a large beam of light with a purple hue. The beam hit the towering behemoth dead on, destroying it in one big swoop. The airwave released from the power of magic that Twilight produced knocked everypony to the walls of the hall, knocking them unconscious.

It took a while for the dust to settle and for the ponies inside the hall to regain their consciousness and their stability. With a groan of pain and exhaustion, Twilight too came back to her senses, only to see all of her friends back to their former selves, or it seem that way at least. Carefully, she nudged her muzzle onto Pinkies, and the mare giggled in response.

“That tickles… oh Twilight, you did it! You saved us! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Pinkie Pies grateful hug was met a dose of panic from Twilight, as the intensity of it nearly suffocated her. Luckily for her, the grip loosened, and it only left Twilight’s mane a ruffled mess.

She and Pinkie tended to the rest of them, and everypony, even the ones who were performing the chant, were out of their trance.

Upon seeing Luna, the town ponies bowed and apologized deeply to the Moon princess. They explained how during the celebration of her birthday, a dark fog entered the town, and that they were after that mere passenger in their own bodies, helpless to intervene, forced to look on as they were the catalyst to the darkness that had created Nightmare Moon.

“I understand and I forgive you, my dearest subjects. It was me who brought this abomination to Equestria, and I will see to it that it never rears its ugly head again!”

“Luna, didn’t we destroy it just now?” asked Twilight.

“No Twilight, we only weakened it. It will take a few years for it to recover, but we have to be ready for when the night comes and the darkness attempts to take over again.”

“And we will help you, your highness.” Rarity replied with conviction.

“I may not be a unicorn like you gals, but as long as I can run and help, I will!” Applejack chimed in.

“Well, we Sisters owe you anyway, so I’m in.” Vinyl said.

“It will be my honor Luna.” Twilight added.

“I wanna help too! Achoo!” Pinkie Pie said, only to sneeze, leaving the rest of the hall in shock and fear.

“What… what are you looking at?”

“Pinkie… is that still you?!” Vinyl asked, with a cautious stutter.

Pinkie Pie turned to one of the windows, only to see a black mare.

She was shiny, glistening in the hall lighting, her irises were cat-like, and her tail that of an imp.

“Wow, I look so cool! So badass! Prepare to serve me…hehehehee !” Pinkie giggled, easing everypony’s anxiety.

“That never happened before, and I regret to say I have seen many conversions by the darkness.” Luna admitted.

“Only one way to find out, we need to find my research kit. It should be in the hotel still.” Twilight suggested.

“Come on AJ, give Darkie a hug!” Pinkie Pie yelled, and grabbed hold of Applejack, much to her resentment.

Applejack’s struggle subdued quickly, as her brain turned to mush, her mind attacked by a vast amount of endorphins. The rest of the ponies looked on in shock, as the shiny black mare was turning Applejack into a drooling mess. As her hoof began to slide downward, Pinkie let go, unaware of what had happened.

“Applejack, are you okay?!” the rest rushed to her aid.

The orange cowmare rose to her feet once more, and stumbled a bit before regaining her composure.
“What the hay happened?! Last thing I know, Pinkie was hugging me… and then I can only remember warmth around my heart… Wait... why is my mouth so dry, and why are my legs so wet… Oh lordie, Pinkie Pie, what did you do?!”

“I don’t know, honest! I only hugged you for saving us!” Pinkie Pie replied honestly.

“This only means we need to investigate quicker, come on!” Twilight urged the rest to follow.

Vinyl produced a feather out of her satchel that was left here after they caught them, and forced Pinkie to sneeze again; turning her into the pink bundle of energy they all knew and loved.

“Well, now we know that works!” Vinyl exclaimed, her experiment a success.

They ran across the town, with Luna flying above the cheering crowd, freed from the dark influence that clouded their once gentle souls. And soon enough, they were indeed in the room, and Twilight was well under way with preparing her assortment of gadgets, vials and beakers.

“Now Pinkie, could you, well you know, sneeze?” Twilight pleaded.

Vinyl was quicker than Pinkie, and with the magic of her feather, made the pink pony sneeze, giving her again the devilish appearance from the hall. Twilight carefully took a saliva sample from Pinkie’s gums, avoiding her skin touching the shiny surface of her friend’s body.

She looked into the microscope with great concentration, while the rest, including the old Pinkie, watched on, and waiting on her analysis.

“Alright, I think I figured it out, for the most part. From what I gathered during the Pinkie Sense incident and the data I got from this mutation your cells have gone through, I think you will be fine, albeit with some side-effects. For the same reason you have the ability to sense danger, which I later concluded was due to the special property your cells have, and that is to store small amounts of magical energy. It seems after you became infected, and freed soon after, some of the residue of that black magic stayed in this membrane. As for the sneezing, well I can only theorize that it causes the membrane to vibrate, releasing the magic and switching the black magic and your usual cell structure, giving your body such an impish look. Your mind can’t be infected, as it needs more black magic then your membrane can handle, but certain abilities have carried over, such as pheromones that daze your “victims” and the shininess of the coat. All in all, we can count ourselves lucky, but should refrain from overusing your new ability just yet.”

“Common tongue Twilight, please.” Applejack retorted quickly.

“Pinkie is going to be okay, she might look like a devil, and touching her while in that form might give you devilish ideas, but she is still Pinkie Pie, and will not try to kill us or conquer us.”

“Yay, hear that Vinyl? I am no meanie!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and began to jump up franticly, all the while holding Vinyl’s hooves for balance.

“Is it just me, or does it seem nopony will come back from this rescue mission as they left?” pondered Applejack, to which Rarity nodded in agreement, sighing deeply.

As Pinkie Pie continued her onslaught of hugging and squeezing poor old Vinyl, the mares enjoyed one of the quieter moments in their quest to rescue Dash, defeat Chrysalis, and put an end to the curses Discord has bestowed on the pony race all those years ago.

The town was now behind the pack, and Luna and Twilight enjoyed a quiet conversation, as the final hurdle of their grueling ordeal approached fast - the Mirage Forest. Twilight had only read about this part of Equestria. It was vast, mostly unexplored, and above all, extremely dangerous to traverse.

“We will set up camp here, and take on the forest in the morning.”

Twilight decided, taking charge, despite the fact a princess was among them. Luna could only muster a proud smile. Even though she was Celestia’s student, seeing Twilight maturing from a sheltered young unicorn into a mature and deep individual was quite a remarkable transformation, even with physical ones that occurred in the last month or so. Given the amount of resistance, and the mental challenge that awaited them, this new Twilight was the best chance they had, because even though Bass was subdued for most of the trip, the sight of Dash would surely reawaken the demon inside.

Author's Note

Well this took longer then hoped. My usual editor has more obligations this summer, so I had to ask my friend Kinky Rainbow Dash (http://www.f-list.net/c/kinky%20rainbow%20dash) to do the editorial for me. Do check her out (and I mean check out ;) ). As for the story, we are nearing the big confrontation. The big questions are still unanswered, but the journey is about getting there, so we are going to see how the mares traverse this mystical forest as well.