The Nightmare Begins Again.

The night in Equastria was as beautiful as ever, it was the kind of night that reminded Luna just how much she loved her job. As she watched Equastria in the safety of Equastria, she kept her ears open for the pleasant sound of the owls song. Nothing was more comforting to her than the sounds of the night, and the sight of the wonderful night sky. She had memorized the entire night sky, all the stars and consolation. This is probably because the night sky was her only company during her banishment on the moon, her only friend during that dark time. She loved being surrounded by the beauty of the night, a pleasurable collection of sight and sound that not many had time to enjoy. They were all sleeping, everybody but her and a select few of royal guards, and the royal guards were too disgruntled by the fact they were working the night shift to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere.

She sat on the balcony, literally starry eyed. So many memories flashed through her mind, so many pleasant memories. Memories from before the war, the good ol' days. She remembered the days of frolicking through the Canterlot gardens with her older sister as a filly, while the sound of their laughter echoing through the warm summer air, the hot sun beating down on them, while a pleasant breeze blew through their manes. She remembered the time when they took over the thrown, after their triumph over Discord. She remembered the honor of being able to rule the wonderful land by her sister's side. She remembered the happiness of finally gaining her sisters forgiveness after that night. She hoped never to leave again. She put all that behind her. NIghtmare Moon wasn't truly her, it was another pony who took over her mind, over her body. She hoped never to see her again.

Little did Princess Luna know that, somewhere far away, a great evil was rising. Deep in the Everfree forest, Zecora was doing her thing, fixing up medicinal herbs for the upcoming Pony-Flu season. As she was mixing up herbs in her pot, she felt something, something sinister. As she looked closely at her pot, she saw something, something unusual. The ingredients formed a message, her name. Zecora looked shocked, she couldn't speak, not at all. Her entire shack shook, as the night got colder and darker, while thunder burst in the distance. Tons of glass bottles and masks fell to the floor, busting on impact. She soon found laughter echoing throughout the room. As she turned around, she saw shadows covering the walls of her shack, dancing, smiling. The laughter got louder. She soon saw that the shadows had glowing red eyes, eyes that she saw was staring at her.

"Evil spirit, in the room", she said, "How did you escape your tomb?" The laughter got even louder. Darkness started filling up the room. Zecora bolted to the door, trying to escape the shadows devouring the room. She busted out the door, running as fast as she could, bumping on the walls while doing so. But, to her dismay, she saw the shadows weren't just confined to her shack. She found the entire Everfree forest being engrossed into the darkness behind, all the creatures, all the trees, just disappearing. She began running, the rain beating down on her body,her hooves splashing in muddy puddles, her heart beating louder than Pinkie Pie playing the drums. She ran and ran, seeing the exit in the distance. As it got closer, hope started filling her body. She might escape this, she might survive.

Soon, though, she saw the shadows dancing again, this time, on the trees in front of her . The rest of the forest started collapsing as the laughter got louder, the trees falling down with a mighty thud in front of her. Soon, she heard the sounds of animals echoing throughout the forest behind her. As she turned back, she saw wild animals burst out of the darkness, their fur as black as night, so much so that all she could see of them were their bright, blood red eyes. They crept toward her along with the shadow. She tried to run, but smacked her face against a fallen tree. She ran to her right, taking a detour out of the forest.

But she soon found that this route was not much better, in fact, what lay ahead for her was much worse. She soon found that the shadows were not laying on the trees, or walls, or whatever, they were standing, like real creatures, faint lights surrounding them so she could see them in the dark forest. She heard the growl of animals in the distance as she stood looking at the shadows red eyes. She then realized that the shadows looked familiar, like her.

But then the shadows fused together, and standing in front of her was a figure, a tall, lean figure. She knew what she saw. She had heard the legends from her mother long ago. She knew what she saw was not just a danger to her, but to the entire world. She ran the other way, forgetting about the animals, as they started surrounding her and the mysterious shadow.As she looked at the face of the creature she was trapped with, she saw him smiling, and laughing. His bright red eyes showed joy. The darkness started surrounding the zebra, as it got closer and closer, the happier it seemed the shadow got.

"Fiend, I cant see", She said as calmly as she could, "Why would you want me?"

"Simple", said the fiend,"You know too much." And with that, the shadows finally consumed Zecora. She screamed as the darkness covered her body. Only to smile as they pulled away from her. Her bright eyes shined as she headed back to her hut. And she laughed all the way there. And the beast did as well. Oh did he laugh.

Luna was still standing on the balcony as the sun rose up, as celestia came in to greet her. She stood, watching her sister with a smile. Luna was known for doing this sometimes. Celestia knew just how much her little sister loved the night. She gently walked up to her sister.

"Luna", she said, "It's time for my shift."

"Oh yes, sister", luna replied, "I was just lost in thought again.

"Your always lost in thought"

"I guess. It's tough not to be. I guess its time for me to be going"

"You know sister, your not banished anymore, you can stay down here."

"

That's okay sister, the moon is like a second home for me"

"Well that's your choice Luna"

"Goodbye dear sister, until tonight"

"Until tonight, Luna." And with that, Luna flew back up to her home, and fell asleep. And she slept, despite the laughter echoing very near to her.