I walked back to the town hall and watched as a steady stream of people entered it.
'Should I go in now?'
"GO IN TOWARDS THE END TO STAY CLOSE TO THE EXIT FOR ESCAPE"
I waited for the people to enter and as the last few people were going in, I joined them. Once inside, I could see that the town hall was absolutely packed and that exiting it would take a lot of time for most of the people in there. I was not among them, however, and didn't have to worry about that.
'Will she be dangerous?'
"SHE WILL IGNORE ALL THOSE IN THE CROWD UNLESS THEY GIVE HER REASON NOT TO."
The noise in the hall died down as the Mayor walked onto the stage. The celebration was beginning.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" the mayor announced and the audience errupted into cheers.
"BE PREPARED TO LEAVE AND DO SO WHEN I TELL YOU"
"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria...
...Princess Celestia!"
A spotlight focused on a balcony thing above the stage that had its curtains drawn. The curtains opened and out stepped... no one. People started whispering as the seconds dragged on and the princess did not show up.
"She's gone!" cried out one of the princess' guards as she emerged from the balcony. The people were starting to grow restless and nervous. As much as I wanted to leave the area and avoid any potential stampede, I did not as Voth would not allow me.
A few cries came from the crowd close to the stage as a glowing blue cloud of smoke that resembled the night sky, only if it was a lighter blue, appeared. Mayor Mare stepped back from the smoke as it collected on the stage and started taking the shape of a pony.
"THE NIGHT PRINCESS IS HERE" announced Voth in my head.
Cackling filled the air as the smoke flashed a bright white and left a dark alicorn in its place. She was already pretty tall and being on the stage made her appear even larger, making the crowd shrink back from the stage. The alicorn stopped cackling and observed the crowd for a moment, her starry smoky mane fluttering in the still air. The tension was palpable.
"Oh my dear subjects, it has been so long since I have last seen your sun loving faces," said the alicorn in a malicious and scornful voice, almost as if she was angry on every last person in the crowd.
"What did you do to our princess?!" I heard the shout of Rainbow from somewhere in the crowd.
I could sense the alicorn's mood worsen at that question.
"Why, is my crown not royal enough for you? Have you all forgotten who I am, just like all those years ago? Do you not remember the stories?!" She questioned with increasing volume and anger.
"I know who you are!", I heard Twilight shout, "You're the mare in the moon — Nightmare Moon!"
"And do you know why I am here?"
"..."
"Very well then," Nightmare Moon responded darkly as her horn started glowing with magic, "Remeber this day, people, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!"
"Seize her!" commanded the mayor. At that, the guards attacked, only to be knocked away as Nightmare Moon cast lightning on them. She turned back into the smoke, which then started exiting the town hall from every exit it could find, scaring the people in the building as it did. The soldiers tried to catch it but could only watch as it left.
"LEAVE NOW AND HEAD TOWARDS YOUR DWELLING" commanded Voth. I did as he said, quickly leaving just as the crowd in the building started going crazy.
'What do I do?' I asked Voth as I jogged towards my home.
"YOU FIND HER AND CAST THE SPELL ON HER THE SPELL WILL APPEAR TO BE A MAGICAL BLAST OF POOR QUALITY TO ALL BUT YOU AND ME"
'What does it do?'
"THE NIGHT PRINCESS HAD MADE A DEAL WITH A CREATURE LIKE ME AND THE SPELL WILL REVEAL THEIR LOCATION TO ME AND ALLOW ME TO DISPOSE OF THEM"
'Why do you need to do that?'
"I NEED A PLACE TO HIDE AND THEIR CORPSE WILL BE PERFECT IT WILL ALSO WEAKEN THE PRINCESS AND LET YOU ESCAPE"
I wanted to ask what Voth was hiding from but at that moment, I ran into Brush who seemed to hurrying to the town.
"Oh, Anya! Tell me I didn't miss the start of the celebration!" she said, totally oblivious to the current situation.
"DISTRACT HER"
"Worse. Something bad happened. Go to the town and help whoever you can," I instructed her as I turned to continue on my journey.
"What abou-"
"I'll be right back, you go."
I didn't give Brush time to reply as I turned back and continued. She listened to my instructions and flew straight to town. I continued till I reached my home.
"Where now?" I asked out loud by accident.
"KEEP MOVING DOWN THE STREET AND GO THROUGH THE FOREST THERE IS A CASTLE WHERE THE NIGHT PRINCESS IS"
I did as Voth said, continuing down the street till I reached the end and faced the forest. I stopped for a moment, hesitating as I looked at the dark trees in front of me. Voth did not like that one bit.
"YOU SHOW HESITATION YOU SHOW FEAR," said Voth in a tone that made his annoyance clear.
My head hurt as he finished, but suddenly, the forest did not seem as scary as it did earlier and I cringed at how I hesitated earlier. I cast a light spell and moved on, stepping past the boundry.
"KEEP GOING FORWARD TILL YOU REACH A RIVER"
'Can't you come into the physical world now that I'm in the forest?'
"THE SITUATION HAS CHANGED THE GUARDIAN MONITORS THE PHYSICAL WORLD MORE CLOSELY EVER SINCE YOUR ENCOUNTER"
'Shame.'
I slowed down to a walk to catch my breath from all the jogging. I could feel the eyes of many things looking at me but I did not feel scared for they were just animals or bugs. I kept going till I came across the river like Voth told me I would. It did not flow very fast and with a single step in it, I could say that it reached halfway up my legs. It was a bit wide, however. I stepped into the cold water, and started crossing the river slowly so that I did not slip.
I was three-quarters of the way through when the water started becoming turbulent. I almost slipped as I hurried to dry land but it was well worth it because as soon as I crossed the river, it turned into something that you could not cross without a bridge. My tail and hair did get wet though and that was rather annoying.
The forest ahead was thicker and I kinda cringed thinking about how my hair would be catching quite a lot of stuff. I kept going despite that, my only respite being an area that had a lot of dead trees and looked pretty creepy but was otherwise okay.
I eventually reached a ravine and on the other side were the ruins of a great castle.
'We are here,' I announced, 'However, there is no bridge.'
"JUMP ACROSS," commanded Voth, "THERE IS A PART WHERE THE DISTANCE IS SHORT ENOUGH."
I looked around for that part and found it. It, however, was still a pretty large jump. A very tiny piece of me told me to go find some other way to get across but the large majority trusted Voth and believed I could jump across.
I took one last look at the gap and then got into position to sprint and jump.
I took a deep breath and broke into a sprint. The gap rapidly approached and just at what I hoped was the right moment, I jumped. It wasn't anything like in the movies where they show it like its cool and easy; it was terrifying. The ground on the other side came closer and closer but I would not be landing on it. I instead hit the wall of the ravine, only my upper body actually reaching the ground. Without caring about how much my chest hurt or how hard it was to breathe, I pulled myself up and away from the ravine.
"GET UP THE PRINCESS IS INSIDE" said Voth. I took another few moments to catch my breath and got back up and started moving again. I didn't have much problem finding an entrance, which was just a huge hole in the wall, and entered the ruins. I was in a dark hallway with only my horn light to show me where I could go. I also picked up some sound. I could not tell what it was but it was coming from down the hallway.
I slowly and easily crept down the hall, making no sound as I moved. The noise I heard became more like a conversation, only that there was only one person speaking. I reached the doorway at the end and peeked to see Nightmare Moon. She looked like she was talking, or rather, bargaining with the air in front of her.
"I have returned now, and you promised me power for when I did!
...
What do you mean you altered the deal?! That isn't fair!
...
I swear if you don't take that back now, I'll KILL you!"
"CAST THE SPELL."
I ignored whatever she was saying and focused on the spell. My horn lit up with bright green magic, making just enough noise for Nightmare Moon to notice. I cast the spell and a small green ball of magic sailed across the air. The alicorn turned to face it but she was too slow and the ball of mgic impacted her left foreleg, doing absolutely nothing and dissipating.
"I WILL RETURN RUN NOW"
I felt Voth leave my mind but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the alicorn had seen me. I tried moving but I felt light headed all of a sudden and found myself in front of the alicorn. Did she teleport me?
I wasn't the one asking questions, though.
"And what do you think you're doing here, eavesdropping on my conversation?" Nightmare Moon asked as she got very close to my face.
"There's... someone else here?" I replied, doing my best to sound oblivious.
"No, there isn't," said Nightmare Moon after a moment of deliberation. She then got out of my face and back to towering over me. "So, you have been sent by Celestia to stop me?" she asked with some mirth, probably at how I, a pathetic little creature in comparison to her, had supposedly been sent by princess Celestia to pick a fight with her.
"N- no, I came here by myself," I answered, technically telling the truth. Nightmare Moon laughed at that answer. Her laugh was a weird one; she sounded like she was both amused and angry, like she was at the end of her rope.
"And what did you —" she looked to the spot of air she was talking to earlier before turning back to me "— hope to accomplish with that pathetic magic blast, other than annoying me?"
I didn't give an answer, hoping that she would see me as stupid instead of working towards a goal.
"Hmph, nothing it seems," she turned and walked a few steps before turning back, looking like a maniac. "Let me tell you something, little pony, when I'm done purging the influence of my sister from this world, everybody will LOVE the night!"
I knew that in the story, Nightmare Moon wanted to make the night last forever and I had doubted that was her goal since said story was almost a thousand years old, but now that I was face to face with Nightmare Moon, I began rethinking my earlier assumption.
"You'll actually stop the sun from being in the sky, like forever?" I asked, just to make sure that I wasn't being dumb.
"YES! And it will be glorious!" she answered full of confidence.
A dumb person might have laughed at that or called her stupid, and then be instantly obliterated but I was not that dumb. I knew that I should probably try to stop her since I kinda lived on this planet and didn't want to die, at least before I get Voth the thing he wants. I didn't have Voth to help me out, nor did I possess any fighting skills other than going ape on the enemy but I doubt that would work here. Running away was out of the question as well. I thought about what to do and then it came to me. I could potentially talk to her and calm her down. As crazy as that sounded, I might be able to since I had prior experience in doing the whole 'calm down crazy people' and I could try it now.
"I don't think that's a good idea, or even necessary," I began. Almost immediately, Nightmare Moon sent a death glare my way but I continued anyway since it was too late to turn back. "I mean, like, you wanted people to love the night, right?"
"Where are you trying to go with this?" asked Nightmare Moon angrily.
"Well, there's like a lot of people who like the night," I stated, ignoring her question.
"If that is so, then tell me why those ponies in the town were terrified of me?", Nightmare Moon asked as if she didn't just zap onto a stage in front of a crowd of easily scared ponies and declare that their beloved princess was gone forever and that it would be night forever like a stereotypical villain.
"It's on you really, you came in like a big smoke thing and then did things that scared them all, like just declaring that their princess is gone forever."
"So, you're saying that I should have just stayed away and wallowed in my night all by myself and let Celestia get all the adoration of our- no, my subjects?"
I had backed myself into a corner and had to come up with something quick.
"Well, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that maybe you should try to make yourself seem better in their eyes since they've had her for the last thousand years, and a thousand years is enough time to make a bias."
"I will be the one DECIDING if I want to look good or not, little pony. I will not be taking your 'suggestions'."
I had to hold back from saying 'well, go fuck yourself then' and make an actual response to that. Fortunately for me, I heard the familiar voice of Voth in my head.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY DID YOU NOT RUN?" Voth asked, clearly stressed and angry.
'Couldn't run, she saw me instantly. Could you help me talk her out of putting the moon in the sky permanently?' I answered, trying to look like I was thinking on the outside.
"SHE IS STILL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HER DEALER AND IS ACTING IRRATIONAL AS A RESULT TALKING HER OUT OF IT WILL BE HARD"
'I can't do anything else.'
"... TRY TO PROVOKE HER INTO THINKING OF THE RAMIFICATIONS OF STOPPING THE PLANET'S ROTATION BUT DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE OF PEOPLE SHE IS FANATICAL ABOUT STOPPING THE PLANET'S ROTATION SINCE SHE BELIEVES THAT SHE WILL RECIEVE POSITIVE ATTENTION FOR IT I WILL DEAL WITH THINGS ON MY END"
"Okay, let's not talk about the emotional stuff and instead, we can discuss the impacts of stopping the planet's rotation," I said to Nightmare Moon, who looked more annoyed than angry at this point.
"I have told you already, I will not be taking suggestions from a sun-loving fool like you."
"Well, you sent Princess Celestia to wherever and I guess that I'm now your subject since you're the new ruler, and it's not that I'm biased against the night or something," I continued, getting her attention.
"What do you want to say?"
"Okay, so, I don't think you've kept up with modern scientific discoveries but I'm sure you know that plants only grow in the sunlight. Well, those plants can't really grow under the moon's light and that would not be great for your future subjects," I said, addressing the easiest to understand problem. Nightmare Moon, thankfully, did not look like she was about to blow me to bits, and actually looked taken aback at that.
"W- well, I'll have my mages create new plants that grow under the moonlight!" she answered. It was impossible not to compare the answer to some idiot kid on the playground say 'well actually, I have an everything shield'.
"Second point, the sun gives off heat that keeps the temperature on this planet livable for us. If that gets stuck to one side of the planet, this side will probably freeze.
Like imagine that you do the whole 'make it night forever'. Your subjects, both those who love you or hate you, will die. Do you want that to happen?", I continued, ignoring her 'solution' and moving onto more side effects of forever night along with some emotional stuff mixed in.
Nightmare Moon had gone from mildly intrigued to looking like she was having a very rude revelation. She was clearly trying to make an argument to disprove but she knew that I was right. It looked like I was winning.
"Do I look FOOLISH enough to believe your LIES?!", she shouted back angrily all of a sudden, a stark contrast to her expression earlier.
"HER DEALER IS INFLUENCING HER THOUGHTS EVEN MORE I WILL BE BACK AFTER I AM DONE KILLING IT DO NOT DIE", Voth announced before leaving me again.
"Look, I understand somewhat that you don't want to accept that but even if you don't, you'll still have people who will hate you and call you a monster for forcing the night on them."
"I'll purge them all!"
"But then you'll just be a bad person."
"Gahh! Shut up!"
I felt magic around my neck and before I could do anything, I was being choked midair as Nightmare Moon came close to me and shouted with tears forming in her eyes, "I'm not a bad pony! I just want the LOVE that SHE always got! All the APPRECIATION that I DESERVE! I won't be DENI-"
She stopped as she did a double take at me being held up in the air by her magic and getting choked. She dropped me and looked horrified. I lay on the floor, coughing and trying to catch my breath.
"I HAVE KILLED THE THING", I heard Voth say as he returned, "FINISH THIS TALK."
As angry as I was from being choked, I had to finish this whole thing. I looked over to Nightmare Moon who had sat down and was looking at her hooves with a horrified expression. Tears were running down her face and she looked pretty miserable. Voth seemed to have done most of the work for me.
"I'm a horrible pony, a monster," Nightmare Moon said to no one in particular.
"You're misguided, not any of that," I said, making her give me a bewildered look. "If you go back and apologize or something, they'll probably forgi-"
A bolt of purple magic sailed through the air and hit Nightmare Moon in the back, sending her sprawling to the ground. I looked to where it had come from and saw Twilight and the five ponies we had to talk to earlier.
"Anya! We're gonna save you!" I heard Rainbow shout as she flew straight to me. She couldn't reach me, however, as a red blast of magic hit her and threw here back into the other ponies. Nightmare Moon had got back up and she looked furious.
"You did all this, just to waste my time!", she said to me, absolutely filled with anger. I don't know what caused her to come to that conclusion or to have such a reaction but I had to either calm her down or run.
"No! I neve-", I tried arguing only to be cut off by a purple beam of magic hitting the spot between us two.
"Anya! Run!" shouted Twilight.
I didn't run and tried to say something but I was stopped by Voth coming back and saying, "THE DEALER HAS POSSESSED HER YOU HAVE TO LEAVE IT IS GO-"
Voth's voice was cut off. It was too late to run now. I was picked up by my neck once more and could only watch as Nightmare Moon transformed. Her eyes turned black and her flowing mane and tail seemed to become a black fire.
"YoU WiLl ReGReT ThIs!", she shouted in a voice that was familiar to me. A shield formed around me and I was dropped into a bubble prison.
"Girls, distract her!" Twilight ordered as she ran to some weird sculpture thing with stone orbs. I wanted to shout at them to stop fighting but it was too late. Nightmare Moon was possessed by whatever the hell her dealer was and I was stuck in a bubble a bit too small to hold me.
Four of the five ponies charged at Nightmare Moon without any apparent strategy and as expected, they were shot at with blasts of nasty looking magic. Fortunately, they dodged or found cover, and continued their attack. Rainbow flew above the possessed alicorn and dived, hitting her on the head. It was to no avail, and Rainbow found herself being thrown away. Applejack charged at Nightmare Moon next and was thrown away just like Rainbow.
"I dO NoT hAvE TiME fOr ThiS," said the THING that possessed Nightmare Moon, annoyed at ponies' attempts to stop them. She charged her horn and shot a beam towards Twilight. Twilight didn't dodge in time and disappeared along with the orbs she was fiddling with. She then teleported both herself and me.
We reappeared in some far away part of the castle ruins. Some distance away was Twilight who was looking around to see where she was. The THING stood on a raised platform with the orbs on the floor around her and me in the prison bubble behind her.
"You'll never win! The night cannot replace the day!" Twilight declared. The THING simply laughed.
"I dO NoT CARE fOr WhEtHEr It iS DaY oR niGhT, aLl I nEeD Is ThIs pLaNEt To DIE," the THING said, catching both me and Twilight off guard.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"ThIS PonY, NigHTmArE MoOn, is BuT a TOOL FoR ME tO EnD aLl RESISTANCE On ThIs PlAneT AnD CoNSuME iT's POWER," the THING continued, explaining its motive.
Twilight seemed horrified at that revelation but steeled herself and charged.
"W- well, you're not going to win!", she shouted as she charged up her horn and charged at the THING like an absolute idiot. The THING smiled, revealing a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, and charged at her. Just before they collided, Twilight cast a spell and teleported to where the orbs were. She desperately tried to do something with those orbs and did not notice the THING sneak up to her.
"ThE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ArE GONE! I DeStrOyed ThEM AlL tHoSe YeARs aGo WheN tHe PrIncESs oF ThE SuN BaNIshEd heR sIsTer. It iS OVER fOr YoU!" The THING said, followed by it rearing up to presumably crush Twilight under its hooves. Twilight jumped out of the way, fortunately, but when the THING stomped, it released a shockwave that broke the orbs that were presumably the elements of harmony that would be used to defeat the THING.
Twilight looked devastated at that and honestly, I didn't feel great when I saw that. The THING seemed to be filled with joy and it transformed even more. It's wings grew larger, it's legs longer and thinner, and it's jaw unhinged revealing its terrible teeth.
"YoUr TuRN, NoW," it said as it looked to me. Despite the fear blocks Voth had placed on me, I felt terrified. The bubble around me started to fade away as the THING approached, opening its mouth wider to maul me. Twilight saw this and shot a magical blast at the THING's head, annoying it. It turned to Twilight, scaring her even more. I would have run but the bubble was still there.
"WeLl, It LoOks LiKe YoU'Re MoRe EAGER tO DIE!" it said before lunging at her. Twilight teleported away to a door at the far end of the hall we were in. The door opened behind her and the five ponies came in. She looked at them and turned back to the THING that was now crawling to the six like a really fucked up spider thing.
"You were wrong, monster! The elements aren't gone!" Twilight said confidently as the wind started to pick up.
"YoUr DeLUsIoNs WiLl NoT SaVE yOu!"
"That's where you're wrong. The spirits of the elements are right here!"
A white light started forming around the six, making the THING pause for a moment. Twilight continued her speech.
"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty! The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."
"YoU ARe StiLl INCOMPLETE!"
"Oh, no, we're not incomplete, because there is a spark in us all that makes us, us. The spark of... magic!"
The white light around them grew in intensity along with the wind. The THING lunged for Twilight but was violently thrown back, making it hit my bubble, which was basically a wall since it didn't move.
A rainbow coloured beam shot out from the white light and raced towards the THING. It tried to get out of the way but it was too slow. The beam hit it and it let out a demonic screech of pain and agony. I had to turn my eyes away because of how bright it was.
There was a flash of orange, and I was suddenly pressed to the side of my bubble by some force, and the bubble was now covered in cracks and holes. I could only watch as a free-standing wall approached me with rapidly increasing speed. I was falling. Very fast.
Was this the end?