Epilogue: Nightmare Shadow and Silver Star
Nightmare Shadow stood in the Castle of the Two Sisters all alone, he was looking at the latest formula which Silver Star had developed and written down to try to escape Ness, (or Gray Star, or Sky Star, or Night Star, or Light Star or Sun Star, but all of those were unofficial names not to be used).
Silver Star was his name, though Ness called him Silver for short instead.
“So, you think that you can escape me Silver Star? Your formula is wise and smart, and indeed correct as I look over it, but you can never ever fully escape me, for I will always haunt your dreams, thoughts, ideas, and fears as well.
But I do applaud you on coming this far, I would not have previously imagined that you were brave enough to face me and escape me, but sadly your little experiments can go no further, I already have defeated Princess Luna and have her trapped, but that is not enough, all of Equestria must be mine, and in order to do that I need no distractions, and that includes you sadly enough.”
With that being said Ness started to work on the formula and quickly enough he gathered the ingredients and made it, and then he drank it down.
It didn’t taste that bad, but what would happen as a result of it, well it would be far greater of a prize than any taste could ever offer up to an immortal being of Nightmare Shadow’s power and size and importance. Almost nothing was of importance to an immortal being since so many moments get lost in time. When you’re comparing things to the vast ocean of time, many things seem small and can get lost, and only the big stuff really matters as you look in on it, but sometimes even the smallest seashell was strong enough to withstand the constant crashing waves and survive in the vast ocean of time, and so that is why Nightmare Shadow made sure never to underestimate any pony he met.
If he did that might result in his downfall, and he could not have that, and he did not want any fatal flaws either, which is why he had worked long and hard on removing anything that could be a weakness to him or cause him pain or hurt or cause his plan to fail, and now he had one last thing, or rather pony, since he was in another’s body, to remove from himself in order to be free.
Suddenly with a scream of agony as the liquid or potion had been drunk the two separated very fast in a very strange sight to be seen by any others who could have been looking at this odd spectacle taking place here, and now instead of one pony inhabiting the other’s body there were now two separate ponies standing across from each other and looking right at each other.
Silver Star had a gray body and mane and eyes, with a cutie mark of three silver stars arranged in a triangle shape, and the look in Silver’s eyes was one of fury and anger, and his whole body, even his horn, was ready to fight.
“Ah Silver Star, we meet at last, it has been so unfortunate for me that you take control in the day, and me at night, the arrangement has not been pleasant for either of us, but now it is over, I’ve heard so much about you, but I never imagined you could look like this, so weak and pathetic.”
“Your plan of taking over Equestria will never work,” Silver Star said stomping his hoof in anger and raised his horn to try to cast his magic.
“Your magic will not work on me, it is no use; even Princess Luna could not defeat me, what hope do you have against me, an immortal being of immense power, strength and knowledge? You have none; that is the correct answer.”
“I know your plans, I know what you’re going to do; I can stop you.”
“Ah, but do you think that I would ever fully let you into my mind and ideas and thought? How do you know that I have not hidden something from you?”
“Because you want to kill me, and if I were of any use to you then I would live so that I could be used to misdirect the other ponies, but you would have to make it look like you wanted to kill me making me think that I knew everything, and then you would somehow falter and fail mysteriously, and I would be able to escape with my life and I wouldn’t be connected to your mind anymore, because you know that should you haunt me I could get in your mind as you can do with mine. I know all your thoughts and ideas and your plans, you can’t fool me Ness, I am your equal now, I can beat you because I know you, I know your thoughts and plans and ideas, and I can use what I know to defeat you, and because of this I am your Sherlock Hooves as you are my Moriarty, we are now enemies, and as such you will play games with me and let me live, but do not think that I do not see the trap and the bait.”
“Well I must applaud you again, you’ve figured me out, and as such I will allow you to leave with no fight, you can go home now, I promise you.”
“You can’t let me go this easily, you’re hiding something, tell me what it is.”
“Well you are correct, but it would be no fun if I told you, it would ruin the surprise, and then where would you be? You would be spoiled! And we can’t have that now, can we? No we must not, no spoilers for you Silver Star.”
“Fine then, but I’m going to figure out what you’re hiding” Silver Star said as he left the castle in a rushed hurry and went on to Ponyville to warn the others.
“I’m sure you will,” Ness said to no one in particular, “And that is exactly what I am counting on, anything less of you and I would be disappointed. You see Silver Star, you might know me, but I know you too, and I know what you will do, you’re a hero, and that will be your ultimate downfall, by helping other ponies and representing the elements of harmony; that is how you will fail.
And the sad thing is, you’ll still think that you’re a hero, that you’re doing the right thing, you’ll still think that, even when at the end I will kill you.”
With that said Ness moved over to the books he had neatly piled and stacked up in a corner from the vast large library that was held in the castle, it was lucky for him that the two sisters loved knowledge, power, and strength almost as much as he did, all of them were interesting, but he needed something from each of them, power and knowledge. And the books written by Star Swirl the bearded, or ones about him, were the most interesting in particular.
He was the most powerful wizard of all time, and Ness wanted to know his secrets, he wanted to know all the secrets of every pony, unicorn, and Pegasus who has ever lived, even the princesses, Discord, and Tirek himself.
Even Twilight herself had studied Star Swirl, and she had not only completed one of spells, but also found and used the time travel spell, what she did not know was that with enough power, strength, and knowledge, it could be used to not just go back a week in time, but to go back in time to any place and period in all the history of Equestria, and he could change any event that he wanted to, it was sad really of how little the ponies knew of the power of magic.
He would learn from them until no one could ever defeat him no matter how hard they might try to do, any attempt would be in vain, it must be in vain, he couldn’t have ponies getting hope, except for a false one, for he would create false hope which was a lie, and then should any pony come so far as to discover it, they would be crushed in spirit, mind, thoughts, ideas, and dreams far better than what any physical torture could do, and with that thought in his mind he unfurled his wings that he had hidden and soared in the sky, for he was the only alicorn prince, the prince of shadows, darkness, and the night.
And his reign would be a long and glorious one, one that would last beyond any other ruler of this land or any other lands that lay beyond, his reign, it would last an eternal night, an eternal night of darkness, fear, and shadows.