//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 - The Origins of Nightmare Moon 
// Story: The Coming Of Stellas Spatium 
// by Harratot33 
//------------------------------//

The Mane Six and Cadance listened to the rest of Celestia and Luna's tragic tale with utter fixation. They could hardly believe so much of what they had been told over all these years was false. The two Princesses told them that Spatium eventually gained the power to transfer his evil into the mentality of other ponies.

"Y'all mean like mind control?" Applejack queried.

"No," Luna told her. "The pony he has affected can still think for themselves."

"You mean they could be persuaded otherwise?" asked Fluttershy.

"Unlikely." Celestia responded. "I gain no pleasure at all from saying this, but I'm afraid Spatium is far more evil and powerful than those you've all fought in the past."

"But you banished him right, just like you did to Luna when she became Nightmare Moon...?" Luna took a deep sigh and, stepping forward ever so slightly, made another confession:

"I didn't become Nightmare Moon out of jealousy. I think by now you'll all have worked out that reason is far too similar to what partly made Spatium so evil. So, here goes...I was Spatium's first victim after he became aware of his transferring powers."

"I banished Nightmare Moon and Spatium at roughly the same time, but to different locations, of course," explained Celestia.

"You went to the moon, Luna," Twilight recalled. "But where did you send Spatium, Princess Celestia?"

"To another dimension entirely," she said. "He was just...so...dangerous and evil...I couldn't bear to have it any other way. Now, Spatium was in fact expected to return on the same night as Luna five years ago today."

"Every year, my sister and I have grown very nervous around today," said Luna. "Fair enough, perhaps the fact that he's not in our reality at all means...it takes a bit longer for him to..."

"Pull through!" Twilight finished.

"Exactly," said Celestia. "But this year, the pair of us are more nervous than ever before."

"I suppose that does explain our friendship problem," acknowledged Rarity. "But whatever is so significant about five years?"

"It's not so much the date," Luna stammered. "As it is the phenomena the whole of Equestria has been experiencing these past few weeks."

"Small earthquakes, vicious thunderstorms, sporadic rain spells..." Celestia listed. "All signs we underwent prior to Nightmare Moon's return."

"If our instincts are correct, then we will require you all to join the fight," Luna warned. "This is why we had to inform you all."

"I'm glad you did," said Twilight. "I'd never forgive myself if I didn't fight and something terrible happened to anypony."

"Yeah, if you ever need us to kick some evil-allicorn butt, just leave me one of the ol' voicemails, would ya?" Rainbow Dash said sleazily.

"Rainbow!" Cadance snapped. "This is deeply serious!"

"I concur," said Celestia. "I don't think you realise just how capable of causing intense havoc Spatium really is." Everypony noticed Twilight was tearing up. Celesita consoled her.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I know how shocking this must be for you...and everyone else."

"It's not that," Twilight wept quietly. "It's just...I think this is the first friendship problem...that's unfixable!"  �
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