______*Ponyville, Rarity's house.*______
"Why am I alive?" Nightmare asked.
Alecia blinked and walked up to the Alicorn, she looked deep into her eyes and then poked her chest. "Hmm....flesh and blood, regular breathing, alive, but how?" She asked herself.
Nightmare slightly shivered since she could feel an unnatural cold coming from the ghosts hand, she pulled away and spoke "I don't know how I am alive, but I think Discord had something to do with this, a cruel joke on his part, all we can do now is work on breaking the curse." She said.
Alecia crossed her arms and floated in the air. "You still have my blood on you?" She asked curiously.
Nightmare nodded and produced said vial with her magic, still filled with the red liquid. "I will use this and try to break the curse, better than doing nothing." She said as she opened the door.
"It won't work, but it might weaken the curse, good luck, I'll see you later Nightmare." Alecia said before vanishing.
Nightmare's gaze saddened and she closed her eyes. "Here goes nothing." She whispered before teleporting away.
Alecia appeared up on the roof of the home and sat down, she looked out towards Canterlot and stared at the shining city in silence, not even a thought entered her mind as she allowed herself to stop thinking for once.
______*Ponyville Cemetary*______
Nightmare Moon stood over Dark Amber's grave and held the vial in her magic. "If this works, every ghost and spirit in Ponyville will be free, and your curse will finally end." She said as she dropped the blood over the grave, and as the blood soaked into the earth, Nightmare cast a curse breaking spell, aiming for the last barrier of the curse.
And while the spell was cast perfectly, it did little to the barrier, only a slight dent in its potency, Nightmare Moon sighed to herself. 'Alecia was right, it didn't work, it must be linked to her brothers bloodline specifically then, but the likelihood of any surviving members of his bloodline are next to none.' She thought to herself before shaking her head.
Nightmare then walked away from the grave and out of the graveyard, deep in thought. 'The only hope we have of finding any living descendent slides with Celestia, and that is not reliable, I can't trust that she will help considering our past.' She paused at the entrance to the graveyard. "But if she knows I'm alive, she won't have any reason NOT to help Alecia, as I won't be a factor anymore." She said quietly before walking towards the town.
'My best option right now is to talk with her student, she can help me to figure something out......hold on, I'm alive, which means.' She looked around and saw that the townsfolk were staring at her in shock, she narrowed her eyes and continued walking, ignoring them. "I should have worn an illusion." She said to herself.
_____*The Golden Oaks Library.*_____
Rarity laid back on the couch tiredly, having been exhausted from using the Elements with her friends to defeat Discord, she looked around the room, Fluttershy was leaning on Applejack in the middle of the room, Pinkie Pie had collapsed and passed out in the corner, Twilight was obviously just as tired as the rest of them but refused to rest, and Rainbow Dash had dragged a cloud inside to sleep on.
If it weren't for the circumstances, Rarity would have smiled, the only thing that did worry her was that she had no idea where her sister was, and that she didn't have the energy to look for her even if she got up.
Twilight seemed to be searching for something in her books when there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Twilight said tiredly, stumbling as she turned around.
Rarity immediately stood up, forcing herself to move. "No, don't, I'll go, you need to rest." She stated while walking.
After a short while, Rarity made it to the door and opened it. "Hello?" She asked before looking at who opened it.
Nightmare Moon stood in the door way menacingly, or it was just her eyes, either way, Rarity greeted her. "This is a surprise." The unicorn said quietly before letting her in. "How are you feeling?" She asked politely.
"I am alive again, which is more than can be said for our friend." Nightmare replied, and from her dejected tone, it was clear who she was talking about.
Rarity's eyes widened. "You mean Alecia is?...." Seeing the sad nod from the Alicorn, Rarity held in tears, she took a few deep breaths and worked on calming herself down.
Meanwhile, Nightmare Moon approached Twilight Sparkle, she was careful not to step on anything or either Applejack or Fluttershy.
Twilight looked up at Nightmare and put the book she was holding in her magic away. "Um.....hello Nightmare Moon?" She said, unsure of what to say.
Nightmare breathed and relaxed herself as she spoke. "I need you to send a letter to Celestia." She said simply.
Twilight could only blink in response. "What?" She asked out of surprise.
"Must I repeat myself?" Nightmare asked impatiently.
Twilight shook her head clear. "No no, not necessary, I was just....surprised." She said before using her magic to float a scroll and a quill over.
"Am I to assume Spike sends the letters through dragon fire?" Nightmare asked, raising an eyebrow, seeing Twilight nod, she spoke again while taking the items. "When there is time, send this for me." She said while simultaneously writing her letter.
Meanwhile, Applejack watched Nightmare while trying to shield Fluttershy discreetly, she didn't speak but Rarity did that for her. "How is Sweetie Belle?" The mare asked.
"I don't know." Nightmare replied calmly, Rarity saddened at the news. "She went to find her friend Scootaloo, but she never came back, she might be back at the house now though." She added before closing the scroll and sealed it, she then passed it to Twilight. "Here, I need to check on Alecia." She stated before teleporting away.
A soft groan came from the cloud and a voice followed. "Am I going nuts, or was Nightmare Moon here?" Rainbow asked sleepily.
"Rainbow." Applejack said.
"Yea?" The Pegasus asked.
"Go back to sleep." The farm mare said with irritation before laying her head down.
Rainbow peeked over her cloud and then grunted. "Fine." She said before laying her head down again.
"Is it just me though, or was the backlash from the Elements a lot rougher this time?" Rarity asked her friends.
Fluttershy nodded. "It did take a lot out of us this time." She whispered tiredly.
Twilight sighed and rubbed her eyes, putting Nightmare's message with her report to Princess Celestia. "I think we all just need some sleep, I have a futon and a spare bed upstairs, and if need be I have a cot somewhere around here." She yawned and sleepily made her way to the stairs.
"Twilight wait." Rarity said, walking over, the tired unicorn looked at her friend, clearly dead on her feet. "Why don't you just go upstairs and get some rest? I'll make sure everypony gets some rest." She said, even though she felt exhausted, she still chose to do this.
At first the lavender unicorn didn't reply, but eventually nodded. "Sounds good." She said nothing else before heading upstairs.
Rarity looked back at the others and saw that they were all asleep, she shook her head and smiled a little before walking to the storage room behind the stairs, where she found a cot and some blankets.
Using her magic, Rarity lifted Pinkie Pie and placed her on the cot and placing blankets on all her friends, she rubbed her eyes and walked to the couch, she used her magic and turned off the lights before falling asleep.
______*Meanwhile*______
"Are you sure you are alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.
An annoyed sigh came in response. "Yes, Sweetie Belle, for the third time, I am fine, I'm not feeling vertigo now, and I am not hurt, a little cramped, but not hurt." Scootaloo said in reply.
Sweetie Belle looked down and chuckled nervously. "Yea, I guess, but considering this? I think I'm justified in asking that." She replied.
Both of the fillies were stuck up a very large tree on the border of the Everfree, during his mayhem spree, Discord had given Scootaloo flight of a sort, but he gave her no control over it, so when Sweetie Belle managed to grab hold in an attempt to stop her flight, she got pulled along for the ride and when the magic ended, they ended up at the very top of the tree in a tangled mess of branches, leaves, tree sap and being stuck together with said sap, unable to break free.
"So, how long until somepony comes to help us?" Scootaloo asked. "Are you sure your uh......friends? will be here?" She asked, not sure of what to say.
Sweetie Belle sighed. "I know it's crazy, but I wasn't lying when I told you they would help out, they will be here." She replied in her own annoyed tone, she had told her Pegasus friend that she had two ghosts living in her sisters house that she befriended.
"Well, do you blame me for being skeptical?" Scootaloo asked, barely shifting her head, making Sweetie Belle right fore hoof turn with her.
Sweetie Belle shifted her head a little to look at her friend. "No, but I wish you would have a little more faith in them." She replied before moving her head back to a more comfortable spot.
Scootaloo huffed. "Imaginary ghost friends are something that little foals come up with, not for-"
"We are imaginary now are we?" Came an authoritative voice from nearby. "Not very nice are you little filly?" The voice was feminine but commanding.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle managed to look to the right and saw none other than Nightmare Moon flying next to their tree. "Nightmare Moon!?" Scootaloo cried out before trying to break free.
The Alicorn raised an eyebrow. "You took advantage of Discord's return to come back haven't you!" The young filly snapped.
Nightmare sighed and lit her horn, her magic silencing the filly as she cleared the sap off of them and slowly pulled them away from the tree. "In a way, yes." She stated before looking at Sweetie Belle. "Your sister is at the library sleeping, I will fill you in on the rest later." She said before looking at an angry Scootaloo. "And you little filly need to learn some respect for your elders." She said as she gently lowered the white unicorn filly to the ground and removing her silencing spell.
Scootaloo crossed her arms and glared at Nightmare Moon. "Now, I will forgive your rudeness and lower you back to the ground, or you can stay up in this tree and either try to get down yourself, or wait for hours or possibly days until somepony comes and helps you." The Alicorn stated calmly.
Sweetie Belle could not make the conversation up from the ground, so she just had to watch and wait. "Come on, hurry up." She thought.
Scootaloo glanced at Nightmare Moon but eventually sighed. "Alright......can you please get me down from here?" She practically forced herself to say.
Nightmare smirked in victory and lowered the filly down to the ground and flew down to land, when she did so she spoke. "Now, I don't know if you two are aware, but Discord has been defeated, so everything is returning to normal, but try to keep things quiet for a while so the town can properly recover." Nightmare said before turning around and walking off.
Sweetie Belle started to follow Nightmare, but after a few steps, she looked back at Scootaloo. "You coming?" She asked.
The Pegasus stiffened before blinking and looking at her friend. "I uh......yea." She said, catiously following, she caught up to Sweetie Belle and whispered quietly. "If only to keep an eye on her." She said.
Sweetie Belle shook her head as she walked. "Whatever works for you." She replied.
The walk back was mostly uneventful, the townsponies still avoided Nightmare Moon with obvious fear, and they seemed angry that she had two fillies following her, but they eventually made it back to the house. "Alecia! we're back!" Sweetie Belle called out.
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Fair warning, she wasn't happy when I left." Nightmare said while waiting.
Sweetie Belle looked at Nightmare. "What do you mean? why was she mad?" She asked.
"Probably this." Came Alecia's voice, Sweetie Belle turned around with a smile.....that promptly dropped and she ran up to her ghostly friend. "How did this happen?" Asked the filly.
"Discord probably, she became a ghost again, and I kept my life.......it's a cruel joke on his part." Nightmare said as Alecia remained silent.
Scootaloo was confused, as Sweetie Belle and Nightmare were talking to a wall. "Why are you talking to a wall?" She asked.
Nightmare sighed. "Right, I forgot you can't see the dead, Sweetie Belle....show your friend your eye." She said calmly.
Sweetie Belle turned around and Scootaloo saw her now pale blue right eye with white mist. "What......what is that?" The Pegasus asked, her voice filled with slight fear.
"Spectral vision." Nightmare answered for the filly. "It allows the caster to see the dead for the rest of their life, but at the risk of a random memory, Sweetie Belle and Rarity cast it on themselves before Twilight Sparkle made her improved risk free version, the rest of the details Sweetie Belle can fill you in on later." Nightmare explained.
Alecia looked at Scootaloo. "That kid looks a lot like Rainbow Dash now that I think about it." She said. "If that mare were younger anyway." She added for clarity, she then looked at Sweetie Belle who was looking at her. "I'll be fine, it's no big deal." She said even though she did feel hurt. The ghost then ruffled Sweetie Belle's mane.
"But still.....Alecia, you were alive again! I'm sorry this happened to you." Sweetie Belle said, a sad look in her eye as she looked down.
Scootaloo could only watch as a conversation unfolded, seeming to be one sided, but whenever she began to doubt the reality of her situation, something unseen would do something, whether it was ruffle her friends mane, or flick a small pebble.
Sweetie Belle eventually looked at Scootaloo. "Do you.......want to see her?" She asked curiously, standing up.
At this, Scootaloo thought more about something than ever before, weighing the pros and cons of this situation, on one hoof, if it worked, it meant that her friend wasn't crazy, or at least as sane as could be considering who she was friends with at the moment, and she would be able to see ghosts, which was possibly an upside, on the other hoof however, if it didn't work then it would mean that Sweetie Belle was seeing things and quite possibly crazy.
Eventually Nightmare sighed. "Think it over and decide some other time." She said simply.
With that, Scootaloo said farewell to her friend and left, clearly being given much to think about.
Alecia leaned her head back on the wall. "Look, me being dead isn't the issue right now, the real problem is life, everyday life that can do anything at the drop of a hat." She stated calmly. "Now, I think we should just let things get settled down, and then worry about everything else, breaking my curse isn't a priority after all." She added.
Nightmare was the next to speak. "Except for the fact that you are draining Rarity's life away with proximity." She countered.
"Why does that happen anyway? can't you stop it somehow?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to come up with something as she paced around.
Alecia shook her head sadly and rubbed her eyes, she looked at the white furred unicorn filly, the girl who had been her friend since they met. "I never wanted that, something about me drains her life force, which is why she is always so tired, as for stopping it? I wouldn't even know how." She replied, holding her hand in front of her face. "I should have told you the second I figured it out, I......I-I'm sorry." She lowered her head and hand, she closed her eyes.
"Don't be sorry, you didn't know it was happening." Sweetie Belle said in a compassionate tone, she knelt down and placed a hoof over where Alecia's right hand was. "Please stop hurting yourself over this and try to relax, if you don't, you won't ever find out how to stop it from happening." She said with a smile.
Nightmare Moon nodded and walked to the window, where she stared outside in deep thought. 'Truthfully, the only one who has to worry is me, because I have no way of knowing how Celestia and Luna will react to me being alive.' She looked back and saw Alecia standing up before following Sweetie Belle with a hint of reluctance, the sight made her smile a little.
'It is not much, but this is worth the risk I think.' She thought to herself before closing the curtains.
______*Canterlot*______
Celestia was alone reading in her private study trying to relax, she took a sip of her tea and continued reading the report on major events outside of Canterlot, and just as she finished reading about a small dragon sighting in Fillydelphia, the door to her study was violently thrown open followed by a loud voice.
"She hath returned!" Luna shouted, almost using the Royal Canterlot Voice, Celestia barely reacted and sipped her tea again, she set the scroll down and spoke. "Who has Lulu?" She asked curiously.
"Nightmare Moon! I should have known that she was scheming to return to life somehow! she cannot be trusted!" Luna practically shouted each word, thankfully Celestia had a strong soundproofing spell up that she cast the second her sister entered the room.
Celestia took a deep breath and stood up, she looked at her sister. "As startling as that news is sister, are you certain? Discord may have pulled some pretty severe pranks on our ponies, and they may just be reporting them as-" Celestia did not finish her sentence as a pair of scrolls arrived through dragon fire. "Ah, Twilight's report.....and what is this?" She asked herself as she looked at the second scroll.
The second scroll had a basic seal, instead of Twilight's, but if she sent it it had to be important. "Read the report sister, it may reveal the truth." Luna said, oddly calm now.
Celestia nodded and opened the first scroll from Twilight, she quickly read it over and was in fact pleased with it, but saw no mention of Nightmare Moon, she then set it down on her deck and then opened the second scroll, and she instantly understood.
Luna raised an eyebrow as Celestia passed the scroll to her, and she read it for herself.
'Celestia, Luna, if you are wondering who wrote this it was me, Nightmare Moon, I'm certain rumors have spread about me being alive, and I have written to inform you it is very true, Discord may have believed that this would be amusing, but I do not think so, if you wish to discuss this, you will have to come to Ponyville because I will not risk leaving while the curse remains, as for the Element Bearers, do not be concerned about them, they are alright, tired but alright.
Sincerely, Nightmare Moon.'
"Sister, I will go." Luna stated firmly.
Celestia set the scroll aside and looked at her sister. "And do what Luna? confront Nightmare Moon? you have not fully recovered yet and it's possible her strength has fully returned." She said, curious about her sisters intention.
Luna walked to the door and opened it. "I shall visit Ponyville, and I shall learn of her intentions myself, your student may be of assistance." She replied as she left the study.