Grey.
That’s all Nightmare Moon saw as she sat on the surface of the Moon. An endless plain of dull grey powder, littered with dull grey rocks, and pockmarked by dull grey craters.
With a bored expression, she looked up into the sky, where her gaze came to rest on the planet of Equus. Instantly she clenched her teeth as she was reminded of the pony responsible for her exile. Her sister, no, the traitorous tyrant had denied her the rights to her beautiful nights after deceiving and blatantly betraying her in the face. She had no rights to rule over Equestria, much less violate her Moon with that filthy solar magic of hers.
Rage searing through her body, Nightmare Moon let out a feral roar as she let out a blast of magic towards Equus. She knew that the magic wouldn’t so much as reach a fraction of the distance between her and her sister before scattering into nothingness, and that knowledge angered her even more. She let out another scream as she blasted another ray of magic, this time aiming at one of the rocks lying around. The grey boulder immediately exploded into smithereens, leaving behind only lunar dust and fragments where it once lay.
Nightmare Moon stood there, panting slightly from her rage as she tried to clear her mind of the image of that accursed solar tyrant. It was all she could think of during her banishment on the Moon. The lies she had been told. The times her sister betrayed her by refusing to help her nights receive recognition. The night when she banished her to the Moon. The memories continued to circle and swirl within her mind, trapped without an outlet and continuing to stir up her rage.
Suddenly, Nightmare Moon’s ears swiveled about as they picked up something. A foal’s voice, sounding very faint yet very clear, reached her as she looked around for the source. She saw nothing but dead rocks and grey craters surrounding her.
“Who goes there?” she shouted, but no answer came. The quiet voice continued, unperturbed by her question. “Show thyself!” she shouted once more, continuing to look for the source. Still, no response came, and yet the voice continued, growing in volume and clarity.
Nightmare Moon looked up as her sharp ears finally triangulated the location of the sound: Equus. Squinting up at the blue and green planet, she casted a spell while concentrating on the voice.
Her magic soon found its target as it homed in on the source of the voice, revealing the scene before her eyes. A mother was carrying her foal away from the window to his bed, the little unicorn colt on her back blabbering excitedly to his mother. His eyes were locked onto the night sky, his expression that of pure happiness as he looked up at the stars and the Moon, the twinkling celestial objects reflecting in his eyes.
“Isn’t it so beautiful, mom? All those stars and the Moon and the night sky… it’s like watching a thousand jewels shower down on me!” the colt exclaimed.
“Yes, it is, dear. Now, it’s time to go to bed,” the mother replied.
“Aww, but mom—”
“No buts, mister. You should sleep, or the Mare in the Moon will come and get you.”
Invisible to the mother and her colt, Nightmare Moon scowled at the mention of that nickname. She hated that title; it constantly reminded her of the fact that she was banished in the Moon, and of the mare responsible for this.
“Mom, who’s the Mare in the Moon?” the young colt asked, snapping Nightmare Moon out of her thoughts.
“Guess I haven’t told you that story yet, have I?” the mother replied, tucking the colt under the blankets. He shook his head. “Ah, then I suppose I can tell you that as your bedtime story.”
“Yay! I like bedtime stories!” the colt shouted, excitedly squirming under the sheets.
The mother smiled as she looked down at her colt, tenderly stroking his mane. “Yes, you do. Now, listen… to the tale of the Mare in the Moon.”
As the mother told the story, Nightmare Moon, listening and watching everything, was filled with bitter anger and sorrow. Not a single foal had been unafraid of her after hearing the tales of how she came in the night to give foals nightmares. Not a single parent didn’t assure their frightened colts and fillies, telling them that it was just a foals’ tale. And not a single one of those foals managed to escape her wrath as they woke up screaming from the nightmares.
The truly bitter thing, however, was the fact that Nightmare Moon wasn’t behind these nightmares. All she did was watch on from the Moon, many miles and a vast expanse of nothing but empty void away, while those colts and fillies’ minds worked up to conjure those horrifying images. They would wake up screaming while their parents rushed to comfort them. They would then spend the night fearing her, hating her. The knowledge always brought a scowl to her face.
“Wow… she must have been really lonely to have become Nightmare Moon like that,” said the colt’s voice, shaking her back to reality once more. “I mean, she’s the one who made the beautiful night sky, and yet ponies shunned her night and slept instead? They must have been blind to not see the beauty of those stars, mom!”
The mother chuckled as she made sure her colt was tucked in securely, covering the blankets over his chest. “Yes, indeed. Now, it’s time to sleep, dear.” She then turned off the bedside lamp and turned to leave the bedroom.
When she got to the doorway and made to close the door, the colt called out, “Mom?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Is Nightmare Moon real?”
The mother smiled as she came back to the colt’s side. “Oh, sweetie. She isn’t real. Nightmare Moon is only a foal’s tale, after all.”
“Oh,” the colt replied as his ears folded back. They then perked back up as he said, “If she were real, Mom, I would become her friend! Maybe then she wouldn’t be so evil!”
The mother chuckled as she planted a kiss on his forehead. “I’m sure you would. Now, it’s time to sleep. Good night, my dear.”
“Good night, Mom.”
With that, the mother stood and left the room, closing the door behind her. The colt stayed silent for a moment, before getting out of bed and walking over to the window. He looked up at the night sky, the full Moon reflecting in his eyes.
“Wow,” he whispered, eyes shining at the white-and-grey orb floating in the night sky. A look of pure fascination floated up to his face, his eyes staring into the Moon almost as if he were daydreaming.
Nightmare Moon curiously looked down upon the colt, intrigued by his words and actions. No foal had appreciated her night and her Moon the way this one did, especially after hearing the tale of the Mare in the Moon. Instead of cowering in his bed while shivering in fear, like most others of his age did, he continued to look up at the Moon, mesmerized by the beauty of the star-sprinkled black canvas.
After what seemed like hours passed, the colt stood up from the window. He then looked up at the Moon and said, “Um, can I call you ‘Princess Nightmare Moon’? You know, because you’re the Princess of the Night and your name is Nightmare Moon… so, uh, I wanted to say thank you for creating such beautiful nights. All those stars and the Moon in the night sky, they’re so pretty and… so quiet and peaceful and, um… so beautiful…. They make me so happy whenever I look at them… so… thank you for that, Princess.”
He then yawned and stretched before saying, “I want to keep looking at the Moon but… I’m too tired now… and Mom said that good foals should sleep early… so I guess I’ll have to go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow night, Princess Moon.”
With that, the colt turned away from the window and headed back to his bed, silently slipping under the covers lest he wake his mother up. Soon he fell asleep, drifting away into the dream realm.
Nightmare Moon’s focus zoomed away from the colt as she cut the spell, quite taken aback by his behavior. The way he thought of her nights, the way he was unafraid of her even after hearing her tales, and, most importantly, the way he seemed to understand her loneliness during her nights all those years ago; it was so different from how other foals of his age had acted.
Perhaps, she mused, this colt could be useful in the future. Yes, if we could turn him and make him our ally… perhaps eternal night won’t be so hard to achieve after all. She then giggled to herself before lighting her horn once more, slipping into the dream realm.
Nightmare Moon floated among the numerous dreams of ponies, some depicting a serene dreamscape while others were swept up in turbulent horrors. Nightmare Moon heeded them no attention, however, as she soared along the currents of magic flowing through the realm.
Soon she found her destination: a featureless indigo-hued bubble, the same color as the colt’s fur. Without hesitation, she promptly dove into the bubble and entered the colt’s dream.
She found herself in the midst of a dense wood, the tall trees and their canopies covering the night sky. Occasional rays of moonlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, lighting up small bushes and shrubs. She began to trudge forward, the leaves rustling under her horseshoe-shod hooves.
It didn’t take her long to find the colt she was looking for. After a short walk, she came upon a small clearing among the trees, where the moonlight shone down upon it without being impeded. There, a colt sat, bathing in the soft, serene hue. His dark blue coat mixed in with the atmosphere of the night, almost making him look as if he were part of it, while his soft gold mane seemed to shine under the light.
As Nightmare Moon approached him, the colt said without looking, “Isn’t it so pretty? All those stars and the Moon and the constellations… I love watching the night sky!”
“What is thy name, young one?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“Sky Piercer!” the colt piped up, turning to look at the Night Queen. He looked at Nightmare Moon’s appearance, casting a glance at her helmet and chest plate. “Oh! I know who you are! You’re Princess Nightmare Moon!”
Nightmare Moon nodded. “We would prefer Queen Nightmare Moon, but yes, that is who we are.” She stared down at the colt in the eye, her glowing serpent green eyes intently boring into his amber ones. “Prithee tell us, young one, why dost thou find our nights so beautiful?”
Sky Piercer didn’t shrink away under her gaze. Instead he smiled as he excitedly began talking. “Because they are! I mean, look at the stars that light up the skies! It’s like watching so many diamonds decorate the sky at once! And… and the Moon, it makes everything look so calm and peaceful…,” the colt blabbered on, golden eyes shining with unmatched excitement and enthusiasm.
From those eyes, Nightmare Moon saw no deceit or lies, but only pure enthusiasm and joy. The colt truly loved her nights, of the peaceful atmosphere and serenity they brought, of the harmonic beauty of the stars that sprinkled the pitch-black blanket.
So he doth appreciate our nights… Truly, it has been so long that both of us barely remember what it feels like to be appreciated, don’t you? He could be of great use to us…, she mused, only to be met by silence. Turning to the colt, the Night Queen smiled slightly as an idea came to her mind. “Say, Sky Piercer, we have an offer for thee.”
Instantly the colt’s ears perked up. “Oh? What is it?”
Nightmare Moon turned away from the colt, slowly trotting in thought. “Currently we are binded to the Moon by magical restraints. However, we shall free ourselves from those restraints come the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, which is twenty years from now. Until then, we shalt indulge thee about our nights, about the stars and the Moon. We have the ability to tell thee everything thou wish to know about them. In return, we ask thee to enlighten the ponies of Equestria about the beauty of the night. We want our night to be appreciated when we finally return, and we wish it to be an easy task.”
“Enlighten them… how?”
“That is something thou must figure out thyself. When we return, we shall bring eternal night over Equestria, and we would rather have the citizens of Equestria enjoy the serenity of it, not cower in fear or rebel in resistance,” Nightmare Moon finished as she turned back towards the colt. “So, will thou accept our proposal?”
Sky Piercer lowered his head in thought for a moment. He then looked at Nightmare Moon as he asked, “But if you bring eternal night to Equus, wouldn’t everything freeze to death without the Sun?”
Nightmare Moon scoffed as she cast a sideways glance at the colt. “Such petty concerns. I assume that you believe that we wish to bring eternal night based on the tales you’ve heard?” When he nodded, she said, “Then I can assure you that we do not wish to bring eternal night. We only want our nights to be loved by the ponies of Equestria.”
“Oh, okay! Then I say yes!” Sky Piercer shouted enthusiastically, nodding his head up and down.
“Very well then, ‘tis settled. We officially name thee as our student. We shall be visiting thee in thy dreams every week from now. Doth thee understand?”
Seeing the colt nod his head, she said, “Very well. We shall see thee soon.” Without further ado, Nightmare Moon lit her horn and left the dream realm.
Sky Piercer’s eyes flew open as he sat up in his bed with a start, the contents of his dream vivid in his mind. Breathing heavily, he quickly scrambled out of bed before unceremoniously falling to the ground.
“Ow…,” he moaned, rubbing his barrel where his body had hit the floor. Regaining his bearings, he untangled himself from the mess of fabric his blanket had created as it fell with him and walked over to the window.
As he leaned against the windowsill and looked up at the Moon, he whispered, “Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll make sure the ponies appreciate your night by the time you return.”
As he climbed down from the window and headed over to his bed, he noticed something on his flank that wasn’t there before; an arrow piercing through a full moon, complete with the familiar patterns of the Mare in the Moon. Sky gasped as he checked both of his flanks, the emblem vividly marked upon his fur.
“Mom! Mom!” he screamed, throwing the door open and running out into the hallway to his mother’s bedroom.
Nightmare Moon let out a huff as her focus returned to the surface of the Moon. She let out a soft chuckle, which soon grew into full blown maniacal laughter. She laughed and laughed, her open mouth revealing sharp, long teeth. As her laughter slowly died down after a long time, she mused, ah, it has been such a long time I was amused by a pony so naive and struggled to hide it from them. Wouldn’t you agree?
Thou art… thou art using a young colt for your schemes! How dare thee commit such an atrocious act—
Silence! Nightmare roared, the silent screaming rippling through her mind. Doth I show thee who is in charge once again?
N, no….
Then stay silent, and watch. I shalt bring utmost respect and appreciation for thy nights.
The voice in Nightmare’s head went silent, and Nightmare Moon once again raised her head towards Equus. “Just wait until thou grow up, young one. Only then thou shalt see the true beauty of our nights,” she whispered, a wide grin spreading on her face.