//------------------------------// // The end? // Story: My Friend, Nightmare Moon // by evanim26 //------------------------------// Celestia immediately left her quarters and to the guards "Gather up some guards and bring them to ponyville immediately. quickly!" she said so the guards saluted and left while Celestia herself left the palace and flew straight to ponyville Twilight and her friends were currently trying to figure out a way to find Nightmare to discover what had happened. while they were talking amongst themselves, Nightmare had just landed right in front of them in the middle of ponyville. Everyone immediately turned to her. While Twilight and her friends cautiously approached her, everyone else stayed as far away as possible, and some even hid away. Twilight took another step forward "Nightmare? what is going on? why have you eclipsed the sun?" she asked but Nightmare remained silent "Amber? are you in there? please, say something." Nightmare charged her horn as a black aura gathered up around her, then she let it out as a beam straight at Twilight and her friends. Before the beam struck, Celestia landed right in front of them and put up a barrier to block the beam which surprised everyone around. "Princess Celestia?!" Everyone said Celestia lowered her barrier "Nightmare! release my sister, or I will be forced to destroy you!" she said but Nightmare remained silent "Princess Celestia, do you know what's happening?" Twilight asked "I do not, but I do know this. That is not Amber. Nightmare has taken possession of Luna." Celestia said making everyone gasp Applejack stepped forward "you're tellin' me that Nightmare took possession of Luna again and is bringin' her eternal night?" "It would appear so." Rarity said Rainbow flew forward "I knew she couldn't be trusted. once a villain, always a villain." she said "But, it doesn't make any sense. I saw Amber and Nightmare earlier today, and Nightmare didn't seem like she was planning to do any of this. from what I could tell, Amber and Nightmare were getting along fine. what could have happened?" Twilight said then she turned to Celestia "Princess, let me talk to her. I'm sure I can get through to her." "I am not sure if that is the wisest decision." "Please, let me try." Celestia glanced between Nightmare and Twilight then she nodded "if you believe you can get through to her. then you may try." Twilight nodded then trotted slowly to Nightmare "Nightmare. if you can tell me. what happened to Amber? where is she?" Nightmare stood silent for a few minutes then a few tears began streaming down her face, confusing everyone. "She's gone." Nightmare whispered which was barely audible so Twilight moved a little closer "She's gone...and it's my fault." "She's gone? what do you mean?" Twilight asked but instead of answering, Nightmare charged her horn and fired another beam at Twilight who quickly summoned a barrier to protect herself but was pushed back due to the force of the beam. Fluttershy flew over "Are you alright, Twilight?" "I'm fine. but, I think something is wrong with Nightmare. she kept saying "she's gone" and that it was her fault." Twilight said Celestia trotted to Nightmare "Nightmare, you must get ahold of yourself and release Luna. before I am forced to destroy you." "Princess Celestia, wait. I may have another solution." Twilight said so, Celestia looked over at her "I had learned a new spell which may help us." she said "Are you sure it will work?" "I haven't had the chance to perfect it yet. but, I'm sure I have enough knowledge of it to work." Twilight said as her horn glowed "I will assist, Twilight." Celestia said as her horn glowed as well Nightmare saw their horns glow and erected a barrier to protect herself. then Celestia fired a beam which struck the barrier, but Celestia's goal was not to destroy the barrier. instead, she focused and made a small part of the barrier in front of Nightmare disappear, creating a small hole. "Now, Twilight." Celestia said so Twilight fired her own spell which hit Nightmare in the head causing a majority of it to disappear and reveal Luna underneath "Celestia!" Luna yelled "Luna! do not worry, we'll rescue you from Nightmare jus-." "No, Celestia! you must understand. this is not Nightmare's fault. something has happened to her. I do not know what, but you must travel to the everfree. there is a secret base there. find the base and find out what has happened! you must hurry!" Luna shouted before she was overtaken by Nightmare again "Luna no!" Celestia said then she erected a barrier to protect herself from another beam from Nightmare then she turned to Twilight "Twilight! you and your friends travel to the everfree and do just as Luna said." "What about you?" Twilight asked "I will hold Nightmare Moon." "By yourself?!" Rainbow said "I may be the only one who can. I will ensure the others stay safe while you and your friends look for this base." Celestia said "But-." "Twilight!" a voice called from behind, when they turned they saw Starlight, Trixie, and Spike. "Starlight? Trixie? what are you doing here?" Twilight asked "If you must know, Twilight. the great and powerful Trixie, has come to offer her assistance." Trixie said Starlight rolled her eyes "You don't have to worry about everypony else. Trixie and I will protect them. you guys just head to the everfree. the faster you find out what happened, the faster we can stop Nightmare." she said Spike stepped up "I'm going to." Twilight nodded "Okay, we'll be back as soon as we can. come on girls." she said as she levitated Spike onto her back and began flying while the others followed Just as Twilight and her friends left, a group of guards had finally arrived at ponyville and had taken up a position next to Celestia. "Princess Celestia, what would you like us to do?" One guard asked "Protect the citizens of ponyville. make sure none of them are harmed." Celestia said so the guards nodded and all split up around ponyville along with Starlight and Trixie. once they were gone Celestia let her barrier down "I apologize in advance, Nightmare. but I can not allow you to harm these ponies." Nightmare charged her horn then she created an orb around her as she charged Celestia so she too created an orb to protect herself as they clashed. "Yes. get rid of her. protect her wish. do it for her." The voice said as Nightmare and Celestia flew into the air and began their battle Twilight and her friends had arrived in the everfree "So, any of y'all know how to find some secret base in the middle of the everfree forest?" Applejack said "We'll just have to look around. keep your eyes peeled for anything that might look like some secret-." "Ooh, look at how big this cave is. it's massive!" Pinkie said as she stood in front of a cave entrance. "A cave?" Twilight said as she trotted next to Pinke as did everyone else "I don't seeing a cave here before. though the everfree is still pretty unexplored so this cave could be pretty old." "What are we waiting for? let's go inside and look around." Rainbow said but before she could fly in, Applejack grabbed her tail with her tail "Wait a minute, Rainbow!" Applejack said pulling her back "We ain't got a clue of what is inside of there. for all we know, there could be nothin' but timberwolves hidin' in there." "Or, this could be their secret base. if it is, then we need to get in there!" Rainbow said "Why don't we just head in and see?" Pinkie said as she jumped past them "Wait, Pinkie!" Spike said "There she goes. guess we might as well follow her." Rarity said so everyone sighed and followed after Pinkie. Once inside, and after a bit of trotting, they saw multiple unconscious ponies lying around everywhere. they were unconscious but not dead. As they passed by ponies, Fluttershy checked on each of them to make sure they were okay. they kept trotting until they came upon a collapsed part of the cave, so Twilight used her magic to move the rocks out of the way only to see a deep tunnel heading straight through the cave. "What do you think happened here?" Rainbow said Spike looked around "It's almost like a monster came through here and none of these ponies were a match for it." he said "I bet that "monster" was Nightmare Moon. but, why would she do this?" Applejack said "We may find the answers deeper within the cave." Rarity said Everyone continued moving through the cave until they had come across another cave hole leading to a room with a large pot in the middle, but there wasn't anyone else. "Hey, doesn't this look like a room Zecora makes potions in?" Fluttershy said "Now that you mention it. it does look rather similar. does that mean somepony was making potions here?" Rarity said Applejack looked around "I wonder what for." "For, Nightmare Moon. of course." Said a voice from the cave entrance. when everyone turned they saw a mare standing there "Who're you?!" Rainbow asked "My name is Ebony Aura. it's nice to meet the element bearers." Ebony said Twilight stepped forward "Hello, Ebony. When we were talking about potions. you said for Nightmare Moon. what did you mean by that?" she asked "We made a potion to deal with, Nightmare Moon." Ebony said "What was the potion made to do?" Twilight asked "It's a little complicated. instead, I'll give you this." Ebony used her magic to levitate over a piece of paper which Twilight took and read over while her friends also looked at the paper. Rainbow rubbed the back of her head "I can't make heads or tails of this." "They're ingredients for a potion." Twilight said "Do you understand it, Twi?" Applejack asked "Partly. I had been studying potions but I'm no expert yet. from the looks of it, I think it's a potion for...hallucinations, and it increases their magical power." twilight looked back at Ebony "But, why did you give this potion to Nightmare?" "We needed a backup plan just in case we couldn't take her down ourselves." Ebony said "But, why would you need to take her down?" Spike asked "Because she's an evil monster who tried to kill Celestia. as monster hunters, it is our job to make sure she pays for this crime." Ebony said "Monster hunters? y'all hunt monsters?" Applejack asked "That's so cool!" Rainbow said "But, why would you want to hurt Nightmare? she was redeemed." Twilight said "That doesn't matter to us. a monster is a monster. and all monsters should stay away from pony's." Ebony said "B-But, not all monsters are bad." Fluttershy whispered from the back but was just loud enough to be heard "What?" "S-Some monsters are j-just doing what t-they can to survive. s-sometimes they n-never mean to h-hurt others." Fluttershy said "You're a foal. but, I should expect that kind of thinking from the element of kindness. know this, there's no such thing as a "good" monster. they are just that, monsters." Ebony said "You're wrong!" Fluttershy shouted surprising everyone "There are plenty of good monsters in Equestria. like the manticore, I helped here in the everfree. Spike is a good monster to, he would never harm another pony! so you see, there are plenty of good monsters. you just have to get to know them to see." Ebony simply stared at Fluttershy for a few minutes "We'll just have to agree to disagree." "Thanks for the compliment, Fluttershy." Spike said and Fluttershy hid behind her mane but still nodded "Ebony, If you made a potion for Nightmare Moon. does that mean a filly named Amber was here to?" Twilight asked "Yes. Amber is here." Ebony said "Really? where?" "She's deeper in the cave. locked in a room." Twilight immediately left the room and headed deeper within the cave while Spkie followed her and everyone else remained in the room with Ebony. "Amber! Amber! are you down here?" Twilight called out Amber was taking a nap when she heard her name being called so she sat up and rubbed her eyes. 'Moony?' Amber thought as she trotted as close as she could to the door "Moony! is that you?!" Amber shouted to the door "Twilight. I heard something this way." Spike said running in another direction with Twilight following behind. they ran until they came upon a metal door. "Amber? are you in there?" Twilight said as she opened the door "Princess Twilight? what are you doing here?" Amber asked "It's a long story. first, let's get you free." Twilight said trotting over and releasing Amber from her chains Amber stretched her wings "That feels so much better. where's Moony? she's here to, right?" she said "No, she isn't." "What? why isn't Moony here? did something happen to her? was she caught by the hunters? please, Twilight. you have to tell me." Amber said panicky "It's complicated. first, why don't you tell me what happened before you were caught?" Twilight said "Well, after Moony and I left your castle, we were approached by a stallion named Mystic Mist. he told me that my friend, Peppermint Twist, was lost in the everfree so Moony and I went to go save her. when we arrived, it turned out to be a trap, and another pony, Ebony Aura, knocked Moony out of me. I was able to keep her down log enough for Moony to escape. but after that, I must have fainted." Amber explained Twilight nodded "So, what happened after you woke up?" "When I woke up, I found myself here and I was chained to the wall. after a few minutes, I heard some shouting come from outside, then I heard noises like magic being fired from a horn. I didn't know what was going on. then, I heard somepony just yell but I couldn't make out what they were yelling. then the cave started rumbling for a bit and that was the end. it was all quiet until you came." Amber explained Twilight nodded "Okay. follow me, I'll take you to the others." she said as all of them left the room and trotted back to the room the others were in. After everyone expressed their relief to see Amber alright, she took the time to explain to everyone what had happened up to this point. after she took a look at Ebony and noticed someone else trot into the room "It's you!" Amber said pointing at the stallion "Hello to you to, Amber." Mystic said I'm gonna guess, you're Mystic Mist." Rainbow said "You'd be right." "Where's Moony?" Amber said trotting up to them "I was hoping she would be here to rescue me, but she isn't. so, where is Moony?" "Why don't you ask the element bearers?" Mystic said Amber turned to Twilight and her friends "Princess Twilight?" but Twilight and her finds remained silent and looked very nervous "Will somepony tell me what happened to Moony?! why isn't she here now?!" she shouted Applejack stepped forward "Sugarcube, Ah think it's best you see for yerself." she said so she guided Amber back to the cave entrance while everyone else followed Amber looked at the sky "Is it night already? how long had I been in there?" she said "Amber, sweetie, it's only four 'o clock in the afternoon." Rarity said Amber looked at her surprised "Really? then, why is it still dark?" she said Rainbow pointed at the sky "Look up there." Amber looked to where Rainbow was pointing and saw that the moon was eclipsing the sun. "W-What? this can't be right. why is the moon in front of the sun? Luna wouldn't try to bring eternal night again." Amber said "But, Nightmare Moon would." Rarity said Amber turned to them "No. no, this has to be a mistake. Moony wouldn't try this again. she wouldn't give up everything we worked for just to try this again. this has to be a mistake." "Amber." Twilight said softly "We saw Nightmare ourselves when she came to ponyville. when I asked her what she was doing, she just attacked me." Twilight said "No...this doesn't make sense. Moony was happy. she was happy with me. she would never try this again. something must have happened to her." Amber said Applejack looked at Ebony and Mystic "I figure it has somethin' to do with that potion y'all mentioned." "It may." Mystic said Rainbow got in their face "Spill it, or else I'll clobber you both." Ebony raised her hoofs "Alright, no need for that. when Nightmare Moon invaded our base, we had a special potion made as a plan B. as you know, the potion was a hallucinogenic strengthening potion. it was made to make whoever inhaled it see things that aren't really there." "And the magic boost?" Twilight asked "Nightmare Moon is made out of dark magic. she has it running through her entire body. so, what happens when that dark magic starts spiraling out of control to the point where she will no longer be able to control it?" Ebony said "She goes berserk." "Bingo." "But, what did Moony see?" Amber asked Mystic shrugged "Who knows. it could've been anything." "I think I know." Twilight said making everyone turn to her "Earlier when Nightmare came to ponyville. I had tried to talk to her. I asked her what had happened to Amber. but, the only words she said were "She's gone, and it's all my fault"." Twilight looked at Amber "Amber, I think she saw something happen to you and that set her off." "What could've happened to me to make something like this happen?" Amber said gesturing to the sky "Isn't it obvious?" Mystic said as everyone looked at him "There's only one reason why Nightmare would use the words "she's gone". that means she saw Amber die. by what, we have no idea." "Moony saw me die? Why would she see that? shouldn't she have known I was fine and that she would rescue me?" Amber said Ebony shrugged "Maybe she did. maybe, for some reason, she truly did believe she would save you. but deep down, she probably had a fear that she would be too late, or she would fail, and that potion took advantage of that. it showed her what she feared most, even if it was well hidden." she said "So now Nightmare Moon is gonna bring back her eternal night?" Spike said "Not unless Celestia can stop her." Ebony said "What do you mean?" Rarity asked "As long as Celestia can stop her. then we won't have to worry about her eternal night. right?" Ebony said "That is true. but, would Celestia really be willing to destroy Nightmare?" Rarity said "We hope so." Mystic said Twilight raised a brow "You hope so?... I get it. this was all a part of your plan, wasn't it?" "What makes you say that?" Mystic asked "You planned on Nightmare going berserk so princess Celestia can destroy her. this was all planned so somepony else destroyed Nightmare and you still win." Twilight said "You got it right. of course we're no match for Nightmare Moon when she has her full power. so, all we needed to do was get somepony else to do the work for us. somepony who is equal to Nightmare's power herself." Ebony explained Twilight quickly turned back to the others "We need to stop Celestia and Nightmare from fighting as soon as possible." she said "How are we going to do that? Nightmare won't listen to a word we say." Rainbow said "I could try tying her up and holdin' her down." Applejack said "I think you're gonna need more rope, AJ. since Nightmare is way stronger than you." Pinkie said "Why don't we just knock some sense into her?" Rainbow asked "I fear that would only anger her further darling." Rarity said While everyone continued thinking of ways to stop Nightmare, Amber saw a flash of light in the distance. she flew into the air and saw Nightmare and Celestia fighting. she also saw most of ponyville destroyed due to the fighting. Amber knew that if someone didn't do something soon, then ponies were gonna get hurt. Amber looked back down at then others then back to ponyville and nodded as she began flying in that direction. "Okay, I think I have a plan. Amber if you can-." Twilight cut herself off as she noticed Amber was gone "Amber?" "Are you looking for the filly? she flew off some time ago, heading straight for ponyville." Ebony said "What?!" Everyone yelled as they turned and began making their way to ponyville. but before she left, Twilight looked back at Ebony and Mystic "You'll both have to answer for your crimes. for now, stay here and don't go anywhere." Twilight said then she quickly put spike on her back and took to the air, following her friends. "So...what now?" Mystic asked "Isn't it obvious? we follow the plan. come on." Ebony said as she and Mystic began trotting to ponyville Back at ponyville, Celestia and Nightmare were blasting constant magic beams at each other, but some of them missed and ended up hitting parts of ponyville. thankfully, Starlight and Trixie, along with the solar guards, were keeping the citizens safe and away from danger. "Use your full power. destroy her." The voice said so Nightmare blasted Celestia with a much stronger beam, but Celestia was still able to deflect it using her shield but it ended up flying off straight at another pony on the ground "Look out!" Starlight shouted as she jumped in front of them and used her own shield to protect them then she turned to the pony "You need to get out of here. the guards have put up a safe place for the others on the east side of town. go!" she said so the pony nodded and ran off Trixie ran over "Starlight! are you okay?" "I'm fine." Trixie looked around "They sure are causing a lot of damage. Trixie isn't sure how much longer she can keep this up...not that she's getting tired or anything. the great and powerful Trixie can do anything for as long as she wants." she said praising herself again "I'm sure it won't be much longer. Twilight and the others should be back any moment now with a way to stop Nightmare. for now, let's just keep everypony else safe." Starlight said so Trixie nodded and began running to another part of the town while Starlight looked up at Celestia and Nightmare 'Twilight. where are you? we really need you now more than ever.' Just as Nightmare fired another beam, Celestia flew high into the air so the beam wouldn't hit anything down below. Once Celestia was high enough, she flew straight down to Nightmare while avoiding her beams. once she had gotten close enough she fired a beam right at Nightmare who quickly created a shield to protect herself as she crashed into the ground below from the force. But Nightmare wasn't done and used her magic to create a sword of darkness. Nightmare flew up and swiped her sword at Celestia who quickly made her own sword of light to block it. Both of them swiped their swords at each other while Nightmare put more force into it with each strike. Nightmare took a big swipe and knocked Celestia's sword away then she blasted Celestia with magic and knocked her away into one of the buildings. Celestia was quick to recover and quickly flew back at Nightmare. Amber continued to fly to ponyville as fast as she could while watching the battle go down 'Moony...this isn't you. you have to stop. you're gonna hurt them.' "Amber!" Twilight shouted from behind as she, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash flew in front of her to stop her "Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash. what are you doing?" "We were gonna ask you the same thing. why are you flying straight to ponyville?" Rainbow said "I have to stop Moony. she's gonna get somepony hurt." Amber said "Are you crazy?! Ponyvile is a war zone right now. you can't go over there now." Spike said "But I have to." Fluttershy flew over and put a hoof on her shoulder "We understand that Nightmare is your friend. but, please understand, if you go over there then you may be hurt in the crossfire." she said "I don't care!" Amber loudly said making Fluttershy jump back a little "Oh, sorry. but I have to stop Moony. I know she'll listen to me." "Yeah? but, what if she just decides to blast you to?" Rainbow asked "She won't. Nightmare swore she would never hurt me. and I know she will stick to that vow. no matter what." Amber said Twilight looked at Amber for a few minutes then she looked to her friends "I think we should let her go." she said Rainbow turned to her "Are you crazy to?!" "Listen, I believe that if anypony can get through to Nightmare, it's Amber." Twilight said "Well, what if she can't?" "We'll just have to believe that their friendship is strong enough." Twilight said then she turned to Amber "If Nightmare does try to hurt you, then we'll protect you. okay?" Amber nodded "Thank you, Twilight." she said then she flew past them and continued on her way to ponyville. "Spike, can you explain everything to the others?" Twiight asked "Sure, Twilight. you just go with them." Spike said as Twilight landed and allowed Spike to get off then she flew off to follow Amber with Rainbow and Fluttershy. Celestia was beginning to tire out with injuries all over her body. while Nightmare just ignored her injuries despite how bad they were. Nightmare then created another aura barrier around her and rushed at Celestia who tried to create her own barrier, but it was destroyed just as Nightmare rammed into her and slammed her to the ground. Nightmare then flew above Celestia and fired another magic beam straight down at Celestia. Celestia used every last bit of her magic to create a barrier to protect herself from the magic, but Nightmare refused to let up. Celestia's barrier began to crack from the magic and just as it shattered, Nightmare stopped and simply landed in the spot away from Celestia. leaving Celestia breathing heavily from exerting so much power when she was already tired. "She is weak. you can finish her. do it. kill her. protect her wish." The voice said so Nightmare's horn began glowing Amber was getting close to Nightmare and saw Celestia on the ground and also Nightmare's horn glowing while it was pointed right at Celestia. "Moony! no!" Amber said as she pushed her wings to their limits "Amber, wait!" Fluttershy said flying after her along with Rainbow "Do it! do it for her!" The voice said Nightmare pointed her horn right at Celestia as a black aura surrounded her and her eyes started spewing purple mist. Amber flew as fast as possible straight down to Nightmare while Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy followed closely behind. "This...is for Amber." Nightmare whispered but right before she blasted her magic she heard someone yell "Moony!" Amber shouted as loudly as she could Nightmare stopped charging her horn as she looked to her right "...Amber?" Amber landed softly "...Moony." she said, and they remained silent while looking at each other for a few minutes until Amber took a cautious step forward "Moo-." "No! no, no, no!" Nightmare shouted, though her voice no longer sounded like her normal voice and sounded very distorted "This can't be possible. this is a trick. it has to be." "Moony, this isn't a trick. I'm actually here." Amber said as she took another step "No. th-this is some kind of trick. who is it?! who is doing this?!" Nightmare shouted as she looked around her Amber took another step "Moony, it's really me. it's Am-." "Amber is gone! I saw her die before my eyes! you're not Amber!" Nightmare shouted Amber stared at Nightmare "...Moony. you know I would never lie to you. I am the real Amber." she took another step closer Nightmare charged her horn "Stay. back." Rainbow was about to run forward but was stopped by Twilight. Amber didn't stop and took another step "You don't scare me, Moony. I know you won't hurt me." "How do you know? you're not her." Nightmare said "Because of what you told me, back in my dream. you said you will never hurt and will always protect me. and, whether you said that or not, I KNOW you'll never hurt me." Amber said The purple mist coming out of Nightmare's eyes seemed to disappear as they went wide "H-How? only Amber and I would know of the conversation." Amber stepped closer and was very close to Nightmare "That's not all. before that, you made the dream sky have a rainbow of colors. it was so beautiful that it left me speechless." she said with a smile Nightmare remained silent as her black aura slowly disappeared and tears started streaming down her face. Nightmare then turned her head away Amber took one last step and was now sitting right in front of Nightmare "Moony, you have to know now. it really is me." "But...I saw-." "Moony, look at me." Amber said so Nightmare looked back at Amber who then held out her hoof "Please, give me your hoof." Nightmare stared at Amber's hoof then she slowly put her hoof in her's, then Amber moved Nightmare's hoof to her chest and let her feel her beating heart. "Tell me, Moony. would a dead or fake pony have a perfectly beating heart?" Nightmare stared at where her hoof was then at Amber, and the longer she felt Amber's heart the more she came to the realization. Amber was alive. she was standing right in front of her, alive. The darkness from Nightmare's eyes disappeared as she leaned down and hugged Amber tightly while loudly crying and Amber hugged back while assuring her it was okay and tearing up herself. While they were hugging, Applejack and the others had finally arrived to witness the scene. "I'm guessin' everythin' went alright." Applejack said "Oh, thank heavens. that's a relief." Rarity said "Whew. I sure am glad that's over." Pinkie said Amber rubbed Nightmare's mane "Moony, you have to fix the sky now and release Luna." "L-Let me hug you, J-Just a little longer." Nightmare said "Moony, please." "Very well." Nightmare said so she released Amber and used her magic to move the moon, bringing daylight back to Equestria "Now, I will release Luna." she said. Nightmare began leaving Luna's body and once she was completely gone, Luna fainted. "Luna!" Celestia said as she stood back up and trotted over to Luna Twilight came over as well "Is she okay?" she asked "She's still alive, so she may just be exhausted from the dark magic draining her. we should get her back to canterlot as soon as possible." Celestia said checking over Luna "Celestia." Celestia looked up at Nightmare who bowed her head "I am truly sorry for what I have done. it was never my intention to harm you nor Luna. I hope you can forgive me." "I...am not sure if I can even believe you." Celestia said "But it wasn't her fault, it was the monster hunters." Amber said "Monster hunters?" "I'll explain later." Twilight said so Celestia simply nodded Eventually, the ponies and guards had returned where Celestia and Luna were. once Lucy and Onyx saw Amber they immediately ran to her to embrace her in a hug. "Amber, you're alright!" Onyx said "When Nightmare came to ponyville and began fighting the princess. I thought she had done something to you. I thought we would never see you again. goddess, am I glad that you're alright." Lucy said "I'm sorry for worrying you. again. but, everything should be fine now. Moony is back to normal." Amber said as all of them let go and looked at Nightmare "I am also sorry for worrying you. but, you should know that Amber was never harmed by me." Nightmare said "That's good. but, we would like to know what really happened." Onyx said "I will try my best to explain." Nightmare said "Thank you, Nightmare." Lucy said "Wait, I kinda want an explanation to. what in tartarus happened?" A mare from the crowd said "Yeah. why has Nightmare Moon returned?" A stallion said The crowds were then filled with question after question from different ponies. "My little pony's, please calm yourselves. everything will be explained soon." Celestia said "She's right. don't worry, I'll do the explaining!" A voice shouted from behind the crowd and once everyone turned they saw Mystic and Ebony. "Excuse me, who are you?" Celestia asked "They are-." "It doesn't matter." Ebony was quick to cut off Twilight "What does matter is that fact that you are willingly allowing Nightmare Moon to remain alive." she said as she pointed at Celestia making everyone gasp "Is this true, Princess Celestia?" A mare asked "I..." "That's not all." Mystic said getting their attention "Princess Celestia knew Nightmare was alive for a long time as well. yet she did nothing. now, because of her folly, Nightmare Moon took control of Princess Luna and tried to kill her. and yet, she still does nothing." Ebony stepped forward "Nightmare Moon clearly showed her true intentions to control Luna again to rule Equestria to all of us. if Princess Celestia will not act to deal with a clear threat to Equestria. then, as the ponies, should we not deal with this threat ourselves? for the good of all equestrians?!" she shouted to the crowd. she succeeded in getting them riled up to the point where they began shouting as they trotted to Nightmare Moon. Twilight used her magic to create a barrier around them to protect Nightmare and everyone else. While Celestia turned to the guards who were also inside the barrier "Retrieve a carriage. the closest carriage you can find. have Amber, Nightmare, and the element bearers board the carriage and escort them to canterlot as quickly as possible." Celestia said so the guards saluted and left the barrier through a hole Twilight created but quickly closed up to keep the pegasi from getting in. "Moony, get inside." Amber said so Nightmare nodded and entered Amber's body "Everypony calm down. let us explain!" Applejack said but nobody was listening. "They won't listen. we need to get out of here!" Rainbow said Ebony and Mystic slipped out of the crowd 'All according to plan.' she thought The guards returned with a carriage and stopped right next to the barrier, so Twilight manipulated the barrier so that it covered the carriage. Celestia opened the carriage and put Luna inside as Amber and the mane six who couldn't fly entered as well. once everyone was aboard, Twilight let down the barrier and allowed the pegasus guards to fly it to canterlot while the other guards protected it from the other pegasi. Celestia and the rest of the mane six also followed the carriage until they had finally arrived at canterlot palace. Celestia had the guards carry Luna to her room while she followed and the others went to the throne room. "What are we gonna do?" Fluttershy said "All of ponyville has gone CRAZY!" Pinkie said "We have to get through to em'. that darn monster hunter ruined everythin'." Applejack said "I say we head back down there and find that pony. if we can get her to tell the truth, then everypony in ponyville will see that everything wasn't Nightmare's fault." Rainbow said "It won't work." Twilight said lowering her head "What do you mean, Twilight?" Rarity asked "What Ebony said wasn't a complete lie. Celestia did leave Nightmare alive and knew she was alive for a while. true, she didn't know where she was at the time but I doubt that would matter to them. and, I'm sure everypony would still believe it was Celestia's fault for Nightmare's possession of Luna and her attempt to bring eternal night." Twilight explained "Then, what do we do?!" Rainbow said "This is all my fault. had I not been so careless when rescuing you, this would've never happened." Nightmare said "No, Moony. don't say that. this is all those monster hunter's fault. not yours" Amber said but Nightmare remained silent Once Celestia had returned to the throne room, Twilight ran up to her. "Princess Celestia, how is Luna?" Twilight asked "She is resting. it may be a while before she awakens." Celestia said then she trotted to the others Twilight nodded "Do you plan to talk to the ponies?" she asked "I do. though, I doubt even I can have them listen to reason. for now, we will have Amber and Nightmare remain here in the palace for their protection." Celestia said "Wait. I get to live in the palace?!" Amber asked "It is only temporary. until we can fix this problem, it is better you stay somewhere safe." Celestia said "Ooh, I get to live in the palace! this is gonna be so much fun!" Amber shouted ignoring Celestia who only chuckled Celestia turned to the guards "Please prepare a room for Amber, and assign a couple of guards to protect her." she said so the guards saluted and left "I'm gonna live in a palace! Twist and the others are gonna flip when they hear this!" Amber said "Living in a palace isn't all that. it does get boring after a while." Nightmare said "That's what you think, Moony. but I'm sure I'll never get bored of living here." Amber said Once the guards had returned Celestia tried to get Amber's attention "Amber, please follow the guards. they'll take you to your new room." Amber nodded and quickly ran up to the guards, then all of them left to take Amber to her room. "Now, let us discuss what to do about this problem." Celestia said trotting to her throne Amber had entered her room which was very simple besides the fact that it now had a balcony. it still had a simple bed with a dresser and a mirror on top. Amber jumped on the bed "Oh wow. this bed is so comfy. I have never felt a bed this soft. I feel like I could go to sleep right now." she said "Hm." "Is something wrong, Moony? you haven't exactly been yourself since...you know." Amber said "...Everything is fine Amber. perhaps we should go to sleep after the eventful day we had. I believe we both may need it." Nightmare said Amber yawned "Wow, I didn't notice how sleepy I was until now. yeah, maybe we should go to sleep." she said as she got under the covers "See you in my dreams, Moony." "...See you later, Amber." Once Amber had closed her eyes, she immediately fell asleep. once she was fully asleep, Nightmare left her body and looked down sadly at her "I am sorry, Amber. but if I didn't use that seep spell, I doubt you would ever fall asleep." Nightmare said then she floated over to the dresser and found a piece of paper ad a pencil which she put on the dresser using her mouth, she picked up the pencil and began writing a note Dear, Amber. I am sorry. I truly did love the time we spent together and what we had, but I fear that if I did not leave, I would only bring more trouble for you and your family, along with Celestia and the element bearers. it is my fault that all of this has happened. and because of that, you may be harmed. I can not have that happen, so to protect you I will leave. please, don't come find me, for I will be someplace where not even Celestia's power will reach. just remember, I will always be your friend, and I will miss you. Sincerely, Moony. Nightmare set the pencil down and kept back the tears as she floated to the balcony and forced open the doors. Nightmare took one look back at Amber then she flew away. An hour later, Amber shivered a bit from the cool winds so she opened her eyes and noticed the balcony doors open. 'Weird, that wasn't open when I came into the room.' Amber thought so she got off the bed and closed the doors. "Hey, Moony. I had a weird dream. well, to be specific, I didn't have a dream. it was just empty. do you know what happened?" Amber asked but she got no answer "Moony? are you there?" she asked but it was still silence. Amber then noticed that her body felt different. she no longer felt stronger than before, nor did she feel any of her magic. Amber decided to look in the mirror, though when she went to the dresser she noticed the piece of paper. when she picked it up and read it over. she gasped "...Moony, no." Amber said softly then she ran to the balcony and looked everywhere for Nightmare with tears streaming down her face "MOONY!" she shouted Amber left the balcony and her room and quickly made her way to Celestia's throne room before any of the guards could stop her. she burst through the doors holding the letter "Princess Celestia!" she shouted though she already had her attention. Amber then showed the letter to Celestia who levitated it over to herself. Celestia gasped and turned to the guards "Call for Twilight and her friends, immediately." she ordered and the guards immediately left. it didn't take long for Twilight and her friends to gather in the throne room. "Princess Celestia, what's the matter?" Twilight asked "This." Celestia floated over the letter to Twilight and her friends who read it themselves "Nightmare's gone?!" all of them shouted "Yes, she seems to have left quite a while ago to. since this letter was not found until now." Celestia said "We have to go and find her!" Amber said though Twilight and the others looked nervous for some reason "What?" "Well, you see, Amber. I...think it's better Nightmare stays away." Twilight said "What?!" "Wait a minute, kid. let us explain. you saw how angry the ponies are right now. if Nightmare stayed, then somepony was gonna get hurt while they tried to get to her." Rainbow said Applejack nodded "So, we all came to the agreement that Nightmare should be somewhere else for a while till things calm down." Amber looked at all of them confounded "You were gonna send Moony away?" she asked "Only for a little bit. it's just...things are a bit tense right now in ponyville." Rarity said "What if Moony got hurt while she was sent away? what if one of the monster hunters caught her again? how would we save her if she was super far away? would all of you just leave her to die?!" Amber asked "O-Of course not. we just thought she would be safer away from ponyville." Fluttershy said "She was safer here, with me. now, she may be hurt and we won't even know it. we have to go and find her." Amber said "How? she could be anywhere in Equestria right now." Pinkie said "I don't know, but we have to look." Amber said "I'm afraid that will be more difficult than you think, Amber." Celestia said making Amber turn to her "Not only do we not know where Nightmare went, but we also do not have the resources nor pony power to go on a widespread search. Because of our fight in ponyville, I have had to send guards there to assist in the rebuilding. that will take time to finish and I need every available guard on it as soon as possible so the ponies there will be able to go back home. I am sorry, but we don't have any to spare on searching for Nightmare." She explained Amber thought for a moment "Then I'll go look for her." "You can't." Twilight said "Yes I can. I'll go looking for Moony myself." Amber said "No way. it's way too dangerous for you to go alone. and we can't go with you because we have to help with repairs." Rainbow said "But I-." "Amber." Celestia said as she trotted to her "I understand how you feel. I know how much you want to go looking for Nightmare. but, you are too young and inexperienced. you will only get yourself hurt if you embark on this journey. for now, return to your room. when we have finished repairing ponyville, I will send a squad of soldiers to look for Nightmare and will inform you as soon as I do. you have my word." she said Amber looked down but nodded and returned to her room where she laid in her bed and cried for the rest of the day. Amber looked out the balcony window '...Moony.' (Two days later) A hooded mare trotted up to the castle of two sisters, and once she had arrived she entered and looked around. after a few minutes, she left and pulled out a map "Well, it doesn't seem like she's there anymore. looks like she finally decided to move. that idiot. let's see, the only closest town is...ponyville?" The mare said as she closed the map and turned toward ponyville "Looks like we'll soon be reunited again, Moony." she then set's off again toward ponyville.