The shadow the statue of Nightmare Moon cast was massive, and in that shadow was Princess Luna. She was lying on the ground, looking down at a small rock.
Her mystical mane drifted in the night air, and her tail did the same. Regalia coated her body, from her horseshoes to her chest piece. To call them black would be an understatement because they looked like shadows themselves. Her large and sleek body was curled into the shape of a depressed pony. She let out a sigh in thought.
The statue above her was a mockery of what she had once been. Ruling alongside her sister, she was adored by her people as the fierce defender of justice who protected the night. She could walk into the streets, and ponies would line up to simply thank her for her great service to them. Those days were long gone. Now, she is only remembered as Nightmare Moon. Would she ever be able to escape the shadow that monster had wrapped around her? She wished for nothing more.
“Princess Luna?” Twilight called out upon seeing the princess, drawing the attention of the ruler. “Hi, my name is—”
“Starswirl the Bearded,” Luna interrupted upon seeing the costume Twilight was wearing. “Commendable costume. Thou even got the bells right.”
“Thank you! Finally! Somepony who gets my costume,” she shouted in glee. Then, she saw the look of sadness on the princess’s face, realizing she was being a little rude. “Uh, I just came to welcome you to our celebration. My actual name is—”
“Twilight Sparkle.”
Before the unicorn could finish, the Princess of the Night lifted into the air, the winds stirring with her. Embracing the Royal Canterlot Voice, she spoke over the storm above her.
“It was thou who unleashed the powers of harmony upon us and took away our dark powers,” she explained in a booming and powerful voice, pushing Twilight and Sorin back in the process.
The purple unicorn hesitantly asked, “And that was a good thing, right?”
“But of course. We could not be happier. Is that not clear?” Luna answered while shouting into her face.
“Well, you kinda sound like you're yelling at me.”
“But this is the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice. It is tradition to speak using the royal ‘we,’ and to use,” she started to explain, taking in a breath for the voice, “this much volume when addressing our subjects.”
“You know, that might explain why your appearance was met with… mixed results. I think if you just changed your approach a bit, you might be met with a warmer reception.”
“Change our approach?” Luna repeated, still using her forceful voice.
“You could try to sound more connected to your subjects,” Sorin offered. “If they feel you are a level above them, they will not treat you like one of them.”
“But I am a level above them.” She did not intend to be rude, but it was true. She was a princess, and they were her subjects.
“While you may be royalty, you do want to earn their admiration, right?” She nodded to him. “Well, they need to see that you are like them. That way, they will understand you and see you for who you are. Then, they will come to show their appreciation.”
“And you can start by lowering the volume,” Twilight added in. The two came up to the princess, giving her comforting smiles.
“Oh. We have been locked away for a thousand years. We are… not sure we can,” Luna said in her naturally soft and beautiful voice.
“Do not fret; even if you can’t speak like us, the ponies will see your efforts and be thankful,” Sorin said.
“Oh!” Twilight chimed, giddy again, “and I know just the pony who can help you, princess!”
The three then found themselves walking down a small stone path to a cottage built on a hill. The difference between this house and any other was that the house was almost a part of the hill. It was rounded to look like a mound, and green moss coated its roof. It blended into its surroundings perfectly, and it was the place Fluttershy called her earthen home.
“Don't worry, Princess. Fluttershy can give you some great pointers. She's delicate and demure with the sweetest little voice,” Twilight said while walking up to the front door. She gave three light taps on the wood door.
Sorin was taken aback as he heard someone shout from inside, “Go away! No candy here! Visitors not welcome on Nightmare Night!”
“She’s just a little anxious to meet you,” Sorin lied as Twilight nervously giggled. Luna did not look convinced.
“Fluttershy, it's me, Twilight.”
The door opened, a pink mane and yellow head popping out from behind it. She saw Twilight, her face relaxing completely. “It is you. Oh, and Nightmare Moon.” She gasped upon realizing whom she had just seen. “Nightmare Moon?” Her eyes went to pinpricks before she screamed, slamming her door as fast as she could.
“Wait right here,” Twilight said, sounding nervous again. She went inside the cottage.
Luna turned her head to Sorin, looking at him with a serious expression. He raised an eyebrow in response, prompting her to speak.
“We think that we are only something to be feared in this new time,” she said, her face dropping. “This ‘Fluttershy’ cannot even look at us.”
Ignoring the banging sounds from nearby, Sorin tried to comfort her. “Give them a chance to warm up to you, princess. If there is one thing I have learned about ponies, it’s that they can be very forgiving and very accepting—sometimes a little too much,” he said, the memory of the Gala stinging him.
“We suppose thou may be right, we—” Luna started saying before the door burst open. Twilight was pushing Fluttershy outside, making her approach the princess.
“Fluttershy, you remember Princess Luna.”
Said pegasus looked like she was going to bolt to the next town, maybe even the next country.
“Charmed,” Luna said with a cold face, putting out a hoof. Fluttershy shot back into her house, but Twilight dragged her back out with magic and forced her to look at the princess.
“Likewise,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Twilight Sparkle hath spoken of the sweetness of thy voice. We ask thou teachest to us to speak as thou speakest.”
“Okay,” she weakly replied.
“Shall our lessons begin?”
“Okay.”
“Shall we mimic thy voice?”
“Okay.”
“How is this?” Luna asked, sounding the same.
“Perfect, lesson over,” Fluttershy said before darting towards her door. It was closed before she made it, so she slammed flat into it.
“A little quieter, princess,” Twilight instructed.
“How is…” Luna began. “This?” she said in a loud voice.
“Better. Right, Fluttershy?”
“Yes,” the pegasus answered before falling from her door.
Speaking a little quieter, Luna said, “How about now?”
“Now you're getting it,” Twilight said with a smile.
“And how about now?” the princess asked in a normal voice.
“Yes! Well done,” Twilight exclaimed as Sorin clapped his hooves.
Fluttershy was pulled by blue magic over to the princess, getting wrapped up in a large hug that took her breath away.
“Thank thee, dear Fluttershy! Our normal speaking voice shall surely win us the hearts of thy fellow villagers.”
“You might want to put her down before ponies get the wrong i—” Sorin tried to warn the princess before the voice of a certain chicken interrupted.
“Fluttershy, you've gotta hide us! Nightmare Moon is here and…” She trailed off at the end, seeing the scene before her. Her friend was held in Nightmare Moon's grasp. “Ah! She stole Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she gobbles her up!” The foals around her broke into terrified screams before running away in a scatter.
“Nay, children, wait!” Luna boomed, trying to get them to come back before remembering her lesson. “I mean,” she started at normal volume, “nay, children, no, wait.”
It was no use; the children had already gone off into the distance. She turned to Twilight and Sorin, her lower lip quivering as her eyes widened.
“They just… ran,” she said with a sigh.
“We need to find a way for them to see you without instantly feeling afraid. Then, they will see how you really are,” Sorin said.
“Come on, princess. Time for plan B.”
Sorin had gone ahead of the group, surveying the town square. Large catapults were firing pumpkins at faraway targets, and ponies were dancing. Everything was calm.
He turned around, putting up a hoof as a signal. Twilight and Luna came out from a building and into the street. As three pumpkins smashed directly on their targets, the crowd grew silent upon seeing the princess. The ponies began to shriek and cower like before.
Sorin came over to the two, rejoining them.
“It is of no use,” Luna deadpanned. “They have never liked us, and they never shall.”
“Don’t give up on us yet,” Sorin teased. “They may just need a little time to adjust to your presence.”
“My friend Applejack is one of the most likable ponies around. I'm sure she'll have some ideas.”
Applejack started to unknowingly trot towards them. Her head turned to her front, letting her see the towering alicorn in front of her. She all but collapsed to the ground, covering her eyes with her hooves.
Luna glanced at Twilight and Sorin, feeling as if her suspicions were confirmed. Twilight leaned down to her friend, saying, “Applejack, the princess is looking for a little advice on how to fit in around here.”
“‘Fit in?’ Really?” Applejack flatly said to her friend. Upon getting a huff from the unicorn, the country mare stood up, looking at the princess. “I mean, that's easy! All you gotta do is have the right attitude.”
She went to one side of Luna, saying, “Loosen up a bit,” before darting to another side and saying, “be positive, play a few games, have some fun.”
“Fun?” Luna questioned. “What is this ‘fun’ thou speakest of?”
Twilight pointed at a bowl of stuffed spiders. Going over to them, the princess stared at them with a puzzled look. “Pray tell, what purpose do these serve?”
“Try to land the sp-sp-spiders on the web,” a scared mare called from nearby.
Not being one to turn down a challenge, Luna grabbed a spider and tossed it, only for it to land short of the web entirely. She looked back at the three ponies.
“You can do it, princess!” Applejack said.
Sorin trotted over, picking up a spider in his hooves. “Let me show you.” With his tongue poking out, he threw the spider, landing it just to the right of the center of the web. He returned it with his magic, dropping it into Luna’s awaiting hooves.
Readying herself, she bent her hindlegs and lurched forward while releasing the plush. It flew through the air, landing directly on the center of the web. She was shocked that she had managed to make it.
“Ha! Your princess enjoys this ‘fun!’” Other ponies gathered around the three. “In what other ways may we experience it?”
Luna found herself putting a pumpkin into an aimed catapult. “Fire away, princess!” Twilight shouted to her. She let the pumpkin fly, watching as it arced through the air before smashing into a distant target.
“Ha ha! The fun has been doubled!” she happily exclaimed. The ponies around her actually cheered in response.
“Why don't you try bobbin' for apples. We got the best apples in Equestria here, princess,” Applejack suggested.
“I ask that thou call us… me… Luna, fair Applejack.” The princess smiled, turning to the ponies around her. “Hear me, villagers. All of you, call me Luna!”
“Show me to these bobbing apples.” Sorin walked alongside the three ponies as they headed towards the large pool of green liquid Applejack had been tending to earlier. Before they got there, though, Luna spotted Pipsqueak about to fall into the water. Flying over to him with speed, she grabbed him by the shirt to stop him from falling in.
“Hey, gals,” Pinkie Pie said. “Anypony seen Pip? We lost him the last time we had to run—” There Luna was, holding the colt by her mouth. “Nightmare Moon is gobbling Pipsqueak! Everypony run!” Pinkie Pie screamed. The foals with her ran off screaming.
“Help! My backside has been gobbled!” little Pipsqueak said while scattering off.
Luna, looking as if she had been thoroughly backhanded, whipped her head up. “‘Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!” She slammed her hoof into the ground while scowling. She instantly realized her mistake upon seeing the ponies she had been having fun with start to back away.
“Fair villagers, please do not back away. Let us join together in… fun.” She tried to remedy the situation by throwing a plush spider from the ground over to a group of ponies, but it did nothing. Starting to panic, she thought of how to make something more entertaining for them. Sadly, she was out of touch with modern pony society.
Sorin felt the tinge of Chaos magic radiating from the princess as she shot a beam of light at the toy spider, something he was surprised by. What was once a squeak toy became a living spider from the spell.
The ponies began to scream as Luna turned a whole bowl of toys into a pack of living, red-eyed spiders. They descended on the ponies, climbing over them to get to the web from before. They all circled around the middle.
“Huzzah!” she shouted. “How many points do I receive?”
After the loud scream of one pony, everypony around started to run in random directions, panic setting into the town. Luna tried to call for them to stop, but they did not even hear her over the screams of their neighbors.
“Like cattle,” Sorin sighed under his breath in disappointment. These ponies were so easily frightened; it was pathetic.
Luna looked around, taking in the carnage she had unleashed. Stalls were being knocked over, ponies were ramming into each other, and the streets were littered with heavy bags rolling down the roads. With a pained breath, she began to vibrate her throat to use the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“Be still!” she bellowed, lightning crackling in the background. The ponies instantly stopped their fleeing, bowing before the ruler. Twilight went to the ground out of instinct, and Sorin’s knees buckled as he fell to the ground with a grunt, following everypony's lead. Storm clouds swirled overhead as the wind whipped around.
“Princess, remember! Watch the screaming,” Twilight said, but Luna turned to her with huge white eyes.
“No, Twilight Sparkle. We must use the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice for what we are about to say.” She turned back to the crowd, going into the air with a flap of her wings. “Since you choose to fear your princess rather than love her, and dishonor her with this insulting celebration, we decree that Nightmare Night shall be canceled!
“Forever!”
With that, she was covered in a bright light before a loud “pop” cracked from her. When everypony opened their eyes again, the princess was nowhere to be seen. Sorin, however, sensed where she went. Her emotions had bolstered her teleportation spell to the point where he could faintly detect where she had gone. So, he started to walk in that direction, leaving Twilight behind as he went after Princess Luna.
Head hung low, the Princess of the Night felt like no princess at all. She sniffled as she walked, the occasional tear falling from her eyelids. Her vision was blurry from the pool currently held within her large emerald eyes. Her back was slumped over, and she walked slowly through the outskirts of Ponyville, hoping to avoid everypony.
“We cannot even converse with them without hearing their screams as they flee in terror. This hath been a failure on our part. We should hath known they shall never accept us—accept me,” she whispered to herself. She continued her slow trot as her mind wandered.
The quiet sound of hooves on grass came from behind her. Before she could turn and see who had been so bold as to come up to “Nightmare Moon,” Sorin appeared in front of her with a comforting smile.
“Leave us, fair villager; we do not wish to hear thy beratement,” Luna commanded with a heavy voice.
Fully ignoring her command, he cautiously lifted her head with a hoof. She looked up into his blue eyes and saw the smile covering his face. Her face changed as she saw how he was acting.
“You’re not afraid?”
“Why, of course not,” he answered. “Why would I be afraid of one of the royal sisters?”
“Prithee, do not deceive us.”
“I am not. If anything, I admire you.”
She looked at him with a look of confusion before he elaborated.
“I admire your work,” he explained. “I admire the night sky that you have created for everypony to enjoy. While most may overlook it or take it for granted, I see the truth in it.”
Her eyes lit up for a brief moment as she lifted her head straight up.
“I know that you are the one who sets the scene of the stars—and it is beautiful. Every one of them is a beacon of light, of hope, in a sea of darkness. On their own, they are but a speck of light, but together they create a whole landscape of stellar light.
“You are an artist, princess. The sky is your canvas, the glowing stars are your brush, and the constellations you have created are your paintings. The craftsponyship is flawless, and each individual star has a story of its own.
“Now, if you don’t call that magnificent, I must not know what it means, princess.”
“Dost thou… truly mean thy words?” Luna asked as barely a whisper.
“I do.” That part he was not lying about. He did admire the night sky, and he would be sure to keep it intact if he could.
“I came here to try and return your spirits and ask you one genuine question,” he said. “Why did you cancel Nightmare Night forever?”
She let out a deep sigh, her head dropping a little. “We could not bear to witness our subjects in such pain and disorder that we hath brought upon them. It is better that they see us as something to be fearful of than for them to be in that pain. For this, we hath decided to end the festival.”
“You have to give them the chance to accept you. Things were going great until the misunderstanding made them revert to fear. If you don’t try again, I’m afraid they may only remember you for bringing down lightning and ending one of their treasured holidays.”
“It is pointless,” Luna said. “We shan't let them suffer for our failures a thousand years ago. And even if we so wished to regain their trust, there is no way we can return to the town and make peace.”
“I—” Sorin began before stopping himself. “I respect your decision, Princess Luna.”
“We thank thee. Thine words have not gone without consequence. We do feel much better now.” She smiled deeply at him, one of the first real smiles she had had recently, and started to walk away. His words had uplifted her and awoken something within her that she had not felt in a long time.
“And please,” she said, looking back at him, “call us… call me… Luna.”
“Well, Luna, I am Sorin.” He put out a hoof, which she gladly took.
“Oh, you are the one we hath heard so much about from our sister dearest.” He chuckled at that.
Applejack sighed. “Shoot. We had everything goin' our way. Luna was happy, everypony in town was happy—now look at 'em.”
Twilight looked around, seeing crying foals who wished to dress up as something special next year. Barrels were knocked over. Bushes were trampled. Ponies had cuts. This was the aftermath of the princess’s time in the town.
“It’s not over yet,” Twilight said with an idea forming.
“What are you gonna do?”
“I'm going to do what I do best.” She began to walk away. “Lecture her!”
She began searching Ponyville’s limits, hoping to catch the princess before she left. She did eventually find her, but the royal sister was crossing a bridge with her head stooping.
“Princess?” Twilight called out to her.
“Leave me be, Twilight Sparkle,” she said back in a heavy tone.
Twilight walked up next to her, hoping to assuage the insufferable night.
“Princess, I'm sorry it hasn't worked out how we wanted, but you have to believe me when I tell you that Nightmare Night is one of the most popular celebrations we have.”
“Yes. I can tell by all the adoring shrieks of the children as they run away,” Luna countered before continuing to walk.
Seeing her walk away, Twilight came up with another plan to make peace between the princess and the townsponies.
Sorin had gotten back to town, but Twilight quickly found him before he could head back to the library and relax. Pulling him behind a building, she started to explain her plan.
“It should work,” he said.
“Now, you go do your part while I get everything ready for when you arrive. Okay?”
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
The two went separate ways to prepare things. If all went well, Princess Luna would be able to reconcile with her subjects.
He looked through the crowds in search of a single pony—or zebra rather. He quickly found her, spotting the striped pattern of her body and the chokers on her neck. Walking up to her, he put an arm around her neck to pull her into a huddle.
“Miss Zecora,” he said, “I was hoping you could do something for me, and more so for the princess.”
“Tell me your plan, and I will do what I can.”
“Okay,” he began, going through what he needed her to do. At the end, she nodded in understanding before heading off to gather the foals. He had one mayor he needed to go visit now.
“Gosh. I never thought my very first Nightmare Night would be my very last,” Pipsqueak said in a downtrodden voice. It was then that Zecora showed up by him.
“Come, little Pip. Now, don't you fret. Nightmare Night's not over yet. We still have candy left to give, so Nightmare Moon might let us live.”
Mayor Mare came over, hoping to raise the spirits of her citizens. “Yes. Come on, little ponies. What's Nightmare Night without the annual candy offering? You don't want Nightmare Moon to gobble you up, do you?”
Applejack appeared too, telling the foals, “Come on, kids. Doesn't that sound like fun?”
Hoping to enjoy the last part of Nightmare Night that they would ever experience, they went along, finding themselves in front of the statue of the mare of the holiday. One by one, they dumped some of their candy stash at the foot of the statue. The pile was surprisingly large, and Pipsqueak was the last to add his candy to the pile.
“Goodbye, Nightmare Night.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Forever.”
The wind whistled loudly as the air pressure changed drastically. Blowing from behind the statue, it started to push some of the ponies back. They looked up to the statue, no longer finding it to be a statue. Where there was once a mare made of stone, a mere memory, stood Nightmare Moon herself. Her voice thundered out as she spoke to the ponies.
“Citizens of Ponyville! You were wise to bring this candy to me. I am pleased with your offering. So pleased that I may just eat it… instead of eating you!” She dove towards them, landing on the ground and baring her fangs. The foals ran off in fear, disappearing into the bushes nearby.
The visage of Nightmare Moon fell away as her body shifted down to that of Princess Luna. She spat out a pair of fake fangs from her mouth, finding the unicorn responsible for this insane idea.
“I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Just wait,” she simply answered.
“For what? For—for them to scream some more?” Luna questioned, anger rising through her for a brief moment. She suddenly felt part of her mane get yanked low to the ground. She looked down, seeing Pipsqueak.
“Um… Princess Luna. I know there's not gonna be any more Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?”
Luna’s face went through a rainbow of emotions. She settled on a mix of confusion and hope, wondering if what she heard was true.
“Child. Art thou saying that thou… likest me to scare you?” she asked the colt.
“It's really fun! Scary, but fun.”
“It,” she started, realizing how wrong she had been, “is?”
“Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year,” he exclaimed.
“Well then. We shall have to bring—” she answered, then embracing her powerful voice, “—Nightmare Night back!”
“Whoa!” he shouted after being pushed back from just her voice. “You're my favorite princess ever!” He ran over to a group of foals, a smile wide on his face. “She said yes, guys!” They all cheered, going back to where they came from.
Sorin came over to Twilight, who was standing next to the princess.
“See? They really do like you, princess,” Twilight said. Sorin nodded in agreement.
“Can it be true?” Luna asked, still in shock. A smile swept across her muzzle. Instinctively using her Royal Canterlot Voice, she shouted, “Oh, most wonderful of—” before gently saying in her sweet voice, “Oh, most wonderful of nights.”
Twilight and Sorin giggled, Luna joining in shortly after. Their cheerful laughter lightened the mood, making the princess feel more comfortable around her subjects.
“Come on, Luna, let’s go have some of that trademarked ‘fun!’” Sorin exclaimed. “Your night is still young after all.”
“Is thou sure?” she asked, still a little nervous.
“Of course. I’m sure your ponies will be delighted to see their ‘favorite princess ever,’ as I recall.”
“We suppose, kind Sorin. Let us join together in fun.”
With that, the group left the area, heading back to the townscape. Upon walking into town, the ponies smiled at their two residents and did the same for the princess, getting them the warmest of smiles back. The three friends went over to the fair-like section of Ponyville that was dedicated to the night’s festivities. Lanterns were strung from building to building, candles were slowly burning away as their fires flickered on the windowsills and railings of houses, and the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin wafted through the air. Tables were set up with different activities for ponies to try, and ponies went to each of these tables, experiencing the cultures and customs of others.
Twilight, Luna, and Sorin made their way to the area, looking around for something to try. There was a small sign that said to talk about your costume, and Twilight, seeing this as a good idea, looked at her two friends with a smile.
“I am Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most renowned spellcasters in Equestrian history. His magical feats are unrivaled by any other unicorn to date!” She returned to her friends, letting Luna step forward.
“While we may not have a costume, per se, we are adorned in the garments of a time long past. The regalia we wear was made before we were banished and represents many things, such as our accomplishments and trials through the years.”
It was now Sorin’s turn. He stepped in front of the two mares, showing off his ghost costume. “Rather simple, a ghost as you would think. But—” he said, whispering under his breath as he paused.
“—behold the windigo!” His costume came to life, becoming a vortex of shifting mist that made him look beyond animated. Twilight and Luna clapped for his display, watching as he rotated around. After showing off his costume for long enough, he whispered the second command, turning his disguise back into a ghost. Satisfied with their first activity, the three ponies went looking for another.
They all stopped when they found a table with a glowing orb on it and a mare sitting behind it in a small chair. They approached the stand, scanning the cryptic messages written over the wood surface of the table. Pictures of what appeared to be Cutie Marks had small messages below them, most of them describing how the mark meant somepony would base their life around one talent. The stand was a fortune teller’s.
The mare behind the table greeted the three ponies who had come to her stand. After the basic formalities were exchanged, she began to explain what she did.
“Let me see your Cutie Mark, and I will explain what it is, what it means, and what your future holds.”
Intrigued, Twilight let the teller see the star with sparkles that was her Cutie Mark. The teller leaned in, getting a good look at what she was dealing with. Her eyes scrunched a few times, and after a moment, she sat back in her chair and cleared her throat.
“Well, your mark is of a twinkling star that shines brighter than all others, representing your kind attitude and stellar personality. Seeing the shape of your mark, I would guess you have a talent for the mystic arts. Am I right so far?”
A little dumbfounded, Twilight slowly nodded.
“I believe your future will be an intense one. You will stand against adversity, but you overcome what is thrown at you. Your determination is what keeps you going, and you will fend off doubts through this logic. You, my dear, have a great destiny ahead of you.”
“Rather insightful, mage. Do us!” Luna said, letting her Cutie Mark be revealed. The crescent moon with dark splotches on it was more difficult than most to interpret, but the teller seemed to do so in good stride.
“Your mark is of the moon and the night that surrounds it. This represents your love of the night, as well as your power over it. I already know that you can raise and lower the moon, princess, but I detect a control of the stars themselves. In your future, I see a great many things. Recovery, injury, fear, but most of all, love.”
“Love?” Luna asked.
“Of what kind, I am not sure, but you are empowered by it. I see greatness in your future, and I am sure you will lead your people through many a storm.”
The princess took a moment to think about all that she had heard. If the teller had any truth to her, then it seemed things may be looking up for Luna.
Twilight pulled Sorin’s costume up, revealing his backside for the mare at the table to read. What she saw was confusing.
Where there should have been a Cutie Mark, a pair of jaws sat. They were open, ready to devour whatever awaited them with their sharp and spear-like fangs ready to pounce. Normal Cutie Marks were almost like a tattoo in how they look like they were painted onto a pony’s flank, but Sorin’s was different. His mark seemed like it was engraved into him as if someone took a large brand and marked him with it. The truth was that his mark was etched into him as a sign of what he was, something the laws of Equus apparently required, but no pony knew what it meant.
So, as the fortune-telling mare stared at the strange mark in front of her, she tried to understand it. Everything about it was alien to her, and it made her feel uneasy. She had never seen something like it in all of her time as a Cutie Mark reader.
“Oh, Celestia,” she let out under her breath. “I think your mark is a set of sharp teeth. Maybe you will be a dentist or an orthodontist as your special talent.” She tried to sense his future, but everything she saw was dark. She could only feel pain; in all senses of the word.
“Your future is… a mystery. I sense pain, the pain of death and ruin, but I also sense pride. Your will is strong, near unmatched in fortitude, but you have death all around you. I’m sorry, but I cannot tell what your future holds.”
Sorin breathed a sigh of relief after hearing her lack of understanding. Twilight had caught him off guard by revealing his wicked Cutie Mark for the teller. Luckily, she could not figure out that death was not just around him—but that he was Death.
He quickly draped his cloak over his mark, breaking the teller from her trance over it. She shook her head as she cleared her thoughts, returning to reality.
“It’s no problem at all, miss,” Sorin said. He flashed a hollow smile at her, which she did not see through.
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night!”
The three ponies waved the mare off, deciding that it was time for them to eat. They all sat down at a wooden picnic table outside a pizza parlor.
“What is the cuisine here again?” Luna asked, seeming confused by the menu and its various pictures of strange foods.
“It’s something we call ‘pizza.’ It’s a doughy flatbread that has tomato sauce, cheese, and other things on it. It gets baked in an oven until it turns into a cheesy, scrumptious meal,” Twilight explained.
“It sounds,” Luna started, searching for the right word, “messy.”
“That’s what napkins are for,” Sorin poked, earning a light, playful snort from her.
A waiter quickly appeared, handing out silverware, glasses, and napkins. She then pulled out a notepad, clicking her pen as she looked at Twilight.
“I think we will take one large garden pizza. That should be all,” she told the waiter, giving her a smile. After writing the order down, she went inside the restaurant, shouting the order to the cooks.
“I have seen places like this in many ponies’ dreams,” Luna said.
“What do you mean?” Sorin asked.
“As the Princess of the Night, one of our duties is to safeguard the dreams of ponies, so every night, we go from dream to dream, making sure everything is alright.”
“You can do that?”
“Of course. It is something I have done for centuries.”
Sorin tuned out whatever Twilight was talking about because he was too focused on thinking. If Luna could visit another’s dream, that would explain why the dreamworld felt so different compared to Azeroth's. Such tangibility did not exist on his homeworld. The Emerald Dream was the closest thing, but even that was separate from the dreams of average people.
He realized the potential risks of this as well. If Luna could visit anypony’s dreams, she could likely visit his own. Should she see the horrors of his conscience, he could be revealed—and that was not an option.
“So,” Sorin began, “how do you think your visit went?”
Luna put a hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment, sipping from the glass of water the waiter had provided. “I think it 'twas better than expected, but we do not just want to be accepted by our subjects, but loved. They seem to only feel the former.” Her face lost its cheery look, much to Twilight’s dismay.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure ponies didn’t love Celestia after one night, so why should you feel like you have to?”
“We hath been locked away for so many fortnights that we do not know how to be loved. We can’t even talk ordinarily.”
“These things take time,” Sorin said. “Over time, you will adjust to speaking more normally and less archaically, as well as getting accustomed to modern society. A thousand years is a lot of time to make up, so take it slow. Give the ponies time to warm up to you, as I said.” He put a hoof onto her shoulder, making Twilight gasp. “Trust me.”
“Thank you, Sorin.”
The waiter came back, holding a pizza in a tray. She set the pizza down in the center of the table, putting the plates down for the three patrons.
“I hope you enjoy your food. I’ll check on you guys later.” With that, she went back to the building. Sorin finally took his hoof from Luna, getting a slice of pizza for himself. As he looked down at it, he was surprised by the toppings. There were spinach leaves, tomato slices, onion slices, black olives, carrots, and some hay on top of the pizza. It was unlike traditional human pizza but still shared some similarities. Shrugging, he lifted a slice to his mouth and was about to bite in when Luna shrieked.
“This is the greatest culinary creation in all history!” she shouted, everypony outside the restaurant hearing her say this. “How hath we been ignorant of its existence for all these months? 'Tis a conspiracy against us!”
“Luna,” Sorin quietly said to her.
Not seeming to notice him, she continued. “The flavor, the blends—it is divine. We are very pleased!”
“Luna,” he said louder.
“What other types of this glorious food item are there?”
“Luna,” he half-shouted.
“The possibilities seem endless!”
“LUNA!”
She finally paused, looking at him with an embarrassed blush. She sat back down in her seat, her cheeks reddening. She looked around at the displeased customers. “Sorry?”
They all turned back to their meals with an annoyed grunt. Sorin laughed, but Twilight smacked the back of his neck, making him turn to her with a confused look.
“Don’t speak to the princess like that!” she sternly said.
“It’s all in good fun, Twilight.” He turned to Luna. “Right?”
“Yes,” the princess whispered slightly under her breath.
“Don’t worry; I’m sure I can get Twilight to agree to keep your outburst a secret from your sister. Besides, there are plenty of state secrets that I’m sure you could let slip about Celestia and her pastry eating habits.”
The three laughed at his jesting, covering their mouths ineffectively with their hooves.
“You have no idea,” Luna replied, genuinely smiling out of joy for the first time in too long. Twilight had helped her reunite with her subjects, and Sorin had eased her mind greatly. His warm smile and keen jokes made her feel understood—not as a princess, but as a pony.
Sorin’s cloak slid over the stone pathway as he walked through the threshold into the Canterlot Royal Library of Magic. Two guards nodded their heads in greeting as he walked past them, his sole mission to find knowledge. After going through a few hallways, he made it to the large chamber that housed all the publicly known spells for unicorns. The room was very wide, with bookshelves next to one another in uniform. The ceiling was simply flat, but the floor had depictions of great mages using their power to do amazing feats of magic. There were long sections in the room with signs that labeled how difficult the spells were to complete, and Sorin went towards the back—where the most difficult ones were.
He ran his hoof over the spell tomes, reading the title of each one as he did so. Most of them were things he already knew, like illusion spells and fire magic, but there was one section that stood out to him.
“Starswirl the Bearded,” he whispered to himself as he approached the shelf. There were at least a dozen books in the section, each of them seeming untouched for years. The material the tomes were made of seemed older than any of the others he had seen.
“Incineration, thunder, blizzard, restoration,” Sorin said to himself as he read the spell names. “And—oh, this is interesting.”
He lifted a book from the shelf, reading the cover that was adorned with emeralds. He opened it, pulling pages back as he skimmed through. The first page he laid eyes on was a warning that told him the spell was incredibly strenuous and would take years to master. He simply continued, memorizing the text as he read.
He snapped the book closed, putting it back in its place. He continued to look through the shelf, hoping to find something. His hoof stopped on a scroll that looked absolutely ancient. Its paper was so worn that he guessed it was at least a few centuries old and somewhat preserved with magic.
He unraveled it, reading the description of the spell. He grinned, seeing the words, “Dream Hopping Spell.” His guess in age was correct because it said it was written with the help of Princess Luna, which meant it was a thousand years old at minimum.
He began to read through the scroll, studying every detail of the spell. His magical power enabled him to memorize the spell within minutes, committing it to his spellbank. It said that it would take years of practice to enter the dreams of someone very close to you, and only the strongest wizards could go into two ponies’ dreams, but he was no ordinary magician after all. His mastery over the spell would be no issue. As he continued to read, he started to see how to adjust his own dreams. Evidently, you could alter your dreams to those who viewed them. The pattern of the two spells was almost identical.
Perfect. He would simply create a dreamscape for himself that projected innocent dreams to Luna while his true dreams would be hidden. Pleased, he rolled the scroll back up and placed it on the shelf, finished with the library.
Now that he knew the princess could visit dreams and that he could as well, his new plan formed. With a physical dreamworld, he could corrupt it as he did with the Emerald Dream, turning Equestria into a living nightmare. This way, he would not have to amass an army large enough to storm Canterlot; he would only need to overtake the dreams of the ponies. His strife may have failed to break the order of Equestria, but the seeds of doubt were already there, should he need them. If the royal sisters were to go insane from their nightmares turned real, their subjects would doubt them. In this doubt, he would claim the throne. In the meantime, he would build his forces and consolidate his power. Yes, this was good.
Sorin turned around and was about to walk to the exit when he spotted a certain pony around the corner. Peering from behind a bookshelf, he could see Princess Celestia entering the library. Luckily, she did not see him hiding. Her majestic hoofsteps echoed through the room as she went down the center pathway of the library.
He waited for her to go past his shelf, hearing her pass. He leaned out to look at what she was doing, and he saw her rummaging through a shelf of books.
“It’s got to be here somewhere,” she impatiently said. Her hoof rubbed over one book, and she paused before plucking it from its place. She read the title out loud to herself.
“Hallucinations and How to Cure Them.”
We can’t have that now, can we?
She opened the cover, skimming through the table of contents until finding a section that would give her the answer she sought. If it was what she thought it was, it would block her mind from entering a hallucinative state, allowing her relief from the torturous whispers she had felt recently. She hastily turned chunks of pages after seeing the section she wanted. She finally reached the part she so desperately desired.
As she looked at the words on the page, they warped and twisted, becoming a mass of unreadable characters. She turned the page once more, hoping to read some of what she needed, but that too was a scramble.
Anger flooded through her as she realized what was likely behind this. Her mane turned yellow for a second as she threw the book at the wall, it bursting into flames as she did. It never even touched the wall before becoming a pile of ashes.
Her body returned to normal as she collapsed right there. At this point, she was too defeated to cry. She simply sat there, sighing as she felt dread sink in. Would she be cursed with the maddening whispers forever? And if so, would she eventually fail to stave off their attacks?
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard laughter, the laughter of the beast in her mind. Oddly, she swore the sound came from behind her. She stood up and whipped her neck around in an instant, but she saw no pony. She could hear the faintest of hoofsteps near the exit, so she ran over to it. She saw the outline of a bulky pony who was completely cloaked. The light from her sun blasted her eyes, blinding her for a split second. It was long enough for the source of the laughter to disappear entirely. She looked around the courtyard, unable to find him.