//------------------------------//
// #NightmareRemains - Main Story 
// Story: Pen Stroke's Scattered Pages 
// by Pen Stroke 
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Caramel Malt strides ahead of you, all smiles even as she leads the way deeper into the Everfree Forest. It was a misadventure, all starting from some rumors being passed around at Trotter’s Cider Bar. Whispers of a malevolent force in the Everfree Forest, one stirred up by the semi-recent incursion of Twilight Sparkle and her newly formed group of Ponyville friends. An incursion that had resulted in the defeat of a thousand-year-old evil and the return of a princess that few would have believed to be more than an old pony’s tale.

Still, you had been having yourself a drink at the Cider Bar when Caramel Malt got looped into one such retelling of the rumors. Of a newly awakened ghost haunting the old castle in the forest. Caramel Malt had been entranced by the various versions of the story, it seemed, and finally that night it had hit a tipping point.

“I say we go out and see for ourselves,” she called to all in the tavern, and many had called back in return. It was a bustle as tabs were paid and ponies began to file out, forming the flash mob of adventurers that wanted to go and see the ruined castle and the truth of the rumors. Even you got caught up in it, for one reason or another, and soon the few dozen ponies that had gathered struck out beneath the late afternoon sun.

That was a few hours ago, and now it was just you and Caramel Malt. Others had turned back because of exhaustion, personal responsibilities, or just boredom from tromping around in the Everfree Forest for so long. You didn’t know when or how you became the last one with Caramel, but it happened and you felt compelled to remain. Maybe you truly wanted to see the truth of the rumors. Maybe you just don’t want Caramel Malt to be alone in the forest. Maybe you just don’t want to have to walk back through the forest alone.

No matter the reason, you continue on with Caramel as, finally, the forest opens up to an ancient, craggy chasm, a rickety rope bridge, and a looming, ancient castle. 

You begin to cross the bridge, and it is more harrowing than anything you saw or dealt with in the forest. It wobbles and creaks with each step. Each board groans like its within moments of giving way under your or Caramel’s weight. Yet, the bridge holds. You both safely cross and enter the ruins of the castle just as the sun is beginning to set.

Caramel Malt was giggly and bubbly as always, poking her head in doors and calling out to anyone or anything that was there. You are far less vocal, mostly taking in the sights, sounds, and even smells of the ruins. The whole place smells of dust and moss and wet stone. In some ways, it smells like a fresh rainstorm even though the sky had been clear all day. 

You open your mouth to call out to Caramel Malt, to suggest that there was nothing to find, when a rage-filled roar reaches your ears. You both freeze in place. You see Caramel visibly shiver, and you can only do the same as the goosebumps crawl down your spine. Caramel looks back at you. There was a bit of fear in her eyes, but there was far more concern. 

“Somepony could be hurt or trapped. We should check it out,” Caramel says.

Again, compelled either by your own adventurous spirit or fear of being alone, you follow behind Caramel and begin helping her pinpoint the sound. Eventually, you come across an ancient hall. A raised platform and a rotting throne at the end make it clear you are standing in the very heart of the castle: the throne room.

This was where Nightmare Moon had been defeated a little while ago, and this was where you saw it. Scattered on the floor like the broken pieces of a bowl was the armor of Nightmare Moon. The blue-toned iron was iridescent like the moon, and above it was… a shadow. A pony. An alicorn. Truly, it was hard to say. Some dark form was pulsating above the armor, as if trying to take shape, and yet never managing to be more than a swimming pool of shadow one might mistake as a trick of the light.

And at the center of the shadow was a floating piece of paper. As you and Caramel dare to get closer, it becomes more apparent it’s a page from a book. It has three clean edges while the fourth is a bit more jagged, either because it had been ripped out or the book's binding had come undone.

“The… night!”

You and Caramel Malt jump back from the shadow as it reacts to the pair of you drawing close.

“The night… shall last… forever.”

Those words ring familiar in your mind. In the wake of Nightmare Moon’s defeat, newspapers explained her aspirations. That and it was part of the founding story of Nightmare Night. No matter how much you liked or hated the holiday, it was hard not to know the story of something celebrated on a national scale.

“Help me… bring… the night. The eternal… night.” The shadow spoke through its unseen mouth, the page still floating there tantalizingly.

“I… I don’t think this thing is supposed to be here. But… we can’t leave it here to go get the royal guard, or Princess Celestia. What if someone else finds it, or what if it goes someplace else?” Caramel Malt says, looking to you for an answer of what to do.

It was true, the smartest choice would be to simply flee and get help. Yet, if this was some remnant of Nightmare Moon, it couldn’t just be left to threaten Equestria again, right?

You look at the page, which seems to be anchoring this echo of ancient villainy, and you can feel it calling out to you. Asking for your will, your choice. What story did you wish to bring to light?




What fate do you want for Nightmare Moon? 



For this evil echo to fade, and to let Luna move on as the Princess of the Moon.

For Nightmare Moon to return. 

For Nightmare Moon to be happy and not in pain.