//------------------------------// // Part three of many // Story: Nightmare Mooning // by CosmicAfro //------------------------------// “Rainbow!” Spike yelled into the sky, “wake up!” He clenched his claws as he inhaled another immense sum of air. “Rainbow Dash!” The sound of a cloud door swinging open, much like a regular door but muffled, broke the silence following the scream. One droopy eyed pegasus began to glide in circles down below with hooves rubbing her eyes. “Spike wh-“ she yawned, “what time is it?” “Rainbow, Nightmare moon has returned and she’s turning Twilight and our friends paranoid… amongst other things.” Though dreary, she raised an eyebrow at the last phrase. “Like what other things?” “It’s, uhh, hard to explain. Can we just… go?” “Are you sure you just didn’t have a bad dream, Spike?” A pair of terrified shrieks pierced the silent ambiance over Ponyville. “Does that answer your question?” .-~V~-. Earlier… The alicorn took a hearty sniff of the farm air as she shuffled her bare hooves in the lush grass. “I must say Ms. Applejack, your residency has an aroma that is… enjoyable. I did not get much of a chance to explore the world during my short reign; this place is starting to grow on me.” “Thanks,” Applejack apprehensively replied. She turned her head to watch the three fillies behind her. They seemed to be whispering something to each other but they were doing a good job of keeping quiet. Nightmare Moon stopped in a sparse clearing where the night sky was clearly visible. The silver disk in the sky was just about to begin its descent, leaving her with plenty of time. “Now,” she began without turning around, “do any of you three know of the Constellations?” “Oh, I remem’er Ms. Cheerilee talking about them in class. Like the Ursa Major, right?” Apple Bloom asked. “Correct. While the depiction of these beings in the sky have been around for eons, the physical manifestations of them were a recent creation. They were created by none other than myself when Luna first became me. They were meant to be more of a hollow threat, but I had to take it one step further when Celestia threatened banishment on the moon.” She sighed, remembering her personal experiences, but quickly shook it off. “More to the point, we’re going to reproduce one here, tonight.” “Awesome,” Scootaloo whispered. Applejack, however, was less than impressed. “You brought us out here to kill us with one of them dangerous animals!? I kn-" “As if you were worth my time,” she stated promptly while turning around. “I meant just the illusion of one. When I overheard those three talking of scarecrows, I was reminded of these, which was their intended purpose. They were supposed to disappear after I had conjured them, but I was sent away, unfortunately. I have no clue what happened to them.” “Then, why do you need us?” Sweetie Belle innocently replied. “I’m glad you asked. As of recent, my magic hasn’t quite fully recovered to create an independent clone of one of my astronomical abominations. This is where you will come in. I shall create controls for you three and I’ll help you practice your scaring abilities.” “Now I said-“ “What you said was to not use magic on them, which I’m not. I’m giving them magic. I’m not going to get within five feet and I’m definitely not going to destroy anything. Scarecrows are perfectly harmless, but why do they work? Because the crows believe it’s real. That’s the very definition of an ‘Illusion’, Ms. Applejack.” A huff of smoke came out of the farmer pony’s snout. “Now there’s just one thing I don’t understand. What do you get out of all a this?” Nightmare snickered. “A little bit of fun, that’s all.” And an entire town facing a full Lunar Eclipse. She illuminated her horn and began to position herself on the ground as if preparing for a heavy wind. “Are we ready?” “I guess so…” “Yup!” “Ready when you are!” Applejack sighed. “What did I just get myself in to…” .-~V~-. Present… Spike frantically held on to Rainbow Dash as she zoomed across to the town, now almost completely alight with windows from the houses. In the middle, standing in the town square, was a gigantic Nightmare Moon laughing manically. Spike tried to shout something, but Dash veered to the right at a sharp angle, trying to avoid the creature ahead of her. “Was this what you were talking about?” she said with half-concealed fear. “Because we may need some more help to tackle something like this.” “You want to tackle this!?” The dare devil gave him the “are you serious” face. The humongous villain’s eyes caught the duo in the sky and lifted a hoof into the air. Just as soon as it appeared as if it was going to try and smash them, it began to wave it as if meeting a friend. “Hi Rainbow, hi Spike!” it bellowed into the night, sounding suspiciously like Apple Bloom. “Look what we made!” Both Spike and Rainbow Dash rubbed their eyes. “It’s really us!” a projected voice of Scootaloo confirmed. “It’s a giant scare pony. Look what we can do with it. Ready, Apple Bloom?” “Ready.” The monster began to bob and weave side to side, much like they had done during the cider season. The dragon and the element of loyalty had to close each other’s mouths’ in amazement, much like the rest of the town that was gathering outside. “How…” “So, it turns out that Nightmare Moon is back,” Scootloo began enthusiastically, “and she’s helping us get our scaring cutie marks!” The town shrilled with raw terror. “Don’t worry though, this giant thing is harmless!” As if to prove a point, it pounded a house with its left hoof and happily observed that no damage had come of it. “Isn’t this awesome!?” “Looks like you weren’t kidding, Spike,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath. Returning her attention to the issue at large, she asked, “Where is Nightmare Moon now?” “Applejack said something about her needin’ a restroom.” Spike saw two ponies looking outside of a window near the library and pointed his transportation towards it. Nodding, Rainbow Dash glided to the building and softly landed on the balcony. The two let themselves inside and ran down the stairs. “Twilight!” Spike shouted, “do you see that?” “Oh gee, how could we miss it?” she sarcastically replied, popping her head out of the fort. Pinkie’s hind leg itched her back and her tail, somewhat poofy, swayed back and forth. “I don’t like this one little bit.” She nudged the mint unicorn beside her at the window and pointed at something in the distance. “Ok, what exactly is going on here?” Rainbow Dash demanded. Twilight began to explain. “It looks as if Nightmare Moon has been tricking ponies into being mooned all night and somehow she’s gotten the Cutie Mark Commodores-“ “Crusaders,” Spike corrected. “Crusaders,” she said with an eye roll, “involved. What’s worse, she’s somehow gotten them to control a giant effigy of herself! With everyone outside and making a commotion-“ “She’s free to do whatever she wants elsewhere!” the mint unicorn finished. “Exactly.” My my my, it seems that not everypony can be fooled into my rouse twice. I commend your foresight, Ms. Sparkle. The gang looked every which way, but failed to find the source of the voice echoing in the library. As if to further hinder them, the candles extinguished themselves. “Come on out you coward!” Rainbow Dash yelled, raising a hoof into the air. You really think I’d just give myself up like that? No, I’m having quite a bit of fun with this and I’m going to keep continuing my fun. However, I am a firm believer in giving my opponents a fighting chance. “Really?” Pinkie questioned, staring at the roof. Yes, really. Did I not give you various trials to overcome while traversing the Everfree Forest? If I was really focused on eliminating you, I would have stopped you long before you reached my domain. I was not expecting the Elements of Harmony to actually be restored, so I’ll give you that. “How did you convince the Cutie Mark crusaders to help you?” Spike questioned. Oh, I mentioned something about their talents and their attention was as good as mine. Any eager talentless flop like those three would be willing to bend over backwards for any hope at getting it. Don’t worry, no harm will come to them. “What about Applejack? The girls were supposed to be at her place tonight.” We struck a deal. She’s quite the negotiator. Now, Luna will be arriving here soon. I can feel her presence… If you want even a glimmering chance of defeating me, summon your own illusion and fight me properly like we should have, Twilight Sparkle. You’ll be needing her to create the clone as only Alicorns can sustain the spell. If you lose, the entire town will be bathed in my moon’s glorious radiance and I will slink into the shadows to attack at my own will. If you win, which I doubt, I’ll come peacefully. The library seemingly laughed from every corner. Oh, and I wouldn’t try and rely on your friend, “Fluttershy”. All of the mares in the room gasped. “What have you done to her!?” I might be inclined to tell if you win. Call that your motivation. If you try and rescue her now, I’ll end this silly charade and traumatize this entire town. It’s your move… At those last words, the candles relit themselves and a shimmering smoke entered the room. It solidified into none other than Princess Luna. “I’m here to assess the situation. Twilight Sparkle, what progress have we made?” “Princess Luna,” Twilight replied while exiting her fort, “we’re in trouble.” “Hey Apple Bloom! Let’s make her do a back-flip!”