//------------------------------//
// Ch.10 Nightmare Night Part II of II 
// Story: Only shadows of the past... 
// by Phoenix Quill 
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Canterlot.
21:00 Celestia Standard Time

Things never really wound down in the city of Canterlot, unlike most hamlets and townships Canterlot had a vibrant night life that the miners would indulge in once the sun went down.

Of one thing that can be assured of, there was plenty to do in the city if you had a few bits to your name, and time on your hooves. Princess Celestia had bits, and an eternal life to spend them in, and yet more often than not she spent her time locked away behind the desk of a small office space that served as temporary headquarters until the castle was ready for occupation.

Celestia was looking over the last of the paperwork on the desk, a tediously long request for more law enforcement in the rural areas, and she could feel her eye lids trying to slide their way down in an attempt to make her sleep as soon as possible.

The Princess sighed and poured herself more tea as she read the request as quickly as possible while still searching for the inevitable loophole or fine print where somepony somewhere would try to gain more money or power out of this proposal.

As she continued to read in her solitude, the sound of galloping hooves reached her ears. She looked up at the door and listened as her guards prepared to turn the would be intruder away.

The sound of her two guards low monotone voices came through the door, "I am sorry, the Princess is not seeing anypony."

"Please, I must see Princess Celestia! I bring urgent news from Trottingham!"

The sound of swords being drawn could be heard through the door as the pony attempted to step forward, "None shall pass."

Celestia opened the door and gave a stern look at the stallion that had attempted to enter, "One such as yourself must have urgent news indeed to brave Equestria's finest." She stepped forward as the strange pony bowed before her with his wings open to the floor, "Rise, and tell me what is so urgent that you disturb my work only to avert your gaze to the floor before me?"

The pegasus before her rose and looked his ruler in the face with tears, "I come from Trottingham, representing the last of the Thirteenth Lunar Corps, I beg of you to be merciful."

Celestia raised an eye at the pegasus, "The last? When I disbanded the Lunar Corps there were thousands, of the Thirteenth there were hundreds alone. Why do you claim to be the last?"

The pegasus glanced nervously to the solar guards on either side of him before continuing, "I am the last to live, and the first to come back to serve, NIghtmare Moon has come back and killed them all."

That was the last thing that the former soldier said before breaking down entirely. Tears fell freely down his face as he burbled out the rest of what he had to say, "We thought we could bring back Luna! We thought we were saving her!" The two solar guards quickly grabbed him to take him away as he screamed down the halls, "SHE ATE THEM! SHE ATE THEM ALL!"

Celestia narrowed her eyes as she strode out of the small office space with confidence. She made her way down the hall and opened a single door without knocking, "Guards," The three that were inside quickly stood and saluted, "Ring the bell, an emergency has befallen Trottingham that we must see to personally."

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Trottingham.
23:30 Celestia Standard Time.

Nightmare Moon roamed freely down the streets of Trottingham, and everywhere she went death seemed to follow.

The Princess, while still looking the same as the day she had left Equestria, was so hungry that she turned to anything that looked even remotely edible on her return. 

Nightmare Moon laughed as she thought of the guards that had greeted her, they did not know of what she had become, or why she was banished from Equestria in the first place. When they had changed from her heros to her opposition, she made quick work of all twelve of them. Their blood and raw meat were enough to sustain her before she searched for more food.

Eyeing the door of a home, Nightmare Moon galloped to the door and knocked it over as if it were made of paper rather than wood. The crashing sound was quickly followed by the screams of terror given off by the family hidden within.

Nightmare smiled coldly at them, "As your sovereign of the moon, I am hereby demanding any and all food stuffs that you have are now the property of Nightmare Moon. Surrender the food, or sacrifice yourself to me!"

The family reacted in much the same way as everypony else so far, panic then run. She did not mind, as it left her free to raid the pantry for whatever it was that she could find ready to eat or drink as quickly as possible before heading back out to search again.

SISTER! SURRENDER YOURSELF AND YOU WILL BE TREATED FAIRLY, AND TAKEN INTO CUSTODY! RESIST AND I WILL NOT HESITATE TO DEFEND MY PONIES TO THE DEATH!

"No," Nightmare breathed out as she looked out a window. What she saw she could not believe, an army of solar guards thousands strong had surrounded the house she had trapped herself in. Celestia stood out in front wearing a new set of golden armor, "NO!"

Nightmare Moon blasted out a force of magic with all her strength, blowing the small house to shreds as she charged at her sister. "I WILL NOT SURRENDER!"

The dark pony charged with all her might at her sister, horn lowered to run her through. Celestia closed her eyes and waited.

Finally, the Princess of the sun raised a single hoof and in one clean motion swiped and brought her sister down with no resistance, "Three years without food, without practice of combat and you have grown sloppy Luna."

Nightmare Moon struggled under Celestia's shod hoof tried to rise and found she couldn't bring the strength to lift herself at all. As she struggled, the guards closest to the sisters lowered their swords, ready to attack. 

Celestia and Nightmare Moon looked each other in the eyes, "Yield sister. Surrender now and come home. I am the master of both day and night now. This freedom you have in an illusion." Celestia took a breath before she continued. "You yield, and I will see to it that you get a fair trial, and will live in relative comfort with me in Canterlot."

Nightmare Moon looked at her sister, and for a moment, her draconic eyes flashed back into her old ones as Nightmare shed a tear, "Sister..." 

Celestia faltered for only a moment, and that was all it took. Nightmare quickly cast a spell, and the sound of ponies screaming filled the air, as the armor and swords of every soldier suddenly became red hot. "I will NEVER SURRENDER after what you have done to me! Three years! Three years of eating dust and ruling over stone!"

As the Solar Guard scrambled to shed their armor, Celestia sighed. "Very well sister."

Suddenly a clock began to strike, "This Nightmare you have brought upon us is over, and with the end of this day, so ends your chance of redemption. Rule over the stones, but know that I pity you, for you chose this path."

Nightmare Moon stood proud and defiant to the end, as the spell cast to bring her back undid itself, and she slowly faded away to nothingness. Before she faded entirely, she spoke the final words anypony would ever hear from her, "Tis better to rule in my own personal hell, than to serve you in your personal heaven."

For a few moments nopony said a word, until finally one guard asked at last, "Is she gone forever?"

Celestia shook her head sadly, "The spell is cast, if she ever becomes as starved as we have just seen, her return will become annual."
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Word spread quickly about what had happened that night.

The tale of how one lone former guard from the Thirteenth Division managed to escape by disguising himself in an old sheet became a legend.

In order to keep Nightmare Moon from returning, an annual sacrifice of food was made to keep her at bay.

Over time, sacrifice became tradition, facts became legend, and an annual night that was once feared became a holiday.

All across Equestria, foals would disguise themselves to beg for food to offer to Nightmare Moon for fun rather than from true fear. All except for one village, where the memory of what had happened was too painful to remember. In Trottingham, there is no Nightmare Night.