//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The Summer Sun Celebration 
// Story: The Night Shall Last Forever 
// by WritersBlock 
//------------------------------//

	"4 hours left." The room seemed to grow even colder as Nightmare Moon smiled at the voice. Not that there was anypony around to notice, of course. That was the downside to living with moon creatures. None of them had any appreciation for theatrics. Or the ability to feel cold. That was just a part of who they are, although that didn't make her feel any better about it. The thought of this replaced her smile with a scowl. With a lazy flick of her horn, one of the moon creatures burst into a cloud of smoke. It made her feel a little better.

As the creature slowly gathered itself back together (it wasn't a good idea to do it very fast while the Princess was still present), another one slunk towards his ruler and bowed low. This was an impressive feat, as the creatures were made out of a dark smoke, and their forms were constantly changing, making it difficult for them to appear to be bowing. But it was doable.

"Speak", said the Princess of the Night, using her Royal Canterlot Voice. She hadn't used it for some time, but she had decided that it was probably a good idea to get back in practice, as she would most likely need it in order to issue edicts, orders, and executions during her conquest. Particularly executions.

"M-my lady," began the creature. "We have received word back from your agents in Canterlot. They are eagerly awaiting your return, and have already begun preparations for your coup."

Nightmare Moon's smile returned. "This is most excellent. What of Our travel arrangements? Is all prepared?

The creature relaxed, encouraged by his ruler's smile. "Of course milady. The Stars have sent word that their magic is prepared to transport you to Equestria as soon as they are in alignment.

Nightmare Moon waved her hoof, and the creature backed swiftly out of the room. The princess relaxed in her chair, running over her plans for the coming hours in her head. Everything was in place. Celestia would be alone to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration, and would be at her weakest come midnight. That is when the Night Mare would strike. Let's see her dear sister's sun powers protect her with all of the forces of the heavens were powering not the sun, but the moon.

Yes, soon Celestia would face retribution for her folly. After all these years of plotting, at last Nightmare Moon would once again walk the earth. No, not just walk it, she would rule it. She would rule over the pitiful little ponies that inhabited the land of Equestria. It would be easy. Since her banishment, Equestria had been at peace, and it's inhabitants had become soft, helpless. Aside from the royal guard, the law enforcement, and a few wandering mercenaries, she doubted that there were many in the land who were capable of putting up any kind of meaningful resistance. As for the former, the mercenaries could be bought out, the law enforcement was too small-time to worry about, and the royal guard... well, them she had plans for.

Nightmare Moon continued to review her plans in silence for some time, until the voice in her head stated "3 hours left", prompting the her to leave the throne room to prepare for her return. A princess must look her best during an invasion, after all. For some reason, The Mare in the Moon found this intensely amusing.

The laugh that resulted could have frozen oceans.

*******************************************************

Twilight Sparkle was having a rough day. That morning, she had awoken to find a royal carriage at her door, waiting to take her to Ponyville. This would have been fine, as she had packed the previous night, but four in the morning seemed like a little much. The sun hadn't even risen yet! Apparently Princess Celestia had wanted Twilight to arrive in the small town as early as possible so that she would have as much time as was necessary to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration. Fortunately, the purple unicorn had been able to get in some extra sleep on the ride there, although it had hardly been comfortable.

Of course, matters had only gotten worse upon her arrival in Ponyville. The first pony she had met had been a pink earth pony who, upon being approached, had decided to let out a high pitched gasp and defy the laws of gravity, just before zooming off.

After that... singular event, Twilight had decided to head toward a place where she might find an ounce of sanity; a humble farmstead that happened to be in charge of providing refreshments for the Celebration. Unfortunately, Twilight decided to arrive right in the middle of a massive family reunion which she swore every farmer in Equestria was attending. Again, this would have been fine, but she had forgotten to take into account the friendliness of Earth Pony farmers; and so, most of her morning was spent sampling (admittedly delicious) baked goods and meeting dozens of relatives, most of which she doubted she would remember the names of. Not that it really mattered, seeing as they weren't her relatives, but still.

While she was eating, she had noticed that the sky was rather cloudy. It wasn't supposed to be. Part of the Summer Sun Celebration was getting an unobstructed view of the sun, and those clouds would simply not do. So, after her faithful assistant informed her of the identity of the weather mare, Twilight had set off to find her. It wasn't difficult, seeing as the Pegasus had managed to find Twilight. After a particularly unpleasant... mane-styling, the Pegasus had finally agreed to do her job, so that was one point for Twilight. But only one.

After that, she had noticed that she was right by Town Hall. Seeing as this was where the actual Celebration would be taking place, she decided to check up on the decorations. Upon entering the building, she was gratified by two things. One, the decorations were coming along splendidly, and two, they were being overseen by a Unicorn, which gave Twilight quite a bit of relief. Perhaps she would be able to the relate to all the craziness Twilight had been experiencing. However, it turns out that this particular Unicorn was just as, if not more so, crazy as the rest of the town. At least Twilight's mane was fixed.

As she made her escape from the fashionista, Twilight had noticed the royal carriage parked beside the Town Hall, meaning Princess Celestia had already arrived. Twilight had considered finding where the Princess was staying in order to speak with her, but that thought of having to face that Unicorn again had stopped her in her tracks. Deciding that seeing to the preparations was more important, she had left to see to the final item on her list, the musical arrangements.

That too had been proven to be a mistake, as the Pegasus in charge of it seemed to be intensely shy. Which would have been manageable (if not somewhat awkward), had she not noticed Spike, who, it should probably be mentioned, is a baby dragon. It seems the Pegasus is a bit of an "animal enthusiast", and while she had opened up quite quickly upon seeing Twilight's assistant, it was hard to get her to shut up. As a matter of fact, the Pegasus had been so chatty that she had followed Twilight (and Spike) all the way to the Golden Oaks Library, where Twilight was staying during her visit. There, Twilight had finally managed to get rid of her, and had entered the library for some Rest and Relaxation.

The appearance of a familiar pink Earth Pony, as well as the entire population of Ponyville soon put those dreams to rest.

Now, Twilight was laying in her bed, trying desperately to catch up on sleep before the Summer Sun Celebration. Unfortunately, the massive party that was occurring just below her bedroom was making this difficult. It turns out trees are excellent conductors of sound. But that wasn't the only thing keeping her awake. She thought back to the letter that had gotten her into this mess. After extensive research, she had determined that tonight would be a night of singular importance. Tonight, one of the greatest evils in all the history of Equestria would return. Tonight, the dreaded Nightmare Moon would return.

Twilight shuddered at the thought of the mare's name. While she, like many ponies, had assumed that The Mare in the Moon was just an old mare's tale to scare foals and fillies on Nightmare Night, recent events had convinced her otherwise. The signs were unmistakable. Of course, there were only two signs, but they were quite clear. For one, the four brightest stars in the night sky, Soleil, Lune, Etoile, and Harmonie had formed a box around the Moon, deviating from their typical paths. The other sign was much more foreboding. The Mare in the Moon, the Unicorn-shaped shadow that could often be faintly seen on the moon, had grown darker, more defined. Many learned scholars and astronomers had speculated as to why these changes were occurring, but Twilight knew exactly why. The Night Mare would soon return, for the Stars shall aid in her escape.

And nopony would believe her.

Of course, the only pony Twilight had told of her suspicions was Princess Celestia, as the Princess was the only pony likely to remember when Nightmare Moon had reigned, In fact, several of the story's Twilight had read referenced the Princess as being responsible for the Night Mare's defeat, so surely Celestia would listen. Instead, all Twilight had received as a response was a letter telling her to relax. In addition, the Princess had (for some reason) decided that the best way for Twilight to relax would be to send her to Ponyville in order to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight wasn't sure why the Princess was being so nonchalant about this, but decided that she must have her reasons, and had gone along with the decision without arguing.

As Twilight struggled with her thoughts, the noise, and (lack of) sleep, she barely registered the cuckoo clock signaling the arrival of midnight.

*******************************************************

Princess Celestia, however, was distinctly aware of the time. She had been sitting in the room in Town Hall the Mayor had graciously lent to her for the past hour, doing little more than stare at the clock. And thinking. She had been thinking about this moment for a long time, of course, but it had never really seemed that close. It had always felt as though this night would never come, but now that it was here, it filled her with an unspeakable dread. She had been planning what she would say, what she would do, for the past thousand years, but the truth of the matter was that she was unprepared. She had no idea what her sister had been through during her banishment, and did not know if she had mellowed, gotten worse, or, she dared hope, been cured.

That hope was destroyed as a burst of darkness emanated from the main hall.

The Princess of the Sun bore a heavy heart as she rose to her hooves and walked out to the balcony overlooking the room. What she saw made her heart sink even lower. There, standing in the center of the room, was the Mare she had once called sister. And yet she was not little Luna anymore. Now she was the Night Mare, and she was a threat. Celestia glided down to the floor to stand equal to her sister.

"Hello sister," Nightmare Moon sneered, "We appreciate you staying up to greet us after our little trip."

Celestia sighed at her little sister's use of the archaic Royal Canterlot Voice. I see she hasn't lost her flair for the dramatic, she thought grimly, then replied.

"Luna, please. It doesn't have to be this way." Celestia was surprised at how her words came out. She had planned this moment for so long that it had never occurred to her how weak her argument sounded. That is, if it could even be considered an argument. To late for regrets, I suppose.

Nightmare Moon's face turned into a visage of cold fury. "Thou knowest full well that We no longer go by the name Luna. The Night Mare spat the name out like a particularly nasty piece of lettuce. "Now, We are Nightmare Moon!"

Celestia transfixed the Night Mare in her gaze. "I am not speaking to you, being of shadows. I am speaking to my sister, Princess Luna, whose crown is the only one I recognize.

Now Nightmare Moon was angry. "WE ARE PRINCESS LUNA, AND WE ARE NIGHTMARE MOON! DO NOT DISREGARD US, PITIFUL PRINCESS OF THE SUN!

Celestia was taken aback by this outburst. This wasn't how it was supposed to go... she thought before trying again. "Please, calm down. I'm sure we can talk this through. We didn't even have a chance to try last time..."

It turns out that mentioning last time was a bad idea. "Last time? Last time we 'spoke', We were weak, reluctant to actually depose you. And didst thou wish to talk then? No! Thou took advantage of Our weakness, and banished Us to the Moon without hesitation!"

Celestia shook her head. "You know that's not what happened."

"Did it not? We have had plenty of time to think over those events in our time on the Moon, and We are quite certain that that was indeed what occurred.

"And you are sure there is no other way you want to deal with this?"

Nightmare Moon's smile caused the room's temperature to drop by about 20 percent. "We wouldst have it no other way, sister dear."

Celestia bowed her head, realizing where this was going. If diplomacy is no longer an option, then... "Am I to assume that your goal is the same as before, then? To plunge Equestria into everlasting darkness?"

"Thou wouldst be correct in that assumption."

"You know I cannot allow you to do that, don't you?"

"To be honest, We were rather counting on this."

Celestia nodded, and began to draw all the powers of the Sun into her horn. Without the Elements of Harmony, I'll need every ounce of available power if I'm going to... Celestia frowned. That's odd. The full powers of the Sun feel much weaker than usual...

It was only then that she noticed the Night Mare Laughing at her. "What did you do!?!?" It was less of a question and more of a command.

Nightmare Moon smiled at her sister. "Us? We did nothing. The Moon and Stars, however...

Celestia suddenly gained full comprehension. The reason the spell that had allowed her sister's escape was not dependent on the placement of the Stars, as she had always assumed. Rather, the spell had been timed to occur when the Stars were in the proper positions so as to draw power away from the Sun, and channel it into... The Moon. The Night Mare's power source. This isn't good. Celestia would have kicked herself for not paying more attention in astronomy class, but she was too busy noticing that Nightmare Moon was about to attack.

In the cold blue light emanating from Nightmare Moon's horn, her grin would have caused most pony's to fall unconscious with fear. Celestia, however, could only watch in horror.

"Good night, sister."

*******************************************************

Nightmare Moon stood panting in the center of the hall, staring at the scorch mark where her sister had been standing just moments ago. Around her, the rooms decorations had been torn to pieces due to the Alicorn's battle.

"If our mane were made of hair, it would be a horrible mess." Said the voice in her head, and the Night Mare rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hush up." Nightmare Moon snapped, and then allowed herself to relax. Looking about the room, she noticed the mess and decided to clean it. Why? Because she couldn't stand messes.

As her magic worked to restore order to the decorations, she thought back over the battle. After Celestia had so rudely ruined Nightmare Moon's one-liner by dodging out of the way at the last second, she had led her on a merry chase throughout the room, dodging a good majority of her magical blasts. But in, Celestia's efforts were futile, as the scorch mark in the center of the room proved. "Let's see how she likes the Moon," thought the Night Mare with grim satisfaction.

Suddenly she noticed something. Something that made her halt her work as a look of childish glee spread across her face. She beamed up into the sky and let out a devilish laugh, it's cold sound reverberating throughout the hall. "At last!" She cried out with jubilation.

The Mare in the Moon continued giggling as she finished cleaning the room. At last indeed! After having been wielded by Celestia for so long, the full power of the Moon and Stars had at long last been returned to the Princess of the Night, their rightful owner. But that wasn't all that Celestia had so graciously left behind. As it was impossible to control the Sun from the Moon, the power of the Sun had to go somewhere. And who could be more worthy of the Sun than Ruler of the Moon?

Nightmare Moon turned her attention once more upon the scorch mark. "If only there had been another way..."

The Night Mare's eyes narrowed. "Do not speak like that. You know as well as I that this was the only way. Besides, tis far to late for regrets."

She sensed her host's assent. "Now then, as wonderful of a testament to Our power that this mark is, the room shall soon be full of ponies, and we would hate for them to get suspicious and ruin the surprise..."

She sighed as her magic wiped the floor clean, erasing the final sign of the battle. She glanced at the clock on the wall and started. "3:45? We had not realized how long We had been here."

The Celebration would begin at 5:30, and ponies would begin arriving at about 4:30, giving her plenty of time to rehearse her grand return. The smile once again spread over her face as she mentally rehearsed her speech.

Soon, all the little ponies shall know...

That The Mare in the Moon is no mere fairy tale.