Twilight Sparkle was awoken by Spike's incredibly loud belch. "Spike! That's disgusting!" Twilight exclaimed. She blinked away her sleep and checked her clock. It was 7:00 am. I should probably be getting up anyway, she thought. She got out of bed and began to brush her mane in the mirror.
"Sorry Twilight, but I can't help it! The Princess sent a letter," replied Spike. He was next to his bed, and he looked like he had beed rudely disrupted in his sleep and rolled out of bed rather violently. "You know that when she sends a letter by 'Spike mail' I just-" Spike's sentence was cut off by another belch, accompanied by a green flame that swirled into a second letter.
"Uh-ha," said Twilight sleepily. She did not enjoy being woken up early. She yawned and continued brushing her hair.
Spike watched her. "Uh, Twilight? Aren't you going to open your letters?"
"Na, not now. I have other things to do." Twilight yawned again and stretched out her legs and wings.
"But, Twilight! They're from the Princess! Don't you think that's important?"
Twilight's eyes snapped open in surprise mid-stretch. "The Princess!" She whirled around to face Spike. "Why didn't you say so earlier!" She trotted over to the letters and picked up the first one with her magic.
Spike looked confused. "Uh, I thought I did..."
Twilight ignored Spike and read the letter:
My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I write to you with disturbing news. My sister, Princess Luna, has informed me that a small part of Nightmare Moon escaped into one of Ponyville's residents last night during Luna's dreamwalking. This could cause serious trouble if not discovered and taken care of. Please be on the watch for any strange or dark magic affecting anypony. I have faith that you will be able to overcome this challenge, as you have done many in the past.
Your mentor and teacher,
Princss Celestia
"Nightmare Moon? That doesn't sound good," said Twilight.
"But, Twilight," said Spike. "I thought that you and your friends already defeated Nightmare Moon."
"I did too, Spike," Twilight replied, "but apparently not." She scrunched up her face like she did when she was contemplating something. "Well, now that I think about it, we didn't so much defeat Nightmare Moon as free Princess Luna. Even so, that blast from the Elements of Harmony would have left Nightmare Moon severely weakened. The darkness probably retreated deep into Princess Luna's mind to regain its strength." She paused.
Spike spoke up. "If that's the case than why would she be able to cause trouble now? Isn't she too weak to do any damage?"
"I'm not so sure, Spike. It's been a year since we first defeated her, and perhaps that was enough time to regain some of her strength and find a new host."
"Host? What, is she some kind of parasite? Like Chrysalis?" Spike began to get excited. "Ohmygosh, what if -Twilight, brace yourself for this one- what if Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon are the same pony!" Spike was jumping up and down now. "Yes! I figured it out! All the things that didn't quite make sense at your brother's wedding! This is-"
Twilight cut him off. "Now Spike, don't get too excited about your theory. Nightmare Moon isn't a parasite. Well, not exactly. She is still a part of Princess Luna, but she is almost her own person. They are two sides to the same coin.
Although, considering that Luna is in control most of the time, she probably has the bigger side." Twilight stopped to think about what she just said. "Well, I guess there is no bigger side on a coin, but you know what I mean. Nightmare Moon is is the same creature as Luna, but is almost independent. Understand?"
Spike was utterly lost. "No. Not at all." He stared at her with blinking confusion.
Twilight facehoofed. "Nightmare Moon is a part of Luna's soul that is blackened by hate. So they are the same. However, Nightmare Moon's power is strong, so at times she can almost become her own person."
Spike still looked very confused, but he said, "Uh, I kinda get it, I guess? But how can she invade another pony, like the Princess said in her letter?"
"This is where she looks like a parasite. If I had to speculate, I would say that she awakens that pony's internal hate or fears and turns them into a creature similar to herself. After all, she is made of hatred and fear, so it would be fitting to increase her power with more hate." They both were quiet for a moment.
"So Nightmare Moon is looking to increase her power? That can't be good."
"No. It's not. So let's keep a careful eye out for suspicious magic. I don't want to arouse too much suspicion and risk her going into hiding. If she gets confident enough she may give us a giveaway clue and my friends and I can use the Elements to defeat her once again. And hopefully for good."
"Shouldn't you read her other letter, first?" Spike picked up the parchment.
"Oh, right!" Twilight levitated the letter out of Spike's hand towards herself. All it said was:
P.S. - The pony that has Nightmare Moon is a pegasus.
"Well, I guess that narrows it down. We should inform our friends to keep a careful watch as well."
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Scootaloo stood on the balcony of the clubhouse.Here we go, she thought. She stretched out her wings and leaped off the clubhouse. It was a fairly short drop, but it had scared her the first time. After a few tries, though, she enjoyed the feeling of gently gliding down to the ground. Then she would climb up the ladder and jump off again. Each time, she flapped her wings a little more and glided a little farther. She was still a little too nervous to go much higher in a full on flight, but she would never admit that to anyone.
Scootaloo heard a rustling among some nearby brush. "...and then we can tell her about our idea for boating cutie marks!" said Sweetie Bell's voice.
"Ah think she's gonna love that idea!" replied Applebloom. Scootaloo became excited. She could tell her friends all about her new wings, and about Miss Moon who was so kind to give them to her.
"No." Miss Moon said sternly. "You cannot tell them about me. Terrible things might happen if anyone discovered me!"
Scootaloo was a little concerned. "Why? What could happen?"
Miss Moon paused for a moment. Then she spoke in a mush sweeter voice, "I'm just shy, that's all. I'll wait to have your friends know about me."
Just then, Sweetie Bell and Applebloom came out if the bush. "Heya, Scootaloo!" said Applebloom. "We were thinkn' maybe-" She stopped mid sentence and both Sweetie Bell and she stopped walking. They had just seen Scootaloo's wings which were stretched out from her glide.
Their mouths hung open for a second before they both said, "Cooooool!" They both rushed towards her and showered her with questions.
"What happened?"
"Where'dya get those!"
"Did your wings finally grow?"
"Can ya fly now?"
Scootaloo stopped their questions with a raised hoof. "These are my new wings. I got them when-" she stopped. She had been about to mention Miss Moon, who wished to remain unknown. "Uh, they're from, I mean..." Scootaloo couldn't think of another reason. Help me out here, she thought. Scootaloo's friends were giving her funny looks.
"Tell them your wings grew naturally," Miss Moon replied.
What?! That's a terrible lie! Everyone knows pegasus wings don't appear overnight!
"Just trust me. They'll believe you."
Fine. But if this fails, it's your fault. Scootaloo spoke out loud, "They just grew like this last night." Her friends had quizzical looks. It's not working! I told you! I'm just going to tell them the truth.
"No! Repeat after me: It's fine, this is normal.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes but complied. "It's fine, this is normal."
"There's nothing strange going on here at all."
Now that I refuse to say. That is practically telling them you're lying.
"Just say it!"
"There's nothing strange going on here at all." When Scootaloo said this, she thought she heard Miss Moon speaking with her in a layered voice.
Applebloom and Sweetie Bell nodded at the same time and said together in a strangely robotic voice, "Nothing strange at all." They had a blank look in their eyes.
"I think that you'll find that they believe you now," said Miss Moon smugly.
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Nightmare Moon watched from the back of Scootaloo's mind as she and her friends played and experimented with the new wings. She was careful to shield her rage from Scootaloo's mind, but she was growing tired of waiting. That had been a close call with Scootaloo's friends, and the sooner she executed her plans, the quicker she could stop hiding herself in this pitiful filly's body. She smiled mentally at the thought of leaving this body. Perhaps she would wait until they were in flight, high above the ground... and she would watch as Scootaloo dropped like a rock. Maybe she would call out for 'Miss Moon' to help her as she plummeted to her death. She laughed at the thought.
Scootaloo must have heard her. You okay? You've been quiet for a while.
Nightmare Moon whispered a curse too quietly to be heard. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm simply overjoyed seeing you and your friends having such fun." The lie rolled easily off her tongue in a sweet tone. That is, if she had a tongue. She again thought about how she would soon have a body of her own. Scootaloo smiled and continued to play with her friends as Nightmare Moon brooded over these things.
Soon... Soon not even the Sun will be able to hide her glory from the dark side of the moon!