A light breeze flows through my mane. The animals have not yet have fear in their souls when encountering me. The sun is still in the air, radiating warmth for the world. It’s quite enjoyable, the sun's promise of warmth. However, I can tell that this sun is far more different than the sun that keeps the Earth from freezing to an icicle. It feels almost graceful as if a powerful figure had the power to raise it and lower it every day.
At a brisk trot, I go to see where Ponyville is located. Climbing to the top of a hill, I notice small structures from afar. The buildings were made out of wood and what looked like hay acting as the roofs, while other buildings had wood. I can see ponies walking casually in the streets of the village; some are just talking to one another, few look like they are buying fruits and vegetables, and I can barely see a few colts and fillies enjoying their time hanging out with one another. All of them just moving colors from where I am standing in the distance.
Ponyville seems to be a peaceful place to live in. There is something else that I can feel that is mysterious in the village. Almost as if there is somepony that was involved in defeating Nightmare Moon. The name slowly coming to my mind: Twilight Sparkle.
Part of me says I should try to find her in the village. Then again, the other side of me says to not be so stupid to just walk into Ponyville and cause a mass panic to the ponies who live there.
Pondering for a while, I decide that I should venture into the Everfree Forest. If there are books in the palace, then it'll help me learn about my surrounds and even the history of this world. I do love history. So, this'll really make me want to understand the beings of this world. Maybe going to Ponyville will have to wait for some other time. Right now, I need to learn if I want to understand this world better than what I do now.
I start to go down the hill, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. It feels so breathtaking… now I can see why horses are always full of energy. With their muscles, they are able to run like the wind, and, of course fight against other animals that would try to kill them. With me as an alicorn, I will be far better off than any regular horse on earth.
Breathing in and out, catching my breath from suddenly sprinting down an incline, I can see the Everfree forest looming at me. This forest is far more different than the one I was in during my brief venture in my dream. The trees seem to show what looks like faces of pure horror, almost as if they are telling me "Don't try to pass, you'll fail while doing so." Or "You will die by the creatures of our forest, turn back while you still can."
Seriously? Trees aren't even the slightest bit alarming. I’ll give them credit, but that's not going to stop me from uncovering so many secrets about Equestria.
For some reason, I am curious to see what is in this forest. Trotting in, I sense the darkness move in around me. I am sure this place has more dark taint to it. When I was in the fields, there were bits of darkness, but this place has ten times more of the boundless gloom. The forest feels like it's a living, breathing creature.
It temps creatures to enter its domain, wanting to show itself to travelers who are lost as a peaceful guide, and to show those lost ponies a shortcut to get to their destination. I can feel it trying to talk to me. It hungers for blood. This is the place where anypony would want to end up dead. The smell of blood is what I am able smell a mile away.
The plants are something that caught my eye. Quite a few of them are orange, red, blue, yellow, purple, gold, or even green. Just by looking at them, I can tell that they are poisonous. I make a mental note to be careful when walking in these parts of the forest.
A shiver passes through me. Suddenly, I get a strange sense of dread, the kind you get when you’re being watched.
Turning around, I see six yellow eyes staring right at me through the bushes. Then, I start to hear growling from them, indicating hostility.
Something tells me these unknown animals want to kill me.
Very well. It will be a pleasure killing them without mercy. I need to concentrate, try to understand the power you possess, Nightmare.
I close my eyes and start breathing in and out. Focus is imperative. Just focus.
Something in me awakens from it slumber. Raw energy flows through my body, and I open my eyes to see the creatures slowly backing away from me.
"Get out of my way!!!"
My voice causes several branches to shatter, and the more frailer of the trees along with them. The entire ground shook upon me speaking.
The wolves, for that matter, are starting to shake like a bunch of spooked chickens. Not so confident now, are you?
I focus on their every movement. I start to see that they aren't thinking of charging at me. I can practically smell the fear coming off of them. Fear is something I'm starting to understand in this world. I see why Nightmare Moon was considered a pony that every last being was afraid of. Nopony would there try to strike her down, and now these "timberwolves" will now see that the nightmare has.... come back. Hehe... Wait, no! Don't think like that! That's not who you are!
Alright, I need to really start trying to concentrate my power to fire at the timberwolves. Try to learn how to use your horn. Again, focus… just focus.
I can feel a tingling at the base of my horn, and a white beam of magic goes straight for the timberwolves and they are subsequently ripped to pieces. Not only that, it has also caused a mass amount of smoke to billow from the ground. I can't see anything. My ears are ringing. Chances are I must've made a big enough of a explosion that it might have been heard from every part of Equestria.
I close my eyes shut due to dirt still swirling around me, holding my breath from inhaling the putrid air.
Minutes passed since I killed the timberwolves. As I reopen my eyes, I am in absolute shock to see what my powers did to the hostile animals.
I didn't just destroy the wolves, I just caused a giant hole to be formed where the bushes had once existed. Slowly trotting to see how far the blast went, I felt my jaw drop. It looks like the magic may have gone all the way through the end of the forest! The trees in this area were gone, and anyone who was in this part of the Everfree Forest was surely wiped from the face of Equestria. It looks like a nuclear bomb just came in and just vaporized everything in my direction.
The forest fell deadly quiet. The animals that inhabit the forest did not want to make a single sound that anypony would hear with their ears. Seriously, it feels like its population zero now.
Guess I should really learn how to not go so far in trying to practice magic in this world. Now it's the time I really get to the Royal Palace of the Two Sisters. I just hope that there is something worth reading in there, and I hope that it's easy to find the books, if there are any, in the building.
As the last of the sun's rays disappear behind the horizon, I begin to wonder if this palace is still around. Come to think of it. How old is the castle? Surely it would still be standing to the point of where you could still see parts of it towering over the trees.
Even after forty minutes have passed, the animals are still quiet as rocks. They must be paranoid from what I did to those timberwolves with my not-so-stable magic. I don't blame them. When you learn something new, it might cause people or, well, ponies to shun you a bit.
Continuing in my quest, I start to see a large superstructure just a mile away. I can see a tower that still stands strong with no signs of damage to its stone brick exterior. There, upon getting closer to the castle, two wooden doors that might be the front entrance to the building and accompanying it are two statues that are on opposing sides of the walkway boasting in imposing figures. The one on the left is a tall horse that shows great pride in its composure and the one on the left shows a smaller horse that is giving a more or less smile to the bigger horse. Both resemble two alicorns by their appearance, and based on it I'm thinking these two are representing the rulers of Equestria.
The door has a seal that has some writing on it. I am not able to fully verify what the words are saying to me. Dirt covers it from me reading it. I use my hoof to dust away the dirt to understand what the words that were on seal are trying to say to me.
Seal of the Royal Family of Equestria
Ah! So this is the Royal Sisters' palace. Finally, I can get a break from trying to find where it's located now.
As I opens the doors, the interior is not what I had imagined in my head. Dust litters everywhere of castle. Cracks can be seen from the floor to the walls. Most of the doors are no longer part of the entrances that kept ponies from seeing what was going on from the other side.
There are many banners of the sun and moon that had fallen from the wooden beams of the castle and were on the floor. I also found where the armory is located. Dozens of old armor uniforms remain intact after the many years of being forgotten. Getting closer to the uniforms, the material used for them appears to be gold! Amazing how a civilization would use gold for its troops, considering how malleable it is.
There are also wooden spears that are also attached to the manikins. I'm actually surprised termites haven’t eaten the wood. The spears must be protected by magic to prevent something like that from happening.
From behind me is a different type of armor for ponies to wear and protect themselves. The color of the armor is purple with a mix of black. Even more weird is the center of the chest piece. It looks like a reptilian eye is in the circle of the chest plate. Hmm. I think there were two different types of solders that once protected this place with their lives.
Venturing off again, I am in what I believe is the throne room. The roof is hardly intact. The carpets connecting to the staircases are no longer clean. The thrones that the rulers would sit in have suffered greatly from years of no protection over Mother Nature's time taking its toll and making this place unrecognizable. There happens to be a bridge that is uniting both thrones to make it easier for each ruler to talk to. Though it shows signs of needing massive repairs, it still fights for its survival.
Something happened here. It doesn't feel right to me. There was conflict in this room. Dark conflict.
I can hear a voice scream at the top of its lungs, echoing loudly against the countless corridors and rooms in the castle.
"There can only be one princess in Equestria! And that princess will be ME!"
I wince from the sudden high pitch screech. I use my hooves to keep anymore sound from trying to bust my eardrums.
The voice is gone, at least for now. As I put my forelegs back on the ground, I can tell that this place has a dark history. From the looks of this castle, a VERY dark history that shouldn't even be brought up to the next generation of children.
It dawns on me that my eyes are watering. Why was I crying? I… I didn't do anything!
A second voice booms throughout the caste. "Luna! I will not fight you. You must lower the moon, it is your duty!" This one spoke with authority. Authority that has more power over somepony; it sounds like it were in horror but was trying to keep its composure together.
I start to shake from all over. My legs feel like rubber and then, I collapse with a heavy sob.
Memories that aren't mine flood my brain, as I feel compelled to apologize for misdeeds. The Nightmare in me awakes, and I cry out with disdain.
"I'm sorry. I-I… forgive me dear sister. Please forgive me. I'm not evil! Just give me the chance... to redeem myself." Why am I talking to myself aloud? This isn't right. I don't even have a sister! I am an only child.
"Dearest sister. Have mercy on my soul. Please..... I didn't mean it. I never meant to fight you!" Now I am screaming to the top of my lungs. I cover my face with my forearms and just continue to sob in the middle of the throne room.
I felt nothing but pain, sorrow, and rage take over me. These foreign emotions are making me feel so different now. I feel like I am being tortured by these voices.
All this just makes me more confused now. Who are these voices? Why were they fighting against one another? And why am I crying because of said voices?
Raising my head to see if anything else might happen, the moon's rays penetrate through the holes of the throne room and were coming into contact with me, and me alone... The moon, its.... I don't know why it is focusing its time on me. "Why does the light shine upon me? For what purpose does it serve? Does the moon's light want me to be happy?" I ask while tears go down my face.
My heart starts to beat uncontrollably.
I need to leave. I can't stay in this room anymore. I need to find the library before the voices start to flood into my mind again. Getting up and rubbing away at what tears remain on my face, I gallop out of the throne room to find where the library would most likely to be located.
Just where is the library, though? As I rush through the hallways, peeking into rooms time and time again, I can't seem to find it.
After about half an hour of searching, I spot a symbol on a side of a door that resembles a book. That must be the library. Finally, I am now able to gain access to a variety of books that will tell me about the sisters and the history of Equestria.
I step into the room and shut it behind me with my hind legs.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Ada." This voice is different. It doesn't sound like the voices that I heard in the throne room. Looking up ahead of me stood a sadden Nightmare Moon, in a more ethereal state than what I would have liked.
"Nightmare..." I slowly said. She looks at me with sympathy. She knew I had an unpleasant time in the throne room. I notice that her injuries from her body are all gone. She has all the armor that I have on my body. What looks different about her is her body. It glows light blue and I can see right through her like a window. Is she perhaps a spirit?
My question is answered for me. "I'm merely just a spirit now, Ada. No pony else will hear or see me. Only you are able to do that." Her voice, it sounded… motherly.
As I walk toward her, she doesn't move. She remains in the exact same position when I first got my eyes fixed on her.
"Nightmare, what... what were those voices that I was hearing in the throne room?" While giving my question for her to respond, her expression changs from being somewhat content to sad.
"The first voice you heard was my good sister. Her name would be Luna. She is Princess of the Night and one of the rulers of Equestria. The other was...." Nightmare seems to be having a hard time saying the other pony's name."...was Celestia. She is.... the Princess of the Sun, and the second of the diarchs." She states with a stone cold stare with the sound of callous in her voice when saying Celestia's name.
"What happened here?" She begins to explain to me the story about Luna’s downfall and her plan of eternal night. The ignorant ponies of Equestria, she claims, were not appreciating the night enough, and fueled by the neglect of her sister fell into a state of anger. Celestia, oblivious to the happenings, continued to neglect her sister and promote the day.
Luna saw this as a stab in the back by her elder sister. Celestia was getting all the attention for herself. Nightmare adds that one night, Princess Luna refused to lower the moon for Celestia to raise the sun. That’s the moment where everything changed. When Luna refused, her anger and rage had caused her to transform her into no other than Nightmare Moon herself. Nightmare Moon was winning the fight up until Celestia had used six gems that went by the name of 'The Elements of Harmony'. The Elements were powerful enough to blast Nightmare Moon to the moon for exactly a thousand years.
Long after that event was over, the dust had long settled and life continued as normal.
One day, there was going to be a festival called 'The Summer Sun Celebration'. This was the day in which ponies would see Celestia come to Ponyville to watch her raise the sun for her ponies to see. However, it took place on the same date that Nightmare was banished, and the Elements of Harmony’s spell wore off.
Needless to say, the celebration did not happen.
Nightmare Moon continues telling me how she was able to escape the moon to come back to Equestria to bring eternal darkness to the land. That plan clearly failed. There were six ponies that were able to defeat Nightmare Moon and reform her back to Princess Luna, with the help of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash; Element of Loyalty, Pinkie Pie; Element of Laughter, Fluttershy; Element of Kindness, Applejack; Element of Honesty, Rarity; Element of Generosity,
and Twilight Sparkle; the Element of Magic.
I can understand where Nightmare Moon is coming from. She was born from all that Celestia put Luna through. The anger, hate, sorrow and jealousy were the emotions that caused Nightmare Moon to be born from within Princess Luna. Now I understand why Nightmare Moon was in my dream. She believes she was in hell and I was probably like an angel from heaven that decided to give her a second chance at life.
It means that I would take her place of being Luna's inner-ego. Nightmare would still be here with me; just not physically, but spiritually.
"Y-You... brought me back to see what Equestria looks like after what had happened to me three years ago. It was you that ended my suffering in Tartarus." For a second I can see her gaze falter as she backs down onto her haunches.
A strong feeling starts to flow through me, something I would have never felt before. In that moment, a bond between us was formed, something unexplained.
"Hey, it's going to be okay, sister." She flinchs from me just saying that last word. That word must have rattled through her mind. Was it really hurtful just by saying that one word? She's probably having lost memories coming back to haunt her again. And I believe those memories will later be put into my mind.
“Uh, well. I just thought that considering our predicament--”
I am cut off as she hugs me; surprisingly, as I thought it would be impossible to touch a ghost, or a spirit that was technically not solid, but whatever.
Accepting the embrace, I wrap my wings around her to provide her with more comfort from me. She accepts it. I can almost hear her weeping silently, yet remaining stoic. She moves in closer to my chest, and we stay that way for a while. I have a feeling that she wouldn’t want me to leave.
I gently stroke her mane with my hoof. It seems to calm her down from her almost shuddering state, but not for long. She can't seem to keep much of a grip on her emotions, for an immortal being. All the pain she suffered from being in Tartarus was coming out of her, shaking her violently without much control of the agony that was stuck inside of her.
"I'm here, Nightmare." I coo in her ear, "I'm here." Now she is beginning loosen up. She lets go of me just a little bit to look at me directly in the eyes. In her eyes, I can see her saying sanctuary that is filled with love and compassion. Something that the Elements didn't give to her when she was ultimately erased from Equestria.
They made her look like she was a nobody. That she was nothing but a mere shadow to everypony. I am the only pony that seems to care for her and I am now her sister that wants to keep her from being hurt by anypony.
I'm her angel.
Her savior.
Her sister.
This is reminding me of my former parents, treating me like I was a shadow that would be ignored from time to time. And those ponies were…
No. Don't think like that, Ada. Don't give into vengeance. That will lead only to more pain and sorrow.
Think about your new sister; that's what's important now.
Keeping my sister safe.