“It began one thousand years ago, not long after Princess Celestia and yourself defeated the spirit of Chaos. I'll tell you what I know of the events that followed, but I can't guarantee it's all accurate,” Seeker began the tale with this warning, as oral tradition wasn't exactly the best means of passing on information from generation to generation. Parts could have been lost, altered, exaggerated and so on, so he couldn't claim with a hundred percent certainty that what he was about to tell the lunar princess was the absolute truth.
“From what I understand we were nomads back then, traveling the roads from place to place, you know, just making a living however we could. The leaders of the clan also served as our shamans, priests, whatever you wanna call them.” The stallion ducked his head, embarrassed he would have to say this next part. “We, er, worshiped the Moon Goddess, the guardian of the night and keeper of dreams.” He stopped when Luna raised a hoof to interrupt.
“There were ponies that worshiped me as a goddess?” She asked, sounding surprised to hear this, enough so that she'd dropped the use of the royal we, much to his growing confusion. Combined with his absence from the heartland of Equestria and his upbringing, Seeker knew next to nothing about what had happened during the past few years. The fact that the truth behind the Nightmare Moon incident wasn't public knowledge didn't help any either.
“Well, yeah,” Seeker replied, frowning slightly, not knowing why this was news to the princess. “I mean, why wouldn't they? You and your sister are very powerful and seemingly immortal, so it's not surprising ponies of that time would have seen you both as god-like beings.” He was a bit of an amateur archaeologist, due to his searching for a cure to his tribe's long held curse, so he'd come across several depictions of the royal sisters as deities as a result. This news seemed to trouble Luna in some way though, much to his surprise. “Is something wrong?”
“No...no, you may continue,” she instructed him, the earth pony deciding to leave the matter be, not wanting to anger her after all. He wasn't exactly eager to add to his injuries.
“Alright then.” Seeker collected his thoughts, putting it out of his mind for the time being. “Our leaders wanted our people to dedicate themselves to serving the...I mean, serving you.” He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling awkward to be talking to the pony his ancestors used to worship. “They'd come up with some kind of ritual, an oath I think, that would bind our bloodlines to your service. I know that not everypony took part, maybe less than a quarter of us at the time, but it changed those that did.”
“Changed? In what way?” Luna frowned at him, clearly not liking the sound of the ritual. “What ritual did they use?”
“I don't know all the details, honestly,” Seeker admitted, frowning as he did so. “Only the Lore Keeper has access to the scrolls and knowledge that managed to survive the passing centuries.” He shifted on his bed of straw, trying to make himself more comfortable. “I don't know how or why, but they could dream lucidly every night, look into the minds of sleeping ponies, even communicate with each other through some kind of mental link. Even their cutie marks changed, supposedly, gaining some representation or other of the moon as a result.” He shrugged, not sure he believed any of it himself, his own cutie mark looking normal enough after all.
“I cannot think of any normal magic that could bind them to me in such a way,” Luna interrupted, frown deepening as she thought it over for a few moments. “Such a thing would be very difficult for even a unicorn to accomplish and would require the use of dark magic.” She looked him in the eyes, the stallion shivering at the steel he saw in hers. He wanted to look away, but the intensity of her gaze pinned him in place like a snake staring down a bird. Eventually she looked away, causing him to let out the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding. He felt she'd been judging him just then, as if she could stare into his very soul. “Continue.” He nodded shakily, sweating a bit as he gathered his scattered thoughts.
“A-anyway, it didn't last. The details are kind of sketchy but something happened a few months after the ritual was completed, something that changed this blessing they'd gained into a terrible curse.” He sighed softly, remembering the roiling shadows, the loss of control as the change took hold. He only hoped the princess could help them, though now he wondered if she'd even be willing to, since the story made it sound like they'd brought it on themselves. “The story goes that the moon covered the sun that day, that the light it cast fell on their bodies and burned them, twisting them into horrible monsters like what I turned into last night.” He snorted softly, believing these details about that time to be entirely fictitious, exaggerations used to embellish the tale by Keepers of years past.
“It only lasted a short while, but by the time the eclipse ended and they returned to normal the damage had already been done. The curse remained and nothing they tried could end it. Their dreams became nightmares, any attempt to look into another pony's dreams failed and their mental link was severed. Worst of all, every full moon the cursed ponies would change, becoming monsters that have no memory of their lives as ponies till the first light of dawn.” He finished the tale, or at least what he knew of it, raising his head to look at the princess once more. “Well, that's pretty much all I know. You'd have to speak to the Keeper to learn the rest.” Luna said nothing at first, turning away and pacing to the far end of the cell, staring out between the bars, as if in deep thought.
“Look, I know they kind of brought it on themselves, like the ritual went wrong or something, but that was a thousand years ago. None of us have anything to do with it.” She didn't respond, Seeker wondering if he was being ignored now, growing desperate as the silence dragged on. “Hey, listen, I'm sorry they used some kind of dark magic but it's not our fault! We don't deserve to be punished for their mistakes!”
“You may cease your pleading, Seeker, I do not hold any of you responsible,” Luna replied just as he'd been about to try saying something else. “While this talk of a binding ritual is suspect, you are correct. Neither you nor your kin are at fault.” She sighed, shoulders slumping a bit as her head lowered slightly. “I am.”
“Wait, what?” Seeker was a little thrown by this statement to say the least, wondering just what she meant by that. “How could it possibly be your fault? I mean, you obviously didn't know about it until now and it's not like you cursed them or anything.” Dead silence. “R-right? You wouldn't do something like that to them, to us, you couldn't have!”
“Do you know the story of Nightmare Moon?” Luna suddenly asked, causing him to sputter, the stallion having been just about ready to start yelling at her, demanding answers, but now his mouth moved like he was a fish out of water. “Surely you must have heard it at least once.”
“W-well yeah,” Seeker eventually managed to respond, wondering where this was going. “I mean, who hasn't? It's an old mare's tale that parents tell to make their foals behave.” He wrinkled his nose, remembering when the Eldest, oldest of their clan, had told it to him when he was just a colt. “Be good or Nightmare Moon will gobble you up. Then there's Nightmare Night and why are we even talking about this? What does an old story have to do with any of what we're talking about?”
“Everything,” Luna stated, her grim tone giving him the chills. “There are dark beings in this world, Seeker, entities that seek to subvert the Harmony we cherish and twist it into something foul.” What he could see of her face seemed to twist with disgust. “These Nightmare Forces will stop at nothing to accomplish this, use any means they can to slip into our world and remake it in their image.” That chill he'd been feeling before was getting worse the more she spoke.
“Once, a thousand years ago, a pony lived with her sister in a grand castle, ruling over the lands of Equestria together with her, watching over their little ponies as if they were their own children.” His eyes widened, suddenly seeing where this was going. “But the younger of the two grew ever more resentful, her elder sister seemingly receiving all the praise for their accomplishments, her day loved by all while the younger one's beautiful night went unappreciated despite all the care that went into crafting it.” Her head lowered further, her flowing mane obscuring her features. “One night, full of jealousy and rage, she began to have very dark thoughts, thoughts of ruling a land of eternal night, so the little ponies that had ignored her for so long would be forced to acknowledge her at last.
“When her elder sister came to court the next morning, that jealous princess confronted her, proclaiming that there could be only one princess in Equestria.” Seeker shrank back, ears pinning back against his head as she continued. “She raised the moon, blotting out the sun...and she changed. Something vile had wormed its way into her thoughts and now it took the opening she'd given it, giving birth to the dark alicorn known as Nightmare Moon.” She looked at him then, eyes filled with regret and guilt.
“Yes, I am to blame. Your ancestors may have chosen to bind themselves to me, but I am the one that fell to darkness and dragged them with me in the process.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. When she opened them again she was once more the calm, collected princess from earlier, eyes staring into his unflinchingly. “So, now you know the truth of it. You and your kin are cursed because of my weakness."
“I-I...you...” Seeker trailed off, completely at a loss for words, trying to process everything he'd just been told. So the story of Nightmare Moon wasn't just some old fable but actual historical truth? Princess Celestia had lied to everypony?!? The stallion's mouth worked as he tried to say something, anything, though no matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with a way to express how he was feeling at the moment. Eventually, eyes shut tight, he managed to respond.
“You were...you were supposed to fix it...you were our last hope and now...now you're the one that made us this way?” He shook his head, despair gripping him as tears started leaking from his eyes. “No, no, no this isn't how it was supposed to go!” He wanted to scream, to lash out, but in his weakened state all he could do was lay there and tremble in impotent rage and anguish. “I-I've failed them...I've failed them all.”
“Calm yourself, Seeker,” Luna commanded sternly, his hysterics not helping the situation one single bit. “I am not unsympathetic to your plight.” She reached down with a hoof, cupping it under his chin and forcing him to look at her. “This is my doing, yes, but I swear to you, on my honor as a princess of Equestria, that I will do everything within my power to fix my mistake.” A glimmer of hope returned to Seeker's eyes, causing her to smile slightly. “Now dry your tears, lest you embarrass yourself before the others.”
“Others?” Seeker scrubbed at his eyes with his forelegs, sniffing a bit as he forced himself to calm down. “W-what are you talking about?” He asked, only to yelp as the grip of Luna's magic lifted him into the air, the princess carrying him through the air and out of the cell, careful with him due to his injuries.
“While I pride myself on being an accomplished mage,” Luna began, proceeding him down the hall to a flight of stairs that led upwards. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is quite gifted and I shall be enlisting her aid in this task.”
“W-wait, hold on!” Seeker protested, suddenly remembering something. “Is that pegasus friend of hers okay? The one with the multicolored mane?” He wracked his brain for her name. “Oh, Rainbow Dash! I-I didn't, you know...” He trailed off, shivering slightly.
“Fortunately it seems she was able to evade you,” Luna assured him as she brought them up into the main foyer of the castle itself, the trunk as it were. “She suffered little more than scratches and bruises, along with the loss of a few feathers. She shall be fine, do not worry.” Seeker would have likely sunk to the floor in relief had he not been suspended in the air at the moment, sighing as they headed upstairs.
0o0o0o0o0o0
“Would you guys quit fussing over me?” Rainbow Dash grumbled, her many scratches covered with band-aids and her bruises already looking better than they had earlier that very morning. “I told you I'm fine, so quit poking at me already!” Fluttershy had been checking on her every two minutes asking if she was thirsty, if she was in any pain, if she needed another pillow and so on and so forth.
“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a bother,” Fluttershy murmured quietly, ducking her head and half hiding behind her mane while pawing the floor with one hoof awkwardly. “It's just that you looked so hurt when you came back and we were so worried about you.” She bit her lower lip, shifting nervously. “I'll just let you rest, if you like.” Dash sighed heavily, feeling bad for snapping at the buttery yellow mare now.
“It's okay, Shy, I'm just, I don't know, sore I guess,” the cyan pegasus muttered, wincing as she shifted on the couch she'd been forced to lay on for the last hour or so while Fluttershy played nurse maid. “And I didn't sleep very well so, you know, sorry for snapping at you.”
“Oh, no, I understand,” Fluttershy assured her softly, offering up a tiny smile. “You had quite the hard night after all, so don't worry about it.” She glanced over to where Twilight was sitting at a table, the lot of them in the castle study at the moment, dropping her voice down to an even quieter whisper before continuing. “Twilight's starting to worry me, though. I don't think she's slept at all since we got back.” The princess tossed aside another book, grumbling as she opened another, bags showing under her eyes. “I think she's trying to find something on, um, Mr. Seeker.”
“Good luck on that,” Dash grumbled, settling down once more, looking around a bit and frowning as she noticed a lack of their other friends. “Where did everypony go anyway?”
“Um, I think Applejack and Pinkie Pie went to the kitchens to see if they could, you know, get us something to eat,” Fluttershy replied, taking a seat with Rainbow Dash now that she was no longer on nurse duty. “Rarity had to get back to make sure Sweetie Bell got to school on time and Spike's been getting Twilight more books so...oh, there he is.” Spike came in through the door, grunting under the burden of a new stack of books as he headed over to Twilight.
“Th-this is everything I could find on, ngn, magical creatures, curses and, ugh,” Spike groaned and set the books next to Twilight, clearly tired himself, “and hexes. I'm gonna...gonna take a nap now Twi-” He suddenly dropped to the floor, a pillow poofing into existence as Twilight's horn flashed with her magic, allowing him to avoid braining himself, the dragon snoring almost immediately once he hit it.
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight murmured, feeling guilty for having worked him so hard. “I promise I'll buy you a nice big ruby once I've finished with my research.” Promise made she went back to her studying, grimacing as she tossed yet another book into the growing pile of rejected material. “Ugh, I've been at this for hours!” She closed her eyes, trying to massage away her growing headache with her hooves. “I don't even know what I'm looking for.” She sighed, feeling very tired as she looked to the door now. “I hope Princess Luna learns something from him about it. Otherwise I'll just continue stumbling around in the dark here hoping to come across, well, anything really.”
“Ask and ye shall receive.”
0o0o0o0o0o0
Luna strode into the study with Seeker in tow, setting him down on one of the reading couches carefully before surveying the rest of the room. Twilight had apparently been trying to find out more about Seeker's...condition on her own while she was down in the dungeon with him. And she hadn't slept a wink either, if those bags were anything to go by.
“Princess Luna,” Twilight spoke up, clearly relieved to see her, having had no luck from the looks of things. “I really hope you have some good news.” She looked over at Seeker, who was trying not to make eye contact with anypony else, looking rather nervous.
“I would not call it 'good' news, but it is news regardless,” Luna replied, glancing at Seeker briefly. “Our guest was kind enough to regale me with the details of his...predicament.” She went on to explain to them what he had told her, Seeker fidgeting restlessly every so often as she retold the story of how his ancestors were cursed. “We now know for certain that this entity is indeed a remnant of Nightmare Moon, or at least the power that created her.” She sighed softly, “It seems I am again responsible for bringing ponies to harm.”
“Now hold on,” Rainbow Dash interjected from her spot on the sofa across the room, drawing everpony's attention as she got up. “How the hay are you responsible for what his,” she jabbed a hoof in Seeker's direction, causing him to flinch, “stupid ancestors did a thousand years ago? It sounds like they got what was coming to them for messing with whatever dark mumbo jumbo they used in the first place!”
“Um, Rainbow Dash, maybe you shouldn't say things like that,” Fluttershy suggested meekly, noticing the way Seeker stiffened due to the mare's words. “I mean, we weren't there, so we really don't have any right to-”
“What? I'm just telling it like it is aren't I?” Rainbow interrupted her, seemingly unaware that she was antagonizing their prisoner/guest. “Those morons decided to use dark magic, right? They should have known better than to-”
“And so what?” Seeker snapped, glaring from his spot on the reading couch, gritting his teeth as anger flared in his chest. “Yes, they did something tremendously stupid and ended up paying for it, but does that mean we should suffer for their mistakes? I didn't ask to turn into some bucking fire breathing monster you know!” Rainbow Dash bristled at his response.
“Hey, that's not what I said pal!” She shot right back. “Yeah, you turn into some kinda freaky monster, I get it, but I was just saying that they shouldn't have-”
“Enough,” Luna cut them both off, shooting them a chiding look, the pair backing down within moments of her cutting into their budding argument. “It matters not who is to blame or why it happened. What matters now is fixing it before things escalate any further than they already have.” She eyed them both to ensure they wouldn't start yelling at each other again before turning her attention to Twilight Sparkle. “I am sorry, Twilight, but I am afraid I must ask for your assistance in constructing an eight point, level five containment circle.” This caused her fellow princess to gasp in shock.
“You really think that level of magic is necessary here?” Twilight asked, glancing at the still wounded Seeker as she did so. “I mean, is what you're planning that risky?” Luna nodded, expression set in grim lines of determination.
“I believe it is,” she said, levitating several of the books Twilight had Spike gather for her as she spoke. “We will need several ingredients before we can begin, however.” About ten minutes later Applejack and Pinkie Pie had returned with a light breakfast, Twilight and Luna busy sketching out a large circle around Seeker, who was now in the cleared center of the study, with specially prepared chalk. It was like a pentagram, but instead of simply five there were eight points, the princesses now in the process of copying down runes of protection, binding and containment in and around it. Once finished they channeled their magic into the chalk lines, causing them to glow with a deep indigo light.
“There, the circle is closed,” Twilight stated wearily, eyes drooping shut despite her efforts to keep them open. “I...I'm maxed out, Princess, I can't...I need to get some sleep.” She sounded like she wished she could be of more help, but she was obviously exhausted. Luna nodded, looking to the tired mare's friends pointedly. Applejack caught the hint, nudging Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy towards the door.
“C'mon Twi, let's get you ta bed,” the stetson wearing mare said, helping her friend along her way, Pinkie helping out by walking on the lavender alicorn's other side, just in case, scooping up Spike as well. Fluttershy, however, didn't budge and, by extension, neither did Rainbow Dash.
“You should really go with your friends,” Luna said to them, wondering why they had stayed. “This will be dangerous and I do not want to risk any of you-”
“Oh come on, you really think a little danger is gonna keep me away?” Dash asked, scoffing at the mere notion of it. “Puh-lease, Danger happens to be my middle name.” She smirked cockily. “Besides, the second AJ and Pinkie have those two tucked in they'll be back in no time.”
“Um, I'm not really big on, you know, danger myself,” Fluttershy added, not exactly happy to be there at the moment. “But, well, I couldn't just be the only one to leave. It wouldn't be right.” Luna looked at them both in turn, sighing in resignation when she saw they were determined to stay.
“Very well, but please, remain silent,” Luna instructed, turning to face Seeker at last. “I need to concentrate, lest the spell go awry.” Seeker shifted where he lay in the middle of the circle, the magic thrumming through the glowing lines and runes making him feel on edge. “You must relax, Seeker. One mistake and I fear that you could be injured during the casting.” This made him freeze up, stiff as a board and completely unmoving, not even blinking now.
Luna closed her eyes, focusing her power into her horn, casting the room in its glow, clashing with the light of the circle, sending shadows dancing along the walls eerily. She lowered her head so her horn was almost touching the line, keeping her focus, then a spark jumped between her glowing horn and the edge of the circle, her signal to let her magic flow into it. Her eyes opened, flashing with brilliant light, and her world spun and went dark.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Luna awoke slowly, eyes blinking open as she pushed herself onto unsteady hooves, feeling as if she'd been clubbed repeatedly as she took in the dark void she found herself in. She could barely see beyond the light cast by her horn, the distant, rhythmic thumping of someone's heart the only sound at the moment. So this was Seeker's inner self. Was this the work of the Nightmare fragment? There was only one way to find out. She willed herself to find Seeker, the darkness shifting until she stood before a cracked, crumbling tower crawling with black, thorny vines. She flew to the single window, merely a frame filled with lingering shards of shattered glass.
Was Seeker inside? The princess set down on the cool stone floor within, squinting into the oily shadows beyond the dim light coming in through what was left of the window. The heartbeat was louder now and beneath her, Luna phasing through the floor and into the darkness below. The vines were here as well, along the ceiling, floor and walls, curling around something in the center. She lit her horn to better see it, swallowing a gasp as she saw what could only be the representation of Seeker's soul, the stallion ensnared by the vines and seemingly unconscious. They held him fast, yet the thorns did not cut him.
“So this is how tight it holds you,” Luna observed quietly, frowning as she looked for some way to disentangle him, thereby removing the Nightmare fragment from his soul. However there was seemingly no beginning or end to them, so she decided she would simply have to cut him free. She jabbed a cluster with her horn, the vines snapping apart in a satisfying manner. She smirked, until, that is, Seeker screamed, the tower shaking, dust and bits of debris falling from the ceiling as...something howled its agony as well. A cut had opened on the stallion's barrel, bleeding freely as the darkness around her deepened.
Lu...na...
The princess froze, the voice a familiar hiss that chilled her to the core. Slowly she turned her head, eyes wide as she feared what she would see. A pair of eyes were visible, with serpent-like slits for pupils as they glared at her from the shadows.
Miss...me?
“Stay back!” Luna cried, sending a blast into the darkness, only for the eyes to vanish, her magic shattering a portion of the tower wall instead, causing the structure to groan and shudder again.
“Care...ful,” came a voice from behind her, the princess whirling to see Seeker staring at her with those same eyes. “Might...break.” It sneered, the stallion's features twisting unnaturally so the mouth stretched wider than it should have been able to. “Know...you...Luna.”
“Let him go, foul creature!” Luna ordered, hiding how shaken she was behind a show of anger, horn sparking menacingly. The creature only laughed, long and loud, the fact it was male not diminishing how familiar it sounded to her. “Silence, monster!”
“Never...leave,” it growled in response, giggling as the vines reformed where she'd cut them earlier. “Unless...” It grinned wide, showing sharp teeth in Seeker's mouth. “Missed...you~”
“Never!” Luna immediately denied it, shuddering in disgust at what it was suggesting. “I will never let you in again, Nightmare! Not now, not ever!” The grin wilted around the edges, her response clearly not what it wanted to hear.
“Shame,” it pouted, hate glowing in its eyes now. “Leave.” She shook her head, causing it to scowl, mouth opening impossibly wide, showing row upon row of fangs. “LEAVE!!!” It's roar caused the world to shudder and the darkness closed in, Luna feeling sick as she seemed to launch from the tower entirely before the shadows claimed her.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Luna gasped as she woke, sweating and panting for breath, limbs weak as she jerked her head up to search for the Nightmare. She only saw the study, the lines of the circle scorched black, Seeker curled up in the center, shaking silently. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stood around her, looking concerned as she shook her head to clear the lingering fog from her mind.
“I am well,” she assured them, though she felt like she'd just returned from a hard fought battle. “Never mind me, tend to Seeker.” She slowly moved to lay on the sofa, feeling tired and weak from the experience inside Seeker's subconscious. Applejack was the first to approach, Fluttershy timidly following behind her slowly. The stallion didn't seem to notice them, still trembling, only for his eyes to open when Applejack reached out to touch him. For just a moment his eyes were those of the Nightmare, but then he blinked and they were the same as ever.
“What happened?” He croaked, sounding just like Luna felt at the moment. “Is it gone?” He looked up at the stetson wearing mare, who in turn looked to Luna uncertainly. The princess couldn't meet Seeker's gaze, feeling miserable as she forced herself to respond.
“I am sorry, Seeker,” she apologized, not wanting to see his face when she said the next part. “I have failed.”