Chapter 1: Prologue
They’ve promised that dreams can come true – but forget to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.
- Oscar Wild
Smoke, black like ash, surrounded her. Spiraling around Moon Dancer, it offered glimpses of her friends between the cracks. Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkle Shine, all stood there, watching her. As she spun herself around, searching for a way out of the clouded prison, she spotted both Spike and Twilight Sparkle, eyeing her as well. Voices echoed within the smoke, thunder and lightning streaking through the brewing storm as whispers taunted her. “They’ll never stay with you. It’s only out of convenience that they’re even here now.”
“No! Twilight wouldn’t do that! None of them would do that to me! I’m their friend!” Moon Dancer cried back. Conjuring up her magic, Dancer casted a powerful transportation spell to escape the nightmarish energy and join her friends. The bleak clouds however, followed her in the transportation, arriving at her new spot as the ponies turned around, almost enjoying her little game.
“Think about it! Why are so many of them even here? It’s because Twilight begged them to join her. They wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for her!” As the voices spoke, one by one, her friends began to disappear. Minuette, followed by Lemon Hearts, and Twinkle Shine, disappeared into the black abyss.
Tears welled up in Moon Dancer’s face as her friends became lost in the cracks of the swirling storm. “No! This isn’t real! Minuette! Lemon Hearts! They wouldn’t do that!”
“Oh, but they would! And they will! For years, they survived without the need to so much as look at you, and now you’re saying they couldn’t go back?” For the first time, Moon Dancer noticed a pair of blue glowing eyes in the clouds, swirling around her, watching her every move. The voices crackled and creaked as they spoke, but all seemed to originate from the traveling eyes. “And Twilight, she’s the worst offender of them all. The Princess of Friendship had time to apologize for ruining your life . . . and then off she disappeared again. Never to return!”
Moon Dancer felt sweat trickling down her face, her eyes wide with fear as she followed the blue orbs through the clouds. “T-Twilight’s a princess. She has so much going on now. I-I can’t expect her to just . . .”
“Just what? Take a weekend off and visit her best friend from Canterlot? You’re right. It’s too much for her. It’s too much for any-pony!” The voices taunted. The eyes halted in their little dance around the unicorn as they narrowed in on Moon Dancer.
Moon Dancer shuddered. She felt the air around her suddenly growing cold. Shivers ran up her spine as she stared through the coal-like clouds. Twilight and Spike were no longer there. All she heard from them was a fading, echo of a voice, “Bye Moon Dancer!”
“No Twilight, WAIT!” She cried out, “Help me!”
The voices merged as laughing bounced off the charcoal mist, becoming that of a much older mare. Her voice sounded eerily familiar as she cackled at Moon Dancer’s trembling figure. “You’re all alone again Moon Dancer! No one to care for you. Your nose will be buried in books again, your studies your only company.”
Trembling, Moon Dancer covered her head with her front hooves. “No! Please! Anything but that!” She couldn’t take it. The thought of being alone again, tore at her heart. “Please, how do I get them back?”
“With me.” The voice sounded so close to her now, like a whisper against her ear. She could almost feel the warm breath against her fur. “All you need is me. A friend that never leaves, is always right there with you.” The nightmarish energy swarmed closer around Moon Dancer, almost suffocating her as the voice finished, “You’re their friend out of convenience, out of obligation. Me? I need a friend just as much as you do. Moon Dancer, I need you.”
Moon Dancer opened her eyes, only, she was no longer Moon Dancer. The nightmarish energy of Nightmare Moon had succeeded in corrupting its new host. She glared down at both Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna, laughing at their sheer disbelief. Her coal black fur, and ash grey mane and tail swayed in the wind as she said, “Pitiful fools! To think you could stop my wondrous return! Especially you Luna, for everything I gave you, and how little you’ve learned! You should know better!”
Luna stood firm, her legs together as she prepared herself for the assault that was sure to follow. “I have learned much from you, which is why I will not fail here tonight.”
Panting through the already long night, Twilight exclaimed, “We will save Moon Dancer!”
“Oh please! It’s your fault she’s like this Twilight. Moon Dancer will never have to concern herself with friends as weak as you again!” Throwing her head back, the possessed unicorn fired a powerful blast of magic at the two princesses, ripping up the ground and parting the trees as Twilight and Luna hurled themselves in opposite directions to avoid being caught in the blaze of energy. “Bear witness of my return to power! Bear witness to Midnight Eclipse!”
As Luna dodged, she unfolded her wings and quickly flew into the starry sky. Twilight joined her seconds later and Luna turned desperately to the violet princess and said, “Twilight, we must hurry to stop her. Before other innocent ponies are involved, we must . . .”
A second blast swerved close to Luna as the two were forced to break up once more. Twilight curled around the forest after the blast, dropping in low as she sprinted through the air. “Moon Dancer,” she cried out, evading another deadly stream of magic, “I’ve done my best to be there for you! I actually had plans to visit you soon!”
“LIES!” Midnight Eclipse’s voice bellowed as tears managed to run down from her eyes. Digging her hooves into the ground, she tossed her head back and a black hole of magic shot out from her horn, and pummeled its way towards Twilight.
Travelling far too fast to dodge it, Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact as Eclipse’s magic roared closer. Quickly jumping in, Luna blocked Twilight’s path, dispelling the mighty blast, shocked by the growth in Nightmare Moon’s power with such a short time.
Pulling up, Twilight flew through the air, landing close to Midnight Eclipse as she scowled at the princess. A mixture of Moon Dancer’s voice with Eclipse’s as she shouted, “It’s just like my party! You only came back for me because of your guilty conscious Twilight Sparkle! Where were you in the months since?!”
“I’m s-sorry Moon Dancer. I . . .” Twilight stumbled over her words.
Midnight Eclipse narrowed her eyes as she approached Twilight, looking down on the whimpering princess. “You’re weak. You let your friends in Ponyville cloud your judgement, making you forget about every-pony else. You’re a fool Twilight Sparkle, and one who does not deserve the title of Princess.”
Twilight took a visible hit from the words alone, despite being fully aware of the evil that held on to her friend. Luna, taking no more of this, swooped in and landed beside Twilight. She powered up her magic and warded off Midnight Eclipse, forcing the unicorn to retreat off into the forest. “Twilight! Snap out of it! You mustn’t listen to her lies. Midnight Eclipse will do anything to cast doubt into our hearts. If we are to defeat her, then we have to be strong.”
Twilight looked up to Luna, sniffling a bit. She’d only just gotten word hours before, that her friend had been poisoned with Nightmare Moon’s dark energy. Twilight had also remembered when Rarity had been infected with the nightmare energy as well. In her whole flight to Canterlot, Twilight had thought of nothing but what Rarity had said as they rescued her from Nightmare Moon’s grasp. “I thought that you’d forget me if I stopped being fabulous . . . I want to help . . . always!” She could only imagine what Nightmare Moon must be doing to Moon Dancer.
“Twilight, I need you.”
Twilight nodded as she stood up, and faced Midnight Eclipse. She couldn’t let this happen, not to Moon Dancer, not to any-pony. Midnight Eclipse scoffed as she charged Twilight. The younger alicorn gritted her teeth and galloped forward, her horn glowing in the night as the two butted heads, horns scraping up against each other.
“You do not deserve a friend like Moon Dancer!” Eclipse cried out.
Sparks crackled off the tips of their horns as Twilight answered, “You’re right. I don’t deserve her.” To which Midnight Eclipse smiled, “But . . . she does deserve better than you.” Twilight stood on her back hooves and kicked Midnight Eclipse to the side, firing a powerful beam of magic at Midnight Eclipse, sending the pony whirling back. “You are not her friend! You’re a monster! I won’t let you hurt Moon Dancer!”
“S-She’s mine!” Midnight Eclipse growled as she tilted her head back, placing all of her energy into her next attack. Luna quickly appeared at Twilight’s side, ready to assist. “And soon, so will all of Equestria.”
Twilight closed her eyes, using her magic as a barrier as she braced herself for the impact. The magic burning around at her sides, weakening her as she expelled more and more with each second. The impact however, never came. Instead, she peeked open her eyes when she heard the words, “Twilight . . . I don’t want this anymore! Help!” It was the voice of Moon Dancer, breaking through Nightmare Moon’s grasp. It brought new hope into Twilight and energized her.
“Fight it Moon Dancer! You’ve got so much to look forward to here! Friends, and family . . . magic spells to learn, books to read, and I want us to do them together! With all your heart Moon Dancer, fight!”
The black in Moon Dancer’s fur began retreating from her body, flowing up her back and into the air. She stood rigid, the black mist creating a large cloud up and around Moon Dancer’s head. Twilight wasted no time as she quickly redirected her magic at the nightmare energy. It allowed Twilight to trap the energy in a kind of bubble, preventing its escape. Twilight could hear Luna behind her, reciting a spell of some kind as sweat trickled down her face. The power of the spell tiring her out as she watched the final drips of ash float up into the bubble.
A sudden beam of magic from Luna exploded over the bubble, causing a shockwave of energy that threw Moon Dancer against a tree. Twilight winced as her friend’s body cracked against the trunk, but until Luna’s spell had completed, there was no choice but to remain, lest Nightmare Moon would null out their efforts.
“Just a little longer Twilight!” Luna shouted as she approached the thunderous blob. Pulling out an old amulet that she had prepared especially for this night, Luna used her magic to begin draining the nightmare energy into the green amulet. The amulet itself was just a small purple crystal, but was magically enhanced with a silver cap, with a bright green emerald embedded into the side. The crystal glowed as more and more of Nightmare Moon drained into it.
When finally, the bubble had emptied into the amulet, Twilight cut the power from her spell and letting Luna perform the final sealing on the crystal, Twilight hurried over to her friend, who still lay sprawled against the tree. “Moon Dancer!” She cried out as she cupped the unicorn’s head. Dancer’s head was wet with some blood and Twilight desperately called out to Luna who rushed over.
With the amulet strung around Luna’s neck for safe-keeping, she inspected Moon Dancer and listened to the young pony’s heart. “She’s alright. Just a bit shaken up . . . perhaps a concussion.” Luna replied upon seeing the blood. “Come, we’ll get her to the hospital and taken care of.”
Nodding, Twilight helped Luna with getting Moon Dancer strewn out over Luna’s back. As they took off into the air, Twilight thought about everything that had just occurred, and said, “I’m sorry Princess Luna. Back there I . . .”
“You were worried about your friend Twilight Sparkle. There is no need to apologize for that. We both were. We were just lucky we found her right away, when Nightmare Moon was still weak.”
“I know. I just feel like I should’ve been able to stop it. I’m the Princess of Friendship for Celestia sake! And Moon Dancer, she . . .”
Raising a brow to the intriguing use of her sister’s name, Luna turned to Twilight and interrupted, “Twilight, being a princess doesn’t mean you’ll always prevent tragedy from striking. Sometimes it means living in the aftermath, and picking up its pieces . . . I pray you never see tragedy any worse than this.”
Twilight didn’t respond, and from there, the two ponies returned to Canterlot in silence.
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Names of Applejack and Daybreaker are finally corrected. Thank you to those who pointed that out to me.