As her return nears, Nightmare Moon prepares to have Equestria welcome her on the night of her return.
The prophesied night approaches.
Nightmare Moon has spent nearly a thousand years on the Moon. As the thousandth year since her banishment nears, she prepares her return with a colt she met in the dream realm. Her intention was to change Equestria, to have its citizens pay respects to her and her night.
She did not expect herself to change drastically in the process.
The night sky was quiet, the clear full Moon silently bathing the forest underneath in its soft, pale hue. Crickets chirped silently in the bushes while fireflies danced above them. Clouds occasionally dotted the sky, adding a tender shade to the peaceful, serene atmosphere.
The tranquility of the night was abruptly shattered to pieces as a pony whizzed through the air, followed by a much larger pony. He turned and weaved through the clouds, trying to escape the terrifying menace on his tail. His lungs burned and his muscles ached, but he nevertheless pushed himself to his limits. His teeth were clenched while ragged breaths and small grunts escaped from his mouth.
He didn’t need to be told that his hunter was still on his tail; the sound of her baring her sharp, canine teeth was more than enough. He chanced a backward glance and noted that his pursuer was much closer to him than previously, her smooth black features and her glowing turquoise eyes piercing the pitch-black night sky. He knew that he couldn’t keep this up; he’d have to lose her, or she would soon catch up to him.
The stallion looked around frantically before spotting something that could aid him in his escape; a relatively large formation of clouds, wide and thick in dimension, floated nearby. He didn’t hesitate one bit as he turned sharply towards his means of escape, the dark menace close on his tail.
As soon as he reached the cloud formation, he dove into the wet, stuffy clouds, the cold droplets instantly soaking his coat. He flew through the cloud formation for a moment before changing directions when the hunter had left his vision, exiting the clouds in a completely different direction from the way he had come.
The stallion looked around, searching for any signs of the ebony threat. When he didn’t see his giant pursuer, he let out a sigh of relief. He relaxed and glided for a moment, relieved now that he was free from his danger before a shadow suddenly covered him from above. Startled, he looked up at the Moon—and froze.
There she was, her wings spread out wide, her midnight blue mane and tail waving against the Moon in the backdrop. Her silhouette covered the entire span of the Moon, casting a dark shadow on the terrified prey below. He saw her flashing her fangs in a predatory smile, those sharp, long teeth shining like daggers.
Then she dove upon him.
The poor stallion barely had enough time to react as his greatest Nightmare pounced him, knocking the wind out of him. Together they fell towards the earth, the thick canopy of the forest whizzing past them.
As the ground neared, the great hunter spread her wings and leveled out. She then angled her wings, slowing down before setting her prey and herself underneath one of the trees, pressing down upon the shivering pony underneath.
The stallion, lying on his back and trapped under the weight of the much bigger hunter above him, could only watch in abject terror as the Nightmare opened her mouth, revealing dozens of sharp teeth and a pair of fangs. Strands of saliva hung between her teeth, her turquoise eyes shining with a predatory glee in having successfully captured her prey. As the stallion watched in abject horror, she approached his face, mouth wide open, her fangs and teeth filling his vision.
That’s all Nightmare Moon saw as she sat on the surface of the Moon. An endless plain of dull grey powder, littered with dull grey rocks, and pockmarked by dull grey craters.
With a bored expression, she looked up into the sky, where her gaze came to rest on the planet of Equus. Instantly she clenched her teeth as she was reminded of the pony responsible for her exile. Her sister, no, the traitorous tyrant had denied her the rights to her beautiful nights after deceiving and blatantly betraying her in the face. She had no rights to rule over Equestria, much less violate her Moon with that filthy solar magic of hers.
Rage searing through her body, Nightmare Moon let out a feral roar as she let out a blast of magic towards Equus. She knew that the magic wouldn’t so much as reach a fraction of the distance between her and her sister before scattering into nothingness, and that knowledge angered her even more. She let out another scream as she blasted another ray of magic, this time aiming at one of the rocks lying around. The grey boulder immediately exploded into smithereens, leaving behind only lunar dust and fragments where it once lay.
Nightmare Moon stood there, panting slightly from her rage as she tried to clear her mind of the image of that accursed solar tyrant. It was all she could think of during her banishment on the Moon. The lies she had been told. The times her sister betrayed her by refusing to help her nights receive recognition. The night when she banished her to the Moon. The memories continued to circle and swirl within her mind, trapped without an outlet and continuing to stir up her rage.
Suddenly, Nightmare Moon’s ears swiveled about as they picked up something. A foal’s voice, sounding very faint yet very clear, reached her as she looked around for the source. She saw nothing but dead rocks and grey craters surrounding her.
“Who goes there?” she shouted, but no answer came. The quiet voice continued, unperturbed by her question. “Show thyself!” she shouted once more, continuing to look for the source. Still, no response came, and yet the voice continued, growing in volume and clarity.
Nightmare Moon looked up as her sharp ears finally triangulated the location of the sound: Equus. Squinting up at the blue and green planet, she casted a spell while concentrating on the voice.
Her magic soon found its target as it homed in on the source of the voice, revealing the scene before her eyes. A mother was carrying her foal away from the window to his bed, the little unicorn colt on her back blabbering excitedly to his mother. His eyes were locked onto the night sky, his expression that of pure happiness as he looked up at the stars and the Moon, the twinkling celestial objects reflecting in his eyes.
“Isn’t it so beautiful, mom? All those stars and the Moon and the night sky… it’s like watching a thousand jewels shower down on me!” the colt exclaimed.
“Yes, it is, dear. Now, it’s time to go to bed,” the mother replied.
“Aww, but mom—”
“No buts, mister. You should sleep, or the Mare in the Moon will come and get you.”
Invisible to the mother and her colt, Nightmare Moon scowled at the mention of that nickname. She hated that title; it constantly reminded her of the fact that she was banished in the Moon, and of the mare responsible for this.
“Mom, who’s the Mare in the Moon?” the young colt asked, snapping Nightmare Moon out of her thoughts.
“Guess I haven’t told you that story yet, have I?” the mother replied, tucking the colt under the blankets. He shook his head. “Ah, then I suppose I can tell you that as your bedtime story.”
“Yay! I like bedtime stories!” the colt shouted, excitedly squirming under the sheets.
The mother smiled as she looked down at her colt, tenderly stroking his mane. “Yes, you do. Now, listen… to the tale of the Mare in the Moon.”
As the mother told the story, Nightmare Moon, listening and watching everything, was filled with bitter anger and sorrow. Not a single foal had been unafraid of her after hearing the tales of how she came in the night to give foals nightmares. Not a single parent didn’t assure their frightened colts and fillies, telling them that it was just a foals’ tale. And not a single one of those foals managed to escape her wrath as they woke up screaming from the nightmares.
The truly bitter thing, however, was the fact that Nightmare Moon wasn’t behind these nightmares. All she did was watch on from the Moon, many miles and a vast expanse of nothing but empty void away, while those colts and fillies’ minds worked up to conjure those horrifying images. They would wake up screaming while their parents rushed to comfort them. They would then spend the night fearing her, hating her. The knowledge always brought a scowl to her face.
“Wow… she must have been really lonely to have become Nightmare Moon like that,” said the colt’s voice, shaking her back to reality once more. “I mean, she’s the one who made the beautiful night sky, and yet ponies shunned her night and slept instead? They must have been blind to not see the beauty of those stars, mom!”
The mother chuckled as she made sure her colt was tucked in securely, covering the blankets over his chest. “Yes, indeed. Now, it’s time to sleep, dear.” She then turned off the bedside lamp and turned to leave the bedroom.
When she got to the doorway and made to close the door, the colt called out, “Mom?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Is Nightmare Moon real?”
The mother smiled as she came back to the colt’s side. “Oh, sweetie. She isn’t real. Nightmare Moon is only a foal’s tale, after all.”
“Oh,” the colt replied as his ears folded back. They then perked back up as he said, “If she were real, Mom, I would become her friend! Maybe then she wouldn’t be so evil!”
The mother chuckled as she planted a kiss on his forehead. “I’m sure you would. Now, it’s time to sleep. Good night, my dear.”
“Good night, Mom.”
With that, the mother stood and left the room, closing the door behind her. The colt stayed silent for a moment, before getting out of bed and walking over to the window. He looked up at the night sky, the full Moon reflecting in his eyes.
“Wow,” he whispered, eyes shining at the white-and-grey orb floating in the night sky. A look of pure fascination floated up to his face, his eyes staring into the Moon almost as if he were daydreaming.
Nightmare Moon curiously looked down upon the colt, intrigued by his words and actions. No foal had appreciated her night and her Moon the way this one did, especially after hearing the tale of the Mare in the Moon. Instead of cowering in his bed while shivering in fear, like most others of his age did, he continued to look up at the Moon, mesmerized by the beauty of the star-sprinkled black canvas.
After what seemed like hours passed, the colt stood up from the window. He then looked up at the Moon and said, “Um, can I call you ‘Princess Nightmare Moon’? You know, because you’re the Princess of the Night and your name is Nightmare Moon… so, uh, I wanted to say thank you for creating such beautiful nights. All those stars and the Moon in the night sky, they’re so pretty and… so quiet and peaceful and, um… so beautiful…. They make me so happy whenever I look at them… so… thank you for that, Princess.”
He then yawned and stretched before saying, “I want to keep looking at the Moon but… I’m too tired now… and Mom said that good foals should sleep early… so I guess I’ll have to go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow night, Princess Moon.”
With that, the colt turned away from the window and headed back to his bed, silently slipping under the covers lest he wake his mother up. Soon he fell asleep, drifting away into the dream realm.
Nightmare Moon’s focus zoomed away from the colt as she cut the spell, quite taken aback by his behavior. The way he thought of her nights, the way he was unafraid of her even after hearing her tales, and, most importantly, the way he seemed to understand her loneliness during her nights all those years ago; it was so different from how other foals of his age had acted.
Perhaps, she mused, this colt could be useful in the future. Yes, if we could turn him and make him our ally… perhaps eternal night won’t be so hard to achieve after all. She then giggled to herself before lighting her horn once more, slipping into the dream realm.
Nightmare Moon floated among the numerous dreams of ponies, some depicting a serene dreamscape while others were swept up in turbulent horrors. Nightmare Moon heeded them no attention, however, as she soared along the currents of magic flowing through the realm.
Soon she found her destination: a featureless indigo-hued bubble, the same color as the colt’s fur. Without hesitation, she promptly dove into the bubble and entered the colt’s dream.
She found herself in the midst of a dense wood, the tall trees and their canopies covering the night sky. Occasional rays of moonlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, lighting up small bushes and shrubs. She began to trudge forward, the leaves rustling under her horseshoe-shod hooves.
It didn’t take her long to find the colt she was looking for. After a short walk, she came upon a small clearing among the trees, where the moonlight shone down upon it without being impeded. There, a colt sat, bathing in the soft, serene hue. His dark blue coat mixed in with the atmosphere of the night, almost making him look as if he were part of it, while his soft gold mane seemed to shine under the light.
As Nightmare Moon approached him, the colt said without looking, “Isn’t it so pretty? All those stars and the Moon and the constellations… I love watching the night sky!”
“What is thy name, young one?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“Sky Piercer!” the colt piped up, turning to look at the Night Queen. He looked at Nightmare Moon’s appearance, casting a glance at her helmet and chest plate. “Oh! I know who you are! You’re Princess Nightmare Moon!”
Nightmare Moon nodded. “We would prefer Queen Nightmare Moon, but yes, that is who we are.” She stared down at the colt in the eye, her glowing serpent green eyes intently boring into his amber ones. “Prithee tell us, young one, why dost thou find our nights so beautiful?”
Sky Piercer didn’t shrink away under her gaze. Instead he smiled as he excitedly began talking. “Because they are! I mean, look at the stars that light up the skies! It’s like watching so many diamonds decorate the sky at once! And… and the Moon, it makes everything look so calm and peaceful…,” the colt blabbered on, golden eyes shining with unmatched excitement and enthusiasm.
From those eyes, Nightmare Moon saw no deceit or lies, but only pure enthusiasm and joy. The colt truly loved her nights, of the peaceful atmosphere and serenity they brought, of the harmonic beauty of the stars that sprinkled the pitch-black blanket.
So he doth appreciate our nights… Truly, it has been so long that both of us barely remember what it feels like to be appreciated, don’t you? He could be of great use to us…, she mused, only to be met by silence. Turning to the colt, the Night Queen smiled slightly as an idea came to her mind. “Say, Sky Piercer, we have an offer for thee.”
Instantly the colt’s ears perked up. “Oh? What is it?”
Nightmare Moon turned away from the colt, slowly trotting in thought. “Currently we are binded to the Moon by magical restraints. However, we shall free ourselves from those restraints come the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, which is twenty years from now. Until then, we shalt indulge thee about our nights, about the stars and the Moon. We have the ability to tell thee everything thou wish to know about them. In return, we ask thee to enlighten the ponies of Equestria about the beauty of the night. We want our night to be appreciated when we finally return, and we wish it to be an easy task.”
“Enlighten them… how?”
“That is something thou must figure out thyself. When we return, we shall bring eternal night over Equestria, and we would rather have the citizens of Equestria enjoy the serenity of it, not cower in fear or rebel in resistance,” Nightmare Moon finished as she turned back towards the colt. “So, will thou accept our proposal?”
Sky Piercer lowered his head in thought for a moment. He then looked at Nightmare Moon as he asked, “But if you bring eternal night to Equus, wouldn’t everything freeze to death without the Sun?”
Nightmare Moon scoffed as she cast a sideways glance at the colt. “Such petty concerns. I assume that you believe that we wish to bring eternal night based on the tales you’ve heard?” When he nodded, she said, “Then I can assure you that we do not wish to bring eternal night. We only want our nights to be loved by the ponies of Equestria.”
“Oh, okay! Then I say yes!” Sky Piercer shouted enthusiastically, nodding his head up and down.
“Very well then, ‘tis settled. We officially name thee as our student. We shall be visiting thee in thy dreams every week from now. Doth thee understand?”
Seeing the colt nod his head, she said, “Very well. We shall see thee soon.” Without further ado, Nightmare Moon lit her horn and left the dream realm.
Sky Piercer’s eyes flew open as he sat up in his bed with a start, the contents of his dream vivid in his mind. Breathing heavily, he quickly scrambled out of bed before unceremoniously falling to the ground.
“Ow…,” he moaned, rubbing his barrel where his body had hit the floor. Regaining his bearings, he untangled himself from the mess of fabric his blanket had created as it fell with him and walked over to the window.
As he leaned against the windowsill and looked up at the Moon, he whispered, “Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll make sure the ponies appreciate your night by the time you return.”
As he climbed down from the window and headed over to his bed, he noticed something on his flank that wasn’t there before; an arrow piercing through a full moon, complete with the familiar patterns of the Mare in the Moon. Sky gasped as he checked both of his flanks, the emblem vividly marked upon his fur.
“Mom! Mom!” he screamed, throwing the door open and running out into the hallway to his mother’s bedroom.
Nightmare Moon let out a huff as her focus returned to the surface of the Moon. She let out a soft chuckle, which soon grew into full blown maniacal laughter. She laughed and laughed, her open mouth revealing sharp, long teeth. As her laughter slowly died down after a long time, she mused, ah, it has been such a long time I was amused by a pony so naive and struggled to hide it from them. Wouldn’t you agree?
Thou art… thou art using a young colt for your schemes! How dare thee commit such an atrocious act—
Silence! Nightmare roared, the silent screaming rippling through her mind. Doth I show thee who is in charge once again?
N, no….
Then stay silent, and watch. I shalt bring utmost respect and appreciation for thy nights.
The voice in Nightmare’s head went silent, and Nightmare Moon once again raised her head towards Equus. “Just wait until thou grow up, young one. Only then thou shalt see the true beauty of our nights,” she whispered, a wide grin spreading on her face.
Nightmare Moon stopped explaining about the constellation of Equiferus and turned to look down at the colt beside her. “Queen Nightmare, Sky. But yes? Didst thou wish to talk to us?”
“Did I say that mom’s going to have a baby soon? And she said it’s a filly today! I’m going to have a younger sister!” Sky Piercer said excitedly, hopping up and down.
Nightmare Moon gave Sky a soft smile. “T’is wonderful news, Sky. We congratulate thee. We are sure thou will become a good brother for thy sister.”
“A good brother for his sister…,” Nightmare Moon mused as she recounted the conversation she and Sky Piercer had a few weeks prior. Every time she was reminded of that phrase anger boiled inside of her, but for some reason, she couldn’t get the words out of her head. She looked up at the blue marble floating in the sky, glaring upon the planet of Equus where her accursed sister resided. “Thou were never a good sister for us, were thee, Celestia? The times thou ignored us, denied us, rejected us in our muzzles. Thou always obscured us with thy shadows, and yet thou didn’t care for us, not even once….” Nightmare lowered her head. Then her eyes glowed a brilliant turquoise as her horn flared, and she blasted a ray of magic without aiming at anything in particular. “We shall make thee pay upon our return!” she screamed, picking up and hurling Lunar rocks up at the planet with reckless abandon.
Soon, however, she ran out of rocks to hurl, and she just stood there, panting as rage overtook her mind and thoughts. ‘Twas all thy fault, Celestia, and yet we are the ones paying the price.
After a while, however, she took in a few deep breaths, calming her mind and clearing her thoughts of all the disappointment and betrayal she had suffered. Her face became calm and composed once again, before looking up to sneer at her sister. “Just wait and see, Celestia. We shall bring thee a present before long, one thou will appreciate….”
With that, she lit her horn and dove into the dream realm once more.
When she felt her hooves touch a solid surface, Nightmare Moon found herself standing on a grassy hill. The night skies were once again filled with stars, the sapphire dots shining under the tranquil light of a waning moon. A gentle breeze was blowing, the wind caressing the blades of grass and tickling Nightmare Moon’s fur and feathers. She paid it no mind, however, and began walking.
Soon she found the unicorn colt she was looking for. Sky Piercer was sitting belly down on top of a dune, with a much older pegasus mare sitting beside him. He was happily chirping away while the larger mare smiled down at him and wrapped one of her wings around the smaller colt, the unicorn snuggling into the pegasus’s side.
As Nightmare Moon approached the pair, Sky Piercer noticed her before turning to the pegasus mare and saying something at her. The pegasus nodded, and Sky promptly scrambled out from under her wing and galloped towards the alicorn.
“Princess Nightmare Moon!” he shouted, filled with joy. That joy soon faltered, however, replaced with a melancholy air. “…this is all a dream, isn’t it?”
“We are still in thy dreams, if that is what thou mean,” Nightmare Moon replied. “We, however, are not a dream. We are very much real.”
“Of course, it was too good to be true,” said Sky, letting out a sigh. He then turned back to look at where the pegasus mare had been sitting. When Nightmare Moon followed his gaze, however, the pegasus mare was gone, only gentle winds and silent moonlight filling her space.
After a moment’s silence, Sky spoke up once more, his voice subdued and trembling. “Mom’s not coming back. They said that she had gone on a long vacation because it was so hard for her to give birth to my sister, but I know… I just know better. They just don’t want me to know that… that she’s dead.” His voice cracked at that moment, and tears finally rolled down his cheeks as he hung his head.
“What… what am I going to do, Princess? Dad stays out most of the time, and the few times I’ve seen him come home he’s always drunk and just falls asleep…. I’ve been trying to look after Dawn the best I could, but… but…,” he trailed off, his voice getting buried under the sobs that traveled up his throat. He fell to the ground as he buried his face into his forelegs, his body shaking every time he sniffled or let out a muffled sob.
Nightmare Moon sat down beside him and tentatively extended a wing. He momentarily flinched when her feathers touched his body, but otherwise stayed still save for the sobs wracking his body. With the colt safely tucked in her wing, she shifted over so she could hold him with her forelegs. She then pulled him towards her chest, where he began sobbing in earnest against her chest plate.
She held him like that, cradling him while he clung to her for dear life. After a few minutes, his cries slowly died down, his sobs reduced to occasional sniffles.
A few moments later, Sky slowly lifted his muzzle off of Nightmare Moon’s chest. He wiped his eyes and snout before mumbling, “Sorry. That was… that was inappropriate of me.”
“Thou art forgiven, Sky. ‘Tis never an easy thing to deal with, losing one thou lovest so dearly,” Nightmare Moon replied, gently caressing Sky’s back with a hoof. “Trust us, ‘tis a feeling we understand very deeply. We, too, have lost several loved ones.”
Sky looked up at Nightmare Moon, eyes wide with surprise. “You had someone die too?”
Nightmare Moon let out a little smirk. “‘Tis something that comes with living for a long time, Sky. Thou live on while those around thee move on to their lives beyond this world, whatever that may be.” She then raised him onto her back and said, “Hold on to us. We have something that we would like to show thee.”
She lit her horn, and the dreamscape melted away before their eyes.
When Sky opened his eyes once more, he found them floating among the stars. Every direction he looked was filled with those shining jewels against the pitch-black backdrop of space. Every one of them was unique in size and color, some looking like flaming marbles of ruby while others appeared no bigger than a speck of coral blue dust stuck on a canvas covered in black ink. Some seemed to be enveloped in a cloud of glowing motes, while others had smaller dots buzzing around them in rapid motion.
“Woah…,” Sky breathed out.
“Take a good look at them, Sky. These are the beauty of our skies, the ones that decorate what would otherwise be empty patches of pitch-black darkness,” said Nightmare Moon.
Sky only nodded, continuing to stare slack-jawed at the majestic view before his eyes.
Nightmare Moon then let out a small hum and looked around, before letting out a small “Ah!”. She spread her wings and began gliding over to one of the stars, while Sky busied himself with looking at all the stars.
They came to a halt a good distance away from their destination, the light from the star casting a pleasant warmth over the two of them. As they looked at the star shining brightly in front of them, Nightmare Moon asked, “Sky, did thou know that stars live and die too?”
“Stars die too?” Sky exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.
Nightmare Moon nodded. “But worry not, for they live much, much longer than we have been in existence. It would be a miracle to see even one of these stars die during thy lifetime.”
“So why are we here, Princess?”
“Queen Nightmare Moon, Sky. We art here so we can show thee how stars begin and how they end.” She then turned to watch the star in front of them, the ball of flaming gas pulsating as tongues of fire flickered from its round surface. “We shall speed the flow of time up a little. Thou shan’t worry, we art still in thy dreamscape and thus time flows differently in here and in the outside world.”
She then lit her horn, and Sky could see the time speeding up as the star began revolving on its axis. Multiple flames flickered before disappearing in the blink of an eye, while a myriad of patterns evolved then dissipated on the surface of the star. Then, a few moments later, the star began to swell. Its shell turned an angry shade of red, the star growing in size as it did so.
“Princess, what’s… what’s happening?” Sky asked, becoming a little frightened.
“Shh! It’s happening!” Nightmare Moon whispered loudly, giddily jumping up and down like a filly waiting for her Hearth's Warming’s present to be opened.
Now the star was filling most of their vision, having swollen so large in size that it would be almost impossible to believe that it had once been the small, calm star that was in its place a few minutes ago.
Then, in a massive display of fireworks and colors, the star exploded, letting out a massive blast of light and gas into the space around it.
“Woah!” Sky exclaimed as the blast of plasma enveloped the space around him.
“Thou hath just born witness to the death of a star, Sky. After a star burns up all of its fuel, it will die in a majestic explosion one like thou saw, ejecting out its material into space. However, thou shall soon see something much more fascinating than that,” said Nightmare Moon, once again lighting her horn.
For a few seconds, the clouds of colorful gas continued to expand, slowly dissipating away into the cold outer space. Then, for a moment, the expansion stopped. For that short moment, the pulsating gas seemed to be suspended in space, while its colors were the only things to change as the plasma let out its heat into space.
Then, slowly, very slowly, it began to draw itself back together. Gradually the gas particles ejected into space were brought together once again, working under the magical force of gravity. Soon enough, the space around Sky had become so densely filled with dust that he could barely see Nightmare Moon standing right next to him.
“Erm… Princess?” he called out, squinting as he tried to see through the dense gas.
A hoof grabbed Sky’s foreleg before Nightmare Moon called out, “Hold on, Sky. We shall head into the center and see the show from up close.” A bright white light came from the direction of her voice before the two were whisked away in a flash of magic. The next moment they found themselves within what looked like the hole of a donut. Dust swirled around them, but above and below him Sky could see the clear emptiness of space. In the center of the donut was a large sphere that seemed to be constantly sucking matter in from the surrounding gas clouds. It was glowing a dark red color, and Sky could feel the heat it was letting out even with the distance he had between himself and the sphere.
Suddenly, the sphere let out a blinding light, and Sky shielded his eyes as the light threatened to blind him. After a few moments, the light slowly faded, and Sky opened his eyes. In front of him was a brightly shining star, its young atmosphere constantly spewing out arms of flames that stretched out into the gas clouds and beyond.
“Woah… is that a new star?” Sky asked.
“It is, Sky. Though it has been born from the remnants of the previous star that thou saw earlier, we wouldn’t necessarily say ‘tis new. But wait, ‘tis not over yet!” Nightmare Moon whispered loudly, prancing in place in giddy excitement.
As more time passed, the star slowly calmed down, it’s blinding light slowly dimming to a pleasant yellowish glow. The dust ring gradually thinned as well, and Sky could see what seemed like small bits of rocks and ice flying around within the thinning halo. As Sky watched the particles whiz around the newborn star without a pattern, he could see them slowly grow in size as they absorbed and collided with each other. Soon the entire vicinity was filled with fireworks as objects constantly slammed into each other, spraying debris across the region.
Yet, even in the midst of all the chaos, Sky could see two prominent figures slowly emerging from the carnage; two large spherical objects had managed to survive the constant bombardment. One was several times larger than the other, and both were glowing a red hot hue as they radiated the heat from the recent collisions. Gradually, the two planets slowly drew together before coming to a halt.
At this point, the dust halo had completely cleared out, and Sky could see the details of the newly born planet and its companion. As the planetesimals cooled, their color changed, their surfaces changing into a rocky grey color. More time passed, however, and Sky saw the two planets becoming distinct in their features. The smaller object retained its ghostly whitish-grey hue, while clouds began to form above the mountains of the larger one. Clear turquoise oceans filled the ravines and basins, covering the planet’s surface with water.
“Woah, is that—,” Sky began, only to be interrupted by Nightmare Moon.
“Shhh! Thou best sit and watch for now,” she hissed, eyes fixated onto the rapidly changing planet. The planet was now rapidly changing colors, chunks of whites forming at the poles while green and brownish yellow filled other areas. Flecks of white formed above the ground, churning pieces of snowflake-like clouds dotting the planet.
Lush green filled the plains and mountains, foliage covering the ground as plant life began to flourish. Trees and bushes grew, and animals soon filled the lands.
Then, the surface began changing in earnest as cities began to form. Streets and railroads spread out from commercial centers, gridlines crisscrossing the continent as ponies built and developed their civilization.
“Thou hath just witnessed the birth of the planet that is thy home, and the civilization thou livest in. Thou, and everything around thee, were made from the remnants of a star that lived many eons ago,” Nightmare Moon explained, turning to Sky Piercer with a smile.
“Woah…,” Sky breathed out, his mind too enraptured by the scenery he had witnessed to form coherent words.
“Everything thou hath known and seen so far is made from star stuff, Sky. ‘Tis passed down from generation to generation, from parents to children. Your body contains material from your parents and everyone who hast lived before that. When they say thy parents are alive in thee and thy sister, they are saying it with a bit of truth. Whether they art aware of the truth is a different matter, of course,” Nightmare Moon continued, a smirk palpable in her voice.
Sky gazed up at the planet for a few seconds before turning to the alicorn next to him. “Do you think I’ll be a good brother, princess?” he asked, his voice quivering ever so slightly.
Nightmare nodded. “Thou will be a good older brother, Sky, just like how your mother was a good parent. We see it in thee.”
Sky hugged Nightmare Moon tightly. “Thank you, princess. I… I needed to hear that, I think.”
“‘Tis our pleasure, Sky,” she said as she patted Sky on the back, holding him against her chest plate once more. He took in a shuddering breath before letting it out, relaxing in the Nightmare’s embrace. He did not see her scowling up at the illusion of Equus. Dost thou see this, Celestia? Even this colt is a better sibling than thou were to us. We shall show thee what it felt like to us a thousand years ago. We shall show thee…, she thought as she held Sky tight against her.
“Is there… is there a chance that the sun won’t rise in the morning?” Sky Gazer asked tentatively.
Nightmare Moon whirled around to look at the teenage colt beside her. “Whatever doth thou meanest?” she nearly spat, her eyes narrowing down at him.
“I was putting Dawn to bed earlier, and she… well, she said that she had a nightmare the night before. She dreamt that the sun didn’t come up when it was supposed to, and when she looked for me in the house I was nowhere to be seen. I told her that it was just a nightmare, that I would never leave her alone. But something told me that I needed to be sure… that won’t happen, right?”
Nightmare Moon visibly relaxed, a smile returning to her face. “Sky, we already told thee. We do not wish to bring eternal night upon the ponies of Equestria. We only wish for ponies to enjoy and appreciate our nights.”
Sky nodded as he seemed to relax, yet there was an air of uneasiness around him.
“Now, as we were saying before getting distracted, we will begin to teach thee about dreams. One of the reasons ponies seem to be afraid of our nights was due to some ponies having nightmares and such. We shall teach thee how to control thy dreams, then move on to helping others from not having nightmares. Thou art a unicorn, so thou shan’t have much trouble learning the basics of dream controls,” Nightmare Moon said as she paced around in Sky’s dream. “Thou hath mastered everything thou needest to know about the night sky, which is why we hath made this decision. Again, this is a skill that will be required of you once we return from our banishment, so we expect thee to learn this skill just like thou hast done with knowledge on our night skies.”
Sky Gazer nodded. He then asked, “So how does it work, princess? Controlling my dreams?”
Nightmare Moon smirked. “Thou already knowest how to control thy dreams. Thou are just unaware of it.”
“I do?”
“Yes. Thou art aware that we are in thy dreams, no?” Sky nodded. “That is half of getting to control oneself’s dreams. Once thou art aware, thou can will thy mind to create whatever contents within the dream, whether it be a certain place thou wish to see, or a certain ability thou want to possess. For instance, as of now, we are standing in a dark plain under the night sky. Try changing it to wherever thou wish to be.”
Sky nodded, then hesitated. “Uh… how do I change where we are in my dreams, princess?”
“Just picture the place thou wish to be in thy head. The scenery shall change accordingly,” Nightmare Moon explained.
Sky nodded once more, then closed his eyes as he pictured the place he wanted to be. When he opened his eyes, however, he found them in the same spot as before.
Nightmare Moon chuckled as she patted the young colt’s back. “Don’t be too disappointed, our student. ‘Tis a very rare occurrence when one gets it right in his first try. Try focusing on the emotions thou feel while imagining the place thou want to be. We find that helps with controlling both our own and others’ dreams.”
Sky nodded once more, and with a resolute expression, closed his eyes once more. He took in a deep breath, then let it out as he cleared his mind. He pictured the place he wanted to be, concentrating on the emotions that flowed inside of him. His eyebrows furrowed as he pulled up the memory from the depths of his mind, letting his feelings flow through his mind once more. After a few moments, he finally gasped out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in as his eyelids flew open.
A wide beach lay in front of his eyes, the white sands stretching so far and so wide it was impossible to see the ends. The evening sun was slowly setting on the distant horizon, washing the beach and the two ponies in pleasant golden-orange light. The waves silently crashed onto the shore, the sounds of each wave shattering into droplets delivering a soothing feeling to the mind.
Sky slowly walked over to the beach where the water barely lapped at his hooves and sat down. He stared away into the horizon, directly looking at the setting sun. Nightmare Moon followed, sitting down on the beach next to him.
“This is the beach mom and I used to visit before she died,” Sky whispered. “We would frequently visit here and splash water onto each other and watch the sun setting to the west… the last time we visited, mom was pregnant with Dawn. I remember lying on the beach with her, where I leaned against her belly and felt my younger sister kicking. It was a surreal feeling, to feel that life was growing in my mom’s stomach.” Two ponies appeared on the beach a few feet away from them as Sky continued, one a yellow pegasus that Nightmare Moon had seen years ago in one of Sky’s dreams and the other a younger Sky Gazer leaning against his mother’s belly. The illusion soon ended, however, and the two ponies vanished.
Sky took in a deep breath. “Sometimes I… I just miss her a lot. For six years I’ve been trying my best to look after Dawn, and everyone says that I’ve been doing a good job, that I raised Dawn into a good filly. She’ll be attending school starting next month, and whenever I think of her going to school I keep thinking that mom would’ve been so happy to see her. And that’s when that yearning, that longing to see her one more time comes back.”
Nightmare Moon stretched a wing and pulled Sky in towards her. He leaned his head against her side, letting out a sigh and a sniffle. “It just gets hard at times…,” he murmured as he buried his face into her barrel.
“‘Tis certainly hard, Sky. We hath experienced that numerous times, and yet every time was just as painful as the first. ‘Tis a pain that never gets any easier to endure,” Nightmare said, sorrow and bitterness bleeding from her voice.
Sky only nodded and kept quiet as he stayed in her embrace. They stayed like that for some time, Nightmare holding Sky close to her and Sky not making any movements save for an occasional shudder or a sniffle.
When Sky finally left her embrace, the sun had completely disappeared beneath the horizon, stars filling the skies once more. A cool breeze blew through the beach, rippling through their coat and cooling their bodies.
Sky nodded. “Yeah, I think I do. Thank you, princess.”
“‘Tis our pleasure to help, Sky. Now, shall we return to our practice?”
Sky nodded, then began to concentrate once more. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His brows wrinkled slightly as he focused on the emotions once again, then he opened his eyes.
He was in the middle of a dense wood, tall trees covering every direction except for directly above him where the treetops parted to reveal a small window to the night sky. Moonlight shined brightly through the gap, lighting up the small clearing he was sitting in. He looked around, and Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh?” he murmured as he stood up and looked around again. Dense shadows filled every direction, limiting his vision to a few feet before it gave way to pitch-black darkness. He could barely make out silhouettes within the shadows, and even those were too vague for him to tell which shadow belonged to which object.
“Princess?” Sky called out, tentatively taking a step forward. Then another step, and another step.
Sky slowly walked into the shadows shrouding the woods, the eerie silence and the utter darkness threatening to overwhelm his senses. Bushes and fallen branches scraped along his legs, every contact and every sound causing him to twitch in surprise.
Sky’s breathing slowly quickened as he continued to venture into the woods, the absence of Nightmare Moon starting to cause his mind to panic. “Princess?” he called out once again, swirling around to see if he could see her anywhere.
Then he realized that he had strayed too far from the small clearing he had started from. He frantically searched about, trying to find the small patch of grass brightly lit by moonlight. It was nowhere to be seen, however, and Sky slowly backed into a tree as he began to hyperventilate.
Except that it wasn’t a tree.
“BOO!”
“Gahhhh!” Sky yelped as he moved away on instinct, trying to turn around and scramble to safety at the same time. He crashed into the ground instead, his legs sprawled on the ground as he lay on his back.
Nightmare Moon burst into laughter as she walked over to him. She picked him up with her magic and put him on his hooves before dusting the dirt off of his back, cackling madly the whole time.
“That was just mean!” Sky pouted as he dusted off some of the dirt himself.
“But… but ‘twas… ‘twas so funny to surprise thee like that!” retorted Nightmare Moon, gasping out the words between her chuckles.
“And here I was, fearing something had gone wrong when I tried to recreate the night we met…,” Sky grumbled.
“Nay, thou hath recreated thy dream quite perfectly. Everything was quite identical, we would say,” Nightmare Moon assured him.
“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I meant that something had gone wrong with you. You weren’t there when I changed the scenery, and for a second I thought something had happened to you.”
Nightmare Moon smirked, then burst into laughter once more.
“What’s so funny about it?” Sky asked, sounding annoyed in earnest.
“Sky, didst thou forget who we are? We are the Night Queen, the Queen of the Dream Realm. We could do anything we wanted in this realm and fear no repercussions or consequences of it. Thou shalt not worry about us; nothing can block our way here.”
“Well I wasn’t thinking very clearly about that,” Sky grumbled again.
Nightmare Moon chuckled, then said, “Come. Let’s return to thy clearing.”
They walked through the woods, trudging through bushes and leaves piled up on the ground. Shadows and shapes still loomed from the darkness, but they didn’t feel so intimidating to Sky now.
They soon reached the clearing, a small patch of moonlight surrounded by darkness. They walked into the clearing and sat down. Nightmare’s face suddenly lit up as she sat down, however, and she turned to Sky.
“Lie down on thy back, Sky. We have something to show thee,” she said as she lit her horn.
Sky did as he was told and turned onto his back, looking up at the night sky visible between the trees. Suddenly, the night sky widened as the canopy moved away from each other, opening up the clearing and providing a much clearer view of the stars above.
Sky turned to look at Nightmare Moon, who was concentrating on the widening opening with her horn lit. When he turned his eyes back to the night sky, he noticed that the moon was shifting, lowering itself beneath the treetops and lowering the opening into darkness. After a few more moments, she finally let out the breath she had been holding.
“There! Now lie on thy back, and enjoy the show,” Nightmare Moon told him as she flopped onto her back herself.
Sky lay back down on the ground, looking up at the sky with curiosity and wondering what she was trying to do.
Just then, a flash of light streaked across the sky, shining brightly for a split second before fading into the darkness.
“Woah! Was that a shooting star?” Sky exclaimed excitedly.
Nightmare nodded. “Mhm. But there shall be more.”
Soon, another shooting star flashed across the sky. Then another, and another. Soon the sky was filled with falling meteorites, each and every one of them lighting up the sky like fireworks as they burned up in the atmosphere.
Nightmare glanced over to the colt next to her, who was enraptured by the light show happening above him. She noticed her forehooves were gathered together in front of his chest, the colt silently raising prayers and wishes as he watched.
The shooting stars continued to rain down from the sky, occasionally a bright fireball lighting up the sky like it was broad daylight. Then it was over, the shooting stars no longer leaving their iconic tails of flames in the sky.
Sky turned to look at Nightmare Moon and smiled. Gratitude shone in his eyes, the magic of the cosmic light show remaining as flames inside his memories. “Thank you, princess. Thank you for showing me this.”
Nightmare smiled back at him. “Do not mention it, Sky. ‘Tis our reward to thee for being such a good student. Now, shall we resume with our practice?”
Sky nodded and took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes once more.
Sky opened his eyes and smiled when he found himself on a hilltop under a clear night sky. A cool breeze flowed through the air, while lightning bugs slowly circled the air under the bright full moon.
Nightmare clapped next to him, giving him applause for his control over his dreams. “Wonderful, Sky Gazer. Thou hath artfully mastered the skill of controlling thy dreams. We are very proud of thee,” she said as she stood up from the ground.
Sky bowed his head as he blushed slightly. “Thank you, princess. But I still have much to learn yet.”
“That is true, and yet with thy skills to rapidly learn and apply knowledge, thou will finish thy learnings in no time. ‘Tis something to be proud of,” Nightmare replied as she beckoned Sky to follow her and began walking.
“So… what now, princess? You said I mastered changing the environment of my dreams. What will I be learning next?”
“From now, thou will learn how to gain control of thyself in thy dreams. So far thou only manipulated thy surroundings but did not give any changes to thyself. However, by applying the same principles thou used for changing thy dreamscapes, thou can gain new abilities and appearances at thy will.”
Sky tilted his head. “Okay, doesn’t sound too hard to me.”
Nightmare chuckled as she shook her head. “Oh, thou art mistaken, Sky. In order to successfully change thy appearance, or gain a new ability, thou must first clearly understand thyself. Thou must first know what thou are capable of, or will end up failing to change thy appearance, or, worse, end up becoming a distorted monstrosity. We’ve had several students in the past, and most of them fell into nightmares when they saw their distorted images. The learnings had to be called off, of course.”
“Now that actually makes it sound a lot harder,” Sky muttered.
“Manipulating one’s own imagery is something that should always be regarded with caution, and even when one succeeds, they must not mistake the image they created in their dreams with the one they have in reality. It requires fine control of the mind and the body, and the ability to strictly discipline oneself,” Nightmare Moon continued, coming to a stop before a small pond.
The pond was calm and clear, the full moon and Nightmare Moon’s reflections shining off of its waters. Nightmare Moon picked up a small rock in her telekinetic grip. “Right now the water is clear as the surface of a well-polished mirror. However, it is easy to have the surface distorted…,” she said as she threw the rock into the pond. “…like that. The mind works in the same way; while it can be clear as the clearest skies when properly controlled, it can also conjure the darkest tempests seen in the dream realm by the smallest disturbances. Thou must master this art in order to properly control thyself in thy dreams, and to also combat thy nightmares once it should become necessary.”
Sky dutifully nodded as he watched the ripples of the pond spread over the surface, bouncing off of the edges before joining back in at the center. “So how do I learn this? Is there a way to properly control my self-image?”
“Yes. A reflective surface, a mirror, or, in our case, a clear pond under the night sky, will greatly help in reducing the errors thou might make with thy self-image. Such tools help thee in reminding thee who thou truly art and will allow thee to fine-tune thy image as thou apply changes to thy appearance.”
Sky peered into his mirror, taking note of how he looked. He took note of his indigo fur, of his silver-gray mane and violet irises. He took every detail of his appearance into his mind, firmly engraving them within vivid memory. He then turned to Nightmare Moon, who was looking at him expectantly.
“Now try picturing yourself, and imagine your body turning into whatever thou want to be. Remember, the transformation needs to be done slowly as if watching the leaves on a tree change colors as the seasons change. Therefore, thy imagination must also work in a slow, orderly fashion.”
Sky nodded, and then closed his eyes as breathed in deeply. He cleared his mind of any other thoughts, concentrating on the creature he wanted to be. He slowly imagined himself changing, of how his physical proportions would change accordingly. When he had finished picturing the transformation, he opened his eyes and looked down at himself.
His legs were longer and leaner, and so was his body. His tail was no longer a long collection of hair, but a short, round one instead. His muzzle had become longer too, and when he looked up he saw that he now had antlers. He peered into the pond, and saw that he had successfully done it; he was now a deer instead of a pony.
Nightmare Moon walked over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Wonderfully done, our student. ‘Tis very rare that one gets self-transformation correctly in his first try. Although…,” she said as she took a closer look at his features, “it seems that thou became quite acquainted with mine eyes.”
Sky turned his eyes towards his reflection in the pond once more, and sure enough, his pupils were now narrow vertical slits while his irises glowed an iridescent turquoise instead of their normal violet hue.
Sky scrambled backward in surprise with a gasp, his rump falling to the ground as his hindlegs gave out beneath him. Suddenly, the dreamscape began to twist and warp, the trees around them twisting and turning into grotesquely distorted figures. Lightning bugs began to flash around in every which direction, chaotic movements filling the air as their tail lights flickered and burned. The ground began to shake and rumble, the pond splashing violently as the vibration shook the water and caused it to overflow.
Nightmare Moon lit her horn, a streak of bright light emanating from its tip.
Then everything turned black.
Sky carefully opened his eyes. He saw complete black, a darkness darker than even the darkest nights he had ever seen. There was no sky nor any ground to be told apart from each other. He carefully took a step forward, only to discover that there, in fact, was no solid surface at all. He was floating around in this darkness alone with nothing to show directions or to guide him.
Then, in the distance, he saw a shimmering light, a glinting spark that seemed to be gradually getting brighter. He reached out to it, trying to propel himself in the direction of the light, but without anything for his hooves to make contact with, it was all he could do to flail around in one place.
The light slowly became brighter, its source continuously approaching him at what seemed to be a crawl. Then, as the light neared even closer, its brightness dimmed, showing the pony behind the light source.
Nightmare Moon approached Sky with her horn lit, a slightly disappointed expression etched on her face. Her pupils were locked onto him while her lips were pursed into a thin line. But through that mask of disappointment, Sky noticed a totally different emotion: sadness. The Night Queen’s ears were splayed back, and her eyes, even though focused on him, carried an air of sorrow.
Sky Gazer stayed silent, wondering what he should say to her. They both stayed silent for some time, merely floating around in the abyss.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Nightmare Moon spoke first. “Thou failed to maintain control of thy emotions, Sky. Thou let surprise and fear disturb your mind, which lost thee thy focus on the transformation. ‘Twas a dangerous moment, one that put thy mind at grave risk.”
Sky hung his head. “Sorry, princess….”
“Nay, don’t be sorry, my student. We ought to have prepared thee better before teaching this lesson. ‘Twas a mistake on our part. If we hadn’t intervened in time, thou could have fallen into a perpetual pit of nightmares, with no hope of recovery whatsoever. Even with our powers, we would not have been able to help thee.”
“Why is it, princess? Normally when I have a nightmare I am able to wake up when it ends. But you said that this time I wouldn’t have been able to escape on my own. Why is that?” Sky inquired as he finally lit his own horn, brightening their surroundings a bit more.
“Thou must understand that there is an essential difference between a normal nightmare and one induced during a transformation spell. During nightmares that occur normally, the mind is focused on the imminent threat present in thy dreams with an intact sense of the self. However, in case of a nightmare caused due to disturbances during transformation, the sense of the self becomes distorted and warped. Preserving that self-image is critical in being able to wake up, and without it, nopony would be able to escape from their dreams,” Nightmare answered as she looked away. “We are sorry, Sky. We ought to warn thee better of the risks involved in this. We became excited about… about how well thou were doing in thy lessons and became careless, and we put thy psyche in jeopardy. We ought to have known better than that. We—”
“Princess,” Sky cut her off with a tone that made Nightmare Moon look at him, “it’s okay. You managed to save me from falling into that endless cycle of nightmares. No one is perfect, and we learn from our mistakes. It’s what makes us ponies instead of… I don’t know, some unnatural powerful beings. You protected me from my own mistakes, and that’s enough for me,” he said as he smiled at her.
Nightmare Moon nodded as she smiled. “Thank you, our student. Thank you for… understanding and forgiving us of our mistakes.”
Sky waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s nothing, princess. It’s nothing compared to all the things you’ve done for me.”
“Still, we are grateful for thy understanding, our student. Now, shall we head back to thy normal dreamscape?” Sky nodded, and Nightmare Moon lit her horn once more.
Then everything went white.
Sky opened his eyes and found himself lying under the same trees he had seen numerous times now. The same clearing he had been in his dreams so frequently lay before him, offering its generous view to the night sky. And despite having been here so many times previously, every visit felt new to Sky Gazer.
“We brought thee here because thou seemed to like this place a lot,” Nightmare Moon said as she sat next to him.
Sky nodded. “I do,” he replied as he simply lay there, gazing up at the stars on his back. “It never gets old no matter how many times I come here. Even during the nights you’re not in my dreams, I just come here to enjoy the overall serenity and peace this place has.”
Nightmare Moon silently nodded, the two of them not speaking for some time again.
“So… what now, princess?” asked Sky as he continued to count the stars, every sparkling dot a jewel stuck in the night sky to him.
“We think that we ought to simply relax for a bit. ‘Tis a well-deserved break, after the hard learning and the shenanigan that happened earlier,” Nightmare Moon replied, rolling onto her back as she spread her wings on the ground. She patted the ground next to her, to which Sky obliged and rolled over to her side. Nightmare Moon then folded her wing, tenderly wrapping him in a feathery embrace. Sky giggled as the feathers tickled at his barrel, squirming slightly before finding a position comfortable for him. He finally let out a relaxed sigh as he snuggled deeper into the Nightmare’s side, relishing in the warmth her body gave him.
“So, how’s thy sister doing, Sky?” Nightmare asked after a short silence.
“Oh, she’s doing good, I’d say. She goes to school now, and she says that all her classmates are nice, as well as her teacher. She’s doing well, especially now that she’s got friends to hang out with,” Sky replied, a smile floating up to his face.
“We see. And thy father?”
“He’s doing okay, I guess. He still has days where he’s feeling down about mother and stays in his room all day long, and he still gets drunk sometimes, but it’s not as frequent as it was before. He’s doing much better overall.”
“We are glad to hear thy family is doing well. It would certainly help for thy mental wellbeing if thy family is in good condition.”
“Yup. Dawn and father are the two ponies who can light up my day when I’m feeling down,” Sky answered before asking, “What about yours, princess? What was your family like, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Nightmare Moon fell silent as she looked up into the sky for a long time. Eventually, she replied, “Perhaps it’s best if we answered that question another time, Sky. For now, though, let’s simply relax.”
Sky nodded, and once again snuggled deeply into her side. He didn’t resist as sleep washed over his eyes, letting them slide close and block out his vision. Soon he fell fast asleep, undisturbed by anything until the sun rose and shined through his curtains and onto his eyelids.
