private Nightmare's Return (1x1 with Explosionmare)

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

It had been a few days after the battle with Celestia, who had lost and been banished into the sun. Twilight Sparkle was on a run. The memory reigned in her mind with a great despair, and she was a frantic mess. with some important spellbooks in her bags. She had proceeded to hide in a barn on the edge of Ponyville, hoping that would be enough to hide herself from Nightmare Moon and her loyalists. She hid, being silent. She was sure she was being followed, but she didn't know who was following her. 

"Come on! Come on...please don't find me! I have to find a way out of this..." Twilight spoke mentally but heard the sounds of someone or something gathering outside of the barn. She had trotted silently down the stairs and made a break for it out the back. She heard someone in the front, so she had ran to the back into the woods at a full maximum sprint. But it was all dark, illuminated by the moonlight. She couldn't see, but still kept going and avoided trees.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon knew she had to locate the mare who gave her insight into the Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle. She could continue to be useful to the needs of the throne. That, and it was unwise to have such a knowledgeable and—as much as Nightmare hated to admit it—powerful being on the loose. That is why she went out to search for her with her guards tailing behind. She knew she needed to do this herself, but she was not fool enough to go out alone.

“Twilight Sparkle? I am your ruler! It is necessary you come out of hiding, lest you want my guards to force you out,” she sneered.

Her and her guards neared a barn entrance where they believed the unicorn was hiding. One guard held a hoof out to the door to open it, but Nightmare Moon halted him as she heard the creaking of hoof steps inside. She looked at the guards, silently commanding them to remain quiet. She pointed left, then right, suggesting that they split up as they reach the back of the barn. The princess dissipated into a dark blue, misty fog in order to sneak around more easily. She creeped up the roof of the barn to get an aerial view of where Twilight might be headed. 

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight Sparkle heard the angry, sneering voice of Nightmare Moon call out to her. This is what she was afraid of, and it is what deep down she knew what was happening. Due to Nightmare Moon's Night vision Twilight Sparkle was spotted running deeper into the woods. As she ran, the branches eventually would block Nightmare Moon's view of her. However, Nightmare Moon would now know where Twiligh was, roughly.

Twilight kept running. She had expected to have been spotted, and took a sudden diagonal turn to the right and hoping she wouldn't be seen. She was prepared to use her magic if she had to defend herself but deep down, she knew that in the end she would prove no match. "Gotta...get...away..." she would huff between her breathe and would spot a densely forested area up ahead. Soon enough, she would approach it and hide herself inside of a fallen log. And stayed still. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

From what Nightmare Moon could see, Twilight had galloped through the deepest part of the woods. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to spot Twilight, but at least the princess had a basic idea of where she was. She would take care of the center of the woods while her guards flanked the other sides.

Her shadowy form weaved through the trees and branches scattered across the ground. She made certain to keep as quiet as possible. Her guards tip-toed through the remainder of the forest, doing their best to keep their bodies rigid so that their armor would not make a lot of noise. Twilight was not yet visible to them, but they could hear a faint rustling sound from afar. They were getting closer. The unicorn would soon be in Nightmare Moon’s possession and learn that there is only one pony worthy of such great knowledge and power.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight could hear the distant shaking of the guards armor. The guards would not see her since she was hiding in a  fallen log. Twilight performed some sort of basic invisibility spell. At first glance if any of them would be seen if any of them looked in the log at first glance. However, she could almost instinctively feel as if Nightmare Moon herself was getting closer. Which she was.

Nightmare Moon, after a few minutes would have seen a more densely forested area with various fallen logs and trees. However at first glance, Twilight was not out in the open. And there was no distant sounds of running or leaves shaking. Either she was hiding here, or had teleported somewhere else. Twilight couldn't tell where Nightmare Moon was, in her shadow form. She had hoped she would go without being discovered. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon sensed a growing silence as she passed various fallen logs. Something was out of place here. She knew the unicorn was fast, but not that fast to go unheard. At least, not without some magical assistance.

Thankfully, she was prepared for these types of situations. Due to her strict policy about magical powers in her kingdom, she had learned a spell that allowed her to detect any anomalies. The range was short since she had just learned the spell, but it was effective nonetheless. Reverting back to her equine form, she lit up her horn and began searching. If anything was detected, her horn would brighten.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

The silence remains as Nightmare Moon's horn had lit up. Eventually after a little while of searching her horn seemed to brighten when she had passed a certain area. Nightmare Moon could tell that something was up here. Something was out of the ordinary.

Twilight Sparkle was hiding in the log. She had seen that Nightmare Moon was quite close by. If she stayed put she would certainly be discovered. Twilight's horn lit up briefly, Nightmare Moon would have seen that. There would be a poofing sound as Twilight had teleported. Twilight had teleported into a clearing. It was an expensive spell, she was no match for Nightmare Moon physically and had hoped she could just evade her. After teleporting, Twilight would begin running again, trying to be quiet.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Without a doubt, Nightmare Moon’s spell was effective. Her horn sensed a field of magic over one of the logs on the ground. Smirking, she trotted over carefully towards it.

Such a foalish maneuver, she thought, suppressing a chuckle. As if hiding would prevent me from finding you,

Suddenly, a burst of magenta magic shot out from the log and vanished as soon as it appeared. Nightmare Moon startled, her wings flaring out reflexively. Twilight knew she was spotted and in a cowardly act, decided to disappear. The princess huffed. She supposed she would have to come up with a better strategy. She called her guards forth with a near-inaudible screech. They flew forward as quick as a flock of hungry pigeons.

“Guards, it appears that Twilight has chosen to flee,” she informed them. “Fly as high as you can and let me know immediately if you spot her. If you do, approach the ground, but do it slowly. You may have to surround her. She isn’t ready to surrender just yet,”

With that, she threw a hoof in the air, signaling for her guards to commence their duties. They flew up until they were past the trees. They breathed out a series of screeches to better locate the unicorn. As they were scouring the sky, Nightmare Moon devised her own plan on the ground.

If I can find an unsuspecting creature out here—I assume that won’t take long—I can use it to lure that foal, she conjured. With that in mind, she wandered purposely through the forest in search of any creatures.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight heard the screeches of the guards and stayed close to the trees she had ran past in order to distract their soundwaves from hitting her. She knew how echolocation worked, it wouldn't work if the trees were obstructing the 'view' they were wanting to recieve. She was thinking fast and had to, she had to find a way to get out of here and avoid being captured. Or so she hoped.

As she kept running, Nightmare Moon would have found 2 forest monsters. A lost Timberwolf, and a large snake like creature. The 2 creatures were largely nearby, squaring off. Perhaps squaring off for territory, but still it was a lead that Nightmare Moon would be able to use. 

Suddenly Twilight took another veer off course, to the left of her previous course. She continued on this new course, hoping it was enough to distract her pursuers. "Come on...this has to be the way out...if not then I'll hide again...I seem to have distracted them for now..." she thought in a rather fast pace, matching her rate of speed. She hadn't had to do this before but she was doing well enough.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

All the guards could “see” were trees and twigs for miles. They may have to fly lower or reconfigure their formation. They didn’t want to disobey their princess, so reconfiguration was true only option. They scattered themselves to echolocate more areas of the forest. Hopefully this way, they would be able to pick up more than basic forest components.

Meanwhile, Nightmare Moon had spotted a lone Timberwolf and a rather large snake. Acting quickly, she reverted into her shadow form and overtook the two creatures. The wolf howled in agony and the snake hissed defiantly. She had used the snake to bite at the Timberwolf and chase it away. More specifically, she chased it to where Twilight may be. If it made itself noticeable enough, she may want to stop and help it. Besides, who wouldn’t resist helping a poor, hopelessly lost and confused creature?

The Timberwolf, although it had no flesh, suffered a substantial wound to its side from the snake bite. Pieces of its wood were jagged and the leaves surrounding its joints were crinkled. The wolf, in truth, did not want to run for long. Its body hurt too much for that. However, it couldn’t resist the crack of Nightmare Moon’s form under its feet. It acted like both a whip and a reign, directing the Timberwolf towards where Nightmare wanted it to go.

 

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

The guards were able to pick up various rocks and boulders by the trees. There was movement in the forest due to the ambient wind that made it a little harder to locate what they were looking for. Soon enough they were able to find Twilight Sparkle up ahead. However they could easily be confused by the branches and notches of the trees as Twilight was sticking close to them. Depending on how good their echolocation was, they may or may not be able to locate where she was exactly. At least they had a better lead though.

Twilight had heard the sounds of the snake and Timberwolf in the distance howling. She was sure something had happened to them, it seemed out of the ordinary to her and it sort of shocked her. She really wanted to get on out of here. Soon enough she would see the large snake in the distance. She was never particularly fond of snakes but with her magic, she had seemed to ward the snake off away from the area, in hopes to get it away from her, and so it would be safe from a potential battle here.

However that is all she could do, really. She was evading a powerful legend from Equestrian past, and that took more precedence than that of a wild creature. Up ahead she spotted more logs and proceeded to hide inside of one again. Her evasion technique seemed to be working.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

The guards were getting a better perception of where the unicorn was. Although their “vision” was hindered with twigs and trees, they could make out parts of Twilight Sparkle hiding in the shadows. The guards formed into a single line, honing in on where they believed the unicorn to be. One guard broke protocols and flew down to alert the princess. Despite what the other guards may have thought, this particular guard knew it was necessary to inform Nightmare Moon of Twilight’s potential whereabouts.

The guard had quite a bit of flying to do before he reached the princess due to how swiftly she was moving. Thankfully, he was able to catch up just enough to be in ear range. He alerted the princess of what he and the other guards saw before he flew back up to the formation.

We’ve gotten closer already, Nightmare Moon thought pre-victoriously. Twilight will find out soon enough that she has no place else to run,

Still on the wolf’s heels, Nightmare continued to whip at it to get it moving. The wolf was panting from the excessive amount of speed it had to maintain, causing its fowl breath to spread throughout a huge portion of the forest. This may give Nightmare’s location away, which may be a good or a bad thing. If Twilight found the wolf, it could be used as a lure. Of course, this would only work if she saw it before she noticed Nightmare Moon and her guards. The princess did not want the unicorn to disappear again, so she kept low to the ground to avoid being seen.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight had remained in the log. For what felt like an eternity, but only a few moments in reality would pass. She was sure the guards were onto her but to what extent she did not know. If they had actually found out her whereabouts, why wouldn't they have been here already? Something didn't add up. Twilight knew that something really strange was going on here. She knew she couldn't beat them in combat, but evading them would only work for so long.

Then Twilight would smell the rancid breathe of the wolf. She hated that smell, it was pretty close. Twilight was sure Nightmare Moon was doing something with the forest creatures but she still didn't know where Nightmare Moon actually was. She had to move again in her mind, if the wolf was close, it could easily sniff her out. She slips out of the log quickly checking her surroundings, before bolting off deeper into the forest. 

She was running for her life at this point, she didn't know what sort of things would happen to her if she found out but deep down, a bit of Twilight felt very angry at what was going on here. "Must...keep...going! I can't go forever...but must keep going!" she shouted within her mind.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon’s heart was racing, despite still being in her shadowy form. She had a feeling that she was getting even closer to Twilight Sparkle. Ferociously, she whipped the Timberwolf with even more force. It began to shriek and whimper, sounding more like the helpless creature the princess wanted it to be. If she could just get it close enough to Twilight, she could use it as bait. The unicorn would see the state the Timberwolf was in and want to stop to help it. If she didn’t, she would at least be distracted enough to want to turn around.

Suddenly, the wolf turned on her. It’s anguish became rage. It snarled each time the princess’ form pulsated. It halted in its tracks, kicking up dirt and rocks as it skidded. It turned to face its attacker with a menacing glare. The princess contorted in what appeared to be worry. Before she had a moment to react, the Timberwolf charged at her. Nightmare Moon immediately flew backwards in an attempt to flee.

She soon realized her mistake and took a hard turn to the right. She was leading the wolf away! If she wanted her plan to work, she would have to lead it towards Twilight. She slithered through the array of twigs and logs as the wolf charged at her with a predacious scowl.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight heard the sounds of the Timberwolf's struggle with Nightmare Moon. Twilight could tell that something was up for sure. Perhaps Nightmare Moon was battling a Timberwolf that had come across her, but Twilight wouldn't know of course. She kept running and took another diagonal turn. Up ahead she could see some sort of clearing. Twilight figured that the guards and Nightmare Moon would figure that Twilight would want to avoid such things.

Twilight would stop running and stand by a large oak tree. She would take a breathe. She stopped for a minute, huffing quietly as she breathed deeply in an attempt to recharge herself so to speak. She had stopped by this tree and stayed perfectly still, close to it in case the guards were still searching. They likely would be. Up ahead Twilight could see a stream up ahead. It was enough to fit her size. She sees a fallen log nearby, and quickly uses her magic to fashion it into some sort of raft.

She would put herself inside of this makeshift raft, and approach the stream quietly, quickly. And set it down, using her magic to keep it steady. The stream was flowing at a decent pace, and she got down into the stream. The stream began carrying Twilight, inside of her raft away. She layed in it completely still with various leaves and twigs covering her except her eyes to make it seem like a log floating down the stream.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

The Timberwolf was yielding no positive results. Twilight either didn’t notice it or didn’t care. Slightly frustrated, Nightmare Moon did a 180 that would lead the wolf into an entanglement of trees. With the energy it still had left, it veered along with the princess’s shadow form and darted straight into the trees. It scraped against the bark, causing it to slow down. The wolf eventually lost track of Nightmare Moon and lied down. The princess was relieved that in her way back to her original path, the wolf had no intention to follow her.

Her guards continued to hover and echo locate, still finding nothing. It was not until they reached the end of the forest that they discovered something other than trees. Nearby was a small stream that was relatively still except for the mossy log floating across. The guards flew lower to investigate the log in case it held any sort of relevance in their chase. They did not discover anything interesting about it, but perhaps with Nightmare Moon’s skills, an inquiry could be made.

Nightmare Moon, once she was a good distance away from the Timberwolf, reverted back to her original state. She flapped her wings in an arrogant manner and breathed so that her head tilted upwards in disdain. Her patience was wearing but she was determined to get what she came here for. She once again cast the magic detection spell, this time pivoting her head left and right to get a more accurate scope of the forest. The task became easier once she came up to a waterfall.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

The magical detection spell would come up with nothing else interesting of the forest. But that log was interesting. The log had a rather large concentration of magic within it. Twilight couldn't hide anymore. The log was the most suspicious thing that the spell had came up with despite the guards not discovering anything interesting of it. The log was definitely hiding something within it. Something unusual. If Nightmare Moon's spell had a way to tell if the magic would match Twilight's magic, it would match perfectly.

It would only be helped with the close proximity to the waterfall and the stream. The guards and Nightmare Moon were likely drawing closer. Due to Twilight's position inside of the log she could only look more or less up and didn't know she was being followed. She had hopes that this log would be able to ensure her escape. She had been quite frantic at this point and had hoped to escape, but deep down she knew that she wouldn't.

Soon enough they saw the log in the stream, and if they had gotten closer they would be able to tell that Twilight was inside of the log. Twilight would eventually see them flying above. Her heart stopped. She had been found out. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon’s magic intensified on discovering what appeared to be a boring log surfing across the river. Her instincts told her that Twilight was most likely hiding in that log. She grinned toothily to herself, proud of her discovery. Certain that she was finally at the end of her chase, she emitted a series of low clicks and whistles to alert her guards. Without hesitation, they flew down until they reached her location in the forest.

They neared closer to the stream and the princess investigated the log. She dipped her head low to the ground and noticed a strange shape blocking what should have been a hollow hole. Her inference was correct! Mentally chuckling, she bent down completely and whispered,

“Come out of hiding, young one. Do not try to disappear, my guards and I will never stop searching for you,”

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Unfortunately for Twilight the stream had lead to a really shallow area. The log had stopped and Twilight nervously sighed. She saw that Nightmare Moon and her guards were nearby. Twilight knew it was over. She couldn't keep running forever and she would risk spending out her magic. She had no real other option. When the log had stopped she had slowly exited from the log covered in plant debris. Twilight's expression bore one of defeat, yet also defeat.

She'd look at Nightmare Moon. "You won't get what you want. Remember who you work for." she would say somewhat ominously, yet in a scared manner. She was at the point where she was so afraid it was as if she didn't even feel it. "We all work for someone. Who do you work for? I'll also have you know that being satisfied with what you have will never happen. You will constantly want more, and drive yourself to the end." she'd say somewhat shakily, as if those words took all her strength to say. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon watched as the pathetic unicorn finally came out of hiding. She was covered in plant debris, which made her look quite bedraggled. The princess had to hold back a laugh to keep her composure.

She motioned for her guards to surround the unicorn. They edged towards her slowly until they were close enough to grab her in case she tried to escape. One of them held a magic defuser ring and would not hesitate to use it if need be.

As the princess approached Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn immediately made a rather odd speech about ponies working under other ponies. As the former pupil of Princess Celestia, Nightmare understood that Twilight must not know what it is like to see a leader who can think for herself. Celestia, strong as she might have seemed, always depending on somepony else to do her dirty work. Nightmare Moon herself loved dirty work and would only have other ponies around to do the more tedious tasks.

“Hahaha, you delusional foal! Celestia has taught you nothing. All her life, she has forced others to do what she was always too weak to do herself. That is why she always ‘worked under others’. I, however, only have my guards and my servants around as a backup. I would not be a true leader if I did not enjoy a little dirty work,” she chuckled to Twilight. “That is exactly why I need you here. You will ensure that no opposing forces will stand in my way. I can, of course, deal with them, but it would be most disastrous if I let them come to me. That was always the fatal flaw of my sister. Also, my biggest request of you is to ensure that—“

She rushed forward with a scowl on her face, her horn nearly clashing with Twilight’s.

“...your magic will not be a problem. You will learn to contain it, and you will learn that only a leader such as I can properly use magic to defend this land!”

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight watched how the guards got close and proceeded to guard over her. She took note of the magic ring. She was wise enough to not try anything here as she was severely outmatched by Nightmare Moon and her guards around her. She wouldn't put up any resistance as she knew what the result would be.

She'd take a step back to avoid Nightmare Moon's horn clashing with hers and dusted her leg off in nervousness. She looked to Nightmare Moon much like a scared filly would to a principal. She was afraid and she couldn't hide it no matter how she tried. Celestia never told her of this, nor did she even prepare her for something like this. She was left almost in a frozen shock after Nightmare Moon finished her speech to Twilight.

Twilight's eyes slowly rolled up to meet with Nightmare Moon's own, harsh but regal eyes. "U-mm...I see...while I am not entirely convinced of what you say...I shall follow what you say as to not do so would not...be the best result? Celestia never told me of you...yet I was the only one that believed in the legend of your tale. Most thought it was...but a foal's tale but I felt...something more than that." she'd say shakily and force a nervous little grin.

"But how am I supposed to...help you deal with opposing forces, when you want me to contain my magic, huh? How exactly does that work? So what is it you want from me...me to be your student? Your slave even...?" she'd ask in a rather pleading manner, almost. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon smiled in satisfaction, but only in brief satisfaction. She wouldn’t want Twilight to take advantage of her moment of joy. No, she had to remain stoic. Unlike her sister, she would succumb to her emotions during critical moments such as this.

“Your knowledge is why I wanted to find you,” she stated. “Not many ponies remembered me a thousand moons ago nor did they remember me upon my return. You, however, you remembered me during my time in purgatory,”

She thought on what the unicorn had to say next. It did seem contradictory to request of her to be some sort of bodyguard when her magic was to be dwindled down to that of a foal’s magic. The princess sighed upon realizing her words needed more precision.

“I do not wish for magical protection, that is not why I want you. I told you earlier that you possess quite a lot of knowledge. Your knowledge is what will stop any threats to the throne. You predicted my return, surely you can predict somepony else’s,” she explained.

She stared at her guards with her head held high: their signal to get into formation. They flanked Twilight on both sides, extending the wings that would be able to touch Twilight towards her. The guard holding the ring stood towards the front, prepared to pounce.

“Now, let’s move on to more important matters. Will you be coming willingly, or will we have to put up a fight?” the princess asked vindictively.

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight observes the guards as they got close around Twilight and further restricted her movement. She didn't see any other possible option of escape. At least not currently. She sighed in a rather defeated way and looked to Nightmare Moon and gulped a bit.

"I will come willingly." she would say after a moment of silence. "I have so many questions about you...Why is it that you and Celestia have wings and horns? How will we survive under Eternal Night?" Twilight would ask. She was a very curious mare after all. Her mind always thought of questions.

"And as for what you speak of, how will you be satisfied? You already got what you want. You will rule forever...The real question is, what will you do now considering you have what you want. You got rid of Celestia and are now ruling Equestria..." she'd ask. She could never be satisfied with the amount of questions she asked but what she asked was a good starting point. Hopefully Nightmare Moon would give her the answers she seeks.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

@Califorum

Nightmare Moon quirked an eyebrow as she led Twilight to her castle. Rather than spit out protests about leaving, she asked a series of seemingly random questions. The princess was intrigued but not too surprised. She at first felt that the questions should be saved for the castle, but they had gone so far out into the Everfree Forest that the journey would take quite some time. Might as well find a good way to pass the time.

“I am answering your questions out here only because the distance from here to the castle is quite long,” she stated bluntly. “Now, your first one, I cannot answer. It would be similar as to me asking why you only possess a horn. It is a knowledge I do not have nor wish to obtain. At least, not currently. As for my Eternal Night, the citizens will prosper quite well. You will adapt far better under the moon than the sun, I can assure you. Concerning my reign, my desires have already been fulfilled. The only thing left to do is to protect what I have,” 

[Props Valroa 26,033]

@ExplosionMare

Twilight would follow along without protest. In Twilight's mind however it was more of a tactful submission rather than submission out of free will. She realized she couldn't do anything without their being repercussions. It was better to build 'trust' first. Twilight's mind was also percolating with ideas and plans for the future, considering her thoughtful nature.

She'd nod slowly at what was stated. "...Right. How about the ecosystem? The world needs the sun's rays to power the plants, organisms that inhabit it. Or else do you have some sort of plan to cast a spell on those to nullify that or transmute them into equivalent forms of what would inhabit such a world without night? Plus, won't it get cold without the Sun's light reaching our world...? As for your wings and horns...the only other with that is Celestia. So it is logical to deduce that you have a relation to her...do you? And if so, what is it?" Twilight would ask genuinely. Considering Nightmare Moon's past it was a rather innocent question.