Luna has had her own life lesson; evil never truly dies. Having killed her older sister, she has all of Equestria in her hoof. and decides to toy with the town Celestia had held hearest to her heart: Ponyville. And for her own entertainment, she throws the Mane 6, along with several other ponies, into an arena, and forces them to fight to the death. And if none of them will kill each other, then she will kill them all herself. Along with the whole of Ponyville.

Princess Luna's horn ascended slowly; the moon followed promptly. She was so glad her older sister had let her take this job over again. After being shut away on the moon for 10 centuries, she was glad to be able to control what had once been her prison. And she was no longer angry that these little ponies mostly slept throughout her beautiful night.

Celestia had explained to her that while ponies frolicked and whatnot throughout the day, the night brought rest and relief from a busy day. Peace. And surely this was just as important. Ponies needed to rest their bodies and minds, of course…

…so they could run and play in the sun.

"Come now, Luna, you're bigger than that, surely. Quit with this foolish behavior already," the dark pegacorn chided herself. "Anyway, you tried to have it both ways for yourself, and just behold at how marvelously that went along. Besides, you have your sister back by your side…and no one is afraid of you anymore, especially not in Ponyville…"

She looked out the window, gazing out into her beautiful night. Canterlot was at its finest around this time; lights from streets and houses glowing eerily in the dark, the older fillies and colts roamed in immaculate party dress, the towering buildings given a sharper edge once the sun was down…and with the most beautiful natural light of all (save for the sun, of course) the whole city sparkled silver and white.

Whereas in the day, it glittered yellow and gold.

Heaving a world weary sigh (being a princess was no small task) Luna turned away from the window to descend the steps from the tower where she performed her nightly task (she could have done it from anywhere, of course, but enjoyed much more to watch the moonrise in action). And the sun disappearing, of course, was a pleasing sight as well…

"Quit that," she muttered, thumping a hoof to her head. Of course she was happy with how things were. Celestia, of course, she had reconciled with, and had taken her rightful place in the master bedroom next to hers. And traveling from one small town to the next, she had wiped the slate clean with the ponies who had before celebrated a holiday to remind themselves of their fear for her. And best of all, she had found friendship in Ponyville, the small village Celestia kept especially close to her heart.

Except… Twilight Sparkle was the only one would talk to her more than the bare minimum. They'd had lovely chats about magic spells and history, and Luna always found herself laughing with the mare everyone said had little to no social skills. Her other five friends always exchanged a few sentences and bolted as quickly as possible. Even Pinkie Pie, who had a smile for everyone and never needed a reason for one, would have to paste one on to her face and turn and run with the others.

No one except Twilight really believed that Luna had changed, even though she was constantly assured otherwise.

And why should they? An unexpected, icily calm voice. One that dripped dark knowledge and a sick, twisted glee. One that sent chills down the spine of everypony else's definition of terror. She inhaled deeply to call for guards, whipping around fiercely, ready to shoot the most powerful blast of magic ever in her life, horn glowing brightly.

But there was nopony there. A massive headache settled itself on her, both from the exhaustion of wasting all that summoned magic and the fact that she now had pathetic irrational fears like that weakling Fluttershy. "Whoever is there, I warn you to depart quickly and not to let the gate hit you when you make your way out!" she yelled, glad she was alone. She didn't wanted to be branded a lunatic as well as the Boogey-Pony.

There you go again. You still think everypony sees you as a monster. Which is appropriate, because they all do. They would never tell you, of course; you're co-ruler of all of Equestria. But do you think that overshadows the fact that you tried to trap them in the darkness forever?

Another tremor down Luna's spine, but this time, she did not open her mouth to call for help. This voice…it spoke truth. Luna tried to love and tolerate her subjects, but it was unknown to any how difficult it was when they all backed away whenever she made an appearance! Even if Celestia was there, they would refuse to be comforted, smile falsely at her and attend on her too much. As if Luna would behead them if she didn't have them putting everything she requested into her hoof in a second.

And you know that you would, the voice whispered in response to these thoughts. You still think that since they sleep through the lovely night you bring forth, they should treat you like a goddess when you grace them with your presence. One does not merely change because the supposed power of friendship supposedly expelled the evil out of one's heart. The voice was disgusted to even utter the word friendship.

"But…but Twilight Sparkle's friendship has proven quite refreshing after so many solitary years," whispered Luna. She didn't ask who this "voice" was, if you could even call it a who. There was really no need to; it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be talking to somepony she wasn't entirely sure was there. Maybe she had spoken to this voice before; it was so familiar.

She awaited a response; hearing none, she took a single step forward before the sudden rush of words stopped her cold. And what of the others? Those supposed Elements of Harmony? If I am not mistaken, they are the very core of what friendship is meant to be! And yet, they along with all your other subjects, cower in a corner even after they helped you find acceptance! And look at the wonderful job they did with that; nothing has changed at all, has it, Princess?

Luna paused, waiting to see if there was more. Two beats of silence later, she replied, her voice just barely audible, "That is where you are wrong. I have changed. And if they do not care for my companionship, I will at least work harder to rid of them of the fear I strike into their hearts."

The roaring laughter that followed shocked the princess to the floor, where she lay and tried to quiet her own thumping heart. This voice was distinctly female, and she was positive she'd heard it before…but where? Luna could not seem to get her thoughts straight. Her head still throbbed with headache, and the blood razing into her ears did not much help.

And it was only when it spoke again that she realized.

I know you better than you know yourself, Princess. I am one with you. On the moon, I could not reach you; only after a thousand years could I give myself voice. And that is when you again tried to conceal Equestria in a night that would last forever. Otherwise…who knows what you would have done?

No. This could not be. Luna put her hooves over her ears, but this only intensified the volume of the voice that came closer and closer to breaking her with each syllable. Those six ponies did manage to do away with me. At least for a while. It was your own insecurities and anger that allowed me to enter your mind once more. Are you clear on this yet? You created me; I am your very own little spawn of evil that you brought to life. You have only yourself to blame for this.

For what, Luna did not want to know. She took off full speed, wings flapping wildly, scratching and hitting the stone walls of the tower as the spiral staircase pulled her lower and lower into her own terror with each step. There was a bridge that connected this tower to the castle itself. Her wings, having been dented by the walls, were in pain, though not a great deal. Nevertheless, there were no words enticing evil in her head anymore.

She could breathe a bit easier, and inhaled deeply the cold nightly air. Luna always did find herself most at ease in the dark. She took a moment to gaze up at the moon; a true diamond in the sky, the most beautiful in the world. A cold breeze did was not noticed by her; it was always cold at night. And suddenly, her eyes tripled in size, a small yelp escaped from her, as the wind turned into vapor. Her eyes fluttered closed at the strange scent; the scent of venom and fear.

Dear Princess. You have changed least of all. And I welcome you back.

When her eyes opened again, there was no trace of the princess in evidence.

Princess Celestia was just settling down for the night, having sent off her reply to her most faithful student's latest friendship report. The young mare didn't much need to send them anymore; she knew now the meaning and importance of true friendship. But an assignment was an assignment, and like all the others, Twilight took this one quite seriously. Even after the princess had explained to her that she should only send them when necessary, she still received one on a fairly regular basis.

Being a princess was no small task, of course; she was grateful to finally retreat to her bed. She had not seen her little sister all day, but she didn't much worry. Luna had probably been off leafing through their dusty old books again. One reason she and Twilight might have made such good friends, they both enjoyed old history.

She shut her eyes, relishing in the softness of her pillows an the warmth of her covers.

Princess Celestia was already deeply asleep when her door creaked open.

Luna was truly amazed at how anticlimactic the death of the very goddess of the sun was.

...Okay, so maybe I was high as f**k when I wrote this. It made a lot more sense in my mind...Reviews are welcome, Flames are not.