Twilight Moon

FIM is Hasbro's not mine.

---

Upon the balcony, where everypony had been awaiting Princess Celestia, a smokey apparition of stars seeped in through the open window and appeared to solidify, becoming the form of Nightmare Moon. She beat her wings once before looking upon the crowd.

"Oh, my beloved subjects, it's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces."

"What did you do to our princess?!"Rainbow Dash demanded from Nightmare Moon. Applejack, held her back as she tried to rush at Nightmare Moon. "Easy, Rainbow." Rainbow Dash looked back at I hadn't had been so entranced by what was occurring on the balcony I may have even found it humorous.

Nightmare Moon began to laugh at the display of the two ponies. "Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

A pink earth pony perked up at this question. "Oh! Oh! More guessing games! Uhm, Hockey Smokes? How about Queen Meany? Oh, Black Snooty! Black Snooty!"

"Black Snooty? Is she serious? I'm surprised she wasn't the first one blasted."

"I personally feel Nightmare Moon was too confused by Pinkie Pie to think of blasting her."

An apple was quickly shoved into Pinkie Pie's mouth. I think Applejack did it but I can't be certain. Nightmare Moon looked directly towards the trembling Fluttershy.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for one thousand years?" Not receiving a answer, she turned to Rarity. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" That was when Twilight Sparkle spoke up.

"I'm guessing this unicorn was related to you, Princess?"

"That unicorn is me, Shooting Star. Why?"

"This sounds like it was written for foals. No offense, Princess Twilight, but seriously?"

"This is a precise biographical account. Fluttershy and Rarity will both attest to this."

"I did, and I know who you are! You're the 'Mare in the Moon': Nightmare Moon." The rest of the ponies in attendance gasped.

"Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I am here?"

Twilight eyes went to either side, searching for a way out. "Y-you're here to… to…" She gulped as Nightmare Moon chortled.

"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Lighting began to crack overhead as all the ponies cowered.

"A bit melodramatic, but she doesn't read, like, the stuff of evil and retributions."

"Oh, and what have you been reading about evil lately? Never mind, don't answer that."

The mayor then ordered Nightmare Moon to be seized, as only she knew where Princess Celestia was. Several of the Solar Guards flew up to do just that. Nightmare Moon zapped them with lightning bolts, stunning them momentarily so that she was able to escape.

"Escape? Isn't she winning? She's supposed to be a nigh unstoppable evil. And aside from the fact that nopony can find Princess Celestia, all Nightmare Moon has done is some taunting, lightly zap the guards, and ran away! She ought to be striking ponies into the ground. She's not a mosquito! She's doom and destruction!"

"She had just returned from the moon. Perhaps she needed time to regroup herself?"

"She has had a thousand years to think about what she would do when she got free. Unless we assume she was brain-dead, she ought to have been better than this! If she wasn't going to have the power she needed then she would've appeared at the old palace, not Ponyville City Hall. Maybe even hide the Elements of Harmony or try to use them herself? She gets one shot and she's playing games!"

"She escaped to get the elements, my student. Now."

Rainbow Dash raced after Nightmare Moon, but she was far too quick and got away. Twilight ran for the library, and after tucking in Spike, her baby dragon, she went downstairs to search for anything about the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash, who had watched Twilight race off, confronted her.

"Just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Huh? Are you a spy?" Applejack grabbed ahold of her tail again to make her stop advancing upon Twilight, who was already backed into the wall. Twilight explained to the five ponies surrounding her what she had learned in her studies.

It was then that Pinkie Pie found a book: "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide". It explained that there were six elements but only five known ones; Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. The sixth one was a total mystery.

"Right. The same Elements of Harmony that the Royal Sisters used to seal Discord in stone! The Element of Magic wasn't exactly a secret!"

"Well, it wasn't mentioned in the book."

"The last known location of the elements was in the castle of the Royal Sisters, which was located in what is now the Everfree Forest." Twilight Sparkle was determined to enter the forest on her own, however, the ponies who had been in the library with her insisted they would come as they would not allow their new friend to do this alone.

As the six ponies chatted about what to expect, the cliff they were standing on collapsed. Rainbow Dash caught Pinkie Pie; Fluttershy was able to grab Rarity. Applejack stopped herself by grabbing hold of a root with her teeth and was barely able to catch Twilight by the hooves.

"I have to admit, Shooting Star, that was one of the times I've truly been terrified."

"Especially since, by all rights, Nightmare Moon could have killed you and Applejack right there and then. She can shatter a cliff? She can snap a root. A root that was very conveniently located, wouldn't you agree, Princess Twilight?"

"Ahem, one cannot explain the Everfree Forest. I've taken you there student."

"What do I do?" Twilight Sparkle cried out, trying to hold on.

"Let go."

"Are you crazy?"

"No, I ain't. I promise you'll be safe. What I'm saying to you is the honest truth." Twilight let go to be caught by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Next, the six mares ran right into an enraged manticore. The mares all tried different forms of attacks until Fluttershy was able to get the courage.

"Wait!" She flew to the manticore and walked over to it with a smile. "Shhh, it's ok." He lifted a paw to show a large thorn which Fluttershy pulled out after warning him it would hurt. He roared, then began licking her.

"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked.

"I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness."

"Interesting that Rainbow Dash didn't get hurt a lot worse."

"It was good luck. The manticore wasn't really thinking straight. He was in pain."

The next obstacle was terrifying trees which seemed to be coming towards them. Pinkie Pie began to sing and laugh at the trees, which caused them to turn back into regular trees.

"Seriously? Trees? They didn't do anything!"

"I… You know what? I can't explain that one."

The six mares ran straight into their next problem. The river was uncrossable due to a sobbing sea serpent who was unconscionable due to half of his mustache being cut off. Rarity told him how fabulous he was, but admitted that without his mustache it simply didn't work. So she grabbed one of his sharper scales and used it to cut off most of her tail and used her magic to attach to the small remates that existed..

"Short tails are in this season. Besides, it'll grow back." He then allowed them to cross over his back.

"What is this? Ponies Quarterly?"

"It was important to him."

The castle was in sight. The only problem: the rope bridge was broken. At least it would have been a problem if there had not been a pegasus with them. Rainbow Dash grabbed the edge of the bridge and flew it over to meet up with three pegasi who offered her the chance to be captain of their aerial team, the Shadow Bolts.

They fed into her ego and she agreed to join them just as soon as she tied the bridge. The Shadow Bolts told her she had to choose them or the five mares she was traveling with. Loyalty won out and Rainbow Dash tied the bridge, informing her friends she'd never leave them hanging.

"Another Straw Pony obstacle."

"What do you mean by that, Shooting Star?"

"Aside from raising their voices and threatening to not make Rainbow Dash their Captain, what threat did they ever really pose to her? None! It's like Nightmare Moon was testing the future element bearers and not really trying to stop them!"

The six mares walked into the ruins of the palace. There they were: the Elements of Harmony. Moving slowly, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy laid the elements in a circle by Twilight's hooves.

"One, two, three, four, there's only five!" Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight explained that the book said that when the five were together a spark would make the sixth one appear. Having an idea what it meant she told her new friends to stand back. She concentrated her magic as the five mares left to leave her in peace.

Twilight was focusing so hard she didn't notice Nightmare Moon grabbing the elements and beginning to teleport until it was almost too late. Twilight jumped and was teleported as well.

"Teleported? Lucky she didn't do anything violent."

"What do you mean by that? I surprised her by jumping into the teleportation spell."

"Going in. Coming out you could have found yourself in real trouble. You had no idea where she was going and she knew that exactly."

Twilight came out of the teleportation to see Nightmare Moon on a dais chortling to herself. Twilight snorted and pawed the ground, getting ready to charge.

"You're kidding? You're kidding right?"

"Are you kidding me? Really, the big, bad, evil, ancient Nightmare Moon said 'are you kidding me'? Th-that makes no sense! Princess Luna speaks old Equestrian. If anything, Nightmare Moon should have said 'Doth thou jest'! No, Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna. She knew those elements first hoof! You just read about them! I get it that sometimes we don't get to know everything but this is… unbelievable!"

"What do you mean by unbelievable, my student?"

"All you guys had to do was show up and prove you were good ponies and you won. No real struggle. And most of the time there was no real danger from a relentless opponent who seemed to know everything about you! I mean, Nightmare Moon didn't know Rainbow Dash from any other pony, so how could she play with her ego? If she reads minds then she ought to have been able to come up with your worst fears. What about a huge shadow dragon instead of a Manticore?"

"So you're saying you don't think Nightmare Moon was evil?"

"Not if we believe the story as it stands, no."

Princess Twilight Sparkle smiled at the dark-blue unicorn sitting beside her. Her student was a bright one, but was she really ready? Well, no time like the present. "Alright, Shooting Star, do you want to know the real story of Nightmare Moon?"

"If you'll tell me, then I'm all ears, Princess!"

---

Author's Note:

Don't get scared off the real story starts next chapter. I don't think I need to say it, however, Shooting Star is my creation. If you wish to use her please ask. See you in the first chapter!

The real story, my faithful student? Well, the real story starts a few days after I had used the time spell created by Starswirl the Bearded. You remember that story, don't you? Because I'd be happy to tell you!

...Princess, you're stalling, aren't you?

Ah... not exactly, just gathering my thoughts. Alright, it was a few days after the time spell. My mane had mostly grown back out and Spike was helping me move all of the time travel books I had purchased down to the basement.

---

Twilight Sparkle wiped the sweat from her forehead, yes, she had been using her magic to move the books down to the basement, but buck, there were a lot of them! "I just can't believe how many books I ordered last week, Spike! I hope I still have enough of my stipend left to feed us for the rest of the month."

Spike looked up from shelving a large tome called Out of Time and grinned. "Don't worry Twilight, I have a bit of a 'Twilight Fund' just in case of an emergency like this!" He puffed out his chest proudly.

Twilight sighed but then smiled. "That was a really good idea Spike, I wonder if the Princess has a 'Crazy Twilight' contingency plan?" She made a note in the back of her mind to check with her.

---

So, did you ever ask Princess Celestia if she had a 'Crazy Twilight' contingency plan Princess?

I did.

And? Did or does it still exist?

...So we were shelving all the time travel books I had purchased...

---

They continued shelving the multiple books for several minutes, until they were both suddenly startled by an unusually loud bump. It sounded as if something very heavy had fallen upstairs in the main library. Twilight quickly ran through the very short list of things in the library that could have made that noise. They consisted of a bookcase, and the unicorn head statue on the table. Neither should have fallen without assistance, and Twilight was certain Rainbow Dash was napping at this time of day. "Spike!" She hissed, gathering him to her barrel as she gazed up the stairs. Her eyes narrowed.

"What was that?!" Spike looked up at Twilight, his bright green eyes wide with worry, and his spines had fallen back against his head. He nervously rubbed his claws together, having dropped the book he was holding when he was startled.

"Go check upstairs." Twilight motioned to the door at the top of the stairs with a fore hoof. "Don't worry, I'll be right behind you, Spike." She softly nuzzled him, then nudged him forward with her muzzle.

Spike nodded and took a deep breath before walking up the stairs. He opened the door slowly as he poked his head through it. His eyes widened and he shut the door quickly. "Gah! Twilight!"

Twilight raced up the stairs to stand right behind Spike. She could hear his heart pounding against his chest. "What is it, Spike? Let me see." She lit up her horn and used the smallest amount of magic that she needed to open the door. She slowly poked her head out, and there, laying on the floor next to the table, was the obvious reason for Spike's minor freak-out. It was a pony, but not just any pony. This was a very large pony; roughly eight feet tall from horn-to-hooves. She also had wings and… Oh! Light blue armor. Can't forget the armor. There was no doubt who this pony was, and Twilight felt herself swallow hard.

"I don't believe it! Twilight, it's Nightmare Moon!" Spike hissed, hiding under Twilight's barrel and peering out nervously.

Twilight looked out the door at the obviously unconscious alicorn with pursed eyebrows. "Is she hurt?"

"She looks more stunned than hurt. Maybe we should... I don't know... run?" Spike glanced out the door, wondering if they could make it to the front door before Nightmare Moon woke up and they were trapped.

"Spike, what is running going to do? If this is Nightmare Moon, maybe we can talk Luna into coming back to us without using the elements." Twilight slowly crept out of the basement doorway so as not to disturb the Princess.

"Uh huh..." Spike muttered unhappily, and dubiously hung back while hiding behind Twilight.

"Princess Luna is our friend, Spike. Th-this is just a minor setback in her recovery!" Twilight smiled over her shoulder, looking Spike in the eye.

Spike wasn't certain who Twilight was trying to convince more. Him or herself? "Then, shouldn't we contact Princess Celestia?"

Twilight considered the suggestion for a few moments, then shook her head. "No, what if they had a fight? Listen, if she came to the library, she might let me try talking to her before we contact Princess Celestia."

"Alright, Twilight, I promise." Spike sighed, still not moving very quickly.

Twilight paused and smiled at her number one assistant. "You can stay in here if you'll feel safer?" She opened the basement door and watched as Spike eagerly scampered back through it.

Spike nervously poked his head out while wringing his claws."I'd better have an emergency note ready to send Princess Celestia, just in case."

"Just relax, Spike." Twilight sighed, "Remember you promised to let me talk to Princess Luna first."

Nightmare Moon let out a soft groan and moved her head a bit, slowly opening her eyes to reveal serpentine pupils.

"Princess? Princess Luna?" Twilight called in a gentle manner, stopping to stand a few feet away from her.

Nightmare Moon blinked a few times and looked up to see the bearer of the Element of Magic standing before her.

She blinked again. "I haven't been called that in a very long time, Magic." Her voice lacked the malice that Twilight remembered from their last encounter.

"It's alright, Princess! I'm here to help you!" Twilight smiled at the confused... Monster? No, not a monster; this was only Princess Luna.

"Help me?" Nightmare Moon struggled to lift her head with a wince.

"Whatever caused you to take this form again, it's only temporary! We won't even involve Princess Celestia if you would rather avoid that."

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes again as she felt her head throbbing. Her mouth felt dry. There was only one thing she desired, and at this time it certainly wasn't eternal night. " Actually, may I have some water?"

"Of course!" Twilight smiled and headed towards the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water.

Nightmare Moon gingerly sat up and rested on her haunches "Ow..."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Twilight asked as she filled the glass with ice cold water. She carried the glass back to Nightmare Moon and offered it with a smile.

"The Elements of Harmony." She reached for the glass with her magic. Her horn sparked a few times before flickering out. "Ugh… no good." Nightmare rubbed her head with her right fore hoof, her head throbbing in tune with her heart beat.

Twilight bit her lip at the sight, but held the glass still until Nightmare moon discarded her light blue hoof boots.

Nightmare took the glass it in her bare hooves. "Thank you, Magic."

"You're welcome!" Twilight absentmindedly watched her, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. "Oh, and you don't have to call me 'Magic.' My name is Twilight Sparkle!"

Nightmare Moon drained the cup and set it down onto the tabletop. "Much better... Thank you, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight glanced at the glass but forced herself to ignore it for the moment. "What do you remember before the elements and Ponyville?"

Nightmare Moon seemed to stare into nothingness for several moments. Twilight hesitated to prod her out of her stupor. She was concerned, as well as Spike, who had come out of the basement once it was apparent that either Nightmare Moon meant no harm or could do no harm.

"...A very long time out." was stated in a matter-of-fact yet sad tone as Nightmare Moon returned to gaze at the sputtering Twilight Sparkle.

"W-wait... this... that makes no sense!"

Nightmare lifted an eyebrow at the sputtering mare with slight amusement.

Twilight took a deep breath before sitting on her haunches in front of Nightmare Moon. This was not going to be an easy conversation. "Princess... you have to be suffering some kind of memory block."

"I am?" Nightmare Moon cocked her head and hissed, righting her head immediately. That had been a mistake.

Twilight slowly nodded, a bit concerned for the mare in front of her. She had managed not to back away when nightmare hissed, but it had been a close thing. Twilight realized the hiss was from pain and bit her lip. "It does seem that you're missing a significant amount of your memory, Princess."

"How long has it been?" Nightmare asked after a few moments of thought. "Since you used the elements on me?"

Twilight looked away from the observant black mare. Her serpentine eyes were disconcerting. "I-it's been about nine months, Princess... Almost ten."

Nightmare Moon briefly closed her eyes then sighed, "Nothing compared to one thousand years on the moon."

"I-I suppose not, but, I would hope that you would want to remember one more than the other?" Twilight smiled hopefully, allowing a name to remain unsaid.

After a few moments of silence the black mare spoke in a breathless voice, but with a bit of hope. "Celestia..."

Twilight grinned with pleasure at the reaction Nightmare Moon had given her. She was right; this had to be Luna! Nightmare Moon gave not one bit of care for Celestia.

"How is she?" Nightmare Moon asked, carefully biting so not to pierce her bottom lip with a fang.

"She is doing well." Twilight hoped this would encourage Luna to come back to herself. It seemed to work as she watched Nightmare Moon cheer up significantly.

Nightmare Moon stopped chewing her lip and smiled. "I… Maybe you are right, Twilight Sparkle, because the fact she is doing well fills me with joy."

"I'm glad." That was the understatement of all time. Twilight was ecstatic with what Nightmare Moon had just said.

"I remember hating Celestia, but now I'm so relieved. So thankful she is safe and doing well." A single tear fell down her fuzzy black cheek.

"You had reconciled. You were raising and lowering the moon again. Going on patrols..." Twilight offered more information hoping to spark a memory.

"Patrols?" Nightmare Moon rubbed her aching head. "Ouch." Her helm was not helping the pain in her head, yet she needed either her magic or assistance to remove it, and she was still somewhat unsure of Twilight Sparkle.

"You would go on nighttime patrols looking for dangers to subdue," Twilight explained in as few words as she could as she watched the pain in Nightmare Moon's eyes grow.

"My head hurts, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon huffed out. "I need your help to remove my helm; it can only be removed with both magic and my permission, and I give that to you."

Twilight nodded eagerly, happy that Nightmare Moon was trusting her to remove part of her armor. "I'll get a cold compress. Spike!" Twilight levitated a ice cold rag over and set it down on the floor next to her.

Nightmare stood still as Twilight unclasped the helm and slowly and carefully pulled it from Nightmare Moon's head. Once it had pulled away completely, Twilight allowed it to fall to the ground unceremoniously.

"Spike!" Twilight called again as she picked up the cold compress. She held it gingerly to the large lump that had been revealed once the helm was removed.

"Yes, Twilight?" Spike asked. He wasn't as confident as Twilight about whether this was Princess Luna or if Nightmare Moon was just a very good actress.

"I need you to get to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as you can and get Applejack," Twilight stated after a few moments of thought. It had been between Applejack and Fluttershy, but she needed the pony to stay conscious, so that ruled out Fluttershy's help. At least for now.

"Shouldn't we contact the Princess?" Spike asked, watching the sedate but whimpering Nightmare Moon. With her eyes closed and her helm off, she almost appeared approachable.

"I think you're right, Spike, but get Applejack first." Twilight smiled sadly as she continued to cool the compress to keep Nightmare Moon at least somewhat comfortable.

"Alright, Twi!" He raced off to Sweet Apple Acres. He wasn't sure why Twilight wanted Applejack, but he would trust her in this case. Besides, it let him get away for at least a few minutes.

Nightmare winced upon feeling a liquid run down her face. It was cool and almost felt like sweat, but Nightmare recognized the scent far too quickly. She allowed a whimper to escape her lips.

"What is it, Princess?" Twilight looked up to see Nightmare's eyes open again, in pain.

"I think that my helm cut me, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon stated with a small whimper. She was in pain and wanted it to stop.

"I'll go find my first aid kit!" Twilight allowed the compress to fall to the ground and sprinted upstairs to where she kept her personal first aid kit. She had to get that cut treated. Twilight truly hoped Nightmare Moon would not require stitches, because that would be very difficult to explain to a doctor.

---

Spike ran into the south orchard where he had heard Applejack was doing some branch removal. At least, that was what Applebloom had told him when he had run into the crusaders on his way here. "Applejack!" He called at the top of his lungs, cupping his claws around his mouth.

"Spike?" AJ called back. Her voice seemed to be coming from quite some distance, so much so that Spike was almost certain that Applebloom had been mistaken about the location of her older sister.

"Where are you?" Spike called back in the same manner, moving towards where he assumed her voice was coming from.

"Ah'm by the barn, Spike!"

Certain he was heading the correct way, he picked up the pace and raced over to her. "Applejack you need to come to the library!"

"What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she stepped away from the hay bales she had been stacking. She lifted a forehoof and wiped away her sweat-drenched bangs from out of her eyes.

"Somepony is hurt and Twilight said to get you because we can't take her to the hospital." Spike nervously rubbed his claws together; it was becoming a habit, nowadays. He was nervous about taking Applejack back to the library without telling her just who it was that was hurt, but… He didn't have much time to worry as Applejack's eyes narrowed and she turned yelling towards the house.

"BIG MAC! I'll be back! Twilight needs my help! Let Granny know!" Without waiting for an answer she ducked her head between Spike's legs, tossing him into the air.

Spike yelped as he wound up on Applejack's back. "Warn a guy wontcha', AJ?"

"Sorry Spike, but Ah thought you said this was urgent?" Applejack questioned as she waited for Spike to get settled.

"It is!" Spike insisted, finding a safe and comfortable spot to ride upon Applejack's back.

"Well then hold on!" Applejack warned as she broke into a full gallop.

Spike gulped and held tight to her mane. 'I hope you're right that Applejack will be able to handle this, Twilight!'

---

Twilight smiled gently as she levitated some gauze soaked in rubbing alcohol up to the long cut on Nightmare Moon's head. "Alright, Princess. This is going to sting a bit..."

Nightmare nodded as her cut was carefully dabbed with the gauze in Twilight's magic. She winced sharply from the burning as Twilight cleaned the blood away and sanitized the cut. She bit back a curse so not to scare the small mare.

Twilight bit her lip at seeing her friend in obvious pain. "I'm sorry, Princess, but I need to carefully clean this cut which was caused by your helm. I'm almost done."

"It is alright, Twilight." Nightmare Moon mumbled, her eyes shut tight as she lay upon her belly getting comfortable on Twilight's bed. It was very soft; much softer than the crater she had slept in.

Twilight smiled, having finished cleaning the cut. "After AJ takes a look at your cut and bump, I'll wrap your head in gauze."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Nightmare lowered her head onto Twilight's pillow. She felt so safe here... If her head wasn't throbbing so badly she'd close her eyes and sleep.

Twilight's ears perked up as she heard the door open and slam shut. "We're up here in my bedroom, Applejack!"

"Ah'm coming on up now, Twi!"

Twilight met her at the stairs and opened the door to her loft. "What did Spike tell you?"

"That it was important that I get here fast as Ah' could!" Applejack allowed Spike to slide off her back and followed Twilight into her loft.

"Princess Luna hurt her head. Can you take a look?" Twilight requested with a slightly guilty expression.

"Sure enough, but why didn't ya' get a real doctor?" Applejack inquired with a raised eyebrow. Her purple friend was hiding something from her and Applejack wasn't pleased by the deception.

"Well..." Twilight started, but stopped and gestured Applejack up to where her bedroom was.

Nightmare opened a serpentine eye as she heard the two sets of hooves approaching. Her eyes gazed at the orange earth mare for several seconds before looking up into her eyes. "Element of Honesty, am I correct?"

"Er... Right, um... Princess. Twilight? What's going on?" Applejack turned to glare down her friend, determined to know why Nightmare Moon was comfortably resting on Twilight's bed.

"Well, this is the reason we can't take her to a doctor. She seems to have had a relapse, but shes good now!" Twilight smiled confidently as she looked Applejack in the eyes.

Applejack carefully looked for any sign of deception. Heck, Twilight was almost as bad of a liar as she was, but to her eyes there was no trace of a lie to be found. "Well, okay then. Don't need a panic."

Nightmare smiled sadly but with hope, as Honesty didn't get upset or disbelieve Twilight. Nightmare wondered if she and Twilight Sparkle were very close. That would be a question for later. She snorted a touch. "My head hurts, Honesty."

"Ah'm not surprised! You got a heck of a knot on the side of yer' horn." Applejack carefully checked Nightmare Moon's head for any other injuries, but only the cut and goose egg-sized lump were visible. She tenderly felt the bump.

Nightmare cried out as Applejack's hoof touched the knot on her head. "What is your true name, Honesty?" she asked, desperate to keep her mind off of the pain. Honesty did not seem to be frightened by her, either. Maybe she was close to all of the bearers. Maybe… they were friends? It had been so very long since she had friends. The last time she had still… still been Luna. Was she Luna now? She tested the name under her breath it… it sounded right.

"Applejack. My name is Applejack, Princess." Applejack continued investigating the knot to determine exactly how big it was.

"Hello, Applejack. You may call me Luna." She shivered and closed her eyes as Applejack continued to prod the lump. Luna... Yes, she was Luna, and she had no idea why her body was a nightmare. But for now, it didn't matter; she was Luna.

"Oh that hurts." Luna had thoughts of pulling her head away, but refrained, as Applejack was just trying to help her. It would be over soon, she was certain.

"Ah' have no doubt. We need ta' keep ice on that. We really need ta' get the swelling down." Applejack finally pulled her hoof away. That lump was obviously big enough to cause the memory loss that Princess Luna was exhibiting.

Twilight nodded and left the room. She returned with crushed ice wrapped in a towel a minute or so later. "Here, AJ."

"Thanks, Twi." Applejack placed the ice onto the lump and held it there with a gentle hoof.

Luna smiled as the ice was applied. The coolness was already making her head feel better. "Thank you, Applejack."

"Yer' welcome! Now, we gotta keep you from moving around a lot, Princess." Applejack grinned at the black mare as she made a sound that Applejack would have expected from Applebloom. Shoot, I can't believe I was even frightened that this was the Nightmare.

"So I need to stay in bed?" Luna asked, closing her eyes and enjoying the icy coldness that was numbing her horn.

"For the time being, eeyup." Applejack lifted an eyebrow, ready to deal with whining. Luckily there was none; just the black mare getting more comfortable.

"Agreed." Luna winced, unfolding a bloody wing. She didn't think there was any injury to her wing, but the blood was clearly staining her feathers.

"Somepony oughta preen those an' clean that up," Applejack declared after seeing that Luna's left wing was just as bad as her right one. Broken and bent feathers covered with blood were clearly visible.

"My head hurts too much," Luna mumbled, gazing at her wings. She knew they needed care, but even if she was feeling better she wasn't certain she'd be able to stand taking those black feathers between her lips. But maybe... "Twilight, where is my sister?"

Twilight blinked. She hadn't thought of Celestia since Applejack had begun tending to Luna's injuries. "She should still be in Canterlot. Would you like me to contact her?"

Luna almost nodded her head, but a firm look from Applejack stopped her. Instead, she settled with giving her a sheepish expression before turning to look at Twilight with tear filled eyes. "Please? If I was hurt during a patrol, she's probably very worried!"

Twilight nodded, glancing at the sun. Luna was right; it was late morning now, around eleven AM or so. Celestia was probably beside herself with worry when she had to set the moon for Luna. "Alright. Spike? A letter please, my number one assistant!"

Spike hurried over to her, armed with a quill, some ink and some parchment which he had just retrieved from Twilight's desk. "Ready, Twi."

"Princess Celestia. Urgent. Princess Luna is here in Ponyville and appears to have suffered some sort of accident. She cannot seem to recall anything after the Elements of Harmony. She is anxious to see you as soon as possible. Please respond A.S.A.P. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Got it! aaaand-" He rolled the parchment, stamped it with Twilight's cutie mark, wrapped it in ribbon and breathed flame on it the, green smoke racing out the window. "Sent."

---

Celestia's eyes opened in surprise as a trail of green smoke appeared and formed into a scroll. "Hm? A letter from Twilight!"

She read it, and a look of confusion soon set upon her face as she walked down the hall and knocked upon an ornate navy blue door.

The door slowly opened as the Princess of the Night poked her head out, her starry mane all mussed up. She had a horrid case of bed mane

"Tia? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Author's Note:

...The heck? Luna and... Luna?

Oh by the way Princess Celestia does have a Twilight Contingency plan. She calls it the PTM plan and it consists of three rolls of duct tape.