"I hope everyone's paying attention, because if your dumb ass dies in combat then I will personally pull you out of the after-life and strangle you for being an inattentive little shit!" Battle-Master Gilias said, standing before a row of three deer mock-ups. They were crudely constructed, a jumble of sticks and burlap arranged into the vague shapes of Equestria's most recent enemies, but they were good enough for the purposes of demonstration.

Yesterday, the 44th Legion had all but dismissed the sudden appearance of the griffon woman. Now, there was no joking or sneering. There was only the gathering of soldiers in full battle armor, and the sound of Gilias' voice carrying across the clearing.

"I'm not one for sugar-coating things, so let me say this to you straight: The deer will slaughter you if you fight them without knowing how they work. They may not look it, but the soldiers of Whitetail are not to be fucked with." She approached the first deer mock-up, a buck with tall, multi-pronged antlers. "Most of the soldiers you'll be facing in combat will be male -- bucks and stags, depending on their age, though it's kind of a grey area. And yes, I said 'most'. Whitetail allows females to serve in their military, albeit in small numbers, but they're mostly in separate units and you likely won't encounter them on the battlefield. We'll still cover that in detail, but for now we're focusing on this bad boy right here."

She knocked a fist against the training dummy, causing it to sway under the blow.

"If I can be honest with you pony-folk, I'm surprised you aren't a mixed-gender military force. You're usually all about the...touchy-feely rainbow shit, or something. Equality. That kinda thing. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. What is here is a buck made of sticks. Just use your imaginations."

Gilias drew a sword from her side, pointing to the top of the buck with the end of her blade.

"Your standard buck is half a head taller than the average stallion, excluding the antlers. They tend to be leaner and less stocky than a pony of equal size, but they're still deceptively strong. Stronger than a pegasus, but not as strong as an earth pony." The blade came back down, and she idly bounced it in her claw-hand. "This means that they are agile fighters, relying more on finesse than raw strength. You have to keep on your toes...hooves, whatever...in a one-on-one situation."

She jerked her head toward the training dummy.

"See those antlers? All deer have the ability to perform simple magic. When I say 'simple', that's just what I mean. Light levitation tends to be the extent of it, and it can take many years of practice before a buck can levitate something as simple as a sword. For the most part they will fight like more nimble earth ponies. Only the most talented of deer can perform feats of magic more advanced than floating a blade."

A foreleg went up in the crowd. Gilias pointed to it and asked what the question was.

"So if we don't have to worry about that fancy magic shit, and they're just twitchier earth ponies, what's the problem?"

Gilias simply smiled. "The problem, my dimwitted friend, is that the deer -- and especially the whitetail -- don't fight like ponies. What do you use in the legion for standard combat load-out?"

Legatus Lentius, standing in the front row, answered her.

"A gladius, tower shield and buckler, and one or more pila."

"So you fight with a sword and shield most of the time, right? That's pretty normal. So does the Griffon Empire, and Zevran, and Saddle Arabia. But not the whitetail."

Gilias stepped past the first mock-up and over to the second; it was fully adorned in a set of crystalline, glimmering armor that gave off a dull green shine in the light of mid-day. Its exterior had been marred by scrape marks and gouges.

"We managed to, uh, procure this armor from a fallen buck. Anyone have any observations about it?"

"It's shiny?" someone answered, and the others laughed.

"You must be the brains of the group, Equestrian. Yes, it's shiny. Now, any observations that don't border on mind-crushingly stupid?"

Another hoof went up. "It's more segmented than our armor."

"Well look at that, a real answer! There might be hope for you fuckers yet! Yes, Whitetail armor is made to be flexible yet strong, consisting of scale-like segments of a material they call quinndryll -- roughly translated, it means 'steel of the forest'. Think of it as a super-hard quartz. It may look like glass and feel like glass, but it's a tough son of a bitch to get through. It's also exceptionally light for how strong it is."

"We should get some of that," Victus told the stallion next to him.

"Don't go turning in your steel just yet, though. Just like the deer themselves, it's not without its weaknesses. Quinndryll may be strong but it's frail against crushing impacts, like those of a mace or battle axe. It can also be penetrated by a sufficiently strong projectile. Arrows will bounce off, but a ballista shot will still get through."

Lentius called for an orderly, though Victus could not hear what was being said. The orderly stayed for only a moment before darting off to the armory tent.

"There's one more thing you should know about this armor," Gilias continued, "and it's something that ties into the deer fighting style. As I said, many of the deer don't fight with a sword and shield. They rely on a complex triple-blade system, consisting of a long, narrow sword either grasped in the mouth or, occasionally, levitated...and this."

Gilias picked up the training dummy and slammed its forelegs into the ground, cracking and snapping many of the sticks that made up the body of the mock-up. No one noticed the sound, however, because they were all staring at the thin, sharp blades that had shot out from the upper foreleg armor. They whistled in surprise and murmured to each other, impressed by the unexpected weapons.

"This, my equine friends, is what makes the deer so dangerous. These conical daggers are spring-loaded in internal holsters. A solid stomp of the hooves and they shoot out at great speed and lock into place, providing the deer in question with two more avenues of attack. A well-trained deer warrior can make you focus on three things at once, using a flurry of blows to wear your defenses down and exploit any opening with a swift stab to the throat, chest, or head. It's exactly for this reason that we're not marching out into combat as we speak. You're completely unprepared to fight the whitetail. That's why I'm here." She jerked her head back to the tent. "We've gathered a good dozen sets of whitetail armor, so you're all going to take turns wearing them. For those of you with a larger build, you'll likely have to settle for just wearing the foreleg armor and spring-blades. I want all of you to get used to fighting against three weapons at once!"

The same orderly backed out of the tent as Gilias finished speaking, dragging a large sack of weapons and emerald armor along the ground. Legatus Lentius trotted over and inspected the weapons, nodding in approval.

"Listen up, 44th! In light of Battle-Master Gilias' advice, we are going to start distributing battle axes and war hammers! Their numbers are small in comparison to our stock of gladius blades, so for the time being only squad leaders will carry one! We only have a few short days to get proficient with them, so I expect you all to train your asses off! Understood?"

"Sir!" they answered as one.

"Good. That's what I like to hear." He lifted a hoof to the griffon adviser, who was covered from head to tail in brown and blue armor. "Battle-Master Gilias, you may resume."

"As you say." She stepped to the last training dummy, shorter and thinner than the others. Instead of a tall rack, this mock-up's antlers were short and curved back. "One last thing before we start combat drills. I said female deer -- does -- are different, and they are. And no, I don't mean they lack a cock, before one of you geniuses thinks it would be funny to say so. In comparison to magic-using ponies, specifically unicorns, deer do not follow the norm of 'larger horn or antlers means more powerful magic'. They're the complete opposite. Smaller antlers, specifically those of a doe, are much stronger at focusing magic than those of their showy male counterparts. Usually. Does lack the strength of bucks, and so they've become very adept at illusion magic to give them an edge in combat. They can make you see what is not there, they can make you hear things that don't exist. Some of these does are very powerful magic users. Fortunately for you sad, lonely bastards you won't have to worry about running across them in most situations. If you do, well...it's probably best to just fall back and fight with numbers on your side."

"That's not very encouraging," someone said in response.

"Well no fucking shit, it's not supposed to be. I'm just telling you like it is." She reached her arms across her body, pulling a long, curved sword from each side. "Now, it's time to put all of this long-winded horse shit to practice. You will split up into your assigned groups, and pick one of you to be the first to wear the deer armor. Don't worry, the blades are blunted so you don't hurt your pretty little hides. Remember, try to fight like a deer: thrusting attacks, multiple attack angles, quick strikes."

Gilias gave the gathered soldiers a wry smile and puffed out her chest, her studded leather and steel armor creaking.

"Do well enough, and you'll get to fight me. Anyone who can land a strike will get a small cask of amasec, compliments of the finest winery in Winter Rock."

She crossed her swords, then quickly drew them apart with a singing of steel on steel.

"I don't expect I'll be sharing much of it."

Tercio Krosus stood in the center of the Canterlot battle ring, sword and shield in hand. Before him stood three of his fellow recruits in full armor -- an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn, each grasping or floating a gladius, with small buckler shields strapped to their upper forelegs. They were like him, new to the ranks of the Praetorians. Each of them were good, dedicated soldiers with long careers in the Equestrian Guard.

There was Polaris, a lightly colored unicorn with a shock of purple hair who had joined up as soon as he'd turned seventeen. He'd wanted nothing more than to serve alongside Princess Luna, but after her banishment he'd recommitted himself to Celestia.

Beside him was one of the few pegasi in Tercio's barracks, a younger stallion named Thunderburst. With his midnight blue coat and bright white mane and tail he stood out more than most. He'd made a name for himself -- or so he'd said -- fighting raider camps in the rough northern mountains of Equestria where a criminal group of pegasi had formed their own cloud city, hidden far away from prying eyes. He was by far the most aggressive recruit Tercio had met, and the young soldier was known through the Praetorian ranks as being deadly in combat, but hot-headed and prone to violence. For now he was on the ground, his wings spread out to make himself look larger and more imposing.

Lastly, standing to the far right, was the earth pony of the trio, a stallion with a stout build by the name of Rimeberry. Tercio hadn't had a chance to speak with him at length just yet, but he seemed like a relatively quiet pony in his late thirties.

"Krosus!" Imperator Stonewall shouted from his observation podium.

"Sir!"

"Are you ready to prove you're not entirely useless?"

"Absolutely, sir!"

"Good! Let's see how you do against multiple opponents. You may begin when ready."

Tercio was in a battle stance, with a tower shield over his left arm and a gladius in his right hand. He rocked on the soles of his feet in anticipation of the attack, his eyes darting between the trio of ponies in front of him.

"Come on, then," he said with an amused smile. "Who wants the first swing? Have a go if you think you're man enough!"

Thunderburst was the first to make a move, coming in with a fast swing to Tercio's midsection. He parried the strike and countered with a stab to the chest, but the pegasus was fast and sidestepped with another swing of his own. It deflected off Tercio's chest armor, leaving an opening just long enough for him to deliver a swift, powerful kick to Thunderburst's upper torso. The pegasus went sprawling in a cloud of dust and his sword clattered to the ground.

"Sloppy, Thunderburst," Tercio said as he reset himself into a brawling position. "I thought you were supposed to be a hard ass."

"I gave you that one," Thunderburst answered, pushing himself back to his hooves. "Next time I won't be so generous."

"As you say. Right, who's next for a boot to the face?"

"Suppose that'd be me," Rimeberry said, stepping forward with his sword clutched in his mouth. They stared each other down for a long second before Tercio struck out with his blade, missing a swing at neck level and blocking a follow-up from Rimeberry with his shield. A wild thrust answered the shield's motion and it just barely missed Tercio's thigh. He thought to bring his gladius down in a diagonal attack, but Rimebery was a step ahead and had already turned in place to deliver a strong kick of his hind legs. Tercio's shield took the brunt of the impact, but the earth pony was deceptively strong, and he tumbled onto his back. Thinking quickly he swept the ground at knee height with his sword, expecting Rimeberry to jump back to avoid the attack. He did, and Tercio was ready with a powerful bash from his shield that knocked the stallion's head straight back. A thrust of a blunted sword connected with flesh, and Rimeberry was forced to concede the fight to a death blow.

"Not bad, meat. Not bad at all!" Stonewall actually cracked a faint hint of a smile, but it was gone just as fast as it had appeared. "Polaris! Show this uppity monkey what we think of his fancy swordplay!"

Polaris stepped forward, sword and tower shield levitating before him.

"With pleasure, sir!"

"Uppity monkey?" Tercio asked quietly to his opponent.

"Compared to what he could have called you, you got off easy."

"Like I'll get off easy with you?"

"We'll see."

Polaris went for a different approach, playing defensively as Tercio's blows rained down on him. Hit after hit met his shield or was deflected by his own sword. A strong, downward swing from Tercio's shield smashed into the ground, missing the stallion by a hair's breadth, and Polaris countered with a swing that connected to Tercio's upper left arm, landing with enough force to dent the iron armor plate. As Tercio took a wide swing with his gladius, Polaris jumped back and levitated his weapon far to the side, letting Tercio's own momentum carry him through and leave an opening, and in the next second the unicorn's sword was behind Tercio's back, drawing his attention and forcing him to spin around. It was an unorthodox attack, and it gave Polaris time to draw a dagger from his sling and jab it up against Tercio's lower back.

"If you value your spine you might want to admit defeat," he said, breathing deeply from exertion.

"Alright, alright, I give. You win." Tercio rubbed his back as the dagger was withdrawn, laughing despite himself. "That was quite the trick. Never seen that one before."

"The advantages of having a horn," Polaris replied. "Well fought."

"Well fought."

Stonewall whistled loudly. "If you two are done sucking each other's cocks, I suggest you get back into your fighting stances! Nice move by the way, Polaris."

"Thank you, sir."

"Just don't get cocky. A trick like that works fine for one-on-one, but in a battlefield you'd be a fool to levitate your shield and sword so far from your body. Now...what do you say we step it up, Krosus? If you think you can handle it."

"I can handle whatever you need me to, sir!"

"So you say. In that case, you're going to fight all three of your fellow scumsuckers at once! I want to see aggression, you dogs! I want a rain of blows that will make this ugly son of a bitch beg for mercy!"

"This should be fun," Polaris said, cracking his neck as he set his shield and sword in front of him once more.

"Fighters, at the ready!" Stonewall shouted, raising a hoof in the air. Tercio took his stance, deciding who to go after first. Thunderburst was agile but lacked brute strength, Rimeberry was more than a match for Tercio's own strength but wasn't aggressive with his swings, and Polaris was--

"BEGIN!"

With a shout all three recruits charged forward, their weapons lashing out in a flurry of strikes. Tercio reacted to each swing, deflecting and blocking and parrying frantically. His heart raced as he tried to focus on each opponent without leaving himself open, his years of training instinctively kicking in and turning his movements into a well-practiced dance of sword and shield. Thunderburst took to the air and hovered at head height, forcing Tercio to keep yet another attack angle in mind. A string of impacts bashed against armor and helm, and he found a small opening that let him kick Rimeberry hard enough to knock him away, if only for a second or two. With the blows lessened for just a breath Tercio struck out with his gladius and thrust it into a gap inThunderburst's chest armor hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs. The pegasus fell to the ground with a harsh exhale, coughing as he struggled to take in deep gulps of air.

A hard impact smashed against Tercio's left side, sending the tower shield flying out from his grasp. Polaris had taken the opportunity to slam the edge of his shield into his opponent, and with Tercio stagged by the blow he could feel victory just a moment away. Tercio reacted quickly, picking up Thunderburst's gladius from the sand of the sparring ring and continuing to give Polaris a hard fight with a string of strikes from his twin weapons. He started to feel confident in his assault, each swing striking home with strength and precision. Polaris may have had an edge in magic, but Tercio was strong, and he was fast, and he knew he could be far more agile than he was at that very moment. A new-found sense of martial awareness gradually came over him, and he could hear the others murmuring in surprise and cheering him on as his attacks became a veritable whirlwind of motion. And yet, Polaris still held his own. When his shield was lost he picked up the slack with his buckler and parried every blow Tercio threw at him.

"Come on, human!" he taunted between strikes. "How do you expect...to protect...the princess...fighting like that?!" Tercio had to step back as Polaris' swings became stronger, his opponent's horn glowing bright orange as it focused more and stronger magical energy. "Hit me, Tercio! Attack! Attack! What will the deer think of such a display?!" Now firmly on the offensive, Polaris began to taunt Tercio in deer-speak. "Fal'naas, Tercio! Fal'naas!" A sword strike was deflected, but Polaris followed with a kick to the stomach that nearly made Tercio double over.

"FAL'NAAS!"

Something stirred within Tercio at the shouted word. Something he couldn't explain. It was as if someone had lit a torch in a darkest night, guiding him with a brilliant beacon that pushed away the fog in his mind.

Clarity.

And with it came an intense, all-consuming anger. Hatred like he'd never felt before. It welled up in his chest like a bloated leech, black and terrible. His vision narrowed to focus only on his opponent, the flurry of blows being thrust at him of no consequence; Tercio knew he could block and parry the strikes without fail, and as he let a sword thrust smash into his chest armor he bit down on his lip hard enough to draw a stream of blood. He only needed a moment, the slightest hesitation...

"Tercio! What are you doing?! Attack me! Attack me right n--"

With a sudden rush of power Tercio struck out, bull-rushing his opponent with a terrible shout of blind rage. He tackled Polaris to the ground, landing on top of him. Polaris began to panic, landing powerful impacts from his buckler shield against Tercio's helmeted head, but to no avail. The sword he'd been levitating for combat stopped dead, clasped in Tercio's left hand hard enough to draw blood. At the same time, Tercio's right hand landed crushing blows from his closed fist.

Tercio's hands became cut and torn from slamming into steel edges and pounding into flesh and bone, but still he would not relent. Somewhere, far off in the distance he could not find within himself to care about, he heard shouting. Voices telling him to stop. The orange cloud of magic surrounding Polaris' weapon dissipated into nothing, and as the threat ceased to exist Tercio dropped the blade from his bloody hand, now using both fists to pound the unfortunate unicorn into a bloody mess.

Something slammed into the side of his head, but it didn't matter. Strong forelegs yanked at his body, but he could not care. He knew what his only purpose was, with absolute clarity. Grasping the training sword in both hands, he lifted it high above the battered pegasus, began to bring it down -- and then things went impossibly dark again. The fire that had guided him slipped from his vision, the uncertainty sunk back into his mind, and in a single, terrible moment he came to his senses.

And then his world went black.

Princess Celestia sat in her chambers, reading over reports from western Equestria. They were nothing but bad news: Another village attacked, another force too large for the local guards to handle, another list of missing and dead soldiers and civilians. A pounding headache had begun to build in her temples, and she lifted a hoof to rub them in the hopes of temporary relief.

"We're just not ready," she said quietly to no one in particular. She firmly believed in the fighting ability of the Equestrian Guard, but for the last several hundred years their biggest concern had been criminal gangs or cultists. She longed for the days when her parents ruled the land; they could have called upon the Crystal Empire to send help, but no one had heard from the Equestrian ally since the violent and horrific days of King Sombra's rule. The whole city seemed to have just...disappeared.

Disturbing reports of an ultimatum had made their way to her, and even at that moment she knew there was a large contingent of Guard and Legionary forces marching west to meet the deer in open warfare for the first time. If only she had more time. If only Luna were around...

A loud knock on her door grabbed her attention, and she quickly made herself presentable before answering. Standing before her was a dark-coated pegasus in battle armor, covered in dust and breathing heavily. He bowed his head in respect as Celestia looked upon him.

"Praetorian Thunderburst?"

"Please forgive the interruption, my Princess, but I bring urgent word from the Praetorians of barracks four."

You should not be surprised.

"What sort of news? Has something happened?"

"Two of our newest members have been injured, one seriously, in a sparring match. Their names are Polaris, a unicorn, and Tercio, a...human, I believe? Imperator Stonewall sent me to inform you. If you wish, I can provide you with more information."

She kept her expression neutral, but inside a nagging voice tugged at her.

You knew it might come to this.

"No, that's quite alright, thank you. May I accompany you to the injury ward?"

"Of course, Princess. You needn't ask my permission."

"Very well, then. Please, lead the way."

Celestia closed the doors behind her with a brief flash of magic, not bothering to put on her crown or breast collar. If something happened, if one of them died, she would feel the blame squarely on her shoulders, and no one would ever know but her. She hoped they were not seriously injured.

It was a short trip, just down a few hallways and out to a building at the edge of the palace grounds. The room was mostly empty, except for two beds occupied by strikingly different figures.

"Princess," Stonewall said with a nod of his head as she approached.

"I came as soon as I heard. What happened, Stonewall?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Stonewall motioned to the still form of a unicorn off to his right, the light rise and fall of its chest the only indication it was still alive. "Polaris was in a training fight with that strange-looking creature over there. They seemed to be each other's equal, but something happened after Decanus Polaris began to taunt Centurion Krosus. The...human...started to lash out like a stallion possessed. I don't know what got into him."

He is too dangerous, sister.

"I see. And how is Polaris doing?"

"I won't lie, he's in bad shape. He's missing several teeth, he has a broken cheek bone and fractured skull, and the flesh around his right eye has swelled so much that it's become a purple mass of blood and skin. The apothecary believes the swelling will go down and the bones will mend, but..."

"But?"

Stonewall sighed. "But Polaris is non-responsive to external stimuli. For all intents and purposes he's bed-ridden, and if he doesn't wake up within the next day or two then he will likely die of injuries." Stonewall pointed to Polaris' bed. "He may have internal injuries that not even the apothecary's magic can fix. It's too early to tell."

Celestia stood at the wounded unicorn's side, placing a hoof on his chest. His head was wrapped in bandages, sticky with blood. She wanted to weep for him, but she knew she could not.

"And what of Tercio?"

"He's passed out from exertion, or maybe from whatever it was that overcame him. He has some deep cuts on his hands and several bruises from where the others had tried to stop him, but that's really the extent of his injuries."

In sharp contrast to Polaris, the human one bed over seemed to sleep almost peacefully, a blanket wrapped around his body. Something had to have caused him to lash out, but she was at a loss for what it could be. Instead, she occupied her mind by speaking with Thunderburst.

"Praetorian, were you near Tercio when he...lost control, correct?"

"Yes, Princess," Thunderburst answered. "Myself and Rimeberry were alongside Polaris in a three-on-one sparring match. It was good training, up until the moment Tercio attacked Polaris without mercy." He kicked a hoof at the ground and swore to himself. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted someone so different. He's not even equine."

"I would ask that you not be so quick to jump to conclusions, Thunderburst. Something has happened here, and I intend to find out what that was so that it doesn't happen again."

His ears flattened in embarassment. "Yes, Princess, of course. My apologies..."

"It's alright. Now, what happened?"

"Rimeberry and I -- uh, I suppose I should mention Rimeberry is in the barracks -- were training intently. I have to give due credit to the human, he fights with far more talent than his form would suggest otherwise. He actually managed to take both of us down in short order, but Polaris was more of an equal match. They fought so hard that their strikes became a near blur of motion. Tercio had Polaris on the back hoof, but then Polaris found an opening and started pushing Tercio back. Perhaps he became overconfident, or perhaps he was just messing around, but during the engagement he started to yell at Tercio to attack him and be more aggressive. And that's when Tercio fell to insanity."

"Insanity? How so?"

"He took Polaris to the ground and started pounding away with his fists, ignoring any semblance of military form or discipline. Just blow after blow. I think we all realized it wasn't just part of the training anymore when Tercio's punches came up trailing blood. We had to knock him out with a shield to the side of the head, and even then it took several strikes. He was far too strong for us to simply pull him off Polaris."

Imperator Stonewall removed his steel and gold helm, letting his short, red-dyed mane fall to his neck.

"Princess, I know Centurion Krosus has all the makings of a fine Praetorian, but if this is the sort of thing we can expect from him, well...we're all sworn to protect you, and he is a potential threat."

"No, I understand," Celestia answered, turning her gaze from the wounded soldiers. "To tell you the truth, Stonewall, I'm not sure what to do with him at this point. I do not want to see him returned to the Royal Guard, or worse, removed from Equestrian service entirely if I don't have to. I, too, believe he has great potential. This is just an unexpected development, and I will need time to think on it."

"Of course, Princess. Whatever your decision, I stand ready to enforce it." Stonewall and Thunderburst saluted smartly as Celestia bowed to them.

"When the apothecary returns please tell him that I want to be notified as soon as either of them awaken."

"So it shall be done. And what of the other barracks? Word spreads fast amongst Praetorian ranks."

"I will not speak a word of it to them. They don't need to know."

"As you wish."

Celestia took her time returning to her chambers, stopping by the palace gardens to ease her mind. She already had so much to think about; the war, the needs and concerns of her citizens, and now Tercio. It was something she'd feared for many years, and now it threatened to overtake her like a tempest.

We warned you, dear sister.

Luna appeared in the corner of the garden, her appearance that of the days before she was banished, before she had turned to darkness.

"You are hardly one to lecture me, Luna."

A guard walked by in the distance, passing through the image of the co-ruler of Equestria. Her image shimmered and disappeared. Celestia turned and walked away, down the short corridors that led to her room. Luna appeared in a side hallway, leaning against the wall.

You knew exactly what he was. What he is. What he could be.

"And I chose compassion. Perhaps you should have tried it more often."

Compassion would have been to stick a blade through his heart the moment you saw him.

A pair of brightly-colored mares bowed to Celestia as she passed, and she smiled and carried on just as she'd done so many countless times before. Exhausted, she opened the door to her room and sank against the wall. Her mane and tail had begun to lose their sheen again. Luna had leaned in to whisper into her sister's ear.

Embrace it, Celestia. Stop your pitiful coddling of this creature before he hurts someone else.

"I will not entertain such ideas. I can save him. He deserves a chance at a good life."

She blinked, and the towering form of Nightmare Moon stood before her in glimmering armor.

Like you saved us?

Flashes of violence, death. Betrayal.

"I don't need to convince you of anything."

The image smiled with dagger-like teeth. Celestia shut her eyes tight and willed it all to stop.

Of course not. You need only to convince yourself...

When she opened her eyes Luna was gone once more. No, Celestia told herself, she was never there. She'd been banished for more than a month. And yet, as events compounded, Celestia had turned to the memory of her sister more and more often, seeking some sort of answer. A way to fix all of Equestria's problems and make everything return to how it should be.

Deep down, she knew it would not be so mercifully simple. With a deep breath she stepped out onto her balcony, focusing her mind on the comforting warmth of the sun, and slowly, and gently, set it on the path to dip below the distant mountain tops. In a few hours she would need to raise the moon in its place, but for now her tired mind could think only of sleep. If she was lucky, she would not dream of Luna or her twisted transformation. She could close her eyes and, for a fleeting moment, feel free of her burdens.