"..."

"..."

"... So these stallions. Should I rip one, or both of their you-know-whats off?"

This was the first thing that Chrysalis had offered as a response to what she had been told by Gilda and Nightmare Moon. They had recounted what had happened back in Ponyville. Halfy, the ponies that bothered her, and the subsequent 'butt-kicking' as Gilda had so eagerly coined it to have been.

Of course, Chrysalis wasn't initially silent when the group had returned. Quite a few words were thrown at the arriving three - four if counting the resting Jeremy, of whom Nightmare Moon had been sure to close off sound towards - with many of them attracting odd looks from the other ponies that sat around them. It certainly was quite a show, hearing what seemed like an average little filly use such a colorful language.

She had even taken the time of going down the group in her doing so, beginning from Gilda, and stopping just as she was about to tell off Halfy for keeping them held back. Yet, she didn't. One look in her direction immediately brought her to silence. A flurry of emotions had formed a dark cloud around the one-eyed earth mare.

"... Somepony better start talking or I will show you just how mad I can get."

And that was how the situation came to be. Of course, Chrysalis had showed what had seemed to be a notable amount of skepticism as they recalled what had occurred, but it became rather clear that they had still listened after all.

It was a point of particular interest to notice that, throughout their discussion of recently passed events, Halfy had kept some modicum of distance. They hadn't known the reason but shortly after Chrysalis had demanded an explanation, Halfy quickly informed Gilda, Nightmare Moon, and Chrysalis that she would sit elsewhere.

Gilda and Nightmare Moon naturally were curious as to why - after all, she was their friend, so they could only help to inquire as to why she would be elsewhere, save for the open space by them - but were swiftly silenced before they could vocalize this by Chrysalis.

"If she wants to sit alone, let her. That still won't excuse either of you from your explanations anyhow." She had said, halting the two before silently watching the dark cloud from before follow the earth mare all the way to an empty and isolated booth near the very most corner of the car.

She did not mention it, but she had seen such flurries of emotions before. Ponies that had lost loved ones, those that sought out retribution, those that were in truly dark times of their lives. She had even seen this dark cloud upon Jeremy, on occasion. So she wasn't exactly inclined to push further on the issue.

Returning to the issue at hand, or hoof, however...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I mean, c'mon! How could anyone have thought that made any sense? Those jerks messed with Halfy, hurt her, we helped, and now she suddenly didn't want to sit with us for the train ride? What the Tartarus was that about?!

Sure, bug breath said to just 'let her yadda yadda yadda' but honestly I could care less about what she thought.

"Ahem." Pretty much outta nowhere, I was dragged out of my my own head by Jeremy - or was it Nightmare Moon at the time? I never really got that. First he was a human, then a pony, then he was being controlled by some weird magic so that it kinda was him and kinda wasn't? It was a lot to keep up with, okay?! Magic is the dumbest crud, let me tell ya.

"Miss Gilda," she asked, and yeah I could tell it was her purely because of what she called me, "we apologize if we are... interrupting, but this is a rather important matter."

She had a point. I wanted to trash those idiots from before just as much as she probably wanted to. Plus, while I zoned out for a while, I did manage to catch that 'should I rip off one or two of their you-know-whats' comment that Chrysalis had made. So it wasn't hard to guess that she was just as annoyed by this as we were.

"Eh? Oh, right, sure." I had been leaning against the windowsill for a while, just watching as the hillside rushed past us just as quick as the train would go. There was a bump every once in a while, but for the most part it was a smooth ride. I ended up having to majorly take a stretch break, yawning all the while.

That is until I felt something touch my tail, which ended up making me freeze up mid-yawn. It was only for like a second, but it still took my attention. In terms of looking for specifics, by the way, it would probably be best if interest were focused on a certain 'filly' that sat across from us, suddenly having grown a small horn. So yeah, it wasn't hard to figure who had done that whole thing.

"What the hay was that?!" I interrogated, only getting a blank face in response. Seriously though, she gave herself a horn just to mess with me?! If she didn't look like a filly right now and this train was emptier, I would so kick her flank right now.

Before I could even tell her this though, Nightmare Moon - Jeez, it feels so weird to use that full name. Forget it, it's going to be NM for me from now on. Just like back then!

Anyways, NM stopped me, putting her/Jeremy's hoof in front of me. "Miss Gilda," she said, "now is not the time." I don't know if she was implying that I could kick bug breath's flank some other time, but believe me I could wait. It wasn't long after she told me this before she then turned to Chrysalis, her eyes narrowed and her voice a whisper.

"And, pray tell, what reason dost thou hath for metamorphosing in such a populated location as this?"

I'm gonna be real. No idea what she said.

"Hath thou forgotten that we are attempting to relocate without suspicion? Surely one would realize that an earth youth had suddenly sprouted into that of a magic user!"

Seriously, I had no idea how she talked like that, but hey if she was bugging the bug while she was doing it, fine by me.

"Oh please. Most of the ponies here probably would have believed me to be a pegasus whose wings they just hadn't paid attention to. I doubt a horn will be any different." As she replied, she rose a brow in NM's direction, laying herself down on her seat lazily and crossing her legs over each other. "And besides, are you really one to judge about what's inconspicuous or otherwise? I think those stallions had their only point when they commented on your 'holier than thou' speech."

Speaking of the way she talks...

NM didn't seem bothered by this though, not even batting so much as a single eye as she continued to watch Chrysalis.

"... We are digressing from the subject, Chrysalis, and we believe that thou art aware of this."

The two kept giving each other their own mean mugs while I mentally started to take bets for who would back down first. Honestly, I wanted to side my bits - what few I had on me - to NM, but bug breath wasn't exactly a pushover when it came to this kind of crud either. Anypony who can go eye to eye with me is pretty much sure to be able to do so with anypony else.

As surprising as it was though, it turned out that I wouldn't really have lost or won that bet no matter what. The two ended up looking away from each other at pretty much the same time. I had expected a little more than just a small harrumph, so it was a little disappointing. Still, I couldn't complain, I guess.

Ah, who am I kidding, of course I could.

"The situation was dealt with, as we said. Our worry, however, is that this may occur again." Her attention somewhere else, I noticed NM look over to where Halfy was. Watching her sat alone, blankly staring out the train window, I saw her lips thin.

"... What dost thou believe we should do?" The way she had said that, it had practically come out as more of a whisper than a real question. I couldn't tell who she was talking to at that moment. I hoped it wasn't me, since I was about as good with this emotional stuff as a rock. Mushy and I did not get along. Instead, bug breath took the lead.

"I don't dictate what you do, as nice of a blessing that would be. Whether you choose to bring it up with her or not is your choice, and it would be smart if you figured out that I wasn't going to help you." She got an annoying smirk on her face as she boringly closed her eyes. "Besides, 'asleep' or otherwise, a certain human made me promise them that I wouldn't tell them about anypony else's emotions unless he asked me to. And, since you two are in the same body..." She rolled her hoof, letting NM finish the sentence on her own.

"... Very well then." Without so much as offering another glance to either Chrysalis or I, NM moved off of her seat. She landed with a clop from her hooves before making her way down the aisle of the train.

I watched her for a bit, a brow raised in interest as she gained more and more distance from us while closing said distance to Halfy at the same time. She was a good twelve or maybe thirteen steps away before, under her breath, I barely caught bug breath muttering something.

"Hm... Not the worst decision she's ever made..."

To this day, I have no idea what the hay she meant by that.

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The train was calm as time passed. Or at the very least, it was calm enough. Though ponies still conversed, their voices still audible to anyone who was willing to listen, their voices could easily drowned out by the average pony within the train's thoughts. Even the train itself made the occasional sound in a seemingly controlled volume, the click-clack made against the track and the ever so rare whistle that resounded from the conductor's whim providing some background noise to the passengers of the large hunk of metal on wheels barreling down the tracks.

It was the perfect environment for thought. The perfect place for one to isolate themselves in their own mind. Halfy had been silently taking advantage of this, watching the train window as several landscapes passed and disappeared quickly before her eyes. From time and time she would try to follow any hill or noticeable feature from afar until it exited her field of view completely. She imagined some invisible pony sliding and running along the tops of these features, disappearing and reappearing as it found something else to leap and bound off of.

On one occasion she had even seen a small bird fly in the same direction as the train went. From where she sat, it seemed to be a small dot in the sky from how high it was. Her eye strained as she followed the bird as best as she could, eventually losing it in the clouds that were being moved by a pair of pegasi.

Once it was gone she blinked her eye a few times, unconsciously doing what she could to remove the sense of strain she suddenly felt upon it. She began to rub her eye, hoping to quicken the process. It worked, for the most part, as she then blinked her eye a few more times and returned her gaze to the window.

Her hoof, however, lingered. The window suddenly began to accentuate the barely visible reflection of her, rather than the world outside. It essentially became a mirror as she took a moment to silently look herself over. Her attention did not fill with the bruise she could see forming on her shoulder. If anything, she didn't even offer it a glance. She was used to sights such as these, that unforgettable shade of black and blue upon a soft purple.

What she did show focus on though was what she knew she would never get used to. A filthy white bandage that, from what she remembered, she hadn't changed since she moved to the Everfree Forest.

Her previously lingering hoof suddenly came to life, slowly moving itself and, with the utmost care, landing upon the bandage. It almost physically sickened or pained her that she could feel the hoof through the bandages, yet again being reminded of why those stallions, and the many other ponies over her life, were right to treat her as they did. How what lay below that bandage was proof of what a horrid creature she was.

"Halfy?" The thought-filled earth mare all but jumped out of her own skin when she heard her name, a small squeak escaping her as she quickly and instinctively turned to where she had believed the sound to have come from.

She recognized the voice rather easily, much like the appearance of the stallion as she turned to it, but that didn't particularly still her suddenly rapid beating heart nonetheless.

Nightmare Moon, having only wanted to gain her friend's attention, was swift to notice the signs of surprise Halfy had shown. "Oh, do forgive us, Halfy. We did not mean to frighten you."

Her heart and breath calming, Halfy gave out a silent sigh as she faced Nightmare Moon, whom of course still occupied the disguised form of Jeremy.

"I-it's fine." She assured, not at all wanting for Nightmare Moon to feel guilty over the subject. It clearly wasn't her intention, after all, to have scared her. "I-I just wasn't expecting you prin-"

With an audible clear of her throat, Nightmare Moon interrupted her before she could finish, gesturing for her to refrain from calling her that by putting a hoof before her maw in a shushing manner. As much as Nightmare Moon had no issue with being referred to as the princess many no longer has thought her to be, she knew that now would not be the appropriate time, what with the ponies that were around.

Halfy seemed to understand this easily enough, stopping herself almost immediately.

"... S-sorry..." She apologized in a quieter tone. Nightmare Moon shook her head simply.

" 'Tis no issue." Halfy was assured. She watched as Nightmare Moon put on a gentle smile, looking to her kindly.

"Pray tell, would you allow us to have your company, if only for a short time?" The question truthfully threw Halfy off-guard for a moment, an ear involuntarily twitching as she took a moment to be sure she had heard her right. "Of course, if you wouldst prefer to retain solidarity for a more prolonged time, we would have no complaint if you told us otherwise."

Ever so slowly, Halfy shook her head. She had told the group she would sit by herself, yes, but that did not mean she would necessarily turn any of them away should they come to her. Even if that was what she had implied, she would never have enforced it by even the smallest of degrees. She simply wasn't the kind of mare to do so.

"Ah, 'tis grand to know. We thank you, our friend." Having obtained all the confirmation she needed, Nightmare Moon moved herself into the seat opposite of Halfy, allowing the two to now face each other perfectly.

Curiously, the two quickly grew silent as they found themselves to be in their new orientations to one another.

It was clear to Halfy that Nightmare Moon had not simply come to sit with her - though obviously she meant no offense in thinking so - and that she had likely come to talk more about what had occurred in Ponyville. The subject was unavoidable, of course, but that did not mean she had wanted to talk about it so soon.

Nonetheless, she knew she'd have to say something. And besides that something had been on her mind for some time anyhow. This was among the better possible opportunities for her to ask what she wanted to ask, seeing as it was just Nightmare Moon and her there.

Halfy gave another glance to the window and its moving sights before returning her view to the stallion controlled by the mare on the moon.

"I-If you don't mind my asking," she began, quickly gaining Nightmare Moon's full attention, "why did you do that?"

Nightmare Moon rose one of Jeremy's brows at the question.

"We... do not understand." She confessed, hoping that Halfy would elaborate.

"In Ponyville, with the two stallions. Why did you stand up for me?" It wasn't as though it had never happened to her before. Of the various times and ponies that had treated her in this way, the two were among the more harmless. It was only one bruise, which was better than she would usually be afraid of. Yet Nightmare Moon stepped in, coming between her and the stallions despite it not really involving her.

Nonetheless, Nightmare Moon had an answer ready.

"We simply did not wish to allow you to undergo such treatment any further. Neither we, nor Gilda, nor Sir Jeremy." She answered, her face shifting to one of honest concern. "What other reason would one need?"

At this, Halfy looked to the seat below her, shifting ever so slightly as she did so. The faint squeak of the seat springs below her served as a sort of filler for the silence between the two.

"... I don't know..." She dug her forehooves slightly into the seat, eliciting another groan of its springs.

"I just... never had anypony help me like you did. So, um..." A faint line of red drew across her face as she grew silent yet again, seeming to choke upon her own words. Though she desperately did want to express what she felt at the moment, she found it difficult. It wasnt a concept she was used to being able to take advantage of. She had only really been able to show it a handful of times, after all. Nightmare Moon, however, was able to clearly make out what she wanted to provide.

Her gratitude.

"You are very welcome, our friend." With a gentle smile and soft tone, Nightmare Moon accepted Halfy's unsaid 'thank you', placing a hoof upon her unharmed shoulder for only a moment as comfort. Halfy could not help but to look back to Nightmare Moon at this point, her nervousness and anxiety at the very least blurring as she took note of the kind and chummy gesture.

"Regardless, we are not to receive all of the credit for the happenstance in Ponyville. As we said, Gilda and Sir Jeremy played a part in the event just as well." Halfy rose a brow as Nightmare Moon retold this statement.

"A-about that. I understand how Gilda helped, but - and I mean no offense to him if he's hearing this - how did Jeremy help?" Truthfully, she was expecting some outrage of sorts. She knew how much Nightmare Moon respected Jeremy, and that she would likely defend him from anything she could, including a possibly misunderstood 'insult'.

Instead though, Nightmare Moon gave out a short chuckle, shaking her head at the more recent memory.

"To begin, Sir Jeremy is not listening to us in any form. He chose to rest until we arrived at our intended location, likely due to his adopted sleeping schedule." Halfy nodded attentively, silently assuring Nightmare Moon that she was listening.

"Furthermore, when we came to assist you, we held no intention of besmirching our or Sir Jeremy's hooves with the disgraceful stallions that had so perturbed you." Yet another nod was elicited from Halfy, though more slowly on this occasion.

"... Sir Jeremy, as it seemed, held different thoughts on the matter." Halfy's ears now twitched at what Nightmare Moon said, not only from what she had uttered, but also the pride behind it.

"Y-you mean Jeremy was the one who-...?"

"T'was quite the interesting occurrence." Nightmare Moon gave as response to her unfinished question. "So strong was Sir Jeremy's will to defend your honor, he not only broke the spell we held over him, but also seemed to do so through the light that he feared as well." Halfy's jaw fell ever so slightly at this as she slowly processed what she had heard. She knew not a great amount of information regarding alicorns, but she was well aware that their magic was no laughing matter. Yet, according to Nightmare Moon, Jeremy was the one to throw that blow. Despite his fear of the light, the fact that it was close into early morning when it had occurred, and that it was Nightmare Moon that had been controlling him with her magic.

A question bounced back and forth in her head. 'Why'? It seemed this was all she could ask herself, though she was aware she would be unable to give herself an answer. In fact the only one who would be able to do so was currently asleep, as it turned out.

"... H-he did that for me?" She gained a slow nod in return.

"We hold reason for our respect to Sir Jeremy. He places others before himself many times. Thereof be the reason he was unable to escape the dungeons with us initially. The reason for many things that we hold gratitude towards him for. We and Chrysalis, though she shows it not." The controlled, disguised form of Jeremy gave a short glance over towards the direction of her other companions, of whom were easily noticeable due to the Griffons who sat taller than any other in the train car.

"... When he wakes up, c-could you please tell him I said 'thank you'?"

"Of course."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt... different to sleep with only my head, rather than with my body. I could still dream, sure, but I didn't feel like I was there, per se. Even as the moon shined its dim light above me, I could feel myself half-aware that I was dreaming. One would think this was a lucid dream and that, as such, I'd be able to relatively dictate what went on.

Yet, there I lay, still unmoving as I stared up at the sky, my thoughts beginning to fester and flow more freely.

The disguises Chrysalis had given to us, the train, our route to Canterlot. It was as if only these select thoughts could escape me, and any others seemed to pale in comparison.

This dream had no controllability to it, yet it felt eerily familiar. Hell, come to think of it, there was something different about it too. For some reason, though it was hard to really make out, the moon above seemed to grow closer and closer...

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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"Canterlot?!" Celestia exclaimed. "They're coming to Canterlot?!" She was in a state of absolute shock and dismay, looking towards her lunar sister from her seat in the throne room. It was only a few minutes ago that Princess Luna had entered the room. By then, Celestia had already been able to guess that she had found out something of interest.

Yet, how could she ever hope to have expected what she was told.

"Don't yell at her. She's only trying to help you."

"It would seem so, sister." Luna confirmed, though giving out a small yawn as she did so. It was rather difficult for her to keep her focus aligned on the subject at hoof when, in fact, she was almost dead tired. She was not used to sleeping during the night whatsoever, and the thoughts of how her and Celestia's subjects must have been doing without her - having to fend off nightmares on their own in her absence - grated against her. Nonetheless, as her sister had so explained, it was an issue of the utmost importance that had led to this, and as such it was necessary for her to have made a decision as to which responsibility to preside over: to protect her subjects within the dreamscape, or throughout the physical realm.

It was a clear choice from the start.

"See how exhausted you've made her? How many of your subjects are suffering from nightmares because of your mistakes?"

Celestia rubbed at her temples ever so slightly, doing her best to ignore the stress that screamed at her from the back of her mind.

"Shall we order the guards to await their arrival at the station?" Luna inquired. Celestia, however, shook her head.

"No. It would seem too suspicious if it seemed as though the royal guard were suddenly involved with something that should be as simple as a train ride. We need to draw as little attention as possible." Celestia explained, her eyes closed in thought. "What's more, we aren't even sure which of the ponies aboard are the ones we should capture. The only way to decipher changeling magic from any other is through a spell that only you, I, and my student know." If the appearance of the royal guard didn't worry ponies, then surely her own would. It was a conflicting set of thoughts for her.

On one hoof, she had thought the three fugitives to have been foals for returning to Canterlot, making their capture all the more simple. On the other, they had simultaneously made things all the more difficult, gaining a proximity to the princess and her sister while also giving themselves a sort of safeguard from their action.

Were this a game of chess, Celestia would more than likely have found herself to be in check by now.

"Then, what should we do?" Luna asked, narrowing her eyes at the thought of the three escapees - more specifically her former self - being within the city walls.

Celestia's eyes remained closed as she answered with a deep breath, attempting her best to hold a calm tone.

"We are unable to take any immediate action at the moment, just as we cannot allow anypony to know of their escape..." With a heavy stature, her eyes opened once again to gaze down to her sister. "However, we at least know that they will be here in the city, so we can be sure to watch for any suspicious activity more easily. Moreover, so long as we continue our current actions, we should be able to gain more information from the human's subconscious . From this, we will take action, but for now? For now, we wait."

Next Chapter: Chapter 26: Home Sweet Home [Here Again] Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 20 Minutes