Kill her! Kill her now, or flee before she strikes you down!

It wasn't exactly a voice inside my head, but the message from the Nightmare was as clear as if she had spoken. I ignored her.

"Well," I said. "This might be a bit of a problem."

Celestia said nothing, but removed the mirror. Luna stepped closer to me, her shoulder touching mine. I found myself wishing there wasn't a layer of armor between us.

"Ic wille nae..." Luna paused, collected herself, and began again. "I will not let you harm her, Celestia."

Celestia turned her head away from us. "I am hurt beyond words that you think I might even consider it. We will find another way."

Luna still frowned at her sister. "You would not injure the least creature for your own sake, but I know all too well that there is little you would not do for the sake of Equestria."

"Do you think that is wrong of me?" Celestia turned back to her. "We could have lived forever as the favored daughters of all creation, and yet we risked our own existence to make a better world for all ponies. Where is the sister who stood by my side then?"

"Here," Luna said, then lowered her head to tap her horn against the armor over my heart. "And there, sister."

"Please," I said, quietly. "Isn't this the time to be kind to one another? I want what's best for Equestria, too. I know my past actions have been rash and foolish, but I don't have the benefit of centuries of experience like you two. We can sit down together and figure it out. Whatever needs to be done, I'll do it."

The Nightmare knew what I was going to say before I opened my mouth again, and she resisted me. I felt like I was speaking in a room full of shouting ponies as I continued. "And if that means a sacrifice on my part, then that is something I will have to consider."

"Never!" Luna growled.

"I am my own pony, and if I decide—"

"You would not save Equestria, Twilight! You would doom it! Could I share a kingdom with Celestia if she even asked such a thing of you?" Luna said.

"You must!" I shouted and stamped my hoof on the deck for emphasis. "No matter what else happens, you must take control again. If the 'mare of darkest hue' isn't going to die, we need to figure out some other way to fix my blundering. I don't want to be remembered as the pony who broke Equestria!"

There was a long silence, and then Luna gave me a wan little smile and said, "Yes, The Pony Who Broke Equestria would make a truly dreadful holiday pageant."

I couldn't resist it any longer. I wrapped my magic around her and pulled her into a kiss.

After a while Celestia cleared her throat.

"Okay, okay," I said as I broke off the kiss. "Moment of weakness, there. Sorry."

"Don't be," Luna breathed.

"Cadance is in Canterlot," Celestia said. "She has been a great help in keeping the situation from becoming unmanageable. I think we should consult with her as well."[1]
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[1] Translation: Twilight Sparkle, you need to get your head examined.
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Celestia urged me to stay out of the public eye, which was just fine by me. Parading around in my Nightmare Twilight suit wouldn't help matters at all. We decided I would remain aboard Luna's airship, Midnight, for the journey to Canterlot. Luna ordered a crewpony to take me to a guest cabin, with the promise to come and speak with me just as soon as she had some final words with her sister.

"I love you both," I said before I left them. "Please, be kind to each other."

Only a few minutes after the engines started up, there was a knock at my cabin door. I gave a guilty little start. I hate to admit it, but I was standing in front of the mirrored door of the wardrobe, examining my new body.

My coat was so dark it was nearly black, but the light made lovely purple highlights shimmer across it. My mane was nearly the same as my old one, but longer and darker. It rippled slowly, like waves in heavy oil. It was less showy than Celestia's, but still an obvious indication of profound magical power.

I'd like to say that my interest was from pure scientific curiosity, but scientific curiosity couldn't explain why I was wondering how I'd look in a woven chain dress like the one Chrysalis had. I was just as tall as she was, and my new physique was a perfect blend of superb strength and feminine curves. I had a truly majestic set of wings, and a long, wickedly pointed horn to match. Yes, a dress that hinted at being armor would be perfect for me.

I'd never been really concerned or even much aware of my looks and figure before I'd fallen for Luna. But I have to admit that suddenly having a body that would make an athletic-wear model green with envy was a bit of a thrill. So, even though I'd sworn to myself I would be absolutely neutral with Luna until Cadance had a good rummage around in my psyche, when I heard the knock at the door, I cocked a rear hoof, leaned forward, looked back over my shoulder, and said in the lowest, throatiest voice I could, "Come in."

"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said as she swung the door wide. "I wanted to... whoa!"

"Eep!" I jumped in surprise and bumped my shoulder against the wardrobe. "Rainbow?"

"Uh... yeah. I wanted to talk with you and the princesses said it was okay. Wow, you sure look different with your armor off."

I had no idea what to say, so I just gave her a hug. "It's good to see you again, Dash. How have you been? How are the rest of the girls and Spike?"

"I'm good," she said, grinning up at me. "Even better now that you're back! The gang will be really happy to see you. Uh... it might take them a while to get used to your new look, though."

"Well, I hope I won't look like this for long. If..." I finally noticed the Tree of Harmony symbol on the band that Rainbow Dash wore around her left foreleg. "That's the insignia of my personal guard! And those..."

Rainbow Dash actually looked a bit embarrassed when I pointed out her lieutenant bars.

"Yeah," she said, grinning nervously, "Royal Guard Academy. I graduated from the fast track last month. Third in my class, too. First in flying of course. It was the classroom stuff that dragged me down a bit."

"That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you, Dash!" I swept her up in a full wing hug, and spun her around the room.

"Thanks, Twi," she said as I put her down. "I got them to guarantee me a spot on your guard before I signed up."

"I'm very flattered, Dash," I told her. "You'll hold the same rank as a Wonderbolt, right? Half their senior members cross train with guard units."

She nodded but still seemed uneasy or embarrassed.

I frowned. "What's wrong? This is a big advancement for you. You should be bouncing off the walls."

"I..." She grimaced and looked away. "It was really hard for me when things got bad. I mean, it used to be so simple. Princess Celestia, you... I used to know what was what. But when you got trapped and the princesses fought..."

"Loyalty," I said, suddenly understanding.

"Yeah," Dash looked up at me with a ghost of her usual cocky grin. "It's kind of my thing, you know? Loyalty to Equestria was easy before there were… y'know, sides. So many ponies told me I ought to choose which side I was on, so I…" She actually blushed a bit. "I chose your side. Being full time on your guard makes it easy for me. I'm loyal to my commander and my unit and my princess, and I don't have to think about anything else. And sure I don't have to stay up all night arguing about it."

"I guess it was hard on all of you."

"Yeah... that's the thing. It's still hard for some of them. I sometimes think I took the easy way out." Rainbow Dash gave herself a little shake. "But now that you're back, you'll fix it all, right?"

"I..." The Nightmare's ghostly laughter floated through my mind. "I hope so, Dash."

A lot had happened in the year I'd been gone, and Rainbow Dash tried to catch me up, but she isn't the best pony for that sort of thing. If Rarity had been there, I would have gotten every small detail and every nuanced interpretation of events. But then, it might have taken her a month or so to get through it all.

For a wonder, it seemed like Discord had actually been a calming influence during the crisis. Every time some charismatic pony had come up with a new anti-royalty position and had started to attract significant followers, Discord would throw his fervent approval behind the scheme and usually the whole thing would dissolve faster than a sugar cube in hot tea. From how Rainbow told it, I couldn't quite be certain whether Discord had been deliberately undermining the agitators or not, but I knew that sincerity and the draconequus rarely crossed paths, so I had to assume he was being helpful in his own contrarian way.

An even bigger shock was that one of Celestia's biggest supporters turned out to be Chrysalis. She had taken up residence in a guest house on the Blueblood estate, and went about openly as his consort. It seemed that even some of her die-hard followers had managed to make some pony friends, so their number dwindled a bit, but the remaining ones had gradually replaced a good deal of Blueblood's staff and bodyguards.

I would have thought that this would be pretty off-putting for most of the Canterlot elite, but according to Dash, the novelty was something that outweighed the "ick" factor. Plus, there seemed to be quite a number of ponies that enjoyed the companionship[2] of a changeling, even if they knew it was a changeling.
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[2] Yes, that is a euphemism. Yuck!
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Rainbow Dash didn't have time to tell me much more than that before there was another knock at my door. "Yes? Come in!" I opened the door, wincing inwardly at how pathetically eager I sounded to myself.

It wasn't Luna. Instead, it was one of her Night Guard who stood there. He stared at me for a long moment and then bowed so low the top of his helmet bumped the deck. "Your Highness, Her Majesty of the Night would welcome your presence in the aft observation lounge."

I could understand why Luna wanted to meet in a more public space than my cabin, but I was still a little disappointed.

"That's cool," Rainbow Dash said. "I should be getting back to my unit, anyway."

I gave her another hug. "Can you get a message to Spike and the girls for me? Just tell them I'm okay and I'll see them as soon as possible."

"Sure thing, Twi! I'm pretty sure there are a couple dozen couriers flapping their wings off to spread the news right now, but I'll make sure the old gang gets told personally." She gave me a radiant smile. "Princess Egghead is back and everything is going to be all right!"

If looks could kill, the guard's glare would have cut Rainbow Dash in half.

Dash didn't miss it either, but simply sauntered out the door with a casual, "Move it, bats! Personal friend of Her Highness, comin' through!"

There were two guards on each door to the observation lounge and another two on the deck outside the big rear-facing windows. At least there were none inside the lounge itself, so our talk, if not our actions, would be private.

Luna sat at a low table near the windows. She smiled as I came in and nodded to the cushions opposite her. Keeping a table between us was probably a good idea.

I settled in and waited for Luna to say something. Her smile faltered. "So," she said at last. "You have met my mother and now are containing the Nightmare. I suppose you have also unraveled all the secrets of the world's magic. You are an amazing pony, Twilight."

"Luna, what's wrong?" I snorted at the idiocy of what had just fallen out of my mouth and added, "Besides all the obvious things, I mean."

"My sister told me that she withheld her magi not because she thought other matters more worthy of their attention, but because she had confidence that you would put things to right yourself. How could I have had less faith in you than she?"

"Luna—"

"No, Twilight, I have failed again." Luna hung her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "Celestia has the strength to put her own desires beneath the good of the kingdom, but I am still a selfish and vainglorious mare, unworthy of my crown. A true monarch serves her subjects and keeps them from harm, not the other way around."

My head came up and I stomped a hoof in anger. "Did she say that to you? That is monstrously unfair! Luna, you're still a good pony and you deserve to be happy!"

Luna looked up at me again. "No, Celestia very pointedly did not say such things. She was the essence of kindness and forgiveness. But her supporters made it abundantly clear that they believe all of this is my fault, and I cannot seem to disagree. The harm I have done to the kingdom will need the most careful of guiding hooves to repair if it is not to descend into hostile factions and chaos."

"Luna, you do deserve to be happy! You may not be perfect, but you are a good pony."

She barked out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Say that again after Cadance reveals to you the extent of my meddling with your mind."

"It wasn't you! It was... oh." I frowned. "But she really isn't you. You were separated by the Elements and they..." I had been about to say, "removed the worst of you," but I managed to avoid jamming all four hooves into my mouth at the last second. I felt the ghostly laughter in my mind again.

That brought up another subject I had been worrying about. "What about the Nightmare? She's strong enough to be a presence in my mind, and even though I don't seem to be having any trouble keeping control of her now, I'm worried she might be able to influence me like she did before."

Luna seemed to be glad to abandon the previous subject. "Until we can come up with a more permanent solution, I will guard you each night while you sleep. I am sure I will be able to keep her suppressed."

"That's very reassuring. Thank you, Luna."

"To keep my other self from harming you even more? 'Tis the very least I can do."

"Luna, please don't be so hard on yourself. You may have made some mistakes, but I wasted millions of bits worth of equipment and ponypower while playing right into the Nightmare's hooves. If anypony is responsible for this incredible mess, it's me! It's been an expensive lesson for both of us, but we will fix this somehow and go on as wiser and better ponies."

She gave me a wan little smile. "Wisdom is oft hard won, is it not? I trust thou art correct and that we will go on, but..."

I waited for her to continue, but she turned away from me and gazed out the window at the desert below. I was about to ask her what she was thinking when the Nightmare butted in.

She is troubled because she still loves you. She will destroy the kingdom if we come to harm, the Nightmare insisted. She will fight Celestia again, and without the Rainbow Power to stop her, she may win this time. You must keep us both safe for the sake of Equestria.

I suppressed a groan. This might be a lot more difficult than I'd anticipated.

There was a knock at the door and a guard called out, "Your Majesty? Her Highness's meal has been prepared."

"Ah, yes," Luna turned back to me but avoided my gaze. "I've had a selection of food laid out in your cabin, Twilight. I'm sure you must be hungry."

I hadn't really thought about it, but as soon as Luna mentioned food, I realized I was ravenous. "Will you join me?" I asked.

"No, but I will see you after your meal. Or if you've eaten so much that you wish to nap afterward, I will stand by you in the Dream Realm."

"Uh... is that likely? I mean, I am hungry, but—"

Luna gave a short chuckle. "Trust me, Twilight. I nearly ate my weight in cheese the first week I was back from my exile. You will appreciate your first meal in privacy."

She was dead right about that. I didn't so much eat my food as bathe in it. Real, cooked food with goopy sauces and processed sugar and bread! I ate until I could barely move, then I rolled onto my bunk and passed out.

I stood on the highest tower of the Castle of the Royal Sisters, looking out over the Everfree Forest. The landscape looked pretty normal for a dream, except that the forest extended much farther than in the real world. I couldn't see anything beyond it.

I heard a hooffall on the stone and turned to see Luna standing there. But there was something about her that was ever so slightly off.

"Are you the real Luna, or are you the Nightmare?" I asked.

"If you can't tell the difference, is there a difference?"

"Hello, Nightmare," I said.

There was a shimmer in the air and the real Luna walked out of nothingness to stand by my side. "Begone, Nightmare. You have done damage enough."

"Ah!" The Nightmare said, touching a hoof to her lips in thought. "How about, 'no'. Does 'no' work for you?"

Luna snarled, and her chest and shoulders tightened into hard-edged shapes under her coat. "I will drive you away, debased one! Think not that I shall have any mercy upon you merely because you are of my own self!"

The Nightmare snarled back with much pointier teeth. "Oh, shall we fight, then? Yes, let's! Let us battle each other the way we fought Celestia so long ago and lay poor Twilight's mind to waste, just as we did this once-beautiful land!" She swept her hoof out over the battlement, indicating the dark and tangled forest.

Luna said nothing, but she didn't move from where she stood, trembling with rage.

"No?" the Nightmare cocked her head. "Well, that's the first smart decision you've made in years."

"Leave her alone!" I found myself chest to chest with the Nightmare without consciously covering the distance.

The Nightmare grinned and leaned closer to me, until our lips nearly touched. "Make me," she whispered.

My hoof caught her along side the muzzle with a sharp crack. I'm sure Rarity would have scoffed at my technique, but it was enough to send the Nightmare crashing to the floor.

"Ahh..." She winced and rolled up to a sitting position, her Luna disguise melting away to reveal the back coat underneath. "My, how strong you've become, Twilight. And direct. A much better way to settle a confrontation than logic and reasoning, isn't it?"

I didn't know if I could ever think of her as purely evil ever again, but she certainly had my vote for most irritating creature in existence.

"Twilight." Luna laid a wing across my withers. "Do not let her bait you into hasty action."

"Yes, Twilight," the Nightmare said, "be a good little filly. Take her as your role model. Return to Canterlot with a bowed head. Wear a blanket of thorns and eat seared grass to show your repentance, and forever more deny yourself anything that conflicts with Celestia's grand schemes. What a wonderful life you will have from then on."

"That is a twisted version of reality! I follow the princess because she is wise and good!"

The Nightmare laughed scornfully. "She is ruthless and not half as wise as her subjects believe. Or should I say used to believe? After being abducted out of her own palace by the magic of an ancient enemy she had chosen to pardon, and then having Discord betray her at the critical moment in the scheme she had bet the whole kingdom on, the few ponies with any brains began to doubt her perfect wisdom. I'm sure she herself was more than a little regretful that she hadn't listened to or relied on you when she was hanging upside down in a pod of green goo from the ceiling of her own throne room or chained in the depths of Tartarus."

I looked at Luna, hoping for some rebuttal or even an interruption, but she held her gaze on the Nightmare and didn't move, much less speak. I had come to admit to myself that Celestia wasn't perfect, but this litany of failings was biased and cherry-picked from over a millennium of success and stability.

"And that fun little adventure with the shade of King Sombra! Wouldn't it have been nice to have a little help against that fiend? Luna wanted to go with you, but Celestia held her back. Why was that, I wonder? Perhaps she was afraid? No, surely not! She probably just wanted her Little Terror to get a bit more experience in the monster-killing trade. You and everypony else in the empire might have died or been enslaved, but those are the risks a monarch must take."

"Shut up, you poisonous nag!" I screamed at her.

"Twilight! How can you speak that way to me? Am I not a part of the mare you love?"

"I don't love her, you vile monster! You twisted my feelings! You bent my brain!"

Yes, the Nightmare had played me like a cheap guitar. I knew it the moment the words were out of my mouth, and I turned to see the tears welling in Luna's eyes. "Luna! I... I didn't mean it that way. I—"

"Nay, Twilight Sparkle, do not concern thyself. I can bear the truth."

I didn't even know what the truth was. But that was a problem I could do something about. I turned back to the Nightmare. "So Celestia isn't absolutely perfect. So what? What do you suggest I do about all this? Your scheming seemed to work out just fine in the end. Maybe I should listen to what you have to say."

Both Luna and the Nightmare started in shock at my words.

Luna found her voice first. "Twilight, surely thou canst not intend to heed her words! Though many times I have disagreed with my sister's methods, she has ever acted for the good of Equestria."

I shook my head, slowly putting things together in my mind. "No, I know that the good of the realm has always come first with Celestia, but she has made mistakes. And giving broad freedom to her subjects has given rise to many groups and individuals who hold their own gain above the health of the kingdom. The ones that thought killing you would be an acceptable solution, for instance."

Luna peered at me doubtfully. "But surely she is worse than any of those fools."

More little pieces of a plan clicked together in mind as I answered. "But she doesn't want you dead. Do you, Nightmare?"

The mare's black head turned, and her dragon eyes focused on Luna with a terrible intensity. "Nay. Your love may be false, little princess, but mine is as vast and true as the night sky. I would be whole again. I would rule Equestria as a true and mighty monarch, guiding my ponies with a stronger and surer hoof. Celestia's weakness is that she allows the love of her subjects to sway her judgement. I would exalt only the worthy and cast down the grasping, greedy fools. Is that not the very model of justice?"

I had to play it just right. I tried to ignore the look of confusion and horror on Luna's face as I replied, "If true, that's an admirable attitude. I think I should hear more of what you have to say."

A slow grin crept over the Nightmare's face. "Well, well, well, some sensible thinking, at last! My first suggestion is to ask Luna to depart, so that we can speak privately."

"Yes." I nodded. "All right, but there's just one little thing I want to ask of you first."

"Twilight! Thou art mad! Canst—"

"Wait a moment, Luna. You can see whatever she's doing inside me now, right?"

"Aye, but if I depart—"

"Yes, I understand. But if I were to ask her to completely remove any spell that is affecting my thinking, you could make sure that is all she does, right? A simple, blanket Negation of Origin would work, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," Luna said, with a puzzled frown.

"Well, then I suggest another oath." I turned back to the Nightmare. "You clean out whatever mind magic you still have lurking around in my brain and I will give you my full night's dreaming tonight to... advise me, shall we say?"

"Done!"

"Ah, you agreed to that awfully quickly!" I glanced over to Luna. "And you will give me time to talk in private with Luna. You can do that, can't you?"

"I can, but I don't see the benefit to either of you. I suspect you won't want to talk for long after I release you."

"I don't care. You get the full night tonight, but you remain sealed away from my mind until then; those are my conditions." I looked back over my shoulder. "Luna, can you enforce that privacy if she goes willingly?"

She nodded, but did not speak.

"Well? Deal or not, Nightmare?"

She frowned and her eyes narrowed, but she nodded slowly. "It is a pact."

We wove our magic together and swore our binding oaths.

The Nightmare negated her spells on me with a careless toss of her horn almost immediately thereafter.

There have been many times in my life when I have been unsure of my feelings, but I'm not the type of pony to let myself be swayed by them in any case. But when I looked back at Luna, I was certain of what I felt toward her. And it completely confused me. I stared at her with my mouth open for nearly a minute before she fled the dream.

The Nightmare chuckled. "Well! Are you sure you still want some alone time with her, now?"

I probed the still active matrix of the oath spell. The Nightmare had done what she promised. "Honor the rest of it, monster," I hissed at her from between my teeth.

She laughed and reared, her wings spreading in a joyful stretch. "I will see you tonight, Twilight! Oh, we have so many wonderful things to discuss!" She vanished in a swirl of darkness, and left me alone.

I stomped in frustration. I hadn't been able to think quickly enough, and Luna had left as a result. I had to fix this, and didn't have any time to waste. After I fell asleep that night, the Nightmare would be part of anything I said or did. I had to wake up and go find Luna now.

There, two steps in front of me, was the obvious solution. I clamped my wings to my sides and leaped over the parapet. The last thing I remember thinking before I hit the jagged rocks at the base of the tower was, I sure hope that superstition about dying in a dream isn't true.

I jerked upright in my bunk and gasped. I threw open the door to my cabin as I got to my hooves, and bellowed, "LUNA, I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!" I might have overdone the Royal Voice a bit, because I blew the glass out of several ports on the other side of the passageway.

A knot of Night Guards rushed toward me, then skidded to a confused halt. One of them was brave enough to directly confront me. "Her Royal Majesty does not wish to be disturbed."

"Where is she?"

He said nothing, but braced his legs against the deck as if he expected me to charge him.

"Must be somewhere behind you, then," I muttered.

The bat pony didn't like that at all. He used his right wing to extend a bladed lance from where it had been sheathed in his armor. "I will protect my princess! You will have to kill me to get past!"

A couple of the other guards drew weapons, but most stared at each other in confusion.

"Flicker?" I snorted as I recognized his cutie mark. "You're willing to die to keep me from talking to her? You're an idiot!"

He charged, but I just teleported behind the group of guards. "Not dead yet? But here I am, a big nasty threat to poor, helpless Luna! I'll bet I can get to her before you do!"

He charged at me again, nearly impaling some of his comrades as he did so. I winked out just before he reached me, surreptitiously tagging him with a little spell before I went. In his rush to reach and defend his beloved princess, he would lead me right to her.

Luna had sealed herself in the great cabin and erected a teleportation barrier around it, which would have been a problem for me before I gained the magical strength of another alicorn. The airship rocked and swayed a bit with the energy released when I broke through the barrier, but I don't think it did any permanent damage.

I didn't give her any chance to teleport away or even begin a spell. I grabbed her in my magic and shook her. "Luna, you idiot, I do love you! I don't care if I got pushed instead of jumping, because this is the best swim I've ever had in my life! Okay, so now there's a certain ick factor that I'm going to have to get over, but if you can put up with me being such a neurotic mess that I rough you up and babble like an insane pony, I think we can work past that! Now are you going to kiss the ever-loving hay bales out of me, or am I going to have to break down and scream like a little filly with a rat in her birthday cake? Because, I swear, if I have to wait one more second, I will—"

Luna is a really good kisser. With the fog lifted from my mind, my appreciation took on whole different dimensions, not all of them entirely comfortable.

We didn't have time for much else. Sergeant Flicker pounded on the cabin door and shouted, "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

"What is with that guy?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Is he under some kind of mental compulsion?"

Luna grinned at me. "Converts are always the most zealous, and ponies can be irrational without the help of dark magic. He was with me when I stepped out of your dream and was distressed by how upset I was." She turned to the door and said loudly, "I am fine, Sergeant. Please stand down."

"Can you send for Celestia?" I asked Luna, once I was sure that Flicker wasn't going to demand some sort of proof of her well-being. "I need to talk with her before the Nightmare gets back to the party."

"Yes, I can. But what difference will the Nightmare's presence or absence make to what you have to say to Celestia?"

"Okay," I took a deep breath. "This may seem a bit strange... not to say crazy, but hear me out before you decide I'm a complete nutcase."

"Of course, my love."

"I made an oath to listen to what the Nightmare has to say, and I wasn't just intending to give her time to rant while I keep my hooves over my ears. I am going to listen what she has to say, and I am going to evaluate it in the calmest, most logical way I can manage."

Luna frowned. "But, why? You know she only seeks to further her own ends."

"Yes, and primary among those ends is her desire to be reunited with you. How can I fault her for that? And the other thing is..." I closed my eyes briefly and swallowed. "What she said about Celestia was vindictive and twisted, but it wasn't completely wrong. In her own bizarre way, I think she really intends to be what she considers a good ruler."

I opened my eyes. I had expected shock, dismay or repugnance from Luna but she gazed at me with a calm, neutral expression. "And?"

"And since I am going to give the Nightmare a chance to make her case, alone and uninterrupted, I feel it is only fair to give Celestia the same opportunity."

Luna blinked. "Thou art truly going to call upon my sister and weigh her plans for Equestria against those of the Nightmare?"

"Well, put that way, it sounds a little harsh," I grimaced. "But I really need to know the truth about what's going on if I have any chance of helping to put things right. I'll have to ask Celestia about her plans for the future. And to help me prepare, I'd like you to tell me as much of your early history as you can, starting with your mother's reign."

Luna nodded, eyes downcast. "And when thou hast heard all to thy satisfaction?"

"Then..." I said, lifting her chin up so that she had to look me in the eyes. "Then, I will have decisions to make."

Author's Notes:

AcademicPony and statoose, have once again rocked my literary world with their awesome assistance!