“On my kingdom...shine the light of justice.”

Luna remebered those words Celestia spoke, as she banished Nightmare Moon to her slumber. As if it was a cruel joke, whatever had made her become such a monster, allowed enough of her consciousness to slip through to hear those last words.

Now Luna had found herself in darkness. Her element. But something was different about it. The castle was whole once more, flickering torch lights from the windows indicated signs of activity inside, and the moon...

There was her moon, as close to the land of Equestria it has ever been, full, bright, and almost....leering at her?

I shall consume...consume everything...

It was unsettling to say the least, but she pressed on to see who was within the castle. When she approached, a group of ponies, all with emotionless expressions, turned to face her.

“Who are you?” the leader asked, his face obscured by a cloak.

“I am Princess Luna. Sister to Princess Celestia.” Luna answered, confidence in her voice. Why wern't these impudent ponies bowing to her?

“Celestia? HA!” the pony scoffed. “She is unfit to rule. She only has one sister, and that is Nightmare Moon!”

“What?” Luna was taken aback.

As if to answer her question, her eyes drifted to the stained glass windows that depicted her and Celestia when they were foals. The face of the Luna image was gone, a hole in it's place, showing the moon outside, which appeared to have drawn closer.

“No....no...this cannot be...” she began to panic, her hooves scrambling for footing.

“Your true face! What kind of face is it?” the pony asked. He commanded the others to gather.

“WE, THE CULT OF THE MOONDREAMERS, WELCOME NIGHTMARE MOON'S DARKNESS! TO CAST ASIDE THE LIGHT THAT BLINDS US TO THE TRUTH, AND BESTOW UNTO US TRUE FREEDOM!”

Before Luna's eyes, Nightmare Moon manifested, causing the ponies to bow before her. She sneered at Princess Luna, then a smile spread across her face.

“When a body is used by another, it can be called nothing but a puppet. This one has served it's purpose.”

Luna had managed to stumble back outside the castle, her breathing frantic and ragged. This isn't right....she thought to herself...this isn't right...

“You shouldn't have done that...” the pony's voice whispered. Luna glanced up to see her moon, her lifes work and prison, plummeting towards the surface. She was helpless, powerless to stop it's descent.

With nothing left to do, she screamed as the moon made it's final approach.

Burry your wasted into the moon....I hope it melts into the earth soon....

Luna awoke, screaming louder than she realized. Her cry echoed through the remains of the castle and managed to stir some of the sleeping life in the forest in the process. Her heart was pounding like never before, and a cold sweat covered her body.

After ragaining her breath, and her heart returning to a normal rate, she glanced over to see none other than the Doctor, flanked by a mighty griffon that looked a bit nervous.

“Oh, sorry...Perhaps we've come at a bad time?” the Doctor nodded.

“No...no....just....repressed memories I'm still trying to get in order.” Luna replied dryly, standing on wobbly hooves and attempting to shake the cobwebs from inside her skull.

“I see...um...well...” the Doctor glanced at the griffon. “We...kind of have a change in plans.”

“What do you mean?”  Luna asked, quirking a brow.

“Well, it would seem that Trixie is lost to our cause. Not that she was much of a use anyway.” he cleared his throat when he noticed Luna's unamused expression. “So, I found this repentant griffon who wishes to take her place in our little group. If that's okay...”

Luna nodded, obviously exhausted by her nightmares. “Fine...whatever you feel needs to be done.”

“Are you okay, Princess?” the Doctor finally asked. “You seem out of sorts.”

“I'm fine...nothing that some rest wouldn't fix. I'm not really used to sleeping at night.” she mustered a half-hearted smile.

“I see. Well, come then Gilda. We've got work to do.”

The griffon turned to follow the Doctor, stopping to glance back at the tormented alicorn. She turned back and spoke.

“Princess...I....I know what it's like to seek forgiveness. If you want to talk, I....I'm here.”

Luna nodded, her smile now more meaningful. “I would like that, Gilda.”

“Allons-y!” the Doctor called, making Gilda scowl in his direction for being called like a dog.

“Coming!” she answered, and walked off.