I awoke in a moonlit glade, lying beside Princess Celestia.

"Twilight Sparkle, we need to talk," she said.

I gathered my bearings and sat up. The environment was beautiful and crisp, but I could tell I was dreaming.

"We're in the dream realm again. Aren't you worried about Luna?" I asked.

Celestia shook her head. "No. I believe my sister when she says she doesn't plan to spy on me, and our plans are useless if we don't communicate. Even if she eavesdrops, meeting is better than remaining silent," she said. "But we have something more urgent to discuss. I read your recent journal entries."

I winced and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. What happened with Pip is unforgivable," I said.

"No, it is forgivable. You have been through too much," she said, and gently touched me on my shoulder with a hoof. (It made me feel much better, which I know now is a sad weakness on my part, but I'll need to cure myself of the need to be touched as well as other ponies.)

"I guess," I said, looking away.

"Twilight, I'm talking about your most recent entry, before this one, which I haven't looked at past the opening to avoid hemming myself in with a time paradox. I'm... rather concerned about your plans," she said, her voice soft enough to walk on eggshells (yes, I know I'm mixing metaphors—journal writing is extemporaneous).

I looked up to Celestia and frowned. "I wouldn't think I'd need to convince you, of all ponies," I said. "Seriously?"

"You are reacting out of pain and shame, Twilight. It's only natural that you would want to be free of your feelings..."

"I'm reacting out of logic."

"You are motivated by the negative feelings you experienced when you orgasmed."

I sighed. "That may have been the straw that broke the camel's back," I admitted, "but the logic is still sound. The world would be better off without any lust or physical need in it. Isn't that what you were trying to do when you set up society this way?"

"I was trying to mute the strength of lust in an attempt to reduce what I thought were significant problems in society," said Celestia. "I did this largely out of anguish for the loss of my sister, who wanted to bring about such changes. You already are aware of this."

"You didn't do anything wrong. Your goal was noble, you just didn't go far enough."

"I may have gone too far, actually. The vamponies wouldn't have gained such a strong foothold if these bottled-up needs hadn't overcome them."

"Exactly! If we eliminate all desire—"

Celestia narrowed her gaze. "There is a proper balance somewhere in the middle. Do you truly want to end reassuring hugs from your family and friends? You will always need comfort, no matter how successful you are at blocking your emotions. There is naturally sadness and happiness in life."

I looked down at the grass. "There isn't a logical compromise. If lust isn't innately wrong, then the vamponies are correct: sex with friends, family, and foals doesn't have to be harmful if done properly, and my problem is that I've been damaged by shame..."

As I looked back up, I noticed Princess Celestia's eyes widen as she leaned back. "I need you on my side, Twilight. If your beliefs allow you to continue resisting the vamponies, I shall not argue against them. Perhaps you are right, and lust is the problem," she said. "However, you must promise me you will not do anything to anypony's brain until we have had time to discuss this in depth. Promise me this."

I frowned. "I promise. I wasn't going to do anything half-cocked anyway, Princess—I know better than to damage somepony's brain without doing exhaustive research first."

Celestia still looked nervous. "Pinkie Promise," she ordered.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," I said, miming the promise. "Are we good?"

After a deep sigh, Princess Celestia nodded. "We are. Now listen to me, Twilight. You've been through ordeals that nopony should ever have to experience. It's going to take a long time for you to come to terms with what you've been through. The way all of this ends—whatever happens, it may not be exactly what you want to happen. I need you to be strong and centered, and be prepared to compromise a little if necessary. No system of rules will ever be perfect."

"I can't compromise with the truth, Celestia. I will make this perfect," I said, though I didn't sound very sure of myself.

Partly this is because I'm starting to have doubts, especially as I read my own words.

Damn it. I need to be stronger than this.

"We'll do the best we can," said Celestia. "As for the plan, has there been any progress?"

"The moment I figure out how to get this thing off of my horn, I'm out of here. I'll head directly to the Crystal Kingdom and spring you from jail," I said.

Celestia nodded. "That seems the best idea. You know they'll be looking for you, though. Do you have the ability to teleport here, once your powers are restored?"

I shook my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't know precisely where Crystal City is in the middle of that snowy wasteland," I said. "If I teleport out there I'll just get lost in a mess of snow. There aren't any signposts other than the train tracks, and those disappear in the distance too quickly to make a teleport chain realistic. I'd need to do a thousand teleports to get anywhere at all."

"I thought that might be the case. I don't know if it will be safe for you to take the train here."

"Then I'll need to leave on the train before they know I'm missing," I said. "Maybe I'll pretend to be sleeping and head out at night. I just wish I knew how to remove this device."

For a moment, Celestia paused in thought. "Have you considered breaking your horn off?" she asked.

My jaw dropped.

"N-no, I most definitely had not..." I said, then paused in thought. "Wait. You mean I could break it off in two places to remove the ring, and the remaining part of the horn might be long enough to still cast through?"

"Yes. But you should pursue every other option first."

"You don't need to tell me twice! I really don't want to have my horn removed," I said, nearly suppressing the erotic twinge between my legs from the lie.

"Someday we'll look back on all this and laugh," said Celestia, with a wan smile.

"I hope so. As long as it's not while fucking my parents," I added.

"Well, either way," joked Celestia.

I smiled, then grimaced. All this talk of the device on my horn made me dimly aware of the annoying vibration.

Without warning, I awoke.

I still haven't been able to get back to sleep. I keep thinking about the humming of my horn, and it's driving me crazy. I wish horns weren't erotic.

I'll have to see to it that they aren't, ever again.

...maybe.

Am I doing the right thing, Journal?