Fleur squinted at the pale navy blue unicorn before her that was as unsettlingly tall as herself. She had an even paler blue mane and tail, and when Fleur looked at her flank she saw the mare had a cutie mark of a crescent moon surrounded by a silvery corona. Even though she was sure they had never met, Fleur couldn't shake the feeling that she recognised this pony.

"Take a picture, it'd last longer," the newcomer said sarcastically.

Fleur blushed, then frowned. "That's definitely not a phrase used in Mareitania since there are no cameras here."

"Oh... Uh, I meant paint! Paint a picture! It would most definitely capture my beauty for you to peruse for much longer! Yes. No photographs here." The unicorn grinned nervously, and there was a clonk as Twilight's hoof met her face. "Curse this modern tongue for betraying me!"

"Have we met?"

"It's Princess Luna," Twilight answered before Luna could embarrass herself further. Then she facehoofed again as Fleur dropped into a bow. "For the love of... stop that Fleur."

"Twiiiilight!" Luna whined, "Why did you have to tell her who I am?"

"It's only the natives we're keeping that from. We agreed that my friends could know."

"I know, but I wanted to reveal it with a touch more ceremony than that."

Fleur crouched in a half bow, not sure what was going on as she witnessed the two princesses bickering like school fillies. "So, when did you get here Princess?"

"Last night."

"A couple of days ago."

Twilight squinted suspiciously at Luna, "What do you mean a couple of days ago?"

"I mean I arrived a couple of days ago. I thought I would take stock of goings-on here before I made my dramatic entrance. Did you not notice the purple and blue maned unicorn hanging around the place?"

"Even if I had, why in Equestria would I assume it was you?"

"Well, you wouldn't. That's how disguises work."

Fleur cleared her throat politely, "Perhaps a better question would be why is she here?"

"She's here because of me," said Twilight. "My brother and my friends are freaking out over me being here, so to stop them doing something rash it was agreed that Luna come here to help. Agreed without my knowledge mind you."

Fleur brightened up, "So you're here to help us fight?"

"No, she's here to help me with my research-"

"Even though I'm a superb warrior," Luna grumbled.

"-Nothing more."

"For now at least."

"Luna!"

"What? I suspect you haven't honed your skills with a weapon in the slightest, relying on your magic instead, meaning that of the two of us I am the superior warrior as I can do both." Luna grinned cockily, but it soon faded to Twilight's stern glare. "Apologies Twilight. I am your humble research assistant, and nothing more."

Fleur raised an eyebrow, "And why exactly is she not allowed to fight?"

"Because another powerful magic user would draw suspicion. Ponies on both sides know who Trixie and I are, but if another pony as powerful turns up it might get ponies asking questions about where she came from."

"I also suspect she wishes to keep me away from seeing Trixie fight, as she thinks I might take issue with her dark magics."

Twilight gasped at that small betrayal, "Yes, well... let's not forget that the broken dreamscape here also effects you negatively! Leaving Puddingarde might be a bad idea for you."

Luna rolled her eyes then looked to Fleur, "I suspect we should stop this as we appear to be distressing Miss de Lis with our bickering."

Twilight paid attention to the wide-eyed stare Fleur was giving them. "Right, sorry. I bet you're wondering why we asked you to come down here?"

"You have no idea how far that's gone down my list of things to wonder about, but I'll humour you and ask why I'm down here."

"With Luna's insight, I do believe we've got the healing spell to work!" Twilight couldn't contain her excitement and bounced up and down on the spot.

"No way! That's great! When can I try it?"

"That's why we asked you to come here actually, so we could test it."

"What!? I'm not being your guinea pig!"

"Look, Luna and I spent hours testing it on ourselves last night, and there was absolutely no side effects that we could come upon." Twilight held a hold out to Fleur, "Come on Fleur, please trust me."

Fleur hesitated, but slowly held a hoof out to take Twilight's, "Alright, but if this thing kills me I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your life."

"I hope you're a patient ghost then," Twilight said to herself. She pulled Fleur over to the bleachers and instructed her to lie down on her side. Then she got the device ready and put it into position over Fleur. To Fleur it appeared to be a lampshade made of gems and wires, but she wasn't about to say so. "Luna can explain the process to you while I set this up."

"Right, um... basically, this device will copy your essence, that is, your integral magical signature, which is then infused with the alicorn healing spell Twilight developed and then redirected at the afflicted area."

"So I'll heal like an alicorn?"

"Yes and no," said Twilight. "The process is much slower, and it could take months to regrow something even like the size of your ear. I'm also afraid that while it can give you things back, it cannot take things away."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that the spell isn't as comprehensive as true alicorn healing, and it does leave some scars from it's work as normal healing would, which also means it doesn't remove scars, or tumours for that matter, as far as we can tell. I also think something like Drip Dry's wings would be problematic for it."

Fleur played a hoof over her bandaged leg, frowning slightly. It quickly morphed into a smile and she shrugged, "I guess you can't expect everything of an amazing healing spell the likes of which has never been seen before." Twilight smiled at the vote of confidence.

"We'll keep working on it. For the most part though, with regular treatment it can heal, or even replace, any part of a pony's body. Including wings."

Fleur jerked up, forgetting that she was supposed to be still, "You mean it could regrow the filly's wings?"

Twilight nodded as she adjusted a gem on the device, "We think so, but it would take months and months, if possibly years of almost daily treatment to make it happen."

Fleur lay her head back down, "That's amazing. I'll bet the filly will be so happy to hear that."

"How about we work out all the kinks first, before we go and make promises we can't keep."

"Right, of course." Fleur lay still as Luna measured the stump of her horn, then waited as they had a short discussion. She nodded when asked if she was ready, and watched out of the corner of her eye as Twilight fed magic into the device suspended above her head. She felt something pulling at her, then she shivered with cold for a second, then that faded to leave nothing except a tingling where the device shone on her. "Is that it?"

"Not quite," said Luna. "As we said, it is not a swift process. We'll run it for an hour, then see if your horn has grown any."

"Okay." Fleur settled herself and closed her eyes, focusing instead on the tingle in her horn.

Sweat was pouring down Twilight's face by the time the hour was over. She almost collapsed when Luna poked her to tell her the hour was up, and lay down and panted as Luna measured Fleur's horn again. "Did- Did it work?"

"Almost half a centimetre of growth."

Fleur looked down, "I'm sorry Twilight..."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"It barely did anything."

Twilight laughed tiredly, "Fleur, we just achieved a week's growth in an hour. At that rate your horn could be fully regrown in maybe a month compared to six. I know horns regrow anyway, but it still proves it works!" She rolled onto her front and pushed herself up, "We need to amplify the magic input somehow. There's no way a unicorn could maintain that for an hour."

"So it worked then?"

"Better than I hoped."

"Great!" Fleur thought for a moment, "Does that mean we've made doctors obsolete now?"

"Hardly," said Twilight. "All this does is fill a gap in medicine by expediting the regeneration of tissue. We'll still need doctors and nurses for most other things. What we might have done is skew medicine in favour of unicorns, but it already leant in that direction anyway since unicorn magic is perfect for surgery."

"Oh. Still, congratulations Twilight."

"Thanks." Twilight decided to continue with laying down as the world was starting to spin dangerously. "So it's true then, war really does push innovation."

"Sadly so," said Luna, "and we've got a lot further to push it by the time we are done. Too bad most of those innovations are going to be about fighting the enemy rather than something wonderful like this." Luna glanced up at the ceiling, "In fact, the first step of that innovation is about to arrive."

The door to the command room opened and admitted entry to a rather confused Daybreak, "Twilight, did you ask for a bunch of stuff to be shipped here? We just had three carts arrive with some of the weirdest stuff in them." He noticed Luna stood by them, still in her unicorn guise. "And who is that?"

"This is Selene, my new research assistant, and yes, we did order a lot of unusual stuff to be delivered here. Have some ponies start unpacking it and bring it down here."

"Actually," Luna piped up, "I would prefer you don't touch it. Some of it is rather delicate, and I will unpack it myself when I can."

Daybreak looked to Twilight, who nodded, "She knows what she's doing."

"Alright then..." He left, and Fleur turned a curious expression to Luna.

"How did you know that he was about to come in here?"

"Ah, well, the position of the sun, which I can always tell wherever I am, is enough to tell me that my delivery should have arrived by now. Then I heard hoof steps nearing and could tell they belonged to a stallion, and I've observed that only a few stallions come down here so I made a guess as to who it might be, and what his purpose for coming here is. Nothing mysterious about it at all. It merely seems mysterious, which is always a good thing to appear as in my position. Although, if I had been wrong I would look very silly indeed."

"So you can always tell the position of the sun?"

"Indeed. The moon too. My sister and I always know where our wards are. Incidentally, it always means we know what time it is."

Fleur looked to Twilight who shrugged, not really knowing what to make of it either. "Alicorns are weird..."

"We do tend to pick up our quirks after a while," Luna agreed.

Twilight opened a crate then recoiled as the stink of chemicals filled her nostrils. "Blech! What are you hoping to concoct with this stuff Luna?"

"I believe I mentioned explosives previously?" Luna set her crate down and opened it, sighing as she pulled out a fragment of broken glass, "Curse those fat hooved buffoons," she said before using her magic to repair the item. "These are delicate!"

"I know you said explosives, but I don't see how all this stuff helps without powder."

"Don't need it as the substance I will be making is far more powerful." She rummaged around in another crate and pulled out a sheath of papers, "With my explosives and these blueprints we'll create weapons that the Duke couldn't hope to match."

Twilight's eyes went wide, "Does Celestia know you have these?"

Luna rolled her eyes, "She does. But even if she didn't why would it matter? Strangely Twilight I am capable of operating without my sister hanging over my shoulder." She thrust the papers towards Twilight, "All of us want this war over sooner rather than later, and hopefully some of these devices will give you a greater edge over your opponent than you already possess."

Twilight pored over the top paper, the blueprint detailing something that was called a cannon. She could tell this wasn't the original design she had seen in the archives as it was recently made, having included modern techniques and materials in the construction. Signed at the bottom was P.L.

"You designed this yourself?"

"I modified my original design to use more durable materials allowing for greater power and accuracy."

"Put some enchanted runes on and it'd be even more durable..."

This time it was Luna's turn to be surprised, "You know of runic enchanting? I had thought the art lost since neither I or my sister remember enough of it."

"I found a tome on it in your old castle, and did my best to learn it all."

"Of course..." Luna grunted. "One little fight for the fate of the world and she goes to pieces, leaving a treasure trove of knowledge to rot."

"I hardly think that's fair."

"I jest Twilight. I know it can't have been easy for her." Luna frowned for a moment, leaving Twilight to wonder if she should interrupt Luna's thoughts. She was about to when Luna gave a small shrug and returned her attention to Twilight, "Have you made use of runes? If you could remember how to do it would be very useful."

Twilight answered by pulling Swordy from its hiding place in the ether, and Luna's eyes lit up as she studied the blade. "Magnificent Twilight! You used the five important runes too. I must admit though that I find your choice of sword to be rather... gaudy."

"It's the sword that killed me." Twilight had expected Luna to be surprised that she would adopt the weapon that killed her, but Luna didn't so much as bat an eyelash.

"And now you use it to slay your enemies. A fitting turnabout. Does it have a name?"

Twilight blushed, "Uh... The Great and Powerful Swordy McSwordface, the Magnificent. I call it Swordy for short."

Luna's expression went flat. "Oh yes, magnificent will be the heroic tales of Twilight and her noble blade Swordy," she deadpanned. "Few and far between are the times you have disappointed me Twilight. In fact, I might even say that this is the first. What were you thinking?"

"It's not my fault! I wasn't going to name it at all until Trixie pressured me into it. Then she suggested Swordy McSwordface as a joke and I kinda called it that to annoy her."

"Good grief Twilight, even that ridiculous name is better than to not name it at all."

"What about you Luna? Do you have an enchanted blade?"

Luna's mouth split into a predatory grin that unnerved Twilight slightly, "I thought you'd never ask." From the ether Luna summoned two curved glaives of silvery white metal, their dark blue centre hilts bearing a stylized crescent moon. The temperature in the room dropped suddenly and Twilight was able to see her breath. A thin veil of vapour trailed off the two weapons, almost hiding the six runes on each, barely glowing with Luna's cold blue magic.

"Twilight, I would like you to meet Artemis, and her twin brother Apollo."

Twilight shivered from the change in temperature, "You enchanted them to be cold?"

Luna nodded and touched the lower tip of Artemis to the floor, a patch of frost spreading from the point. "The moon is cold Twilight, it seemed only fitting."

"Wow... makes Swordy look a bit lame."

"Fret not Twilight. The legend of..." Luna grit her teeth, "Swordy, shall be as great as the legends that mine and Celestia's weapons used to be."

"Celestia has one too? What is it?"

"A golden spear she rather unimaginatively named Solaris. As the opposites we often are, so does her weapon contain a burning heat that could turn a pony to ashes in seconds. I do believe she uses it to heat Canterlot castle now..."

"But yours freezes them?"

"Yes, but that is rather secondary to the fact that I have already killed them." Luna returned her weapons to the ether. The room slowly warmed up again once they were gone. "Anyway, enough of this. Do you possess the ability to create steel and molds?"

Luna's disappointment was obvious as she surveyed the armoury. She had been hoping that they possessed the ability to pour steel, but the quantities they produced was less than she needed by a long way if she wanted to make cannons.

"And you have nowhere else capable of producing large quantities of steel?"

"Not like you're asking for," said Daybreak. He wasn't quite sure who this unicorn was to be asking for such things after turning up the day before, and wasn't really in the mood for it. "Perhaps in Stalliongrad, so maybe we can build these things after we've already won."

"Daybreak..." Twilight said warningly.

"What? I'm being serious Twilight! The Duke had that massive riverboat built, so clearly they know how to make big metal things! But me? I don't even know how they did that seeing as how there isn't a place capable of making something like that that I know of."

"And it had a steam engine," Twilight mused quietly, "so they must be able to make large steel constructs somewhere. I thought they got most of their metal ores from Caverndown?"

"They have some pretty big mines around Stalliongrad, so I wouldn't say they got all their metal from Caverndown."

"This still doesn't help us," Luna pointed out. "Perhaps we'll have to leave the cannons until I can figure out how to produce our own steel. I can still make smaller items though." Luna did some maths in her head, concluding like many before her that Mareitania sucked for getting anything done. "With luck the cannons would be slightly unnecessary with these bombs we're going to produce for the pegasi to drop."

"Yeah, about that..." Twilight began slowly. "Don't you think that these bombs are rather, I don't know, a bit much?"

Luna fought the urge to roll her eyes, "They're intended to take out siege weapons and fortified positions Twilight. Using bombs to kill a few soldiers is rather akin to burning your house down to kill a spider. You don't think the Duke would hesitate to use these methods if he had access to them?"

"I'm getting real tired of that argument." Twilight knew she was only saying what she was to try and spare herself from witnessing further horrors, but the targets that Luna pointed out were a serious threat to her ponies. Perhaps Luna was onto something there at least. "Alright Lu- Selene. I'm going to leave this entirely in your hooves. Remember to keep these bombs small enough so the pegasi can carry them."

"Of course. I'll also begin work on your plans for storming Prance."

"Thank you." Twilight left them to it, not wanting to get too involved in what would go on there. Instead she made her way up to the barracks where she found her friends talking to each other quietly. She was going to join in when Trixie saw her arrive and stomped over, her nostrils flaring.

"Are you serious!?"

"Usually yes, but you're going to have to be a little more specific."

"Luna! Are you seriously letting Luna stay here!?"

"Ah. Well, firstly, I'm not letting her stay anywhere as I'm not exactly able to send her back. Secondly, I'm not sure what your problem is since she already knows about the dark magic."

"And you think she doesn't have a problem with it!?"

"No more than I do." Twilight guided Trixie back to the rest of their friends, "I understand your concerns Trixie, but I'll do my best to keep her off your back, so as long as you only use dark magic on the battlefield, or when necessary, you'll be fine."

"Don't be naïve Twilight." Trixie pointed at her deformed horn, "You really don't think she's going to freak out when she sees this?"

"I couldn't tell you Trixie, but I can tell you that worrying about it won't change anything."

"Besides," said Octavia, "it isn't Luna's fault you've become addicted to dark magic, so you can hardly blame her."

"I'm not addicted!" Trixie shouted. Several other ponies in the room turned to look at her, making her fold her ears back and blush. "I can stop any time I want," she mumbled meekly.

Fleur shook her head sadly, "Speaking from personal experience, addictions aren't so easy to shake. Even though you don't want to do whatever you're addicted to, there's always that one little bit of you that wants to give in and try it again, for old times sake. It's like something constantly looking over your shoulder, watching for a moment of weakness to pounce upon."

"Then it's a good job I'm not addicted, isn't it?" Trixie said in a tight voice.

"Wow Trixie," the filly piped up, "I'm so glad you're not mired in total denial or anything."

"Why you little-!" Trixie lashed a hoof out at the filly, catching her across the end of the muzzle and sending her sprawling.

Fleur rushed to the filly while Twilight and Octavia tackled Trixie to the side. How necessary that might have been was debateable as even Trixie seemed shocked by what she had done. "I- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" She glanced about desperately, hoping for some understanding, but all she found were ponies watching her angrily, "I... I need to go." She pushed Twilight off and ran out of the keep as fast as she could.

The filly sat up and spat, "Yeah you better run!" She rubbed the end of her nose, and a sickening crunching sound came from it as she moved it about. "Euurrggh-Ow. Twilight, I don't suppose you have some miraculous healing do-hickey that could fix this?"

"You're in luck." Twilight picked the filly up in her magic and teleported them all to the command room, setting the filly under her healing device. "Hopefully this won't take long because I don't think leaving Trixie alone is a good idea."

"I could go keep an eye on her?" Summer offered.

"Okay, but from a distance." Summer ran out of the room. Twilight readied herself to charge the device when she realised it'd probably go quicker if she set the filly's nose correctly first. "Hold still filly, this is going to sting a bit."

Twilight felt the strain pretty quickly after starting, having not totally recovered from her time healing Fleur earlier. Thankfully the injury wasn't too bad and healed up relatively quickly.

"Thanks Twi."

"You're welcome," Twilight mumbled. Ideally she wanted to take some notes concerning the speed of healing, but the way the room was spinning was a pretty good clue that she should keep her head down for a little bit.

"You're not pushing yourself to a burnout are you?" Fleur pressed a hoof to Twilight's forehead, forgetting that she couldn't feel anything through her boot, nevermind that Twilight's temperature wouldn't tell her anything anyway.

"I'm fine. As I said, I need to find a way to boost the magical output so normal unicorns can use it. If I do that I could probably use it for hours without serious side effects." Twilight slowly rose to her hooves, "It doesn't matter. Right now I should find Trixie. Promise me you won't hold this against her. I really don't think she meant to do it."

"Nah." The filly wrinkled her nose experimentally, pleased that it didn't hurt when she did. "I probably deserved that at least a little bit. We're cool."

"Thank you filly. And the rest of you?" Octavia shrugged, which Twilight could only assume meant she wasn't going to make an issue out of it. Fleur folded her legs at first, but shook her head when the filly prodded her on the belly. "Good. I really don't think Trixie needs to be thinking that we hate her too."

"I really don't get why you're so protective of her," Fleur said in a clipped tone.

"Because... Because she needs me to be. For all her bluster and power, she's vulnerable, more so now than ever now that she's a permanent victim of her own anger. I'm know I sound sappy when I say friendship's the most powerful magic of all, but it's true. Think of Trixie now, then imagine what she could become without our friendships. I can, and it's not pretty."

"I guess."

"Don't guess Fleur. She's already angry enough with adding resentment and abandonment to the mix."

"Not forgetting her obvious jealousy of you."

Twilight sighed, "Or that."

"Fine, I'll forgive her this time since the filly has, but she better watch her step in the future."

Twilight teleported up and out of the keep, appearing in the courtyard outside. She spotted a tuft of pink tail in a cloud above her and flew up to find Summer intently watching a spot in the distance. "Is that Trixie?"

"Yeah, she keeps wondering about picking up rocks and cutting them into shapes and stacking them up. I really have no idea why though."

"That can't be good." She dropped off the cloud and glided silently across the space to where Trixie was building her pile. She landed and walked the last little bit so as to not spook Trixie. "What are you doing Trixie?"

"Why? Didn't your little spy tell you? Don't think I can't see Summer up there."

"She wasn't spying Trixie."

"Uh-huh... whatever you say." Trixie placed the block she was holding on top of the rest, then set off in search of the next.

"I mean it Trixie, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm building."

"Building what?"

"A fortress of solitude."

"Oh, of course... How could I not realise that?" Twilight watched as Trixie pulled a stone as big as herself out of the ground. Trixie cut it down until it was square and nodded with apparent satisfaction. Then she carried it back to her 'fortress of solitude' and set it into place. "Why don't you use your crystals?"

"Because that's just what you'd expect me to do."

"Well, yeah, it's probably what I'd do if I were to build a fortress of solitude." Pleasant childhood memories of her doing something similar with books popped into her head. "Or it is now," she admitted. "Trixie, nopony's angry at you if that's what you're worried about. We all know you didn't mean it."

"And what if I'm angry at me?"

"I didn't think building a fortress of solitude was most pony's immediate reaction to that."

"No, they lock themselves away somewhere, but I don't get that luxury because nothing here is private. So I thought I'd make my own private. Hence the fortress of solitude." Trixie wandered off and ripped another stone out of the ground, leaving Twilight to puzzle over where and how she was finding these stones. "If you'll excuse me Twilight, I still have a lot of work to do."

Twilight snatched the stone out of Trixie's magic, "Trixie, this is ridiculous. You need to stop."

Trixie stole the stone back, "Or what?"

"Or- Or I'll... Huh."

"Exactly, so let me build in peace, and leave me alone." Trixie set the stone in place and set off to find another. She ripped another out of the ground, but stopped when she saw Twilight doing the same. "Oh no you don't, you are not helping me to feed this insanity to look like the good guy."

"So we should have one of our silly arguments instead? Okay then, I'll start. Everypony knows you didn't really mean to do that."

"Oh yeah? If I didn't mean to do that, then why did I?"

"Because ponies get angry sometimes."

"But I'm angry a lot more than sometimes! You all brought up my dark magic and I got all defensive, and-" Trixie stopped herself and shook her head, "You're a crafty one Sparkle, but I'm not getting dragged into-"

Neither pony heard what she said as an ear-splitting boom filled the area and they both instinctively dropped to the ground. A torrent of flame and dirt shot into the air, the dirt raining back down in a wide circle around the explosion.

"Huzzah! It worked!" a voice shouted that could only belong to one pony that Twilight knew.

Trixie cautiously raised her head, "Y'know what? I'm fine," she said before they both rose to their hooves and raced to the epicenter of the explosion. They found a blackened crater the size of three mares that was smoking gently, watched over by a triumphant Luna in her unicorn guise.

"Did you see that Twilight? Wondrous was it not?"

"That was you? H-how?"

"My first bomb. It wasn't too hard to mold the casing with my magic so I was able to get my first bombs made relatively quickly."

"That's a bomb? I didn't think it'd be so loud. You could've told us you planned to test one!"

"Nonsense Twilight, it'd do these ponies well to keep them on their hooves." Luna grinned happily, and Twilight suspected that Luna wasn't about to apologise. "Since I seem to have gotten the mixture correct I do believe we can begin mass producing these whenever you're ready."

"Did you make any more of these?"

"Of course I did." Luna pulled another out of the saddlebag she was wearing and tossed it to Twilight, the alicorn almost having a heart attack from Luna's casual throwing of explosives. "Relax Twilight, they are inert until you light the fuse." Luna pulled another from her bag and took the other back off Twilight. Then she banged them against each other. "See? Harmless."

Under their coats Twilight and Trixie had gone pale. "Of course," Twilight squeaked, "harmless."

"You're making these things in Puddingarde?" Trixie asked. "As in beneath everypony there."

"Yes. Where else would I make them?" Luna squinted at Trixie, then specifically at her horn. "Ah, hello again Trixie Lulamoon."

"Your Highness."

"Please, call me Selene when we're in public."

"If you say so."

Twilight waved a hoof to get Luna's attention back, having worked out the point Trixie was about to make. "Luna, I'm glad your bombs work, but I'm in agreement with Trixie. There is no way you're going to be making and storing these inside the keep. You'll have to find somewhere else to do it. Maybe we can build you a shed or something. After all, you're the one that told me what happened to the west wing of your old castle."

Luna opened her mouth to retort, when she finally noticed all the ponies that had gathered around, drawn by the explosion. It wouldn't do to be seen arguing with their leader. "As you wish Twilight." She returned the bombs to her bag, "Hopefully it won't take long so I'm ready for when you push on Whiplash."

"Let's go talk to Daybreak and see what we can sort out." Twilight just about stopped short of dragging Luna along in her magic, instead waiting patiently as they made their way back to the keep. "Don't you ever randomly set off explosions like that again!"

"Calm yourself Twilight, I picked a spot that nopony was near. They're going to have to get used to these sounds in the near future."

"I'm not sure what you think is going to happen Luna, but we are not going to be throwing those bombs around willy-nilly! I'm not even sure if we would need any bombs to take Whiplash, not until I consult Fleetfoot."

"Oh very well Twilight, I shall stop trying to expedite your war effort." Twilight ground her teeth in frustration. "Perhaps instead we could discuss Miss Lulamoon."

"Trixie? What about her?"

Luna rolled her eyes, "Don't pretend like there's nothing wrong Twilight. Her horn is showing considerable signs of corruption."

"Yes... it is," Twilight admitted slowly, "but that doesn't mean she's evil or anything."

"Of course not. If you were to remove her horn it would grow back normal, so if that were the only issue I'd say nothing of it. She is however, a murderer. Yes she might have-" Luna's words were cut off as Twilight clamped her mouth shut using her magic.

"Why does everypony have to give me an opinion on Trixie? I know what she did, and I know she's unrepentant about it. I know she's possibly a danger to us, and I know that some day or another I'm probably going to be forced to stop her. What I don't need is everypony around me thinking I'm some kind of Trixie apologist that's just going to keep on letting her do these things!"

Luna used her own magic to free herself of Twilight's grip, "Then why do you let her continue like this? You have quite the force of ponies on your side Twilight, you don't need her. It might be better for all if you were to remove her from fight."

"Do you have any idea how much she has done for this rebellion? There is no way I could tell her to leave!" Twilight pushed herself away from Luna, her head low to hide her anger, "This discussion is over."

"Ask yourself what Trixie is fighting for," Luna shouted after her. "Is it justice for her family, or revenge? Or is it merely the love of battle and death? Even justice is dangerous in the wrong hooves Twilight."

Twilight stopped dead and ground her forehooves into the dirt. "What right have you to judge her Luna? The mare that tried to destroy her sister, bring about eternal night, and possibly commit an act of omnicide? All out of a jealous whim?"

"I paid my penance Twilight," Luna replied calmly. "A thousand years on the moon in case you forgot."

"And yet you were no different when you came back! You actually came closer to reaching your goals than the first time, and if it wasn't for me and my friends you would've succeeded!"

"The Elements purified me Twilight, I'm no longer that mare! You should know that better than anypony!"

"I do, which is why it hurts more when you talk about these weapons you designed, and talk about the plans you had to fight a war against Celestia, and I can't help but notice how damned proud of it all you sound! That pride Luna, to me is as bad as you think Trixie is! Trixie may be using dark magic, and she may be proud of her power, but at least she doesn't pretend that what she does is right! She has made it very clear that all she wants is the Duke dead at her hooves, and she has been willing to fight and scrape for every inch of land we've liberated if it gets her closer to her goal."

"She thought murdering that mare was right!" Luna cut back.

Twilight grit her teeth, "I know, and as much as I wish she hadn't done it there is still the possibility that she may have been right about that mare, and that she may have saved lives."

"But it was still murder."

"And? These things you're making have a huge potential for collateral damage! Will you be counting the innocent lives that might be lost after being caught in the blast from one of your bombs? Will you still be proud when foals are among those?" Luna wasn't able to look Twilight in the eye any more, her ears drooping with shame, "I thought not."

"I- I'm sorry Twilight..."

Twilight sighed bitterly, feeling that even though she may have won, she still lost. "I know, and I'm sorry too. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your work, but being proud of these weapons designed purely to kill and destroy? Not so much. You might think Trixie a monster, but she's no more a monster than any of us will be after this is over."

Author's Notes:

Been a while so I think I better get to posting something, even if it is a bit of a slow chapter before more interesting stuff starts to happen. Brain's still full of crap so writing is still a bit slow, but I do have some writing done.