The ten ponies and one draconequus all stood there, staring at Nightmare Moon. The recently incarnated creature stood in the center of her circle. Her wings were flared at at her sides to their full length. Eyes closed, her head was thrown back, pointing up toward the ceiling. After several seconds passed, she opened her eyes.

"Something's wrong." She looked down at herself. "I can't turn into mist." She raised her head up once more. "I don't feel the night... or the moon."

Turning, she faced Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she took a step forward. Her lips pulled back to reveal her sharp teeth.

"You!" she snarled out. "You're behind this! What did you do to me?"

Bracing herself, Twilight Sparkle straightened up and spread out her wings. Taking a deep breath, she tried to push the fear in her stomach aside enough that her voice would not crack or quiver. Calling on her magic, she began to collect into her horn so that she would be ready to protect herself from an attack.

"Nightmare Moon," she stated, "I highly recommend that you calm yourself before we are forced to restrain you."

"I'll calm myself after I tear out your throat!" With a roar, Nightmare Moon lunged, launching herself into the air. Her jaws were wide as she made her way toward Twilight, ready to tear into her.

Raw magical energy slammed into Nightmare Moon's back, knocking her from the air and slamming into the ground. Her vision went white as the air was knocked from her lungs. In that moment, Nightmare Moon felt something she had never experienced before: pain. It was not something she wished to feel again.

"What..." she wheezed out, "did you.... do to me?!" Her legs shook as she pushed to try and sit up.

"Using magic and an experimental ritual, we managed to create a body for you, separate from a host," Twilight explained.

"I know that," Nightmare Moon growled. "What I want to know is, why can't I access my magic? What did you do to cut me off from my power?"

Twilight closed her eyes and slowly took a deep breath.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic about the whole thing," Discord called out to Twilight. He then turned to Nightmare Moon.

"Moony, you're a pegasus."

"What?!" Nightmare Moon bellowed out, standing back up with her wings flaring at her sides. "A pegasus?"

"Yes," Twilight stated. "Understand this from our side. We couldn't allow you to be an alicorn or unicorn. You would be extremely powerful and dangerous. We had to come up with some way to limit your ability, and giving you a form that did not have direct use of pure magic was the easiest way. We also discussed and concluded that after being an alicorn, being a pegasus would be less traumatic than an earth pony."

"Less traumatic?" Nightmare Moon repeated. "Less Traumatic? So you force me into a body, sever most ties to my powers and my moon, and you think that granting me wings that I will never be allowed to use would make me more compliant while you pass your judgement on me?"

The room turned quiet as she continued to stare at Twilight Sparkle. There was a sense of satisfaction as the unicorn turned princess shifted uncomfortably. As Nightmare watched, Twilight looked away, her ears drooping as she took a step back. In fact, none of her pony friends were willing to look at her either. The other three princesses, the guard captain, and Discord, however, did not seem so swayed by her words. Of course, it was not they who had made the choice of her form, was it? It was not they who were responsible for her form. Certainly they had probably agreed with it, but it would have been Twilight Sparkle who had done the actual work for it.

"So, what is to be my punishment?" Nightmare asked in a cold tone, still staring at Twilight. "I assume that it is not to be summary execution. Even if I believed that you had the courage to do so, I doubt you would since doing so might very well allow me to return to the dream ether until I regain full power and posses another."

She glanced at Discord.

"Am I to be banished in stone? Sealed away for years, immobilized as a mere decoration in some garden?" She looked away from him to Princess Luna. "Perhaps I am to be banished again? Once more locked away in the moon, unable to move but having my form gaze down on you until I am freed once again." She turned to Celestia. "Or maybe you will banish me somewhere closer instead. Force me into exile far out beyond even The Crystal Empire. Although you may not go to such extremes. Perhaps I shall simply be imprisoned. Locked away in some dungeon beneath the royal castle, where I can be watched and guarded until some distant future event brings it to an end." Her attention returned to Twilight Sparkle. "So? What shall it be?"

"Rehabilitation."

"...what?" Did she hear that right? She could not have heard them right. There must have been some sort of mistake.

"Shining Armor," Twilight Sparkle said, "the collar, please."

Silently, Shining Armor stepped forward, moving toward Nightmare Moon. Using his magic, he pulled out a collar and floated it toward Nightmare Moon. As she watched in a kind of frozen fascination, it moved closer until locking around her neck with an audible click.

The collar seemed to be made of a silvery metal. Probably not actual silver since such would be too soft. More than likely some composition metal with a high content of magic mixed in with it. It felt warm. Comfortably so, as though it were already warmed to proper body temperature. In the center of the front was a jewel that looked like her own eye, albeit in an oval shape.

"Nightmare Moon," Twilight Sparkle stated, "you will be coming with me to Ponyville. There you will work to learn how to properly integrate into pony society and culture while working to make amends for your past misdeeds."

She was serious. Nightmare Moon had not misheard. Twilight Sparkle was actually planning to try and rehabilitate her. Did she honestly expect that to work?

"So instead of imprisonment, I am to be placed in bondage? Spending the rest of my days servicing you to your pleasure and being... punished... if I fail to do so?"

The choice of wording had at least part of the intended effect. Twilight was looking anywhere but at her, ears pulled back and cheeks burning a bright pink in color.

"I-it's... It's not... not like...that," Twilight managed to stutter out (much to the amusement of at least one of her friends). "I mean you will be servicin-- serving -- working!...." She coughed and took a deep breath. "Yes, you will be working for me, and you will be monitored and have some of your freedoms restricted. Also, you will be doing some community service to make amends for some of your past crimes and to help you make friends as well as allow Ponyville to become more accustomed to you. You will also be allowed to have your own room, limited access to the kitchen, a small allowance of bits, and -- depending on your behavior -- you will be permitted to explore the town unsupervised for limited amounts of time."

Nightmare Moon blinked, letting the entire statement sink in.

"Are... are you.. serious?" she asked. "Are you serious? Is she serious? This has to be some kind of joke."

"'tis no joke," Princess Luna responded. "Twilight truly wishes to attempt to reform you into a productive member of pony society more than to punish you for your prior misdeeds."

Turning to face Luna, Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes.

"And what about you? As one of my former hosts, you expect me to believe that you are truly okay with such a soft consequences after what I have done?"

At the question, Princess Luna shifted. Her gaze wandered as she licked her lips.

"Admittedly," she stated, "the question of what to do once you were incarnated had not been one I had considered. The need to be certain that you would be unable to possess other ponies was the primary concern. So much so, we had not thought of what to do until Twilight suggested her plan. Although, had I considered it, I may have been inclined toward petrification. It would be amusing to see your statue outside my balcony when preparing to raise the moon."

Although not what she expected, Nightmare Moon could understand where Luna was coming from. She then turned toward Princess Celestia.

"And what of you?" Nightmare Moon asked. "After trying to overthrow you kingdom twice and plunge the world into eternal night, do you actually expect me to believe that you support this plan?"

Princess Celestia gave a gentle -- and Nightmare Moon felt condescending -- smile.

"It was I who asked Twilight and her friends to reform Discord."

"And that worked out so well," Nightmare Moon cut in, "seeing as he betrayed you and all of Equestria to Tirek."

"You know about that?" Twilight asked.

A grin spread across Nightmare Moon's mouth as she let out a chuckle. She turned her attention back to Twilight.

"Do you think I was merely dormant since our last battle? I may not be able to influence them like Luna, but I do have the power to see when a pony is having a nightmare." Her grin grew wider. "And there were many. Ponies all across Equestria suffering in their sleep, re-living the horror of having their magic drained from them, and fearing that it somehow will happen again." She licked at her lips.

Her glance flicked over to Discord, who she noticed was sagging slightly, trying to make himself smaller. Next to him, Fluttershy moved closer and gave a gentle pat.

"An action for which he has shown genuine remorse," Princess Celestia continued. "He has also made a few friends of his own, and has shown that he is willing to make a genuine effort to be good... even if a little mischievous..."

With a groan, Nightmare Moon rubbed at her forehead.

"I swear to the moon," she growled, "it really does seem like you all are completely insane. I think I would rather be a banished back to the moon instead of have to spend any more time with even one of you."

"Well, I do hope you will change your mind before this is all over," Twilight said. "Now, we should get going. There is much to do, and if we hurry, we might just be able to catch the next train to Ponyville?"

Nightmare Moon eye's went wide as her ears pulled back against her head.

"Train?" she cried out. "You expect me to ride on public transportation?"