Once again, Nightmare Moon found herself in the same forest of the dream realm that she had seen so many times before. With a sigh, she started to walk.

Honestly, she had been hoping she would somehow be able to avoid this. Being here had not always been night after night, so there was no guarantee she would have been here tonight. Alternatively, if she was here then she would be able to meet Princess Luna. Then Nightmare could show Luna the problem, and maybe they could come up with some idea on what to do about it.

Reaching the base of the hill, Nightmare looked up at the moon in the sky.

"Come on then!" she shouted. "I know you're there already. No reason for you to make a grand entrance. There are no other ponies here to see it."

A bright silver beam of moonlight shined down on Nightmare Moon, blinding her. As she tried to blink and regain her sight, a black shadow formed in the center of the beam, looming over her. The shadow grew smaller as a figure approached, seeming to come down from the moon as it came closer and closer.

"I thought you would enjoy the theatrical," Princess Luna said with a grin. "After all, it was you that started relying on such acts when we were still together."

"And I got the idea from you," Nightmare added, "who had seen Celestia use it who knows how many times."

It was quite an effective method. A grand display of power could intimidate an opponent, if not causing them to relent or surrender, it could at least shake their confidence and give an advantage. It was part of the reason that Nightmare Moon had been so theatrical in her arrival in Ponyville during the Summer Sun Celebration. It had not been as successful as Nightmare would have liked, but it was sufficient to stun the ponies for a few moments when she first appeared.

Now that she thought about it, it made Nightmare Moon wonder: how many opponents had Celestia actually defeated? More importantly, how many more threats were prevented by reputation and intimidation? Having a massive pony appear in a flash of golden light, then add to that stories of how she controls the very sun itself and had been able to defeat a certain legendary monster that was a threat to the kingdom, and any potential hostile would reconsider attacking. And that was with actual facts of what Celestia could do. Considering how rumors and reputations worked, there was no telling what sort of stories there were Celestia and her rule.

A griffon suddenly appeared in the clearing, dressed in armor. It vanished in a puff of smoke and Nightmare Moon crushed the thought that was tied to it. It seemed to have happened too fast for Princess Luna to notice.

"Now follow me," Nightmare said as she started up the hill.

"I am told there is a saying that goes 'you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar,'" Luna stated.

"You could catch even more with manure," Nightmare pointed out, "or rotting meat."

"It is not literal," Luna explained. "It is a figure of speech, referring to the fact that kindness and politeness are more effective in getting others assistance than being confrontational, threatening and insulting."

"While the metaphor may fall apart at the 'rotting meat,' the 'manure' comparison is still apt." Nightmare paused and looked over her shoulder at Princess Luna. "Speaking of, how much have the 'nobles' been shoveling in your direction?"

"It... is uncertain," Luna replied slowly. "May I speak candidly?"

"Always."

"Perhaps I am asking the wrong question. If I tell you something, can you assure me that you will not repeat to another pony?"

"Oooh," purred out Nightmare. "Sounds like somepony found a little bit of juicy gossip. Perhaps we should save it for later. Meet up in the flesh of reality and share it over drinks. Although for it to really be fun, I would have to share some in return..."

The two of them stopped as they reached the top of the hill, looking at the castle ahead of them.

"This is where you have been finding yourself?" Princess Luna asked.

"Yes."

"And you do not sense the dark energy coming from it?"

"No," Nightmare retorted. "Most of my powers were lost when I was incarnated as a pegasus. In point of fact, what looks like a statue of me when we were together inside, surrounded by a shield."

"Is that why you brought me here?" Luna asked. "To try and convince me to release this figure in the hopes it might restore your prior abilities?"

One of Nightmare Moon's ears gave a flick as she turned to face Princess Luna. Her eyes narrowed and lip pursed out as she studied the mare.

"Luna," Nightmare said, "do you really think that I would believe you would simply allow me to have my powers again simply because I asked? More importantly, do you think I would simply admit that was what I wanted you to do?"

"A fair point," Luna conceded. "Still, I felt I would be remiss if I did not at least ask. Shall we continue on then?"

"Yes," Nightmare said as she started forward. "Although perhaps I should warn you about the... moat I suppose. It is not filled with water, and the contents can be... disturbing. More so if it actually is what it seems."

Luna gave Nightmare a wary look, but said nothing as they made their way to the bridge. Nightmare started across it first. She kept her eyes forward, but her ears twisted to listen for Luna's reaction.

"Smoo-ooo-oooze," came the bubbling groan from below.

"Smooze?" Princess Luna cried out. "Smooze? It's... it's The Smooze!"

"Yes it is," Nightmare replied.

"That...it..." Luna sputtered out. "That's a creature of ancient legend. It is older than Equestria. It was already an old legend when I was just a filly. If it is real, how did it get here?"

"A valid question," Nightmare Moon admitted. "Perhaps one you can discover the answer to somewhere in the castle. Or after you return to the physical world."

"You are not curious?" Luna asked, moving to catch up with Nightmare.

"Real or not, it has been harmless. It had done nothing more than gurgle out its name... and maybe reach up once in a while, but nowhere near high enough to reach the bridge. I had originally assumed it was simply another dream creature, some harmless shade made to look like something ponies fear. The possibility it might be real did not occur to me until after... whatever it is we are going to see."

"You do not know what it is?"

"...It's always too dark to see it properly," Nightmare replied. "Glowing red eyes, dark magic, ram horns. That is all I've ever been able to make out."

"Dark magic?" Luna asked. "What does it do with this magic when you are there?"

Nightmare Moon's jaw clenched as she remembered the feeling of having that slimy magic around her, the pain of it drilling into her skull. She sped up her pace, moving toward the castle faster.

"Come on," she growled out. "The sooner we get to this thing, the sooner we can get out of here and hopefully never come back."

She could hear the pause of Princess Luna's hooves behind her, before speeding to catch up. The two of them continued across the bridge and up to the entrance of the castle.

There, they stopped.

Where there had once been a floor to the throne room, there now stood a giant hole. The stones that made the floor had been torn apart and thrust up, leaving scattered and gaping edges.

"NO!" Nightmare cried out. Jumping toward the edge, she looked down into it. All the she could see was darkness. "It's gone. How is this possible?"

"Was that not what you were worried would happen?"

"Yes, but I didn't think it would be so soon." Nightmare Moon continued to look down into the black abyss. "I was certain we would be in time to at least figure out what it was, even if we could not seal it away further."

For a moment, Nightmare felt like the abyss was somehow staring at her as well. She gave a shake of her head and took a step back.

"We are not looking at a part of the dream realm," Luna stated. "It seems that whatever had been here came from another." Her horn lit up with magic as she took a hold of one of the stones on the floor. Using her power, she turned the dream stone into a glowing miniature moon. She then dropped it into the tunnel, watching it vanish into the darkness.

"What was the point of that?" Nightmare asked, turning to look over at Luna.

"Tell me," Luna stated, "what did you see happen to that stone?"

"Nothing," Nightmare replied as she looked back down into the darkness. "It just disappeared from sight. Consumed by the shadows."

"Precisely. It did not shrink down in size and vanish as an actual light source would in the physical world. Nor did it dissipate into a burst of magical dream energy as though it were striking against a barrier to another realm. It was consumed by the shadows, the light being blocked out fully in a single instant."

"Is that significant?"

"It is too soon to say fully," Luna said as she continued to look down. "The last does give an implication that the dream realm and wherever this leads are somewhat connected. Either it is by the creature's doing, or by the nature of the two places. It also gives us more information than if we did nothing, and safer than if either us chose to try and go down below. It is always better to have more information than necessary as opposed to insufficient."

"Something you picked up from Twilight Sparkle?"

"More likely something she picked up during her time as my sister's student."

A deep sigh escaped Nightmare Moon as she continued to look at the now massive opening in the castle floor. Whatever it had been was gone now. Well, not actually gone. Loose. No longer confined to its imprisonment beneath the castles in the darkness. It could be anywhere in the realm, doing who knows what. For her personally, the best case scenario is that she never saw it again, and the worst was that it would seek her out to continue to torture her for whatever reason it had. For ponies -- and possibly even other races -- the best case scenario would that there was simply another creature that would scare them in their dreams and cause them to wake up. The worst...

Well... she had already considered that with Spike last night...

"It's no longer here," Nightmare huffed. "No reason for us to be either."

Instead of responding, Princess Luna flew across the gap to the dais. Landing, she stepped forward and place a hoof against the shield bubble. Her eyes focused on the statue of Nightmare Moon as an alicorn that was locked inside.

"Fascinating," Luna whispered. "If you are correct, then this very well could be a manifestation of your lost power, sealed away by Twilight Sparkle."

"What else could it be?" Nightmare asked, looking up toward the princess, but choosing not to stay where she was.

"Remember," Luna pointed out, "the dream world is rarely ever literal." She tapped at the shield bubble. "Under normal circumstance, it could just as easily be a representation of your own feelings. The sense of impotency at the loss of your dream form and the powers that went with it. A matter that you would primarily blame Twilight Sparkle for as she was the one who came up with the ritual, despite it being at my request."

"You can stay here and speculate if you want," Nightmare growled, "but I am leaving."

"They expect me to become you again."

The statement made Nightmare Moon freeze, turning her full attention to Princess Luna. Had she heard that right?

"The Nobles" Luna explained, "that I spoke of earlier. Not all of them, mind you, but a small number. They seem to expect me to once again attempt a coup and usurp my sister from the throne. To take over and become the sole monarch of Equestria. It is as though they have forgotten -- or willfully ignore -- the fact that when we were Nightmare Moon, we wanted to cast Equestria into eternal darkness. They merely see it as a regime change.

"More so, they seem to be for it. Either I am a new younger alicorn that shall bring a new perspective to Equestria despite being a millenia behind, or I am a traditionalist who shall restore it to its once former glory. Either way I am to bring a great change to the ruling by taking my sister's place."

She let out a sigh, giving a shake of her head.

"The most irritating part of the whole thing is their non-committal subtlety in the matter. Never do they say anything that is too obvious. For doing so would mean that -- should I fail -- they will be stuck having... 'backed the wrong horse' as it were. So they hint, indicate, and imply. It also means that I have nothing to share with Celestia so that their treachery can be properly monitored, and punished if necessary."

While talking, Princess Luna's wings had spread out wide and her eyes and started glowing white with magic and moonlight. A dark cloud had formed over the mare's head, flickering with lightning.

"While it may not put an end to it," Nightmare said with a grin, "there is something you can do."

The thunder cloud and glowing white vanished. Princess Luna turned to face Nightmare Moon, tilting her head and raising one of her eyebrows.

"You are not just a guardian of the dream realm," Nightmare stated. "You are also a ruler and one who can influence it. Although they would not necessarily be aware of the connection, it is possible that having several nights of bad dreams would make them reconsider their position."

"Are you implying..." Luna started.

"I imply nothing," said Nightmare. "I am saying it straight out. Take the matter into your own hooves. Teach the treacherous nobles a lesson. If you wish to protect your sister from their scheming, then instill in them a fear of what will happen if they betray Celestia, even if it is to favor you. Show them the terror of what happens when a pony dares to cross the power of the sun. After imagining themselves being burned to a crisp, they would never dare to risk her ire."

"No," Luna said with a shake of her head. "Even if I were willing to do such a thing, it would be counter-productive. Such things would only make them fear Celestia more."

"Then tell her and let her deal with it," Nightmare snapped. "I doubt its the first time in a thousand years that some snotty pony tried to figure out a way to take her throne." Before Luna responded, Nightmare Moon took off and flew out the castle.