Rarity and Apple Jack sat in the former's boutique as they waited for their friends to arrive. They both glanced about and shared the occasional nervous look between each other, the weight of the words they had weighing on their shoulders. They had put off telling their friends about the truth of Twilight's refusal for two nights, but the others had began pressing for details. They couldn't procrastinate any longer.

"Uhmm, Rarity? What do y'all think we're gonna tell 'em? How are we gonna tell 'em? This isn't somethin' we can just come right out an' say like ya would a crush or somethin'." She looked at the white unicorn, who had the same worry etched on her face along with a hint of something else entirely. Anger.

"I believe we should just tell them exactly what happened Apple Jack. Twilight has done nothing to deserve our pity. She killed one of my best friends." Her voice was calm, but Apple Jack could feel the bitter emotions emanating from Rarity.

"Ah know what she did, an' I know how ya feel 'bout it, but ah'm not sure how tha others will react. Ah for sure don't want Spike knowin'. He's hurtin' bad enough as it is."

Rarity's anger slackened at the thought of the baby dragon, his heart crushed by his 'big sister'. "I know.... It's just.... I feel so conflicted. I know she helped us back there despite everything that's happened. I can still remember the look in her eyes, the look of a pony who has lost all hope... Brook had that look once too." Her anger slackened once more and she sighed. "I just wish this hadn't ever happened. If the Elements had worked.... If we had gone to save her sooner..."

A knock reverberated from the door, startling the two mares out of their conversation. Rarity walked to open it and was met by three pairs of eyes standing just outside, two of which were hidden slightly behind the others. "Oh, hello girls! Come on in and make yourselves comfortable. We have stuff that must be discussed, as you all know." She nodded her head as each pony passed, first Pinkie Pie, then Rainbow Dash, and finally Fluttershy. After they had all gotten situated, Rarity shut the door and locked it behind her.

"So what's the big secret?" Dash exclaimed, eager to get whatever it was out in the open. "You've been quiet for two days now and we all know something happened in there, so just spill the bean already!"

Fluttershy spoke up as well, her soft voice barely audible even in the silence. "Oh, yes. Like Rainbow said, we'd all really like to know.... Ummm..., if you want to tell us...."

Pinkie Pie bounced up and put on her largest smile. "We all REEEEEAAAAALLLLYYY wanna know! It's been bugging us super bad this whole time. I've been thinking to myself: 'What's so important that they waited this long to tell us?' I mean it's gotta be super important for you two to want to keep it a secret." She gasped loudly and settled down, her tone becoming more serious. "Unless you promised to keep it a secret. If you tell somepony's secret that they trusted you with, that's a good way to lose a friend's trust FOREEEEEVVVVEEEERRRR!"

Apple Jack sighed heavily before glancing at Pinkie. "It's all right, Sugarcube, we didn't promise to keep no secrets. We just, didn't know how to explain it is all. We weren't entirely sure how ya'd react either."

"Oh, come on! Just tell us already!" Dash yelled, her small amount of patience wearing thin.

"All right, dear. There's a few things we have to talk about and we'll go over the least shocking items first. When we got inside, we met a filly, somewhere around my sister's age, in the castle named Moon Beam. We aren't entirely sure of her connection to Nightmare Moon, but we did hear her call her 'Mommy Moon' and Twilight 'Auntie Twilight'. We're guessing she's not Nightmare Moon's daughter, seeing as how Nightmare Moon was just released from the moon, but I can't be certain."

Fluttershy gasped, a sound that was completely out of character for the pegasus. "There's a filly in the castle? Ohh, that poor thing. It must be terrible being stuck with that mean old Nightmare Moon against her will..."

"That's just it Fluttershy. We're not for sure whether or not she's there on her own. She looked like she was mighty fond o' Nightmare Moon if ya ask me." Apple Jack looked about the group and noticed their mixed expressions. Dash seemed bored, the thought of a filly didn't appeal to her and Pinkie was unreadable, her typical bubbly mood suppressed. "If y'all don't have any questions then we'll go on." Nopony made any attempt to talk, Fluttershy's words expressing what any of them could have said. "All right. It also seems that Twilight has pledged herself to Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon also called her a pet."

"Now she's keeping ponies as pets? I knew that mare was a sick pony, but that's just a new kind of low. I say we go in there again and buck her right in the face. Show her what we think of making Twilight a pet." Rainbow Dash's brash nature showed and Apple Jack couldn't help but to chuckle inwardly despite the tense atmosphere.

"Awww, now don't say that! It can't be that bad being a pet! I mean I have gummy, Apple Jack has Winona, Fluttershy has Angel, and Rarity has Opalescence! Well, I guess being a pet for that Black Snooty would be pretty bad. She probably makes Twilight do all kinds of stuff against her will." Pinkie frowned slightly at that last part, but cheered up almost immediately. "Well, maybe not if Twilight wanted to stay! Maybe they have parties every night! Ooooh~ That would be so much fun! Now I'm kind of jealous! Hmmm... Maybe I should throw a party every night too!"

Pinkie would have continued, but Rarity held up a hoof to silence her. "That's quite all right, darling. We all know you love to throw parties, but this last bit of information needs to be told." She breathed in deeply, suppressing her rising emotions, and let the held breath loose. "What I'm going to tell you will come as a... shock, so be prepared." She looked at all the eager faces and sighed. "Twilight didn't choose to stay behind just because she wanted to. She had another reason that she couldn't return with us even if Nightmare Moon hadn't captured us. Do you remember the friend I had talked about? The one that has been sending us information about the goings-on of Nightmare Moon and the ponies in the castle? Well, I hadn't received a letter from her in a while and she had promised one the night after the battle was supposed to end. It never came." The group listened closely, realization slowly beginning to form on their faces. "Well, when we went to retrieve Twilight, she refused and we asked her why. She told us...."

Rarity could no long keep herself composed and she broke down into sobs. Fluttershy quickly moved over to her to comfort her, as she had understood what was going on. Pinkie's smile was gone replaced by a sad frown, her cheerful mood completely eradicated. Rainbow Dash was the only one who didn't get it. "What'd she tell you? I'm not dumb or anything, but I'm not sure I follow. What does Twilight have to do with-" Her words were cut off by a sharp glare from Apple Jack and the thoughts all coalesced into one conclusion. "Oh..."

"I... I can't believe she would do something like that...." Pinkie said, her voice soft and mirthless. "She didn't seem like a meany mean murder pants...."

Apple Jack looked at her sadly, her typical emotional fortitude broken under the weight of the truth. "Ah know, Sugarcube. She said she didn't have any choice, but ah'm not so sure. She's been with Nightmare Moon so long that it's probably begun to rub off on her."

Rainbow Dash took to her air, her eye's wide with shock. "Come on, girls! There's no way Twilight would do something like this without a reason! She's too nerdy to do anything of the sort. There has to be a reason why!"

Rarity looked back up, having composed herself once more, though tears still streaked down her cheeks. "She... She thought Silent Brook was going to kill her. That cannot be true, though! Brook was such a nice mare.... She would never do anything like that...."

The group remained silent for a moment before Rainbow Dash spoke up. "We can't let Spike know. He's already doing terribly right now and this could send him over the edge. I don't want the little guy to suffer anymore."

Fluttershy nodded and began to walk towards the exit. "I agree. I'll go pick him up and take him over to my place. The poor thing is probably having trouble sleeping at the library."

The mares all stood and began to follow Fluttershy out, save for Rarity and Apple Jack. Soon, the two were left alone once more and the white unicorn broke down again, unable to control her emotions. "I'm sorry...! I just... I want to believe them both..., but I don't know who's right.... It's so hard.... I just can't choose...!"

Apple Jack just sighed and pulled Rarity in a tight embrace. "It's okay. Ah know that it's gotta be tough on ya, but don't you fret none. We'll figure this out. We hafta...."

Twilight walked briskly down Mane Street in Ponyville, her hair flapping lightly in the slight summer breeze as Spike bounced softly on her back. She smiled widely, the warmth of the sun energizing her for the task she had ahead of her. The Princess had sent her here to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration and she couldn't be happier! She was eager to complete her task and meet with the residents of the town. She might even make some new friends by the end of the day.

As she made her way from where the sky chariot had dropped her off, she looked back at Spike as he went over the list they were given. "So, Spike. What's first on the list for today?" Her voice was chipper and rang with a sweet tone as she half sang the words.

"Hmmm. First we have to go to Sweet Apple Acres to check up on the food preparations being made by an earth pony named Apple Jack." He rolled the paper up and stuck it in a pouch on Twilight's saddle bags.

"All right! First stop, Sweet Apple Acres!" She picked up her pace slightly, eager to meet the new pony and perhaps even sample some of the food. She had full faith in the pony's ability to provide for the feast.

They soon arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville where a large farm with hundreds of apple trees dotting the landscape. She took in a deep breath of air, the delicious smell of apples filling her nostrils. Spike soon followed suit and sighed in bliss. This farm was truly magnificent. Twilight returned to her pace after a moment and quickly arrived at the gate to the farm. She took note of the ponies moving about busily as they prepared the food. There were about two dozen ponies mulling about, all of them carrying trays of food or barrels of apples on their backs moving back and forth between the barn, a large red house, and a row of tables set up outside. Twilight smiled brightly and took a step through the threshold as she went to approach the ponies.

Everything morphed.

The sun instantly disappeared from the sky to be replaced by a full, silver moon that hung low in the sky casting eerie shadows across the expanse. The once sweet smell of apples turned to the gut wrenching, foul stench of decay as the bountiful trees all became rotting corpses of their former selves. The bustle of ponies had disappeared to leave only four, all sitting under a withered tree, staring mournfully up at the last of the edible apples in the orchard. They were emaciated and starving, the occasional sounds of gurgling stomachs could be heard over the sounds of the ponies' sobbing cries.

Twilight spun around, shocked by the instant shift in the world, until she once again faced the four ponies. To find the largest and smallest of them pouncing upon the frail elderly pony in the center and begin to tear the flesh from her body in a desperate act for nourishment. Twilight retched, the contents of her stomach spilling across the ground to her side. When she recovered, she warily raised her gaze up to where the ponies had cannibalized their own to find an orange mare standing only feet away, her green eyes staring furiously at Twilight.

The lavender unicorn took a step back, frightened. "Apple Jack...! What's wrong? What's going on?"

The earth pony's scowl deepened and she took a step towards Twilight. "What's wrong? Yer what's wrong! Ya betrayed us! Ya left us alone to fend fer ourselves! Ya killed somepony. It's all yer fault that stuff ended up like this!" She motioned her hoof to the decimated orchard and the disemboweled corpse of Apple Jack's grandmother. "Ya gave up on everything just so ya could be some pet o' Nightmare's! Yer not welcome round here no more, so git!" She raised her hoof and brought it down upon Twilight's head, the connection making a dull cracking noise and dropping the mare to the ground, stunned and in severe pain.

Twilight slowly recovered and stood up to look around as blood trickled down her forehead. She watched warily in case the earth pony might come back and inflict more harm upon her, but, as quickly as the original shift, everything returned to the bright and cheery atmosphere of before. She gazed around in confusion, the pain in her head slowly subsiding, until Spike poked her shoulder.

"Hey, Twilight! Let's get going! We still have more stuff to do before the day's over!"

Twilight snapped out of her stupor and gazed back at the purple and green dragon on her back. She smiled again, but nowhere near as cheerily as she had before. "You're right, Spike. Now let's get going on to the next thing on the list. Where to?" She turned and started trotting back the way she came to the center of Ponyville.

"It says here that there's a pegasus pony by the name of Rainbow Dash that should be clearing the skies in preparation for the festival."

Twilight glanced up at the sky and frowned at the multitude of clouds blotting out the glow of the sun. "Well, it doesn't look like she's doing a very good job of it, where is this Rainbow Da-"

In that instant, the world shifted again. The center of Ponyville was no longer dotted with clouds, but now had a huge curtain of them blotting out the sky, rumbling and flashing briefly as they hinted at a brewing storm. Glimpses of silver and red could be seen through small breaks in the cloud cover, but otherwise only darkness prevailed. She stared around in disbelief once more, fear returning to her. Twilight looked back for Spike, but the baby dragon was missing and, instead, she saw a flash of a rainbow blur right before it collided with her, sending her straight into the dirt. She could feel her skin tearing against the hard earth and knew that the impact had fractured several of her ribs, but all she could focus on was the cyan pegasus standing above her, her deep magenta eyes staring down with unconstrained loathing.

"So, you thought you'd just abandon us, huh? Ditch us for good and leave us to die alone here in Ponyville? You thought you'd shrug off the most loyal pony in Equestria for a spot of power?" Rainbow Dash grabbed the sides of Twilight's head with her hooves and brought her own into contact with it in a rush of force. Twilight screamed in pain as their heads connected in the same spot that Apple Jack had punched her, the blood now gushing out of the wound. "I gave up a chance to be captain of a group that could rival the Wonderbolts for you and this is how you repay me!?" She stood up and kicked dirt into the lavender unicorn's face. "I hope it was worth it." She took to the air, speeding away into the storm.

Twilight felt the burning of tears welling up in her eyes as blood continued to pour down her face from the gash right below her horn. She tried to stand, but was only able to lay on her knees until the world reverted to it's original state. The sun had returned and was no longer obscured by clouds as the sky was now clear. She wiped the tears from her face and turned her head to see Spike mulling over the list once more, ignorant of her pain.

"Spike...! Can you.... Can you not see what's going on? Can you not see the blood on my face? The cut?" Her voice was strained and panicked and Spike turned to look at her, confused.

"What do you mean, Twi? There's nothing wrong with you. If anything you have a silly hair-do from where Rainbow Dash rain-blow-dried it." He snickered quietly and returned to reading the list.

Twilight reached up to her forehead, sure that he was wrong, but found that there was, in fact, not a drop of blood or even pain. Confusion and worry etched themselves into her face, but she continued nonetheless, slightly more cautious of her surroundings. "I.... I guess you're right.... Sorry, must have dozed off for a second there and dreamt it up.... Heh...." She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves and sighed. "Okay, so what's next on the list?"

Spike looked up at her and pointed towards the town hall. "Decorations! A pony named Rarity is supposed to be preparing the place for Celestia's big entrance."

She nodded and slowly started the short trek to the central building, her smile having disappeared to be replaced by a mask of fear. They reached the door to the town hall must faster than she had hoped and, with a push from her magic, the door opened to reveal a stunning white unicorn with curled purple hair setting up ribbons and other various decorations about the place. It looked amazing and it helped to bring her out of the slump she had fallen into. Her fears forgotten momentarily, Twilight stepped through the portal and into the room ready to greet the mare at the other end.

It was too good to be true. Light flashed and the room was bathed in a deep red glow as if something had painted the windows with blood, but when Twilight went to check, she saw the moon glowing a sickly red color. The streamers and ribbons that had been hung about the room were replaced by dozens of ponies, all impaled upon sharp spikes protruding from the walls. On closer inspection, as she couldn't help but to examine them, Twilight noticed that the bodies were all the same and belonged to a single mare. Silent Brook. They hung lifelessly on the walls, staring coldly at the unicorn as she walked by them, their accusing eyes tormenting her as she cowered.

Rarity spun around before Twilight could even get within two meters of her, a knife, similar to the one that had ended Brook's life, suspended in the air by her magic. She took a step closer to Twilight, her once pristine white coat mottled with blood stains and dirt, with a wicked grin on her face. "So, you came to kill me like you did my friend? You wish to be rid of me like some insect that just happened to cross your path?"

Twilight broke free from her shock and shook her head violently. "No! Rarity, please listen to me...! I know what I did was horrible, but she was going to kill me if I didn't act first! She had toyed with my heart and was even going to murder a filly! I didn't have-"

"Lies. Don't you lie to me, sniveling whore! Brook would have never done anything like that! She was the nicest pony I'd ever known and you murdered her!" Rarity moved ever closer to Twilight, the knife levitating lower and lower until it was neck level with the two mares.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak again, but Rarity had other plans. With a rush, she pounced on the lavender unicorn and brought the blade hurtling down into her chest, stabbing deep through the space between two of her ribs. Twilight screamed in pain as blood gushed out of the wound, but she was incapable of fighting back. All strength had left her body the moment Rarity had tackled her. With a scream of rage, the white unicorn brought the knife down over and over, stabbing Twilight to the hilt with each strike and ripping open holes in her body. Tears fell from the lavender mare's eyes as she felt her life fading away from her until Rarity drew the blade back once more. She smiled in triumph before hurtling the knife at Twilight one final time, the edge aiming right at the spot Silent Brook had been impaled....

Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start, her heart racing and sweat soaking her body as tears poured down her face. She glanced about the room and heaved a sobbing sigh of relief. Tonight's dream was... so much more terrifying. I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up.... She looked at the sleeping forms of Moon Beam and Nightmare Moon and wiped her brow with a shaky hoof. Perhaps I can ask Nightmare to help with the dreams.... She shook the thought from her head and curled around the filly once more. She wouldn't help me like that.... I wish I knew what I could do....

Nightmare Moon opened an eye and observed Twilight, noting the fear, sweat and tears upon her face. She chuckled in her mind. I can see why they named such dreams after me. If Twilight's reaction to such things has been like this, it would make sense. She sat up slightly, careful not to alert the unicorn to her presence, and watched her lay there for a moment longer until a thought began to form in her head. I could end the dreams.... It would even make her that much more devoted to me. She grinned at her idea before hiding her smile behind her typical mask of uncaring. "I could end those dreams for you."

Twilight started and spun around, not expecting Nightmare Moon to be awake. She dropped her head slightly in shame. "I'm sorry, Mistress.... I didn't mean to wake you...."

Nightmare Moon frowned, but then repeated her statement. "As I said: I could keep you from having those dreams if you so wished." She monitored Twilight's reaction carefully.

The lavender mare's eyes immediately shot up, surprised evident in them. "You.... You'd do that? For me? But, I'm just your pet.... I don't deserve..." Her words faded as she lost her confidence.

"If that is what you wish. You have earned your place by my side through your actions as of late and I do not want you to continue with these dreams." She frowned slightly, catching her words too late. "You keep me from my slumber. Even if I do not require such things as you do, I enjoy the comfort of sleep." She added quickly.

Twilight's demeanor softened and she smiled up at the alicorn, her mood lightening. "Thank you, Your Highness, but, if it's all right with you, I would like to try and solve this on my own."

Nightmare Moon looked at her in surprise, but quickly hid behind her facade once more. I never thought she would decline my offer. She seems to still have some self-confidence remaining, but it's definitely minute. Perhaps she will be a fine companion in the future. She nodded slightly. "Very well, but I give you two weeks. If you have not figured out how to end the dreams I will rid you of them even against your will." Twilight smiled again and went to curl back up around Moon Beam until Nightmare Moon began to rise.

"My Queen, where are you going?" She asked, the fear of being abandoned, despite having Moon Beam beside her, showing through her uncertain words.

"I must begin recruiting more soldiers. That battle has left me weary and, if I am to try and control the outlying countries, I will need to gather my forces once more. It will only be a matter of time before they learn of my weakness and begin trying to claim Equestria for their own. I also need to find an adviser that I will be able to trust to not stab me in the back." She walked over to the pony mannequin that held her armor and began to levitate each part off before clasping them onto her body. With her armor equipped, she focused magic into her navy mane, tucked underneath the helmet, and shifted it into its ethereal form, the stars in the blue abyss blinking in and out of existence as it flowed in an unseen wind. "It is time I reopened my court once more."

The Moon Queen began to walk towards the door when she heard Twilight speak softly behind her. "Ummm..." Nightmare turned her head to look at the unicorn who was shuffling about nervously. "Could I come with you? I... don't want to be alone...." The fear was evident in her eyes as she stepped closer to the alicorn.

Nightmare Moon arched an eyebrow, but nodded her head in assent. "If you wish, but I will not have you appearing in my court without your attire. Dress yourself so we may leave." Twilight nodded swiftly and rushed to the dresser where she had placed the dress the night before and slid into it as quickly as she could. With her dress on and with herself feeling even more revealed, she trotted up to her mistress and took her place beside her. The two left the room, with Moon Beam still sleeping soundly on the bed, and began the walk to find the royal messenger to announce the news.

Author's Notes: Yay! Gotta love the stuff that get's you behind! Writer's block coupled with work and being sick = a hell of a time writing ANYTHING. Would have had this out last night had I been able to come up with ANY sort of ideas for what to put in it. As I said, plot is laid out already, but the stuff in between is what takes the time. Anyhooves, here is Chapter 15 and all its gooey fun stuff. Hope you enjoy. Also, a hint at upcoming chapters is set up in there so you guys can know what to expect soon. Well, that's all for now. Oh wait! There's more!

I want to thank all my readers so far cause, without you, this would probably never have gotten as far as it is. (I don't like to write if nopony reads my stuff. I get bored with it and just toss it to the side like that.) I want you to know that I live off your comments and even take some of your words into consideration when writing the chapters out. You guys are awesome! Also wanted to thank meine Mutter since she has been helping me to fix any errors in my stories. Also wanted to thank my sister for reading this as well (even if I threaten to take her internet away, she still enjoys reading it). And finally, a thanks to Hasbro/Lauren Faust for making this stuff possible.

Peppy out!

Editor's Notes: Coffee, coffee, coffee. Don't much like the stuff, but it gets the job done. Wooo...! Goin' on myyyy... thirty-third hour now. Well, whatever. I'mma start editin' the next chapter when I stop feeling nauseous.... Buckin' coffee.