Cloudy Horizons woke early as the day cycle began, the warmth of the enchanted moon beginning to clear away the chill of the prior night. She yawned, stretching her limbs to work out the grip of sleep, and slowly crawled from beneath her blankets. With practiced precision, the orange pegasus reset her sheets into their proper place and turned to equip her armor. She walked over to the ponnequin and unlatched the metal plating from its wooden body. She latched the dark armor upon her chest and was proceeding to put on the marching shoes, but another yawn inhibited her progress.

She huffed in frustration. "It seems that I spent too much time entertaining Moon Beam this prior evening." Another yawn attempted to escape her throat, but she stifled it before it could fully manifest. "I will need to make sure not to exhaust myself like that again." She chuckled, images of the group playing tag and hide-and-go-seek resurfacing in her mind. "I am certainly not my usual self when it concerns that filly. Perhaps I'm finally going soft...."

A quick laugh sounded behind her, causing her to spin about and prepare herself for an attack. As she readied her body to defend herself, her eyes fell upon the source of the sound. Gilda was leaning up against the wall on her hind legs, smirking at the pegasus commander. "You may act tough, but that kid certainly has you tied around her little hooves." She righted herself back upon all four limbs and gave a mock salute. "You know when we're supposed to start the special training? I'm eager to start kickin' ass!"

Cloudy glared at the griffon before finishing the task of equipping herself. With her metal shoes in place and sword strapped to her side, she turned back to confront her subordinate. "First, you will call me by my title and surname, High Commander Horizons. Now, regarding your blatant disregard for privacy and unprofessional behavior, you are forgiven this time, but you will be scrubbing the barracks down with a tooth brush should it happen again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, yeah. Can we just get going? I want to-" Cloudy clopped her on the back of the head, causing the griffon to screech in pain. "OW! What was that for!?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? You are now part of Queen Moon's Lunar Army and you will act as such. I will not have you tarnish our name." She turned and pushed open the door to her room and stepped outside, waiting for the griffon to follow before closing it back. "Now, follow me and we shall go see if Her Majesty is prepared to begin the first session." Gilda pumped one of her talons in excitement and followed behind the pegasus as they began the short trip to Nightmare Moon's chambers.

Twilight once again found herself bound to the form of Nightmare Moon's past being, Luna, as the alicorn gazed across the city before her. She always seems to be watching the ponies in the city. I wonder what she's looking for? Twilight's thoughts were interrupted when her host turned from the moonlit balcony just outside her room and levitated the doll she had called Moon Beam over to her. The glass eyes reflected the princess' image, her coat now a darker blue and her entire eyes the turquoise that the unicorn was familiar with from the months she had spent under her Queen. She's beginning to change into Nightmare. I thought it would have been near instantaneous! This is quite amazing to be able to witness first-hoof!

"Why do they not love me, Moon Beam? I am their princess." Her voice was soft and dejected, the tone of a lonely mare laced in her words. She squeezed the doll close to her body and hugged it tightly. "You're, truly, the only one that cares for me. I wish you could talk back so I no longer have to talk to myself." Twilight could feel the alicorn's emotions surge as an idea appeared to form in her mind. She could not discern the moon princess' thoughts, but she could certainly feel the excitement that began to flow through her. She would not, however, be required to wait long to receive the answer to her thoughts about Luna's plan. "I know just what I can do!"

The moon princess held the unicorn doll in front of her and spun around on a hind leg, her wings steadying her balance. "I'll just have to make you real! That way we can be together forever!" Luna landed on all four hooves once again and levitated the care-worn doll beside her as she walked back out onto the balcony, ignoring the stuffed animals scattered about her path. She crouched down and unfurled her wings before jumping into the air and, with powerful strokes from her feathered limbs, began flying into the city.

Twilight felt her existence being pulled back and so fought to stay with this current vision, the story behind Moon Beam's history a subject she was highly curious of. No! I don't want to change yet! Blackness began to overwhelm her vision and, despite how much she fought against it, pulled her into the limbo between instances. Twilight fumed in anger. Why would she send me to see that vision if she didn't want me to finish it!? Nightmare Moon doesn't make any sense some times. Her mental grumblings continued as she floated about, waiting for the next vision to manifest. She hoped that she would be able to follow the next vision more closely and for a longer period. She continued to wait, floating in seeming nothingness, until a sliver of light caught her vision.

She tried to move about in order to get a better view of the small trace of light, but found her body to be anchored still. She could feel herself moving slowly, slow enough so that it could have been easily overlooked, but not so slow as to prevent notice. After several minutes of the agonizingly sluggish movement, the light had begun to take form, but, once again, she could feel herself being tugged away to another memory. The unicorn silently grumbled her annoyance, but resigned herself to the inevitable fact that she couldn't stop the flow of the visions. The pulling soon became uncomfortable as the force seemed to stretch her ethereal being in all directions, but, soon, the sensations stopped and she once again found herself in the shell of her Queen's younger form.

Luna stood under the midday sun before a large cathedral surrounded by many quaint yet well-built houses and shops. The building was a deep black that seemed to absorb the light from its surroundings. It held several stained glass windows, a few of which were shattered, lining the walls. Beautiful depictions of Nightmare Moon in all her regalia were shown in the majority of the windows while the others revealed traces of a white alicorn left lingering on the few remaining shards. The alicorn walked up towards the door and pushed it open, its tall, dark form swinging inward on well-oiled hinges. Inside, several ponies scurried about as they cleaned up debris from the construction and worked to clear out the remainders of the destroyed windows. The room was mostly bare save a few benches and the wooden scaffolding used to reach the higher points of the building. A lone stallion stood in front of a pulpit, ordering the others about as he over saw their progress. He turned his head towards the open door when a few of the workers stopped to bow and froze in surprise when he saw the lunar alicorn stepping up to him.

"Princess Luna! I did not expect to see you here! It is a pleasure to have you watching over us." He bowed quickly in an attempt to avoid Luna's wrath for not knowing of her presence. Even Twilight, in the recesses of the alicorn's mind, could discern the earth pony's obvious dislike of the princess.

Luna seemed to notice as well. "Silence your lies, foal." The alicorn's voice had a hint of Nightmare Moon's cold tone. This must be some time after the last vision. I wouldn't doubt that she looked almost exactly like Nightmare Moon already. "I have merely come to check on the progress of the renovations for my new cathedral. I assume you've removed any trace of my sister's previous occupation of the building, correct?"

The brown stallion nodded quickly and waved his hoof in reference to the room. "Yes, Princess. We removed all of the previous decorations and miscellaneous items that had been devoted to Princess Celestia as ordered." Twilight heard the venom in his words as he mentioned the defiling of the previous Celestial church. "We have also painted the walls black as you desired. The renovations should be complete within the next few days. You will have your shrine soon."

"Good. See to it that everything is perfect for when I announce the completion. I will not have anything go wrong when I allow ponies to worship me in my first shrine." She felt Luna smile as the news of the building's near completion flowed into her ears. The alicorn turned and began to leave, passing by the ponies and, once again, causing them to drop their work in order to bow before her presence.

"I don't think it's a good idea to destroy Princess Celestia's chapel just to fill your ego...." The stallion muttered the words under his breath as he turned, not expecting the mare to still be within earshot.

Luna's ears pricked up at the stallions mutterings, her acute hearing picking up the entire sentence. She spun on her hooves, her turquoise eyes glowing, as she marched back up to the pulpit. Twilight could feel the alicorn's anger filling her emotions and recoiled from the strength of her fury, a feeling she knew all too well. "YOU DARE TO UTTER SUCH TREASONOUS WORDS IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR PRINCESS?!" Her voice, amplified by magic, boomed through the cathedral, rattling the windows and shaking the cowering ponies.

The forepony flinched and shrunk under the terrifying gaze of his ruler, shivering in abject horror. "I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't m-mean it! I d-don't know wh-why I said it! P-please f-forgive me!"

Luna glared at him before igniting her horn, encasing the stallion in a dark blue glow. "I will allow you to keep your life, foal, but you will not go unpunished!" She released the pony and turned about, resuming her previously interrupted departure. "You will not be paid for your services here." The stallion moved to protest, but stopped when the alicorn turned and stared him into submission once more. "Know that I am not without mercy. Your words should have been righted by your death. Be glad I thought to be kind and spare your life." Luna pushed open the doors and walked outside, slamming them shut behind her and causing several of the remaining shards of glass adorning the stain-glass frames to fall with a crash to the floor inside.

Twilight felt herself being tugged away once more and couldn't help but to smile inside. So she wasn't always as irrational as she was when I first met her. I'm glad that she's slowly becoming more forgiving now as she was a thousand years ago. Twilight smiled to herself when her consciousness was finally removed from her host. Darkness once more engulfed her as she began to fade out of the memories.

Nightmare Moon stood beside the bed, her mane hanging loose, free from its typical astral form, as she watched Twilight sleep. The black alicorn could sense the workings of powerful magic coursing through the sleeping mare and was watching curiously for any outward signs of such workings, but to no avail. She had been standing there for hours examining the unicorn and, to her utter frustration, not a single hint as to what was happening had shown itself. She is obviously dreaming of something, but not even my abilities as Queen of the Night can penetrate the veil of her consciousness. What power is it that blocks me? A hint of fear lurked in the recesses of the Queen's mind. Perhaps she is beginning to grow away from me.... Would she? Nightmare Moon shook the thoughts from her head, the idea bothering her more than she would have imagined. No. I trust that she would never betray me.

She shook off any doubts and returned to her observations only to be thrown out of concentration by firm knocking on the doors. Twilight stirred, disturbed from her slumber, and slowly began to open her eyes, the light of the moon being the only illumination in the otherwise pitch black room. She sat up and, with a deep yawn, looked up at the queen with a warm smile. "Good morning, My Queen." The alicorn nodded her greetings and opened her mouth to talk when another knock sounded from behind her. "Shall I get it, My Queen?"

"No. You may rest." She turned and moved over to the door, pulling them open with minimal effort from her magic. Outside, Cloudy and Gilda stood waiting, causing a small smirk to form at the corner of her mouth. "Ah, my loyal subjects. Eager to begin your training are we? Very well. We will start shortly. Go to the courtyard under the black obelisk and await further orders. I will follow soon after."

Cloudy bowed, an act that Gilda soon followed as she didn't wish to upset the Queen, and looked to the bed where the unicorns lay. Her look softened at the sight of the filly before being steeled once more behind her mask of duty. "Yes, Your Highness. We shall be awaiting your command." The pegasus spun and marched away, motioning for the young griffon to follow.

Nightmare Moon turned back to Twilight and moved closer, her eyes never leaving the dark unicorn's. Twilight felt uneasy under the scrutiny of her mistress, but never broke eye contact for fear of reprisal. "My Queen? Is something the matter?"

"Yes. There is a matter I wish to discuss." Twilight frowned, uncertain as to what she had done wrong. "I wish to know of what you are dreaming. I have tried to delve into your mind as you slept, but you, or something else, has been blocking all of my attempts."

The alicorn's voice was slightly accusatory, but held more of a tone of uncertainty, a feeling that Twilight was also holding. "You.... You don't know? How could you not? I thought you were the one that was giving me these visions!" Twilight glanced down at her hooves, fear beginning to settle into her mind. She looked back up to see confusion spread across the queen's face.

"Visions? I have not been planting any sort of visions into your dreams." She replaced her stoic facade, her expression turning serious once more. "What is it that you are seeing, Twilight?"

"I've.... I've been seeing parts of your past.... Or what I believe to be your past." Nightmare Moon's eyes widened in shock, but she remained silent. "I saw one of the arguments you had with Celestia when she read your diary and the reconstruction of your first cathedral. I also saw you clinging to a doll you called Moon Beam...."

The lunar alicorn stayed silent for many moments causing Twilight's mind to drift to thoughts of punishment for her trespassing in the queen's past, but the alicorn merely sighed. "This must be a side effect of the revival. I knew that it would change you, but I never thought it'd link our souls." She looked at the unicorn and closed her eyes. "I cannot sever the link between us or prevent you from dreaming without destroying your mind in the process." Nightmare Moon looked away before turning back to Twilight. "Wake Moon Beam. We will be going to prepare the instruments for you, Gilda, and Commander Horizons before meeting them at the obelisk."

"Yes, Your Majes-" She blinked as the words sank in. "Wait. Me? How would I be able to assist in their training? I can barely move and I still don't have my magic!"

"You will not be helping me train. You will be training with them." Twilight's mouth dropped, hanging agape as she stumbled for words. "You have proven, time and again, your loyalty to me. I wish you to have proper training so, when you decide to throw yourself into the path of another assassin, you will be capable of defending yourself while defending Your Queen." Twilight's heart fluttered at the alicorn's words and she smiled in gratitude at the indirect show of affection.

Twilight slowly crawled out of bed and began the task of rousing the sleeping filly from her slumber, a task that the byzantium unicorn was hesitant to perform due to the comfortable aura the tiny unicorn seemed to ooze. She nudged Moon Beam with her nose, eliciting a sleep driven murmur as the foal wrapped her hooves around Twilight's face in a tight embrace. Twilight's heart melted from the adorable action, but, reluctantly, she pulled free from her grasp and shook the filly with a gentle hoof instead. Moon Beam's eyes opened sluggishly as she yawned away the remaining traces of sleep. She looked up and smiled lovingly at Twilight. "Good morning, Auntie Twilight."

Twilight smiled back and stood up straight. "Good morning, Moonie. I'm sorry for waking you up, seeing as you exhausted yourself last night, but Queen Moon wants us to go with her." She watched as the foal struggled to escape the confines of Twilight's blue blanket before hopping off the bed, her energy from the night before back with gusto. Twilight joined her as Moon Beam rushed over to Nightmare Moon, eager to spend time with her.

"Let us go. We have several things to do before we meet Commander Horizons and Gilda to begin your training." She walked through the open door, followed closely by Moon Beam and Twilight, as she set off to begin the task of gathering the instruments needed for the upcoming session.

Cloudy watched the griffon fly about as they waited for their Queen to arrive. Her thoughts drifted to the upcoming training session, ideas of what the queen had in store for them swirling in her. She tried to picture what it was the alicorn was planning, but all of her ideas pointed to stuff she had already learned through her years as a Royal Guard under Celestia. She frowned as a thought crept into her mind. "Private Gilda." The griffon stopped mid-air and floated lower before alighting on the grass. "Have you received any combat training?"

The griffon scoffed, looking insulted, but her eyes betrayed her expression. She caught the stern stare of her superior and sighed. "No. I've never had anyone teach me how to fight. I mean, I've been in a few brawls, but I've never used a weapon or anything. I've only been through some lame pony flight schools."

Cloudy sighed in exasperation. "I will need to teach you how to properly defend yourself if you are to be useful to Queen Moon. Unless you learn at least the basics, you will be easy prey for whoever decides to attack." She turned and pointed in the direction of her room. "Fly up to my chambers and retrieve one of my extra blades. You will require it to spar with me." The griffon nodded and prepared to take off, but the pegasus stopped her. "Wait! You need to choose a weapon that suits your body. Find one that you can easily carry and feels more natural to you. I have several types in my room for you to choose from."

Gilda nodded once more. "All right! I'll be back in a snap!" The brown and white griffon took to the air and raced towards the pegasus' window, folding her wings and drawing her limbs as close to her body as she soared through the opening, her constricted frame easily passing through the tight fit. She halted herself on the other side, using her wings and legs to maintain balance, and gazed about the room. She had been in here earlier, but her focus had been on the pegasus and not the decorations. Dozens of weapons hung on racks around the room, filling up the once empty spaces along the walls. I've never seen so many weapons in one place! My father's room had a few, and I wasn't allowed in the war room. She grinned like a child that had just found a myriad of new toys.

The griffon went about the room, taking different weapons into her talons as she examined them. She grabbed a short sword and, after giving it a couple swings, placed it back on the shelf, finding the item too small for her taste. A broad-headed ax caught her eye and she moved to the other side of the room. She hefted the heavy object from the wall, surprised at its weight, and gave it a few goes. It seemed to fit well, but, as she tried to lift herself into the air, the weight of the weapon threw her off balance, sending her toppling to the floor. She grumbled obscenities at it before replacing it upon its resting place. She scanned the room once more, her eyes passing over several rapiers, a weapon that seemed impractical for a pony to have, a few more axes of varying sizes, and curved blades similar to those her country's assassins used before catching sight of an item the piqued her interest. Hung up above a rack of swords sat a weapon of great flexibility. She couldn't put a name to the polearm, but it seemed to be the most practical weapon she had seen. It had a long shaft of metal and ended with a broad head. One side of the head was shaped similarly to the ax she had tested before, wide and curved to slice, but thinner for a much cleaner cut. The other side was curved and jagged, as if it was meant to be used to grapple as opposed to killing, while, on the tip of the head, ran a one and a half foot long spike meant for piercing.

This is the weapon I was meant to use.

Gilda grabbed the polearm from the wall and returned to the window. Her new weapon in her talons, she jumped out and soared back to her waiting commander, the excitement at learning to use the weapon showing on her face. Cloudy looked at her choice and smirked. "You have chosen well, Private Gilda. A halberd is an excellent choice for aerial units as its versatility can be turned against any close to mid-ranged combatant." She reached back and drew her sword, clasping onto its handle with an enchanted metal band around her right fore-hoof. The pegasus extended her leg, allowing the tip of the sword, a three foot straight blade, to rest upon the ground as she balanced with trained expertise on three legs. "Now, we shall begin your first session. I want you to try and get past my guard. Give me everything that you have. If your weapon can move past my sword without being blocked, then you will have completed this training lesson."

The griffon stared at her superior, determination settling in as she gripped the weapon in her claws, standing on her hind legs with her wings ready to support her movements. The pegasus nodded and, after taking a moment to steady herself, Gilda began her assault of Cloudy's defense. She sent several thrusts, sloppy and poorly balanced, towards the center of the pegasus' chest. Cloudy easily moved out of the way, parrying the spearhead with a quick movement of her sword. Gilda shrieked and swung her blade horizontally, an attack that was deftly sent into the ground with the merest flick of a leg. Frustration began to build upon Gilda's mind causing her already poor attacks to become sloppier. She spun in a circle, weapon held out at full length in an attempt to cyclone an attack, but Cloudy smashed the head of the polearm with the broad side of her blade sending the girffon sprawling onto her stomach.

Gilda cried out in frustration and began several rushed thrusts with intermittent vertical swings of her weapon, but the one-winged pegasus stopped all attacks short. She continued to press her attack, fatigue beginning to wear upon her as her arms began to tire from the added weight they were not accustomed to. Her thrusts came slower and each swing of the bladed side of the weapon moved at lethargic speeds. She couldn't keep her concentration up. She stopped, panting, before her eye caught Cloudy's own, or lack thereof.

"Had enough already? I'm sure I have a few more hours left in me. Show me the best you can do, bird." Gilda smirked and, with a sharp battle cry, swung the blade at Cloudy's left side. The pegasus moved to block the attack, but it never connected. Gilda turned her face in concentration and spun the polearm around, sending the blunt bottom of the staff towards the pegasus' blind side, using the lack of sight and surprise of the change in tactics to her advantage. Her confidence soared as the pole whizzed ever closer the the opening created by the Commander's smug confidence, but her hopes were shattered when the feint was parried with another quick movement. The halberd fell to the ground as it was knocked from Gilda's grasp, the blade embedding itself in the earth. Cloudy laughed and sheathed her sword. "Excellent try, Private, but I have spent years without my right eye and have trained myself to sense the movement from that side. You have promise, I can tell." She bit the handle of the polearm and handed it back to the stunned griffon. "We will continue at a later date. For now, relax and compose yourself for when the Queen arrives."

The two sat there, silent, as they waited for the alicorn to come and give them their orders. Gilda continued to think of the vast difference between her own meager abilities and that of the seasoned Commander. Her complete failure to even come close to hitting the pegasus failed to discourage her, however. I'll beat her yet! There isn't any way I'll let some pony best me! Her resolve found, the griffon sat and rested, the previous excitement at gaining special training once more resurfacing in her mind. I wonder what we'll be required to do....

Author's Notes: Here ya go! Next chapter all hot from the.... Erm.... Press? Nope, that isn't right. Well, whatever! New chapter! That's all that matters! Got some exciting training in there for ya. (Although it's not likely what you expected now, is it?) Got a few more scenes of Nightmare's past and the revealing of what's going on as far as that's concerned. We also now know what type of weapon is best for Gilda! (As far as I would like, at least.) I think that's about it. *thinks* Yup! That's it! Well, now I must be off! Peppy out!

Editor's Notes: Hello, all. Dr.Jekyll here and I'm gonna' go ahead and be dick for a sec'.... Ahem.... FIRST. Well now that thats out of the way, this is my first actual PRErelease edit. Wooot. Hope you enjoyed it. Have a nice day.