The heat of the moon, filtered through the green canopy of the Whitetail Wood's trees warmed Nightmare Moon as she trotted alongside the lead wagons and Jahurl of Valtaura. However, despite the relaxing embrace of lunar heat, the night regent found her heart and mind chilled, the icy talons of self-loathing grasping her firmly. Why do I feel like this? I know it it not the worst act I have committed in my life and yet, I cannot help to believe that there are few deeds of greater magnitude than this morning's. She scanned the forest and bodies around her with her magic, trying for the thirty-fourth time since they had broken camp to find her missing companion. Still nothing. For her to be able to conceal herself from my senses.... She must have called upon the moon for aid. At the least, I can still feel her link within our masses.

She sighed again, causing the minotaur lord to break his gaze from the forest path and look in the regal mare's direction. He noted the lack of ethereal glow in her typically astral mane, still shocked, even after having seen it since the camp raid, that the starry void wasn't natural. "You could search the wagons for her."

"Silence, knave! Do you think that I have not already done so? If I had found her then, I would not be searching magically!" Nightmare's eyes glowed fiercely, but she quickly quelled her anger and focused once more on the task of sensing the missing mare. "It is no wonder that one as gifted as her could escape my eyes. I doubt that she could be found right now even if I were use all of my power."

"If you'd like, I could have Tyro search for her."

Nightmare Moon shook her head slowly. "No. I shall wait for her to allow herself to be found." However much I loathe waiting. "For now, keep vigilant. I do not doubt that there are more rebels watching; waiting for a chance to rescue their comrades." Woe is their fate should they tempt me this day. Her gaze hardened as she extended her magic further than the traveling minotaur battalion.

Twilight huddled, curled into a quivering ball, in a large, lightweight storage crate, its previous inhabitants stuffed unceremoniously in the back of the wagon she was being carried beside. Tyra walked at the rear of the battalion, carefully carrying the distraught mare as she had been for roughly five hours. Luckily, she had become quite used to carting around large parcels and other heavy object over the years, so, when Twilight had come to her, wailing and begging her to hide her, she was fully prepared to assist her.

Tyra peeked under the canvas cover of the crate, being cautious so she didn't accidentally jar the unicorn, and found her as she was twenty minutes ago: shaking with horn aglow, silvery light mixed with black. "Lady Sparkle, are you alright? Have you calmed enough to talk about it?"

Twilight did nothing for almost a minute causing the young minotaur to fear that she might never emerge from this new shell, but, seconds later, she gave the faintest trace of a nod. Twilight looked up at Tyra, her large, purple irises now red from her heightened emotional stress. "I-I'm so scared, T-Tyra. She's looking f-for me to hu-hurt me again. L-like she used t-to."

Tyra smirked inadvertently eliciting a gasp of shock and cold glare from the unicorn that practically froze her blood. "S-sorry. I.... I just remembered... what Lady Borea said. About you being a masochist and-"

"You think this is funny!? The one pony I love, and that I thought loved me, just wants to use me however she likes.... Just like the last one.... I-I thought...." Twilight teared up, her head curling back up under her forehooves. "I thought I would be okay with doing... whatever she w-wanted, with her l-love or n-not, but.... I c-can't. It hurts.... It hurts so much.... I can't feel her anymore. I c-can only feel her magic. I don't want her to hate me, b-but I c-can't kill h-helpless ponies. I wish I could, just so she'd love me again."

"Twilight." Tyra looked into the mare's glowing red eyes, her gaze firm yet comforting. "Don't ever let go of your kindness. I've seen too many people go down the road of the cold-hearted, like Borea and..., well, too many. Perhaps we could go talk to her and try to work this out?"

"No! I.... I don't want to talk to her. I can't. I-I'm afraid... that she'll hurt me and... I.... I don't know wh-what I might say."

"Okay then. I'll close the top again. Try to get some sleep. Lord Jahurl said we should be out of the woods within the next hour." Twilight nodded and closed her eyes, muttering a soft 'thank you' before Tyra drew the canvas back over the lid, glaring at her fellow minotaurs and silently commanding them to not speak a word of what had happened.

A small candle illuminated the writing desk in Cloudy's room, the crippled pegasus sitting in front of it as she skimmed over the various reports detailing troop status and recruitment statistics. Her eyes began to cross as she reread the losses report for the fifth time. "How can we be facing so many casualties? We need to get more unicorns on defense duty around the cities...."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hooves and turned away from her desk, sighing. A quick glance to the bed brought a small smile to her gloomy expression. "Well, at least they're getting along better again." Moon Beam and Cherry Tart lay splayed out across the bed, their heads resting on each other as they slept. Cloudy sighed. "She's still frightened though.... I hope she'll be able to overcome her fear of Moon Beam. They make such great friends."

Cloudy stood and stretched her limbs, grunting in relief whenever her joints popped. "Perhaps some food is in order. Haven't eaten since-"

A violent knocking sounded from the door causing the orange mare to hiss angrily. Her door burst open and a frantic colt ran in. "Commander Horizons! A large-"

"Shhhh! They're sleeping!" She jerked her head towards the dozing fillies before affixing the stallion with a cold glare. "Now, what is so important that you force your way into my room in the middle of the night and almost wake a pair of sleeping fillies?"

The young guard balked and looked away, making an obvious attempt at avoiding her eyes. "Th-the perimeter patrol has come back with reports of a large ground-based force about twenty minutes from the castle." He finally made eye contact with his superior and swallowed heavily. "Queen M-Moon is also with them."

"What!?" Cloudy jumped into action, grabbing her sword and fumbling with her dragon bone armor. "Get the troops ready! We have to rescue the Queen right away!" She glanced over at the fillies and cursed under her breath. "Go back to sleep you two. I'll be back soon."

"But Commander Horizons! She doesn't seem to be their prisoner. They said Queen Moon was at the front as if she was heading them."

Cloudy visibly relaxed, but continued to equip her gear as a navy head shot upright behind her. "Mommy's back!? Yay! Mommy and Auntie Twilight are back!" Moon Beam jumped to her hooves and ran circles around her pegasus caretaker. "Come on! Hurry! I wanna give her a biiiiiiiiig hug right when she opens the door!"

Cherry stepped up beside her adoptive parent, yawning, obviously too tired to share in her navy friend's excitement. "You. Go inform Private Gilda in the lavatories that Her Majesty Queen Moon has returned and that she should clean herself before meeting me at the main gate." The colt turned to leave, but Cloudy held up a hoof. "Oh, don't forget to tell her that, as soon as we're done, Commander Hardass wants her to clean the second floors lavatories as well."

The stallion nodded quickly, then dashed away down the hall leaving the fillies and mare alone in the room. "Cloudy, what's a hardass?"

"Nothing that you should be worried about, Tart, or saying."

Nightmare strode regally at the head of the minotaur battalion, Jahurl to her right with Tyro falling in close behind. Although her countenance displayed nothing but pride and confidence, her mind was filled with anything but. Where is she? How could she still be hiding from my magic? What is Moon Beam going to say? She snapped out of her thoughts when she came face-to-face with the obsidian gates of her castle.

She stopped momentarily before they began swinging inward to reveal a small platoon of saluting soldiers flanking the path leading to the castle's entrance. Cloudy, Gilda, Moon Beam, and Cherry all stood in between the two groups, Cherry standing behind the two adults and as far from Gilda as possible and Moon Beam at the front bouncing excitedly. Nightmare looked to the filly who looked around quizzically and held in a sigh of relief when she had decided that a hug was more important than what she had been looking for.

"Welcome back, Mommy! Did you have fun? What are these funny looking things?" She eyed the minotaurs curiously before returning her attention to the alicorn. "Where's Auntie Twilight? She went with you too, right?"

Nightmare Moon clenched her teeth, fighting with herself to keep from displaying any of the fear and sadness that had been plaguing her since they had last seen each other. "Twilight is...."

As if being summoned, the unicorn in question moved from within the minotaurs' ranks to beside Jahurl with Tyra following closely behind. She smiled down at the filly who didn't waste any time before practically tackling the mare with a hug. "Hello, Moonie. I hope you haven't given Cloudy too much trouble while I was gone."

The navy filly smiled and shook her head. "Nope! I was a good filly! Do I get a reward for being good? Pleeeaaaaaase?"

Twilight nuzzled Moon Beam's face and nodded slightly. "I suppose I could try and find something for-"

"Twilight...."

The mare tensed and forced herself to look at the voice's owner. Nightmare stood beside her, features as unreadable as ever, watching her. She thought she heard desperation in her love's word, but the lack of emotions being displayed and her inability to 'feel' what she was, convinced her otherwise. Twilight looked back at Moon Beam and forced a smile. "I'll see you inside, okay Moonie?" The filly had barely gotten off a nod before the unicorn had bolted off, dodging the trio in her path, and disappeared into the imposing structure.

Nightmare stared into the building where her lover had disappeared, her stoic expression slipping into a mask of agony and anger. She looked into the sky, ignoring the concerned questions of her filly and the present company. Her horn glowed brighter as she threw her senses twenty miles in all directions and found what she sought. "Tyro! Bring me the stallion that Twilight captured!"

Her voice demanded no resistance and the young minotaur didn't waste any time in retrieving the bound unicorn. "What do you want, monster queen!?" He fought against the minotaur's grasp, but stopped dead the moment Nightmare's eyes met his.

Murderous intent glowed in her turquoise irises as moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes. "You call me a monster. Very well. It is time I show you, all of you, just how much of a monster I can be!"

She screamed in rage and ignited her horn, its silvery glow making the moon's light pale in comparison. The skies rumble as the clouds overhead charged and began to shift position until they amassed in one area almost two-hundred yards south. All eyes were on the roiling mass when the first explosion of electricity illuminated the sky and filled the air with shrieking and panic. A squad of twenty-four griffons flew off into the sky, away from the death trap they had been perched on and into the one waiting below.

Instantly, the clouds dispersed and the griffons began to visibly struggle to stay aloft. They were drawn towards the fearful mare, their once slow descent towards her position quickly growing in speed until they impacted the earth around her with sickening crunches. Their collective cries filled the air, unheeded by Nightmare as she poured more magic into her fury-driven rampage. The first griffon was forced back into consciousness when her aura surrounded his hind legs, slowly curling the limbs as one would a carpet and crushing the bones inside into tiny, sharp fragments that pierced rolled flesh.

As her rage-fueled torture went on, she turned to her crowd and smiled maliciously. "If you and the mare I love can see me as nothing but a monster, then I shall become just that! No longer will I show mercy for my enemies! If you do not fall upon your own blade in fear, then I shall end you personally! Starting with these griffons and band of traitors, MY REIGN SHALL BE HELD FIRM UNDER MY IRON HOOF!"

The crowd gasped in horror as her magic finished rolling her first victim, blood, organs, and fragmented bone pooled on the ground next to his long-dead mass. She turned her magic on two more griffons, this time piercing their body with millions of tiny, magical needles until they bled to death from minute wounds carpeting their bodies. Each pair of griffons were killed differently, but they none of them died mercifully. Nightmare Moon cackled madly as her final target had her skin flayed from her body only to be left writhing pitifully in the dirt as her raw flesh seeped her lifeblood into the ground.

Cloudy snapped from her fear-held stupor as the final griffon's screams ended with her heart shutting down from the shock. She looked about frantically to her sobbing, terror-stricken ward and nudged her lightly. "Tart.... Tart, listen. She's not always like this, but you and Moon Beam have to go find Twilight. She'll notice if I'm gone, so it has to be you two. Hurry!"

Cherry just stared, frozen to the spot until Moon Beam nudged her shoulder. "We have to get Auntie Twilight cause Mommy Moon is really angry!" Cherry looked hesitently at her wispy-maned friend and nodded slowly when she saw the filly's pleading eyes.

The pair of fillies dashed off and into the open castle entrance leaving Cloudy to return her attention to her queen's murderous activities. Hurry. I may not be able to watch wihout acting for much longer.

The black emptiness of the royal bedroom was filled with light, abruptly clearing away the suffocating darkness as Twilight lit the magical torches lining the walls with her horn. She wearily climbed onto the massive bed in the center and pulled the sheets over her body to try and block out the chill air of the long under-heated chamber. She snuggled her face into the sheets, sniffing the lingering scent of Nightmare Moon and sighed from the relief that the familiar setting gave her.

Even if I can't relax mentally, at least my blanket still comforts me physically. She closed her eyes and rubbed her face on the cool fabric, but frowned when her lover's scent dredged up the unwanted longing and sadness she had been trying to force away. Why...? How could she have lied to me like that? She said she loves me, but she doesn't even care about how I feel.... I.... I should just confine my emotions like a good slave and do as I'm told. At least that will hurt less than having them trampled....

Twilight shook her head and and curled into a ball. No. That won't help. I'll have to go about this logically, scientifically. Talk to her and judge her reaction, but do so without showing any emotion yourself. Perhaps she does, in fact, feel remorse for her actions. You already know she doesn't show how she feels very often. Then, when you have gauged her reaction, you can decide what to do from there. She smiled slightly as her thoughts came to a plan of action. I don't know why I didn't think to do this before. Having a set plan always seems to com-

The sound of tiny hooffall caught her ear and brought her out of the comfort of her mind. She peeked her head out from under the blankets just in time to see a panicked Moon Beam and terrified Cherry Tart running into the room. Before she even had a chance to question their haste and obvious emotional statuses, the navy filly jumped onto the bed and plowed into her.

"AuntieTwilightyouhavetocomequickMommy'smadandCloudytoldustocomefindyouandIdon'tknowwhattodo!" She cried into the mare's chest, rubbing her nose on the sheets and dampening them with fresh tears.

Twilight held the filly close while she loosed her torrent of tears, but couldn't wait for her to calm down before questioning her on what she had said. "Now, Moonie. What do you mean she's mad? What happened? Were we attacked again?"

"I-I don't know.... Mommy was okay, but when I talked to you and you left she said she was a monster and started killing the big chickens." The two lay there in relative silence save for the filly's sniffling until Moon Beam looked up into Twilight's worried eyes, the faintest traces of fear in her own. "Auntie Twilight. Are.... Are we monsters? Cause-"

"No! No, you are not." She smiled at the filly and stood, pushing her sheets away. "Nopony here is a monster, neither you nor Nightmare. Even if you do bad things, they are nothing but mistakes and I have to go stop your mommy from making another one. You two stay here, okay?"

She waited for the two to nod in affirmation before racing out of the room and down the hall as quickly as her injuries would allow her. She stopped at the top of the stairs and, instead of galloping down them and risking hurting herself, wink to the first floor in a burst of magic. Twilight shook off her disorientation from the long-unused magic then resumed her gallop through the eerily empty castle hallways.

Soon, the sounds of screaming reached her ears as she closed the distance between herself and the structure's entrance. Ohnonononono! I have to get there faster before she does something horre- She stopped in her tracks the moment she could see into the outer courtyard. Her stomach heaved, but she held the sickness down and proceeded carefully past the mutilated and brutalized corpses of griffon and pony alike. Her eyes remained trained on the blood-splattered alicorn who had just finished off, as far as Twilight could tell, the final Celestial Guard remnant.

The guard's screaming was silenced when Nightmare crushed her skull as she had the rest of her body. Twilight tried to move, to cry out for the black alicorn to stop, but she was too stunned to do anything other than watch. Nightmare scanned the crowd as if she were searching for anything else that wished to try her ire and grinned malevolently when she picked out another target from the horrified onlookers. The dark unicorn followed her gaze and gasped when she saw the paralyzed form of Tabatha being enveloped by her queen's black aura. The young griffon kicked, screamed, and clawed at the ground to try and escape her imminent fate, but nothing she tried could break Nightmare's titanic hold on her.

"Tabby!" Gilda squawked and crouched, getting ready to attempt a rescue for her friend, but she was held in place by another field of black.

"Don't, she'll kill you too!" Twilight stepped in front of the struggling griffon and stared into her eyes, her own glowing red. "I want you to stay here and not do anything. Right now, you'd only get yourself killed."

Gilda blinked and shrugged off Twilight's attempt at persuasion and struggled once more against her magic. "She's going to kill Tabby! I can't just let-"

"I'll stop her. Just, stay here." Twilight didn't wait for the girl to respond and instead teleported directly between Nightmare and her tawny victim. The alicorn's magic was nullified by a quick burst from the unicorn mare's horn which loosed the griffon and allowed her to scrabble away into the crowd to seek shelter. Twilight gazed into the glowing, furious eyes of her lover, standing defiantly under the queen's baleful glare. "Nightmare, you have to stop! The ponies will never learn to accept you if you continue to persecute them as if they're all traitors!"

"Silence, slave! You do not have any right to speak to your queen in such a manner! Now, stand down or I shall crush you just as I have the others!" Nightmare Moon tried to push the byzantium mare from her path in order to renew her search for her latest kill, but another flash from Twilight stopped it from budging her. The black alicorn grit her teeth and growled in anger at having been thwarted again. "My patience has already been worn thin, worm. If you do not leave my sight immediately, your fate shall be sealed!"

Twilight shook her head and looked pleadingly into Nightmare's hateful eyes. "Nightmare, it's Twilight. Please stop, for me. I don't know what's wrong, but I'll try to help."

The night queen looked her over more closely and grinned when recognition set in. "So it is." Her smile widened into a malicious impostor which caused the unicorn to shiver with dread and shy away. "Ah, pet. I seem to recall warning you about what would happen should you defy me and, here you are, standing before me and impeding my justice."

Twilight cocked her head, and stared, bewildered, at Nightmare. "What do you mean? I don't-"

Twilight once again found herself under the effects of the alicorn's magic, but this time the crushing presence and force prevented her from any attempt to conjure a counter-spell. She was dragged across the dirt, body scraping painfully across the rough ground, to stand with her backside facing her captor. "In the years before my banishment, lords and slave traders had taken up the practice of marking their 'cattle' whenever they received them or if they were unruly and disobedient." She looked down upon the quivering form of Twilight and frowned. "Did I not warn you of the consequences of acting against my orders?"

A large, magical brand twisted into existence mere inches away from Twilight's restrained flank, its glowing-white head steaming in the cold air. Twilight felt her muscles tense from the heat caused by its mere proximity to her flesh. "Nightmare, please. You don't want to do this, do you? You lo-"

The young mare's scream pierced the shock of the onlookers as the brand pressed into her flank, completely swallowing her left cutie mark in its white-hot grasp. Nightmare held it on her for several agonizing seconds, filling the air with the stench of burnt hair and sizzling skin, before removing it and exposing the raw, sensitive moon-shaped burn to the cold. Twilight fell to the ground, writhing in agony while her leg spasmed and throbbed.

The byzantium unicorn screamed through clenched teeth as she fought through the pain, much to the amazement of her tormentor. Carefully, she rose to three shaky legs and turned to face Nightmare, tears streaming freely down cheeks. Nightmare flinched, expecting to see hatred or anger hot enough to match her own written across the mare's features, but not a trace of loathing was present. Twilight forced a smile and limped closer to the black alicorn who stepped away, disconcerted.

"Stay where you are, slave, or I shall take your other mark as well!"

The young mare paused, the forcefulness of the threat worrying her, but she shook her head and hobbled closer defiantly. "N-Nightmare.... Please l-look at me. Not me, the slave or pet, but me, the mare you love and who loves you in return."

Twilight found herself being jerkily yanked into the air by the alicorn's magic, but, unlike before, the oppressing presence was absent allowing her to manipulate the aura and bring herself closer. She wrapped her forelegs around Nightmare's neck and pulled herself ever nearer as the black queen fought to repel her attempt. "How are you still fighting me!? Why will you not just do as-"

Her words were silenced when another pair of lips were pressed into her own, cutting off any attempt to form a coherent sentence. She tried to fight against the mare's embrace, but found herself incapable of resisting or, rather not wanting to resist. The raging haze in her mind began melting away under the burning passion of her lover's kiss even as her magic tried to force the prod towards the mare's other cutie mark.

"Luna...," Twilight gasped out, barely under a whisper, as she leaned back, still in the grasp of the alicorn's magic.

"Th-that is no longer my name.... How? How can you not hate me? After what I've done to you?" Nightmare Moon watched the unicorn warily, expecting her to lash out in retribution.

"Luna's a beautiful name." She smiled, blinking away the tears that were forcing their way down her face. "You should use that instead. I think I will...." Twilight chuckled softly and nuzzled against the queen, her queen, heedless of the multitudes of eyes upon them. "You know, I've always been fascinated by the beauty of the night. It's no surprise that I ended up falling in love with the ruler of that domain."

"You did not answer my question. Why do you continue to forgive my transgressions against you? Do you not hate me for my actions. Are you not angry?"

Twilight sighed and nodded, relieved that Nightmare was reacting how she was. "I-. Of course, I'm angry. It hurts... so much, more than you realize, when you threaten me, punish me, or force me to do things like with that stallion. I'm so angry, so hurt, but I love you, truly." She laughed, a soft, choking chuckle. "It doesn't make any sense. The logical thing to feel for somepony that has done what you have is hatred, but I can't hate you. It goes against everything I've ever been to not react to this with my mind, but my heart is in control here.

"It knows that, if I don't love you or forgive you, then nopony will. And I do. I love you so much and I'm willing to forgive what you've done to me, but only if you're willing to try to make things better, to change."

The alicorn's cool countenance shattered, despite her efforts to maintain it, and she clutched the injured unicorn tightly, letting hot tears flow freely to mat their coats. "Twilight. I am sorry for what I did. I never meant to cause you harm. I shall do everything in my power to prove that I love you and to make things better." She breathed deeply and righted herself yet continued to hold Twilight closely with her magic, gently smoothing her mane and tail. "What would you have me do?"

"Well...,"

Twilight looked tentatively at the dead surrounding them and then to the horrified crowd around that. "Let's start by giving these ponies and griffons a proper burial. It's more than they would have gotten.... And perhaps an apology to your subjects. I doubt they'll be as quick to forgive as I, but you need them and they need you. Without your subjects, you cannot win this war and without you, they'll never survive." She hissed softly and glanced down at her throbbing, searing flank. "And could you help me with this? It hurts really badly."

Nightmare ground her teeth and shook her head. "I cannot. I wish there was some way for me to heal it or alleviate the pain, but an injury upon one's cutie mark is irreversible and must be allowed to heal naturally, with time, else you risk further complications. I am sorry. I should never have done this to you. I have taken away who you are with my selfish, foalish rage."

"It's alright. It's not like it's my cutie mark that makes me, me, right? I'll just try to sleep.... I'm so tired." Twilight closed her eyes and slumped in the magical hold seconds later, her pained breathing becoming lighter and more even despite the occasional sob breaking the pattern.

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes as well and softly kissed the peak of Twilight's horn before gingerly enveloping her in the astral mass of her mane in hopes that it would ease her slow recovery. With her lover carefully sequestered into safety, the black alicorn turned her attention to her one-winged guard. "High Commander Horizons. Lead a group to set up our new allies inside the castle or wherever they choose to stay. When I am finished, I shall send a servant to fetch you. I have a speech to make. Go now." She watched the pegasus stare numbly for a few moments before saluting and beginning the tasks she had been ordered to perform, then turned to look upon the desiccated corpses around her. Her horn lit and several holes began to open up in the ground as the dirt was scooped away from them to begin a pile several yards away.

One-by-one, the bodies were laid in their graves and covered with the displaced soil until each had been properly taken care of. She looked upon the small mounds forlornly before sparking her magic once more. Slowly, small blades of grass began to grow from the magically enriched earth until a small garden of green stretched across the unmarked graves and further from the castle walkway. Nightmare sighed and shook a bead of sweat from her forehead before turning to return to her castle, her home. The first step towards a kingdom that will not fear my rule. It will be arduous, but necessary if I wish to be celebrated instead of feared. She breathed deeply, the smell of fresh grass gladly overpowering the stained blood. Perhaps they shall come to love my night as Twilight has. If I am to make this work, I will need her, but not as a pet or servant. As a companion, an equal.

She cast one last glance back at the growing field of grass, silently apologizing to the ponies and, despite her hesitance, the slain griffons, before marching proudly into her castle.

Author's Notes:

Author's Notes: Woo! Another chapter and more fun. Or destruction. Or both. Whatever. Before y'all say anything, she won't be changing too much. Maybe be more lenient and such, but it is still a war and that means she can't be entirely compassionate, but she won't be murdering people like just then. Also, don't expect the relationship issues to be completely over (they might not be I haven't decided), but we'll probably see some lingering blargharaghaghrargh from it. Otherwise, from here on it'll move faster (I think). We still have the rarity scene, the coming together of the armies, the battle meetings, some of the actual battles, (another secret chapter perhaps *wink wink*), and the final battle and/or chapter, so hold onto your ani cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Anyhoof, it's time to get back to work (and then play some WoW when I get home). Peppy out!

Thanks to Breach for the Ch name.

Editor’s Notes #1: I couldn’t resist. It was too perfect and the chapter was especially heavy so I thought it could use some comedic relief. Anyway, nice chapter (although it came as a surprise because Peps had told me [maybe not, can’t remember] that there wouldn’t be all this doubting each other nonsense [or maybe that was something else, I can’t remember (Contrary to my use of the word nonsense, it was still good.) ] ).