Artemis looked around as he backed up a couple of steps “Night? Is that you?” All around him, there was nothing but darkness.

“Yes, Artemis. I would like to speak with you face-to-face, so I entered your dream.”

Artemis turned around to see Night-Terror Knight standing there, smiling. The weird part was that the smile was not mocking or evil. It was actually a genuine smile. He was about to comment on that but he stopped. Instead, he decided that he wanted to do something about their surroundings.

He closed his eyes and lit his horn.

Night-Terror Knight’s eyes widened as the darkness faded. It was soon replaced by a moonlit night and they were both standing in a grassy field.

Artemis opened his eyes and turned to his past self “What did you want to talk about?”

Night-Terror Knight was about to reply when he noticed that Artemis was nervous. Well, the last time we spoke, it was right before I took over his body and power. Then I attacked Celestia and got us both sent to the moon. I suppose it’s natural that he is a bit nervous. I should do something about that first. What is the best way to calm him? He paused as something occurred to him. Yes that might work. He looked at Artemis “One moment, please. I’ll be right back.”

Artemis was startled as his Nightmare form disappeared.

Meanwhile, Twilight was dreaming that she was in the library of her castle. She heard the door open and turned to see Night-Terror Knight standing there, looking at her.

Well, this is unusual, even for a dream. At least he isn’t attacking. “Hello. Why are you here?”

“Would you be willing to come with me? This may sound strange, but I need your help.”

Yup, definitely unusual. “Before I say yes or no to your request, I must ask why. What is it that you need my help with?”

“I am trying to talk to Artemis in his dream. However, he is too nervous for a proper conversation. I would like you to come with me because I believe that having you there will calm him. There is no reason that you cannot hear what I have to say to him.”

This dream keeps getting weirder and weirder. She tilted her head thoughtfully “Do you swear that you have no intention, and will not try, to harm and/or take possession of either Artemis or myself?”

He nodded, understanding her concern “Of course. I have no wish to do either of those things.”

She nodded as well and stood “Very well, I will come with you. However, should you break that promise, I will not hold back.” She walked over to him as his horn glowed and they both disappeared.

Artemis jumped as Night-Terror Knight reappeared. His eyes widened as he saw Twilight standing next to him. He glared at his Nightmare form and was about to demand that she be released.

Before he could say a word, she left Night-Terror Knight’s side and walked over to him.

He sighed in relief “What is going on?”

Twilight nuzzled Artemis and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “He entered my dream and told me that he wants to talk to you but thinks that you are too nervous to hold a proper conversation. He wants me here to keep you calm so that the two of you can talk. I don’t know what he wants to talk about but he said it’s OK if I hear whatever it is.” She paused, then used her magic to gently pull his head down and whispered into his ear “I made him promise that he will not harm or take possession of either of us and I plan to hold him to it.”

She smiled at Artemis before turning to face Night-Terror Knight. Then she moved so that she was standing next to Artemis before laying down. Artemis lay down next to her and covered her with a wing, making sure she stayed close to him.

Surprisingly, Night-Terror Knight lay down opposite of them. Before he could say anything, Twilight spoke up.

“Is there another name you wish to be called? Having to say the whole “Night-Terror Knight” every time we want to say anything to you will get really old well before this conversation is done.”

He nodded “Night is fine”

Twilight said “In that case, Twilight is fine as well.” She paused “Now then, Night, you are the one that brought the three of us into the same dream to talk. Why don’t you start things off?” She noticed Artemis shiver a little and snuggled closer to his side.

He nodded again “I would like to start with an apology to Artemis. I did not mean to scare you, I merely wish to talk.”

Artemis’ eyes widened and he nodded but he didn’t say anything.

“The first reason I wanted to talk to you is simple. A lot happened over the last couple of days. I wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

At that, both Twilight and Artemis just stared

“It certainly seems that he has been purified, but this personality change is just bizarre. Are we sure we’re dealing with the same pony?” She muttered as she shook her head “It’s going to take some getting used to.”

Artemis nodded in agreement “If you think that is strange, try having him in your head.”

“No thanks” she quickly replied

Surprised, Artemis stared at her for a moment before he burst out laughing.

Night’s eyes widened before he started laughing as well, gaining more stares from the other two. “I’m glad I thought to bring you into this conversation, Twilight. He would never be this relaxed if you weren’t here. It appears that he is just fine, though you probably have a lot to do with that.”

Twilight shook her head “I haven’t done anything special.”

Artemis snorted

Night just stared at her before turning to Artemis “Do you want to tell her or should I?”

“Go ahead”

Night nodded and turned back to Twilight “You do realize that you were the only one to come to his aid, right? And you weren’t even there to see what angered him so much. It would have been one thing if you were visiting Canterlot and came running. Instead, you somehow sensed the trouble from Ponyville and teleported in to help.”

Twilight shrugged “That’s called “being a good friend”. Doing whatever I can to help when a problem comes up. Again, nothing special.”

Artemis nuzzled her “To you, perhaps. There were dozens of ponies in that room, including my sister. None of them even tried to help me. Celestia did come running into the room when she sensed the trouble but she just stared in horror while everypony else ran around screaming.”

He turned to fully face her “You could have brought your friends and used the Elements of Harmony on me, sending me back to the moon.”

Twilight gasped in horror “I never would have done that!”

Artemis smiled “Exactly. You came to face the threat, but did it in a way that also saved me. Then you went out of your way to understand why I was upset. Celestia went to bed after things calmed down, but you tried to stay up and calm me down. By the end of that night, you were so exhausted that you didn’t even have the energy to get into a bed. Instead, you passed out, laying against me out on my balcony.”

Night just stared at them, eyes wide.

Twilight blushed “I didn’t mean to . . .”

Artemis nuzzled her again “I know. That actually makes it better.”

Twilight looked up in confusion “Huh?”

Artemis tightened his wing around her “The fact that you are able to let yourself fall asleep anywhere near me, let alone laying against me, means that you truly trust me.”

“Of course I trust you. Why wouldn’t I?” asked Twilight, even more confused

“No one else does, not to that extent.” He replied “Even Celestia will not allow herself to fall asleep in the same room as me unless I fall asleep first. Subconsciously, she cannot allow herself to completely relax around me. She refuses to admit it, but it’s true. Honestly, you should have the same reaction.”

Twilight stared, now thoroughly confused “Why is that?”

Night spoke up “I think I can answer that one. You are one of only two ponies alive that can honestly say that you have faced me in single combat and survived. The other is Celestia. As a result of that night, you should be terrified of both me and Artemis. Yet, you are not afraid of either of us.”

Twilight tilted her head thoughtfully “In all honestly, at first I was a little scared and intimidated. However, that lasted maybe five minutes. I saw a pony that needed help fitting in. I had been in that position, myself, not long before that. So I knew I had to help. It was then that I realized that there was no reason for me to be afraid of you. Instead, I saw a pony in need of a friend.”

Artemis pulled her closer and nuzzled into her neck. He stayed like that for a moment before pulling back to look at her. “You may think that you haven’t done anything special, but what you have done means everything to me.”

Night smiled “That brings me to the second reason that I wanted to talk to you, Artemis. This mare is very special. You had better take extremely good care of her.” Before Artemis could respond, Night turned to Twilight. “The last topic is for you, Twilight.”

She turned to him “Yes?”

Night got a very serious expression on his face as he looked over at her “I have known Artemis for a long time and have seen much of what he has been through. He does not need or deserve any more pain in his life. DO NOT hurt him.”

Twilight smiled “I won’t”

“Good. If you do, I will personally see to it that every night will be turned into your own personal bit of Tartarus. And no, that is not a threat.”

Artemis watched the exchange in shock. He wasn’t sure what surprised him more. That his Nightmare form, who had made him miserable for a thousand years, was suddenly acting like a protective older brother. Or that Twilight was actually going along with it. He was broken from his thoughts by a comment from Twilight.

“Oh no” Twilight suddenly looked worried “I’m in trouble.”

Artemis looked puzzled “What’s wrong?”

She looked at him “Rarity”

“What about her?” asked a still puzzled Artemis

“She is going to be so mad at me.”

“Why would she be mad at you?”

Twilight looked at Artemis “She told me and the rest of the girls that she has always dreamed of marrying a prince. For the longest time, the only available one was Blueblood. Then you came along. She has had a crush on you almost as long as I have. Neither of us kept it a secret from each other or the rest of the girls. However, since it has always been her dream to marry into royalty, she has called first dibs on dating you. She is going to accuse me of stealing you away from her.”

Suddenly, Twilight wasn’t sure who was laughing louder, Artemis or Night. She looked from one to the other, confused. “What’s so funny?”

Night was able to speak first “Rarity. That is the one who bears the Element of Generosity, correct?”

Twilight and Artemis nodded and Night went back to his laughter.

Artemis looked at him for a moment before turning back to Twilight. “Rarity is a nice mare, but I have no interest in her at all. Twilight, I have admired you since you saved my soul and I have wanted to be with you for about three years now. You are the only one I want to be with and I will make sure all of your friends know that.”

Twilight was about to respond when Artemis looked up into the sky. “It is time for me to lower the moon.”

Twilight looked at Night “Can you please allow us to wake up?”

Night nodded and lit his horn

The last thing he heard was Twilight’s voice “Thank you”

Artemis and Twilight woke up at the same time.

“Oh, thank goodness! I was getting worried”

They both turned to see Celestia standing next to the bed with a worried look on her face.

“The moon should have been lowered five minutes ago. You need to be more careful when you two have your fun.” She paused, surprised when neither of them blushed at all at her teasing.

Instead, they looked at each other and nodded. Artemis lit his horn and lowered the moon and stars.

Celestia stepped up next to him and raised the sun. Then she turned to the two of them. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“No,” Twilight said slowly “We just had a rather strange shared dream. We were joined by one other pony.”

“What happened? Who was it? Are either of you hurt?”

“No, we are not hurt. We will tell you about the dream, but you should sit down first. You also must promise that you will not interrupt.”

Celestia sat down and started to open her mouth, when she was interrupted by Twilight.

“I mean it, Celestia. You interrupt us even once before we finish telling you everything, and I’m using my magic to keep your mouth shut. This is important.”

Celestia’s eyes widened but she shut her mouth and nodded.

Artemis and Twilight each started with Night-Terror Knight’s appearance in their dreams and how he made it so that the three of them were in Artemis’ dream. Then they took turns relaying the rest of it. To ease Celestia’s mind, they made sure that they told her everything that was said as well as any impressions they got from the dream.

True to her word, Celestia did not say anything until she was sure that they had told her everything. Only then did she open her mouth.

“First of all, thank you for telling me about this. Ordinarily, I would be very worried that he is contacting you again, little brother. However, for now at least, I am willing to believe your impression of him. It does seem like he has changed. I agree with you, Twilight, that the personality change is a bit bizarre. I also agree with your impression, Artemis. He currently seems to be acting like a protective older brother. And yes, that is more than a little weird.”

“However, under no circumstances are either of you to tell anyone else about this.”

Twilight and Artemis nodded

“Second, yes, I did find myself unable to move when I saw you returning to your Nightmare form, much to my shame. Some big sister I am.” She looked down at the floor. “My little brother needed help and, once again, I couldn’t do anything.” She looked up at Artemis with tears in her eyes “You are also right that I cannot shake my fear of or completely relax around, you. It doesn’t matter how hard I try. I can’t shake the fear that I will have to watch you turn back into Night-Terror Knight and I will have to banish you again. Perhaps that is why I could do nothing but watch the other night. I can’t bear to lose you again.”

Artemis walked over and nuzzled Celestia “You won’t lose me ever again, sister. I promise.” He dried her tears with the tip of a wing. “Let’s go eat breakfast.”

Celestia nodded and stood. She walked over to the door with Artemis but stopped as she realized that Twilight had not come with them. The siblings turned to see her sitting at the window, looking out at the sunrise.

Next Chapter: Chapter 17 Estimated time remaining: 35 Hours, 9 Minutes