My Most Faithful Student,

I see your choice in literature is as varied as ever, Twilight. Predictions and Prophecies? Destiny is one thing, but predicting the future is an entirely different matter. Why, if you tried to predict the future- make a prophecy- then who's to say that the simple act of that wouldn't change the outcome? It's simply a silly notion that anypony- myself included- could predict the future. I know that you look up to Starswirl the Bearded, Twilight, but his prophecies aren't exactly accurate. Surely you've read the rest of the tales in that book, rather than just the one about Nightmare Moon?

But with that said, my dearest student, you are destined for great things. Your knowledge and magic nearly rival Starswirl, and you're not even an adult yet! At this rate, history will forget about him and you'll take his place! But I must admit that I fear you will burn yourself out at this rate, Twilight. I worry about you when I hear that you spend all of your days studying. I know that you mean well, and I am proud of you for your dedication to learning, but you really need to take a break and experience life more, even if it's just for one day. There's more to life than what you can find in books- some lessons can only be learned through experience, rather than by reading them from a book. Yes, you may learn spells from books, but you cannot simply cast them as soon as you learn them. Practice- experience- is required.

Among the Royal Guard, there is a saying that "Field experience is one skill you never have until after you need it." History has taught me this lesson at great cost, Twilight, but that doesn't mean we can't be prepared by learning from books. However, as I mentioned before, you can't learn everything from books. Books can make problems seem far more simple than they actually are.

And because of that, I want you to oversee this year's Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville! Now I know you're probably scowling when you read this or have Spike read it to you, but it will be good for you to get outside of your comfort zone and get some fresh air- and meet some ponies other than myself, your family, the Archivist, librarians, and royal guards. We all know you deserve a break with how hard you've spent the past decade studying under me. It will be good for you to get this experience in. With your organizational skills, I know that you can do it- and there's nopony else more qualified or deserving to oversee this year's Summer Sun Celebration than you, my Most Faithful Student. Besides, if anything unexpected does happen, who better to handle it than my prized pupil?

But it would be best if you put this silly Nightmare Moon nonsense behind you. You don't need to worry about that, Twilight. It's just an old pony's tale.

I'll send a chariot to take you to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I'll even arrange for you to stay in the town's library!

Yours truly, Princess Celestia.

The Princess had been right. Even knowing that she was going to be staying in the town's library did little to alleviate her scowl. It was outrageous! Her! The princess's Most Faithful Student! Her protege! She had devoted her life to studying magic under her and learning all that she could! And Princess Celestia wanted her to take a break to meet other ponies. She couldn't believe it.

"I can't believe this!" Twilight cried out. "I-I know what I read and she's in grave danger and she's just ignoring me!" After a few seconds, her expression fell and her ears pinned back from pain. "How could she just... ignore me?" she asked softly.

A soft, disappointed sigh escaped the lips of a young dragon standing beside her. "Twilight... please calm down. It's Princess Celestia. I'm sure she knows what she's talking about. You heard her! She said it's just an old pony's tale. There's nothing to be worried about," he comforted. "She's not in danger, you're just... overreacting."

Twilight hung her head guiltily. "I hope you're right, but... I feel worried sick about this." Her head shot up and she looked at Spike pleadingly. "W-what if she's wrong? What if Nightmare Moon comes back like the prophecy says!? Princess Celestia controls the sun and the moon! What do you think Nightmare Moon would do to her-!?"

Spike gripped Twilight's foreleg with his claws and gently shook her, making her entire body shake and sway, breaking her out of her fear-induced rant. "Twilight!" Spike interjected. "Come on! Hasn't Princess Celestia been alive for over... thousands of years or something?"

Twilight winced, then turned away from Spike to nod. "Well... yes. She has," she admitted glumly. She huffed and looked back at Spike. "But that doesn't mean-"

"But she told you not to worry about it, Twilight. If Nightmare Moon was real, I think she'd tell you that..." Spike reassured. He smiled at her until Twilight turned away from him and looked out of the room's large window, gazing out across Canterlot. "Twilight, if she's like... thousands of years old, she'd know about something like this is it was real. And if it was real, she wouldn't just brush your concern off. She wouldn't lie to you."

Twilight opened her mouth to retort him but stopped herself. He was entirely correct. Princess Celestia had been alive for such a long time that it was unthinkable that she would brush this off if it was real, and if it was real, she wouldn't brush off Twilight's concern for her, so through logical reasoning, she could deduce that it wasn't real. And if it wasn't real, then she was overreacting, even if it didn't feel like it. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then calmly exhaled. A few seconds passed before she opened her eyes again. "Y-you're right, Spike... I... I guess I should trust her." She smiled, and her face lit up with determination. "She wouldn't lie to me, after all. If Nightmare Moon was real, she'd tell me about it," she stated resolutely.

Spike smiled. "See!" he said. "You really do worry too much, Twilight. It'll be fine. Besides, even if Nightmare Moon were real, Princess Celestia would stop her from causing eternal night!"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I guess... I can't imagine anypony, or really anything for that matter, being able to defeat Princess Celestia. She would stop Nightmare Moon." She looked around, then rolled up the scroll. "Can you get my saddlebags?" She started walking over to one of her tower's massive bookshelves, scanning the titles idly. "I need to get ready to go to Ponyville..." Her scowl returned, but it wasn't nearly as prominent as it had been before. Even if she didn't like it, Spike was right. Worrying about Nightmare Moon wasn't necessary if Princess Celestia told her it wasn't necessary. Besides, she had a new assignment from the princess- even if it wasn't a lesson that she wanted to learn, she needed to do her best. After all, she was Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student.

Spike nodded. "Sure. I'm sure the pegasus chariot will be by soon. Is there anything else you need?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'll take care of the rest. I shouldn't need to bring anything. I'm just overseeing things. Oh! I will need paper and quills though. And ink too."

"I'll take care of it, Twilight," Spike affirmed. "You just relax and think about how to organize everything."

Twilight smiled to herself. "Thanks, Spike. Although, I'm not sure that anypony can relax and plan for something like this at the same time," she said with a cheerful giggle. She trotted back over to the idle dragon, then wrapped a foreleg around his back and leaned down to nuzzle him. Spike returned her hug, wrapping his arms around Twilight's neck, and he giggled a bit from Twilight's fur tickling his scales. After a few seconds, they parted.

"Present company excluded of course!" he noted. "You find organizing relaxing..." he said in a much less enthusiastic tone. Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes at the dragon's comment. Spike turned and headed towards Twilight's desk to retrieve the items she had requested, leaving Twilight to ponder over everything for a few seconds.

And a few seconds was more than enough time for her to think. She trusted Princess Celestia- her mentor wouldn't lie to her, and Princess Celestia trusted her. In fact, Princess Celestia trusted her with things that she didn't even trust other ponies close to her with, not even her advisors or the royal guards. And just one small detail of that was Princess Celestia trusting her to oversee the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. The one-thousandth. It'd only ever come around once, and it'd be another thousand years before another milestone like that could be reached.

Her eyes lit up, sparkling in delight at the prospect, and she let out a giddy laugh. Maybe she could afford to take a slight break- but no, a break simply wouldn't do. This would be the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. It had to be absolutely perfect. Princess Celestia put her in charge, so everything had to be perfect. She couldn't let her down! It was unthinkable.

She had simply been thinking about it the wrong way. Her assignment wasn't to take a break or to meet other ponies. No, her assignment was to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration! The one-thousandth! To ensure that it was absolutely perfect for her beloved mentor, and, of course, to learn a lesson and gain experience while doing it.

Content with this in mind, she paid Spike a passing glance to check on his work. And of course, he was doing as fine of a job as ever. She knew she could always count on Spike to always be her number one assistant, it would never change. With a smile, she turned her attention back to the bookshelf, but not before her eyes swept over the still-open book 'Predictions and Prophecies' on the table. Her smile wavered. She trusted Princess Celestia completely.

'But why do I still feel so worried about this..?'

Ponyville was one of the closest 'cities' to Canterlot in Equestria. In truth, while Ponyville was nearly in Canterlot's backyard, it was far from a city- it was more of a village, or a small, rural town. In a way, it was shocking, not only that such a place was chosen for the Summer Sun Celebration, but also because it was the closest town to Canterlot in Equestria. An interesting sidenote that she had learned was that Ponyville was even closer to the actual center of Equestria than Canterlot was. For some reason, she found that fascinating when considered alongside Ponyville being a town, rather than a city.

Much larger and more densely populated cities existed in Equestria, as did smaller ones, yet Ponyville for all it's closeness to Canterlot seemed to be extraordinarily unremarkable. The only thing that most ponies would find interesting was its proximity to the Everfree Forest, which she had learned was generally avoided, for good reason.

But rather than giving it much more thought, she came to the conclusion that the reason why Ponyville was a small, rural town, and not a bustling city on Canterlot's doorstep, was most likely because of its proximity to the Everfree Forest, even if it was so close to Canterlot.

Twilight scowled and blinked. She turned away from Canterlot and its mountain to look at Spike, who held on tight to an open scroll. The chariot was flown by two white, armor-clad pegasus Royal Guards, and if Spike were to let go, that scroll would be history- if it weren't for a spell she had put on it ensuring such a thing wouldn't happen. Normally, a pegasus chariot ride would make her smile and relax as she felt the wind blowing through her mane, making her wonder if that feeling was the same for pegasi when they flew through the air, free of having to stand on anything for support, but right now, it just wasn't the same.

Her trust in Princess Celestia was unshakable- or so she thought- but right now, she found herself questioning whether she trusted her princess as much as she thought she did. 'I have no reason to be worried about Nightmare Moon! Princess Celestia said it isn't real; so it's not real, yet I'm still worried! Why am I still worried about this!?' She nibbled on her lip, and her scowl lifted. 'Maybe I'm not worried about Nightmare Moon... maybe I'm worried about the Celebration?'

She took a deep breath, then swallowed. Maybe all she needed was to distract herself for a moment- after all, there was a lot of pressure on her to oversee the celebration. Despite the fact that the trip was only a few hours long by pegasus chariot, and that they were not even halfway there, she already had everything planned out. She had even gone over everything that could go wrong! Including the risk of Nightmare Moon being real. Her scowl threatened to return, but she caught it in time and put a stop to it.

With nothing to distract her, she found her mind kept wandering back to Nightmare Moon for some reason, and every time it happened, she felt a strange unease come over her. It was so different from anything else she had felt. And the fear. Nightmare Moon would bring eternal night. It was almost enough to send her into a panic attack, hyperventilating at the idea. Not at night lasting forever, but at what it would mean. It would mean that her mentor, Princess Celestia, would be gone.

"Twilight?"

Twilight blinked, the sudden sound of Spike speaking her name breaking her stupor. She licked her lips and looked at him. "Yes, Spike?"

Spike squinted at her unsurely, and his eyes rolled over her body, from her chest to her head, then to her horn. "...Are you okay? You seem... I dunno, distracted? Nervous?"

Twilight hesitated, then gave him a timid nod in response. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just thinking." She offered him a wry grin. "I do have a lot on my mind, after all. I get to oversee the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, Spike! Princess Celestia entrusted it to me!"

She couldn't help herself. She did a little jump in place and let out a squee. Fortunately, the pegasus pulling the chariot- along with the chariot- managed to not lurch from her jump nor her landing. And of course, physics was on her side, so she landed right where she jumped on the chariot.

It still worried Spike, and at his glare made Twilight blush at her foalish reaction. She quickly sat down and cleared her throat. "I've been thinking... How did Ponyville manage to get chosen for this year's Summer Sun Celebration anyway?" she asked. She looked up from Spike and gazed out beyond the two stallions pulling the chariot. In the distance, she could see Ponyville. It was small, but it looked quaint, yet it wasn't someplace where she would have expected the Celebration to occur. Manehatton, Fillydedlphia, Los Pegasus, and Canterlot, sure. But Ponyville? "I don't understand... It's just so... unremarkable?"

Spike shrugged. "I dunno. Princess Celestia chose it, so I'm sure she had a reason!" he offered.

Twilight nodded to herself. "Yeah..." 'Some reason...' All too soon, their conversation drew to an abrupt close, leaving her to her thoughts once again as the wind blew through her mane. 'But... it's the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Surely she'd want that in Canterlot, not... Ponyville?'

She let out a sigh as answers evaded her. 'Maybe I should have asked her about it,' she thought. With a shake of her head, she turned back and watched Canterlot as it grew smaller in the distance.

Somewhere along the trip, her gaze had turned from Canterlot to the town of Ponyville. Even from the air, she could tell it had a nice, homely feel to it. It was a sharp contrast with Canterlot, and the Canterlot nobility would probably rather donate their estates than visit such a town. Rather than paved streets, Ponyville's streets were cobblestone, or barring that, simply dirt roads. Rather than constructed of glistening marble and magnificent pillars, the houses were constructed of wood and of stone, and of other assorted materials, perhaps even with thatched roofs, although she suspected it only looked thatched from the distance. Such houses would hardly be considered worth the cost of materials in Canterlot, and yet she found it had a pleasant appeal to it.

'Maybe that's why Princess Celestia is having it here instead of in Canterlot,' she mused as they touched the ground. The chariot bumped and jostled her around far more than she was used to as they landed, but she put it aside, knowing the cause was the dirt or cobblestone street. As soon as the chariot came to a stop, she stood up and jumped out of the open back, followed by Spike, who hopped down beside her.

As soon as she touched the ground, Twilight walked along the chariot to the two stallions who brought them to Ponyville. "Thank you, sirs," she said with a smile.

They both returned her smile and nodded in acknowledgment. "If you need anything, ma'am, we'll be unloading your things at the library, and then we'll be with the Mayor to handle security."

At the mention of 'security,' she had to force her smile to mask her concern, but she nodded in response. She pulled away from them and walked back to the end of the chariot. Spike was standing there, looking around and taking in the unassuming scenery. She had to admit, it was a nice change from Canterlot- it wasn't like everything was trying to scream out 'Look at me!' louder than everything else.

Twilight nodded to herself as she looked around. Many ponies casually strolled down the streets, of whom the majority were earth ponies, followed by pegasi, and then there were only a few unicorns like she had expected. The population make up was nearly the exact opposite of Canterlot, which was a majority unicorn city, although there were still countless pegasi and earth ponies living there.

"So, uh, where to first, Twilight?" Spike asked.

Twilight looked at him and smiled, then levitated the scroll he held out of his claws and over in front of her. She didn't need to look at the list to know exactly was on it, but it helped for accuracy's sake. "Well..." she trailed off and cast her gaze skyward. Even the barest examination revealed countless fluffy white clouds dotting the skies above the town- which was exactly not what she had ordered. Not a single cloud was acceptable for tomorrow. Her eyes narrowed. "I think we need to give this... 'Rainbow Dash' a visit. She's the pegasus in charge of the weather, and there are still clouds all over the place!" she huffed in frustration.

"Come on, Spike!" she called as she started trotting down the street.

"Wait! Twilight!" Spike called after her, "We don't even know where she is!"

Twilight skidded to a stop, and Spike ran right into her hind legs, letting out an 'oof' from the impact as he fell onto the street. Twilight looked back at him with an apologetic smile, then scooped him up in her magic and sat him down on her back, just below her withers. "Right... any ideas?"

"Uh, maybe check the sky? She is a pegasus, after all," Spike offered with a shrug.

"Well, that's better than nothing..." Twilight said glumly.

For several minutes, the two wandered through Ponyville aimlessly, searching out the pegasus named 'Rainbow Dash,' mostly searching the skies for her, though careful to avoid walking into anypony or anything, but without a description to go with the name, they really didn't know what to look for. Eventually, they started asking around for her, and while that yielded a description of her appearance- a light blue coat, rainbow-colored mane and tail, which Twilight couldn't really picture, and 'beautiful magenta eyes' according to the stallion they asked- Twilight suspected that the stallion had a crush on Rainbow Dash- they still couldn't find her.

Twilight groaned and came to a stop in the middle of one of the countless streets they had wandered. "This? This is pointless..." she said in exasperation. "Well, no wonder she hasn't taken care of the clouds. She's nowhere to be found! Of course! What am I going to do now?!"

"Cheer up, Twilight," Spike comforted. "I'm sure she'll turn up. Maybe try looking for her friends? Or maybe ask another pegasus?"

Twilight took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh as she deflated her lungs. "Yeah... but still. I'm on a schedule, Spike! And she-"

"Twilight, why don't we look for some of the others first, then? Maybe she'll turn up that way?" Spike offered.

Twilight hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. You're right. We're getting nowhere right now, and it shouldn't be a problem to find the others," she noted.

"Maybe you should try to meet some other ponies like Princess Celestia suggested?" Spike offered.

"Spike..." she groaned, dropping her head even lower. After a few seconds, she shook her head and picked it back up. She looked to her left, then her right, scanning the town to try to decide which way would be most efficient for meeting with the rest of the ponies taking care of things. When she looked back ahead, however, there was a bubbly pink earth pony standing in front of her. There was absolutely no way that the earth pony had enough time to get in front of her like that, yet despite that, she stood there with a bright, infectious smile on her face.

She already wanted to avoid and ignore her.

"Try to talk to her!" Spike suggested.

Seeing as though the pony was standing right in front of her, she relented to Spike's coaxing. "Um... hello?" she asked, smiling a forced, awkward smile.

The pink pony gasped, jumped up into the air, then landed and zoomed off.

Twilight blinked, then pursed her lips. "Well, that was a completely wasted attempt at making a conversation. What kind of pony does that, anyway? Ugh..."

"I don't know, Twilight. Maybe she's really shy or something? An introvert?" Spike offered.

Twilight tilted her head as she mulled over that idea. She wanted to say that yes, it would make sense. She knew it made sense from experience. First hoof experience. With herself as the pony jumping and running away. She frowned. Looking back, she knew it was silly how she reacted, but she had been a filly at the time. She shook the thought from her head. "I don't know... she didn't really seem like an introvert," she answered. "She seemed too... eager? Energetic?"

"Uh, maybe she's... just a hyper introvert?" Spike suggested. Better suggestions clearly evaded him, leaving him just as stumped at Twilight.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Well, I suppose we shouldn't focus on whoever that was. Maybe we'll see her again, or maybe not. I hope not. But! I have an assignment to do. Come on, we still have to find Rainbow Dash."

"We're going to work on finding the other ponies though, right?" Spike asked.

Twilight nodded quickly. "Yes. You made a good point. Since we're not finding her, we'll search for her while we work on making sure everything else is going smoothly. What's next on the list?"

Twilight could feel Spike frown without looking back at him. "You don't remember?"

Twilight looked back at him with a chastising glare. "Of course I remember Spike! It's just better from an accuracy standpoint to double check the list!"

Spike let out a sigh and rolled his eyes as he pulled the list out. "A pony named Applejack is in charge of catering for the celebration..." he trailed off as his eyes drifted over the text, and he muttered most of it to himself as he searched for anything of importance. "Ah-ha! She lives on a farm outside of Ponyville called... Sweet Apple Acres?"

Twilight thought about the names for a moment. 'Applejack? Sweet Apple Acres?' "How quaint," she stated.

One more quick look around, and a glance skyward to check for the missing pegasus, which once again confirmed that she was still missing, and Twilight took off trotting towards Sweet Apple Acres. It wasn't hard to know where to look- from memory, she recalled seeing an apple orchard outside of the town when they had flown in, and she had made a mental map of where they were in relation to it.

The trip through town and to Sweet Apple Acres went by quickly and without any interruptions or signs of the blasted pegasus that was supposed to be in charge of the weather. Soon enough, they arrived at the farm proper, and it felt like a proper farm. Dirt and grass everywhere, all fenced in, with an old, worn gate. Above the gate was a wooden sign with a faded red apple painted on it. Below the apple read, "Sweet Apple Acres."

Twilight stopped for a few seconds to admire it. She never really had an opportunity to see a farm before, between living in Canterlot all of her life and studying under Princess Celestia, she just never had the time. But while she never had the time, she could respect what earth ponies were capable of. Their magic and ability to work with plants and nature was truly remarkable. Sadly, she had never had the opportunity to study it since she was so focused on unicorn magic.

An alarming, loud shout of "Yeeeeeeeeehaw!" broke her musings.

She didn't jump, but she did tense up. As her head jerked around towards the source, an orange-coated, blond manned earth pony raced past her. In the passing glance she took of her, she could barely discern her cutie mark: three apples. There was also a red ribbon on her tail and mane. She also wore a brownish-tan stetson, that despite her speed, stayed on her head without any signs of trouble.

She watched as the earth pony dashed towards a tree, came to a stop, swept around, and bucked her hind legs into an apple tree. The tree shook violently from the impact, and apples rained down from the branches. As soon as she finished the buck, the earth pony reared up on her hind legs and let out a victorious shout.

Knowing physics as well as she did, Twilight was impressed, even if she knew earth pony magic was behind it. She took a moment to compose herself, then put on a smile and casually trotted forward. "Excuse me, miss?" she asked.

Before she could process it, the earth pony zipped over to her and picked up her right forehoof with both of her forehooves and started shaking her hoof. "Well, hi there Sugarcube! Name's Applejack! Pleasure to meet you!"

Twilight was grateful that as soon as Applejack introduced herself, she stopped shaking her hoof, even if her hoof didn't stop moving up and down until she used her magic on it. "Ahem... My name is Twilight Sparkle," she introduced herself. "I'm here to check in on you- I was sent by Princess Celestia to oversee this year's Summer Sun Celebration. You're catering for the celebration tomorrow, correct?"

Applejack gave a hardy nod. "Eyup! Sure am! And don't you worry none, Sugarcube, we've got the food all taken care of! I've got the whole family here a helpin'!" Barely breaking stride, she raced over to a metal triangle suspended from a rope. She scooped up a metal rod with her mouth, then clanged it all around inside of the triangle and spat the rod back out. "We've got company, everypony!" she shouted.

Over the next half minute, easily over two dozen earth ponies raced out from places unseen to greet Twilight. As each one showed up, Applejack listed off their name without a hitch or stumbling. Sadly, even with Applejack's best efforts, Twilight couldn't keep pace- there were simply too many of them, all with names relating to apples in some way or another. She couldn't keep up, and she only caught a few names- Big Mac, her brother, Applebloom, her little sister, and then Granny Smith, who was, ironically, their grandmother. Her mother and father were notably absent.

"You're here to check out the food, right? Care to sample it!? Why, we've got apple pie, apple fritters, apple dumplings, apple cake, apple cookies, apples, apples, and more apples!" Applejack listed off eagerly.

And the tables. Oh, the tables! They were absolutely filled with apple related foods. Tomorrow, nopony would lack food. Provided, of course, they liked apples. The pleasant aroma that wafted through the air made Twilight's mouth water, but her will was stronger than that. "Oh, no, I'm sorry," she apologized. "But I really can't. You see, we have a lot of things to take care of today and..." the rest of her argument died on her lips as soon as Applejack's young sister walked over to her, looking up at her with the biggest pleading eyes she had ever seen.

The filly had a yellowish coat, with a red tail and mane, complete with a big pink bow in her mane. Her lower lip was stuck out pleadingly. "Please, miss? Won't ya' join us for lunch?"

Twilight never stood a chance. Before she realized what she was saying, she had agreed. Not a moment later, she was seated at a table and ponies delivered all sorts of apple foods to her. And what was worse? They all watched her eagerly, just waiting for her to eat it all, or at least try it, and give them her approval.

Twilight gulped, then looked pleadingly at Spike.

Twilight held her head straight out from her body. She felt horrible. Her stomach churned in discomfort as her whole body seemed to sag from the weight of all the food she had tried. There was simply too much, and they didn't take 'no thanks' for an answer. That wasn't to say that their food wasn't good. It was actually great! But there was just too much of it. At least she knew that the catering was in capable hooves.

She let out a groan and came to a stop. "Spike... please... make sure I never agree to anything like that... ever... again..."

Spike stifled a laugh. "Oh, come on, Twilight. It wasn't that bad, they-"

Before Spike could continue, Twilight levitated him over onto the ground in front of her and glared at him, then winced. She lit her horn to cast a spell, one that would hopefully make her feel better. She closed her eyes as her magenta aura enveloped her body. Over the next few seconds, her belly shrank, the grumbling died down, and she felt sweet, sweet relief. As soon as she was back to normal, she opened her eyes and let out a blissful sigh.

"They seem like nice ponies," Spike offered.

Twilight slumped down for a moment. As much as she loathed to admit it, he was right about them. The Apple family was nice. A bit eccentric in their love for apples, but nice. She lifted her head back up and took a deep breath. "Well... at least we've got that taken care of. Now if only we could find-"

"Look out!" a sharp, raspy voice called out.

Twilight's head swiveled around and looked up towards the source-

-Right as the source crashed into her, knocking the air out of her lungs and knocking her to the ground. Twilight winced and groaned as she rolled across the dirt road, her body and coat dragging against the ground enough to hurt and probably leave a few bruises, to say nothing of how messy her coat and mane were going to be. By the time she finally came to a stop and recovered her senses enough to feel again, she realized that she wished she couldn't feel. Her entire left side ached and a few spots burned. Her legs were sore, and she could tell that her legs were mangled in with another pony's legs, and to make matters worse, the pony was on top of her, preventing her from getting up. She let out a groan and pressed her head into the dirt as whoever crashed into her slowly untangled their legs and stood up.

"Hehe... uh, sorry about that," the pony- a mare- apologized.

Twilight took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and immediately glared at the pegasus. One look was all it took to tell her the mare's identity. "Rainbow Dash, I presume?" she asked flatly.

"Yep!" the pegasus boastfully acknowledged. She beat her wings and jumped into the air, then hovered there. "Fastest pegasus in the world, and future Wonderbolt, at your service! Hehe... uh, sorry about crashing into you. I sort of lost control."

"Right," Twilight said flatly, still glaring at the pegasus. She slowly picked herself up, wincing as she put her weight back onto her legs. She looked at her left side and took in the atrocious, dirtied state of her coat. She took a deep breath, then let out a weary sigh.

"Uh, oops. Sorry, let me help you with that!" Rainbow said. The pegasus disappeared in a strong gust of wind, and not a moment later, a cloud- a dark gray cloud- appeared over Twilight's head. The unicorn wilted at the sight. Unseen by her, Rainbow Dash started bouncing up and down on the cloud, and a torrential downfall of rain poured out of the cloud and onto Twilight.

Twilight let out a squeal as the cold rain soaked into her coat and chilled her to her core. The water clung to her and left her paralyzed in place, horrified by the impromptu shower. She stood there, shaking from cold, as Rainbow zoomed off, pushing the cloud away.

When the pegasus returned and landed, Twilight shot her a glare and blew water off of her lips.

"Sorry, let me dry you off real quick!" Rainbow said. Before Twilight could offer protest based on her prior treatment at the pegasus' hooves, the mare had already shot into the air and was flying around her in a whirlwind.

Rainbow Dash certainly lived up to her name. Twilight has never seen another pegasus fly so fast- or recklessly- and she seemed to turn into a blur of rainbow color as she flew around in circles. It was enough to disorientate her, and by the time Rainbow stopped and landed, she felt dry.

Her mane felt odd, however. Almost immediately, Rainbow's face pulled into a smile, and she lifted a forehoof to her mouth to try to stifle her laughter. Spike walked over beside Rainbow, staring at Twilight's head. Despite her attempts to contain herself, Rainbow fell over backward, cackling at Twilight and flailing her hooves about. Not a moment later, Spike joined her laughter.

Twilight glared at the two of them, but neither of them paid her any mind. In the end, she looked up to see the disaster that was her mane. She felt a twinge of panic, but mostly anger. In the end, she huffed and looked back at Rainbow.

The mare wiped a tear from her eye and stood back up. "Oh wow, that was good... I'm sorry about that... uh, I never got your name."

"Twilight Sparkle," Twilight stated. "I'm here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. You're in charge of the weather, correct?"

Rainbow nodded and flew up into the air, then casually laid down on a cloud. "Yeah."

"And I ordered clear weather. Otherwise known as 'no clouds.' Remember?" Twilight queried.

"Pfft, yeah! I'll get it done as soon as I finish with my nap," Rainbow replied, batting her hoof dismissively at the unicorn below.

"You know, I don't think the Wonderbolts take lazy weather pegasi who can't even keep the sky clear," Twilight mused, smiling to herself.

Rainbow rolled over on the cloud and stared down at Twilight, looking as if she had just been challenged. "Oh really? I can clear this sky in ten seconds flat!" she boasted.

Twilight's smile grew into an almost menacing one. The way the pegasus rose to her challenge confirmed in her mind exactly what she needed to do. "Prove it."

In the blink of an eye, Rainbow steeled her resolve, then shot off of the cloud in a blur. A faint rainbow trail lingered behind her, gradually fading, but she was already hard at work. She flew across the sky from cloud to cloud, kicking and punching each one, busting them and making them disperse. In the end, she cleared the sky just as fast as she said she would. She rocketed towards the ground and landed right in front of Twilight with her wings flared out. "Ten. Seconds. Flat."

Twilight simply stared at her with her mouth agape.

Rainbow's expression turned friendly again. "Well, it was nice meeting you Twilight Sparkle! We're going to be great friends! But I have some things I've gotta go do now, sorry!" And with that, she took off to the sky.

"Well, that happened," Spike commented.

It took Twilight a few seconds to recover. She shook her head to try to shake the bewilderment and concern and countless questions of how she did that so quickly out of her mind. "I have a headache..." she groaned under her breath. "Come on. Let's go see how the decorations are going. Surely that can't be so..." she trailed off, grimacing.

She levitated Spike back up, then set him down on her back again. She turned back to head into town to search out the pony in charge of decorations- a unicorn by the name of 'Rarity.' With every step, she winced as pain shot through her left foreleg, giving her a slight limp, but she endured. 'Maybe I should have started with her instead...' she mused.

The trip back to town took only a few minutes, even with her limp. But, by the time she arrived, the pain in her leg had dulled to just a constant throbbing ache, so it was bearable enough that she didn't limp as she walked through the town. At the first pony she saw, she asked him where to find Rarity, and he was kind enough to tell her that the unicorn owned a boutique and give her directions there.

The trip to the boutique was rather uneventful- no sign of the crazy pink earth pony, no more food to make her shudder, and no more incidents with the reckless pegasus. But that also meant that nothing else productive happened. As the day dragged on, Twilight found herself feeling tired, worn out, and demotivated. Not the least of which was because a lot more attention than she wanted was drawn to herself. Or, more specifically, to her mane.

She took a deep breath as she ascended the steps to the boutique and knocked on the door. 'As soon as I finish checking on Rarity, I'll check on Fluttershy and then go to the library and I'll find a good book to read,' she told herself while she waited for the door to be answered. A quick glance up, and she revised her plan: 'After I fix my mane.' For a brief moment, her scowl returned as her thoughts drifted back to Rainbow Dash, however, she swept it aside and tried to smile as best she could in case Rarity opened the door.

But it didn't happen. She knocked on the door again, louder this time then waited once more. After several seconds, she looked around, wondering if perhaps the unicorn wasn't there. "Maybe we should have asked if she was here?" Spike suggested.

Twilight huffed, then turned and trotted off the steps and into the street. "You know, I imagine that you're probably right. What exactly is the lesson that Princess Celestia supposed to be teaching me? Because I certainly don't like it!"

"Oh calm down, Twilight... It'll be fine. You're worrying too much!" Spike retorted.

Twilight stopped and jerked her head back to shoot Spike a glare. "You're not the pony who was force-fed so much food that I had to use a spell to get rid of it," she quipped back. "Nor are you the pony who was used to break the fall of a speeding pegasus!"

"Twilight," Spike sighed softly. "Princess Celestia probably just wants to teach you that not everything goes exactly as planned in life! She wants you to get this experience in leadership in!"

Twilight grit her teeth. She wanted to be angry. And well, to an extent, she most certainly was angry. Today wasn't really her day. And tomorrow would be Princess Celestia's day. She sighed softly, feeling like Princess Celestia might have put too much on her. But even still, she couldn't let her down. It was unacceptable! She couldn't fail her! She had to put forth her best, and Princess Celestia trusted her to take care of this. She couldn't betray Princess Celestia's trust like that, and she couldn't let tomorrow be ruined by her failures.

And even though she was angry and wanted to be angry, and didn't exactly like this lesson, she was still excited about the Summer Sun Celebration. Just less so the 'overseeing and organizing it' part. That part she didn't care for, which was saying something, because she loved organization. It was probably because she had to interact with other ponies. And not just other ponies. Oh, no, the ponies she had to interact with were simply crazy! There was no other more succinct way to put it.

But still, she had to trust Princess Celestia, her mentor, her beloved mentor. Princess Celestia thought she needed this lesson, and it was a lesson from her, so she tried to look at it that way. She did cherish learning from Princess Celestia- she held the lessons learned from her close in her heart. But it was hard to look at this as a lesson from her, at least in part because Princess Celestia wasn't there with her. It just wasn't the same as studying history with the pony who lived it or learning magic from somepony who had studied it for centuries.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply. "Come on. We have things to do. The sooner we get them done the sooner-"

"You can lock yourself in the library and study until you're needed or tomorrow comes," Spike sighed in defeat.

Twilight's expression softened. "Spike, when am I ever going to need other ponies?" Spike looked at her like he was about to protest, but Twilight continued, "Princess Celestia will always be there for me- and Equestria," she replied. She offered him a reassuring smile and reached back to nuzzle him. "Plus I'll always have you."

Spike laughed as Twilight's fur tickled his cheek. "Okay! Okay! Stop it Twilight!"

Twilight giggled and smiled. "Sorry, Spike," she apologized as she broke the nuzzle, "but I kind of needed that."

Spike nodded slowly in understanding. "It's okay..." he trailed off as Twilight started walking again. "Uh, do you have any idea where Rarity would be, then?"

Twilight pursed her lips and scanned the streets for anypony matching the unicorn's description, but she wasn't there. If she wasn't out and about, and she wasn't at her boutique, then she was probably busy taking care of something. She nodded. "Let's check the Town Hall. If she's still preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration, that's probably where she'll be."

Fortunately, Rarity's boutique wasn't really all that far away from the Town Hall. Unfortunately, it was still long enough that there were ponies roaming about- ponies who could see her, ponies who took one look at her and immediately stared at her ruined, poofed up mane.

She did her best to hide her scowl as she reached the Town Hall. Fortunately, the door was open, and from outside, she could hear some cheerful humming. As she stepped into the Town Hall, one glance around confirmed that the decorations were being put up. They weren't the best she had seen- after all, this town wasn't Canterlot- but they were moderately acceptable, if nowhere near what Princess Celestia deserved.

Nonetheless, she assumed that it was their idea of 'the best' for their princess. Which was, in a way, absolutely depressing.

"Oh my goodness! Darling!" a mare called out, her voice smooth like silk and sweet as honey, leaving the alarm to sound entirely out of place. No sooner had Twilight turned to the source than a pristine white unicorn with a styled purple mane gawked in horror, staring at the atrocity on her head. "What happened to your mane!?" she shrieked.

Twilight winced from the verbal assault. For how sweet her voice was, her screaming most certainly wasn't. "Rainbow Dash happened to it," she stated flatly. The unicorn looked horrified. "You're Rarity I presume?"

"Oh this simply won't do!" the unicorn cried out. Before Twilight could put up a fight, Rarity pulled her further into the Town Hall, levitated out what appeared to be a mobile dressing station, then set to work fixing her mane.

In a dazzling display of masterful control over telekinesis, the unicorn managed to fix Twilight's mane in under half a minute, along with providing a mirror for her to scrutinize herself, which left Twilight squinting at her reflection. Without any knowledge of who she was, this unicorn had fixed her mane right up and met her own standards. There wasn't a trace left of what Rainbow had done to her mane. A blink and quick glance later, and her coat seemed to sparkle.

At least until the mare forced her into a tight-fitting dress. She let out a squeak as the unicorn pulled the straps tight with her mouth, forcing the air out of her lungs. "S-stop!" she cried out, her eyes watering from panic.

Not a moment too soon, the unicorn blushed and stopped herself. "O-oh, um, terribly sorry dear!" she apologized. "I-I just couldn't help myself! You looked so dreadful with- with that disaster of a mane! Oh, dear, I can't believe Rainbow Dash would do something like that to you! Poor dear..." With a heavy sigh, she tossed her mane to the side and undid the strap, then slowly pulled the dress off of Twilight.

Twilight gasped for breath and collapsed to the floor, sucking in deep breaths and refusing to let anything stop her until she started to feel dizzy.

"Dear? Are you alright?"

"Y-yes," Twilight squeaked. 'Now that you're done trying to murder me,' she thought. Still, she kept it to herself and hid her scowl. "L-like I was saying. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to oversee this year's Summer Sun Celebration's preparations."

Rarity hummed to herself and nodded. "Oh, yes, yes, decorating is almost finished. It'll be ready on time dear," she said dismissively. For a split second, the unicorn paused and seemed to do a double take. "W-wait, Twilight Sparkle!? You mean you're the princess's protege!?" she demanded.

Twilight shifted her weight on her hooves and nodded quickly. "Yes. Princess Celestia sent me-"

"To oversee this year's Summer Sun Celebration!?" the mare squealed in delight and her eyes lit up. "You're from Canterlot! Oh, what is it like dear!? Tell me everything! And the princess! What is it like to be her student!?"

Twilight forced a large smile at the unicorn as she asked question after question. In the back of her mind, a small part of her betrayed her with the question 'Did Princess Celestia make me have to deal with these insane ponies on purpose!?' For the most part, however, she knew better than that. Unless of course, it was part of her lesson. That thought left her on edge, but she endured- Princess Celestia needed her, after all, and it was, of course, an assignment from her.

Even if it was one she was starting to hate.

She took a deep breath. She was able to keep a pleasant smile on her lips, but only just. "Yes, well, I-I do have other things to take care of today, miss...?"

The white unicorn shook herself out of her dazzled state and blushed. "O-oh, yes, of course, dear," she stammered. "Where are my manners? My name is Rarity," she finally introduced, her name rolling off of her tongue with a sort of humility, pride, and dignity, that somehow mixed perfectly in with her sweetness. She bowed her head graciously and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry that I've kept you so long, I just... tend to get a bit enamored by Canterlot. I've never had the chance, but I'd absolutely love to visit Canterlot." She let out a dreamy, wistful sigh. "I do hope to spend some more time with you, dear! We'll be the best of friends!"

Twilight's smile cracked and wobbled. At the mention of 'friend', she screamed inside. "Right, well! I'll probably be with Princess Celestia most of tomorrow!" she said happily. "And I'll be busy the rest of today," she stated flatly. "But I'll try to make some time for you," she lied.

Rarity didn't notice the lie and simply nodded happily. "Oh yes, of course, dear. Don't let me keep you waiting any longer, I'm certain that you must be far too busy for me to waste any more of your time."

Twilight nodded- Rarity finally said something she could agree with. "Right! Exactly. I'm busy. We have some other things to take care of," she stated. She slowly started backing up, then turned and hastily trotted to the door.

"Take care darling!" Rarity called after her.

Twilight refused to stop or look back. She barely hesitated as she passed Spike. The dragon had stayed in the same place the entire time she was there. There was something about his eyes, too- his pupils had turned red and seemed to be shaped like hearts. She squinted in suspicion and picked the young dragon up with her magic, turned him around, then sat him down on her back as she trotted out of the Town Hall.

"S-she's... beautiful..." Spike sighed.

"Come on, Casanova, we still need to find Fluttershy. The sooner we make sure she has things handled, the sooner we can get to the Library," Twilight stated.

"Sweet, sweet Rarity..." was Spike's longing reply.

Much to Twilight's disappointment, throughout her entire trip to search out Fluttershy, Spike sighed and mumbled about just how beautiful Rarity was. And while yes, she agreed that Rarity was beautiful, Spike took it to another level. It was as plain as day that Spike had a crush on her, and she felt like that was going to end up haunting her. But, the trip to find Fluttershy wasn't entirely bad. At the very least, Rarity had generously fixed her mane, so ponies didn't stare at her in bewilderment, which made her feel a little better.

Eventually, they found Fluttershy, clued in by the beautiful, synchronized and rehearsed chirping and delightful singing of birds. Their songs were so wonderous that it soothed her soul, helping to ease the blight caused by the other ponies she had met today. Finally! Maybe she would meet somepony who wasn't completely crazy.

Smiling, Twilight used her magic to spread some bushes apart so she could walk through them. After all, looking for the proper way to the clearing would have taken time that she could have been using to study. Maybe even do research! Or just look through that Predictions and Prophecies book again.

Her anxiety returned, making her chest tighten up. She felt almost like she needed to run, but she didn't know where. For a few seconds, she stayed silent, standing completely still in the bushes, watching the pegasus she assumed to be Fluttershy tending to the choir of birds.

The pegasus had a butter-colored coat, and her mane was a beautiful soft pink. Her voice was soft, smooth, and quiet.

"Um... oh dear... oh dear..." she whispered. "Um... e-excuse me? Mr. Robin?" she called. The choir of birds stopped their singing, and the bird in question, supposedly a robin from his name, blinked a few times and watched the pegasus. Ever so slowly, she crept across the grass, then weakly beat her wings. She just barely hovered with her hooves off the ground, then she timidly ascended to the branch that the bird was on. "Um excuse me... but um... y-you're off-key, c-could you maybe... um... t-try again? If-if you don't mind, that is..." she said shyly.

The robin gave a happy nod, then started chirping sweetly again. Fluttershy smiled.

Twilight stepped out of the bushes, smiling. "Wow!" she called.

Fluttershy squeaked, and her wings instantly folded to her sides. And instantly, she closed her eyes and let out an even softer, terrified squeak as she fell to the grass, landing on her haunches. The birds all flew away, startled by a combination of Twilight and Fluttershy.

Ignoring her plight, Twilight walked over to her with a cheerful smile. "That was amazing! I've never heard anything like that."

"O-oh, um... t-thank y-you..." was the whispered reply.

Twilight craned her neck a bit, leaning over to the shy pegasus, who ducked her head back so that her mane covered her face in response. "You're Fluttershy, right? In charge of the music? I'm Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia's star pupil. I'm here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration."

The pegasus timidly nodded and squeaked out something inaudible.

Twilight lean in a little closer, only for the pegasus to pull further back from her. "What was that? I didn't quite catch it, sorry."

Another squeak, this one even less audible than before.

Twilight forced herself to keep smiling. 'Right... of course... Of course, everypony I have to interact with today is...' She looked around a bit, then lifted her head back up, realizing that the frightened pegasus didn't seem to be recovering. "Right... well! I can see that you have the music covered, so... I'll just be going then!" she said, mostly to herself since she realized the pegasus wouldn't reply, or at least if she did, it wouldn't be audible.

She turned to the left and started walking away. Slowly for the first few steps, then picking up speed. After all, the library was calling to her! And she was Princess Celestia's most faithful student. Who would she be if she were to ignore the library's call?

Sadly, there was a gasp from behind her. "A baby dragon!?" was shouted in the same voice belonging to the timid mare, but the timidness was missing. It was an excited shout, but still soft and sweet.

Twilight stopped and looked back-

-Right as Fluttershy's head rammed into her haunches, violating her privacy, knocking her away, and making Spike land on the ground, somehow standing up. "Oh, I've never met a baby dragon before! Can you talk?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah?" was Spike's confused response.

"Oh my! I've never met a baby dragon that could talk before... what do baby dragons talk about?"

Twilight closed her eyes, pressed her forehead into the ground, and groaned. 'So today's one of those days...'

By the time Twilight returned to the library- carrying Spike on her back, and of course, followed by the 'shy' pegasus, who certainly didn't act shy around Spike, she questioned whether she could have forced a smile for Princess Celestia, even if under the threat of banishment. Try as she did, it was darn near impossible for her to view this as an assignment from Princess Celestia, or a lesson, or any kind. And the opportunity to oversee the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration wasn't nearly as appealing as it was hours earlier.

She came to a stop at the door, ignoring the conversation Fluttershy and Spike were having- like she had been after the first two minutes of walking- and cleared her throat, breaking the conversation and drawing both Spike and Fluttershy's attention. Fluttershy shied back slightly. "Excuse me, but we're here. Spike and I really need to be going, not that it wasn't nice to meet you, Fluttershy. I'm sure Spike's tired, and we really have a lot of things to take care of for tomorrow."

"Actually, I'm really not that tired, Twilight. And we don't have anything left to-"

Twilight quickly jerked and knocked Spike off her back. Spike grunted as he landed on his butt on the ground. He shot Twilight a glare, which intensified as Twilight leaned down closer to him and made some babying noises. "He's so tired he can't even stand on his own two feet!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, it is rather late, isn't it? I should be going..." Fluttershy replied.

"I'm not a baby..." Spike muttered as Fluttershy walked away. "If I was a pony I'd probably have my cutie mark by now!"

Twilight smiled sweetly. "Technically, you're still a baby dragon, mister."

Spike huffed as Twilight picked him up and set him back down on her withers. "I know where you live," he retorted.

Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling to herself, as she opened the door. Somehow, the room seemed darker than she thought possible, but she shrugged it off and walked on inside. Both of them looked around, but in the darkness, they couldn't make anything out. Spike hopped off her back. "Help me find the light switch, Spike."

The lights turned on with a shout of "SURPRISE!"

Twilight screamed and jumped back in shock, her heart racing in her chest. Ponies were everywhere she looked! Not a spot was left untaken, it was almost like the whole town was there! She was used to crowds, but that didn't mean she liked them. She was used to high-stress situations- that came with being the Princess's protege, but she wasn't prepared for this. For crying out loud, this was a library, not a ballroom!

A pink blur all but exploded in her face, pulling her into a hug. "Hi! Were you surprised! Oh, you looked so surprised! You remember me, don't you? We met earlier today and I realized I didn't recognize you which was strange since I know everypony in Ponyville and then I realized that must mean you were new here which meant that I didn't know you and you wouldn't know anypony else so I threw you this surprise party to welcome you to Ponyville!"

Twilight's mind raced, and her brain and ears hurt. "This is a library!" she shouted.

The pink earth pony just giggled. "Yep! I heard this is where you were staying which I thought was strange but then again I've only just met you and that's why I'm throwing you this party!"

"In a library," Twilight stated again. Her left eye twitched.

The pink pony giggled again and bounced in place a few times. "Yep! This is where you're staying, silly! So I thought this would be the best place to hold it! I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way."

"...of course I'm surprised. This is a library. You know, someplace where it's supposed to be quiet," Twilight nearly hissed.

Pinkie frowned for just a moment. "Oh, that's silly! If you're supposed to be quiet in a library then you can't have a party!"

"...that's the point," Twilight muttered, feeling defeated. Truly, this pink earth pony was going to be the bane of her existence until Princess Celestia graciously let her return to Canterlot.

Pinkie just smiled obliviously. "Come on! Mingle with the ponies! Or have a drink!" She pulled Twilight across to the middle of the room, where there was a table set up with punch.

Twilight warily looked over the drinks and scanned the crowd, trying to ignore the loud music and the fact that so many ponies were crowded in the library- and not one of them was reading a book. It left her feeling devastated. They were in a library! How could they not be reading books instead of doing something silly like partying!

"Oh, I'm so excited for tomorrow! The Summer Sun Celebration, yippie! It's like the best party. Ever!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight clenched her jaw, then levitated one of the cups of punch up off of the table. She turned to face it and looked at it longingly, then put the cup to her lips, lifted it up, and tilted her head back. She closed her eyes in delight as the creamy, smooth punch rolled past her lips, onto her tongue, and then down her throat. It was fruity and cool- quite refreshing.

As soon as she finished drinking it, she found a trash can and threw the cup away. She scanned the room and found stairs, in addition to seeing four other ponies she wanted to avoid at all costs. She didn't even know how Fluttershy got inside, but sure enough, she was there. She fell into a panic as Rainbow Dash and Rarity started approaching her, but she forced herself to maintain her cool.

"Uh... hey, Twilight. I uh, just wanted to apologize for earlier. And the whole 'mane' thing..." Rainbow said, followed by an awkward, forced laugh, spurred on by a glare from Rarity. "Great party though!"

"Right. Sure," Twilight said dismissively. She hastily glanced away from them to make sure Pinkie Pie wasn't looking, then she glanced back at the stairs. "I'm going to go now," she said promptly.

"What! Why?" Rainbow gawked at her in surprise.

Twilight frowned. "This isn't the sort of thing I enjoy. I was hoping for a quiet evening to study some books and-"

Rainbow's face twisted into a disgusted scowl. "Studying books!?" she cried out in alarm. "Seriously..?" she muttered under her breath, not wanting to be heard. She gave an indignant flap of her wings and hovered in the air. "Look, Twilight, tomorrow's the Summer Sun Celebration!" she complained, "I'm sure you can, you know, hang out with us and, I don't know, celebrate or something!?"

Twilight shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I'd rather not..." she defended.

"Oh come on, Twi!" Spike called. The young dragon walked over to her with a smile, carrying a cup in one claw and a black blindfold in the other. "Just relax and live a little! It's not like Princess Celestia told you not to party or anything-"

"She told me to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration, Spike! She didn't say I had to party and that I couldn't study! This is an assignment!" Twilight retorted.

"But Princess Celestia said to meet some ponies!" Spike defended.

Twilight smiled in victory. "And I have!" she countered. "She said to meet some ponies, which I did when I checked in on things, so I've already done that, Spike!"

For a moment, Spike just looked at Twilight, then his shoulders slumped and his head tilted down. A soft, defeated sigh escaped his lips, but it went unheard over the music and laughter.

"Don't you think that you're being... er, what's the word... rather unfriendly?" Rarity asked cautiously.

Twilight looked back at her and straightened up, preparing herself for a lecture: "Rarity, I don't do friends. I don't have any friends aside from Spike, my brother, and Princess Celestia." After a moment's pause, she added, "And Smarty Pants..." under her voice. "Anypony else would simply distract me from my studies, and Princess Celestia would be disappointed if I didn't take my studies seriously!"

Why did it seem so hard for other ponies to grasp that? When she was a foal, yes, she could understand other foals having a hard time grasping that. But as she grew up? When she was nearly an adult? Why were ponies still so insistent on being 'friends!?'

Rainbow frowned warily at the unicorn. Her wingbeats slowed until her hooves touched the wooden floor. "Uh, Twilight, I don't think Princess Celestia would be mad if you relaxed a little. I mean, seriously. It seems like you need to relax."

Twilight huffed and puffed out her chest. "I'll be upstairs- trying to study or sleep- if anypony needs me. That's how I relax." Without another word, she turned and trotted towards the stairs, then ascended them before anypony could stop her. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she practically jumped into the loft and shut the door behind her.

Even as the thick oak door shut, she could still hear the music and laughter coming from downstairs. If the party kept going on, it would drive her crazy before the night ended. Doing her best to ignore the constant thumping, she swept her gaze around and scrutinized the loft. As expected, what little she had brought with her had been neatly arranged on a desk off against the right wall. She slowly walked about halfway into the room, then stopped and looked back at the door. With a quick flourish of magic from her horn, the door locked.

Sadly, locking the door did nothing to alleviate the persistent sounds of the party. After watching the door for a few seconds, she looked towards the bed, then glanced out the window.

Normally, the sunset was a beautiful sight to behold. It was a reassurance, knowing that Princess Celestia, her beloved mentor, was still there, guiding the day and ushering in the night. But as she stood there, looking out the window and watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon, something felt different. The sun almost seemed remorseful, or maybe tired, in its motions. And it wasn't just that, either. Something other than the sun felt wrong.

She trusted Princess Celestia, but she just couldn't shake the feeling of wrongness. Before she knew it, she had crossed the room and lifted her right forehoof to touch the window. There was a tightness in her chest, and she felt fear as the sun dipped halfway under the horizon.

She trusted her princess, but something kept eating at her. In the back of her mind, she felt fear that this would be the last sunset she would see for a very, very long time.

A loud chorus of laughter broke her trance. She blinked, then looked over her left shoulder, halfway expecting somepony- something- to be standing there, watching her. But there wasn't. She was alone, like normal, except Spike wasn't there with her.

That made her feel a pang of guilt. Perhaps she had been too hard on Spike. He did mean well, but it was silly. Yes, Princess Celestia had said it would be good for her to meet ponies, but she didn't say she had to meet other ponies. She already had everypony she needed. She didn't need other ponies distracting her from her magical studies.

Princess Celestia had suggested she meet other ponies before. She even suggested trying to make friends with other ponies! It was so hard to believe that Princess Celestia would tell her that. She wasn't sure what to think of that. It had to be a test- whether she'd choose to put her studies and Princess Celestia before anything else. In a way, it hurt. It made her wonder if Princess Celestia doubted her loyalty to her and her studies.

She sighed softly, then picked up the first book on top of the desk that her magic could reach. Without looking at the title, she climbed into the bed and laid down on her back.

As she levitated the book over into her sight, she froze.

Predictions and Prophecies.

As she stared at it, her mind wandered. She felt fear, concern, and worry. Princess Celestia told her not to worry- it was just an old pony's tale. But that didn't stop it from scaring and worrying her. 'Why can't I shake the feeling that something really bad is going to happen tonight..?'

After a few seconds of staring at the book, she couldn't help herself. In a flourish of magic, she opened the book to the pages on the prophecy of the return of Nightmare Moon. As soon as she opened the pages, she felt a sudden wave of fear wash over her, followed by panic as everything grew dark.

The sun had set.

A sense of foreboding and dread welled up inside her as she turned to look out the window. Unlike the remorse with which the sun had set, the moon rose with a gleeful anticipation. It was almost eager. The Mare on the Moon seemed to dominate the features of the moon even more than normal, and as she stared at it, it felt like it was staring back at her.

She tried her best to shake the feeling, but it lingered. As the moon ascended, she would have sworn that she saw a few stars, all brighter than normal and ones she didn't recognize, drift across the sky.

'The stars will aid in her escape...' The phrase shot through her mind. She shut her eyes, then clenched them shut, refusing to open them. The party's music continued, blaring into the room, despite the closed door. She opened her eyes and looked up at the book.

'This is silly... I'm worried for no reason. If Nightmare Moon were real, Princess Celestia would stop her,' she reasoned to herself. But if Nightmare Moon were real, then Princess Celestia had lied to her. 'She wouldn't lie to me, would she?'

'Of course not! I'm her Most Faithful Student! She wouldn't lie to me... but... hypothetically, if she did, why would she? To protect me? Yes, that's reasonable, but... I could help her!'

She sighed, then turned to look at the nightstand beside the bed. With hardly any thought, she levitated the book over, closed it, and set it down on the table with a dull thunk. She peered over and looked at the desk again. Upon it sat the rest of the books she had taken with her. The only book that really stood out was The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. It was all she could find on the Elements of Harmony. It really wasn't much, either.

But she didn't feel like reading anything tonight, because tonight, she felt scared. The night didn't feel quite as peaceful or relaxing as normal. Part of that, she reasoned, was probably the party going on downstairs. As much as she tried to block it out, she still couldn't put it from her mind to relax.

The party, like her worries, dragged on. Midnight came and went. Hours past. Her tired mind gradually slowed down and relaxed as sleep started to pull at her, calling her name with a voice as sweet as Princess Celestia's. 'I'm worrying too much,' her tired mind thought, 'Night isn't that bad... it's nice... peaceful... Eternal night could be nice...'

A loud knocking on the door broke Twilight's peaceful slumber. With a jerk, Twilight awoke, exhaling sharply as fear suddenly crept over her entire being. But within seconds, the fear faded. A dull fogginess rolled into place over her mind, and slowly, she relaxed and laid her head back down on her pillow. She stared up at the ceiling, then looked at the nightstand beside her bed.

Four-thirty in the morning. Princess Celestia would already be in Ponyville preparing, and soon, she would raise the sun.

Twilight smiled tiredly, but as soon as another series of knocks thudded against the door, her smile twisted into a scowl.

The party was still going.

But on the bright side, she had slept undisturbed, even if it only was for perhaps two hours.

"Twilight! Everypony's getting ready to leave. It's almost time for Princess Celestia to raise the sun!" Spike called.

The thought brought joy to Twilight, along with fond memories. The first time she had seen Princess Celestia raise the sun, she had dedicated herself to learning and studying. She had wanted, no, needed to get into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She had done far more than that.

She took a deep breath, then sat up and hopped out of bed. The soft glow of her horn enveloped the door, then unlocked it, and pulled it open. Spike stood there in the doorway, wearing a lampshade as a hat. To Twilight, it looked odd, but she was certain that it was a result of some silly game. Still, she put it out of mind, just glad to see Spike- even more so since he woke her up. She held back a wince as she realized she hadn't set an alarm. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Spike," she sighed.

"You about ready?" Spike asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, just give me a few minutes. I should brush my mane, but I'll hurry! I don't want to miss this- or Princess Celestia," she said with a smile.

"Alright! I'll be waiting for you downstairs," Spike replied. With that said, Spike turned and walked on down the stairs.

Twilight didn't hesitate to walk over to the desk and lift her brush up in her magic. Fortunately, either because she hadn't slept that long, or some other unknown reason, her mane wasn't knotted like normal, and the brush's bristles flowed through her mane, straightening it, without any problems. After just a few strokes, she went over her tail, then set the brush down.

She took a few steps towards the door, but each step came slower than the last until she stopped. She couldn't help but look out the window again. The moon was aligned almost perfectly for her to see it. The Mare in the Moon was still there. It gave her a sense of relief.

Realizing that Princess Celestia hadn't lied to her and that it was all just an old pony's tale, she turned away from the moon with a smile on her lips. Reassured in knowing that Princess Celestia was safe, she trotted out of the room, then down the stairs to meet up with Spike.

But had she watched for just a few seconds longer, she would have had a panic attack as four stars drifted closer to the moon.

When Twilight caught up with Spike, she wasn't surprised to find his eyelids drooping. With the party winding down, his young age and how late it was started to catch up with him. Twilight smiled and picked him up with her magic. She held him close and gave him a nuzzle, despite his weak protests, then she sat him down on her back. "Come on. After we see Princess Celestia raise the sun, you can take a nap while I'm with her celebrating," she offered.

"No!" Spike whined. "Twilight, it's the Summer Sun Celebration! I don't wanna take a nap I want to party and hang out with you and Princess Celestia!"

Twilight giggled softly. "Okay, we'll see," she replied.

While the party was winding down, it hadn't completely ended, and a few ponies lingered. Certainly they would finish soon, otherwise, they'd risk missing Princess Celestia raise the sun and starting the Summer Sun Celebration! Twilight, of course, had even more reason than them to hurry along to the Town Hall. She was overseeing the celebration, and of course, she wanted to see Princess Celestia before the celebration started.

Sure, she'd probably be able to spend a big part of the day with her, but when given the choice between spending more or less time with Princess Celestia, there really wasn't any choice at all.

Twilight made her way out of the library, then trotted towards the town hall. Despite the early hour, the streets were filled with ponies all heading to the Town Hall. With each step, Twilight found herself more awake than the last, and her entire body bristled with energy, eagerness, and excitement. Today was the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, and today would make all of yesterday's craziness worth it, jut to see Princess Celestia happy and celebrating with everypony. And, of course, to hear her voice sweetly say, 'Well done, my Most Faithful Student.'

At the thought of her special title and name, her heart nearly swooned, and she let out a giddy, foalish giggle. Even Spike was infected with the excitement filling the atmosphere as they walked into the Town Hall.

Twilight looked around eagerly. Ponies of all ages were gathered around, chatting excitedly with each other while they waited for Princess Celestia's appearance. She scanned the crowd for the one pony who would stand out anywhere, but much to her disappointment, she couldn't see Princess Celestia anywhere. But no matter, she hadn't expected to see her in the crowd- at least not yet.

She glanced at the clock, then looked at the different doors leading away from the main room, wondering which, if any of them, could lead her to her beloved mentor. Sadly, it seemed none of them would, as there were no Royal Guards posted at the doors. But there were royal guards present- although it was just the two pegasi who had flown her to Ponyville from Canterlot. She mulled over the idea of asking them where Princess Celestia was but eventually talked herself out of it.

It didn't stop her from being disappointed- she had wanted to see Princess Celestia before her public appearance, but she would get to spend plenty of time with her later. It just wasn't soon enough for her.

She looked back at the clock as the seconds ticked away. The chatter grew louder as more excitement filled the voices present. She felt her own excitement ballooning inside her chest. In just a few minutes, she would get to see her mentor. It would be a public appearance first, and then she would raise the sun. Although she had seen her mentor so many times before, and seen her raise the sun on many occasions, it was still special. It would never stop being special.

Princess Celestia had chosen her, above all others, to be her personal student. Her personal protege. Her Most Faithful Student.

She looked away from the clock for one moment to venture a glance at the balcony. She could already picture Princess Celestia standing there, looking out at the crowd, looking out at her, with her gentle, reassuring and loving smile as her beautiful multicolored mane waved in an ethereal breeze.

She looked back at the clock, but her gaze was drawn to the nearby window. 'The stars will aid in her escape.' As she watched on, a feeling of dread, then fear welled up inside of her. Four stars slowly fell towards the moon- one from the top right, one from the top left, one from the bottom left, and then one from the bottom right.

To her knowledge, there was no such astronomical event that should occur like that. And all she could do was watch as the stars accelerated, then seemed to touch the surface of the moon, then disappear.

A sinking feeling enveloped her entire body as a flash of light enveloped the moon, erasing the Mare on the Moon from the surface of the moon. She felt a cold chill race down her spine, and her entire body tensed up. She felt paralyzed by what she had seen. There wasn't anything that should have been able to do that, except perhaps, the return of Nightmare Moon.

She did her absolute best to force the fear back, to stop herself from screaming in panic. She barely managed to turn to face the balcony. Spike seemed to notice that something was wrong with her. He poked her neck with his claws, causing Twilight to let out a squeak of shock, then start trembling.

"T-Twilight? Sorry, I- I didn't mean to hurt you!" he swiftly apologized.

"T-the moon," was Twilight's eerily quiet reply.

Spike glanced at the moon, then did a double take. "Uh... that's... not supposed to be like that... is it..?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head hastily. Her legs continued to tremble, but she had to know. She looked back at the moon. Fear struck again- the white surface of the moon looked haunted. As she stared at the moon, she lost track of time, even with the clock in her field of vision.

Eventually, there was a sparkle in the distance, followed by a dark streak that shot up from somewhere in the Everfree Forest, rapidly ascending and shooting towards the moon. In the span of a few seconds, the streak impacted the moon. Slowly, the craters of the Mare on the Moon returned, one by one.

A feeling of relief washed over her. Her muscles relaxed and her trembling ceased. She blinked, then looked over the Mare on the Moon again. It looked just like how it should be, although she couldn't shake the feeling that it seemed more subdued than before, almost regretful and somber.

Nonetheless, she was reassured. 'If Nightmare Moon returned, Princess Celestia just sent her back,' she told herself. But still, that would mean that Princess Celestia lied to her, and that? That hurt.

She tried to shake the feeling, but it stayed there with her as she watched the balcony. 'I can... ask her about it later...' Even that thought didn't help.

The next few minutes passed just like the rest, with building excitement, but for Twilight, it didn't feel quite as magical as it had. She sighed, unable to find her smile. Eventually, a hush fell over the crowd as the Mayor- apparently named Mayor Mare- stepped forward to the podium. She cleared her throat, silencing the rest of the hushed whispers. "Fillies and gentlecolts... It is my great honor to present to you..." As she drew out the announcement, everypony, Twilight included, could feel the anticipation grow to nerve wrecking levels. "Princess Celestia!"

With an exaggerated wave of her hoof, she motioned at the balcony. The curtains were pulled back, and the lights turned on, pointed at the balcony.

Nopony was there. A startled wave of gasps ran out through the crowd.

For a few seconds, nopony knew how to react. A voice from somewhere beyond the balcony cried out "She's gone!"

Another wave of gasps rolled through the crowd. "N-now now, everypony! I'm sure there's... a good... explanation for this?" Mayor Mare offered.

Twilight, for her part, froze. 'Nightmare Moon...'

I just randomly had an urge to write this, and since I've been feeling down and not wanting to work on other stories right now, I felt like trying to write this for myself, wondering if maybe it'd help me.

And now this story is over 110k words long, and it's probably my favorite story that I've written.

Originally I forgot to introduce Applejack...

One thousand years does not pass in the blink of an eye, even for an immortal alicorn empress.

But one thousand years had passed, and she knew it. She could feel the stars aligning, the magic at work causing the bonds of harmony to dissolve, her own power coming back to her, as faithful and strong as ever. Her mind, as sharp as ever, had thought out ten thousand plans of vengeance on her sister for her sins and transgressions over those thousand years. Each plan held a special place in her heart for just how it would hurt her sister, for just how she could use it to get back at her.

But none of them held the same sort of poetic justice that felt so right as what she planned.

Lifting her slitted eyes to Equis, her heart beat faster. The stars drew close, the bonds of harmony would soon fail, and she would be freed from her lunar prison. The brilliant blue-green orb that was Equis shone brightly. Despite the state she had been left in, she looked at the orb with a longing fondness. The one good thing about the moon was the view- it simply couldn't be matched. It soothed her rage, but would never quell it. Nothing ever would. Nothing ever could.

She wouldn't even let Celestia have that view when she was through with her.

She bared her teeth, showing her sharp fangs, then slowly ran her tongue over them. They weren't sharp enough to cut her tongue, but nonetheless, it sent shivers of delight down her spine.

'First, dear sister, I will deal with you,' she thought with a low growl. 'And then, Equestria will be mine. Your precious little ponies will give me the respect she deserve, even if I have to force it out of them.'

Envigorated by the thought, she smiled and stamped her hoof down hard on the lunar surface, leaving an indent in the thick dust, and kicking up a cloud of the white material which slowly wafted through the air before settling.

Nightmare Moon fell to her knees and gasped. One moment, the ground beneath her hooves had been the white lunar rock, and then the next moment it was cracked stones, bathed in soft moonlight; her vision had been that of the beautiful jewel that was Equis, and now that of a ruined courtyard. For several seconds, she stared at the stone, her eyes taking in the blissful dull gray of the rock, welcoming it as a reprieve from the same overbearing white of the lunar surface that reminded her of the sister she so hated.

The bindings of harmony magic that had held her for so long disintegrated like dust that the wind had been blown on, showing their true weakness. Her sister never could truly defeat her on her own; she was superior to her sister in every way imaginable. Her nigh infinite pool of alicorn magic rushed back into her, filling every ounce of her being with her power- power that she would use to enact her vengeance on the sister that betrayed her.

Despite knowing it was coming, it was still so hard to believe: after a thousand years, she was finally free of her accursed prison! In a way, perhaps that was her sister's greatest transgression against her- imprisoning her on the moon. Her moon. Forcing her own moon to be her prison, making her hate being trapped on the crowning jewel of her night.

With that bitter thought, she shook in rage, bared her teeth, lifted her head up, and let loose a primal scream that pierced the night, speaking of untold anguish, and pain, and anger. She screamed until it hurt, she screamed until her lungs were empty, and then she filled her lungs to scream again. Her cry boomed out through the night, and every creature that heard her scream was paralyzed in primal fear. They knew the scream's owner, and they trembled.

Her heart beat faster, adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her entire body trembled in rage and ecstasy. Magic flared to life around her. Her misty blue mane rippled behind her like a wildfire, untamed and refusing to be tamed.

In the blink of an eye, she rose up with a power befitting the empress that she was. The sight she was greeted with was one which she had not expected. Rather than dozens, perhaps hundreds of unicorn soldiers to stand in her way, it was an empty courtyard. Destroyed, unkempt, and unattended.

Her old home; their shared castle.

The Castle of the Two Sisters. She scowled at the name and it took all of her willpower to neither scream again nor bite off her tongue in rage. Had her sister truly let her home fall into such disrepair? It was an unthinkable disrespect that filled her with a new violence. Sure, she had bad memories of Celestia from this place, but to leave it to crumble?

Her legs shook again with rage, so badly did she want to tear down all that remained of the castle and start anew, to erase every last trace of her sister and her magic- not only from her home but from all of Equestria. From all of history.

But no, her sister wouldn't even let her have that. She let her home fall into ruin. It wasn't even worth destroying. She couldn't reclaim the throne of her own power and take what was rightfully hers from Celestia; she had already destroyed it.

Seething with rage, she swept her gaze around the courtyard. The entire castle wasn't ruined or destroyed- walls and towers still stood, but in disrepair. It would take time and effort, but she could repair and rebuild. Perhaps, another delightful way to get back at her sister; undoing the treachery she had done to their home. Her home.

Her eyes narrowed. For the first time in a millennium, she lifted her gaze to the moon. Her gaze softened and some of her anger died; the pristine jewel of hers that was the moon was still there, high in the sky, crowning her Queen and Empress of the Night. She took a deep breath of the invigorating, cold night air, then slowly exhaled.

Her senses told her that it was nearly morning, but the moon lingered in place. It infuriated her- Celestia had stolen her moon for the past thousand years, and now that she had returned, she couldn't even reclaim it- Celestia relinquished control to her. She didn't even try to lower it, she just left it there in the sky, as if to taunt her, or to enrage her further by denying her such sweet revenge.

She clamped her jaw shut; were there anything inside, it would have been crushed by the force of her anger-driven bite.

She took another deep breath, then exhaled sharply. She swept her gaze from left to right, then gave a cursory glance down at her chest. For a thousand years, she had worn the cyan chestplate and helmet, and to her relief, they were still there where they belonged, secured in place, hugging her body and protecting her.

She lifted her gaze back up, then took a few steps forward. She shivered in delight at the sound of her metal boots striking the crumbling stone; it just wasn't the same on the moon.

She walked on and scanned the courtyard, at first, taking it in, then searching for her dear sister. She searched and searched, but she wasn't there, which only served to infuriate her further. She had returned, and Celestia didn't even face her. Her body trembled with rage once again, but her rage morphed to glee as she felt a burst of magic that she recognized. Her sister's magic.

In her excitement, she flared her wings, then rocketed into the sky, shooting up above the castle and tree canopy, then glaring head on towards the source of the disturbance.

All at once, a thousand memories flooded through her mind. Every single slight done to her by her sister, every disappointment, every letdown, every single lie, every betrayal. When they were foals, when they ruled Equestria together, it didn't matter. The pain and anger came back in full force.

Anger, bitterness, and resent consumed her, fueling her rage. Her mane and tail rippled so fiercely that the very air cracked from the intensity. And to make it all worse? Celestia looked calm. Peaceful, even. No fear, no worry. Simply acceptance and remorse.

Nightmare Moon couldn't hate it more if she tried. Her older sister was calm, enjoying her life, the very life she had stolen from her younger sister, unafraid to see her again, unworried. A thousand years had gone by for both of them. And Celestia? She hadn't suffered one bit.

She screamed at her and beat her wings harder to fly further above into the sky. Her scream caught her sister off guard, seeming to penetrate the mask of calmness she wore, but there was no fear, only surprise. She flew up until the moon was at her back and she cast her shadow on Celestia. She screamed until her throat was hoarse. She screamed until her throat nearly bled.

All the while, Celestia cautiously flew towards her. Even as Nightmare Moon lit her horn, Celestia did not.

"Luna-"

"I AM NIGHTMARE MOON!" she screamed back at the top of her lungs. Dragons would have cowered before her voice, but her sister did not. She breathed in deep, then forced the air out of her lungs and then sucked in more air to replace it. Her breath nearly steamed in the cold air from her burning hatred of the mare she once called sister.

"Nightmare Moon..." Celestia corrected, speaking in a soft, unassuming voice. She opened her mouth to continue, but Nightmare Moon had none of it.

In a flash of her blue magic, Nightmare Moon teleported beside Celestia. Her sister looked back just in time as Nightmare wrapped her mouth around her wing, then clamped her mouth shut. Celestia's chest heaved, her eyes watered, and she screamed as her wing was shattered in two places. With her wing broken and unable to keep herself aloft, she started to fall.

Nightmare let go. Her teeth were coated red from her sister's blood. A part of her was revolted, but another part of her found a primal delight in savoring having spilled her dear sister's blood. Celestia fell towards the tree canopy below. Nightmare watched with satisfaction as she fell. She never once blinked, watching the fall with an intense gaze, refusing to miss any of it, wanting this moment burned into her mind for all eternity. Celestia missed the tops of the trees, but the branches she hit cracked and broke, cutting her body as she fell through them before finally hitting the ground with a thud that even Nightmare heard, so far above. For a moment, she delighted herself in watching her sister laying on the ground, then she flew down and landed.

Celestia's eyes continued to water as she slowly picked herself up. Her right wing was folded, but her left hung limply from her side. Blood ran down her wing, coating her white feathers crimson before pooling on the ground. She trembled, but through her tears, she looked at Nightmare with defiance.

Nightmare smiled, then ran her tongue over her blood soaked teeth. One step forward, then another.

"I-I will not fight you, Nightmare Moon."

Nightmare's smile fractured into a scowl. Gripping Celestia with her magic, she forced Celestia to her knees. Celestia stared up at her, and oh, how she relished their roles being reversed. No longer did she look up to her big sister, but her big sister looked up to her through her tear-filled eyes.

But Celestia's expression ruined it. She wasn't broken. She wasn't scared. She was in pain, but still defiant. "You still deny me my right!" she spat with a hiss. "Will you continue to deny me even my revenge!? The satisfaction of fighting you again and defeating you, bringing you to your knees, and making you beg for mercy!?" she demanded.

Nightmare trembled. Her lungs expanded and deflated so fast from anger that even she felt light-headed. It didn't stop her, nor did it slow her down.

"You won't win," Celestia stated succinctly, spoken with such an unshakable faith that made Nightmare Moon sick.

And yet, Nightmare Moon tossed her head to the sky and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. The hilarity of the whole thing was unbelievable! Her sister was here, on her knees before her, with her wing shattered and bleeding, refusing to fight her, and yet she honestly believed that she wouldn't win! Nightmare's laughter faded into a haunting rumble, then dispersed into the night. She smiled and lowered her head to meet her sister's gaze. "I've already won, dear sister," she hissed.

Reaching out with her armored forehoof, she hit Celestia across the muzzle with all of her strength. There was a solid thunk. Celestia grunted and closed her eyes. The force was enough to make Nightmare Moon's leg tingle, and Celestia slammed into the ground. She bled from a gash engraved in her cheek by Nightmare's boot, but the defiance was still there.

A thousand thoughts of what she could do to Celestia ran through her mind- a thousand deaths, ten thousand tortures, breaking her again, and again, and again. Breaking her until she was hopeless, making her think she had slipped up, making her think that she could be rescued, letting ponies get close to rescuing her, then putting an end to it. Crushing that last shred of hope with an iron hoof. Seeing her so utterly destitute.

She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. 'Calm. No killing her, that way we can draw out her death and torture her. It will be so much more pleasurable that way...' She let a smile grace her lips, once again showing off her sharp, blood-stained teeth. For a fraction of a second, Celestia's gaze faltered, dropping from her eyes to her teeth before returning to meet Nightmare Moon's gaze. "Do you know what I'm going to do, Celestia?" she asked with forced calmness.

Celestia slowly pulled her right forehoof closer to her, then pressed against the ground to push herself into a sitting position.

Nightmare Moon crossed the distance to her sister in a short stride, then stamped her hoof down on Celestia's ribs, slamming her back into the ground. Several cracks emanated from her sister's body, and her eyes widened, then swelled up with even more tears. She trembled. Nightmare pressed her hoof down farther. Celestia tensed up, her chest tightening as she fought back a scream, but Nightmare persisted, pressing down even harder.

Celestia screamed. She screamed until her lungs were empty, then let out a violent, choked cough. Splatters of blood dotted the ground in front of her mouth, and a trickle of red came from her lips. She barely managed to inhale through the pain.

Lifting her hoof from Celestia, Nightmare stamped it down hard in front of her muzzle. Celestia winced, the message was clear: You're at my mercy now.

"I'm going to do to you what you did to me," Nightmare continued. Her lips pulled up into a manic smile. "I do hope you enjoy white, Celestia, because that's all you'll be seeing on the moon. White and black. Your dreams? Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure they're pleasant. Every dream will be a nightmare. Every waking moment will be ten thousand times worse than what you've done to me, sister," she spat.

"And then in one thousand years, maybe I'll let you come back. Then you could see what I've done to Equestria?"

Celestia averted her gaze from Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare chuckled a slow, methodical laugh. "But after that... I'll send you back to the moon... again... and again... until you fight back... and then?" She leaned down close until she could touch her sister's ear. "Then I will crush you dear sister. Your life is mine now," she hissed.

Pulling her head back up, she smiled. Celestia refused to match her gaze, and she continued to cry. Sadly, her wounds were already healing, but no matter, that just meant she could inflict them again. "And you still refuse to fight me..." she growled. "Why?" she demanded. "Why must you deny my thirst for vengeance so?"

Celestia looked at her. For a moment, her expression was sorrowful and pitying, then it hardened. "My student will save you, Luna..." she whispered.

Nightmare Moon's lips and cheeks trembled from rage. "You still have the audacity to think your Luna exists?" Her nostrils flared from anger. "SHE'S GONE CELESTIA! I AM NIGHTMARE MOON NOW!" She took a moment to compose herself. "Nothing. Will change that. Dear sister."

With a scream of rage, she flared her wings out and poured her magic into her horn, enveloping her sister in her magic. Shackles and chains bound her hooves and muzzle, bindings that wouldn't be broken for easily a thousand years, then she forced her still broken left wing to her body and folded it, drawing a horrified, agonized scream from Celestia- it was music to her ears- before binding them along the bone and the feathers. To complete it, she sealed off her sister's magic.

And for the first time, Celestia showed fear. Fear at having her magic cut off, separated from her. Fear of losing her connection with the sun.

It wasn't enough, but it was a start.

"You still refuse to fight back? Even though you're leaving Equestria to me?"

"I-I can't fight you, L... Nightmare Moon..." was Celestia's whisper.

Nightmare Moon barred her teeth in rage. "Goodbye, dear sister."

Her magic exploded outward. A dark blue beam of magic lurched into the sky, launching her sister to the moon. In an instant, it touched down on the moon. Nightmare looked up and scowled as dark craters appeared over the surface of her moon.

Her anger returned in full force. The spell was the same one that banished her, only powered by her magic instead of the Elements of Harmony.

"IS THAT WHAT YOU DID TO MY MOON, CELESTIA? YOU DEFACED HER!? HOW DARE YOU!" she screamed. Enraged by the desecration of the extension of herself, the jewel of her pristine night sky, she turned her anger outwards. She threw her head about. Her ears rang from her continuous screaming as she let loose her magic.

Trees exploded as beam after beam, pulse after pulse of magic shot out into the forest. The tallest of trees with the sturdiest of trunks were like toothpicks before a dragon: absolutely nothing. They could put back no fight, they could not experience horror or fear, they could not beg for mercy, they could not withstand the onslaught of her magic.

It wasn't the most fulfilling way to vent her anger, but Celestia had denied that of her, but it helped. Just barely, but it helped take the edge off of her anger just enough for her to calm down.

By the time she stopped slinging spells at everything in sight, the forest had a new clearing in it. Smoke wafted through the air from the scorched wood left behind by the impacts of her violent magic. Her chest heaved with each breath. The scent of smoke filled her nostrils, and it delighted her. Not because of the destruction it meant, but because it was a scent she hadn't smelled in so long.

She continued to breathe heavily as her rage calmed. She slowly folded her wings, then listened to the forest. Absolute silence. Not even the leaves of the trees rustled from the wind. In the wake of her display and scream, not a single creature dared make a sound. The creatures of the night recognized her return, and they feared her. They would do well to remember that fear. She gradually looked over the results of her work, letting her gaze pass over the felled trees and mulch. Eventually, a growl escaped her mouth.

She had waited a thousand years for her revenge. Every day, every night, her thoughts had been consumed by her fantasies of the battle she would have had with her sister. The exhilarating thrill of the wind whipping between her feathers while their magic clashed, the fear written on her sister's face, and her sister's blood painting her white coat red.

And Celestia denied her that. She took a deep breath, then lit her horn and teleported herself back to her home's ruined courtyard. With Celestia out of the way, she could afford herself a few moments to think before her next actions.

Instead, her eyes narrowed. Celestia's soft voice echoed through her mind, 'My student will save you, Luna...'

The more primal part of her raged at hearing Celestia's voice in her mind- not only her voice, but that accursed name. But while an inferno raged in her heart, her more intellectual mind sharpened. Celestia hadn't fought her- she had said she couldn't fight her. She had chosen not to, despite her best attempts to force her into a fight. She had given up. She had just surrendered.

There was no way that Celestia could know her plans for Equestria, and without knowing that, Celestia would only know how she acted based on her anger, hatred, and rage: Celestia would have thought that Equestria would be destroyed. Ponykind would have suffered. And that was antithesis to Celestia. She wouldn't have just given up without a fight if she thought Equestria was at stake or ponies would suffer. After all, she had used the Elements of Harmony to banish her once before. Why had she not tried to do so again?

Something was very clearly wrong here. Her sister couldn't match her power, but she should have at least fought back. And the Elements of Harmony. She didn't have them with her, she didn't try to use them. Somepony else had them. Her sister had a plan, and surrendering to her had to have been a distraction.

Nightmare's chest tightened. Her eyes swept around the courtyard, scanning for any threats or traps she might have missed. Any sounds that could have indicated the hooves of would-be assassins. And yet, despite her higher scrutiny, not a sound stood out. Even searching with her magic revealed nothing- not even a trace of the Elements of Harmony, although the accursed Tree was still growing strong underneath the castle.

"Your student..." she breathed out.

It made sense. Celestia would have had a thousand years to prepare, time enough that she could have planned for her response a hundred years ago and found somepony this century who she could have trained and taught to stop her. Her student could have been anypony- a unicorn, a pegasus, perhaps even an earth pony. Maybe a stallion, or maybe a mare, young or old. They could have been trained as anything- an assassin, a spy, perhaps even worse, a scholar.

She needed to find Celestia's student, whoever they were, and deal with them, before they could deal with her.

Mind racing at the implications of Celestia's plan, her eyes darted back and forth across the stone. Her student could be anywhere in Equestria right now, planning, or already prepared for her return. Perhaps it would be an ambush, or perhaps her student was to wait until her guard was down, then strike while she wasn't being careful. Or maybe her student would strike before she could prepare to fight back.

She needed to find them, but it wouldn't be an easy task; even if she was an alicorn, she was but one pony, an empress without an empire. She had no soldiers, at least not yet. She needed to tread carefully- one mistake, and one thousand years of agony would be for naught.

Another growl escaped her lips. Equestria wasn't a small country- it dominated the larger part of a continent. Should she start by searching out Celestia's student? Or should she consolidate her power first? Did she gather an army to hunt her student down, or operate in the shadows to locate and eliminate this threat?

The one thing she was certain of, however, was that her sister wasn't about to let her enjoy her victory. She had already proved that by just surrendering to her.

But maybe she was looking at it the wrong way. Celestia would know that she would realize both of them had a thousand years to plan and scheme, meaning that maybe, just maybe, she was making it out to be a bigger threat than it actually was. Maybe Celestia planned for it to be something simple that she wouldn't have expected. Perhaps her student was closer at hoof than she had considered, too. After all, if all Celestia knew of her desires was her rage, then she would think that Equestria would be in grave danger, and letting Nightmare roam free for an extended period of time was a mistake.

Her student needed to be close enough to act.

Nightmare spread her wings but hesitated. A moment later, she lit her horn and teleported high above into the sky, then cast her gaze about. With her enhanced vision, she could see the forest stretch on for miles. Beyond that, there was a nearby village. In the distance, she could see a gleaming city on a mountain. The city spoke of power, and even from the distance, she could make out a castle.

Her eyes narrowed, finding her target. She beat her wings and shot off towards the village and city. The wind whipped through her feathers, a feeling she hadn't experienced for far too long. Truly, flying at night was an experience like nothing else, one which she had longed for every minute of every day she spent trapped on the moon.

But now? Now it was night everlasting, and as soon as she stopped Celestia's student, she could fly for as long as she wanted.

But the flight to the city on the mountain would take hours, and so she scowled to herself. Her student would have to be a pegasus if that were the case- the city was simply too far to walk in a timely manner, except, perhaps for an earth pony. But an earth pony would have been a poor choice- even with their stamina and endurance, one would be exhausted from running to greet her.

No, her student had to be closer than that. Perhaps Celestia had kept her close at hoof when she went to distract Nightmare. But then, why distract her? To make her put her guard down?

If that was the case, then Celestia had made a grave mistake with that whisper- a mistake that would cost her student's life. And oh, how she would relish taking it. But no, she wouldn't simply kill her student. That was too easy, and it was too quick. She would force Celestia to watch her for hours on end while she tortured the pony to the point of breaking, then she would let up on them, let them heal and recover, then she would do it all over again, and again, and again, until the pony was broken and Celestia begged for her to kill her student. And then? Then she would grant her wish, forcing Celestia to watch her end her student's life, knowing that it was entirely her fault.

The thought made her gleeful. It made knowing that there was somepony out there who had the capacity to stop her all the more bearable.

As she flew, she knew that ponies would have already noticed Celestia hadn't raised the sun on time. After all, it was the longest day of the year. That thought made her scowl. On one hoof, she was happy to steal this longest day from her sister- it was perfect, using the longest day to usher in the eternal night. And yet, what kind of Empress would she be if she wasn't there to welcome everypony into the night's reign?

With that thought in mind, she teleported the rest of the way to the town. Appearing high above the roofs, she looked around and beheld banners strung from the largest, central building. The banners read 'Summer Sun Celebration' and sang the praises of her sister.

But what made it worse was that it was the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. She had been imprisoned for a thousand years, and this exact day was the day of the Summer Sun Celebration. Ponies were celebrating her defeat. But perhaps that was simply because she had risen against Celestia on this, her longest day, one thousand years ago. It still didn't give her sister the right to make such a holiday.

Or, perhaps her sister didn't have a hoof in creating it. Perhaps ponies created it as a way to celebrate her defeat at her sister's hooves. If that was the case, her sister was as guilty as they were for letting this happen.

She scowled and flew down towards the building. But she did not land. No, landing and walking in like a commoner wasn't befitting her. She needed to make a grand entrance and ensure that everypony knew she was Queen and Empress.

To that end, she circled around the Town Hall, searching out someplace proper and fitting for her to land. Before she completed her first pass, a balcony caught her eye. The doors were open, and two ponies- pegasi, by their white wings which stood out on the golden background of their armor- stood guard.

Her eyes narrowed on the two soldiers- and she immediately knew that was what they were. Their armor covered their entire bodies, save for where their wings were, and from her vantage point, she could see that the helmet had armor going down the back of their necks, but she didn't see any signs that more armor was connected below it to protect the underside of their necks. It left a weak spot that their enemies could exploit- not that she needed to exploit it. Their armor would be no match for her magic.

She arced up into the sky, then angled herself back down and tucked in her wings. Silently, she descended as a predator pouncing on her prey. Outstretching her right forehoof, she landed gracefully, right forehoof connecting first, followed by her left forehoof, followed by her hind hooves. Her metal boots made a series of rapid dull thuds as they met the wood.

With but a quick glance at both of them, she determined that they were both unarmed and unprepared for her appearance. Both guards tensed at her arrival, taken aback in fear at her striking visage, but nonetheless, they outstretched their wings and launched themselves into the air without a word. Whether they attacked out of fear, or they were ordered to do so, Nightmare did not know, nor did it matter. The result was the same.

It was the last mistake they ever made. As they leaped towards her, Nightmare scowled at them and lit her horn. Flaring out her wings, she met their lunge with her magic, darting forward and unleashing a lance of magic at the pegasus on the left and reaching out to engulf the other with her mane. The lance of magic shot straight through the first pegasus's neck, and his body limply tumbled to the floor, rolling before coming to a stop.

The other pegasus struggled as her mane enveloped him. He tried to call out in fear and panic, but Nightmare clamped his muzzle shut, then pulled him closer and held him in front of her, just below eye level. Under her gaze, the stallion wilted; his training was forgotten as a primal fear overtook him, the fear of prey in the presence of a predator. Nightmare Moon's serpentine eyes looked over him, sizing him up as if he were nothing more than an insect, but yet with a threatening, burning intensity.

Opening her mouth to speak, the stallion struggled once more against her magic as soon as he saw the jagged, sharp teeth inside of Nightmare's maw. "Answer my questions and I will consider sparing your life," she commanded. The stallion gulped, but as Nightmare relaxed her grip on his head, he nodded hastily. Nightmare's scowl softened into a devious smile. "I presume you are one of my sister's guards, accompanying her to this... celebration?"

"S-sister?" he stuttered.

Her scowl returned. "Does my sister hide even the knowledge of my existence?" she growled under her breath. "I am Nightmare Moon." To her surprise, the guard's eyes widened at the sound of her name. Recognition, fear, and surprise. He knew that name. "It seems Celestia did not completely erase all trace of me, then," she spat. The guard's muscles tensed up even more upon hearing just how much hatred Nightmare projected that name with.

"But I will not ask again. Are you one of my sister's guards who accompanied her to this?" The stallion swallowed, then nodded quickly. "I see," Nightmare growled. "It has been one thousand years since I have last set hoof in Equestria; where is the seat of my sister's power?"

"C-Can... C-Canterlot..." was the fear-filled response.

Nightmare pulled him closer and her eyes bore into him as if attempting to set him afire with nothing more than her slitted eyes. "Where?" she demanded.

The guard's foreleg struggled against Nightmare's magic, and for a moment, she let up. The guard hastily rose his shaking leg and pointed off in the distance. After one glance at his hoof, she looked off towards the city on the mountain. "I see," she stated.

Without giving him a chance to do anything else, she reaffirmed the grip of her magic on his forelegs and forced it back down. For a few more seconds, her gaze lingered on the city of Canterlot, then she looked back at the guard. He trembled with fear under her gaze.

Was this truly the stallion Celestia had chosen to accompany her on such an important trip? Was this the best she had to offer? Or was this another part of her distraction- bring ponies who had no idea what they were doing with her, so that when Nightmare showed up, her guard would fall, allowing her student to deal the executioner's blow?

She sincerely hoped that this wasn't the best that her sister had to offer. If her army was as pathetic as this stallion, then how would she be able to make it her own army, an army worthy of her as its commander? Or perhaps his fear came from other sources- perhaps, if the other soldiers were as cowardly as he, they would come around once they realized she was in charge, and they had better serve more competently than these fools.

"Swear fealty to me and I will grant you your life," she hissed.

"P-Princess C-Celestia-"

Nightmare Moon's lips trembled in rage at the mention of her sister's name from the guard's mouth, and it made him come to an immediate stop. She leaned in closer to him until her eyes were mere inches from his, and her eyes spoke of barely contained rage. "If you will not swear fealty to me then you will join your comrade!"

The guard tensed up, clenched his eyes shut, and struggled to look away from her. But before Nightmare could make good on her promise, the guard managed to speak again, "W-wait!" he shouted out. "S-she l-left standing orders that if s-somepony named N-Nightmare M-Moon showed up we were to f-follow her o-orders!"

Through his fear and rushed explanation, Nightmare could barely make out the individual words. He was terrified of her, even more so with her threat. It took her a few seconds to decipher the message, and once she did, she pulled her head back from him and let her gaze soften. "She left standing orders to obey my rule?" she demanded.

"Y-yes!" the guard frantically replied. "T-the Captain o-of the Guard h-has orders t-to s-stand d-down and f-follow y-your command!"

It was preposterous. The soldier had to be lying to save his life. But the recognition in his eyes when she said her name. 'What was your plan?' She scrutinized the pegasus she held in her magic. He was barely worthy to be considered one of her soldiers, but she had to start somewhere- and who knew, perhaps he had some potential use, even if it was just somepony to send to his death to buy time for other more competent soldiers.

Perhaps her sister's plan was simply to have the guards obey her so that she would spare them rather than exterminate them. She felt a sense of calm at that thought. 'Yes, that would be you, wouldn't it? Order them to not try to stop me so as to spare their lives. Well, dear sister, I will make use of this.'

She released the soldier from her magic. The stallion unceremoniously fell to the floor. He took a moment to pull himself together and right himself, but as he stood before Nightmare, he still trembled uncontrollably, shaking in his golden armor. He looked straight ahead at her chest, perhaps trying to avoid her gaze, but it did nothing for his fear. "You will fly to Canterlot. Inform this 'Captain of the Guard' of my return. Ensure that he will follow his standing orders. I will arrive in Canterlot shortly to establish my rule. Tell him that Equestria is mine. Your precious princess of the sun is now my prisoner, and you will swear fealty to me and revoke allegiance to my sister, under penalty of death. The night will last forever."

The stallion gulped but nodded. "Y-yes..." his brow creased unsurely as he struggled to find the proper title for the alicorn.

"Queen," Nightmare growled.

"Y-yes, m-my Queen!" the guard acknowledged, falling into a low bow, touching his muzzle to the wooden floor. Perhaps it was not a bow of love or respect, but it was one out of fear. It wasn't as gratifying as a bow from love or respect, but it was a bow she could accept. He arose from the bow and stepped aside, then spread his wings and took off towards the city on the mountain.

Nightmare watched him fly off for a few seconds. 'I guess we will see if he was sincere, won't we, dear sister? Perhaps he was just ordered to say that and the guard has different orders.' She took a deep breath and spared a passing glance at the corpse on the balcony.

With nothing else to impede her, she walked towards the open door. She stepped over the corpse without giving it a second thought- she would have somepony clean up after it, but it wasn't her problem. 'Perhaps,' she thought as she stepped into the Town Hall, 'establishing my rule will be easier than I expected. Sister didn't try to stop me... and perhaps all of her plans are centered around this student of hers...'

Casting her gaze right, then left, she looked over the room she found herself in. The room was square in shape, with a desk off to the left, facing the right side of the room from where she was. The whitish colored walls were adorned with pictures of various events, almost all with one mare at the center of them- the mare looked aged, judging by her gray mane and glasses, but there was a certain open friendliness to her in the pictures. Judging from the pictures, the mare seemed to be the mayor.

With disinterest, she walked through the room and crossed to the other side. With a gentle twist and pull from her magic, she opened the door. She walked out with an intent, practiced stride- one which conveyed calm authority, but authority one did not cross. Adding into her stride was a look of disinterest- nothing would stop her. Several doors lined the hallway she found herself in, but the door that drew most of her attention was open, large, and arched: it spoke of importance. She turned to the left and calmly strode towards the door. It was a slow stride, but each step conveyed power. Beyond the open door, she could hear the fearful murmurs and whispers, with the occasional shout mixed in, of dozens of ponies.

A smile crept onto her lips as she silently approached the balcony. Amongst the frantic murmuring, she could hear whispers of her sister's accursed name, fearfully asking where she was and why her precious sun hadn't taken the moon's place.

The dissent was outrageous. Spurred on by anger, she quickened her pace, only pausing once she reached the doorway. Turning, she flared out her wings in a display of power, then stepped out onto the interior balcony. With a dominating stride, she approached the railing.

As her visage appeared to the crowd of ponies below, the murmurings grew quiet until they all fell silent. A wave of fear seemed to roll through the crowd, and everypony took a step back to distance themselves from her. Her intense gaze swept over the crowd, searching for anypony who stood out. For the most part, the crowd was filled with ponies of varying coat colors, manes and tails, mostly brightly colored. Among them, one stood out even more brightly colored than the rest. Her eyes lingered on the rainbow-maned mare for a moment longer than the rest- she didn't display the same fear that the rest did. She could spot the pony she presumed to be the mayor, along with two more pegasi guards. There was even a young dragon riding on the back of one of the young unicorns- something that caught her by surprise, though it was only a slight curiosity.

Nightmare smiled. In one thousand years, it was nice to know that ponies were still struck by fear in her presence- or perhaps it was just shock that would wear off in time. But now? Now she had their attention, the attention that was her birthright. She let her teeth show in her smile, and a wave of gasps swept through the crowd. "My beloved subjects," she purred, "and yet none of you know who I am," she growled. "Does my crown mean nothing since I have been imprisoned for one thousand years? Am I not royal enough for you!?" she demanded.

She shook with anger, and everypony- even the guards and rainbow-maned mare all flinched back. She breathed in deep breaths and exhaled sharply, panting from rage. "My sister denies even my memory!" she shrieked. For a few seconds, her burning gaze swept over the crowd, searching out any recognition. Surely, somepony other than the guards had to know her!

But as her eyes swept the crowd, they beheld only confusion in addition to the fear. A low growl escaped her throat. So badly did she want to lash out at these naive ponies- to teach them to fear and respect her, but she held herself back. The last thing she needed was to encourage dissent even further. If she was too harsh, her rule would be too fragile and she would never get to enjoy herself. She took a moment to calm herself.

"Your precious princess is gone!" she proclaimed, "Imprisoned in the moon as she did to me!" She flapped her wings and launched herself into the air, then descended and landed on the floor below. Ponies gasped, squeaked, and trembled as she so suddenly appeared much closer. Leaning in and sweeping her slitted eyes over the crowd, she growled in a low voice, "Do any of you know my name!?" she demanded. She scanned the crowd in vain for recognition- other than the guards, if anypony recognized her, she either didn't see them or they hid it well. "Did you not see the signs of my return?"

One pony spoke up, and it was the voice of a filly- most definitely not a soldier- "Y-you-you're N-Nightmare M-Moon!"

To her surprise, it was the young purple unicorn who had a baby dragon on her back. The crowd parted around her, leaving her out in the open. Her eyes darted nervously about as ponies stepped away from her, leaving her unprotected from Nightmare's gaze. For a few seconds, Nightmare just stared at her. The unicorn had a lavender coat with a dark indigo blue mane, complete with a pink and purple highlight. She was well groomed, and now that she looked at her, she stood out in some way that she couldn't place. There was something about her that bothered her. Looking at her, she felt a strange sensation of curiosity, perhaps even amusement. Eventually, she realized she had been staring long enough that the unicorn looked confused, rather than scared. She shook the feeling off and smiled at her. "Then you know why I am here," she said in a sweet, mocking voice.

Her trance broken by the honeyed words of Nightmare Moon, the unicorn gulped. Without an immediate answer, Nightmare took a step forward. A step that was mimicked by the unicorn, who stepped back in response. "Y-you're here to b-bring e-eternal n-night..."

Another gasp echoed out through the crowd.

A slow, methodical chuckle escaped Nightmare's lips. It was oh so sweet, so delicious, that they feared her for bringing eternal night. A thousand years ago ponies had scorned her night, but now these ponies would inherit the wages of those ponies' sins, and they would have to accept eternal night. "You are correct," she purred. For a moment, she stopped to let it sink in. The unicorn backed up and wilted under her gaze. Nightmare snorted, then turned to glance over the crowd. "I am Nightmare Moon, and you will obey my rule or suffer my wrath!"

"S-she's taken the princess! Somepony stop her!" a mare cried out.

Instantly, her gaze shot over to the pony who spoke up. The mayor. Nightmare scowled, and instantly, the pony squeaked. A blue glow surrounded her, then she was heaved up into the air and shot over to Nightmare, bringing her to within inches of the alicorn. Both of them trembled- Nightmare in rage and the mayor in fear.

For several long seconds, Nightmare stared into her eyes. The mare was fearfully silent. With a flair of her nostrils, Nightmare's gaze returned to the crowd. Forcefully, she launched the mare into the crowd.

She squeaked and the ponies she crashed into grunted as they broke her fall. Everypony else jumped out of the way. "I will be merciful since this is just our introduction," she quipped, "but my mercy will not last forever." Her smile returned, once more showing off her predatory maw. "Unlike my night," she promised.

"You would do well to remember this day, little ponies, for it shall be your last! Challenge me at your own peril, even my dear sister knew better than to send her guards against me!" she spat.

"We're not afraid of you!" a raspy voice cried out. Nightmare's glare leveled on the rainbow-maned pegasus. She had shot into the air, but an orange-coated earth pony stood below her, holding onto her tail with her mouth. The earth pony gave a solid tug and pulled the pegasus to the floor with a squeak, but the pegasus still fumed.

Nightmare let out a low chuckle. "And you think you can stop me, pegasus?" she asked.

One step after the other, she walked towards the mare. Even at her methodical approach, the pegasus refused to back down, even when the earth pony beside her stepped back. Eventually, Nightmare stood before her, wings flared, looking down at her. She cast her shadow on the pegasus, but even that did nothing- she still had her chest puffed out arrogantly. "Even Celestia could not stop me!" she hissed. "And you? You're just a pegasus!"

It was an absurd thought. Not only was she just a pegasus, but she didn't even have any training. She wasn't a guard or a soldier, just some arrogant pegasus to be knocked down a few pegs. She couldn't stop herself from laughing at how outlandish the idea was! This mare! This lone pegasus standing up to her and stopping her when even her sister couldn't! As she laughed, everypony else wilted. It brought tears of joy to her eyes- truly she would relish breaking this pony, perhaps the whole of Equestria if this futile resistance persisted.

But perhaps once everypony realized their position, their resistance would fade and she could rule as she wanted.

"Oh yeah! Well, there's a lot more of us and only one of you!"

The pegasus's voice brought her laughter to an immediate halt. "You're kidding. You're kidding, right? You honestly think that these ponies could stop me!?" She cocked her head to the side and leaned down to eye level to match the pegasus's gaze. "My own sister couldn't stop me! And she's an alicorn like I am. And you have the audacity to think that these ponies could stop me!?"

To prove her point, she lifted her head back up and swept her gaze over the crowd. "Look at them!" she ordered. "And see their fear! The guards obey my command! You cannot stop me." For a few seconds, she let it sink in. Sure enough, the pegasus saw that she was the only pony standing up to her. Sweeping her gaze back over the crowd, Nightmare could see that there were ponies who glared at her, but when she cast her gaze on them, most of them wilted. The orange earth pony was one notable exception. She looked back at the pegasus. A little of her determination had wavered, but she was still rebellious. "I could kill you before you could even take flight," she growled.

'I'm wasting time with this! I need to find my sister's student... perhaps this is another planned distraction...' She scowled at the thought. She grabbed the pegasus's head in her magic and tilted her muzzle upward. She reached out with her mane and slid her magic over the pegasus's jaw. "Perhaps we will meet again, and rest assured if our paths cross, next time I won't be quite so merciful."

She held the pegasus firmly. "Let me go!" she demanded.

Just for that, she flicked the pegasus's nose with her mane, hard enough to make her wince and try to jerk back, only to be immobilized by Nightmare's magic. And only then, did she release her head. The mare continued her resistant glare, but her forehoof lifted to rub away the pain on her nose.

In a flash of midnight blue light, Nightmare teleported to just behind the wall of the inner balcony. She held her breath and listened silently. Surely, there had to be some hint or sign or something that she could use to identify and track down Celestia's student!

Every voice was hushed, but a few were harsher than others. It took a short while, but she heard somepony break out into a fear-driven gallop. She would have pushed it aside as somepony running simply out of fear, but it was the only pony who ran- surely, they would run in a herd if they were so scared. And then there was the fact that the pony ran outside of the building, out into her night. After her introduction, surely that would have taken courage.

With another, much softer flash of light from her horn, her body slowly faded in with the darkness until no prying eyes could see her. As soon as she was invisible, another brilliant flash of midnight magic emanated from her horn, briefly illuminating the hallway before her vision shifted.

The pony galloping away was the unicorn mare with the baby dragon. Had she paid attention to her surroundings, rather than her fear, she would have detected Nightmare's teleport, but she did not. Nightmare watched the mare run for a moment, then the sound of the doors to the Town Hall being thrown open again drew her gaze back towards the structure. Five more ponies galloped out, and her eyes narrowed as she watched them. Among their group were the unruly pegasus and stubborn earth pony.

'Six Elements of Harmony,' shot through her mind.

For a moment, she froze in fear. Had she been so blind? Those ponies could have been her sister's students! As she watched them pass by, she frantically looked them over for the Elements, but much to her relief, they were nowhere to be seen. And yet, she knew that they could be racing right towards the Elements to retrieve them.

She spread her wings and bolted into the sky. Following close above them, she watched their every move with intent scrutiny. The rainbow-maned pegasus was at the front, followed close behind by the earth pony, then a white unicorn, then a pink earth pony, and then a yellow pegasus.

The first two, she could understand. The ponies following them, though? The unicorn seemed to be more concerned about getting her hooves dirty from running and not being able to see. The pink earth pony seemed happily oblivious to everything. And the pegasus bringing up the rear of her group was actually terrified of her own shadow cast by the moon.

It was enough to make her squint at them in confusion. 'Is this truly the best you could find? This can't be another distraction!'

Even more bizarre was that they followed the first unicorn to a live oak tree that seemed to have been made into a house, all without killing the tree. Sure, she knew that deer were capable of doing that, but she did not know of ponies who had done that. A closer inspection of the oak tree revealed a sign with a book on it. Indeed, it was a library.

'How fitting,' she mused sarcastically. Of course, it made perfect sense. Her sister's students would be going to a library.

Candlelight glowed from inside the tree, streaming out into her night through windows and the open door. She glided down, then landed and looked inside one of the windows. The lavender-colored unicorn trotted down the stairs, her back free from the young dragon. As soon as she was on the ground level, she dashed over to the bookshelf and started pulling out book after book, searching the titles for something.

Nightmare narrowed her eyes as she observed the unicorn. She looked so utterly terrified, her legs shook, and she seemed on the verge of hyperventilating. But what stuck out more was the fact that she kept muttering "Elements! Elements! Elements!" to herself.

Nightmare felt anger rise in her. It was definitely one of her sister's students. But yet, the pony wasn't even an adult! She was just a filly. Did Celestia truly expect this filly to stop her where she couldn't?

The rest of the ponies arrived. The pegasus shot in through the door, and rather than stopping, she sped up, outstretched her forehooves, and tackled the lavender unicorn to the ground.

For some reason, Nightmare couldn't stop herself from smiling at the sight.

"Who are you and what do you know about Nightmare Moon!?" the pegasus demanded, pinning the unicorn to the floor. "Are you a spy?!"

"What!? NO!" the unicorn shot back frantically. "S-she's just... I-I read it in a book!" she defended.

"Rainbow Dash!" the orange earth pony called. The rainbow-maned pegasus- apparently named 'Rainbow Dash', looked back at the earth pony. "How could she be a spy?" she asked, "She's the princess' student for land sake, girl!"

'Just one student...' ran through Nightmare's mind.

The pegasus huffed and swatted her wings at the air. "Alright, fine... geez..." Rainbow slowly pulled back from the unicorn she had pinned. "I'm sorry," she offered.

The unicorn continued to stare at her with caution and uncertainty. Eventually, she started to pick herself up, wincing as she did so. As soon as she was standing once again, she shot a glare at the pegasus.

If she were visible, Nightmare's teeth would have shown in a display of amusement.

The four other ponies slowly gathered around the unicorn, and she looked between them nervously. "Twilight Sparkle, right?" the orange earth pony asked. The unicorn- Twilight Sparkle- nodded.

'Twilight Sparkle... my sister's student...' Nightmare mused. As she thought about it, she found that she liked that name. Twilight, evening- the time between day and night. While she had always preferred her night, the evenings when the sun was low in the sky was a time of her sister's day that she once enjoyed- the lighting was so calm and peaceful, even if it wasn't nearly as calm and serene as her night.

"How do you know about Nightmare Moon?" the earth pony asked.

"Does she really have Princess Celestia?" the white unicorn asked frantically.

"Is-is she really bringing in e-eternal night?" the yellow pegasus squeaked.

"Are you sure her name isn't Queen Meany? Or Black Snooty? I think those names would fit her better. What happened to her anyway? She said she was Princess Celestia's sister. Did Princess Celestia forget her birthday or something?" the pink pony asked.

Immediately, Nightmare decided that among this group, the pink pony was her least favorite, more than the rainbow-maned pegasus. Her voice was so sharp and high pitched, it gave her a headache just hearing it- and she wasn't even in the same room.

Twilight Sparkle looked at her hooves, almost guiltily. Nightmare frowned for the briefest of instants. "I... had found a book yesterday... Predictions and Prophecies. It... spoke of Nightmare Moon and her return... I... I guess that... Nightmare Moon is... Princess Celestia's sister..." she said hesitantly.

The unicorn seemed to struggle with saying that. Her features expressed vulnerability as if it wouldn't have taken anything to crack her like an egg. "I... I asked Princess Celestia about her, but... she..." she trailed off, lifted her head up, and looked at the others pleadingly. "She said that Nightmare Moon was just an old pony's tale! That she wasn't real. Sh-she lied to me!" Her ears folded back at the admission.

As Twilight's ears pulled back, Nightmare's brow creased. For a moment, she thought back to the lies that her sister had spouted to her- that she was overreacting, that ponies actually did love her and her night, but the proof was never there. The reminder stroked her ire, yet at the same time, she felt a connection to the unicorn. She looked so absolutely devastated by the revelation that Celestia had lied to her.

Nightmare both relished it and abhorred it, and the duality she felt conflicted her. The pony she watched was her sister's student- the pony her plan seemed to revolve around. She was defenseless, she wouldn't be able to protect herself. Killing her or capturing her would have been so simple, and then she could torture her and break her, all the while goading to Celestia about how her failure brought on Twilight's pain.

But perhaps, letting her go free for a little while longer would prove valuable. After all, she had not seen the Elements of Harmony in her possession. And so long as she didn't have the Elements under lock and key, they could pose a threat to her. So Nightmare bided her time- she could afford to wait and observe this group, at least for a while. If anypony could locate the Elements of Harmony, perhaps it would be Twilight Sparkle, her sister's student.

"Hey now, I'm sure Princess Celestia had a good reason..." the orange pony offered, but her expression betrayed her true thoughts- she did not like the idea of Princess Celestia lying about it. It didn't sit well with her, even if there was a good reason behind it.

Twilight nodded sullenly. "I-I mean.. s-she had to, right?" she asked, seeking out whatever reassurance could be offered to her.

The pink pony smiled, then bounced over to her and hugged her. "I'm sure she had a good reason!" she offered cheerfully.

Hesitantly, Twilight returned the hug and laid her head down on the pony's shoulder. Nightmare watched as her ears slowly lifted back, and it seemed like the hug renewed her. "Y-you're right... she... she probably just wanted to... protect me... Nightmare Moon said that Princess Celestia ordered the guards to... not try to stop her... probably to protect them too..." Twilight said. "But... I-I could have helped her!" Once again, her expression shattered. "H-how did this happen? Why didn't Princess Celestia s-stop her?"

Slowly, the pink pony pulled back from the hug. "It'll be okay," she said.

Over the next few seconds, Nightmare watched Twilight's expression intently. Uncertainty shifted to optimism, back to uncertainty and hopelessness, then determination. Twilight's eyes glanced over the other ponies.

"We're all with you! We've gotta stop Nightmare Moon somehow," Rainbow Dash said. The rest of the ponies nodded in affirmation.

Twilight nodded. "R-right... um... The book said that Princess Celestia used something called the Elements of Harmony to defeat her and banish her to the moon. Um... I briefly studied it, but I-I don't remember all that well a-and I-I can't find the book..." she trailed off.

The pink pony cocked her head to the side. "You mean that one book called 'The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide' that you brought with you and you left sitting on the desk upstairs?"

Everypony stared at the pink pony. Nightmare was about to brush it off as more of her obliviousness, but Twilights mouth opened in a slow, concerned manner. "How... do you know that... when I forgot about that..?"

The pink pony closed her eyes, smiling, and giggled. "Oh, I saw the guards carry it upstairs when I was getting your party ready and I didn't see you take it down with you when we left."

"Oh, okay," Twilight said. A moment later, and she walked over to the stairs, then vanished from Nightmare's sight. A short time later, she walked back down the stairs bringing with her the book in her magenta magic. She flipped through the book's pages as she walked, displaying a skill of being able to walk without falling while reading at the same time. "It says there are six Elements of Harmony: Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Honesty, and the sixth Element is unknown." She paused to skim further. "The sixth Element will be revealed by a spark?" she asked aloud.

'The Element of Magic,' Nightmare noted.

"It's better than nothing," the orange earth pony offered.

Twilight continued reading. Nightmare licked her lips. "It says that the last known location was the Castle of the Two Sisters in-" she lowered the book and looked up at the other ponies. Nightmare Moon heard her gulp from outside. "-in the Everfree Forest!"

A collective gasp escaped the lips of all the other ponies lips.

Nightmare scowled. 'I searched for the Elements at my castle! They weren't there! The book is wrong...'

"Th-The Everfree Forest? That place ain't natural!"

"That place is just dreadful! It's full of icky monsters and things! And no paved roads."

"U-um... maybe we should... t-tell Princess Cadance? M-maybe she can... um... h-help?" the timid pegasus offered.

Nightmare Moon's gaze came to rest on her, and the pony seemed to flinch as if she could tell she was being watched. 'Another princess? Surely, she's not an alicorn... Or did you truly try to replace me, sister?'

Twilight shook her head. "No... Canterlot is too far, and... Cadance isn't a fighter."

'You didn't use her title? Do you know this Cadance?' Nightmare wondered.

"No, we have to find the Elements... I have to find the Elements..." Twilight nodded grimly and looked at the floor. Nightmare strained to hear what she spoke, "None of you have to come with me..."

"Are you kidding me!?" Rainbow Dash cried out. "We can't just let you go in there alone!"

"She's right," the orange earth pony agreed. "A small thing like you'd never be able to make it on your own."

Nightmare smirked as Twilight scowled at the earth pony. Twilight collected herself and stood straighter, proudly. "I'll have you know I'm Princess Celestia's protege! Princess Celestia personally taught me about magic. I can handle myself!"

"No offense Twilight, but Applejack's right. You're just a filly! Besides, it seems like you need all the help you can get," Rainbow offered.

"I have to agree with her, even if... I really don't want to go into that dreadful place."

Twilight sighed and slumped down, scowling. "Fine," she huffed. She closed the book and put it on the table in the middle of the room, then trotted towards the door. Nightmare watched her, then stepped away from the window to watch as she trotted out of the library. The other five ponies followed behind her at the same pace, although Rainbow Dash flew up beside her.

As they made their way through the town, Nightmare took into the sky to fly overhead and watch on. The trip to the edge of the forest was a quiet, uneventful one. Nightmare found herself relaxing and smiling, despite knowing that the group of ponies below her were the focus of her sister's plans to stop her.

After all, if that was the best her sister had, there really wasn't anything for her to worry about. So instead of worrying, she decided to enjoy this little break. Perhaps it could be a fun game to mess with them and rile them up, or maybe she should just observe them as they trekked through the forest.

It would give her an opportunity to observe and ponder her sister's student. The filly had piqued her interest. Perhaps torturing her was a bit harsh- she was still a filly, even if she practically was an adult. And the thought of torturing a foal left a bitter taste in her mouth.

It was nearly the same reason why she could justify granting mercy to ponies- specifically, Rainbow Dash. They hadn't committed the same transgressions against her that the ponies from so long ago had. They had some innocence to them, so she would give these ponies the same chance she had given them before.

If they betrayed that chance and refused to respect her, then she would deal with them harshly. But then, of course, she knew that dealing with them harshly would give them more reason to resent her and less reason to love her. She would need to develop a balance.

But given that Rainbow Dash was taking a stance with Twilight Sparkle, her dear sister's student, who was meant to stop her, she questioned her decision to grant the rebellious pegasus a second chance.

As the group of mares headed into the forest, Nightmare wondered if rather than being her enemies, they could be of some use to her. Rainbow Dash had, after all, stood up to her- foolish as it was. Perhaps that in of itself was a redeeming quality- even the pegasi guards cowered before her. Perhaps she could offer her a chance to become one of her soldiers- although her loyalty would probably always be in question. It was at least an idea.

'And perhaps,' Nightmare thought as they made their way deeper into the forest, 'you, Twilight Sparkle, could become my student instead of my sister's?' she mused. Even knowing that Twilight Sparkle was currently on a quest to obtain the greatest threat to her- The Elements of Harmony- and use them to stop her, she found the idea entertaining.

After all, perhaps then, she would have some semblance of victory over her sister- stealing her student from her, making Twilight Sparkle her own student. 'But then, do you truly care for this Twilight Sparkle, or is she but a tool for you to use against me?' she wondered. Thinking back on how Celestia acted in their encounter, she came to the conclusion that, 'No, she is more than just a tool to you. You trust her, you have faith in her. You put your life and the lives of everypony in her hooves... You care about her.'

Nightmare smiled. She was thinking about Celestia, yes, and that normally would have made her want to scream and rage and level everything in sight, but instead, she was calm. Jubliant, even. For Celestia had delivered her student, somepony who she undoubtedly cherished, right into her hooves: A perfect way to get back at her for every agonizing moment and every slight against her.

And, of course, if Twilight refused, she could still stick with her original plan. Torturing and killing a filly didn't sit well with her, but for the joy she would extract from her sister's misery? Oh, it would be worth it. Plus, Twilight was barely a filly now. She was practically an adult, which meant it wouldn't bother her quite as much.

She smiled contently, cheerfully even, as the group of ponies finally reached the ravine that separated the castle from the rest of the forest. She glided down and landed on the side of the ravine with her castle. She idly cast her gaze about, imagining what the future would look like for her palace.

She beheld the rope bridge with disgust, and in its place, imagined a proper stone bridge spanning the chasm- one which would stand a thousand years and then ten thousand more.

Turning her attention back to the group of mares, she listened once again. "...get across!?"

Rainbow Dash flared her wings out, then fluffed them. She smiled arrogantly. "Duh," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah!"

Rainbow propelled herself into the air with her wings, then dived down into the ravine, grabbed the rope, then flew up to the other side.

'Perhaps you're not simply an arrogant pegasus,' Nightmare mused. She had to admit, Rainbow Dash had some skill when it came to her flying. And she was fast.

Rainbow tied the ropes to the posts, then one at a time, the other ponies- including the timid pegasus, to her surprise- walked across the chasm.

As they reached the side with the ruined castle, they looked around in awe- or, in the case of the white unicorn, a mixture of remorse, disgust, and horror.

Nightmare followed casually, but not before casting a spell so that her hoofsteps were silenced. As a group, they went into the castle to search, eventually coming to the throne room.

Nightmare had to pause as she looked over the destruction she and the past thousand years had caused. She felt a feeling of nostalgia to see the Throne Room in such a state. Celestia's throne lay broken, with the glass window behind the shattered thrones long since gone, destroyed at her birth. But, to her discomfort and disappointment, her own throne had not faired the past thousand years any better than her sister's throne- it lay broken and crumbling, covered in moss and forgotten.

She suppressed a sigh and then cast her gaze at the pedestal that had housed the Elements one thousand years ago. The stone was rough and worn, having not been maintained over her banishment.

Then, to her surprise, she saw five inert stones, one on each of the pedestal's outreached arms. 'How!?' shout out in her mind. She had searched the castle grounds with her magic for the Elements but hadn't found them, yet here they were! Reaching out with her magic again, she realized why she hadn't sensed them before: 'They're... inert?'

It took a moment for it to click, and when it clicked, it took all of her willpower to stop herself from breaking out into ecstatic laughter that would reveal her position. Her sister had lost her connection to the Elements, and away from the Tree, they became inert! No wonder her sister had not tried to fight her with the Elements. She couldn't! They needed to be awakened. The easiest way she knew to do that was to return the Elements to the Tree, but from what she could tell, Twilight Sparkle did not know about the Tree.

Overjoyed by the revelation, she strode into the room. The group split, but they all lingered close. Twilight walked over to the pedestal and levitated the stone orbs down. "These must be the Elements of Harmony... but they don't look anything like in the book!"

"What are we supposed to do now?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know... give me a minute..." Twilight replied. She laid down on the floor and laid the inert Elements around her body in a circle.

For a moment, it gave Nightmare pause. The five inert Elements surrounded Twilight in a way that was oh-so-familiar. It was how they were arrayed on the tree. She took a moment to admire it- whether on accident or chance, Twilight had become the centerpiece of the inert Elements- magic.

"Alright. Come on, everypony, let's give her some time to figure this out," Applejack said.

Nightmare watched as the other five mares slowly walked out of the room, leaving Twilight alone with the inert Elements, and of course, herself.

Knowing that she was safe, Nightmare approached Twilight, then came to a stop and looked over her body. As soon as her gaze fell on Twilight's cutie mark, she felt that odd sense of curiosity return. Her cutie mark was a six-pointed pink star-burst, surrounded by five six-pointed white stars. Emanating out of the six-pointed pink starburst were six white rays.

It left her dumbfounded.

Her cutie mark, along with the way she and the inert Elements were arrayed. It could not have been a coincidence. Startled, she cautiously looked around the room, carefully searching out anything else that she had missed. But there was nothing there except for Twilight and the inert Elements.

Her cutie mark was representational of magic, and she, undoubtedly, was representative of the Element of Magic and born to wield it. It was her destiny, and it was a great destiny.

This Twilight Sparkle, her sister's student, was perhaps the single greatest threat to her in existence- even more so than the Elements of Harmony themselves. It made her look at the filly in a different light, and yet, she could not escape the feeling that she couldn't have been a threat to her. She wasn't aggressive. Her build was light, and she wasn't athletic. She had none of the characteristics of a fighter or a spy, nor that of an assassin.

She was a scholar.

Nightmare shuddered.

But, while she was such a powerful threat, that also meant that if she played her cards right, she could become her most powerful tool, or perhaps, even an ally. And besides that, there was still something more to her.

Carefully, she lit her horn with just enough magic to perform a spell, while attempting to mask the glow of her magic from her horn. Fortunately, with the roof destroyed in her battle with Celestia, the moonlight was enough to hide her hornlight. She reached out with the barest amount of magic she could to pull it off and examined Twilight's magic.

She wasn't an ordinary unicorn- that much was obvious. Her pool of magic was large and powerful, and it was incomplete. Twilight herself felt incomplete, like she was still a work in progress, not what she was meant to be. She could feel just how much effort she had put into her magical studies, and in turn, she could feel just how much potential she had- it rivaled Starswirl the Bearded's potential. And she was a filly.

It made her shiver in fear. But Twilight wasn't a fighter, nor a soldier. She was a student. Her sister's student, but she was still a filly, still growing and developing. If Twilight had been an alicorn like herself, her potential would have rivaled Celestia, and her own potential, combined.

But for now? Now, Twilight was vulnerable. Killing her would be easy. A lance of magic through her heart, or her neck, or through her head. And that wasn't even being creative. She could easily list off a dozen ways to kill the filly before her. But she kept them all to herself and watched.

She couldn't shake the feeling that Twilight somehow knew she was nearby- perhaps she had felt the brush of her magic, but whatever the cause, she looked afraid. The glow of her horn sputtered, failing to reveal the Element of Magic, despite her best efforts.

But while Nightmare was content to watch for a while, her patience did wear out after watching her fail so many times to unlock the Elements. She was missing something. Twilight was, after all, incomplete. With a quick flash from her horn, Nightmare dispelled the magic cloaking her in the night.

Twilight's reaction was instant- she could feel the magic released and felt Nightmare's eyes on her. With a quick glance back to see her, she let out a scream, then jumped up and took step after trembling step back away from her. "N-no! N-no! No!" she shouted.

Nightmare raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that truly the best you can do?" she asked with disinterest. Twilight trembled and lit her horn, then angled it down at Nightmare. "Did my sister even teach you how to fight with your magic?" she asked curiously.

Twilight froze up at that. It was all the answer Nightmare needed, not that she needed any confirmation to know it was the case. If Twilight Sparkle knew how to fight with magic, then it was not combat spells, but using other spells for the purpose of defending herself.

Nightmare lifted a leg up, then stepped forward, avoiding the inert Elements as if they were nothing but rocks- which they were. As she approached Twilight, the unicorn backed up until her haunches pressed up against the cold stone wall. She squeaked and jumped, but Nightmare continued to approach her, smiling.

"S-stay back!" Twilight shouted.

"As I told your pegasus friend," Nightmare drawled, rolling her eyes dismissively, "Your mentor couldn't stop me. What makes you think that you can?"

Twilight wilted as Nightmare continued her march. She shied back and laid down before the alicorn as her shadow fell upon her. In her state of primal fear, her horn went dim; she lost her grasp on her magic, and that only served to intensify the fear she displayed.

"Come on, everypony! We need to hurry!" Applejack's voice shouted.

Nightmare scowled and turned back towards the doorway. "It seems your friends heard your scream," she noted casually.

"Th-they're n-not..." Twilight trailed off. Nightmare turned to look back at Twilight as the five mares entered the room. "M-my... friends?" she asked.

There was a sparkle in her eye.

'A spark,' she realized. In an instant, Nightmare recognized her peril. She was in danger and had but seconds to act. She was afraid. She was angry. She was ecstatic. Finally! A chance for her to actually have a challenge!

Nightmare's right hind leg stepped back with lightning fast speed. She turned, lighting her horn and flaring her wings. The five mares had taken a V-shaped formation facing her, with Applejack at the head. At the bottom of her vision, she could see the Elements awakening, and the pink six-pointed star that was Magic materialized out of the large orb atop the pedestal.

"F-friends..?" Twilight asked again, confused.

Nightmare reached out with her magic, teleporting the five mares across the room, then grabbing them in her magic and holding them down them down. She hastily bound them with her magic, but her focus was elsewhere. With another quick spell, she grabbed the awakened Elements of Harmony and teleported them into a quickly made pocket dimension so that they were out of reach.

"N-no!" Twilight cried out as the Elements flashed away in Nightmare's blue aura.

Had Celestia taught her better, Nightmare knew that Twilight could have interdicted her teleportation spells or the pocket dimension. Instead, she didn't. And Nightmare found herself disappointed. The Elements weren't a threat. Their bearers were subdued and-

And a pair of hooves connected with her chestplate. It was a kick. A powerful kick. Her head jerked forward as her chestplate was kicked. She actually skidded back a foot from the kick, then let out a cough from the rattling her insides received.

That hurt. A lot. And her chest was undoubtedly bruised from the blow, and her chestplate felt uncomfortable against her body.

A quick glance down at her chestplate surprised her- the kick had dented it in. Her eyes narrowed and she looked up. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had broken free. She hadn't bound Twilight, so she was free and had found her magic again. Her efforts were on trying to use it to free the others.

Applejack lunged at her- she was definitely the kicker. 'I forgot just how strong earth ponies can be,' Nightmare mused. Nightmare stepped back and jumped to the side to avoid her lunge. Applejack had too much follow-through, and with nothing to connect with, she stumbled. As soon as Applejack was off balance, she capitalized on the opening and sideswiped her chest with her armored hoof. She put just enough force into it to disable her without breaking anything- Applejack still wheezed as Nightmare's kick knocked the air out of her lungs and toppled her over.

Stronger bindings of magic wrapped around Applejack, nearly crushing her while preventing her from inhaling all the way.

She hastily glanced at Twilight, then her gaze fell on Rainbow Dash. Twilight struggled against the magic bindings holding the rest of her 'friends', but it seemed that she hadn't completely recovered from her panic.

Rather than devote more energy to fighting Rainbow than she needed to, she decided to show her just how outmatched she was against an alicorn. She grabbed Rainbow in her magic by her tail.

"Hey!" was Rainbow's defiant shout. At the very least, she was amusing.

Still holding on Rainbow's tail, Nightmare flung the pegasus at the wall so quickly she squawked. Nightmare watched as best she could, but she had thrown Rainbow hard and fast. Rainbow struggled to try to stop herself, but it was futile- she slammed into the wall.

She hit the wall with her wing upright- it was a better outcome than it would have been if her wing was outstretched, but it wasn't nearly as good for her as if her wing had been folded. She cried out in pain, and as she hit the stone floor, she grabbed at her wing joint with her forehoof.

Nightmare was sure it wasn't broken- Rainbow had folded her wing. But nonetheless, she knew it must have been painful. With Rainbow not daring to strike out at her again, she quickly bound her with stronger bindings. Rainbow grimaced as the bindings glowed to life around her wings and held them tightly in place.

Once again, Nightmare found herself disappointed. Neither of the group's fighters put up much of a fight. She longed for battling a unicorn, but a dispassionate look at Twilight already told her that wasn't going to happen- Twilight was still struggling to free the white unicorn, her horn sputtering. Her cheeks were damp with tears, and so her fur was padded down.

Nightmare frowned at that, but not from disappointment. She couldn't place it.

It took a few seconds for Twilight to realize that something was wrong. She was so caught up in trying to free the white unicorn that she didn't notice how she looked or where her gaze was directed. But, eventually, she did notice, and so, she stopped trying to free her when she realized that both Rainbow and Applejack were injured and bound.

Slowly, Twilight took a step back from the unicorn, keeping her body low to the floor in her best effort not to invoke Nightmare's wrath.

"I already know you're not going to fight, so instead I'll ask if you're going to run," Nightmare said with disinterest.

Twilight bit her lip and looked around at the other bound ponies, then back at Nightmare.

Nightmare frowned a bit. "I'll take that as a no." She gripped Twilight Sparkle in her magic and held her firmly, then bound her with her magic. She layered bindings on her horn to seal off her potent magic, which seemed to scare Twilight even more, but she still didn't resist out of the same fear.

Surveying her work, she still found herself so incredibly disappointed at their resistance- or rather, lack thereof. 'Was this the best you could do?' It was so disheartening. Truly, it made her disdain for Celestia grow even more- Celestia had gotten her hopes up for a good battle, and then stole the wind beneath her wings by exactly who she had to stop- a group of young mares and a filly, none of them trained to fight her. And the filly was their leader.

Or, perhaps Celestia had simply messed up her own plans more than Nightmare realized. She shook her head, and cast her magic on them, alongside speaking one command: "Sleep."

Published this today because, in all honesty, I'd feel bad if I didn't publish something today, given how the first chapter ends...

Plus a dry spell would probably be bad right now, and I almost finished another chapter this week, and I still have several chapters finished, so why not?

Almost immediately, the six ponies had fallen asleep without any resistance. Whether they dreamed peacefully or had haunting nightmares mattered little. It was none of Nightmare's concern. Right now, she had more important matters to take care of since she had put an end to Celestia's plan to stop her.

Nightmare kept expecting something to happen. Surely, it couldn't have been this easy and simple to stop her sister's plan! Celestia had one thousand years to prepare. But yet nothing else happened. No assassins from the shadows, no grand army suddenly appearing to challenge her. She couldn't believe it. She won. It was her grand victory over Celestia! She had finally triumphed. Equestria was hers- she was Queen now, or would be soon, and her night would last forever.

But it still felt like a hollow victory. So much had Celestia denied her- the pleasure of fighting her and bringing her low, the pleasure of making her beg and of breaking her, and the pleasure of a meaningful challenge to taking Equestria. She kept expecting to feel like she had accomplished her victory, but it just never came.

Even banishing Celestia was a bittersweet victory- she inflicted the same punishment on her that she had endured, but in doing so, defiled the visage of her glorious moon, as it had been for the past thousand years.

'Must you continue to deny me everything!?' In rage, she stamped her hoof down on the stone floor, creating a spider web of cracks expanding outward from her hoof. She growled, wondering if perhaps, it was part of Celestia's plan to deny her the sweet taste of victory by simply making it feel so utterly worthless.

But still, now that Celestia's student, along with her 'friends,' was incapacitated, she didn't have to worry about them. And the Elements were stowed away in a pocket dimension. It was a short-term solution to the problem- holding the Elements in a pocket dimension took more magic than she wanted to devote to containing them. But, it gave her time to think and revise her plans as necessary. She could kill Twilight Sparkle and her friends, but instead, she knew they could be useful.

Nightmare had already decided on her course of action regarding Twilight Sparkle- attempt to persuade her to become her student. Twilight was a threat to her, but there was simply too much potential to ignore. The curious part of her simply wouldn't allow her to throw away that potential without at least trying to convince Twilight to become her student. And there was something about her she still couldn't place.

'But how do I best approach this problem?' she wondered. She barely knew anything about this Twilight Sparkle, other than she was a powerful unicorn filly, the student of her sister, bearer of the Element of Magic, and she had more than enough potential to be her downfall.

And even if Twilight did accept, who was to say it wasn't a ruse? She frowned at that thought. 'Then if you accept I will have to keep you on a leash, won't I?'

But she would have time to think and deal with them later. For now, Equestria called to her, seeking out her rightful Queen. She was needed in Canterlot- she needed to affirm her rule and crush any potential dissent, and investigate the Captain of the Guard and this other princess. Perhaps she would learn more about Twilight Sparkle in Canterlot. Since Twilight was her sister's student, she would likely find out more about her in her sister's chambers.

But first, she needed to do something with her captives. As she looked over the sleeping mares, she briefly considered just leaving them there. They wouldn't be able to escape, at least on their own. But there was the chance that somepony would come by to free them, and that would cause her undue stress. And then, of course, there was also the fact that they would be rather vulnerable and exposed. Even inside the castle's throne room, there was a chance that some animal or creature would come by and find them an easy target.

And that simply wouldn't do.

Scowling, she levitated the sleeping mares in her magic, then started the journey from the throne room to the castle's dungeons. After the first step, she paused and glanced down at her dented chestplate. Rather than take it off or examine it further, she simply bent it back into shape with her magic. Sadly, the armor no longer held the same gleam that it did- it had been battered by Applejack's kick- and even with her magic to bend it back into place, it wasn't perfect. It still showed the signs that it had been damaged. Her chestplate had been her constant companion for a thousand years. Seeing it damaged and so abused now that she wasn't in a battle was strangely disappointing.

But, nonetheless, Nightmare had a task at hoof. She pushed the concern from her mind and made her way out of the Throne Room, then into the castle's passages. Walking the castle's ruined corridors was peaceful, with the only sounds coming from her magic and the click of her boots on the stone floor. Nothing stirred- it was as if every animal had forgotten about the castle's existence, or purposefully avoided it.

Most likely, it was the latter. After all, they knew she was back, and that they would not be welcome in her home. As she walked past one collapsed doorway, she grimaced. 'I will have to find a temporary residence while repairs are done to the castle... Celestia's chambers will do.'

Eventually, she made her way down into the dungeon. The cold seemed to seep into her coat and sap the warmth from her core. It brought back fond memories right alongside memories she'd rather forget. Most of the cells were too small to house all six of them comfortably or were in a state of disrepair, but she managed to find one cell that would do. With an application of her magic to the gate, she forced it open with a loud groaning, then levitated the six mares inside and laid them down without awakening them. She briefly looked them over, then shut the gate and locked it with her magic.

Before moving on, she looked over them again and found her gaze drawn to Twilight Sparkle. Out of the entire group, she was easily the youngest, by at least two years, perhaps more. Judging from how Rainbow acted at the library, Nightmare suspected that Twilight Sparkle barely knew any of them and that the journey to her castle had been the extent of their time together. She also didn't seem to recognize them as friends until they came back for her.

As she pondered this, her gaze wandered over Twilight's body. She was small and weak. Vulnerable. Defenseless. It would have been so easy to just end her life right then and there. And oh, the temptation was there, even with her plan in mind. And yet, there was something else there too. The filly was a curiosity and held her interest. Her gaze settled on her flank and she took in her cutie mark once again. 'So much potential...' She licked her lips, then shook her head. She turned away, only to pause and look back at the filly. There was something else too, aside from the curiosity at her potential, but try as she did, she couldn't find an answer for what else it was that made the filly stand out so much.

For a moment, she hesitated, then she used her magic and laid Twilight down closer to the rest of her friends. She pondered the choice for a few seconds, unsure of why she wasted her time doing that, but she took some sense of enjoyment from it. Twilight Sparkle still looked scared in her sleep, but it seemed that being closer to the other ponies helped. 'Herd instinct?' she wondered.

She broke her gaze from Twilight, then examined the cell's gate. Like the rest of the castle, it was run down. Although it was usable, it wasn't in the best condition, and that didn't sit well with her. With the mares and Twilight so secured, they would be defenseless if something managed to break into the cell.

Based on that, she spent a few seconds reinforcing the gate with her magic so that no stray creatures would be able to easily break into the cell. Once she was satisfied that her captives were secure and protected, she turned and marched out of the dungeon without any further thought, leaving them to the cold darkness.

Like the trip to the dungeons, the trip back up was uneventful, leaving Nightmare to her own thoughts as she navigated the castle from memory. No longer distracted by the need to stop her sister's student and disable the Elements of Harmony, she found herself taking time to enjoy the moonlit stroll.

It had been so long since she had enjoyed her night and had been able to just relax. For a thousand years, she was locked away from her night and peace had been so far from her mind. The anger, bitterness, and resentment were still there as she walked on, but it was simmering in the back of her mind. For now, she could take a moment to relax.

There was work to be done, but the biggest threat was out of the way. As she walked out into the courtyard, she found her mind drifting back to how hollow her victory felt. It was wonderful to triumph over her sister, but it wasn't what she had hoped it would be. It was nothing like she had envisioned. But she still took pleasure in her victory and putting a stop to her sister's plans to stop her. And, of course, she could take pleasure in knowing Equestria would be hers in the next several dozen hours after word had spread and she had established her rule.

And perhaps she would have a student of her own.

Nightmare slowed and pursed her lips. 'Were it one thousand years ago, the idea of me taking a student would have made me laugh at the absurdity...' she mused. 'But now, I look forward to that prospect and I'm already used to the idea... interesting.' She spread her wings, then kicked off and launched herself into the air. With powerful beats of her wings, she ascended far above the castle's ruined towers and the tree canopy, flying towards Canterlot.

Feeling the chill of the night wind against her black coat brought a genuine smile to her lips. She closed her eyes and flew by instinct. She felt the subtle shifts in the air currents, she felt the air pressure, and she felt the faint humidity on the air. But more than that, she felt the night- her night. In the soft moonlight, she felt so alive and refreshed!

For a time, she flew freely towards Canterlot, ignoring the unextinguishable inferno of hatred for her sister, letting her mind wander freely. Even uncontrolled, her thoughts kept drifting back to her sister's student. Her thoughts weren't of ire, but of curiosity. Who was this Twilight Sparkle?

However, once she flew beyond the range of the Everfree Forest, she took control of her thoughts once more. Her anger and bitterness returned to the forefront of her mind. Canterlot stood on the side of the mountain in the distance like a jewel. But no, not just any jewel- it was the jewel of her sister's crown. The seat of her sister's power.

It was a shame that she needed someplace to stay and use as her capital while she had her home rebuilt, but how fortunate her sister left her a place that would suffice.

Now that her fury had returned, her flight no longer felt so relaxing nor calming. So rather than simply waste her time flying the rest of the way to the grand city in a futile attempt to gain some pleasure from it, she lit her horn and teleported high above the city.

As she appeared in a flash of dark blue light, she cast her gaze down and surveyed the city. In the moon's soft glow, the city was beautiful and far grander than she had expected. Truly, the city of Canterlot was one that proudly displayed wealth- it stood as a beacon on a mountain, befitting a princess or even a Queen like herself. The City was built upon stone platforms of some kind, in several large circles. She could feel magic and enchantments radiating off of the city's foundation- the city wasn't just built on a mountain for looks, it was built to last, survive, and thrive.

The countless buildings were all massive- perhaps nearly every structure could have been described as a mansion, although Nightmare was sure that the city's population meant that a good portion of the buildings were residencies for multiple families. Everything appeared to be constructed of marble and gold, which definitely rang of her sister's doing; she would have chosen silver over gold. The largest structures dominated the central, highest-up platform: the palace. Calling it a castle simply did not do it justice, it was extravagant. Going outward from the palace at the city's center, the structures gradually grew smaller and shorter, but they were still just as extravagant as everything else in the city.

Even with the city jutting out from the mountain, it was walled, and the walls were formidable- easily six ponies could stand shoulder to shoulder on tops of the walls, although they were only as tall as the roofs of the smaller one-story structures. And oh, there wasn't just one wall surrounding the outermost parts of the city's platforms. There was the outer wall surrounding the entire city, and then there was an inner wall protecting the central platform that housed the palace. Aided by how raised the central platform was above the other surrounding platforms, the wall reached to the tops of the multistory mansions nearby and then stood higher still, granting no vantage point to rain spells nor arrows down upon the defenders.

Truly, this city conveyed power, and Nightmare beheld in her eyes a great power. Building a city so grand would have been a monumental feat, and her sister had pulled it off in her absence. 'What else did you accomplish while I was gone, sister..?' the thought came without anger, but with a genuine curiosity.

While it wouldn't have taken long to rebuild her home, she knew that the effort she would need to make to turn her home into something so formidable and striking as this city would take much longer. And even then, she would only have her home, her castle- she wouldn't have a grand city like this.

And she was unsure how protected her home would be compared to Canterlot. The city was, after all, on the side of a mountain. Looking around, she found that she could see only one path that an army could have taken to attack the city- and it led to the main gate of the outer walls. The path twisted up a long path all the way up the mountain; any invading army would have to climb a great distance, giving the defenders another advantage.

In comparison, her home would have the short ravine and then the Everfree Forest. She did not discount the Everfree Forest- so many creatures called that forest their home. Creatures that could turn a pony to stone just by looking at them, creatures that could swallow a pony in one bite. It was a good defense, and anypony trying to send an army through the Everfree had to be insane, but it was still doable.

However, her home also had one advantage Canterlot didn't. Very few ponies knew about the existence of her home, apparently. Perhaps she could keep it that way- rather than making her old castle her capital, she could keep it as her home, her retreat, with only a few dozen guards and servants. Perhaps it could be a place of solitude for her, where she could relax, but also where she would be safe should the need arise. She could weave her magic into the castle, so much magic that nopony could have a hope of destroying the castle, nor stealing what she hid away there.

Keeping Canterlot as her capital, then, seemed to be the best course of action. Her sister truly would let her have no victories. Nightmare scowled.

Briefly, she wondered if her pegasus messenger had arrived yet. She cast her gaze towards the walls in turn, then examined the palace. There seemed to be activity, but even with the moonlight illuminating the city, she was simply too far above to make it out. She angled her wings, then slowly descended towards the central platform and the palace it held.

Silently, she glided through the night air. No sentries raised any cries of alarm, despite her expectations. No pegasi guards flew up to intercept her, as she had prepared for. But finally, as the moon cast her shadow over the courtyard, the guards reacted. Calls rang out, soldiers stopped and looked up to behold Nightmare's terrifying visage.

She landed gracefully, with her hind hooves clicking against the stone before her front hooves. The instant she touched down, she flared her wings out wider and swept her gaze around, letting her slit-pupils take in the forms of the guards gathering around her.

Everypony wore the same accursed golden armor that the rest of the guards she had encountered wore- it simply wouldn't do, one of the first things she would have to decree was a change in color- silver would be much more fitting a color for her guards under her reign. As an added benefit, the darker color would stand out less than gold. It would blend in better with her night.

After the armor, the next thing she noticed was that there seemed to be only a few coat and mane colors present in the gathered stallions- white coats and tan coats, and then bright blue manes. Upon closer inspection, she could fell a subtle magic at work coming from their armor. 'An illusion spell,' she realized, 'to keep them looking similar, so they appear as one imposing force. Clever.' There were far more white-coated stallions than tan coated stallions, leading her to ponder if it was some indicator or rank.

Next, she noticed that the guards gathered around her were disproportionately unicorns, then pegasi, with the minority by far being earth ponies. She pondered why this would be, but there were a dozen possible answers, and she didn't know which one was the real reason, or if it was some reason she hadn't considered.

But of course, even with their far greater numbers than her, her form struck fear into them. Their legs trembled, but they were more sure of themselves than the pegasi guards she had encountered before. Not that their numbers mattered- if they stood up to her, she could crush them in an instant.

Nightmare smiled at them and let her eyes continued to wonder over them, stopping to rest her gaze on each soldier for a brief moment before going onto the next one. Taking in their reaction to her sharp teeth was oh-so-priceless, and even with a herd of them present to protect one another, they still simply couldn't fight off that natural feeling of fear she invoked- after all, ponies were prey. And she? She was the predator.

"Since none of you have attacked me, I am going to presume you will not attack me. Good, you value your lives," Nightmare acknowledged harshly. The guards stood their ground, neither rising to challenge her, not backing down, but their fear lingered. "Then I will make this simple. I am Nightmare Moon; Princess Celestia ordered you to surrender to me and obey my command. She is my prisoner, and you will never see her precious sun again. Equestria is mine. Spread the word, but I must speak with the 'Captain of the Guard.' Challenge me at your own peril." Issuing her challenge, she matched the gaze of any and every pony who looked at her with the slightest hint of resistance.

But it seemed it was unnecessary. A sense of dread and hopeless acceptance rolled through the group, accompanied by grimaces, shock, or glares at her. It seemed the pagasus hadn't lied; they did have some form of order to stand down when faced by her.

"You... wished to speak with the Captain of the Guard?" one soldier reluctantly queried.

Nightmare's gaze fell on him. "Yes."

"Come with me-"

"That's no way to speak to your Queen," Nightmare hissed.

The guard winced and shifted his weight. "Y-yes, my... Queen..." he said hesitantly. Though Nightmare could see the disdain, perhaps even disgust, with which he said it, she didn't bring it up. "Please follow me, your majesty..." he said through clenched teeth.

But at that resistance, Nightmare couldn't help but smile in amusement. It was so forced that it was as obvious as the scarring on her moon that he held no love for her, nor any respect. He was an ignorant foal. Perhaps the horn on his head was getting to him.

"Perhaps," Nightmare started, making the guard come to a stop and look back at her, "you would be more useful as an example, since you refuse to respect me." She leaned her head forward threateningly, then took a step forward. The rest of the guards backed off. The target of her ire, however, swiveled around and lit his horn. "Let me make myself perfectly clear. I am not a patient Queen. Your princess is my captive- I defeated her." She looked around at each individual guard once again. Several of them, disproportionately the tan ones, were starting to sweat, and had gone rigid. Slowly, she leveled her gaze back on the impudent foal. The glow around his horn had vanished. "And none of you could stand a chance against me. You will serve me- standing orders or not, or things will not be pleasant."

And it wasn't an idle threat. Oh, no. It was a threat that once made, she had to follow through on if she wanted anypony to take her seriously. It was a threat she would follow up on. She would follow up on it gladly. These ponies? They were expendable. They were replaceable. Did they have families? Did they think that would make her stop? Perhaps it would give her a moment's pause if they were parents, but they had made their choices.

Nightmare jerked her head at an angle and smiled wildly. "DO I make myself clear?" she demanded.

The guard- along with the rest of the soldiers present- all hastily nodded in affirmation. "Y-yes, y-your m-majesty!"

"Good," Nightmare growled. She lifted her head back and took in a deep breath. "Now, take me to this Captain of the Guard. The rest of you? Spread the word and then return to your posts," she hissed.

The guards all galloped off without a bow or even a word- except for the lone guard with whom she had tasked to bring her to the captain of the guard. Now alone, without his comrades, he went rigid with terror.

Nightmare strode towards him. "Do not keep me waiting!" she ordered.

In an odd mixture of rigidity and trembling, the guard turned around in a mechanical motion, then took off towards the castle's massive doors at a brisk trot. He lost his composure the moment he started, barely managing to maintain any semblance of training and professionalism as he visibly forced himself not to break out running.

Nightmare sneered at the pathetic excuse for a soldier. She enjoyed striking fear into her enemies hearts, but with these ponies? She just couldn't enjoy it- she didn't have to put any effort into it. It agitated her. Regardless, she followed after him. Two unicorns stood guard at the castle's door, and at their approach, they watched her unsurely, cautiously. But they had certainly seen her display, and so they opened the door for her, pushing each side inward so that the door parted in the middle.

Like the exterior of the palace, the interior was extravagant- built of marble, a royal red carpet stretching out along the length of the room with two arms leading to two doors to other rooms. In a wasteful display of abundance, the carpeted walkway was lined with gold. Completing the long, open room, were massive marble pillars stretching up to the two-story high ceiling. The pillars alternated between a tapestry hanging from them and a magical light that weakly illuminated the room, maintaining the feeling of night, but enabling the guards see well enough to navigate without stumbling. The magical lights caused a multitude of shadows to extend outward from the pillars and gave the guards several shadows in diverging angles. 'And this,' Nightmare thought, 'is just the entrance.'

The guard trotted on inside. Nightmare followed behind him. As she walked inside, she cast her gaze at the marble columns and the tapestries that hung from them. There were tapestries depicting what she presumed to be the flag of Equestria, Celestia with a sky-blue backdrop, and, to her surprise, a depiction of Celestia and Luna, Sun and Moon, chasing one another in the day-night cycle that she knew had been the flag of Equestria.

She stared at that tapestry. She'd be damned if she didn't try to stop herself, but she just couldn't stop staring at it. The fact that such a tapestry existed, along with how so few ponies recognized or remembered her, and the fact that said tapestry was on full display, left her bewildered. She didn't know what to think of it. It made her angry. It made her sad. It made her feel betrayed. It made her feel numb.

Eventually, she walked passed the tapestry. She craned her head back to continue to stare at it, guards watching her be damned. She'd stare at that tapestry if she wanted to, if they wanted to judge her as strange for that, they could go to Tartarus.

Finally, after a few more steps and her neck started hurting, she looked back ahead, but her bewilderment persisted. 'Why do you have such a tapestry!?' her mind immediately demanded. 'Why does that still exist!? Do you continue to insult me even from your prison!?' It made her blood boil.

Her soured mood seeped out into her expression, she could feel the corners of her lips pulled back in rage and disgust. The guard she followed didn't notice since his back was to her, but the two unicorns guarding the next door were in duress at her approach. Trembling as they were, she was shocked she didn't hear the rattle of their armor.

Even despite their duress- or perhaps spurred on by it and wanting Nightmare to pass by them as quickly as possible and with a minimum scrutiny, they pushed open next door, which once again parted at the middle. The room beyond was square in shape, large and open, and judging from how grandiose the door to the next room was- inlaid with golden swirls and edges- it was meant to hold ponies while they waited for an audience with Princess Celestia.

Except soon, it would be Queen Nightmare Moon, rather than Princess Celestia.

Nightmare smiled threateningly in delight at the prospect.

Yet, the design of the castle also made her scowl. The entrance, then a waiting room, then, if her assumption was correct, the Throne Room. All in a straight line. No mazes, no alcoves for traps or soldiers, a simple straight line from the entrance right to the Throne Room.

It reeked of tactical stupidity. Her lips curled in disgust, baring her sharp teeth. Celestia truly was an idiot. In fact, her stupidity clearly knew no bounds. Her display when she returned, her whispering of her student, placing all of her plans on her student, and then having her castle designed so poorly? Truly, there was no doubt in Nightmare Moon's mind about this fact.

And it was a perfectly good palace, too, albeit far too extravagant and filled with too atrocious a color scheme, but it was all ruined simply by the ease at which intruders could reach the Throne Room. But that wasn't to say it couldn't be salvaged. Already, a few thoughts wandered through her mind as her hooves carried her over to the next set of doors.

As she neared the next set of doors, the two guards- once again unicorns- tensed up, rather than trembled. 'Perhaps they actually have a backbone,' Nightmare thought, 'unlike everypony else who has the audacity to call themselves a Royal Guard.' But despite their apparent bravery, one quick glance from Nightmare Moon's serpentine eyes was enough to make them shift their weight in a quick, nervous jump.

But that didn't stop them from doing their job. Either they knew what was expected of them- and not to ask questions- or they were too afraid of Nightmare Moon's form to put up any resistance. Nightmare wasn't sure which thought she preferred.

The door parted inward in the middle, revealing a large, vaulted room with a red carpet going right down the middle, leading to a set of stairs for a large, circular platform, which had two thrones. Nightmare stopped, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the thrones. One was larger and golden, the other was smaller and made of silver- more akin to suit Luna than herself.

Her teeth bared in anger at that. Had she been a dragon, her enraged snort would have engulfed the room in flames. 'You impudent foal! Luna is dead!' screamed out in her head. Every fiber of her being demanded she teleport straight to the moon and skew Celestia on her horn. Again, and again, and to throw lance after lance of magic through the length of her body. Her mane and tail rippled behind her in a furious storm, her magic begging for release on something- anything. Her legs trembled, but hard as it was, she held herself in check against her enraged desire.

Even though the thought did cross her mind, 'It would be good to set an example for these foals to know my wrath!'

But it would not do to destroy the palace, nor Canterlot. There was too much value there that she could use and twist against her sister. Oh, how wonderfully sweet she could imagine that honey being- twisting Celestia's precious capital to her own will and bidding, making it her own, and using Celestia's seat of power as her own, fully displaying her dear sister's failures and holding them over her to torture her with them.

However, while she held her magic in check, her rage showed through, and the temperature of the room suffered for it, almost feeling a few degrees cooler. And the guards? They all certainly noticed it- they trembled, regarding her with weary, watchful expressions- haunted expressions- all of them ready to bolt as fast as they could in a moment's notice.

Not that it would have helped them any.

Nightmare took a moment to let her rage permeate the room, filling everypony present with dread. While the moment lasted, she slowly swept her head around in a manner that conveyed power and supremacy, pausing a second every time her gaze fell on anypony- and during that second, she made it clear who was in charge- before her gaze finally settled on one stallion flanked by two unicorns holding spears.

Unlike the rest of the guards she had encountered, he displayed a sense of pride and confidence. Alongside this, his armor stood out- rather than the eye-sickening golden armor, it was colored purple with golden edges. What drew more of her interest, however, was the six-pointed pink star emblazoned on his chestplate. Oh, she would recognize that anywhere, and her thoughts immediately drifted back to one Twilight Sparkle, then followed by the Element of Magic.

"Nightmare Moon," he acknowledged, his voice almost grave in tone.

Nightmare smiled pleasantly and took a few steps forward. "You know who I am. Then I am to presume you are this 'Captain of the Guard'?"

"Yes..." he all but growled under his voice. "We have orders to-"

"To surrender to me and obey my command," Nightmare said succinctly. Her smile grew, but twisted- rather than pleasant, it became mocking, a smirk, as if twisting a heated knife inside his chest.

He didn't immediately answer. Slowly, his head drifted left, then right, his jaw muscles visibly straining under his coat. "Yes..." he finally admitted. "I don't know why or how or-"

"Be silent," Nightmare ordered swiftly. The Captain went silent, as ordered. Nightmare took a few long, drawn-out steps towards him, only stopping when she was but a few steps away from him. "You're going to ask about the night, and you're going to ask about your precious Princess of the Sun," she hissed. "Perhaps my messenger wasn't clear enough," she growled, "so allow me to explain: Celestia is my prisoner," she stated. One step forward. "Nopony will ever see the accursed sun rise again," she spat, "instead, my beloved night will envelop Equestria for all time!" Another step and she leaned her head down closer to his height. "Equestria is mine. You and the guard are mine. You will obey my commands and respect me, or I will kill you. Understood? I am Queen now!" One last step to punctuate her declaration, bringing herself nearly nose to nose with the guard.

He stood resolutely, but only just. For a few seconds, he managed to match her gaze, but eventually, the weight of the situation seemed to sink in. Either because of Princess Celestia's standing orders, or because of fear, he backed down, then slowly fell into a bow- it wasn't quite respectful, but it would do, for the time being. "Yes, my... Queen."

Nightmare felt bitter at that, the words were spoken with such sarcasm and absolutely no love nor respect. Any semblance of a smile left her expression, and she glared at this insolent unicorn as she lifted her head back up to her full height. "You are replaceable, you know," she growled.

He wasn't phased by her threat.

It was obvious that he wasn't happy with this change in authority, but he had no say in it, so it did not matter. Perhaps in time, he would grow to respect her. Or, perhaps he would be a constant thorn in her side, destined for replacement at best. Regardless, he still had his uses- at least for the moment. "I have questions," Nightmare stated, "and you will answer them."

Slowly, he rose from his forced bow. "Yes?"

It wasn't respectful, but he held back his disrespectful, mocking tone. He was arrogant, or perhaps just in distress from her presence and declaration. Perhaps a display of power would have been a good choice, after all, there wasn't anything any of them could do to stop her, or even offer much in terms of resistance. But there were other options available besides such a display, and while she would welcome being able to vent, killing the guards would be a complete waste of time and resources, to say nothing of how it would affect morale, possibly cause rebellions, and make it harder to create an army to serve her.

Perhaps, then, Celestia continued to make things difficult for her even still, despite the 'standing order' she left.

"It would do you well, Captain," Nightmare started, "to remember that your beloved princess is my prisoner," she stated emphatically. Tilting her head to the side, she smiled wickedly, enjoying the display of uncertainty offered by the stallion at her reminder. "And, of course, that means that I can make things easy for her," she offered in a honeyed voice. And just as quickly, her expression darkened with hatred and rage, "Or I can make every single second of her existence an unending nightmare," she growled. Quickly, she tilted her head to the other side. "Which will it be, Captain?"

The stallion shifted his weight on his hooves uncomfortably. Gradually, he looked away from Nightmare Moon. "Forgive me, your majesty," he relented, his tone much more neutral than before- resignation.

"Wise choice," Nightmare acknowledged.

Still avoiding looking back at Nightmare, the guard asked, "What questions do you ask of me, your majesty?"

Satisfied at his resignation, though not fully pleasured by it, some of Nightmare's anger cooled. "I have been mostly out of touch with Equestria and the world for a thousand years, and I would very much like to know what has happened in my absence."

He nodded hesitantly. "I'll have some history books brought to... your..." he trailed off unsurely.

"You will escort me to Celestia's chambers; I claim them as my own," Nightmare answered.

He winced at that, and for a few seconds, Nightmare watched a conflict play out over his features, then settle back down into resignation. "Of course," he answered.

"I will also need to know the state of Equestria- law, politics, military, and the like. Cities, populations... I need to know my Empire," Nightmare stated, drawing a terse nod from the Captain. "And I, of course, need my rule established, and you- and the Royal Guard- will help with that. I want everypony to know of my return, and that I am now Queen. You will obey my commands and enforce my laws." A hesitant nod from the Captain this time. "I will also need to know the state of the world and world affairs if I am to make Equestria my own and deal with potential threats."

Pausing, Nightmare licked her lips. "But I suppose that can wait. I am, however, much more interested in this third princess I've heard about. A Princess Cadance, I believe?"

The Captain went rigid the instant he heard that name spoken. His gaze focused straight ahead at Nightmare's chestplate, and the crescent moon emblazoned on it. A few seconds passed without answer. Nightmare scrutinized him, but it did not take long for her to feel his quickening pulse with her magic. Another few seconds passed in silence before he seemed to recover. "Ca-Cadan..." he trailed off, eyes widening. "P-Princess Cadance?" he quickly corrected, though the damage was done.

Tilting her head, Nightmare sized up the guard before her as a predator looking over her prey. "You know this 'Princess Cadance' personally," she acknowledged sweetly. Smiling, she showed off her sharp, intimidating teeth and fangs.

He squeaked. The stallion actually squeaked. He took a step back. The rest of the guards, for their part, ignored that. Nightmare, however, was left bewildered at his reaction. "C-Cadance... w-why do you want to know about Princess Cadance?" he asked quickly.

Nightmare's expression went flat. "I am Queen now, I will not tolerate any challenges to my rule," she growled. The guard shrank back further. Incredible! Threatening Celestia made him back down, but threatening Cadance? That scared him. "You love her," she ventured.

His eyes darted right, then left, quickly as they could, before settling back on Nightmare's chestplate. He did his best to avoid her gaze.

Nightmare casually scanned the room, eyeing the guards, searching for anypony who she may have missed before or who looked out of place. Sadly, it seemed the princess was nowhere to be found, although it looked like one of the guards had left while she wasn't watching. That knowledge made her cautious, but even with that, her eyes once more came to rest on the stallion before her.

"P-Princess Cadance isn't a threat to you," he said quickly.

"I will be the judge of that," Nightmare retorted. "Tell me about her," she demanded.

He hesitated, his head slowly gravitating to his right side until his gaze came to stop on the wall. A battle played out across his features. Would telling Nightmare help to protect Cadance? Would telling Nightmare about her betray Cadance? Was he willing to betray the mare he loved? Would not telling Nightmare about Cadance be disobeying Celestia's orders?

So many possibilities, Nightmare wasn't sure which ones were his thoughts, be she could see his conflict. But even that eventually collapsed with resignation, the way a general would recognize a complete, total defeat, with nothing to be salvaged from it, nothing to be gained from continuing to fight- not even delaying the inevitable. "She's... the Princess of Love..." he ventured.

Nightmare's lips pulled back to show her teeth. "Another alicorn?" she demanded.

The captain tensed and looked up at her to meet her gaze. "Y-yes, but-"

'Another alicorn!?' screamed out in Nightmare's mind. Her rage knew no bounds. Celestia hadn't just imprisoned her, thrown her away, made everypony forget about her. Oh, no. Apparently, Celestia even replaced her, or at the very least, that damned mare she had once been. 'Couldn't handle the weight of your sins, dear sister!? So you decided to make another alicorn to replace me!?'

Her anger demanded venting, consequences be damned. She lifted her head towards the ceiling and let out a primal scream of rage, her throat hurt, and she could feel the reverberation of the scream bouncing off of the marble walls and ceiling. She screamed until she was hoarse, then let her head back down, twisted to her left, flared out her wings, batting the Captain hard enough to throw him to the floor. Bloodlusted, she threw her horn towards the two thrones on the platform.

Her arteries in her neck throbbing from her pounding heart, she shot a massive pillar of magic out of her horn at Celestia's accursed golden throne, then at the smaller silver throne beside it. The two beams impacted the thrones, releasing an earth-shattering crack, shredding the stone, pulverizing the chunks of rock into a fine dust, and throwing pebbles and molten metal away from the epicenter of the blast.

Her legs trembled, she panted. Where the thrones had stood was now but the rim of a crater.

It still wasn't enough. She bared her teeth in rage, reared up into the air, then slammed her armored hooves down into the marble with enough force to cause another earth-shattering crack that split the marble across the width of the room.

It just barely helped, yet she still trembled and panted from hatred. For a few seconds, she continued to face the ruined thrones, not caring about any potential attacks. Anypony stupid enough to attack her now that she was enraged would simply serve as a way for her to both vent and teach these foals a lesson. It took her a while to get her breathing under control, but she managed. Slowly, methodically, she lifted her head back up and calmly folded her wings to her sides. She turned back to the right to face the Captain, who was trembling uncontrollably, along with the guards that she saw peeking out from behind cover as she turned. The moment her eyes came anywhere near looking at them, those guards all disappeared completely behind whatever cover they hid behind.

In hindsight, Nightmare regretted that display, if only because it would take time to fix that damage and because most likely, there was no way the Captain would be any help to her now regarding this new alicorn. Or really any help at all now, until both of them had recovered.

She snorted in disdain, then turned away from the disheveled captain. She walked towards the doors with a hastened stride. She glanced at the guard on the right. "Take me to Celestia's chambers," she ordered.

The guard scurried away from the door. "Y-yes, your m-majesty," was his quick answer. "T-this way," he instructed, heading towards a door off to the left and back about ten paces from the crater she created.

Nightmare followed behind the guard. Casting her glance around as she walked by the crater, she eyed the recovering guards slowly coming out from their hiding places. "You have your orders! See to them. And get this mess cleaned up," she hissed. All at once, the guards scurried to their hooves.

Without wasting more time to ensure that the guards took to their new duties, she turned ahead and walked on. The guard who led her, was unsurprisingly, another unicorn, and he opened the door with a quick flourish of his magic. Without pausing or looking back, he continued on into the hallway beyond.

As she walked into the hallway, Nightmare was reminded of the entrance. The only thing missing was the plush red carpet, lined with gold. Instead, the floor was solid marble, stretching the length of the hallway. Both sides of the hallway were lined with tall pillars that supported the ceiling. Rather than bother scowling at the Celestia-themed decorations, she ignored them and focused on the journey ahead. At the end of the hallway, which probably extended a hundred paces, it came to a T, with another hallway to the left and right.

As she expected, the path to the right met with another hallway, the one from the door on the other side of the room. What she didn't expect, however, was that the decor shifted from solar-themed, to mixed, and then to lunar-themed going away from where she stood.

There was no doubt in her mind: Celestia was continuing to mock her, even now, locked away in the moon. 'Truly, you had one thousand years to plan, sister, and rather than focus on trying to stop me, you simply focused on insulting me.' She bared her teeth in disgust at the mockery and turned away from it to continue to follow the guard leading her to Celestia's chambers.

The journey took far longer than she expected. Even knowing the size of the palace, basing the location of her sister's chambers on her rather abhorrent tactical or defensive knowledge proved to be a mistake: while the throne room was vulnerable, getting her sister's chambers- her chambers, proved much more difficult. So many hallways, turns, and stairs, but she finally made it there.

She welcomed the change of pace, even if looking at the entrance to Celestia's chambers left her feeling sick. Emblazoned on the center of the door was her sister's cutie mark- one that certainly wouldn't do. It would have to be replaced, but it could wait, at least for a time.

The guard that led her there shifted his weight unsurely. Nightmare's eyes darted to him. "Return to your post," she spat.

The guard didn't need to be told twice, leaving Nightmare with the other two tense stallions who stood guard over Celestia's chambers. She gave each of them a passing glance as she opened the door with her magic. The room beyond the door wasn't anything like she had expected.

Rather than opening the door to find the entire room composed of gold, or that everything was inlaid with gold, and emblems of the sun everywhere, the room was almost bland. The floor was pristine white marble, the walls were marble, but painted shades of browns that invited anypony- even herself- into the room. The ceiling had golden swirls inlaid into it, but it wasn't overdone- it was simple and elegant. Directly across from the entrance was an aged, brown desk. Mahogany, at first glance.

A few books, scrolls, and quills, along with accompanying inkwells, occupied the desk. Lining the right side of the room was a bookshelf that hid the wall, and to the left, embedded in the wall was a fireplace. The room actually gave off a comforting, cozy feeling to her.

Walking inside, the atmosphere felt even more comforting. She felt like she could let her guard down and relax, but simply because of that, she kept her guard up. It wasn't that hard to recognize the effects of enchantments, but upon scrutinizing them, she was shocked to find not a single one engineered to be her death. There were protective spells in place, but none of them were designed to stop her. In fact, they'd work for her, even without modifications to them.

She shook the confusion off and closed the door behind her. On the left, breaking the bookshelf into two sections was an unassuming door. She walked towards it, then opened it. Inside was Celestia's bedroom, as evidenced by the large bed fit for a queen taking up the middle of the room. The frame reached up above the bed and thin, translucent blue curtains provided some semblance of isolation, although they were pulled back and tied together for the moment. The bedsheets were a soft, bluish-brown in the moonlight, while the pillows were a dark blue.

Turning her head to the left, she found that there was a door that opened up to a balcony. The door was left open, and she could feel a cool, gentle breeze blowing into the room. Diagonally across from the door to the study was another open door that led into a large, extravagant bathroom. Even without approaching it, she could see that the bath was large enough for at least a half-dozen ponies to bathe comfortably. Turning her eyes back towards the balcony, she looked out at the scarred face of her moon. The sight once again brought a scowl to her face, although perhaps it did not invoke her wrath as much as it had the first time she saw it.

Nightmare looked away from the moon and calmly walked over to the balcony door, then stepped outside. Canterlot was laid out before her, but it wasn't the focus. No, the focus was on the Equestrian heartland, bathed in the soft, beautiful light of her moon. She could even see that small town where the Summer Sun Celebration was being held, and beyond that, the Everfree Forest. Truly, at least she could take comfort in knowing that Celestia's features scarring her moon didn't detract from the beauty of the light it gave Equestria. Looking out at Equestria from Celestia's balcony and seeing the Equestrian heartland basked in the soft moonlight helped to alleviate her anger and rage.

It was a beautiful, peaceful view. The world looked so serene and mystical under her moon's light. Truly, how could anypony have been so foalish as to ignore this wonder? How could those ponies from so long ago have shunned this beauty!? Hidden inside during the wonderful night, only to experience the world under the sun's harsh light.

But at the same time, the view once again displayed Celestia's stupidity. The balcony was unguarded. Anypony, or anything, really, that could fly could come right up here and attack her in the night. Guards, save for pegasi, wouldn't be able to help, excepting those who could get through the doors, or unicorns who could cast spells from the courtyard.

But, then again, the room did have enchantments to deal with that. Still, it didn't sit well with her, although from an aesthetic standpoint, she most certainly found it pleasing.

After a few more seconds, she walked back inside and silently closed the door with her dark blue magic. Though she did wonder why the door was left open, it didn't matter. Instead, her thoughts drifted elsewhere. 'Another alicorn...'

At the thought, she clenched her jaw. There were so many possibilities now facing her. Now that she thought about it, she knew she shouldn't have let her anger get the best of her- she made a mistake that could cost her if this 'Princess Cadance' could capitalize on it.

'Was this your plan? Distract me with your student while Princess Cadance mobilizes?' she asked. No clear answer came to her. She simply couldn't understand it. Celestia would have sacrificed the Elements of Harmony- the greatest threat to her- if that was the case. Unless, of course, Princess Cadance was a bigger threat to her than the Elements. She found it hard to believe that any alicorn could be stronger than the Elements, although, from the potential that Twilight Sparkle had, she knew it was a slight possibility that during Celestia's one thousand years of planning, she could have found somepony with as much, if not more potential than Twilight Sparkle. And she would have had centuries to train and groom her for this battle.

But even if Princess Cadance was able to outmatch her, perhaps she still had an advantage. After all, Nightmare had seven prisoners. Prisoners who, if Princess Cadance failed, would be at Nightmare's mercy. And that, of course, was assuming she didn't immediately withdraw and pay her prisoners a visit- or bring them to her and force Princess Cadance's surrender.

Alternatively, if they fought in Canterlot, she could switch tactics to maximize casualties. After all, if this Princess Cadance was trained by Celestia, focusing on causing casualties would at least be a strong distraction, one that might give her the upper hoof. She would also have plenty of potential hostages.

Pushing the plan to the back of her mind, Nightmare looked around Celestia's bedchambers once again, searching for any books or documents of value. But the room was clean. There were no books nor documents lying about, at least in the bedroom.

Her gaze drifted towards the bathroom door, and despite knowing that she needed to prepare for the confrontation with an alicorn who could be on par with herself, she couldn't help but feel a strong pull towards the bath. It had been a thousand years since her last, and that desire to feel the warmth of a hot bath soaking into her coat and wings was absolutely irresistible. Being pampered sounded even better, but that would have to wait for a few nights until things had settled down from her return.

In truth, she didn't need a bath. She had kept herself clean with her magic, at least as best she could, but magic did nothing to simulate the feeling of warm water, nor did it truly wash away what her sister had done to her.

Nightmare sauntered into the bathroom, then closed the door behind her. The room really had far too much gold for her liking. Even the darkness didn't alleviate it, her eyes were too sharp. She lit her horn, then used her magic to illuminate the bathroom from a few orbs which glowed with a light akin to the light of the moon. It was a soft, dim lighting, but with her enhanced vision, it was as if it was a normal pony walking during her sister's accursed day. It was the perfect lighting for relaxing and enjoying a bath.

She sauntered over to the golden bathtub, then examined it until she identified the faucets, and with a quick spell from her magic, she turned on the water and heated it up as it filled the tub. For several minutes, she stared at the tub as it slowly filled with water, the gently babbling and splashing of the water the only sounds disrupting the silence.

Eventually, the tub filled with a vast pool of water. She could almost see steam rising from the surface, but the water wasn't nearly that hot. She turned off the flow, then picked up a forehoof to dip it into the water, only to pause and look down. Her boot was still on her hoof, as it had been for the past ten centuries. It was an odd feeling, having expected to feel the hot water on her bare hoof, but instead, only feeling the resistance of the water and the warmth radiating through the metal protecting her hoof. A few seconds passed with her starring at the cyan metal. 'You have accompanied me for so long...' she mused.

Nightmare glanced around quickly, then used her magic to take the metal boots off of her hooves. She shivered each time her bare hoof connected to the cold stone floor. After so long, she could hardly remember what it felt like to have solid ground, rather than metal, directly underhoof. The texture of the smooth marble was so incredibly rich, smooth and coarse and polished, but also so incredibly pleasant, compared to the harsh metal of her boot. Yet the pleasant, unfamiliar sensation still left her longing for her boots. They offered her hooves protection, while the air did not.

But, for the moment, at least, she could relax. She levitated her boots aside and then levitated the cyan helmet off her head, lifting it up until it rose above her horn. The cool night air brushing against her fur felt alien, once again not having felt the sensation for centuries, but it was a welcome feeling. She brought the helmet down in front of her and looked it over for a moment, then carefully set it down with her boots.

Next, her eyes fell on the dented, imperfect chestplate she wore. Try as she did, she simply couldn't find it in her to remove the chestplate. It felt like she would be betraying her oldest and closest companion to take it off now, so soon after it had been injured.

And she was not ready to take it off, either. Not yet. Even if she was alone, even if she was relatively safe, for the moment, that third alicorn still lurked somewhere, just beyond her reach. It simply wouldn't do for this 'Princess Cadance' to not only catch her bathing or off-guard, but also without any armor on.

So Nightmare left the chestplate on. She lifted her right forehoof, then dipped it into the surface of the warm water. A shiver of pleasure raced through her body from the feeling. Her lips pulled into a smile. Oh, how much she had missed this feeling.

Slowly, she stepped into the bath, then sank down into it. She closed her eyes as the warm water rolled over her back, rushing in between her feathers, and warming her coat. Water flowed in between the chestplate and her body, making her black fur soft as silk, sending shivers of delight throughout her body. The warmth permeated her body, enveloping her. It felt refreshing, inviting, and welcoming. After a thousand years, this was something that she deserved. It was a small taste of the plunder that her victory would give her.

She took a deep breath, then sank her head into the water, going down and down until at last, the tip of her horn was submerged. The silence was deafening, the warmth all-enveloping. She could feel her heartbeats pulsing through the water, pressing against her ears. The water wasn't fully able to touch the magic of her mane or tail, causing them to leave areas almost void of the water, but the water embraced everywhere else.

The way the water flowed around her made her think of the air and flying, except the water was thicker and denser, and carried with it a pleasant warmth the air could just never match. Only a few things could have made the soak more enjoyable- Celestia cowering before her, begging for mercy, not having to worry about another alicorn attempting to kill her, servants tending to her needs. 'Perhaps even Twilight Sparkle, my student, my servant,' she mused. It had a nice ring to it. Or perhaps, Twilight bathing with her while servants tended to both of their needs.

The thought was enough to make her mind wander back to thoughts of that unicorn. 'So much potential...' she thought with a shiver, despite the warmth. 'What did you have planned for her after you had her imprison me again or kill me?' Perhaps Twilight Sparkle would have remained her sister's student, forever a scholar. She shivered again. 'I should have asked the Captain about you,' she mused, 'and how to convince you to become my student.'

There was an unshakable appeal to Nightmare for her to be able to call Twilight Sparkle her student. Twilight Sparkle was dangerous, she had so much potential, and that potential drew her like a moth to a flame. A part of Nightmare wanted to see what would happen to that flame with the right encouragement and grooming, a more sadistic part of her wanted to see what would happen to that potential by forcing it out, even at the risk of it coming back to haunt her.

Perhaps taking Twilight Sparkle to be her student, rather than Celestia's student, would end up sending her back to the moon. As much as she didn't want to ponder it, it was still a risk. But the benefits still outweighed the risk, and her curiosity simply wouldn't give her the choice to withhold that offer.

But her mind was drawn elsewhere, and her thoughts sharpened. She had soaked long enough for now. There was work to be done, she could relax later, using her enemies as a hoofstool. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle would end up among them, or perhaps she would stand beside her throne.

She slowly lifted herself up above the surface of the water, calmly exhaled, then inhaled. Her vision darkened for a moment before slowly lightening again. Her heart pulsed more intently as oxygen returned to her body. She bared her teeth in disgust. 'Next time I should not stay under so long without a spell,' she noted.

Pushing the concern aside, she stood up, letting the water roll off of her body and splash into the rest of the bath, then stepped out onto the marble floor. Water continued to roll off of her body and drip onto the floor, and in place of the warm embrace of the water, the air sapped the warmth from her body. Almost immediately, a longing set in for the warmth she had lost, but she crushed it with an iron hoof. She lifted a wing and spared a brief glance back at her wet, slicked-down coat. Her black coat almost reflected the soft white light from the orbs, and her damp feathers dripped water onto the floor.

Rather than waste time waiting for herself to dry naturally, she lit her horn and washed over her body with her magic. In just a second, the dripping of water stopped and her fur dried. She cleaned up the pool of water beneath her, then emptied the tub. One at a time, she put her boots back on her hooves, and then, finally, she donned her helmet.

Though there were still so many problems and distractions ahead of her to deal with, she took solace in her bath. She felt much, much better now, but her despise for her dear sister wouldn't be quenched so easily. Not after everything she had done.

Opening the door, she strode back out into the bedroom; after all, it was her bedroom now. Looking around with disinterest, she found it exactly the way she had left it. A small part of her was disappointed by that, but nonetheless, she continued into Celestia's study. Pausing once she stepped into the room, she looked over at the desk, wondering if, perhaps, anything on the desk held more information about this Princess Cadance, or Twilight Sparkle and her sister's relationship with her.

Curiously, she approached the desk, then examined the items. She picked a few up with her magic, but nothing caught her interest for more than a second until she found an unsealed scroll. Unrolling it, she first found that it was addressed to her sister, 'Dear Princess Celestia.' She scowled at that, and would have put it down, or perhaps incinerated it, but there was an elegance to the writing, and the 'Dear' seemed out of place. Swiftly, she skimmed the scroll, finding it to be a letter, then finding mention of herself, Nightmare Moon, the Summer Sun Festival, one thousand years, and lastly and oh-so-perfectly, signed 'Your Most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.'

She did not immediately incinerate the letter. It held her attention. She wasn't sure what to make of this development, that her sister's student Twilight Sparkle was apparently her 'Most Faithful Student,' every word capitalized as if written with utmost importance. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'Twilight Sparkle is displaying arrogance. But if that were the case, would Celestia keep her around?' Based on Twilight's potential, she couldn't decide. She would need to learn more, perhaps find a letter addressed to Twilight from Celestia, to determine more.

It weighed heavily on her mind. On one hoof, the idea of convincing Twilight to become her student, perhaps even her 'Most Faithful Student', took on even more appeal. Being able to twist the dagger of turning Celestia's student into her own student inside of Celestia's chest was a wonderful thought. On the other hoof, if Twilight Sparkle was Celestia's 'Most Faithful Student', how could she ever trust her? For all she knew, Twilight Sparkle could lie to her, time and time again, all just for power and getting close to her for the opportunity to betray her and free Celestia.

Perhaps she would need to put Twilight Sparkle on a literal leash.

She smirked at that thought, then cast her amusement aside to read the letter in its entirety. But before she could start, a knock on the door interrupted her. She growled and slammed the scroll down onto the desk, not that it made a sound or did anything to vent her frustration.

With one swift motion, she swiveled around, then marched towards the door. Without coming to a stop, she nearly tore the door open. "What is-"

A scrawny pink alicorn stood in the doorway. Nightmare stopped. The pink alicorn winced and tensed up as she looked at Nightmare's visage. She even took an instinctive step back from the door. Nightmare found herself staring blankly at her. There was no question, it was an alicorn. Her pink wings had purple feathers, and her pink horn extended from her forehead. Her mane was a mixture of colors- pink, purple, and a pale yellow. And yet, this 'alicorn' was so scrawny. She stood maybe a head taller than average ponies. At first glance, there was no doubt in her mind that she wasn't a fighter. She was anything but a fighter. Her build was so light and slender, reminding her of what the captain had said: 'The Princess of Love.'

Lighting her horn, her magic only further confirmed it: this alicorn was a weak, pathetic excuse for an alicorn. She couldn't have been much more than two decades old, hardly a newborn compared to her or her sister.

Despite her fear and dread about meeting this 'Princess Cadance' and possibly facing an alicorn that was a greater threat to her than the Elements of Harmony, she had been looking forward to it, if only for the challenge. This? Her disappointment was so great that her wings went from firmly held at her sides to slack as if she was tired, or defeated.

'Is this all just some joke?' Nightmare wondered desperately. It was all too easy- her victory left nothing for her to take pride in. Celestia had surrendered, Nightmare had captured the Elements of Harmony and their bearers- which included Celestia's student- taken over the Royal Guard without much challenge, and now this pathetic excuse for an alicorn, the third princess had just shown up at her door, clearly posing no threat to her.

'Maybe,' she thought, 'your plan is simply to make this so empty that I just give up... it won't work.' Nightmare pressed her wings back to her side and inhaled deeply. "You're Princess Cadance, I presume?" she asked coldly.

The scrawny pink alicorn before her seemed to develop second thoughts about being here, but she still nodded. "Y-yes..." she answered meekly. Her voice was soft and sweet, almost musical, and so foal-like. "N-Nightmare Moon?" she questioned.

"Yes," Nightmare answered. "I am assuming that you're going to just surrender instead of fighting me, since you're clearly no true threat to me."

She hesitated.

Nightmare narrowed her eyes. "Or, of course, we can do things the hard way."

Princess Cadance still hesitated, but it only took a few seconds for her head to droop. "Celestia... sh-she... yes... just please, don't hurt anypony..." She caved oh-so-easily.

"I will make no promises; I will do what is in my best interest," Nightmare retorted. Princess Cadance looked up at her, panic in her eyes, and took a step back. "But luckily for you, right now, I have no desire to waste my time hurting ponies, so long as they stay out of my way and serve me."

"I... can't fight you..." Princess Cadance drawled.

'Just like Celestia...' Nightmare thought bitterly. "You're still a threat to me," Nightmare spoke, "but provided you're good, I will grant you mercy."

The young alicorn winced, shying back from her.

Nightmare's magic wrapped around Princess Cadance, binding her hooves in shackles, chaining them together, and binding her wings. A ring appeared around her horn, sealing off her slightly not insignificant pool of magic. Cadance trembled in fear and wilted, staring down at the floor beneath her hooves. Nightmare glanced at the two guards standing at either side of the door. "Take her to the dungeons," she spat.

Neither guard liked the order, but they both had enough sense to obey. Begrudgingly, they coaxed the princess to turn around, then flanked her and led her off.

Nightmare stood in the doorway for a few seconds longer, then retreated into her chambers, shut and locked the door, then sat down on her haunches. 'Why is this so easy? Is there nopony to challenge me!?' It was ridiculous. It was too easy, something had to be wrong. 'How could Equestria be so soft!?' her mind demanded.

But a thousand years had passed, and she had no answer for that question. Were things truly as simple as they appeared? Did Celestia really just give up without a fight? Or did she make mistakes somewhere along the way? Did she ruin her entire plan to the point that Nightmare won by default?

Nightmare Moon couldn't wrap her head around it. Her intelligent mind raged, crying out that something was wrong, but everything she knew simply told her that her sister had made a mistake.

But if her sister had made such a mistake, what did that mean? Did she plant her insults just in case she did fail, or did she intend, rather than imprisoning her on the moon again, to strip her of her power, then flaunt all of the so meticulously placed insults against her? Or had she intended to mock her while she was trapped until her student freed her?

She wanted to scream. She couldn't understand, she couldn't grasp it. It made no sense! The victory felt so pointless. Did she actually best Celestia, or did Celestia simply let her win? Was that her goal, just to let her win, in the hopes that somehow it would change things? But then, what about her student? Had she purposefully betrayed her by whispering of her? Had it been a slip-up? Did she plan for her student to get defeated, then later for her student to somehow escape and defeat her?

Nightmare bared her teeth and growled. With these thoughts, she felt her victory was moot. Inhaling sharply, she rose to her hooves, then strode into her bedroom. Ignoring her bed, she marched straight to the balcony. As soon as she cleared the doorway, she spread her wings. Without slowing down, she approached the railing, lifted one hoof after another to climb up onto it, then leaped forward.

As soon as gravity tugged her downward, she swept her wings downward, pushing herself back into the air. With a few more beats of her wings, she flew far above the courtyard below. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For several seconds, she held that breath. Rather than focus on the rage burning inside of her, or the insanity of her sister, she focused on her surroundings, what her senses told her.

The air was cool, pleasantly so. The combination of the city's height on the mountain, along with the lack of a sun to boil the air left it feeling so serene- rather than sapping her strength, it invigorated her, caressing her body and wings, flowing between her feathers and in between each hair of her coat. The cool helped to calm her rage, and gave her some semblance of peace, along with the sweet ecstasy of victory- no longer was she bound on the moon, she could spread her wings and soar, free from her accursed sister's shadow.

And yet, she still felt her dear sister's presence. On her moon, scarring its visage. Mocking her.

She opened her eyes, growling lowly. With a powerful flap of her wing, she ascended further into the air. 'Perhaps a walk would serve me better than a flight,' she mused. Reluctantly, she reangled her wings, then slowly and gracefully descended towards the ground. Without a sound, she glided through the night, nearly invisible, for she was in her element. Looking around, she found what appeared to be a garden on the castle's grounds. Without breaking her elegance, she banked and continued her downward glide, a specific destination in mind.

Silently, she landed on well-kempt grass growing from rich soil- the castle's garden seemed to be mostly natural, as if it was meant to help one forget about the fact that Canterlot was an artificial city, built on stone platforms extending out from a mountain. The palace rose up at her side, with the mountain rising up even farther far behind it, yet, with the hedges, flowers, and grass, she could almost mistake it for something truly natural that had been lovingly tended to by ponies who put their hearts and love into bringing out the garden's beauty.

Disregarding whether it was natural or artificial, the garden was beautiful. Only enhanced by the soft, pale moonlight, the garden was such a peaceful sight to behold. The hedges rose up, almost as if to direct one's walk, but never to impede it, while the grass offered bare hooves a reprieve from the hard, unforgiving stonework. Flowers lined the hedges, a vast assortment of reds, purples, and blues, but no white or yellow flowers were present. Roses crawled up the hedges, meticulously tended to, appearing completely natural, but lovingly worked so that they weren't wild and chaotic- the vines looked as if each was placed precisely with a specific meaning in mind. And everything from the flowers to the grass to the hedges had a certain soft beauty drawn out by the moon's light- a beauty that the sun could never bring out. The details seemed to blend together so richly and effortlessly, hiding any and all imperfections that the garden could possibly contain. The sun would only have drawn them out for full display.

Nightmare had to stop to admire all of this and more. The sound of gently trickling water filled the atmosphere, coming from fountains deeper within the garden. Truly, the sound was akin to that of a babbling stream one would find out in a forest. Gentle and peaceful- never once threatening anypony, offering life and a chance to rest.

The garden only truly missed trees. To her surprise, Nightmare found herself letting out a soft sigh. It had been a thousand years since she had the opportunity to admire anything close to this. A thousand years and then some. She could enjoy this, but only so much. The thoughts of her damned sister still lingered at the back of her mind, simmering. Even if for a moment she could dampen those flames, they were still there.

But maybe, that was what her sister wanted. Never to let her have any peace. She closed her eyes, then took a deep breath. For a few seconds, she just stood there, listening to the sound of the running water, feeling the gentle midnight breeze, smelling the soft, caressing aroma of the flowers.

She forced the thoughts of her sister out of her mind. She would never enjoy any peace if she let her sister constantly steal her pleasure. Opening her eyes, she slowly strolled forward, walking deeper into the garden. As she walked on, she found herself alone- no guards passed her by or stood at attention as she approached. A part of her frowned at this lapse in security, and yet, she still welcomed the chance to be alone. Another part of her smiled at this, after all, they must have been busy tending to her orders, which gave her this garden all alone.

It didn't take her long to come across one of the fountains. It was made of a rough, yet smooth stone, richly textured and aged, yet clean and well taken care of. The circular base had a pool of clear water in it, in which she could see the reflection of her moon, and the scarring of its surface, though constantly rippling. Water cascaded down from the top of the fountain, where there was a small pool in what almost looked like a stone flower that constantly overflowed, letting a constant, gentle trickle of water fell down into the pool below. Looking away from the fountain, she took in another statue: the graceful form of a unicorn mare standing on one hoof, her left hind leg outstretched behind her, falling in something of a bow with her two forehooves outstretched. Her mane seemed to roll from her head, gracefully clinging to her neck, while her tail seemed swept down and out, as if on the downward motion of a flick.

Though the statue looked nothing like her, Nightmare's mind wandered back to Twilight Sparkle. In the place of the statue, she could almost see Twilight Sparkle there. She shook the directionless thought from her mind, then sauntered deeper still into the garden. Every statue seemed unique in some way, though none of them truly held her interest. Each fountain was an elegant display of artwork, but they could never match the beauty of her night.

And look as she did, she never once found a single white or yellow flower. The colors of her sister were nowhere to be seen. It perplexed her, but it left her feeling almost content.

That feeling, however, was not meant to last. Deep within the heart of the garden, she beheld one statue so different from the others it made her come to an immediate stop. Her intense gaze fell on it, and her slitted pupils took in its form. Her spine tingled with caution and unease. It brought back memories, which, for the briefest instant, didn't draw hatred, but concern. Fear, even.

'Discord...' her mind growled.

Nightmare found herself hesitant to approach any closer to the statue. If Luna had hated that abomination, then her hatred for him was immeasurable. Discord was more than an existential threat to Equestria- to order itself, as chaos was his nature, and disorder his name. Before her sister and Luna had stopped him, he had turned Equestria inside out, upside down, and destroyed more societies and civilizations than she could list. He did it for fun, but not in a way Nightmare could respect.

It made her feel so incredibly hot and cold at the same time. She felt pins pricking nearly every single part of her body as she stared on.

But he was imprisoned in stone, still, even despite her thousand-year absence. Knowing he was still safely locked away did wonders for her, but in the back of her mind, and though she'd never admit it, seeing Discord- even imprisoned in stone- scared her. Even with all of her power, even with being able to bring Celestia to her knees, if she had chosen to fight, Discord would simply have to snap his talons to kill her or destroy Equestria, and then she would have nothing to rule over but a checkerboard of chaos.

For over a thousand years, she had forgotten about him, so consumed with her rage had she been, but seeing him now was a reminder of how things had been. Even with Equestria as hers, there were still existential threats out there that could pose a serious threat to her or her rule. Perhaps they would know better than to challenge her, but if they did, she would have to teach them to fear the night yet again.

But not Discord. Damned that she was to admit it, there would be no way for her to stop Discord if the bindings of harmony containing him failed. Her sister and Luna had been powerless to stop him together, and it had taken the Elements of Harmony to stop him. But the bindings of harmony containing him simply couldn't fail, right?

Except for the simple fact that her escape proved they could. And Discord? He was far, far more powerful than she was. She couldn't even begin to describe his magic potential. There simply weren't words befitting his power.

She could feel him watching her from inside the stone. She could practically feel him smiling. She could almost hear his insane, careless laughter, as clear and maddening as it had been so long ago.

But he had been careless. He wasn't concerned with anything except his own entertainment. He wasn't a tactician. He wasn't a strategist. He was even more naive than her sister. And he was the antithesis to Harmony, even more so than herself. Harmony would do everything in its power to keep him contained. That was a fact.

But, that did not mean she could simply ignore his existence. She needed a contingency plan in case something, however unlikely, did happen.

Originally I was planning not to publish anything today (12/1/18) because I still haven't finished the chapter I started on over a week ago... Or was it two weeks ago? I have been gaming way too much and I regret it.

However, I still have a lot of progress on that chapter, and it's almost finished. Furthermore, I do have several more chapters already finished, so I decided, "why not."

Twilight groaned, or at least she tried to. Instead, a barely audible rumble emanated from the back of her throat. Quiet as it was, a part of her was certain that even if she had been in a room designed to pick up and transmit such quiet sounds, nopony would have detected it, but she wasn't conscious of that thought. For a few seconds, she laid there, a sense of numbness and fogginess clouding everything- her entire existence felt in question. Did she exist? Could she feel anything? Could she think?

It took a few seconds for her mind to start working, but even when it did, it was sluggish. The first thing she became aware of was that something was missing. Her body felt off, it was like it didn't exist. It was numb. A few more seconds and her mind awoke enough to process her senses better. She felt cold. Every single part of her felt cold. Her limbs, her head, her body. Her coat, her core. All felt cold, sapped of warmth. But she wasn't shivering.

The ambient temperature felt no different from that of her body. Slowly, she inhaled. The air smelled old and moldy, so very, very different and wrong. She knew the smell of libraries and books by heart, and this was neither of those nor the smell of paper, nor the smell of ink. It just smelled stagnant. It wasn't comforting like the smell of a library, telling her of the countless volumes of tomes and books it held, and whispering the bliss of all of that knowledge and studying she could do, but it was tolerable.

Her body felt sore, and her back felt stiff. After a few seconds, she discerned that the bed beneath her was both colder and harder than she was used to. The texture was not that of fabric, either, but it reminded her of the stone foundation of Canterlot, but rougher. It somehow felt less pristine. There were cracks in the stone, along with both smooth and sharp pebbles underneath her body, pressing up into her coat and poking her skin. She surmised that she wasn't in bed, but laying on a stone floor.

A heavy drowsiness consumed her entire body, and yet, to her confusion, at the same time, an unusual rested feeling emanated from her core. The fogginess slowly drifted away as her conscious mind became more aware. She could make out the sounds of other ponies breathing, mixed in with huffs and some high-pitched, shortlived whining sounds. She tried to place the sounds, but nothing came to mind. It didn't sound like her tower, it didn't sound like the Royal Archives, it didn't sound like Princess Celestia's bedchambers.

A few more moments passed. The sense of drowsiness faded entirely, but she found that it had been replaced by something far more dastardly: laziness. Oh, what a cruel mistress laziness was. Sapping her strength and will to continue, whispering bliss of unneeded rest and sleep, all the while her precious studies called out to her.

She sighed, this time actually making a sound. Slowly, she cracked open her eyes. Everything was dimly lit, and she couldn't make out anything at first. A soft white lighting came into the room from somewhere outside of the room. The lighting cast shadows that seemed to stretch on forever across the floor, then rise up the wall. She could barely make out the edge of the shadow, and from it, she could discern ears and the general shape of somepony's head.

A cursory glance along the rest of the shadow revealed that it was of a pegasus, judging by the way the shadow puffed out slightly from its body below the shoulders. She could also confirm her suspicion: she had been indeed been sleeping on the floor. And it also explained why the floor felt so different from Canterlot. Rather than pristine, whitewashed stone, the stone was dull gray, cracked, and unkempt. There was a general pattern that revealed the floor was constructed of a multitude of smaller stones, rather than one large slab, but she hadn't noticed it while sleeping.

The wall opposite of her came into focus. Like the floor, it was a cold, unforgiving gray stone composed of many smaller blocks. She stared at it, recognition passing her by without a single clue coming to mind. Gently, she pulled her head to her neck and looked towards the source of the shadows.

Five ponies stood near an opening. It took her a few seconds to remember how she recognized the five ponies, but a slight smile crossed her lips, then her eyes jolted open as everything hit in full force. Princess Celestia not showing up, and in her place, Nightmare Moon. The very pony Princess Celestia had told her was just an old pony's tale. Running to the library in fear after Nightmare Moon had singled her out for knowing who she was. Rainbow Dash tackling her to the floor- she scowled at that. The trip through the forest with the five mares she had met yesterday. The Castle of the Two Sisters.

Finding the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon revealing herself. Her friends coming to her rescue, only for Nightmare Moon to take the Elements away and disable all five of them, then turn on her. And what did she do? For her part, all she did was stand there in shock. She didn't try to fight back. She didn't try to run.

Somewhere along the line, she had stopped breathing. Her chest was tight, and every muscle in her body was tensed. So many thoughts ran through her head. It was all just too much. How could she process this?

Nightmare Moon had captured her. The thought slammed into her like a brick wall, deflating her lungs further, and her chest refused to expand to let air back into her lungs. Seconds passed. She trembled in fear. An attempt to access her magic, but it was sealed away by Nightmare Moon.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to break down and cry. She needed to run. She needed to back up into the corner and hide from Nightmare Moon.

While fear assaulted her from every direction, the logical part of her mind still fought tirelessly. She recognized that she was no longer bound by Nightmare's magic. She could move her body. Her legs were all free. Her lungs burned.

Driven on by need, her chest relaxed, then she gasped for air. Spurred on by the oxygen, her muscles relaxed. A wave of darkness washed over her eyes, darkening the entire room. Even the source of light- a small white orb of magic- went dark. Curtains seemed to wave in front of her eyes as the light slowly came back.

She exhaled, then inhaled again. Swallowing, her eyes darted around the room. With the knowledge in mind that Nightmare Moon had captured them, she identified where she was. It was the only possible answer- a dungeon cell somewhere. It wasn't in Canterlot, either. She had seen those cells- from the outside, of course- and these were too poorly maintained to be in Canterlot.

A new sense of dread washed over her. 'I'm... not in Canterlot... where... am I?' she questioned. At the next thought, her mouth went dry, 'I tried to stop Nightmare Moon... s-she... captured Princess Celestia!'

What was going to happen to Princess Celestia? What was going to happen to her? What was going to happen to her friends? The mayor hadn't done anything more than speak up and Nightmare Moon had thrown her into the crowd. Her heart raced as panic once again ceased her. A cold, burning sensation welled up from her chest, expanding outward. Nightmare Moon said she could have killed Rainbow Dash.

'We stood up to her...'

Her lips trembled. 'We're going to die...' whispered in her mind. 'I-I'm going to die... P-Princess Celestia i-isn't going to s-save me...'

But that thought was absurd! It was Princess Celestia! There was no way she would let her down. She had to have hope. If Princess Celestia saw her giving up hope so easily, what would she say? She would be disappointed in her. She couldn't disappoint her mentor.

'She... lied to me...' emotionlessly filled her mind. At that thought, some of her anxiety and hope burnt out like a candle extinguished.

'She... wouldn't do that without a reason, right? She's... She's just protecting me. Yes! She'll... escape and... stop Nightmare Moon and... save me... save us...'

Try as she did to believe it, her gut still twisted at the thought, reminding her of that sense of wrongness permeating yesterday everytime she thought about Nightmare Moon.

And that sense of wrongness? It had been right. Princess Celestia lied to her about Nightmare Moon. Spike was right. There was no possible way Princess Celestia didn't know about Nightmare Moon. They were sisters. Princess Celestia lied to her. Princess Celestia wasn't there to protect her like she had promised, all those years ago.

So many questions raced through her mind at that. Chief among them was 'Spike!?' Looking around in a panicked haste, she searched the cell but found no trace of her baby dragon. The knot in her gut twisted more sharply and her chest tightened again.

"Twilight?" a soft, sweet voice called.

The knot relaxed. She would recognize that voice anywhere. She could hear the reaction from everypony else in the form of hooves scraping against the stone as they turned. Slowly, she looked back to meet them.

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, bending down close to her.

Was she alright? 'No! This can't be happening!' her frazzled mind wanted to shout. Instead, she immediately looked down at the stone floor. "I-I guess," she answered in a subdued tone. After a few more moments, the rest of the mares gathered around her. Hesitantly, she moved a foreleg, and finding it unhurt, she cautiously pushed herself into a sitting position.

And oh, how her back protested that movement. Her muscles were so stiff that she winced in agony. She barely managed to sit up, but she was grateful to be off of the cold stone floor. She swallowed and found her mouth dry. Looking around at the mares surrounding her, she found a mixture of worry, fear, annoyance in Rainbow's case, and concern for her well-being.

There were so many questions she needed answered, but which one to ask first? "How did Fluttershy wake up before me!?" came out without thought. She squinted at the pegasus unsurely.

Fluttershy squeaked and ducked back behind her mane, turning her head away from her. "I-I'm so-sorry, I don't know how. I just..."

Rainbow groaned at that.

"My guess would be because you're still a filly," was Applejack's answer.

Twilight swept her head around to look at her and opened her mouth, a retort already prepared, only to be wasted. Applejack looked at her solemnly. There was no malice, only a sort of remorse. She closed her mouth, although she still felt bitter about that. 'Fluttershy. Woke up before me. I can't believe this.' "What happened?" she asked next.

"Which part?" Rainbow asked sarcastically. "You mean where you just stood there instead of running?"

Twilight winced and looked away from them. "I... couldn't just leave you..." she whispered.

In response, Rainbow earned her a hoof to her chest from Applejack, making her grunt. Immediately, Rainbow glared at her. "What was that for!?" she demanded.

Applejack didn't answer. While Twilight stared at the floor, she could imagine the look Applejack was giving Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry," Rainbow eventually relented.

At that, Twilight hesitantly lifted her head back up. Briefly looking over everypony else, she found all of them were also free of the bindings Nightmare Moon had secured them in following their lackluster defense. She swallowed and licked her lips. Her mouth was still dry, but it helped her feel better, at least. Peering back behind them, she looked over the entrance to their cell. It was barred, and the metal bars shimmered with blue light. She winced at that, immediately recognizing Nightmare Moon's magic. "Why... aren't we all... chained up?" she hesitantly ventured.

"Nightmare Moon came by a few hours ago," Applejack answered. "Fluttershy wasn't awake then, but Nightmare just kinda stood there-"

"It was really creepy, she just glanced over us and then stared at you," Rainbow offered.

Twilight shifted her weight uncomfortably. Nightmare Moon had yet again singled her out.

Applejack gave Rainbow a flat look, then shook her head. Trying with her was simply impossible. "Anyway, she just kinda looked at you for a while and then I guess she got rid of the... uh... whatever they were."

"Magical bindings. I'm... not sure whether I'm surprised she got rid of those or not, but I am surprised we're not... in chains..." Twilight replied.

"Right..." Applejack drawled unsurely. "Well, after she got rid of those magical bindings, she just left without saying anything."

"That's not very helpful..." Twilight muttered.

"I'm sorry, but there really ain't much more to say than that," Applejack replied.

Twilight nodded slowly, then looked over each of them in turn, scrutinizing them for any injuries. "Are-are you all okay?" she asked.

Several nods and affirmative 'mhms' answered her reply, although not all of them were as energetic as the rest. Fluttershy was scared, and Pinkie didn't seem very happy. For some reason, Twilight found herself not liking Pinkie being sad- it was like it was contagious- despite the fact that her bubbly happiness really was just too much for her.

Rainbow shifted her weight, then looked off to the side at the floor, avoiding her gaze as she rubbed the back of her head with her forehoof. "Hey, uh... I'm sorry for... snapping at you. I uh..." she trailed off, slowly lifting her gaze back to look at Twilight. "Thanks for... not just leaving us." She put her forehoof back on the floor. "Although I still think you probably should have run-" Applejack elbowed her side- "or fought!" she quickly added, looking at Applejack with a defensive look.

Twilight shifted her weight and looked down at the floor. "I... really couldn't..." she whispered.

"What do you mean? Come on, you're the princess's student!" Rainbow retorted.

Twilight winced. "Y-yes, but... I-I don't know... that kind of magic!" she defended. "Princess Celestia never taught me that- and I-I never thought I'd need to know it..." she trailed off, slowly lifting her head to see just how badly the others looked at her.

But to her surprise, rather than casting harsh judgment on her, they all just looked at her with a solemn acceptance. "Otherwise I would have studied it..." she added. She bit her lip. Even if she had known combat magic, there was no way she would be able to do anything against Nightmare Moon. If Princess Celestia couldn't defeat her, what hope did she have? 'The Elements...' whispered in her mind.

She cringed at the memory that accompanied that. Nightmare Moon had acted so fast- she had stolen the Elements right before she could claim them, then did something with them that she couldn't stop. 'And... the Elements are the only way we could stop her...'

And that way? Now Nightmare Moon had it. Safe and secure, hidden somewhere she'd never find. Somewhere they'd never find. If Princess Celestia truly was defeated by Nightmare Moon, and Nightmare Moon had captured and imprisoned her, then there was absolutely nothing any of them, or anypony could do. It was hopeless.

Though she was well-rested, she found herself slouching. Gradually, her head lowered until her muzzle pointed straight down at her forehooves. "I-I'm never go-going to see P-Princess C-Celestia a-again, am I-I?" she whimpered. 'A-and w-we're a-all going to d-die...' she silently added.

A pair of warm hooves slid around her neck, then a warm, soft body pressed against her. "It'll be okay, Twilight," Pinkie spoke softly.

'No, it-it won't!' her mind screamed. She clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth. Princess Celestia was gone! Nightmare Moon had won.

Another pair of hooves wrapped around her, and one by one, the rest of them joined in. She leaned into their embrace. Hours ago, she never could have imagined being in this situation. She snorted and smiled. It was absolutely absurd! Her, of all ponies, being hugged by five 'friends' of hers. She didn't need friends, she just needed her studies, and Spike, and Princess Celestia.

Or did she need friends? Did she? Did she not? Princess Celestia had told her to meet some ponies. Maybe this was what she actually meant? To make some friends? But if that was the case, why didn't she say so? Because she would scoff at the idea?

Could she really call these ponies she had only known for a few hours her friends? Why would she need friends? She found that she enjoyed the hug, but she couldn't shake a growing numbness emanating out from her core. Accompanied by the numbness, a knot twisted in her gut. 'I-I should have run!' her mind hissed. 'Stupid! Why did I stay there! I could have escaped and... and figured out how to save Princess Celestia and stop Nightmare Moon!'

Why, oh why had she wasted everything on these five mares? She had only known them for a few hours. And she didn't even like any of them! And she had thrown away her only chance of stopping Nightmare Moon and saving Princess Celestia for them.

She wanted to cry.

She did cry, even though her eyes were clenched shut. She inhaled, and her body shook and shuddered. She couldn't stop it.

'Princess Celestia... I-I'm so sorry... I-I failed you...' rang out through her mind. And that was a gutwrenching thought. Her whole body seized up at that. 'I-I failed you...' How could this have happened? How could she have possibly failed her mentor, the very Princess of the Sun?

What was going to happen to her now? But maybe that wasn't important since her failure meant not that she would face punishment at Princess Celestia's decree but at the hooves of Nightmare Moon.

'Spike...' Oh, how she missed her number one assistant. She left him in the library alone, and now, who knew how long had passed? He was probably awake, terrified without her around. And she didn't even say goodbye to him.

The mares surrounding her seemed to sense her growing despair, and rather than push her away as she expected, they held her tighter, holding onto her to provide her with whatever sense of comfort they could. It reminded her of Princess Celestia, in a way, from so long ago, when she was a young filly. Even though it was just a memory, she wanted to blush at it- how she had fallen asleep laying beside the princess so many times, in the middle of her studies, but yet, every time, Princess Celestia wouldn't punish her- she'd just look at her with a kind, thoughtful smile. She was eternally grateful that she grew out of that phase.

Though the memories were embarrassing, she could smile at it, at least until another memory played through her mind. 'But it would be best if you put this silly Nightmare Moon nonsense behind you. You don't need to worry about that, Twilight. It's just an old pony's tale.'

And oh, how that thought hurt her to her core. Written in her mentor's delicate, sweet hornwriting, the lie was told the same way it would have been if she had been praising her accomplishment. She believed Princess Celestia had told her the truth. Maybe a part of her knew she hadn't, after all, she never could shake the feeling that something was wrong.

What was she supposed to feel at that? Princess Celestia, her mentor, the very ruler of Equestria, the Princess of the Sun, had lied to her? It bothered her so much. Had she done it to protect her, as Applejack said? She had to believe that was the case, and if that was the case, maybe she hadn't failed Princess Celestia. Maybe Princess Celestia had underestimated Nightmare Moon? That had to be it!

But she still found herself questioning if that was the case. After all, Princess Celestia had banished Nightmare Moon before using the Elements of Harmony. Why hadn't she used them again? Was she on her way to reclaim them when Nightmare Moon ambushed her? Had she intended to stop her and fail? Was she Princess Celestia's backup plan?

A part of her, most usually associated with considering what Spike told her, was now saying that she was overthinking things. Most of her agreed with that assessment. There was so much she didn't know, so many questions she had that weren't answered. She couldn't lose faith in Princess Celestia.

She just needed to figure out how to escape, find the Elements of Harmony, and use them against Nightmare Moon and then free Princess Celestia!

But another thought occurred to her: 'Six Elements of Harmony... and there's six of us?'

The thought concerned her. Princess Celestia had wielded the Elements of Harmony on her own- although the text was vague, she was relatively certain of this. Had Princess Celestia intended for her to wield all six Elements of Harmony, assuming she intended for her to use them at all? Or had she intended for her and her five friends to wield them?

Doubt gnawed at her mind, but before she could venture any further with her thoughts, the forelegs embracing her loosened their grip on her. Slowly, they broke from the group hug.

"Are you sure you're doing alright, dear?" was Rarity's question.

Hesitantly, Twilight looked up at her. She couldn't meet her gaze. "No..." she answered honestly. Applejack would appreciate that, even if the rest of them didn't.

A heavy silence filled the air after that. Several seconds passed. As the seconds drew on, Twilight nibbled on her lip. None of the mares knew what to say, or maybe they did know what to say, but they didn't want to say it. After all, it wouldn't take a Twilight Sparkle to instantly realize they were in a bad position.

Eventually, Rarity cleared her throat- it almost sounded like she was coughing or gagging, which wouldn't have surprised Twilight, considering the disdain she had shown for dirt. And now she was in a dungeon that was the opposite of clean. "Erm... yes, well... Pardon me for asking, but... does anypony have a plan?"

"What kind of a plan?" was Rainbow's groaned, drawn-out response.

"One that gets us out of here," was Rarity's answer, "and preferably somewhere cleaner," was added under her breath.

Somepony snorted. It sounded like Applejack.

"What!? Do you have a better idea?" Rarity scoffed.

"No offense, Rarity, but we've got bigger problems than to fuss with our manes," Applejack retorted. "As I'm sure you've noticed, we're not exactly in Ponyville anymore. Nightmare Moon captured us. So maybe we should focus on something more important, like bustin' out of here!"

"I already tried," Rainbow huffed. "That door isn't opening! And the stone is stronger than it looks..."

"Maybe... Applejack could try?" Fluttershy suggested. Rainbow turned to look at her. Fluttershy immediate ducked her head back behind her long mane. "N-not that you didn't try... a-and um... n-not that you're not strong or anything, Rainbow. You're the strongest pegasus I know of... B-but Applejack is an earth pony!"

Rainbow tilted her head back and let out a long, pained groan. "Fine. Just get us out of here!" she barked. "I can't fly in here..." she muttered.

"Alright, stand back," Applejack called as she stood up and turned to face the bars.

Twilight stood up, then took a few steps back. While it wasn't much, it felt good to move and stretch her legs. The rest of the mares joined her, while Applejack looked up and down the cell door. After a few seconds, she turned around, pushed herself up onto her forelegs, cocked her hind legs back, then kicked out at the bars.

The bars didn't even rattle as Applejack's legs connected with them, although there was a solid, metallic thud, followed by a pained groan from Applejack as a wince raced across her expression. She seemed to bite her lip in an effort to hold something back, but after a few seconds, her expression relaxed, although a grimace lingered.

"Yeah that's not happening," was her hasty comment.

Rainbow groaned in annoyance, Rarity sighed in displeasure, and Pinkie and Fluttershy didn't audibly react.

Rather than watch Applejack walk to the back of the cell, Twilight lowered her head and looked down at her hooves. She shifted her weight and slumped down. "I doubt Nightmare Moon would make it easy for us to get out of here..." Resignation filled her quiet voice. Once again, she thought back to Princess Celestia and what she would think if she had heard that tone coming from her.

She could even picture the way she would look at her, frowning in disappointment. She wanted to cry again, but she swallowed it back and took a deep breath.

"You're Princess Celestia's student right?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight's eyes darted up to look at her and morphed into a glare. "I'm Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student," she corrected.

Rainbow squinted at her, slowly turned her head to the left and lifting her head ever so subtly. "Right..." she drawled. A moment passed as her chest inflated, then she exhaled. "Well, can't you do something!? Princess Celestia taught you. Surely you can figure out how to get us out of here?"

Rainbow didn't quite ask in a pleading manner, but it was a hopeful one. She didn't like being trapped down here in the small space, and she had turned to her for help, leadership, and answers. One by one, the rest of the mares looked at Twilight for the same help and leadership.

Although she was sitting down on her haunches, Twilight sat up a little straighter, nibbled on her lip, and glanced at each one of them, back and forth. They wanted her to lead them. And that? Oh, that made her nervous. That made her panic. She wasn't a leader. She was a student for pony's sake! She wasn't even an adult! And the adults were looking to her for leadership!

Undoubtedly, she knew these ponies were crazy! What sane mare would look to a filly to tell them how to escape the clutches of somepony who had just overthrown the princess that moved the sun? No, crazy didn't do it justice. These ponies weren't crazy. They were insane. There really was no other way to put it.

But then again, maybe it wasn't that insane since she was that princess's Most Faithful Student. Surely she had to know what to do in this sort of situation?

A few seconds passed as she thought about it.

Nope. Nothing came to mind. She had nothing. She wasn't a leader. She had never been in a position of leadership unless caring for Spike counted. 'And I probably didn't do a very good job at that...' she thought with a wince. After all, Spike was on his own, and he was a baby. So what if he was a dragon? That was just an unnecessary detail. He was a baby! Left on his own to fend for himself, and she hadn't even told him goodbye.

'Gee, I'm really emotionally stable today... tonight... aren't I?' the more sarcastic part of her noted. At that, she scowled and snorted. This was simply absurd. Yesterday had been so nice, too! The day had been beautiful, and excluding the insanity of the ponies she had to meet, it was almost nice to visit a new town!

Almost. If it hadn't been for the gut-twisting anxiety regarding Nightmare Moon, and the fact that she could have been studying.

'Oh... I'll... never get to study again, will I...?' The thought came softly and emotionlessly. It just sort of clicked for her: She was Nightmare Moon's prisoner. She was probably going to die. And that meant she wouldn't be able to study anymore. And she'd never get to impress Princess Celestia anymore.

The scowl faded. Slowly, she sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Uh... Twilight?" Applejack drawled.

She exhaled and opened her eyes. Quickly, she swallowed, then turned to face her. "Yes?"

"Uh... I know you're probably tired of being asked this, but are you doing okay?"

Twilight smiled. No, she beamed brightly at the earth pony. It really was such a silly question to ask. "Of course!" she answered cheerfully. Giggling to herself, she lowered her head. "I mean, it's not like we tried to stop the pony who defeated Princess Celestia, who ruled Equestria on her own for centuries- moving the sun and moon during that entire time- lost, got captured, and then imprisoned by her, right?" she asked. Looking back up at Applejack, she found that the earth pony looked unnerved. "I mean, this is just crazy! Princess Celestia's going to show up any second now..." she trailed off. A few seconds passed in an uneasy silence. "Any second..." she repeated in a hiss.

It wasn't any of the seconds they waited. Twilight sighed, then groaned and let herself fall forward onto the stone floor. It wasn't that pleasant, but she simply didn't have the will to protect herself from that. "No. I'm not okay, Applejack. Why, pray tell, would I be okay?"

"You know she's only been awake for a few minutes and I'm starting to worry about her," Rarity commented thoughtfully.

Twilight's eyes shot over to her and met her with a glare, which went completely ignored, as Rarity was facing Pinkie Pie.

"Right..." Applejack finally replied. "So, uh... do you have any ideas or plans?" she asked.

Twilight blinked, then rolled her head over so she could look at Applejack. Applejack looked back at her, watching her patiently. 'Right. I never actually replied to that, did I?' "No, I don't. My magic is sealed right now, so I can't really do anything. I'm... not particularly physically inclined, like you or... Rainbow Dash," she stated. "All I can really do is magic... although I don't know combat magic."

"You know, for the Princess's Student, I would have thought you'd..." As Twilight- and Applejack- glared at her, Rainbow went silent, then smiled nervously and forced a laugh. "Hehe... sorry."

'That pegasus...' Twilight groaned internally with a shake of her head. But still, did she have the right to think poorly of her? 'Yes, yes I do,' she affirmed. Even if she had risked her life to protect her. She frowned.

Now she just felt bad. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack had risked their lives to protect her and buy her time. And she really hadn't done anything useful.

In the distance, she heard a click. Her eyes jumped toward the cell door as her body tensed up. Another click, followed by another. Distant, but approaching. The sound of metal boots on stone.

Her gut twisted, and her chest tightened. Step after step, the sound grew in volume as somepony approached. A shiver raced down her spine. There was no doubt in her mind who it was, and it left her feeling panic. Her friends all picked up on the sound too. She wasn't alone in her trembling- Fluttershy joined her in that, and even stood close beside her. She halfway appreciated that since she wasn't alone, but also mostly didn't like it. She hastily pushed herself up into a sitting position, then she stood up.

More steps, each one louder than the last, coming in a methodical, lazy approach of somepony who had obtained victory and wanted to gloat about it.

Twilight's legs trembled. She gulped and stepped back until she felt the cold, rough stone against her haunches. Rarity grimaced and stood up. Applejack stood up and turned around, her expression one of annoyance. Rainbow was the only pony who actually seemed eager to turn around and face Nightmare Moon when she arrived. Rainbow even flared her wings out threateningly.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Wait... wasn't your wing hurt?"

Rainbow folded her wings, then extended them again before looking back at her. "Uh... yeah? It's okay now, though. I didn't break anything, it just hurt a lot." After that, she turned back around.

More hoofsteps. It seemed that while Rainbow and Applejack tried to put on a brave face, neither of them had completely forgotten about how Nightmare had stopped them with next to no effort, and they took steps back in fear, and so the group stood there together. But they were still defenseless, even if they weren't bound with magic or chains.

Through her fear, Twilight still noticed one thing in particular. Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity had put themselves between her, along with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and the entrance to the cell. They had placed themselves between her and Nightmare Moon. She smiled at that, even as her lips trembled.

The seconds seemed to draw out as Nightmare approached. While the air was cold, Twilight found spikes of ice seeming to radiate throughout her body. Waves of icy coldness washed over her body, spurred on by her fear. Her breathing became shallow and rigid, as her body refused to inhale any deeper because of the sheer panic gripping her.

And she hated it. The waiting was the worst part. It was unnerving. She knew it would bring Nightmare Moon, but there were still so many other questions the wait caused. At least if Nightmare Moon had been there, she could keep an eye on her, she could brace herself for Nightmare's magic. But she still didn't want to face that nightmare alicorn.

With an elegant, graceful stride, Nightmare's leg appeared in front of the cell door, followed behind by her body. Nightmare had already turned her head to look inside the cell. Her expression was flat, lacking any sign of anger or amusement, but her gaze was still intense. In her eyes, Twilight could see a deadly intellect and a look of curiosity, but both were hidden behind her external appearance.

At first glance, Twilight's body went rigid. Nightmare came to a stop, but that did nothing to stop the power radiating from her form. With a regality fitting Princess Celestia, she turned her body to face the cell. Her eyes wandered over the group for but a few seconds before they fell on Twilight.

And Twilight? She felt Nightmare's gaze land on her. The feeling was unavoidable. Panic spiked through her chest. She was being sized up by a predator, there was simply no other way to explain it. The fear she felt was a primal, instinctive fear. Ponies, long before society had come into being, had been prey, and the instincts caused by being prey had never truly left them. It took all of her willpower not to scream in utter terror as waves of ice washed over her body.

The air was hot compared to how she felt now that Nightmare looked at her.

Their eyes met. If her body had not been rigid before, now she could have been mistaken for a statue. She didn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. Her legs didn't tremble. It was as if her body thought that not moving would save her, or protect her, from Nightmare Moon. The fear she evoked was insurmountable, so much so that there was absolutely no way for her to move. Her body simply refused to respond. Had her life depended on her moving, she would have died before her body responded to her will.

Nightmare's slitted irises bore into her, and Twilight felt like Nightmare knew everything about her, like she knew her better than she knew herself. She had been a fool to think that she could do anything about the alicorn standing before her. While Princess Celestia radiated hope, joy, and warmth, Nightmare's very presence demanded fear and respect.

Nightmare licked her lips, momentarily showing off her sharp teeth and long fangs. Even as Twilight saw them, she was still frozen. She couldn't look away from Nightmare's teal, slitted eyes.

And yet, despite her terrifying visage, Twilight could find a certain beauty present. She was so different from Princess Celestia, but there was an undeniable regality to her. Her form was elegant and graceful, even in the cyan armor that she wore. It was a terrifying beauty. It demanded attention. 'How could ponies just ignore you and the night?' It was unfathomable.

For several seconds, their gaze lingered on each other, unblinkingly. Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity did their best to draw Nightmare's attention away from Twilight by moving forward, and in Rainbow's case, crouching down to prepare to launch an attack, but it did nothing. Nightmare continued to focus solely on her. Eventually, Twilight felt as if Nightmare's gaze had somehow softened. The icy coldness she felt didn't quite seem as cold before, and her racing heart could almost slow down.

Nightmare's eyes darted away from her and fell onto Rainbow, then Applejack. She looked at them dismissively.

Twilight silently expelled the stale air from her lungs, then inhaled as quietly as she could, fearing Nightmare's focus falling back on her. Her lungs cried out their thanks to her for the fresh supply of oxygen, but once again, a wave of blackness rolled over her vision. As the darkness cleared, curtains seemed to shimmer. When she could see again, Nightmare was looking over her, but the earlier feeling of panic wasn't quite so strong.

Rather than being sized up by a predator, the new gaze directed at her was one of more curiosity, as if it was a scholar examining a new specimen, wishing to unlock and learn its secrets. Her eyes subtly shifted as they rolled over her form, scrutinizing her coat, mane, tail, flank, and every aspect of Twilight's body that she could see. She felt as if Nightmare was judging her, but rather than as an executioner, as somepony trying to decide the best use for something or the best way to go about something. It unnerved her, but not to the extent that she first had. She couldn't quite place the feeling, either.

But given the interest and intellect Nightmare Moon displayed, she felt that maybe, just maybe, she was overreacting. Maybe she wasn't about to die. Maybe her friends wouldn't be killed. Maybe Nightmare Moon wasn't intent on taking over and then destroying Equestria out of revenge.

The logical part of her mind realized that Nightmare Moon destroying Equestria out of a desire for revenge didn't seem to fit what she knew about Nightmare Moon. Unless she had misjudged her. Nightmare Moon wanted ponies to enjoy her night, although that could have changed in a thousand years. In a thousand years, perhaps she had decided that revenge on those ponies who shunned her was a better course of action than bringing eternal night.

She chewed on her lip, despite knowing that those ponies were long gone. It was a shame she didn't just come back and ask nicely.

Nightmare's eyes shot back to meet her gaze as soon as she started chewing on her lip. Once again, she tensed up and froze. For a moment, Nightmare almost looked like she squinted at her as if pondering her reaction. She seemed to have some kind of internal debate, and when it settled, her gaze hardened.

"Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare acknowledged. The words came out sharp and threatening, yet at the same time, she spoke them as if she were testing the waters, feeling out the name to see how it rolled off of her tongue.

It sent a spike of fear through her chest. Had she not already been backed against the wall, she would have stepped back. As it was, her body started to tremble in fear. Nightmare Moon had addressed her. A surge of panic shot through her being and her breathing hastened as her flight or fight responses kicked in. But there really was only one option when faced with Nightmare Moon's presence: Flight.

But there was nowhere for her to run. She couldn't even look away from Nightmare to search for any hiding spots, futile as it would be. She simply evoked too much terror.

And Nightmare considered her reaction. Her fear. Her distress. The panic. Nightmare visibly pondered it. Twilight could see the cold, lethal intellect working inside her mind through her eyes.

Nightmare took a more relaxed posture, although it was still as commanding as before.

"You leave her alone!" Rainbow shouted vigorously, beating her wings and soaring over to the bars. She slammed into them and grabbed them with her forehooves.

Though she couldn't see Rainbow's expression, Twilight was certain she was trying her best to threaten Nightmare with a glare. She knew it wouldn't work. Nightmare's eyes casually rolled down to meet Rainbow's gaze. Nightmare kept her calm, even as Rainbow grunted and tried to get through the bars.

And, of course, Twilight knew Rainbow wouldn't succeed. The only thing she might succeed at was inconveniencing Nightmare Moon. Maybe buying her a few more seconds, but it wasn't worth it for her to throw her life away like that.

Twilight was going to hyperventilate if this kept up. Already, waves of exhaustion pulsed through her body.

Slowly, Nightmare tilted her head to the side. "Stand aside, pegasus," she ordered. Rainbow did not back down. Nightmare glared down at her, snorting, and baring her fangs. It was a reminder that she was the predator, and now? Now Rainbow was her prey.

"You're not going to get Twilight without going through me!" Rainbow retaliated.

Applejack stepped forward. "Or me."

Rarity tossed her mane aside and stepped forward behind Applejack. "While I'd rather not get involved in this I must concur with them. You're not hurting the poor dear without going through us first," she said in a deceptively pleasant voice. "Have at thee!"

Nightmare smiled at that. Slowly, she shook her head and looked up towards the ceiling. A slow, pleasured laugh escaped her lips. The laugh lingered for a few seconds, causing Applejack and Rarity to back up, while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood closer to Twilight. Eventually, Nightmare looked back down at them.

She jerked her head violently, tilting it at an odd angle as she glared at the rebellious mares. "You will stand aside, and Twilight will come with me, or I will kill you," she promised.

The promise horrified Twilight. She wasn't sure how Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity reacted, but she was sure they didn't like it either. But despite that, they still didn't back down, even as Nightmare straightened herself back up. She wanted to cry even more now. 'T-they're just... throwing th-their lives away for me...' a part of her mind solemnly whispered.

The less socially adept part of her brain countered with, 'Why didn't I just run when I had the chance!?'

And still, another part noted, 'These mares are insane... standing up to Nightmare Moon like that.' Why, oh why did the first five ponies she could come remotely close to calling her friends have to be so idiotic? They were full grown mares, too! Foals were supposed to be the ones making thoughtless decisions, not adults! Was everypony in Ponyville that way? Ponies certainly weren't that ridiculous in Canterlot.

Yet, she felt a certain, undeniable fondness for them.

In her heart, she knew one thing for certain: 'You girls going to be the death of me.'

She clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She had hoped it would calm her nerves, but in truth, it did nothing. She knew what she was going to do, what she had to do, and oh, how that made her stomach churn and her gut twist. She would swear she tasted a metallic feeling in her gut, strange as it was. "S-stop," she croaked.

She could almost hear everypony's attention falling on her, and without opening her eyes, she could feel Nightmare's attention fall on her. A lance of icy coldness exploded in her chest. Trembling, she opened her eyes. Everypony was looking at her, especially Nightmare Moon. "S-stop..." she said again. "I-I'll... c-come... j-just don't hurt them..."

Rainbow landed and turned around to face her, a look of disbelief smeared across her face. "Twilight!" she groaned chastisingly. "You can't' do that! You're Princess Celestia's student!"

Twilight cringed at that. Nightmare Moon already knew, but still, to be called such in front of her? That made her feel like she was in trouble. After all, she was Nightmare Moon's enemy's student.

She hated Rainbow Dash a little more for that.

Rainbow took a few steps towards her. Her look of disbelief faded to one of uncertaintly and doubt. It was pleading. Rainbow was pleading for her not to do this.

It made her feel bad, but there really was no other choice. "I-I have to," Twilight stuttered. "S-she'd just... k-kill you if I don't," somehow came out of her mouth.

"She'll kill you!" was Rainbow's exasperated plea.

Applejack and Rarity took a few steps towards the two of them. Twilight swallowed and lifted her head up a bit more, trying to put on some display of confidence. It was about as effective as using a scroll as a bucket for holding water. Applejack could see right through it, but she already knew that much. In truth, she knew it was more for herself than anything. Trying to trick herself into thinking she had more courage than she actually did.

The trembling of her legs gave it away.

"I-I can't let... th-that happen," she stated. She hoped it sounded brave and convincing, but knew it didn't. She wanted them to at least remember her for trying. Maybe then, someday, Princess Celestia would hear of her attempt at courage. Maybe Princess Celestia would somehow find it in her to forgive her for her failure. Maybe Princess Celestia wouldn't erase her from history or write history in such a way that she was remembered as her greatest failure.

Even though she knew that was silly. Princess Celestia wasn't that kind of pony. That fear still lingered.

She swallowed again, glancing between each of the three mares blocking her path. "P-Princess C-Celestia would... would w-want me to..." she trailed off. Only in hindsight did she think about the fact that she was actively admitting she was Princess Celestia's student in front of Nightmare Moon. Only in hindsight did she consider the name spoken in Nightmare Moon's presence. Her eyes glanced up at Nightmare Moon. Nightmare looked back at her intently. Impatiently. But, she still waited, not immediately smiting her for speaking that name.

Maybe Nightmare Moon actually was reasonable like she thought.

Her gaze darted to each of the mares blocking her path once more. A moment passed, then reluctantly, Applejack stepped aside. Rainbow's head whipped around to look at her. Disbelief. Betrayal. Rarity joined Applejack. For a few seconds, Rainbow looked on the verge of fighting back against this turn of events, but then she faced Twilight, and Twilight looked at her pleadingly.

Rainbow turned her head away from her as she stepped aside. She tried to hide the betrayal she felt, but it was unmistakable. Twilight wasn't sure if the betrayal was her own, Applejack and Rarity's, or if Rainbow felt that she had betrayed her by stepping aside.

Twilight swallowed, then looked back at Nightmare Moon. A few more seconds passed as she tried to collect herself to no avail. Finally, she forced herself to step forward. It was a rigid step, and her leg trembled uncontrollably while it was lifted from the stone floor. Another step, then another. Each one brought her further away from the safety of her friends and closer to the nightmare alicorn. Each step also brought some semblance of an arrogant, pleased smile to Nightmare's lips, but she refrained from showing her teeth.

"The rest of you, stay back against the wall," Nightmare instructed.

Twilight came to an immediate stop at the sound of her voice. Nervously, she looked back and saw that Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow all did as they were told. They really were just letting her do this. They had tried to stop her, but it really had been her own choice. And she had convinced them to let her do this.

'I'm such an idiot... Princess Celestia's going to banish me for this...'

Internally, she cringed.

Still, her hooves carried her forward, but barely. As she got closer, Nightmare lit her horn. Panic seized Twilight's body at the sight. Immediately, she collapsed to the cold stone floor in fear. Her forelegs clutched her head, covering her eyes as if that would somehow offer anything remotely close to protection, considering that Nightmare Moon defeated Princess Celestia.

Rather than feeling a bolt of magic slamming into her, she heard the sound of metal creaking and groaning as it rubbed together. She cringed at the sound. Reluctantly and fearfully, she lowered her legs and looked up. The cell door was open, and Nightmare Moon was standing there, looking down at her. She looked disappointed.

"Rise," was her command, spoken in a cool tone. It wasn't harsh, nor did it promise retaliation if she did not obey, but there was still a threat behind it.

In her fear, she obeyed, scrambling to her hooves, then standing there rigidly.

Nightmare's gaze left her and looked behind her. "Come with me," she instructed.

Twilight could already tell it was directed at her, rather than the mares Nightmare faced. Trembling, she walked forward until she was out of the cell. Then she came to a stop standing right beside Nightmare Moon.

She had never felt so vulnerable before in her life. This alicorn could have ended her life with but a thought. It wouldn't have taken any effort. How she managed to stop herself from breaking down, screaming, or running, she had no idea- although perhaps fear of what would happen if she did any of that played a role. The sound of metal grinding against metal once more filled the air, then the cell door locked.

She was truly separated from her friends now. She heard Nightmare's armored boots click and scratch against the stone floor, then Nightmare's form strode past her, gracefully blending in with the night. An icy chill flowed in her wake.

"Walk with me," Nightmare growled.

With no room for thinking nor second thoughts, Twilight rigidly walked beside Nightmare Moon. The hallway was lit only by the soft, fading glow of the white orb. As they walked further away from the source, their shadows faded until they merged completely with the surrounding darkness.

It was dark enough that she immediately knew they were underground. Had there been moonlight, she could have navigated better, but as it was with the darkness, she stumbled on debris and rocks which scuffed her hooves, hurting her and nearly tripping her. Afraid of drawing Nightmare's attention or ire, she did her best to keep her pace. Somehow, Nightmare managed to avoid all of the debris. Never once did her hooves strike a rock, nor did she stumble.

Twilight's hoof caught on a rock. Before she could correct herself, she fell forwards. Terror gripped her mind. What if Nightmare Moon thought this was an attempt to escape? What if Nightmare Moon thought she was attacking her? What if, what if?

She cried out in fear, then her jaw hit the cold stone floor. The impact hurt and she whimpered in pain. Nightmare stopped walking. Ice gripped every inch of Twilight's body. "I-I'm sorry!" she screamed out. The sound of her screamed echoed through the stone dungeons as she cried. "I-I tripped! I-I'm sorry!" she sobbed."I-I can't s-see! It-it's t-too dark!"

The glow of Nightmare's magic broke the darkness. Twilight felt her heart race and her stomach drop out from under her. Her gut tensed up in panic. It had been inevitable, she knew, that Nightmare wouldn't believe her. 'I-I n-never s-said goodbye!' whimpered in her mind. All she could do was clench her eyes shut and clutch her head with her forehooves, trying her hardest to block out the sight that would be her doom. Even holding her hooves to her head to cover her eyes as firmly as she did, her body trembled uncontrollably.

But no spell came- neither sound of the spell firing nor feeling the magic collide with her body. Nightmare's magic never struck out at her body to end her life. She still trembled, certain that her senses were wrong, certain they were lying to her, and it just hadn't registered yet. Another moment passed. Oh so reluctantly and fearfully of what she would see, she lowered her trembling forehooves from her eyes. She had expected to see Nightmare standing over her, glaring, wings flared, prepared to end her life. She had expected to see Nightmare inches away from her face, teeth bared.

Nightmare stood beside her, regarding her with a look of 'Disappointment..?'

No, that couldn't be right. She stared at Nightmare Moon, still trembling. Through her blurry, watery vision, she was fairly certain she looked disappointed. Even with more time to piece together her look, she still thought that Nightmare Moon looked disappointed.

She thought she could hear Nightmare Moon sigh, then she turned her head back forward. A pale white orb glowed to life at the tip of her horn, then gracefully levitated forward a few feet, guided by Nightmare Moon's magic. The white orb cast the same white glow that the orb in front of her cell had.

She could see again. Nightmare Moon turned back to face her. For a moment, Nightmare met her gaze and looked at her with disappointment, but almost immediately it faded. Her eyes trailed over her body, taking in her form. For a few seconds, her eyes stared at her cutie mark, then her eyes dropped towards her forehooves and the edges of her body.

A moment later, the glow of Nightmare's magic enveloped the offending piece of rubble. The rock levitated closer to Nightmare, and her gaze scrutinized it for a moment before it disappeared in a sharp crack, accompanied by a burst of light.

She stared at the empty space formerly occupied by the rock. Ultimately, it made her look at Nightmare Moon. The alicorn waited another moment, then her chest inflated. Twilight froze once again.

Nightmare opened her mouth, parting her lips and showing off her sharp teeth and vicious fangs. Once again, Twilight found her eyes tearing up at the sight.

For some reason, Nightmare's eyes came back to meet her eyes, and then Nightmare hesitated. She blinked, then shook her head and looked back ahead. "Get up," she growled.

Before she could even process it, her body had responded to Nightmare's predatory command; she stood rigidly on her four legs, each locked into place, and her head was held as high as she could. She stood there, paralyzed with fear.

Nightmare took a few steps forward, guiding the light forward with her, then she stopped and looked back at her. "Follow."

Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat, then rigidly stepped forward. Despite her best efforts, her legs trembled each time she lifted them up. Her gaze lingered on Nightmare with every step. Only once she stood beside Nightmare did the alicorn look back ahead.

Twilight felt a wave of relief wash over her, and her muscles relaxed, albeit only just.

Satisfied that she was following, Nightmare continued to stride forward. Twilight had to hurry to keep up with her impatient pace, but with the aid of Nightmare's light, she managed to avoid most of the rocks that would have otherwise tripped her up.

Twilight nibbled on her lips. The dungeon seemed to stretch on and on, but she knew it was just her nerves. Ahead, she could see a dim light source coming from a large doorway. As she approached it, she could determine that it was a spiral staircase, one that was wide enough for a couple of ponies to pass at the same time. But it would still force her into a tight space with Nightmare Moon.

Her breathing quickened at that realization, but despite her growing despair, Nightmare continued towards the spiral staircase, leading Twilight right to it. She wanted to stop. She didn't want to ascend those stairs and learn where she was. She didn't want to ascend those stairs and learn what fate awaited her at Nightmare Moon's hooves.

She didn't want to face Nightmare Moon's wraith for not ascending those stairs, either.

In the end, as Nightmare took the far side, she took the inner side and ascended the stairs alongside her. Her desire to live for a little bit longer outweighed her fear of whatever was at the top of the stairs.

In a silence only broken by the metallic click of Nightmare Moon's boots on the stone, they ascended up the spiral, going around it several times. With each pass, the illumination gradually grew brighter, albeit not much. It wasn't daylight. It wasn't sunshine.

It was moonlight.

Eventually, they reached the top of the spiral staircase and entered a long stone hallway. She didn't recognize the individual hallway, but she recognized the stonework- nearly identical, if not identical, to that of the Castle of the Two Sisters. She was in the Everfree Forest still. Knowing where she was helped ease some of her anxiety, but it didn't change the fact that she and her friends, along with her mentor, were Nightmare Moon's prisoners.

Nightmare strode into the hallway without saying anything, and Twilight followed right beside her. Glancing at the walls, she determined that there were no windows, so they had to be in an inner hallway. Looking up, she discovered the source of the moonlight flooding the hallway: large sections of the roof had collapsed, letting in the moon's soft light. She could see stars and the purple night sky overhead, along with the occasional distant dark cloud.

Scanning the hallway again, she noted the general lack of any debris from the holes in the ceiling. Aside from pebbles that seemed to have been swept aside and cracks in the stones, there were no signs of the stones having fallen from the ceiling like she would have expected. It had to have been cleaned up sometime, by something.

Nervously, she looked at Nightmare Moon. The alicorn walked with purpose. It was a powerful stride, one that she didn't want to be in front of, for it promised retribution. She swallowed and hesitantly looked at her folded wing. It was so similar to Princess Celestia's. Just as large and full, although the design was more swept back than extending out. And, of course, the biggest difference was that Princess Celestia's feathers were white, while Nightmare Moon's feathers were black.

She wondered if they felt the same, but didn't dare try to find out.

Her eyes moved to scrutinize Nightmare's cyan armor. While she had seen it before, she hadn't exactly looked at it. She had been terrified at the time. And she was fairly certain she was in shock then, too. But now, while she was still terrified, at least she didn't have to worry about Nightmare capturing her.

The armor seemed to hug her form, perhaps perfectly so- it looked like it was a fit designed solely for her, and she had no doubt in her mind that it had been designed that way. While Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon were the same sizes, she had no doubt that this armor was Nightmare Moon's and Nightmare Moon's alone. The cyan color stood out so much from the black of her coat. She tried to picture the armor on Princess Celestia, but couldn't. She tried to picture what Nightmare Moon looked like without her armor on, but couldn't.

Interestingly enough, her helmet didn't seem to have a slit in the back of the neck for her ethereal mane to come out of. The more curious and logical part of her mind focused intently on that, wondering what it could mean. How was that even possible that her mane could appear to flow right through the solid metal plate of armor? Could Princess Celestia's mane act the same way?

Darting from the armor protecting the back of her neck, Twilight's eyes focused on Nightmare's ethereal mane. It was such a sharp contrast to Princess Celestia's. While Princess Celestia's flowed in a graceful, riverlike manner, Nightmare Moon's mane seemed to ripple chaotically. Aggressively, even. If Princess Celestia's mane was a stream, then Nightmare Moon's mane was a raging waterfall. Another major difference between the two- and a recurring theme- was the color difference. Princess Celestia's mane was composed of three colors: a soft pink, a soft green, and a soft blue, each in a large band. Nightmare Moon's mane, in contrast, had two primary colors. A lighter violet-lavender blue surrounding the edge, and then a deeper, richer blue composing the bulk of it. Inside of the mass of blue were sparkling specks of white light, shimmering, almost like stars.

Now that she wasn't terrified of being captured, she found herself staring into Nightmare's mane and just watching it sparkle and shift. It was mesmerizing, and, she had to admit, she found it calming. It reminded her of the night sky.

Nonetheless, Nightmare eventually turned a corner, sending Twilight into a sudden panic and making her freeze up. As soon as she realized Nightmare wasn't about to smite her, she felt herself relax, but a wave of cold ice still pulsed through her body.

Nightmare Moon was going to be the death of her, one way or another.

The sudden adrenaline surge and rush of fear made her focus on walking once again, rather than on the nightmare alicorn. As their walk drew on, Twilight found her curiosity growing in equal amounts with her dread. The most pressing question on her mind was also the most fear-invoking. 'Where are we going!?'

But she refrained from shouting that out as her mind wanted. Even Pinkie Pie would realize that was a bad idea.

'Actually, probably not,' she thought flatly.

After another turn, she found herself involuntarily slowing. 'I recognize this hallway...' her mind whispered. Spurred on by the familiarity, everything played out through her mind's eye once again. Arriving with her friends to find the Throne Room, and then what transpired.

She bit her lip as her anxiety edged back. 'I-is she g-going to... e-execute me there!?'

She found her legs slowing down as they drew closer to the door. Nightmare Moon did not slow her stride, and it didn't take long before Twilight was no longer immediately at Nightmare's side.

Nightmare slowed to turn.

Twilight felt a wave of horror wash over her. 'S-she'll see that I'm not there!' her mind screeched out. And what would happen then? Would Nightmare think she was trying to delay? Would Nightmare think she was trying to escape?

Almost in slow motion, Nightmare seemed to turn.

Her gut twisted, and her hooves scraped against the stone floor in a panicked attempt to bolt back to Nightmare's side before she saw her missing.

Nightmare turned perpendicular to her, then her gaze jumped to her. She came to an immediate stop. Nightmare turned her head to face her. She was too late, by a lot.

Nightmare didn't immediately kill her. Nightmare didn't immediately slam her into the wall using magic. Nightmare didn't glare at her threateningly. She waited.

Twilight swallowed, then carefully approached Nightmare, taking calculated steps. She made sure that her approach wasn't too fast to be deemed a threat, but she also made certain she walked fast enough not to invoke Nightmare's wrath. Once she reached Nightmare's side, Nightmare turned her head forward, then proceeded into the Throne Room, once again without speaking.

Twilight hastily followed her inside.

Nightmare paused and surveyed the room, then looked to her left. After a moment, she started across the room.

Twilight made certain to follow beside her, never once falling a step behind. She had already tried her luck twice before. There was no guarantee that the third time wouldn't be her end.

They approached a doorway on the left. While the door had long since rotted, the bits of metal that had held it together lay strewn across the floor. Nightmare ignored them and walked on into the next hallway. Twilight followed.

While the Throne Room had been flooded with light from the moon, the hallway quickly grew dim, lit only by Nightmare's magic and the light she had conjured. The hallway felt cramped, even if there was enough room for perhaps another two ponies to pass, walking alongside them. She still felt her body being too close to Nightmare Moon's, and it sent warning bells ringing all throughout her being. She couldn't help but focus on the sensations coming from her side closest to Nightmare. It felt tingly.

Her stomach churned. Questions plagued her mind. 'Where is she taking me!?' A dozen, progressively worse answers instantly came to mind. Her stomach churned more, twisting in distress at the thoughts that made her face grow cold.

At the end of the hallway, there were two passages that led to the left and right, but directly ahead was a door. The wooden door shimmered faintly from magic, and the iron bandings holding it together showed no signs of rusting, just as the wood looked pristine. Centered on that door, a white, crescent moon, surrounded by an inky black splotch.

As they approached the door, she felt a sinking feeling return. Without coming to a stop, Nightmare opened the door.

Instantly, white lights glowed to life inside the room, bathing it in a light not dissimilar from that of the moon, and Nightmare let her magic go. The light she had carried flickered out of existence, but the soft white glow of the lights illuminating the room continued to give their light.

The room was circular in shape, with a domed ceiling painted like the night sky. Around the edges of the room, she could see bookshelves filled with dull colored books and glass flasks. There were even a few empty jars. A desk sat against the right side opposite of the bookshelves. Laying upon the desk were disarrayed quills, tipped over inkwells, and scrolls. Directly opposite from the door was another spiral staircase that led upwards.

She took all of this in as they walked inside. So taken in with the room was she, that she jumped when the door closed behind her.

Nightmare stopped and looked at her for a moment, then turned away and proceded towards the stairwell. Twilight swallowed and followed.

The next level had a wall separating the stairwell from the inside, and the door was once again shut. The stairwell continued up, and she wondered what else it led to, but Nightmare Moon stopped at the platform and opened the next door.

Like the room below, the ceiling was domed and painted like the night sky, illuminated by the same white orbs. Unlike the ceiling below, the moon dominated the room. But it wasn't accurate. There was no Mare on the Moon. It was so white and unscarred by the dark blotches. It took her a moment before it clicked. 'Nightmare Moon was the Mare on the Moon...'

Unlike the room below, this room had a much smaller bookshelf- more like what somepony would use in a study to house personal work. The desk was smaller and tidied. There were a large chest and a wardrobe beside it. Another door was opposite of the bookshelf, and directly across from the entrance was a fireplace that looked like it hadn't seen use in centuries.

Which, she supposed, was accurate.

A rich, deep blue rug covered the stone floor in front of the fireplace. It looked unimaginably pure and pristine- she wouldn't have been surprised to learn it was of superior quality to any rugs that could be found in modern Equestria. The deep blue rug was entrancing, it reminded her of the night sky, yet seemed so inviting.

Nightmare Moon crossed her vision. She gulped.

"Sit," Nightmare spoke.

Hesitantly, she looked around the room for a place to sit while Nightmare walked to the bookshelf and scanned it. Reluctantly, she stepped into the room. Nightmare closed the door behind her. She watched Nightmare for a few seconds. Either Nightmare was caught up surveying the books, or she really didn't care about Twilight's immediate compliance.

Still, she didn't want to push her luck. Her gaze went back to the rug. It was about the only place to lay that would have been comfortable, but the idea of actually laying there made her scared. For one, she had the sneaking suspicion that this room, this tower, belonged to Nightmare Moon. Secondly, she didn't know if she was welcome to lay on that particular rug. And lastly, letting her guard down by sitting somewhere comfortable was probably exactly what Nightmare Moon wanted.

Nightmare turned back towards her, and, finding her still standing, she glanced at the rug before looking at her again. "The rug is fine," she spoke.

Twilight smiled. And oh, how forced that smile was. She regretted smiling immediately. The smile wasn't fooling anypony. A newborn foal would have seen through it. Even Pinkie Pie would have seen through it. It felt so awkward to her lips.

Nightmare's brow furrowed.

That was all the encouragement she needed to scurry over to the rug, then sit down. In the corner of it, near the fireplace. As far away from Nightmare Moon as was possible.

She watched as Nightmare casually turned to face her, then approached her. Her gait was calm and collected, and then she sat down on the rug opposite of her in another corner. For several seconds, the two of them watched each other. Nightmare's expression seemed to settle on curiosity, rather than bloodlust. She felt Nightmare's eyes crawling over her as the alicorn's eyes glanced over her body yet again.

Eventually, they settled back on her eyes. Their gazes focused on each other. Twilight didn't immediately panic for once. Her gaze wasn't quite as threatening as before. Instead, curiosity and that deadly intellect were the most prominent aspects displayed.

Seconds passed between them in silence. Each one brought more discomfort to Twilight. Nightmare seemed content to wait for something. Twilight didn't dare look away from her gaze. Hesitantly, she swallowed, then licked her dry lips. "W-why did you t-take me h-here," she nervously ventured.

"So you are capable of speaking intellectually. Good," Nightmare stated dismissively. "I wanted to speak with you. After all, you are my dear sister's student."

Twilight shivered at how venomously Nightmare spoke of her sister. She shivered at how Nightmare spoke 'student,' too. She nibbled on her lip.

Did Nightmare want her to reply to that? How was she supposed to reply to that? What could she say, what couldn't she say? How was she supposed to deal with this? Princess Celestia taking an interest in her had been the happiest moment of her life. Nightmare Moon taking an interest in her?

Without a doubt, the most terrifying moment of her life.

"A-about?" Twilight stuttered.

Nightmare chuckled. "You tell me. You're my sister's pet. Prove your worth."

Twilight felt a lump in her throat. 'Nightmare is-is asking me t-to prove my worth!?' her mind screamed in disbelief. 'Oh no. Oh no. Oh, no, no, no,' she thought in a panic. If this was a test like Princess Celestia had given to her, it was doable. But this was Nightmare Moon. Certainly, this had to be a test she was engineered to fail! Nightmare truly was dastardly!

'H-how can I even begin to pr-prove my worth!?' she thought helplessly. 'S-she's just going to k-kill me!' She bit her lip hard for a moment, then exhaled and inhaled. 'O-okay, focus. I-I have to pass this test... F-finding out why she wants m-me to p-prove it c-can wait... U-unless sh-she's not certain an-and is trying to trick me into proving that I'm Princess Celestia's student so that she c-can k-kill me.. Ohhh no....'

Her gut twisted in fear.

"Prove your worth," Nightmare repeated, her voice once again threatening.

It was enough to spur her into action. 'O-okay! T-think. Think. Nightmare Moon wants me to prove my worth... she won't tell me what she wants to talk about; she wants me to solve that. Okay... okay... think...' Several seconds passed. 'The Elements? My friends? My standing up to her? Princess Celestia?'

There were simply too many options to narrow down in her panicked state. Her vision went blurry, and Nightmare Moon's visage became watery and distorted. "I-I don't k-know..." she whimpered. "I-I'm sorry. I-I don't k-know..."

Nightmare frowned, then opened her mouth.

At the slightest movement from Nightmare, she threw herself onto the carpet and gripped her head with her forelegs, covering her eyes to protect them from seeing any more of Nightmare Moon. "P-please don't kill me!" she screamed. "P-please! I-I'm sorry!" she frantically shouted. "I-I don't know!" she wailed.

She heard Nightmare inhale. It was a slow, methodical inhale. A calculated one. "I will not kill you, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare's voice came out as if speaking those words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Twilight's heart skipped a beat. Ever so reluctantly, she removed her forelegs from her head and wiped her tears away. She could see Nightmare, and once again, Nightmare looked disappointed. "Y-you're n-not g-going t-to k-kill me?"

"Not yet, at least," was Nightmare's disinterested reply.

Once again, Twilight felt a horrible feeling wash over her. She really was growing tired of it by now. Nightmare was emotionally exhausting to be around.

"I have a proposition for you, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare stated.

Her ears perked up at that, and her muzzle lifted from the carpet.

"Become my student, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare shot at her.

Twilight was certain she misheard what Nightmare had said. But even her mind agreed with what she thought she heard, 'Student!?' "W-what?"

Nightmare took a quick breath, one much less calculated, almost spontaneous. "Become my student," she said again. "That is my offer. You were my sister's student, and now I will give you the opportunity to become my student."

Apparently, she had not misheard what Nightmare said. A few thoughts immediately rushed to her head. 'No! I won't betray Princess Celestia like that! Why do you want me to be your student?' She swallowed and tried to find her voice.

Nightmare preempted her, "As you should know, I have not been in Equestria for one thousand years."

'That answers the why?' she wondered. 'Yes... I think so? You... you want... need... help?'

That served to reinforce her first thought. 'I won't betray Princess Celestia like that!'

As if sensing her thoughts, Nightmare frowned again. "Allow me to phrase it another way, Twilight Sparkle. I have not been in Equestria for a thousand years because I was trapped on the moon. I am not as well versed with modern Equestria as you or my sister. Become my student and assist me, or Equestria will suffer. My sister would want you to help me, then, would she not?"

Her voice was venomous. Twilight shrank back from her, but her logic seemed sound. And the fact that it actually made sense only twisted her gut more. It actually made her consider accepting that offer. Princess Celestia would be disappointed if she willingly let Equestria suffer. Would Princess Celestia be okay with this? Princess Celestia wouldn't want Equestria to suffer. Her gut twisted further. 'Princess Celestia would want me to do what I can to make sure Equestria doesn't suffer...'

She could feel her expression falling at that. Oh, that realization left her feeling numb. But, how could she say yes to this? Saying yes to becoming Nightmare Moon's student. Ponies would hate her. Her friends would probably hate her. She might be doing it to protect Equestria, but Equestria wouldn't necessarily know that.

She'd be a traitor.

'When... if... Princess Celestia returns, she can fix this! All of this...' she knew. If Princess Celestia returned, she could explain everything to her, and everything would be okay. Princess Celestia would see that she did it for Equestria, to protect Equestria. Princess Celestia could tell everypony that she wasn't a traitor.

It still twisted her gut.

'What if Princess Celestia doesn't see that I tried to protect Equestria? What if she still thinks I'm a traitor!?'

The thought of Princess Celestia thinking of her as a traitor? That was enough to make her cry, and her vision blurred again. her eyes fell to the now-blurry blue rug.

As much as she was loathed to admit it, she missed her friends. And it reminded her of another thing: her age. 'I-I'm too young f-for this...'

But that did not stop her from being in this position.

What kind of a mentor would Nightmare Moon be? She already knew that Nightmare would not be as forgiving as Celestia. Nightmare Moon would dispose of her the second she was no longer of use.

'Nightmare will just kill me when I'm no longer of use... She'll kill me if I say no...' The voice in her head was deathly silent.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was a filly! She wasn't supposed to be dying for Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia was supposed to protect her!

"I will teach you things that my sister didn't, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare purred.

It was a seductive voice and a seductive offer. Twilight licked her lips. It was knowledge, after all, even if it wasn't coming from Princess Celestia.

"Things that my sister wouldn't teach you..." Nightmare continued.

That didn't help her feel any better. Her chest twisted. There were things that Princess Celestia hadn't taught her for her own safety, after all.

"You can help protect Equestria."

Princess Celestia would want that. If ponies suffered because she said no, then, she knew, Princess Celestia would be upset with her. It really was a lose-lose situation for her.

"I'll... even spare your friends. Offer them positions under my rule..."

Twilight closed her eyes. Warmth ran down her cheeks. A part of her couldn't help but consider the insanity and sheer absurdity of it. Here she was, with a corrupted alicorn trying to convince her, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student, to become her student, by offering to spare her friends.

Never in all of eternity did she think that offer would hold as much sway as it did.

She mentally berated herself for letting it have so much sway on her. Truly, she had been right. Friendship made ponies do stupid, illogical things.

Like, considering becoming the student to the pony who wanted to cause eternal night.

"Eternal night will kill everything!" blurted out before she could stop herself.

She clasped her mouth shut with her forehooves and looked up at Nightmare, expecting to recieve a lethal bolt of magic to her face.

Nightmare looked at her with an amused expression, and her left eyebrow was raised. "Are you truly so naive as to think I want to rule over a dead world?" she asked.

Twilight looked back down at the carpet, a wave of embarrassment washing over her. She could feel her cheeks warming up, and oh, she hated it.

Nightmare chuckled for a few seconds. The way the laughter faded sent shivers down Twilight's spine. "Believe me, Twilight Sparkle," she said emphatically, "I have no desire to rule over a dead world. I had enough of that during my one thousand year banishment," she spat bitterly.

She shivered, but still looked back up at her. "H-how? How will anything survive without the sun!?"

"How? Twilight Sparkle, I am disappointed in you. Between my magic and earth pony magic, Equestria will have no problems," Nightmare answered.

Twilight opened her mouth.

"Really, from what I know, most races shouldn't fare too badly. Plants will be able to survive on my moonlight, even without earth pony magic. Zebra alchemy has certainly advanced in the past thousand years. The Deer's magic shouldn't have any problems at all with this. The Griffons are omnivores, and I'm sure that even if they can't provide enough food for themselves, we can trade with them. Dragons eat gems, and gems won't be affected by this. Really, the species most affected by this would be the Minotaurs, and their industrial capabilities have surely improved in my absence."

Twilight closed her mouth and silently pondered it. It gave her some sense of closure, but there were still so many problems facing her over this decision. And then, of course, there was knowing what Nightmare Moon would do to her if she said no. "What if I refuse?"

'Did... I really just... ask that?' Internally, she felt like everything came to a stop. She cringed at that.

Nightmare regarded her cautiously. "If... you were to refuse my proposition, Twilight Sparkle..." Her voice was calm and controlled, but sharp. "Then, I assure you, I would find some other use for you," she stated matter of factly. "My sister seems quite fond of you. And I'm not terribly fond of her."

Nightmare leaned forward. In an instant, any semblance of security was stripped away from Twilight. Her gaze was unquestionably dominant. No dragon would dare challenge her. It was a gaze that promised death. "Refuse and I will break you in front of her. I will use you to hurt her as much as I can."

The logical part of Twilight's mind barely processed it over the fear Nightmare commanded over her. The logical part of her mind knew that she really had no choice. If she said no, Nightmare would kill her- while hurting Princess Celestia at the same time. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let Equestria suffer- that too, would hurt Princess Celestia. And even if she accepted, then it was only a matter of when, rather than if, Nightmare killed her. Nightmare would kill her as soon as she was no longer useful, she had no doubt about it. And even then, Nightmare would use her against Princess Celestia.

It left her gut churning without release. She could just barely breathe, frozen in fear as she was under Nightmare's gaze.

Nightmare methodically pulled her head back from where she had leaned forward, and an amused expression replaced the lethal one.

She could breathe again, though she didn't know how long that would last before Nightmare paralyzed her with fear again. "H-how... w-would y-you t-trust me..?" she ventured in a stutter.

Nightmare smiled. "Very astute question, Twilight Sparkle. Surely, you realize that my proposition for you to become my student is rather odd. After all, your my sister's- my enemy's- student. And I'm offering you the opportunity to become mine. Of course, I can't simply trust you. I will say this only once, Twilight Sparkle. Betray me, and I will kill you," she promised.

Twilight shivered under Nightmare's intent scrutiny.

Nightmare inhaled. "I will keep you on a short leash until you prove your loyalty to me, but even then, we both know I simply cannot trust you. But then, I do hold a great deal of power over you, do I not?" she questioned. "After all, I have the power to make Celestia's life... much, much worse."

She felt her dread return at that. Nightmare was threatening Princess Celestia. Nightmare was giving her absolutely no choice but to accept. And that really wasn't much of a choice.

"And then there's the matter of your friends," Nightmare continued, her lips pulling up into a smirk. "While I do have a proposition in mind for Rainbow Dash, the rest of them are disposable-" a bolt of cold shot through Twilight's body "-and as such, even if you accept and I let them go, I assure you I have no qualms killing them if you don't comply. As it is, given the nature of them and their connection to the Elements of Harmony, I will be keeping an eye on them. However, I'm feeling generous, and as such, my offer stands: Become my student and I'll offer them positions under me. They can even refuse and I'll let them go. But you had better keep them in check."

Twilight looked down at the deep blue rug again. "W-what... what's in it for me?"

Nightmare snorted. "Have you not been listening?" she demanded.

Twilight winced and her ears pinned back. She could hear Nightmare take a deep breath, then exhale more calmly. "I-I'm sorry... I... I just... what... h-how is... t-this going to work? You... making me y-your... student?" she hesitantly looked up at Nightmare.

Nightmare looked at her with a smile. "Is that a yes?"

"You're not giving me much of a choice..." she muttered back.

Nightmare's lips twitched into a frown at that.

"Okay yes!" Twilight squeaked. "Y-yes... I-I'll be your s-student... j-just please... d-don't hurt my friends... O-or me!"

Nightmare's smile returned, then her mane stretched out like a tendril and approached her. She found herself staring at the magic with a mixture of fear and curiosity, but much more fear than curiosity. The mane eventually reached her, then stroked her jaw. She wanted to pull away from it but didn't. It didn't feel like she had expected- cold, harsh, dangerous. It didn't touch her like she had expected, either. It was a mockery of an attempt at comfort, it was a mockery of her, but it was surprisingly gentle.

"Good," was Nightmare's reply.

Twilight was surprised at just how genuine it sounded, but she still didn't- and couldn't, given how much panic Nightmare Moon had caused her since she left the dungeon cell- let her guard down.

Nightmare lit her horn, and there was a brief pop. Twilight felt a surge of warmth over her body, and she felt her magic come back to her in an instant rush. She closed her eyes and shivered in pleasure, a small smile flashing across her lips for a moment.

She felt Nightmare's mane withdrew from her jaw, then opened her eyes. Hesitantly, she channeled her magic into her horn. Her magenta aura glowed to life around her horn, and Nightmare Moon didn't immediately try to kill her.

A moment later, however, Nightmare hummed, and it was enough to make the glow of Twilight's horn wink out. Then, Nightmare's magic coalesced in the air and formed into a silver necklace, from which a silver crescent moon hung. Instantly, another flash came from her horn, and the necklace took a glossy, shimmering appearance- an enchantment. "Bow your head," Nightmare commanded.

Twilight complied, instantly bowing her head and staring down at the rug. A moment later, the necklace was lowered onto her, then came to rest on her neck. The crescent moon rested on her chest. There was a certain coldness emanating from the enchanted silver, and it made her shiver.

Cautiously, she swallowed, then looked up at Nightmare Moon. Nightmare seemed to approve, or at the very least didn't seem intent on smiting her. "W-what is this?" she asked.

"Your leash," Nightmare answered. "Do not take this off," she ordered. "It will tell me where you are at all times, and allow me to hear what is said around you."

Twilight shifted her weight uncomfortably. Nightmare Moon would hear everything she said, along with what anypony said around her. She really was on a leash with this necklace on. Nightmare would always be eavesdropping in her. Her privacy would be an illusion.

"What privileges did my sister give you?" Nightmare asked.

Twilight licked her lips and took a deep breath. "U-um... she... I... had my needs... taken care of," she answered hesitantly.

"I would have expected as much," Nightmare said flatly. "But what I mean is what sort of authority or access did she grant you?"

"I... could access the Royal Archives, and she would give me some books from her personal library, but they were ones she wanted me to read... um... I-I don't know what... authority... I-I know that the guards listened to me if... I needed them to..." she trailed off.

Nightmare nodded, seemingly to herself. Her eyes darted off from Twilight's body and she seemed to ponder something for a few seconds, then she nodded again and looked back down at Twilight. "Then you shall retain these privileges," she stated.

She wasn't sure whether she was surprised or not, but she felt some sense of relief at that for some reason. Nightmare Moon was being reasonable! Sort of.

"I suppose I have demanded a great deal of you, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare stated. Something in the tone of her voice caught Twilight's interest. "So allow me to make you a set of promises in return. As my student, I will teach you. I expect your loyalty, but in return, you will have my loyalty. Prove yourself, and you will have authority. You will have my ear, with whatever you wish to speak about; but do not mistake that for me wanting to discuss releasing my sister. If I say not to bring up a topic, then I expect you to respect that. If you wish to offer an opinion, or a suggestion, contrary to what I think- if you think it will be better than my own idea- speak it. I will not punish you for trying to help me. If somepony wrongs you, then I will right it. Disobey me, and there will be consequences. Betray me, and I will kill you." Each promise was spoken with power and authority.

Even with the more benevolent promises, there was no way Twilight trusted Nightmare Moon. There was no way she would let her guard down around her. It was Nightmare Moon, after all. And she had outright threatened to kill her and her friends and promised to kill her if she betrayed her.

And even then, Nightmare Moon would still get rid of her if she outlived her usefulness. That was a given.

'I... need to be careful...' She took a deep breath and nodded. "O-of course..." she stammered.

Nightmare Moon smiled at her. "Now... perhaps we should go have a chat with your friends?" she offered.

Twilight is neurotic.

I enjoyed rereading this for edits. Although it's also a good thing I've reread it... I think I need to make some minor adjustments to later chapters. Might be a couple of inconsistencies to address...

Nightmare Moon had led her back to the cell that housed the mares she had met. But rather than throw her back in with them, she kept her on the outside, looking in. Twilight was forced to stand there beside her, wearing the silver crescent moon necklace, watching.

Her friends all looked at her with expressions ranging from shock and confusion to, in Rainbow Dash's case, anger and betrayal. It seemed that, maybe, Rainbow Dash wasn't as loyal as she had claimed to be. There wasn't really any cause for them to doubt her, aside from her standing beside Nightmare Moon. For all they knew, the necklace was something Nightmare Moon had forced her to wear- which she had- but Rainbow Dash still seemed to jump to the conclusion that she had betrayed them.

"Twilight!" Rainbow demanded. Her glare was unforgiving. If the metal bars hadn't been there, she knew that Rainbow Dash would have tackled her to the floor, even with Nightmare Moon standing beside her.

She couldn't stand to see Rainbow looking at her like that. She turned her head away in shame, her vision growing blurry once again. She hadn't had a choice in this. Couldn't they- couldn't she- see that? They had only just met, but she had thought they were more forgiving than that.

"Be silent," Nightmare Moon growled.

"No!" Rainbow defiantly shouted. "Twilight betrayed us!"

It hurt. Oh, it hurt. Rainbow Dash valued loyalty, and now she thought Twilight had betrayed her. She thought Twilight had betrayed all of them. All of Equestria, even. And it hurt. A part of her mind shouted out furiously at her for letting this get to her. 'Friends!?' They made her vulnerable. They were insane. And she, for her part in at least partially considering them her own friends, was clearly insane too. She a fool for thinking of them as friends. She was a fool for letting them hurt her like this. That still didn't change how much it hurt.

Twilight closed her eyes but kept silent.

She heard Nightmare take in a deep breath, then exhale. It was an aggressive breath, nearly a growl. "I gave her a proposition," she started, "and I intend to extend the same offer to all of you," she stated. "Serve me-"

"I'll never betray Equestria!" Rainbow retorted.

The rest of the girls let out affirmatives, agreeing with her. Fluttershy and Pinkie, just barely so.

Nightmare growled at that, then Twilight heard- and felt- her hoof connect with the floor. "Twilight did not betray you or Equestria!" she shouted. For a few seconds, the only sound was Nightmare's heavy breathing. "She joined me because I threatened Princess Celestia and reminded her that I have been out of touch with Equestria for one thousand years, and as such, Equestria was likely to suffer due to my lack of knowledge, which she could rectify. I didn't give her the choice. Had she not joined me, we would not be having this conversation. You would all be dead."

Twilight stayed silent, though she shivered. There was a heavy, almost palpable silence that grew in the vacuum following Nightmare's last spoken word. That word lingered in the air, adding more and more weight to the atmosphere and making it feel oppressive like it was beating down on her. 'You really didn't give me the choice... but... why are you defending me?' It wasn't something she could grasp. Nightmare Moon was actually arguing in her favor. It made no sense. Nightmare saying that would make them hate her less, and that was the opposite of what she thought Nightmare wanted. Nightmare would also benefit from their nascent friendship- if it could be called that- shattering. If their friendship shattered, she wasn't sure she could use the Elements of Harmony, which meant that Nightmare Moon would have nothing that could stop her.

She could hear two of Nightmare's promises drift through her mind. 'I expect your loyalty, but in return, you will have my loyalty... If somepony wrongs you, then I will right it.'

Nightmare had made those two promises in such an authoritative tone, but she didn't for a second believe she meant either of them. Nor did she believe that was what this was. Nightmare would just use her until she no longer offered any use, then she would dispose of her. No, there had to be something else here, some benefit Nightmare Moon would receive from this. 'But what?' With no answers coming to mind, she knew she was missing something.

She heard Rainbow Dash touch down on the stone floor.

"I'm willing to extend an offer to you," Nightmare continued. "Rainbow Dash, though you're nothing more than an insect to me, I have to admit that I admire your fire. You have talent. You can join my Guard. The rest of you? I have no specific purposes in mind, but the offer stands. You can serve me. Or, you can decide not to. I'll let you go if you decide not to, as per my agreement with Twilight Sparkle. But do not cross me. Do not cause problems."

Several seconds passed in silence. Twilight kept her eyes closed but listened.

"Guard..?" Rainbow ventured. Her anger- her fire- was still there, but it wasn't quite as violent as before. "What exactly do you mean?"

"You can join my Guard. The Equestrian Royal Guard is quite lackluster, and I have to admit, you put most of them to shame in that you're at least willing to stand up to me. I can respect that, foalish as it is," was Nightmare's reply.

A few more seconds passed in silence. "What's in it for me?" Rainbow asked skeptically.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack and Rarity shouted and growled, respectively.

Rainbow gave a huff.

"You will be compensated, of course," Nightmare said, "and you will get to be the first among my Guard. I am certain that, with work, you will be able to become quite a formidable guard..."

Rainbow snorted. "Yeah, sure. And you expect that to sway me? I'm not going to betray Equestria for that."

"Very well," Nightmare spat.

Twilight heard Nightmare's magic, and hesitantly, she looked back towards the cell. Rainbow Dash's anger that was directed at her was mostly mellowed out, but she still looked upset. Applejack seemed to regard the situation more solemnly. Rarity looked at her with what she thought was almost a heartbroken expression that spoke of how her age- the fact that she was still technically a filly- was at the forefront of her mind. Pinkie didn't smile. Fluttershy was back in a corner, trembling, hiding behind her mane.

Nightmare's magic enveloped the cell's gate. "Step back," she told Rainbow Dash, "and do not try anything."

Rainbow glared at her but took a few steps back. Her wings bristled in agitation.

Nightmare opened the door all the way but kept her horn lit and held on to the door with her magic. For a moment, Twilight nervously bit her lip, half afraid Rainbow Dash would do something stupid. No, more than half afraid. It was Rainbow Dash, after all.

They were doomed.

In a bold streak of intelligence that caught her off guard, Rainbow didn't actually attack Nightmare Moon as soon as the door was open.

"You are all free to leave," Nightmare stated, "But do not cause me any trouble."

Applejack looked at Nightmare with a stern expression. "We're not leaving without Twilight..." she said in a low tone. It wasn't quite a threat, but it was demanding.

Twilight actually smiled at that. A sharp pain raced through the edges of her eyes, then warmth gathered at the edges of her eyelids. After a moment, it faded. "It-it's fine... g-girls," she offered before Nightmare could say anything about it.

Applejack slowly looked at her, studying her expression, then looked back at Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare cocked her head to the side. "You are free to visit her, as she is free to visit you, assuming I have no immediate need for her," she stated. "And assuming all of you-" Nightmare turned to face Twilight, and Twilight took a step back in fear- "you included-" she looked back at Applejack as Twilight felt her body freeze up, "stay out of trouble."

A few more seconds passed before Applejack slowly approached the gate. She lingered at the entrance for another few seconds, seeming to ponder something, before finally stepping out. Nightmare, of course, stepped back to keep her distance.

It took a few more seconds before the rest of the mares left the cell. Fluttershy was the last one out, and it took both Rainbow Dash and Rarity to get her to move any closer to Nightmare Moon. She whimpered in fear, crying, the whole time. Twilight could barely stand to watch, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightmare look away. She couldn't read her emotions, however.

Applejack approached her, wearing that same solemn look as before. "A-are you... sure about this, Twilight?"

Twilight bit her lip and glanced at Nightmare. Nightmare looked right at her. She immediately knew that Nightmare was watching her closely. Nightmare could kill her in an instant if she so needed, or so chose. Princess Celestia could have too, but at least she knew Princess Celestia wouldn't. With Nightmare Moon, it was a guarantee it would eventually happen. She swallowed. "N-no... b-but... um... I-I don't have much of a choice..." she whispered.

Of course, Nightmare heard it. But she didn't say or do anything.

Applejack nodded slowly. "Alright... just... take care of yourself, alright? Be careful... We'll... we'll try to visit soon."

Twilight smiled and nodded, even as a lump throbbed in her throat. "Y-yeah," she croaked.

She didn't want them to leave. Applejack didn't seem to want to leave, either. None of them did.

Rainbow hesitantly walked over to her. "I... sorry. I..." she trailed off and looked down at her left. "We're... still good, right?" Her eyes glanced up at Twilight.

She wanted to scream at Rainbow- there was so much she could scream at her for- but instead, as crazy as it was, she nodded. "Yeah..." And with that, she had yet another piece of evidence that proved she had, without a doubt, lost her sanity. She shook it off, though. Given what had happened, she supposed it was to be expected.

Rarity ventured closer. "Oh, dear... please stay safe. I-I don't know what I'd do... if... if that ruffian hurt you!"

Rarity didn't seem to care that Nightmare was there to overhear it, and likewise, at least for the moment, Nightmare was patient and didn't immediately smite Rarity. Twilight could still see that Rarity kept thinking back to her age. She appreciated her concern, and it irked her.

Pinkie Pie walked over to her, then without saying anything, wrapped her in a hug. She wheezed as the earth pony reminded her that she was an earth pony. "P... Pinkie..." That made her let up, but only slightly. It was enough for her to relax and return the hug, nuzzling Pinkie's neck.

Nuzzling Pinkie felt so incredibly odd. There were only a few ponies she had nuzzled before. Sure, it may have been a completely normal social interaction for ponies, but she was Twilight Sparkle. The list of ponies she had nuzzled included her parents, brother, her foalsitter, Spike, and Princess Celestia. And now Pinkie Pie was added to that exclusive list. She wanted to groan.

Pinkie eventually pulled back, and Applejack brought Fluttershy over. Fluttershy practically leaped at her and hugged her, burying her head in her neck while sobbing. "P-please b-be c-careful!" was her barely audible plea.

Despite the necklace being right there, Twilight wasn't sure if Nightmare heard her quiet voice or not. She returned Fluttershy's hug. Even if she was an annoyance like the rest of the mares she had met, she didn't like seeing her so sad. But, by the time she pulled away, her chest was soaked with tears.

And possibly snot.

'Gross.'

"So... uh... where are we?" Applejack ventured.

"The dungeons of the castle you found in the middle of the Everfree forest," was Nightmare's disinterested reply. "My old home," she elaborated.

Rarity made an unhappy whining sound. "Oh, this place really is in a dreadful state... it's such a shame too! I imagine it really was quite beautiful before..."

Nightmare ignored her. "Follow me," she commanded. Ignoring everypony else, she turned, then started down the same path Twilight had trod with her before. Just like before, she levitated a small, white orb in her magic to provide illumination. As soon as Nightmare took a step, Twilight dashed over to her side, smiling nervously. Nightmare ignored her, along with everypony else.

For a few seconds, Twilight felt her body tense up as she heard the distinct lack of the sounds of her friends' hooves clicking on the stone to follow them. And Nightmare ignored it, continuing to stride forward. Twilight walked quickly, and she kept herself looking forward out of fear for what Nightmare Moon would do if she didn't stand beside her or if she looked back to check on her friends.

Eventually, she felt a wave of relief wash over her body as she heard the reluctant, then quickening, hoofsteps of her friends. Eventually, their pace slowed and matched her own in order to keep up with Nightmare Moon.

Taking a risk, she turned her head and cast her gaze back to see who was following them. And to her relief, all five mares were, although some were more disgruntled than others, such as Rarity who was abhorred by the dust and debris, and Rainbow Dash, who radiated an air of annoyance and contempt. For a moment, she feared it was directed at her, but she realized that, more than likely, it was directed at the alicorn leading them along. It helped that Rainbow had apologized, too.

After that, she looked back ahead. She walked along silently, as did Nightmare Moon, and so did her friends. It seemed that none of them had anything to say, or maybe, if they did, they simply didn't want to say it. She knew that she fell in that latter category- there were several things she wanted to voice, but she kept them to herself.

Unlike last time when she had walked this path, she didn't trip on debris, and nopony else did, either. It brought her a sense of relief, but that relief was limited. With every step, her unease grew. Eventually, they walked up the stairs Nightmare Moon had led her through before, then they walked down the same hallway as before. Even as they approached the doors to the Throne Room, however, everypony stayed silent.

Unlike the last time, Nightmare turned left, and she scurried around to make sure she stayed at her side, rather than falling behind. In truth, she didn't know what Nightmare would do if she fell behind, but she didn't want to find out, either. After all, Nightmare could still think it was an attempt to escape or an attempt to stop her, or perhaps formulate a plan with her friends, despite the necklace being there.

Both all too soon, and not soon enough, they walked out of the castle and into the courtyard. She found herself slowing down as they walked out. Out in the open, free from the castle's confining stone corridors, rather than feeling more vulnerable, she felt safer. The night sky looked down at her, but she at least stood a chance of escaping Nightmare's wrath out here. She could remember how they had all arrived and headed inside, so brave and ready to stop Nightmare Moon. Things had changed, now.

'How long has it been since... since sunset?' she wondered. 'How long did I- we- sleep for?' She nibbled on her lip and hesitantly lifted her head towards the sky. The stars were as beautiful as ever, pristine and sparkling in the night sky. The unease that had been building up inside the castle now found a vent and gradually dissipated. She watched the stars as the seconds passed, devoting the lesser part of her mind to making sure she didn't want into anypony- especially not Nightmare- or trip and fall.

At this point, if she tripped and fell, she knew she'd break down. The night had simply been too much for her to deal with.

Her gaze was inevitably drawn to the familiar face of the moon. It was still so, so beautiful as ever, and yet, the moon had never felt so far away as it did now. Her mentor- Princess Celestia- was held prisoner on the moon, now. There was no way for her to get her back. Perhaps she could have done it with the Elements, but now Nightmare Moon had them.

Unless Princess Celestia could escape, she knew she would never see her again. How she managed to avoid crying at that thought, she had no idea. Perhaps it was because she clung to the logical part of her mind, which told her that there was still a chance. Even if Princess Celestia was trapped, imprisoned on the moon, she might be able to escape. After all, Nightmare Moon had. Even if Nightmare Moon had defeated Princess Celestia, Princess Celestia wasn't bound by the magic of the Elements of Harmony, so her imprisonment had to be weaker than Nightmare Moon's.

There had to be a chance, even if it was small. She had to hold onto that.

"You may leave now," Nightmare stated pointedly. "You should find your return is as easy as your journey here."

Rainbow Dash huffed at that. "Yeah. Sure. You call that journey easy... I don't even know how many times we almost died!" she grumbled.

Twilight swallowed and lowered her gaze from the night sky. She glanced around to remind herself of her surroundings, then glanced at Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon faced Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow but said nothing.

They lingered for a moment.

She took the time to look over each of them again.

"T-take care of Spike, please... a-and... let him know that... I-I'm okay..."

"Sure thing, sugarcube..." was Applejack's soft answer.

One after another, they approached her, then wrapped their forelegs around her neck and hugged her. The group hug lingered on and on, perhaps for a minute or longer, during which time she closed her eyes. Only for a few seconds did she feel Nightmare Moon's gaze on her, but it didn't feel predatory- it felt curious.

Finally, when they parted, she opened her eyes. Her friends were all disappointed and worried, and rightfully so. As soon as they left, she'd be left alone with Nightmare Moon. But there was nothing more they could do. They had tried and failed to stop her. If Nightmare Moon wanted them dead, it would be so.

She could see the pain in all of their eyes and their postures. The only pony with her head held high was Nightmare Moon- and her head was lifted towards the night sky, pointed away from the moon. She could see her teal irises surrounding her slit-pupil, and they seemed almost calm. Almost peaceful, even.

She watched Nightmare Moon for a few seconds. then turned her attention back to her friends. They said their goodbyes, wishing her well, demanding that she be safe and careful, and promising to visit soon. It felt like it all passed by in a blur. Could they really be leaving so soon? Another part of her was glad that they were leaving, though it filled her with dread that they were leaving her with Nightmare Moon.

Eventually, the group reluctantly headed away. Twilight thought for sure that they'd need more convincing, as much as she'd hate that. But, they didn't stop, even if their walk was downcast. Rainbow Dash didn't even fly. She walked with her friends a short distance before stopping at her new mentor's side and going no further. She found herself missing them as she watched them leave the courtyard. She found herself feeling vulnerable and so very alone as she stood beside Nightmare Moon. She felt put on the spot. She would have all of Nightmare's attention now.

She glanced aside at Nightmare as quickly as she could so that her visage filled her vision for no longer than was necessary. Nightmare retained the calm look, but her gaze was cast towards Twilight's friends. A few seconds passed in silence. Eventually, her friends reached the rope bridge, then started to cross the chasm below.

That chasm felt a hundred times wider now than it did when the bridge was out.

"Spike... he is your dragon?" Nightmare queried without looking at her- she still watched the five mares walk off. "The one on your back at the Town Hall."

Twilight nodded and swallowed. "Y-yes," she answered.

Nightmare nodded slowly. "If you would like, you can retrieve him."

'And subject him to you and all of this!?' shot out through her mind. She scowled at the very idea of forcing Spike into this- forcing him into Nightmare's presence, forcing him into the danger she was already in. She couldn't do that to him. Her scowl faded and she closed her eyes. It wouldn't be fair on him. It wouldn't be fair on him either way. Leaving him was wrong. Taking him was wrong. He'd be without his caretaker if she stayed away. He'd be in danger with her. "N-no," she whispered.

She could feel Nightmare's gaze on her, and she instantly opened her eyes. Nightmare's head was angled back towards her, and the alicorn watched her but said nothing. After a few more seconds, she looked ahead again.

"I have matters to attend to, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said. After a slight hesitation, she turned and looked at Twilight again. "And you will accompany me."

Twilight hastily nodded. It really was her only option at this point. "O-of course," she answered. She wanted to ask what they were going to do, but Nightmare looked back ahead before she could muster the courage to ask, so she kept silent. That, and she didn't want to risk Nightmare losing her patience.

She saw Nightmare's horn glow to life, then she felt Nightmare's magic envelop her. The tingling sensation felt paralyzing, then everything shifted. It was an indescribable feeling- she could feel one moment, then there was a feeling of nothing, followed by everything being different. The picture before her eyes changed so quickly, so immediately, that in that brief instant, she could see the ruined courtyard and the Throne Room of Canterlot Castle. Even with the double image, she could recognize it immediately- she had been there several times, though not exactly often.

The tingling from Nightmare's coldness faded instantly, and immediately following that, her head felt much lighter. The first image following the double image was that of the Throne Room she had seen before, but tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, as if the whole room had been shifted, and she felt like her heart skipped a beat. There was something wrong, but she couldn't place it. The lightheaded feeling took prominence- she could feel herself leaning left, then right, and she could feel her arteries going to her head pounding with slow but powerful throbs.

It took her a few seconds to recover, during which time she hadn't seen or heard anything from Nightmare. She swiftly glanced at the nightmare alicorn and found that she had her head turned to the left, slowly coming back towards the right. Her jaw looked held in place as if she hadn't spoken, but it wasn't tensed either. Twilight watched Nightmare continue her sweep of the room, and once her head was turned to the right, she saw Nightmare's eyes glance at her, then return elsewhere.

Putting aside Nightmare for the moment, she immediately deduced that there was only one thing it could have been: a teleportation spell. It excited her, and at the same time, it horrified her- it was a reminder that she couldn't teleport, even a short distance, at least not yet. She had tried so many times before, and she was close, but it was one of the few spells that eluded her. It also made the memory of Nightmare stealing the Elements flash through her mind. She felt her muscles tense up at that, and it made her breathing once again feel rigid rather than free.

Turning her attention back to Nightmare, she expected to watch her walk over to the throne, then sit down. But, oh no, that wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen. Why? It was simple: where the thrones had been was now a crater. And oh, it wasn't just any crater. It was huge! She gawked at it. She couldn't stop the memories of seeing Princess Celestia sitting on the throne, smiling and looking so regal, from flowing through her mind. And now that throne was gone. She wanted to cry yet again.

'M-maybe eternal night i-isn't g-going to be okay...'

Princess Celestia wouldn't take that throne again. It was gone. Nightmare Moon wouldn't sit there, either. The throne of Equestria. Gone.

But instead of crying, she closed her mouth and let her gaze fall onto the floor. She studied the red carpet but didn't take any notes of its details. It wasn't like she was going to be tested on this, so it didn't really matter. Even if she was tested on it, it still didn't really matter. Even if she passed that test, Nightmare might just kill her because she felt like it, so it wasn't like it mattered.

"Where is the Captain of the Guard?" Nightmare asked. Her voice came out much sharper than Twilight had expected, and so she winced.

But then, there was the realization of who she was asking for. She felt her heart beat faster, and everything felt tight. 'M-my b-brother is the Captain of the Guard!' He was in danger! And she couldn't do anything about it. She looked up at Nightmare Moon and stared at her, but Nightmare was looking away from her. 'M-maybe I-I can t-talk to her!?' her mind frantically suggested.

"H-he's in the dungeons, v-visiting P-Princess Cadance," one of the guards whose voice she didn't recognize answered.

Her heart sank at that, and her ears folded back against her head. 'C-Cadance?' softly whispered through her mind. 'Y-you... c-captured C-Cadance?' She should have expected that. Cadance wouldn't have been able to put up a fight. Cadance couldn't hurt a fly- it wasn't in her nature. She was the Princess of Love. 'P-please b-be okay.'

Every fiber of her being wanted, no, needed, Cadance to be okay. Cadance had been her foalsitter! She was one of her closest and oldest friends because of that. And, Cadance had been one of her few foalhood friends- which was to say her only 'friend' outside of her family and Princess Celestia. The thought of Nightmare Moon hurting her left her wanting to run away, find an empty bedroom, then bury her head in the pillow and sob, regardless of how Nightmare Moon would act- or treat her- if she did that.

The emotional part of her was in pain. The logical part of her condemned her for being so weak and reminded her that Cadance wasn't a fighter. Cadance wouldn't have fought back. Nightmare Moon didn't have a reason to hurt her, excluding that Cadance was an alicorn. She clung to that logic as vigorously as she could in an effort to subdue her raging emotions- which had been in turmoil for far too long. She really needed a chance to get away and be alone after this.

"I see," was Nightmare's response to the guard. "Show me," she instructed.

"O-of course, y-your Majesty," the guard stuttered. "T-this way."

Twilight tensed up as the guard turned and opened the door leading out of the Throne Room and into the hallway behind the now-destroyed thrones. He waited, and Nightmare started walking towards him. Rigidly, she followed, looking straight ahead, simply focusing on putting one hoof in front of the other, desperately trying to avoid thinking about the potential ramifications of everything that had happened.

As Nightmare and her approached the opened door, the guard walked out of the Throne Room with a rigid, practiced military stride. Even Twilight could tell the guard was desperate to avoid drawing any more of Nightmare's scrutiny, and that was the reason for his stride. Sadly for him, it had the opposite effect, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightmare scowl. It was a faint scowl, just barely there, but she could see it- the way her lips twitched down in disgust, perhaps disappointment.

She avoided looking at Nightmare any further, wanting to avoid the risk of that scowl falling on her. Though she felt bad for the guard, it was much, much better for Nightmare's ire to be directed at him than her.

The guard led on, and Nightmare and her followed. They turned to the left at the T, and for the first time since she could remember, Twilight noticed the stark contrast to the right. Her head lingered on that other hallway, taking in the darker color palette and the banners of the moon.

How had she missed it for so many years? She had been through this very hallway many times, and while she remembered seeing that particular hallway, she had never given it any consideration. She had always passed it, viewing it as a curiosity, but, despite the sharp contrast and the emphasis on the moon and night, she had never asked about it nor investigated it.

As she turned so that the hallway was behind her, she finally turned her head back ahead. Though the sight was gone from her eyes, it lingered in her mind. She should have known there was something important about it. She should have asked about it. She should have realized that there was something she didn't know. But no, she had never asked Princess Celestia about it, despite how strange it was. And she had never traversed that section even though she had been given free reign, with some exceptions, to wander and explore the castle.

It had been a curiosity, nothing more. It hadn't been anything worth her valuable time. Why explore the lunar-themed section of the castle, when the solar-themed section had everything she needed? The section was alluring to her, but she never gave in to that desire, always brushing it aside. She had explored the solar-themed side, but ignored the night half, even with the allure of night.

She found herself regretting that. What secrets did that half of the castle hold? What knowledge had she missed out on by not exploring further? Would she have deduced that Princess Celestia had a sister?

She was broken from her musings by another turn to the left. Nightmare pulled a few inches away from her, and immediately, her focus sharpened back into a fine point as a lance of panic shot through her being. She nearly stumbled in her haste to right herself back at Nightmare's side. She breathed heavier and her heart pulsed faster.

She couldn't let her guard down, even to think.

And so she walked beside Nightmare, rigidly. Through the hallways, around the corners, and down the flights of stairs that led to the dungeons.

And the dungeons of Canterlot Castle were a sharp contrast to the dungeons of the Castle of the Two Sisters. The immediate difference was that Canterlot Castle's dungeons were actually maintained. The stairwell was illuminated by magical lights, bringing out the pristine condition of the marble. Even if it was a dungeon, it was still Canterlot Castle, and as such, it demanded dignity.

The stairs were perhaps twice as wide as the stairs at the Castle of the Two Sisters- there was room enough for a group of ponies to walk up and down at the same time, comfortable. The stairs weren't spiral like in the Castle of the Two Sisters, either. They walked down a flight of stairs- a level of the castle- then reached a platform, then there was another flight of stairs to the left, leading to another platform. This downward trend continued two more levels before they arrived at the dungeon proper.

Rather than immediately opening into a long hallway lined by cells, there was a large, square room. The left fourth of the room was sectioned off from the rest with a counter- a guard station- which had four unicorns standing guard. The counter was marble, but above the counter was open- a pegasus could fly through without any problems.

All of the guards went rigid as Nightmare turned her head to look at them. Nightmare took a few steps forward, then stopped and turned to face them. Their guide continued forward, his gait relaxing as Nightmare's gaze left him. He continued across the room, then stopped at the door opposite of the stairs. Twilight hesitated, standing where she was. Should she follow Nightmare and risk Nightmare turning back and stepping into her? She didn't take the risk- the consequences far outweighed what would happen if Nightmare's ire fell on her for not standing closer.

She just hoped Nightmare would give her a chance to explain before killing her.

Though she couldn't see where Nightmare was looking, she could see one of the guards, and he visibly tensed up under his armor every few seconds, then relaxed. She had the suspicion that each time he tensed up, Nightmare was looking at him, but she dared not attempt to confirm it, lest she suffer his fate.

Eventually, Nightmare turned her head to the right, glanced at the floor beside her, then glanced back at Twilight. Once more, she tensed up. Her gaze was calm, but that didn't mean she could be careless. Nightmare's gaze jumped back to their guide, who once again went rigid, then she turned to face him and resumed her authoritative stride.

Twilight quickly walked forward to catch up, then keep up with her. The guard opened the door, then hurried into the hallway beyond. It was a long, wide hallway that went left and right from the door. The hallway was wide enough, once again, for two groups of ponies to walk in opposite directions comfortably. Likewise, the hallways that branched off from the main hallway at right angels were also wide enough for two groups of ponies, but those hallways were lined with cells, she knew from memory.

Walking into the hallway, their guide turned to the right, then hurried along, and so they followed behind him.

While the Canterlot Castle's dungeons were more often than not empty, it was still a large complex. It was not the city's primary dungeon, either. This dungeon was only used in the most unusual of circumstances that involved ponies at the Castle. Mostly, ponies who did stupid things, or ponies who had been involved in stupid accidents that needed to get sorted out. Most of the time, it was nothing major, although the dungeons were far more than adequate to house ponies or other creatures who posed a serious risk to others. And most of the time, the stays of its occupants were very brief- perhaps no more than a few hours to an overnight stay on average.

And as they walked, they passed hallways that branched off to house the dungeon cells. She counted three on her side, which meant three to four on the other side. Each hallway was long enough for twelve cells on each side. And the cells were in much better condition than the ones in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Not only were they well maintained, but they had basic amenities and were, once again, constructed of marble.

They also smelt significantly better.

With each passing step, she felt her anxiety growing. 'How is he going to react to this?' became her primary worry, although it was still tied in place with her fear of Nightmare Moon hurting him, Nightmare Moon hurting Cadance, and, of course, Nightmare killing her. Honestly, she wasn't sure which fear was her biggest. All of them weighed heavily on her mind, and she really couldn't deal with it. Even if she had slept well, this was all too much for her to deal with.

They came to the end of the hallway, passing perhaps three more hallways on her right, then turned to the left. Her heart pounded in her chest as they turned. Standing in front of the very last cell, facing the right, was her brother. Shining Armor. Captain of the Guard. She trembled at his sight. He was sitting on his haunches, staring into the cell, silent.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to stand there, refusing to move forward, refusing to acknowledge what had happened. But her fear spurred her hooves on. She had no choice but to follow beside Nightmare Moon. Hard as it was, she fought back her emotions and forced them down. She had to, for her brother's sake. If he saw her in such a disheveled, panicked state, he would do something stupid, and that would be his end. Perhaps even her own end. Nightmare might even end Cadance, if that happened.

So she put on a brave face, as best she could. Her heart and gut still twisted deep inside her body. Anxiety, fear, panic, but she did everything she could to keep it in check.

Eventually, whether it was the sound of their hoofsteps, or him feeling Nightmare's gaze on him, Shining turned to face them. At first, she saw his gaze go to the guard, then it landed on Nightmare. In that brief instant, he had never looked so cold, so ready to hurt somepony before. Then, his gaze jumped to her, and it shifted entirely. Worry, fear, concern. She could practically see the thoughts racing through his mind, 'How did she get my sister? Why is my sister here? What are you doing with my sister?'

Eventually, they came to a stop a few of Nightmare's steps away from him. She dared not look inside of the cell for fear of what she would see. She dared not meet her brother's gaze. She wouldn't be able to hold herself together if she did. She wanted to run over to him and hug him. After all, he was okay, even if it was just for the moment. And she really needed a hug. She needed her big brother to be there for her, to protect her and let her know that everything would be okay. She needed Princess Celestia to be there, to protect her, to tell her it would be okay, to instruct her in what to do.

But Princess Celestia wasn't there.

Nightmare's gaze eventually dropped to their guide. "Return to your post," was her cold command.

The guard nodded, then made a hasty retreat, walking around Nightmare's left side and making sure to put as much space as he could between him and Nightmare- his armor nearly scraped the marble wall.

Shining Armor stood up and faced Nightmare Moon, though his gaze lingered on her. Hesitantly, Twilight glanced at Nightmare. Nightmare's eyes studied her brother with curiosity and intelligence. Nightmare seemed to ponder something, but she could not determine what.

"Captain," she acknowledged. Her voice was cold and sharp and sent shivers down Twilight's spine.

She tensed up. It was the sort of voice so filled with displeasure that promised nothing good if even the slightest mistake was made. Shining Armor was on just as tight a leash as she was, perhaps even more so. And that paralyzed her in fear.

"Yes, your majesty?" Shining inquired. His voice held no love for her, only disdain and hatred, and it was plain for all to hear.

Twilight couldn't believe that he willingly made that risk of defiance in front of her. Even more so than that, she couldn't believe that Nightmare didn't kill him where he stood. Instead, Nightmare merely snorted in disdain. Neither of them liked the other, that much was obvious. And it scared her. It was just simmering, all it would take was a single spark, and there would be lethal consequences. And those consequences wouldn't be for Nightmare Moon.

"My patience," Nightmare growled, "is quite finite.You would do well to remember that, Captain."

A moment passed. And oh, how horrifying that moment was for her. Not knowing if the next picture in her eyes would be the last of seeing her brother alive, not knowing what other consequences it would hold, and not knowing how Nightmare would react to learning that he was her brother.

"I am willing to let this pass for now, but I will not make a habit of it. You will respect me," Nightmare stated. "You can hate me all you want, but you will respect me. You will obey me. And you will not disrespect me in front of the guards."

She could nearly hear him grinding his teeth, and as it was, it looked like his jaw muscles were going to be ripped from his bones, showing as much as they were.

In a slow, calculated manner, Shining bowed his head. "Of course, Queen Nightmare." His voice was still angered, but not quite as disrespectful as before. After a few seconds of bowing, he lifted his head back up.

"I will replace you," Nightmare stated, "if this becomes a problem."

'Replace,' echoed through Twilight's mind. Her entire world spun around her. 'Replace,' came again. She felt lightheaded; there was only one thing Nightmare could possibly mean by that. If he kept this up, he would die. It was that simple. She would lose her brother, because unless she spoke up, he would keep being an idiot and then get himself killed.

The edges of her eyes grew warm while her face grew cold. She closed her eyes, but not before realizing Shining's demeanor had changed entirely, and his eyes were focused on her. Next, she felt Nightmare's gaze fall on her, and she squeaked. Instinctively, she took a step back in fear. The feeling of Nightmare's eyes on her was inescapable and so overwhelming. Terror gripped her being.

"P-please don't!" she cried out, unable to stop herself. Her distress was just too much, and so she cracked. A whimper escaped her throat, her ears folded back, and she felt warmth roll down her face. "H-he's my b-brother! P-please d-don't kill him!" she sobbed.

Her hind legs gave out, and she fell onto her haunches. She let out another terrified squeak as she hit the floor. Nightmare's gaze lingered on her. She tried to scramble to her hooves, but she tripped herself up and ended up falling forward. No sooner had her muzzle hit the floor than she covered her eyes with her forehooves to protect her from Nightmare's inevitable attack. How could she not attack? She was so weak and such a disappointment. She was already displaying just how worthless she was to Nightmare, which meant that she would be disposed of, and then her friends would be disposed of, and then her brother would be disposed of.

Instead, she felt armored legs wrap around her neck. "Twilight! It-it's okay, Twily..." Shining's voice whispered into her ear.

It was hope; a ray of sunlight in a hurricane. She released her head from her hooves, wrapped them around the back of his neck and pulled herself into him, shaking and whimpering the whole time. Nightmare's gaze left her, and at the same moment, she felt Shining grip her tighter. It was a comforting, reassuring grip, but instead, it only heightened her fear.

"You are brother and sister?" Nightmare asked. It was a curious voice. The prior malice was missing. There was no condemnation. There was no rebuttal. There was no disappointment. It was as if it was a curiosity, something she hadn't expected but had taken a sudden interest in. "I see."

She felt Shining's head turn to his right, likely to face Nightmare Moon. She couldn't see his expression, but his tone was clear: "If you hurt her..."

And that was that. Nightmare would kill him, and it was all her fault. She cried more and held onto him more tightly. It would be the last time she hugged him.

But, as the seconds passed, he continued to live. Nightmare's magic never reached out at either of them. Nightmare didn't kill him. Nightmare didn't kill her.

She heard Nightmare exhale. It was a heavy, tired exhale. She was stressed, perhaps annoyed. But it wasn't a huff. "I will refrain from killing your brother," Nightmare stated, "provided you uphold your end of our little deal. However, I will not guarantee that he will remain Captain of the Guard if he continues to disrespect me."

She cried more. She felt relief at that, but she still cried more. It was just too much for her to go through in such a short time span. Her whole world had been upended. Everything had changed. But, she could relax, if only slightly. She could relax, but not entirely. Nightmare would not be happy if she continued to show such weakness or such vulnerability, and if she kept it up, Nightmare would get rid of her for being of no use.

She kept her guard up. How could she not? Nightmare Moon had banished her own sister to the Moon. If Nightmare was willing to do that to family, what hope, what assurance, could she cling to that Nightmare wouldn't do worse to her? Nightmare's promise whispered through her mind, 'I expect your loyalty, but in return, you will have my loyalty.' But that promise came with a catch, one which far exceeded it and every other promise she had made, for it was the greatest, most absolute promise Nightmare had made to her: 'Disobey me, and there will be consequences. Betray me, and I will kill you.'

Nothing would ever make her forget about that promise. Her life was entirely at Nightmare's whims. She couldn't fight back and survive, let alone win. If Nightmare so decided, then it would be her death, and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.

"What deal?" Shining asked.

Nightmare remained silent for a moment. Twilight once again felt Nightmare watching her, and her heart skipped a beat. She tensed up, but Nightmare continued to watch her, patiently, waiting to give her the chance to explain.

Shining turned back to her. "Twily? What deal..?" he asked again, his tone lower, more filled with fear and concern than at first.

She swallowed and tried to find her voice. As if sensing her distress, Nightmare looked away from her. A moment later, she heard Nightmare's metal boots clicking against the marble floor as she walked away from them, towards the cell door. After a few steps, the sound stopped.

"S-she..." Twilight started. But how could she explain it? How could she convey it, even if she could speak without stuttering? "I-I..." she tried again, only to once more fail. She whimpered. It made her feel like a foal. She was so vulnerable and she felt so exposed. She was put on the spot, in the center of attention- it was like everypony was staring at her, waiting and watching for her to make a fool of herself. And how young that made her feel. She wanted to run home to her parents and hind behind their legs like she had when she was a little filly. "I-I'm.. h-her... s-st-stu-udent..." she croaked out.

"What?" was Shining's response. A simple one-word question, without any stutter, but the surprise and shock was still undeniably there. "No, you're Princess Celestia's student!" he retorted. "You can't be her student!"

For a moment, she felt Shining tense up, then she tensed up as Nightmare's eyes wandered over her body before leaving. She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a broken squeak, so she closed her mouth. Shining squeezed her tighter and ran his armored hoof down her mane, then up again, then he pulled her closer.

The sound of Nightmare's hoofsteps clicking against the marble came again. And after a few steps, they stopped. "I made her a deal," Nightmare stated. "She is now my student."

"Why!?" Shining demanded.

'Why? She was going to kill me if I didn't accept! She was going to kill my friends if I didn't accept! She would hurt Princess Celestia if I didn't accept! She would hurt Equestria if I didn't accept!' There were so many answers shouted out in anger inside her mind. But she didn't voice a single one, she couldn't. She wouldn't try Nightmare's patience by listing off the reasons, to say nothing of not being able to speak.

"Your sister tried to stop me," Nightmare replied. "So I gave her the choice: Become my student, or suffer the consequences of trying to stop me." Her voice was sharp, and it cut at Twilight like a dagger, stealing what little security she could take from her brother's embrace.

"You're hurting her," Shining growled.

She wanted to cry hysterically at that. But she couldn't. Nightmare Moon took a deep breath, then slowly and audibly exhaled. "Twilight Sparkle," she called.

Immediately, Twilight tensed up, her whole body becoming rigid in fear. Her eyes shot open and she looked ahead at Nightmare. Though her dark form was blurry, that same old look of disappointment was there, rather than the anger or disgust she had expected.

"I assume that you have somewhere to stay in the castle, correct?" Nightmare inquired, her voice taking on a formal tone.

She nodded quickly and looked down at her brother's back. She wanted to answer yes, but she couldn't even open her mouth.

Nightmare inhaled, then audibly exhaled again. "Captain, please escort your sister to..." she paused for a moment before continuing, "her room."

She wasn't sure, but she would have sworn there was a hint of amusement in Nightmare's voice at that.

Then, Nightmare's gaze fell upon her again. "Go sleep," was her command.

But at least the command wasn't harsh, nor was it something she dreaded. Sleeping would be good for her, she knew. And she was tired. It was a mental exhaustion, rather than a physical one. An exhaustion spurred on entirely by Nightmare Moon. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry herself to sleep. Maybe that's what she would do.

Shining, of course, hesitated. But, after a moment, he squeezed her, then slowly released her and stood up. She held onto him but let him slide out from her forelegs. She tried to push herself into a standing position, but failed and tried again. On her third attempt, she managed to stand.

"Come on, it's okay," Shining coaxed quietly.

She didn't believe him for one second, but nonetheless, she stayed closed to him and turned around. She heard Nightmare's hoofsteps receding from her. She bit her lip and looked back to see Nightmare standing facing the cell door. A moment passed, then Nightmare looked over at her and her brother. She froze up from fear yet again, then relaxed as her gaze jumped to Shining. "Please ensure that there are guards assigned for her protection," Nightmare stated.

In Twilight's mind, she recognized it for what it was: It was a pleasant way for her to say, "Please ensure your sister is kept under guard at all times."

Now, not only was Nightmare Moon listening in on her, but she would have eyes watching her. She had no privacy, nor any freedom to speak of. She may have been Nightmare's student, but in reality, she was a glorified prisoner. She looked away from Nightmare Moon and hung her head low as Shining led her away.

At this point, what did it matter if she looked weak to her teacher? She would die at Nightmare's hooves one way or another, it was only a matter of time.

Even as they turned the corner, walking further away from Nightmare Moon, she knew she was still well within her reach. And that? That would never change.

The walk back to her tower from the castle's dungeons had been completely exhausting, or maybe it was just the exhaustion caused by all of the stress Nightmare Moon had put her under catching up with her. Her tears had stopped, and her eyes had dried. Her fur, while dried, was still damp and cold- the cool night air made sure of that. But even if she was Nightmare's prisoner, strolling across the Castle's courtyard in the dead of night offered her some semblance of relaxation and freedom. It was quiet. It was peaceful. She could, for the duration of the walk, cast aside the constant fear of Nightmare Moon.

She had to force herself to not think about the fact that the night was eternal. The fact that she wouldn't see the sun again. The fact that she wouldn't see Princess Celestia again. Those thoughts would have torn her apart. But by not thinking of them, she could take in the night's unrivaled beauty. While the day was bright and cheerful, the lighting held none of the subtleties of the moon's light. The softer shades that evoked feelings of comfort, rest and peace, rather than the bustle of day.

She still had no idea how much time had passed, nor how long she had slept after Nightmare Moon captured her. She didn't ask her brother, although he would be able to answer one of her questions. She couldn't ask. She was too tired and too drained to ask. But looking at the night sky? That had helped. She took comfort in it, even if the sight of the Mare on the Moon had nearly brought her tears back.

Sluggishly, she walked up the stairs to her tower. Resolutely, Shining ascended beside her. She wouldn't have made the trip on her own, which meant that she would have, without a doubt, awoken to see Nightmare Moon. And if that happened? She knew she would scream in fear, and Nightmare would have stolen all of whatever remained of any sense of security she felt. Not that much of that remained in the first place. Not now.

She licked her lips. "H-how is... C-Cadance?" she asked. It was the first thing she had been able to speak since leaving the dungeon.

She felt a momentary pause in Shining's stride, which brought her to a stop, but he almost immediately overcame it, and so she resumed her pace alongside him, pretending as if nothing had happened. "She's..." he trailed off. He sounded unsure like he didn't know what to say. "She's shaken up," he answered. "But... she says she's... okay," although he didn't sound like he believed her.

A thought occurred to her. It was enough to twist her heart and make her close her eyes. Her legs even hiccuped, and she stopped. Her brother noticed, and he stopped too. "I can... try to... talk to Nightmare about her..." she whispered.

A few seconds passed in silence. She kept her eyes closed. "Twilight," he eventually drawled. "I..." he trailed off with a heavy sigh. That sigh spoke volumes of his conflict: the safety of Cadance, his marefriend, versus risking his sister's well-being. "Stay safe, okay?" was what he settled on.

She swallowed and nodded, then opened her eyes. Hesitantly, she looked at him, then met his gaze. In the end, there was nothing for her there. She looked down at her hooves and the marble steps below them. Then, she took a step without him. He lingered behind her for a moment before catching up.

"I'll try to protect you, Twilight," he said.

Twilight closed her eyes again. "I-I know," she replied. Her voice cracked, but she managed to avoid crying. She still couldn't shake the image of Nightmare killing him from her mind.

Silence descended upon them for the rest of their ascent. Once they reached the top, Shining took the lead and opened the door. Twilight hesitantly walked to the doorway, then stopped and looked back at him. It took less than a second for her to decide to turn around, then hug him again. He returned the hug, even more strongly than she hugged him. "I'll... try to make sure that the guards assigned to... guard you..." he trailed off. He sounded at a loss.

Twilight just nodded in response. All too soon, Shining's grip let up on her, and so she let up on him in return, then pulled back. She took one step back, then another, then she turned around and walked inside. Once she was clear of the door, she shut it behind her. The silence felt oppressive.

Her tower, her library, it wasn't as welcoming as before. It wasn't as warm. It didn't smell so familiar or comforting. It was dark- there were no candles glowing to give off light for her to see and read, although the large window opposite of the door let in more than enough light from the moon and the stars for her to navigate without tripping.

But Spike still wasn't there.

But she was too emotionally drained to deal with that right now. Barely holding her head up, she navigated her darkened library, then stumbled up the stairs. More than once, her hooves clipped the top of the next step, but she kept herself from falling down simply because of how sluggish her pace was. She had ample time to correct for each and every mistake she made.

And so, once she reached the top of the stairs, she shuffled across the room, ignoring everything else; her entire focus was on her bed. Thoughts of Nightmare Moon and Spike, thoughts of her brother and Cadance, they merely acted as weights shackled to her hooves, slowing her down. Halfway across the room, she closed her eyes and came to a stop. For a few seconds, she stood there silently as the pain returned to her eyes, then warmth dripped out of them.

She sucked in a breath, then lifted her right forehoof, which shook and shook and shook, then wiped the tears from her eyes. She set her forehoof back down, then opened her eyes, swallowed, and stepped forward. Step by step, she walked to her bed. As she put her forehoof down on the blanket, she shivered.

Her blanket- and bed, by extension- didn't feel as inviting as normal. The coldness of the fabric soaked into her hoof, and that coldness became what she focused on. Not the softness, nor the promise of sleep. Simple the coldness, the isolation, and the insecurity that now faced her.

She lifted her forehoof from her bed and set it back on the marble floor, then lit her horn. Her magenta aura illuminated the room, but it felt like it didn't illuminate the room anywhere near as much. The darkness was still constantly there, creeping in at the edge of the illumination.

She pulled the covers back, then climbed up into bed. She laid down on her side, facing the large window that looked out across Equestria. She could even see Ponyville. She smiled, but the very next instant, the smile was gone. She pulled the covers back over her body, then let her aura go. The room descended into darkness, with the window as the only source of light.

And looking out, she watched the stars in the sky above. A wave of exhaustion rolled over her body, but she fought it back, keeping her eyes from closing. She slid her right forehoof under her pillow and shivered as the chill of the blankets caught up with her. Even with her warmth gradually heating up the air, there were still a few seconds of cold.

'Is this my new life?' It was a quiet thought, one that drove her ears back to her head. She had gone from being Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student to the prisoner of Nightmare Moon, the very pony who imprisoned her mentor on the moon. And around Nightmare Moon, she felt like she was walking on eggshells.

Just because Nightmare Moon had yet to retaliate against her did not mean it wouldn't come. No, it would come, sooner or later. But perhaps, it wouldn't be fatal. At least, not yet. Maybe Nightmare would still find some use for her that justified keeping her around. But it would inevitably come to an end. Unless, perhaps, she proved herself to Nightmare Moon.

But that thought? It twisted her gut and left her with an unconquerable feeling of anxiety and dread. But she didn't have the strength to keep thinking about it. She needed to cry. She needed to sleep. She pressed her eyes closed.

And she cried until she fell asleep.

Tiredly, Twilight inhaled, and the scent of books brought a faint smile to her lips. As she exhaled, so too did the smile fade. She was distinctly aware of her lingering exhaustion, and the feeling of the fur of her cheeks being matted. Her mane felt unbrushed, but the embrace of her pillow kept that from bothering her. The air underneath her blankets was warm and comforting, in contrast with the air assaulting her face and uncovered neck, which was cool. She rolled over onto her right side and nuzzled her pillow, then tucked her head under the blankets. At her shifting, a cool current rushed under the blankets, coming from the edges of the bed and where the blankets weren't sealed around her body.

Through her closed eyelids, she could determine that it was either still dark, or that it was early morning. Or, the curtains were closed, but even then, she would have expected to be able to tell it was light out. So no, it was still dark.

An unease started to bubble up inside her chest, and she felt her stomach twist and tense up in anxiety. A feeling of foreboding took hold of the room's air, and it made the warmth under her blankets feel less warm. The bed's embrace also gradually grew less and less comforting. The soft, silken fabric still embraced and hugged her body, but it felt like it was receding from her, rather than reaching out to hug her.

The knot in her chest tightened and it spurred her into opening her eyes. She was facing the window, and looking out, she could still see the night sky, and the stars dominating it. It was a beautiful, calming sight. Her eyelids gradually pulled open all the way, and she looked out across the jeweled sky, feeling the anxiety budding up inside her wash away, then eventually fade entirely.

Her exhaustion still lingered, but she felt okay. Well rested, even. Calm. But, even feeling that way, there was an unease in the back of her mind. As soon as she had opened her eyes and saw the night sky, everything had rushed back to the forefront of her mind. Nightmare Moon. Eternal night. Princess Celestia's banishment. Her new role. Princess Cadance being captured. Shining Armor's peril.

And the unease lingered in the back of her mind, but the unease did not grow further, nor expand out to envelop the rest of her mind. Staring out into the night sky, she felt calm. Her exhaustion also helped, even if she felt awake. She was still drained. She licked her lips and glanced down at the floor. She kept expecting a wave of panic to suddenly wash over her- she kept expecting for it to click, just how much things had changed, just how much danger she was in, but the panic attack never came. Instead, a lazy calmness lingered over her.

But, of course, the insecurity was still there. Slowly, she brought her left forehoof up and touched the silver crescent moon laying on the bed in front of her chest. It still had its characteristic metallic coldness, but it didn't feel quite as omnipresent as before. She lifted her hoof up, then touched her chest.

Her heart was, of course, still beating. That was a good thing. It was a calm, rhythmic beat. Unpanicked, unstrained, relaxed. It was fitting, that she was just waking up, and the stress of the day- night- had yet to set in for her. But it was also disheartening. She knew that her peace wouldn't last. She would probably see Nightmare out of the corner of her eye and jump out of her skin in fear at her sudden appearance.

She half expected to see that happen right then or to hear Nightmare's cold voice. But it didn't happen. Nightmare, it seemed, was content to give her some faux sense of security.

She took a deep breath, then rolled over. She closed her eyes as the silken bedsheets caressed her body as she rolled over. The crescent moon was pulled up from the bed and came to rest against the side of her chest. It was off center, hanging there casually, not properly in place at her chest. Perhaps it would upset Nightmare, but for the moment at least, she didn't care: she had just woken up.

For a few minutes, she laid there lazily, but it was eventually broken as her stomach churned, then growled at her. Her lips instinctively pulled into a grimace at the realization: 'How long has it been since I've eaten?' Her grimace turned into a scowl. The last 'food' she had eaten was the 'food' Applejack- and her family- had force-fed her when she was checking on them for the festival. And of course, she had used her magic to speed up digesting that, so the filling hadn't lasted nearly as long. 'How long ago was that? How much time has passed?'

There was no way for her to know, exactly, without asking. But she knew that she had slept twice- first under Nightmare's influence, and then again from being mentally and emotionally exhausted. But how long had she slept for both times? There also couldn't have been that much time passing between when she woke up in the cell to going to bed again. But there was also the trip to the Castle of the Two Sisters. That might have taken a few hours. And there was the night before the festival. Add on one quarter to half a day from when she last ate, and she still couldn't reason it out without more information.

She sighed in defeat, then slowly pushed herself up onto her haunches. The crescent moon of the necklace swung forward, then swung back and bounced against her chest once, then swayed back and forth calmly, hanging from her neck. Undoubtedly, Nightmare knew she was awake now. Whether Nightmare was awake or not, she had no idea. She knew that Princess Celestia slept, so it stood to reason Nightmare Moon would sleep too.

She pushed the thought aside as she clambered out of bed. She winced as her hooves made contact with the cold marble floor. The floor immediately sapped the warmth from her hooves. It was one of the things she didn't like about Canterlot Castle- and Canterlot architecture in general- that the floors were predominantly stone, which meant that the floors were generally cold, which meant that walking made her hooves cold. Even if she was used to it, it was unpleasant upon first waking up.

And it felt a bit colder than normal, too. It might have been her nerves, or it might had been the eternal night. Hesitantly, she looked back over her shoulder out the window. Nightmare had been certain the moonlight- or her magic- would be enough for plants to survive. Perhaps it would be, but would it be enough to stop everything from freezing?

She tended to think yes. It stood to reason that the magic would work, plus, from what she had felt, it wasn't that much colder- perhaps a few degrees- and felt like it stabilized there. Perhaps it wouldn't even effect lower elevations as much as Canterlot.

She shook the thought aside and turned her head back to survey her library. It was still in the state she had left it in. There were no signs of anypony having sneaked inside to steal anything or watch her. That gave her a little bit of reassurance, although she knew there was the possibility that if somepony had sneaked inside, they might have been careful to hide their presence.

She wouldn't have worried about it if Princess Celestia was here, but she didn't trust Nightmare Moon not to sneak in and watch her sleep. It was creepy, and logically, she knew that Nightmare Moon had better things to do. Clearly, she was paranoid, but of course, that fit with the insanity she had discovered plaguing her as of late.

She took a hesitant step forward, and upon not hearing Nightmare's voice, she took another. Her gait grew more sure with each step, and by the time she reached the bathroom, it was a normal, casual walk. She lit her horn and closed the door behind her. A moment later, the room's magical lights glowed to life. Fortunately, with it being night, the lights were designed to be dimmer than if it was daytime, so she didn't have to shield her eyes to stop herself from being blinded.

For a moment, she stood there, then she looked down at the necklace. Nightmare Moon was, of course, listening in. Perhaps she was sleeping, but that didn't mean she wasn't listening or aware of it. For a moment, she debated taking the necklace off, but Nightmare's command had left no wiggle room. She shifted her weight apprehensively, then crept over to the shower and turned it on.

'Well, this is going to be one of the most awkward things I've ever done,' a part of her sarcastically noted. But of course, it was correct. But even that sarcasm didn't help with the nervousness that grew as she considered the prospect of Nightmare listening to her taking a shower.

She tried not to think about it too much.

It hadn't been as bad as she had expected, but it still made her uncomfortable to think that Nightmare Moon had been listening to her while she showered. But there wasn't anything she could do unless she actually asked Nightmare Moon for permission to take it off, which would probably get rejected emphatically.

Regardless, she tried to keep it out of her mind as best she could as she toweled herself off. Finishing with her tail, she levitated a brush over, then started hastily running the brush through her mane- which proved to be a mistake, as the brush snagged and tugged on her mane, which pulled her head up, made her squeak, and drop the brush. The brush fell from her magical grasp, then dropped down and yet again pulled on her mane, making her wince in pain once more as it tugged.

She puffed out her cheeks at that and huffed. Slowly, she gripped the brush with her magic again, then started running the brush through her mane in much slower, shorter strokes. She may not have had her mane elegant like Rarity, but her style was specific and precise. It was organized. And it took effort to keep it that way. Effort that, at times, frustrated her. But no, it was her own fault for not taking time to study spells that would help her with this.

After spending far, far too long struggling against the knots in her mane and tugging on her head, she was finally able to run the brush through the length of her mane without snagging anything. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief at that. She spent another few minutes working on her tail, and by the time she finished, her stomach was gurgling and reminding her of how empty it was.

As she worked on brushing her teeth, she found her gaze alternating between the reflection of the toothbrush and the foaming toothpaste coming from her mouth to her eyes. It seemed that, though she had slept and once again felt well rested, she looked haunted, even to her. Just by looking at her expression, just from seeing her eyes, she could tell that Nightmare Moon was having a lingering effect on her. Her eyes spoke volumes of how Nightmare Moon was on her mind, and how the fear and terror she evoked lingered.

And the more she saw that, the stronger it became. Even the air seemed to grow heavy and constricting around her. She would have sworn that the fur on her back started to stand on end, even though she knew Nightmare Moon wasn't nearby. She could feel Nightmare's presence when she was nearby, and her absence was just as notable. But that didn't stop her sense of security from shattering. Though she was alone, Nightmare was there with her. Listening in, from the enchanted necklace. Her magic was there, everpresent, keeping her leashed.

Still, she drew out brushing her teeth as long as she could, brushing them far, far more vigorously and thoroughly than she knew was necessary. Every second, every minute she could delay, meant that much more time free from Nightmare's oppressive presence. But of course, she knew it was just delaying the inevitability of being in her presence, once again. It did, however, give her time to try to prepare herself for Nightmare's presence and visage.

Not that it was much help.

At last, she spat out the rest of the toothpaste, then rinsed her toothbrush and mouth out. After putting the toothbrush away, she took a deep breath, then shuffled out of the bathroom. With each step, her dread grew. After stepping out of the doorway, she came to a stop and just listened to the silence, searching for any sounds to indicate the presence of anypony else, or worse, Nightmare Moon, but all was silent.

She breathed a sigh of relief, then took a deep breath and strolled to the stairs and descended them in quick order. As she walked to the door, her ears pinned back. Had Spike been there, he would have greeted her 'Good morning!' and she could even still hear him calling it out, cheerfully. But Spike was not there, and with him missing, and his missing greeting, she felt alone.

She walked to the front door and tried her hardest to shake off the feeling of isolation lingering in Spike's absence. She even managed to lift her ears back off of her head, but the pang was still there. She opened the door, then stepped outside. Like the inside of her tower, it was cool, but a part of her noted that it felt no cooler than it had been. Perhaps the temperatures would remain stable after all.

The beautiful night sky stared down at her, almost as if it was smiling at her, and her alone, despite the present company of two guards. She made herself ignore them, at least for a moment, regardless of whether it was rude or not, as their task was to keep an eye on her or to further serve to leash her. Looking at the sky, she felt some of her anxiety drift away. The feeling of loneliness was lost in the vast, beautiful expanse of the stars. Sadly, her gaze still fell upon the moon.

And the Mare on the Moon seemed to look down at her alone as if crying out for her. The remorseful look lingered in its features, despite looking so identical to the Mare on the Moon as it had been for the entirety of her life. She couldn't escape the knowledge that now, it was Princess Celestia's prison. Perhaps Princess Celestia was looking down at Canterlot, trying to see her, but she did not know.

Hesitantly, she looked down from the sky and out across the courtyard. For a moment, she just stared at the castle, then she swallowed and glanced aside at the two guards- first, the one on her left, then the one on her right. Neither of them said anything, and they stood their stoically. She didn't recognize either of them, but of course, that didn't mean much. There were only a few guards who she knew well enough to recognize. Although, she had heard from many sources all of the guards were familiar with her, which of course, made sense, considering that she was Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student.

Emphasis on was. Now, she was Nightmare Moon's student.

She swallowed, then exhaled. Slowly, she started down the stairs to the castle's courtyard. And as she had expected, both guards silently fell in step behind her. It made her nervous. There were times before when she had a Royal Guard escort, but the circumstances had been so different from now.

But still, she continued forward. After all, she hadn't a choice in the matter. Perhaps she had the authority to give guards orders, as Nightmare Moon said she would retain that authority, but she doubted that would overrule their orders to follow her.

The marble stairs and even the stone of the courtyard under her hooves was cold like that of her tower, although it wasn't nearly as much of a shock to her system as when she first set hoof on the floor. At least during the day, the stone had been warmed, even if it was still cool. But the moon just didn't have the same effect.

Every step brought her that much closer to the castle, and likewise, each step made the feeling of dread strengthen proportionally. By the time she walked through the castle's doors, the feeling of dread had become a palpable pulse inside her body. Slowly building up, then pulsing, radiating out in a wave of anxiety that made her body twist and tingle before settling down to build up again.

But the castle still had a lingering warmth reminiscent of Princess Celestia. The atmosphere felt warm, rather than oppressive, despite her replacement. Her tapestries had since been replaced, but it didn't stop her from associating this castle with her mentor's presence, and it brought some sense of comfort to her.

At her approach, the guards instinctively opened the doors for her, and so she was left with an unbroken path straight to the Throne Room. As the last door opened, she slowed to a stop, her eyes resting on the destroyed dais. While the destruction had been cleaned up, it was still ruined. It would take time to repair to Nightmare's specifications.

She took a deep breath, then let out a quiet sigh before heading into the room. Looking left and right, she searched for the unmistakable form of Nightmare Moon, but both to her elation and her disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen.

A part of her wondered why she was seeking out the nightmare alicorn, but her answer to that was simply, 'If I don't, then she will look for me.' And that wasn't exactly something she wanted to happen. Nightmare Moon would know where she was because of the necklace, and so she didn't want to risk her ire by trying to avoid her.

That, and the feeling of emptiness in her stomach. It was odd, yes, but given Nightmare Moon's takeover, she had no way of knowing what, if anything, had changed regarding food and the like in the castle, so she felt at a loss regarding how to get food from the castle. Were the cooks still there? Was there even food available? Had the procedures changed? They were concerns that a normal pony wouldn't have thought about, but for her, it was panic-inducing. There was the option to leave for food in Canetrlot, but she felt that Nightmare might think poorly of her leaving the castle grounds without permission, even if she did say what she was going to do.

With Nightmare nowhere to be seen in the Throne Room, she cautiously made her way over to the door that would lead to Princess Celestia's- Nightmare Moon's- chambers. The two guards followed behind her and said nothing as she headed into the hallway, nor did the guard standing beside the door say anything, which she took to mean it was okay that she was walking through there.

The first time she had walked to Princess Celestia's chambers had been so long ago when Princess Celestia had just taken her on as her pupil. Silly as it was, walking there on her own scared her. The guards were all friendly towards her- she was a young filly at the time, and Princess Celestia had made certain that they all knew she was her student, but it didn't make walking to her chambers any less intimidating. After all, Princess Celestia was the ruler of Equestria, she had been alive for thousands of years, and, of course, she moved the sun and moon.

The way she felt now put that to shame. She bit and nibbled on her lip uncontrollably. Part of her screamed out at the fact that she was damaging her body by doing that, but the unease churning inside her chest prevented her from stopping. Her muscles and entire body tensed and grew rigid with each passing step. Every time she came close to a hallway, her pace slowed, and her eyes jumped frantically from point to point, expecting Nightmare Moon to be hiding and expecting her to pounce out at her before she noticed her.

Even if it was silly, that was her fear. Nightmare Moon was Queen and Empress. She wielded the same power and authority that Princess Celestia had, but Princess Celestia was benevolent and predictable. Nightmare Moon was a literal night and day difference from Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia did her best to protect ponies and ensure they lived joyful, peaceful lives. While she had no experience with Nightmare Moon's ruling, she knew several things about her. One, she radiated an aura of terror. Two, that Nightmare Moon was the predator. And three, Nightmare Moon would use her power to get what she wanted.

Swallowing down her fear, her eyes came to rest on the doors to Princess Celestia's chambers. The radiant emblem of her cutie mark was still there, despite the room's new resident, although she knew in her heart it wouldn't be there much longer. She regarded the emblem with a solemn sobriety as she approached it.

Coming to a stop before the door, she stood there. The door was far more intimidating than it had been when she had first stood before it all those years ago. Cautiously, she lifted her forehoof up. Without her weight on her hoof, as it lifted towards the door, she felt it shaking and trembling uncontrollably. She swallowed, then moved her hoof closer to the door, intending to knock.

Her hoof moved closer, then refused to budge. Paralyzed in fear, she couldn't knock as she intended. 'Just knock. Knock on the door! She says she wants to be my teacher and wants me to be her student. Just knock!'

Nothing happened. So, there she stood, with her hoof lifted to knock, but frozen in fear. Meanwhile, the four guards there stood stoically, probably doing their best to ignore her making a fool of herself.

She took a deep breath, exhaled and closed her eyes. Finally, her hoof managed to connect with the door. Once, then twice, and finally a third time before she lowered it to the floor. And she winced and tensed up, clenching her eyes shut and looking away from the doorway.

A few seconds passed in silence. It felt like hours. And maybe, just maybe, Nightmare Moon wasn't there. Maybe she wouldn't open the door and stand there.

But no. It wasn't to be. Sure enough, she heard the door open in a whisk of magic, then the terror came. The feeling of Nightmare looking at her that set off a marathon for her heart, that made her chest tighten, rendering breathing a challenging task.

"Twilight Sparkle," she greeted. It was a casual greeting. Not surprise, nor annoyance, nor anger. Almost passive, but still cool.

"H-hello," she stuttered out. She could practically feel Nightmare lifting an eyebrow, and she cringed at that.

"Enter," Nightmare commanded. A moment later, a wave of relief washed over her as Nightmare's eyes left her. She managed to open her eyes and face her just in time to see Nightmare glance at the two guards. "Leave us," was her command to them.

She heard the guards bid a hasty retreat. At the same time, Nightmare stepped aside, offering her entrance to the room. Nightmare looked at her expectantly. She managed to take a step forward, but she couldn't stop her legs from trembling.

And Nightmare exhaled- it was a mixture of a sigh and a huff. It was enough to make her correct for her hesitation, and so she quickly fumbled with her hooves in order to get past the doorway. Once she was clear of the door, she stood rigidly. She was fairly certain that even the Royal Guards never stood as rigidly as she did. She felt Nightmare's eyes trace over her body, and she heard the door close.

Her breaths were shallow and controlled as Nightmare scrutinized her. Slowly, she heard the sound of Nightmare walking behind her, then circling around her left side before passing in front of her. Never once did Nightmare's gaze shift from her body. Finally, Nightmare came to a stop in front of her. She could see her gaze- a mixture of curiosity and disappointment. Perhaps something else she couldn't place. But, not once did she look up to meet that gaze. Instead, she stared at Nightmare's cyan chestplate and the crescent moon set in it.

"I believe we need to talk," Nightmare stated.

Twilight swallowed. There was nothing in Nightmare's voice to convey anger or any malicious intent, but her words were worrying.

She opened her mouth, only for Nightmare to preempt her: "If you are going to be my student, then we need to have an open dialog, do we not?"

She closed her mouth and nodded.

"Good," was Nightmare's comment. A few seconds passed. Nightmare's slitted eyes glided across her features. "I know that you are terrified of me," she stated cautiously. Twilight felt a pulse of fear spike through her body, and she thought she saw Nightmare's brow creased at that, but she did not look to be certain.

Nightmare Moon shook her head and let out a mixture of a sigh and a growl. "I am not your enemy, Twilight Sparkle. You are my student; I am your teacher." Her gaze settled back on Twilight, focusing on her eyes, as if trying to coax- or force- Twilight into meeting her gaze. Out of fear, Twilight obliged. Nightmare's eyes were still intimidating, but not quite so much as before. There wasn't the lethal, predatory gleam there, now. In its place, intelligence, curiosity, and interest. "I know you are not perfect," she stated. "I know you will make mistakes, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot expect you to be perfect. I will not expect you to be perfect."

A moment passed, and Twilight held her breath as Nightmare's eyes glanced side to side, studying her features. "I am not waiting for you to trip up so that I have reason to hurt you, Twilight Sparkle. I do not intend to hurt you unless you betray me. I recognize that right now you're scared. Too scared for this to work, in fact," she stated. "Recognize that I am not out to get you. I would not have offered you the position of being my student if I did not want to be your teacher. You may have been my sister's Most Faithful Student, but I, at least, would like for you to be mine. Whether you want to try to be my student or not, that is up to you."

Twilight swallowed and nodded quickly. She could almost feel sweat rolling down her forehead.

"Relax, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said.

She tried to obey that command. Even with all Nightmare had said, it didn't help. How could she let her guard down around Nightmare Moon? How could she trust her?

Nightmare frowned. "Do you wish to talk?"

Did she? There was a lot she would like to say. Sadly, most of that wasn't about to come out. Mostly, that was because of fear of what would happen if she did speak it. There was also the fear that kept her mouth clamped shut. She managed to make herself nod.

"Then speak," Nightmare replied.

"I-I don't feel safe," she found herself saying.

Nightmare's expression softened at that, then she looked away from Twilight. She stared at the wall, her gaze appearing to have hints of wounded pride to it. "That is entirely my fault, I know," she answered. "I did not realize you were so..." she trailed off and shook her head, then faced Twilight again. "You were not the threat I anticipated," was her succinct admission. Twilight swallowed. "And from what I have seen of you, I have been perhaps too harsh."

Twilight stayed silent.

Nightmare seemed unsure. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldn't quite grasp the right way to say it. Eventually, she settled on shaking her head. "I do not know you very well, Twilight Sparkle. Tell me of yourself. What is your age? How long had you been my sister's student?"

Twilight licked her lips. "I-I'm sixteen," she answered. "And... I've... I was... Princess... your sister's student for the past eight years."

Nightmare nodded. "You are young," she noted.

Were it anypony else- with the exception of Princess Celestia- she would have retorted them. But Nightmare didn't state it in any sort of chastising manner. It almost came across as a sad realization. Then, to her embarrassment, her stomach rumbled and churned, then audibly gargled, shouting out her hungered state.

Nightmare Moon slowly blinked, then raised an eyebrow. For her part, she felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "I-I'm s-sorry," she stuttered hastily.

Nightmare let out a groaned sigh. "Do not apologize. When was the last time you ate?"

Twilight shifted her weight and looked away from her. "Um... Lunch... before... your return."

Risking a glance up at Nightmare, she found Nightmare squinting at her with a mixture of concern and disbelief. The latter emotion caught her off-guard. "Then you will join me for a meal, and we shall speak more," Nightmare stated.

She had to admit, that sounded partially okay. "O-okay..."

Nightmare waited a moment, then walked around her to the door. Twilight watched her and turned her head, then turned around as Nightmare opened the door. Nightmare looked back at her and waited. Slowly, she shuffled over closer to her and took a spot at her right side.

Nightmare took the lead and walked out first, and she followed beside her.

As they left the room, she heard Nightmare close the door behind them. She didn't hear either of the room's guards move to follow them, and so it left the two of them to walk the hallways alone. For a while, they walked in silence. Eventually, however, she felt Nightmare look at her, and in return, she glanced at Nightmare. The alicorn's gaze lingered on her for a few seconds, then returned ahead. Likewise, she looked ahead too.

"Tell me of Princess Cadance," Nightmare said.

For a brief moment, Twilight paused, breaking stride. She managed to recover from the question, though not before Nightmare glanced back at her. "I... what... do you want to know?"

"How do you know her?" Nightmare queried.

It was a specific question that made her tense. Nightmare wasn't asking if she knew Cadance. Nightmare wasn't asking if she knew of Cadance, or how much she knew about her. No, the question was under the correct assumption that she knew Cadance personally. She grimaced. "She... was my foalsitter. When I was younger," she answered.

Her answer made Nightmare stop, which caught her off-guard. Nightmare turned to look at her. "Your foalsitter? Your foalsitter was an alicorn."

Twilight stopped and nodded. "Um... yes? Cadance became my foalsitter after Princess... after your sister took me as her student."

Nightmare studied her, then turned back ahead and resumed walking. "I see."

Twilight followed, though lagged behind. With a growing twist in her throat and chest, her gaze fell to the floor. "Please don't hurt her," she whispered.

She heard Nightmare's hoofsteps stop, so she stopped also. Nightmare looked at her. Reluctantly, she looked up at her. "She... was my only friend- outside of my family and... your sister- when I was a foal..."

Nightmare studied her. But as she had said, she was not out to get her. She regarded Twilight for a few seconds. "I do not intend to hurt her unless she becomes a problem," was her answer. "Nor do I care that she is apparently involved with the Captain of the Guard. So long as it does not cause problems."

She felt a bit relieved at that. "Thank you..." she said. Nightmare stayed silent, turned ahead and resumed walking. She followed. Perhaps Nightmare wasn't as bad as she thought. Maybe she could afford to relax slightly around her.

"Cadance is the Princess of Love, correct?" Nightmare inquired.

"Yes," Twilight replied.

"I see. How old is she? What sort of political power did she have? What about her authority?"

"Um... she's twenty-two. As far as I know, she didn't really do anything like Pr... your sister. Well... I mean, she didn't hold court sessions or anything. She... mostly did more social events," she answered.

"And how did she become an alicorn?" Nightmare asked.

Twilight took a deep breath. Now that had been a great bedtime story! "Well... she defeated an evil unicorn who tried to steal the love of everypony in her town. She was an orphan pegasus when she did that... and she got her cutie mark. And as she tells it, Princess Celestia found her somewhere. She wasn't sure where she was. She said that there were these white orbs everywhere and that the entire sky was blue but seemed to stretch on for infinity. The ground was just light, too."

As she explained, she saw Nightmare's stride slow. "I... see," she said. Her voice sounded much more pondering than before.

Twilight wasn't sure what to make of that, but it stood out to her.

Nightmare glanced back at her. "And what of you? How did you get your cutie mark?"

She shifted her weight. It was a memory she treasured, even if it was slightly embarrassing. But now it was tainted by Nightmare Moon's question. She sighed softly, drawing another glance from Nightmare. "It was... the entrance exam to Pr... your sister's school for gifted unicorns," she ventured hesitantly. "The exam required me to hatch a dragon's egg-"

Nightmare paused and looked at her. "And you were eight at the time? Surely that..." she trailed off, a wave of bewilderment crossing her features.

She nodded and shifted her weight. "Well, yes. It was actually just a test to see how foals handled failure. We weren't expected to hatch the egg."

Nightmare seemed relieved at that.

"And... well, I did," she said.

Nightmare's bewilderment returned for a split second, then it morphed to intrigue. "Your baby dragon?"

Twilight nodded slowly. "Spike... yes. I hatched him. There was... something. A rainbow explosion in the sky and it scared me. I hadn't been doing well with my magic before that. I was scared and... under pressure, so..." she trailed off and paused for a moment. "But then that rainbow explosion happened and... I don't remember what happened, but... Apparently, Princess..." she trailed off and let out a quiet, disappointed sigh. "Your sister found me, hovering in the air suspended by my own magic. I had turned the judges and my parents into potted plants, and hatched Spike, in addition to growing him to... probably close to one hundred times his size," she explained.

"Interesting..." escaped Nightmare's lips. She wasn't sure whether that was intentional on Nightmare' part or not but suspected it wasn't. A few more seconds passed, then Nightmare turned around and resumed walking, almost as if nothing had happened.

She had expected more questions following that, but instead, a silence had descended between them. It was a silence that, as time went on, made her feel nervous. However, the occasional glance from Nightmare gave a hint of her emotions. Once again, showing a curiosity directed at her.

Perhaps it was their talking, or perhaps it was the fact that Nightmare wasn't threatening her now, but she felt a little more sure as she walked beside Nightmare. Beyond the terrifying visage, there was a pony there, one who could hold a conversation. A small sense of security had returned, and her nerves were more under control. It reminded her of how at first she had been so terrified of being Princess Celestia's student, but then grew used to her, then attached to her.

She blushed faintly as a few happy memories ran through her mind: Princess Celestia hugging her, feeling Princess Celestia's soft feathers, how soft her coat was and how warm her body was. She cherished each and every hug and nuzzle, but even more than that, she cherished how, when she was younger, she had gotten to cuddle with Princess Celestia. But then, as she grew up, she realized just how improper that had been, and so it had horrified her to no end. After that, they still shared hugs and nuzzles, but nothing more.

And as she thought about it, she sighed, even as a thought nagged at her. Princess Celestia really did cherish her, but she had also lied to her. Perhaps it had been to protect her, but Princess Celestia still lied to her. And then, more concerning, was that if Princess Celestia truly cared for her like she thought, then Nightmare Moon would be correct. She would be the perfect way for Nightmare to hurt Princess Celestia.

Another casual, curious glance from Nightmare Moon and those memories whisked away. The more concerning thoughts of what would happen if she betrayed Nightmare dominated her mind, and she found her anxiety growing once again.

Nightmare didn't say anything about it.

Eventually, they arrived at Princess Celestia's private dining room. The two unicorn guards pulled the doors open at Nightmare's approach, and she strode in, bringing with her an authority and dominance, as if to say, "I own this room."

The room was grand- the walls and floor were marble, inlaid with sweeping golden swirls and elegant curves. Chiseled marble pillars rose up from the sides of the room, supporting long blocks of marble than spanned the length of the room, that supported an arched ceiling. From the ceiling hung alternating gold and silver chandeliers, evenly spaced so as to light the table perfectly.

Under normal circumstances, the magical lights would have illuminated the room as if it was outside during the day, but these were far from normal circumstances, and as such, the glow was the same as the rest of the castle's lighting. Soft and subdued, like the light of the moon.

The table was long enough to seat twelve ponies comfortably, along with wide enough to provide ample room for extravagant banquets, even if only a few ponies would be present at a time. The table was covered by a fine silk tablecloth, meticulously woven in with golden swirls and flowers of varying kinds and colors that stood out from the background white. Each chair was large enough to seat Princess Celestia or Nightmare Moon and constructed of wood, with comfort as a key aspect of its design, as plush purple cushions set on the seat and in the backrest.

Nightmare strode towards the chair at the end of the table without missing a stride. Twilight followed, but slowed down and surveyed the table. It was a perfect opportunity to put- and keep- some space between her and Nightmare Moon. All she had to do was sit away from her. But, if she sat too far away, Nightmare would undoubtedly see through it for what it was, an attempt to avoid her.

And that, of course, was assuming Nightmare didn't have her own plans. She could simply be assigned a seat and expect to take it without any argument. She picked the seat to the immediate right of where she would normally sit: the seat was one space away from where Princess Celestia sat, on her right side.

But now, Nightmare Moon sat where Princess Celestia sat. "Where do you normally sit?" was her question, and with it, Twilight's plan was shattered.

She couldn't simply lie, as much as she dreaded telling the truth. "I... normally sit to Pr... your sister's immediate right..." she admitted.

Nightmare lit her horn, then pulled the specified chair to her immediate right out for Twilight.

She hesitated, then walked over to the chair and sat down. Normally, she liked this chair. It was a great chair! A familiar one. And the company was normally great! Now the chair was almost her worst enemy, as it put her that much closer to Nightmare Moon. Still, she did her best to hide her discomfort, even if it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been before their talk.

But, of course, it also meant that with her being so much closer to Nightmare Moon- and with them being the only two in the room- she immediately gained the alicorn's attention. "I addressed the ponies of Canterlot while you were sleeping," she said.

Nightmare paused and looked over Twilight's features. "Communication is important, after all."

"Of course," she offered in agreement.

Nightmare took a deep breath. "I reassured them that they will retain their current rights under the law while I review it. I do not expect to make many changes. In the future, I do expect you to be at my side," she stated.

And that was one thing Twilight immediately dreaded. Equestria would view her as a traitor if that happened.

"But I did not speak of you being my student yet," Nightmare continued.

Twilight felt relieved at that, but at the same time, it horrified her. It meant that, yes, while Equestria wouldn't view her as a traitor, it also wouldn't be suspect for Nightmare to dispose of her as Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student.

"I would rather you be at my side when I do," Nightmare added. Twilight just nodded. For a few seconds, Nightmare was quiet, studying her. "You know my goals, correct?"

Twilight shifted her weight. "Um... you want eternal night and... you want to be... respected."

Nightmare inclined her head once in affirmation. "That is correct. So tell me, Twilight Sparkle, how do I best see to it that I am respected?"

Twilight wasn't sure how to proceed with that. Many thoughts ran through her mind- some legitimate answers, and some were pointing out certain issues that could make it somewhat difficult for her to succeed at that. And of course, how could she give an actual, honest opinion on that?

Before she could answer, Nightmare continued, "I recognize that fear and intimidation will only get me so far. I will not have my rule overshadowed by my sister. Do not think that this means I will not crush any dissent; I merely recognize that acting too aggressively will destabilize my rule. And if that happens, it will create problems and headaches for me. And I will not enjoy this. To say nothing of the fact that I do not want to rule over a dead world, and if ponies refuse to submit, then that could be what happens."

Twilight shivered at the thought. Beyond a doubt, Nightmare could back up that threat. "Right..." she trailed off and looked down at the table. "Well... fear obviously works... to an extent. You... have the power to back up your... threats," she said hesitantly. Slowly, she looked up at Nightmare, who waited patiently. And honestly, that surprised her. Nightmare actually wanted her input. Nightmare said she had wanted that input in her promise, but she hadn't believed it. She took a deep breath. "I... you want ponies to respect you, and... fear can get you that, but it can also cause problems-"

"This I recognize," Nightmare stated.

She fell silent for a moment. When she opened her mouth to continue, the door opened. Nightmare glanced away from her, and she too turned to see what the interruption was. One of the castle's servers walked in. Rigidly and nervously, he approached. Using his magic, he pulled at the bowtie around his neck, like it was too tight or constricting. And he looked uncomfortable in the black tuxedo, but nonetheless, he managed to maintain at least some form of professionalism.

"What would you like to eat, y-your Majesty?" was his question.

She turned to look at Nightmare. For a brief moment, the alicorn smirked. "Surprise me," was her response.

A quick glance at the server revealed an absolutely horrified expression, but he nodded in response and turned to face her. "And you?"

After a moment's thought, she glanced back at Nightmare, then returned to face him. "I'll... have what she has," she answered.

The server nodded, then turned around and made a hasty retreat- one that was at least twice, perhaps three times as quick as his approach.

After he was gone, she felt Nightmare look at her again. She looked back at her. "I... guess it depends on what you want to do..." she ventured. She gulped as she considered her next question, before finally mustering the courage to ask it: "Do you... want ponies to live in fear..?"

Nightmare Moon looked aside for a moment, pondering it. "A thousand years ago, I would have answered yes, as those ungrateful foals denied me my privilege. I am, however, willing to give ponies a chance today. But no, I do not necessarily want them living in constant fear. If it earns me respect, then it has value; however, if it causes problems or makes my reign worse, then I am willing to consider alternatives."

She closed her eyes and tensed up. "Do you want ponies to respect you or... love you like your sister?" she rushed out. A few seconds passed without an answer, so she took the risk of opening her eyes.

Nightmare once again pondered her question. "That would be ideal, yes. However, I already know they will not love me as they do my sister. Things have always been that way..."

There was a bitterness in Nightmare's voice, but to her surprise, it didn't scare her. It only made her frown and feel guilty. After all, there had been an entire section of Canterlot Castle that was, supposedly, night themed, and she had never taken the time to properly explore it. And Nightmare Moon was the Queen of the Night.

She sighed. Her stomach growled. Nightmare looked back at her.

One thing was certain: 'It's going to take forever for our food to get here.'

Three things are important to an empire: Communication, Control, and Commerce. Love is more powerful than fear.

When rereading this chapter for edits, I came to one simple conclusion, "This chapter is about 25% too long." And there are two chapters that are longer than this.

To be completely honest, with having written ahead another ~100,000 words, I have to admit that a fear plagues me right now that I've accidentally, inadvertently drawn out Twilight's fears too much. It wasn't my intent or plan, but that's how the story has kind of turned into. It lingers a lot more on Twilight's fears and doubts than I intended, but then again, around 120k words I intended for something major to happen, and it's not happened yet. So I'll probably be adding the drama tag alongside one of the next few chapters I publish.

And I also have to admit that I'm a bit concerned that I might be writing plot holes and not realizing it, because this story is pretty long so far, and It's sort of funny because a lot of stuff that happened towards the mid to end of this chapter I remember happening, but I remember it happening in later chapters, so I've got some investigating to do.

Namely, with having reread this, I find it so incredibly odd for Nightmare Moon to have admitted that she feels that she has been a bit too harsh with Twilight. It makes me feel a bit leery about it. It's probably because of its proximity (chapter wise) to her taking Twilight as her student, although on the other hand, it is about 17k words after that happens, and Nightmare has seen Twilight as being quite vulnerable and not exactly the hero Equestria needs. And there's also that Nightmare had time to ponder it while Twilight slept again. So I'm not completely sure regarding this.

I also didn't intend to publish a chapter today, being so close to the 25th. But, ah, I couldn't in my right mind ignore yesterday being Princess Luna day.

Twilight nibbled on her lower lip and paced back and forth. Her hooves and legs bristled with a jittery, nervous energy that constantly bubbled up inside of her, occasionally exploding outwards from her core to wash over her body like a tidal wave, and yet, in the aftermath of the wave of anxiety, she felt a little calmer. Still, it was not enough to stop her from pacing back and forth inside her room.

After all, she had every reason to be nervous. Nightmare was about to make a public address. And it involved her. Specifically, Nightmare would be announcing her position as her student, rather than Princess Celestia's. And she was expected to be there. She didn't have to say anything, of course, but Nightmare certainly left no wiggle room: She had to be there, to stand beside Nightmare Moon, while Nightmare gave the address to Canterlot.

Sure, it was impossible for all of Canterlot to be there, but there would be a crowd of ponies. Hundreds? Assuredly. Thousands? It was a definite possibility. Would her parents be there? She hadn't had a chance to speak with them since this whole thing had started. At that thought, her pacing slowed. The thought served as a weight that prevented her jittery nerves from carrying her away. The anxiety twisted and morphed inside of her, rather than providing her with an energy she needed to expend, it became a sense of dread that sapped her energy.

Her heart still raced from her unconquerable anxiety, however.

She remembered how Nightmare had gone over it with her. She knew, at least roughly, what to expect. Nightmare would greet the ponies, acknowledge her sister's defeat and imprisonment again, then acknowledge her new student. Nightmare, she had discovered, had a very specific plan for how she would present this. Rather than treating it as a boastful display of her superiority- not only defeating Princess Celestia and taking over Equestria, but also claiming her student- she would treat it as an opportunity, such as an example of mercy. Nightmare was planning to use it to her own advantage.

But that didn't change the fact that she would be presented to Equestria as Nightmare Moon's student. Not as Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student, but as the student of the very pony who defeated and then imprisoned Equestria's beloved ruler on the moon. Perhaps ponies would see that she had no choice.

But most likely, Equestria would look at her differently. Everypony would see her in a different light. Rather than seeing Princess Celestia's protege, she would be seen as a traitor. How much would everypony hate her? Or would they pity her? Would Princess Celestia forgive her, if she escaped or was freed? Would Princess Celestia be able to right these wrongs? Would Princess Celestia be able to clear her name?

She had plenty of reasons to be worried, and they twisted in her gut, in the back of her mind, and all throughout her body. Would she be able to see the faces of the ponies gathered for the announcement? What emotions would their faces hold? Would she be able to watch and see as their faces twisted from curiosity and fear to anger, disgust, and hatred?

And how would she be able to handle that? Equestria turning on her. Would ponies spite her and treat her poorly? Would Nightmare Moon truly do as she had promised and protect her, if that was the case, or would she leave her to fend for herself? Or, was this all an attempt by Nightmare Moon to isolate her even farther, to deny her any sway that she could have used to try to start dissent to overthrow her reign and free Princess Celestia?

And then, of course, there was the fact that ponies might be able to see the necklace Nightmare Moon forced her to wear. Even if standing beside Nightmare didn't send the wrong message, surely that would. Perhaps ponies might see through it and reason it away as being forced on her. But would ponies give her the chance to explain, if Nightmare was overthrown? Or would they treat her the same way they treated of Nightmare Moon, and disposed of her before Princess Celestia could fix everything?

And what about the rumors? She could already hear them and see the newspaper headlines, 'Twilight Sparkle: Nightmare Moon's Apprentice?' What other rumors would spread? Would ponies think that she was involved with Princess Celestia's defeat? Would they think she helped Nightmare Moon?

She exhaled sharply and whimpered. Every single muscle in her body wanted to tense up, and every fiber of her being screamed out, demanding that she curl up in a ball and cry in a panic attack while she hyperventilated. As it was, she shivered and trembled. The logical part of her mind tried to confront these problems, reminding her that she was giving too much energy to 'what if' scenarios, reminding her that it would be what it would be and that she had no choice in the matter. She just needed to survive. The logical part of her mind chastised her for worrying so much, if only because it left her more vulnerable.

But it didn't help any.

Turning around, for the first time since she had started pacing, she lifted her head up and looked throughout the room. Two Royal Guards stood guard at the door- most assuredly to keep her from leaving until Nightmare Moon came for her. Other than that, the room was a fairly spartan guest room inside the castle. There was a dresser with a mirror on it, but it was otherwise barren. The bed was large enough for two larger ponies to sleep together comfortably, and it was extravagant, with rich red bedsheets and brownish-purple pillowcases. The room even had a bathroom attached to it, but it sadly lacked a balcony.

Nightmare had her wait here since it was close at hoof compared to her tower. And it was close to the balcony from where Nightmare would address the ponies.

She nibbled on her lip once more and looked back at the two guards. They did their best to stand there stoically and ignore her. They weren't trying to be unfriendly, simply they were doing their best to hide their presence there, as if in a vain attempt of granting her some semblance of privacy.

It did nothing to make her feel any less like a prisoner, however.

The door clicked, then started swinging open. A spike of ice shot through her body, her chest tensed up, and she couldn't breathe. Her body went rigid in fear, and likewise, both Royal Guards froze up at the sound.

Sure enough, the door opened entirely and revealed the visage of Nightmare Moon. The alicorn ignored the two guards and looked straight at her. Her eyes held a cunning, lethal intellect once more, but for a moment, curiosity flashed through them. In an instant, the lethal sharpness returned. "Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare acknowledged.

There was no venom in her voice, but it did come off formally. Try as she did to control herself, she found herself squeaking, her ears folding back, and her legs trembling.

And that was enough for Nightmare's expression to soften, and the intellect in her eyes morphed into disappointment. Her straight, regal posture slipped as she took in a deep breath. She still held herself proudly, but her stance held less authority and power as she stood there. "Relax," was her command.

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded quickly. The best she could do, now that waves of icy terror and burning anxiety crashed through her body, was hold her ears back up and stand up rigidly.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Nightmare close her eyes, then shake her head side to side twice. She heard Nightmare exhale, then Nightmare turned and stepped outside. The door was left open behind her. Nightmare paused, then looked back at her. "Come."

Swallowing, she picked her hooves up one at a time and strode towards Nightmare Moon; the alicorn would accept no hesitation in this matter. She needed to be far more careful than normal, the slightest slipup could spell disaster for her. She slowed as she approached Nightmare's side. Nightmare watched her, and she watched Nightmare. For a moment, Nightmare's eyes darted away from her own. It made her feel calmer, even though she still felt and saw Nightmare's eyes rolling over her body, taking in her form.

Another moment past, and Nightmare's gaze settled back on her own. Anxiety once again ballooned up inside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightmare's wing fluff. Immediately, her gaze fell onto the wing. Slowly, as if to try to avoid invoking her flight response, Nightmare's wing extended. Twilight found herself paralyzed, yet trembling as she watched it unfold. Then, she felt Nightmare's longest, farthest out feather touch her back. Her body froze, and she went rigid in fear. What was this? What could this be? What did it mean? Was it an attempt to force her to lower her guard?

Almost painfully slowly, Nightmare's feather traced forward across her back, from just behind her ribcage, to her shoulder, before finally lifting away from her body and folding back against Nightmare's side. She shivered, but not in fear. Nightmare's feather was just as rich and soft as Princess Celestia's had been. It was nothing like she had expected. It wasn't coarse, it wasn't painful. It wasn't demanding, nor was it fear-inducing.

She could still feel the feather tracing over her back, how it had parted her fur, how it had forced her body to relax. It was a calming stroke, a comforting one. Swallowing, she blinked once, then met Nightmare's gaze. The alicorn regarded her with a mixture of curiosity and approval, although she could still see the intensity of her gaze. But it wasn't a gaze that promised death for any slipups, but rather one that somehow seemed to promise to pick her up if she fell.

She blinked a few times and shifted her weight. To her surprise, her muscles obeyed her. The feeling of dread and anxiety were still there, but far subdued. And that shocked her. She knew it had to have been some kind of magical spell that induced that effect in her, but it was an impossibility for that spell to have been cast. There was no spell cast. She had been right there, alert the whole time. Nightmare's horn hadn't glowed, and she hadn't felt Nightmare use her magic.

It set the curious part of her mind off, pondering this development. Even as seconds passed, she found that she could still feel Nightmare's lingering touch. And Nightmare still remained there, beside her, unmoving. It was like Nightmare had somehow developed patience and was waiting on her. But that left so many questions unanswered. She closed her eyes, and if she pretended that the feeling of Nightmare watching her wasn't there- which was impossible- she could convince herself to muster her courage to ask one question, "W-what was that for?" she stuttered.

"You needed to relax," was Nightmare's casual answer. "I do not want you collapsing from fear," she added. "You're not going to be speaking; you are simply going to be there at my side. You do not need to worry about this so much."

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and found Nightmare's expression was still unfirm. She swallowed, then nodded her head hastily. "T-thanks..." she said as quickly as possible.

Nightmare nodded once, then looked away from her and took a step forward. She took a step forward to match her. To her surprise, she found it easy. It wasn't intimidating, it didn't force her body to lock up rigidly out of fear, lest she slip up and invoke Nightmare's wrath.

"You do not need to be so rigid around me, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare reminded as they walked on.

She didn't reply, but she continued to walk beside her. As they walked, she thought. Her mind wandered, though her thoughts centered on the nightmare alicorn- her teacher. There was a duality to her feelings towards Nightmare Moon. On one hoof, her teacher terrified her. Always lingering in the back of her mind was the fact that Nightmare could easily kill her, and would kill her if she betrayed her.

Princess Celestia had just as much power, at least regarding the ability to end her life. But Princess Celestia wouldn't do that. And she was starting to recognize, and more importantly, accept, that Nightmare Moon wasn't going to kill her without a very good reason.

So she could relax around Nightmare, but only to an extent. But in truth, most of her fear wasn't a result of Nightmare Moon. No, it was where they were going and why.

She felt a sinking feeling as the large arched doorway came into view. Sure, she couldn't hear anything from the outside, despite the doors being wide opened, but she knew that there were hundreds, if not thousands of ponies assembled for this announcement. And without a doubt, those ponies would spread word and rumor. With or without the help of the Royal Guard, all of Equestria would know of her status.

The doors approached far, far too quickly, even if Nightmare's pace was casual. She found her legs moving more slowly, which meant that Nightmare managed to slip ahead of her. It scared her, and she whimpered despite her attempts to stop herself.

Nightmare stopped and looked back at her, meeting her gaze.

"I-I don't want to do this," she stuttered out. Heat gathered in the edges of her eyes, then her vision grew blurry, blurring Nightmare's features until she couldn't see her expression.

She was still able to see Nightmare turn around and step so that she was directly in front of her. Nightmare's chest expanded over the course of several seconds as she inhaled. "Twilight Sparkle."

She took a step back in fear. There was a certain annoyance in her voice. And that same disappointment that made her think of Princess Celestia. Her ears folded back and she stared down at the floor. She heard Nightmare exhale sharply.

A few seconds passed, and with each one, her legs' trembling grew more pronounced.

"Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said again. "You have nothing to fear from this."

Oh, how wrong she knew Nightmare was. She ducked back and bowed her head down low, directing her gaze at the floor directly below her."I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked out. "J-just g-give me a m-minute p-please!" She swallowed hard, but it did nothing to stop her trembling.

"You are forgiven," was Nightmare's dismissal.

A moment passed. She tried to pick herself up from her bow, but her legs refused to cooperate. She heard Nightmare inhale. "We do not have all night, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare reminded her.

"I-I'm trying!"

A moment passed in silence, then she heard Nightmare's hoofsteps. The feeling of fear ballooned up inside her- but this time, rather than the announcement being the source, Nightmare Moon was the source. Instinctively, she fell down onto her stomach and held herself rigidly, not letting herself move, nor letting herself breath out of fear.

Nightmare stopped. A few seconds passed, yet she still held herself still.

"You disappoint me," Nightmare said.

Oh, how she hated those words. They came from Nightmare Moon, but that didn't stop it from striking to her core. It was always her fear that Princess Celestia would say something along those lines. That she would fail her. And now? Now she was failing Princess Celestia's sister. Even more, she was failing Princess Celestia. "I-I'm sorry..." just barely whispered out of her lips.

"If you are my student, I expect you to be better than this, Twilight Sparkle," came Nightmare's disappointed voice again.

Before even a second passed, she saw Nightmare's black feather, then felt it slide along her cheek. It was a gentle touch. She closed her eyes. Her tears gathered where her eyelids met. Nightmare's feather left her cheek, then brushed across her eyes. In that instant, she felt terrified, but when the feather was gone and she opened her eyes, she found, much to her relief, she could see.

She slowly looked up at Nightmare. For a few seconds, her gaze lingered on Nightmare's cyan chestplate. 'You've already won... why do you still wear that?' she wondered. The thought was lost as she looked up at Nightmare and met her gaze. She swallowed, then blinked and looked back down.

As with before, she found that the touch of Nightmare's feather was somehow comforting, and as such, she managed to pick herself up. Her body still felt tight, but there was no overwhelming sense of dread and unease. "H-how do... y-you do that?"

For a brief moment, Nightmare smirked at her. "Come now, Twilight Sparkle. In time, I will teach you," she purred.

Before she realized it, she was nodding. She blinked a few times, then shifted her weight. "I-I um... I-I don't know if... I'll be able t-to be out there w-without..." she trailed off, avoiding Nightmare's gaze. She could practically feel Nightmare frown at her.

"I think you will find that you are worrying about this far more than is necessary, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said.

She glanced up at her. There was the barest hint of amusement on her features.

"Now come," Nightmare said as she turned around. "The sooner we finish here, the sooner we can begin your lessons."

Embarrassing as it was, her ears perked right up at the mention of 'lessons.' Lessons were always good and exciting, and they meant she could learn more. But then, it reminded her of her last lesson, which she still didn't understand. 'What was I supposed to learn from overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration?'

But of course, Princess Celestia wasn't there to tell her. Princess Celestia wasn't there to teach her whatever lesson Nightmare Moon was going to, either.

She sighed softly and her ears drooped from their perked up position. She felt Nightmare glance back at her, and as such, she looked up to meet her.

Once again, Nightmare studied her, looking her over. Nightmare's eyes seemed to linger on her cutie mark for a second longer than anywhere else, then she looked away.

Slowly, she looked out of the open door at the night sky. The balcony was clearly lit, albeit softly since it was from the light of the moon. 'Will anypony even be able to see us?' she wondered. Putting the thought aside, she took a deep breath, then slowly walked to her place at Nightmare Moon's right side.

Once she was there, Nightmare strode forward calmly and regally, and so she followed. She walked as close to Nightmare as she dared as they approached the balcony, though she made certain to keep at least one step between them. Each step reminded her of her anxiety, making her chest twist and tighten, but she somehow managed to keep her legs from trembling.

As they passed the arched doorway, she felt her anxiety once again balloon. Inside the confines of the castle's hallways, the solid walls had acted to keep her anxiety confined, but now without those barriers, now exposed to the night sky, she felt like a source of stability had been taken from her. She was so exposed, open, and vulnerable.

She bit her lip, but kept herself walking forward beside Nightmare Moon. She kept her head facing forward, but she looked around, scanning the sky as quickly as she could, searching for whatever it would be that would jump out of the sky to get her. She didn't see anything, but it didn't reassure her any. It could have been above her, or behind her, and she couldn't turn to check.

Gradually, she saw over the edge of the railing, and as the courtyard came into view, her anxiety spiked. Her body tensed up, and she felt her stomach start to drop out from under her. Hundreds of ponies came into sight, then by the time she had stopped beside Nightmare Moon, there was a vast ocean of ponies- undoubtedly thousands- below. Nowhere near the whole of Canterlot, but assuredly enough that everypony would soon know.

Her heart raced, and she stood rigidly. She used her tense muscles to her advantage, as they held her in check. She couldn't run away from this, her fear made that certain. After all, if she backed out of this now, she would make a fool out of Nightmare Moon, wouldn't she? And then, well, that would be that. Nightmare Moon wanted her as a student, but if she made her teacher a fool, Nightmare would find a much less pleasant use for her.

So, she held her head in place. She stared off in the distance, gazing off into space, focusing on nothing in particular. After all, that was all she had to do. Just be there. She most assuredly avoided looking down at the ocean of ponies below, because she knew if she did, she would step back in fear. Even with looking off into space, she could see them plainly. The moon's light, while soft and subdued compared to the sun, was more than ample to ensure that she could make out the ponies below. Maybe not their features, but she knew it would be enough to make out the nearest individual ponies.

She saw Nightmare's chest rise beside her, then Nightmare's blue aura enveloped her horn. She felt a tingle of magic emanate out from Nightmare, and she managed to avoid shivering in fear only because of her greater fear: The crowd below. Even with her staring off into space, she could see the ripple in the crowd below. Their fear, as they felt Nightmare's magic wash over them. But they did not run off in terror. They remained.

"My beloved subjects," Nightmare practically purred. Her voice was regal, firm, and authoritative.

There was no doubt in Twilight's mind, that even though she did not shout, her voice was heard by everypony present as if she were standing right before them. A wave of cold washed over her body, chilling her far more than the cool mountain air could. The voice sounded so familiar, bringing back memories from Nightmare's appearance in Ponyville, bringing back memories of the everpresent dread upon seeing the Mare in the Moon disappear.

"I bring you great news!" Nightmare called out, almost joyfully. "My dear sister's Most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle, shall no longer be my sister's student, but mine!"

She couldn't stop a shiver from racing down her spine. There was still an unmistakable venom in her voice directed at Princess Celestia. And while she absolutely adored hearing Princess Celestia's voice speak of her as her Most Faithful Student, hearing that name coming from Nightmare Moon was just wrong on so many levels. It sent another wave of icy coldness through her body. Nightmare Moon wouldn't kill her for no reason, but the fact remained, Nightmare Moon hated her sister to no end, and she had been that sister's Most Faithful Student.

She absolutely had to stay on Nightmare Moon's good side, or at least her less malicious side, otherwise, she would be a tool that Nightmare Moon would use against Princess Celestia.

And then there was the pulse of fear that throbbed out from one skipped heartbeat as Nightmare made the pronouncement: 'Twilight Sparkle is my student!' The fear swelled up, then subsided, gradually deflating as if a balloon had been filled too much, then burst without exploding. It was a slow leak, but a leak of the right size so that pressure inside and out felt the same. And somehow, her calm returned.

She could hear a hushed wave roll throughout the crowd at Nightmare's declaration. It was now official. Not just for her, nor Nightmare Moon, but for all of Equestria. For the entire world. She wasn't Princess Celestria's Most Faithful Student, not anymore. Now, she was Nightmare Moon's student.

It was most assuredly a demotion that came with greatly increased health risks and absolutely no hazard pay. But compared to the alternative, it was a great move!

She couldn't make out any of the individual voices, they all mixed together. She couldn't hear any of the words spoken, they were too faint and too many. She dared not look down from where she stared off into the distance. How could she look down at those ponies gathered before them? How could she let them see her face, to see her fear and uncertainty, and to see her paralyzed in fear? How could she not? After all, showing them that she was afraid would show that she had no choice. Perhaps then, Equestria would not view her as a traitor, but as the victim that she was.

But showing them her face meant risking seeing their faces. It meant risking making all of the 'what ifs' real. She could look down and show them her fear, but find that nopony cared. She could find that all of them hated her without remorse, that nothing would change that.

But why did she care? They were other ponies. She didn't know any of them. None of them mattered to her. They weren't her friends. They were absolute strangers. Part of her chastised her for feeling such fear from the judgments of others. It was the same part of her chastising her for somehow managing to make friends with the five most insane ponies alive.

She was such a fool, and she most assuredly was acting like the foal that she was, but that didn't change the fact that Equestria's judgment scared her. Perhaps it was because she could associate Equestria's judgment with Princess Celestia's judgment.

"I expect you all to give her the same respect you give me," Nightmare ended.

There was a threat in Nightmare's command, and yet, she found a certain irony present in it. It was an irony that she dreaded. Ponies weren't fond of her- she had overthrown Equestria's beloved monarch to assume the throne herself, and she had brought about eternal night. If ponies respected her, it was out of fear. They didn't love her. They disliked her at the very least, or did not care. And Nightmare was asking them to treat her with the same respect.

It was exactly the opposite of what she should have said. As Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student, she had respect- Rarity was a prime example of that. Now? Now, the only respect she would have was ponies not trying to kill her because Nightmare would smite them for it.

Then again, she might not even have that.

But then, the tone of Nightmare's voice commanded respect and authority, in addition to offering a promise: 'Respect my student, or there will be consequences.'

For the first time since stepping out onto the balcony, her eyes reacted. Her gaze glanced from staring off into space to looking at Nightmare Moon. Nightmare held herself with an authority and regality befitting Princess Celestia, but it was a darker, more threatening, and intimidating authority and regality. Ponies would not cross Princess Celestia because of love and respect. Ponies would not cross Nightmare Moon because they would suffer her wrath.

And her face was firm. She could see that Nightmare entirely meant what was said. 'Why does Nightmare Moon want ponies to respect me!?' part of her mind screamed out for understanding. She was Princess Celestia's student. She had respect then. And that was why she drew Nightmare Moon's interest. But now she was Nightmare's student, and Nightmare Moon wanted her to be respected.

She couldn't understand why. It didn't make sense, and yet, it was.

Nightmare, whether she saw her looking or not, glanced back at her. For a moment, she watched Nightmare, and Nightmare watched her. Then, Nightmare cast her gaze back out across the crowd, as if daring them to defy her command. Slowly, she returned to looking off into space.

In a slow, graceful motion, Nightmare turned to the right, then walked around in an arc in front of her. She turned in sync with Nightmare as her body was hidden from the crowd, then followed her back inside. As she stepped back through the arched doorway, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. A tiredness came alongside it, hitting her like a wall. Her eyelids drooped, her ears fell, and her head sagged. She let out a sigh of relief as all of the stress faded away. Nightmare had kept it short and intimidating.

Without breaking stride, Nightmare commented, "You worry too much."

She took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "There could have been problems."

Nightmare glanced back at her dismissively, but raised an eyebrow, almost mockingly. "Such as?"

She frowned at Nightmare and puffed out her cheeks. "There could have been any number of problems!" she retorted. "There could have been-! A-an attack! Or-or something else!"

An amused look crossed Nightmare's features, and casually, she looked back forward. "I would have taken care of such a problem," was her playful answer. "Unless, of course, you doubt me?"

Fear exploded in her heart and soared into her mind. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stopped walking. A moment later, Nightmare stopped and turned back to face her, wearing a concerned frown and her brow creased. "I-I-"

Disappointment. That was the way Nightmare regarded her. Inescapable disappointment. Princess Celestia's sister was disappointed with her. And by extension, that meant most likely, Princess Celestia would be disappointed in her. She looked away from her and felt her ears fold back in shame. Feeling shame at Nightmare's disappointment surprised her, but it wasn't the first time either.

Still, Nightmare continued to silently watch her for a few seconds longer. "I see we need to work on your confidence," was her succinct acknowledgment.

She cringed at that. Reluctantly, she turned back to face Nightmare. Hesitantly, she met Nightmare's gaze.

"And, of course, your magic," Nightmare added. It almost sounded like a peace offer.

It intrigued her, and it took only a brief second to pass before Nightmare's disappointment and her fear had been forgotten and replaced by intellectual appetite. What spells did Nightmare Moon know? What spells would Nightmare Moon teach her? Should she learn some of those spells, even if Princess Celestia possibly wouldn't approve? Could she use any of those spells to defeat Nightmare Moon?

The last thought stabbed her heart, inflicting a sudden pain of fear. She looked right at Nightmare Moon, and Nightmare Moon was looking right back at her when she had thought that. Would Nightmare Moon be able to sense her thoughts, know of that rouge, cursed thought that would be her demise? If she did, how badly would Nightmare react? Or would Nightmare spare her?

Nightmare knew something was wrong, that much was clear. But whether it was her thoughts betraying her, or just the fear caused by that traitorous thought, she could not tell. Nightmare kept silent on the matter.

"I-I'd like that," she stuttered out, her voice pitched far higher than normal.

Nightmare frowned. "You are not my sister," was all she said before turning around and resuming her walk. Nightmare didn't even wait for Twilight to follow.

She felt that Nightmare meant that as a way to comfort her, as if to say, 'My anger is not directed at you, Twilight Sparkle, but your former mentor.' She licked her lips, then swallowed the knot in her throat. "Y-your sister was my m-mentor." Why had she said that?

"Yes, and a rather inept one at that," Nightmare quipped.

She winced back. Her first thought was to retort her for insulting Princess Celestia, but before she could, another thought occurred to her: "W-was that an insult?"

Nightmare stopped and took a deep breath, then swiveled around to face her. "My sister did not even teach you how to defend yourself. That will not do, Twilight Sparkle. As my student, I expect you to be able to defend yourself."

She bit her lip for a second. "Y-you... said that you would... protect me," she whispered.

Nightmare waited for a second, then nodded her head. "Yes... and I will. But I still want you to be able to protect yourself should I-" Suddenly, she stopped, as if catching herself before she said something that ought not to be said. "Should I be otherwise occupied."

Slowly, she nodded. "Right... But... why do you... want me to be able to protect myself...? I'm- I was... your sister's student. And... I tried to..." Nightmare Moon slowly tilted her head to the side, as if she was asking a stupid question.

"If it is not yet obvious, Twilight Sparkle, I expect you to be able to protect yourself in case you need to. I would be a foal not to teach you how to defend yourself. I expect to make many enemies, Twilight Sparkle, and as my student, you will likely make many enemies as well. And as such, being able to protect yourself will prove necessary to your continued usefulness to me. To say nothing of the fact that being unable to protect yourself would be a liability to me."

Of course, Nightmare Moon was intelligent. Of course, Nightmare Moon made a good point. Of course, Nightmare Moon made her feel like a foal. She looked away and nodded. "R-right, I'm... sorry..."

"Asking questions is good, Twilight Sparkle. It will help you learn. I would encourage you to ask questions of me. I will answer them. But I would also encourage you to think, Twilight Sparkle."

She looked back at Nightmare. Nightmare looked at her with annoyance, but it wasn't harsh or chastising.

"Now come," Nightmare commanded. "I did not get a good show of your magic in our earlier encounters, and I need to know what I am working with." Despite the mention of Twilight trying to stop her, she wasn't fuming with anger.

Twilight nodded quickly, then approached Nightmare, watching her the whole time. Nightmare watched her back. She was actually used to feeling Nightmare's gaze on her, and so it didn't feel so predatory and unnerving anymore. Or maybe it was that almost everytime Nightmare watched her, there was a curiosity there that was never present with anypony else. And that unnerved her, though not nearly to the same level as Nightmare's predatory gaze did.

Nightmare started to turn around, but there was a flash of magic in front of her. Twilight stopped as a scroll appeared, bound in a red wax stamp. The stamp was still Princess Celestia's cutie mark, the Royal Seal. And she stared at that mark, knowing it was only a matter of time before that mark was completely erased. But she would never forget it.

Nightmare broke the seal. She held her composure, but her magic slipped up. She tore the wax seal off, then melted it. Twilight watched the now-molten wax fall to the floor like water, then spread out like water, before slowing and solidifying. She stared at the glob of wax as she heard Nightmare unroll the scroll.

After a few seconds, she looked back up. Nightmare's eyes went from side to side, rolling across the scroll, taking in what was written upon it. Finally, her eyes came to a stop, perhaps at the last word. A second passed, then another. Nightmare's eyes jumped to the top, then stayed there for several more seconds. Finally, she rolled up the scroll and looked back down at her.

"W-what is it?" she hesitantly ventured.

Nightmare inhaled and teleported the scroll away. "You are familiar with Manehattan, correct?"

She nodded.

"The Royal Guard are reporting general unrest and unease in the city. So far, nothing more has come from it than vandalism and assorted, isolated acts of civil unrest," Nightmare explained. "It is a concerning development that I am keeping a close eye on."

"I... guess that should be expected, given everything that's happened..." she hesitantly ventured.

Nightmare nodded once. "Yes. I was hoping that ponies would not act out in fear and cause problems such as this, but I had anticipated this. I do not anticipate this to be the last of this, either. Given the eternal night and... my defeat of my sister, I would anticipate growing civil unrest."

She closed her eyes and nibbled on her lip. "What are-"

"For now, nothing," Nightmare preempted. "But if this becomes a greater problem, I will intervene. I have already ordered detachments of Royal Guard to every major city in Equestria, but they are spread thin... and Equestria has no military to speak of."

She grimaced and opened her eyes. "We've... not needed one."

Nightmare shook her head as if that left a bad taste in her mouth. "I am but one pony, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot be everywhere at once," she said. "Which is what makes civil unrest such a great danger. Groups and organizations have specified purposes. Individual ponies acting on fear? Anarchy and the breakdown of civil rule? That is a threat to my rule and Equestria as a whole. Anarchy is unacceptable. The Royal Guard has orders to keep this from growing, but I do not know if they will succeed. Perhaps you have suggestions as to how to deal with growing civil unrest?"

She shifted her weight. "W-well... um..." she trailed off. "If-if it's individual ponies, rather than groups of ponies... it's a problem, since... that can spread-"

"Herd mentality, yes. I am aware of this, Twilight Sparkle. The threat of this disorder spreading and causing a breakdown of Equestrian society and government is not something I am willing to allow occur."

She sighed. "Right. Well. As I was saying, it's a problem." Nightmare looked at her flatly. "Which we've already established," she acknowledged. "Martial law... could be effective at stopping the spread of... unrest, but that creates other problems. Most likely... ponies are acting out of fear and uncertainty. They don't know what the future holds."

Nightmare frowned and nodded. "I suspect that there will also be economic impacts resulting from this instability and uncertainty."

"Which could be a problem," Twilight added. "If things get bad, then that instability will increase, which could compound on itself."

"A recession is undesirable," Nightmare stated succinctly. "As it would result in countless problems."

"Right... um... so, assuming this... is caused by fear, I think... options that could work would be... reassuring ponies that there aren't going to be more drastic changes..." she trailed off. "Ponies are scared, and they might be acting out of that. They want stability and security."

"Which I will provide," Nightmare stated.

"But they might not realize that," she replied.

Nightmare hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Perhaps then, I need to make it clear that anarchy is unacceptable, and that stability and security will remain under my rule."

"R-right," she replied. She nibbled on her lip. "There's... a lot you need to address, isn't there..?"

Nightmare nodded in affirmation. "Yes, there is, Twilight Sparkle. The guards are already deployed to the major cities, ensuring that there is a line of communication to them, and ensuring that order is maintained. Or should be maintained. But I really should visit each city, shouldn't I? After all, It would be improper of me not to address my subjects, would it not?"

Nightmare smiled at her, showing her sharp teeth. She tried to avoid looking at Nightmare's teeth, but of course, she failed in that regard. It was a playful, malicious smile. A predatory smile. One that spoke of a predator playing with her prey. A cat pinning a mouse's tail down and then playfully batting at its body with its paw until it died from fear. The look wasn't directed at her, but it still made her nervous. Nightmare wouldn't kill her for no reason, but it was a reminder of who Nightmare was and what she was capable of. "R-right," she stuttered.

Nightmare's smile calmed. Her lips closed but remained pulled up in amusement. With Nightmare's teeth hidden, Twilight felt her muscles relax once again. "So much to do, Twilight Sparkle..." Nightmare said almost wistfully. "I need to ensure ponies loyalties... especially among those in government positions. They could undermine my rule quite effectively. I suspect fear would be the best method to use against them, don't you think? After all, they're not everyday ponies. They won't fall victim to fear the say way ordinary ponies would. They won't run around like the world is on fire, they will do their jobs well."

She wasn't sure she agreed with that, but she found herself nodding. It was a tense, rigid nod. There was a glint of eagerness in Nightmare's eyes that kept her on edge. It looked almost like Nightmare was yearning for the prospect of breaking them. She swallowed. "O-of course," she agreed quietly.

Nightmare smiled more, but then her lips fell. Her smile lingered, but it wasn't quite as amused as before. "And then there is the matter of outside threats. Other nations," she stated. "I have not had the time to catch myself up on current world affairs. Perhaps you can enlighten me?"

She quickly nodded before she realized what she was doing. But, of course, she could most certainly help Nightmare Moon in that aspect. And, of course, that was most likely one of the reason Nightmare Moon wanted her as a student. "Yes, well, um... Pr- your sister... I mean... Since I was Pr- your sister's student, um... I did have some experience with... that. So yes, I can-"

"Then please, enlighten me, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare coaxed.

She swallowed and stood straighter. "O-of course," she answered. "T-to my knowledge, borders haven't changed drastically in the past millennium, s-so you probably know roughly what modern borders look like."

"I have seen maps, yes, but that does not inform me of the current political, economic, and military situation," was Nightmare's disinterested response.

She suppressed a sigh and nodded. "Right... well... Um, I'd have to read up on it... um... what exactly do you want to know?"

"What of the Griffin Empire? Are they still a military threat? What of the Zebras? Are they still loosely organized and tribalistic? And what of the Deer Kingdom? The Minotaur Empire?" Nightmare listed.

She looked down from Nightmare and at the floor. She thought back over the history books she had read. They didn't come back to her nearly as easily as the books she had read on magic, but it was, mostly, still there. She took a few seconds to compose her answer, then looked back up at Nightmare and took a deep breath. "The Griffin Empire collapsed several hundred years ago, and they haven't been able to recover since. As far as I know, the zebras are still relatively tribal- although Equestria doesn't have much contact with them since they mostly keep to themselves. It's the same way with the Griffin Empire, too. Equestria has had an alliance with the Deer Kingdom for centuries, although like the Zebras, we don't have much contact with them. It's more or less an agreement that Princess-" Nightmare's lips twitched down. She winced and shifted her weight. "I mean... your sister... made with them to protect them since the Whitetail Woods are surrounded by Equestria."

"I see," was Nightmare's cool response. "So I suppose I should arrange a visit to the Deer Kingdom, then."

"They're not a threat. They're peace-loving..." she quickly whispered.

Nightmare inclined her head. "I remember that, back when I fought alongside them against the Griffin Empire... I recall that the deer always were formidable warriors willing to fight to protect their land. And Equestria, by extension. We have always had relatively good relations with the deer... But yes, they generally do prefer peace. That is likely why we have had good relations with them. Ponies are peaceful creatures, just like the deer."

Her ears perked up at that, and a dozen questions flooded her mind, but only one of them managed to come out of her mouth: "You fought alongside deer against the griffins?"

Nightmare looked away from her. The predatory glint in her eyes faded and dulled, and her eyes seemed to gloss over as she stared at the wall, as if she was thinking back on her memories. "Indeed I had, Twilight Sparkle. Back before my sister betrayed me."

Nightmare's eyes went back to her. "But I would assume such records are long since gone," she stated.

Reluctantly, she nodded. "Yes... I... there's..." she trailed off. After all, what would happen if she were to inform Nightmare Moon that none of the history books spoke of Princess Celestia having a sister? What would happen if she were to inform Nightmare Moon that she had been erased from history, that her contributions to Equestria had been forgotten, and likely attributed to her sister?

She couldn't stop herself from feeling guilty for some reason at that. Princess Celestia had to have had a good reason to do that, right? But at the same time, how could somepony just erase all evidence of their sister from the history books? She considered the idea of her brother erasing all record of her existence, and she just couldn't fathom it. Her brother loved her, and he would never do such a thing. It was unrealistic for it to happen, either. But Princess Celestia? She could do that. After all, she was an immortal alicorn. She had all of the time in the world- the thousand years of her sister's absence- to erase all trace of her. But why would she do that?

She nibbled on her lip. The question 'Why would you erase all evidence of your sister?' plagued her mind. Following close behind it, 'Why did you lie to me about your sister?'

It didn't sit well with her. Surely, there had to be a good reason behind it! Perhaps Princess Celestia had done it to protect Nightmare Moon? But that idea didn't make any sense, at least from what she knew. She licked her lips. 'Then again, modern Equestria is so peaceful... maybe knowing what Nightmare Moon was like would... be a problem? But... ugh!'

She held back a huff, if only because Nightmare was watching her.

"Perhaps, in time, I will tell you of it," Nightmare said.

She had mixed feelings about that. On one hoof, it would be historical information from the very pony who had experienced it, historical information that had been lost or hidden. But, on the other hoof, Princess Celestia had to have hidden it for a reason, assuming it hadn't just been lost. And another part of her, while interested in the knowledge, felt anxiety just thinking about it. Nightmare Moon had been there, and who was to say that she should not hear such tales? Princess Celestia, most likely, wouldn't approve of it. She nibbled on her lip, then winced from pain. Her lip was sore from so much use.

Sure, there were records of Equestria and the Deer Kingdom fighting against the Griffins, but they were vague and came from after Nightmare Moon's banishment.

She shook the thought from her mind as Nightmare continued to look at her. "And, um, the Minotaur Empire... we have a lot of trade with them. Sea routes, of course-"

"Of course," Nightmare replied flatly. "And Manehattan is a major hub of this trade."

She fidgeted on her hooves and took a deep breath. "That's... about the extent of my knowledge. Of course there are a lot of other nations, but I don't know quite as much about them..." she trailed off.

Nightmare nodded. "I assumed as much. That you know so much and are still a foal speaks volumes of your expertise, Twilight Sparkle." She smiled again, but kept her teeth hidden.

She wanted to swoon in the praise. It might not have been Princess Celestia's praise, but it was her sister's praise! And another part of that wanted to huff because of the reminder of her age. But, of course, she did not huff, and another part of her mind screamed out at even the idea of doing that. It would be disrespectful, and Nightmare certainly wouldn't tolerate that.

"But I believe we have delayed long enough. Come, you shall show me what you are capable of, Twilight Sparkle," was Nightmare's command.

She felt a cold tingle race down her spine at the sound of Nightmare's honeyed words. She swallowed as Nightmare lit her horn, then there was a flash of light, and a wave of Nightmare's magic washed over her.

Unlike before, the feeling of Nightmare's magic enveloping her didn't immediately send her into a panic attack. She didn't feel the uncontrollable urge to scream and run away, to find somewhere to hide, then cry uncontrollably. It still wasn't comfortable- it was unnerving- but she could at least tolerate it without breaking down into a panic.

Like before, there was a double image as they teleported. The majestic hallway of the castle, and a darker area where she could not make anything out. As the image of the hallway faded and the new image came into focus, she found it much darker and much less detailed than the hallway. As her senses recovered, she noticed that the air felt pleasantly warmer.

The soft moonlight seemed to fail to reach where they were, and she felt growing anxiety welling up inside of her. A knot twisted in her gut and in her throat. Her legs grew tense. She heard what sounded like sticks and leaves crunching under hoofsteps, slowly circling her, and she could feel Nightmare's gaze on her, coming from the same area as the sound.

Finally, Nightmare stopped at her left side. The blue light of Nightmare's horn flashed into existence, illuminating her surroundings. Woody tree trunks, shrubs, and bushes surrounded her. The ground was covered in assorted forest debris- twigs, sticks, leaves, acorns, and the like. Looking up the trunk of the tree in front of her, she determined that it was a tall, sturdy oak tree. It reminded her of the Library that she had stayed at in Ponyville, though nowhere near as grand as it. The rough bark rippled up the tree in a calm manner, and the groves were hidden in shadows cast by the raised bark.

The ground felt soft beneath the layer of fallen leaves, sticks, and nuts. Hesitantly, she looked over at Nightmare. "Where... are we?"

"A forest," was Nightmare's exceptionally detailed, flat answer.

Her lips fell into a flat line at that. "Oh, really? I couldn't tell." Her eyes widened, but it was far too late. It had already slipped out of her mouth.

To her surprise, Nightmare merely raised an eyebrow and smirked in amusement.

She quickly looked away from her. Acting fast to change the subject before Nightmare could retort her, she said, "S-so um, what are y-you wanting?"

"A demonstration of your magic. I already know that you are incapable of defending yourself, and I know that you do not know combat magic since my sister would not have taught you that... given that you are a scholar."

She heard a certain bitterness in Nightmare's voice. She frowned and turned to look at Nightmare, who was scowling. "Why does it bother you that she didn't teach me... how to protect myself?"

Nightmare glanced at her. "I was expecting and hoping for her student to be a challenge, Twilight Sparkle. But instead, I find you. Granted, even if you knew every single combat spell there was, you could not hope to stop me, but it would have at least been entertaining."

Her ears folded back and she turned to look away from Nightmare.

"Come now, Twilight Sparkle. Surely you recognize that there was nothing you could have done to stop me?" Nightmare asked in a sweet, mocking tone that made her feel bitter.

She didn't answer Nightmare's taunt. "My brother is the Captain of the Guard," she answered in a calm, quiet voice. "And his special talent is making shields. I'm not completely defenseless..."

"And yet, not once have I seen you cast a shield spell, even when you tried to stop me, Twilight Sparkle," came Nightmare's cold response.

She clenched her eyes shut. "I-I was scared, o-okay!?" Nightmare was silent, but she felt the alicorn studying her. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and looked at her teacher. To her surprise, Nightmare didn't look displeased.

"We will have to work on that, in addition to your confidence, Twilight Sparkle," was Nightmare's response. "If you are under threat, you must be able to protect yourself. You will be scared if you are threatened, but you must not let that paralyze you and prevent you from acting."

She looked back at the tree in front of her and nodded in defeat.

"Now, your special talent is magic, is it not?" Nightmare asked.

"Yes!" she retorted. "Princess C-" she winced as she felt Nightmare's gaze harden. "I-I mean, your sister took me on as her student because of my magic..."

"Then prove it, Twilight Sparkle. Show me why you were her Most Faithful Student."

She clenched her eyes shut. Oh, how she hated hearing Nightmare Moon say that name. It was so wrong. She had no right to speak that name! But she kept silent because speaking out about it would have brought nothing good. She exhaled, doing her best to use that as a means to force the distress out of her body. Opening her eyes, she glanced at Nightmare, who watched her expectantly, then looked at the tree.

'Show you why I'm Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student? Sure! Now, what exactly do you want me to do!?' She wanted to scream at that. Sure! She could easily prove why she was Princess Celestia's protege! But why, oh why, did Nightmare Moon have to be so vague? Why couldn't she have been specific! Specify a spell! That way she could properly complete the test!

It wasn't fair. Just like asking her to prove her worth hadn't been fair. And it paralyzed he in fear then. The knot in her chest and gut twisted and twisted with the passing seconds.

"Are you afraid of failing?" Nightmare asked. "Is that why you delay?"

She nearly bit her lip but stopped herself. She clenched her jaw and glanced at Nightmare, then nodded timidly.

Nightmare groaned. "I have a lot of work to do with you, don't I, Twilight Sparkle? Do I need to remind you that I do not expect you to be perfect? Show me what you can do! Show me what spells you know!" she implored.

She looked back at the tree and bobbed her head. 'Might as well start with the basics, then...' She groaned quietly, then lit her horn and started levitating all of the acorns up from the ground. Dozens, then hundreds of the nuts lifted off of the ground with hardly any effort.

Nightmare hummed. "You can manipulate several small objects in your magic at once? Good. Now, to what extent?"

Nightmare put heavy emphasis on the fact that the nuts were easily manipulated items. It irked her, but of course, there weren't many small stones around that she could have used for an example. She took a deep breath, then wove the nuts together into a ball, then levitated them out in a line, then looped it down and back towards itself, making a horizontal figure eight.

"Decent. Perhaps lacking in complexity," Nightmare commented. "Now impress me."

She let all of the acorns fall to the ground, then use her magic to sweep a bunch of dried leaves and twigs into a pile while pushing the rest of the surrounding debris away. The glow of her magic grew inside the pile, then sparked. For a moment, there was an orange flow. Her aura faded, and the orange glow simmered, then grew into an orange flame. A small trail of smoke gradually rose into the air from the pile, growing thicker as the flame grew to consume the entire pile, then burn out, leaving behind only ashes.

"A rather basic fire spell," Nightmare commented. "Good for lighting candles, but not much else," she scoffed.

She frowned, then closed her eyes. She channeled her magic into her horn. Through her closed eyes, she could see the glow at the tip of her horn grow brighter and brighter until it was like daylight. Then, with a pop, she released her magic. Opening her eyes, she watched the orb lazily float forward, slowing, then stopping over where the fire had been.

The trees and surroundings were lit as if it was daytime, but it faded quickly beyond their immediate surroundings, and the trees cast long shadows that merged into the forest's surrounding darkness.

She smiled and looked at Nightmare. "Not necessarily impressive, but useful. Especially if your goal is to blind your enemies," was her comment.

A moment later, Nightmare's aura gripped the yellow-pink orb and snuffed it out, once again darkening the clearing so that only the light from her spell provided light. And with that, her smile cracked. The ease at which Nightmare had snuffed out her light was not lost on her. She couldn't help but feel as it snuffing that light out had been symbolic. Perhaps Nightmare Moon had defeated Princess Celestia just as easily, snuffing out her light- the light of her sun- and replacing it with the light of the moon, with next to no effort.

"Your special talent, Twilight Sparkle, is magic. Surely, my sister taught you more than these basic spells? Where are the advanced spells that I know you are capable of?" Nightmare demanded.

She hesitated, then looked down at the ground. She picked up the closest acorn she could, then focused her magic on it. Nightmare Moon wanted to be impressed, so then she would impress her! It wasn't a spell that Princess Celestia had taught her- she had read it in a book. A book she wasn't supposed to have read, but still, read. Surely, this would impress her! In a moment, it took on a shimmering appearance as the enchantment took hold.

For a moment nothing happened, then Nightmare jumped forward and grabbed the acorn in her magic. She squeaked and took a step back at Nightmare's sudden movement. Nightmare shattered the acorn with a sharp crack, making it lose its shimmer, but her chest rose and fell more quickly than before, as if she was out of breath. Nightmare stared at the broken acorn for a few seconds, then turned to look at her.

She took a step back.

Nightmare smiled and let out an amused chuckle. "Now that, Twilight Sparkle, is impressive," she complimented.

Her heart skipped a beat, then her heart beat faster. Nightmare turned to face her and looked all over her. There was an eager glint in her eyes that somehow put her on edge. She took another step back, and the glint in Nightmare's eyes vanished.

"That is a very interesting spell, Twilight Sparkle. I was not expecting something like that," Nightmare continued. Her eyes narrowed. Twilight swallowed nervously and took another brief step back. "But my sister did not teach you this. She would not teach you such a spell."

"I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked. Before she could see Nightmare's reaction, she clenched her eyes shut and tensed up, trying to protect herself from whatever pain was to come. "I-I- you said you wanted me t-to impress you and- and please don't hurt me!"

Leaves and sticks crunched under Nightmare's hooves, then stopped. She felt the tip of Nightmare's wing touch her cheek, and for a moment, her anxiety ballooned up. As Nightmare's feather slid across her cheek, it felt like her anxiety was swept away and cast aside. She let herself relax, though her breathing remained shallow and rapid. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes as Nightmare's feather lifted from her head.

Nightmare folded her wing back to her side, and Twilight saw Nightmare's eyes kept jumping from left to right across her body. "I am not upset, Twilight Sparkle. I am impressed. I was merely caught off guard. But I am curious. Where did you learn such a spell?"

She shifted her weight and looked down at Nightmare's chestplate to avoid meeting her gaze. "I-I was um..." She turned her head to the right so that nothing of Nightmare was visible. "I-I managed to... s-sneak into the Forbidden section of the um... A-archives, and... well, I-I found that... I... when I showed Pr- your sister, s-she wasn't happy, but s-she w-wasn't mad either. S-she made me promise n-never to c-cast that spell!"

Only now in hindsight did she realize that she had broken her promise to Princess Celestia. She felt like her heart and stomach dropped out from her body at that. There was a hollow numbness in her core now. She felt her ears press fold back.

"I see," Nightmare said. "And do not be sad Twilight Sparkle," she said.

She swallowed, then looked back at her teacher.

"Mind-altering magic can be a powerful tool in your arsenal," Nightmare said. Her expression fell into a cold scowl. "But if you ever use that against me..."

Nightmare let the threat hang in the air. Twilight immediately knew Nightmare did not trust her with that spell. She swallowed and nodded as fast as she could.

Nightmare smiled pleasantly. "Good. So you are capable of learning spells on your own in books?"

She nodded. "Y-yes. A lot of what I've learned I learned from studying books... like how to mark a book with my magic so that I can find it later."

"I see. What spells did my sister personally teach you?" Nightmare asked.

"W-well, when I was younger, she helped me learn a lot more about telekinesis and other spells, like the fire spell I showed you-"

Nightmare tilted her head. "You may still be a foal, Twilight Sparkle, but my sister was not blind to your potential. What advanced spells did she teach you?"

"I can cast a spell to walk on clouds," she answered. After a moment, she quickly added, "B-but I would have to refresh myself on that spell before using it!" Nightmare nodded silently. "I-I know a lot about magic theory and I am... rather adept at using and making alterations to spells because I understand what goes into making them work... so I can use the fire spell to warm up tea, for example... although I wouldn't want to risk using it on something alive."

"I see," was Nightmare's sharp acknowledgment.

"I can... alter the weight of objects and manipulate gravity..." she trailed off.

"Oh? That I would be quite interested in... show me," was Nightmare's command.

She swallowed and nodded, then found another acorn. She levitated it up into the air, then channeled her magic into it. After a few seconds, the acorn gradually lowered, then slammed into the soft ground, embedding itself in the muddy ground.

Nightmare's magic overpowered hers, then the acorn levitated up out of its hole in Nightmare's aura as if it was a feather. Nightmare scrutinized the acorn for a moment, then there was a brief, faint flash from her horn, and she dropped it.

She watched the acorn fall and then land on the ground. It didn't penetrate the soft ground any, so Nightmare must have disrupted her weight spell.

Focusing on the same acorn, she inverted gravity. And just like that, the acorn freefell towards the sky. Nightmare's head jerked up in what must have been a futile attempt to track the acorn. There was no way she could have tracked it, however, as it quickly past the tree canopy.

A moment later, however, and the acorn teleported back to the ground in a flash of blue light. Nightmare looked down at it, and after a moment, released it. It didn't immediately fall into the sky.

"I can see how that could be useful, Twilight Sparkle," was Nightmare's comment. "I would say that you can protect yourself, Twilight Sparkle, perhaps just not directly with combat magic. Yet." Her last spoken word sounded like a promise. Nightmare smiled, and it was a smile that made her shiver. "And so I shall teach you how to protect yourself. In time, I will have you show me more of the spells you can do. But for now, this is enough for me to work with. In time, I will teach you combat magic."

Learning combat magic interested her, but she also felt the need to keep her distance from that. Princess Celestia wouldn't want her to learn that kind of magic. Perhaps it would be useful, but it had the wrong intentions. Although Nightmare Moon was probably right. She needed to know how to protect herself. "Why... not teach me combat magic now..?" she ventured.

"Quite simple, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare answered, "while even if you did know combat magic, you would not be a threat to me, I simply do not trust you enough to teach you combat magic yet. You could still be a nuisance. Consider it a reward should you prove yourself." She paused, then inhaled. "I suppose if you wanted to take initiative, you could ask around the Royal Guard. I would not stop you, but you still would not be learning it from me."

She exhaled and looked down at the ground. "Right..." she muttered.

"Now, Twilight Sparkle, I-" Nightmare was cut off by a quick flash of light and the appearance of a scroll, bound in Princess Celestia's seal, in front of her. Before the scroll could fall, she grabbed it in her magic, tore the seal off, then unrolled it.

Once again, Twilight's eyes focused on the seal and watched as it liquified, then poured down onto the ground. Her gaze lingered on the pool for a few seconds before she looked back up at Nightmare Moon. Her face was hidden by the scroll, and her body language was hidden by the chestplate.

She swallowed and waited patiently. Seconds passed on, and a growing sense of dread welled up inside of her. When Nightmare finally lowered the scroll, she jumped back. The alicorn wore a hint of a scowl on her expression, mixed in with annoyance or distaste.

Just as quickly as she unrolled the scroll, she rolled it back up, then it disappeared in a flash of magic.

"What was it?" Twilight asked.

"Another report from Manehattan," was Nightmare's answer.

Her heart skipped a beat. "It-it's not that bad, right? It's not been that long..."

"No," Nightmare answered, "but it is still concerning. Perhaps it would be better to intervene now before it can spiral out of control." Nightmare paused for several seconds and looked contemplative. Eventually, she blinked, then looked back down at Twilight. "I shall pay Manehattan a visit and you will accompany me. It would be well for me to see this city since it is rather important."

She nodded in agreement, though mostly out of fear. "What are you going to do?"

Nightmare raised an eyebrow and regarded her as if she had asked a foolish question. "For now? Assess the situation and determine the most effective course of action for correcting this."

Without Nightmare saying anything more or giving any warning, she felt Nightmare's magic wash over her and grab a hold of her. It sent a chill down her spine and made her go rigid. It felt ever so slightly colder than before, and once again, it reaffirmed in her mind the power that Nightmare Moon held over her. Truly, if Nightmare wanted to do something to her, there was nothing she could do about it.

She heard the sharp crack of magic and felt the sensationless feeling of nothingness, then saw the double image that made it hard to concentrate. As soon as the image of the forest faded, the image of the city of Manehattan came into focus. Like the forest, the city of Manehattan was dark, although in comparison, it was lit significantly better. Streetlamps illuminated the sidewalks in cones of dim orangish-yellow light.

A paved road stretched out before her, but the street was deserted from all carts which would have been present had it been daytime. She briefly wondered what effects the eternal night was having on transportation of goods throughout the city, but the growing light-headedness caused by the long-distance teleport cut it off. The light-headed feeling grew until her head felt cold, then even the quiet of the night sounded like it had been muffled. A ringing took hold of her ears, the sound of her own pounding heart. She felt her arteries throbbing in her neck like they were about to burst.

Slowly, everything subsided, from the ringing to the muffled silence, to the throbbing of her heart. She saw Nightmare's dark coat step forward from her right. Glancing at her, she determined that Nightmare had teleported them so that they would arrive in a proper fashion, which was to say with her to Nightmare's immediate right.

Nightmare looked to the left, then to the right. As she looked right, Twilight could see her eyes slowly scanning across the street and sidewalks, her eyes going up and down the tall concrete skyscrapers.

Surely, it had to be the first time Nightmare Moon had seen such architecture. And it left a visible impact on her features. Bewilderment was present. A thousand years ago, the tallest structures would have been stone watchtowers, but here, the concrete, steel, and glass structures reached into the heavens to a height that put the watchtowers to shame.

Although she wasn't actually sure that they were really all that much taller. The difference was mostly functional and aesthetical.

Nightmare's bewilderment morphed into a scowl, and her lips pulled back to show her sharp teeth. It sent a shiver down her spine, but she knew it wasn't directed at her. No, it was directed at the architecture. 'Why does that bother you?' she wondered. Perhaps being one thousand years out of touch was the reason, or perhaps it was surprising to her that places like Ponyville could exist, while other cities like Manehattan were so vastly different from them. But, she wouldn't find out just by thinking about it. After all, how could she hope to ever comprehend Nightmare's thoughts?

Swallowing, she steeled herself, then asked, "What's wrong?"

Immediately, Nightmare's eyes shot over to her, and her gaze was sharp like a dagger. The instant those slitted pupils fell on her, she found a wave of coldness wash over her, and her muscles tensed up. She felt an undeniable fear, and a need to take a step back, but somehow, she managed to hold her ground.

And in an instant, the fear-inducing sharpness was gone, replaced with the same curiosity that contrasted so sharply with how Nightmare looked at anypony who wasn't her. With the sharpness's disappearance, so to did her fear vanish.

Nightmare turned her head to face Twilight alone. "This city is a strategic nightmare," was her growled response.

Twilight squinted at that. 'A strategic nightmare!?' "What does that even mean!?"

Nightmare grunted, then turned her head back to face the ten-story tower she had been staring at before. "Look at this!" she commanded.

Twilight obliged and examined the tower. Try as she did, she couldn't determine its purpose. Perhaps it held offices, or perhaps it was an apartment complex. But, regardless of its function, she still couldn't grasp Nightmare's problem with it, so she looked back at Nightmare, who in turn, looked back at her.

"This city is too important," Nightmare added. She looked down at the street and shook her head. "It is not defendable, it is so open and just...! Canterlot is defensible, but this city, this port city, this economic hub, is defenseless! This is too much concentrated in one place! Did Celestia not see how foolish this is!?"

Twilight took a step back. Nightmare's chest heaved with her rapid breathing. She thought she could spot a tremble in Nightmare's legs, but she wasn't certain. Above the anger in her voice, one thing stood out to her. Nightmare had, for the first time she could remember, spoken Princess Celestia's name.

"T-this is just how M-Manehattan developed," was her response before she realized what she was saying.

Nightmare's eyes fell on her again, but the anger wasn't there. Her chest continued to heave with her breathing, but it grew more controlled as the seconds passed in silence between them. Eventually, her breathing returned to normal, and she shook her head. "Surely you see the problem with this?"

"N-no, I-I don't. I don't understand..." was her reserved answer.

Nightmare frowned and looked away from her. "This is a very, very important city, Twilight Sparkle. There is so much value concentrated here, in one place. I can only begin to imagine this city's population, and it's economic importance, Twilight Sparkle. And from what I have gathered, it is a vital port city. This is a city Equestria can not afford to lose... it would be devastating..." She shook her head again. "And it is undefended."

That, she could understand. But Nightmare's premise was wrong. Equestria had no enemies- except the two of them, now- and Princess Celestia's rule had mostly been peaceful. Her gut twisted in dread at that. 'How do I even put this!?' She felt her lips twist into a grimace.

Nightmare caught sight of it. "You have something to say. Speak."

She winced at that, then shifted her weight. She hesitated, of course. But, of course, she would hesitate. What was on her mind was that Nightmare Moon was wrong. And how exactly could she tell her that without getting in trouble? She stood up straighter and clenched her jaw. Her body went rigid as she opened her mouth.

She thought she saw Nightmare's lips twitch down. She thought she saw Nightmare's wing relax just a smidge and twitch down. But surely, she had been mistaken. Or perhaps she had actually seen it but was misinterpreting it as disappointment. But, regardless, she was obligated to answer Nightmare's command. She let out a sigh and looked down at Nightmare's chestplate. "Equestria... has no enemies. We've not had any enemies for... centuries. Manehattan doesn't need to be defensible... Besides, there are no threats to the North. The Griffin Empire doesn't exist. To the South, there's the rest of Equestria! There's nothing to threaten Manehattan."

Nightmare's eyes narrowed at her, but the alicorn remained silent for several seconds. Each one of those seconds made Twilight feel more and more anxious. She held her breath as she felt her anxiety grow and send waves of unease pulsing out from her chest. 'Was that a mistake?' she wondered.

Sure, she had been blunt about it. Nightmare's concern for Manehattan's perceived vulnerability was misplaced, though! It was crazy to think Manehattan was in danger from outside threats. There was nothing to threaten Manehattan! Then again, it was Nightmare Moon, so yes, crazy would make sense. But while Nightmare's perceived vulnerability of Manehattan was misplaced, she could understand where Nightmare was coming from. Manehattan was a lot of eggs in one basket.

Nightmare exhaled and slowly shook her head. After a second, she stood more calmly, then turned around. "Perhaps you are correct, but I do not like this," was her begrudging response.

She wasn't sure why, but she added, "Manehattan is valuable, though." It drew a glance from Nightmare, but nothing more. She licked her sore lips and winced from the pain, but pushed it down, then turned her head about and took in the city surrounding them. With the combination of the soft moonlight and the cones of dim light from streetlamps, she could discern enough to realize that the streets were mostly deserted, with the exception of some ponies who wore armor and calmly strolled the streets- most likely Royal Guard- in addition to a few other ponies who walked quickly. They didn't run, but from looking at them, she felt that they practically radiated nervous energy, as if they wanted to remain outside in the night for as short of a duration as possible.

She could understand that, but she also knew they would have to adapt, and knowing that left an empty, numb spot in her chest.

She turned her gaze back to Nightmare Moon and watched her. She stood there calmly, still scrutinizing the city and the streets. "S-so, um... what's your plan?"

Nightmare glanced aside at her, then inhaled. "Speak with the officer managing the situation here, then have a word with the mayor. Things are not so bad as of right now, which is why I am intervening before things escalate out of control. After I finish speaking with the mayor, I believe I shall prepare an address for the ponies of Manehattan. It would do well to remind them that I am in control of this situation."

"O-of course," she agreed. Even doing her best, she couldn't block out the threat in Nightmare's voice that sent chills down her spine. Manehattan was important. There was no doubt in her mind that Nightmare recognized this, and there was no longer any doubt that if push came to shove, Nightmare would be the pony doing all of the shoving.

She just hoped that Nightmare knew when to stop shoving, otherwise, she doubted Equestria would survive.

Nightmare took a step toward the sidewalk. Her movement immediately drew Twilight's attention, and in response, she hastily walked towards Nightmare, who continued to walk to the sidewalk. She stared at her teacher and she walked around behind her, then caught up and took her rightful place to walk beside her. She looked at the two guards on patrol. Neither of them could have missed Nightmare's approach, let alone her presence, and so both of them slowed their pace.

As they approached them, the two guards came to a stop, and she could see their bodies tense up. They held their heads up higher, standing taller and straighter. After all, like her, to relax around Nightmare Moon would be to put their guard down, which would leave them vulnerable.

They both rigidly turned to face Nightmare and herself, then they fell into a practiced, formal, and entirely uneasy bow. Only once Nightmare stopped approaching them did they hesitantly stand back up. "Y-yes, your Majesty?" the closest guard asked.

Even in the soft light of the moon, with them being outside of any of the cones of light from streetlights, she could see him nibbling on his lip.

"Who is your commanding officer and where may I find him?" was Nightmare's demand.

Twilight winced. Before she realized it, she had shuffled a step to the right away from Nightmare Moon, putting barely another step's distance between them. Of course, that didn't help her unease any. Once again, Nightmare's presence radiated fear and demanded obedience and respect. She felt the all-too-familiar feeling of a predator nearby, but she already knew that predator was Nightmare Moon. Even if Nightmare's sharp gaze wasn't directed at her, the close proximity to her made her pulse quicken, and she felt her chest bubbling with nervous energy.

She was afraid Nightmare would look at her because she had shuffled to the right, but Nightmare did not look at her, nor even glance at her. Somehow, perhaps, she had managed to evade Nightmare's detection. Or perhaps Nightmare didn't care, as her attention was on the two Royal Guards. Both of the guards looked like they were ready to scream like foals and bolt if so much as a pen fell behind them. But at least they didn't tremble in their armor from what she could see.

"C-Captain Light S-Shield, y-your M-Majesty," the same guard answered.

She didn't recognize the name, but she hadn't expected to.

"H-he's at the C-City Hall," he finished.

Nightmare ever so slightly inclined her head in acknowledgment then turned towards Twilight, who took a step back so that she wasn't in her way. "Return to your duties," was Nightmare's unthankful hiss.

Nightmare walked past her vision, and Twilight saw both guards standing there, rigidly, saluting. Their raised forelegs trembled, but they made no sounds. Her ears folded back and she winced. Both guards looked at her, and in their eyes, she could see their fear and panic.

Her ears started to fold back, but then she felt Nightmare Moon looking at her, and at that moment, she glanced to her right and glimpsed Nightmare's turned head facing her. Of course, Nightmare looked at her expectantly, but not quite demanding, nor was it predatory. Her gaze held none of the sharpness that it did with anypony else. And that special treatment Nightmare Moon gave her unnerved her. Nightmare Moon would treat her Royal Guards as if they were worthless insects, but then Nightmare looked at her so completely differently. It was a look that showed nothing but interest and curiosity. A look that seemed to promise 'I have plans for you, Twilight Sparkle...' in the vaguest manner possible. What did it mean?

She wasn't sure what to make of that interest, but it did concern her. Princess Celestia had never looked at her that way. She swallowed, then cautiously turned and walked up to Nightmare's side. She heard the two Royal Guards' raised hooves touch the ground, then the sound of their armored boots clicking against the concrete sidewalk. The sound came much faster than it had when Nightmare and her had approached them.

Nightmare Moon's gaze followed her until she came to a stop at that familiar spot beside her, then Nightmare looked away from her. She heard the sound of Nightmare's aura and saw the light of her horn, then she felt Nightmare's cold magic envelop her.

There was the telltale crack of air, then the sudden, jarring double image. The darkened street of Manehattan mixed in with a frontal view of some other structure. The structure's architecture stood out from the rest of the buildings in Manehattan. Grandiose, wide marble stairs let up to a large porch that supported six massive marble pillars which reached up to support a wide triangular slab of chiseled marble, inlaid with Princess Celestia's cutie mark at the center, surrounded with various other graceful, sweeping lines, symbols, and images. The triangular section stretched out from the building behind it perhaps ten feet to shelter the portico. Behind the portico, centered atop the structure, was a large dome. At the very top of the dome was a flagpole that stretched into the sky, from which two flags gently waved in an unfelt wind.

As the image of the structure came into focus, she saw more of the detail of the structure behind the portico- a grand, arched double door serving as the primary entrance, with a dozen windows with the blinds pulled back, allowing for a look into what looked like one large room- the lobby. The golden glow of magical lights streamed out into the street from the room, and it gave off a rich, comforting feeling that reminded her of the warmth of the sun. And oh, how she missed that feeling: the sun warming her back, the warmth of the air- even if it was overbearing- and knowing that everything would be okay. Knowing that Princess Celestia was there for her and all of Equestria.

She felt Nightmare scowl. Without looking at her, it was an unmistakable feeling, the way her aura seemed to twist in anger and bitterness for a moment, then fade but linger. It sent a chill down her spine, and her body instinctively tensed up. A quick glance, and she found Nightmare's vision directed towards the triangular roof of the porch, or more specifically, that one symbol she so hated, the one so prominently displayed in the center: Princess Celestia's cutie mark.

Her ears folded back and she held her breath. Nightmare's scowl lingered for a second, then faded to not quite neutral disinterest. Her disgust remained, however. She let out the breath she had held in, now mostly assured that Nightmare wouldn't suddenly and without warning unleash her magic on the image of Princess Celestia's cutie mark, but her body remained tense. She could still feel Nightmare's anger.

And she knew that anger was just from the sight of her sister's cutie mark. It left her cautious while her gut twisted. 'M-maybe it was a good thing Princess Celestia lied to me and didn't let me help her...' she thought. After all, if this anger was directed at an unpainted cutie mark, what would her anger have looked like seeing Princess Celestia in person?

A cold chill raced down her spine. She never wanted to find out.

She felt Nightmare Moon's gaze fall on her, and instantly, her focus sharpened. She was surprised to feel her body tense up since that meant she had somehow relaxed while she wasn't paying attention. Nervously, she glanced at Nightmare, who simply stared at her with that same look of intelligence and curiosity as always. How was she able to escape her wrath?

But more concerning was that Nightmare was already on the first step, looking back at her. Waiting for her. Despite how sore her lip was, she bit it. She regretted it immediately; the pain was sharp and made her wince. Hesitantly, she stepped forward while she gently sucked on her lip in a vain attempt to nurse the pain away.

Only when she arrived beside Nightmare Moon did the alicorn turn away from her and continue up the stairs. She followed beside her in silence.

While she walked, quickly ascended each step, Nightmare strode up the stairs in a gait that commanded authority and power, with no hesitation nor second-guessing. It was a confident stride, one befitting the Queen of the Night. A stride that demanded respect.

They did not stop once they reached the top of the stairs, and Nightmare continued toward the open doorway. Beside the doors stood two Royal Guards, one on each side of the doorway. Each one held a spear in their right hoof, and she caught the slightest movement of the spear and their hooves as they clutched it tighter to their bodies. They both clung to their spears as if they somehow thought their weapons would offer any protection from Nightmare Moon.

As they walked through the doorway and passed by those guards, one thought occurred to Twilight, 'Your spears won't help you...' Her head turned and her eyes lingered on the sharp metallic points. But then, what was a spear to somepony who commanded as much magic as Nightmare Moon?

She looked ahead as she felt the warmth of the room wash over her. For a moment, her eyelids drooped and her lips pulled up into a smile. It was a welcoming, inviting warmth. One that contrasted with the cool, bitter feeling of the eternal night air. For a moment, the warmth washed over her as she entered the Lobby, briefly vanquishing thoughts of the dark, bitter predatory aura that Nightmare gave off.

But the while the feeling of warmth lasted, it was unable to hold Nightmare Moon's predatory presence at bay.

Looking around the Lobby, she found that the floor appeared to be marble, and it reminded her of Canterlot Castle. The major difference was the lack of marble pillars stretching to the ceiling. The walls were sparsely decorated with picture frames holding various depictions of ponies, weather and ships, and Princess Celestia and the sun.

A few tapestries decorated the walls, along with the flag of Equestria. And it felt like it had been an eternity since she had seen that flag: the beautiful sky blue backdrop, centered around the sun, which hovered over a crescent moon that was open to the left. In the four corners, an array of stars surrounding the center. To the right, a depiction of Princess Celestia with a pink mane and tail, leaping into the air in the arc of a circle. To the left, another alicorn, with a dark, deep blue coat and light blue mane and tail, diving in an arc to complete the circle. They appeared to chase one another as they guided the day-night cycle.

It had been so long since she had seen that flag. And the entire time, for the past thousand years and then some, the flag of Equestria had remained unchanged. She had never questioned it before, the depiction of two alicorns chasing after each other. How had she not seen it before? It was so obvious in hindsight, Princess Celestia had a sister. One who had been banished and forgotten.

Her new mentor: Nightmare Moon.

She felt her legs trembling as she stared at that flag. It was like it was a completely different flag now. What meaning had it held this entire time that had since been forgotten?

She glanced at Nightmare. The alicorn stared at that flag, and she radiated coldness. The alicorn's chest rose in what looked like a practiced, controlled, perhaps even methodical manner, then Nightmare exhaled sharply.

"This entire time, the flag has been unchanged," was Nightmare's bitter statement. "And yet nopony remembers me."

She shivered from Nightmare's icy tone. She knew better than to say anything now.

Nightmare growled, then turned her head to the left. She couldn't see where Nightmare was looking, nor was she interested enough to try to find out. "Where are Captain Light Shield and the Mayor?"

There was a very feminine squeak at Nightmare's demand. "Th-they're-" the mare stuttered.

Nightmare turned to the left and took a step forward. Now that her body was turned to the side, she could see a reception desk, behind which stood a young earth pony mare, perhaps less than half a decade older than her, who shook in fear, as if the very floor was shaking from an earthquake, and her ears were flat against her head.

"Take me to them," Nightmare spat.

The mare nodded and galloped out from behind the reception desk towards the door opposite of the entrance. "R-right this w-way, y-your M-Majesty!"

As the mare turned towards the door, for a fleeting moment, she looked at Twilight, pleading for help.

Twilight felt her gut twist at that look. Nightmare casually turned to face the mare and the door, then she strode forward. She followed close beside Nightmare. The mare grasped at the door handle several times as Nightmare approached, but each time, her leg, trembling in fear, slipped. And each successive attempt was only worse than the previous one. She whimpered in fear as Nightmare stopped.

Twilight clenched her jaw and used her magic to open the door. The young mare looked her in the eye thankfully, but her eyes were shimmering from tears. Nightmare was silent on the issue, even as the mare bolted into the hallway at a speed that would have caught Rainbow Dash by surprise.

The mare rigidly stopped just beyond the door, waiting for them.

Calmly, Nightmare strode forward. She followed. Without anything being said, they navigated through the hallway, turned to the left, then took a flight of stairs to the next level. From there, they made their way towards the front of the building, then the mare finally stopped in front of a closed oak door. She stood rigidly, but that didn't stop her legs from trembling.

"You may return now," said Nightmare.

The mare ran back the way she came. Twilight turned her head to watch her, and as she watched the earth pony run away, she felt her ears press back. "You didn't need to treat her that way you know..."

She felt Nightmare look at her, so she turned back to look at her. "Perhaps not," was her reply, "but it yielded quicker results, did it not?"

There was no anger in Nightmare's voice, but she couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't have taken much for her to be in a very fragile situation. Keeping this in mind, she replied, "You saw how terrified she was! You didn't need to be so... cruel."

"Fear is a weapon and a tool, Twilight Sparkle. She now knows not to cross me, and so in the long run, she is better off for it," Nightmare retorted.

She scowled and took a deep breath. "It was unnecessary force!" she retorted. "If you want to be successful, you can't go around just doing that!" she implored. "You might keep ponies in line like this but it won't work in the long run! Ponies might do stupid things when they're scared! And then there's the whole uncertainty thing you're so concerned about."

Nightmare regarded her. There was a bit of bitterness in it, but there was also amusement. "Then tell me, Twilight Sparkle, how am I to balance this?"

Twilight blinked. "What?"

"As we agreed, fear has its uses. And as I've said, I know that I cannot rely solely on fear and force. They are useful, but I know they are destructive and will backfire if I misapply them," Nightmare elaborated in a sweet tone. "Fear and force create uncertainty and uncertainty causes problems. However, if I am too lax, then my rule will be fragile. Ponies will not respect me-"

She steeled herself for interrupting Nightmare Moon. It probably didn't help, but it was an opportunity! "They might respect you but they will hate you!"

Nightmare's lips twitched down. Whether it was her interruption or what she said, she didn't know, but it sent a wave of cold through her body.

"I-I'm sorry, pl-!"

"Stop," Nightmare groaned.

She blinked as Nightmare lifted a forehoof to her head, then pressed her metal boot against her helmet.

Nightmare took a deep breath, then slowly shook her head and lowered her forehoof back to the floor. "As much as I desire my subjects love, Twilight Sparkle, I am not foolish enough to think I'd ever obtain that. That much was clear one thousand years ago," she said bitterly. "Their respect, however, I can claim."

"You know that eternal night will make them hate the night more, right?" she asked quietly.

"It has occurred to me that this is a possible outcome. Ungrateful foals..." Nightmare growled. Twilight recoiled. Nightmare frowned. "At the very least, ponies will see the beauty of my night, even if they do despise it."

"M-maybe y-you can... g-get ponies t-to appreciate y-you?" she ventured.

Nightmare tilted her head. "Oh?" she purred. "Do tell, Twilight Sparkle," she mocked.

She looked down at the floor to avoid seeing Nightmare Moon. "P-ponies love your sister..."

"You don't say?" Nightmare growled.

She looked up at her. "H-hear me out, please!" she pleaded.

Nightmare didn't kill her at least, so that was a good thing. "I am listening, Twilight Sparkle."

She swallowed. "Y-you could t-try to a-act like her-"

Nightmare's gaze hardened, and her lips pulled back to bare her teeth. "I am not my sister, Twilight Sparkle."

She clenched her eyes shut. "P-please s-stop..." It took a few seconds, but she felt Nightmare's anger fade. She cracked open an eye. Nightmare watched her. She couldn't read her expression. There wasn't anger, but there were hints of bitterness and slight coldness. Her eyes were as sharp as ever, yet it wasn't an attempt to intimidate her. She felt a wave of relief at that, just knowing Nightmare wasn't going to immediately smite her. Yet, there was embarrassment there. Once again, she showed Nightmare Moon her weakness and vulnerability.

It would be so easy for Nightmare to take advantage of that.

"I... I just mean... don't... try to force everypony's hoof. Y-you can... try doing things to get ponies to l-love you. S-show them that you're not just... o-out to get them..." she explained.

Nightmare hesitated for a moment, then slowly inclined her head. "I see," she answered. "Perhaps I will. Do you have any suggestions?"

She swallowed as panic bolted through her. 'Suggestions!?' Her heart raced. 'W-what!? What could she do to convince ponies she isn't out to get them when she is!?' screamed out in her mind. But, was that true? Was Nightmare out to get ponies? Not necessarily. She wanted their respect, she wanted their obedience. She wanted ponies to love her, even if she said it couldn't happen. Twilight licked her lips. "W-well," she squeaked, "I... t-there's the Grand Galloping Gala..." she offered. It was a weak suggestion, she knew, but it was all that came to mind.

"What is this?" was Nightmare's inquiry.

"It-it's a celebration that... your sister has hosted every year for... several centuries now," she answered. "It's... traditional... I've attended it every year since... I was her student."

Nightmare nodded slowly. "Then I shall look into it, however, we have matters to attend to for now, and I believe we have delayed long enough."

Without waiting for a response, Nightmare turned and opened the door. Twilight just nodded. As the door opened, there were two soft thunks. As the door swung inwards, the room's two occupants dragged along with it.

She blinked. Nightmare's right eyebrow lifted up. The two ponies scrambled to their hooves.

"Listening in, were you?" Nightmare demanded.

The guard- a unicorn who was presumably Captain Light Shield- fell into a swift bow, while the other pony- a pegasus who was presumably the mayor- distanced himself from the guard. "F-forgive us, your M-Majesty," was his stuttered apology and admission of guilt.

Nightmare snorted. "Do not let this happen again," was her command.

"O-of course, your Majesty," he replied. Slowly, he rose from his bow.

The pegasus stayed silent but stared at Nightmare Moon with wide eyes.

"Captain Light Shield, I presume?" Nightmare questioned.

The guard nodded quickly. "Y-yes-"

"Inform me of the situation," Nightmare snapped.

"Th-there have been several in-incidents of vandalism and theft, your Majesty," he answered.

"Rioting? Protests? Arson?" Nightmare interrogated.

Captain Light Shield shook his head quickly. "N-no, your M-Majesty, just-"

"How widespread?" Nightmare demanded.

The captain shrunk back ever so slightly. "T-they have been i-isolated incidents, a-as per what was said in the r-reports I s-sent."

"Unrelated? More than normal?"

The pegasus shifted his weight. "U-um, yes. M-more..." he trailed off as Nightmare looked at him. "M-more than normal, yes," he answered. Twilight saw him swallow and heard him gulp. He put on a smile, but it was so increibly forced that it only served to openly admit his nervousness. "B-but I'm sure it w-will calm down s-soon!" he offered.

Nightmare scowled. "See to it that it does, or I will have you replaced," was her cold response.

He nodded quickly. "O-of course, N-Nightmare Moon..."

"Anything else to report?"

"N-no..." Captain Light Shield answered.

A low growl escaped Nightmare's throat. "Very well," she replied. With bitterness and finality, she swiveled around, then marched back the way they had come. Twilight shivered. Nightmare slowed as she approached Twilight, and she looked down at her. She came to a stop, then extended her wing and brushed a feather over Twilight's side.

She felt a feeling of relief emanate from that touch, and Nightmare didn't seem so threatening anymore. "So... um... what now?" she asked.

"It seems like this trip of ours was wasted. I'm not exactly pleased by this," Nightmare answered. "We will return to Canterlot after my address. You will accompany me when I give it. Practice your magic. I expect more demonstrations from you. I have other matters to attend to."

Upon rereading this chapter, I don't like it all that much. But that's probably just because of the development that has happened since I wrote this chapter.

Looking at the map of Equestria laid out on the table before her, Nightmare Moon found one thing above all else that stood out: The Deer Kingdom. Encompassing no more than a tenth of the size of Equestria but claiming the majority of the Whitetail Woods, somehow the Deer Kingdom remained a separate nation, despite the massive expanse of Equestria surrounding the small country.

And honestly, it bewildered her. How had, in the full thousand years of her banishment, the deer not joined with Equestria? They may have been separate species, but the deer were so similar to ponies. Even if the deer had not joined Equestria, she had expected to see more deer than she had- which was to say she had expected to see deer in Equestria, while she had yet to see a single one.

Granted, she had not visited many forested areas, save for the Everfree Forest and the forest dominating the Canterlot Mountain Range. 'Perhaps these are exceptions, rather than normal,' was her thought on the matter. From what she had determined, deer did inhabit Equestria as Equestrian citizens, but they still kept to themselves. And, of course, they still preferred forests, even a thousand years later.

The fact that the Deer Kingdom remained a separate nation surprised her. While she had not expected her sister to annex them, it just seemed like it would have been natural for it to occur during her absence. Ponies and deer shared a special bond, as both were prey species and had banded together countless times in the past for mutual protection. The deer were agile and physically strong, and they had their own magic, not too dissimilar from unicorn magic, but they also had magic similar to earth ponies. They were also quite skilled at alchemy, though perhaps not quite as skilled as the zebras.

And zebras? They were practically another subspecies of pony, yet they kept to themselves even more than the deer did.

The entire situation felt so odd to her. In the thousand years of her absence, why hadn't the deer integrated into Equestria? They were fiercely loyal and brave warriors, but also peace-loving, just like ponies. Perhaps they had retained their strong desire for independence, but still. In a thousand years, the deer population should have grown to a point that necessitated integration into Equestria.

'Perhaps I am missing something,' she mused. After all, it had been less than two weeks since her glorious return. And figuring everything out that had happened in a thousand years? Even if she was an immortal alicorn, two weeks was not enough time.

And oh, how painful these two weeks had been! Wherever she went, ponies' competency sank like a rock in water. Professional government workers? They couldn't find the right paperwork. Archivists who knew every book from cover to cover? They suddenly couldn't remember where anything was. At least they were able to recover their wit. The Royal Guard? They were competent when she wasn't around, but the second she showed up? They went rigid in fear.

The Royal Guard's incompetency would be problematic- unless when it came down to it, they managed to act. She wasn't sure whether that would happen or not. But at the very least, they did seem to manage to help keep ponies calm. But that didn't completely stop the spread of panic.

And of course, it was worse in Equestria's larger cities. Canterlot was mostly sparred- likely because of her presence so close at hoof. But she couldn't be everywhere at once, and the Royal Guard was stretched thin. She had a solution in mind for this, but she had not yet had the time to implement it.

Her gaze drifted over to Hollow Shades, and she smiled. The town and the entire region would prove invaluable. Her smile faltered. 'Assuming you still exist...' She felt an odd feeling of numbness at that thought, and it also made her feel anxious.

She shook her head and cast the concerns aside, then returned her gaze to the Whitetail Woods, but her thoughts still wandered: ever since her return, the government had been paralyzed and unable to act swiftly on any problem that had arisen. Everypony was too afraid of making a mistake and earning her wrath, so they were all waiting on her orders.

She loathed it and barred her teeth at the thought. Sure, she had magic that made communicating with them quick and easy! Sure it gave her more power and control! But it took so much time. It left her without the time she needed to tend to other needs and desires. And so based on that, she knew the only legitimate course of action was to officially retain at least partial local self-governance. She was but one pony, even if she was an immortal alicorn. She could not be everywhere at once, nor did she know how best to manage things at the local level that ponies were demanding of her.

So long as they were loyal, so long as they did not rebel, nor question her rule, nor dissent, she would let them keep their limited local decision making. If the leaders stepped out of line, she could replace them and step in to remind ponies of who was in charge. If the ponies rose up against her, she would quell it, even though she knew the consequences of that would be damaging.

After all, the most dangerous dissent was likely to occur in large cities. Economically important cities. If she lost control of the situation, there would be no way for her to ever hope to outshine her dear sister and earn the praise she so deserved.

About the only thing that was truly going remotely right was her student. Her lips pulled into a smile and she lifted her gaze away from the map. She turned her head to the right to look out of the open balcony. Her moon dominated the sky and filled her with a sense of pride and accomplishment, so long as she ignored the black stain of her sister upon her moon.

Twilight Sparkle was such a curiosity. The filly had so much potential! And what made things even more fascinating was that she didn't focus on learning spells, but rather learning the components of spells. From what she had seen of the filly's magic, she was potent and knew many spells, both basic and advanced, far more than most unicorns could ever hope to learn over their entire lifetimes.

And then there were the countless variations of the spells she could cast, all because she knew how the magic acted and how everything worked together. Just thinking about it excited her! Her heart beat faster in her chest, and she felt so much energy at her disposal. Her sister had focused her student's learning on Magic Theory in addition to the spells. And Twilight grasped Magic Theory well. Truly, she was born to bear the Element of Magic. She would be able to create her own spells on the fly with proper training and experience.

There was no doubt in her mind that Twilight Sparkle was important. And she was still incomplete, even after the spark of friendship restored the Elements of Harmony and established her connection to the Element of Magic, she was incomplete.

And yet, despite her importance, Twilight Sparkle, while proud, was not boastful. Nor was she very confident. And then there was her fear and insecurity. The filly was so easily startled, yet she called Twilight Sparkle her student. It left her disappointed, although she knew it was her own fault, and in hindsight, it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She sighed and shook her head. How could she bring out Twilight Sparkle's potential if the filly never relaxed, never felt confident about her capabilities, and always thought she was out to get her? How did Twilight Sparkle not understand that she wanted her to succeed?

A part of her found that thought so foreign to her. Nightmare Moon, the Queen of the Night, wanting somepony to succeed at something!? Absurd! And yet, here she was, wanting Twilight Sparkle to overcome her burdens, wanting Twilight Sparkle to succeed at being her student. Twilight Sparkle, her dear sister's former student. Here she was, wanting somepony who very well may be lying to her in order to gain the opportunity to defeat her and restore Princess Celestia to succeed.

There was a knock on the door. Immediately, she knew it was her student, and she smiled at that.

She looked up from the map and stared out into her study. After waiting a moment, she rose from her bed and stepped down onto the floor, then strode into the study. She turned to the left and approached the door, then opened it.

Twilight went rigid and stared straight ahead at her chestplate.

She frowned at Twilight's discomfort but then her smile returned. A visit from her student! A chance to learn more about her and get a break from having to think about all of the problems facing her and Equestria! It was a welcome reprieve. "Enter," she bade, stepping aside.

Mechanically, Twilight shuffled into the room. She followed Twilight with her eyes, and in return, Twilight glanced at her. She could practically feel Twilight's heart stuttering in her chest, and she could see the slight tremble in her legs each time she lifted a hoof off the floor.

She shut the door once Twilight was clear, and Twilight jerked. Her lips pulled down at that. "How many times will I have to tell you to relax, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I-I'm s-sorry," was her unsure, stuttered apology.

'I need to work on your confidence,' she mused. But another thought occurred to her, 'You have not been quite so nervous as this around me recently...' That realization drew her curiosity. She turned around, then walked on by Twilight. As she passed beside the filly, she lifted her wing from her side and casually brushed her feather along Twilight's back.

The touch had the intended effect of reassuring her. Looking back at her, Twilight was no longer so rigid, nor did her heart seem to want to burst from her chest. The arteries in her neck did not throb visibly through her coat. She looked relaxed, and Twilight's eyes wandered over her body. Once she was a few steps in front of her, she turned around to face her, then looked over her features and body. Twilight's cutie mark still drew her interest. How could it not? She forced her gaze back onto her face. "What is on your mind, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight swallowed, then stood up straighter. "I-I want to talk about C-Cadance," was her answer.

Her voice was an odd mixture of firmness and complete fragility. She was forceful and commanded attention- quite audacious of her to demand of her Queen, and yet, her courage would shatter with the slightest retort. So she kept silent, pondering the matter for several seconds. She held her expression in check and studied Twilight. 'Could this be an opportunity to help your confidence?' she wondered.

With that thought in mind, she smiled and took a deep breath. Twilight held her ground, but her legs did shake. In a slow motion to ensure that Twilight knew it was coming, she lifted her wing from her side. Twilight immediately glanced at it, then her eyes focused back on her chestplate. In an unassuming manner, she reached out with her wing and stroked a feather over Twilight's muzzle.

Twilight closed her eyes and relaxed. She lifted her feather from her student's face, then folded her wing. A few seconds later, Twilight opened her eyes.

"What of Princess Cadance?" Nightmare asked.

"I-I want you to release her," was her reply. It came out quieter than her first sentence. Her confidence was in danger of breaking, even with the comfort she had given her.

But still, releasing Cadance? She had nothing to gain from that, and to do so would cause problems. Her lip twitched down. She opened her mouth to respond, but Twilight acted first: "W-wait! Please hear m-me out," Twilight pleaded. Once again, Twilight's legs started to wobble.

She waited for a second, then nodded. "As I have said, Twilight Sparkle, I will listen when you wish to speak."

Twilight's chest expanded, then deflated. "O-okay... um... S-she's the Princess of Love. I-I was thinking... y-you could let her g-go and use this to your advantage?"

She frowned. "She's an alicorn, and so she is a threat-"

"Cadance isn't a threat to you..." Twilight Sparkle said quietly. "She's not a fighter, and-"

With that, her interest faded to annoyance. "I can tell she's not a fighter, Twilight Sparkle," she retorted, "but she is an alicorn. She is a symbol. And thus, she is a threat to me."

"She is a symbol, and that's how you can use her to your advantage!" Twilight retorted before wincing. "I mean... look," she cautiously implored, "you can talk to Cadance and convince her to help you-"

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Help me what, exactly?"

Twilight puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "She did a lot of social events under Pr-!" she winced and looked away from her out of concern.

She felt an ember of anger spark at that but kept silent. Exploding at Twilight would not help. Exploding at her for a slight slip up such as that would be a mistake, she knew, and it would hurt her student for no good reason. It would only hurt her student's confidence.

"...your sister," Twilight corrected. A moment later, she looked back up at her with an expression that pleaded for her to recognize the value in her suggestion: "You could have her do the same things but for you! It would give ponies a way to relax and give them a sense of normalcy." She looked down at her chestplate, and her confidence wilted. "It... might help with the uncertainty to see this going on..." she said in a quieter voice.

She didn't respond immediately, instead, taking a few seconds to ponder the idea. 'Princess Cadance is not a fighter. At worst, she could be a figurehead for ponies to gather around in dissent. Perhaps a leader for them, but unlikely. Perhaps there are benefits to this idea. Assuming Princess Cadance agrees, then perhaps this could help calm ponies down.' So the idea did have some value to it. 'Maybe it would even help them see me differently...' She knew that was wishful thinking, and she had to keep herself from showing her disgust. "This could end badly, you know," she stated.

Twilight didn't respond, instead choosing to continue to stare at her chestplate.

"If this causes rebellion or dissent, I will put an end to this," she stated succinctly. "I expect you to keep her in line."

Twilight paled at that. Her eyes jumped up to meet Nightmare's gaze, and a look of horror filled them. "W-what!?"

"I will talk to her, and you will accompany me. I do not trust her, so I will make it known that you are responsible for her. You will keep her in line," she stated.

"M-me!? Why!?" was her hasty response.

"You're the one who..." she trailed off and squinted. 'Saying that will only discourage her...' She waited a few seconds to recompose herself, and likewise, Twilight recovered too, though not to the extent she did. "You know her better than I," she stated. "And it would do you well to have this responsibility. I do not expect issues to arise from this," she stated.

Twilight wasn't convinced.

She frowned. "You believe this is a wise course of action, do you not?" she queried.

Twilight reluctantly nodded. "I-I do, I-I think it could h-help... A-along with the Gala!"

Nightmare nodded. "Then because you believe this will help, I will not punish you should this go poorly," she stated.

She could see the wave of relief washing over Twilight. Her eyelids twitched and her muscles relaxed so that she didn't hold herself as rigidly. "T-thank you," was her grateful reply.

She nodded. 'Will you ever betray me?' she idly wondered. As she looked over the filly before her, she saw her vulnerability. The thought of Twilight betraying her bothered her. It did not sit well with her. Nor did the idea of punishing her for disobedience. After all, Twilight had been very obedient so far, and if she had to punish Twilight, how badly would that hurt their fledgling relationship?

She had told Twilight to relax, but, as she looked at the filly now, she knew that if she hurt Twilight, any of her ability to relax around her would most likely be gone forever. It left her in a predicament. Perhaps she could go easy on her, or perhaps she would simply never need to. Or perhaps she could explain to Twilight what she had done wrong to ensure it did not happen again.

It still didn't sit well with her. Twilight was just so innocent and vulnerable. Breaking her would be not only a waste but an atrocity.

But, she could not simply tell her that she would not punish her if she rebelled, as that would invite that rebellion, and Twilight was still a potential threat to her. And if Twilight rebelled, her potential would be wasted. And that? That wasn't an option.

She lit her horn, then cast her magic outward. With ease, she took a hold of Twilight in her magic, then teleported the two of them to the castle's dungeons. The double image from teleporting barely affected her, though Twilight staggered from it. She watched Twilight for a few seconds as she recovered. But at the very least, Twilight had grown acquainted with her magic, so it did not paralyze her the same way it once did.

Twilight finally shook the disorientation off, then looked at her.

She smiled at her, then looked ahead. Behind the metal bars of the cell sat one pink alicorn. She sat as far back in the cell as she could, centered in the middle. Her mane was disheveled, and her tail was curled around her left side, with the end laying in front of her forehooves, as if she was trying to hide the shackels and chains from sight. Yet despite that, her mane and tail were still so pristine compared to how it would have been a thousand years ago. The dungeon was clean and kept well. She found it odd that ponies wasted time and resources on it, but it was undoubtedly more pleasant than things had been. Cadance had it easy compared to what it could have been.

Cadance stared ahead straight at her. Her lips were a flat, neutral line, and her eyes were wide, displaying fear and hurt. Her horn was still bound with the ring she had put there, sealing off her magic and marking her as a prisoner. Her tiara was not on her head as it had been when she sent her to the dungeon. She frowned at that, then glanced around to find the tiara cast aside, laying so that the band was reaching up into the air while the central gem was flat against the marble floor.

'Why did I let you keep that, and why have you now discarded it?' she wondered. Her eyes fell back on Cadance, and Cadance glanced back at her. She glanced at her student to her right, who in turn glanced at her before looking back at Cadance. She turned her head left, then right. To her surprise, Captain Shining Armor was nowhere to be seen. She turned her gaze back to the imprisoned princess. "Princess Cadance," she greeted.

Cadance's muscles slumped at that, and her form sagged as if the very mention of her name stole whatever hope and energy she had left. "Nightmare Moon..." was her hesitant, quiet acknowledgment.

"Twilight Sparkle had a most interesting idea," she replied. She searched Cadance for a reaction, and indeed, there was one. Cadance's brow twitched down, and her eyes glanced over to Twilight, then her gaze lingered.

After a few seconds, Cadance took a deep breath and looked back up at her. "What sort of idea?"

"She suggested that we reach some kind of agreement. Swear fealty to me and help me, and I will give you your freedom," she said. A smile pulled at her lips. "I am certain that both my student and the Captain of the Guard would approve of this offer," she stated.

Cadance frowned, then swallowed. She turned her head to the left and looked down at the floor. Nightmare watched as her eyes jumped from spot to spot. Slowly, Cadance lifted her head back up and looked at her. "What exactly do you want?" was her question.

Nightmare inhaled, then calmly exhaled. "Your expertise," she answered. "As my student has told me, you have a way with ponies. And my return has caused a great deal of panic, fear, and uncertainty."

Cadance's frown became more pronounced, and her brow creased further. "Why would you care about that?" was her cautious question.

Her nostrils flared at that. Cadance was an alicorn! A princess! How could she not see the trouble that would cause!? "It is simple, dear Cadance," she answered. Methodically, she lifted a forehoof, then took a step towards the cell. Whether Cadance wasn't intimidated by that or it was simply because of the metal bars between them, she wasn't sure, but Cadance did not show fear. "Ponies tend to do stupid things out of fear. Fear can ensure ponies stay in line, but too much will shatter society. Uncertainty is unwanted. Uncertainty leads to a great deal of issues that can make my rule unstable. You can assist me by dealing with this uncertainty."

"How exactly do you expect me to do that?" Cadance meekly questioned.

She hesitated at that. Was Cadance truly willing to help, or was this a facade? She sounded genuine. She was so soft and weak. She was no strategist, nor did she seem manipulative. How could this have been a facade? Especially if Princess Cadance had been trained by her sister! Cadance, like her sister, would not have wanted harm to come to anypony. So thus, it made sense that she would be willing to help, if not for her, then to protect ponies. "My student tells me that you are quite adept when it comes to social events. This would be beneficial, as I do not exactly mix well with social events. Releasing you- assuming you swear fealty to me and agree to help me- would go a long ways towards assuring ponies that I am not going to rend Equestria, and it would help keep them in line. Fear is only so effective at holding an empire together, and, as they say, love is more powerful than fear."

She tried not to let it, but her bitterness slipped out with that last phrase. It sickened her, but it was true. Oh, how wonderful it would be if ponies would love her, but that would never happen. So all she had was fear, power, and intimidation. But fear was destructive. An Empire built solely on fear would not last, so she knew she could not rely solely on fear. It would be too unstable, there would be too much uncertainty. It would undermine her rule and threaten her empire's prosperity. If she used only fear, she would never outshine her dear sister like she deserved.

"Why should I help you?" was Cadance's innocent, unassuming question. There was no disobedience in her voice, no aggressive stubbornness, simply genuine curiosity.

So, she did not retort her. It would be good to have her as an ally, even if it was tentative and would be broken if her sister returned. "Equestria would benefit from this. Ponies would see this and hopefully not act out of fear so much. You would be helping protect Equestria from itself," she emphasized. "And you would have your freedom," she added as an afterthought.

She saw Cadance's mouth shift as she nibbled on her lip. Cadance looked at Twilight as if searching for some form of help or support.

Would Twilight respond? What would she say? The idea fascinated her. It was an opportunity for Twilight to show loyalty and confidence. She looked at Twilight. Twilight tensed up and glanced at her. She could see Twilight swallow, then Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out.

Twilight opened her eyes, then licked her lips. Her mouth parted, but she hesitated. Again, she glanced aside at Nightmare, as if asking for permission. So she bowed her head once, giving her student permission to speak. Twilight shifted her head, then looked back at Cadance. "I... I know that you might not want to, but... it-it can help! Pr..." she trailed off and bit her lip. "She wouldn't want Equestria to suffer..." she offered.

She looked at Cadance, and the alicorn radiated uncertainty as she looked at Twilight. Eventually, she turned to face Nightmare Moon. "What do you want me to do?" was her guarded question.

"Simply do what you did under my sister's rule. And swear fealty to me," she answered. She leaned in close to the metal bars and glared at the alicorn. "But do not betray me or abuse this freedom, or there will be consequences," she growled.

Cadance nodded slowly and her eyes shot to the floor. "O-okay, I'll... do it," she answered. Her eyes shot back up to Nightmare, who smiled. "But only to help everypony. I'm not going to help you hurt anypony."

She pulled her head back and chuckled. "Dear Cadance, do not take me for a foal," she retorted. Cadance's eyebrows twitched down for a brief moment. She took a deep breath, then channeled her magic and created another necklace similar to the one Twilight wore, then she channeled her magic into it until it took on a shimmering, glossy look from the magical enchantment.

After all, it would not do to give Cadance too much freedom or space to sow dissent- even if it was unlikely that she would. And it would do Equestria good to see that, while Cadance would be free, she was still under her leash. She held the necklace in her magic and turned it about to examine it dismissively, then she looked at Cadance. "You will wear this at all times, just like my student. I will hear everything said around you, and I will know where you are at all times."

Cadance grimaced but nodded, though slowly. Slowly, she stood up, then took a tentative step towards the cell. Her shackles and chains rattled from her movement and made her shuffle have a cold, broken feeling. Nightmare used her magic to unlock the door, then pushed it inward so that the door swung open.

Even more slowly than she stood up, Cadance shuffled towards the open door and Nightmare Moon. Once she was just inside the doorway, she stopped.

Nightmare levitated the necklace over to her, then slid it over her head and set it on her neck. Cadance grimaced and stared down at the silver crescent moon, then looked back up at her.

Nightmare stepped to the left, then extended a wing to beckon her out. In the same motion, she used her magic to remove the ring from her horn, which made Cadance look up at her horn and smile with relief, and unlock the shackles from her hooves. Next, she unbound Cadance's wings, and immediately, Cadance stretched her wings out and closed her eyes from simply enjoying the freedom.

After a few seconds, Cadance opened her eyes and then walked out, leaving the chains behind and staring at her the whole time. Only once she was past the cell door did she look away from Nightmare, and immediately, Twilight grabbed her.

Nightmare tilted her head slightly as Twilight embraced Cadance in a hug. Cadance returned it with the same vigor, wrapping a forehoof around the back of Twilight's neck and slowly stroking her mane. 'Perhaps releasing Cadance will have more benefits than I first thought,' she mused. After all, her student was close to Cadance. Perhaps then, this would help Twilight to loosen up. It would be a boost to her confidence, would it not?

She smiled to herself at that. Confidence was something Twilight desperately needed. She just needed a way to build that up, then Twilight could truly be on the path to becoming her student and being worthy of that title.

Their hug continued for several seconds, it was as if both of them were desperate for each other's comfort. But she was patient, and so she allowed it to continue to its natural end, when Cadance lifted her head back up. Following her, Twilight slowly pulled back from the hug. For a second longer, they watched each other, then turned to face Nightmare.

"Follow," she commanded. Without waiting for affirmation, she turned, then walked towards the dungeon's exit. Teleporting would have been quicker, but less effective. Plus, walking out with them in tow should have been an effective way to say, 'Cadance is now mine, so do not concern yourselves with her freedom' to the guards.

She quickly past both Twilight and Cadance, and almost instantly, she heard the frantic scrapping of Twilight's hooves on the floor, followed by her quick hoofsteps, until she was at her proper place. She glanced aside at Twilight, then looked back ahead. Though Twilight had scrambled to her side, her gait was almost relaxed and calm, though it was still guarded.

Cadance caught up with them and walked at Twilight's right without as much effort or anxiety, and after that, she turned her gaze back ahead as they made their way out of the dungeon.

The guards they encountered all tensed as she came into view, but their gazes all eventually fell onto Cadance. None of them were sure what to think, from what she saw, but she was certain the message was conveyed, if not through Cadance's lack of bindings, then through the necklace she now wore.

Only once they had ascended the stairs and entered the castle proper did she stop. She turned to face Cadance, who nervously looked back at her. "You may take your leave now, dear Cadance," she stated.

Cadance nodded, then looked down at Twilight and turned to face her. At the same time, as if they shared some special psychic connection, Twilight turned to face her. They both hugged again, although Cadance stared back at her, rather than looking at Twilight.

And Nightmare met Cadance's gaze and watched both of them. There were a lingering fear and concern in those eyes of hers. But then, how could there not have been?

Eventually, they parted, but Cadance lingered nearby for a few seconds longer. "Where's... Shiny?" she asked.

Twilight glanced back at Nightmare, who inhaled. "Captain Shining Armor should be tending to his duties," she answered. Twilight looked back at Cadance, and Cadance nodded slowly. "As per his exact location, that I do not know. I do not care that you two are together, but do not let it cause problems."

Cadance nodded quickly, then turned and hastily trotted away. Not once did she look back to see Nightmare and Twilight watching her retreat.

A few seconds after she disappeared, she heard Twilight whisper, "Thank you..."

She looked down at the filly and nodded once. "It is in my best interest to prevent chaos from consuming Equestria," she replied.

Slowly, Twilight nodded, then she frowned. "Why didn't you just teleport us back? It would have been quicker."

"Yes, it would have been quicker, but this way more guards saw us, so word should spread that I have granted Cadance her freedom, rather than forcing me to have to address it," she replied.

Twilight looked down at her chestplate and her head bobbed up and down idly. "I can't teleport." A moment after speaking that, she looked up at her.

Nightmare smiled. "Well, you most certainly have the magic for it, Twilight Sparkle. Why can you not perform this spell?"

Twilight looked back down at her chestplate and nibbled on her lip. "I understand the spell's framework, it's just... it's hard..." she trailed off, her lips pulling into a grimace.

Nightmare nodded. "It is a complicated spell," she agreed. "Perhaps one of the most complicated spells I know of. Very few unicorns have ever been able to pull off a teleportation spell, but I am certain you have it in you to pull off such a complex spell."

Twilight smiled at that, as if she took it as praise or pride. Then, her smile wavered, her lips wobbled, and it faded like the ground had been stolen out from under her.

"I will teach you this spell if you cannot figure it out on your own," she stated.

Twilight looked up at her. For a moment, her fear was gone. She looked so hopeful, so innocent, so eager to learn. But she blinked, and it was so subdued compared to what it had been. Perhaps she had not even seen it in the first place. Twilight was still ready and eager to learn, but that curiosity, her thirst for knowledge, seemed to be dampened by something. Gradually, Twilight's eyes trailed down her body until they stopped and focused on the crescent moon of Nightmare's chestplate. "Y-you will?"

Nightmare nodded, even if she wasn't sure Twilight would see it. "Of course," she answered sweetly. "It would be most beneficial for you to be able to teleport, and it would be a waste of your talent not to teach you this spell."

Twilight's muscles gradually tensed up over the next few seconds, and she clenched her jaw. "Even... though..."

She chuckled mirthfully. "Twilight Sparkle, even if you can teleport, at most, that is a nuisance to me should you betray me. Perhaps you will become adept enough to teleport in a battle, but it would not help you against me. No, I will trust you with such a spell because of how useful it is, and because you have not shown inclination to disobey me."

Twilight's nod was rigid and mechanical.

It was another of Twilight's flaws that she needed to work on. 'You are so scared of failure that it paralyzes you and prevents you from acting.' She wasn't sure which of Twilight's flaws drew more of her annoyance, but her fear of making a mistake and being punished for it hampered their relationship. How could Twilight truly put forth her best effort if she was scared of failing and being punished? And she had told her she would not punish her for such a failure, but Twilight simply did not trust her. She held back a sigh, knowing that it would take time and a lot of effort on her part to fix this problem.

"You will accompany me when I visit the deer," she said.

Twilight looked up at her and nodded obediently. But the obedient nod was so rigid and forced. It made her want to scream. Her own student obeyed out of fear.

"You... really need to do something about... time..." Twilight replied cautiously. She swallowed. "H-how long has it been since your return?" was her quiet, high-pitched question.

"Twelve nights," was her response. After all, how could she not keep track of how long she had been free from her accursed prison!?

Twilight's brow and lips twitched. "How are we supposed to tell time?"

Nightmare hesitated. 'Without the day-night cycle, normal ponies have no way to tell time...' She had no answer for Twilight, and she felt her expression draw a blank for the first time in the past thousand years. 'How did that slip by me!?' She clenched her jaw in bewilderment.

There was, of course, the obvious answer of clocks, but that could prove impractical with no cycle to follow. Since the moon was constantly locked in place and didn't move, there was no way for ponies to know whether the time shown by a clock was accurate or not.

Twilight, of course, knew better than to point any of this out to her, although a part of her was bothered by how Twilight held herself in check at that.

Cautiously, she tilted her head to the right. "Perhaps you have suggestions..?"

Twilight smiled. And oh, how nervous that smile was. The way her lips were pulled back far, far too much, showing her broad smile. The way her eyes screamed out, 'Why, oh why! Why did you have to ask me that question!?' The sheer horror in her eyes.

At the very least, Twilight was an amusing filly to have as a student. Her reactions, when they weren't out of fear and sometimes even when they were out of fear, were entertaining.

"W-well," Twilight squeaked. "U-um... M-maybe... m-move the M-Moon? L-like... u-um..." she trailed off, her eyes nervously jumping from side to side.

"In mimicry of the cycle of day and night?" she asked.

Twilight hastily nodded, though tensed up like she was expecting to be hurt for affirming that.

She felt disappointment at Twilight's reaction, and it seemed contagious, like every time before. Her disappointment caused Twilight to be disappointed. It was odd. "You would suggest that I move the Moon around so that ponies have a way to measure time?"

"I-I'm s-sorry!" Twilight squeaked. "I-I-"

"Stop," she groaned. Twilight went silent. She clenched her eyes shut. "Stop apologizing for offering suggestions... I am not so stupid as to want ponies to deliberately lie to me or mislead me about problems..." she muttered. Only after a few seconds to recover from Twilight's idiocracy did she open her eyes and take a deep breath to continue: "It is a good idea. Perhaps this will help with uncertainty. It will remain night, but I can move the Moon to provide some analog to the day-night cycle. Although there could be problems with this, they should be manageable. I shall do this," she answered.

Twilight's expression blanked in surprise. "R-really?"

"Yes," was her flat response.

Twilight blinked, then looked aside and blinked a few more times.

Nightmare tilted her head to the side. "Why are you so surprised?"

Twilight glanced back at her. "W-well, um... it-it's just that... I thought you wanted the Moon to... always be out..."

Nightmare shook her head. "It is not necessary," she replied. "And in truth, my sister has robbed me of my enjoyment of the Moon..."

Twilight's ears folded back at that. "B-but your cutie mark is the Moon! How?"

She inhaled quickly and opened her mouth as a spark of anger shot through her body. She barely caught herself, but because she did, she stopped herself from snapping at the filly. After a moment to calm herself, she replied, "I was imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years, so you will have to forgive me for having seen enough of it for a lifetime. That, and the scarring from the banishment spell."

"I... hadn't thought of that," was Twilight's whispered response.

"It will still be eternal night," Nightmare said, "but divided into a lighter night, illuminated by the Moon, and a moonless night."

Twilight nodded slowly. "I think... that will help with some problems."

"I would expect it to," Nightmare stated. "It should help ponies return to a routine similar to what they had before. This should be good for the uncertainty problem."

"I think... it will make adjusting easier on everypony..." Twilight added.

"Perhaps..." she mused. For a moment, she let her mind wander. There were risks with this idea, but having a cycle that ponies could follow might be worth the risks. "We will be departing in a few hours," she said. "See to it that you are prepared."

Twilight gawked at her. "W-what? T-that fast?" she stuttered. "I- I thought that it wasn't going to be for a few da- uh, nights..." She looked away, her lips uneven with a cringe.

"I am certain that word of my return has spread. If it has not, then I do not know how anything that can see could have managed to miss my night," she retorted. "As such, I believe it would be wise to address the Deer Kingdom swiftly before any more internal problems occur."

"Right..." Twilight half-groaned.

Nightmare frowned at that. Twilight turned her head further away from her and looked off down the hallway Cadance had retreated down. "What troubles you?"

Twilight turned her head back towards her and glanced at her, then looked back down the hallway. "It's just... short notice. A-and it-it's an important diplomatic meeting! A-and um, w-what if something happens while we're gone?"

Even with Twilight facing away from her, she could see the filly bite her lip. She had no idea how Twilight still had a lip at the rate she was chewing on it. And then there was also the anxiety and fear in her voice. And of course, her stance went back to rigid. The filly was exhausting herself with her panic attacks and fear. She shook her head at that realization. "If something happens, then the Royal Guard can send me a scroll, and I will simply teleport us back so that I can deal with it," she answered. "Now stop trying to bite your lip off."

Twilight released her lip as her cheeks pulled up and her ears fell back. An embarrassed "S-sorry..." quickly left her mouth.

"You may take your leave now, Twilight Sparkle. I will find you when I have need of you," she said.

Twilight turned around to face her, then fell into a quick bow. "O-of course," she answered formally. As soon as she finished speaking, she rose from the bow, then turned and marched down the hallway Cadance departed down.

She watched Twilight for a few seconds, then looked just beside her. There was no discernable change in how the filly carried herself. To further test it, she turned her head to the left and checked with her magic. Once again, Twilight's stride was unchanged. She wanted to smile at that, but instead, she only scowled. Sure, Twilight's gait didn't change when she looked away! But it was still an uncomfortable walk that didn't change even when she rounded the corner that Cadance had disappeared behind.

She lingered for a few seconds, then teleported herself back to her bedchambers. Confidently, she stepped forward as the double image faded, then she climbed back onto her bed and stared down at the map before her. Once again, her eyes fell onto the Whitetail Woods and the Deer Kingdom. But she only focused on it for a few seconds before looking to the north. To the northeast, the former Griffin Empire. She hadn't heard a thing from the Griffins since she had claimed the throne, and every historical record she had found indicated that the Griffin Empire had truly collapsed.

But what most bothered her about it was how little Equestria knew about the Griffins now. Or the rest of the world, for that matter. Equestria was isolated from the world, even its closest neighbors from what she had seen. Equestria traded, but yet ponies knew so little about what was outside of Equestria's borders. It didn't sit right with her. How would they be able to identify threats if they knew nothing about what was out there, how strong those nations were, and who ruled them?

Then looking directly north above Equestria, the vast, empty cold plains between Equestria and Yakyakistan. It was like a void in the map. The entire area was simply unclaimed by any current nation. Of course, it was an inhospitable region, but it hadn't always been that way. She could remember it clearly: The Crystal Empire. Alongside the deer, the crystal ponies were another of Equestria's greatest allies. And just like the deer, the crystal ponies kept to themselves to the point that even when fighting alongside them, she barely learned anything about them.

But even in her thousand-year absence, they had not returned. The Empire was still sealed away. But it could not stay sealed away forever. No, the spell would not last. 'How much longer until your return?' growled in her mind. Indeed, the Empire's return would also herald the return of the King of Shadows. And he? He was a threat to her reign, just like Discord.

King Sombra would move quickly to restore his power and build an army to send against her. He was a simple unicorn, but his mastery over dark magic made him a threat both to Equestria and to her. And Equestria was woefully unprepared for his return, whenever it would be. 'Surely, you could not have forgotten about him, sister! Why do you stand so unprepared!?'

Her lips pulled back, baring her teeth in disgust. Her dear sister was soft and weak and foolish. She would have brought ruin to Equestria by leaving her so undefended.

And now it fell to her. Not only did she have to ensure Equestria did not fall from internal disorder, nor did she only have to make sure Discord did not escape. No, she had to deal with at least three very significant threats to her rule and Equestria. Even if King Sombra and Discord were sealed away, it was a risk she could not afford to take. Even if she could easily crush the Crystal Empire by herself, the fallen king presented a threat.

Her eyes drifted down to Hollow Shades. 'I will have to act soon,' she noted. Would they still be able to help? Would they remember her? Would they even still exist? Sister and her ponies had never cared for them.

She took a deep breath, then looked to the south. In her time, it had simply been called 'The Great Desert.' Now they called it the Badlands. 'Fitting, I suppose.' Back in her day, nobody really wanted the area, although Equestria had claimed it. Now, there were some cities scattered around the northern fourth of the Badlands. Below the desert, there were plains, mountains and forests, and finally a tropical jungle. That whole section was home to varying tribes of Zebras.

Perhaps it made sense that the Zebras and Ponies never really bonded together. After all, there was an inhospitable geographical divide between them.

Looking at the Badlands, though, she felt a nagging sense that something was off. She just couldn't put it. It was like she was forgetting something important from before her banishment.

She shook the thought aside and lit her horn to roll the map back up. Once it was rolled up, she levitated it over and set it on the desk for later. There was much she still needed to go over, but a break would be good for her.

She slid off of the bed and walked to the bathroom. With hardly a thought, a small white orb coalesced at the tip of her horn, then levitated off with a quiet pop. It wafted through the air lazily, then came to a stop near the center of the bathroom, hovering in place far above everything else, where it could illuminate the entire bathroom in the soft light of the moon.

She sighed, then approached the bath. Using her magic, she turned on the water and shut the door behind her. As the tub filled, she lifted her hooves in turn and removed her boots, setting them aside. The cold of the marble floor against her hooves felt wonderful, and each time her freshly bared hoof touched the floor, it sent a small shiver of delight down her spine. Just to be free and to feel something other than the constricting metal was a freedom she had never had on the Moon! After her boots were off, she levitated her helmet off without a thought.

She closed her eyes as the cool air embraced her normally protected head. It was refreshing to feel the air against her coat, and some of her ire and annoyance drifted away. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked over her cyan helmet. Crafted so long ago along with the rest of her armor, it had served her well and accompanied her for a thousand years.

But now she was Queen. Why did she continue to cling to her battle armor at all times? She could have been dressed as proper royalty! Rather than a helmet, a tiara should have sat atop her head! But no, it was a helmet. A tiara would not have suited her nearly as well, nor would it have offered her any protection. And picturing herself wearing a tiara, after having worn her battle armor for a millennium? She scoffed at the image, even if the tiara was polished black onyx or obsidian, or perhaps silver or gold painted black. Maybe it did not even need to be painted, but she still scoffed at the idea.

Without her armor on, it simply wasn't the same. She was Nightmare Moon, and her battle armor was a part of her. A fitting part of her. She had conquered her sister and subjugated Equestria, and perhaps now had many enemies. Nothing but armor would suit her properly. So there was no tiara to mark her status as Queen and Empress, no, instead, it was a helmet that marked her as conquerer.

She set her helmet down alongside her boots, and for several long seconds, she just stared at the partial set of armor. As the sound of water filling the tub deepened, she turned the water off, then warmed the bath with her magic, yet she still did not look away from her armor.

She took a deep breath and once again felt the imperfect, dented chestplate against her chest. She looked down and scowled. Perhaps a normal pony would not have noticed, perhaps a normal pony would not have felt it, but Applejack had scarred that chestplate she so treasured.

She turned to the tub, then dipped one hoof at a time into the water, until she stepped into it entirely. Slowly, she sat down on her haunches and sank into the warm water. She felt as if she could melt from the enveloping embrace. The gentle but firm, constant pressure, along with the warmth seeping into her coat, it felt so, so wonderful.

She needed to treat herself to this more often. She closed her eyes and relaxed, exhaling calmly and just feeling the pressure the water put on her body, feeling the warm water flood the space between her chest and her chestplate, feeling the water run through her coat and feathers.

Having spent a thousand years away from the miraculous liquid, how could she not adore it so? It warmed her coat and armor without dissenting or rebelling against her. It was, perhaps, a friend.

"Shining!" Cadance called.

"C-Cadance?" was his shocked reply.

There was the sound of Cadance's hooves clicking on the marble floor in rapid succession as she ran. She could make out the sounds of the Captain's armored hooves clacking against the marble floor. She was surprised it had taken them so long to find one another.

The hoofsteps came to a stop, and she could imagine them embracing one another.

"I-I was so worried about you!" Shining Armor whispered. "Are you okay? How did you..."

"I-I'm fine," Cadance stuttered. "Nightmare... decided to let me go if I... helped her..."

There was a brief silence.

"Hear me out, Shiny! Please..." Cadance pleaded.

Shining Armor exhaled heavily. "Okay..." he said quietly.

"I-I said I would help her, b-but only so long as it wasn't hurting anypony. She... wants me to help ponies adjust... She wants me to keep doing what I was doing before so that ponies see something normal."

"Attending social events?" was Shining's bewildered response. "Uh, what?"

"It will be good for everypony!" Cadance replied. "This way they have some... normal in their lives after... this..."

Another pause.

"Okay, if you're sure..." Shining said hesitantly. "I'm just glad you're safe... What's this?"

"It, um... Nightmare Moon said that it's like what Twilight's wearing all the time-"

"It does look the same," Shining cut in. "Wait, so she's listening to us right now?" was his abrupt realization.

She smiled at the following silence.

"Well... it... could be worse, I could have-"

Whatever he was about to say was muffled, presumably from a hoof.

Cadance coughed.

"Sorry," Shining Apologized.

"It's okay, Shiny..." Cadance comforted.

"Well, I guess... this is going to make things awkward isn't it?" Shining asked.

"We'll... figure it out, or just have to pretend that she's not listening in..." Cadance replied.

Nightmare Moon opened her eyes and squinted at that. It didn't sound salacious, but then, it also reminded her that Cadance was the Princess of Love. And based on that, she had some second thoughts about the particular leash she gave her.

She shook the thought aside and blocked out most of what else was said between them as she closed her eyes to go back to relaxing.

Nightmare stood looking at her Moon with satisfaction as it slowly ascended further into the sky. Surely, ponies would notice that the Moon was moving. Surely, if they didn't notice that or its eventual change in position, they would notice when darkness descended upon the world. How could they not?

Then again, ponies could be rather inept.

She just hoped that they didn't panic. That would create undue annoyances for her. Tedious little things to attend to, like reminding everypony she was still around and that no, her sister had not returned. And making sure that ponies didn't start burning down Equestria out of fear. She had sent word out to the Royal Guards deployed in cities to spread word about what she was doing and had given them orders to keep things in control. Hopefully, they would do their jobs, despite being spread thin. Hopefully, ponies would see this and view it as something of a return to the routine and the blackness of night without her moon's light wouldn't paralyze everything in fear. Maybe things would actually go well!

That was probably wishful thinking. At best. Hopefully, the Royal Guard would be able to stop ponies' herd instincts from kicking in when the rioting and looting and other destruction started.

Looking down from the Moon, she briefly surveyed the dirt path before them. It was hardly fitting for her status as Queen, but simply teleporting into the Deer Kingdom's capital wouldn't do. No, this way- walking into the Whitetails Woods- they would realize she was coming. They could prepare to receive her and her student. Then, the deer could be hospitable to them.

She cast a glance aside at Twilight. Her student stood at her right side, and she actually looked halfway eager for once. She did not hold herself rigidly like normal. She was mostly calm. She felt a hint of pride at that. 'Perhaps you will be able to overcome your fears yet,' she mused.

Twilight also wore a pair of saddlebags emblazoned with her cutie mark. She found herself staring at the emblem, then glancing back to stare at the cutie mark on Twilight's flank. Just looking at that pink starburst made her feel wide awake and filled with energy. It still sent her mind racing, knowing and seeing that Twilight's cutie mark looked nearly identical to the Element of Magic, which she bore. Her special talent was magic, she was the bearer of the Element of Magic, she studied Magic Theory, and she knew what went into making spells work.

Looking at Twilight's cutie mark, her mind and body demanded some form of action.

'So much potential...' slithered through her mind. The thought made a shiver race down her spine, but her body remained unmoved by the sensation.

Twilight glanced aside at her, and she could see that her body was gradually becoming tenser. She looked away from her flank and met her gaze. For a moment, the memory of how let down she looked when she found out that her mentor had lied to her passed through Nightmare's mind. It left a subdued feeling behind in her wake; she felt sorry for Twilight. She could relate to her in such a way. After all, her dear sister had hurt both of them. But for some reason, she had not spoken a word of what her sister had told her. It remained her own secret, that Twilight's former mentor had told her that she had a student.

It would have been a great way to severe whatever tie Twilight still had to her dear sister, but she did not use that knife, as she was unsure of the extent that it would wound Twilight.

The book levitating in front of Twilight drifted down a few inches as Twilight seemed to lose focus, though it did not fall, and as she noticed her grip slipping, she blinked and glanced at the book before returning to look at Nightmare. "Y-yes?" she squeaked.

"Are you ready, Twilight Sparkle?" was her question.

Twilight carefully closed the book, offering her a brief glimpse of the cover, which depicted a frontal portrait of a deer, before levitating it back and slipping it into the bag on her right side. She nodded. "Yes," she answered. Her eyes jumped left and then right, then shot back to Nightmare. "J-just the two of us, though?"

Nightmare cocked her head to the side. "Of course," she answered.

Twilight shifted her weight onto her right side. "N-no guards or anything?"

That brought a frown to her lips and her brow creased. "Why would we need guards?" she asked.

"Um... for protection?" Twilight asked, though as she spoke, it seemed to occur to her how silly a question it was.

Nightmare simply raised an eyebrow. "Mobilizing guards would take longer, and I think it would send the wrong message. It would be better to do this personally- just the two of us," she explained, "and allow me to assure you, you will be perfectly safe with me. I do not anticipate hostilities. Though the deer are strong warriors, they are not that naturally aggressive. If, however, problems do arise, you have my word that I will keep you safe," she said.

Twilight glanced down at the ground, then nodded and turned her head forward. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "O-okay."

For a moment longer, she hesitated, simply enjoying looking at her student. She glanced away from her and turned her attention to the path before them. "We are wasting moonlight," she noted. With nothing more to say, she strode forward. She did not hear Twilight's hoofsteps against the dirt, but she could feel her walking close beside her even without the necklace. Twilight's walk was calm but guarded.

Calmly, the two of them walked into the forest. While it had been quiet before, it was if everything immediately reacted to her presence, and the silence became all-encompassing. There was no breeze to rustle the leaves and make the trees' branches sway in the wind to create a soothing music. There were no birds singing, nor did any insects make a sound. Larger animals, perhaps both predators if any and prey, all fell silent and stopped any form of movement that would draw her attention.

Even the plants seemed to feel and recognize her presence, and they stood still as she strode deeper into the forest. Indeed, the only movement came from her student and herself, both of whom were the only two living things that seemed unaffected by her presence, but even her student was affected by her presence.

The dirt path was well-traveled and clear, though as they made their way deeper into the forest, the tree canopy gradually stretched out over the path to cover it and hide the moon from sight. As they descended into darkness, Twilight walked a little closer to her, though kept far enough away that she did not trip up either of them. Nightmare lit her horn and channeled her magic into a small orb. With a crack, the white orb shot out from her horn, illuminating the darkness with the soft white light of the moon. She guided the orb ahead of them, not for herself, but for Twilight's sake: her student's eyesight did not compare to her own.

"Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, have you ever been to the Whitetail Woods before?" she asked.

"Um.. no," was Twilight's answer. "I uh, I've not... I'm not much of a outdoors pony."

Nightmare inclined her head as they continued into the forest. "I presumed as such; you are a scholar."

She could almost feel Twilight glance aside at her in response to that. "I just... Pr..." Twilight trailed off, and curiously, she looked back at her.

'How long will it be before you cease attempting to speak that accursed name?' she wondered without anger.

"...Your sister," Twilight finally corrected. "I uh... outside of the Summer Sun Celebration, I've... never really left Canterlot. And, well, you know, Canterlot doesn't have many trees. Since, you know, it's built on a platform. And the side of a mountain."

"Yes," Nightmare answered, "but what of the mountainside? I have seen it from above, and while it is steep in places, there are still areas of the forest which are most accessible. Do you have no interest in forests?"

"No, not really," was Twilight's answer. "I prefer being inside. Where I can study. In peace."

"I see," Nightmare replied. The dirt path continued ahead, but it seemed that the forest was slowly returning to life. Though no breeze came and though no birds chirped, she could hear the distant buzzing of insects slowly growing louder. Inhaling, she could smell the fresh fragrance of the forest- the scent of trees and of ferns and of grass and dirt. And her sense of smell relished it. How could she not? A thousand years with nothing to smell except her own scent and nearly anything was a welcome refreshment.

Truly, in the time since her return, she had forgotten how much she missed the fresh smells that Canterlot so lacked, and they filled her with a subdued calmness. Perhaps her sister had denied her vengeance, but she still had her freedom. Perhaps the deer would prove troublesome, but for the moment, she could enjoy this walk with her student.

"Tell me, you are quite fond of books, are you not?" she asked.

"Yes," Twilight answered. "I am." There was a hint of pride or arrogance in her voice, but Nightmare merely smirked at it.

"I have not have time to see to everything; I recall you mentioning that my sister had a school, did you not?" she asked.

"Um... yes," Twilight answered with great hesitance. "She... did..."

She looked over at Twilight, who held her head level and looked ahead. But when she looked at Twilight, the filly's eyes glanced at her for a moment before returning straight ahead. "For gifted unicorns, I recall?"

Twilight nodded timidly.

"I suppose I shall need to address this, won't I?" she asked.

Twilight bit the corner of her lip and gradually turned to look at her. "I-I suppose," she said in a high-pitched voice.

She frowned. "I will not end it if that is your concern," she firmly countered. Twilight relaxed at that and looked away from her. "I will simply have to review it and see to the best course of action regarding its continued existence and function."

Without saying anything, Twilight nodded quickly.

She waited for a moment, then looked back forward. Ahead, the path started to curve to the right, and the trees and underbrush thinned, though not enough to suggest the outermost parts of civilization. How the deer had managed to keep the forest so pristine- even with their magic and alchemy- despite a thousand years of population growth and all that entailed still eluded her.

Coming around the bend, she found that the path met another dirt path. Looking left, she followed the dirt path back but found nothing of interest, excepting more trees and bushes alongside the pathway. "Pegasi tend to the weather here, do they not?" she questioned.

"As far as I know, yes," was Twilight's answer.

She nodded to herself, then looked to the right. As with the way the path had come, it was surrounded by trees and brushes and was well-trod. She started forward, and once again, Twilight followed beside her.

Several minutes passed them by with nothing more being spoken between them. The forest seemed to grow acquainted with her presence, but the calls and singing of birds were still far between, as they had not yet adjusted to the eternal night. The calls of owls stood out among the distant buzz of insects which did their best to stay as far from Nightmare Moon as they could. The occasional rustle of bushes caused her student to tense up, but then relax as whatever had caused it hastily made its retreat.

Most likely, they were small rodents, perhaps mice or rabbits, that fled from her presence. Eventually, something larger caught her attention, and as she stopped, Twilight likewise stopped. She could hear it lurking in the forest, just beyond the path. The subtle rubbing of leaves on wood as it disturbed the underbrush. It was perhaps the size of a pony, but lighter and more delicate in build.

Identifying the source of the disturbance, she turned towards the sound and extended her magic. Almost immediately, all movement and sounds ceased as the forest felt her magic seeping into it. And indeed, her magic confirmed her suspicions. One of the forest's inhabitants that she sought out. "Show yourself," she called out.

A few seconds passed by with no response nor any sound of movement. She felt Twilight step closer to her, afraid of that which she did not know. Had she known how to search with her magic, she could have identified the deer, but she either did not think of it or did not know how. Calmly, she waited. It was only a matter of time; either the deer would make itself known, or it would try to escape.

But the moon continued on its course, and darkness would eventually descend. A night without a moon, how dark it would be! While it was of little concern to her, it would be a problem for her student, and as such, they were wasting time.

Gradually, the rustling of underbrush returned. She turned to face the source head on and peered into the darkness. Likewise, her student stepped around to stand close beside her once again. A glance at Twilight confirmed she was squinting into the darkness, trying to perceive that which she could not see.

Looking back, she watched as ever so slowly, the deer poked its head out from the brush. It was a cautious, testing glance as if to make sure there was no immediate danger. Taking one look at her, the deer froze in place. She could see the way her muscles tensed up, the way her fear filled her wide, soul-filled eyes.

Her nose was black, and her coat was a soft, matte brown, speckled with tuffs of white fur. The underside of her neck was almost pure white, like her sister, but the doe's fur was longer, somehow more graceful, despite their forest home. The white coat descended down to her chest, and presumably to her underbody. She was small, no larger than Twilight, and most assuredly younger than her. Her legs were, in comparison to Twilight's, skinny and boney, almost to the point of looking sickly and fragile, yet she knew they were deceptively strong and precise.

Cautiously, the fawn made her way out of the underbrush. Her body was rigid with anxiety, and her muscles were tensed, ready to bolt at an alarming rate if it proved necessary. Her head was devoid of any antlers, reaffirming her status as a female, but her ears were extended straight up in an alert stance, focused on Nightmare.

Twilight relaxed beside her, now assured that there was no present danger.

Nightmare looked over the fawn curiously, taking in her form. Just like she had remembered, the deer's form was so graceful and slender, far more so than her and her sister. Sleek and agile, well-suited for moving through the forest at high speeds. The doe was a few inches shorter than Twilight, and she put her age a few years younger than her student.

"Y-you're ponies?" was the doe's quiet, filly-like voice. It was a sweet, humble voice, yet filled with fear and apprehension.

"Indeed we are," Nightmare answered.

The fawn lifted her front right leg and shifted her weight back in fear. After a few seconds without an attack, she let her leg back down. The doe looked over Nightmare's body and saw her glowing horn, then the faint bulge in her sides. Upon her closer scrutiny, her eyes widened, seeing Nightmare's feathers. "Y-you're an alicorn!?"

"Yes," Nightmare answeres succinctly.

"You're not-"

"No," she preempted. The fawn took a step back and crouched down. "I am Nightmare Moon," she stated. She could nearly hear the fawn gulp at her name. "No doubt, you recognize the night that I have brought." The deer nodded quickly but remained silent. She inhaled and smiled, showing her teeth. She could see the palpable wave of icy-cold fear wash over the deer. After all, the fawn was younger than Twilight, and even more so than ponies, deer were prey. And she was the predator. But rather than flee, the doe was paralyzed with fear. "I wish to speak with your king, and you will take me to him."

The horror in the fawn's eyes reminded her of what she had seen in Twilight's eyes when she asked the filly to prove her worth. It left something to be desired, and she felt a hint of disgust at it. The doe wasn't even an adult, and here she was, intimidating her! It was something more befitting a coward like a griffin than somepony as regal than her. And so it left a bitter taste in her mouth. This fawn had the same innocence that Twilight did, even more so than her student. She did not deserve such treatment. And she was acting such a way to a fawn so much younger than her student. It was wrong, and she knew it.

The fawn's tail flicked quickly from left to right behind her. "F-follow m-me... I-I'll t-take you to Antlerfall... A-and you c-can speak to King Aspen!"

Without another word, the fawn turned, then leaped to the right. In a bounding stride, she jumped onto the path, then quickly darted along the path. She bounded with each step like she would have through the forest, and she was quick and agile, spurred on by fear, yet she held herself back. Nightmare had seen deer move far faster than the fawn. She quickly strode after the fawn, taking long steps in order to keep pace. Twilight moved quickly to stay at her side.

After a bit, the fawn's bounding slowed, then turned into a quick walk, allowing Nightmare and her student to catch up.

"How far is it?" Nightmare asked.

The fawn leaped in shock, then righted herself. "U-um, it's not far... Antlerfall was built near the edge of the forest..."

Content with the fawn's answer, she continued to follow in silence. Minutes passed before the forest started to thin and show signs of more activity. Eventually, the path grew wider, but no less dirt-based. Finally, the darkness was fought off by the burning light of fires. She smiled as she neared the town. As she glimpsed the city beyond, her smile faded.

She had expected a large city, one that was perhaps not grand nor magnificent, but one that was befitting the capital of a nation. Houses were built into trees, and the underbrush was cut away, but while she had no idea for how long the town stretched on, it seemed incredibly disappointing. There were wooden and rope pathways connecting trees together into a mishmash of life, yet it seemed so empty like it was hardly lived in.

It also contrasted so differently from what she remembered of the deer a thousand years ago. She could recall walking the dirt or moss-covered paths that made up the deer's roads, and she could recall the homes built into trees and the occasional dens, but they had been so much more lively, even in the times of war when weapon racks were about and stags prepared for war.

Looking back, she cherished those memories. Sitting around campfires wearing her black battle armor, flanked by Equestrian soldiers in unpainted steel armor, while stags sat across from them. The comradery shared before the dawn of a battle, being able to look up at her stars and moon with others, even if their thoughts were on the battle ahead. Back when, at the very least, ponies respected her. Nowhere near the extent that they had loved her dear sister, but she was their guardian and protector. Sister had helped, but her talents never were in warfare. Sisyer hadn't been able to do what she did.

In the aftermath of the memories, she felt a bitterness deep inside her core once again, and it seemed it was uncontained, as the atmosphere shifted once again, the very air condensing as if to protect itself and make it less vulnerable to her presence. The fawn proceeded ahead in a guarded manner, and a glance to her side showed Twilight's relaxed posture having been withdrawn into one of formal isolation.

Casting her gaze around the city, she found very few signs of life. Through windows, she could occasionally discern a deer's shadow cast by the warm glow of firelight, but the streets were so empty and silent. Even on the eves of battles so long ago, fawns had roamed the streets with a careless playfulness, even with the threat of the griffins lurking just ahead of them. The fawns had pranced around without any concern for the war that raged on, they had giggled and laughed with the foal-like innocence that youth had, oblivious to the horrors of war they were protected from, save for those who were unlucky.

And those fawns? They were forever changed. There was a certain loss ever present in their eyes, one that was inescapable. It haunted them. Their gazes seemed infinitely deeper than their untouched peers. How could it not? They were but fawns, unprepared for the horrors war brought, unprepared for the realities that adults or even older fawns faced. And the way they walked, with a caution that spoke of trauma that would never leave.

Some of them had grown to become great warriors. Some of them had recovered from what had happened to them, but even then, they were still scarred. Their fawnhood had been stolen from them, violently so, by the talons and beaks of the griffins.

The thoughts angered her. Were the same thing to happen now, a thousand years later, the damage would be far worse. The devastation would be on a far larger scale. And Equestria would be completely unprepared should something like that happen. How could she not be troubled by the prospect of such a disaster befalling her empire? To rebuild and reaffirm control and order would take time that she did not have should such a thing transpire.

Perhaps she should have wiped the griffins out a thousand years ago, but no, she had not. Dear sister would not have it then, and at the time, to genocide an entire species, even one that caused such harm, had appalled her. Even now, such a thought unnerved her. She could have exterminated them. It would take time, but she could do it. But to actually do such a thing? It would be a blight on her reign. Ponies would know. Ponies would remember that. 'I am no monster...' growled out in her mind.

Ahead of her was a massive oak tree, one which far outgrew the Golden Oak Library where she had watched her student speak of the Elements of Harmony in widthe several times over. The tree spoke of power, and its canopy seemed to shelter the surrounding trees, despite not stretching much higher than the rest of them. Had she been flying above the forest, she would have spotted the tree, though likely not realized its importance. The front entrance was a double door, elegantly decorated with sweeping swirls carved into the wood. Some of the lines and curls wrapped into images that depicted stags, yet for the most part, it was simply decorative and abstract, perhaps some reference to the growth of plants and the wind.

Standing to guard the entrance were two stags, both of which put her student's size to shame. They towered over her student by at least the same height as Cadance, and their bodies were far more massive than the slender alicorn. Their shoulders were broadly spaced, and while their legs were still thin, they did not appear bony. They stood gracefully and radiated an aura of strength and determination, a buffer of sorts, holding back her aura of terror. They gazed ahead at her, but did not cower. They were prey, but they were warriors who would not be intimidated by any predators.

Their chests were covered in an overlapping mesh of thin, curved, triangular metal plates that reminded her of the scales on a dragon's body, and the gray metal reflected the light from her mage light and the glows of the countless fires, which caused the armor to almost shimmer and sparkle in the constantly shifting and twisting orange glow. Upon their slender heads were helmets, though they only protected their muzzles and jaw, as their large antlers would not allow for further protection. Both held spears against their right shoulder with their right leg.

The fawn slowed as she neared them, but it did not seem to be out of intimidation of the two stags that towered over her. Eventually, she stopped, took one look back at Nightmare, then bounded off in a burst of energy, disappearing into the surrounding town.

She wasn't sure if her student had managed to see just how quickly the doe had made her escape.

Confidently and holding herself with regality, she approached the two stags with a methodical, practiced step. She had perfected such a stride, one designed to tell her victim that she was approaching and nothing could be done to slow her; she held authority and power, and demanded obedience. The stags straightened but did not back down. "I will speak with your king," she stated.

"You are not Princess Celestia," the one on the right stated.

She bared her teeth in disgust at that name. The undying inferno in the back of her mind sparked to life and exploded to life once again, filling her entire mind with her infinite hatred. She clenched her jaw tight, so tight that if somepony's neck had been between her teeth, they would have already died. Her breathing picked up, her chest expanding and contracting with barely any restraint. "You will not speak that name in front of me again!" she growled, leaving no room for debate.

But the stag was not intimidated. No, his pride would not allow it. "You are her sister?" he asked in a firm voice that betrayed no fear. He stared death in the eye, and he did not flinch.

Nightmare's clenched jaw relaxed, and her lips pulled up. She tossed her head to the sky and looked up at the tree canopy, letting out a mirthful laugh. Oh, how strong the irony! "Of course the deer remember me!" she bellowed out into the night, her laugh continuing. Her laugh slowly faded into a low rumble that shook the forest to its very core. Once her laugh ceased, she lowered her head. Anger flashed through her mind. So what if her breathing was uncontrolled? So what if it looked to them that she was on the verge of losing control? It would do them good to know her wrath should they act against her! 'Foals!' hissed through her mind. If she had not been an alicorn, her very teeth would have shattered. "While my own subjects do not!" she spat.

Both stags were silent. The tension in the air was permeable as if the air itself had coiled itself into a ball of some sort that would explode and destroy everything around if any further stress was added to it. The stags were not intimidated.

Twilight trembled in fear.

She could hear Twilight's shaking, and she could feel it and sense it. So much trembling that the necklace shook across her chest. Any sense of a sadistic, irate smile that had been on her lips disappeared, and the inferno had been crushed by a tsunami. Suddenly, she felt as if everything was staring at her, not in fear, but in ridicule, as if to say, 'Look at the tantrum that foal is throwing, and see why she is so undeserving of love!'

She did not feel anger. She felt disappointment. Reluctantly, she turned her head. It took what felt like forever until she could glance back at Twilight. She hated what she saw. Twilight shook uncontrollably, oh so rigidly. Her whole body was completely tense. How long until she passed out, falling unconscious, from circulation failing, or simply from fear? Minutes? Seconds. Her eyes were so wide, and she stared straight ahead. The corners of her eyes were glistening, and her lips quivered. She didn't even breathe.

And it was her fault. Looking back at the two stags, they seemed to be silently judging her for hurting a filly so. She clenched her jaw and ground her teeth. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

She wasn't a monster, but she might as well have been one.

She extended her wing and brushed a feather along Twilight's side. Twilight recoiled and let out a squeak of fear, stumbling over her hooves to step as far away from her as she could. She felt the filly's coat move just out of reach, then felt her starting to trip over herself and fall.

She intervened, catching Twilight with her magic. She held Twilight in place, then reached out with her wing and slid her feather along the length of Twilight's coat, from just in front of her flank, over her sides and ribcage, up to her shoulder. The whole time, she stared straight ahead at the door. And both stags watched her, still intent on judging her.

Twilight's trembling calmed, but she still shivered. "I will speak with your king now," she said again. She tried not to let it slip in, but her bitterness still made itself known.

The stag on the right inclined his head in acknowledgment, then turned to the left. His antlers blazed to life with a rich green aura and the door was enveloped in the same aura, then swung inward. He slipped inside, and the door shut behind him.

She waited patiently. Twilight still shook. Her silence seemed deathly quiet. She glanced aside at Twilight, and Twilight continued to look straight ahead, refusing to look at her. Twilight's chest expanded and contracted in a tightly controlled manner. The longer she watched her student, the more disappointment she felt. She looked away from her and returned to waiting patiently.

Idly, she touched Twilight's back with a feather, then slowly stroked it along the length of her back. Twilight's coat parted around her feather in an almost pleasant way, and with each stroke, more of Twilight's shivering faded and a bit of her confidence returned. After the fourth stroke, Twilight's shaking was gone, and her breathing was almost normal, though her body was still tense, rigid like stone. Before she could continue, however, the doors opened all the way and the stag walked back out.

"You may speak with King Aspen," he stated.

She folded her wing to her side and inclined her head at him, then strode inside with no fanfare. Twilight bolted forward in order to keep pace with her, and instantly, her shaking returned.

Putting aside Twilight's trembling, she looked around the tree's interior. Since it was a hollowed out tree, the room was circular in nature. Every wooden surface looked so solid and study, yet while the floor was plain, the walls were carved, decorated with those same majestic sweeping lines and curves that made the interior look lighter, all the while depicting does and stags and other abstract ideas she could not place. It reminded her of the swirls on the door to her bedchambers, yet the ones carved into the walls of this tree looked so much more organic and natural.

Off to the right, there was a stone fireplace set into the wall that had a fire burning inside of it. It would have been a fire hazard, but two stags stood guard nearby, along with a healthy number of buckets whose liquid surfaces twinkled and sparkled like stars or jewels from the orange crackling light. Inside the fireplace and over the fire were two metal rods, upon which a large pot sat. Listening, she could hear the gentle roar of the boiling water.

To the left, glass bottles were suspended from the ceiling by ropes. The bottles curved outward at the lower middle, then swept back inward to create a bulbous sphere, while the top was not too dissimilar from a teapot, slowly shrinking inward, but then curling outward and falling down in a shape reminiscent of a flower. The rope from which they were suspended from wrapped around just under the flower-like lip and it ensured that the rope did not slip.

Within the bulbous base, a yellow and purple fluid mixed and churned about, though never managing to diffuse together into one color. They always remained separate, never quite able to touch one another, constantly giving off a warm orange glow, not dissimilar from the fire, save for the fact that the glow did not dance like the lances of flame. The light was constant, like a beacon of stability and strength, symbolic of their King, her sister, and so much more. In fact, it almost looked symbolic of her sister and herself, the way the yellow and purple liquids chased after the other, like the day-night cycle of how the sun chased after the moon, which in turn, chased after the sun, never able to catch the other.

She shook the thought from her mind; the last thing she needed was to further trouble her student. Looking directly ahead, at the back of the room, there was a spiral staircase that extended into the room. The wood had been cut back from the tops of the stairs to clear out the rest of the room, but the stairway was left. Beneath the stairs may have been hollow, but she could not tell for the wall of wood that blocked her view.

She strode over to the stairs, then turned and ascended them. Twilight scrambled up the stairs beside her. As they walked, it was not lost on her that Twilight was still at her right side, trapped between her and the wall. But she also knew that it meant she would be the first to be seen, and Twilight would be mostly hidden from sight by her body.

The stairs continued to spiral on still, far above the room that they came to. She had no idea how many levels and rooms the tree had to it, but she knew it was finite. Looking into the room she ascended into, she saw that the walls were decorated with shields crossed with spears or antlers, windows were covered with a deep purple fabric, and glowing lamps hung from the ceiling. Opposite the spot where the stairs met the room's floor was a throne built of wood and antlers, with a large pair of antlers at the top.

Upon the throne sat a large stag whose coat was mostly white, save for the black of the tip of his nose and the brown, matte fur covering his cheeks. Brown fur stretched down from his back to cover his ribcage, then just as quickly retreated, leaving his shoulder white. His eyes were sharp and pristine, green in color. Two small purple gems were set in cusps on his antlers near the base, and wrapped around his neck was his golden regalia that almost looked like an upside down flower, complete with a heart-shaped ruby set in the center, which served to pin a deep purple tassel that hung over his chest in place.

Standing at his right was a much younger stag whose antlers were not too dissimilar from a unicorn's horn, rather than the twisted mangle of half a dozen spurs like the other stags. To his left stood a doe, then another young female fawn, perhaps half Twilight's age. Like King Aspen, the doe seemed young and full of energy and youthful strength, but looking at her, she could feel a stubbornness mixed in with her unmistakable deer friendliness. A floral wreath hung loosely from her neck, made from red, white, blue, and purple flowers, all so delicately arranged to where it looked like the wreath would disintegrate if she so much as inhaled.

"Seeing as how you're obviously not Princess Celestia," King Aspen called from the throne. His voice had a firm quality to it, it was a voice that spoke of power and youthful strength, not yet wisened by old age. There was a pridefulness in his voice, but it lacked the blind arrogance that Canterlot nobles possessed. "And given the night that has befallen the world," he continued.

She turned to face him and stepped forward. Twilight, likewise stayed at her side and followed closely.

"You must be Princess Lu-"

Her gaze hardened at that, and she clencher her jaw. Exposing Twilight to another outburst would not do, but far worse was the threat posed by this stag! 'That wretched name must not be spoken!' "Nightmare Moon," she preempted in a threatening growl. She was certain that if she could have seen Twilight from her position, her student would have glanced at her.

King Aspen paused for a moment, then closed his mouth. He looked over her, then studied Twilight before looking back at her. "This is the name you have taken for yourself? Fitting."

She snorted.

"And I see you've claimed your sister's student," he added as an afterthought. His eyes traced over her form, taking in her armor. "You're different from the stories passed down from the wars."

"Yes," was her succinct reply.

King Aspen took a deep breath, then stepped off his thrown. Like the other stags, he towered over Twilight, but in contrast, he was nearly as tall as her. "So tell me, Nightmare Moon, why have you come to my kingdom?"

She cocked her head to the side. "To ensure that you and your kingdom don't stab me in the back," she stated. She evened her head out and looked him in the eye with an intent, piercing gaze. "It would not do, after all, to risk turning one's allies into enemies."

He nodded in understanding. "You have broken the day-night cycle and have brought eternal night," was his annoyed response.

"I don't mind," she hissed, "annexing you if that's a problem," she retorted.

He snorted and looked at her intently. "Would you risk war with the deer?" he asked.

It gave her pause. Perhaps she had spoken too quickly. Sure, in theory, she could annex the deer into Equestria. But that wasn't just asking for problems. No, that was begging for problems! The deer were peaceful, and ponies knew that. Her subjects would not support such a move and would likely resist. And the deer? Well, if she did manage to conquer them, their resistance would prevent much of anything useful from being done. They were, after all, stubborn. And that resistance could spill into Equestria, bringing even more chaos and dissent, and putting her empire and rule in an even more precarious position.

Perhaps there was a solution, but at least for the moment, annexation was out of the question. The deer had not, after all, caused her any problems yet to warrant such a move. And to preemptively attack them when they had not caused her any problems and likely would not? Such a thing was foalish!

She inhaled calmly. "That is not my desire," she stated firmly. "I do not know what dealings my sister had with you, but I shall review them," she promised.

"Trade, mostly," was his response.

"I would presume as such," she stated. "As of right now I have no problem keeping these deals in effect; I will, however, review them. Is this acceptable?"

He inclined his head to nod.

"Perhaps in the future, we can make more deals," she offered. "But do keep in mind that I will not be pleased if I find out you're working against me."

He lifted his head up and held himself more proudly. "Neither I nor the deer have any desire for war with ponies, although this night of yours may be pushing things. We will consider remaining in our alliance, but with this change in leadership, we may end it. But even if we decide to end it, we will not attack unless you provoke us."

She inclined her head. "Very well."

Staring out into the pitch blackness of the moonless night, Nightmare Moon found her gaze directed off towards the horizon, focused on the nearly black splotch that was the Everfree Forest. Above the forest, the sky was speckled with dots and pinpricks of constant light, light which neither sparkled nor shimmered, as the cool mountain air was dry. Even with her nearly unmatched nocturnal eyesight, she could barely make out the features of Equestria's heartland. Ponyville, in the distance, was only visible from the faint glows of lights emanating out into the night from the insides of houses, lit by fires and candles and magical means.

Canterlot stood in contrast to Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Where because of their distance and relatively small size, Ponyville and the Everfree were dark, nearly imperceptible to her, Canterlot shined out into the night before her, unmistakably a beacon that was visible for dozens if not hundreds of miles around. The light from the capital's numerous mansions and towers fought back the dark blanket of the night which she had tucked Equestria in. But yet, that resistance seemed all so futile from where she stood upon the balcony.

After all, that light only shined out so far, and the city was not constructed of mirrors, nor reflective surfaces, nor glistening gems. Canterlot was not, then, lit up in its entirety. Each window through which light shined was like a golden lance, shooting out into the night, yet even as that lance spread out into the darkness, the streets of Canterlot were still cast in darkness, akin to that of the moonlit night. But even with that, what served to emphasize just how fragile those lights' resistances were, was the sharp contrast of the windows through which no light shined. Darkened bedrooms where ponies slept, unoccupied or unused rooms where lighting them up would be wasteful, even by the nobles' standards.

Her grip of darkness over Equestria, Canterlot, even, was secure, and no ponies could break that no matter how much light they shined out into the night. They would never banish the moonless darkness, nor could they ever outshine the soft glow of moonlight.

Inhaling of the cold night air, she cast her gaze upwards, into the speckled sky. As she stared up at the beauty of the stars which adorned her domain, she felt that something was missing. She longed for something which she did not have, nor could truly have. Victory over her sister was her first thought of that she longed for, but that did not fit with what she felt. True, her sister had denied her the ecstasy of total victory, the ecstasy of breaking her and rubbing it in, and as such, her victory felt hollow, but what stood out more was that she stood there all alone.

Nopony else was there to gaze up and see the beauty of the darkened night sky with her. Without her moon, each star seemed to take on new meaning, to hold some far greater importance, a subtle importance, that was lost whenever her scarred moon dominated the sky. Nopony was there to see and behold the subtle masterpiece that was her night sky, nopony was there to admire the grand work, nor to see the raw emotion which it evoked.

With a growing bitterness at the thought, she looked back down and glared at the city of Canterlot. Beyond the gleaming towers of nobles' mansions, in the distance, she could see the darkened apartments and homes that melded in with the blackness of night, unlit and completely submissive to her power over them.

And yet, it struck her: 'Ponies will never truly love my night, they will never spend time seeing the beauty that I see!' How many ponies were outside on this dark night? How many were out of their own free will? How many of those ponies, whether outside of their own accord or without option, willingly chose to look at the beautiful night sky? How many of those ponies gave the stars more than a passing glance? How many of those ponies looked into the sky and saw its beauty and majesty, that which the sun hid from view?

Would her student enjoy such a thing? Did her student even enjoy the moonlit night which had since replaced the day? Try as she did to find that answer which she so desperately wanted, it eluded her. She simply did not know, nor had Twilight told her. In their time together outside, she had never caught sight of Twilight pausing to admire the beauty of her night. And ever since her display at the recognition the deer held for her, she had seen Twilight even less. Her student was actively avoiding her, she knew.

That made her bitterness increase several times over. Her own student, willingly and intentionally doing all that she could to avoid her. But that bitterness was only partially directed at her student. No, to direct all of that bitterness, all of that anger and disappointment, at Twilight would have been wrong. Twilight wasn't at fault for it; her student was merely reacting to what she had done. It was her own display that had pushed Twilight away, and now, any progress she had made at nudging Twilight out of her shell, at coaxing her into more confidence, had been undone.

No, her bitterness was focused and directed nearly entirely at herself. She had only herself to blame for how she acted, and now she knew she was reaping the consequences of those actions. Undoing what she had done in one minute would take longer than she could determine. She hated it. She hated it because she damaged her relationship with her student, which would take time to repair. Time that she didn't necessarily have. From a purely logical standpoint, she hated it because of that time that it cost her. She gained nothing from that display.

And besides the logical reason, she hated it because deep down, she felt as if she had somehow betrayed her student by her reaction. It was an absurd thought, perhaps even an obscene one. She was Queen and Empress, the ruler of Equestria, Twilight's teacher. Who was Twilight to judge her? Twilight was a unicorn filly, and she was an immortal alicorn. Yet she still felt that she had betrayed her promises to Twilight; her promises to protect her and keep her safe. Twilight did not trust her, and her reaction gave Twilight no reason to trust her.

When they had returned from their trip, as she had watched Twilight while they walked back to her chambers, she found that the oddest urge had overcome her. Rather than wanting to snap at Twilight and demand her to calm down, she had found the urge to comfort her student. It was an absurdity! She was a Queen! And there she had been, desiring to comfort a foal! Such a thing was beneath her, yet the urge was still there. She was split on it, of course. Twilight was her student and she felt the urge to comfort her, yet she also knew that, while Twilight was still just a foal, she needed to grow up. To coddle her would be to lie to her. To protect her from the realities of the world would be to betray her.

Yet, in the end, she had still comforted her student. She had stroked Twilight's back with her feathers occasionally, but even that, though it comforted and calmed her, did not banish or undo what she had done. Why she had comforted her student was simple: she had promised to protect Twilight. She could not always be able to be there for her student, but that did not mean she would not try. Protecting her and comforting her would serve to help bring out that unmatched potential that her student harbored.

She turned around, then walked back inside her bedchambers. Almost silently, her armored hooves fell on the marble floor. As she crossed the doorway, then cleared the door, she closed it behind her with hardly a sound. After closing the door, she stopped and looked at her bed.

She had not slept well since her return. She could not delight herself in her victory, and her fantasies of crushing Celestia remained just that. And, of course, the bed still held her sister's scent. That wretched smell of her sister permeated every inch of the bed. The blankets, the mattress, the pillows. Even the curtains smelt of her dear sister. Yet the scent of her sister had an odd effect on her. Rather than provoke her to anger and demand that she incinerate every last trace of her sister, she found that it left her feeling almost empty inside.

The scent reminded her of the good times, back when she had been able to say her sister's name in a familiar manner, back when they had hugged, and the scent of her sister filled her nostrils from their proximity. It brought back the reminders of how things had been. It tormented her, yet she hadn't changed the bedsheets or anything. She took it as a small victory over her sister, taking her sister's bed and making it her own.

The scent plagued her mind, yet while it brought back good memories and haunted her, she still, in the back of her mind, hated it. That scent was one that she wished she could erase from her mind. She had been so blind, all those centuries ago, foolishly thinking that her dear sister loved her. That love had been nothing more than a lie.

She bared her teeth and growled. Fuming, she stomped across the length of the bedroom, then walked into the study. With but a flick of her mane, she slammed the door shut behind her, sealing the room and locking that accursed scent away from her.

She would sleep later. For the moment, sleep still would not come to her, and as such, she used the time to the best of her abilities. She turned her attention to the study's desk, then crossed the short distance to it, pulled back the chair, and sat down. With a flash of her magic, the map of Equestria and surrounding lands appeared on the desk, unrolled, before her.

And she studied that map intently, just as she had every night for the past few weeks. Each and every detail was so important, and so many little things held her attention. Looking at the map, she could see in her mind's eye the way Equis looked from the moon. The way that the continent curved in such a way that a flat map just couldn't replicate.

She pushed the thought aside as her gaze fell on Hollow Shades. It made her heart beat faster. The back of her mind screamed out at her, demanding action. It was a pressing matter, but one that had to wait, at least for a time. There were many pressing matters occupying her mind as it was.

Looking to the right, along with the coast of Equestria, her gaze settled on Manehattan. That city of power and of trade, the massive, strategically important, woefully undefended port city upon which so much of Equestria's power rested. Canterlot was the capital of Equestria, but if anything happened to Canterlot, Manehattan was the obvious backup, and de facto, capital of Equestria.

Anything happening to Manehattan would be a near deathblow to her empire. Even just looking at the map, staring at that minuscule, impersonal black dot that represented the massive city that was home to millions of ponies, she could practically picture the city on fire. Burning, in literal flames of rebellion and anarchy. Thick black smoke that put a dragon's smoke to shame, billowing up into the air, blackening the moonlit sky. Smoke thicker than the ash that a volcano spewed.

It was imperative to keep Manehattan under control. And that imperative put strain on her and her limited military resources. Even with the Royal Guard patrolling the streets of Manehattan, the reports were clear: the city was restless even as they refused her night, and they wanted their Princess back. Subterfuge happened in the shadows cast by the moon, crime happened in the black of night. For now, it was, as the Guard said, "under control." But she knew it would not take much for that to change. In the back of her mind, she could almost picture a clock, the second hand steadily ticking toward midnight. But while she could see the clock and knew it was ticking, the numbers were missing, and she had no idea how the clock was rotated.

It was a matter of time, and she had no idea how much time remained.

She took a deep breath, then sharply cast the air out of her lungs. Looking down and to the left, her gaze settled on Cloudsdale, the pegasus metropolis. The city where nearly the entirety of Equestria's weather was made. It was so centralized. It was efficient, but it also meant that Cloudsdale was another imperative city to hold. To lose Cloudsdale, or to lose control of Cloudsdale, would mean losing control of the largest pegasi population center in the world. On top of that, losing control of Equestria's weather. The ramifications of that could spell a sudden end, not only to her reign but also to Equestria as a whole.

Fortunately, Cloudsdale, despite the pegasus warrior heritage or perhaps because of it, wasn't suffering the same dissent as Manehattan.

For a moment, her eyes meandered further to the left. Ponyville was the sort of village on the map that unless you specifically knew where it was and were looking for it, you'd miss. It was such an oddity compared to the rest of what she had seen of Equestria. But it was still an important town to keep an eye on. After all, five of the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony called it home. That in of itself was enough reason to watch it closely, to say nothing of investigating the cause behind this.

So far, there was no word of the bearers causing any trouble. It helped soothe her nerves, but only just. They could have been, after all, hiding it well. 'I need to check up on them,' she noted. Spurred on by that thought, she grimaced as her mind drifted to the statue of Discord. 'I must ensure the bearer's loyalty,' she affirmed.

She could hold the bearers on a tight leash, but restricting their freedom as she had done, by holding Twilight hostage, was not the best course of action. For one, they could call her bluff, or perhaps Twilight would call her bluff. But then, perhaps the best course of action was to use Twilight to ensure their loyalty. Not as a hostage, but to convince them to help her, should the need arise, or simply keep them from rebelling.

She looked up from the map for a minute as her thoughts drifted to her student. She, along with Cadance, both slept soundly at this hour. Cadance slept in her room in the castle, and likewise, Twilight slept in her own personal tower on the castle's grounds.

The only real difference was that Twilight was alone, and Cadance was not. It was not the first time she knew that Captain Shining Armor, Captain of the Guard, and her student's brother, was spending the night with her- although fortunately it never amounting to anything more than sleeping- but it was not all that common, either. Disposing of Captain Shining Armor would not be easy if he continued to resist her. Fortunately, his resistance was mostly lip service. Still, if she needed to, she could, although she knew she would alienate her two pseudo allies by doing so.

But Cadance and Shining Armor's relationship did give her an idea, and at the thought, she somehow managed to smile, 'Were you two to be married, Equestria would celebrate... and that is something that would be very useful...' Yet the thought still seemed so odd to her. And of course, she had yet to hear them talk about such a thing. Perhaps, however, in time, it would come up. Her smile grew into a smirk; she could picture Cadance's reaction to asking, then hearing her response that she would allow their marriage.

She forced her thoughts back to Twilight, and with that, found herself once more considering just how much of a curiosity the filly was, and how much that drew her interest. 'So much potential... and you are so blind to all of it...' whispered in her mind. 'I must bring your potential out,' she affirmed with a nod.

Idly, a portion of her mind wondered how her student slept. With the barest application of magic, she reached out to check on her student. Twilight slept soundly, peacefully, even. She took comfort in that knowledge, knowing that Twilight slept soundly, unafraid, unblemished by what she had done. And yet, at the same time, knowing Twilight slept peacefully ate at her. Her student was at peace while she slept- her student was at peace, now that she was not near to intimidate her.

It left a bitterness in her mind that she had grown to hate. 'Why can't you just relax around me!?' was asked with exasperation. She had said to Twilight, time and time again, to relax. She had promised Twilight, time and time again, she would protect her. She had even made progress, at least before she had shattered that progress.

Bringing Twilight out of her shell, growing her into her full potential, would take a very long time.

But she was patient. After all, she had waited a thousand years for her revenge on her sister.

She shook the thoughts aside, then directed her attention to the Whitetail Woods. For a moment, she pondered the deer and King Aspen. So long as they did not try to undermine her rule, they were not a threat. She looked to the north, and her eyes lingered on the frozen wastes where the Crystal Empire had been. A thousand years had passed, and the Empire had not returned. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'it will never return.'

However, she would not take the risk of leaving Equestria undefended. And in her time since she returned, she had discerned that her sister had even set up an outpost in the frozen north, along with having constructed train tracks that would allow rapid mobilization in the case that the Empire did return. Knowing that, she knew that at the very least, her sister knew better than to risk having no advanced warning.

Looking southeast of the frozen wastes, she took in the shattered Griffin Empire. Supposedly, no longer a threat. According to the pegasus scout she had sent, no longer a threat. In fact, what he had reported left her feeling off-put and odd. The Griffin Empire had, undoubtedly, collapsed. Their once grand cities were run down, mere husks of their former glory. Rather than proud legions standing at the ready, petty griffin theives stood in their place. No grand armies, fitted with polished steel armor. No great vaults of gold and jewels. Their cities barely stood on flimsy supports. And from what she had found out, a great many griffins had integrated into Equestria, in a manner similar to the deer, although they tended to move into cities, while the deer tended to keep to the forests.

A part of her rejoiced at this knowledge, for it meant one less threat to her reign and to Equestria. It also meant that the Griffin Empire was no more and that it had finally received what it had deserved for all of those years of bloody conflict they had caused. And yet, another part of her felt disappointed. The Griffin Empire had been, aside from her sister, her greatest rival.

She pressed the concern from her mind and let her eyes drift south. For a moment, they hovered on the Everfree Forest, which did not show her old castle. This pleased her, yet also disappointed her. It was beneficial that her castle remained unknown at large, yet it also further reinforced how her castle was but a shell of its former glory.

Looking further south still, her gaze lingered on the Badlands. As with every time she had looked at the vast rugged desert, a part of her mind screamed out that something was wrong, that something was missing, but she could not place what it was that was wrong or missing. The scouts she had sent reported nothing of interest, but the Badlands were vast, and she was stretched for guards as it was.

After a few more seconds, her eyes darted back to Hollow Shades. She slowly dipped her tongue out from her lips, then ran her tongue to the left before bringing it back to the right, stroking her sharp teeth. Feeling the ridge of each tooth sent a slight shiver of delight down her spine, and only one word came to mind, 'Soon.'

It was quickly becoming the most pressing need, but now was not the time. It was the dead of night, so she would wait until she raised the moon, so that her student would be awake, so that she did not have to wake her. Besides, her student needed rest. After all, she had great potential. Potential that would not thrive if she was denied her rest.

Likewise, she too needed to rest. Though she was an immortal alicorn, sleep was something she still needed and desired, even if her need for sleep was less than that of normal ponies. So rather than sustain herself with her magic, she stood up from the chair, then approached the door to her bedroom with a calm, steady gait.

Without slowing, she opened the door with her magic, then walked on inside the room. She closed the door behind her and approached the bed and pulled the covers back. Without taking her armor off, she clambered onto the bed and laid down on her back. The softness of the bed contrasted so sharply with the rough rigidity of her armor- she sank down into the mattress, and the mattress, in turn, enveloped her, embracing her.

But she was used to sleeping in her armor, and so wearing it did not impede her sleep. She pulled the blankets back over her body, and with it, a wave of air rushed forward, chilling her exposed muzzle, and bringing it with her dear sister's scent. That scent that she so hated, yet at the same time, brought her to reminiscence.

She scowled as she closed her eyes.

Nightmare Moon awoke several hours later, almost perfectly in sync with the rising of her moon breaking the horizon. That same scent that had been there when she had laid down was still there to torment her as she awoke. She took a deep breath, and while she struggled not to gag from her sister's scent, she took comfort in the strength the cool air gave her. She knew that in time, the scent of her sister would fade, and she welcomed that knowledge. It had been three weeks already and the scent still lingered, though it was not as strong as it had been.

At the very least, surely it would not be long before the staff changed the bedsheets. If they did not, then she would make it a point to bring it up and ensure that it was all changed. Then, she knew, her sister's scent would no longer plague her.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling above her. In the pitch blackness, she could still see some of the golden swirls above, yet she could not truly see the features. It was more of a vague feeling of knowing that the swirls were there. She continued to stare up at the ceiling for several seconds, and with each passing one, she could see the subtle, almost imperceptible shift as the soft, unassuming light of her moon gradually drifted into her bedroom from the window. The soft glow barely did anything, as she knew only the faintest sliver of her moon had broken past the horizon.

The darkness of the night filling her room without the light of the moon was all consuming and all-enveloping. Equestria, she knew, had never known anything like it since long before her ascent to taking the mantle of the moon. Even before she claimed the moon as her birthright, unicorns had moved the sun and moon in the day-night cycle. Only before then was the night ever so black as it now was. Moonless, unlit, save for the stars, which did nothing more than mark the sky.

Ponies had never seen anything so dark as the moonless nights were now. They, she knew, had always known her sister to guide the moon into the night sky after the sun set. The thought of her sister's magic touching her moon made her lips pull back, showing her teeth in disgust. Her sister had no right to the moon, even less right after betraying and banishing her.

As she thought about the darkness that enveloped Equestria, a part of her felt concerned by it. While it was true it was a necessity to give the ponies some semblance of a day-night cycle for them to follow and to keep order, as without the movement of the moon, they had no way to mark how much time had passed, she still felt a concern in the back of her mind regarding it. The moonless night, she knew, evoked terror in everypony. And perhaps it was not without due reason. They could not see, and predators that lurked in dark forests could have crept out to strike at them.

So yes, she had reason to be concerned as she thought about it. There was the chance that the moon cycle could backfire, and rather than ensuring stability, would result in greatly increased instability. How long would it be until those imaginary predators actually did leave the confines of their forests and strike at her ponies? Those predators would be fools to do so, but perhaps they would be emboldened by the black, moonless night to attack. That was one threat, and of course, the other was that ponies would act out of fear.

She shook her head, then rolled over onto her side. Facing away from the windows and door to the balcony, she stared ahead at the wall. No trinkets adorned it, nor did any gifts. It was so barren and empty, as she had nothing to decorate the wall with. It would have been vain, of course, to waste bits on decorating the wall for her own personal enjoyment. Those resources would better serve her being spent on other necessities. Yet the emptiness bothered her. She had her victory over Celestia, yet she had so little to show for it.

What she did have gave her pleasure, however. With that in mind, her thoughts drifted to her student. And at that, a memory stirred to life in her mind, gradually seeping into the forefront of her mind to play out in her vision. The memory was one that gave her pause and left her pondering.

She had dreamed of Twilight Sparkle as she slept. It was not the first time she had dreamed of her student, either. The dreams with her student were always so sharply different from the rest of her dreams that she could remember. Where her normal dreams usually involved her victory over Celestia, or the occasional nightmare spurred on by the horrors she had seen so long ago, the dreams involving Twilight Sparkle felt almost peaceful.

In her dream, it had been a moonless night. They had been in a forest, and she was watching Twilight perform her magic. Twilight held herself in a relaxed, fear-free posture- she was not scared nor terrified of Nightmare, and Nightmare was pleased by this. There was no atmosphere of fear or hostility between them. Twilight was not paralyzed by fear, but instead, she radiated confidence. When Twilight looked at her, there was no ill intent nor did she freeze up in fear; Twilight looked at her with respect, but more than that, with the sort of gaze that spoke of friendship. Not as teacher and student, nor as servant and Queen, but a bond that two normal ponies would share. The bond where one would comfort the other in times of need, and where they could talk pointlessly of a day's happenings.

It felt so incredibly odd to consider this dream. It was absurd to think about. For one, Twilight had no confidence in her own abilities, and after what she had seen, she was no longer able to relax anymore. Another reason this dream felt so off was just how casual it had felt. There was a bond between them in the dream, one which she could not imagine herself ever having with anypony- a certain closeness and casualness, void of any formality. She was an immortal alicorn, and as such, any bond like that was absurd.

She realized that, as she thought about the dream, a certain essence of the dream returned to her mind. That calmness which she had felt, the relaxed, casual atmosphere now filled her. She could breathe in her sister's scent, yet it did not infuriate her. She could think of the countless problems that plagued her nascent rule, and it did not draw her ire.

She felt calm.

She pursed her lips, then lit her horn, flooding the bedroom with the soft blue light of her magic. With a quick tug from her magic, she pulled the bedsheets back, then pushed herself up into a sitting position with her forelegs. For a moment, she lingered on the bed, then she leaned forward and climbed off the bed. Her forehooves connected with the floor first, providing two quick clicks to break the silence as her boots met the marble. Her hind hooves hit the floor, but there was a more distant delay between them.

She took a deep breath, then stepped away from the bed. She turned to the right and started arcing around the end of the bed, walking towards the balcony while she used her magic to tidy the bed up once more. As she walked around the bed, she gave it a passing glance to assure herself that the bed was in pristine condition, then she turned her attention to the balcony door and opened it with her magic.

Walking outside, a cold breeze blew over her coat. Despite the chill to the air, she didn't react, and her march out onto the balcony continued without any hindrance. She slowed, then stopped at the railing. Looking out across Equestria, she took in the subtle, unassuming interplay of the moon's soft glow as it slowly embraced Equestria. The moon was slow to rise, and there was still the barest sliver of the moon visible, but with each passing second, she could see how the darkness lightened. Looking out across Canterlot, she watched as the darkness begrudgingly gave way to the fuzzy outlines of shadows.

After a moment, her head turned to the right, and her gaze settled on a lone tower. The tower was nowhere near as tall as the castle's highest spires, but it stood out with importance in its own right. It was tiny compared to the castle, yet it looked so secluded. Sleeping inside that tower, she knew, was her student. Her gaze turned into a stare as she watched that tower, almost as if she was trying to see past the solid marble to gaze upon her student.

In an instant, the memory of seeing Twilight's disappointment when she realized that Celestia lied played through her mind. Her lips twitched down and she glanced down at the railing. 'We are perhaps not so different, Twilight Sparkle...' she mused. After all, they shared that much in common, that Celestia lied and betrayed both of them. Not only did Celestia leave Twilight unprepared and lied to her, but Celestia also told Nightmare of her student's existence.

Had Celestia not spoken those last few words, perhaps Twilight would not have been under so much stress.

Nightmare clenched her jaw. 'If there was one thing that I could change, Twilight Sparkle, I would not have been so harsh with you upon my return,' she affirmed. At that thought, she looked away from Twilight's tower. Her gaze eventually settled on the railing, which she examined, though did not bother to consider any of its details. Instead, her mind was preoccupied with that thought and thoughts of her student.

The thought had come without doubt, and a part of her was surprised by that. She was Queen and Empress and ruler of Equestria. Her power was nearly absolute. Yet, for all of that power, she knew that how she treated Twilight had been a mistake, and she had been consistently dealing with the consequences of that treatment for the better part of a month now.

'How different would things be if I had not scarred you so?' she wondered. 'Would you be confident? Would you not be so terrified of me?' She sucked her lip in between her teeth, then pressed her teeth into her lip to hold it in place. She could feel the barest hints of pain, accompanied by a faint tingling sensation as she held her lip in place.

She took a deep breath, then let her chest deflate. In the same manner, she released her lip and let it roll back into place.

And the entire ordeal felt so odd! She could scarcely understand, let alone comprehend it all. Had this been a thousand years ago, she simply would have killed Twilight Sparkle, as that filly was the greatest threat to her reign she knew of. Even more a threat than Discord and King Sombra. And in a way, it amazed her that she not only did not kill Twilight Sparkle but made Twilight Sparkle her student. It was simply impossible for her to ignore Twilight's potential now. And a small part of her was entirely certain that her fascination with Twilight Sparkle would be the death of her. And while she knew it, it did not phase her, which was another thing she could not wrap her mind around.

She felt compelled to grow Twilight Sparkle into what she was meant to be. Not to force Twilight to her potential, but to guide and coax her along. It was entirely absurd! She was Nightmare Moon! A thousand years ago she would have laughed at herself now for taking a student. Something had changed.

She inhaled again, then looked up. Her head drifted back to the right, and she stared at Twilight's tower yet again. A part of her felt at a loss of what to do regarding Twilight. She felt like she had no good options available to her. She needed Twilight Sparkle and her friends. The threat posed by Discord meant that it was imperative to keep Twilight alive and on her good side. The potential Twilight possessed meant it was imperative to keep Twilight alive and to grow her.

She clenched her jaw. 'If you call my bluff, I cannot do anything about it...' she knew. Her status as Twilight's teacher was fragile at best. If Twilight betrayed her, no matter how bad it was, killing her was not an option. If Twilight betrayed her, punishing her was barely an option. If she punished Twilight, that fragile status as her teacher would be shattered, to say nothing of the fact that she would shatter Twilight Sparkle, and then she would never reach her full potential.

And of course, she knew threats were not an option either. No, the only thing she could do was guide and coax Twilight along. Anything else would break the filly beyond repair. Knowing that fouled her mood. She glared down at the balcony beneath her hooves, and a spark of anger lanced through her body. She wanted to stamp her forehoof down on the balcony, to break and shatter that marble as a way to vent her anger and frustration. She wanted to pulverize that marble beneath her hooves.

She didn't let herself though. Instead, she lifted her head up and closed her eyes. For a few minutes, she just held herself there with her eyes closed, feeling the gradual, meek ascent of her moon. Finally, she opened her eyes, and to her surprise, she found that the first thing she saw, rather than the Equestrian heartland, was Twilight's tower. Her anger felt like it wilted like a flower in a desert in the burning light of day.

Her eyes glanced down to the base of the tower, then almost immediately lifted back up. She stretched her wings out, then jumped over the edge of the railing and beat her wings. Rather than propel herself into the sky on her black wings, she glided. At first, straight, then, she banked to the right and silently glided towards Twilight's tower. As she glided, she cherished the carass of the wind, sliding between her feathers as she descended towards the tower.

The only sound that signaled her arrival was the four, quick clicks of her metal boots on the marble platform atop the stairs. The two Royal Guards protecting Twilight from harm went rigid at her arrival. She gave each of them a quick glance, then folded her wings as she stepped toward the door. They both stared straight ahead, standing rigidly as she approached them. She opened the door with her magic, then without saying anything, slipped inside the tower.

She swept her gaze around, taking in all of the massive, towering bookshelves that filled the room she entered. In the center of the room, near the ceiling, was a white magelight that provided enough light that she did not fear tripping in the unfamiliar setting. She took a few steps forward, then silently closed the door behind her. Searching the room again, she found a set of stairs, and after reaffirming where Twilight was, she quietly walked to the stairs, then ascended them.

With each step, a nagging seed of doubt pulsed and grew in her mind. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, that seed had grown, and now she felt an uncertainty deep in the back of her mind. It was enough uncertainty that her forehoof hesitated to touch down on the last step that would bring her onto the second level where Twilight slept. She was not used to feeling such uncertainty, and for it to bother her so, it only made the pull to leave and pretend she never entered feel that much stronger.

Certainly, she could leave now and tell the guards never to say a thing of it, and it would be like it never happened. Yet even knowing that, she still knew she would remember, and to come so far, just to give up in defeat was not in her nature. She fought back the uncertainty and set her hoof down on the last step, then pulled herself up. She walked forward, and as she approached the door to Twilight's bedroom, she found that each click of her metal boot on the marble floor seemed to grow even louder than the last. Logically, she knew that it was not the case, yet it still sounded that way.

She found the door to Twilight's bedroom open, and at that discovery, she paused and hesitated. From where she stood, she could see into the room, but it was a shallow angle, so Twilight's sleeping form was just out of sight. She took a step forward, and only then did she realize how fast her heart beat in her chest. Only with that step did she realize that her legs trembled.

At that realization, she felt a wave of shock wash over her body. She looked down at her lifted forehoof and saw it shaking. For a few seconds, she did not act. Then she took a deep breath and crushed her body's dissent, forcing the trembling away. She put her hoof down, then slowly closed the distance to the doorway.

With each step, more of Twilight's bedroom came into view. Finally, the bed itself, and then the sleeping filly, came into view. She stopped and stared at her student, tucked under the covers, with her muzzle dipped under the blankets. Twilight's horn pointed nearly directly at her. She watched in silence as the covers rose and fell with each breath her student took.

As the seconds passed while she watched on, she felt a sense of dread inside her body. A part of her wanted to run away and cower like a little foal, afraid of being caught. Another part of her wanted to walk into the room and wake Twilight to speak with her.

'Why am I even here?' a part of her wondered. Immediately, the answer was clear: 'I want to see her.' Yet, 'But why?' plagued her mind. Continuing to watch Twilight, she found her brow creasing. It occurred to her just how vulnerable Twilight looked while she slept, and that brought back memories from their first encounters where she knew who Twilight was.

A part of her hated that, just how vulnerable Twilight was. And her mind screamed out against it. Here her student was, so unprotected, so weak, so vulnerable. Defenseless. It would have been remarkably easy for something to happen to her while she slept, and she would have been unable to protect herself. Nightmare wasn't sure she would have been able to intervene either. And of course, Twilight was completely unaware of her presence, leaving her that much more vulnerable.

Nightmare could have done anything to Twilight now, and Twilight would not have been able to do a thing about it. Even less than when she was awake. While Twilight was awake, at the very least, she could have reacted. But now? She could not even react if Nightmare did something to her.

Nightmare felt at a loss from the thought. She looked away from her student and gazed over at one of the massive bookshelves. 'I will not hurt you...' growled out in her mind. And she knew that growl was directed at herself. To hurt a filly in her sleep, even if she was nearly an adult, did not sit right with her. Even if it wasn't her student, even if it had been somepony she had never met before, it left a sense of complete wrongness deep inside her.

To hurt a foal in their sleep, that was not her. That wasn't Nightmare Moon. That would have been the work of a monster. That would have been the work of a griffin. For a split second, in her mind, she heard the terrible cry, that terrible scream, one which a foal or fawn would let out right before-

She clenched her eyes shut and clamped her jaw down tight, deliberately forcing that thought away. She inhaled, then exhaled sharply. She felt her legs trembling, though this time, not out of uncertainty.

She had some vague idea of a minute passing before she opened her eyes again. Once she did, she looked back at her student. 'Perhaps Equestria and you think I am a monster, but you do not know what a true monster is...' echoed through her mind, as if it had been a whisper spoken in a deep, empty cave.

Twilight shifted under the blankets, and her muzzle slid out from under the covers. Nightmare continued to watch her, then Twilight went still again.

In an instant, Twilight's eyelids drifted up in one smooth, almost unconscious motion. Twilight stared at her. She watched her back and felt a knot twist in her stomach. Twilight laid perfectly still, and she could see, even in the darkness, her eyes widening. She could feel Twilight's fear, the way her heartbeat suddenly shifted like the earth from an earthquake- peaceful one moment, then suddenly and without warning shuddering and racing uncontrollably, shaking as if an attempt to level mountains. She could even see that the blankets no longer rose and fell with her student's breathing, as she had stopped breathing.

But, in Twilight's defense, she did not scream, nor cry out in fear. No tears flooded her eyes, either. Her expression was afraid, terrified even, but there was a certain grim acceptance to it, knowing there was nothing she could do about it.

She couldn't keep looking at that expression, and her eyes dropped to the floor. After a few seconds, she turned her head to the right to look away from her student. What was she to do? The filly truly acted like one, yet she was Nightmare Moon's student. The filly was practically an embarrassment or source of shame for her. If ponies knew just how fragile her student was, what would they say of her? Would they mock her and her student? Would they say, "Behold! The powerful and terrifying Nightmare Moon! Now look and see her student! The way she can't do anything! See how pathetic and worthless the foal is! Nightmare Moon's folly knows no bounds!"

The thought angered her, but she refused to let it show. To let her anger show now would be far too destructive for her student. Instead, she exhaled, casting that anger out. "Twilight Sparkle," she acknowledged.

"Y-yes?" her student squeaked out.

She felt her ears twitch back at that but caught them before anything came of it. "If you are not too tired, would you like to join me to watch the moonrise?" she asked.

"O-of course," her student answered obediently. It wasn't an answer that came off sounding like she had made a willing choice to do so, but rather, the answer one gives when there was no choice or only one option.

As much as she wanted to scowl at that, she didn't let herself scowl. "You do not have to if you do not want to, Twilight Sparkle," she preempted.

"Y-you want me to so-"

She turned back to face Twilight. "Yes, I would like for you to, but I do not want you to simply do this because I am telling you to. I want you to..." she trailed off as she realized what she was going to say. She looked down at the floor and continued, "I want you to choose to do this. I want you to want to do this. I am not telling you to do this, Twilight Sparkle. You have the choice. If you would prefer it, I will leave you be until later. I will not be upset if you so choose to avoid me, as you have been."

It wasn't entirely accurate, of course. She would be upset if Twilight said no, but she would not retaliate against her, nor anything like that. To do so, she might as well had simply not given her the choice. And that would only further foul their relationship. It would take small steps in order to undo the damage she had done. Those steps would have to compound on each other, and the slightest misstep would undo all of her work.

It took a few seconds, but eventually, she heard the sounds of the covers sliding back and Twilight's coat sliding against the sheets. Likewise, she felt Twilight's movement. She turned her gaze back to Twilight, which made her hesitate for a brief moment, then continue. Ever so slowly, Twilight rose from her bed, then tentatively, oh so vulnerably, stood on the floor.

She lifted her head back up and turned to face Twilight. With hesitant, nervous steps, her student approached her. She wasn't sure whether it was truly willing or not, and because of that, it did not give her the joy that she sought. Nonetheless, she took what she could get.

Twilight's steps were slow shuffles, but she eventually stopped in front of Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare looked her over, and as she did, she found her gaze drawn to and lingering on Twilight's mane and tail. Truly, sleeping did not do either any favors, as strands of her mane and tail stuck out. A large section of her mane was lifted up as if a cow had licked her head. Likewise, it left her looking disheveled, unorganized, and vulnerable. Her pink and purple highlights, rather than being so distinct in her mane and tail, were now mixed in with the rest of the indigo strands.

And it seemed that she wasn't the only one to notice, as Twilight stared up at her and just sort of shifted her weight in a timid, small way as if she wanted to hide, not out of fear, but out of embarrassment.

Nightmare extended her wing, then slid her feathers across the top of Twilight's mane, gently pressing down in an attempt to flatten the rebellious tuff of her student's mane. It didn't really work, and while she did press Twilight's mane down, as soon as her feathers slid off, it bounced back up.

Glancing back down, she found Twilight's eyes closed. She took a deep breath. "Come," she coaxed. Without saying any more, she lit her horn, then teleported the two of them back to her balcony. In an instant, the double image faded and she beheld the barest sliver of her moon rising above the horizon. Twilight appeared beside her, and with a quick glance at her, she caught the foal stepping to her right to put more distance between them.

It hurt, but she did not chastise her for it. She could not blame Twilight for that action, as she had given her reason not to trust her. She sighed softly, then used her magic to create a brush for Twilight's mane. It had been a very, very long time since she had seen one, let alone use a mane brush. After all, when one had an ethereal mane, one tended never to have to worry about brushing it.

With the brush complete, she turned to face Twilight, who stared straight ahead at the rising moon. For a moment, she stopped to simply watch her and take in her form. In the soft glow of her magic, she could easily make out her distinct features- her mane and tail were a dark blue, sprinkled with pink and purple strands, just like her tail, and her coat was just a few shades lighter and so much softer. Looking down at her flank, she could make out her cutie mark, that pink starburst, surrounded by rays of white light and white stars. Twilight glanced at her, then at the brush before looking back at the rising moon. Looking at Twilight's neck, her eyes glided over the metal necklace, which reflected the light of her horn, causing it to stand out so much from the rest of her body. Her eyes fell on the crescent moon on her chest, and she admired the way it glowed and shimmered from its enchantment.

Turning her attention back to Twilight's mane, she levitated the brush over to her, then hesitated as the absurdity of what she was going to do hit her. Here she was, the Queen of all Equestria, taking time to brush her student's mane! It was so trivial and frivolous that it was ridiculous! It made no sense, it did not fit who she was. Yet, while she shook her head, she still lowered the brush into Twilight's mane, then started slowly gliding the brush down the length of her neck.

Twilight, for her part, looked back at Nightmare in utter bewilderment. She still stayed silent, however. Eventually, she looked back at the moon again.

Nightmare tilted her head a bit, watching the back of Twilight's neck as she ran the brush down the length of Twilight's mane. It was almost mesmerizing, seeing the way which the brush parted and realigned the indigo, pink, and purple of her mane. Eventually, she could not see any of the strands separated from the streaks, so she stroked the brush through the length of Twilight's mane one last time, then lifted it up and brushed the top of her mane.

And the top of her student's mane? Oh, that was a challenge. She ran the brush forward and down, on the left side of Twilight's horn, where her mane stuck up. It wasn't just a challenge, but rather, it was an entire war. Using the brush, she fought back against the rebellion that was Twilight's mane. She glared intently, as with every pass of the brush, her mane refused to submit and stuck back up. Her progress was slow, but eventually, she could notice that it did not stick up as much as before.

It was around this time that she also noticed that, with each stroke, she pulled on Twilight's head and pulled her head forward and downward. Twilight, of course, said nothing about it, though Nightmare could see her blushing faintly. She only glanced at that blush before returning to achieve victory over the rebellion in Twilight's mane. Eventually, she succeeded, although the success was partial. No more victory would be claimed, however, unless Twilight took a bath or showered.

Having finished with Twilight's mane, she looked ahead and regarded the rising on her moon, which was by now, about a quarter of the way past the horizon.

"Um... thank you?" Twilight squeaked.

She glanced aside at Twilight, who had her head turned towards her. She could see Twilight's lips pulled back awkwardly, and she couldn't tell if Twilight was trying to smile or grimace. Twilight's head was leaned away from her to keep her distance. She studied Twilight's expression for a few seconds, then returned her attention to the moon. She glanced at the brush, then casually laid it down and let go of the magic in her horn.

Nightmare let a few more seconds pass between them in silence before asking, "Are you enjoying this, Twilight Sparkle? Watching the moonrise?"

With that question asked, she could feel Twilight tense up even more and become far more guarded than she wanted. It disappointed her and was all the answer she needed. No, her student did not enjoy sharing such a moment with her. No, her student did not enjoy the night as she had hoped. No, her student would have rather sat with her sister and watch the sunrise. She felt bitter.

To her surprise, however, after a second, some of Twilight's guard lowered, and her body relaxed, even though it was faint. "It's... um, nice," was her timid answer.

She glanced at Twilight, who continued to star at the moon. She could see her biting her lip, and she felt like there was more to be said. She turned her head to face Twilight. "Speak," she coaxed.

Twilight glanced at her, then swallowed and straightened her back. "I-I, um... I've never... um, taken the time to watch... this before," she said.

Nightmare was not surprised. She turned her head back towards the moonrise and nodded. "I am not surprised," she stated.

"It-it's just not the same as, um, when the sun is setting t-too," Twilight elaborated.

"Which you would prefer," Nightmare acknowledged.

"N-no! I, just, um... it... It's not really fair to compare them that way! They're all... unique and special."

"Perhaps," Nightmare stated. She watched the moon for a moment longer, then scanned Canterlot, letting her eyes dart back and forth across the city. Finally, she licked her lips, then turned her head towards her student. "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, do you hate me?"

She could see Twilight's body tense up, and she had grown to hate seeing that. Twilight nervously glanced at her but refused to meet her gaze, then her eyes returned to focus on the moon.

"After all, I imprisoned your former teacher and took over Equestria," Nightmare added.

For a few seconds longer, she could see Twilight's tension, then as if a wave washed over her, the tension faded. Twilight's head drifted lower, almost limply. She heard Twilight sigh, then saw her slowly shake her head. "No... I... don't hate you..." she answered in a somber, quiet voice.

Nightmare regarded Twilight and went over the way she spoke that sentence in excruciating, intricate detail. Yet, no matter what she tried, she couldn't find any spitefulness, nor deceit in what her student said. Deep inside of her, she felt relieved at that. Yes, there was pain and sadness in what her student had said, but Twilight did not hate her.

"Do you hate anything?" she questioned.

Twilight looked up at her. "No..." she trailed off and her eyes fell onto Nightmare's chestplate. After a moment, her brow scrunched up. "Well, uh, those ponies that..." she trailed off, swallowing and shifting her weight. "Um..."

Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "Your five friends?" she inquired.

Twilight nodded in a perplexed manner. "Yes... them."

Nightmare frowned. There was a certain bitterness in Twilight's voice that was unmistakable, and it surprised her. "Truly? Why do you hate them?"

Twilight scowled at that and looked up at her. "Are you kidding me!? They're crazy! They're insane!" she nearly pleaded. "Rainbow Dash tried to kill me when we met, then again after you showed up! Applejack tried to kill me by forcing me to eat enough for a whole army! Pinkie Pie is just... ugh! And Fluttershy!? Oh, Fluttershy? You think she's all sweet and shy, but then bam! When you least expect it, she knocks me into the ground to talk with Spike! Spike!"

Nightmare raised an eyebrow at her outburst. Twilight's chest heaved and she trembled. After a few seconds, she seemed to regain her senses and realize what she had done, and who she had done it in front of. Immediately, she paled, then crouched down, throwing her forehooves over her head and covering her eyes. "Please don't kill me! I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to get worked up like that!" she whimpered.

Nightmare felt her ears fold back. She turned away from her student and faced the moon. "I'm not going to hurt you, Twilight Sparkle," she muttered.

"B-but I-"

Nightmare sighed, then stretched out a wing and touched Twilight's back with her feathers. She could feel Twilight's trembling through her feathers and wing, and deep down, it hurt. Slowly, carefully, she brushed her wing back along Twilight's back, letting her feathers carass Twilight's coat. Though she would never admit it to anypony, she found herself somewhat fond of doing this. With the stroke, Twilight's trembling subsided. And with another stroke, she felt Twilight's tense muscles relax under her coat. Eventually, she felt and heard Twilight move her forehooves off of her head. Spurred on by that, and despite knowing what she would see, she turned to look her student in the eye.

Tears flooded the edge of her student's eyes, and her lips quivered. Her ears were pinned back against her mane. Looking at her in such a state, a part of her screamed out about how pathetic she was, how unworthy Twilight Sparkle was to be called her student, let alone actually be her student. Yet that part was small, as she knew Twilight's potential. Even with as hard as that potential was to see, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was there.

And another part of her hated seeing Twilight so distraught. Slowly, she lifted her wing from Twilight's back, then brought it around, close to her face. Twilight closed her eyes, and after that, she brought her feathers close, then gently, carefully wiped the tears away from her eyes.

When she removed her wing, Twilight opened her eyes, and for a minute, looked up at her, almost pleadingly. Then, Twilight's head turned and pointed down at the balcony.

She folded her wing back to her side. She felt unsure of what to say to her student now. She wanted to tell Twilight not to hate her friends. She wanted to tell Twilight that she wasn't going to hurt her. She wanted to remind Twilight that she had no problem talking to her about her problems since she was her teacher. She asked, "Why do you hate them?" in a calm, quiet voice.

Twilight swallowed, then ducked her tongue out and swiped it over her lips. She inhaled and her chest shuddered, then she exhaled. Reluctantly, she lifted her head up, and while she turned to face Nightmare, she stared at her chestplate. "I... maybe... hate isn't the right word... I-I mean, I... love them, I guess, but... It-it's just so ridiculous! I only just met them! They're insane, and..." She trailed off and slumped down slightly. "And they made me do stupid things..." she said quietly. "I... didn't run away from you, because of them... When I should have!"

Though she knew it would have been futile for Twilight to run, as she would have hunted her down, she did not voice that knowledge since it would not help her any. "I am surprised that you have not asked to visit them," she said.

Twilight's head shot up to look at her with an expression of confusion. "What!?" she demanded.

Nightmare tilted her head to the right. "I had expected either them to come visit you or for you to ask to visit them by now," she elaborated.

Twilight's muzzle scrunched up at that. "Why would I want to..." she trailed off and winced. Slowly, her head drifted back down until she stared at Nightmare's chestplate. "Right," she muttered.

"I will see about having you go visit them soon, if you'd like," Nightmare said.

Twilight's eyes darted up to meet hers. "Um... I... I think I'd like that?"

Nightmare nodded. "Then I will arrange it. However, there are a few things I would like to do first," she said. "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, what do you know of Hollow Shades?"

"It's... east of Canterlot. It's a forested region..." Twilight trailed off and looked up at her. "Um, what exactly do you want me to... tell you?" she cautiously questioned.

"I have not been able to learn much about the region and city, but I do consider it quite important. Tell me, do you know of the inhabitants?" she asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. It's the home of the largest population of batponis in Equestria?"

Nightmare nodded but frowned. "It should be," she stated, "although I was under the impression that it was the only location they inhabited."

Twilight hesitantly shook her head. "Uh, no... Not from what I know, anyway. The batponies tend to keep to themselves, but there are a few cities they've built. Uh, I've never seen one before."

"They still exist?" Nightmare queried.

Twilight nodded. "Yes..? Why wouldn't they?"

Nightmare looked away from Twilight and glared at the moon, or rather, the Mare on the Moon. "Sister," she growled.

"W-what? What would Princess Cel- Uh, I mean, what would... she have to do with them not existing!?"

Nightmare sighed, then looked back at Twilight. "The batponies were my creation. But I suppose such knowledge no longer exists now, does it?"

Twilight was silent and stared at her.

"I thought not," she muttered as she turned back to face the moon. "I had created them centuries before... my banishment. During the wars with the Griffin Empire. During such times, the batponies were... respected. After all, they were some of Equestria's finest soldiers. However, whenever there was peace, sister and her ponies hated the batponies. I am glad to hear that they were not wiped out following my banishment."

"Th-that's awful! Why would... why would anypony want to wipe out an entire species-!?"

"Because they are mine," Nightmare answered. "Ponies have always preferred my sister, so when I dared to create ponies for myself, the same hate they had for me naturally fell on them. And the batponies are- or at least were- loyal to me first, then to Equestria second. Sister might have seen them as a threat, and of course, they may have caused trouble because of my banishment."

"I-I've never read any history books th-that said anything about them causing problems or Pri- your sister trying to wipe them out!" Twilight retorted.

Nightmare faced her and casually lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, and pray tell, Twilight Sparkle, how many history books have you read which spoke of my existence?"

Her student was silent, simply staring at her. She watched on, seeing as Twilight's expression all but twisted as the realization of what that could mean set in. In that twisting, she could see her student's horror and disgust at the idea. And yet, at the same time, Twilight's expression was so empty, so blank, as she pondered the implications. She was vaguely aware of several seconds passing before Twilight visibly, consciously, reacted, blinking, and her head turning away from her. Her head lowered, and her muzzle pointed towards where the floor and railing of the balcony met. For a moment, she could feel Twilight's guard slipping.

But her guard wasn't slipping out of understanding or respect for her, nor any bond they shared. No, the crack in her defenses was simply spurred on by knowledge. Realization. Knowing the truth in what Nightmare had told her. The implications and connections, that her sister had erased essentially every trace of her existence. So then, why could she not have done the same to any attempts to wipe out an entire pony subspecies? The knowledge haunted her, and the implications, that broke her guard. Her guard was not lowered, but rather, it was broken with solemn acceptance. A failing of her will.

"H-how did... you make them? I-I mean, Pr- your sister isn't..."

"I did not create them out of dust if that is what you think," Nightmare answered. Before continuing, she turned back to face the moon. It was so much the same as it had been all of those centuries ago. She just had to ignore the scarring of her accursed sister, and then it was exactly the same. "My sister and I may be able to do much with our magic, but rest assured, we are not goddesses. There were some ponies who accepted my offer, and I transformed them into the first batponies... At first, their population was quite small, limited to the few dozens that I had transformed. Eventually, of course, there were more as more ponies accepted my offer and I transformed them. They had long lifespans too, and they were quite adept at fighting, so their numbers grew. And, of course, they did take mates and had foals." Without looking at Twilight, she could feel the filly's blush. "I do not know what state the batponies are in now, but I do wish to find out. Equestria's military is in a pitiful state, and they would be very helpful."

"W-we, um, at least to my knowledge, don't really know a lot about them... They do keep to themselves. B-but I know that ponies don't hate them like... they used to!" Twilight offered. "A-and they still exist!"

Nightmare pursed her lips. "Perhaps you are correct," she said, "though I doubt ponies love them anymore now than before. I suppose we will soon find out, however." She turned to regard her student again, hoping beyond reason that when she saw Twilight's features, her guard would be lowered, like it had been after she had first established a connection with her. She hoped beyond reason that talking and sharing this moonrise would be enough to break the wall between them, and coax Twilight to lower her defenses around her. But it was unreasonable, and her hope was misplaced. The chasm between them was still there. Twilight looked at her with a cautious timidity, holding her body tensed. Twilight appeared to try to make herself look as small as possible as if reasoning that doing so would make her seem like less of a threat than she actually was, and that by doing that, Nightmare would cease taking interest in her.

Nightmare Moon knew that she was Twilight's teacher, and likewise, Twilight knew that she was Nightmare's student. Yet, it was undeniable, that Twilight seeing her outburst- that her slipping up in such a way- only caused her student to rebuild the wall that she had worn down. Once again, in Twilight's eyes, she saw fear. A fear that, were it anypony else, she wouldn't have hated. Yet, seeing that fear in her student's eyes left her feeling so disappointed. Disgusted, even. But those feelings weren't directed at her student, but rather, herself. She could only blame Twilight so much for being so weak and vulnerable, so unconfident and fearful- her student was, after all, still a filly, even if she was nearly an adult. No, she had herself to blame for Twilight's current state.

Twilight quickly looked away from her, and she could see her student's ears twitch back, as if in shame. Nightmare pondered why her student would act in such a way, but nothing truly seemed to fit. Not even it being unintentional intimidation.

Feeling a bitterness growing in her throat, she turned away from Twilight to look at the moon. She wanted to reassure Twilight, to tell her student that there was nothing for her to fear from herself. Yet, a part of her was all too happy to remind her it was untrue. She could not simply tell her student that she would not punish her if she rebelled, as that would invite rebellion. At least for the moment, her hooves were tied. And so telling Twilight that she would not hurt her, she knew, Twilight would view as nothing more than a lie. To Twilight, the truth was simple: if she did something wrong, then she would experience first hoof Nightmare Moon's outburst, directed at her, and she would not survive.

Oh, how she regretted being so harsh with her student when first dealing with her. Yet, her promises were made, and Twilight, once again, ignored all of them with the exception of her last. The promise which, at the time, she had meant wholeheartedly. Now, however, she doubted she could fulfill that promise. Knowing that gave her a strange feeling of bewilderment, as it was such an odd duality: Twilight was her student, and as such, she needed Twilight to act the part- to not fulfill said promise was to set a bad example. And at the same time, Twilight was her student, and as such, to do such a thing to her felt wrong. The idea of killing her student for treason did not sit with her. Perhaps it was because she was yet a filly and that killing a foal did not sit well with her. Perhaps in a few years, such an idea would not bother her as much as it now did, yet at the same time, she recognized that in a few years, she would have a closer relationship with her student, which, she knew, might make her even more unwilling to fulfill that promise.

Thinking about the problem of that promise ate at her mind and body, making her chest feel tight and uneasy. Her chestplate nearly felt constrictive, rather than protective.

She glanced aside at Twilight, who once again starred ahead at the rising moon, sitting with an uncomfortable, tensed rigidity that spoke of complete formality and the physical impossibility of relaxing or letting her guard down. 'A thousand years ago, I would have never taken on a student. A thousand years ago, I would have killed my sister's student, given the chance. And yet, here we are, Twilight Sparkle...' she mused.

Almost like she knew what Nightmare was thinking, Twilight's eyes flicked over to look at her. For a moment, their gazes met. That instant passed so quickly that, as soon as it was gone, Nightmare wasn't sure if it had actually happened or not. Had their eyes met for that brief second or had it been her imagination? Once again, Twilight stared at the moon, though now, she could see her student's jaw muscles clenched tightly beneath her coat.

Slowly, she let her eyes glide over Twilight's outline, studying her body. Eventually, her gaze drifted onto her cutie mark. 'You are too fascinating to kill...' whispered in her mind. Looking back at Twilight's face, she once again saw her student for who she was: A filly. A filly who was incomplete. A filly who had unparalleled potential. A filly who had once been her sister's student. But that had changed. She had seen the pictures of Twilight at her sister's side, yet she could not view Twilight as her sister's student. Twilight was her student. She did not wish for her death, nor did she wish for Twilight to join her sister's side on the moon. She wished for Twilight to stand at her side with confidence in herself, she wished for Twilight to fully grasp her potential, and she wished for Twilight to fully embrace being her student. She didn't want to hurt Twilight; she wanted to protect her.

Looking away from Twilight did nothing to help with the conflict and inner turmoil she felt regarding her. In a way, it only made her hatred for her sister that much stronger: Who was her sister to have taken Twilight as her student, then to lie to Twilight and leave her defenseless and unprepared to face Nightmare Moon, the Queen of the Night? Twilight should have been a formidable opponent, but instead, her dear sister practically sacrificed Twilight's life for nothing. All of that potential could have been so easily destroyed, so easily wasted on nothing had she simply killed Twilight.

The thought made her blood boil, and she became aware that her legs were trembling from anger. She took a deep breath and held it in for several seconds. Only once her legs stopped shaking did she relax and let the breath go. A quick glance aside at her student brought her even more relief: Twilight hadn't noticed, or if she did, she did not show it.

She knew sacrificing Twilight could not have been her sister's intent; her sister cared for Twilight too much to simply waste her life so pointlessly. But it still enraged her.

But she kept herself calm. She didn't let the anger seep out as it had before. To do so would be to risk further crippling her relationship with her student. Perhaps even permanently. Assuming she could somehow fix their relationship, she knew there was so much she could do with Twilight. Twilight just had so much potential.

Even the idea of Twilight recognizing her potential and then using it against her, which would surely spell her end, was but a fleeting thought by now. It was the sort of thought she only considered in passing, as an off-hoof comment that held no importance. A minor detail, like the exact spot one raindrop fell amidst an entire flood.

She wanted to teleport far away into a forest and scream and march around venting her frustration. She wanted to unleash her magic and create another clearing, as she had done before. There was just too much conflict inside her regarding her student.

She exhaled heavily, then shook her head. Continuing to focus on it would do nothing for her now. Perhaps in the future, she would have answers and solutions, but she would not find them without some kind of action in the present to repair and rebuild her bond with her student. And repairing that bond was imperative.

An idea came to her, and a moment later, she felt like a wave washed over her body. She couldn't place the wave- was it shock? Was it cold? What was that feeling, which seemed to cause her very vision to suddenly shift, like that which happened during a teleportation spell? The idea was so opposed to who she was, so absurd for her to act on! She was an immortal alicorn, the Queen of the Night and Empress of Equestria.

Yet she was also intelligent, and such an idea wasn't entirely beyond her. To outright reject such an idea, to bend to her pride and refuse to acknowledge it as a potential option, she knew, would be foalish. To cling to ideas, when faced by knowing that those ideas were failing and would ultimately result in destruction when she could adapt, was blatantly insane.

In truth, while the idea came as a shock, she did not regard it as an impossibility. Only when dealing with her sister would it have been an impossibility. And as Twilight was not her sister, it was a course of action which did not make her irate.

She took a breath, then slowly turned her head around to face Twilight. Perhaps it was an insane idea, to think that such a thing would have any effect on their relationship, yet, perhaps it would do so much more. After all, talking to Twilight had helped her student lower her guard and let her in. Talking to her in an equine way had shown her that she was equine, just like her. So perhaps, even if it did not fix everything, it would help. "I..." she trailed off, suddenly finding herself feeling silly.

It truly was absurd! What she was going to say! Was she not within her right to react so blatantly when faced by the realization that the deer remembered her while her sister had expunged evidence of her existence from her own subjects!? She wanted to laugh. Twilight's eyes were focused on her. There was a reluctant, reserved curiosity in them. She saw Twilight's vulnerability. She didn't laugh. She felt a bitter disappointment directed at herself. She almost felt ashamed.

How could she even word such a thing? Yet, as she struggled with it, a part of her came to the realization that she was simply procrastinating. She groaned and shook her head. "I am sorry that I... snapped," she apologized. On the inside, she cringed. There was an unmistakable bitterness in her voice- she had not wanted to admit such a thing, as it was admitting that she was in the wrong. Yet, it was undeniable, and she knew it: she had been in the wrong. She would admit it, and she had. That did not make it enjoyable. She had not meant for that bitterness to seep out.

Whether it was the bitterness in her voice or the reminder of how she had snapped, she wasn't sure, but she watched as a wave of panic seemed to cascade over Twilight's whole body. She could almost feel Twilight's heart skipping a beat, she could almost feel Twilight's blood temperature plummeting. Twilight held herself with even more tension and rigidity as if even a feather landing on her would be enough to snap her and release all of that built up panic in a fit of panicked, primal fear-fueled screams and sobs as she begged for her life.

She hated it and looked away from the sight. But, the image had already been burnt into her mind's eye. 'Will I ever stop hurting you so?' growled out in her mind.

Perhaps it was her lack of reaction, but eventually, after several long seconds, she felt Twilight's tension subside. But it almost felt like nothing happened. Hesitantly, she glanced back at Twilight. Twilight stared at her chestplate, and she found that nothing looked different from how she held herself before. She felt a sudden urge to give up in defeat, and that urge manifested itself in a sigh.

For a thousand years, she had fantasized of what her victory over her sister would look like. For a thousand years, she had fantasized about how she could enjoy that victory.

This had not been what she pictured. Not once had such an idea crossed her mind, even as she considered how to best shape Equestria to overshadow her sister.

"You may leave and return to your tower if you so desire," she said. A few seconds passed with no reaction. Turning to look at her student again, she saw her paralyzed with fear. How could she not take pity on her student? She reached out with her wing and slowly brushed a single black feather across Twilight's lavender coat. As her feather slid down, she felt Twilight's muscles relaxing underneath her touch. Twilight blinked several times, then finally exhaled before inhaling. "I do not wish for you to fear me so, Twilight Sparkle," she said. Yet, that fear which she induced was everpresent, lingering over their relationship as student and teacher.

Twilight finally looked up to meet her gaze, and in her eyes, she saw fear, nervousness, and anxiety. Whether those emotions had just returned, or had never left, she couldn't tell. She did, however, feel tension return to Twilight's back. Slowly, she reversed the course of her feather and slit it back up along Twilight's spine. She dragged her feather upward, over Twilight's shoulder, then lifted it from her coat and folded her wing. The lingering sensation of Twilight's fur stayed on her feather: a slightly pleasant tingle.

"I am not out to hurt you, Twilight Sparkle. You are my student. I do not expect perfection. Please, remember this," she continued.

Twilight broke eye contact, once again looking down at her chestplate. Timidly and quickly, Twilight nodded as she swallowed.

"Go rest, or study," Nightmare said. "I will call you sometime in the next few days, and we shall go to Hollow Shades together."

Silently, Twilight nodded. Unsurely, slowly, and with caution befitting somepony in the presence of a predator that could kill them faster than they could blink, Twilight stood up. It was a slow enough stand that gave Nightmare ample opportunity to tell her to sit back down. It was a submissive stand, entirely lacking confidence.

On the inside, Nightmare sighed. Outwardly, she nodded. "And after we see what has become of Hollow Shades, I will see to it that you can return to Ponyville for a few days to visit your friends. After this, we can begin your training in earnest."

When proofreading takes so long because you're distracted, but more importantly, end up really, really getting sucked in to what you've written: 37 minutes late edition.

Twilight jerked as she woke up, and her first instinct was to inhale deeply. She started to inhale but then froze as a wave of fear and icy cold terror crashed over her body, spurred on by the influx of memories she could never forget. Memories that she could only suppress for a time. She tensed up and held herself rigidly and still, not letting herself move in the slightest. A part of her knew it was futile and foolish- because she reacted so, it was a dead giveaway that she was awake, which meant that if Nightmare Moon was there, she had already given it away.

And she dreaded that prospect. The thought of waking up to see Nightmare Moon watching her again? That made her panic, and how she avoided hyperventilating, well, it was only because of her fear of Nightmare being there and realizing she was awake that she didn't. After all, she had awoken to such a sight before. Nightmare had been watching her, and for how long, she did not know. And that, well, that thought left her horrified. How could she ever have any form of safety or security if Nightmare could slip in and watch her sleep as she had? The guards, they were to keep an eye on her, and they would not protect her from Nightmare Moon. Nor could they if it truly came down to it.

Nightmare could have done anything to her while she had slept, and there wasn't a thing she could have done about it. Even though she knew Nightmare could do anything to her while she was awake, since she couldn't ever hope to stop Nightmare or fight her off, at least, when she was conscious, she could have some semblance of warning to prepare herself. Even if it wouldn't help.

But no, Nightmare just had to watch her sleeping. Nightmare already eavesdropped on her while she was sleeping through the necklace, but apparently, it wasn't enough. The blankets and her bed offered no protection, and she felt entirely exposed and vulnerable despite the sheets covering her body as her lungs started to beg and plead, demanding that she inhale. She felt the arteries in her neck throbbing in sync with her heart, and her forehead felt warm as it grew fuzzy. The silence sounded like it somehow grew further and further away as if her ears were receeding into her body, and a vacuum or an entire ocean was in between her ears and the silence.

But finally, as even her body and the bed seemed to grow distant, she exhaled, then inhaled in a controlled manner. Air flooded her lungs and a wave of tiredness slammed into her body. She felt her head throb in sync with her slow, powerful heartbeats. Her inhale had been too controlled, she knew, and it was another dead giveaway that she was awake. She wanted to curl up into a ball and sob. She wanted to let out a scream, then run away as far as she could, to throw off the necklace and hide from Nightmare Moon for all time. Any escape would have been welcomed, yet it would also be her death sentence to try to escape.

How she managed to sleep at night eluded her. When she laid down to go to bed, there was that constant fear in her mind, that during the night, Nightmare Moon would show up. Either to watch her or to simply end her life. A part of her knew that she was overreacting. A part of her knew it was a silly notion, that Nightmare would take the time to kill her in her sleep. Yet, her irrational fear won out over any semblance of logic. It was simply too much for her, and she could not fight off that terror, no matter what logic she used.

Nightmare Moon was, after all, the physical embodiment of terror. Her presence was unmistakable, and her presence was without a doubt that of the apex predator, one which would hunt dragons that could destroy entire towns, and slay them with hardly a fight. Even logically knowing that Nightmare wanted her alive, at least for the time being, did not alleviate her fears.

How could it? Nightmare Moon was, without a doubt, a psychopath. The evidence was too much to ignore. Nightmare Moon banishing her sister and taking over Equestria, Nightmare Moon's uncaring nature towards everypony, simply looking at them as resources, and, of course, how she had lost it when the deer reminded her that Equestria had forgotten about her. What would Nightmare do the next time she snapped?

And then there was also watching the moonrise with her. The entire ordeal left her feeling violated. First, waking up to see Nightmare watching her, which had since been an ever-present fear. She laid awake at night, holding the covers close, holding her body in as small a form as possible, dreading the prospect that Nightmare would show up. And then, oh, to add the icing on top of the cake, Nightmare Moon, when they had watched the moonrise, had brushed her mane. How could she possibly not view her teacher as a psychopath given that? Nightmare Moon would kill her if she stepped out of line, yet at the same time, Nightmare tried to lower her guard by brushing her mane. It was so incredibly unnerving.

She exhaled, then inhaled again. She missed Spike, but more than him, she missed her princess.

The rational part of her mind shouted at her, chastising her for acting as she did. She was nearly a mare, yet here she was, acting like a young, little filly who didn't have her cutie mark. She wasn't acting her age, so how could she take any pride in anything? The rational part of her mind chastised her, telling her that Nightmare Moon wasn't there. After all, she did not fell nor sense Nightmare's presence. She didn't feel Nightmare's predatory gaze focusing on her, sizing her up as prey. She didn't feel the terror that her presence provoked.

But still, there she was, cowering simply at the thought that Nightmare could be there, watching her, when all of her senses told her it was not the case. But surely, Nightmare Moon had better things to do than to watch her sleep? Then again, Nightmare Moon was a psychopath. And as such, there was no assurance it was not the case.

Hesitantly, she cracked open her eye, the barest sliver. In an effort to either abate or confirm her fears, she looked through that crack in her eyelids and scanned her surroundings as quickly as she could. Since she faced the door, even with the darkness, she knew Nightmare Moon wasn't there. No shadow was cast, nor did any silhouette stand there to block the light from her magelight drifting into her bedroom.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes all the way. Timidly, fearing that Nightmare was closer at hoof than before, she twisted her head around and looked to her right, towards the window, then exploring the rest of her room.

A wave of relief washed over her, and she felt like every muscle in her body relaxed at once. It felt almost blissful for that fear and tension to be washed away. She let her eyes closed and let out another breath, then inhaled without fear that she was being watched. She opened her eyes, and while she felt no safer, upon reaffirming that Nightmare wasn't there, she felt like she could drop her guard, if only the barest amount.

She shifted her weight and rolled over onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling as her mind wandered. A frown pulled her lips downward. She was not well-rested, but then, how could she be? The past few nights she had barely slept. But how could she sleep, given the constant fear Nightmare induced? How could anypony in Equestria sleep peacefully now? Princess Celestia was gone.

She felt a pang of sadness and of loneliness at that. Her mentor, her true mentor, was gone. Banished to the moon. She would never see her again. Not once, not for the slightest second. Eternally separated. Nightmare Moon would make sure of that. The edges of her eyes grew warm, then everything she saw grew blurry. Her throat grew tense, and the tightness pulsed, throbbed, and ached at the back of her mouth.

Nightmare Moon was her mentor now. At least the ponies she had seen- although most of them were Royal Guards or librarians and archivists- did not look at her with spite. When she passed them as she walked the castle's hallways, in their eyes as they regarded her, she saw the look that told they felt pity for her. They did not condemn her, as she had expected. It was, in a way, a mercy. But she had no idea if anypony outside of them felt the same way, or would look at her the same way.

She hadn't even had a chance to see her parents. And as she thought about that, the warmth at the edges of her eyes and the blurriness both grew. A warm pain took over her eyes, then beads of warmth trickled down her cheeks. As the tears passed, the trails of moisture they left of her fur cooled in the chilly night air, leaving almost numb trails behind on her face.

At the very least, she had her brother and Cadance. She took some comfort in that, but it didn't feel like it was enough. Nothing would ever be enough. When Nightmare decided to kill her, that would simply be it. Neither her brother nor Cadance, nor her parents, nor Princess Celestia, would be able to do a single thing about it. It would simply be done. Set in stone. Written in history. A history that, perhaps, would be studied by ponies in the future. A cautionary tale telling why it was imperative they obey Nightmare Moon.

Another part of her wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. In the span of just a month, she had gone from Princess Celestia's protege, somepony who would, in their future, outshine Starswirl the Bearded, to a filly who had a death sentence hanging over her head, just waiting for the word to be given.

And yet, at the same time, another part of her didn't feel the fear that the rest of her part. It didn't want to laugh at how ridiculous it all was. Instead, it was a soft voice, one that whispered to her, reminding her that Nightmare Moon was intelligent, telling her that Nightmare Moon had made promises to her, reminding her that Nightmare Moon had yet to actually harm her, aside from their first encounters. That same voice whispered to her, telling her that she was overreacting, trying to calm her down. It tried to reassure her that her death at Nightmare Moon's hooves wasn't set in stone.

The voice deep inside her reminded her that, despite everything Nightmare Moon had done, that despite banishing Princess Celestia and taking over Equestria, that despite bringing eternal night, Nightmare Moon wasn't indiscriminately killing ponies. Nightmare Moon wasn't committing genocide, she wasn't burning down Equestria, she didn't kill her 'friends' nor herself, even though they had tried to stop her. Nightmare Moon did not hurt her for trying to use the Elements of Harmony. And Nightmare Moon, this part of her told her, seemed to genuinely want to teach her, and seemed to genuinely want her to be her student.

This part of her gave her a sense of calm. After all, it was a part of her that saw and knew that Nightmare Moon could not simply be a psychopath. Nightmare Moon had her problems, that much was impossible to miss, but Nightmare Moon wasn't going to kill her just because she felt like it. Nightmare Moon wasn't going to kill her for fun. Nightmare Moon wasn't going to act harshly unless provoked, because, at the very least, it wasn't in her best interest to do so. Nightmare Moon had plans and goals, and to destroy Equestria, perhaps even to kill her, would not help further those goals.

Knowing this, she could feel a little safer, but only just.

Another part of her, she found, actually felt disappointment. Disappointment that Nightmare Moon- Princess Celestia's sister- looked at her in passing like she was a disappointment, like she wasn't worth the time to teach. Disappointment that she had never truly taken the time to enjoy the beauty of night, instead, simply relegating it to sleeping or studying, rather than taking more time to enjoy the beauty present, aside from the rarity that was stargazing or watching a meteor shower. Disappointment that, even now, she had yet to truly explore the half of Canterlot Castle decorated with the darker colors of night. Disappointment that Nightmare Moon had been banished to the moon, locked away in isolation with nopony else to talk to and nothing to do, for a full one thousand years.

She did not hate Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon terrified her, and despite the fact that she had banished Princess Celestia, she did not hate her. She felt sorry for her.

The legend of Nightmare Moon spoke of how she tried to bring about eternal night, about how she had grown jealous of her sister and the love ponies had for her sister, which they did not share with her. And from what Nightmare Moon had said to her, ponies hated her and the night, only being thankful to her when she protected them during wars, but then when those wars ended, the same ponies who thanked her for protection turned on her, metaphorically spitting on her face. Nightmare Moon didn't deserve that kind of treatment, did she? She just wanted what anypony else wanted. Acceptance and love. After all, even if it was easy to forget, she had seen that so very equine side of Nightmare Moon. And she had seen that same side to Princess Celestia. They were, despite being immortal alicorns, still equine, just like her.

While what Nightmare Moon did was wrong, she simply could not hate her for it. Nightmare Moon didn't deserve that hatred, and it wasn't in her to hate in such a way. 'How was it justified to banish her for a thousand years!?' a part of her wondered, shouting out how ridiculous and wrong of a sentence that was. Yet, Princess Celestia had passed such a sentence on her own sister.

But who was she to judge Princess Celestia? Princess Celestia had to have a good reason- and she did. Nightmare Moon would have brought eternal night those thousand years ago. And what would she have done to Equestria back then? It occurred to her, that perhaps, if Princess Celestia had not passed such judgment, Equestria might not exist. In fact, most ponies alive today might not exist, herself included. Nightmare Moon, perhaps, would have murdered their ancestors, preventing so many lives from ever being born. Perhaps she would have committed genocide those thousand years ago.

But the question still ate at her mind, 'Why didn't you stop her before it got this far? Why didn't you see that she felt this way!?'

She had no answers for it. There was no good explanation for it. How could Princess Celestia have not seen that her sister was in such a bad place? How could Princess Celestia have not taken time to help her sister? How could Princess Celestia have not seen it and then not acted on it? Had she truly ignored her sister? Her own sister? How could anypony do such a thing? How could anypony sacrifice their own family for power? How, how, how?

And why had Princess Celestia taken such great lengths to erase Nightmare Moon's existence from recorded history?

It didn't add up. And she didn't have enough information to put it all together. After all, the only pony who could answer these questions was Princess Celestia. And, well, she was indisposed.

Slowly, she pushed herself up, then she slid out of bed. Standing on her hooves, she stretched, bending her back down and letting out a soft moan. When she stood back up, it hit her how poorly she had been sleeping. Her eyelids drooped, and she felt sluggish. She felt disappointed at the tiredness, but she had not expected anything less.

Begrudgingly, she dragged herself out of her bedroom, then made her way down the stairs to her library. Maybe she had slept better than the night immediately after Nightmare had woken her up, but it still wasn't refreshing. A vacation- going to Ponyville- would be a refreshing break. A much needed break.

Even if she had to put up with ponies who were, in all likelihood, more insane than Nightmare Moon.

She wanted to say that, at the very least, those ponies she sort of called friends wouldn't kill her, but she also wanted to laugh at the thought. After all, nearly every one of them had already made an attempt on her life. But, she did take comfort in knowing their attempts were nothing compared to what Nightmare Moon could do. After all, for Nightmare, it wouldn't be an attempt.

She sighed and meandered over to her usual spot at her table. When she sat down, once again, it struck her how empty her tower felt, even with all of the books, and how alone she felt. Spike wasn't there and Princess Celestia was banished. She slumped down in her chair and rested her head on the table.

'What is the point of it all?' she wondered. Why did she even bother anymore? Princess Celestia was gone and Nightmare Moon would kill her if she tried anything, and even if she didn't try anything, she wasn't assured, no matter what logic and other parts of her mind told her, that Nightmare still wouldn't kill her. But maybe she could beg and plead with Nightmare enough to convince her teacher not to kill her, but then she would assuredly have to do things she didn't want to do in order to stay on Nightmare's good side.

She slid her muzzle back, then rested her forehead against the table, carefully setting the tip of her horn on the wood. She pressed her head into the table and let out a tired groan. Maybe she should just embrace the idea of being Nightmare Moon's student. She wasn't Princess Celestia, but she was Princess Celestia's sister. Sure, she couldn't trust Nightmare Moon the same way, and it was a distinct possibility that Nightmare Moon would kill her, so she couldn't let her guard down even though it wouldn't help, but it was probably the closest thing to how things were that she could get.

Of course, for that to work, she would have to stop avoiding Nightmare Moon whenever she could. That wasn't something she particularly wanted to do, yet at the same time, the fact that she avoided Nightmare also bothered her. It was probably a bad idea to continue to avoid Nightmare. After all, if she continued, who was to say Nightmare wouldn't get angry and then take it out on her or somepony else? It was then, perhaps, in her best interest to stop avoiding Nightmare. Perhaps it was even in her best interest to get closer to Nightmare Moon if only to attempt to make Nightmare less likely to kill her. Although, given Nightmare Moon's nature, she still could not be assured that if she was close to her, Nightmare would not kill her for some reason. After all, Nightmare Moon had banished her own sister.

The thought of getting close to Nightmare Moon left her unnerved. And yet, another part of her was intrigued by the prospect. After all, there were benefits to it.

Of course, the drawbacks were just as, if not more numerous than the benefits. Ponies might hate her even more if she were to embrace being Nightmare Moon's student, and in truth, she really couldn't get behind the idea because it was a betrayal of Princess Celestia, and of course, she'd have to be around Nightmare Moon more often. Maybe there was a happy medium that she could find- embrace being Nightmare Moon's student, stop avoiding her as much, but still maintain her guard and distance.

For a moment, she mulled over the idea of just dropping her guard, as she had before Nightmare's outburst. It would, of course, leave her vulnerable and so exposed. But perhaps it was the best course of action. Maybe Nightmare Moon would show her mercy if she did such a thing. In the past few days, Nightmare Moon was either trying to unnerve her further, or trying to undo what her outburst had done. She wasn't sure which. She couldn't tell, and she was certain that her own prejudice played a role in clouding her judgment on the matter. However, she did know that her guard always slipped, even if it was just ever so slightly, when Nightmare stroked her coat with those silken feathers.

Remembering that, a dozen memories immediately came to mind, each time that Nightmare's silken feathers slid through her coat, parting each hair and gently gliding over her body. A tingle grew in her spine, then raced outward through her whole body. She shivered at the memories; the feeling of Nightmare's feathers wasn't unpleasant. It still surprised her just how much the contact felt pleasant and comforting. Yet at the same time, it unnerved her to no end. Not only that Nightmare touched her, but also the effect that Nightmare's feathers had on her.

Nightmare had comforted her many times before with strokes from her feathers. Nightmare had spoken words of reassurance to her many times before, telling her to relax, reminding her that she wasn't out to get her. Nightmare had yet to attack her for making a mistake, even at her outburst over her 'friends.'

She felt so conflicted, torn even, between what to do. She had seen Nightmare Moon snap, and while she had stopped herself then, would she always be able to stop herself from snapping and doing far worse if she were further enraged? There was nothing to assure her it wouldn't be the case. There were simply no good options for her. It felt like a choice between the lesser of several evils, like choosing the best worst option available to her.

How much more could she test Nightmare Moon's patience by avoiding her? And if she continued, would not the consequences be her undoing? Wouldn't Nightmare see her unwillingness to be her student as rebellion, or at the very least, proof that she wasn't worth keeping around?

She bit her lip. She bit her lip hard, and bit on it harder until her lip tingled between her teeth. After a few seconds, she let go of her lip, which still held the indents from her teeth biting it. Slowly, she ran her tongue over her lip, feeling the marks left by her teeth, almost tasting the damage she had done, even if she had not drawn blood.

Her stomach churned, but while it ached for food, she did not want to fulfill its request. Reluctantly, she lifted her head up from the table. For a moment, she did nothing, then she let her muzzle drift downward. She dropped her gaze to her chest, then focused on that silver, crescent moon necklace Nightmare Moon had given her. She saw the shimmer of its enchantment and knew that Nightmare Moon was, regardless of distance, always so close at hoof. Eavesdropping on her. Keeping an eye on her. Listening to her, knowing where she was.

It was inescapable and overbearing, adding so much weight to the air surrounding her. Yet, at the same time, perhaps it was a reassurance. While she was still trying Nightmare's patience, Nightmare hadn't exactly broken any of her promises. So perhaps, in a way, the necklace offered some form of twisted security. If somepony tried to attack or hurt her, perhaps then, Nightmare would fulfill the promise to protect her. If somepony tried to attack or hurt her, would Nightmare act on that promise?

She felt conflicted- on one hoof, she saw it as a ray of hope. She was perhaps still sheltered by an alicorn to protect her, even though it wasn't Princess Celestia, and although that same alicorn could, in a heartbeat, decide to end her life and do so. On another hoof, it was, of course, a constant reminder that Nightmare Moon was there. She was always within reach of her predator.

Her stomach churned again, then gurgled. She sighed in defeat and laid her head back down on the table. She couldn't continue to avoid Nightmare Moon, but she had to retain her guard. She was still Nightmare Moon's student. And it was an opportunity, one that she really couldn't ignore. And not just because she had no choice. Therefore, her only course of action was to continue. She would stop avoiding Nightmare, but she would never let her guard slip. It was the only safety she could cling to, even if that security was just an illusion. Without that, how could she have any sort of life? It would be better for her to be locked in a dungeon, all alone if it was stripped away from her. She would feel safer there.

With the thought in mind that her only course of action was to continue, she could easily overlook the attempts on her life made by her so-called friends. Going to Ponyville would be good for her. She would have time to recover and recuperate and reevaluate everything. Perhaps she could even reach some consensus on what really was the best course of action. Perhaps space away from Nightmare would help her to regain some of her security. Perhaps it would help her to not feel so terrified of her teacher.

But she still had to get through however long it would be before she could go to Ponyville.

And today was probably going to be a long day. 'Night...' a part of her corrected with a growl.

She scowled.

Her stomach churned again, and a dull ache accompanied it, leaving her belly with a sense of emptiness she didn't like. She knew that she needed to eat, and so she would. Hesitantly, she lifted her head off the table, then slid out of the chair. She would eat, and she would join Nightmare Moon for that meal. Even affirming it, however, she felt an instantaneous wave of anxiety wash over her. She felt, silly as it was, as if suddenly, Nightmare Moon was aware of her intent and was watching and waiting on her, even though she knew it wasn't the case.

But, for the moment, she could suppress that anxiety, if only to shower and clean herself up so she was presentable. But more importantly, so that Nightmare Moon didn't try to brush her mane again. However, even suppressing the anxiety wouldn't make it go away. She could only pretend.

She had grown accustomed to walking beside Nightmare Moon whenever they went somewhere together. And while being beside her made her uneasy and anxious following Nightmare's outburst, at the very least, the walking part was an outlet for some of that anxiety. The walking helped ease her tension.

But even with that, she still bit on her lip, holding it between her lip, as she watched Nightmare Moon walking along in the corner of her eye. With every step, she heard the metallic click of her boots striking the marble floor, with every step, she could see Nightmare's muscles beneath her coat, and although those muscles looked minuscule compared to some ponies, she was vaguely aware of just how much strength were in those muscles, strength that would put an earth pony with muscles twice as large to shame. Yet because of their small size, there was a certain unmistakable grace to her muscles. Perhaps a terrifying grace, one so different, yet so similar, to Princess Celestia.

The thought briefly crossed her mind to picture Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon with muscles that they should have had for the strength they possessed, and it just looked so incredibly wrong. With muscles that displayed their strength as she pictured them, both Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon lost that graceful beauty they possessed with their more slender forms. And, the thought actually disturbed her quite a bit. After all, picturing Princess Celestia or Nightmare Moon with such thick muscles was just weird. It was just so antithesis to them.

She shook the thought from her mind, and for a moment, her gaze slipped up and darted over to focus on Nightmare Moon. She stared at the side of the chestplate closest to her, and for a moment, she tried to picture Nightmare Moon without it on. Was her coat just as jet black beneath it? Was her coat as graceful and elegant in all its terrifying beauty? Or did the chestplate hide something else, something different, from sight? She could not, no matter how hard she tried, picture Nightmare Moon without her armor on, and she had never seen her take that armor off. Not once. It was almost like it was a part of her.

Nightmare's head turned back towards her, and she saw those predatory eyes refocus on her body. And with that sight, her heart skipped a beat, and her throat ached from a fast-growing knot. Her legs trembled, but she managed to keep herself walking alongside her mentor. In those slitted eyes, she saw Nightmare's intellect, so cold and calculated. She saw the gaze of a predator.

And yet, despite all of that, she would have sworn Nightmare's ears flick back. She would have sworn that she saw Nightmare's lips twitch downward for the briefest moment. She would have sworn, that despite that intelligent and calculated gaze, that despite her predatory nature, that behind all of it, there was pain, as if she was hurt by what she saw. She would have sworn, that despite everything, there was disappointment in her gaze. She would have sworn that disappointment wasn't that Nightmare saw somepony worthless, but that Nightmare saw her trembling. She would have sworn Nightmare was disappointed that she was so terrified of her.

And yet, in an instant, the disappointment was gone, and in its wake, her expression looked so somber. Perhaps the disappointment wasn't truly gone. Nightmare's legs hesitated to take another step, if only for a brief moment.

Nightmare looked away from her. A wave of relief washed over her, and she closed her eyes. After a second, she opened her eyes. Avoiding looking at Nightmare directly, she stared straight ahead, down the hallway they walked. But that still wasn't enough to block the sight of the black alicorn from her vision.

In such a casual, almost graceful manner, like an afterthought, Nightmare extended her right wing. She hesitated and watched Nightmare's wing reach out to her. She tensed up at the movement, even knowing that it was not a motion meant to hurt her or distress her. Nightmare turned back to face her and regarded her with so much curiosity. The cold hardness of her expression seemed like it had, perhaps, never been there in the first place. Nightmare continued to walk along, and so did she, even while Nightmare's eyes slowly jumped from spot to spot, looking her over, taking in her form.

And she felt uncomfortable and nervous because of it. What was Nightmare Moon thinking behind those curious eyes? Was she planning something? Was it just another attempt to get her to lower her guard? What did Nightmare Moon want from her?

Nightmare looked at her back, and her feather finally connected with her body. With that gentle, barest touch, she felt her body relax. It was such an unassuming touch, and her body reacted as if it was an instinct hard-wired into it, as if she was biologically programmed to react in such a way. Slowly, Nightmare's wing swept forward in such a graceful manner, and her feather unassumingly brushed over her back.

Such a feeling of calm and comfort radiated from that brush, and it gave her a sense of peace. And yet, while it calmed her, it unmistakable unnerved her. She welcomed that stroke, yet the effect it had, while pleasant and comforting and welcomed, the fact that it had such an effect was disconcerting. Nightmare lifted her wing up, bringing her feather off of her coat, then went back and laid her feather on her back once again to repeat the process.

It sent little tingles of pleasure radiating into her body from the contact. 'What would it feel like for you to do that with your whole wing?' a part of her mind wondered. She was intrigued by the question, both because she was curious what it would be like, and also curious to find out more about the effect. And yet, the question also made another part of her scream out in her mind, yelling at her that she was dropping her guard, that Nightmare Moon was a psychopath.

Nightmare stroked her back with her feather a third time, then folded her wing. She still felt the lingering sensation on her back. She clenched her jaw halfheartedly, then looked at Nightmare. On accident, she met Nightmare's gaze. Panic and anxiety shot through her body, and immediately, she looked straight ahead again.

She thought she saw Nightmare's body slump. But surely, she had not. Risking a quick glance, she looked at Nightmare's body. She could not tell any difference when she looked; perhaps she had imagined it. Likewise, she thought she heard Nightmare Moon sigh as if defeated. But that couldn't have been! It was absurd. Plus, it had been so quiet that she surely had to have imagined it.

'I'm going crazy!' shouted out in her mind. After a moment, 'Well, I guess that should be expected, now shouldn't it?' was shot back.

The rest of the trip to the dining room was uneventful, although Nightmare turned her head back towards her and glanced at her far, far too many times for her liking. The guards went rigid at their approach, but still did their duty and opened the door. Nightmare sat down at her spot, and likewise, she sat down to her right.

She did her best to stare at the wall opposite of where she sat so as to avoid drawing Nightmare's attention, yet with nothing else to do, Nightmare's attention, of course, fell onto her. "So tell me, Twilight Sparkle, how are you this night?" she asked.

She swallowed and reluctantly turned to face Nightmare. Even knowing that she wouldn't find an aggressive glare didn't make it any easier. She looked up at Nightmare's face, but did not meet her gaze. She focused a few inches below Nightmare's eyes. "W-well, I-I'm f-fine," she answered. She watched Nightmare, and Nightmare watched her back.

Nightmare, of course, studied her, constantly shifting her eyes to look her all over. Finally, Nightmare's gaze settled back to meet hers. "You seem tired," she acknowledged.

Twilight looked down at Nightmare's chestplate. She gently nibbled on her lip, then, after several seconds, timidly nodded.

She could almost feel Nightmare frown at her admission. After a few seconds of silence, she took a risk to look back up, then she took an even bigger risk to meet Nightmare's gaze. She looked and saw that Nightmare seemed troubled. She saw Nightmare looked at her in a conflicted manner like she wasn't sure what to say or ask.

"Why are you tired?" Nightmare inquired.

Once again, she looked down at Nightmare's chestplate. "I-I've not been... sleeping well," she answered cautiously. Perhaps it was a mistake to tell her, but then to ignore her and refuse to answer would have been even more of a mistake.

Nightmare Moon was silent for a long while. She wasn't sure for how long, but the whole time, she stared at Nightmare's chestplate while Nightmare watched her. She didn't feel like Nightmare's gaze was predatory, but more pondering and curious. "I know a few spells that can help you sleep," Nightmare finally stated, "and I can teach you them."

She clenched her jaw. She couldn't refuse, and she did want to learn those spells, although she also knew she assuredly wouldn't be using them. The idea of practicing those spells while Nightmare Moon was around also unnerved her to no end, to say nothing of the memories of trying to obtain the Elements of Harmony, and her failure to stop Nightmare Moon, that it provoked. So, instead of speaking an answer, she just timidly nodded.

Silence descended between them, and for some reason, that silence felt oppressive. As the silence lingered, she found that she grew to hate that silence. She knew that she had the opportunity to try to get back on Nightmare's good side, but she also knew that she couldn't trust Nightmare. She knew that she was being foalish by refusing to speak and she wondered if avoiding Nightmare was being foalish. It came back to her that she was straining her relationship with her mentor, but more than that, that she was most likely in the wrong to do so.

But still, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She couldn't come up with anything to say, either, or perhaps, what she did think of simply felt wrong. Venturing a glance up at Nightmare, she found Nightmare was still watching her, and the disappointment in her features was still there. But she also saw a certain bitterness, along with a bit of her coldness.

She quickly averted her gaze and looked at the wall opposite of where she sat.

Fortunately, that was when the door opened. She turned to look, then watch, as two servers came inside, carrying platters with silver lids in their magic. Both of them walked inside quickly, then deposited the platters in front of them before swiftly bowing to Nightmare and nearly running back out of the room.

She sat up a bit straighter and stared at the closed door for a few seconds while she listened to Nightmare use her magic to lift the lid off her plate. She turned back and glanced at Nightmare's plate of pancakes, then took the lid off her own platter. The pancakes, she knew from experience many, many times, were good. However, it still felt so incredibly odd to see Nightmare Moon eat pancakes.

It just didn't feel like it fit, watching her slid the fork into the fluffy pancakes, cut a section out, then bring it to her maw to devour it. Her sharp teeth didn't seem to fit with her eating pancakes, or perhaps they weren't as sharp as she thought. As Nightmare chewed up the pancake, she closed her eyes and smiled, ignoring Twilight's gaze. After she swallowed, Twilight looked back down at her plate of pancakes and started eating.

"After we finish eating, we shall go to Hollow Shades when you are ready," Nightmare said. "As with the deer, I will teleport us to the general area where the road is, then we shall make our way into the city proper."

She looked up at her and nodded slowly. "Is... there a particular reason you don't just teleport is right there?" she asked.

Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "As with the deer, this gives them time to discover that we are coming," she stated. After a moment, she looked away from her and pursed her lips. "In truth, I must say I am... somewhat perplexed. I had expected to hear from the batponies before now, rather than having to seek them out..." Twilight frowned. "Seeing as though they are mine, I would have expected them to know of my return and flock to me, as it were. But instead, they remain secluded, despite my bringing eternal night."

"Well..." Twilight trailed off and licked her lips, enjoying the sweetness of the syrup still there. "They... should know about your return?"

Nightmare looked at her flatly. "The eternal night should be a dead give away," she stated flatly.

Twilight shifted her weight. "Right..." she muttered. "Any idea why-"

"I do not know," Nightmare preempted. "Perhaps they are just waiting on me to come for them. Assuming, of course, they still exist-"

"They do!" Twilight defended. Nightmare silently regarded her. She shifted her weight, then looked back at her pancakes and took another bite.

"It will take time to properly integrate the batponies into the guard and outfit them, but I am hoping they will be able to help the process along," Nightmare stated. "And I will be able to use them to help reconstruct my castle. Additionally, I will assign one of them to guard you," she stated.

Twilight tensed up a bit and looked back at her. "Of-of course," she answered timidly, though internally screaming. No, it wasn't enough that Royal Guards were assigned to guard her. Of course it wasn't! Even if the Royal Guard was loyal to Nightmare, Royal Guards knew her from before this whole mess. Batponies wouldn't. Batponies would be loyal purely to Nightmare. Batponies wouldn't hesitate to obey Nightmare's commands regarding her.

Nightmare frowned a bit, then took another bite. "Perhaps you could assist me in overseeing the reconstruction of my castle," she mused.

Twilight hesitated. 'Was that an offer or a demand?' She couldn't tell and she couldn't place it. On one hoof, perhaps it was a way to show Nightmare some form of loyalty, perhaps even get on her good side again. And on the other hoof, well, there really wasn't another hoof. Except maybe the fear that she could mess up and provoke Nightmare's wrath. That would definitely be a risk. She swallowed as nervousness welled up inside her.

Nightmare looked her over, then looked her in the eye. "Since you will be in Ponyville, you will be closer than I, and although that is not truly a problem, it would make things easier on me since I would not have to go back and forth and it will require less of my time."

"O-of course," Twilight answered.

Nightmare tilted her head a bit, and for a second, she thought Nightmare would make a comment about her response. Instead, Nightmare let it go. "Then I will see to it that you will have the resources to oversee this," she stated.

She held her breath for several seconds as Nightmare continued to watch her. She waited, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Nightmare made some comment along the lines of, 'Don't disappoint me, Twilight Sparkle.' After all, to screw up this project would probably be bad, since it was Nightmare Moon's old home. However, to her surprise, Nightmare looked away and went back to eating without so much as a word about it.

She licked her lips and swallowed. "Y-you trust me w-with this?" she hesitantly asked.

Nightmare glanced at her and continued to chew the pancake before swallowing it. She licked her lips, and for a brief moment, Twilight saw the sliver of her sharp teeth, which made her stare at them, then her lips, as her mouth closed once more. "If my sister was willing to trust you with overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration-" Twilight flinched at the bitterness in Nightmare's voice, and in response, Nightmare paused to recompose herself, "then I am willing to give you the opportunity to prove yourself in overseeing this. However, rest assured that I will keep an eye on things and ensure you do not mess up. I know that you will not mess up on purpose, Twilight Sparkle, so yes, I trust you to oversee this," she stated.

Twilight nodded timidly.

Nightmare looked away from her. "It is not like I am teaching you spells that can be used against me," she commented. After a moment of thought, she pursed her lips. "Although now that I consider it, I should check on the castle's library... I shall have to pay a visit to my old home again..." she mused. She turned back to face Twilight. "However, if while rebuilding the castle, you come across any books, see to it that you inform me, rather than read them yourself. I will determine whether I trust you with those books' content or not."

Twilight nodded quickly as anxiety welled up inside her.

Nightmare studied her expression, then turned back to finish eating.

As the double image from Nightmare Moon's teleport faded, Twilight felt a throb of pain in her head. Even knowing that the teleport was coming didn't really prepare her for it, and it left her feeling so out of control. She felt the lingering sensation of Nightmare's magic holding onto her, though she felt it slipping as Nightmare withdrew her magic. As the forest before her came into focus, the pain in her head subsided.

She glanced aside at Nightmare and saw the alicorn's gaze focused on the forest and the dirt path before them. She watched as the alicorn's eyes jerked around, jumping from spot to spot as she scrutinized what was before them. In that gaze, she could see curiosity and pondering. But, while the teleport was another reminder of just how little security and control she had, she could take comfort in knowing Nightmare's attention wasn't focused on her.

She turned her gaze back to the forest and studied it. Although the moonlight did not reveal the same details of the forest that the sun did, she could still make out enough with the gentle light, and the gentle light also brought out softer details that would have been taken for granted, missed, or completely absent during the day. She saw a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees filling the forest, but a large dirt road was cut through the middle. The road was wide and well maintained, but it did not look well used. While the edges of the road were darkened by shadows, the wide middle had a perfect view of the jeweled night sky- the canopy of tree branches did not cover it, nor shelter it.

She could vaguely see the branches and leaves of the trees rustling and fluttering in the breeze. She could easily hear the sounds of the leaves all scraping together, making their sweet, comforting music. The sound of the rustle of the leaves almost reminded her of water, except that it sounded dryer and did not seem to echo like water did. She felt the gentle, unassuming breeze on her coat, and felt it run through her mane and tail. It was a calm breeze, one that was fitting of a summer day, bringing with it a not unwelcome coolness.

The breeze comforted her. Even if Nightmare Moon had returned and ascended to power, even if Princess Celestia had been banished, despite the eternal night, there was still that comforting summer breeze that would be just the same as before as it was now. She took comfort in it, yet at the same time, she felt a dull numbness. Some things had changed with Nightmare Moon's return, yet some things were exactly the same, almost like nothing had happened. While the air was a few degrees cooler without the sun, and the wind was thus cooler, it was still pleasant.

She turned her head to the right and looked behind her, avoiding looking in Nightmare's direction. They stood just at the start of the dirt road which led to Hollow Shades, and behind her, the road came to a T. Not far away from the road was a set of train tracks that stretched on parallel to the road in both directions as far as she could see.

It stood out oh so much in her mind, that those train tracks completely avoided Hollow Shades. Nor was there any train station around. Hollow Shades was so far out of the way, despite being so close at hoof and the Canterlot-Manehatton rail line running by it. Why was the city avoided when connecting it, or even just building a station nearby, would have been so simple? Was this something Princess Celestia had a hoof in? Was this something the batponies desired? Did the railway simply want to avoid building a station here because of the batponies, or did the batponies intend not to use the railway and thus it would have been a waste of resources?

She settled on the thought that the batponies kept to themselves, and as such, it would have served no point to build a train station here. Even if, she knew, it would have served a purpose.

Her eyes dropped to the road, then lifted back up as she turned back to face the forest. She glanced aside at Nightmare Moon and found her still staring ahead at the forest.

She turned her gaze back at the forest to try to find what held so much of Nightmare's attention, but as she scanned the forest, nothing stood out. The thought did occur to her, however, that during the night, especially during winter, that the whole area would look intimidating. No lighting, save for the stars and the moon, and the deciduous trees would have lost their leaves. There would have also been an unnerving silence.

Would something have been watching them from the darkness? Simply waiting to pounce?

Was something watching them now? Was that why Nightmare delayed? She bit her lip and looked at Nightmare again. She studied her form but found her to be standing with a relaxed posture. She did not hold herself with her muscles tensed, ready for action. It was almost casual, yet there was still that unmistakable regality in her posture that would never fade.

She looked back at the forest, then turned her head to the left. She looked over the mountain range, then her gaze settled on Canetrlot. The city looked so small, but it was still visible, even in the moonlight. She could not determine, from how small Canterlot looked, whether they were further away from Canterlot here or in Ponyville. She also hadn't studied the map that well, so she didn't know for certain, either. And that made her wince as she looked back at the path before them.

Nightmare's gaze refocused, then, in an instant, she looked at Twilight, and Twilight felt it. "Let us proceed," Nightmare stated as she stepped forward.

Twilight nodded quickly, swallowed, and bolted forward to stay in sync with Nightmare. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightmare frown, but she did not look at Nightmare, instead, continuing to look straight ahead. Nightmare strode forward as she looked back ahead, and Twilight carried herself quickly to stay at her side, never falling behind, nor taking the lead, simply staying at her designated, rightful place.

However, she did not walk as close to Nightmare as she had. She hoped it wasn't noticeable. She wasn't out of reach of Nightmare's wings, nor was she ever truly out of Nightmare's reach, but the distance between them gave her some sense of security. Who cared if she was that much closer to the dark sides of the road, that much closer to the forest, a forest that she had no idea what roamed about in it? Who cared what sort of creatures lived in that forest? Even a manticore, hydra, or dragon was preferable to Nightmare Moon. After all, those apex predators were simply helpless prey to the alicorn.

And with that thought constantly plaguing her mind, she walked on, filled with dread and unease. It felt like both feelings had two sources: One deep inside her chest, and another radiating out into the air surrounding her, emanating from Nightmare Moon. It was like a field, perhaps not too different from a spell designed to repel something. Yet it filled the air with so much more weight, it was not too dissimilar from humid air, making the air so much thicker, making it harder to breathe.

And it didn't help that her tension left her breathing shallowly, and her muscles were all tensed. She could not relax. Nothing would change that. Even trying to consider the prospect of meeting batponies- something that, she was certain, only some ponies had ever done- did not help her feel any more at ease.

And that may have been because it occurred to her that yes, while they were ponies, they were created by Nightmare Moon to be soldiers. With that thought in mind, a newfound sense of dread washed over her, like a slow-motion tsunami. It was slow but unstoppable. A force which, she knew, could have overpowered Nightmare Moon. It was so slow that it would have taken centuries, maybe, but there was absolutely nothing that could stop that feeling from slowly crushing every single cell in her body.

The batponies were soldiers created by Nightmare Moon. And Nightmare Moon was leading her to them. It was simple, her mind knew, to figure out what was happening. Nightmare Moon had finally had enough of her, and as such, she was being led to her death.

A part of her screamed out against this fear. It was absurd, she was overreacting! Yet, that fear still hung over her body, held in place by the dread and anxiety she felt, kept there by the presence of her teacher. The logical part of her mind fought back against the fear, saying that Nightmare still had no reason to kill her, but her fear resisted logic, shouting back, 'I've been avoiding her!'

Her mind shouted back that she was jumping to conclusions, that she didn't have enough information to know for sure something bad was happening. Her mind reminded her that Nightmare Moon had shown no hostility outside of what was normal. But her irrational fear had none of that, her irrational fear would not be sated.

The edges of her eyes burned, and her legs trembled. She breathed in calm, controlled breaths, but only just. Perhaps it was that same fear that scared her to death that kept her breathing in control, as if somehow reasoning that breathing calmly would help.

She felt Nightmare Moon's gaze land on her, and a spike of panic exploded in her core and body. She stopped dead in her tracks as the warmth in her eyes ballooned out of control, then burst forth, rushing down her cheeks. The beads of heat were gone so quickly, and in their place, she felt the cold of the air against her wet coat.

Nightmare turned to face her, and as she saw the start of a frown on Nightmare's lips, she clenched her eyes shut. She felt Nightmare step closer to her, but even after that happened, silence lingered, with nothing happening. "What is wrong, Twilight Sparkle?" Nightmare finally inquired, her voice sounding so incredibly odd: a mixture of emotions she couldn't place. Annoyance? Disappointment. Concern? Curiosity? Unease. It was like Nightmare wasn't sure of how to proceed, and she was absolutely certain that was the case.

And that shocked her. It caught her off guard, even with her guard up. How could Nightmare Moon, who had been alive for nearly as long as Princess Celestia, who had so much experience, even being trapped on the moon for a thousand years, not know how to proceed?

She jerked back as she felt something touch her cheek, but her reaction immediately failed her, and Nightmare's feather gently slid down her cheek, tracing over the wetness left in the wake of her tears, nearly whisking all the lingering wetness away. In the same moment, that touch felt so comforting. It was a reassurance she couldn't understand, yet it also acted like a knife: cutting the anxiety and fear out of her, preventing it from swelling up to untold levels.

She felt her body relax, and her shaking ceased. Yet somehow, she found it made her want to cry more. She felt embarrassment like she was put on the spot in a large crowd. So what if Princess Celestia was there beside her? Everypony, including her princess, was looking at her, and she was just a little filly. She wanted to run away and hide because of that embarrassment.

Nightmare ran another feather over her other cheek, once again wiping the moisture away and bringing with it a little tingle and a certain calmness. "What is wrong, Twilight Sparkle?" she asked again.

Where she expected a certain hardness or harshness from her teacher, where she expected to find herself being chastised for being weak, instead, she found Nightmare attempting to comfort her. It was absurd. How could it be that Nightmare Moon, somepony who fought and banished her own sister to the moon, somepony who took over an entire country in one swift action, somepony who inspired primal terror and fear in all those who were around her, could be comforting her? Her mind screamed out in response, not understanding, not comprehending.

Yet, another part of her mind took a hold of that and analyzed it mercilessly. The gears in her mind turned, taking it in and scrutinizing it, fitting it together like pieces in a puzzle. Nightmare Moon knew her, perhaps too well, and then that could explain the comforting. Nightmare Moon perhaps did not keep her because she wanted to, but because she needed to. Nightmare Moon had her as a student for a purpose. Once that purpose was fulfilled, then Nightmare would kill her, or if it became apparent that it would not work.

"You have nothing to fear from the batponies, Twilight Sparkle. I thought this much was clear," Nightmare said. "They will not harm you. I shall not allow such a thing to come to pass. If they obey me, then be assured they will not hurt you, as you are my student. If they do not obey me, then I will protect you," she said calmly.

She took a deep breath, then tilted her muzzle downward and opened her eyes. She nudged her head up and down to nod, but even as she stared at the dirt between Nightmare's forehooves, she still felt Nightmare's gaze on her. Perhaps it felt like Nightmare was disappointed, but there was still that unmistakable hint of a predator watching her, yet it did not drive her into a panic. No, more than that, she felt Nightmare's curiosity and intellect directed at her.

How was it that Nightmare had such a strong interest in her? She was Princess Celestia's student, but even then, it felt like Nightmare's interest in her was disproportionate to that. Was there something more to it? Was there something she didn't know? Had Princess Celestia lied to her another time? Had Princess Celestia not told her something important? Her mind raced with questions, but they were questions she could not ask, nor were they questions that would ever be answered.

"If you are afraid that we will be attacked by something as we journey to Hollow Shades, rest assured that will not happen," Nightmare added.

She gave another timid nod in response, but she tightened her jaw. For several seconds, they lingered like that. She didn't look up, and not once did Nightmare look away from her. But she could still feel it, a subtle growing impatience in Nightmare. Eventually, Nightmare shifted her weight. "If you are feeling better, we should continue."

She nodded. Nightmare waited a few seconds, then turned around. Yet that gaze still lingered on her. She swallowed and lifted her head up. She looked at Nightmare. She hadn't wanted to, but she still did it. Nightmare waited and watched. She took those few steps forward and to the right, shuffling back into place at her teacher's side. Even if she was still keeping her distance, it looked like it appeased her teacher.

Nightmare looked ahead, then walked on. She followed, continuing to watch her teacher for a time. Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, she managed to pull her gaze away.

For a while longer, they walked on in silence. She looked at the moon and felt a pang strike her chest as she took in that dark scar that was her mentor. Perhaps Princess Celestia was looking down at her, watching her. Maybe Princess Celestia was trying to escape, and maybe she'd succeed. But then, would she be able to save her from Nightmare Moon? Princess Celestia had lost when Nightmare returned. She looked away from the moon, unable to bear the thought of her mentor being banished, unable to bear the reminder in the form of the black scars dotting the moon.

She swallowed and glanced aside at the forest at both edges of the road. As she swept her gaze over the right, she found that nothing seemed to look back at her. Perhaps Nightmare Moon was right. Maybe the forest was safe, if not naturally, then because of her presence. After all, nothing was stupid enough to try to challenge Nightmare Moon. Except herself and her friends.

However, because she walked at Nightmare's right side, she couldn't see the other side of the road, nor the forest beyond it since Nightmare Moon was there, and she didn't want to risk looking in her direction. But maybe that was for the best. After all, if there was something lurking in the shadows on the other side, then Nightmare Moon was, quite literally, standing between her and whatever it was.

Hesitantly, she glanced at Nightmare's head and took in her features. With nothing else occupying her, with Nightmare not focused or distracted by her, Nightmare's expression had once again hardened into its usual predatory, intelligent coldness. That expression that she wore when dealing with the guards and anypony else, one that was so uncaring, one that made her nervous, even if it was rarely directed at her for more than a few seconds at a time. "S-so, um... wh-what are the batponies like?" she asked.

Nightmare's cold, hard expression faded at the sound of her voice, and in its place, a more equine, casual look took hold, then Nightmare turned her head and looked back at her. Her expression retained its casualness, yet it took on something of a lecturing look, perhaps even a reminiscent look as she spoke, "Their personalities can differ widely, but in general, I am certain they are not what you would expect." Nightmare raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, do the books you have read regarding batponies say anything of their personalities?"

She bit her lip and rubbed her teeth over it for a second, then shook her head. "Well, um, no... W-we really don't know much about them..." she answered.

Nightmare inclined her head as if to nod, then her lips pulled up into a smile. "Then you shall be in for a treat, Twilight Sparkle..." she said, her voice taking on a playful tone that unnerved Twilight. "And I shall not spoil it," she finished.

Still smiling, Nightmare looked back ahead, and even as Twilight continued to watch her, Nightmare's smile did not fade.

Eventually, she looked away from Nightmare and scowled. 'Why can't you just tell me!?' screamed out in her mind. But oh, no, Nightmare just had to be vague. Nightmare just had to leave her without the knowledge that she so craved. Nightmare just had to leave her unprepared for whatever the batponies were like. Were they battle-hardened soldiers, as she expected? Judging from what Nightmare said, assuming that Nightmare thought she though the batponies were battle-hardened soldiers, then they weren't. But Nightmare did not know her thoughts, so she could not be sure.

Despite her uncertainty, they walked on. She looked back behind them and found that she could not see the road where they had entered. The path they took must have curved somewhere along the way, and it must have been a gentle, imperceptible curve. Either that, or she had not noticed, which could have been the case.

Yet looking back ahead, she could see the road came to another T. The way on the left seemed to lead to the mountain range, while the path to the right then most likely led to Hollow Shades. But as she thought about it, nothing immediately came to mind as to what the path on the left would lead to. 'Maybe it leads to another batpony city?' she wondered.

But, however, she did know she wouldn't find out, at least not for a while. They continued along the road, and once they reached the path, they went to the right. Reluctantly, she looked at Nightmare. "Um... do you have any idea how long it will take us to get there..?" she ventured.

Nightmare glanced back at her. "Less than an hour. I am uncertain of an exact time beyond that, however," was her answer.

Twilight nodded, then exhaled.

"Are you still afraid?" Nightmare queried.

And of course, that question had the effect of making her tense up. It wasn't how Nightmare posed the question; she hadn't asked it in such a way to provoke fear. No, it was simply that she hadn't expected the question, and even with her guard up, it scared her. She glanced at Nightmare, who was, of course, looking back at her out of the corner of her eye. She clenched her jaw shut, and seeing Nightmare looking at her only helped reaffirm the feeling that Nightmare was watching her, the feeling of being watched by a predator.

She timidly nudged her head up and down. Nightmare's eyes jumped away from her to focus straight ahead. The feeling of being watched faded, and she felt a wave of relief. With that wave, she could relax, but she did not let her guard down, even if her guard made her no safer, nor gave her the illusion of feeling any safer.

She heard Nightmare take in a deep breath, then exhale sharply. It sent a jolt of panic down her spine, and for a moment, she stumbled. Had she fallen behind? Had she walked too quickly? Was she too far to the right that it was obvious? She swept her gaze around as quickly as she could, frantically searching for whatever it was she had down to provoke Nightmare's ire. But whatever the source, she couldn't find it. Her heart beat faster, then her blood nearly froze as Nightmare looked back at her.

She bit her lip and, with great reluctance, looked at Nightmare Moon.

"So tell me," Nightmare started, "we have not had a great deal of time to talk lately since you've been avoiding me, nor have I had time to teach you much. How are your studies progressing, and what, might I ask, are you studying?"

She felt a bolt of anxiety at that. She had been awake before, but now, she was wide awake. Spurred on by the bolt of anxiety, she felt as if she had consumed several cups of coffee, and that energy bubbled inside her, churning, twisting her heart, stomach, and gut. "W-well, um... I-I've been... r-refreshing myself on... h-history and... s-spells I already know," she stuttered.

"I see," was Nightmare's reply. Nightmare's gaze flicked away from her own and slithered over her back and sides, then Nightmare swept her eyes across the forest before looking back ahead. "Is there anything you wish to speak about, Twilight Sparkle?" she asked. "I do not mind walking in silence, but it will be some time before we arrive, and it would be a better use of my time to speak if you so desire."

Oh, that was easy. Of course there were questions she wanted to ask. She was, after all, Twilight Sparkle. However, they were questions that Nightmare Moon couldn't answer. They were questions that she needed to ask Princess Celestia. And, of course, there was no way she was going to ask about Princess Celestia, or really speak of her at all, unless coerced into doing so, when Nightmare was around. And Nightmare was always around because of that crescent moon necklace. So no, there wasn't really anything she could talk to Nightmare Moon about.

And there was also her reluctance to even begin a conversation with the psychotic alicorn. After all, if being reminded that everypony forgot about her was enough to make her snap, who was to say she wouldn't accidentally say something without realizing it and cause her to snap. And what if Nightmare didn't believe it had been an accident, but thought it had been done on purpose to provoke her?

She had no desire to see Nightmare's wrath, let alone have it directed on herself. So based on that, she clenched her jaw shut and slowly shook her head. She didn't shake her head eagerly, however. It was a slow, controlled, and forced shake. One which she hopped didn't convey her fear, even if she knew Nightmare could tell at a glance it was forced.

And just to confirm that knowledge, for a split second, she saw Nightmare's expression slip into a scowl. It sent a wave of panic through her, but Nightmare didn't follow up with anything, nor did she act on that scowl.

'I'm... maybe keeping my distance is a bigger mistake than being closer to her...' whispered in her mind.

But, at least for the time, she was relatively safe from Nightmare's wrath. She knew that it wouldn't last if she kept it up, however.

Hollow Shades certainly what she was expecting, although, in hindsight, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. The architecture of the city was predominantly stonework, yet the city also expanded into the forest and almost melded in with the forest. In a way, it reminded her of the deer, yet the dominance of the stone buildings was such a sharp contrast to how the deer lived in hollowed-out trees. The stonework was so sharp and unnatural in comparison to how natural and organic the deer's homes were. Everywhere she looked she saw batponies staring at them, or more specifically, at Nightmare Moon. Their gazes were sharp and reverential, yet there was no way for her to miss the hesitance that accompanied the respect, as if they were uncertain it was who they thought it was.

They were also so incredibly hesitant to approach. Perhaps it was out of respect, not wanting to presume on Nightmare Moon, yet she felt certain that wasn't the case. She glanced at Nightmare Moon, who continued to slowly scan the crowd. And no, the batponies weren't limited to standing around. Many of them hung from tree branches by their tails- something she was positively sure shouldn't work, as the tree branches really should have snapped, but yet, as if to mock her understanding of physics, and to reaffirm that it was their magic at work, the branches didn't snap.

She, of course, also wondered how they were able to use their tails in such a way.

But that was only one of the mysteries that now plagued her, eating at her mind for answers. They had nearly stumbled into the outskirts of the city without noticing, thanks mostly to the fact that the stone architecture was well hidden by the trees- that and it blended in really well. Although there weren't many bushes, the tree canopy served to protect the buildings from sight- both from the road, and certainly from above. And it also occurred to her that they arrived much sooner than Nightmare Moon had anticipated. They weren't in Hollow Shades proper, but the outskirts were still quite populated.

The city was likely larger than she expected. But if Nightmare Moon was surprised, she didn't show it.

Turning her attention back to the inhabitants, she looked over their features, which she found quite curious. Where she expected to see fearsome-looking ponies, ponies who looked the part of soldiers, instead, she found ponies who really didn't look that different from other ponies. She found it odd that she expected them to look like soldiers. After all, she had seen them depicted in books, and the books, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, were fairly accurate.

Their ears looked slightly larger than those of normal ponies, but what stood out most was that they were so much fluffier than other pony subspecies. The tuffs of fur stuck out in several places towards the tip and at the base. Their eyes made her shiver, as they had that same entirely predatory slit pupils, almost identical to Nightmare Moon, dragons, and felines, yet as she looked in their eyes, there wasn't even the slightest glint of the predatory nature of dragons, let alone Nightmare Moon. Instead, she found that the mares tended to look playful and curious, while the stallions seemed to fit what she expected better- their eyes seemed to be foreboding and far deeper than normal pony eyes.

Their irises were also different from other pony subspecies. There was a vast multitude of colors that normal ponies' eyes could be, but yet for the batponies present, she could only see a few colors, mostly ambers and teal-blues.

Looking down to their muzzles, she found another trait that they differed from normal ponies in, and it was a trait that, to an extent, they shared with Nightmare Moon. Sticking out from their upper jaw were two small fangs. Some of their fangs were broader, and some thinner, but none of their fangs actually looked threatening. They didn't look like the fangs of a predator; their fangs almost looked cute. It was unnerving to her that their fangs seemed cute; it was as if their fangs were designed to convince whoever saw them that they weren't a threat, despite their appearance, like it was meant to lure their prey into a false sense of security.

Like the pegasus subspecies, they had wings on their sides, but those too differed from normal pegasi. Their wings were not covered in feathers, but instead, were leathery. Their wings were like bat wings, or perhaps even dragon wings. Looking back at their bodies, she found that most of them seemed to have thicker coats and tufts of fur on their chests.

Their coat colors were also much duller than other pony subspecies. Instead of a bright assortment ranging from pinks and greens to blues and purples, she found that the batponies' coat colors seemed to have the wide range of colors that was somewhere between light grey and dark grey. Likewise, their manes and tails weren't colorful either. They were hard to see in the darkness, but the colors seemed to be predominantly shades of greyish purples. It stood out in her mind, and it occurred to her that their darker color palette meant they were harder to see in the night.

And of course, they weren't surrounded only by adults. No, there were foals too. Fillies and colts, watching them curiously. Hanging from tree branches, standing around. It was almost unnerving. And of course, how quiet everything was didn't help with how unnerving the encounter was. It was completely silent, save for the rustle of leaves in the wind, yet even that sounded subdued. There were no birds singing, nor owls hooting, nor insects chirping.

Although she had to admit, she didn't really feel in danger. The batponies certainly didn't look like the soldiers Nightmare Moon had made them out to be.

Then again, Princess Celestia didn't look like somepony who had the raw magical power to level cities, but she did.

She pursed her lips, and with that thought in mind, watched the batponies cautiously. However, even under more scrutiny, she knew for certain in her heart that batponies were still equine, just like her, even if they looked unfamiliar.

She heard Nightmare Moon inhale deeply and glanced aside at her. She half expected to see Nightmare look disappointed, yet she found that Nightmare Moon had a subdued look of glee. It was odd because the look didn't really show through into her expression. Her lips were lifted upward, but it was her eyes that gave it away. Excitement, anticipation, glee. She felt like Nightmare Moon found this to be better than she had expected.

A blur shot across the sky, silhouetted by the moon. For a brief second, she felt a surge of panic, then it faded. The silhouette's wings stood out so much with their almost sharp sweep forward and jagged back end. And the blur's descent was nearly silent, so hard to make out with the wind-blown leaves. Far quieter than a pegasus, the batpony was stealthy. As the blur grew closer, she could make out its features- a mare with sharp teal irises, yet her eyes seemed to hold the same ominous foreboding depth that the stallions did.

The mare landed in front of Nightmare Moon in one graceful, nearly silent motion. The batpony stared at Nightmare Moon. "Queen Lu-"

In an instant, the very air seemed to ripple and distort, like air rising from a fire. She felt as if a wave of ice and fire exploded out from Nightmare Moon at the same time. "Nightmare Moon," her mentor growled out so quickly to preempt the mare from continuing. She felt a surge of fear and adrenaline spurred on by the hiss of Nightmare's voice, and her body went rigid. She stared straight ahead. Nightmare didn't notice, her attention was too directed at the batpony.

The mare shut her jaw for a moment, then nodded and fell into a bow, lowering her head and bending her forelegs in respect. "My apologies, Queen Nightmare Moon," she said.

For several seconds, she remained in the bow, unmoving, until at last, Nightmare ordered, "Rise."

The batpony obeyed and stood back up. For a moment, she watched her look over Nightmare Moon, then the batpony looked back up at Nightmare's face. "You... do not look like the stories say you do," she commented.

She didn't see Nightmare's reaction, but heard a snort. "Do I have your loyalty?" was her demand.

The mare went rigid, standing at attention the same way a well-trained Royal Guard would. "Of course, my Queen!" was the batpony's fervent reply. Falling into another deep bow, the mare said, "Word of your return has already spread; we were awaiting your visit."

Yet Nightmare didn't seem impressed. She could almost feel Nightmare's scowl. "Why did you not seek me out upon my ascent?"

"It was decided it would be best to wait for you, my Queen," was the mare's response. "So that we would not interrupt anything important."

Nightmare snorted in disdain. "And force me to have to use my time to come out here!?" she hissed.

Twilight's muscles tensed up even more as that hiss cut into her ears, sending a boiling wave of anxiety lancing through her chest. She could almost feel her body bubbling with anxiety, and her legs trembled.

"My apologies, my Queen," the mare swiftly replied. But the mare did not show fear. "We- I- have no excuse."

Nightmare merely snorted. "It has been a long while since I have seen the state you are in; Tell me, are you prepared to serve your Queen?"

"Of course!" the mare shot back, sounding insulted by the notion that she, and perhaps the batponies as a whole, weren't.

For several seconds, silence lingered. Twilight could feel each throb of her heart, not only in her chest, but also in her neck. She could feel the pulses in her forehead, she could feel the pulses in her trembling legs.

"Good," Nightmare purred in an almost seductive tone. "Please escort us-" she felt Nightmare's gaze fall on her, and in that instant, a blizzard of ice flooded her whole being, "to..." Nightmare trailed off.

She swallowed. Silence drew on, seconds upon seconds ticked away, one at a time, painfully slowly. She could feel Nightmare's expression churning. Disgust, anger, bitterness, disappointment, disgust again. Finally, she felt Nightmare's expression settle into a scowl, then Nightmare looked away from her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt Nightmare's feather touch her side. She bit down on her lip and clenched her eyes shut to force back a scream. She didn't scream. She didn't squeal. She didn't cry. Her lip hurt. Her lip throbbed. She tasted blood. She released her bleeding lip and clenched her jaw shut. She felt the pressure of her bite in her teeth. She worried that her teeth would shatter, but compared to her fear of Nightmare Moon, it wasn't a worry that was even worth noting, not even in a passing thought.

She felt anxiety sweep over her body as Nightmare's feather ran up along her back, followed closely by calmness. Yet that calmness, that comfort, it only did so much. Maybe she was growing resistant to Nightmare's ability to comfort her. Maybe it was just too much for her to handle again. Everything went quiet. She couldn't hear the rustle of the leaves. She couldn't hear her own heartbeat.

Nightmare said something. She wasn't sure what she said, but she thought it was directed at the mare. She couldn't hear it, let alone focus on it. The mare rose from her bow, looking at Nightmare Moon, but when she stood up fully, her eyes glanced aside to see her. For a split second, the batpony's brow creased and her lips twitched down, then she turned back to face Nightmare Moon. As the mare turned, she saw her mouth moving. Once again, she wasn't sure what was said.

In an instant, the silence was gone. Everything came rushing back. Her lungs burned. She exhaled, then inhaled. She felt relief, then a feeling of lightness cascaded over her entire body. She felt lightheaded. She felt as light as a feather. Her head hurt. She felt tired. She felt her heart throbbing and pounding in her veins. She felt her heart pulsing in her eyes. Everything faded, gradually darkening in from the outside, until finally, it was all black. No light from the moon, no stars. No aura from Nightmare Moon's horn. Just blackness. The silence returned.

Then, it let up. Light gradually filled her eyes once again, and sound returned. She saw the batpony looking back at her, then felt Nightmare's feathers stroking her back. She exhaled forcefully, then sucked in more air.

She swallowed and blinked a few times. Reluctantly, she glanced aside at Nightmare Moon, who looked at her contemplatively. Yet there was a frown on her lips. More than that, though, she saw uncertainty in her eyes. Disappointment was there too, as if she thought, 'This runt is who I decided to call my student? She is not even worthy of the blood in her veins, let alone the title of my student!'

She looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed. Here she was, terrified, scared to death, of her own teacher. The pony who so graciously offered to teach her in the place of Princess Celestia. The very sister of Princess Celestia. Nightmare Moon had offered to teach her more than Princess Celestia would. And this was how she repaid her.

Yet it still dominated her thoughts, as she saw Nightmare's frown and disappointment in her mind's eyes, that her teacher was still so very capable of ending her life in an instant if she stepped out of line. It still rang out in her mind and in her core, that even the fact that she was Nightmare Moon's student was only because Nightmare needed her for something. And as soon as she wasn't needed, her teacher would dispose of her.

This time, however, the same fear as normal didn't come. Maybe it was Nightmare's comforting strokes of her feathers. Maybe it was exhaustion. She didn't know, but she knew that she didn't feel quite as terrified, just drained and disappointed. Ashamed.

"Please escort us to Hollow Shades. I require someplace for my student to rest- and see to it she is guarded- while you show me your readiness," Nightmare ordered.

She didn't hear anything in Nightmare's voice that spoke of imminently killing her, but at hearing that she would be guarded, she felt as if a weight pressed down upon her whole body. Her ears drifted back.

"Of course, my Queen," the mare answered. She heard the mare's hooves brush against the ground, presumably as she turned around, then she heard the telltale scraping of her hooves on the dirt road.

The mare took a few steps ahead, then stopped. She didn't hear Nightmare move, but felt Nightmare's feather stroke her back once more. And once more, that stroke brought with it a tingle of pleasure, like feeling silk running against her coat. That stroke brought with it more comfort than the strokes before it. Maybe her resistance to Nightmare's attempts to comfort her wasn't as strong as she thought.

She let out a silent sigh as she exhaled. She closed her eyes, and, for a moment, thought she would cry. But she never made it past the edge, it just didn't happen. When she opened her eyes, she reluctantly looked at the batpony mare, who was still standing there, looking back, eyes glancing between her and her teacher. And of course, she looked and saw that all of the batponies around were still staring at Nightmare Moon. Still staring at them. Still staring at her.

And she was on full display for them, all of her vulnerabilities. She claimed to have been Princess Celestia's student. She was supposed to be able to handle crowds and being the center of attention, even if she didn't like it. Yet she still felt so put on the spot by it all. Surely, the batponies were looking at their Queen, rather than her? Yet she could not put off the feeling, the anxiety, that instead, they were staring at her, seeing her for the weak, defenseless filly that she was.

Perhaps they judged her and thought she was just some servant or attendant to Nightmare Moon. Perhaps they knew she was Nightmare's student. If they knew she was Nightmare's student, did that affect how they viewed Nightmare Moon? Did they see how she acted, and think Nightmare Moon was weak because of it? After all, she was Nightmare Moon's student, and she was being a poor example.

Yet Nightmare didn't shout at her. Nightmare didn't berate her, nor attack her with magic, nor kill her. Instead, she felt Nightmare's feather brush along her back again.

She swallowed, then reluctantly turned her head to the left, then she looked up at her mentor. Nightmare Moon regarded her with her intense gaze, yet it wasn't predatory, it didn't promise her death. Instead, it was as if Nightmare Moon was pondering something, trying to figure her out. Nightmare Moon looked at her with intelligence and curiosity, or perhaps, she was the curiosity that Nightmare's intelligence was directed at. There was no scowl on her lips, nor did her expression seem as harsh as normal. But it was not exactly soft, either.

She looked away from her teacher and stared down at the ground. Eventually, her eyes settled on the dirt right in front of her hooves. Nightmare took a deep breath. She braced herself for the chastisement that would follow. Her body tensed, yet Nightmare's feather wouldn't let her stay tense. And she felt so vulnerable because of that. If Nightmare wanted to, she could abuse that oh so easily. She knew she'd never be able to recover from that.

"Come," Nightmare said. "Once we arrive in Hollow Shades proper, you shall rest," she stated.

It wasn't quite as demanding as she had expected. Perhaps, at least to an extent, Nightmare did care about her well-being. It made sense that she would. Even if her status as Nightmare's student was tenuous at best, Nightmare still had some reason to keep her around. And if that was the case, then it was in Nightmare's best interest to tend to her well-being.

Nightmare had also seemed disappointed that she was incapable of protecting herself.

But there were still certain expectations she needed to keep. If not because she was Nightmare Moon's student, then because she had been Princess Celestia's student. And she felt like she was failing most of those standards and expectations.

'Pull yourself together!' shouted out in her mind. 'How would Princess Celestia look at you if she saw you like this!' She winced.

Nightmare took a step forward, and she immediately glanced at her from the anxiety that step provoked. But she found that she could move forward alongside her without feeling like she would explode. Nightmare's feather stroked her one last time, then Nightmare folded her wing to her side.

And she wondered, 'How much longer will she do that? If ponies start thinking she's weak because of that, she won't be happy with me...'

"It would do you well, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare's sharp voice cut through her thoughts. She bit her lip but instantly recoiled from pain. She glanced aside at Nightmare, who simply stared ahead, not looking at her. Nightmare carried herself with all the regality that befitted her, not held back by any form of weakness. "To relax," she continued. "It would not be beneficial for you to make yourself sick."

Her ears folded back at that, and she instantly knew Nightmare Moon was right. From personal experience, she knew she could worry herself sick over something. Looking back, it had been silly: she worried herself to the point of sickness over one of her tests when she was a young filly, and because of that sickness, she couldn't take the test.

But now was so, so different. How could she not be worried sick? How could she not be worried to death? There was a death sentence constantly hovering over her, no matter what Nightmare said. It was simply fact, and Nightmare had promised as such. The crescent moon necklace was practically a warrant hanging around her neck, just waiting for the right time to give the order.

She glanced back at Nightmare. Nightmare was contemplative. What was Nightmare Moon thinking? Was she weighing her options on how to best deal with her? Was she weighing the best course of action concerning her? She looked away from her mentor. 'I-I need to think about this logically,' she told herself. 'And logically, I know Nightmare Moon needs me for something- or she has some reason to keep me around. Granted, she'll kill me when I'm no longer useful or if it becomes apparent that I'm not useful...'

She caught herself before she bit her lip.

'Okay... um... She's... She treats me differently from other ponies. Why? I'm her student; she needs me for something. But... why? What does she need me for? The Elements of Harmony?' She blinked at the thought, and after a second, she scowled. 'That's absurd, she wouldn't...' She pursed her lips. 'Would she? It could explain why she didn't get rid of me and my friends? Either that or she thinks of us as trophies...'

That could have been a part of it, but she didn't feel satisfied with it. She knew that Nightmare Moon treated her differently from other ponies. Perhaps Nightmare Moon even treated her with some form of respect, despite how she was acting. Though she hadn't really tested it, Nightmare Moon had said she retained some privileges and authority.

Nightmare didn't treat her all that harshly. Especially after her outburst. Perhaps something had changed? Nightmare Moon was intelligent, and maybe Nightmare was studying her. Maybe Nightmare had reached the conclusion that she wouldn't get very far with her through the use of fear and intimidation.

A thought slammed into her, and she nearly staggered from it: 'Nightmare Moon said that she knows she can't rule solely through fear. What if she's trying to use the same principle with me? What if she's trying to adapt how she interacts with me for some reason?'

Her eyes wandered over to her teacher and she looked over her slender, powerful form. 'But why!? Why would she change how she interacts with me? Because fear wouldn't get her very far. But what does she want? She has to get something out of this!'

What did it mean? She had no answers. She couldn't hope to comprehend the thoughts of Nightmare Moon. She let out a silent sigh of defeat and looked down at the earth beneath her hooves as they walked along towards Hollow Shades.

The walk into the city was much like their arrival, which was to say that it was quiet, and everywhere they passed, batponies all paused to look at Nightmare reverentially. Word had clearly spread quickly of her arrival, far quicker than their walk. The trees and brush hiding the stone structures gradually gave way into something that looked more like an actual town, revealing more of the stonework.

The stone construction was as different from Canterlot as Ponyville was. Where Canterlot was constructed from marble, the stone the batponies used was light gray in color, and the surfaces weren't polished, nor as smooth, as Canterlot's structures. Where the moonlight struck, the light was scattered, showing off the roughness of the exterior stone. It wasn't that it was unfinished, but she knew that if she were to brush against it, it wouldn't feel silky or glossy like the marble of Canterlot, but it would be rough, like sandpaper.

Very few structures rose above a single floor, and those that did seemed to be constructed in such a way as to avoid drawing attention- it was as if the entire city was meant to remain hidden, to remain a mystery, despite what the light of day could reveal.

She shivered as a chill raced down her spine. Casting her gaze about, for the first time, she noticed that some of the batponies wore armor. And that armor, oh, it was so different from the armor of the Royal Guard. Where the Royal Guards' armor was steel painted bright gold, reminescent of the day and the light of Celestia, the batponies' armor was a cold, dull gray. There was no finish, nor paint, nor anything else adorning their armor. It was entirely function over fashion. Their armor was sharp-edged, yet sloping gracefully over their bodies. The shoulder pieces overlapped in such a way to promote flexibility without sacrificing too much protection, and the armor covering their sides and back seemed to be one plate, while their chestplate was strapped onto it.

Just looking at that armor, she felt a sense of dread. Where the Royal Guards emanated an aura of peace, stability, and protection, looking at the batponies wearing armor, she saw soldiers, rather than ponies. Gone were the almost playful looks on the mares' faces, as they had been claimed by an intense, serious, and perhaps even foreboding look. Their fangs, in contrast, still did not look predatory.

Attached to the boots of their forehooves were crescent moon-shaped blades that curved back towards the hoof, with a small section of the tip sweeping forward past the boot, forcing them to stand almost awkwardly on their forehooves. The sharp blades caught the light of the moon and reflected it in such a way that the sharp white glint seemed to imbue the metal with energy.

The foreboding looks given to her and Nightmare by the batponies consumed the very air, forcing it to press down even more than it already was. The air felt thick, and she felt that it was a struggle to continue to walk forward. Likewise, breathing in, she felt like the air was almost a soup.

"You should relax," Nightmare chastized. To her, it almost sounded like there was a hidden laugh in her voice, as if she was amused by the fear she displayed. She glanced at Nightmare, and though Nightmare didn't look at her, there was a smirk on her lips. "They are only showing off," her teacher elaborated.

She swallowed, then turned her head to the right and looked back behind her. The batponies wearing armor still looked so serious, but perhaps the ones furthest back had relaxed. But they were too far, and the lighting too dim, for her to be certain. So instead, she looked back ahead.

One of the buildings started to grow into the sky, dominating the surrounding city. From the distance she couldn't make out too many details, but it instantly reminded her of the Castle of the Two Sisters. It was clearly different and smaller, but in the back of her mind, the similarities were impossible to ignore or miss.

As they walked on, the chaotic ranks of batponies that had assembled to watch them grew more organized. Eventually, it was a virtual wall of armor-clad mares and stallions on both sides of the road they walked down, which lead directly to that central pseudo castle in the middle of the city. Looking straight ahead, the wall of shining gray seemed impervious to anything. It reminded her of the Royal Guard, and the times when she had seen them assembled in such a way. The seriousness on their faces was identical to the Royal Guards, except perhaps even more serious. It was like each of them had only one purpose in life: to serve Nightmare Moon.

And how many batponies were assembled in that wall? It grew from a single file, to two, then three ponies thick, but it did not stop at that. Where streets branched off from the road they trod, the rows of batponies stretched on further than she could see- although the closer ponies blocked her view, stopping her from seeing the true depth of the assembled batponies.

How had they assembled so quickly? Were they truly that prepared? How did they look so ready, despite how quickly they approached the center of the city? They seemed better organized than the Royal Guard. And on top of that, she was certain they outnumbered the Royal Guard, perhaps by several times over. They were also better equipped, as evidenced by their weapons.

And yet, it still stood out in her mind that all of them were batponies. Not a single one of them was a unicorn, not a single one of them could cast spells like a unicorn could. Nor did they have the same strength and resistance of an earth pony. Overwhelmingly, they could dominate the skies, yet they were not as balanced as the Royal Guard.

But it also occured to her, that from what Nightmare had said regarding them, that it made perfect sense. She had created them when faced by griffins. As such, control of the skies would have been a necessity. And as she thought about that, she shuddered. She shuddered because it occurred to her that griffins had claws, claws that, perhaps, it necessary, could be far more fatal to a pegasus than she had ever considered. After all, using those claws, perhaps they could have shredded a pegasus' wing, and that could have been a death sentence.

She had never considered that before, and the thought startled her. But she had no prior reason to consider it. She did her best to push the thought from her mind.

The pseudo castle was nowhere near as grand as a true castle was, and even with the state of disrepair the Castle of the Two Sisters was in, it still paled in comparison to it. It did not have the height that normal castles did, but it fit with the rest of the city's low profile as if it was meant to avoid attention.

"I hope this is pleasing to you, my Queen," their guide said. "We were rushed to prepare this display, but there is far more ready than this!"

"Good," was Nightmare's response. "I look forward to seeing it. I was concerned that it would be difficult to integrate you into the Guard. Outfitting so many with armor and weapons would be a challenge, but it seems you have already taken care of that."

"It wouldn't do to not be prepared, my Queen!" was the mare's response.

"However, as I said before, I am disappointed you did not come to me. I am willing to overlook this, at least for the time being," Nightmare stated.

The mare said nothing, and they continued to walk. Eventually, a group of three batponies, all wearing armor, all with those sharp, crescent moon-shaped blades on their forehooves, approached to greet them. Two stallions and a mare, with them coming in a v-shaped formation, with the mare on the left of the lead guard. "They will escort your student to where she can rest while we continue," the mare announced.

Twilight felt a slight twinge of panic race down her spine at that. After all, the three of them looked so intimidating. And they were soldiers loyal to Nightmare Moon. All her teacher had to do was give the order, and they would kill her. She swallowed. The three guards stopped, then fell into reverential bows.

"See to it that you treat my student with the same respect that you would treat me with," Nightmare hissed.

"Of course, my Queen," the lead batpony said, his voice soft and almost silky. He lifted his head up, then rose. A moment later, the other two stood up.

Nightmare turned to face her, and she once again barely avoided nibbling on her lip. For a moment, her teacher silently studied her expression. "I do not know how long I will be," she finally said. "You may rest, if you so choose. I will get you- or send a guard for you- when I have need of you."

She nodded in response, as it was the only way she could realistically respond.

Nightmare's expression slipped and softened. She almost thought she heard Nightmare let out a sigh, but that was just silly. "Try to relax. You may explore the city if you would prefer that- you are not a prisoner, after all, Twilight Sparkle. You are my student."

She felt like Nightmare put too much emphasis on the fact that she was her student. It was like Nightmare was pointing that fact out to her, and everypony else, that there were expectations associated with that. She had to represent her teacher well, and to fail to do so would bring consequences. Yet, it felt like Nightmare said it in such a way that was meant to reassure her, as if it was meant to emphasize certain benefits. She nodded, this time, much more timidly.

In an instant, Nightmare looked away from her. She stood still while Nightmare walked away, then followed the first batpony, who lead her off to the right. She lingered there for several seconds, just watching her teacher depart. Nightmare walked away with a calm, authorative, royal grace. Her mane and tail flowed calmly, like a gentle babble of a forest stream, betraying no signs of stress. Nightmare appeared to soak up the attention and reverence the batponies had for her, and as a result, she could see her radiating something because of it. It wasn't joy, but she couldn't come up with the right word for it.

Then, it occured to her that Nightmare Moon was gone. She was alone, standing there, guarded by three ponies she knew nothing about. Three soldiers, loyal to Nightmare Moon, but whose motives she did not know. While Nightmare Moon was a psychopath, and she felt terrified of the alicorn, at the very least, she was familiar with her teacher. They were not close, but she knew Nightmare Moon. These three batponies, she did not know.

Looking back at them, she felt her muscles all tense up. The same cold expression was there as before. All seriousness, no friendliness. They were soldiers first and foremost, and ponies, perhaps that wasn't even in second place. She felt dread. Perhaps they were more different from other ponies than she thought.

"If you are ready, we shall escort you to your temporary residence," came the leader's honeyed voice. Yet that voice came without a smile, nor was there any warmth in his expression.

She found herself nodding, timidly, but quickly. The three ponies gradually turned around, and then she found that they entered into a formation around her, with her at the center. The leader was still at the head but off to her right, not much further ahead of her, and the mare and other stallion flanked her. The leader looked back at her, and she gave a nod, then he looked ahead and walked on.

Likewise, she followed, as did her other two guards.

She had expected to go into the castle, but instead, she found herself being led off to the left, opposite of where Nightmare had gone. As they walked on, she saw that the organized, assembled ranks of batponies faded and dispersed. In its wake, she found herself shocked. The soldiers had appeared so serious that it made her question if they were all that way, but with those soldiers gone, she saw other ponies. Normal ponies, acting like anypony else from anywhere else. The only difference was their appearances.

Stallions and mares walked about casually, displaying the same friendliness to one another that other ponies did. Colts and fillies ran about, chasing one another. Some even flew through the sky, almost as carefree as pegasi. Ponies wore saddlebags and drifted between buildings, presumably shops, trading and or buying and selling.

The contrast was so sharp that she felt bewilderment in addition to a sense of whiplash. When she turned her attention back to her escorts, she was shocked to see that the formality was entirely erased, like it had never been there in the first place. Though she couldn't see the leader's expression, she figured it was likely the same as the other two. Almost playful.

As if to reinforce that thought, the mare to her left asked, "So, you're Queen L..." she paused to cough, and Twilight turned to face her, just in time to see unsureness whisked away, then she continued, "Queen Nightmare Moon's student. There was a rumor flying around that she took on a student, but I didn't believe it." The mare turned to face her, and she wore a playful, almost teasing smile. "Especially considering who you are, or rather were."

It occurred to her that it was the second time one of the batponies had almost said something else. She wondered how she knew not too. Surely there hadn't been enough time for word of that to spread? It left her pensive. And what was it that they were going to say, that they were so quick to stop themselves? Another name. But what name?

The batpony giggled. "Oh, relax. We're not really so brooding and serious all the time. We're still ponies."

"I know that," Twilight muttered sharply.

"So, Twilight Sparkle. I'm Midnight Edge," the mare replied.

"Um... hello," Twilight replied.

Midnight tilted her head. "You're not very social are you."

She shook her head. "No, not really. No," she answered thoughtfully.

Midnight smiled and looked back ahead with a giggle.

"Here we are," the leader announced. "Enjoy your stay. If you need anything, let us know."

Looking at the structure before her, she found that it looked like any other structure she had thus far encountered in Hollow Shades. Built of stone, neither inviting nor uninviting, nor betraying anything of what purpose it served. The leader walked to the door, then pushed it open with his forehoof.

Inside, the walls were wooden, though the floor was still stone. Mounted to the walls were torches. She scowled at the fire hazard, especially compared to candles or magelights, though knew they might not have access to better options. "What is this place?" she asked.

"An unoccupied home, owned by the city," the leader explained. He tilted his head and looked at her curiously. "Is it not to your liking?"

She shook her head. "No, it's fine, I was just curious." After she finished, the leader righted his head again and gave her something between a smile and a smirk. She shifted her weight, then walked into the house. She stepped into the doorway and looked back to see the other stallion walk around to the right side of the door, while the leader stayed on the left. Midnight waited there and watched her. For a few seconds, she watched Midnight, then walked on inside. Midnight followed behind her, then closed the door.

Without waiting for her to say anything, Midnight turned, then walked on past her. "The bedroom is this way," she said in passing.

Twilight hesitated, then followed. Midnight ducked into a doorway on the right. She lingered behind, then turned down the same hallway as Midnight, who had stopped at the end of the hallway and stood to the left of an open door. She watched Midnight for a moment, then walked down the hallway and looked inside the mentioned room.

While he home was supposidly unoccupied, she found that it was furnished. The room had a double bed, though it wasn't quite as luxorious as the one she was used to, it was still close, along with a dressor against the far stone wall. There were two windows, one above the dresser, and the other one on the wall across from the bed. The curtains to both windows were drawn shut, leaving the only light to come from the flicker of torches. Once again, she scowled.

Putting away her distaste for the torches, she walked into the bedroom and looked around. Another doorway led to a small bathroom complete with a shower- and that surprised her. Both rooms were barely decorated, and the only decoration of note was a picture on the wall across from the dresser. She looked, then stared at that picture. An alicorn stood on a rock outcropping, wings flared wide, and silhouetted by the moon. No scars nor craters adorned the moon, and it brought back those moments of terror that she had seen the moon with no Mare on the Moon scaring its features. So white, so untouched.

On the ground below the alicorn a battle was waged- ponies of all kinds, including batponies, along with deer, fought against griffins, and they were winning.

But all of this was told in such a small painting, one that she could have clutched to her chest. What details did she miss because of the poor lighting? What secrets would proper lighting reveal?

How long had she stared at that painting? She pushed her thoughts aside, and her eyes drifted down to the wooden wall below the painting. She licked her lips, then turned around and walked to the dresser. She lit her horn, then used her magic to open the curtains.

She looked out into the moonlit night, looking out across one of the city's nameless streets. Not many ponies were out, but the majority of them were foals, all running of flying along, chasing one another.

"So, is there anything you need?" came Midnight's question.

She turned her head back, and for a moment, just watched the batpony standing in the doorway. She hadn't heard her move, but then, as she thought about it, she hadn't heard much movement from the batponies. She glanced down to Midnight's armored boots and found that, despite what she first thought, Midnight lacked those blades that the rest of the soldiers had, then she looked back up at her and took a deep breath. "I don't know," she replied. She pursed her lip, then bobbed her head to the right. "I... have a lot of questions I'd like to ask."

Midnight smiled. "Well! No, we're not vampires; we eat the same things that normal ponies do-"

Twilight scowled at her. "I knew that!" she hissed. "I wasn't going to ask that." Midnight just giggled playfully. She huffed. She didn't know Midnight that well, but found that the thought occurred to her that she would probably get along with Pinkie Pie. And that thought felt so foreign to her, the idea of anypony being able to get along with that pink blur.

"So, what are you going to ask?" Midnight questioned, slowly meandering into the room in a playful manner, like she was stalking her prey for fun.

Twilight turned around to face her. "Oh, where to start..." she muttered, slowly shaking her head. "How many of you are there? Why do you keep to yourselves so much? Why did you all act so serious around Nightmare Moon? How do so many of you have armor and weapons? How well trained are all of you compared to the Royal Guard? Why are you using torches!?" she listed off.

Midnight stared at her for a moment, then blinked. "Wow," was her only comment.

She squinted at her.

Midnight inhaled then spoke, "Uh, let's see. We keep to ourselves... Uh, it's just sort of what we do. I think it tends to relate to how we're Nightmare Moon's. We've waited for her return for a thousand years, you know. So we had plenty of time to prepare for her return." She tilted her head, "Does that explain why we have the resources we have?"

She hesitated to reply. "I... suppose," she admitted. 'A thousand years to prepare... Princess Celestia would have had that same time... then... how did this happen!? How did she not stop Nightmare?' She felt anxiety at the thought. How had it all gone so wrong? Was it all her own fault?

"We're not really as serious as you saw around Nightmare Moon. Just, professionalism," Midnight continued. "Only the best for our Queen. We are trained from foalhood to be soldiers," was added as an afterthought.

And that afterthought made her gawk at Midnight. Her brow folded down in disbelief. "You can't be serious! Trained from foalhood to be soldiers!?"

Midnight frowned at her. "Yes. We are. Did Nightmare Moon not tell you of our origins?"

Twilight's frown let up. Reluctantly, she nodded. "Yes..." she answered. Perhaps Nightmare Moon had been somewhat vague, but it was still enough for her to understand. She let out a sigh, and with that sigh leaving, she felt something else leave her as well. Perhaps it was energy, or strength, or maybe her will. The thought that ponies were raised from foalhood to be soldiers ate at her mind. She looked down at the floor as her ears folded back.

"Hey, not all of us are soldiers, okay? Besides, it's a great honor, and something we choose to do! Foals may be trained, but it's not like they're forced into it. They have free will, you know," Midnight offered thoughtfully.

Twilight looked back up at her.

"Besides," Midnight said as her playful smile returned, "I know who you are. Formerly Princess Celestia's-" She felt a wave of ice wash over her, and the crescent moon necklace on her chest suddenly seemed to be infinitely cold and searingly hot at the same time. She tensed up, almost feeling Nightmare's untold, insatiable wrath, yet there was no teleport, nor were either of them killed, and Midnight continued, barely noticing how she froze up, "-prized student. She trained you from when you were a foal."

She opened her mouth to refute her, after all, being trained in magic by Princess Celestia was far different from being trained to be a soldier, but as if sensing her thoughts and to preempt her, Midnight added in a sweet, singsong voice, "That's not really that different from us, you know."

She closed her mouth, then huffed. "It is different!" she retorted. How could Midnight not see just how different it was!? She was trained in magic, but not to be a soldier! While they trained their foals to be soldiers! "I wasn't trained to kill!" she defended.

Midnight blanked, then stared at her with an almost empty expression. After a second, Midnight's ears drifted back, and her lips twitched down. "We don't train them to kill," was her soft response.

Twilight felt her anger melt at that. This batpony seemed almost as manipulative as Nightmare Moon was with her feathers. "Then what do you train them to do?"

Midnight brightened back up at that, though her smile did not entirely recover. "They learn how to fly well so that they can evade danger and chase targets. Basically stuff like that, so that they can escape danger or catch their enemies. Really, it's not that different from pegasi using air tag. And it's not that different from pegasi foals playing together."

She wasn't convinced, but then, she also knew that it might have been pointless to argue with Midnight about this. So, she did the logical, sensible thing, and just let it go. 'Maybe I'm not completely insane yet!' was her hope.

"We're probably trained as well if not better than the Royal Guard. We also live longer than the other pony subspecies, so there's that too," Midnight continued. "And the torches?" she asked. Twilight saw Midnight's expression blank. After a few seconds, Midnight inhaled and tilted her head. "You know, I'm not actually sure about that..."

Twilight squinted at her. "Oh, really?" was her retort.

Midnight pulled her head back and frowned. "Hey! No need to be rude."

Twilight huffed and turned away. "Sorry, I'm just... stressed."

"That probably comes with the territory," Midnight commented. "L- Mm, Nightmare Moon never had a student before, you know. Nor did she really teach anypony. At least not from what I remember learning. So you're lucky!"

She felt a spark of anger in her chest at that, and in response, her head whipped around to face her. "Lucky!?" she shrieked. "Do you have any idea how stressful this is!?"

Midnight shied back from her, stepping back with her left hind hoof, and her ears folded back.

She wanted to charge at Midnight and scream at her. She wanted to run away and cry. Her legs trembled, and she sucked in her breaths, and likewise, forced the air from her lungs in response to her will and need. And then, she felt bad. She felt bitter still, and she still felt anger, but it was subdued. Here she was, acting like a foal throwing a tantrum, taking it out on somepony she just met, somepony who did nothing to deserve it.

She felt ashamed and looked away from her. She studied the wall to avoid looking at Midnight. She knew in her heart and mind that she needed to apologize. She knew that Princess Celestia would be disappointed in her if she didn't apologize. But what did that matter? Princess Celestia would already be disappointed if she found out about her reaction. Princess Celestia was probably disappointed with her already.

But what did that even matter, either? Princess Celestia was gone. And all she had now was Queen Nightmare Moon. The edges of her eyes burned, so she closed them. Warmth rolled down her cheeks, despite trying to force it back.

"Are you okay?" Midnight asked.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, as Midnight's voice sounded so close. Her eyes shot open and turned left, and she found that Midnight was just a step away from her. She felt a lance of fear from Midnight's silent approach, but that lance was more like a toothpick, if even that, compared to what her teacher evoked. Her first thought was to lie to her, but doing that still felt so wrong. Maybe she had only just met Midnight, but there was no reason to lie to her, was there? Besides, lying was morally wrong.

And Applejack would chastise her for that, she knew. She felt silly when that thought occurred to her. She wasn't friends with Applejack, and yet she was friends with Applejack. Applejack was just some insane farm pony she met, yet Applejacks' opinion somehow mattered to her.

Her lips lifted up into a smile. "No," was her bleary, croaked answer. "No..." her voice cracked as she tried to say 'I'm', and so it was silent, "not."

And for whatever reason, Midnight took it upon herself to step forward, then pull her into a hug. She didn't resist it, even if it wasn't something she wanted. Or rather, she didn't want it from Midnight. She wanted it from Princess Celestia, or even Spike, or her brother, or Cadance. But none of them were there. She leaned into Midnight's hug, even if it wasn't comfortable. The cold steel of Midnight's armor separated her from the closness that a hug was meant to have, and that coldness seeped into her coat, then into her skin and body. That steel, though only so thick, felt like an infinite chasm that could not be crossed, leaving her to feel so, so isolated.

Midnight squeezed her, and the cold pressed that much closer to her body. She didn't continue to cry, even with as much as she needed to. It just didn't come. Midnight wasn't the pony for her to cry on her shoulder.

All too soon, and yet not soon enough, Midnight let up on the hug. She hesitated for a few seconds, then pulled away.

"Why?" was Midnight's concerned question.

She just shook her head. How could she do anything but shake her head? There was no way for Midnight to understand what she had been through. There was no way for her to cry her heart out to Midnight. She did not know Midnight, and Midnight did not know her. And as the icing on top of the cake, Nightmare Moon was still right there with her, so close, listening to her every word, no matter how far away she was.

And Nightmare had heard her outburst about how stressful it was to be her student. It was the truth, but she felt fear and anxiety at realizing Nightmare would know how she thought about it. But she also felt shame, as if saying that somehow made her a disappointment to Princess Celestia.

There was nothing that she could say to Midnight. Everything had been thrown upside down.

"If you want to talk, I'll listen," was Midnight's soft offer.

She shook her head again, then turned her head and pointed her muzzle down at the necklace, jerking her head slightly. Midnight looked down at the necklace and regarded it with curiosity, looking at it as if it was a work of art worthy to be praised, rather than the chains and shackles of bondage that it was. And yet, when Midnight looked back up, she thought she could see some glimpse of understanding there.

And a part of her was afraid that she saw that. After all, Midnight was still a soldier loyal to Nightmare Moon above all else. And perhaps by conveying what she had, Midnight would think she wasn't loyal to Nightmare Moon. And then, word could reach Nightmare Moon, and that would be the end of it. She felt fear and anxiety, but Midnight didn't attack her, nor shout at her. Nor did she show the kind of understanding she hoped for.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" Midnight offered. She shook her head. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

She had no answer for that. A part of her wanted to be alone, but another part of her was terrified of being alone. She shook her head curtly.

Maybe she had simply reached her limits again, and maybe Nightmare was right. Maybe she did need to rest. She clenched her jaw and stared at the bed.

Midnight must have seen her looking at the bed, because she turned to stand beside her and said, "Here," in a soft voice to try to coax her into bed.

She resisted at first, but after a moment, she was surprised to feel Midnight's wing over her back. She turned to look at Midnight, not sure of what she would find, but not really caring what she would see one way or another. She felt numb. Midnight looked back at her with a soft, compassionate smile, one that tried to comfort her, yet seemed to just reflect off of her coat, unable to penetrate to where it needed to go.

She glanced back at Mightnight's leathery wing. It felt different. She wasn't sure how to describe it. The extent of her knowledge with how wings felt was from Cadance, Princess Celestia, and Nightmare Moon- all three of whom were alicorns, and had feathered wings like pegasi. Midnight in contrast had no feathers, just skin. Her wings weren't even protected by fur, like the leading edge of pegasi and alicorn wings. Her wing was a dark, deep blackish-purple.

Her skin felt stiff and strong, yet also pliable, like it would be hard to cut or otherwise damage. For some reason, she had the idea that Midnight's wing skin felt like what a dragon's scales would feel like if they were skin, or maybe even it felt like a dragon's wing skin. Her skin was thick, yet it wasn't so thick that she couldn't feel Midnight's pulse as her heart beat. Unlike alicorn wings- and presumable pegasi wings- without fur or feathers to prevent direct skin contact, she could feel just how warm Midnight was, even despite the chill to the air. It took only a few seconds for that warmth to seep into her coat.

"I think you should lay down and try to relax," Midnight said. "I can leave if you want-"

"Please don't leave," she replied. She looked back at the bed, studying the plain bedsheets and pillows. She swallowed and licked her lips, then glanced back at Midnight to say, "Just... I don't want to be alone right now."

Midnight gave her a silent nod, then unassumingly coaxed her forward. She didn't fight it, and made her way over to the bed. She lit her horn and pulled the covers back, then climbed into bed. Even as she laid down on the cool fabric, she could feel the lingering warmth from Midnight's wing, yet it wasn't enough to melt through her fears. She pulled the blankets back over herself and watched Midnight silently walk around the end of the bed, then stand just inside the doorway. "I'll stand outside," she said as she passed through the open doorway, leaving the door open.

Twilight swallowed, then glanced at the torch. With a slight application of magic, she whisked the flame out of existence, dropping the room into darkness. She could see a flickering light drifting into the room from the hallway, but on the floor, she could see the barest outline of Midnight's shadow.

She ignored it and rolled her head back over and stared at the curtains of the window across from the bed. She let herself relax, and as the tension that felt permanently imprinted on her muscles faded, she felt exhausted. Her eyes felt dry and heavy, and the numbness crept outward, like it was planning to consume her entire body.

But she didn't sleep. Nightmare Moon would inevitably show up. It was only a matter of time. The fear that she would hear the crack of Nightmare's magic the second she closed her eyes prevented her from closing her eyes.

But it was all too much for her, and she couldn't keep herself from drifting off to sleep in the silence, despite her fear.

I am fairly certain this is one of the 3-4 longest chapters I have ever written...

Also batponies! Batponies are great.

I reread this and did edits yesterday evening; tell me if I missed anything! Also, I did consider splitting this chapter into two parts because of how long it is. In the future, do you think it would be better to split chapters this long into two parts?

Opening her eyes, everything before her was blurry, unfocused. She could barely make out the outlines. Everything seemed to merge together. There were no distinct ends between what she saw, only a blurry spectrum as one object twisted into another. The room was dark but she had the feeling that it was unfamiliar.

She felt the feeling of Nightmare's eyes on her, but when she tried to turn her head to the left to look towards the source, she found that the only thing she could do was move her eyes in the general direction. She could see the blurry outline of two ponies standing beside one another, with one towering over the other. Both were silhouetted. She felt her heart pounding, racing, and her mind screamed. It felt like a nightmare. She was awake, but wasn't at the same time. Her body refused to obey her. She couldn't breathe, despite her efforts. Her body did not feel like her own, rather, it felt paralyzed.

She felt fear, indescribable fear. She was completely exposed, but she couldn't figure out what that fear was coming from. Everything was a blur, she was only vaguely away and aware of her surroundings. Her fear didn't give her any energy, nor did her fear contribute to any state of awareness nor did it try to spur her to action. Instead, her fear haunted her, like something was chasing her, right behind her. She couldn't look back, both out of fear, and because as soon as she did, she knew whatever was chasing her would get her.

Her body felt like ice, yet everything enveloping her felt warm. Her lungs ached, then burned, desperate for air that she could not inhale. And yet, she still breathed somehow. Although she couldn't inhale, she felt the air coming in through her nostrils to just barely relieve that burning ache in her lungs. Her chest barely rose in her paralysis, but she felt some sense of relief, yet it did nothing to stop the feeling that she was being stalked.

She heard voices. The voices were distant, hushed, whispered, heard as if she were submerged in water, sinking, so far away from the source. The voice came from the taller silhouette. She couldn't make out what was said, it was a blur, all mixed together. The words were wrong, twisted, backward, maybe even upside down. It was a language she couldn't recognize or comprehend, but it was one that she felt like she should understand, but that she was simply in no state to recognize it.

The smaller form shifted in the corner of her eye, and something was said back. Whatever it was, it took what felt like an eternity for the words to stop. The feeling of being sized up by a predator shifted and churned, gradually subsiding, along with the feeling that she was being chased. She felt relieved at that, but it was only some distant sense of relief. Only the feeling of relief, like how everything she saw, felt and heard were only distant feelings, so far divided from her being, like she wasn't actually there to experience it. It was like a dream, like a nightmare, one that, in the blink of an eye, she could forget.

Yet the fogginess seemed to fade. Her sight grew sharper, and no more did one object twist into the next through a blurred spectrum, rather, the outlines sharpened, and she could gradually make out the contrast of light and dark, the flickering orange light coming into the room, the intermittent shadow dancing on the floor. She managed to nudge her head to the side and get a better view of those two silhouettes, but neither came with recognition.

She inhaled deeply, and air rushed into her lungs. She felt the gentle, unassuming weight of blankets covering her body, then felt the soft embrace of the mattress beneath her back.

"I did not realize..."

She felt the feeling that she heard something. She felt like she could place it as words she should understand, but it was so fleeting, so brief, that she might as well have never heard it in the first place. As the seconds grew on, consciousness gradually took a hold of her, and she felt more control and strength return.

But her mind was still so foggy, so clouded: it was a dream, there was no other explanation for it, but her mind could not even process that idea.

A teal-blue glow burned to life, extending up along a long, sharp, black horn. The glow lit the features of a pony that seemed so familiar, somepony who she felt that she should know, somepony she felt that she should be happy to see, somepony who she felt left her quivering beneath the blankets. She could see the reflection of the glow on the cyan armor, and that shimmer was mesmerizing. Yet, the next thing she heard, she was certain of the command, yet the meaning was lost as blackness overtook her. "Sleep."

Twilight jerked awake. Her lungs screamed out for breath, and in response, she sucked in as deep as she could. Fleetingly, in the back of her mind, she felt some sense that something had happened, that she should remember something, yet it was so brief that in a glance down at the bedsheets, the memory was already gone, leaving only a feeling of a memory.

She looked over her bedsheets for a few seconds as the feeling lingered, then she blinked and licked her lips. In an instant, she felt so aware of her surroundings, or rather, that something wasn't there. Her eyes bolted up at the realization, and a moment later, her eyes bolted to the left.

The doorway to her library was empty. Nothing stood there, silhouetted against the backdrop of her magelight. She slowly turned her head to the right and swept her eyes around, scanning her surroundings, confirming what she already felt: Nightmare Moon wasn't there.

But she already knew Nightmare wasn't there. She had felt it the instant she was awake, that she was alone. And somehow, she had managed to recognize that feeling above the primal panic with which she had awoken prior. She found only the faintest hint of fear: it was numbed to the point that, while it was still there, it was almost absent. In contrast with that seed of fear and despite knowing Nightmare wasn't watching her, her anxiety twisted and gripped her chest, making her core feel so very tense.

She swallowed and took a deep breath, then exhaled at length, trying to force that anxiety away like the air in her lungs. She only succeeded to an extent, but that extent left her feeling relieved. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, though nearly jumped as something brushed across her chest.

She froze in a panic and looked down. Immediately, that anxiety melted away. It was only that necklace, which now swayed back and forth, brushing against the fur of her chest. She closed her eyes and let out another breath, then inhaled and opened her eyes. She found herself still staring at the necklace, watching the shimmering light of its enchantments slowly drift across its silvered surface.

It was almost like it was saying something to her in the way the light washed over its surface, but she wasn't sure what.

She cast the concern aside, then pushed her blankets back. An instinctive frown pulled on her lips as the warmth faded entirely, replaced by the chill of Nightmare's night. The cold wasn't that strong, but the air just didn't hold the same warmth that Princess Celestia's day did, nor did it hold the same warmth that even Princess Celestia's night did. The cold air felt so detached and distant, so uncaring, so callous.

She felt that all too familiar numbness creep out from her core, followed by the inescapable feeling of loneliness. Here in her tower, surrounded by enchanted marble walls and numerous books, she was so entirely alone, so secluded and separated from everything else. Nightmare called her 'Student,' and yet 'Prisoner' would have been just as accurate.

She turned her head around and stared out the window. In an instant, without intending to, her gaze fell on the moon, on the scarring of her mentor etched into its surface. How had the spell felt? Did it hurt? Was she in pain now? What did Princess Celestia feel? Did she feel just as alone and isolated as her, or did was she being ridiculous to even consider for a passing second that she could hope to understand the isolation that Princess Celestia felt on the moon?

The edges of her eyes grew warm, then the beads drifted down her cheeks. She paid it no mind, even as her fur was chilled by the lingering moisture. The drops gathered on her chin and tickled her before she finally felt their weight drip off from her to fall onto the bedsheets.

It felt like Princess Celestia was staring at her from the moon. So what if all of Equestria was visible? So what if she would have been so impossibly small? What did it matter that her magic was assuredly sealed away? She felt ashamed. It was as if Princess Celestia was crying out to her, begging for her to help her, and there was nothing she could do. Worse yet, she was helping the pony that did this to her. The shame was crippling. She could almost hear Princess Celestia's voice saying, 'Twilight, why did you fail?' in such a broken, pleading voice.

She had seen Princess Celestia cry. It was rare, but she had seen it. She could only recall a few times. One of them came to mind, accompanying that haunting voice that sounded so much like her, yet nothing like her at the same time. She had looked so heartbroken, so desperate, so pleading. But that had lasted for only a split second before Princess Celestia realized she was there, and then, it was gone. But it was burnt into her mind, and now, that vision came back in full force, yet so twisted and so much worse. And that picture is what she imagined in her mind when she heard that broken, pleading voice begging for her help. How had Nightmare treated her? And was it really all her own fault, had she failed so badly that now all of Equestria, and her mentor, had to pay for her failure?

More warmth rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't look at the moon. Her ears folded back in the same instant her eyes fell to the bed. The sheets were blurry. She didn't care.

How could she be Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student? She had failed, failed, failed. Failed so badly, and now her mentor, Equestria's Princess, was suffering. It felt like Princess Celestia was paying the debt for her crime, completely undeserved. She was so, so ashamed. She had betrayed Equestria's Princess.

Yet, Princess Celestia wasn't as perfect as she had once believed. The numbness creeped out into her legs.

She felt a knot in her throat. She didn't know how she had missed it, but the tightness was all there, already fully formed. It twisted her throat closed to the point that swallowing was impossible.

The bedsheets slowly came back into focus. Her head drifted back around and fell. She ended up staring down at the floor, facing the doorway.

She had been Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student. She didn't deserve that title, did she? She was now the student of the very pony who banished Princess Celestia. How badly had Nightmare Moon treated Princess Celestia? How had that question never occurred to her before?

'I'm going to die...' whispered in her mind. It evoked no emotion, but the numbness finally took over her hooves.

She knew that one day she would die. It was the sort of thing everypony comes to terms with during their life, that life is finite. Perhaps even Princess Celestia's life was finite too. But it was different for herself. Her own death wouldn't be peaceful, her death wouldn't be in decades. Perhaps it would be in years, or perhaps it wouldn't even be months. Perhaps it wouldn't even be at Nightmare Moon's hooves. No, she was a traitor to Equestria.

What was the point of anything? She had betrayed Princess Celestia. Even if by some impossible miracle, Princess Celestia escaped or was freed, even if she somehow had some hoof in helping that come to pass, well, her life was still forfeit.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. It was a calm, solemn inhale. Her thoughts were not panicked, her heart did not race. Her heartbeat was steady, a constant, gentle beat, one that wouldn't have been out of place if she was sleeping peacefully.

She exhaled. For several seconds, she did nothing else, only listening to the silence as nothingness went through her mind. She inhaled again, then exhaled. Finally, she opened her eyes, then swallowed. The knot was gone.

She slid forward, climbing down onto the floor in one motion. She walked towards the door, only vaguely aware of the cold of the floor against her hooves.

She wasn't sure what had happened, but she found herself staring down at the floor, distinctly aware that she was surrounded by her library's bookshelves. Looking up from her hooves, she found that she was in the main room of her library. She didn't remember the trip from her bedroom down the stairs.

She swallowed, then turned her head around. Despite all of the books, all she saw was an empty, unoccupied room. So completely lacking in life, so completely lacking in warmth. It was void of any comfort, it simply existed. Everything seemed to recede from her as if recoiling because of her betrayal.

She was staring ahead at the table. How had she crossed the distance from the stairs to the kitchen? Why couldn't she remember it? had it all passed in such a mind-numbing blur that she wasn't even aware of it happening?

She felt the chair under her haunches and found her hooves outstretched across the table.

The moon drifted further into the sky, but it was still there, dominating the large window of her library, almost taunting her.

A question flashed through her mind, and with that, everything came back into focus. The numbness was disintegrated, and all of the fog clouding her mind was gone. 'How did I get back to Canterlot?'

It was such a simple question, yet it was so important. She felt bewildered: she couldn't answer her own question. She distinctly remembered going to Hollow Shades. She distinctly remembered the assembled legions of batponies, all outfitted in their silvered armor, all prepared to fight and die for Nightmare Moon, to enforce her rule without relent. She distinctly remembered laying down in bed. But it wasn't her bed.

And then? Then there was nothing. She didn't remember waking up to leave. She didn't remember being teleported back, nor did she remember walking back. She didn't remember walking back to her tower, climbing up the stairs, nor laying down in her bed. She remembered none of it, only going to sleep in another bed and waking up in her own.

She had the feeling of a memory, but it was so distant and out of reach. It was the feeling of feeling that she forgot something. It was like knowing one had a dream, but despite how hard you tried to focus on it, it remained only a feeling of a dream. No details came back.

She felt a tightness seize her chest, then it twisted. It twisted more and more, turning around until it twisted back in on itself. It was anxiety. It was a feeling of powerlessness. There was really only one answer for what happened, she knew, and that answer made her want to curl up in a ball and sob hysterically, it made her want to curl up in a ball and lay there silently. She really had no power. It was all just an illusion. Security? She had about as much security as a newborn lost in a blizzard, surrounded on all sides by monsters.

Her life really was so fragile, just a little string. No, not even a string. It was just a hair from a mane. Even that didn't do it justice.

More warmth on her cheeks, but that too was so fleeting. The cold in its wake felt permanent. She watched it soak into the table.

There was a knock on the door. She didn't scream, she didn't cry out in fear, and she didn't whimper.

She hit her hoof on the chair as she jumped into a standing position. The pain was lost on her as she stared at the door, legs trembling. She winced as the chair thudded against the floor, nearly jumping at the sound. The knock came again, just the same as before. Who was knocking? Was it Nightmare Moon? The door was so, so flimsy. Even the strongest enchantments were but paper to her teacher.

Again, that knock came, making her wince and crushing her chest beneath a tidal wave of anxiety and tension. Somehow, she managed to piece that veil of terror, somehow she managed to realize that the knocks weren't that of her teacher. Or, at the very least, the knocks weren't demanding, they weren't threatening.

Knock, knock, knock-knock.

It was a testing knock, perhaps even a bored or playful knock.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock.

She swallowed, then lifted a forehoof. Her leg shook, but she managed to take that first step. It was an outlet for the anxiety she felt, and so the tightness plaguing her chest faded ever so slightly. Another step, more fading tension. Another, this one coming quicker, and she felt surer of herself. She swallowed, then crept towards the door. After making it halfway there, she had successfully managed to almost come to a walk.

As she stood in front of the door, her anxiety was just a whisper in the back of her mind, but her fear was ready to jump out at her, screaming. She lit her horn. Her horn sputtered and sparked, refusing to produce a constant glow. Her ears pressed back against her mane.

She tried again, and this time, she managed to produce a steady stream of magic, albeit one that flickered, threatening to fail at the drop of a quill. She managed to grasp the door with her magic enough to unlock the door, then pull it in just enough that it could be pushed open. Her magic failed before she could do anything else.

"Uh, Twilight? You gonna open the door for me ooorrrrr..?"

The panic faded and she felt relief. She recognized that playful voice, and she found herself feeling at ease. She lit her horn, this time unfailingly, and pulled open the door. Midnight stood just on the other side, her head was tilted slightly to the right and her tongue was sticking out from her lips, in between her fangs.

It was such an unassuming, foalish look. It was so playful. It was like Midnight was just a young foal wanting to play with her parents.

It was enough to force her fear to the back of her mind.

She blinked then squinted at the display. "What are you doing?"

Midnight's tongue pulled back into her mouth in a snake-like motion, and she righted her head. "Nightmare Moon wanted me to come and get you since you're awake," was her simple, unassuming response.

And like that, her relief faded. A chill raced down her spine. Midnight's playful friendliness faded, and she saw her brow fold slightly. Midnight could see her fear and unease. "R-right," she preempted. Her unease seeped out into her voice, but it still wasn't nearly as bad as it had been. She felt rigid, but not paralyzed.

Midnight frowned. It was only for a second, then Midnight's gaze jumped up to her mane. The frown disappeared as her lips pulled up into a smile, and she was sure that she saw Midnight's eyes lit up in excitement, followed by a carefree giggle.

Spurred on by that, she preemptively scowled. Looking up at her mane, her scowl deepened. 'Of course,' hissed out in her mind. "I'm going to shower and then I'll be on my way."

"Okay, I'll wait for you then," Midnight replied.

Twilight squinted at her, slowly turning her head to the left.

"I'm supposed to escort you to her chambers," Midnight explained. As soon as she finished, the tip of her tongue shot back out between her fangs.

She looked down at Midnight's tongue, which looked entirely equine, and said, "Right..." After a second, she glanced away from Midnight's tongue, then turned away and shut the door with her magic.

Walking through the castle's hallways as she was escorted by Midnight really wasn't all that different from being escorted by a Royal Guard. Walking by other guards drew only the barest reaction, but for the most part, they were stoic. They weren't as friendly as usual, but then that was probably because of Nightmare Moon's takeover.

Midnight carried herself with a casual seriousness that could be mistaken for being completely off-guard and unaware of her surroundings. Yet, as they approached a corner and a Royal Guard stepped into sight, Midnight's eyes sharpened into focus and darted onto his form.

But the Royal Guard didn't stiffen as he walked passed. No, he displayed a formal seriousness in his posture, but not one of tension or fear, as if he was scared or worried about Midnight. What he displayed was more akin to annoyance, like they were in his way. 'Do they feel like they're being replaced?' she wondered as she craned her head back around to watch the passing Royal Guard.

He continued walking down the hallway, ignoring their passing. Turning back ahead, she noticed a pair of Royal Guards standing beside one door that led off to the right. For a moment, she spotted one of the guards looking at Midnight, then he returned to his stoic, almost statuesque stance.

What did the Royal Guard think of Midnight? Did they know about the rest of the batponies, and how they would soon be joining their ranks? Did they feel as if they were being replaced or short-hoofed? Or did they view it as just a curiosity? Did they take it as a relief, that they wouldn't be so overworked? Or did they view it as a threat, as if the batponies were a hostile force that, along with Nightmare Moon, had usurped Equestria?

She glanced to her left at Midnight and watched her walk along for a few seconds, then looked back ahead. Midnight certainly didn't carry herself in a threatening manner, so perhaps the Royal Guard did not view her- and the batponies- as such. Did the Royal Guard consider the batponies as ponies, or did they think of them as monsters?

She found a scowl tugging on her lips as that thought crossed her mind. 'They're ponies just like anypony else! Surely they realize that...' And if they didn't, surely it wouldn't take that long for the Royal Guard to realize it.

Well, assuming the batponies didn't keep to themselves and tried to interact. She pursed her lips, knowing it was a distinct possibility that they wouldn't integrate very well, if only because the batponies seemed to keep to themselves.

But still, if the Royal Guards thought the batponies were monsters, it wouldn't take long for them to realize that the batponies were still ponies. They probably didn't think that in the first place.

She shook the thought aside and turned her attention back to Midnight. She swallowed and mustered whatever courage she had left, then asked, "So, um... Do you know what she wants?"

"Mhm," was Midnight's response.

She waited a few seconds, then leaned her head forward, trying to coax Midnight to continue. But Midnight neither glanced back at her nor elaborated. "Soo..?" she ventured.

Midnight glanced at her and flashed her a smile, then silently strode ahead of her. "You'll just have to find out," was her teasing reply.

Twilight scowled at her and huffed. "Fine."

Midnight just giggled in response.

Ignoring that, she sped up to catch up with Midnight, who glanced back at her. "You don't need to be worried about anything," was her comment.

That comment made her suddenly aware of the tension in her body. She hadn't felt it growing inside her, slithering out and creeping over her whole body. But with Midnight's comment, she felt so very aware of that tension. She felt the twisting and churning in her chest that was her anxiety. She hadn't noticed it, or maybe it was that she was so used to feeling anxious and nervous by now that it went unnoticed as anything out of the ordinary for her.

She looked back ahead to avoid looking at Midnight, especially to avoid meeting her gaze. Maybe she could trust Midnight. After all, Midnight didn't seem to be some zealous, fanatical soldier of Nightmare Moon, ready to burn her alive for treachery. She felt a shiver race down her spine, then swallowed. Her throat was, once again, tight.

"You know she doesn't like seeing you so, uh, nervous, right?" Midnight spoke in a voice that might as well have said, 'Well, gee! You don't realize that Nightmare Moon doesn't want you to be terrified of her to the point that you're paralyzed!?'

She shot a glare at Midnight. "No offense, but I don't-" She clamped her jaw shut just in time to prevent herself from slipping up and saying something she would regret. Yet just how close she came, that left her feeling even more anxious and jittery than before. Her anxiety bubbled in her chest, like a pot of water on a stove, slowly, slowly warming up and churning as it approaching a rolling boil. Yet it was so much thicker than water, thicker than soup, even.

She looked back ahead as Midnight tilted her head and looked at her curiously. "You don't what?" was her curious question.

Rigidly, she shook her head, left and right, back and forth: they were words that she should not speak, at least not to Midnight, even if she could trust her. The only one to whom those words should reach would be Nightmare Moon. But could she openly admit it to her that she did not trust her? Perhaps Nightmare Moon would be understanding.

Nightmare probably already knew, anyway.

Nightmare probably knew she didn't feel safe around her, either.

And Nightmare hadn't taken advantage of that if she did know.

She inhaled as deep as she could, then let it out. The numbness returned. 'Maybe I'm overthinking this?' a part of her mind offered, 'Maybe she isn't as much of a psychopath as I think. Maybe she genuinely wants me to relax and trust her.'

Another part of her broke out in laughter as a response to that thought. It was absurd! 'As if I could ever trust her! She banished her own sister and took over Equestria!'

All at once, the urge to break out laughing shattered. A scold stillness crept over her, almost freezing her body solid. She didn't stop walking, but she felt her expression blank immediately. 'Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon for a thousand years,' whispered in her mind.

The thought haunted her.

'How different are they?' she wondered. They were sisters. So completely opposite, yet she could undeniably see them as sisters. Princess Celestia, ruler of the day, Nightmare Moon, ruler of the night. Opposites, yet so important for one another.

But maybe they weren't completely different.

Her eyes drifted down to the floor as she walked on. She didn't pay attention to where she was walking, but that was okay. Midnight- and everypony else- paid attention, letting her focus entirely on her thoughts, on her problems, on her predicaments.

She had not known until Nightmare Moon returned that Princess Celestia had banished her own sister to the moon. She hadn't even known Princess Celestia had a sister! Would knowing that have changed anything? She wasn't sure, and that uncertainty haunted her. 'It's Princess Celestia!' her mind cried out, knowing that not trusting her was so treacherous.

Yet it was still undeniable, that she knew after reading the prophecy that Nightmare Moon would return. She had trusted Princess Celestia completely. Princess Celestia had told her it was just an old pony's tale. Princess Celestia had lied to her. Maybe her trust had been abused. Maybe she didn't trust Princess Celestia as much as she thought she did. She knew she didn't trust her as much now as she did before Nightmare Moon returned. It was hard to keep faith in her mentor, given that her mentor had lied to her.

She clenched her jaw.

She had come to a stop. She blinked, then looked up. To her bewilderment, right in front of her was that door which she was so familiar with. Coldness grabbed her body with all the crushing force of tons upon tons of rock. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. She just stared at the door, looking straight ahead. Just above where her eyes focused, there was a silvery emblem of a crescent moon.

Princess Celestia's cutie mark was gone.

'It really is Nightmare Moon's chambers now...'

When had it changed? She didn't know. It had to have been recent. It had to have been she was so thoroughly doing her best to avoid Nightmare Moon. She felt a pang of remorse in her chest, but there was nothing to be done about it.

She swallowed, then felt her heart leap into her throat as the door glowed with Nightmare's aura, then opened. Standing before her, Nightmare looked down at her with all the power, grace, and terrifying beauty that befitted her. The door opened all the way, and she found herself staring ahead at that crescent moon on Nightmare Moon's chestplate.

"Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare greeted, her voice almost fond. But there was still something else there in the greeting that she couldn't place. "Come," was her command.

She swallowed, then stepped forward as Nightmare stepped to the right, giving her an unobstructed path into the room. She walked in through that doorway, and the air felt so much heavier, perhaps even stagnant, weighing down on her, crushing her even more than seeing her teacher had. She had entered the lair of a monster that could kill her in a heartbeat, and the very atmosphere acknowledged that fact.

Her ears folded back, and numbly, she came to a stop in the center of the room, staring straight ahead at the desk across from the entrance. How many times had she seen the beloved white coat of her beloved mentor there? How many times had she seen the graceful, beautiful ethereal mane of her beloved mentor there? And now it was empty. She heard the door click as it closed, and knew that the door had been locked, trapping her in the room with nowhere to go, just her and Nightmare Moon. Her hooves and legs shook. Nightmare looked at her back, she felt it, and her body went still.

Nightmare walked around behind her. Each hoofstep sounded so distinct and individual, as if announcing Nightmare's movements, telling her where Nightmare was. It was an intent stride, and each step was calculated meticulously, never an inch more or less than it had to be. Nightmare walked up beside her, then crossed in front of her before turning to face her.

She didn't look up at her, but she could see and feel Nightmare's eyes shifting, darting over her body, never lingering on one spot for more than a second. Nightmare was looking for something. She didn't find it, and she felt Nightmare's disappointment as much as she heard and saw it. Nightmare's posture slumped, her wings twitched down, and she sighed.

"It is very important that we communicate openly, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said. Her voice was calm, yet there was a bitterness and a disappointment in her chastising voice.

She braced herself for whatever would follow, but it seemed that Nightmare saw that and took it as something she had not desired. For a second, Nightmare scowled, but then it was gone.

Nightmare opened her mouth, then after a moment closed it again. "Speak, Twilight Sparkle," was her command.

Nothing came. She kept her mouth sealed shut and just stood there. Too much raced through her mind, too much anxiety gripped her.

She could just barely tell Nightmare frowned. "I do not expect you to be perfect, Twilight Sparkle. If you think I do, you are incorrect," she spoke cautiously. "Do I have to continue to remind you of this? Must I continue to remind you that I am not your enemy, that I am not just lying in wait for you to slip up? Do you not comprehend that I value you as my student and that I do not want you to feel so hostile towards me?"

The bitterness was there, but it wasn't in full force. And to her shock, she thought she heard pain in that voice. She heard and saw Nightmare inhale, then exhale. The air felt too warm, but not like an inferno. The air felt too cold, but not like a blizzard. Nightmare's eyes glanced back and forth across her face, once again searching for something.

"Please, Twilight Sparkle, do not think that I intend to hurt you," Nightmare said. Her teacher met her eyes, then reasoned, "You are my student. I cannot teach you if you continue to avoid me. You cannot perform at your best if you are so afraid of me that you cannot focus on your studies."

Nightmare scrutinized her. She stood still. It was a perfectly reasonable argument. But it came from Nightmare Moon.

"What must I do to fix this?" Nightmare asked.

'Return Princess Celestia!' shot out in her mind, and she made absolutely certain not to voice that.

Seeing nothing from her, Nightmare asked, "What must I do to gain your trust, Twilight Sparkle?" It was a genuine question, and that in itself caught her off-guard.

And because of it, Twilight knew she was being unreasonable. She was acting just like a foal. She looked away from Nightmare and stared down at the marble floor between Nightmare's hooves. 'She is trying to fix this...' came to her mind in a grave tone. "I-I don't feel safe around you," she stammered.

"This much I can tell," Nightmare retorted.

She winced and stepped back, clenching her eyes shut and lowering her head.

Nightmare reacted somehow too. She wasn't sure how, but she knew Nightmare reacted to it. She didn't see it, but she heard it. The next thing she heard was a sigh from Nightmare, followed by, "Forgive me. I am trying to be patient, Twilight Sparkle, but you make this difficult, and considering all of the other problems I have to address, I would rather have our relationship not be one of these problems." There was a pause while Nightmare waited for it to sink in, then her teacher continued, "I am not experienced with having a student either. I have never had one, and in the past, I have considered the very idea insane, so I do not know what to do in this situation, Twilight Sparkle."

"I-I'm sorry that I've b-been avoiding you," she croaked out. For some reason, saying it out loud, admitting it to her teacher, she felt pain from it. Her ears pressed back against her head and she shuddered as she inhaled. Why did she feel this way!? It was absurd! Nightmare Moon was a psychopath! She knew she shouldn't feel bad, she knew that she shouldn't have felt on the verge of tears, because of apologizing for avoiding her! Avoiding her was perfectly reasonable! Any sane pony would have avoided her!

Or maybe it was everything she was dealing with that made it hurt. Maybe it was losing Princess Celestia, losing Spike. Maybe even losing those insane ponies that she somehow considered 'friends.' Everything hanging over her head now. Maybe it was that her trust in Princess Celestia wasn't the same as it was, or that she wasn't sure she could trust Princess Celestia like she once could. Maybe it was how vulnerable she felt. Maybe it was the fear Nightmare provoked.

Maybe it was that Nightmare Moon was Princess Celestia's sister, and avoiding her felt like a betrayal to Princess Celestia, a betrayal to being who she was. Avoiding her mentor? It was antithesis to her, or at least she thought so, and yet, here she was, doing just that. Avoiding her teacher, avoiding the lessons her teacher could give her, turning her back on her own studious nature.

"You are forgiven, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said calmly. "But please do not make a habit of avoiding me. I do not appreciate it."

She nodded quickly, though at the same moment felt even worse. Nightmare's voice repeated in her mind, 'I do not appreciate it,' and as it did, the full weight of the implications of that crushed down on her. Here she was, perhaps the pony closest to Nightmare Moon, avoiding her. How badly did that hurt her mentor? And what did that mean, given that Nightmare had banished her own sister, after her sister had banished her for a thousand years? Nightmare Moon didn't have anypony else, did she?

She heard Nightmare take a step forward, then she felt Nightmare's feather brush over her cheek. That so gentle stroke brought with it a feeling of relief, perhaps even acceptance. It was comforting, reassuring. And while she felt Nightmare's feather brush over her fur, she felt that maybe it would be okay.

Nightmare's feather continued along her cheek, then brushed upward. For the briefest moment, Nightmare's feather glided through her mane, then it was gone. It didn't bring the same panic and bewilderment that overcame her when Nightmare had brushed her mane. She opened her eyes and hesitantly looked up at Nightmare. Nightmare watched her, looking at her with an expression that was perhaps almost compassionate.

"I am not a monster, Twilight Sparkle. No matter what you think, I am no monster," was her assurance. "I may hate my dear sister-" the words were spoken so venomously, saying that she spat it out like a curse did not do it justice, "but I do not want to destroy Equestria. You may have been my sister's student, you and your friends may have tried to stop me, but I do not want to kill you or them, Twilight Sparkle. You are valuable. Do not think that you are not, or that I will simply throw your life away on a whim."

She looked back down at Nightmare's chestplate and nodded. She swallowed and reluctantly muttered, "But, if I betray you..." Even more reluctantly, she glanced up to see Nightmare's reaction.

Nightmare inhaled, then exhaled. It almost sounded like a contemplative, perhaps even defeated sigh. "Do not betray me," she paused for a moment as if searching for the right thing to say, then more hesitantly said, "and we will not have to cross that bridge."

She nodded timidly as she stared into Nightmare's eyes. Her eyes dropped back to focus on Nightmare's chestplate.

"Twilight Sparkle?" Nightmare called. She looked back up at the sound of her name. Nightmare studied her. "I will not hurt you unless you give me reason to," she stated. "I have nothing to gain from hurting you for no reason."

Her mind refused to believe that, shouting back, 'You would enjoy it!' Even if, logically, she knew Nightmare was probably telling the truth. Assuming, of course, Nightmare was thinking about it logically. She had no reason- other than the belief that Nightmare Moon was a psychopath- to believe her mentor did not think about it logically. But there was still the possibility that she was somehow a threat to Nightmare Moon, and that stole whatever assurance she could take from what her teacher told her. And, of course, Nightmare Moon might enjoy it. She swallowed her fear back and reluctantly ventured, "What... about other ponies..?"

For a moment, Nightmare did not answer her. Nightmare looked as if she pondered the question, thinking through her response, then rolling it around with her tongue. Finally, she answered, "You are my student, other ponies are not. I may not trust you because you were my sister's student, but I am willing to give you the opportunity to change this, as I am willing to give you the benefit of a doubt because of your youth and from what I have seen of you since my return. I am more forgiving of you than the guards because you are my student, but like you, I will not hurt them without reason. It is not beneficial to do so, and it would be quite detrimental to my efforts."

"It's not in your best interests," was her hesitant summary.

Nightmare's lips pulled up into a smile, and there was a glint of glee in her eyes. "Yes," was her response. "Fear is an effective tool, but as I have said before, I know that I cannot rely solely upon it. Such is the case with you."

She shifted her weight, squirming as Nightmare watched her so thoroughly, while her mind said, 'She knows how scared I am of her!' It didn't make her tremble, but it left her feeling as if something- perhaps even Nightmare Moon- would jump out at her without warning to attack her.

"Think of this logically, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare commented. "If I kill you for no reason, ponies will see that and nothing beneficial will come of it. If you force me to kill you, then I have no choice, because if I do not, it weakens my rule: ponies would question my authority. You are still important to Equestria, individual guards less so. But that is not to say that I will kill them without reason. As with you, that would not be beneficial to me. If I kill ponies without a reason, Twilight Sparkle, that only undermines my rule. If I kill them for a reason, such as them betraying me, that reinforces my rule: it serves as a warning. However, I am not so naive to believe that I can simply kill whoever I wish, or at least, not if I want to maintain my Empire. As I have said before, I have no desire to rule over a wasteland. Ruling entirely through fear and force cannot last."

She nodded timidly. Hearing Nightmare's reasoning, a part of her found more assurance in it. Nightmare was calculated rather than whimsical. Assuming, of course, that her mentor wasn't lying to her. And more importantly, it was assuming that Nightmare Moon could control her anger. And given how she saw the alicorn snap before, she wasn't convinced Nightmare Moon could control that anger. She still couldn't trust that her mentor wasn't lying to her, but she couldn't exactly say that, either.

But rather than continue that rather unnerving conversation, Nightmare instead asked, "Is there anything you wish to discuss with me? It is beneficial that we do so if you would like to."

Seizing at the opportunity for a change of topic, she asked the first thing that came to mind that wouldn't provoke Nightmare's ire, "How... did I get back to Canterlot..?"

"I brought you back, of course," was Nightmare's dismissive reply. For a second, nothing happened, then she could practically see hindsight kick Nightmare Moon in the gut. Her lips curled in a wince, and she saw the realization of making a mistake cross her teacher's features. "You..." Nightmare trailed off and pursed her lips unsurely. She could almost hear a low, disgusted groan come from Nightmare's throat. "Does this concern you?"

She hesitated, then gave a slow nod.

Nightmare's wings twitched downward again, but it was over so fast. "I am not going to attack you in your sleep, Twilight Sparkle," she said. "Perhaps I would my enemies," her teacher paused to lean in closer to her, then emphatically continued, "but you are my student... You are a foal."

Her eyes darted up to meet Nightmare's. "Does that really matter to you?"

Nightmare's eyes narrowed and her head pulled returned to its prior position. "Yes," was her succinct reply. "I am not a monster. I am not going to murder foals, least of all in their sleep. I thought I made that clear. Why would it be in my best interest to hurt or kill foals?"

She held her gaze on Nightmare for a few more seconds, then looked off at the wall to her right. She studied it silently, then found her gaze pulled to the shut door leading to Princess- Nightmare Moon's bedchambers. Her ears flicked.

Maybe she had some safety, then. Nightmare Moon wasn't insane. Nightmare Moon was logical, perhaps even, in her own twisted way, reasonable. Assuming Nightmare Moon could control herself, which she wasn't sure of. She still felt nagging doubt eating at her. Who was to say Nightmare wasn't simply lying to her? There was no way for her to actually prove what Nightmare said, at least not without risking her own life.

"I will say it again, Twilight Sparkle: I do not want to kill you. Do not give me a reason to and I will not," Nightmare said.

But it was a lie, of course. Even if Nightmare meant that, wouldn't it be reason enough when she was no longer useful? And what if she was a threat to Nightmare Moon? What if Nightmare Moon snapped in anger again? She looked down at the floor and felt her whole body drooping towards the floor.

"You are my student, Twilight Sparkle. I will protect you, and I will teach you to protect yourself so that you do not become a burden on me," Nightmare continued.

She looked back at Nightmare. She searched Nightmare's expression. It was reserved, perhaps even cautious, as if she was making certain that she was speaking carefully. "Why?" she asked innocently. Only after she said it did she realize she had spoken.

Nightmare didn't snap at her. For a moment, Nightmare was silent, watching her as she tensed up. She watched Nightmare inhaled and extend her wing in one graceful manner, then she closed her eyes as Nightmare's feather reached towards her. Another gentle brush, along her cheek, then gliding up over her mane, before withdrawing. She opened her eyes as a calm peace pushed back the anxiety.

"It is in my best interest," Nightmare answered. "I will teach you to protect yourself so that if something transpires that draws us into a battle, you will not be a greater risk to me than you must be."

She clenched her jaw for a moment, only relaxing to mutter, "Not that..." But even with that said, her mind lingered on the prospect of fighting a battle beside Nightmare Moon. Oh, that was a downright silly idea! Absurd even. Princess Celestia hadn't even let her help with Nightmare Moon. Although, in hindsight, that probably was Princess Celestia trying to protect her. She hoped that was why because the alternative made Princess Celestia lying to her all the worse. Nightmare probably would have killed her first, since it would have made her battle easier. 'But I suppose there's the possibility that we would have no choice...' a part of her mused.

Still, the thought of actually fighting alongside Nightmare Moon was preposterous. Surely there was no way that could ever happen! Unless somepony was trying to kill her. Then maybe.

For a moment, Nightmare's eyes darted off of her body, staring out into space, then they returned. "You are my student," was her answer.

She frowned. "Then why am I your student? Why are you so intent on keeping me when...!" She exhaled sharply and felt her anxiety skyrocket inside her chest.

Nightmare didn't rebuke her display, despite her fears. Instead, Nightmare regarded her for a moment, then reached out with her wing. Her eyes darted to the wing as it approached her, then as a feather touched her cheek, she felt that anxiety deflating. The feather slid over her cheek in a single comforting stroke, as if whisking away that anxiety, then Nightmare folded her wing. She swallowed and looked back at her teacher. "Did I not tell you before, that I need you?" was her teacher's question.

She clenched her jaw and muttered, "Yes..."

Nightmare's lips pulled up into a smile.

"I don't understand!" she retorted. After a moment, she swallowed and carefully said in a quiet voice, "You have no reason to trust me... You have no reason to make me your student because I was your sister's student..."

Nightmare's smirk faded as her lips fell into a neutral line. She thought there was the barest hint of pain washing over Nightmare's features. Nightmare turned her head to the side, followed by what might have been another sigh, then looked at her again. Her teacher calmly inclined her head as if in acceptance, then said, "You were my sister's student, yes. However, as I have said, having you become my student is useful. You can help me."

Once again, Nightmare's eyes glided over her body, taking in her form. She felt that gaze crawl over her back, linger on her side, jump to her other side, then back, and crawl the rest of the way, back to her flank, then it stopped there, going over the outline of her cutie mark, taking in each ray, then each star surrounding the starburst. Then, Nightmare's eyes jumped back to meet her own. She swallowed. Nightmare watched her for a second more, then looked off somewhere at the wall to her right before turning her head, and then her body, towards the wall.

Nightmare walked forward a few steps and lit her horn, meanwhile, Twilight turned her head to watch. Nightmare opened the door to her bedchambers, then calmly ordered, "Follow."

Timidly, Twilight turned, then walked into place beside Nightmare, who casually walked into the bedroom.

"Relax," was Nightmare's next order, accompanied a moment later by the feeling of a feather on her coat. Twilight barely suppressed a shiver as that feather stroked along her back, then brushed over her mane.

She relaxed, but her guard still did not fall. She relaxed and held herself less rigidly, less formally, but was still entirely aware of her precarious position: she was useful, but perhaps she would not always be useful.

Once inside the bedroom, Nightmare turned towards the left, and as Twilight took a few long steps to keep pace with her mentor, she determined their destination: the balcony, signaled by Nightmare's magic enveloping the door, then opening it.

Looking out through the open door, she beheld the dark night sky. Stars twinkled above Canterlot, and the moon was just out of sight. Her legs slowed, hesitating to take her any further, knowing what she would see on the moon when it came into sight. Nightmare paused to look back at her, but Nightmare's expression did not harden. No, Nightmare was patient, if only with her, and if only to an extent. Nightmare had to know patience, given what she had endured.

She swallowed, then blinked. Without thinking about it, she glanced at her mentor, then turned her attention back to the sky. Overriding her legs desire not to carry herself forward, she walked on towards the balcony. Despite unease at knowing what she would see, she did not carry herself rigidly: there was no reason for her to be anxious or scared, surely, nothing was going to hurt her. Nightmare Moon would be right there beside her, surely able to protect her, even more than Princess Celestia could have, or had.

'Princess Celestia didn't really protect me from you...' a part of her mind whispered treacherously. She cast the thought aside and turned her head to look up at Nightmare as she took her place at her mentor's side, though the thought still gnawed at her.

Nightmare smiled, then gracefully strode out onto the balcony, still holding onto that smile. She walked beside her, swallowing as she passed through the doorway. She hadn't meant to, but no sooner had she stepped out onto the balcony than her gaze had shot up to the moon. She hadn't meant to, but she looked, and then stared, at the scarring that marked Princess Celestia's banishment.

The numbness in her core returned. Her eyes drifted down, then jumped down from the moon. She focused on one star in particular. She neither knew the star's name nor cared. She didn't really even consider the star, despite it being the sole focus of her gaze. It was just a simple scapegoat, something to distract her from the moon and the features dotting its surface. Eventually, her eyes leveled on the railing.

She was vaguely aware that she had stopped in the middle of the balcony, but so had Nightmare. Had she spurred on Nightmare stopping, or had it been the other way around? She didn't know. She glanced at Nightmare, but her gaze lingered longer than she intended. Her gaze was drawn up along Nightmare's neck, then she looked at her head and found that Nightmare's head was tilted back, lifted up into the air as she stared at the moon.

Yet Nightmare didn't look comforted. She didn't look like somepony basking in the glory of her victory, but rather, like somepony contemplating imperfections. She glanced down at Nightmare's lips. There was no scowl, nor smile, only a tense, rigid line as her lips pressed together. Yet looking along Nightmare's side, she found that her teacher didn't hold herself so formally. Her teacher's body was relaxed, or at least casual, not standing as if she were in anguish.

Turning her gaze back to Nightmare's eyes, she watched them shift, jumping from place to place as if she was scrutinizing the features scarred into her moon. As if she saw those black scorches and took them in disgust, as they were something that was never meant to be there.

And she remembered, that for that short when Nightmare Moon had been free and before Princess Celestia had been banished in her place, that the moon wasn't scarred by those dark craters. Instead, it was so pure, pristine, and unblemished. The picture on the wall, of the alicorn silhouetted by the moon, also had that same purity. That was how the moon was supposed to look. Free from the corruption of a banished alicorn. And now, the moon was scarred by another banished alicorn. It wasn't meant to look that way, even if that was all she and countless other ponies had ever known. The moon was stained, blemished by the evidence of her Princess' banishment.

What was that like for Nightmare Moon when she realized that? A shiver went down her spine as she pictured Nightmare's reaction: it was oh so different from how she regarded the moon now. Instead of disgust and disappointment, she could picture Nightmare so irate, as angry if not angrier than she had ever seen her teacher.

As if sensing her thoughts, the hard line on her teacher's lips softened, though an indifferent line remained, and her teacher glanced back at her, meeting her gaze. How much pain had those sharp eyes seen? How much pain had she gone through, that brought her to hate her sister so much? Even Princess Celestia's eyes lacked the infinite depth that seemed to draw her in, despite the fear that those eyes provoked. Her eyes were perfect for a predator, so fear-inducing, yet so deep that even if the fear did not paralyze her prey, the depth would.

Nightmare inhaled and leveled her head, then turned her head back towards her. "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, do you enjoy this?" was her calm question.

She looked back at the sky, taking in the infinite vastness that blanketed Equestria. There was so much wonder in the sky above as the stars shimmered, casting their pinpoints of light down on the world beneath them. How could she say no to the beauty of the night sky? The day sky paled in comparison. And then there was also the fact that to say no would be to draw Nightmare's ire. "The sky?" she asked. On the edge of her vision, she saw Nightmare nod. "Yes... It's beautiful," she answered.

Nightmare smiled and looked back up at the sky. "Indeed it is..." she whispered under her breath. "If you enjoy this, then I think we should try to do this more often." Nightmare looked back at her again and for a moment, her teacher's eyes rolled over her features. Then finally, Nightmare's eyes met her own and her teacher asked, "Would you be willing to?"

She hesitated. 'It's an opportunity to get closer to her,' a part of her reasoned. And perhaps that would give her more safety, or perhaps she could somehow use that to her advantage. 'If I do this with her, then maybe she would have some use for me...' the thought trailed off.

But maybe that was thinking about it the wrong way. Instead of looking at it for her own benefit, maybe she should have tried to look at it as a way to help Nightmare, if only because Nightmare didn't have anypony else. She felt a pang of guilt at that.

Maybe it was something they could both enjoy.

She inhaled then nodded.

Nightmare turned away from her to watch the sky once more. "I would enjoy doing this more with you," was her comment. "Although perhaps sending you to Ponyville would make that more difficult," was the disappointed musing that followed.

She wasn't entirely sure what to think about that, nor was she sure what she felt. A part of her rejoiced at the prospect of having that kind of distance between them, and this part also dreaded the idea that Nightmare would change her mind about letting her visit her friends. Another part of her found that she was disappointed at knowing it would be more difficult: being there with Nightmare Moon and enjoying the night was comforting; it helped ease her nerves. She still couldn't help but see that disappointment as so incredibly odd, even though she surmised that it was because Nightmare was her teacher. It would have been the same with Princess Celestia, she knew. But the distance really shouldn't have been a problem. She was never out of Nightmare's grasp. "You can teleport..." was her hesitant response.

Nightmare glanced back at her. Nightmare inclined her head and acknowledged, "Yes, you are correct. But as I have said before: I cannot be everywhere at once, even with my magic. Constantly teleporting to Ponyville and back to Canterlot would be... tedious."

She squinted at her teacher. "Is teleporting really that tedious?"

Nightmare turned to face her. "Do not misunderstand, Twilight Sparkle. I can teleport back and forth between Canterlot and Ponyville. It is not difficult given the extent of my magic, it is simply that I do not want to do it constantly. If I have time, then if you would like, I can visit and we can do this, or perhaps I will have enough time to finally start your lessons."

She nodded slowly. "I'd like to learn the teleportation spell..." she hinted.

Nightmare apparently found it amusing, as she smiled. "And I shall teach you this spell," was her reply. "Although I will warn you not to try to teleport between Canterlot and Ponyville. You are not ready for such a thing."

She nodded more eagerly. Somewhere in her mind, it stood out that Nightmare said she wasn't ready instead of capable. Nightmare watched her for a few seconds longer, then calmly turned her head back to face the sky. Her teacher inhaled audibly, then silently, her chest deflated.

"I find myself perplexed by you, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare said. "In truth, so much has me perplexed since my return." Nightmare's head drifted downward, and she saw Nightmare's eyes glance side to side, sweeping over the railing as her head fell, "So much of this makes no sense..." Then, her teacher shook her head before turning to look at her. "But this is a conversation for another time. You wish to return to Ponyville to see your friends, correct?"

She hesitated, then nodded quickly.

Nightmare turned around to face her. "I have already made arrangements for this," she explained, "And so you shall by batpony chariot. You will be accompanied by a guard, and I believe you should be acquainted with her: Midnight Edge. She is assigned to protect you," Nightmare stated.

She nodded hesitantly, but her mind screamed out against the idea. Was it not enough that she had agreed to stargaze with her teacher more? Was it not enough that she was wearing that crescent moon necklace through which Nightmare kept her on a leash? No! It simply wasn't! No, she had to have a guard, right there beside her, of course! Yet, at least she could take some comfort in knowing that the guard was somepony who she was vaguely familiar with.

Even if the guard was one of Nightmare Moon's soldiers.

Or, maybe she was overreacting, and maybe Nightmare Moon meant what she said, that Midnight was supposed to protect her.

"Right..." she muttered.

Nightmare regarded her cautiously for a moment before continuing, "While you are in Ponyville, you may do whatever you wish. Spend time with your friends. Explore. You are not my prisoner. But you will be overseeing the reconstruction of my castle, and I expect you to continue studying magic as you have. And though I am sure you are aware of this, I will remind you: Do not remove the necklace." For a moment, Nightmare paused in hesitation, then added, "And do not betray me."

She nodded timidly. "I-I won't," she affirmed.

Nightmare nodded slowly as if she wasn't sure. She felt like her teacher's uncertainty came not from whether or not she was going to betray her- which she wasn't- but rather out of the fact that her teacher was giving her such an opportunity.

Then at least they had that much in common, that neither of them trusted the other.

Nightmare stared at her intently. "Although I will ask that you keep your friends in line. I do not want to have to deal with them causing problems. They are your responsibility."

And that was unfair, and a part of her found that command crazy. How could she keep those five in line!? She was still just a filly, all of them were older than her. And there was no reason for her to actually think they'd still consider her a friend. She still wasn't sure why she considered them friends, either. Why would they listen to her? Then again, maybe it was fine. They had turned to her for leadership when they had been captured.

And Nightmare could always just essentially threaten her life to keep her friends in line.

That probably wouldn't be necessary. She still swallowed and nodded.

Nightmare inhaled. "Do not be so tense," she chastised, "it is not good for you."

Twilight winced and slowly averted her gaze from her teacher, the thought, 'You don't make it easy, you know!' shooting through her mind.

"Now, Midnight will escort you to the chariot when the time comes, but you still have a few hours before you have to leave," Nightmare started, "And it has come to my attention that you have either been avoiding your parents as you have been avoiding me, or you have felt like you cannot visit them."

She winced and closed her eyes as anxiety swelled up inside her. Oh, when was the last time she had seen her parents? She really didn't know. It had been a while. Well before the Summer Sun Celebration. She had been busy, of course. And visiting her parents really wasn't high on her to-do list, of course. Especially now. Now would be worse. Now, she wasn't Princess Celestia's student. She was Nightmare Moon's student. She didn't want to have to face them now. Not with everything that was hanging over her head, not with knowing that it very well could be the last time she saw them. Not with knowing that Nightmare could still take her life at any moment. And perhaps worse, Nightmare might use her parents as leverage, or they might say something before she could stop them. Or Nightmare doing something to them because of her.

Her chest and stomach churned and twisted in anxiety as her eyes grew warm.

And then what? What about her brother, what about Cadance? What would-

She felt a feather touch her cheek. It was like a dagger, stabbing the ball of anxiety and forcing it to deflate. The anxiety bled out even faster as that dagger slid through it, mimicking the path the feather took along her cheek, lengthening the cut until her anxiety bled out. Then, Nightmare lifted that feather away. She opened her eyes and looked at Nightmare, then looked down at Nightmare's wing as it extended to her cheek once again.

She watched the feather touch her, then slide along her cheek. She saw how her fur parted around that soft feather, and she saw how the black barbs of the vane mixed in with her lavender coat so thoroughly, almost forming a mesh of softness. She swallowed, and Nightmare's feather slid out of view, then brushed through her mane.

She looked up at Nightmare, who just watched her. Calmly, patiently. Maybe Nightmare really meant what she said, that she didn't want to hurt her. But then, if it came to the point where hurting her was in her teacher's best interest, it wouldn't matter.

Nightmare folded her wing. "Go see your parents," was all she said.

She nodded without voicing any resistance.

Nightmare turned back around. "You may leave now. Midnight will escort you to your parents' house and ensure nopony tries to hurt you. She will not disturb you until it is time for your trip to Ponyville, unless you require anything of her."

She waited. She didn't know how long, but she waited, just standing there, watching Nightmare. Eventually, her hooves carried her back, then she turned around. Each step brought with it anxiety, after all, her back was turned to Nightmare, and Nightmare was out of her sight. But she walked back inside, then walked through the bedroom, and into the study, all without incident.

She reached the door to the hallway and came to a stop, staring at it. For a few seconds, she just let the anxiety churn inside of her, then she finally mustered her courage and lit her horn. Nothing happened. She wasn't attacked, nothing tried to stop her.

Despite knowing that the door was locked and that she had been sealed in the room with Nightmare Moon, she reached out and tried to open the door. It was a futile effort, she knew, but she made it anyway.

The door opened; it wasn't locked.

She stood there as her magic pulled the door all the way open. Somehow, even with seeing the door opening right in front of her, it still didn't click that it had never been locked in the first place. It didn't click that she hadn't been sealed in the room with Nightmare Moon.

The anxiety continued to churn in her chest, even as she walked past the doorway into the hall. Even leaving behind the atmosphere of her mentor's chambers didn't quell that anxiety.

She heard Midnight's playful, cheerful voice ask, "Soo, how'd things go?" and turned to look at her. Her eyes didn't quite focus on Midnight, instead wanting to remain unfocused, or focused on the end of the hallway, despite Midnight's gray coat blocking that spot from her view. Eventually, Midnight tilted her head, waved an armored hoof and blinked. "Uh, Twilight, you doing okay?"

She wasn't sure if it was Midnight's movement or the question, but her eyes refocused on Midnight. She blinked, then swallowed before licking her lips. She hesitated to answer, instead, taking in Midnight's concerned expression, the way she could see that her brow was folded, despite her helmet, the tension in her lips, the way her cheeks pulled up close to her eyes from the squint. "Um, yes. Sorry," she finally answered. "I just-"

"You don't need to be so nervous, you know," Midnight preempted.

She wanted to emphatically reply, 'Yes, yes I do!' She wanted to glare at Midnight. She wanted to sit down and explain to Midnight every single detail of every reason she had to be nervous, specifically starting and ending with Nightmare Moon. She didn't actually have the will or the desire to actually do any of it, despite how much a part of her wanted to. Plus, Nightmare would overhear it all.

So instead, she compromised and just huffed. So what if it was unreasonable!? She could be unreasonable if she wanted to! She was still a filly after all!

Although it wasn't a good example of her, nor was it anything Princess Celestia would have approved of. That made her wince. She was also aware that it represented Nightmare Moon poorly, and that Nightmare probably wouldn't approve of that either.

Still, she didn't apologize for it. Princess Celestia would have chastised her for that too, but Princess Celestia was gone.

"So, are you ready to head to your parents' house?" Midnight asked before she could wince again.

She timidly nodded, already once again dreading the prospect of seeing her parents. The dread only grew as question upon question assaulted her mind and she pictured the worst-case scenarios. Would they accept her? Would they still love her, despite her betraying Princess Celestia and all of Equestria by becoming Nightmare Moon's student? Would they think she was weak for doing it to save her own life? Would they be ashamed of her for falling so far behind on her studies? Would they be mad at her for leaving Spike behind to protect him? What would they do?

"So, um. I don't actually know where your parents live," Midnight admitted, her voice cutting through her questions and fears. "Sooo... you're gonna have to lead."

She looked at Midnight, then just stared at her. One second followed by another past by. She blinked, holding her eyes shut for another second, then opened them to stare at Midnight for even longer.

Midnight pulled her head back and puffed out her chest. "What? It's not like I have any idea where anything is here! I've never been to Canterlot before!" the batpony defended. The defensive posture faded as she continued, "Besides, they're your parents. And I'm fairly certain our Queen doesn't even know where they live, so..."

She just inhaled, then exhaled.

Midnight frowned at her and pointed out, "Hey, it's not like you'd know your way around Hollow Shades."

"Right," she acknowledged succinctly. "Well, we should get going then. How long until we have to leave for Ponyville?"

Midnight brightened right back up, her posture relaxing and her eyes almost lighting up. "Oh! About two hours. That should be plenty of time, right?"

'No,' was what she wanted to say. Sure, it would be enough time for her to actually see her parents, but it wasn't a whole lot. There'd be the walk to get there and then the walk back, and she knew that they should leave early just in case something happened to delay them. Maybe being late for the chariot would be okay, but she still didn't like it. But, at the same time, two hours was far too long, given that she was dreading the prospect of seeing her parents again just as much, if not more than, she looked forward to it. With all this in mind, she suppressed a grimace and answered, "Yes."

Midnight either chose to ignore her grimace or didn't notice it. Midnight just closed her eyes, smiling, and replied with an eager, "All right then! Let's go." Then, she opened her eyes and more casually added, "And you need to lead. I don't know where we're going."

"You said that before," she noted.

"Mhm," Midnight acknowledged with a nod. "Just waiting on you."

She didn't reply, but she did acknowledge Midnight by walking forward and taking the lead. As she walked by Midnight, she turned her head to stare at her. Midnight turned as she walked by to keep facing her, then Midnight finally started walking along beside her. For a few more seconds, she watched Midnight, then she turned her head forward so she didn't stare.

Haha... this took longer to do last minute edits than I expected, and I didn't get started soon enough...

Originally, this chapter was about twice as long, however I broke it up into a Part 1 and Part 2 because of how long it was. Part 2 will be released next Saturday (Feb. 23rd).

It was the first time since Nightmare Moon had taken over that she had walked the streets of Canterlot beyond the palace grounds. It was such a sharp contrast with walking the streets during the light of day back before Princess Celestia had been banished. With little experience roaming the streets of Canterlot during the night, it was such a daunting task, one made all the more anxiety provoking by what had happened and where she was going.

In the soft light of the moon, the city was eerily quiet compared to how she remembered roaming the streets during the day. No matter where she looked, there were so few ponies out. While during the day, the streets would be bustling with ponies going about their business, now, Canterlot seemed almost like a ghost town. The streets felt haunted, dominated by an oppressive weight, overshadowed by the palace and the scarred face of the moon.

Instead of the usual chatter, ponies spoke in hushed voices that she couldn't make out. Those voices held edges of fear, as if they were afraid of what they whispered would be overheard and would bring attention they wanted to avoid, like they were whispering dissenting ideas. Yet even when she made out what was said, and it was innocent enough, there was still that edge of unmistakable, all too familiar fear in their voices. The fear of the unknown. The fear of change. And their fear added to her own.

The few ponies that roamed the streets walked in a hurry, their hooves clicking rapidly against the streets. Ponies that had roamed Canterlot's streets during the day hurried, but the pace of the ponies who trotted along now were different. Their strides were almost panicked. She could look at any of them, and it looked like without them even looking back at her, they sped up. They seemed to speed up without looking at her as if subconsciously knowing somepony spotted them out in this darkness. She could almost see the hairs of their coats standing up, like they felt how everything had changed, like they knew her dread, even without knowing what she was going through.

She ventured a glance at the moon and wondered, 'Do they know..?' as she saw the black marks scarring its surface. Her heart throbbed. Her eyes darted back to the street, just in front of her hooves, as she continued walking along.

Had word spread? Did everypony now know the fate of her beloved mentor? And if they did, what did they think of her? Did they see her now that she was Nightmare's student as a traitor? Did they think that she had forgotten about her beloved teacher? What did they think? Or did they even realize that the scars dotting the face of the moon was now from Princess Celestia? Did they know that those scars were unnatural? They grew up knowing no different. For all they knew, Princess Celestia had just vanished.

It weighed on her mind, pressing back on her just like the thick air. She swallowed and lifted her eyes back up to search the streets. Maybe it was because Midnight, clad in her silvery-gray armor, walked beside her, but anypony who so much as looked in her direction immediately looked away, as if it was an instinctive reaction. Worse yet, they sped up more than when she glanced at them in passing.

Did they know who she was in that brief glimpse? Was it enough for them to recognize her and know they were watching the student of the Queen? Or was their reaction based entirely on seeing Midnight? Did Midnight scare them because she was a batpony, or because she was one of Nightmare Moon's soldiers?

Was this how the rest of Canterlot was? Was this how everypony in Canterlot acted? What about the rest of Equestria, was it was tense as Canterlot was? Did ponies fear to roam the streets in the night, even with the light of the moon? Did they still shun Nightmare Moon? It had been a month; had they not adjusted? How could they really adjust to something like this?

And if they shunned the night when the moon was out, what did that say of the moonless nighttime? She knew that ponies would avoid it at all costs. Nopony would dare venture outside when the moon had set.

Haunted by the questions, she turned her gaze onto the marble mansions she walked by. Under the light of the sun, they all tried to scream out for attention, boasting of their exuberance, demanding awe and respect. The mansions had been perhaps a blight on Canterlot, the result of the mostly self-proclaimed nobility. But now, under the softer light of the moon, they did not scream out for attention as they had during the day. Instead, they spoke out in hushed whispers: they did not boast of their exuberance but reached out with a gentle, soft-spoken beauty.

Light shined out onto the street from the windows of lit rooms. The warm yellow glows descended on the street, yet they barely fought back the darkness of the night. The lighting was just so that it brought her to think back on her limited experience roaming the streets of Canterlot at night with her parents. The memories were few and short, yet as she thought back on them, she felt a sense of calmness wash over her. The yellow glows of lights descending into the streets then had been so wonderful, almost having mystical feels to them that had delighted her in her youth. Now, that feeling had been stolen. The light that drifted into the street felt timid instead of free.

She glanced aside at Midnight for a moment. The mare had her eyes lifted up to the sky as she walked along, so carefree. But she was in her element: the night. For Midnight, the night that Nightmare Moon had brought was probably comforting beyond anything she could imagine. Maybe it wasn't so different from the comfort she had when she knew Princess Celestia was right there with her. She pondered the thought and watched Midnight for a few seconds longer, then averted her gaze.

She walked on, her mind wondering as her hooves carried her onward. Finding her parents home was simple enough, it just took time to get there. Minutes past and the mansions gradually grew less and less grandiose. And yet, only a few ponies still roamed the streets. She passed by Royal Guards on patrol. Rather than their usual cheery or at least friendly expressions, their lips were hard lines, showing dread. They didn't give her any attention, even when she watched them. They focused on their tasks, so emotionless.

Eventually, she slowed as they neared the familiar neighborhood where her parents lived. She came to a stop in front of the path to their house. She took one look at the door and the light streaming out from the windows and felt her anxiety balloon up inside her, growing, growing, and growing. She bit down on her sore lip as the anxiety squeezed her chest, tighter and tighter. She looked at the grass on either side of the path, trying to distract herself. It didn't help. She focused on the rows of flowers lining the walkway, hoping to find some sense of comfort. It didn't comfort her.

To her shock, she found that she wished Nightmare had been there with her, rather than Midnight. Maybe Nightmare would have comforted her, or maybe she wouldn't have. But if Nightmare had been there, she knew she would have felt some sense of certainty. She didn't know how or why, but it would have helped her. Maybe if only because Nightmare would surely spur her to action, either with or without threats.

But Nightmare wasn't there. It was only Midnight and herself, standing at the start of the path to her parents' house. Had anypony been outside to see them, surely they would have looked out of place, unless they knew her.

"Soo... this their place?" Midnight queried.

She turned her head to look at Midnight. Midnight's eyes glanced over the house before them. It would be considered a mansion in Ponyville, she knew, but here in Canterlot it was barely worth noting, despite it belonging to her parents. The parents of Twilight Sparkle. But in Canterlot, did that really mean much of anything? And what about now that Princess Celestia was gone? At the very least, she took comfort in knowing that the house was taken care of, and it didn't appear that anything bad had befallen her parents.

She opened her mouth to answer Midnight, but a knot in her throat caused her to croak. Midnight's curiosity vanished in that instant as she turned to face her. She closed her mouth and just nodded.

Midnight watched her for a few more seconds before asking, "Aren't you looking forward to seeing them?"

She shook her head. Midnight's ears folded back and the corners of her lips pulled downward. She looked away from Midnight, then turned her head away from her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" was Midnight's soft question.

She just shook her head again. How could Midnight even start to understand everything she was going through? Midnight, and the rest of the batponies, practically worshipped Nightmare Moon. Realizing that, she felt numb. Did the batponies, in their reverence for Nightmare Moon, mirror herself and Princess Celestia? But surely not: the batponies were raised to be soldiers. She had not been raised to be a soldier, nor a fighter. She had studied magic under Princess Celestia's guidance, not war.

But then, what if she had been misled or misunderstood? The anxiety in her chest twisted and churned. What if Princess Celestia had plans for her that she didn't know about? Princess Celestia had lied to her at least once. Who was to say Princess Celestia had not lied before and that this was the only time she discovered it had been a lie?

What had been Princess Celestia's intentions for her?

"I'm sure you'll feel better when you see your parents," Midnight offered in a soft, comforting voice that helped soothe the anxiety, fears, and doubts she felt. It didn't completely banish them, but it helped stifle her fears from growing further.

She swallowed and looked back at Midnight. Maybe Midnight was right. Maybe she was overreacting. She licked her lips and took a deep breath, then muttered, "Get me when..."

Midnight nodded seriously. "I'll just stand around out here, then get you when we need to go," was her response.

She nodded timidly, then turned her gaze back to the door. She lifted a forehoof. And oh, that forehoof trembled as she held it in the air! What would she find? How would her parents treat her? But there was only one way to find out. She set her hoof down to step forward, then took another step.

"Twilight?" Midnight called.

She paused and gradually managed to crane her neck back to face Midnight, who said, "Just try to relax, okay?"

'Easier said than done,' she knew. She nibbled on her lip, rolling it in between her teeth even as it hurt. She was familiar with self-doubt, fears, and anxiety. Even before Nightmare Moon's return. Princess Celestia had been her teacher, and how could she not have felt fear and anxiety? She couldn't disappoint the Princess of Equestria.

She swallowed. The anxiety churned in her chest. She gave a timid nod, then turned back to face the door. The door seemed to stare back at her, judging her, bringing her fears back to her mind even as she heard Nightmare's voice whispering in her mind, 'Relax.'

Painfully slowly, she crept towards the door. The path felt like it was miles long, yet at the same time, it felt like she crossed the distance to the door in the blink of an eye. Each step made her panic. She closed the distance too quickly, hadn't given herself enough time to prepare for seeing her parents again, and felt worried sick.

A part of her knew she was overreacting and worrying too much, but it was drowned out by all of her fears, and nopony was there to tell her it would be okay.

She turned her head to look back at Midnight. Midnight faced away from her, head pointed up toward the stars. She nibbled on her sore lip and turned, then lifted a forehoof and timidly knocked on the door. Once, twice, and then three times, each knock slow and hesitant. She hoped nopony was home. She hoped nopony heard her knocking. She'd have an excuse to avoid them even longer.

The door opened. She trembled as that anxiety felt like it dropped somewhere in her body, dragging the rest of her down with it. It was like she had been flying, then fell. She barely registered her dad standing there before she felt forelegs wrap around the back of her neck, and her father's familiar coat pressed against her neck. "Twilight!" he nearly shouted. The hug was crushing. The hug was comforting.

She felt the anxiety gradually fade; her father caught her and so she did not fall. The next few seconds passed by in a blur: still embraced by her father, she was whisked away inside and the door closed behind her from her father's aura. She heard the frantic hoofsteps of her mom, then saw her round the corner. Shock, worry, and then unbridled joy washed over her mother's expression. Her mom galloped the length of the hallway and nearly ran over both her father and herself to join the hug. It was even more loving than her father's embrace. Combined, her parents hugged her and locked her head in between theirs. She couldn't see their faces, but she still knew they cried. She felt them cry. She cried too. They hugged her so tightly, holding her so close.

Somehow, they still loved her. And she felt it. She knew it. It was a fact, and it gave her something to hold onto: the love of her parents.

She closed her eyes and hugged them back. Midnight was right, she needed this. She needed this hug from her parents, she needed this sense of stability. Her parents hadn't changed. Princess Celestia had been banished, her status as Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student had been stripped away from her, and Nightmare Moon had forced her into becoming the student to the psychotic alicorn who banished her beloved mentor, but her parents hadn't changed. They still loved her, no matter what. It made her cry all the more, and as she cried, she felt better.

With her father's forelegs wrapped around her neck, she actually felt safe. But, how could she not? It was her father, there with her mother. Both of them loved her still, despite her fears that they would hate her. Both of them were so happy to see her, so glad that she was safe. They were crying out of joy, just from seeing her again and knowing she was safe.

But wasn't it a lie? She wasn't actually safe, not by a long shot. Even the security she felt from her father's embrace, that security that any foal would feel, that security that would drive foals to their parents for protection, as it had her, was so fragile, just like her life. The sense of security was just a lie, a mask, one she tried to cling to, but she could not hold onto it, because she saw it for what it was. Even if her parents tried to protect her, it didn't matter. It couldn't matter. They couldn't protect her from Nightmare Moon. Nothing they could do would save her from her new mentor.

That was her fear. The fear that nearly overwhelmed all of the security and protection they offered. The fear that Nightmare Moon was lying to her and that Nightmare Moon would kill her, and that it was just a matter of time.

Nightmare Moon said that her death wasn't beneficial. Nightmare Moon wanted her as a student. Nightmare Moon wanted to stargaze with her. Nightmare Moon seemed to try to comfort her. Maybe Nightmare Moon wanted somepony, perhaps to replace Princess Celestia, since she had nopony else. A part of her wondered how Nightmare Moon couldn't want somepony, if only because of those one-thousand years of isolation. She couldn't imagine what that would have been like.

Yet, of course, she couldn't believe her teacher, or maybe she just refused to believe her teacher. How could she trust such a pony who would turn on her own sister? A pony who banished her sister?

Princess Celestia had banished her sister for one thousand years.

She had trusted Princess Celestia.

That meant she could trust somepony who had done something like that. And knowing that, even despite the warm, loving embrace of her parents, left her feeling cold.

Maybe Nightmare Moon wouldn't dispose of her if she was useless. Maybe Nightmare Moon would keep her around. Maybe trying to reach out to Nightmare Moon would help. But yet, what if Nightmare Moon snapped? How could she trust somepony who could snap at the realization that her own sister had erased her from her subjects, yet others remembered her?

She knew the uncertainty she felt was probably the exact same kind of uncertainty Nightmare Moon hated. Assuming Nightmare Moon was being truthful, it wasn't beneficial.

It wasn't in her best interests.

But her parents still loved her. Her parents still embraced her. And she hugged them back, relishing in the comfort she could take from her parents embrace, just like any foal would.

"It'll be okay..." her dad whispered into her ear.

And at least a part of her believed him. How could she not? He was her father. It made her feel better, but she still felt the weight of everything pressing down on her.

She was overreacting. A part of her, the more logical part of her mind, knew she was overreacting. Overreacting was something she was good at, and her father was there to tell her that she was overreacting.

She sat down on her haunches, still crying. Her parents sat down right there with her, still holding her, refusing to let go. They cooed and murmured in her ears, and each word spoken soothed her mind, even as it weighed her heart down.

Eventually, her crying faded to sniffles. Her parents squeezed her.

"We love you, Twilight. Never forget that," her mom said. "Please... be safe, okay? We couldn't handle it if..."

Even with her mom not finishing the sentence, it still smacked into her like a brick wall. Even that didn't do it justice. Applejack had kicked her in the gut, Rainbow Dash had shot out of the sky at full speed to hit her. Rarity was trying to suffocate her with a dress again. All wrapped up in what went unsaid. She clenched her eyes shut, inhaling and trembling as the back of her throat closed. She just nodded. Her parents hugged her more.

She couldn't disappoint them. She couldn't screw up her position as Nightmare Moon's student. But she was still already a disappointment: the way she acted like a little filly, the way she overreacted to everything, the way she failed to stop Nightmare Moon. She was a disappointment. She knew it. Nothing would change it.

But then her father said, "We're proud of you, Twilight."

And she heard his honesty, and it made her want to cry more, but not out of fear. How could they have been proud of her? But yet she heard the truth, that they were proud of her. Perhaps it wasn't spoken from Princess Celestia, but it was still her father, and so she treasured it. She believed it: that she wasn't a disappointment. She mattered to them.

"I know that we weren't there for you as much after Princess Celestia-" she instinctively tensed up in fear at the sound of her Princess' name, knowing that just like her, her new teacher would have heard it, knowing that her new teacher's blood would be boiling at that name. She expected for her teacher to show up, to do something that would steal away whatever semblance of that lie of security her father offered her away. Her mother continued, not noticing her mistake, though holding her tighter and closer, "- took you as her student, but... if you ever need anything, don't forget that we're here for you. We love you."

She nodded. Her mom kissed her temple, then nuzzled her. It was instinctive, she knew, but she returned the nuzzle, and in the process, nuzzled her father. Her father joined in, nuzzling her back. She missed this, feeling the comfort and giddy joy the affection of her parents brought her, how it reminded her of her youth. Back when she thought that Princess Celestia could never fail, back when she was convinced her father and brother were the best ponies in the world, beside the Princess. Yet now, even with the giddy feeling swelling up in her core, it was almost overshadowed by her mentor, like Nightmare was standing right behind her, blocking the light of the moon and leaving her in a dark shadow.

But that knowledge didn't completely stifle the happiness she felt. Her teacher hadn't shown up to punish her or her parents for misspeaking, her teacher hadn't truly hurt her. Maybe it would be okay, and maybe she was worrying too much about things. Perhaps that false sense of security she felt from her father's embrace wasn't actually false.

Nightmare Moon said she wasn't a monster. The way Nightmare spoke as she said she would not kill a foal, she could believe it. Nightmare kept telling her to relax.

And she knew she needed to. She worried far too much. She knew she did, but it was hard. It was ingrained in who she was, and fixing it wouldn't be easy. Maybe she could open up to her teacher, and maybe her teacher wouldn't take advantage of it.

"Why don't we go to the living room?" her father suggested in a calm, comforting voice.

She found herself thinking about it. She wanted to, but she didn't want to leave her parents' embrace. She didn't want to feel their forelegs pull back, and she didn't want to feel their bodies pull away. She still managed to nod, albeit barely. And as she nodded, she felt dread, because each second was one second closer to her parents letting go of her.

"Would you like some water?" her mother offered.

She managed to say, "Yes, please."

Her parents both nuzzled her again, then she felt her mother's forelegs slip off her. Her body felt tight and oh-so-small when that happened. Then her mother stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Without her mom at her right side, she felt exposed and vulnerable. She watched her mom walk the length of the hallway, then disappear.

But her father was still there, holding her and protecting her. It wasn't the same as both of them embracing her, but it helped, and so the tightness eventually drifted away as she relaxed in his embrace. And silly as it was, she wanted to go to sleep with them watching over her. She would have felt safer, but it was still silly.

Her father hugged her tighter, then nuzzled her. The squeeze ended, and his forelegs slid down, then eventually left her back. She chewed on her sore lip as her father pulled out of the hug then stood up, but she still found it in herself to stand up as he did.

He turned to his right and walked into the living room. She followed her father just like she had when she was a young filly. She looked around the familiar living room and felt a sense of comfort. It was stable, in that it had not changed even as so much else had.

Like always, the couch was against the interior wall on the right as she walked into the room. It faced the exterior wall to her left. Her eyes wandered over that plain, familiar blue couch, then drifted over to the wall on her left. She looked out the window and saw the darkness covering Canterlot. Her jaw tightened, and she felt the pressure in her gums.

A few more steps inside, and still looking out the window, she saw Midnight still standing guard, watching the sky and street. If her father saw Midnight, he said nothing. She looked away and walked over to the couch, then climbed up onto it, turned around, and sat down. And with that done, her father sat down beside her on her left. On instinct, she leaned against him and nestled her head against his shoulder, seeking out the protection and comfort he offered.

Her mother walked into the room, smiling a strained smile, and carrying a glass of water in her magic. She swallowed and leaned away from her father as her mother approached, then as the glass was offered to her, she took it in her magic, brought it to her lips and tilted the glass up.

She felt the water run over her lip and flow into her mouth. It was cold and refreshing. She swallowed and felt the cool water going down her throat, then she tilted the glass further up and took another drink before lowering the glass. "Thanks," she managed to murmur. Her mother simply nodded.

Reluctantly, she glanced at her father and found him looking at her. She saw her mother climb up onto the couch on her right side, and just like her father, her mother looked at her.

"Are you doing okay?" they asked in unison.

It was a question that made her feel guilty. She felt guilty because she worried them. She felt guilty because, here with them, she knew she was overreacting about everything. She felt guilty because she didn't spend as much time with them as other foals spent with their parents. She felt guilty because they worried about her. Because of the guilt, she couldn't give the honest answer, 'No. I'm not okay,' and lying to them would be just another reason to feel guilty.

'Why did you have to ask that question!?' a part of her whimpered. But she already knew the answer, 'You're my parents... you love me,' and the answer made her feel even more guilt. She tested her voice, "I," and paused to swallow the tightness at the back of her throat. "I..." she repeated only to stop because she didn't know what to say.

She couldn't lie to them. It was wrong, and she'd feel bad about it, especially since they loved her. She couldn't tell the truth to them. It would hurt them, and Nightmare Moon was listening.

She inhaled, closed her eyes, then let out the breath in her lungs. "It's hard," is what she managed to answer. But she knew they already knew that. Opening her eyes, she looked first at her mother, then at her dad. They couldn't hide the worry that haunted their expressions, but she still couldn't miss their love and concern for her. It made her want to cry even more, but she stopped herself from crying again.

Neither of her parents said anything for a time; both of them were patiently waiting for her to say something more, if she was going to say anything more. But that time past, and she hadn't found any words she could say, so her father asked, "She's not hurting you, is she?"

And it was a question that made her feel as if her body and mind both existed as two separate fragments that couldn't reconcile for the briefest moment. Nightmare Moon scared her to death, and Nightmare Moon had hurt her, but her teacher was trying to not hurt her. And saying Nightmare Moon was hurting her would only make things worse for everypony, and a part of her knew saying that was just a lie.

Nightmare Moon wasn't intentionally hurting her. Her teacher was trying to make an effort to have some form of relationship with her that wasn't overshadowed by her fear and those promises. She swallowed and barely managed to mumble a drawn out, "No..."

She felt her father's foreleg around her back, then felt him pull her to his chest. She didn't fight back. She closed her eyes as her father squeezed her. She didn't open her eyes again until her father let go and gave her a nuzzle.

"Shining's... worried about you," her mother voiced.

She felt a chill crawl down her spine at that. For a moment, she stayed against her father while the chill crept downward, then she turned to face her mother.

"Cadance is too..." her mother added.

She managed to nudge her head up and down to nod. "Are-" her voice cracked slightly "-are they doing okay?"

Her mother nodded calmly. "They... seem to be, but... Twilight, we're all worried about you. I... we know this is hard for you because..." and her mother trailed off, refusing to finish her sentence.

And knowing that sentence wouldn't be finished brought so much relief to her. She felt like she could melt into a puddle right there, surrounded by them. But she didn't know what to say to that. What could she even say to that? What could have been said? Surely they knew the position she was in. Surely they knew what Nightmare Moon could do. Surely they knew what Nightmare Moon had done. They were worried about her, and rightfully so. But there really wasn't anything any of them could do.

And once again, a part of her said, 'I'm overreacting.' Nightmare Moon held so much power over her, but maybe she really was just too worried about that.

But it didn't stop her from worrying about it.

There was a knock on the door and her body tensed. The knock was followed by several more, in a playful manner. She knew it was Midnight, but that knowledge twisted in her gut, almost sickening her. She didn't want to leave her parents' side, she didn't want to leave their embrace. She didn't want their nuzzles and comforting words to just turn into memories.

And yet, another part of her was relieved. "I need to go..." she voiced. "I'm... supposed to go back to..." she hesitated to say the next word, "Ponyville." And maybe she should have told them about finding friends, but she didn't. Her parents probably would have rejoiced at that news, and their rejoicing would have left her bewildered. Instead, she said, "Spike is still there," and let it at that.

Her parents turned to face her, then embraced her, sandwiching her between them. It was her parents, her family, and they loved her. They put that love into the hug. She closed her eyes and felt her lips pull up into a smile.

Her parents didn't let go. She didn't have the strength to leave their embrace, either.

But it didn't last. The knocks came again, not quite as playful, yet still casual. The knocks were bored. Her father begrudgingly let up on hugging her, and his forelegs slowly drifted down her sides before finally releasing her. Her mother held on for several more seconds, then let up as her father had. She stood up and reluctantly looked at her parents. They stood up and said, "We love you, Twilight."

She felt warmth at the edges of her eyes again, and her throat tightened. "I love you too..." she whispered back. They turned to face her and hugged her again, then all shared a nuzzle that was interrupted by bored knocking again. "I... I'll... be careful," she voiced. Her parents nodded, but she saw them both swallow.

For a few seconds longer, she watched them, then she turned and walked to the door. She heard her parents hoofsteps follow close behind her. She reached out to open the door with her magic and saw Midnight. She only caught a glimpse of curiosity on Midnight's expression as it faded into something more subdued, not unlike her own expression, although not quite as heavy.

She glanced back at her parents, who were standing close enough that their coats were pressed together. Without saying anything, she walked outside. "Goodbye, Twilight... be careful," her parents called. She stopped, looked back, saw their tears, then looked away and nodded. Midnight stood still as she walked by her, then Midnight turned and followed her. She made it to the end of the path, then Midnight took the lead.

She never heard the door close.

She remembered watching Canterlot grow distant when she had departed by chariot to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. Even though she knew Nightmare Moon was returning, despite what Princess Celestia had said, she had tried to believe her Princess. She felt there was an odd parallel now as she watched Canterlot grow distant from a batpony-pulled chariot. The differences were, ironically, as plain as day: unlike before, it was night. Unlike before, Princess Celestia was imprisoned and Nightmare Moon was her teacher. Unlike before, the chariot was pulled by two batpony stallions. Unlike before, Midnight accompanied her instead of Spike. Unlike before, her teacher had seen her off.

She hadn't expected that, but Nightmare had been there to watch her depart. Nothing was said between them. Nightmare didn't address her. She had watched Nightmare, and Nightmare had likewise watched her. Her teacher's expression hadn't been cold or hard, it hadn't been uncaring. No, Nightmare Moon almost looked disappointed to see her depart. She felt certain she was wrong, yet she knew that's what she had seen.

Her brother and Cadance, like before, had been absent. It left her feeling odd. Not nervous, not afraid, just odd. It was something she felt like she needed to study in order to understand it.

But there were still similarities that she couldn't escape. Both then and now, she felt something weighing her down. Both then and now, she had a daunting task to take care of. The difference was that before she had been looking forward to that task to an extent, and now she was not. Before, she had been dreading seeing other ponies, and now she was not.

She nibbled on her lip, even as it sent jolts of pain through her body. The thought crossed her mind, 'Will my lip even heal at this rate!?' With that, she scowled. She turned away from the darkened city of Canterlot and looked out towards the vast ocean of darkness before her. In the distance, under the light of the moon, she could just barely make out Ponyville, then the dark blot that was the Everfree Forest, where there was no light. In the moonlight, Ponyville looked peaceful. Still, calm, and relaxed. From the distance, she couldn't make out any fear, any panic, or anything else that ruined the serene beauty of the night.

She glanced aside at Midnight, who sat on her haunches staring up at the sky. Her eyes were filled with wonder, almost gleaming as she took in the pinpoints of light that were the stars. And she couldn't understand why Midnight was so infatuated with the sky. The beauty was there, yes, but Midnight was a batpony. Midnight could fly; there was no reason for being this high up to draw her in so much.

Unless it was because it was Nightmare's eternal night.

Even as her glance turned into a stare, Midnight didn't look at her: she was too mesmerized with the night sky. Eventually, she looked away from Midnight and turned her head back. One last look at Canetrlot. Even in the darkness, it was still a jewel. It still shined like a beacon, even in the unending night. Perhaps its warm glow was subdued, but it still glowed from the side of the mountain.

She inhaled, then forced the air out of her lungs as she looked back towards Ponyville. But she found her interest drawn more to the silent wingbeats of the batponies pulling the chariot. It was so quiet, far, far too quiet. She felt like they should have made a sound, even if it was quiet. But they seemed nearly silent. Was it their magic? Was it their wings?

It didn't hold her attention long, as her gaze was eventually drawn back to Ponyville. What were those five mares she somehow called friends doing? Were they doing okay? How were they coping with everything? It had been over a month; did they remember her? Did they miss her? Why hadn't they visited her?

How was Spike doing?

The thought pierced through everything else in her mind. It was such a simple question, yet that question struck her to her core. It had been over a month. She hadn't seen Spike in over a month. She hadn't truly said goodbye to him. Her eyes grew warm. She closed them, then inhaled. She trembled.

A dozen thoughts assaulted her from all sides. Was Spike okay? Were those mares taking care of him as she had asked? Where was Spike staying? Was Spike being taken care of properly? Did Spike miss her? Did Spike hate her for abandoning him? How would Spike react to seeing her again? Would Spike forgive her? Could Spike forgive her? Was what she had done right? Was seeing him again and putting him in danger right? Was this a mistake?

She felt the doubt consuming her, and there was no escaping it: Nightmare Moon had turned her world upside down. Nightmare Moon had turned Equestria upside down.

The wind chilled the streaks of warmth dotting her face, then dried the trails left behind. 'There's no turning back now...' she knew.

The flight passed by in a blur after that. It all felt foggy and hazy, but then, her thoughts demanded all of her attention. Her worries demanded even more. And her anxiety was right there with her, reminding her of how little it would take for everything to come crumbling down on her, even worse than Princess Celestia's banishment.

She missed her parents. She missed having somepony there with her to tell her she was overreacting, or to tell her to relax.

Once the chariot had touched down and stopped moving, she turned around and stepped off without much thought. Midnight stepped down beside her. She glanced at Midnight, who looked around casually, then glanced around to take in her surroundings.

They had landed nearly the exact spot where she had landed once before. She felt a shiver race down her spine. Oh, how she had not expected what landing there would have led to! She clenched her jaw, then turned around and watched the batponies fly off with the chariot, leaving her trapped in that insane town. For a few seconds, she tracked their ascent, then looked back down at the street. Hesitantly, she looked around.

Only a few ponies were out and about. All of them were staring at her and Midnight. Midnight was either oblivious to it or didn't care. Unlike Midnight, she cared. She felt their stares, and it unnerved it. It gave her something else to worry about. All of the ponies watching her surely knew that she had been Princess Celestia's student. They all surely knew she had overseen the Summer Sun Celebration. All of the ponies watching her knew that she was now Nightmare Moon's student.

And all of them probably put all of their blame for everything that had happened squarely on her shoulders. The thought made her wilt. Her ears folded back, and instinctively, she lowered her head, making herself smaller, trying to shy back from their haunted stares.

She felt so much like how Fluttershy acted. A part of her shouted at her for how ridiculous she was acting. She was Princess Celestia's Student, for pony's sake! Except she wasn't Princess Celestia's student: she was Nightmare Moon's student.

She swallowed and nearly choked from it since her throat had tightened. She forced the knot back, then tried to stand normally. She needed to mask the shame, but couldn't. A few of the ponies staring at her were gazing at her chest, and the crescent moon necklace hanging from her neck.

And another thought raced through her mind, 'I have no idea where to go...' It almost felt like everything came to a stop at that, even if she knew that wasn't the case. She still felt her world spinning, her heart racing, worries and anxieties assaulting her from all sides.

Where was she supposed to go from here? Nightmare Moon had not told her what to do. No, Nightmare Moon had told her what to do. But she had been so vague. Her chest tightened. She had no direction, there were no plans written for her to follow, there was nothing for her to go on! What was she supposed to do first? It wasn't written down for her to follow! What if she did something wrong and angered Nightmare Moon!? She breathed in and out too quickly; she was hyperventillating.

She was going to be sick at this rate.

But then, maybe it didn't need to be planned to the last detail for her to follow. Nightmare Moon didn't try to take complete control of everything, after all. She didn't demand that every single decision from every single town be sent to her for approval. No, Nightmare Moon knew that was an impossible task, even with magic. So maybe she could apply the same thinking here. She wasn't expected to be perfect. Maybe she could make a couple of mistakes and Nightmare would forgive her.

She had made mistakes, and Nightmare had already forgiven her for them. Thinking back on that, she felt a sense of relief, and she managed to get her breathing under control. Nightmare wasn't holding every little mistake she had made over her head. The weight pressing down on her body and mind lifted, even if her fear didn't completely fade away.

'Okay, okay, okay... what do I do first, then?' she asked herself. She glanced back at Midnight, who was still taking in the scenery. And the ponies. Midnight was studying them now, too. So Midnight wasn't going to offer her any help. She could ask, but she decided against that, at least for the moment.

She knew where her 'friends' lived. Well, aside from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. It probably would have been futile to search for them anyway, since they were pegasi. There was Rarity; her Boutique was close. Then there was Applejack, who lived on a farm outside of Ponyville. Going to see Applejack sounded like a horrible idea, however, given that it was so far away, and it was, obviously, nighttime, so it seemed unsafe.

She could have been wrong, of course. She doubted that, though.

Then there was also Pinkie Pie. She ruled that out immediately: she neither knew where Pinkie Pie lived, nor wanted to know where that was.

'Where am I supposed to stay?' she wondered with new dread. Surely, Nightmare Moon had made some kind of preparations for her!? But she hadn't been told. So no, here she was, without any direction. Did her teacher intend for her to fend for herself!? That would have been too harsh of a lesson for her! Although Midnight was there, so she wasn't completely on her own. And of course, there was the necklace.

"Um..." she trailed off, shuffling her hooves on the dirt road as she turned to face Midnight. "Where... am I supposed to go now..?"

Midnight blinked. "Oh! Right, sorry. New place. Uh, Nightmare said that she arranged for you to stay where you were staying when you first came here," was her response.

It was vague, but perhaps Midnight could give a more descriptive answer, so she tentatively asked, "The library..?"

Midnight just gave a carefree shrug that told her the batpony didn't realize just how big of a deal this situation was- at least to her- and tilted her head before saying, "I don't know. You tell me?"

"Are you serious!?" was her exasperated response. Surely, this was insane! Midnight had to know! Midnight had to! Surely Nightmare Moon wasn't going to just tell Midnight, 'Twilight knows where to go.' But then again, Nightmare Moon was a psychopath.

She gritted her teeth as Midnight frowned and pulled back defensively. But Midnight didn't say anything. And really, taking it out on Midnight was mean. She closed her eyes, inhaled as deep as she could, then exhaled. Her exhale turned into a mixture of a huff and a groan. But then, she really didn't care. "Fine," she growled. "The library. I'll just assume that's where I'm supposed to stay, then."

"Oh, and I'm supposed to stay with you, too!" was Midnight's eager response that completely ignored her frustration.

She did the only thing she could: inhale again, then exhale. 'Idiots...' She shook her head, then turned. 'Maybe one of my friends would let me stay with them if I needed...' she mused.

It still didn't alleviate her soured mood.

Ignoring that, she focused on trotting towards the library. If ponies wanted to stare at her, that was fine! She didn't care. They could stare all they wanted! Midnight trotted along beside her. Navigating the way to the library from where they landed was made slightly difficult by being unfamiliar with the layout of the town, both since it was night and because she hadn't been in Ponyville that long anyway, but she managed to pull it off.

As she approached the library, her legs slowed down, drawing out her approach. Each step felt like it took longer than the last as she stared at that tree. Through the windows, she saw the flickering orange glow of candles. The glow raced out into the street, fading quickly, but still dancing on the ground as the flame flickered. That warm glow was so familiar, so welcome. It was an old friend of hers, one she had known so well from studying her books. She felt a sense of calm, accompanied by a throb of guilt and loneliness.

But she pressed on. She came to a stop at the door, then knocked. From behind the door, she heard something fall, then there was the sound of something scraping on wood. She couldn't tell if it was hooves or claws. The ground grew in volume, then she heard the sound of the lock being undone, which was followed by the door opening. She hadn't seen an aura envelop the door, but despite that, she was still expecting to see somepony there.

But nopony was there. Instead, she was greeted with Spike's shout of "Twilight!?" and Spike leaping at her, arms outstretched. She felt shock rush over her body, and in an instant, everything was blurred and her eyes burned. The light was so distorted by the tears in her eyes, yet Spike's form was so undeniable. She fell onto her haunches and caught him, enveloping him with her forelegs. He wrapped his claws around her neck and hugged her as tight as he could. His claws dug into her neck, but any discomfort it caused was nothing compared to the joy that she felt from seeing and hugging him again.

She closed her eyes and held him to her chest as tightly as she could. "S-Spike," she croaked.

"Twilight, I-I missed you so much!" Spike called back. "T-they told me th-that Nightmare Moon h-had captured you all and-and that s-she took you! I-I was s-so scared!" was his wail.

She just hugged him tighter as her cheeks warmed and subsequently cooled as the warmth trickled down to her jaw. She couldn't stop herself from nuzzling his scaly cheek, not that she would have stopped herself even if Nightmare Moon was there watching, not even if Nightmare Moon would have released her mentor. She knew it was silly, but she needed this, so, so badly. It was comforting and reassuring to feel his scaly body pressed up against hers, to hold him, and for him to hold her right back.

"It-it's okay, Spike," she stuttered back. A part of her believed it. Another part of her felt that it was a blatant lie. But Spike hugged her tighter, and that's what mattered.

Eventually, it would be okay.

"I-I'm s-so sorry that I-I left you, Sp... ke," she croaked. But there had been perfectly reasonable reasons why she had left him! It was for his own protection. "I-I..." she stopped. Her response died, knowing that, even if she had her reasons, it still hadn't been right.

But he didn't rebuke her. He just hugged her tighter, digging his claws into the back of her neck even more, refusing to let go. "It-it's okay, Twi..." was all he said, in such a small, kind voice.

It broke her heart all the more. She had no will to do anything else. Anything else was pointless. So she just held him and cried. And he just held her and cried.

She didn't know, nor care how long they stayed like that until their tears stopped. Her chest was soaked from Spike's tears, but she didn't care. Midnight had been there the whole time, too, but she didn't care. She lifted a foreleg from Spike's back, then rubbed her eyes. Reluctantly, she lifted her head up and looked down at him. She smiled, even as her sight blurred again. She still couldn't mistake his smile as he looked up at her and let go and slid down her chest. "C... on, Spike... let's go inside..."

He nodded timidly and looked at Midnight. His eyes darted over her, studying her.

She glanced aside at Midnight, who casually said, "Hi."

For a few seconds, she watched the batpony, who smiled at Spike and ignored her. "This is Midnight Edge..." she reluctantly drawled. Slowly, she turned her head back to face Spike. "She's... a batpony, and..." she trailed off as her voice died. How could she just tell Spike everything? How could she just tell Spike that Midnight was a soldier guarding her for Nightmare Moon? How was she supposed to explain to Spike that she was Nightmare Moon's student, now? How would he react?

"Nightmare Moon wants me to protect her," Midnight said casually.

Her vision was still blurry, but it didn't stop her from trying to kill the batpony with a glare. Midnight didn't bother looking at her for it to kill her, though, so her effort ended up being pointless. And that frustrated her.

"T-Twilight?" was Spike's timid call.

Her glare died and her body slumped. She simply didn't have the energy to do anything else except look at Spike now. "It's... it's okay," she offered. She swallowed and licked her lips. "I'm... Nightmare Moon's..." Oh, how she dreaded saying the next part. She couldn't watch his expression, she couldn't bear to see how he would look. She closed her eyes and said, "Student... now..."

Even to her, her voice sounded so hollow, so quiet, spoken as a hushed whisper. Nopony else would have heard it, even with spells designed to pick up on hearing such things. Even with the necklace being right there on her chest, she wasn't sure that her teacher would have heard it, and she hoped Nightmare had not heard it, or at least, her voice when she had said it.

"B-but you're-!?" he sputtered.

She barely managed to cut him off with a hug and, "N-not anymore."

A part of her died when she said that. She had made it real. If it hadn't been real before, it was real now. She couldn't call herself Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student. She wilted, but Spike didn't say her mentor's name. Spike didn't draw Nightmare's ire, so it was worth it.

She felt Spike's arms wrap around her again. She felt weak. She leaned down and held him again. She wanted to cry. She would have felt better, she knew, but the tears didn't come. There was just a hollow emptiness inside her, and her core was numbed by her admission. She had no idea how long the hug lasted, but Spike was the one who pulled back first. "Let's go inside," was her whisper.

He just nodded timidly, then turned around. His walk back inside looked haunted. It wasn't fair for her to put this on him. She had no choice, but it wasn't fair. She stood up. Her legs trembled, but she managed to head inside, followed by Midnight, who closed the door once inside.

Looking around, the library looked so much better than how she remembered it, but that was because it wasn't filled with ponies who thought libraries were good places for parties. From what she could tell, none of the books had been damaged. Perhaps it was silly, but that made her feel relieved.

But they weren't alone there, either. Even with her eyes falling on the other pony, it took her a second before her mind caught up with what she saw. "Oh..." was all that came out once it finally clicked that somepony else was there.

"Ah, yes... uh, terribly sorry, Twilight..." Rarity drawled, visibly wincing. "I... didn't mean to eavesdrop, but, well..." Her friend forced an apologetic smile.

She grimaced and looked down at the floor. All she could do was nod slowly. She felt like she should have held it against her friend, but at least right now, she just couldn't find it in her to hold that against her.

She heard Midnight walk around casually as if trying to ignore them. She heard Rarity approach her. "Twilight, dear?" she asked.

She nibbled on her raw lip, and the wince was enough to make her look up. Rarity had no malice in her expression, just sympathy. "Are you alright?" was her question.

She shook her head but didn't voice it. No, Nightmare Moon would have heard it, and so she couldn't voice it. Maybe Nightmare Moon wasn't out to get her, but she still didn't trust her.

Rarity hugged her, pulled her close. Even though her chest was damp from Spike's tears, it didn't stop Rarity from hugging her. She lifted her right foreleg and draped it around her friend's neck to return the hug. It wasn't the same as her parents' hug, but it was still a hug from a friend.

"Do you want me to go get the others?" was her friend's soft offer.

She shook her head. "N-no... um... if... you don't mind, you can tell them that... that I'm... here, but... C-can you just... g-give me tod- ...tonight, please? We... we can... talk tomorrow."

Rarity nodded and said, "If you're sure, dear..."

She swallowed and reluctantly pulled out of the hug. Rarity let go and then pulled back. She tried, but she couldn't meet Rarity's gaze. "I've had a long d... night," she said.

"I'll leave you to it, then... unless you want me to stay?" Rarity offered.

She nudged her head side to side.

There was silence for several seconds, then she heard Rarity walk away. She heard Rarity's magic, then the door opened and Rarity walked out, then the door closed.

She was glad Rarity was gone. She already missed her friend.

Being alone probably wasn't good for her right now. But she wasn't alone; Spike was there.

She licked her lips again, then inhaled and lifted her head up. It felt like it took all of her strength to do it, but she did it. She looked around until she found Spike, then asked, "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Y-yeah... what about..." he trailed off. "Uh, do you want anything? I-I can get you something to ea-"

She smiled but shook her head. "No, thank you," she answered.

He hesitated and watched her. After a few seconds, he ventured, "Um... h-how are... Cadance and Shining?"

"They're okay." But okay was about the extent of what she knew. As with her parents, as with Nightmare Moon, she had taken to avoiding them. And now, just like with Nightmare Moon, just like with her parents, she was that much further away from them. 'Please stay safe...' echoed in her mind.

He nodded timidly.

It had been a long night and it left her drained, or maybe she hadn't slept that well. She wanted to go upstairs, crawl into bed and curl up into a ball under the covers. She felt like she hadn't done much, but she had been awake for a while. And then, this night had lasted for over a month. It had been a long night.

Tomorrow would be better. She could have a night to herself, free from being so close at hoof to Nightmare Moon, even if she was still well within her mentor's grasp. She closed her eyes and told herself, 'She's not going to hurt me,' but she wasn't entirely convinced. Tomorrow, she could see all of her 'friends' again. Tomorrow, she could, perhaps, let her guard down. Maybe tomorrow, she could recover. Maybe tomorrow, the terror, anxiety, fear, and nervousness that plagued her would be distant, just like Nightmare Moon. Maybe tomorrow, she would be able to think without her fears assaulting her from all sides. Tomorrow, distance from Nightmare Moon would be good for her.

And maybe she would sleep peacefully tonight.

'Tomorrow will be better, won't it?' She stopped herself from biting her lip, then swallowed. She mustered her courage, even as in the back of her mind, her thoughts twisted to torment her. It wasn't fair for either of them, especially Spike. She had just come back to see him after a month. "I-I'm just," she hesitated to continue out of fear, but eventually managed to add, "going to go to bed, Spike."

But Spike didn't look hurt by it, despite her fears. She took solace in that and felt relieved. "You'll be here tomorrow, right?" was his worried question.

She smiled at him and nodded. "Of course, Spike," she answered. She could see relief wash over Spike's features. Had he been scared by what she said and she had not noticed it?

She leaned over to him and tenderly brushed her cheek against his head, then stroked the green spines atop his head with a hoof. After a few seconds, she stood back up, still smiling down at him, but the smile was cracking. She hesitated, then looked over at Midnight. Her smile faded as she stared at the batpony. Midnight just walked around the curve of the library, pretty much ignoring everything else as she appeared to study the titles of the books.

She looked back at Spike. "Can you see if we have someplace for her to stay?"

Spike just nodded quickly and replied, "Yeah, there's a guest room I can show her."

"Thank you, Spike," she replied. She watched Spike. She wanted to say something more, but nothing came to her. So she just watched him, drawing the moment out. She looked forward to going to bed, yet at the same time, she dreaded leaving Spike.

With nothing else to say, she looked away from him, then timidly walked to the stairs. Each step felt like she was dismissing him, and it stung at her heart and mind, but what was she to do? And she knew she was being silly. She knew that going to bed so soon after seeing him again wasn't the end of the world.

She stopped at the base of the stairs, closed her eyes, then inhaled as deeply as she could. She held that breath in for a few seconds, then let her chest deflate. She tried to cast those fears and worries out as she exhaled. To an extent, it worked.

She ascended the stairs, and it passed by in a blur. She stared at her bed and studied it. For some reason, it stood out so much in her mind: the covers were a deep blue, speckled with stars and crescent moons. It sent a shiver down her spine. Cautiously, she approached that bed. Timidly, she used her magic to pull the covers back. Tiredly, she crawled into bed.

She curled up into a ball and pulled the covers back over her. She tucked the blanket in around her neck and held herself as small as she could. She laid on her side, staring out of the window. At the very least, eternal night meant that whenever she slept, it was always dark out.

Sometimes, it was just darker than normal.

She felt cold. The blankets and bed didn't help with that, at least not yet. The warmth from her body had been stolen by the cold blankets, and the coldness enveloped her. As time trickled on, the cold faded as her body heat gradually warmed everything, but that warmth seemed distant. It wasn't the same comforting warmth that her parents gave it, nor was it the same comfort as Spike or Rarity's hug.

Staring out the window, she watched the shadows cast by the moonlight elongate. Time past by, but even with her emotional exhaustion, she couldn't sleep. She wasn't certain why, but the isolation she felt was probably the cause. Princess Celestia wasn't there to tell her and make everything okay.

But Nightmare Moon was just a whisper away.

'Would you come, if I asked you to?' drifted through her mind. At the very least, the thought served to distract her from the isolation and cold she felt. At the very least, it gave her something to consider that did not immediately make her overreact.

'Would you come?' she wondered again. She wasn't certain. Thinking back on what Nightmare had said, she knew it would be a tedious waste of her teacher's time. For Nightmare to come to visit her right now would have only served to impose on her. Looking at it that way, there was no way Nightmare would do so. It was unreasonable; her teacher stood to gain nothing from it for herself.

Yet, thinking back on Nightmare's actions left her feeling uncertainty. Nightmare comforted her or at least tried to calm her down so many times. Nightmare did not snap at her. If she were to ask, it made her reason that her teacher may come, and perhaps Nightmare would not chastise her for being so scared, for feeling so isolated from everypony else.

After all, they probably both shared in that feeling of isolation, although the reasons differed.

But maybe Nightmare did have something to gain from it: her trust, or a better relationship with her. But would that be worth the teleport and time spent with her? And then, there were the promises Nightmare made to her.

Considering everything, thinking about it logically, the answer seemed to be 'Yes, you would come if I asked you to.'

And it gave her a sense of bewilderment, to think that Nightmare Moon might be willing to do something like that. But she didn't ask. She kept silent.

She heard the scraping of claws on stairs. She rolled her head back and stared at the doorway. After a few seconds, Spike came into view, anxiously tapping his claws together. "Spike?" she called.

"Um..." was his hesitant acknowledgment. For a few seconds, his head meandered left and right unsurely, then he looked up at her and slowly walked towards the bed. "I-I know that I'm too old for it, but... could I maybe... sleep with you tonight?"

She swallowed and rolled over onto her left side, nodding. Given everything that had happened, it would be welcome. Maybe she would even feel safer. At the very least, she wouldn't feel so alone: Spike would be there with her. It brought a smile to her lips. "Of course, Spike," she whispered. Using her magic, she pulled the covers back. Spike crawled up into bed and scooted back against her chest. She nuzzled him and laid her right foreleg over him, pulling him close.

"Th-thanks, Twilight... um... goodnight," Spike said.

Feeling his warmth against her chest felt wonderful. She felt almost complete. The loneliness had been vanquished, the fear and anxiety retreated. There was a ray of light, piercing through the tempest raging in her mind. "Goodnight, Spike," she whispered back before closing her eyes before drifting off to an almost peaceful slumber.

The last thought in her mind before she drifted into sleep was, 'Tomorrow will be better... I'll see my friends.' She fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

This chapter (originally a part of Reunions) has been substantially edited.

I halfway think it's better; I halfway think I butchered it.

The changes basically include: Twilight not being in a frenzied panic; Twilight thinking more rationally.

Never once were Twilight's parents' names said. I'm not sure if this is good or bad.

I actually managed to publish it on time!

Twilight inhaled as she woke up. Her eyes rolled across the room, drifting over the blurred outlines of her surroundings. What she saw barely registered in her mind, and as her eyes passed over anything, it was immediately forgotten. There was nothing there that caught her attention, there was nothing there that demanded a surge of energy, and with nothing to spur her into action, she lingered on the edge of consciousness.

The soft light of the moon drizzling into the room cast everything in a subdued glow which gave her surroundings a dreamlike quality. The light softened the hard wood and faded into the darkness. As her eyes drifted through the darkness, the light of the moon gave it an almost comforting feeling, one that embraced her with an unassuming hug, whispering to her that it would be okay.

She felt a warm spot nestled against her back at her withers. That warmth felt so close, yet her heart longed for feeling it against her chest, cradled in between her forelegs. But the rest of her body felt a calm numbness, a laziness. Her limbs felt distant, yet so close, so ready to obey her commands, yet none came to mind.

She blinked, then exhaled. Her vision sharpened, and the comforting look of the room withdrew, pulling back, further and further away. The walls all seemed to retreat, and she felt as if she was exposed, out in the open. So what if she was lying in bed? So what if the bed was against the wall? She felt like she was in the middle of the room, as if she was in an open prairie, with nothing else around, except dozens of ponies, if not more, all staring at her.

But it didn't put her on edge. It didn't scare her, it didn't provoke any terror. She didn't feel anxious, just unnerved. She just felt so aware of how big and open the loft was, even if it was nowhere near as big as her library. More cautiously, she looked back to the left, retracing where her eyes had already drifted, searching for anything that could have been the source of her discomfort. But there was nothing there. The room was smaller than her library, the room was more homely than her library, but she still felt exposed. From what she could see, there was nothing watching her, but she still felt unnerved.

She rolled her head to the left, sticking her muzzle into the air and turning her gaze to the doorway, which was shut. For a few seconds, she watched the door, no thoughts coming to mind, nor any feelings washing over her. Her eyes jumped to the bed, then they jumped onto Spike. Her lips pulled up into a smile as she watched him sleep so soundly, so peacefully. He laid on his side facing away from her, so blissful, so unaware of whatever it was that was plaguing her.

Carefully, she scooted away from him. Each jerk made her want to wince as she felt the mattress shift under her weight, but she managed to reach the edge of the bed without waking Spike. She took comfort in that small victory, then slid out of bed. She edged onto her hooves and stood facing the window for a few seconds. She stared out into the night, into the cloudless purple tapestry that was the sky.

Only a sliver of the moon was visible. That small crescent line looked so innocent, so childlike as it peeked over the horizon. She watched it, and as she watched it, she felt so very aware of that crescent moon necklace on her chest. She was accustomed to the weight on her neck by now, not that it was heavy. No, it was like any other necklace anypony else would wear, the weight unnoticeable, perhaps until it was missing. The silvered necklace resting on her chest felt neither cold nor warm. It was just there, like always, although perhaps it did not strike the same fear into her as usual.

Canterlot was miles away. Nightmare Moon was miles away. They were so far apart. Yet she knew just how close at hoof Nightmare was. It wouldn't have taken much for her teacher to teleport to her. She was always within her grasp.

Her forehoof lifted from the floor, then touched the necklace, pressing it into her chest.

Holding it close.

She blinked, then looked down. For a few seconds, she studied her hoof, then she looked at how the chain of the necklace disappeared beneath it, seeing and knowing that her hoof was over the necklace, but not fully grasping or realizing that it was. She lifted her hoof from her chest and uncovered the crescent moon. Her hoof drifted away, dropping back to the floor before stopping. The necklace shimmered, the light from its enchantment slowly dancing across its surface, like a flame, but in such slow, drawn out motions.

Her eyes jumped back to that tiny sliver of the moon that had risen above the horizon. 'All I'd have to do is ask...' occurred to her, 'And you'd be right here...'

She felt her skin shifting as a tingle grew in between her withers, then, like an icicle, it raced down her spine. She shivered.

She kept silent as she turned to her left. She gave Spike a passing glance and shuffled around the bed to make her way to the door. She lit her horn, and the shimmer of her magic filled the room. She grasped the door with her magic and glanced back at Spike, biting her lip, knowing that he was facing her. His eyes were still closed, and he didn't move. She opened the door, then quickly stepped out.

As soon as she cleared the doorway, she pulled the door shut. She tried her best to shut it silently, but it wasn't enough; it made a soft creaking noise. Logically, she knew that it wouldn't wake Spike unless he was close to waking up anyway. It still didn't stop her from wincing and hearing that creak as a window violently shattering. But the door was closed. She listened for a few seconds and heard no scraping of claws on wood.

She closed her eyes, then bowed her head until the tip of her horn rested against the door. She sucked in a deep breath, waited for a second, then let it go. She opened her eyes and pulled her head back, then turned around. Idly, she glanced over the stairs, then over the library below her.

She could barely make out anything. The books that she knew were in the bookshelves all blurred together. Not a single book ended. Not a single book started. It was all just a wall of inky blackness. Without the light of the moon, her vision betrayed her. Only the faintest hint of light peeked into the room from the library's windows. The lighting was dimmer than in the bedroom.

And for all she knew, there was something else there beside her. There could have been something lurking in the darkness. Just lying in wait for her. There could have been something ascending the stairs. It could have been going so slowly that she didn't notice it as it crept ever closer until it was too close for her to react.

It set her on edge. She didn't feel Nightmare Moon's presence. She didn't feel like she was being watched. She felt that she was alone, but not isolated. But she didn't feel safe, either.

And so, out of fear, she stood there, at the top of the stairs looking down into the library below. She knew it was silly. She knew she was acting like a little filly afraid of the dark. Surely, there were no monsters in the library! How would one have made it inside? Logically, she knew that, aside from Nightmare Moon, she was safe.

But it didn't feel that way. And so she stood unmoving, breathing shallowly, doing her best to blend in, trying to will herself into non-existence to avoid drawing any attention to herself.

'I'm up too early,' she knew. A part of her wanted to groan at that, but it was the truth. A month ago, it would have been fine. But now, it wasn't fine. The moon had not yet risen in full, and the darkness of the moonless night still embraced Equestria in a crushing grip.

She could have used her magic. She could have lit candles. She had no desire to delve into the unnatural darkness to do either.

'Maybe the moon cycle was a mistake...' whispered in her mind. She clenched her jaw. A part of her knew it couldn't have been a mistake. Another part of her growled back, 'It's unnatural!' Most of her mind was also in agreement that the part of her that said it couldn't have been a mistake was insane.

She had Nightmare Moon as her teacher, yet the moonless nights terrified her. There was a beauty to the night sky, but it just felt so wrong without the moon. How did other ponies who did not have Nightmare Moon as their teacher feel about the moonless nights? And then there was the fact that the darkness without the moon was so thick, almost impossible to see in. Ponies couldn't be outside in that darkness. Under Princess Celestia's nights, or the moonlit nights of Nightmare Moon, ponies could be outside. Ponies could see in that darkness.

But not when the moon was gone.

As she thought about it, anxiety twisted in her chest, fear gnawed at her mind.

She stood there, letting her anxiety and fear conspire against her.

But she took comfort in watching as the darkness slowly faded back, retreating with the ascent of the moon. She watched how the darkness crept back as the minutes passed. The bookshelves finally separated from the books they held. The books had an end and a beginning, then she could make out the creases between each spine. The room lightened as the moon crept further into the sky.

'I could have watched this with her...' occurred to her, whispered in a grave tone by some distant part of her. 'And then I wouldn't feel this way...'

Her ears flicked back. It had been an opportunity. And now it was a missed opportunity. She had no desire to be that close to Nightmare Moon, though. But then, if that was true, why did that thought occur to her? She had the distance that she wanted, even if it was an illusion. She nibbled on her lip.

'Would you have even come..?' she wondered. She dreaded the answer she already knew, 'Yes, you would have...' Or the other answer, that could have been. Being a filly so scared of the dark, surely that would be an insult to her teacher: the Queen of the Night. It was absurd. She actually smiled at the thought. 'I'm pathetic...' But it brought nothing with it. No emotion, no pain.

Nightmare wasn't proud of her. Realizing that, she felt a coldness start to envelop her, starting with her muzzle, washing over her cheeks, then slithering over the rest of her body. Her mentor wasn't proud of her. She was nothing but an embarrassment.

Her head tilted down. She stared at the floor, breathing in calm, slow breathes. Her thoughts all vanished. Nothing came to mind. The meaning of time, the passing seconds, it was all lost on her. When she looked up, the fear-inducing darkness had receded. The library was lit, she could see. But it was still dim, far dimmer than sunrise, and even far dimmer than during the middle of Princess Celestia's nights. She walked forward and descended the stairs.

'I shouldn't feel this way!' shouted out in her mind. 'She's not Princess Celestia!' But that still didn't separate it from, 'She's still my teacher...'

Oh, why did this have to be so hard? Why did this have to tear her apart like it did? Why couldn't it have been simpler, easier!

But it would be okay. She had to believe that. She had to hold onto that.

Her head drifted left, sweeping across the library, then it flowed back to the right. The tree was comforting. It had a homely feel, even if it was a library. Libraries were always comforting places for her. But it didn't alleviate her doubts. It didn't alleviate her fears, nor her anxieties.

Her head came to a stop when she faced a doorway with no door. On the wall to the right was another doorway, except this one was barred by a door. She glanced over that door, curious about its purpose, then turned her attention back to the room without a door.

She had seen the doorway before, but she hadn't given the room any passing thought. Why should she have? It was so unimportant, especially since she wasn't going to be here for that long, and when she had been here before, she had the task of overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration for her Princess.

Peering into the dimly lit room, she saw counters, a stove, and a refrigerator. All of it combined in her mind, and she realized it was a kitchen. A month ago, that might have surprised her. It was, after all, a library. But it did have a bedroom and a balcony. There was also another room she hadn't explored, and then Midnight was also hiding somewhere.

But any semblance of surprise was suppressed by just how distant she felt from everything. The numbness wouldn't let her feel any surprise.

She inhaled and her hooves carried her into the kitchen. She turned her head to the left, taking in the full extent of the room. Her gaze fell on a table, complete with four chairs. The table was just barely oval in shape to the point that it was more of a circle that bulged at both ends. It might have been able to seat six ponies, but it would have been a bit crowded for a meal. The four chairs were arranged in an x-shape around the table, with the bulging ends free from chairs.

Her hooves carried her to the refrigerator. She lit her horn, then pulled the door open. As soon as the door opened, a magelight inside the refrigerator glowed to life. It put the light from the glow of her horn to shame. It put the soft moonlight to shame. But it didn't hurt her eyes to look at, even if it was so much brighter than the darkness filling the rest of the library.

She swept her eyes over the refrigerator's contents, then shivered as the chill from inside washed over her. The contents barely registered in her mind. She didn't know what she was looking for. She didn't find it. She closed the door, then turned around. Her hooves carried her back to the doorway, then she stopped and stood there.

The library before her was just the same as before. Well, aside from one minor difference: Midnight descended the stairs. She watched the batpony, now free of her armor, as she walked down. Without the armor, Midnight looked so much more like a normal pony, even though it wasn't that she hadn't looked like a pony with her armor on. Perhaps it was because she was used to seeing Midnight wearing armor, as this was the first time she had seen Midnight without her armor on, but the batpony looked so slender and vulnerable. Yet she could still see the strength hidden beneath that thick gray coat.

Midnight bent her body with each step she took, and her descent was silent, as if she was a predator creeping up on her prey, making not a single sound. But her expression had no hint of any predatory nature. Her slit-pupils were wide open and had taken on their characteristic playful glint, while her tongue was dipped out of her mouth, in between her fangs. Midnight, she knew, was a soldier. Midnight was a batpony. But that didn't stop her from having trouble believing it at times.

Midnight looked at her, then watched her. "Good morning!" was her cheerful greeting.

She squinted at Midnight and muttered, "...it's the middle of the night."

Midnight just giggled. "It's always night now, but the moon is rising," was her casual response. Midnight's wings fluttered at her sides as she landed on the last step. "Although I am surprised that you're awake. I expected to wake up first."

'Why did I wake up so early?' No answer came to her mind. She wanted to say that it was because she went to bed early. She wanted to say it was because she slept well. But she wasn't certain. Perhaps it was because she had slept with Spike that she woke up earlier. Maybe his presence beside her was enough to ease her fears that Nightmare would show up to watch her sleep.

Maybe the distance between Canterlot and Ponyville would keep her teacher from doing that? She doubted it. If Nightmare wanted to, there was nothing stopping her.

"Twilight? Hellooo?" Midnight called. "Do you make it a habit to stare off into space?"

She blinked and swallowed as her eyes jumped back to Midnight. The mare's playful expression was more subdued, less expressed, now replaced with a more serious expression that she recognized as concern. "Y-yes?" she squeaked.

Midnight's lips pulled down, and her brow creased. "Are you alright?" was all she asked.

They had already been over that before! Why did she have to ask that question again!? But, to retort her guard, Nightmare Moon's soldier, in such a way? No, all she could do was try to smile, which only resulted in a grimace, and groaned, "I'm fine."

It was about as convincing as she expected it to be. Midnight's brow folded down even more, and she knew the batpony saw right through it. But Midnight didn't chastize her or call her out, instead asking, "Are you sure?" in a gentle, comforting voice.

She turned away from Midnight and nodded. "I'm as fine as I can be," she answered. 'Which isn't that fine,' was added in her mind.

She didn't hear Midnight say anything or do anything. Reluctantly, she turned her head back to face her guard. Midnight just stood there, watching her. A few seconds passed. She swallowed. Midnight gave a hesitant nod and said, "If you're sure... But if you ever want to talk, you can talk to me, okay?"

She wasn't sure she believed that, but there was no malice in the offer. There was nothing there that made her reluctant to accept the offer, and so she gave a timid nod.

Midnight lingered for a moment longer, then turned and walked into the kitchen. Twilight turned her head to keep watching the batpony as she walked on past her. Midnight went to the refrigerator and opened it.

She turned back around, inhaled, then exhaled. She strolled over to the middle of the library, then turned around in a circle, letting her eyes wander over the spines and titles of the books filling the room. She saw them but did not pay attention to them. She saw them, but didn't keep track of anything. She came to a stop facing a section of the wall that had no shelves cut into it.

Her hooves carried her over to it, then she turned around and sat down on her haunches. She was content to just sit there in silence, waiting until Spike woke up, or until her friends showed up. She didn't know how long it would be, but she was fine with sitting there, doing nothing else. Just wasting time. Not even reading or studying magic that she so loved.

Instead, Midnight skipped over to her, spun around, and plopped down at her right before biting into a fresh apple. She heard the crunch of Midnight's teeth sinking into it, and found her stomach felt empty.

Hesitantly, she glanced at Midnight. Midnight smiled thoughtfully and lifted her left wing, causing another apple to fall from her side. The batpony caught it with a hoof in a single sweeping motion that took her by surprise, then extended it to her. She eyed the red apple for a moment, then lit her horn and picked it up. "Thanks..."

"Mhm!" was Midnight's cheerful response.

She felt better after eating. She felt more alert, she felt interested in actually doing something. But she wasn't entirely sure what to do, even if the answer was obvious: she was in a library, and there were plenty of books for her to read. Sadly, none of them sparked much interest in her. How could they, given that as soon as she was pulled into one of the stories, her guard would slip in full, leaving her so vulnerable to her mentor?

'She's not here right now! She's in Canterlot!' her mind hissed. 'But she could show up without any warning!' another part of her shot back.

It felt like ever since Nightmare had returned, her mind had been haunted by her. Even when Nightmare wasn't nearby, her thoughts always lingered on her teacher. She needed a break from it. She needed to recover and unwind. Being in Ponyville was supposed to help with that.

She knew she was worrying too much. Nightmare Moon was right. If she kept worrying about her, she'd never be able to focus on her studies.

She nibbled on her lip and looked out the window. Even with the moon having risen, the streets were sparsely occupied. But maybe that was normal, at least for nights. Her only experience to compare Ponyville with during the night had been the night before the Summer Sun Festival, and that wasn't a fair comparison. It wasn't fair to compare it to the day she had arrived, either.

Notably absent, any of those five mares she would recognize in an instant. It was another thing that distracted her, the thought of her 'friends.' She felt anxious, with a bubbly energy in her chest. Would they show up like she hoped? When would they show up?

Spike shifted at her side. She looked down at him and smiled. She was grateful for his presence. After he woke up and ate, he hadn't left her side for anything. And now, it was just the two of them. Midnight was upstairs, having left to don her armor.

She didn't know how long it would take Midnight to put that armor on, but for however long it was, it was just her and Spike. And that crescent moon necklace.

'I should read something. It would help take my mind off of everything...' She licked her lips, then turned her gaze onto the bookshelves. She looked over the titles and mentally kicked herself: When she went to Ponyville before, she had taken something with her, but this time, she had not. Her saddlebags were also missing, although she assumed one of her friends was keeping an eye on them.

She skimmed the titles and found the usual selection that a small town library would have. Nothing too complicated, nothing too in depth. The books were common books, ones that thousands upon thousands of copies existed. There were no rare, valuable books that she would drive her crazy not being able to read. There were no books on magic that she could study, either. At least not books for somepony of her level: most of the books were aimed towards the average unicorn.

Although, she knew it could be useful to brush up on spells, if only as a refresher, or maybe because it would distract her.

She stopped as it occurred to her, 'Predictions and Prophecies is still here...'

She stared at the book's spine. She stared at its title. She felt a shiver shoot down her spine, and her breathing grew shallow and tensed. That book, just looking at it brought her a sense of dread. She bit her lip and chewed, even with how sore it was, she didn't stop.

Did Nightmare Moon know that book was still here? Was it a test of some kind, to see if she would read it or ignore it? Would Nightmare hurt her if she tried to read any more from it and found out that she did? Did Nightmare even care about that book? Would Midnight tell Nightmare if she saw her reading it?

Her eyes shot back towards the staircase. She held her breath, listening intently. She didn't see Midnight, nor did she hear her. The door to her room was closed. Would she have any advanced warning if that door opened? Would she have advanced warning if Midnight tried to sneak up on her? Midnight was stealthy, but maybe her armor would give her away.

Her eyes shot back to the book. In an instant, her horn glowed to life and she grabbed the book from the shelf in her telekinesis. If it was any other time, she would have fumed at treating a book, especially such a valuable one, in such a manner. But now, her heart hammered in her chest as fear welled up inside her. She brought the book close, laid it down on the floor, then opened it.

It immediately opened on the prophecy of Nightmare Moon's return. She hadn't even tried to do it, but it happened. She stared at the depiction of the Mare on the Moon.

Her blood felt like ice.

Her gut twisted, and her legs started trembling. She swallowed and looked over the text. She didn't read it, as the text was burned into her mind. She turned the page, putting the depiction of the Mare on the Moon face down, hiding it from her sight. Relief washed over her, but it didn't stop her from feeling dread. If Midnight saw her reading this, it could be bad. If Nightmare saw her reading this, well, that would be worse.

She glanced back at the stairs. The door was still shut. She glanced at Spike. Spike stared at the book, oddly silent. But perhaps it was because it reminded him of one simple truth, 'Princess Celestia lied to me...'

She turned her attention back to the book and took in the depiction of the Elements of Harmony. Five gems arranged around one central pink gem, set against a golden background that was intricately detailed with the four cardinal directions, and swirls that seemed to lack any coherent meaning.

Nightmare Moon had the Elements of Harmony, now. The only way she could have possibly saved Princess Celestia. The only way she could have possibly stopped Nightmare Moon. There was no way to get them back. She had no idea where those Elements were, and trying to find them now would have been beyond pointless. Nightmare would kill her in a heartbeat if she tried anything with them.

Or maybe Nightmare wouldn't. Maybe Nightmare would do something else, but any semblance of trust Nightmare had in her would be gone. And, she knew, Nightmare Moon would be disappointed.

But it wasn't lost on her that there were six Elements of Harmony. It wasn't lost on her that there were five mares she somehow managed to call 'friends.' And it only made her dread worse.

'Are the Elements why you're keeping me around?' she wondered. The question left her uneasy. Part of her reasoned, 'That doesn't make sense! If I'm... one of their bearers, along with the rest of my friends, then she should have killed us! It would be in her best interest...' But another part of her reasoned, 'We could be useful to keep around... in case she needed us for something. She said she needs me...'

She was probably thinking about things she shouldn't have been. Nightmare probably wouldn't be happy if she found out.

But, she was already in so much trouble anyway, so why not go all the way? It was reasonable! Sort of. She turned her attention back to the book. Maybe it held some key that she could use, some hint of how, or rather if, Nightmare Moon would be defeated again.

Try as she did, she found nothing. The entire time she searched, a voice in the back of her head shouted at her, condemning her for searching for some means to defeat her teacher. She would be in so much trouble if, or perhaps when, Nightmare found out. And trying to find a way to defeat Nightmare Moon also made her feel uncertain. She missed her Princess, but she felt that fighting Nightmare Moon, even if what she had done was wrong, was in of itself, wrong.

Nightmare Moon was still just a pony, like her. 'You're hurting...' occurred to her, and she knew it was true. Maybe her teacher masked it, but it was the truth. Everything fit so perfectly with that context: ponies hated Nightmare Moon and drove her to try to bring eternal night once before, for which Princess Celestia banished her for a thousand years.

She didn't hate her teacher. Even if Nightmare had banished Princess Celestia to the moon, even if Nightmare had turned her world upside down. She didn't hate her.

And she was searching for a way to only prolong Nightmare Moon's banishment, or defeat her so that she could bring Princess Celestia back. It was reasonable, of course. But there had to be another alternative. She shouldn't have even been looking in this book.

She felt guilty.

She sighed, then used her magic to close the book. Reluctantly, she lifted the book up, then levitated it back over to its place.

She looked back toward the stairs. The door was still closed. She looked at Spike. He stayed silent.

Nightmare would never find out she had looked in that book again. Spike wouldn't tell, Midnight didn't know. The only way she could was if she told her.

She tried to push the thought aside. She knew Nightmare Moon wasn't all-knowing, but it still ate at her mind. Princess Celestia wasn't all-knowing either, but she put her on such a pedestal where she knew that Princess Celestia knew what was best. Nightmare Moon had been very adamant in reminding her that, 'I am but one pony, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot be everywhere at once.'

Hearing Nightmare's voice in her mind made her shiver.

The door opened. She turned back and watched Midnight, now clad in her armor, casually walk out of her room, then descend the stairs. Unlike earlier, now she could hear Midnight's steps. The weight of the armor prevented her from being so stealthy.

Midnight paused halfway down the stairs, looked at her and asked, "Are you still just sitting there?"

She gave Midnight a wry smile.

Midnight squinted at her, then cautiously descended the rest of the stairs. "Aren't you supposed to be like, I dunno, really studious or something? And we're in a library."

She knew Midnight didn't mean anything by it, but it still stood out in her mind: she hadn't been studying like she should have ever since Nightmare Moon returned. But of course, she didn't have somepony directing her studies as much now. Although granted, Princess Celestia hadn't told her exactly what to study all the time. No, she had her own choices on what to study about magic. But now she wasn't studying like she should have been.

Maybe she was waiting for Nightmare Moon to tell her what to study, or for her teacher to teach her.

She grimaced and slowly nodded. "There's... not really anything here for me to study," she answered. She turned back towards the bookshelf before her and motioned a forehoof at it and said, "To me, this is all really basic magic. And there aren't any books on more complicated spells or spell theory for me to study."

Midnight didn't say anything. She turned and looked back at Midnight. The batpony just sort of stared at the books and bookshelf, her eyes wandering over it, back and forth. For a second, her eyes came to a stop, and for that second, she held her breath, scared that Midnight's eyes had landed on the book she should not have read. Then, Midnight's eyes resumed their travel across the rest of the books. "Oh, okay," was all Midnight said. Midnight looked at her and offered, "You could probably have our Queen bring you some when she comes to visit."

And it made her gut twist all the more. "S-she's coming to visit!?" came out frantically. And oh, how she instantly regretted that. She screwed her eyes shut as her lips pulled back, showing her teeth. Oh, that had been a mistake. How had that managed to come out!? Shock, that was how. And now, certainly, Nightmare Moon had overheard that. And now, certainly, Nightmare was going to be upset with her.

Or, at the very least, disappointed and hurt.

And it felt like the disappointment might have been worse.

"Well, you are supposed to oversee the rebuilding of her castle, right? I'd think she'd show up sometime to talk with you about it," was Midnight's innocent explanation.

She let out a breath in relief as she felt the knot in her gut untwist. She opened her eyes and looked at Midnight as her lips returned to normal. "Right..." she muttered, slowly turning her head back towards the bookshelf. 'Idiot!' her mind screamed at her. Her supposed intelligence really didn't amount to anything anymore.

"You really should relax," Midnight commented softly. "Maybe just try reading something for fun?"

'That probably would help take my mind off of things, but I don't really want to...' was what came to mind. Internally, the thought made her wince. It was antithetical to her. She loved books! But she didn't want to read now.

This month had been bad.

And it occurred to her, that wasn't going to change. Nightmare Moon was still Queen. That wouldn't change. 'I... just have to get used to it...' And that? That made her wince. Getting used to how everything changed? She had no choice. But it wasn't going to happen overnight. No, because if she would have adjusted to it overnight, it would have already happened.

Then again, this night was unending, so it could have been accurate, at least in saying that she would never adjust to the changes since the night wouldn't end.

She clenched her jaw and thought, 'Don't think of it that way... it won't help any.' She had to hope that things would get better. But hoping for things to get better felt pointless. It felt, ironically, hopeless, to hope for things to get better. Princess Celestia probably wasn't going to escape. She probably wasn't going to see her Princess again. She wouldn't be able to rescue Princess Celestia. Nopony was going to save her and nopony was going to save her Princess. She was stuck being Nightmare Moon's student.

Things wouldn't go back to normal. All she could do was adapt. She had no choice. Her muzzle drifted lower until it pointed at the floor just in front of her hooves, then she let out a quiet sigh.

'Okay, so, adapt!' came to mind. In response, another part of her screamed back, 'How!?' She needed to figure that out, but she also begrudgingly knew that she was giving too much weight to that question. She had, after all, adapted to being Princess Celestia's student. Surely she could figure out how to adapt to being Nightmare Moon's student? Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon were sisters.

But so much more had changed. It wasn't just her life being changed, all of Equestria had changed because of Nightmare Moon's return. And it wasn't necessarily a good change like when Princess Celestia took her on as a personal student.

She felt so closed in, but yet she still recognized it as an opportunity. A door had opened for her, in a way, although it was a door she was leery to take. The thought kept coming back to her, 'Embrace being Nightmare Moon's student.' She didn't know how, though. Other than when she returned to Canterlot, no longer avoiding her teacher, which was something she was already planning to do, the only thing that came to mind was trying to ignore or overcome her discomfort and return to some sense of normalcy: read, study, practice magic, spend time with her mentor learning magic from her.

Nightmare Moon had extended an olive branch of sorts to her, or at least it seemed like her teacher was trying to do that. It would have been rude to not at least try to do the same thing, even if it made her cautious. Maybe giving it a chance was crazy, but, ah, she was so entirely aware that there wasn't much of a choice. Rather, it was how painful she was making this for herself.

She clenched her jaw.

A part of her said, 'I'm worrying too much,' but it was still countered by, 'She could still kill me!' And that thought scared her.

Even if Nightmare Moon seemed to care about her.

There was a knock on the door. She looked up from the floor and her eyes jumped to the door, followed by her head turning to face it.

"I'll get it," Midnight preempted.

She glanced at Midnight, who casually strolled to the door, then went back to staring at the door. 'Who is it?' she wondered. Immediately, she felt a spark of hope when she wondered, 'Is it my friends?' That spark of hope ignited a fire of anxiety inside of her. Her chest felt light, yet filled with bubbling, boiling energy that made her fidget in place. She looked forward to Midnight opening the door and seeing her friends! And yet, she dreaded the prospect of seeing those five mares again. What would they say? And she also felt the fear that she was getting her hopes up and that it would amount to nothing, that her hope, that the fire it ignited, would just be snuffed out when the door opened to reveal somepony she didn't know, or somepony other than her friends.

She didn't want to feel that disappointment.

The anxiety twisted and churned inside her chest.

Midnight reached the door, and as Midnight reached for the handle, a thought occurred to her. It was a bad thought, a 'what if' scenario. And it was a simple scenario, one that made her pale:

Midnight opened the door, and immediately, with no warning, a rainbow blur tackled her to the floor. The rainbow blur cleared, and she could make it out as Rainbow Dash, the pony most likely to get herself killed or kill others out of not thinking, which she boldly displayed by tackling the batpony. "What have you done with Twilight!?" was her infuriated shout.

And of course, Nightmare Moon heard that shout through the crescent moon necklace.

Midnight, however, was well trained. And in one swift motion, she swept Rainbow's hooves out from under her, making the pegasus fall on top of her. In another equally swift motion, Midnight rolled over, switching their positions and pinning Rainbow beneath her. Midnight, for her part, just smiled playfully as she held her hoof to Rainbow's throat. Sure, there was no blade, but it'd still be effective.

Rainbow let out a feminine squeak.

Next, Applejack bolted into the room, ramming into Midnight and throwing her into the floor. The armor scratched up the wood as Midnight rolled back, but recovered with barely any effort and jumped back to her hooves. Applejack snorted and prepared to charge, while Rainbow rolled back over and jumped back onto her hooves.

Then, there was the crack of a teleportation spell, and Rainbow and Applejack froze as she felt the air thicken from her mentor's presence. Paralyzed in fear, both of her friends were easy targets for Midnight and Nightmare Moon. But of course, Nightmare took the initiative and grabbed both her friends with that lethal, cold magic of hers, levitating them up in the air and immobilizing them.

Then Nightmare turned to face her with a sharp, piercing glare that turned her blood to liquid nitrogen. And then, all she had to say was a single sentence that came out in a sharp growl, "I told you to keep them in check." She gulped as Nightmare's magic enveloped her, then the rest of her friends, and she trembled.

And the scenario made her feel a growing sense of dread and horror. After all, if it was her friends, Rainbow Dash probably would do something that stupid. "N-no! It's okay, I can get the-" but her alarmed offer was too late; Midnight pulled the door open. She felt her stomach drop out from under her as she finished, "door..."

Unsurprisingly, Rainbow Dash was the first one who flew inside. She felt like screaming at that. But to her utter shock, Rainbow ignored Midnight, flying to the center of the room and whipping her head right, then left, before looking right at her. She was also absolutely shocked by just how much Rainbow's eyes seemed to light up as she called out, "Twilight!"

And of course, the rest of the girls eagerly raced on inside, turning towards her. And of course, Rainbow Dash had one speed setting. And of course, that speed left the pegasus shooting towards her. And of course, because they were inside, she had no time to brace herself. And of course, Rainbow didn't slow down. If anything, she might have actually accelerated.

She felt the impact and coughed as Rainbow knocked the air out of her lungs. Then, of course, she felt the wooden floor hit her back and then head. She grunted, then wheezed as the pegasus wrapped her forelegs around her and hugged her.

'Oh, so, what is that? The fourth time she's tried to kill me?' a part of her all but hissed. And yet another part, clearly a part of her that had gone insane, felt, despite her rough treatment by Rainbow Dash, so grateful for the show of affection. It was, somehow, a reassurance to her. She felt her eyes growing warm, and it wasn't from the pain of being tackled by a speeding pegasus, it wasn't from the pain of hitting her head on the wood floor. No, the tears were because those five ponies, or at least Rainbow Dash, actually cared about her. They were, somehow, and she had no idea how, her friends. And for some reason she didn't understand, that meant something to her.

Her voice cracked as she whispered, "G-girls."

"Hey, Twilight," was Applejack's warm greeting.

Rainbow continued hugging her, early squeezing her hard enough to force the air our of her lungs again. She was surprised by how affectionate the pegasus was. Rainbow Dash didn't seem to be that kind of pony. She watched the rest of the girls all walk into a circle around her, then Rainbow picked her up and helped her to her hooves. "Heh, sorry... I uh, got a bit carried away, I guess," was her apology.

She nodded and smiled, despite a part of her screaming out in her mind, 'You don't say!?' She looked around at the mares surrounding her and felt a warmth burning in her chest. She felt home, she felt happy. She felt okay. And another part of her felt bewildered that it had such an effect on her. But nonetheless, their forms grew blurry and distorted as her eyes felt warmer. She felt the warmth roll down her cheeks.

She would be okay. It would be hard, but she would be okay.

Rainbow hugged her again, followed by Pinkie Pie, then Fluttershy, Applejack, and finally Rarity. She sat down on her haunches and did her best to return the hug, but there really were too many of them. But it didn't stop her from treasuring this group hug. If nothing else, she had the memory and the feeling. That would never leave her.

Almost instinctively, she ended up nuzzling them. Nuzzling whoever she could reach with her muzzle. She brushed her cheek back and forth against two of her friends, and apparently, in response, every single one of them started nuzzling her back. It made her feel giddy and bubbly inside. So what if Nightmare Moon had overthrown Princess Celestia? So what if this night would last forever? She had five friends, she knew, who still loved her.

Somehow. She didn't know how, and her reasonable, logical part couldn't comprehend it. Yet it couldn't reject the evidence that was right before her. The reasonable and logical part of her kept silent, simply too stunned to say anything.

So she kept nuzzling them, adding, of all ponies, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to her list of ponies she'd nuzzled. Yet no part of her screamed about these additions. She made an effort to nuzzle Rarity and Applejack, adding them to that less exclusive list of ponies she'd nuzzled. No part of her screamed out about it. She felt comforted, she felt at peace. She felt calm and happy. And she cried out of that happiness and joy that left her feeling giddy, like she could face down the world and it would be okay.

She didn't know how long they shared in that moment. When it ended, everypony pulled back, but they all lingered so near. She missed the warmth of the hug, feeling their supportive embrace, feeling the closeness of that bond she couldn't comprehend. Their forms were still blurred by her tears, but their smiles were impossible to miss. "S-so, w-we're fr-friends?" she stuttered.

"Heck yeah! Of course we are!" was Rainbow's retort. "You're not getting rid of us that easily!"

She snickered a bit. And Rainbow's response was followed by nodding from everypony surrounding her, accompanied by eager, affirmative, "Mhms!"

"Sorry we took so long to get here," Applejack sighed. She hesitated before adding, "But, well, it ain't safe to travel when the moon's gone..."

She bit her lip at that. Oh, she had her suspicions of what that meant. Ponyville was so close to the Everfree Forest, after all. And she'd been in that forest before. She had no desire to be in that forest again, unless Nightmare Moon or Princess Celestia was there. But of course, she was making assumptions, so she asked, "Um... what... do you mean?"

Applejack winced, and she turned to look at Fluttershy, who in turn looked at Rainbow, who in turn looked at Pinkie, who was oblivious to the whole situation. "Well, uh, those things from the Everfree really aren't staying in the Everfree anymore. It's been tough, especially for me and Fluttershy since we live so far away from town."

She winced, and reluctantly ventured, "So... things are coming out of the Everfree Forest..? And... attacking ponies?"

"Well, yeah... Not a whole lot of attacks, but that's because ponies stay inside when the moon's gone. But... it ain't safe, at least not as safe as it had been," was Applejack's grave response. "And it's not just Ponyville, either. A couple of stallions came through town the other day. Er, night. They said that lots of towns near the Everfree, or other forests for that matter, have been having problems when the moon's gone."

"Granted those towns don't have to deal with the animals in the Everfree Forest," was Rarity's dismissive comment. Applejack squinted at her, and Rarity shifted her weight. "But it's still a problem," she revised.

So, there she had it: It was problematic to have the moon cycle. And it had been her idea. And now ponies were probably getting hurt because of her idea. And if ponies found out, it probably wouldn't be good for her.

She must have been deathly silent, because Fluttershy whispered, "Um, Twilight... are you okay?"

She blinked and swallowed, then licked her lips. She tried to nod. It didn't happen. There really was no way to say it, and maybe she didn't actually need to tell them, but she felt compelled to. "U-um, well... you see," she drawled, "that um... might have..." she paused and then her voice lowered as she finished, "been my idea..."

They didn't attack her, so that was a good sign.

"Uh," was Applejack's response.

"Wait, wait, wait, so let me get this straight," was Rainbow's comment, and that made her wince. "You, Princess Celestia's-"

She winced and corrected, "Nightmare Moon's," in a low tone, not trying to draw attention to the correction.

Rainbow mostly ignored it and continued, "student-"

She had to fight the urge to correct her again, but her correction would have been incorrect now.

"-suggested to Nightmare Moon, who brought eternal night, that she take the moon away half the time!?"

Slowly, she turned her head away from Rainbow. "Um... when you put it that way..." was her hesitant acknowledgment. Then, she whipped her head back around to face Rainbow to defend, "But there was a good reason for it!"

Rainbow groaned and hit her forehead with her forehoof. Then, Rainbow inhaled and sighed. "Do you have any idea how rough that's been on all of us?"

Instinctively in shame, her eyes darted down to the floor, her ears folded back, and her muzzle turned down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

For those few seconds when she stared at the floor, she had no idea what happened or what passed among her friends. But in the end, Rainbow sighed in defeat. "Alright, I just don't know why you would have suggested something like that."

Rarity cleared her throat, then clarified, "We're not mad at you, dear."

She hesitated to look up, not wanting to find the condemnation that was surely present in their expressions. She barely propped her muzzle up an inch, then risked a glance up at Rainbow Dash. Her glance turned into a stare when she found no anger or condemnation. It wasn't quite as friendly or eager as when they first showed up, but it was better than what she feared. She managed to lift her muzzle back up, and her ears gradually drifted back into place. "I-I can try talking to Nightmare Moon about it..." she offered.

Her friends exchanged a glance. It looked nervous, but she wasn't sure. Nopony really responded to her offer. She wasn't completely sure why, but she did have her suspicions.

"Ah... on the topic of... erm, Nightmare Moon..." Rarity drawled.

She turned to look at the unicorn, and Rarity hesitated to continue. Rarity's gaze was centered on her chest. Looking down, she found that Rarity's gaze was centered on that necklace. She looked back up at Rarity.

Had she told them of the necklace's purpose? She couldn't remember, and that made dread well up inside of her. If she hadn't and they didn't know, it was a powder keg just waiting to go off. She needed to tell them that Nightmare Moon was listening, but despite her concern for them, the prospect scared her. Nightmare Moon hadn't told her not to tell them, but the fear was still there. She also feared how they would react, and how they would treat her if she admitted Nightmare Moon was listening in and keeping track of her location.

Nightmare's voice came to her mind, saying, 'I am not just lying in wait for you to slip up.' It took the edge off of the fear that Nightmare Moon wouldn't be happy she told her friends about it.

Rarity at least seemed to have some comprehension. She didn't look like she fully grasped the situation, but she could see the recognition in her eyes that the unicorn knew the necklace was enchanted. She doubted the rest of them, especially Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, could tell or figure it out.

But her concern for them, her desire to protect them, was stronger than the fear. "S-she's listening," she spouted out.

"Huh?" was Rainbow's confused response.

She closed her eyes and answered, "Nightmare Moon." She winced. Nopony said anything. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, still holding the wince on her expression. Rarity and Applejack grimaced. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy frowned. Rainbow Dash was still, unsurprisingly, confused. "She- Nightmare Moon- is... listening. The necklace," she explained. "And she... knows where I am because of it."

Another moment past in silence, then they all nodded. They were hesitant nods, but they understood. And they seemed to grasp the situation a bit better. Of course, once again, Rarity looked at her with an expression of pity, one directed at her youth and the fact that she was in her current situation.

She didn't particularly like that, but then, she also realized that she really had been acting like a foal as of late.

"So, uh..." Rainbow trailed off. The pegasus drew a blank on what to say, so she just sat down.

And her friends shared looks again. Worried looks, ones that made her worried as well. She felt like they all came to some realization and shared it, but were afraid to voice it.

"She's not... hurting you, is she..?" was Fluttershy's barely audible whisper.

She turned around and stared at Fluttershy. She stared and stared. She stared for seconds. The pegasus looked so small, so timid, as if a feather dropping on her would send her into tears. Her eyes already looked like she was crying, so massive, so infinitely deep, drawing her in.

'Yes... but not on purpose...' was her mind's answer. "No..." was her absent response. Fluttershy didn't recover, at least not immediately. Her head drifted back and she looked at Rainbow. Out of the edge of her eye, she saw relief wash over Fluttershy's expression.

"So, uh... is... is Nightmare Moon just... listening and waiting for... uh, one of us to say something we shouldn't?" was Rainbow's question.

And in all honesty, she answered, "I doubt that..."

Rainbow nodded slowly.

"Sooo... gonna introduce me?" was Midnight's casual question.

She blinked. Everypony else turned to face Midnight.

A calm, laid back, "Hi," was all Midnight said.

"Hi!" was Pinkie's cheerful greeting. In the blink of an eye, Pinkie was standing in front of Midnight. "My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours?"

"I'm Midnight Edge!" was the batpony's cheery response.

"Oooh, edgy!" was Pinkie's infatuated response.

Midnight let out a cheerful, carefree giggle. Pinkie joined in.

Twilight, for her part, wasn't sure what to make of the two of them.

Rainbow got up, then slowly approached, only now giving the batpony her scrutiny. She watched Rainbow look up and down Midnight's armor. Applejack and Rarity stood up and cautiously approached the mare. "So uh, what are you, exactly..?" was Rainbow question.

"I'm Twilight's guard." Midnight tilted her head to the left and asked, "Wasn't it obvious?"

"Uh, no, I mean what kind of pony are you? You look like... I dunno, a pegasus but..." Rainbow trailed off, pointedly staring at Midnight's wings.

"Oh!" Midnight exclaimed, "I'm a batpony."

"Batpony?" Rainbow asked. It took a second, but then she shrieked, "So wait, you're like a vampony!?"

Twilight wanted to facehoof. Instead, she just inhaled, then slowly exhaled. There really wasn't anything else she could do. She stood up and walked towards the group, intending to correct Rainbow.

Instead, Midnight just giggled. "We don't drink blood. We eat normal pony food especially fruits..." As Midnight trailed off, she thought she saw a slight trickle of drool near her fangs, but then it was gone. "We just look different." Midnight paused as a more thoughtful look crossed her expression, then she added, "Well, I suppose we're special because of Nightmare Moon, but we're still ponies."

Rainbow squinted and went back to studying her.

Something brushed up against her right side. She looked back and Fluttershy ducked back behind her mane, saying, "O-oh, sorry..."

"It's okay," she replied. She watched Fluttershy, and after a few seconds, the mare finally lifted her head back up, but kept it down in a non-threatening manner as she walked up beside her. Looking back on how Fluttershy had first acted, there was no noticeable difference. Then considering how Fluttershy acted when she saw Spike, well, it gave her a sense of whiplash.

She pushed it aside and looked back at everypony else. Their fascination with Midnight was reserved. But, it certainly went better than she had expected. Much, much better. And then a thought came to mind and made her shift her weight out of discomfort. "Uh... it's been over a month, and um, not that I'm mad or anything, but uh... why didn't you... come visit..?" she asked.

Her friends all looked back at her. Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity all looked at the floor, avoiding her. Even Pinkie Pie drooped. "Well, uh..." Applejack started. A brief silence followed, during which time Applejack realized nopony else was going to speak, so she continued, "It's... been kinda hard around here when the moon's gone. I've been busy on the farm and I've not really had time..."

"And the weather's kinda been a mess..." Rainbow added.

"I've had the time but I didn't want to go without everypony else," Pinkie offered with a sigh.

"Same here..." was Rarity's demured agreement.

"I um, I couldn't just... leave all my animal friends... th-they could get hurt if I-I left them," was Fluttershy's apologetic answer.

She nodded timidly. All in all, she found herself not holding a grudge against any one of them. Except maybe Rainbow Dash. She looked at said pegasus and asked, "What about the weather?"

Rainbow turned around to face her, lifting her head into the air and rolling it to the left as she drawled, "Weeeeelllllllll...." Finally, it came to a stop, and her head rested facing her. "The weather's kiiiiiinda been hard to set up since, you know, it's so dark. Plus without the sun, it's a bit harder to turn the water into clouds."

'Oh,' was all that came to mind. "Right," she stated succinctly.

"And I can't get up so early to work on the farm since it's so dark, so I'm kinda pressed for time," Applejack offered.

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Um, I could... maybe probably help with that?" she offered. Sure, she only had a vague idea of what all was involved in farming. She had studied it, but not recently, and not as in depth as magic. Sure, she wasn't an earth pony and didn't have earth pony magic- so she couldn't use earth pony magic to help crops grow- but she was a unicorn and was fairly decent with magic.

Although it might interfere with her studies. Then again, she wasn't exactly studying like she should have been. But it might have interfered with Nightmare's plans for her. 'I'll just... have to see how it goes,' was the best course of action.

Applejack nodded slowly. "I might take you up on that offer, but uh... are you sure you'd wanna help? No offense, but you're kinda... well, small."

And that was completely accurate. She was, most assuredly, not physically inclined. Especially considering that Fluttershy had overpowered her. "Ah... well, uh, I can use my magic?" she offered. "I mean, I... uh, I'm not strong. Or physically active." She paused, grinned and leaned in, then said, "But I am good with magic!" Hopefully, it was convincing. 'Why am I trying to convince her?' No answer came to her.

Still, Applejack nodded. "I reckon you are, given that you're... uh... were... Princess Celestia's student and all that."

"Mhm!" Midnight agreed. "She's good with magic."

She turned her attention to Midnight, squinted at her, and asked, "Okay, so, how exactly do you know that?"

Midnight gave a casual shrug. "You were Princess Celestia's Most Faithful Student."

"Yes," she agreed, "but you're a batpony. Why exactly would you know that? You tend to keep to yourself."

"You're kinda well known, ya know," was Midnight's response.

She looked at Midnight flatly. "Yes, but not a lot of ponies would recognize me when I'm out and about and-"

"You did show up with Nightmare Moon," Midnight commented.

She inhaled, then exhaled. "But-"

"And you do look pretty unique," Midnight added.

She scowled at Midnight and demanded, "But how did you know about me when we first met!?"

Midnight just gave a casual shrug. "You're an important pony. You were Princess Celestia's pupil. It'd be useful to keep track of you, since, you know, we're batponies."

'And we're loyal to Nightmare Moon,' went unsaid. She stayed silent.

"Although no, you're not all that well known among us," Midnight comforted.

"Then why-!?"

Midnight smiled and sweetly asked, "You can't expect me to give up all my secrets now, can you?"

She huffed. "Fine. Don't answer my question then."

"Mhm, I won't," was Midnight's playful reply. She finished by sticking the tip of her tongue out in between her fangs. Midnight's tongue wasn't really stuck out at her, but it was still stuck out.

She squinted at her for a second, then inhaled and turned to her friends. "So!" she called, drawing their attention back to her. "Do you um, have plans for today?"

"I kind of need to get back to the farm," Applejack responded.

"Nope!" Pinkie beamed.

"I'm free," Rainbow offered.

"I've not been very busy since this whole eternal night business started... ponies just haven't been interested in proper fashion," Rarity said. To punctuate the end, she gave an indignant huff.

"I can stay for a while," was Fluttershy's comment.

She looked at Applejack. So did everypony else. 'So, you're the oddball today, huh?' Applejack looked around at everypony and shifted her hooves on the floor. "Ah, shoot. Alright, alright. But I'll have to take you up on that offer for help, Twilight."

She nodded and smiled.

Then everypony looked at her, and it occurred to her, "I uh, I have no idea what to do."

"Well, um, it might be nice to just... relax and chat? You, um, no offense, but... you look like you could use that..." Fluttershy whispered.

And Fluttershy was absolutely correct that relaxing and chatting with them would help. That was part of why she was here anyway. And she could get to know them better.

"So is this sort of a slumber party, then?" was Pinkie's question. "Because it's sort of a party and it's night out? You could definitely use a party!"

Twilight pursed her lips as she thought about it. 'Does the library have any books on slumber parties?' was her first concern.

Writing about Twilight and books and reading... It feels meta.

I've not done the extensive prereading and editing I normally do in the time just before publishing. If you spot typos, please let me know!

Staring out across the moonlit Equestrian heartland from her balcony, Nightmare Moon's gaze lingered on the Everfree Forest. Even as she pondered her course of action, her gaze kept slipping down to Ponyville, and her thoughts kept drifting back to her student. Part of the fault was simply that her student was why she was aware of this problem, and that irked her.

It wasn't that she was upset at her student, no. It was that somehow the mayors of the towns surrounding the Everfree Forest thought it was a good idea to avoid telling her about the problems the forest's inhabitants were causing. So, now how did she find out about these problems? Simple! She overheard one Applejack relate it to her student. And it infuriated her that the mayors not only did not ask for help but also did not tell her about this problem.

It was utterly stupid of them not to bring it up. It was utterly stupid that they risked ponies' lives and significant damage just to avoid drawing her interest. It was foalish. Perhaps not all of them did it to avoid her attention. Perhaps some of them thought that dealing with that sort of problem was what she meant when she left their autonomies in place.

She closed her eyes, inhaled, then growled. Opening her eyes, she found that she wasn't staring at the Everfree Forest. No, her gaze had yet again slipped back to Ponyville. She couldn't make out that accursed library from Canterlot, but she felt like she was staring right at it. She felt like, even though there were so many miles between her and her student, that she was looking right at her.

And she absently wondered, 'Do you feel this?'

She kept silent and listened, but she heard nothing. Cadance said nothing. Twilight said nothing. It was a quiet night, a peaceful night. But she was, once again, alone, left with those thoughts that ate at her mind, left with those thoughts that plagued her, continuously haunting her, leaving her uncertain of her decisions.

She kept watching Ponyville.

It was just a teleport away, so well within her reach.

Her horn stayed dim. She inhaled, then turned around. Her eyes and head lingered facing Ponyville until she had no choice but to look away. She walked back inside and closed the door behind her. She walked towards the door to her study, but paused in front of her bed. Turning to face it, she inhaled.

Nothing. The scent of her sister no longer assaulted her nose, and in its place, there was nothing to be smelled. Not even her own scent had sunk into those bedsheets yet. Or perhaps, she was so used to her own scent that she couldn't detect it. The scent that plagued her was finally gone, yet each time she looked at the bed, she had expected for that scent to assault her nose yet again. Even if it hadn't for a week.

She rejoiced in the triumph of that small victory, yet at the same time, she found herself missing that scent. A thousand years without smelling anything, and even the accursed scent of her damned sister that drove her to madness was a welcome break.

Her head drifted back to the right, then she resumed her stroll into her study. She had relaxed, although she had yet to truly enjoy her reign as much as she wanted to, but now it was time to act. With each moment she delayed, she risked that much more damage to her empire by those monsters that struck out in the moonless night. She took charge of the situation. Nopony was around to see it, but she strode to her desk with purpose. It was a stride that would have made anything standing in her way do anything to get out of her way.

Before she even arrived, she had swept up a quill and scroll in her magic. She dipped the quill into the inkwell, then went to work. There were orders to be written, and batponies to be deployed to contain those monsters that dared assail her empire's borders. There were mayor's to chastise for their stupidity, and there were plans to be made.

But even as she scribbled out those orders and assignments, the thought weighed on her mind, 'The batponies aren't integrated with the Guard yet.' She scowled from the thought, even if it was to be expected. The batponies were numberous, so numerous in fact, that they outnumbered the Royal Guard by more than twenty to one. And she knew that there were yet more batponies that hadn't yet been accounted for. And even then, that was only batponies that were being integrated into the guard, and surely the whole batpony population had to number in the hundreds of thousands, if not more. And each and every single one of those batponies was dedicated to her.

Practically the whole of Equestria's military was now batponies. And that, though a good thing, was also distracting. It was distracting because she was quite aware of how that would look. On the outside, and inside, of Equestria. Other empires would gawk at the supposed sudden militarization of Equestria, even if in truth, the batponies had always been there, ready to act to protect Equestria, even if it had been in service to her sister. Ponies would gawk in terror as the Royal Guard was effectively replaced by batponies.

And those batponies were so unfamiliar to them, and they knew that the batponies were hers.

The whole situation was begging for problems to arise. But she had no choice. The Royal Guard was simply too small. She could not effectively administrate her empire relying solely on the Royal Guard, let alone could she protect her empire without the aid of her batponies.

How could she? Equestria was large. Could she justify taking Royal Guards away from Manehattan, such a strategically important city that was imperative to hold, in order to protect ponies in towns neighboring dangerous forests where creatures struck at her empire? How could she not deploy guards to protect said towns? To not react would be to invite whispers questioning her rule, as ponies would see her as weak for failing to protect them. And the monsters, they would see her as weak and view Equestria as vulnerable. And that would invite even more trouble.

Once again, she found herself backed into something of a corner. She had no good choices. So she had to choose the best option available to her. Use the Royal Guard for their intended purpose, but also use them to maintain order in important cities. Then, she could use the batponies to maintain order and protect other cities.

But perhaps this was also an opportunity: ponies would see the batponies protecting them, and perhaps that would work in her favor. Indeed, ponies would also see, she hoped, that she was making an effort to protect them.

She didn't hold out hope for this to be the case, however. It left her bitter to think that ponies would ignore what she was trying to do and just see it as oppression. But then, that was nothing new. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to.

Orders written, she put the quill back in its inkwell, then read over them for a moment. Her eyes lingered on the last words for several seconds, then she rolled the scrolls up and used her magic to bind them with her seal: a crescent moon set against a purple backdrop.

A flash of magic later, and the orders had been sent to their destinations.

Another scroll levitated into place on the desk to replace those she had teleported. She unrolled it, then lifted the quill from its inkwell again. The last orders, the ones ensuring that her empire wouldn't fall from within, was important. Arguably, it was more important than this order, yet in her mind, this order was far more important. It was far more personal and held far more meaning.

She delicately maneuvered the quill across the scroll's surface, drawing out each letter of each word with precision; there was no way anything she wrote here could be misunderstood without intentionally doing so. And at last, she finished writing the order. She reread it and smiled. It sent a shiver of delight through her back. She rolled it up and bound it with her seal, then sent it off.

And with that, her student would have all she needed to rebuild her castle. And she looked forward to what the future held. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'you will be surprised when the workforce of batponies shows up.' Perhaps she would be shocked into paralysis, so surprised that she would be given such authority, such power, such resources.

A part of her wanted to be there to see that. Another part of her hated the idea that Twilight would be paralyzed by that power, as it was just another example of how badly her dear sister had crippled her student.

And with the thought of her sister assaulting her mind, she scowled. 'Why do you continue to haunt me so?' growled in her mind, 'Was it not enough to mock me!?'

She exhaled sharply, then set the quill back in the inkwell. For a few seconds, she stood there, the inferno in her mind growing and churning, boiling any semblance of comfort and victory she had claimed away.

Then her thoughts drifted back to her student, and the inferno calmed. In its place, her chest tightened and twisted: anxiety. She was giving Twilight too much authority, she felt. She was perhaps not ready for it, yet that wasn't what truly bothered her. She was giving her student so much opportunity to betray her. True, batponies would be who were under her student's command, yet that did not mean her student couldn't figure out a way to pull something off.

'Don't betray me...' was her hope.

And there was still the possibility that her student had already somehow betrayed her. She was not there every second to keep an eye on her student. She listened, yes, but that didn't mean Twilight didn't find a way around that. She could not see what Twilight saw, so in her time with her friends, she could have found a way to plot against her without giving it away.

But then, Midnight was there. Midnight would ensure that did not happen.

And a part of her felt that she was overthinking the entire situation. The part of her shouted out in her mind, 'She will not betray me, she is not that kind of pony.'

It ate at her mind and left her so divided, the duality she faced. Her student left her feeling so unsure, the more she thought about her. Her student's potential, she had to grow her and bring it out. But doing so was such a risk, as that potential could so easily be her undoing.

She was obsessed with that unicorn. She knew it was so. She kept it to herself. She couldn't admit that to anypony, least of all her student. She couldn't risk Twilight taking advantage of it, she couldn't risk Twilight betraying her. And she knew that telling her student that would only put more pressure on her. Already, she knew Twilight was under too much pressure. It was stagnating her growth and making things more difficult on both of them.

She growled and shook the thoughts of her student from her mind. Or at least she tried. It was impossible for thoughts of her student to completely disappear. They always lingered in the back of her mind, ready to jump to the forefront without hesitation.

It was obvious because of her dreams, and how many times she had watched Twilight sleep.

When she watched that filly sleep, her student's vulnerability was screamed out in her mind. It stood out above everything else, it was practically the only thing that occurred to her. And that vulnerability was maddening. The fact that her sister had left Twilight so weak and undefended made her somehow hate her sister all the more.

She felt that it was imperative to teach Twilight to protect herself. She felt that it was imperative to create something that would ensure Twilight would be safe when she wasn't there. Even knowing Midnight was there to protect her student barely took the edge off of those needs.

Her dreams of Twilight took one of two forms: Either her dreams were peaceful, so calm, with such a casual friendship between them that soothed her soul, or those dreams were so twisted, with her student so terrified of her that at the drop of a feather she would shatter, like a mirror struck by a hammer.

And those dreams of the latter category, they were also so disappointing, so tiring. They were nightmares. But when she dreamed of her and her student not having that mistrust and distance between them, she awoke so refreshed. She wanted that bond with her student so that Twilight wasn't terrified of her. And maybe that was foalish because it might not have been in her best interest. If Twilight wasn't afraid of her, then there would be less stopping her student from trying to betray her.

Maybe it was an unreasonable fear, because she knew, 'There are ways other than fear to keep her from betraying me.'

And what came to mind was that if she had that bond with her student, her student would not betray her.

She wanted it, but it was insane to think it could ever happen. Twilight was her student; she was Queen and Empress. She was an immortal alicorn, and Twilight was a mortal unicorn filly.

But her student had potential.

She licked her lips.

She realized that once again her mind was consumed by thinking of her student. She exhaled, and it came out as a groan. She shut her eyes and inhaled, then exhaled again. 'You're going to be the death of me...' growled out in her mind. She felt nearly certain it was a fact. Perhaps they would be fighting alongside one another, and then her student would distract her. Or perhaps, she would have to fight her student, and she would be unable to do what needed to be done.

Or perhaps she would find herself compelled to do something stupid, something that wasn't in her best interest. There was even the chance that she would have convinced herself it was in her best interest.

She jerked her hoof into the air, then rammed it back into the floor, grinding her teeth together and growling. 'I'm too fond of you,' she knew. When she returned, she could have tortured Twilight to break her dear sister. Now, she couldn't have done that, even if it was the only use her student had left. She couldn't imagine how she could have managed to bring herself to do that to her student.

And it occurred to her again, that her student was distracting her.

It was maddening. If she let it, it would make her scream in rage.

She closed her eyes, inhaled, then let her chest deflate. As the air rushed back out, she tried to push her stress out alongside it. It helped. She opened her eyes, then turned around and walked to the door. She opened the door with her magic and strolled out into the hallway, ignoring the two Royal Guards at her door.

She walked on, keeping her mind sharp and forcing the thoughts of her student away. Whenever the slightest hint showed up, she stamped it out with an iron hoof. She walked on, walking the hallways, letting her hooves carry her where she needed to go. Then, she came to a stop. The door before her was emblazoned by a crystal heart: Cadance's cutie mark.

She knocked on the door, then waited. She sensed Cadance's movement as soon as she knocked, and then the door opened in her magic. For a moment, Cadance froze at the sight of her, then she recovered and looked up oh so meekly. "Dear Cadance," she greeted.

"Nightmare..." was Cadance's drawled acknowledgment.

But her hesitance was expected, and so she ignored it. Slowly, Cadance stepped to the left. Calmly, she strolled on inside. She let her eyes drift over Cadance's study. It wasn't that different from her own, or how it had been. But she ignored most of the details. Cadance closed the door.

Cadance walked around her left, then turned in front of her to face her. It was a slow, timid turn. "What... do you want?"

"I have yet to have time to discuss this with you, but I feel the need to bring it up now. That, and I have time for the moment. The Gala? Twilight Sparkle brought this up some time ago, and she suggested you would be of assistance with this," she stated.

Slowly, Cadance nudged her head up and down, then asked, "The Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Is that what it is called?" was her question.

"Yes," was Cadance's simple answer.

"Tell me of it," she stated.

Cadance rolled her head to the left and looked at the floor. After a second, Cadance's eyes shot back onto her. "It's a yearly event that's become a tradition. The main event is held in Canterlot Castle, but the whole city participates, and it's something of a tourist attraction..." was her explanation.

"And what, dear Cadanza, is this main event?" she asked.

"Well..." Cadance drawled, "It's... essentially... a party of sorts. An upper class one. An event which generally... your sister and I would have attended. Nobles would get to openly meet and talk with us."

She nodded, but a scowl slipped out. Already, she hated where this was going. Already, she felt a bitterness deep inside her chest. Of course, it was a social event. She knew that much already, but the purpose of the event? Now that struck at her. Holding the Gala would have been a good idea, as it would bring some sense of normalcy to Equestria. It was something Equestria needed. But with this? That history where her dear sister would interact with nobles? That was mocking, as now, nopony would attend the event if she were to fill that same role. The nobles would avoid her, she knew. They hated her. And so it was a mockery of her. It was practically spitting in her face, as the ponies had done so long ago.

She had half the mind to abolish the event; Dear sister continued to mock and insult her, dear sister continued to rub it in her face how everypony gave her their love, and she received only their hate, spite, and blame.

Though it was a mockery to her, she could still somehow twist this to her favor and use it against her sister. It would be good for Equestria, as much as she hated the idea. So she asked, "Are you capable of overseeing this? I do not know what it involves, and I do not care for dealing with this myself."

Cadance gave her a timid nod in response, though she said nothing.

"Then you will oversee this. I will not be attending. You, however, will be," she stated.

Again, Cadance nodded timidly.

For a few seconds, she watched the lesser alicorn. Then, she turned around and opened the door with her magic. She walked towards the door, then Cadance called, "Why do you want this?"

So she stopped. She stopped and looked back at Cadance. Cadance just barely had the courage to add, "It's... not something I would expect from you."

Then she answered, "It is in my best interest," and left with nothing more.

For several seconds, Cadance stood unmoving. Then, she heard Cadance's magic, followed by the door clicking closed.

She put the meeting out of mind. The Gala would be taken care of. Cadance would make sure of it. And that would hopefully add some stability to her rule. But she pushed any further thought of the event out of her mind, as it only served to draw her ire.

The walk back to her chambers took just as long as the walk to Cadance's chambers had taken. The whole while, her only company was her own thoughts and the click of her boots on the marble floor. It left her thinking, and her thoughts were once again of her student. 'I'm too fond of you,' repeated in her mind.

But perhaps that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Her student, though terrified of her and attempting to avoid her, had said she did not hate her. And she took that with some sense of relief. A pony who didn't hate her. A pony who wasn't a batpony who didn't hate her. It meant something to her, she had to admit. And then there was what they could share together, magic, studies, the night sky.

Her dear sister lying to both of them, using them both for her own purposes, and then betraying them.

As she neared her chambers, she saw one of her least favorite ponies. His sight brought a scowl to her lips, and she slowed. She drew out her stride as much as she could, ensuring he had to wait on her, or come to her. And of course, said Captain of the Guard noticed her approach, and he stood at attention. There was a mask of respect in his stance, but she could see right through it, and there was no love behind it.

If this Captain had not been so important, he would have been replaced weeks ago. But she endured the pain he caused. He did his job well enough, and there was a possible future benefit to keeping him around, even if she had not heard him and Cadance speak of such things yet. Keeping him around was also likely beneficial for her student.

"Captain," she acknowledged dissinterestedly as she came to a stop.

"Queen Nightmare Moon," was his similar acknowledgment.

"Speak," was her command.

At that, the captain straightened and stood rigidly. He looked straight ahead at her chestplate and said, "Delegations have arrived from the Zebras and Minotaurs. They've requested an audience with you."

And she stood up straighter at that. 'So you finally decide to show up...' growled in her mind. Over a month. That was how long it took representatives from those two nations to finally arrive. That was how long it took them to finally try to communicate with her. The sun had been gone for over a whole month, and only now did they seek out the root of the problems. They had to know it was her. They had to know her dear sister was now locked away. That information had to have spread well beyond Equestria's borders by now.

And they waited so long to give her the respect and acknowledgment she deserved.

And one thought came to mind concerning them, and that thought was spat out in her mind with disgust, 'Cowards!' She inclined her head and answered, "Then I will speak to them immediately."

"Of course," was the captain's response. "This way," he said, turning to his right. "Please follow me."

He led and she followed. She scrutinized him as he walked, and every time her eyes fell on his form, she saw his gait tense. It reminded her all too much of his sister, of her student. She had the same effect on everypony else she had yet encountered, save for her batponies, but with the captain, it felt wrong. With the whole Royal Guard, it concerned her: the way her predatory gaze struck fear into them. It was useful, but it was a liability. It could spur them to action, but it could paralyze them into inaction.

Still, when she looked at Captain Shining Armor, she struggled to grasp that familiar bond he shared with her student. Could this captain have truly been her student's brother? They were so different, they acted so different, they looked so different. Yet despite their differences, she had seen how Shining Armor comforted her student. She remembered that, and it was one of the reasons she kept him around.

It reminded her of her dear sister and how she lied to her. Yet where her dear sister lied and betrayed her, in her student's relationship with the captain, she saw none of those lies. And a part of her was jealous for what her student had: family that loved her. It could make her so bitter if she let it or if she focused on thinking about it because it inevitably would draw back her memories of her dear sister.

But there were more important things to think on. If delegations had finally arrived, then that meant other nations, aside from the Deer Kingdom, were finally taking an interest in what had transpired. How could they not? In their cowardice, they waited so long. Too long, even with the distance they had to travel. It was absurd. It annoyed her. It made her joyous. There was absolutely no reason any of them could have missed what had happened, for what was more obvious than the sun's disappearance and her eternal night?

And she wondered, 'Do they know who I am? Do they remember me, from all those centuries ago? Or did dear sister erase even their records of me!?' Would it be another insult that she would find, like the Deer remembering her while her own beloved subjects did not? Or would she find that, like her own kin, they did not remember her, or they had no record of her.

It fascinated her.

"Tell me of the representatives," she commanded.

There was a pause in the captain's stride; a misstep. He didn't stumble, but it slowed him. "...the Minotaur representative says his name is Steel Bar, and the Zebra representative says her name is..." he trailed off. For several seconds, there was silence aside from the click of their boots on the marble, then he admitted, "I can't pronounce it."

"And did they come alone?" she queried.

He shook his head. "Steel Bar came with two others, the zebra came alone."

'Not surprising.' "Pray tell, what should I expect of this?"

The captain's head twitched to the left and for the briefest moment, he glanced back at her. Then he looked straight ahead again and answered, "They didn't seem happy."

She scowled and clenched her teeth. "I see," was all there was to be said. It was yet another reason to hate the pending meeting. It would result, she knew, in more problems, more headaches, all haunting her rule. But she held the cards here, and they were in her domain. She had the advantage, and she would use that.

But she did not want things to escalate out of hoof. There was a difference between forcing them to respect her and give her what she deserved and intentionally starting a war. No, a war was unwanted. If she was forced into a war, then she would win. She would break them, and she would claim victory over them.

But a war wasn't in her best interests. War was destructive, she knew, from first-hoof experience. She knew the horrors of war, things that shouldn't have been, yet were. Equestria was, even with the batponies being integrated, unprepared for war. Equestria was too soft. Her dear sister had left Equestria so vulnerable. And yet, it still occurred to her, that Equestria had overcome so much strife, and it ate at her mind to know her sister had succeeded so.

She seethed even more when she considered that Equestria was so undefended. It could have ended so badly for Equestria. She had to be missing something. Unless sister knew that the batponies would intervene. Sister probably knew, and that calmed her anger, even if her sister's actions were still foalish.

Even if she would win any war she was forced into, a war wasn't in her best interests. Equestria wasn't prepared. A war would bring hardship, and given what hardship Equestria was already dealing with, it wasn't in her best interests to pile that much more on top of it. A war would require mobilizing resources that would harm the economy. Harming the economy would cause more uncertainty, and she could already see the end result. Protests, dissent, strife. Rebellion.

No, a war was unwanted. If they gave her a war, then she would win it. If they left her no choice, she would take it and win it. If she had no choice, then it would be so. But as long as they did not cause problems, a war wasn't something that would have been beneficial. She would not start one when there were alternatives.

She inhaled, then exhaled as her thoughts drifted back to her student and it occurred to her, 'You are not here to help me.' Perhaps her student wouldn't have been much help in this situation, or perhaps she did not give her student enough credit. At the very least, her student would be more knowledgeable than her as how to best proceed.

Maybe. But then, there was a distinct possibility that her student would be unable to help her and would not know any better than she did. Equestria had been, after all, oh so isolated. Even with her attempts to catch up on history, well, it had been a one thousand year absence. It was no easy task. And then, Equestria had been isolated from other countries for most of that time, so there was very little information about the outside world.

And it weighed on her mind. 'Why?' Why did her dear sister nearly entirely cut off outside contact from Equestria? True, ponies had herd instincts, were naturally prey, and distrustful of new things, but this seemed so much more than just a culmination of that.

So much, it seemed to her, was not the way things should have been. The Griffin Empire? Gone. The Crystal Empire? Still gone. Equestria's military? Gone, aside from her batponies and a miniscule number of Royal Guards. Contact and relations with outside nations? Nonexistant, aside from trade. The Deer Kingdom? Underpopulated, and unmerged with Equestria. Her sister fighting to stop her? Her sister essentially just surrendered. An actual threat to her establishing her reign? Nonexistent, aside from those threats which she prayed did not come to pass.

It left her wanting to scream at how little sense it all made.

But she kept herself from screaming. It would not have done to vent, especially not around ponies who did not know her thoughts, ponies who would see it as happening without cause. That would create uncertainty, they would ask, 'Is our Queen even sane?' and fear her all the more. And that fear was not a productive fear.

Reluctantly, a thought came to her mind, 'Maybe I am overthinking this...'

There was that chance. It felt like a small chance, but it was there. It was still an insane thought. She couldn't let her guard slip.

The captain slowed, then turned to face a double door. She slowed and looked over the doors. She squinted. It was a room she was unfamiliar with. However, she expected it to be a meeting room of some kind. It made the most sense, given that the Throne Room had yet to be repaired.

She had taken a liking to the crater.

She looked at the captain, who nodded and said, "They're waiting inside."

"Both delegations?" she queried. He inclined his head in a rigid nod. She turned away from him and studied the doors for a moment longer, then lit her horn.

But she didn't open the doors. No, not yet. She calmly walk forward, then turned, centering herself where the doors met. Then, she used her magic and pressed the doors inward. They parted, then crept into the room as they opened.

Her expectation had been correct, as it was a meeting room with four occupants: three minotaurs and a zebra. All heads turned to face her, and then the minotaurs that, from even the distance towered over her, froze in fear as her sharp gaze jumped over each one of them.

She glanced at the zebra, but there was no discernable reaction from her.

She lifted her right forehoof, then stepped into the room. She calculated that step, along with each following step. The steps announced her arrival. The steps announced her power. Those steps meticulously told each representative who she was. And once she was clear of the doors, she shut them without looking away from the group.

She looked at the zebra again. But there wasn't much for her to see: The zebra wore a loose brown cloak that covered her body. The edges of the cloak were gilded, and where the cloak covered her flanks there was a spiral that ran inward in a clockwise direction. Moving towards her rib cage, a belt was strapped around her body. From the belt, several flasks hung, each filled with a colored fluid: green or purple or blue. Around her neck a clasp held the garment on her. Set in the clasp was, on the right, a rising sun that made her blood boil, and on the left, a familiar descending crescent moon that made her blood freeze. The sun and moon displayed almost danced together, almost identical to those banners that mocked her so, almost identical to the unchanged flag of Equestria.

'How dare you!' snarled out in her mind. But outwardly, all she let slip out was a flick of her lip and a glimpse of her teeth. Yet, the more logical part of her mind was fascinated with that medallion, 'How do you have such a medallion, and why?' It held so much meaning related to Equestria. Why would a zebra have it?

Perhaps the zebra was more familiar with Eqeuestria than she thought; perhaps Equestria had more dealings with zebras than she had determined.

She turned her attention back to the minotaurs. In the middle, at the forefront of the group, was who she assumed to be their leader: he was larger than both of his companions and looked at least a decade older than them. His horns grew out almost horizontally to reach his shoulders, then curved up, back in, and finally straight up. With nothing on, she could see his muscles, and they put an earth pony's to shame. And she knew that he could likely defeat her in a contest of strength, but she had other advantages that he did not. He was much taller than her: he stood at her own height, and then perhaps another half of her height. Both minotaurs accompanying him stood a head shorter than him, though both looked almost equally as strong as he did.

But their height advantage over her gave none of them any comfort or confidence. Their turn to face her was slow and drawn out, and the leader was unwilling to step forward to face her. In contrast, that short zebra was unphased and approached her with a casual gait that spoke of one unafraid of consequences.

"You are the Queen, who calls herself Nightmare Moon?" was the zebra's question.

She turned back to face the Zebra and inclined her head. "I am," she answered.

The zebra lowered her head, then looked over her body from her boots to her chestplate and wings, then to her head, helmet, and horn. Then the zebra raised her head back up and met her gaze.

Though she already knew the answer, she asked anyway, "For what purpose are you here?"

The zebra inclined her head, inhaled, and then spoke, "I have come to speak with Princess Celestia-"

That accursed name was unacceptable! It drew her anger, and her lips pulled back in hatred. But she didn't lose herself to that inferno. She spoke firmly, but in a calculated manner. To lose control would be to show weakness at best, and at worst, losing control would invite disaster. There was no reason for her to go out of her way and attack this zebra when that would invite a war she did not need. So she held herself in check, but gave her warning: "Do not," she growled, "speak that name around me." She stared at that zebra intently, willing her predatory gaze to pierce the zebra's will and skew her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the three minotaurs take the slightest step back, and it was such a step that none of them realized they had taken it. But her growl and glare only gave the zebra a momentary pause before she nodded.

"My apologies, Queen Nightmare Moon," was the zebra's calm response. "I had intended to speak with your sister-"

Nightmare's eyes narrowed. She scrutinized every inch of the zebra's features. There had to be something more to her, something more that she was missing. But yet, she found nothing out of place. But then, she had no prior knowledge of this zebra, nor did she even know her name. 'The zebras know who I am...' And that thought nearly brought her to seeth. Did everyone except her beloved subjects remember her? Did everyone except her beloved subjects know who she was and what her dear sister had done!?

"-about the sun and moon, but..." the zebra trailed off. She saw the zebra's hesitation to continue. Nothing needed to be said, as it was obvious what went unsaid: 'I have found you in her place, so that answers our questions.' However, the zebra still chose to continue and said, "It is clear what has transpired here."

"Yes," Nightmare said succinctly.

For a few seconds, nothing more was said between them. She stared at the zebra, refusing to back down. The zebra watched her with a cautious, yet mostly disinterested, or perhaps casual, gaze. And it ate at her mind. Did this zebra not recognize who she was? Did this zebra not know what she could do? But yet, this zebra did know who she was, this zebra had to know her power. But this zebra wasn't intimidated. The zebra did not respect her, the zebra did not fear her.

"Are we going to have problems?" Nightmare asked.

"We would much prefer the return of your sister and her sun, as your broken cycle must be undone. But it is true that we cannot stop you," the zebra admitted. "We are not fools. We will not provoke you, but you are not welcome among my kind."

She snorted. "So long as you stay out of my way," she hissed, "I couldn't care less what your kind does. Do not cause me problems, and I will not cause you problems."

"Your reign is already causing us problems," the zebra related. "During the night where the moon hides, dangers grow restless, and all are falling prey to those who you would shelter in this blackness."

"I am aware of this," Nightmare answered. "I will take your worries into consideration, but do not think I am under obligation to do so."

The zebra inclined her head. For a moment longer, she watched her, then she turned her gaze to the minotaurs. "Steel Bar, I presume?" The minotaur at the head of the group reluctantly nodded. "Speak," was her command.

The group's leader hesitated, then finally managed to gather whatever courage he had and said, "The Emporer sent us to speak with... her." His voice was rough, almost like he had been gargling nails and his throat had been shredded. There was an aged quality to his voice, alongside respect, qualities that she suspected his two guards lacked.

"And she is my prisoner," Nightmare answered. "So you will be talking to me."

The two minotaurs accompanying Steel Bar glanced at him, and both held themselves rigidly, unwilling to relax. Both were prepared to act on something, if something came up. She could see their tensed muscles, but their strength was only meant for intimidation: behind that displayed strength was an utter lack of courage. Whatever courage they normally possessed was nothing more than dread now. They may have been physically stronger than her, but they all knew who held all of the power in this room. They felt it.

"Given... Equestria's change of leadership..." he ventured carefully, "the Emporer would be..." he paused and waited a few moments, appearing to search for the right word, "reassured," he finally said, "if you have no plans to alter our current relations and deals."

"I presume you are referring to our trade deals?" she asked. The minotaur nodded. "I have no desire to alter them at this point in time," was her answer.

"I... have to ask about the sun," Steel drawled.

She scowled. "I am not bringing the sun back." To punctuate her statement, she lifted her right forehoof, then stamped it down. All three minotaurs winced, but the zebra did not. "Do not ask again," she warned.

"The Emporer won't be happy about that," Steel cautioned.

Nightmare jerked her head to the side. "I do not care whether your Emporer is happy or not. That is not my concern," she hissed.

"Don't threaten us," was Steel's calm retort.

She smiled. "You would be wise to remember who I am," was all she said. It was all she needed to say. The three minotaurs went silent, and their silence was a haunted silence. She let that silence last for several seconds before inhaling and adding, "I have no desire for conflict with the minotaurs or the zebras. So long as you stay out of my way, I do not care what you do. If there is anything else we need to discuss, then let us continue. But if you insist on discussing the sun, my moon, and my dear sister," she spat, "then this meeting is over."

She waited. Neither Steel nor the unnamed zebra spoke up. They didn't speak up about the sun, her eternal night, or her dear sister. They didn't ask for anything, they didn't offer anything. Perhaps Equestria's relations with the minotaurs and zebras would be harmed by this, but it wasn't unexpected, and it wasn't as if Equestria had much in the way of relations with either of them. Her ascent to the throne had brought with it so many more problems, and this, assuming nothing more than such disputes occurred, was not her biggest concern. Losing trade with the minotaurs would be a problematic loss, one that would not be beneficial, but it would not break her empire.

If a war occurred, she would not be the instigator. She would not let the world see her as the aggressor, rather, she would be the defender, the Queen protecting the vulnerable Equestrian ponies from outside threats. Ponies would see her in such a way, and it would be as it was so long ago, when they respected her for protecting them. Outside threats were always good for unifying ponies.

But even if good could come from war, it wasn't in her best interests. A war would cause more problems, more headaches, consume more of her time.

If they wanted a war, she would win it, but she would not start one. Not when there were better options. Not when the cost of a war was so great.

But with any luck, there would be no war. They didn't threaten such, and though she knew they did not have the final say, their word mattered.

Perhaps she had been too aggressive. But it was in her best interest to show strength and authority. They had shown their cowardice in waiting so long to approach her. This gave her the opportunity to strengthen her position. But slipping up and being too aggressive was dangerous. If she miscalculated, it could be disasterous.

"The Emporer wants to know what your goals are," Steel finally stated.

Which roughly translated into, 'The Emporer wants to know whether you're going to be a threat.' "Equestria is mine," she answered. "That is my goal. To rule Equestria and outshine my dear sister."

"The darkness does not shine like the light," was the zebra's comment.

She forced herself not to scowl at the insult, even as that insult made her blood boil. She tried to hide just how much it infuriated her. The minotaurs still stepped back. The zebra still didn't react. 'I will outshine you dear sister,' she affirmed in her mind, the thought coming in a vicious growl.

If she couldn't, she'd be damned. If she couldn't, then she'd tear the world apart until that unquenchable, primal lust for vengeance was sated. If she couldn't, she'd spend eternity tearing her sister apart and breaking her piece by piece. Consequences be damned.

She growled, "I am done here," then teleported away.

That double image from her teleport burned into her mind: the uninterested casual look of that zebra. She hated that zebra. The door to her chambers came into focus. She used her magic and rammed the door open. The guards jumped, then jumped again as that door hit the wall inside her chamber.

She ignored their distress and marched inside, then closed the door behind her with her magic. She sucked air into her lungs, then forced it back out with the force of a dragon.

It kept playing again and again in her mind, how unafraid of her that zebra was. How that zebra didn't care just how much power she had, how it didn't matter that she was Queen and Empress, how it didn't matter that she had brought eternal night. It kept playing again and again in her mind, how everypony spited her and hated her. Centuries ago, and with her return. The inferno in her mind left her trembling. Her legs shook, her lips wobbled. She felt the pressure of her jaw clamped down in her teeth, in her gums. It brought back the memory of breaking her dear sister's wing. The memory gave her an ecstatic glee that soothed her soul, but then it twisted.

Her dear sister had denied her of so much. Her dear sister mocked her and plagued her mind even now. She had no peace, not while her dear sister and everypony else refused to love and respect her. They all hated her, every last one of them, except her batponies. And she had the audacity to be merciful to them. She had the audacity to give those ponies who so hated her a chance! How dare she! Before her banishment, she would have crushed them for refusing to respect her so. Before her banishment, she had the right idea!

'But you do not hate me...' whispered in her mind.

It was all it took for every thought in her mind to change in an instant: the boiling anger cooled, and contemplation overtook her bitterness. A part of her felt a sense of whiplash, one not unlike the double image she saw when teleporting. But unlike the double image which barely phased her, the sense of whiplash disorientated her. Anger, then the anger being gone, replaced with her reason, her intellect.

And even worse, she felt unease filling her chest and flooding her mind.

She inhaled, then exhaled. She glanced down at her chestplate; it was still imperfect, despite her attempts. It was scarred. She glanced down at the black coat of her leg, then at the cyan boot she wore. She looked back at the crescent moon set in the center of her chestplate.

'There is no reason to consider this a lost cause yet,' she reasoned. Ponies hated her, ponies didn't respect her. They didn't love her, just like so long ago. They wouldn't love her, like so long ago. They feared her. But it wasn't a lost cause. It wasn't a reason to snap and erase it all. No, such would be contrary to her plans. It wasn't in her best interest. She wouldn't consider it a lost cause. She wouldn't just snap and become a monster.

She wouldn't let herself. She would stop herself if it was necessary.

She growled, then looked back up. She turned, then strode into her bedroom, turned again, and strode out onto her balcony.

Then, she stopped at the railing. She stopped and starred up at her moon, blemished though it was. 'This is all your fault,' hissed in her mind. After that, silence.

She felt the gentle night breeze washing over her coat. She felt the air, calm though it was, flowing between her feathers, caressing each with a delicate, tender touch. It was a sharp contrast with the hatred she felt. The air did not condemn her while everypony, everything, else did. The air soothed her anger. She let her gaze drop from the moon. She looked across Canterlot. Those beams of light shooting out into the city from windows marred her beautiful night. It made a mockery of the beauty she brought. Ponies still hated her, despite what she had gifted them with.

She inhaled, then exhaled. She had so much power. Acting on her whims and anger to vent would have been foal's play. But it wasn't in her best interests, as much as she wanted to. But perhaps she could act on those frustrations and angers. After all, what was her victory if she did not take time to enjoy it?

Her eyes shot back to the moon. She stared at those craters, then lit her horn.

But the spell fizzled out. She clenched her jaw. The only thing stopping her from visiting her dear sister was how much magic she needed to keep the Elements of Harmony contained.

And so it gave her something to look forward to: when she could safely lock the Elements away without fear of them being used against her. And with that thought in mind, her head turned, and her gaze fell on the Everfree Forest. The distance was too great, but she still looked for her home.

She didn't find it, and so her eyes drifted back to Ponyville, drifted back to where she thought that tree was. 'Do not disappoint me...' whispered in her mind.

And she smiled. There was an irony there that she couldn't miss: dear sister had intended for Twilight to stop her, but instead, Twilight would only further her own plans. Twilight would oversee the rebuilding of her castle, then she could safely hide the Elements away. Then, she could play with her dear sister again, and how that thought made her shiver in delight!

And she still had yet another opportunity there: her sister treasured Twilight. Perhaps she did not need to follow up on anything she said, perhaps she could break her sister simply from saying that she had tortured her sister's student.

'My student...' a whisper in her mind corrected. Her mind lingered on the words. Her gut twisted in on itself and she grimaced. It would be no better than what her dear sister had done to her if she so used her own student in such a way, to use Twilight against her sister. To just use Twilight the way her sister had? She felt doubt; she felt disgust.

Her thoughts drifted back to lying to her sister about torturing Twilight, about torturing her student. Her sister would believe she had, if she lied about it. There was no doubt in her mind about that. And she could detail it oh so well. She could ram that dagger into her sister's heart, then twist it so deep inside of her that her sister would scream in anguish and beg her to stop. But then, thinking of detailing torturing her own student, a foal, the one pony who wasn't a batpony and didn't hate her, left her feeling a weight and twist in her chest. It felt like to do so would be to betray her student. To betray her student like her dear sister had betrayed her. She could detail it so well that she could picture it. And she hated it. It left a familiar bitter taste in her mouth. And the thought of lying so to her sister, even with as much as she had done, ate at her mind.

To do so would make her no better than her dear sister who had lied to both her student and herself. To follow up on it? To play with her dear sister as she desired? That would make her a monster.

'Do not betray me, Twilight Sparkle...' whispered in her mind. She hoped her student wouldn't.

Even thinking of torturing her student, Twilight Sparkle, if the filly betrayed her, tormented her. She didn't want to torture the filly. Even if it was years into the future when that filly was a mare, she felt a desire to avoid hurting her. 'I'm too fond of you,' came to her mind again. But this time, it didn't draw her ire. No, it made her feel a twist in her chest and stomach. It made her feel anxious.

And it was still under the assumption that Twilight would betray her that she would torture her, and that seemed unlikely and far-fetched. Twilight was not a pony to betray her, perhaps only out of fear. The thought that Twilight wouldn't betray her only out of fear made her concerned: she didn't want Twilight to fear her, she wanted her student to be able to relax around her. She didn't like how tense her student was around her. She didn't like how much she scared Twilight. She wanted that bond with her student that she dreamed about. It wasn't in her best interest for Twilight to fear her, yet it still was in her best interest for Twilight to fear her so that her student did not betray her. Even with that in mind, she felt convinced Twilight would not betray her for more reasons than just fear. 'You will only betray me,' she thought, 'if you can free my sister, defeat me, or my sister has returned.'

She was convinced of that, and those circumstances were so limited. Perhaps she did not need to be so distrustful of her student given that, but there was no reason to do something so foalish as to ignore and deny the possibility that Twilight could backstab her and betray her. She wanted to trust her student. She wanted to be able to trust her student, not because fear kept Twilight from doing anything, but because her student would choose not to betray her.

She didn't want to imagine her student betraying her. The thought ate at her, just like the memories of her sister's betrayal.

She would not betray Twilight and torture her. The more she thought about it, the more she hated the idea. She could picture herself tormenting the filly, and it made her want to look away. She could picture Twilight so terrified of her, and she hated it. She could hear Twilight's cries and whimpering in her mind, and it brought her to seeth. Hearing it made her tremble, she hated it so much. She hated it almost as much as she hated her dear sister.

Or maybe as much.

'I will not torture you,' she affirmed in her mind, 'even if you betray me.'

To do so would have crossed a line. It was a line she couldn't cross. It was a line she would not cross. It would have made her a monster.

She still knew, 'One thousand years ago, I would have,' and it left her more aware of the chill the night air held.

A thousand years in banishment had given her time to think.

She listened again, but heard nothing from Cadance and Twilight. She lit her horn, then teleported to her student's library. There was a duality to the double image she saw, and for some reason, it unnerved her: the image of the night sky and Ponyville before her, all shrouded in her beautiful night, and then the warm, golden glow of candelight flooding Twilight's library over it, reminding her of her dear sister's day.

The crack of magic signaled her arrival. She didn't even get a chance to look at her student before the unicorn squeaked. When her gaze fell on the filly, her body was already tensed and rigid. Her student was laying on the floor, her forehooves tucked in under her chest. A book was opened before her, though she couldn't determine what book. She vaguely recognized the spell matricies it depicted, however, as healing spells. Twilight stared up at her.

She silently sighed, then turned to face her. As she turned, she looked away and let her gaze drift over the library's interior. It looked nearly identical to what she remembered from watching her student find that accursed book that detailed the Elements of Harmony. All that was missing were those five mares. Midnight stood at attention as her gaze drew close. She nodded, and the batpony leaned back against the wall. She turned back to Twilight, then looked at the book again. "Do you not know healing magic?" she questioned.

Her voice was enough to calm her student down. She saw the tensed muscles in Twilight's back relax, and her student blinked and swallowed. "Um, well, yes, but... it-it's good to refresh on it, and, um... I'm not that familiar with healing magic."

She inclined her head to nod. "Healing magic is useful, although unless one has a lot of magic available, the spells are not so powerful," was her comment.

"Regeneration spells are better?" Twilight asked.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. They are significantly more efficient, although starving yourself, or whoever you are trying to heal, by using one is not generally a wise idea."

Twilight pursed her lips. She could almost see her student thinking it over, then Twilight nodded. "Um... w-what are you..." Her student slowed, and she saw her stop with a wince. Then, Twilight continued, "Um... doing... here?"

She heard the nervousness in Twilight's voice, and that nervousness all but said, 'I don't want you to be here!' And hearing that hurt her, just like seeing her student afraid hurt her. "I wished to visit you," she answered.

Her student looked confused for a moment, but then it faded. "O-oh, um, okay..." was her timid acknowledgement.

'You are still uncomfortable in my presence... but you seem to be trying...' Was it some kind of offer? Was her student truely trying to make amends? She felt a spark of hope ignite in her body, and it made her feel excited. She tried not to let it show. She didn't see any recognition in her student's eyes. She swallowed then asked, "Walk with me?"

Twilight hesitated, then looked to left at Midnight.

"I can watch Spike," Midnight offered.

Twilight turned back to look at her. "Um... okay..." was her response. She hesitated for a second, then gradually pushed herself up into a standing position. Twilight drew it out and stood up in such a timid, unsure manner, as if trying to make certain she didn't think it was an attack. But she already knew Twilight would not attack her.

"Relax, Twilight Sparkle," she comforted.

Her student hesitated, then closed her eyes. For that moment, she could see a conflict rage across her face, 'Should I trust her? Can I trust her? Is this wise?' Finally, Twilight inhaled. The conflict subsided, then her student opened her eyes and nodded. It was still a timid nod, but she stood more relaxed. Yet in that relaxed posture, she found her student still looked so vulnerable and unsure.

She felt like it was her student trying to reach out to her. Perhaps her student actually did want to be her student. Twilight was trying to make amends, just as she had tried. It was a good sign, and one she welcomed. Or maybe she was lying to herself.

"Where... are we going?" was her student's question.

And at first, she had no answer for her student's question. She wanted to spend time with Twilight, she wanted to do something with her student that would help put her at ease, comfort her, and help to grow that nascent bond they shared. Finally, an idea occurred to her, so she asked, "I would presume that you have seen the Castle's garden before, correct?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes."

"Then we can enjoy this together, can we not?" was her next question. Again, Twilight nodded. "Good." With that, she lit her horn and teleported the two of them back to Canterlot, right at the entrance to the castle's gardens.

And as the image of the garden replaced the image of Twilight's library, she found herself enjoying just looking at it and taking it in. It filled her with a sense of calm: she could enjoy this, and she would have somepony who she could enjoy it with. Somepony who would actually enjoy it with her, rather than it being an order.

She glanced at Twilight, and as usual, Twilight's body tensed. But after a moment, the tension faded. It was still there, but she was not so rigid. Her student glanced at her, then looked back at the hedges. She looked where Twilight looked, then just enjoyed the beauty of the garden. In the soft moonlight, it was so calming. She inhaled of the pleasant scent of flowers, then exhaled.

"I've... never been here in the night before," Twilight whispered, "it's... beautiful."

She smiled. Her student sounded so genuine. She turned to look at Twilight. This time, Twilight didn't tense up, but her student still had that lingering tension from before. "Indeed it is," she calmly agreed.

Her student turned and faced her, lifting her head up to look her in the eye. And as soon as Twilight realized that, she looked away. Nightmare watched, expecting Twilight to turn away, yet finding that instead, her student's eyes wandered over her chestplate, then her legs, body, and wing. Finally, her student looked away.

She looked back and studied the flowers. Perhaps she was just imagining it, or perhaps her memory of the flowers from the last time she had been here was twisted, but the flowers seemed so much more vibrant before, as if the light of her moon was envigorating them. She stared at the petals of the blue flowers, slowly letting her eyes drift over them, taking in the so pristine and untained color. 'Perhaps the night has been good for them,' she thought.

But then there were implications behind that which made no sense. If the flowers were thriving even more now, why? It would mean they were thriving so much more without the harsh light of the sun, but then why? Why would her sister have done such a thing? Or had she not known? Was she ignorant of that?

She shook the thoughts aside becuase they did not help her relax, inhaled, then stepped forward. In a calm gait, she walked beyond the entrance. Twilight fell into step beside her, and it was an almost relaxed stride. Twilight walked at her left, rather than her right side, and it left her feeling exposed for some reason. Her student was not in her proper place and, try as she did to ignore it, it stood out like an injured hoof in her mind.

But she didn't let that hamper her enjoyment of the peace they shared. As they walked towards the west, the moon hung low in the sky. If it hadn't been for the scarring of her sister, the night would have been perfect. She avoided looking at the moon as she walked on, trying to will herself to forget about it. So she focused on the flowers. The vibrant colors, reds and blues and purples, so brought out by the pale, gentle light of the moon. The sound of water trickling from fountains, and the twinkle of starlight shimmering in the water, reflecting the jeweled heavens above.

It was calm. It was peaceful. It was beautiful. And she could share it with her student.

The statue of the unicorn swept into a bow, she paused to admire it, as did her student. Whether her student stopped of her own accord, or because she had stopped, she suspected it was the latter, but did not know. Asking would have ruined the peace of the moment.

After several seconds of peaceful silence, she turned away from the statue and walked on, passing it by, going deeper into the center of the gardens. Her student lingered behind, then she sensed her walking around. And finally, Twilight came to walk at her right side. Her student was in her proper place, and it righted the wrongness she had felt before.

"I've... been here during the evening, but... it's so different at night," her student commented. "It's... nice," she offered.

And she nodded in her head in agreement. It was nice. It was a nice break from the hastle of dealing with other ponies, it was a nice break from dealing with the stupidity of other ponies. It was a nice break from the eye sores of the white and gold palace she had claimed, from the golden armor of the royal guards. It was just the two of them, and she welcomed it.

But as much as she just wanted to enjoy the peace and comfort it offered, she knew it would be wise to talk to her student, and so she said, "I spoke with delegations from the Minotaur Empire and the zebras earlier."

Twilight stopped walking for a moment, then continued; she continued without pausing. "Um... how did that go?" her student asked.

She inhaled, then hesitantly nodded. 'Not well,' was the immediate answer in her mind. "It went as well as can be expected," she answered at length. "I do not expect trouble to arise, although I am certain they will be tense. But this was not unexpected. In truth, I had anticipated more trouble, and I had anticipated more nations to send delegations sooner."

Glancing aside at her student, she found Twilight nodding timidly. She glanced back up at the moon. "Do you think the moon cycle was a mistake?" she asked.

For several seconds, they walked in silence. "I... don't know..." was her student's reluctant reply. "It-it seemed like a good idea at the time!" she defended.

She suppressed a sigh and nodded. "I concur, although in hindsight, I should have anticipated more problems," she admitted. "It may be wise to revert the moon cycle and simply leave it overhead at all times. Though I am unsure how this will impact things, and I am reluctant to do so, so soon after starting." She looked at the flowers lining the hedge to her left. The reds and blues almost seemed to blend together into a rich purple blanket, one that didn't look like a bed of flowers. It almost looked like an artist had just painted it, with one color drifting into the next. "Simply changing it on a whim is not wise."

"Uncertainty?" her student asked.

"Yes," was her answer. "It would not be good to do such a thing on a whim, because then ponies will not know what I will do, and that will cause uncertainty," she explained. "And it would be unwise to be indecisive."

A gentle breeze washed over her coat. She closed her eyes for a moment as the wind tickled her feathers and fur, slipping between her feathers. 'Perhaps I should send delegations to the zebras, minotaurs, and deer,' she mused, 'and the griffins.' She opened her eyes and pursed her lips. 'What reason do I have to not do so?' she asked.

'Expense,' was the first reason that came to mind. It was a poor excuse, and that cost would be well worth it, would it not? Better relations with those nations would be beneficial, and it would make war less likely to happen. There could also be other benefits to it that did not immediately occur to her like trade did. And that could forestall dissent and rebellion.

But then to send delegates out so soon after her return, alongside the 'rapid' militerization of Equestria, would perhaps be suspect.

But it still had its purposes. "Perhaps it is time that Equestria's isolation ends," she mused aloud. Then, she cast her gaze onto Twilight. Her student regarded her cautiously, pondering the idea. 'Why did you take such a stance to start with?' she wondered.

"It..." Twilight trailed off, winced, and offered, "Maybe..?"

'That was very helpful, Twilight, thank you.' She gave her student a flat look, then looked ahead once more. 'I will have to consider this,' she noted.

"You're um, not planning to... invade other-"

She stopped and emphatically stated, "No." Still standing there, unmoving, she turned to face her student. "I do not want war, Twilight Sparkle. Not when there are alternatives," she stated. "Not when war isn't in my best interest."

Twilight nibbled on her lip, her ears folded halfway back. Her student studied her, then her brow creased and she asked in a quiet, "What if... it's in your best interest?"

She took a moment to compose her reply, then answered, "If it is in my best interest, it is different circumstances from these. A war of conquest could be in my best interest, but I am not so naive as to rush into a war without preparations and planning. Starting a war on a whim would be stupid, Twilight Sparkle. The costs and benefits must be weighed. If, for example, it proved beneficial to annex what remained of the griffins, then I would consider it against the problems that would come from such an act. Foreign problems, internal dissent from instigating a war, and the possible griffin rebellion following their subjugation. If another nation threatens Equestria or my rule, then a preemptive strike could prove necessary," she explained. "But I have no desire to start a war on a whim. War is not something to be taken lightly. War is not something to be rushed into, but it does have its place."

Twilight's eyes unfocused for a few seconds, then she blinked. Her frown grew, and she asked, "Uh... how... would a war even work?" And it was her turn to frown in bewilderment and confusion. But before she could ask anything, Twilight said, "You're... um... You."

She raised an eyebrow and asked, "An alicorn, I presume, is what you mean?"

Twilight timidly nodded. "Yes..."

She inhaled. "I cannot be everywhere at once," was her answer. "That is why war is as such. I am but one pony. True, I can shatter armies with my magic, but it would take time and I cannot be everywhere at once."

"But... I don't understand. If you can defeat armies, why does Equestria need an army? Would it really be a war?" was her student's question. There was a pause, then she winced and turned her head back to the right before muttering in a progressively quieter voice with each spoken word, "Uh... I mean... You could... destroy empires on your own... so..."

"Ah," was her first response. "That is different, and I believe you overestimate my power," was her answer. "It would take time for me to do so, and such is the case as why I cannot be a replacement for an army. I could simply teleport to the Minotaur Empire and kill the Emporer to preempt a war, but the results would likely be unpleasant. I could simply use my magic to destroy armies, but it would be difficult, and then there is the risk that the enemy would adapt and use tactics which I could not counter. Tactics that would be far worse for average ponies. Tactics that would undermine my reign. Tactics which are not in my best interest. I am but one pony; I cannot be everywhere at once. Unless I am willing to sacrifice Equestria, which I am not, I am not a substitute for an army."

"Um... okay... C-can we... talk about something else?" was her student's question.

And she grimaced. 'Perhaps I should not have discussed this with her,' a part of her chastized. Yet, her student had asked, and she would not lie to her. Though she wanted to protect her student, she would not coddle her, either. "What would you like to discuss?" After that, she stepped forward again.

Twilight walked with her, but her gait was nervous again. She wanted to sigh, but held it back. It still didn't stop her from feeling disappointed, both in herself and in her student.

Her student had no answer for her question and stayed silent, so she offered, "I talked to Cadance about the Gala."

"Oh, um... how did that go?" Twilight asked.

"She will be overseeing it," she answered, "and I will not be attending."

She expected her student to make some comment about how attending would be beneficial to her, but instead, her student muttered, "Right..."

'And you're nervous and uncomfortable once more,' she noted. 'You're probably still thinking about that...' Glancing at her student, she was certain that it was running through her mind nonstop: she had reminded her student of her power, and inadvertantly, she knew she had reminded her student of her precarious position. Or at least, that, she knew, was what her student thought. And so it made her student nervous. The feeling of disappointment grew, almost enough to make her want to despair over her student. Twilight's ears flicked back. "Pray tell, how are your friends?" she asked.

And it occured to her that it was a stupid question. But it only occured to her after she had asked it. She already knew how her student's friends were doing; she had been listening, not intently, not to everything that was said, but she had been listening.

Twilight slowly looked up at her, then stared at her. She was certain that she had looked at Twilight the exact same way before.

She said nothing. Her student kept silent too. So she did her best to forget that ever happened. "How are your studies progressing?" she asked.

Twilight's eyes darted down to the grass, then jumped back up to her. "Um... slow," was her admission. Almost silently, her student added, "I, uh, I've... been... distracted, and... I've... struggled to... keep up..."

She didn't need to ask to know what was distracting her. "Do not worry so much about me, Twilight Sparkle. It is not good for you."

Her student stopped walking and stood there. She stopped. For a few seconds, they just stood there. Twilight's jaw drifted back and forth, then her head drifted left, then right, and her muzzle gradually drooped towards the ground, almost as if she felt guilty.

She turned around to face her student. "I am not going to hurt you," she offered preemptively. But that only made her student tense up, it made her student nervous. It didn't help her student any, despite her intentions. But why hadn't it? Was it the same as before, simply that it reminded her student of how dangerous she could be? Was there some other cause to it now?

She extended her wing, then reached out to Twilight. With a gentle touch, she brushed her feather over Twilight's cheek. Her student closed her eyes, unable to do anything else. Her student didn't stop her, nor resist her, nor anything else. She stroked that feather up along her student's cheek, then brought it up through the edge of her mane. As her feather glided over Twilight's fur, the tension in her student's body melted. Once her feather left, Twilight opened her eyes and looked back up at her. She pulled her wing back, then folded it to her side. She let the silence linger for a few seconds and simply watched her student, studying the filly. Twilight, likewise, watched her, and she felt that her student was searching for something. She could see the reflection of the white moonlight in her student's eyes, but behind that, she thought she saw guilt.

She also saw her student's vulnerability. Her eyes drifted back over Twilight's body, then she looked at her student's cutie mark. Seeing that vulnerability that was so unique to her, and knowing just how much potential she had, ate at her mind. It burned and simmered, and if she let it, it would drive her into madness.

But she was calm. She would not let madness and anger dictate her actions, at least not unless it involved her dear sister.

Eventually, Twilight's eyes drifted down to her chestplate. Her eyes jumped back onto Twilight's, but her student didn't meet her gaze. She saw her student's ears pull back. Had she not found what she wanted, or was it for some other reason?

"Come," she coaxed, then turned back around. And Twilight walked back into place at her side. Once Twilight was there, she resumed her gait, walking forward. She did her best to put distance between them and where her student's nervousnes had started. She tried to leave it behind so her student wouldn't have to be reminded of it.

But maybe there was something else she could do to get her student's mind off of the anxiety-provoking knowledge of what she was capable of. Something that was high on her list of priorities to tend to, even if so long ago she would have seen the thought as complete madness. "I believe I will be able to start teaching you properly soon," she offered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Twilight perk right up at that. She could see a faint twinkle in her student's eyes, which all but pounced back onto her form with an eager hunger for knowledge. Her student's head nearly whipped around to face her, and she saw her student's mane fly around to the other side of her neck. "Really?" was her excited question.

She smiled, careful not to show her teeth, and inclined her head. "I would very much like to start soon," she offered.

Twilight's excitement lingered, but then, for some reason, her smile faded, and the joy burning in her eyes dulled, then dimmed. "And... I'll have to come back to... Canterlot?" was her whisper.

She looked at Twilight and saw perplexion drifting across her features. Her student was conflicted by the prospect. 'You will miss your friends...' she knew. She pursed her lips as she considered the thought, 'I could teleport to you, or teleport us back to Canterlot... then you could stay in Ponyville... your friends are good for you, and it is imperative that you maintain your friendship with them...' So she said, "You may stay in Ponyville. I can teleport when needed." Even if teleporting that much was not truly desirable, it was better than the alternatives.

There was a slight delay before the joy in her student's eyes returned, but then it did return. Her lips pulled up into a smile, then it came to a sudden stop and she blinked a few times. The joy dimmed, and then her student looked down to the ground. "Um, thank you," her student whispered.

It was genuine.

She nodded and studied the filly. 'It is in my best interest,' was what whispered in her mind. But she kept silent.

And Twilight's thanks kept replaying over and over again in her mind. 'It will be worth it,' she knew. 'We will grow closer through this.'

She walked on and let her eyes drift over more of the flowers. She looked over the blues and reds and purples, but felt like something was missing. The garden was incomplete, somehow. It was beautiful, but something was missing, leaving the experience not quite what it should have been.

'Lavender,' came to mind. It sparked a memory. Lavender, that's what was missing. The pleasant, aromatic scent. The long, budding stem with dozens of the beautiful purple buds and petals. It had been centuries since she had last smelled that scent. Did she actually remember what that scent was, or was she mistaking it as something else? No, surely she recalled lavender correctly. How could one forget such a calming, relaxing scent?

Lavender would have enriched the garden so much, but it was missing. It was clearly an oversight on part of the caretakers, or perhaps her dear sister purposefully excluded it, just to get at her that much more.

But then, maybe the garden didn't need lavender. No, there were better places for lavender. Perhaps the flowers could be planted in pots in the castle. Maybe that is what her bedchambers were missing, the scent of lavender. Perhaps then, she could truly cherish her victory over her sister. Perhaps then, her dreams would not be so haunted by her student being terrified of her.

'Your coat is lavender,' occurred to her. There was a stutter in her walk, but she recovered before it could show. Turning her head to the right to look at her student, she found that Twilight was looking away and didn't seem to have noticed her misstep. She scrutinized Twilight's coat. 'Perhaps not the same rich shade, but similar,' she noted.

Twilight wasn't paralyzed by her gaze.

Her walk slowed, and she continued watching her student. She walked along almost calmly, or perhaps she was calm, and she could not tell. Was what had been said earlier still there, running through her mind? But then if it was, how could she be so calm?

An idea occurred to her, and so she put it to the test: she dropped her gaze from Twilight's body for a moment, then immediately looked back. She barely noticed any reaction.

Twilight's head turned forward, then her student's eyes glanced aside at her and noticed her gaze. "Um, yes?"

She inhaled deeply, then turned her head back forward. Twilight turned her head to look at her but said nothing. After a few seconds, Twilight went back to looking ahead.

Her student was relaxed. She wasn't so tense, or so scared now. She almost feared what would happen if she said it, but she said it anyway, "Thank you for relaxing, Twilight Sparkle."

Her fears were realized; Twilight stumbled. She didn't fall, but her stride failed her. She slowed, then stopped and looked back at her student. Had her student not noticed that she had relaxed? And had her thanks caught her off-guard? She could see her student's timid nervousness at being called out, but she could still take comfort in it: her student did not tremble, her student did not hold herself so tense. Her student was doing better than before. And then Twilight inhaled, gave a quick, timid nod, and walked back to her side.

'I need to work on your confidence... We need to work on your magic...' she mused. But what else was there that her student needed to work on? Her confidence was lacking, and that was perhaps her largest hurdle. But, at the very least, her student was not arrogant. She took comfort in that. Her ability to defend herself was in question, and that was a problem. But, at the very least, her student knew spells that could be used to protect herself, inefficient as it was. Perhaps it was a starting place. 'You need to relax around me...'

'And perhaps I need to hold myself in check more... I keep hurting you, even thought I try not to...'

They reached the other edge of the garden. The hedges subsided, and she found herself standing there, pondering how quickly it seemed to have past while she stared at her moon. The scarring was still there, a constant blemish, a constant reminder. She felt disappointed.

Her moon, the crowning jewel of her night sky? It was blemished. It had been blemished for a thousand years because of her banishment. It would always be blemished. Her sister's banishment made sure of that. Nopony knew the true wonder that her moon was supposed to display, that it had displayed up until her banishment.

She inhaled and tried to shake it off, but it was a silly notion, being able to shake something like that off. No, it wouldn't be shaken off, just like that inferno of hatred towards her sister couldn't be quenched. It could only be forced to the back of her mind, where it simmered and gnawed on her.

She turned to look at her student, who was looking at the grassy ground under her hooves.

'Perhaps,' she thought, 'we share something more in common.'

The moon was a reminder to both of them. It was a shared disappointment. The only difference was how it was a disappointment. But even that difference wasn't all that great. After all, the source could be traced back to her sister.

"I... don't... suppose..." her student drawled, gradually lifting her head back up, "you ever plan on holding court?" Twilight looked at her. Her ears were still folded back halfway, and the pain was there. Perhaps the question was meant to distract her.

She frowned. "I do not," she answered. "I will not do such a thing and be made a mockery of," was her explanation. "Nothing good would come of that."

"Um... have you finished... reviewing laws?" was her student's next question.

She hesitated a second, then nodded. "I have. And yes, there are laws I will be revoking," she stated. Her student grimaced and turned away from her. "Laws that would get in my way as Queen," she specified.

"Laws which you're already ignoring..." was her student's drawled mutter.

"Not necessarily," she rebuked. Twilight faced her and squinted, expecting an explanation. "I do not, for the most part, Twilight Sparkle, want to tear down the laws that were created in the past thousand years. I am not so stupid as to tear down the government of Equestria to try to rebuild it from the ground up. Such a thing would be foalish. No, I will adjust things as I see fit. And I am not so foolish as to throw out laws that are beneficial just because my sister had a hoof in their creation. Equestria may have been my sister's for the past thousand years, but that does not mean it is in my best interest to destroy Equestria. We shared Equestria before my banishment, and I did not fight to protect her just so I could come back and destroy her."

Her student shivered. She doubted it was because it was cold; the air wasn't that bad. She extended her wing, hesitated, then brushed a feather along her student's back. It comforted her student, who swallowed and licked her lips before looking back up at her and asking, "Um... what now?"

"If you so wish, we could watch the moonset together, or we could walk through Canterlot. I could teleport you back to your library, or perhaps you would wish to visit Cadance and your brother," she offered.

It might have been too many options because it conflicted Twilight so much. Her student didn't know what to choose. She could see it written on her face, the way her lips relaxed into an empty line, then tensed up, almost in a grimace. The way her student's muscles tensed under her coat in anxiety.

'Why did you do this to her? Why did you cripple her like this?' shot out in her mind in response. She clenched her jaw. Why had her dear sister left Twilight in such a state? So indecisive, so naive, so weak? Twilight had so much potential, and seeing it waste away in such a manner made her want to scream. It also made her want to groan, to just give up in defeat.

Maybe that was her sister's entire plan.

But she wouldn't just give up. Maybe her indecision also presented an opportunity. 'Let her choose, so that you will be more sure of herself,' occurred to her. She studied Twilight's expression, then her gaze glided over her student's body. Looking over her back, then drifting to her cutie mark.

The bearer of the Element of Magic, born to such a great destiny, so much potential, yet so distraught, so crippled, by being presented with but a hoofful of options. Her student still felt so incomplete. Incomplete when she saw that indecision, incomplete when she reached out with her magic.

Something was still missing, but what?

"Um..." Twilight whispered. She looked back to see Twilight looking at her. "I... wouldn't mind walking through Canterlot, if you want," was her drawled offer.

It had to have been some kind of attempt to patch their relationship. Surely, it had to be. There was nothing else it could be. Her student, finally chosing to spend time with her. And it wasn't for her student's studies, but something to enjoy. Something for them to share together, like this walk through the garden. Maybe her patience was paying off. It gave her a sense of ecstatic glee, it made her heart beat faster. She smiled.

She didn't catch herself before her lips parted, and Twilight's gaze jumped to her teeth. Her student tensed up, but then blinked, shifted her weight, and looked back up to meet her eyes. She closed her lips, but the damage was done. And she regretted it. But her student didn't seem to linger on it too much, and so the expected disappointment didn't weigh her down.

Still, she extended her wing and brushed a feather along Twilight's back. "Do not worry so much, Twilight Sparkle. You need to be more confident," she offered.

Twilight nodded reluctantly and said, "Sorry."

"We will work on it," she replied. After all, it would not do for her student to be perceived as weak. No, she would not have her student perceived as weak. Twilight Sparkle was, after all her student.

Twilight gave a hesitant nod.

'Perhaps being obsessed with you is not such a bad thing...'

Writing diplomacy? Not... exactly... my strong suit... I do understand politics (at least to a degree, I really enjoyed the courses on politics that I've taken) but ah, I probably didn't think through this part enough. I've focused mostly on Nightmare and Twilight, and significantly less on the motives and such driving factors of other nations.

Especially the zebras. But then, they're fairly isolated, so perhaps it makes sense.

There are parts of this chapter I'm not entirely happy with.

Alternate chapter title: Obsession.

Nightmare Moon paused and let her eyes wander over the door before her. She hadn't seen this door from the outside, or at the very least, when she had left this room before, she had given it so little thought that it hadn't been put to mind. The door was so plain and bland, too. It was like the door was meant to force the viewer's attention away from it, to direct the viewer's attention to the white-plastered walls. It didn't quite work since the walls were about as exciting to look at as the door, but perhaps other ponies would pass the door by without realizing what it was.

It was probably meant to be that way, but then the plaque with the words 'Mayor's Office' written on it probably foiled the entire plan.

'At least you do not have her cutie mark,' hissed in her mind.

She inhaled, then lit her horn and opened the door. Without pausing, she stepped into the room. She looked to her right, at the desk, then at the lone pony sitting behind the desk. For a moment, the mayor glanced up at her, but recognition escaped her.

"Can you wa-" was all the mayor said before coming to a complete stop. Her head jerked back up, and "O-oh," escaped her lips. She jumped out of her chair to stand, and her hind leg must have clipped the chair because it fell over. Next, she joined the chair on the floor. "Q-Queen N-Nightmare," was her dazed stutter.

"Yes," she acknowledged.

And that was all it took for the mayor- Mayor Mare- to scramble to her hooves, limp out from behind the desk, and throw herself onto the floor in a bow. "I-I uh, ah, I wasn't e-expecting... to see you..." 'Again' went unsaid.

She glanced over the mare's trembling body, studying her. Looking at her cowering so, she felt irked and annoyed. The show of respect was good, the obedience was good, but the paralysis by fear was not. She had expected better of the bureaucrat. She had expected her presence to force the mayor into action, rather than paralyze her in inaction. But then, as with her past experience with bureaucrats since her return, she knew she shouldn't have been surprised.

For the most part, fear was an effective tool when dealing with them. Or at least it used to be that way. The problem was that they were now, as with this mayor, paralyzed by fear. They didn't want to act out of the fear that they would make a mistake and draw her wrath, so instead, they were content to let problems remain unfixed, content to let problems grow into bigger problems.

Like not informing her that monsters were attacking ponies, out of fear that she would do something worse. Or not informing her that the towns where this was happening were effectively entirely unprotected, out of the fear that the protection would be something worse.

And it occurred to her, not for the first time, that militarizing the bureaucracy would streamline her administration so efficiently. Replacing all of them with soldiers, Royal Guards, or her batponies, it would make her rule so much easier. Or at least, it would, up until all of the problems came crashing down, the problems that such changes would cause. Her subjects would grow even more fearful if such a thing happened. But perhaps enforcing her will was worth the risk. And if she balanced it right, then perhaps the problems it would cause could be minimized.

Perhaps it was still worth it. 'I should integrate my batponies into my administration,' she thought. Even with the risks, it would be beneficial. Not filling every position with batponies, but having some roles filled by them; putting her batponies in supportive roles, such that they would carry out tasks and see to it that problems were fixed, but perhaps not on local levels such as this.

But for now, there were more pressing matters at hoof. "Dear Mayor, pray tell, why did you not inform me of problems with the creatures of the Everfree?" was her growl.

And as with each mayor she had previously asked a question similar to that, she could see the hairs of the mayor's coat stiffening, almost standing straight up, in fear. The mayor blabbered something incoherent and indecisive until she finally made out, "I didn't w-want to di-disturb you," said in an appeasing voice.

"And so instead," she accused, "you decided it was better to let such problems grow and fester, risking even greater problems?"

The mayor kept silent and trembled.

She inhaled, then exhaled. She barely avoided growling in frustration. If every mayor, if every bureaucrat, was as bad as her, then she needed to either take drastic actions and replace them, or find a way to somehow get them to function instead of being paralyzed by fear.

And then, it occurred to her, 'Some of you may be intentionally doing this to resist my rule.' She bared her teeth in disgust. Perhaps that explained more than she thought. Perhaps all of them were faking it if only to make things more difficult for her.

'No, that cannot be. They cannot all be faking this,' she knew. But then that brought one more thought to mind, 'Why did you cripple Equestria so!?'

She growled. It wasn't directed at the mayor, but it might as well have been. The mayor, despite her appearance, let out a squeak, not unlike that of a filly of her student's age. "When you have such problems," she stated, "I do expect to be informed of them." Though the mayor wasn't looking at her, she tilted her head to the side. "It is in my best interest," she hissed, "to ensure these problems do not become worse."

"O-of course," was the mayor's weak acknowledgment.

She studied the mayor again. For a few seconds, she said nothing and took the time to think and recompose herself. "I do not want to deal with every problem you face," she stated. "I am one pony, and even with my magic, even with being able to write out orders and send scrolls to every city in Equestria, I cannot deal with every single local issue. There are too many. This is why I have left such autonomies in place. I do not know how best to deal with perhaps most issues local governments face. However, when it comes to bigger problems such as this," she paused to let it sink in before adding, "I do expect to be made aware of it."

"Of c-course," the mayor stuttered out.

"I mean it," she growled.

There was a silence as it sunk in, then the mayor nodded.

With nothing more to say, she turned and left. Once she was out of the room, she closed the door behind her and let out a growl.

Tonight had not been a fun night. No, of course it hadn't! Would anypony in their right mind enjoy spending the night chastizing bureaucrats? She had sent out orders before, of course. But it seemed that those scrolls had somehow been misinterpreted by the recipients. Not all of the recipients misinterpreted them; some of the mayors she chastized actually seemed to comprehend what she meant.

And then there were the others who immediately sent her scroll upon scroll. For each local issue they faced. Land rights. Local tax codes. Zoning codes. And even more frivolous matters than just that.

'How,' she wondered in anger, 'are they so inept?' They had their autonomy under her sister. She had no desire to take that autonomy away from them, save from dealing with particular issues such as seeing to it that her rule was assured. Were they truly so stupid as to think she wanted to decide each and every banal, frivolous issue they faced? She was the Queen of the Night! The Empress!

She had better things to do than decide local zoning codes for a town she knew nothing about. It was so foalish. And she was only one pony. She couldn't do everything all the time. The local governments were necessary. A minute for her was the same as a minute for anypony else. The only difference was where other ponies were mortal, she was not.

She suppressed a growl as she strode through the town hall and made her way back to the ground level.

Walking out into the lobby, she glanced left and right, and unsurprisingly, found it empty. The town's residents probably knew she was there and wanted to avoid her. At the very least, Ponyville was a small town, and so there were probably few issues that they needed to discuss with the Mayor anyway.

She cast the thought aside and strode out of the lobby. As soon as that accursed glow of light was gone and she stepped into the darkness of her night, she felt a sense of calm. Gone was the anger caused by idiotic bureaucrats, gone was the annoyance at their ineptness. She slowed, then stopped in the middle of the street.

For a moment, just a moment, she looked up at the sky. She looked straight up and beheld the twinkling of the stars. The moon was just at the edge of her vision, and so she was not mocked by the scarring of her sister. She lowered her head, then glanced around the street.

And it stood out like a sore hoof that, even now, the street was deserted. The moon was out, so there was light by which ponies could navigate with. There was light that kept the monsters away, and yet, the ponies still stayed indoors. She bared her teeth in disgust. Over a month, and they still didn't accept her gift. Over a month, and they still spited her. Over a month, and they still missed this beauty.

It was just the same as so long ago, but now it was even worse. There was no day, yet even faced with that prospect, they ignored the beauty of her night. Ponies were not so stupid as to spit on her face, but they might as well have been doing such.

'Perhaps time,' she thought, 'will fix this.' But she wasn't hopeful of that. No, time had taught her that this would not change. Ponies would never love her. It was a simple fact of her life. The only respect she would get from them was for protecting them, and out of fear.

And it worried her. Not their lack of love, but that they stayed inside as much as was possible. Perhaps here in a town so close to the Everfree, it could be expected, if only for safety. But in other cities that did not have to worry about such things, Manehattan for example, it should not have been so. But yet, ponies in those cities still feared the night and dreaded to roam it. They stayed inside out of fear.

And that fear, them staying inside, was crippling to Equestria. It would stagnate Equestria if it did not reverse. If it didn't change, then Equestria could very well fall to chaos. If only for the simple fact that ponies were only out when they had to be, then they were not spending bits, and if they were not spending bits, then ponies were not making bits. Perhaps to anypony else, such a thing would seem frivolous. But not to her, no.

If the Equestrian economy ground to a halt, her reign would be off to an even worse start. She expected a recession, but that did not mean she wanted one. It would do Equestria no good. And she had been around long enough to understand that a recession could bring revolution.

And that, most assuredly, was not in her best interests.

She inhaled, then growled as she exhaled. She shook her head, then turned and strode down the street. The moon hung in the sky a few hours from setting, and it was right there as she walked ahead, mocking her. She did her best to not look at it as she walked on.

She managed to ignore it, for the most part, but it was still there, always present in her mind.

If she had any victory over her sister, then it was a pyrrhic victory. Her only true victory, she felt, was that her sister's student was now her own.

She slowed as that tree came into sight. Through the windows, she could see the flickering glow of candlelight dancing out into the street.

Aside from Midnight and Spike, her student was alone in the library. She heard the chime of her student's magic and could hear the occasional turning of a page. But she didn't know what book her student was reading. She could only guess at it.

She approached the door, then stopped. She hesitated, unsure whether to knock or not. And it was a silly reason to hesitate. She was Queen. It was, theoretically, a public library. Although from what she had determined, essentially, it didn't matter, because nopony truly visited said library.

Aside from her student's friends. But those mares came for her student, not for books. At least most of the time. Rarity and Fluttershy occasionally looked for books, but the rest did not. Rainbow Dash also seemed to have a severe aversion to reading of any kind, from what she had picked up.

She lit her horn, then opened the door. There was hardly a sound from the door opening, but perhaps it was the sound of her magic that caused her student to look up at her. For a moment, Twilight tensed up. She saw her student's jaw part briefly, then it closed once more.

She walked inside, turned her head back to study the door, then shut it and looked back at her student, who was laying on the floor on her stomach with a book opened in front of her.

"Um... hello," was her student's greeting.

She turned back to face her student, then inclined her head in acknowledgment. She walked into the room and looked around for Midnight. Unsurprisingly, she found the batpony laying on her back with her hooves all stretched straight up into the air.

When she looked at Midnight, Midnight rolled over and jumped up, then fell into a reverential bow. "My Queen," she said.

She inclined her head in acknowledgment, then turned her attention back to her student. Calmly, she walked over to her. As she approached, she let her eyes drop down onto the book her student had opened before her. As with before, it was a spell book, and she recognized the spell matrix. "Surely you know this spell by now?" she inquired.

Slowly, her student sat up. "Well..." she drawled, rolling her head to the right. "There's, uh, not... really any advanced books here."

She pursed her lips. 'This is a small town, and from what I have seen, it is predominantly earth ponies.' Yes, it should have occurred to her before now that this library wouldn't have content that would be on her student's level. She nodded and said, "I will see to it that you have proper material to study."

Her student shifted her weight, then stood up. "Thanks..." There was a pause, then she asked, "Would... you like some tea?"

"I will not be staying long," she replied. "I have been speaking with several mayors regarding their ineptness for not reporting problems..." she trailed off. Even thinking about it left her feeling worse, leaving her wanting to groan. She inhaled, then sighed. "Tea would be nice," she relented.

Twilight nodded, and said, "It should be about ready," then timidly walked around into the kitchen.

She watched Twilight leave and once again studied her cutie mark. It was almost mesmerizing, despite how many times she had seen it. Twilight didn't tense up any further, nor did her timid shuffle fade. She shook her head, then walked over to Midnight. She glanced at the batpony, then stared into the kitchen, watching Twilight. "Anything to report?" was her quiet question.

"Not really," Midnight answered in an equally quiet whisper. "She's still pretty shaken up, but I've not had problems with her. I think she's starting to do better, but, ah..."

She nodded. "And she has not been planning anything with her friends?"

"No," Midnight answered, frowning a bit. "And nopony has given her any trouble." There was a pause and then Midnight started nodding, and in an afterthought, said, "Although it's only been a few nights, soo..."

"Yes," she acknowledged. She inhaled as Twilight turned around.

Her student watched her as she slowly walked back from the kitchen, levitating a teapot and two cups in her magic.

She could see steam wafting into the air from the cups. Twilight levitated one cup out to her and she took it. For a moment, as her magic wrapped around the teacup and took it, she saw something pass over Twilight's features. But it was gone so soon, she couldn't tell if it was fear, which was her first guess. After all, she had so easily overwhelmed the filly's magic.

But, even with that, she still knew, 'You have so much untapped potential...'

And Twilight resumed her timid walk back to where she had been laying. She watched Twilight walk back, then turned to face her student as she laid down once more. She walked over to her, then took a sip of her tea. She couldn't place the taste, but it was sweet, though not too sweet, and it had a rich nutty taste to it. She swallowed it and felt the warmth roll down her throat. "Pleasant," she commented.

Twilight glanced at her, then took a sip of her own tea.

"I presume you used your magic to heat it up?" she wondered aloud.

Twilight gave a nod and said, "Yes."

"Have you ever used it to fix food?" she asked.

Twilight blushed. "Um, yes." A momentary pause, followed by a very final-sounding, "And I don't anymore."

"I see," was her response. "So this is why Spike cooks for you?" she asked.

"Well..." Twilight drawled in a high-pitched voice. "That and that I tend to forget to eat. At times."

She nodded slowly. "Studying?"

"Yes," Twilight answered.

"I see." She glanced down at her cup of tea, then took another drink of it. She mulled over the flavor and let the warmth soak into her mouth before swallowing.

"Uh... is it... alright if I help Applejack tomorrow?" her student asked.

She looked down at her. Nothing came to mind that it would be interfering with, so she answered, "You may if you so desire. If I have need of you I will retrieve you. You are not my prisoner, and as I said, you are free to do whatever you wish." After saying that, a part of her felt the need to add on 'within reason' or remind her student not to betray her. But she knew she didn't need to add that on, and she knew it wouldn't be beneficial for Twilight to hear it yet again.

"Well she could use the help with her, uh, apple trees," Twilight elaborated.

"Yes, I am aware," she said.

Twilight winced. "Right..." was muttered.

'Perhaps in time I will let you go without that necklace,' she thought. But she wasn't sure. No, she couldn't, at least not yet. She couldn't trust Twilight with that sort of freedom. As much as she wanted to be able to trust Twilight without it, she couldn't. And the thought weighed on her mind that without the necklace, Twilight would be out of her reach. Without it, she wouldn't be able to protect Twilight if something happened. Midnight could only do so much.

Twilight bit her lip, and for several seconds, watched her, though her eyes drifted down to her chestplate, and then finally, her student looked down at the necklace on her chest. She watched Twilight's eyes dance back and forth as she looked at the necklace.

"I will tell you that a group of batponies should be arriving within a few nights to begin repairs on my castle," she stated.

Twilight inhaled, then nodded. "Uh, okay... So um... How... exactly... am I supposed to... oversee this?"

She smiled and said, "I will leave that up to you, as I am certain you are capable of this. They will be bringing with them, I believe the term is 'blueprints,' for rebuilding."

Twilight nodded. "Right. And... you know this isn't exactly going to be easy, right? Getting them out there and getting stone out there for rebuilding? That's not exactly going to go unnoticed. And where are the batponies supposed to stay?"

"They should be able to stay at the castle while they work on it," she answered.

"Right," was her student's flat response. "And getting the materials out there?"

"The castle was built with stone from a nearby quarry. It should still have resources for the reconstruction process," she retorted. "I have given this thought, Twilight Sparkle. Do not think that I have not."

Her student shifted her weight uncomfortably, and she felt a tinge of regret. "Okay..." Twilight squeaked.

She took a deep breath, then silently let it out. It was hard to hold herself in check around her student. She wanted to so that she would avoid straining their relationship, she wanted to so that she wouldn't hurt her student on accident, and she wanted to so that Twilight would relax around her, but it was still hard. It seemed she didn't react well when stressed, and that made it all the harder to keep herself in check. And of course holding herself in check was still a nuisance; it took more time, and a direct approach felt better. "You have more questions. Speak," she said.

Twilight winced and turned away from her. "You know that I have no experience with this, right?" Hesitantly, Twilight turned back to face her, a look of panic growing on her features. "I don't know what I'm doing here! I'm not an architect!"

It was enough to make her lips twitch, but she caught it before anything else could come of it. "I am aware," she acknowledged. "And you are not expected to know every detail. You will be overseeing it, making sure it progresses smoothly. The batponies are capable of overseeing the reconstruction on their own, but I believe this is a good experience for you. If they experience problems, you should be able to assist."

"Right..." Twilight muttered. She heard her student take in a deep breath, then let out a groan. Her student looked back at her. "And what about enchantments?"

"I will see to those myself once it is finished," was her immediate answer. "I would have it no other way," she added.

Twilight nodded. There was a pause, then her student looked down at the book, picked it up and closed it, and then her head drifted back to face her. "I uh... don't... suppose you'd be willing to teach me enchanting..?"

She smiled and said, "I will should you so desire. I believe it would be beneficial for you to learn this skill-"

"Well, I uh, already know a bit about it-"

"Theory, I presume?" she asked.

Twilight nodded. "But I've never actually tried it." There was a hesitation, then her student licked her lips and added, "She... didn't want me to try. She said I wasn't ready."

"Enchanting is not easy," she related with a nod. Twilight levitated the book aside and set it down, then stood back up. As her student stood up, she looked her over, then met her gaze once again, only for Twilight to shy back and stare at her chestplate. More cautiously she added, "But you should have the talent, magic, and skill for it."

Her student tried to hide it, she could tell, but it was obvious that her praise excited the filly. Her student held herself in a more-ready posture, and she could just see the subtle energy filling her student's features, causing her to stand up a bit straighter. Her student's ears twitched slightly, and she could see the eagerness in her student's eyes, even if she did not meet her gaze. She smiled calmly, letting her lips relax and pull up, but careful not to let them part. She would not ruin this by showing her teeth.

She lifted her teacup to her lips and took another quick sip. She looked away from her student as she pondered the flavor, then she swallowed and finished her tea before looking back at her student and saying, "If nothing else, then I have other matters to attend to."

Her student started to nod, then stopped. "Um..." she trailed off and leaned her head to the right sheepishly while her ears folded back halfway. "I... know that this is probably a stupid question, but... do you have any way that I could... send you letters?" With that said, her student looked back up at her. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, but there was a hopeful, pleading look in her eyes.

A part of her wanted to say, 'You're right, that is a stupid question,' but she kept it to herself as nothing more than a thought. She felt some strange sense of disappointment, but she couldn't immediately place it. Was it because of her thought? Was it because she knew exactly why her student wanted to write such letters to her? 'You desire this because of Sister, don't you?' was a question she didn't need to ask to know the answer, 'Yes.' But her student was used to that. Her student was used to writing letters to her teacher. So perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea. Perhaps it would make her more comfortable.

And it would probably be less awkward for the both of them than Twilight essentially talking to herself for her to overhear, and that didn't even factor in that she wasn't always listening in, or that she could be otherwise occupied.

'What would be the best way to address this?' she wondered. Looking down at her student, seeing that pleading expression, and given what her request was, she felt perhaps almost compelled to agree. Perhaps it wouldn't be the most efficient way, but sacrificing so little efficiency for something that would help her student be more comfortable was likely worth it. Although, it also occurred to her that it was more formal than talking, and that pained her.

The easiest way would likely be to modify the spell on her dragon, that way letters sent by his dragonfire would go to her, instead of nowhere, given that her sister was out of reach for the spell. "Where is Spike?" she asked.

It looked like her student hadn't expected her question because, for a brief moment, her expression drew a blank. The pleading look disappeared and her ears lifted back up. She blinked, then said, "Uh, he's helping Rarity." But then her student looked at her questioningly and asked, "Shouldn't you know that?"

She gave her student a flat look and said, "Just because I am listening does not mean that I put everything I hear to memory," she admitted. "I am mostly listening to make sure that you're not..." she trailed off as Twilight looked away from her, clenched her jaw, and gave a timid nod. She stared at Twilight for a moment, then inhaled and extended her left wing. Twilight's eyes darted onto her wing as she reached out, then she lightly touched her feathers to the right side of her student's muzzle and coaxed her head back into facing her.

Twilight avoided her gaze and continued to look at her chestplate.

She waited for a moment, then folded her wing back to her side. "Since I do not know where Rarity lives, perhaps you would be willing to take me there?"

Her student gave a short, quick nod, then shuffled forward, passing her and heading to the door. She stood in place and turned her head to watch Twilight walk on, then when Twilight stopped and looked back at her, she turned around and strolled over to her.

Her student was kind enough to open the door for her, but her student also stood and waited on her. She inclined her head and replied, "You lead. I do not know where I am going."

She watched her student's musclea tense up, then Twilight nodded mechanically and crept outside before stopping to wait for her. She held back a sigh, then walked on out and stood beside her.

"Sooo... I guess I'll just stay here?" Midnight offered.

Ignoring Midnight, she looked down at her student. "You do not need to be so timid around me, Twilight Sparkle," she chastised.

Her student closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then audibly sighed. "You don't make it easy, you know..." was whispered.

"Yes, and you don't make it any easier to be your teacher, either," she retorted.

Immediately, she regretted snapping: Twilight's brow twitched down, then her student opened her eyes and stared up at her. For a moment, she thought Twilight was going to ask a question or retort her back. Instead, she saw Twilight's eyes drop down onto the side of her chestplate, along with her ears pinning back. "I'm... sorry..." she offered.

And she sighed, then shook her head. "You are forgiven," she stated.

Twilight glanced up at her and said, "This isn't what I expected..."

She frowned. "As I have said, Twilight Sparkle, I have never had a student before, and in truth, I do not know what I am doing. I may be... easily agitated, and for that I am sorry. I do not... desire to harm you. I am not a monster."

Twilight turned away from her and shifted her weight away from her. For a few seconds, she watched her student fight a battle over saying something more. It ended when she bit her lip, then reluctantly lowered her head a few inches and turned back to her. And in a voice she barely heard, her student whispered, "You acted like one when you returned..."

And it was spoken with so much reluctance, and she knew better than to retort it. She knew better than to snarl in anger. She felt bitter at the accusation, but she knew better than to let it show. She clenched her jaw, and Twilight, in turn, looked at her clenched jaw.

No, her student knew exactly what she was saying. Her student knew how risky it was. But it was said. It needed to be said, because it was true. She knew it was true. She did not want to hear it, but it was still true. And they needed to talk about it, openly and honestly. So she had to address it carefully. Every word had to be meticulously planned. "Yes..." she reluctantly admitted.

There was so much more she could say. So many ways she could take it from here. 'Have you considered that I had just returned from a one-thousand-year banishment!?' was one. 'Have you considered that I had just fought and banished my sister!?' was another. And the one she dared not voice was, 'Have you considered that I defeated my sister, and she told me about her student, and I did not know what to expect. I expected a threat, a challenge. And I reacted as such.'

But why was she even considering this conversation? She was Queen and Empress! She had no reason to explain herself to this foal, even if she was her student. She did not have to justify her actions to her. But she still knew it was in her best interest. There were so many reasons why it was in her best interest.

"I recall saying this before," she stated. She turned her head to face her student. "I do regret how aggressively I reacted to you and your friends. However, I had to act, otherwise, you would have used the Elements of Harmony against me." It was an answer that made her student flinch and turn away from her. She took a moment to take a breath, then she exhaled and, for whatever reason, added, "Perhaps I was not thinking quite as rationally as I should have been. I had just returned from one-thousand years of isolation on the moon. And I had just fought off my dear sister."

Twilight kept looking away from her.

"I do not wish to scare you," she stated. At that, her student oh so reluctantly glanced back at her. The glance turned into a stare out of the corner of her eyes. "A thousand years ago, perhaps... perhaps I would have been a monster." And she didn't even need to think about it to know the answer was 'yes,' because she had already thought about that. A thousand years ago, had she succeeded, she would have brought a reign of terror, one so different from the plan she had since devised and put into action. A thousand years ago, she wanted vengeance against all of Equestria and her dear sister. "A thousand years ago, I would not have been so forgiving. I would have killed you and your friends a thousand years ago."

She hated saying that. It wouldn't help her student any, but she wouldn't lie about it. And even more, she hated that it was the truth.

After her ascent to Nightmare Moon, yes, she would have done things that would make ponies unabashedly call her a monster had dear sister not stopped her. Eventually, her rage would have subsided enough for her to think rationally, but the damage would have already been done. But she would not have cared that they called her monster, and she would have killed them for saying such things.

Although even once her rage had subsided, she still would have been so different from how she was now.

Perhaps there was some slight reason, insane as it was, for her to thank her sister for stopping her so long ago.

The thought enraged her, leaving her blood boiling, making her feel on the verge of trembling. She felt a scream building up in her throat. She would still rather have defeated her sister all those centuries ago.

But she didn't act on that anger.

She had changed sometime in the past thousand years. She still hated her sister, but she did not desire to destroy Equestria as she once did. The knowledge gave her pause to contemplate it. 'A thousand years of banishment was a long time to think...' she mused.

She turned her gaze away from her student and looked around the street. WIth nopony else, and no sounds aside from the rustle of leaves in the night breeze, everything felt so still. It all sounded so silent in the wake of what was said. It was a heavy, almost haunted silence.

She did not like thinking about this. She didn't like thinking about what she would have done had dear sister not stopped her. She didn't like thinking about how much it seemed she had changed. She didn't like remembering how everypony treated her before she was Nightmare Moon. Perhaps they were justified to treat Nightmare Moon such a way, but not who she had been. They would have been reaping what they planted. She didn't like thinking about that one-thousand-year banishment, the torture that it was.

She was not a monster, and that's what mattered.

But she could have been one.

What would she do if she was faced with some decision where it was in her best interest to do something, but doing that would make her slip into truly being a monster? A monster like the griffins of old, or worse?

A part of her didn't want to be a monster. She wanted nothing to do with what the griffins had done. Another part of her simply didn't care. If it was in her best interest, then it would be stupid not to act on it. Assuming, of course, that it would not cause further problems down the road by acting on it.

Cautiously, she said, "I do not wish to speak about this..." and looked back at her student. Looking at her again, the thought once more whispered in her mind, 'I'm too fond of you...'

Maybe it was a problem, or maybe it wasn't. It could cause problems, but yet Twilight was something special.

"I'm... sorry," Twilight whispered. Her student swallowed and slowly turned her head back to face her. "About what... happened to you."

She felt some sort of calmness drift over her body at that. The earlier anger, though still there, felt colder. It wasn't quite as enraging. "You are not at fault for this," she stated. "My anger is not directed at you, but my sister and Equestria so long ago..."

There was a silence for several seconds. She looked back at her student, and then in a quiet, timid voice, her student asked, "Am... I a disappointment..?"

Her jaw tightened as soon as she heard the question. Out of curiosity, she asked, "Do you truly care what I think of you?" Her student hesitated, then gave a timid nod. The nod gave her pause to consider it. 'You care what I think of you...' A part of her was surprised at that. A part of her felt like she already knew it and her student's nod was just confirming it. For some reason, she liked the admission. It made her feel as if they were, maybe, closer than what she thought. But she worried that she was just lying to herself about that.

She would not lie and coddle her student, telling her that there were no times she was not disappointed in her. She would not crush her student by telling her the truth. She wasn't sure how to answer, so instead, she replied, "You have a great deal of potential, Twilight Sparkle, and you are trying. You are not perfect, but I do not expect you to be perfect."

Twilight once again looked away from her, nodding. She extended her right wing and brushed her feathers along her student's coat. Twilight closed her eyes. "Do not think that I hate you. I do not. You do matter to me," she said. She lifted her wing from Twilight's back as her feathers danced across her shoulder, then she folded her wing to her side.

This time, Twilight's nod wasn't so timid, but more confident.

She smiled, even if her student's unease and fear still lingered. "Now come. I wish to modify the spell on Spike so that you may send your letters to me through him." For a brief moment, she saw what she knew translated into her student realizing that after that modification, Spike wouldn't be able to send letters to her sister, but it mellowed out. Her student didn't descend into a panic, and it was a relief. She turned her head back, then closed the door behind them. After that, she glanced at Twilight and said, "Lead on."

With nothing else to say, Twilight walked forward. She waited a moment for her student to take the lead, then followed behind her. Matching her student's stride, she felt like she was walking so slowly. She did her best to ignore it and she let her thoughts wander. She scanned her surroundings, searching the streets for anypony else out, and as with before, it was so deserted.

With a glance back at the moon, the thought, 'Perhaps it is the time...' occurred to her.

And yes, that was assuredly true. It was the time that kept them all inside.

After all, it was night.

Her eyes drifted back to Twilight, and though her student glanced back at her when her gaze fell on her back, nothing was said and her student did not immediately tense up. 'What will your full potential look like?' she wondered. Just thinking about it, she felt excitement, a bubbling energy in her core. Yet the thought also came with a cautious fear.

And she knew, 'A thousand years ago I would have killed you, even if you weren't my sister's student, solely because of that potential...' It made her tighten her jaw. But no, maybe she wouldn't have. Maybe she would have seen Twilight's potential and viewed it as a tool instead of a threat. But would she have tolerated the threat Twilight posed were she a thousand years younger?

She couldn't be sure.

'Perhaps I am more foalish than I think, keeping you around...' It could so easily be her undoing, yet she still tolerated the potential threat that was her student. And it fascinated her. Maybe it was stupid of her to not kill Twilight.

But she still wouldn't. To do so would have been betraying Twilight as her sister had betrayed her. To do so would have been such a waste. And she was too fond of the unicorn.

Unease welled up inside her, churning in her chest. "Do you," she asked, "think I am a monster?"

Twilight slowed and looked back at her. There was a hesitance in the way she looked at her. Her first instinct was to take that hesitance as all the answer she needed, but she also realized that there could be more that her student wanted to say.

"It is important that we talk openly," she reminded.

She heard Twilight inhale, then exhale. "Okay... I... have... mixed feelings," she stated. "On... one hoof, I don't hate you. I think... from what you've said, and assuming you're not lying to me-"

"I assure you," she stated, "I am not."

There was a pause before Twilight gave a reluctant nod. "Assuming you're not lying to me," she restated, "then I..." Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then said, "I think what your sister did was wrong. But I also know that I can't trust what you've told me. I have no way to know whether you're lying to me or not. And neither of us trust the other." Only with that said did she open her eyes.

She nodded cautiously. "You are correct. You do not trust me and I likewise do not trust you. However, mutual trust would be in both of our interests. I would... like to be able to trust you, and I wish you would trust me. It would make things easier on both of us." She paused to tilt her head to the side before speaking again, "I have something of an aversion to lying, Twilight Sparkle. Given the lies my sister spat at me..." she trailed off as her lips pulled back to show her teeth. "I do not wish to lie to you. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth," she stated. For a moment, she paused, then admitted, "But I will not necessarily tell you everything..."

There was a hesitation before her student nodded. "But I also know," she continued, "that Predictions and Prophecies said you were jealous of your sister. And I think that... bringing eternal night out of jealousy is..." Twilight clamped her eyes shut and whispered, "foalish."

She snorted. "Perhaps you are correct," she stated, "and I am jealous of my sister. But you do not know anything of what I have gone through, Twilight Sparkle."

She expected her student to raise her voice and retort her, but instead, her student's ears folded back again and she nodded. "I... know..." was whispered. "And... I... feel bad... knowing that... you seem to have been mistreated." There was a pause where both of them just watched each other, and Twilight's ears lifted up while her brow creased. "But I do think that the way you treat ponies is wrong. You don't need to be so aggressive or threatening."

"It gets results, does it not?" she asked.

"But it doesn't make them hate you any less. It doesn't make them like you any more. It doesn't give them any reason to love you," was her student's cautioning advice. "And what about in the long term?"

She smiled and snorted, then shook her head. It was absurd. Her student was just a foal. Hardly a newborn compared to her. Absolutely nothing compared to her. What were sixteen years of life when she had lived centuries? But Twilight still had so much potential. She wouldn't ignore Twilight's advice, but she knew better than to hope ponies would ever love her. "I will never have their love, Twilight Sparkle. Time has taught me this lesson."

"Why does that bother you so much?" was her student's genuine question. "You have the batponies... they... love you, don't they? Then why does it bother you that other ponies don't?"

"It is different," she answered. She turned her head to the left, then looked up at the stars shimmering in the sky. It was a peaceful night. A night not unlike so many others that she had experienced. The stars were the same as they had been one thousand years ago. Perhaps not exactly the same, perhaps they had drifted ever so slightly, but it was still so similar.

Just looking up at the sky, she could let herself forget about the present. She could let herself go back in time inside her memories. And it was deceptive, just how similar the sky was. It was deceptive that now, Equestria knew so much peace, yet it had been the same sky so many centuries ago, back when she had to protect Equestria. Back when dear sister told such lies to her. Back when she had been naive enough to believe her.

Her mind drifted back to the present. She looked down at the building to her left, then turned back to her student. "The batponies are mine," she said. "While they do have a choice, they are predisposed towards loving me. They will serve me. They will die for me should I ask it. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies are not so predisposed, and they choose to hate me. They choose to hate my night. They choose to spite me, despite all I have done for them."

"How would you feel," she asked, taking a step towards her student, "if you were one of the two rulers of a nation, and your sister received all the praise, and your subjects scorned you?" Another step and her student turned to face her, then stepped back. "How would you feel, if you had experienced the absolute worst of life, heard the screams of the dying, seen those you called 'friend' killed for protecting you and the same ponies that, as soon as the war ended, turned around and spat on your face or demanded your death, completely ignore your sacrifices to protect them?"

She stopped stepping towards her student but leaned down so that she was just as tall as her. Her student took another step back. "And then how would you feel if your sister, the only pony you had who you would not outlive, lied to you every single day." One last step. "Turned a blind eye to how everypony looked at me while she basked in her own glory. Used you, and then betrayed you."

The bitterness was there. It would never fade, she knew. Killing her sister wouldn't help it, it would only frustrate her beyond her own comprehension. She trembled from that bitterness and hatred.

But she didn't act on that bitterness and hatred. Not now. The subject of her wrath was just out of reach, and she would not take it out on her student.

'You have reason to fear me,' she knew, 'and I should not add on to that.'

She lifted her head back up and continued to watch Twilight. Had this conversation happened a month ago, or perhaps even a week ago, Twilight would have been on her stomach cowering in fear. As it was, her student faced her with just the barest hint of confidence, just the barest hint of courage. Barely able to stay there and not run away. Behind those hints, she could see her student's fear. The way that, if she continued, she would simply snap her student's fragile sense of safety.

It wasn't in her best interest.

And she felt regret. Regret that she had slipped up in such a way, so drawn in by those memories. Regret that she had let herself slip in anger in front of her student. At her student. Regret that she had probably further hurt her student, despite not wanting to. She almost felt ashamed, and a part of her recoiled at that knowledge.

She was Queen and Empress. She had no reason to feel the clutching grip of shame, yet the feeling came and took a hold of her.

But, Twilight was still standing. She had not laid down, despite backing up out of fear. She hadn't run off to cower in a corner.

She inhaled the cool night air, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. It didn't satisfy her, but she felt calmness. It made the feeling of shame and regret all the worse. Answering in such a way as she did would not help her student grow any; it was nearly attacking her. It wasn't in her best interest, yet she had still slipped up,

She turned her head away from Twilight and once more swept her gaze over the street to find that, once more, it was deserted. Without looking back at her student, she held her wing up and extended it towards her. 'Will you recognize this gesture?' she wondered. Her student was a unicorn, not a pegasus, although her student had been her sister's student.

Out of curiosity, she turned her gaze back to her student. Twilight stood still, lingering in the same spot she had been, but she stared at her extended wing. As her student studied the offer, she saw hints of recognition mixed in with confusion and disbelief.

Then, she saw her student nibble on her lip, which marked the start of her mind's battle over what to do.

"Come," she called softly.

And with that, the battle came to an abrupt end. For a moment, it was as if both sides stopped fighting for the sole purpose of staring at the newest entrant: her. After that moment past, Twilight crept towards her, taking each step with a reluctant timidness so as to not be presumptuous, even if she had given the offer.

She watched Twilight approach, but eventually, the filly stood beside her and faced the same direction as her. She saw her student tensing up, going rigid. The hairs of her student's coat nearly stood straight up as she locked herself in place. Slowly, she lowered her wing over Twilight's back, then carefully, she pulled her student to her side.

Enveloping Twilight with her wing. She could see her student's recognition of what it was: a hug. Her sister had surely done this before, as had Cadance. She felt Twilight's tensed muscles relaxing, yet her eyes danced back and forth, racing left and right and left again. Twilight didn't move her head, but Nightmare was certain that if she somehow had not been there, her student would have been frantically jerking her head around, making sure that nopony saw this. All out of fear.

'You do not want other ponies to see this...' came to mind, followed by, 'Why?' Why was her student afraid of being seen like this? Or was it that her student thought it would reflect poorly on her?

Against her wing, she felt Twilight's coat and warmth. Somewhat pleasant. More than pleasant, in fact. She had not been so close to another pony over one thousand years. It stirred a certain fondness in her mind and brought with it so many memories. Most memories that came to mind were bittersweet. And the rest were bitter in hindsight, knowing of her sister's lies. As the feeling of Twilight's warm body against her side lingered, the thoughts of why her student was worried faded back deeper into her mind.

Against her body, she felt Twilight's coat and warmth. She felt where Twilight's shoulder pressed against her chestplate, making it press into her body. But she still felt Twilight's coat against her own. She found a certain fondness for the feeling, if only because it was something she had not experienced in so long. Something that she had forgotten what it was like. She had forgotten how nice it was, banal as it was. She had forgotten how comforting it could be, now that it wasn't marred by the pain of loss or sickening betrayal. It was nice, pleasant, and enjoyable.

It reminded her of the dreams of her student where they shared a bond, where Twilight did not cower before her. It reminded her of how enjoyable it was to share a walk in the castle's garden with her student. It reminded her of what it was like to watch the moonrise or moonset with her student, or with anypony else who had tolerated it in the past, aside from her sister.

But she still felt like something was missing there. She still felt that her student was incomplete. And that feeling agitated her, fighting against how pleasant the hug was.

She stroked her feathers through her student's coat and in turn, felt Twilight shiver against her touch. But she didn't try to pull away. No, she stood there. She wasn't sure if her student remained out of choice, or out of fear or paralysis. It helped even more that her student wasn't tense, even if Twilight had not truly completely relaxed in her embrace. Her student stood there without trying to escape, and she took some comfort from that.

A pony not predisposed towards her, who did not hate her.

She treasured it.

As she held her student to her side, she found her head tilting back, and her gaze being lost in the vastness of the sky. She found that a part of her wished she wasn't wearing her armor, that it was not in between her student and herself like an uncrossable chasm. She yearned to feel that feeling which was so far away, that of a true hug, one returned by her student. The feeling of her student's coat against her chest.

But it would have been a betrayal to her closest companion. She would not remove her chestplate for this. It was insanity to do so. It was antithesis to her. And it would cause uncertainty.

She inhaled, then blinked away the stirrings of memories. She lowered her head and looked down at her student, who was intent on staring at the street beneath her hooves. "I am sorry," she reluctantly muttered. "I am sorry that I snapped at you like that," she repeated. "Do not think," she whispered, stroking her feathers over her student's side once more, and once more drawing a shiver from the unicorn, "that I hate you. I do not."

At that, Twilight managed to look up from the street and meet her gaze, though she still said nothing.

"Do not think that I desire to harm you. You are my student," she said with finality, "and that matters to me."

With that said, Twilight looked down at her chestplate and gave a nod. Not a reluctant nod, not a timid nod. An accepting nod.

"I am not angry at you for asking that question, and I apologize... for my actions," she said said again.

Her student mumbled, "Uh... I was... a bit... worried that..." before trailing off.

And a sense of guilt added to the regret and shame. She finished the statement her student was afraid to say, "That I would attack you?"

For the briefest instant, she felt panic shoot through her student's body. She felt her student's heart skip a beat. She felt her student's body tense, but then her body relaxed. Twilight inhaled, then sighed as she gave a defeated nod.

Of course, she knew her student was right. She really should have held herself in check better. But given that it brought up the memories that it did, it was not easy. "I will admit that I reacted poorly to your question," she mumbled. "Or rather to the memories it brought back..." she clarified. She closed her eyes for a moment and, as hard as it was, swallowed her pride to ask, "Forgive me?"

She managed to open her eyes and look at her student. Twilight stared at her, almost with a look of bewilderment or shock. It took several seconds before her student looked down at her chestplate and slowly nodded. Seeing that nod made her feel relieved.

For a few more seconds, she held her student to her side, then lifted her wing up, giving Twilight her chance to escape should she so choose. She felt Twilight's warmth linger on the underside of her wing. Twilight didn't immediately retreat from her, but after a few seconds, she shuffled to the right and gave a brief look back at her. By the time Twilight stopped, she could no longer feel Twilight's warmth lingering in her wing.

She folded her wing back to her side, but it just didn't feel the same. Her own body's warmth just wasn't quite the same as Twilight's warmth. It wasn't as comforting. It somehow didn't feel as accepting.

She shook the thoughts aside then said, "Shall we continue?"

"Right..." Twilight mumbled, then took a step forward. After the first step, she hesitated and looked aside at her.

"Yes, I still do not know the way to Rarity's Boutique," she affirmed calmly.

The brief hesitation lingered for perhaps a second longer, then Twilight turned ahead, inhaled, and walked on.

And she smiled, seeing Twilight walk with less timidity than before. Perhaps the hug had been good for both of them. Perhaps it would do what she had intended, and reassure her student. Perhaps it would help reaffirm that vulnerable relationship they shared. She followed her student, and as she walked, she found herself feeling better. Her thoughts didn't linger on her sister, her thoughts didn't linger on the ineptness of bureaucrats, her thoughts didn't linger on bitter memories.

Her thoughts lingered on her student.

And maybe it was silly. Maybe it was stupid or foalish, and maybe it wasn't in her best interest, but they did. And it didn't make her want to scream. It was pleasant, so long as the memories did not twist with her student's fear of her.

Twilight's head tilted to the left, then her student's eyes glanced back at her. "Uh... when... was," there was wince that caused a pause before she continued, "if you don't mind me asking... The last time you did... that?"

"I have not hugged anypony in over a thousand years," was her answer.

"So... I guess... I should..." her student put on some kind of forced, awkward smile before saying, "feel special, then?"

'Amusing,' was her thought. She let herself smile and felt the right side of her lips pull up into a smirk. "You are the only student I have ever had, so you should already feel special."

Twilight's smile faded, and her brow creased. "Why not? Uh, Why haven't you had any students... before?"

She lifted her head up and tilted her head to the left. "I have never seen the point of it," she answered. She looked back down at Twilight. "It is not in my nature. That, and few ponies would have considered such an apprenticeship. To most, it would have been a curse or punishment."

And at that, Twilight's ears drifted back. "Oh... Sorry."

"It is fine," she replied.

Twilight's eyes drifted down to the ground in front of her, then after a few seconds, she looked back and asked, "What about the batponies?"

"I did not take any of them as personal students like yourself," was her answer. "For one, none of them are unicorns. I did not train them one on one in the art of combat either. Most of the ponies I converted were already well trained, and they learned further from surviving, so it was unnecessary."

"But there were ponies who volunteered to let you... do that to them. They didn't hate you did they?" was her student's question.

She held back a scowl, but took a deep breath and huffed. "Every single batpony who I originally converted volunteered, yes, but the circumstances were... Different. I never converted anypony outside of war. They would not have volunteered otherwise."

"Uh, what ponies did you... convert? Earth ponies? Pegasi? What about unicorns?"

"Only pegasi," she answered. "Unicorns and earth ponies would never submit to such a change..."

Twilight watched her. She watched her student. After a few seconds, her student broke eye contact and looked forward once more. "I... have more questions I'd love to ask, but..." She stopped and turned to the left, then raised a forehoof and pointed ahead. "We're here."

She stopped and turned her head to the left. The building was far from grand by her experience, yet it stood out from the rest of the town. Compared to the rest of Ponyville, Rarity's Boutique was elegant, although perhaps not quite extravagant. It still managed to, for the most part, fit in. She mulled it over for a few seconds, then nodded and commented, "Quaint."

Twilight walked ahead and approached the door, then knocked. She followed behind, then came to a stop a few steps behind her student.

In just a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a white-coated unicorn with a purple mane. "Twilight, darling-" and perhaps Rarity would have said something more, but instead, she stopped as soon as she caught a glimpse of her black coat. "O-oh," she stumbled out much less delicately, then fell into a quick, rigid bow, her ears folding back. "Ah... I didn't realize..." she mumbled.

It was more respectful than most greetings and reactions directed at her, given that most ponies either forgot that she was Queen out of fear, or did not bow out of paralysis caused by fear, or did not bow out of spite. But it was still a bow spurred on by respect out of fear, rather than love. But it wasn't as sarcastic of a bow as the Captain of the Guard, no, so it was already better than most of what she received. "Rise," she said after several seconds.

Rarity gradually stood back up, then shifted her weight and carefully asked, "Ah... what brings... you here?"

Twilight glanced aside at her, so she answered, "We're here for Spike."

Rarity nibbled on her lip and turned her head to the right, looking somewhere behind her. "Spike?" she called.

She couldn't hear any delay between Rarity calling his name and the tapping of claws scrambling to find out what that call was for. And then Spike was standing there, right beside Rarity. For a fleeting moment, Spike's gaze was on Twilight, then it passed onto her, and he took a step back as his lips pulled up into a forced smile while letting out a low half-laugh.

She scrutinized him, letting her eyes drift up and down his body. Purple scales covered his back and head while yellowish, off-white scales covered his underbelly. Green, inverted u-shaped spines stood up on his head and trailed down his back, all the way to his tail, with each spine smaller than the last. 'And you hatched him eight years ago...' she mused.

'I may need to ensure your kind does not cause my rule any problems,' came to mind next, but this hatchling, Twilight's dragon, Spike, would not be one of them. Or at the very least, he would not cause problems like other dragons could. No, he was too young, and most likely, having been raised by her student and her sister would have tempered his dragon nature. In comparison, other dragons wouldn't have that tempering.

'Perhaps,' she thought, 'your kind will attempt to seize on perceived Equestrian vulnerability...' But it wouldn't be a war. The dragons were too uncoordinated for something of that nature. If individual dragons caused problems, well, that was something she would address.

Personally.

Fondly, the thought came to mind: 'I wonder if your kindred remember me...' Without realizing it, she smiled, and her lips drew back to show her teeth. The dragons had a very special name for her, even before her ascent to Nightmare Moon. 'They would do well to remember it. But would they recognize me?'

Spike took another step back, which broke her thoughts. She felt her smile, then forced it back. She glanced at Rarity, then at her student, then looked back at Spike. "Your-" and she paused as it occurred to her, 'I do not know what relationship they have. What does he consider her? What does she consider him?' She closed her mouth as she thought about it. Finally, she said, "The spell which allows you to send scrolls to my sister. I am going to alter it so that it will instead send scrolls to myself."

"Um," he paused and lifted his arms to tap his claws together. His eyes shot over to her student. "Twilight?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her student nod. But her student didn't say anything.

With that, Spike looked back at her and gave a short, slow nod. He managed to take a step forward, followed by another.

"This will not take long, nor should you feel anything," she stated. The spell wasn't that complicated. It wasn't a teleportation spell, although it was vaguely similar. All she had to do was alter the part that would send scrolls to her sister so that, instead, it would send those scrolls to her. And with a few seconds of work, it was done. A secure way for him to send scrolls to her, from her student.

But after she finished, she found herself on edge. The spell wouldn't have let anypony else modify it. Only four ponies would have been able to modify the spell without fighting through the protective measures: her student, her sister, and Cadance, which did not surprise her, and then the fourth pony, which was what concerned her. Herself.

'This isn't an oversight...' she knew. But it made no sense! It left her feeling exasperated. 'Why would you do this!?' her mind demanded. But there were no answers for her to find.

She inhaled and, after fighting off the urge to scream out of frustration, nodded. "It is done," she stated.

Spike looked back at Twilight. "I don't feel any different."

"You shouldn't," Twilight replied.

"If nothing else," she said, causing both unicorns and the dragon to look at her. She looked down at her student and continued, "I will walk you back home and then take my leave."

Twilight's eyes drifted back to her chestplate and she nodded.

She turned and looked at Rarity and Spike, then turned and walked back into the street. For a few seconds, her student lingered behind, then she heard her student's hoofsteps and felt her approach. The door closed with the chime of magic, either her student's or Rarity's, though she suspected the later.

She turned her head to the right as Twilight took her place. Twilight glanced at her, then faced her. "So... uh, what are you going to do after this..?"

"I will return to Canterlot," she answered. For a few seconds, she hesitated to continue. "And I intend to visit my sister's school again."

She saw Twilight's leg twitch in midair. It paused long enough for her student to fall out of sync with her.

Before Twilight could react any worse, she stopped and added, "I do not intend to close it, if that is what you are concerned about. To do so would be foalish. It is in my best interest to keep it running." Twilight gradually set her hoof back down on the ground and nodded in long, drawn out motions. "The name, however, is something I am not particularly fond of."

Twilight's ears flicked back, and her gaze dropped onto the ground. "Right..." was her sigh.

She inhaled, then extended her wing. With a gentle touch of one feather, she coaxed Twilight into lifting her muzzle back up. Then, she folded her wing. "And perhaps I should have done this some time ago, but I should check the curriculum to ensure that my sister hasn't been lying to them all."

Twilight cringed and turned away from her. She barely heard her student mutter, "Are you going to... erase her like she erased you?"

"Perhaps," she said carefully. She waited for Twilight to look back at her before she continued, "I am uncertain if it would be in my best interest to do so or not. To erase her would, after enough time, benefit the stability of my rule. Ponies would eventually forget about her, which would be beneficial because I would then be all they know. They would know no difference. That would perhaps be in my best interest, as it could make dissent less likely. However, to erase her would also not make it known what she had done to me." She paused, then turned her head back to face the moon. She scowled at that scarring.

There was more she could say on the matter, but she had no desire to elaborate further. The will just wasn't there.

With no desire to say anything else, she walked forward again. For a few seconds, her student lingered behind, but eventually, her student trotted back into her place at her right side.

As she walked, she swept her gaze around the streets. This time, however, there were a few ponies out, yet whenever her gaze glanced over them in the slightest, even if it was a glance that didn't even stop on them, they either froze or sped up while their coats stood on end.

But a few ponies roamed the streets. It was progress.

She turned her gaze back onto her student. "Do you have any suggestions on how to address ponies staying inside rather than going out?"

Twilight's brow folded down and her pace slowed. For a few seconds, she stayed silent, then she looked at her. "It would depend on why they're staying inside..." was her careful answer.

She gradually nodded. "Fear."

"And you don't want that," her student surmised.

"To an extent," she answered, "fear is useful, Twilight Sparkle." She paused for a second, then quickly added, "But this is not."

Twilight's gaze drifted away from her. They walked on in silence for a while before her student turned back to face her. "I can think of a few things... More speeches. Maybe have Cadance talk to ponies... try to get some kind of celebration going? Maybe get the Gala to happen sooner than normal? Maybe..." her student winced and continued, "try to be a little less intimidating..?"

She looked at her student flatly. "Ignoring the last statement," she affirmed. Twilight didn't look away, nor try to apologize. "I would rather not force the Gala to happen before it normally does. I do not believe that is in my best interest. I do not believe speeches would benefit me any further, either. Perhaps from Cadance, but not myself. However, a new celebration? I can see that being useful. But I would not be surprised to find that it would not be celebrated and would be a mockery of me. Pray tell, Twilight Sparkle, do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't know..." Twilight answered, and with that said, looked away from Nightmare.

She watched her student for a few more seconds. 'Disappointing, but not surprising.'

"I think... you should talk to Cadance about this," her student finally answered.

She nodded as Twilight turned back to look at her. And for a moment, Twilight met her gaze. 'You are so fragile and vulnerable... You are still uncomfortable around me... but you are trying... and we are improving... Perhaps I can trust you more than what I think.' Twilight stared up at her, and she found herself likewise staring down at her. She inhaled and the movement made Twilight blink, then look down at her chestplate before bringing her muzzle back to the right and looking ahead. "We should return to your library, then I shall take my leave," she said.

Twilight glanced at her and nodded, then looked forward once more.

She let her gaze linger on her student for another second, then looked away from her and resumed her walk to the library.

Sweet Apple Acres was certainly that: looking around, even with the softer lighting of the moon, it was impossible to mistake it for anything except an apple orchard. The trees, while not anywhere near as tall as other species, were still tall enough that the leaves and branches blocked most of the moonlight from hitting the ground. The shadows cast by the leaves and branches hid the apples growing on their branches, so Twilight had a hard time making out their details, but she could just barely see them. She knew the apples were there from the dark masses where the texture looked smoother than the mass of leaves and twigs, but unless the apples had the white shine of reflected moonlight striking them and almost making the curve glow, she couldn't make out the details.

Even if she couldn't see the apples and didn't know what kind of trees they were, there was another detail that would make it impossible to not realize what kind of trees they were: the smell of apples. It filled the air; it was impossible to miss. That crisp smell that dared not scream out and demand attention; it was a comforting, soft smell. One that whispered on the breeze, conjuring memories of spring and of summer and of autumn in her mind.

She felt a gentle breeze blow against her coat, carrying with it the scent of more apples. If she closed her eyes, if she ignored the darkness enveloping the orchard, she could almost convince herself that it was just a normal summer, that Princess Celestia hadn't been banished to the moon, that she wasn't Nightmare Moon's student. She could almost convince herself that everything was normal if she closed her eyes and ignored the darkness. But the breeze carried with it a certain ominous chill, one so different from normal summer breezes. It completely broke the illusion, and just like that, the memories of normal summers, the memories of the warmth of the sun against her back, and the memories of bright, sunny days disappeared. She saw the darkness through her closed eyelids, and she knew.

Twilight opened her eyes and turned her gaze back to Applejack, then took a moment to watch her prop herself up on her forelegs, pull her hind legs back, then buck straight backward with those powerful hind legs. Both of her hooves connected with the tree, and in a display of mastery of earth pony magic, the tree didn't even shake, yet dozens of dark blurs that she knew were apples fell from the branches. In the darkness, the apples were dark streaks shooting towards the ground. She reached out with her magic to catch as many of them as she could, but with the darkness, it wasn't easy, and she missed most of them.

But that was okay. Applejack had said so, telling her that normally they don't try to catch the apples as they fell; they simply let them fall and hit the ground. The apples didn't bruise because of their earth pony magic.

Looking back at the tree, she stared at where Applejack's hooves impacted. True, there was no imprint from the buck, but the thought, 'I am glad that's not me,' came to mind. She had never been on the receiving end of earth pony strength. She had no intention of changing that. No, getting kicked by an earth pony like Applejack applebucking? That wouldn't be fun. Sure, she wasn't much smaller than Applejack, but nor was she by any means that large. And she wasn't strong, she was neither fit nor active. No, she was a scholar, a student. She studied. And so if she was ever on the receiving end of such a kick, it would, at the absolute least, send her flying. It wouldn't help that she was a unicorn unless she managed to get a spell off before the kick landed.

As Applejack walked over the next tree, she turned her attention to going over the grass with her magic and levitating the apples that landed into the air. They were about as hard to see as the apples in unbucked trees, although the grassy ground was smooth and short enough that the apples easier to distinguish from the grass as spherical lumps. Once she was certain she had every fallen apple in her magic, she levitated them over and gently placed them in buckets.

It was about the extent of help Applejack would accept. She offered to do more, of course, but the mare wouldn't have any of it. No, she wasn't allowed to use her magic to pluck the apples from the trees. And she was certain she could do it quicker than Applejack after a bit of practice, but Applejack was content to just have her pick the apples from the ground and then put the buckets in the cart. And of course she didn't have earth pony magic, nor did she have the same kind of strength Applejack did, so bucking trees was out of the question. 'If I tried bucking a tree like Applejack I would just end up hurting myself,' she knew.

Still, she didn't complain about how little she was doing. Even if it wasn't that much, at the very least, she was helping.

She looked over the ground again, searching for any apples she missed. Either she didn't miss any, or the shadows of the trees hid what them. She glanced at Applejack, but Applejack didn't say anything, so it was probably safe to say she found them all.

"So... you do this every day?" she ventured.

Applejack barely paused to glance at her, then nodded. "Not every day. The apples don't grow that fast..." she trailed off and frowned, then lifted her forehoof to rub her chin. "There's a few weeks in between harvests for the apples to regrow, but it keeps us pretty busy. There's a lot of apple trees here, you know. And we're still busy during those weeks when we're not harvesting apples, too."

She nodded. She was somewhat aware of just how large the orchard was from her pegasus chariot ride to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration, but still, she knew Applejack had a much better idea than her.

Applejack turned to face her as she lined up with a tree. "Say," she paused as she kicked back. Her hind hooves connected with the tree, sending a solid whunk into the night. This time, she heard the rustle of leaves and then saw the falling apples.

She reached out with her magic and caught as many of them as she could before they hit the ground. She heard several thuds from apples she missed. After the thudding stopped, she went over the grass with her magic and levitated the fallen apples into the air.

"Have you studied earth pony magic?" Applejack finally finished.

She winced. "Ah, no. Sorry. Or at least not that much." She let out a laugh, but even to her, it sounded awkward, forced, and nervous. "I don't really have a reason to since I'm a unicorn." Applejack nodded. "Although it is quite interesting just how quickly you can grow plants."

Applejack gave a hearty nod. "Eyup! I don't know what Equestria would do without us."

She felt inclined to agree with that, though just nodded instead of voicing it. She glanced over the few dozen apples she levitated in her magic, then directed them into the buckets set about the tree.

"Thanks again for your help, Twilight. This'd take a mite longer without your help," Applejack commented.

"Oh, it's no problem, really. I'm glad to help," she answered. And a part of her still wanted to scream. 'Exactly why am I glad to help? Why am I even here!?' It really made no sense to her. She could have been studying! Granted, there was nothing on her level, but she could have refreshed herself on what the library had to offer. Or even practiced her magic! 'But she's my friend,' was the answer.

A part of her was still so perplexed by that. Her. Twilight Sparkle. With friends!? Before Nightmare Moon's return, she would have laughed off the notion and thought anypony who suggested that was crazy. But here she was. So maybe she was crazy.

And she had no idea how being friends was supposed to work. There weren't any books on it she could study, or at the very least, she hadn't found any in the library she was staying in. 'I am doing the right thing, right?'

Looking at Applejack, she watched her line up with another tree. There was no malice or anything that conveyed, 'You're doing it wrong,' so she took that as a good sign that she was somehow succeeding at being a friend. 'And why do I want to be their friend!?'

Instead of helping here, there was so much more she could do! But she would have felt guilty. Applejack and the rest of her friends had spent time with her. And for some reason, apparently, she treasured that time. She was glad when they came over. It was somehow nice. She somehow enjoyed it. And they had stuck with her, even though they hadn't needed to.

'Is this what I've been missing this whole time?' she wondered. The thought made her clench her jaw. Applejack bucked the tree. She caught the apples as they fell using her magic, only missing those that fell on the other side of the tree, then scooped up those with her magic and guided them into buckets. As Applejack walked to the next tree, she lifted all of the buckets up with her magic, then levitated them over to the cart.

'Did you want me to make friends because of what I was missing out on?' she wondered. As she thought about it, she found herself nodding. Yes, that was something that Princess Celestia would want for her. And thinking about Princess Celestia again made her feel homesick. She longed for her princess, but it wasn't to be. She sighed under her breath. Applejack wouldn't have heard it. Nightmare Moon would have.

She found her head turning towards the rising moon, but the leaves and branches of apple trees blocked it from sight.

'But... my studies were important, right? They are important! I wouldn't be here if I hadn't studied so hard... It was worth it, right?'

And no answer came to her; she felt torn. But even with that feeling drawing her to her friends and to her studies, she wouldn't have stopped her studies. No, studying was important. She had dedicated her life to studying magic. She would just have to make revisions as necessary. Revisions for dealing with everything that had happened, like her old teacher lying to her and then getting banished, and Nightmare Moon taking her as a student. And friends. She hadn't planned for friends, either. But no, she wouldn't give up on her studies for friends. That would have been a stupid idea. She was sure she could do both.

Another solid whack. She turned her head towards the source and caught the apples as they fell. Only a few slipped through her grasp to thud against the ground.

"You doing okay, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, um, yes. I'm just thinking..." she replied.

Applejack squinted at her. It was the sort of squint that said, 'Now I know there's something more that you're not telling me,' but all the mare said was, "You sure do that a lot."

She gave a hesitant nod, then turned to face Applejack. She took a few steps towards her. "I do..." she agreed.

"Anything in particular?" Applejack ventured.

"Uh, not really. A lot of things..." she answered.

Applejack gave a slow nod, then walked over to the next tree. "How many more buckets you think we can get on the cart?"

She glanced back at the cart and bobbed her head. "Another tree," she turned to face Applejack and winced, "maybe?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow for a moment before turning her attention to the buckets on the ground. As Applejack surveyed them, she glanced over them, then finally filled them with the apples. Once the buckets were filled, she lifted them up and brought them over to the cart. The buckets were filled well beyond capacity, with apples piled up over the rim to the point that they were visible above the sides of the cart. With the way the cart leaned towards the front, she was partially concerned that apples would just start rolling all over the place and spilling onto the ground. She turned to face Applejack. The mare glanced over the load, then looked at her. "I don't think we can get any more on there now," she offered.

Applejack walked over to her and scrutinized the cart. She nodded and said, "Alright, I guess we can take this back and then get the next batch ready," then walked around the side to the front.

She pursed her lips as a thought occurred to her, 'I could take it back while you keep working?' She dreaded that idea. She wasn't that strong. Pulling that cart? No. "Uh, one of us could take the cart back while the other works?" she voiced.

Applejack stopped and looked back at her with a strained grimace. "It ain't safe," was all she said. "I appreciate the offer, but it ain't safe."

She frowned, then shifted her weight as Applejack donned the harness. "It isn't safe?" she asked.

"Nope," was Applejack's frank answer. "Not since the whole eternal night thing."

She squinted at Applejack, then turned her head left and then right, scanning the shadows. Nothing stood out, no dark figured, no glowing eyes. It only just comforted her, so she turned back to Applejack and asked, "I thought the orchard was safe?"

"Most of the time, it is," Applejack answered. She inhaled, then took a step forward. The cart lurched right behind her. "But not all of the time," was added. After another step, Applejack stopped, then turned her head and looked back at her. "I don't want to take the risk with you, Twilight. After we faced Nightmare Moon and all that... I wouldn't feel right to have you all alone out here," she said softly.

She stared at Applejack for a few seconds. 'I... could protect myself... right?' she wondered. 'She doesn't think I can... Nightmare doesn't think I can...' whispered back. It made her uneasy. Against something small and not that dangerous, she probably could protect herself. She shifted her weight on her hooves, then dashed to Applejack's side. "You remember that Midnight's here, right?" she squeaked.

Applejack paused to shrug, then continued. "She's flying somewhere up there. I can't see or hear her-"

A dark figure silently landed in front of Applejack. She flinched and jumped back a few inches before she recognized the batpony, but Applejack didn't react. "Hi," was Midnight's quiet, cheerful greeting.

Twilight nodded to herself and looked at Applejack again. "She has very good hearing."

Midnight smiled and nodded eagerly. "Mhm!"

"Eyup," Applejack agreed.

"And yeah it's safe," Midnight affirmed. Her smile faded and she frowned. "I didn't see or hear any, uh, timberwolves, I think is what you called them? How exactly do those things even work?" Midnight's cheeks pulled up close to her eyes. "Made out of wood..?"

Twilight lifted her muzzle a few inches into the air and answered, "Magic."

Midnight glanced at her. "Oh, okay. I kinda figured that. But still. It doesn't make sense."

Applejack shrugged. "Beats me. All I know is that's what they are."

"I think they're native to the Everfree Forest?" Twilight offered. "I don't think they exist anywhere else. So it's probably just the Everfree Forest."

Midnight looked at her, nodding casually. "Huh."

"You live in a forested area, don't you?" Applejack asked.

Midnight turned to her and nodded. "Mhm."

"Well, what sort of things do you have to deal with?" was Applejack's next question.

"Normal flesh and blood wolves. Sometimes bears," Midnight answered casually. "Of course it's not really that big of a deal for us. They keep away from the cities."

Twilight perked up. "Cities? Plural?"

Midnight nodded at her. "Mhm. You didn't think Hollow Shades was the only batpony city, right?"

"I thought there was only one city in the Hollow Shades," she specified.

Midnight giggled, then reached out with her hoof and touched her muzzle. "That'd be about as silly as calling a single city a whole empire!"

Her muzzle scrunched up and she jerked her head back. The metal boot was cold, and even without the boot touching her, she still felt the cold lingering on her nose.

"But yeah," Midnight continued. "Hollow Shades isn't just one city. There's a lot more than just it. Well, Hollow Shades technically is a city and a region, but there are other cities."

"Where?" she asked.

Midnight shrugged. "I dunno. All over the place, really. In mountains and forests, mostly out of sight. We keep to ourselves. I've never really been anywhere else. And not just the Hollow Shades region, either. All over Equestria."

She inhaled, then let out a sigh. "Right..."

"So, can you move so I can get this back to the barn?" Applejack asked. "Then we can walk and talk."

Midnight looked at her. "Oh! Right. Sure!" She stepped to the left, out of Applejack's way.

"Thank you," Applejack said as she walked on.

Twilight waited a moment, then walked alongside Applejack, followed by Midnight, who strolled along at her left side.

"So, see anything interesting in your flight?" Applejack asked.

Midnight shrugged. "Other than Rainbow Dash sleeping in one of your trees?" was her cheerful question. Midnight barely paused as if contemplating something, then just smiled and shook her head. "No, not really... no..."

There was an audible pause in Applejack's stride, mostly because it stopped, and with that, the cart stopped. "Where is she?"

"I can show you," Midnight answered. "Why?"

An annoyed, flat voice answered, "I'm gonna knock some sense into her."

She frowned at Applejack and Midnight squinted. "Why?" was all she felt compelled to ask.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Rainbow knows she's not supposed to do that." A pause, then a firm, "I don't appreciate it. My family doesn't appreciate it."

She slowly turned her head away from Applejack. "...why?" she asked again, this time more slowly.

"If she's gonna be here, she could at least help instead of being lazy," was Applejack's answer. As soon as she finished, she started pulling the cart again. "After I get this to the barn, I'm gonna give Rainbow a piece of my mind."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Twilight offered. Applejack didn't even look at her and continued pulling the cart along. She waited for a few seconds to see if Applejack would say something, but then walked back to her when it was clear that she wasn't. Midnight followed at her side, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the batpony's tongue hanging out of her mouth in between her fangs.

"You know, you could help out too," Applejack commented.

She glanced aside at Applejack to see who that was directed at and found her looking at Midnight.

"Batponies don't do applebucking," Midnight stated in a warm, friendly tone. It almost sounded like teasing.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Why not? You keep saying how strong you are; prove it."

She turned her head to look at Midnight.

"Don't need to," was Midnight's cheerful response, followed up with a bright smile. "Besides, I'm here to keep Twilight safe. I'm not free labor like she is."

She frowned and glared at her 'guard.' "Hey!"

Midnight turned to face her, then just closed her eyes and smiled oh so happily.

"She's not free labor..." was Applejack's defensive retort.

She turned and squinted at Applejack. The earth pony shifted her weight uncomfortably and looked back at her, then looked at Midnight again. "She volunteered to help," she explained. "As a friend," was added far too quickly.

"Free labor!" Midnight sung out, followed with a carefree giggle.

With that, she inhaled, then all but threw her head down so it was level with her back. "Well gee, thank you so much for thinking of me like that," she muttered.

"Sorry, Twilight. I, well, and my family, really do need the help though. We've been having trouble with the whole eternal night thing. It ain't easy!" Her eyes shot towards Applejack. She wanted to give her a glare, but found that she couldn't: Applejack looked at her with a solemn grimace. "I really do appreciate the help. We all do," Applejack added.

She let out a sigh, then closed her eyes and nodded. "It's," she lifted her head back up, "okay." Opening her eyes, she looked around again, searching the shadows. Surely, it wasn't necessary since Midnight was there, but she still felt safer for having done so, especially since she didn't see anything stalking them.

Looking down at the dirt path beneath her hooves, she immediately knew one fact: 'Rarity will never set hoof out here.'

A few seconds passed while she pondered the thought. 'Then again, I guess you did venture into the Everfree Forest with us... Although the fate of Equestria was at stake there.'

So maybe it wasn't a fact. Still, she couldn't see Rarity ever coming here of her own free will. She couldn't picture it. She didn't think it was likely. At least as long as Rarity had a choice. And it wasn't like the fate of Equestria would ever rest in their hooves again, right?

'Really, that's an insane thought,' she knew. There really was no reason why a filly and five mares would ever be the only ponies who could save Equestria from utter destruction. It really was an absurd thought. A crazy thought! Why would the defense of Equestria fall onto the shoulders of a filly and five young mares? She took comfort in knowing just how silly the thought was!

But as she thought about it, she found a feeling of dread welling up inside her chest: 'We stood up to Nightmare Moon...'

They were all three walking at a casual pace, but for her, she felt like she was shuffling along beside them. She knew her hooves weren't dragging in the dirt, but it still felt like they were. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. 'You forgave me for standing up to you... you forgave us for standing up to you...' She felt better, at least until the next thought constricted her body, 'Right?' She let the breath out.

She glanced at Midnight. If she asked the batpony, then she would probably tell her she was overreacting and worrying too much; Midnight would probably say that Nightmare Moon wasn't holding that little stunt over her head like an executioner's ax, just waiting for the right moment to let it drop. But thinking of that didn't help; the thought made her stomach twist into a knot. But even as her stomach twisted against her, she knew, 'You wouldn't do that.' No, Nightmare Moon wouldn't act in such a way. She hadn't asked Nightmare Moon about that stunt, but the way her teacher acted somehow reassured her that it would be okay, somehow.

Nightmare wasn't just waiting for her to slip up. She closed her eyes again, then sucked in another deep breath. She held it in, and as the seconds passed, her stomach untwisted. Once she felt fine, she let the breath go.

'It's fine to relax around her,' she told herself. Yesterday had been proof of that. She had opened up to Nightmare, and Nightmare had opened up to her. Nightmare hadn't attacked her for what she said and asked. She had been certain it would happen, but it didn't.

She felt safer for it. But she still wouldn't push her luck.

With nothing else to do as she walked on, as both Midnight and Applejack had fallen silent, her thoughts lingered on Nightmare's unscheduled visit. But that also seemed to be how Nightmare liked her visits: unscheduled. She had some general idea of when Nightmare was coming, but there was never any advanced warning. There'd be the crack of the teleport spell, and then her teacher would be there. She would either come or would not come.

But she was, somehow, getting used to it. Maybe.

'How did ponies treat you back before...?' whispered in her mind. She felt her ears fold back, then pin down on her mane. She felt her heart beat slower, and her stomach felt bigger. Assuming Nightmare Moon didn't lie about it, then she didn't know how to feel. How could she have known what to feel? Nightmare Moon had banished Princess Celestia! Nightmare Moon had conquered Equestria!

But Nightmare Moon had, assuming she wasn't being lied to, protected Equestria so long before her fall. Nightmare Moon had, assuming it wasn't a lie, been mistreated. She had seen the unfiltered bitterness as Nightmare told her of her treatment, of her experiences. The words were vague, but the feeling? The feeling was there in full force. How could Nightmare Moon have been lying, with that bitterness and rage that smashed through those words she spoke? It had scared her. She did her best not to let it show, but it terrified her. It wouldn't have taken much for her to run off.

But she didn't, because Nightmare deserved better than that. Nightmare deserved a better student. Nightmare needed somepony as, and the thought made her grimace, a friend. It made her heart twist uncomfortably. The idea of being Nightmare Moon's friend. It made no sense, it was absolutely insane, and it was in no way proper or safe, yet she felt the need to somehow take that role.

It made no sense. A part of her felt exasperated by it. But it would be good for Nightmare Moon. It would be good for her, or at least her survival.

She frowned and stared down at the ground. 'You have the batponies, but why isn't that enough?' It was a thought that weighed on her, a thought that left her feeling concerned: the batponies were Nightmare Moon's, and surely there were more than enough that her teacher would feel the batponies' quite obvious adoration and respect of her, but it wasn't enough. 'Why isn't it enough?' repeated in her mind.

It worried her because it meant that it was possible nothing would ever be enough for her teacher. It meant that it was possible that Nightmare Moon's jealousy and hatred of Princess Celestia was beyond anything she could imagine, beyond anything she could reason away.

It worried her because it could mean she was the student of a psychotic alicorn. It worried her because it could mean she was contemplating trying to be the friend of a psychotic alicorn.

There had to be tens of thousands of batponies, if not more, and if Nightmare Moon felt that their adoration and love wasn't enough? 'Will anything ever be enough for you?' was whispered in her mind, and fear wanted to reply, 'No...'

Even with the creaking of the cart, the silence felt oppressive. She looked up and straight ahead. Neither Applejack nor Midnight paid any attention to her. They were both there, but she felt alone. Neither of them understood her position.

It took a while, but eventually, the dirt path gave way to a dirt yard. The trees gave way to an open view of the night sky, and with that, she felt a bit more comfortable and confident. She didn't feel the same constriction as earlier, and as she stepped into the yard, she felt like a weight was lifted off her back.

Looking around, she recalled how everything looked the first time she had been to Sweet Apple Acres. Ponies had been everywhere, at least after they had been summoned by Applejack. Now, in the dark of night, it looked almost like a graveyard, and the thought made her shiver as the night felt that much colder.

Sitting on the porch of their farmhouse in a rocking chair, Granny Smith rocked back and forth. She couldn't tell from the distance, but it looked like she was sleeping. She assumed Apple Bloom was in school, though she wasn't certain. As for Big Mac, Applejack had said he was in the market, or what was left of it.

The market really hadn't been the same since eternal night had fallen. She hadn't seen it before Nightmare Moon took over, but she had briefly visited it since her return. It was a very open, deserted plaza with ponies and stalls few and far between.

'How are ponies coping with eternal night? How are ponies surviving this?' she wondered. After all, ponies hadto go out sometime: they had to to get food and other goods, but she never saw it.

Then again, she was in the library most of her time, so she wouldn't know. Maybe Nightmare Moon thinking that ponies hated the night was just a case of bad timing?

But she knew it wasn't that.

They walked on into the barn and Twilight used her magic to unload the buckets, carefully piling placing the apples in an ever-growing pile so they didn't bruise. Without anything being said, Applejack took the lead and headed back out into the yard, heading for the same path they came from, still pulling the cart behind her.

As the trees once again flanked them, Midnight asked, "Soo... do you really want me to show you where Rainbow Dash is?"

"Eyup," was Applejack's firm, unwavering response.

"Okay," Midnight said with innocent joy.

She felt a rush of air against her side and turned to watch Midnight lift off the ground, hover in the air almost silently, then fly forward with the same near-silence as hovering. Flapping her leathery wings was so much quieter than the feathers of a pegasus. Midnight casually took the lead, flying ahead about a pony's length at the same speed they walked.

About half of the way back to where they had been working, Midnight veered to the left, following another branch of the dirt path. She slowed to let Applejack and the cart go first, then she followed. From there, it was just another minute of walking before Midnight landed, turned around to face them, and pointed a hoof at the top of a tree.

She looked where Midnight pointed, but even squinting at the tree, she couldn't see any hints of the pegasus. No sky-blue coat, no rainbow mane or tail, and no rustling branches and leaves that would give away her friend's presence.

Applejack didn't even bother checking; she just unharnessed herself, then walked over to the tree wearing an amused expression. The earth pony turned around, kicked her hind legs up, then bucked back into the tree.

Unlike most of the times before, this time the tree shook, almost violently. The leaves rustled as they shook back and forth, then she heard the sound of a pegasus falling out of a tree: fur scraping against wood and leaves, a cry of alarm, some shouts of "woah" and an assuredly pegasus squawk, all wrapped up with a thud and grunt as the mare landed on her haunches, her wings stretched out in alarm.

She lifted her hoof and pressed it against her mouth to stifle a laugh. Several twigs were stuck in Rainbow's mane and tail, and she took great delight in the sight. It felt like justice for how she met the pegasus, or rather how the pegasus crashed into her.

A blanket and pillow fell down on top of Rainbow. The blanket draped over her left wing, and the pillow landed bounced off her head before landing on the grass beside her.

Midnight giggled in delight. Applejack smirked. "Hey there, sugarcube!" she called.

"What was that for!? Applejack!?" Rainbow demanded. In a dark blur of color, she jumped into the air and shook the blanket off her wing, then shot over and hovered in front of Applejack's face, glaring at her.

Applejack matched the glare. "You know you ain't supposed to be doing that, Rainbow Dash!" she admonished.

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but an all-too-familiar sharp crack stopped her. She recognized that crack. There was no way to mistake it as anything else: a teleportation spell. The air felt a few degrees cooler, and her body felt several degrees colder. The silence was almost palpable. She felt Nightmare Moon's gaze land on her back. Applejack and Rainbow's glares faded as they stared off behind her body, back where she knew Nightmare Moon was, back where she couldn't see.

Midnight bowed, "My Queen," she greeted.

Nightmare's gaze left her back for a split second, then returned. Another moment passed, then that feeling of being watched by a predator disappeared. She exhaled, then inhaled and licked her lips. Rainbow Dash's wingbeats slowed, then she landed and turned to face her, or Nightmare Moon. Likewise, Applejack turned to face her, or Nightmare Moon.

Her teacher's predatory gaze landed on her back again. "There is something we must attend to," was all that was said.

She barely registered what was said before she felt Nightmare's magic wash over her. Then, there was a blinding flash of light, the sharp crack of the teleport spell, and the disorientating double image: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Midnight, apple trees, and then Nightmare's study over top of it.

The double image faded. She stared at Nightmare's desk. There were three scrolls scattered about over its surface. Two were opened, and one was rolled up.

She heard the click of Nightmare's boots against the floor, jerked to the right and turned to watch as Nightmare rushed past her over to the desk. She followed Nightmare with her eyes, and Nightmare looked back at her without turning her head. "What's-"

She didn't get to finish before Nightmare cut her off, "Civil unrest in Manehattan." Then Nightmare unrolled the scroll and lifted the lone quill from the inkwell on the desk. "The Royal Guard is attempting to reestablish control but I am not assured by their efforts. We will be going."

She swallowed and shifted her weight. "Um, how bad is it?"

Without looking away from the scroll she wrote on, Nightmare answered, "Disorganized, but widespread, and spreading. But I am unsure of the entire extent." There was a pause a Nightmare turned back to face her. "And they have decided that it is a good idea to burn buildings," was delivered in the most sarcastic tone she had ever heard.

"They- what?" she stuttered. "But ponies-"

"Wouldn't normally do this, yes, I am aware," Nightmare stated. "I thought that was obvious."

She winced and turned away from her teacher. She whispered, "Sorry-"

But Nightmare cut her off, "We do not have time for apologies. We are only still here because I retrieved you before sending out orders so I could inform you of the situation."

She shifted her weight. Her teacher ignored it and turned her attention back to the scroll. She sucked her lip in between her teeth, then bit down lightly, just enough to pin it in place. She rolled her teeth back and forth as that all-too-familiar dread took hold of the air surrounding her body. 'Why do you need me? What do you expect me to do!?' screamed out in her mind. Why was she needed for this? 'Is this just an excuse to-' she stamped the thought out before it could finish. No, it wasn't Nightmare Moon trying to find an excuse to dispose of her. Her teacher wouldn't do that. She swallowed and licked her lips.

Her teacher held that quill so firmly in her magic, and even though the sweeps and strokes against the paper were rushed out, there was still an undeniable precision that she could see from the distance. She couldn't see her teacher's eyes, but she knew just from the writing that Nightmare was intent on writing as quickly as possible, but meticulously enough that it couldn't be misunderstood. Her teacher was busy. She had questions. She didn't want to interrupt. But Nightmare didn't preemptively answer, either.

She leaned left and gradually brought her right foreleg up into the air. For a second, she watched the quill scratch at the scroll, then she grimaced, stepped forward and leaned to the right, and carefully shuffled closer to her teacher. "Why," she drew out the word as long as she could before continuing once she was certain Nightmare wasn't going to chastise her for asking, "do you need me for this?"

The quill paused after one last sweep. Her mentor's muzzle turned back a few inches, and then those eyes fell on her. "You are my student," was her answer.

She took another slow step closer to her mentor and leaned her head to the left, bringing it even closer. "Yes I'm your student but-" she stopped as her cheeks and lips lifted up. She paused to suck in a breath, then she continued, "Your sister wouldn't have... brought me along."

The quill lifted from the scroll, suspended in the air by Nightmare's dark blue aura. Her teacher turned her head in full to face her, then nodded once and answered, "You are correct. She would not have."

She heard a certain finality in her teacher's voice, but also thought she heard annoyance like Princess Celestia was doing something wrong by not bringing her along, and Nightmare didn't approve.

The pause lasted for a second: no more, no less. Then, Nightmare broke eye contact. Her teacher's eyes drifted along her mane, then down her back before settling on her cutie mark. She felt the way Nightmare's gaze glided over her body. Not predatory, but curious. The anger she would have expected in her gaze from unrest in Manehattan wasn't there, or perhaps it wasn't directed at her. Maybe Nightmare didn't let it out, maybe her teacher kept it in for her.

She knew it wouldn't have been the first time her teacher had acted so carefully with her.

Or maybe Nightmare was acting rationally and logically, knowing what was happening. Nightmare would know that she had to respond to this unrest just right, otherwise the results could be disastrous. If she responded too harshly, things would fall apart. If she failed to respond firmly enough, things would fall apart. It was a balancing act, and surely, Nightmare Moon knew how to balance that. The question then, was if she could balance that without snapping.

The second passed, and as Nightmare's eyes glided over her back, she said, "But you are my student, and I expect you to be there with me. Appearances, and it will be a good experience for you." Her teacher's eyes jumped back to meet her own before she said, "And your help and advice would be appreciated."

With that said, Nightmare turned her head back to face the scroll. The quill pressed back down into the scroll, and the hasty strokes and sweeps resumed.

She stared at where Nightmare's eyes had been. A few seconds passed. Her gaze drifted further to the left, into Nightmare's ethereal mane. It didn't whip in anger, it didn't billow like a tempest. It was controlled and calm. Calculated.

She managed to pull her gaze away from Nightmare's mane. She looked down at her hooves, then the floor. She lifted her head up, glanced over the side of Nightmare's chestplate, then her wing, and finally, her gaze returned to Nightmare's face. "My advice?"

No pause in the quill's strokes this time as Nightmare answered, "Yes. Your advice on how to best deal with this would be welcome. I would not expect you to have dealt with such before, but I assume you are competent enough to offer suggestions on how best to proceed."

Cadance was more qualified to help with this problem than her. Cadance was better around ponies, and surely ponies would see her and it would calm them down. For a moment, she considered voicing such, but she knew better: it would waste time. Surely, Nightmare Moon already knew Cadance would be more help than her, and surely Nightmare Moon already had Cadance doing something important to help with this problem. Perhaps Cadance was already in Manehattan working to calm ponies down. She wondered why it was then, that Nightmare hadn't mentioned Cadance to her, and despite Nightmare telling her why she was going, she still wondered what help she could possibly be. But perhaps Nightmare didn't mention it because it would have been wasting time.

She nodded timidly. "Is... um, there anything else you can tell me?"

There was the briefest moment where she thought the quill broke stride, where she thought it had slipped or stalled, but it was over so quickly she was certain it was her imagination. "We will be going into a situation I have little information on. A situation which could prove dangerous. I will protect you but do stay close. If we somehow get separated-"

"Wouldn't you just know where I was?" she blurted out.

There was a pause before her teacher answered, "Yes, but you could have lost the necklace. In which case I would not." She shifted her weight as Nightmare's gaze jumped back onto her for a split second before returning to the scroll. "If we are separated, either remain where you are or find a Royal Guard. Avoid crowds."

She lowered her gaze onto the floor and muttered, "Right..." Crowds would be bad. If ponies recognized her, then that had the chance to go very badly.

It was very easy for her to imagine just how badly that could go.

The quill came to a stop. A moment passed, then she looked up and caught a glimpse of her teacher's eyes rolling over each line she had written. When Nightmare's eyes finally came to a stop on the last word, she held her gaze there as if thinking, then looked up and swept the scroll up in her magic in one motion. Her teacher rolled the scroll up, bound it with her crescent moon seal, then sent it off in a flash of light.

With that done, Nightmare's magic pressed another scroll into place on the desk, and her magic dipped the quill into the inkwell before returning it to the new scroll.

She blinked as a thought occurred to her, and then voiced it, "Why are you even writing orders? Can't we just teleport there and you can give them?"

There was another pause of Nightmare's quill, which was accompanied by a glance back at her. "These orders are not destined for the Manehattan garrison," was all she answered. Nightmare's gaze shot back to the scroll, and her writing resumed. A moment passed; nothing more was said.

Reluctantly, she took another step forward to stand right beside her teacher's wing. Quietly, she hesitantly asked, "So you don't really know what's going on, then?"

"Correct," was the succinct answer.

She leaned her head away from Nightmare and tried to look at her eyes. It was a futile attempt: Nightmare's attention was focused on the scroll, and although she could see her teacher's eye, it wasn't what she had wanted to find. "So," she began, pausing to lick her lips and let out a slow mixture of a huff and a sigh, "how do you know that this isn't like before?"

"Fires," her teacher answered.

She frowned. "And how do you know it isn't just a-"

Nightmare scowled and let out an exasperated breath. "It is not just a fire, Twilight Sparkle. The captain indicated that there was rioting, and yes, before you ask, I did briefly visit the city before retrieving you to be certain this was not uncalled for," Nightmare snapped.

On instinct, she flinched back, pushing her body back and lifting her right forehoof. She almost took a step back before she caught herself.

Nightmare saw it, of course. She saw Nightmare look back at her, but only after she flinched. She didn't know how Nightmare had seen her flinch. Or maybe she hadn't. Maybe she had simply chosen to look back at her, and it had simply been a coincidence that she had looked back at her after flinching. She doubted it. Regardless, Nightmare saw it. Nightmare saw her, Nightmare saw how she flinched back.

She thought she saw Nightmare clench her jaw. Gradually, she pushed herself back to where she had been. Nightmare's gaze lingered on her.

Nightmare's eyes jumped off of her and looked somewhere to her right, then she opened her mouth and inhaled. "I know that you have issues trusting me," she stated.

With that said, once again, she felt as if she was the center of attention. Ponies were staring at her from all directions, even if the only other pony there with her wasn't looking at her. She was exposed. Nightmare looked back at her. She felt it, and a twinge of panic raced down her back. In the wake of that panic, she felt a coldness gripping her.

Nightmare's feather brutes along her side. She glanced back and watched that feather. She stared at it as Nightmare so delicately stroked that feather along her side and back, brushing it from just below her shoulder down to the end of her rib cage.

"It would be beneficial to both of us for you to trust me during this. I will not take action that will intentionally result in injury to you," her teacher said in a calm voice. She turned away from the feather to meet Nightmare's gaze. She couldn't see any deception in those eyes. There wasn't any glint of a predator. There wasn't anything that whispered of deception, there wasn't anything that called out, 'You should not trust me!'

She slowly lowered her muzzle a few inches, then brought it back up, then repeated the action more quickly a few times to nod.

Nightmare's right foreleg lifted up, then in a slow, drawn-out motion, her teacher turned to face her. And she would have sworn that turn was unsure and uncertain. It made her cautious. Nightmare looked her over, and her lips parted. After a few seconds, Nightmare gave a shake of her head, then met her gaze once again. "We do not have time for you to apologize. Mistakes will likely be made tonight."

She felt her chest tighten at that. 'Mistakes? But...' She hated the idea. Mistakes were bad, mistakes meant failures.

Mistakes meant disappointment.

Nightmare inhaled, breaking her thoughts. "And we do not have time for you to second guess yourself," was stated. "Do not be paralyzed into inaction," was her teacher's warning.

And for a few more seconds, a few more seconds that things in Manehattan could have been getting worse, Nightmare continued to face her. Then, Nightmare blinked and returned to writing the scroll.

She just stared at Nightmare. The scratching and chime of magic continued, only interrupted by a few pauses followed by the sound of scrolls being rolled up. Her mind went to Manehattan, and a dozen progressively worse scenarios played out. The best case scenario was like the time she had been in Manehattan with Nightmare Moon before: it turned out to be nothing, or perhaps the fires were just accidents that happened, and maybe the 'rioting' was unrelated. Her imagination twisted from there. Just how bad would Manehattan be? How would Nightmare Moon react? How would her teacher address it? Would Cadance be able to help at all?

The thoughts that plagued her borrowed from her memories: instead of her teacher acting rationally, perhaps she would overreact. Ponies would be hurt, at the very least. Would she have to stand there while Nightmare did things that shouldn't have been done? Would she have to stand there, unable to do anything except watch on as her teacher snapped? Would ponies escape, then tell the tale of how she had been there, right beside her teacher? How she was just as guilty as Nightmare Moon?

Her stomach and gut twisted and tightened at the thought, and it wasn't even the worst of the thoughts assaulting her. No, there were worse thoughts: having to stand beside Nightmare, unable to voice any objections as her teacher slaughtered ponies. She hadn't seen Nightmare kill anypony, but she knew Nightmare could. She had heard what had happened to one Royal Guard. Her teacher could kill oh-so-easily. And then Equestria would know that she had been there. Equestria would know she hadn't stopped it. Equestria would know she was the student of a monster. And then she wouldn't have any choice or any hope. If Nightmare was somehow defeated, Equestria would turn on her.

Princess Celestia would turn on her for letting something like that happen.

Unless there was nopony left to tell those tales.

And then there was the blood-freezing fear that Nightmare would react to the rioting poorly and that ponies would only struggle harder. There was the fear that ponies would say something without knowing what she knew, the fear that ponies would throw insults that would spell disaster. The fear that Nightmare Moon would revise her plans: instead of ruling Equestria, leveling it.

Her teacher could follow up on something like that.

The fear twisted in her mind. She couldn't breathe. She pictured Equestria as nothing more than a barren wasteland: dirt and ashes covering the ground, dust and ashes blanketing the sky, blocking out even the moon and stars. And she pictured being there to see it, she pictured herself standing there right beside Nightmare Moon in that desolate, lifeless wasteland. And then she saw Nightmare Moon turning to face her, wearing that same intent, predatory gaze as before.

'She wouldn't do that,' shot out in her mind. The voice cut through the desolation she imagined. In its place, she saw the black of Nightmare's coat and the cyan of her chestplate. She exhaled, then sucked in a breath, only to exhale again and finally inhale one last time.

Panicking wasn't good for her. Panicking and overreacting was exactly what ponies were doing in Manehattan. Panicking would only make matters worse.

A wave of calmness washed over her body. She swallowed and let her eyes drift over Nightmare's body, then she took a risk and glanced towards Nightmare's face. Her teacher was intent on writing out those orders. 'She wouldn't do that, would she?' a part of her asked. And it was asked in a timid, quiet voice. It was a question she wouldn't voice. It was a question she didn't need to voice.

She already knew the answer, 'No, she wouldn't.' She was letting her fear get the best of her. Her teacher was rational! Most of the time. And if something went wrong, maybe her teacher would still remember the promises made to her, and then maybe she could prevent everything from going worse.

'Stop worrying about it. It doesn't help any, it won't change anything. She hasn't hurt me...' she reasoned and told herself. Another part of her was quick to counter, 'Yet, and if I betray her, she will.'

She couldn't argue with that knowledge.

The sound of magic stopped and it broke her thoughts. She refocused on Nightmare's coat, then looked towards her head once more. At the same time, her teacher looked back at her, and their eyes met. Nightmare's lips were parted, then they closed. A second passed as they watched each other, then Nightmare said, "If you are ready."

She swallowed and blinked, then hastily nodded.

But Nightmare didn't immediately light her horn and wrap her magic around her. There was a pause, one long enough for her teacher to reach out with her wing and brush a feather along her back again. She closed her eyes from the feeling. The dread and anxiety washed away with that so gentle stroke. It was reassurance and comfort.

She felt Nightmare's magic wrap around her: it wasn't as it had been so soon after they met, it didn't threaten to crush her, it wasn't the sort of grip that made sure to remind her of how fragile her existence was, of how tenuous their relationship was. It was a gentle grip, it didn't press down on her; it enveloped her.

She could almost convince herself that it felt protective.

Alright! This was originally a single chapter that was around 31-32 thousand words long, and, well, given that's longer than a lot of, if not most of, the stories on the site... Well, let's face it: A chapter that long needs to be split into parts. I'm not that insane.

So! This is part 1 of 3 of what was originally a chapter so large I had to split it into parts in order to keep writing because my computer kept freezing every time I started writing. 'Twas incredibly annoying to write out a sentence, then sit there for a few seconds before the words appeared on the screen. And then I had to reread it to check for errors. The moral of the story is don't write chapters longer than 22,000 words long unless you're sadistic, masochistic, or crazy and want to miss out on the opportunity to have more exposure by publishing it in multiple chapters. Plus it lets you create cliffhangers! Cliffhangers are great from an author's standpoint, but then I've also been on the receiving end of a cliffhanger...

There was the flash of light and the crack of magic. It wasn't accompanied by a double-image this time since Twilight's eyes were closed. She opened her eyes and saw, to her immediate left, Nightmare Moon's black coat. In front of her, the steps leading up to the town hall.

She felt a twist in her stomach, and out of some kind of instinct, she looked up at the portico. She stared at the depiction of Princess Celestia's cutie mark. Then, she held her breath and glanced back at her teacher.

Nightmare ignored it. She couldn't tell whether her teacher forced herself to ignore it or just paid no attention to it; Nightmare's head was turning back to the right from looking off somewhere to the left.

Twilight turned her head to the right and surveyed the street. It looked almost the same as it had before, and with that, she felt a mixture of relief and anxiety. There were, from what she could see, no signs of the problems Nightmare had told her of. There were no herds of ponies screaming, shouting, and yelling, no ponies galloping around being chased by guards, no ponies trying to burn buildings or break into buildings to steal anything.

She glanced to the sky, then looked back down before looking up again. Pegasi flew through the air just high enough above that they wouldn't fly into any buildings. With the light of the moon, it was impossible to miss the golden gleam of their armor, and as she watched, she noticed a pattern: the pegasi flew either alone or with a partner, but they always followed the street. They never flew over the tops of buildings.

'They're patrolling...' came to mind.

Maybe there were problems. But if there were problems, they weren't nearby.

She turned her attention back to her teacher. "Um... what exactly are we going to do?" she asked.

Without looking back at her, Nightmare answered, "Restore order." Her teacher stepped to the left and turned away from the steps.

She slowly walked forward and turned to the left until she was at her teacher's side. "How, exactly?" she asked.

"It will depend on the extent of what is transpiring," was her teacher's answer. For a few seconds, Nightmare was silent, and her eyes gradually drifted over the buildings and street before her. "I am hoping that this will be easy to remedy, but I do not expect that to be the case."

Nightmare inhaled, then exhaled and turned to face her. "Manehattan is large. From what reports I received, the bulk of the dissent is transpiring outside of the city's core. Provided it remains this way our task shall remain much simpler, however, if it spreads or threatens to spread I will put a stop to it."

Twilight was afraid to have her question answered, but still asked, "How?"

Nightmare didn't immediately answer. Instead, her teacher turned away from her. "It is important that I ensure this does not spread and does not linger. It would be detrimental to my rule. And likewise, I recognize that I must react carefully to this situation. I am unsure if using fear would be wise to use in this situation as it could very easily make matters worse. However, if it comes down to it, I will use force to restore order if it is necessary."

Quietly, Twilight warned, "Only as a last resort."

Nightmare turned her head to face her. Her gaze was intent but not malicious. There was no immediate backlash nor retort, only contemplation. Her teacher slowly inclined her head and then nodded. "Overreacting in this situation would not be wise," she agreed. "And I do not desire to make matters worse."

A second passed before Nightmare continued, "And in truth, I do not know how best to address this situation. Circumstances are different from the experience I have."

Twilight inhaled and nodded. "Okay, um... so... you're wanting advice, right?"

"I believe I said as much," Nightmare acknowledged.

Twilight shifted her weight in an attempt to ignore her teacher's tone, but the tone lingered. So flat: like she was asking a stupid question, like she was wasting time. She inhaled, then nodded to herself. "Okay, so... um... if ponies are out and acting in herds, then... um... it needs to be stopped." At the flat expression Nightmare gave her, she continued. "Um, maybe a curfew? If you keep ponies inside then hopefully it will help..."

Nightmare turned away from her, but she still caught a glimpse of a scowl. "Such would be useful, but then what of ponies who are already out?"

"Get them to go home and stay inside," she answered. "Or- or maybe address them! That might help if you talk to them."

"It did not help before," Nightmare retorted.

Twilight winced and turned her head to the left. "It's worth a try?" she squeaked out.

Nightmare glanced back at her. "Perhaps," was all that she said, and then after a moment of contemplation, "But given the current circumstances, it could be unwise to have so many ponies in one area."

Twilight winced. 'That... probably would end badly.' She inhaled and then mumbled, "Look, I don't know what to do here..."

Nightmare inhaled, then exhaled. Under her breath, "The feeling is mutual."

Twilight squinted at Nightmare. "What does that mean?" she huffed.

Nightmare turned to face her. "It means that I do not have experience in situations like this," was her curt response.

She flinched and her right hind hoof stepped back. "I-I'm sor-"

Nightmare closed her eyes and shook her head. "We do not have time for apologies; you are forgiven," was rushed out. And more cautiously, "And I... apologize for snapping at you." Then Nightmare opened her eyes. "We are wasting time... perhaps we will know how best to act when we see the extent of what is happening. Come."

With that, Nightmare strode forward at a brisk trot. An intent, meticulous trot. Her gait was one that displayed power and told anypony who looked at her, 'Stay out of my way.'

Twilight nearly had to gallop to keep up with Nightmare Moon. Unlike at Sweet Apple Acres, moving now left her feeling anxious. It wasn't a way for her to use that energy, instead, it only made the energy swirl around inside of her chest and stomach. She knew that the movement would eventually bring her into situations she didn't want to be in: Nightmare confronting ponies who were, most likely, doing stupid things as a herd. Ponies who were, possibly, actively disobeying and spiting Nightmare Moon.

Ponies who would, quite assuredly, experience Nightmare's wrath first-hoof.

'Better them than me,' whispered in her mind.

But she still had to do what she could. Advise Nightmare Moon, and perhaps she would be able to intervene and prevent anything worse from happening. Princess Celestia would never forgive her if she let Nightmare Moon hurt ponies without trying to stop her. The thought weighed down on her mind.

"What about Cadance?" she voiced. And for some reason, it was enough to make Nightmare come to a complete stop, then turn her head to look at her. An odd expression of bewilderment crossed her teacher's expression, but she almost missed it from stumbling to a stop.

"Cadance?" Nightmare asked.

She nodded. "She'd have better advice for you than me... I mean she doesn't exactly have experience with this but she has experiences similar to this..."

"Cadance," Nightmare said again.

Twilight quizzically tilted her head. "Yes?" she asked. "Or have you already asked her? I, sorry-" she winced, then said, "sorry," again.

There was a pause before Nightmare spoke, and during that pause, Nightmare looked contemplative and agitated. "I have not."

And she felt certain she mishead what her teacher had said, yet she also knew that there was no reason for her to have misheard that: "You haven't asked her for advice..?"

"You are correct," Nightmare answered.

And it was Twilight's turn to be silent for a moment, then she asked, "Why?"

Nightmare shifted her weight, and for the briefest moment, looked away, but not before she saw a slight hint of bitterness crossing her teacher's expression. "I did not think of it."

"You didn't- what?" was all Twilight could voice.

Nightmare turned back to face her. "The thought of Cadance helping never crossed my mind."

"But this is exactly why you..!-" Twilight shifted her weight and her enthusiasm died for the next part, "-you know."

"Yes," was Nightmare's response. Much more hesitantly, her teacher said, "But I did not think of it..."

And she couldn't fathom that. The thought that Nightmare Moon, her teacher, an alicorn, somepony who was so intelligent and logical, had completely missed such an idea. "Why?" was all she could voice.

Nightmare inhaled. "I am but one pony, Twilight Sparkle. I can make mistakes. You know this because of how I reacted to you upon my return." The memory made her shuffle her hooves all closer together. "I am not perfect, I am not all-knowing," Nightmare chastised.

It went unsaid, but the implications fell into place in her mind. Nightmare Moon had defeated her sister, and that combined with Nightmare's admissions along with the fact that they were sisters meant that the same could be said of Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia wasn't perfect. Her ears drifted back slightly. She felt tired at the thought.

But then she already knew Princess Celestia wasn't perfect: Princess Celestia lied to her. Princess Celestia had to banish her own sister for a thousand years. Princess Celestia hadn't stopped Nightmare Moon when she returned. Princess Celestia, as evidence proved, could not have been perfect, nor had Princess Celestia ever been perfect, despite what she had believed.

"I cannot think of everything," Nightmare added.

The voice broke through the resignation Twilight felt, and as she refocused, she found her eyes staring at Nightmare's cyan chestplate. She nodded timidly.

"Twilight Sparkle?" Nightmare called.

Twilight blinked, then looked up to find Nightmare looking down at her.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Nightmare said.

And a part of her relished and cherished that praise. Perhaps it wasn't much, but the praise was still there, in the form of a thanks. She had pointed something out that her teacher had missed, and she felt a bit of pride. Any droop in her ears was forgotten as they perked back up. Although she didn't smile, she nearly did.

"Remain here and I will retrieve Cadance. I believe she will be of great use in this situation, however, I still wish for your assistance in dealing with this unrest." A pause, then her teacher added, "I will not be long."

She nodded. Nightmare teleported away.

And that left her there alone in the dead of night in an unfamiliar city. As the realization sank in, accompanied by knowing that in theory, the city was dangerous, she felt a jittery energy fill her body. She sucked her lip in between her teeth, then slowly rolled her teeth back and forth over her lip. Her eyes darted left and right, and she slowly swept her head back and forth.

There wasn't anypony else around from what she could see. Aside from the pegasi patrolling above, but that wasn't what she was worried about. No, for all she knew, now that her teacher was gone, that blanket of protection Nightmare gave her was gone too. Maybe Nightmare was still just a teleport away, still listening in. But Nightmare would still have to teleport back.

Somepony could have been stalking them, just waiting for a moment when she was alone for an opportunity to strike. She didn't see anypony lurking in the shadows. She didn't feel like she was being watched. And Nightmare hadn't said they were being followed.

Surely, it was a silly thought. But then it didn't stop her from being nervous. There wasn't anypony around who she knew. No mentor, no parents or brother or foalsitter, no Spike, no friends. No protection.

'You're overreacting,' she told herself. 'There's no reason to be afraid,' she told herself. 'Nightmare Moon will protect me if anything happens,' she knew.

The seconds felt like they lingered on, each one longer than the last. With each pulse of her heart, a wave of that jittery energy throbbed in her chest, rushing outward. Her ears swiveled about, trying to pick up any faint sounds in the silence that could have betrayed the approach of anypony, but there was nothing to be heard.

She saw the flash of light from a teleportation spell and heard the sharp crack. As soon as she heard that sound, she knew her mentor had returned; she felt a wave of relief wash over her body. She saw Cadance first, standing at Nightmare's left side, looking at Nightmare Moon. She smiled at Cadance, but Cadance didn't smile back. No, Cadance was focused on Nightmare Moon too much to put on a smile. It was enough to make her smile fade. Then she saw her teacher, who was looking at her rather than Cadance.

And almost dismissively, Nightmare faced Cadance and nearly growled, "You have your task," then looked back at her.

Cadance gave a quick, timid nod, then pulled away and took a step to the left. For a moment, Cadance looked at her and hesitated. For a moment, Cadance gave something reminescent of a smile. She knew it was supposed to be a smile, but it just wasn't a smile. It wasn't warm like Cadance's smiles were, it was a choked smile, a strained smile. A forced half-smile, half-grimace.

'Did I do something wrong?' was the first thought that came to mind, but it was so brief it was forgotten. Cadance glanced at Nightmare out of the corner of her eye, then walked over to her. She watched Cadance approach, then stop in front of her. When Cadance leaned down, she smiled, and as Cadance gave her a hug, she returned it.

Even if it felt like Nightmare Moon was impatiently watching them hug, she returned it. She knew that in her teacher's mind, there were more important things to do, and arguably, Nightmare Moon was right. The hug was wasting time, and in that wasted time, things could grow worse. But the hug was still something she welcomed, and she held onto Cadance as long as Cadance held onto her.

Eventually, Cadance broke the hug and pulled back. "Be careful, Twilight..."

"I will," Twilight said, then added, "and you be careful yourself!"

Cadance flashed a genuine smile and let out a soft giggle. "I'll be fine..." she trailed off and sighed. "I wish ponies weren't..." She looked away, and her gaze drifted off to the right, into the night sky. "I hope ponies aren't..." she whispered. A moment passed, then she shook her head. "I should probably hurry. The more ponies I can talk to, well..."

Twilight nodded, and then Cadance took off at a brisk trot. She turned her head to watch Cadance for a few seconds, then she heard her teacher's boots clicking against the pavement. She turned back and faced Nightmare.

"Shall we continue?" was her teacher's question.

Twilight nodded but asked, "What is Cadance doing?"

Nightmare turned, then took a step forward as she said, "We will talk as we walk." And then Nightmare strode forward intently once more as if she had never broken stride in the first place. Twilight had to gallop to keep up again, but she managed. "Cadance will be doing what we are doing: searching out the unrest and addressing it as she does so," was the explanation.

"No speeches or anything?" she asked.

"Perhaps she will do so, but I do not know," Nightmare answered. "How she chooses to address it is up to her, provided she does not make it worse."

And she knew Cadance wouldn't make it worse. It wouldn't be on purpose, and it wouldn't be an accident either; Cadance simply wouldn't make matters worse. Ponies liked her. It would be good for the city for Cadance to be here and help. Ponies would see her, and it would calm them down and reassure them.

Twilight looked left and right as they galloped on, but the only pony constantly there with her was Nightmare Moon. The only other ponies she saw were Royal Guards, and she only saw them in passing.

After a few more minutes of galloping and seeing nopony else save for Royal Guards patrolling the streets, she could convince herself that it was, just like before, Nightmare Moon overreacting. Perhaps there were isolated problems, but it wasn't as widespread as her teacher believed. Cadance wasn't even necessary; getting her had been a waste of time.

She could almost convince herself of that, right up until she heard the distant cacophony of ponies. Screams and shouts and yelling, all rolled into a distant, nerve-wracking roar. She couldn't hear any voices, only noise in the distance. She couldn't make out words, but knew the sources were ponies.

Twilight smelled the stench of smoke. It wasn't the almost pleasant smell of burning wood that she barely knew, no, it was a heavy, choking scent: materials burning that were not meant to be burned, materials burning that shouldn't have been burned. The streets were thick and heavy with the scent of smoke, and over the roofs of buildings, she could make out columns of smoke billowing into the night sky, blotting out the stars.

The columns of smoke were far between, but they were there: a dark blot on the otherwise beautiful night. As the choking scent of smoke grew stronger and the shouts protests of ponies neared, so too did the number of Royal Guards on the street increase. All of them walked with a quick gait that wasted no time. They didn't bother to acknowledge either her teacher or herself at best, and at worst, actively ignored them. But so too did Nightmare ignore the lack of recognition or acknowledgment; it would have wasted time.

She risked a glance at Nightmare's expression. Her lips were a hard line, and in her teacher's eyes, she saw anger. Behind the anger, she saw intellect, somepony trying to find the best way to correct a mistake, the best way to change course.

As the roaring crackle of fire made itself known, Nightmare's gait slowed to a quick walk, and she was able to keep up just by trotting. The smell of smoke plagued the air, lingering heavy and blanketing the streets. She fought back the urge to choke and gag on that putrid scent and mostly succeeded, but breathing it in made her feel sick. Her eyes watered from the sting carried by the smoke.

Her teacher wasn't phased by it in the slightest.

They walked out into an intersection, and that was when she saw the fire. It had to have been a building at one point in time, she knew, but now, it might as well have been a building-sized torch. It had either been an apartment or some kind of multi-story building. It might have had five stories at some point, but the building had collapsed in on itself and there was no way to tell. She only knew that it had been a building because it was in Manehattan.

The flames lanced into the air like spears or bolts of magic. Every pegasus Royal Guard in the vicinity was keeping a healthy distance from the inferno for safety's sake: there wasn't much they could do. Flying too close would have been progressively more difficult because of the smoke, flames, and rising hot air making flight dangerous at best. There were no clouds in the sky that she could spot, and the Royal Guard pegasi rarely had the training required to produce clouds to deal with a fire of that magnitude, to say nothing of most likely being spread too thin to help.

She felt the draft of air rushing past her coat as it was sucked up into the fire to fuel the flames even higher. She felt the searing heat of the burning building, drying her lips out, drying her eyes, and warming her chest enough to make her, futile as it was, step back away from the source.

And then she realized that Nightmare had stopped alongside her. Looking into the edge of Nightmare's eye, she saw an expression of near-fascination with the inferno. Yet beyond the fascination, she saw something that caught her entirely off-guard. Anger and reminiscence, both somehow twisted together and so thoroughly intertwined that Nightmare looked pained as if some unknowable memories had seized control of her mind, refusing to back down, forcing her to watch and hear as they played out before her in the light of the fire. And seeing and hearing those memories kicked Nightmare Moon harder than an earth pony ever could.

'Anguish,' whispered in her mind.

The reflection of the flames danced in Nightmare's eyes. In a way, it was almost mesmerizing. Watching that shimmering flicker, she could almost picture it in the sky as a star. Almost.

Nightmare exhaled, then turned to the right.

She stared at Nightmare for a moment longer, then swallowed. Only then did she turn to the right, and the sight made her clench her jaw as her stomach tightened. A line of Royal Guards crossed the width of the street near the next intersection. It was a mixture of earth ponies and unicorns, where the unicorns were doing their best to shield the entire line. In front of them, she could just barely see a mob of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. There wasn't any organization or order in the crowd, and the line of Royal Guards barely knew what to do in that situation.

And seeing the Royal Guards not knowing how to handle the situation? It made her legs tense. They were the Royal Guard, they were supposed to be able to handle this! They were tasked with protecting Princess Celestia, and now Nightmare Moon. Maybe this never would have happened under Princess Celestia, and the thought of it happening was simply silly, but to see them so incapable? It wouldn't have happened under Princess Celestia, but if it had, they would have been just as unprepared as they were now!

She was glad Nightmare Moon was there with her. She was glad that the batponies seemed to be more competent than the Royal Guard, even though that meant the Royal Guard was less capable. At the very least, Equestria wasn't unprotected. Her teacher, like Princess Celestia before her, would make sure Equestria was protected.

After all, it was in her teacher's best interest that Equestria was protected.

Running her eyes over the line of Royal Guards again, she found that mixed in with them were ponies wearing dark blue, if not black, uniforms and caps. They were ponies who actually had a better idea of what they were doing and who were more familiar with the city.

The mob hadn't noticed them yet. She couldn't comprehend how their arrival went unnoticed, but it did. Were they that intent on the guards trying to stop them that they did not notice the Queen and her student?

She flinched when she finally heard and realized what the ponies were shouting: demanding the return of Princess Celestia, insulting Nightmare Moon, raging against the eternal night, and demanding that the guards do something about Nightmare Moon and restore Princess Celestia. They demanded the return of the sun, they demanded a return to normalcy. And that was just the tip of it all. There were ponies who just screamed and yelled at the top of their lungs for no apparent reason, save for that other ponies were doing the same. There were ponies who cried out that Princess Celestia had failed them. There were ponies who cried out that the Royal Guard had failed Princess Celestia, that the Royal Guard had failed them. There were ponies who swore and cursed, and ponies who shouted out calls to battle, calls to attack the Royal Guard, calls to overthrow Nightmare Moon, and calls for revolution, anarchy, or destruction. Ponies shouting out obscenities that foals shouldn't have heard.

Ponies weren't supposed to be like that. Naturally, ponies weren't like that. Ponies were kind and friendly. Peace-loving. It wasn't in their nature.

Yet these ponies were insane. They were animalistic, acting on instinct. Acting out of fear and uncertainty.

It scared her. It terrified her. The mob of ponies was the culmination of nearly everything that could go wrong when fear overrode logic and reason, the culmination of what fear could do to ponies.

It was a monument to what Nightmare Moon had brought; a glimpse of what could happen to Equestria without harmony and order.

Unicorns from the mob found whatever they could and launched it at the guards. Earth ponies tried to rush in, only to retreat when they realized they were alone in trying to push the line of Royal Guards. Pegasi hovered above the crowd only to swoop down to find something to throw at the line of guards.

She stepped back, and her teacher took a step forward. "Remain here," was her teacher's growled order.

Twilight had no objections to that order. Approaching the line of Royal Guards would have been dangerous as any objects that missed the guards and their shields flew behind them and crashed into the street, sending debris rolling closer to the intersection.

Nightmare strode on past her with a walk that wasn't going to stop for anything. That walk wasn't directed at her, but it didn't stop her from feeling cold, gripping fear. Ice washed over her body, and the heat of the raging inferno was forgotten. Fear locked her legs in place.

Nightmare Moon lit her horn. It only took a few more steps before the shouting went silent, like a wave washing over the crowd. And she watched and saw, even if it was just barely for the line of guards and their shields, as that waved washed over the crowd. It wasn't fear. It was terror. She could feel the silence it brought, and the silence was even more pronounced than what they had shouted. She could see the guards all going rigid. But the crowd? The crowd was even worse. Pegasi forgot how to fly, so they landed and backed up. Earth ponies kept their distance and tried to put other ponies in front of them. The glow from unicorns' horns went dark. The only sounds she could hear was the roaring crackle of the fire and the intent clicking of Nightmare's boots striking the road.

And she was certain dragons would have fled to avoid that approach.

Nightmare's wings shot out, then in one powerful motion, swooped down, launching her over the line of Guards. She took a step back, and how the guards didn't break the line eluded her. She saw the panic washing over the crowd. The crowd grew smaller. Ponies weren't running away. They were huddling together as if they thought it would somehow protect them.

Nightmare landed. She heard the click of her teacher's boots hitting the street over the roaring crackle of the fire, and Nightmare didn't break stride. One step forward, then stopping. Twilight silently stared at her teacher, watching as her head and muzzle drifted left, then right, sweeping over the crowd in a calculated, meticulous motion. It was a controlled motion, there was no haste or panic in Nightmare's action. She was in control, and nopony would ever deny that.

She saw Nightmare's chest expand, then deflate. "Disperse and return to your homes," was her intent order, spoken with authority, power, and regality. Princess Celestia never would have spoken with the same authority and power than her teacher demanded, yet Nightmare somehow spoke with even more control than Princess Celestia. The crowd was frozen at her words, and they might as well have been statues. "And I will pretend," Nightmare growled, "that I never saw this."

She was grateful that she wasn't in that crowd. She was grateful that voice, that threat, wasn't directed at her. Nightmare's head swept left and then back right again in another calculated sweep. And then Nightmare spoke again, and as she spoke, she saw individual ponies seized with panic, like a predator was staring at them and only them, and they were alone, "Will you continue to act like foals? Or will you prove that you're better than this? My dear sister, I am sure, would be so very proud of how you're acting, of how you're treating her sister."

And to her amazement, she actually saw ponies' ears drift back. From what she could see of the ponies at the front of the crowd, a few seconds passed before they looked away from Nightmare Moon. Even her own ears drifted back. But not every ear drifted back, not everypony in the crowd felt the shame that she felt. She couldn't see how they looked, but she could almost feel and picture it, the ponies who wouldn't be dissuaded by Nightmare's mocking, the ponies who would still continue to cause problems.

"Go home," Nightmare told them, and with that, she turned around.

And then she saw the blue glow of a single horn from the crowd, followed by a brick being levitated up into the air in that same blue aura, which finished with it being launched at her teacher. Somepony, who she assumed to be responsable, screamed out against Nightmare as the brick flew towards the alicorn. The mare screamed out obscenities and cursed Nightmare and her eternal night.

The situation might have been okay. It might have been diffused by what Nightmare had said. Nightmare might have left after diffusing the situation and the crowd dispersed. And both of them might have forgotten about it as they moved on to the next problem. The crowd might have departed to go back to their homes without any objections.

It might have been, up until that happened.

Nightmare didn't even turn around. Twilight stared at her teacher, and her teacher stared back at her, looking at her with an expression that all but outright said, 'Do you see what I have been saying? The ponies will never love me!' And there was so much bitterness in that expression. So much disappointment, and so much resentment. Yet the anger was controlled. She looked away. She still saw that impenetrable dark blue shield flash to life around Nightmare, then as she stared at the street, she heard the brick thunk against the shield before thudding onto the street.

And as if it clicked, she realized what had happened. Somepony had actually assaulted Nightmare Moon. Somepony had made the same mistake that she had. Somepony had just signed their own death warrant. Her chest locked up, her legs froze. Ice barely began to describe how cold she felt. Everything was distant. The heat of the fire felt like a biting cold as if it had somehow turned into a blizzard that would never stop until every last degree of warmth had been sucked out of the entirety of Equestria.

She heard the click of Nightmare's hoof. She assumed Nightmare was turning around. She heard the crowd scatter in panic. Hooves so frantically scraping on the pavement, scattering like a herd of some prey animals when a predator burst out from the bushes to hunt them down to devour.

Somehow, she managed to look up. All she saw that remained of the crowd were tails whipping in the air as they all dispersed in utter terror. Nopony remained. No unicorns remained, either. Whoever launched the brick had escaped. The line of guards tentatively relaxed, unsure if something worse would now happen, so they kept alert. Their bodies remained tensed as they gradually broke the line. They were ready to flee just like the crowd if Nightmare did anything.

One of the guards managed to find something that resembled courage or perhaps stupidity and shuffled over to Nightmare Moon, who was watching the crowd flee. "Do you wish us to track her down, Queen Nightmare Moon?"

"No," was hissed through clenched teeth. Nightmare tilted her head back towards the guard and continued, "Unless she causes problems again, ignore her. It is not worth tracking down one such pony when this chaos is unfolding."

The guard quickly nodded and retreated even more hastily.

Nightmare turned her head back, and then she couldn't see her expression. Nightmare just looked away from her, staring down the street, or perhaps looking around without moving her head. She wanted to move but she was still paralyzed in fear.

The guards gathered into a group, then left. Once the sound of their hooves was drowned out by the crackling of the fire, Nightmare turned around and walked back to her, walking at such a casual pace that made her even more nervous. How could Nightmare Moon be casual after that? It had to be a lie.

And Nightmare looked at her, practically staring at her, except her eyes drifted left and right, all over her body. She craned her head up as Nightmare stopped and stood in front of her. For a few seconds, both of them were silent as they stared at each other. Nightmare turned to the right and looked at the inferno.

She couldn't look away from her teacher.

"They will be able to take care of that," Nightmare asked, turning her head back to face her before adding, "correct?"

She managed to look away from Nightmare. Lances of fire still struck out at the sky, and the flames were threatening to engulf nearby buildings, yet still hadn't. Guards and fireponies, but mostly fireponies, were trying to fight it and pegasi were coordinating or doing whatever it was they were doing, which excluded making clouds, as flying above that inferno was something only somepony as insane as Rainbow Dash would do.

She found her voice and said, "They should be able to... if not then it should burn itself out..."

"Good," Nightmare acknowledged.

And for a few more seconds, nothing was said as they watched the fire burn while ponies scurried about to fight it. To her, it felt like both of them actively ignored what had transpired, and it brought a question to her mind, 'Did she hold back because I'm here?'

The uncertainty returned. Was she the only reason things hadn't gone worse? If she hadn't been present, would her teacher have snapped? Had Nightmare held herself in check solely because she was there? Was that unicorn still alive because of her? Were the ponies in the crowd still alive only because she had been there?

The questions twisted in her gut. She felt queasy.

It wouldn't have been a problem if Cadance had been there with them. She hoped Cadance was safe, she hoped Cadance wasn't having to deal with what she had just seen. She hoped Cadance was managing to calm ponies down.

But she still felt the irrational fear that Cadance wasn't managing to help matters.

Nightmare's silken feather brush along the length of her back. She closed her eyes. She felt her lips lift up into a smile. The knot in her gut flew away. One stroke and the feather left. She opened her eyes and watched her teacher, who watched her right back.

Her legs didn't tremble, she didn't feel like she was walking on eggshells, or that her teacher was going to just snap. She felt calm, though still uneasy.

"I am sure this was not the only such crowd," Nightmare said, "and we should not linger."

She nodded. Nightmare turned around, then looked left and right. "Perhaps it would be better to see things from the air," Nightmare mused. Her teacher looked back at her and said, "We would have a better idea of what we are dealing with from above."

She nodded, "Yes," then stopped before realizing what Nightmare said: "Wait, we?"

Nightmare inclined her head. "Yes," was her flat response. "We, as in both of us-"

"I'm not a pegasus! I can't fly!" Twilight protested.

Nightmare tilted her head and looked at her as if she was oblivious to some very important detail, then as if to emphasize that detail, spread her wings. "Then how expedient it is that I can," was sarcastically delivered.

She winced and turned away from her teacher. "Right, sorry, I just... I-I wasn't... expecting that," she stuttered out.

Looking back at Nightmare, she said, "Princess C-" wincing before correcting, "your sister wouldn't have, um, done this."

"I am aware of that," Nightmare said. Then, she turned to face away from her and sat down with her back to her. "But it does not matter. This is most efficient, and I do not feel comfortable leaving you here while I search, and your help would be beneficial in this matter."

And she couldn't believe that this was happening. She could believe that Nightmare Moon was sitting down, waiting for her to climb onto her back. She couldn't believe it. Sure, ponies sometimes rode on the backs of their pegasi friends or pegasi they had paid, but this was entirely different! Nightmare Moon wasn't a pegasus, she was an alicorn. Nightmare Moon was Queen. And she was just a filly. Nightmare Moon had better things to do than carry her around, things that were less demeaning for her. Nightmare Moon could have had one of the Royal Guard pegasi flying around carry her, but no. Nightmare Moon herself was there, sitting down so that she could climb into place on her back.

It was intimidating, to say nothing of the fact that she'd be in physical contact with her teacher, and that her life would be so very dependent on Nightmare's wings.

"Come," Nightmare called, her mane moving to the right so it would not impede her. "I will not drop you if that is your concern."

Somehow, she managed to walk over and stop behind Nightmare Moon. She stared at the alicorn's back. Her black coat was so intimidating, she was afraid that those hairs weren't actually fur, but needles that would stab her if she touched them. They were smoothed back like metal, and it convinced her that this would be the single most unpleasant experience of her life.

And yet at the same time, she was terrified that, despite being metal, Nightmare would be so fragile that she would hurt her teacher, and that in turn would be the last accident that happened. Reason couldn't fix her concerns: even if she knew that Nightmare Moon was the furthest thing from fragile, she couldn't help but see her back as a thin pane of glass that, if so much as a quill fell on it, would shatter and send her plummeting to her death.

That was if it wasn't throwing her to her death.

Somehow, she managed to reach out with a hoof and touch Nightmare's back.

Her coat was so incredibly soft and rich, silken to the point that the most expensive silk, enchanted with the most powerful magic, would never compare. She felt like she could melt into that rich softness. It was just like Princess Celestia's coat, and if she closed her eyes, she could imagine that she was touching Princess Celestia and her white coat instead of Nightmare Moon's black coat. She didn't close her eyes though. She knew it was Nightmare Moon.

And finally, feeling how soft Nightmare's coat was, the memory of Nightmare hugging her came back to mind. She felt calmer, yet still so intimidated by the prospect of riding on Nightmare's back while she flew.

She bit her lip and managed to wrap her forelegs around Nightmare's withers. Compared to Nightmare's coat, that chestplate she never took off was painful to touch. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't comfortable. It felt like an uncrossable chasm, like something somehow permanently separating them. She slid her abdomen into place against Nightmare's back, then wrapped her hind legs around her teacher's underbody. She held on, and Nightmare stood up; her weight might as well have been the weight of the air for Nightmare Moon.

And knowing and feeling Nightmare supporting her body was even more intimidating than the idea of Nightmare carrying her. The thought was one thing and experiencing it was entirely different. It was actually happening, Nightmare was carrying her. She felt so small, smaller than she had felt when she was a filly and just getting used to Princess Celestia.

Nightmare stretched her wings out, then left the ground.

She stared down and watched as the pavement shrank away. She felt the wind ripple through her mane and tail, and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach like her stomach was dropping out beneath her or like she had left it below. There was no ground to support her, and what ground there was, was too far away for her to safely land. If she fell, if Nightmare dropped her, if Nightmare let her fall, she wouldn't survive.

She held onto the alicorn with as much strength as she could manage. Her muscles hurt. Nightmare surely knew, but for some reason she said nothing.

They didn't fly that high. just high enough to avoid the roofs of buildings. Her heart still pounded in her chest, thumping against Nightmare's back. If Nightmare didn't already know how little she trusted her, then her teacher would easily tell from her grip and heartbeat.

"I will not let you fall," Nightmare called back to her.

She nodded. She believed her teacher, but she still held onto Nightmare for her life. Sure, Nightmare wouldn't throw her. Sure, Nightmare wouldn't let her fall. Sure, Nightmare could catch her with magic. But that didn't mean she wanted to experience what falling was like from that high up, even for a second!

Nightmare flew above the streets, and both of them surveyed the chaos below. The large crowds of ponies were isolated, and the chaos was sporadic. Some parts of the city were entirely untouched, other parts were just gigantic messes of ponies and Royal Guards and debris. Never once did Nightmare stray anywhere near the lances of fire shooting up into the air, never once did she drift near the columns of thick, choking smoke.

And because her muscles ached, she managed to lessen her grip on Nightmare. She found her heart wasn't hammering in her chest, trying to beat its way out so it could get back to the ground. And if it wasn't for everything happening below, then maybe, just maybe, she could have enjoyed it. After all, she had only flown on Cadance's back before, and that had been a rare, special treat that always made her laugh and smile.

If she ignored the heavy scent of smoke in the air and clinging to their coats, if she ignored the raging infernos, and if she ignored everything that was happening below, it was nice.

Nightmare shook her head. "I am quite... perhaps bewildered is the right term. The unrest is..." Another shake of her head, accompanied by a groan. "It makes no sense," she muttered. "The city is..." A stronger shake of her head accompanied by an exasperated sigh. "The pattern makes no sense. I would expect it to be more widespread. Not pockets of unrest, but regions."

Twilight pondered it but had no answer for her teacher.

She barely heard Nightmare mutter, "So much of this doesn't make sense..."

"The unrest?" she asked.

Nightmare turned her head and looked back at her. There was hesitance in her expression like she wasn't sure if she should say anything. Reluctantly, her teacher answered, "Many things I have found since my return do not make sense... and it is... I do not understand it."

She remembered Nightmare mentioning something like that before, and so she gave a slow nod.

Nightmare studied her for a moment longer, then went back to scanning the streets below them. "It is... so different from what I expected."

"What did you expect?" she asked.

For a few seconds, there was just the sound of Nightmare's wings and the wind. "Not this," was Nightmare's delayed answer. "Do you have any suggestions on how to best address this unrest? Addressing each crowd would take time, although this is what Cadance is successfully doing, and then there is not necessarily an assurance that they will not depart and reform given that it is us. Addressing the whole city as you suggested, given its current state, is most likely an unwise decision."

"And there aren't enough Royal Guards to go around..?" she asked.

"I do not believe there are enough to restore order if it came down to it. If the unrest was more widespread than it is, it would likely escalate out of control even further," Nightmare answered.

Twilight shifted her weight on Nightmare's back, but very timidly. Falling would have been bad, plus she didn't want to annoy the pony carrying her. "Um... this might be a stupid question," she admitted, "but could you have some batponies come help?"

"There are some on their way, but it will take time for them to arrive. And in truth I am concerned they would make matters worse," Nightmare answered, then turned back to face her. "Ponies are not familiar with them, and seeing them show up to restore order could look bad, which could make matters far worse."

She grimaced. "Right..." she muttered. Nothing came to mind. No ideas, no grand solutions. Princess Celestia would know exactly what to do. Princess Celestia would probably give everypony some comforting words, and that'd be the end of the matter. But Princess Celestia wasn't here, and Nightmare Moon wouldn't have the same effect. She let out a sigh and whispered, "I don't know."

"Then we shall have to work this out as we go," Nightmare said.

She thought about it, then asked, "Isn't that more or less what we're already doing?"

"Yes," was Nightmare's nearly-instant answer.

"So... you're just going to... keep addressing crowds as needed..?" she ventured.

"It is not something I would prefer to do," Nightmare answered, "but I do not have many options available right now. If there were more guards present, then I could enforce a curfew or match the unrest with enough of a show of force to stop it from spreading while not resorting to using force that could make things worse. I can only be in one place at a time so this may prove somewhat difficult to control, however, Cadance does appear to be easing the unrest. At least what groups she has encountered."

Twilight shifted her weight again on Nightmare's back. "You'd rather not use force..?"

Nightmare looked back at her and said, "There is a time and place for force. If I have no choice then I will use force to stop this, but I am not so naive as to think that I can solve every problem with force. It is the same way with fear. Ponies need to know that unrest will not be tolerated, but I cannot act so forcefully as to cause further harm."

Nightmare continued to watch her, and she gave a slow nod. Almost reluctantly, her teacher looked away from her and went back to scanning the streets below. "If excessive force would benefit me in the long run, then yes, I would use that, but I know that excessive force can only work so long before problems become worse. I will not have my rule weakened by instability caused by excessive force."

She looked right down at Nightmare's coat, and her eyes nestled in between her teacher's shoulders. "You'll do whatever benefits you, whatever is in your best interest..." she murmured.

For the briefest moment, Nightmare's eyes darted back to her. "Yes," was said, and then her teacher's eyes darted back away.

'If it's in your best interest...' whispered in her mind, and she shivered. Perhaps she could trust her teacher, but then there would always be the risk that it would be in her teacher's best interest to abuse that trust, take advantage of her, or betray her.

Twilight kept quiet, and likewise, Nightmare said nothing more as they continued their flight.

Eventually, she forgot about the chaos below- at least as best she could with the distant roar of ponies screaming and shouting, the raging fires and billowing smoke, and the scent of that smoke in the air. She almost managed to relax, but she was still timid, so entirely aware of Nightmare carrying her. But Nightmare hadn't dropped her, Nightmare hadn't let her fall, Nightmare hadn't thrown her. Nightmare had been careful, giving her no reason to hold on so tight.

And it was nice to fly with her, at least as nice as it could be. The circumstances were still lingering in the back of her mind, poisoning it, but if it hadn't been for those circumstances, she wouldn't have had any complaints. She knew that the only reason Nightmare was carrying her was because of the circumstances, and a part of her regretted that. If she could get over her timidness and unease about riding on Nightmare's back, along with who Nightmare Moon was, then she would have liked to do this again, without the constant knowledge of the chaos below ruining it all.

But it was wishful thinking. It was silly; Nightmare Moon would never agree to something like that unless circumstances demanded it. And there was no way she could, let alone would, ask that. She was just a filly, and of course, Nightmare Moon was Queen. And Nightmare Moon had better things to do. Even if Nightmare Moon was her teacher, there was no reason for her to agree.

And then there was the fact that it was Nightmare Moon.

"Two ponies just went into... I believe the term is an alley?" Nightmare half-asked. "I am going to land."

She blinked and refocused on the circumstances instead of her thoughts. Nightmare's head was tilted left, back towards her, and her gaze was on her. "Um, okay?" she asked. There was a moment of silence as her teacher banked to the left, and out of instinct, she gripped the alicorn tighter so she wouldn't fall. "It's just two ponies though? Shouldn't we be... focused on larger crowds?"

"I would agree," Nightmare said with a nod, "however they seem to be painting a wall with something I'd very much rather not have painted."

And without looking, 'Celestia's cutie mark...' came to mind, and she clenched her jaw.

And as if to test her, Nightmare asked, "This will not do now, will it?"

She couldn't answer that. To agree would be to betray Princess Celestia even more. To disagree, she could not; the only acceptable answer was agreement. She turned her head to the right. It wasn't like it mattered at this point. Her ears folded back and she barely managed to whisper out, "Of course..." But even she heard just how disheartened her own voice was.

But it wasn't like it mattered, not now. Princess Celestia wasn't coming back. She was resigned to that fact.

She wanted to cry. Maybe it was the smoke, but she doubted that was why.

She felt Nightmare land and heard the click of her hooves striking the pavement. Her teacher took a few steps forward as she landed, and the steps felt almost like a continuation of the flight. There was a certain grace to those steps that she didn't understand. Then Nightmare sat down on her haunches. She let go of Nightmare's back and slid off, then stood up.

She hadn't noticed it before, but now that her underbody wasn't on top of Nightmare's back, the air felt so very cold in comparison. She missed Nightmare's warmth. Ears still folded back, she timidly walked to the right and came to stand beside Nightmare as her teacher stood up.

And they stood there silently for a time, listening. And she heard the hushed, conspiratorial whispers of ponies plotting and sowing rebellion, ponies who were being so brave and so very, incredibly stupid.

It was, from what she could hear, a stallion and a mare. They were young, of course, but they were still older than her. The whispers were quick, no more than what had to be said. She looked around and saw no guards nearby; it was a section of the city that, aside from the two ponies speaking in hushed whispers, was free from the panic that fueled mobs elsewhere. Ponies stayed inside. Perhaps out of fear of the eternal night, or perhaps they were smart and knew what was happening so they choose to stay inside to avoid being caught in the unrest.

And those two ponies continued whispering to one another, occasionally broken by the rushing, airy sound of something spraying. If she had to guess, going by what Nightmare had said, it was paint that they were spraying. And the two ponies whispered more than enough evidence against themselves that Nightmare would have reason to act.

She wasn't sure how they hadn't heard them land. They both listened, trying to stay alert for guards. Neither of them realized just how close Nightmare Moon was.

And Nightmare crept forward. It was a slow, silent step. Her metal boots didn't make a single sound as they touched down on the pavement, it might as well have been that Nightmare's boots were padded with feathers. There was no magic involved, only Nightmare's own skill that kept her approach silent.

It was a predator stalking her prey.

She hadn't noticed Nightmare moving at first, how silent it had been. But when she noticed, she lifted a hoof up to step forward, only for Nightmare to extend a wing as if to say, 'Don't.' So she didn't step forward. She held herself still, keeping her forehoof lifted in place. She didn't set her hoof down, out of fear of making a sound. She held her breath, and Nightmare crept past her, walking closer and closer to the alley.

Her heartbeat felt slow, and the seconds seem to stretch on and on, each one feeling longer than the last. Each time Nightmare's hoof touched the pavement, she expected a click, she expected a scream of some kind, either fear or rage. But each step was still so silent as before.

'The batponies are just as stealthy as this...' came to mind as she watched. If not entirely as stealthy as Nightmare could be, then very close.

She couldn't look away. Nightmare's head passed the edge of the brick building, and the whispering went silent. Even without seeing them, she could almost feel their fear, how their hearts would suddenly feel so big and so small at the same time, how their guts would twist, how their stomachs would suddenly feel a jittery energy that wouldn't go away. How they would feel that predatory gaze of her teacher, how it would paralyze them.

How they wouldn't be able to escape their fate.

"I do hope," Nightmare called out, taking another silent step forward, then turning so her body faced into the alley. She somehow made the mistake of glancing at her teacher's eyes, and she found an intent gaze, one presumably directed at the two ponies inside. "That this is meant to defame my sister," her teacher finished.

And she felt a shiver go down her spine, accompanied by feeling a coldness take a hold of her body, as Nightmare continued, "Because if it is not, I will be quite displeased."

And both ponies were silent. They had no answer, but then how could they have an answer? They would be paralyzed in fear, and it was just the two of them. There was no crowd for them to hide in, no crowd to give then anonymity. No crowd to empower them.

Or maybe they were resolute in their defiance, refusing to answer, refusing to back down. She couldn't picture that, though. How could anything defy Nightmare Moon and survive?

She felt the cold of the pavement against her formerly lifted forehoof. She glanced down and found her hooves carrying her forward without her permission. And her heart pounded in her chest, banging against her ribs in an attempt to break out of her body to escape. But it was trapped, just like the two ponies in the alley.

Her hooves carrier her to Nightmare's side. She turned and saw the two ponies: a mare and stallion, just barely. Neither could be more than five years older than her, and that would have been pushing it. Both unicorns with unlit horns. The stallion had a dark-colored coat. Perhaps blue of some kind but in the shadow of the buildings, she couldn't tell, and likewise, his mane and tail were both dark colors, perhaps black or dark gray. The mare had a pink coat and her mane and tail were light yellows with darker highlights mixed in. Both ponies were wide-eyed, and although they surely saw her standing beside Nightmare, both were staring only at Nightmare Moon.

A spray can of paint laid on its side on the ground, with yellowish paint dripping from the nozzle. She didn't even have to turn left to see their work: taking up the bulk of the wall, it was a mural of Princess Celestia's cutie mark. It couldn't be mistaken for anything else. And it was so expertly painted, it didn't look like spray paint had been used, but that a professional had meticulously gone over the wall with a brush, stroke by stroke. The paint was applied so smoothly that she was shocked it had been painted onto a wall instead of canvas.

It was something that should have been in a museum, not on the street, not in an alleyway.

And the two unicorns responsible for it had been caught red-hoofed. They had nowhere to run, as the alleyway was blocked off by a wall. Not that running would have helped them any. And there was no way either of them could have been capable of teleporting. No, that was too complicated and powerful a spell for just about everypony: she would have recognized them. Probably, anyway.

Neither said anything in their defense, even as Nightmare waited. Then Nightmare lit her horn, and her dark blue magic enveloped both unicorns. She saw the terror that washed over them as that magic took a hold of them. It was a primal terror that couldn't be fought off, couldn't be resisted. A terror that somehow existed before time itself, a terror that was ingrained into ponies by their very nature.

And Nightmare cut their magic off, just as it had been with her and Rarity: they couldn't fight back even if they somehow could manage to overcome that need to run away. Then, as if to mock them, their hooves were bound with summoned magical bindings. The mare squeaked, the stallion grunted, and both fell onto their sides, with the stallion's weight landing on the mare's side.

Nightmare inhaled, then calmly exhaled.

"D-don't hurt us!" the mare finally bellowed into the night, nearly shrieking.

"I will consider it," was Nightmare's short response. And with that, Nightmare turned to face her, then extended a wing out and motioned for her to walk back to the right.

So she hastily trotted out of sight from the two bound ponies, and galloped until she was at the entrance to the building immediately to the right of the alley. She heard Nightmare's clicking hoofsteps following her, and she turned around as Nightmare approached.

Then Nightmare stopped in front of her and asked, "What shall I do to them?"

The question took her by surprise. It wasn't a question she had expected. She had expected Nightmare to state what would happen to them, and that would be it. Their guilt would have been found by Nightmare Moon, their verdict would be delivered by Nightmare Moon, and then the execution would have been at Nightmare Moon's hooves.

And the way it was asked: no malice, but rather, genuine curiosity. It wasn't asked out of anger, it wasn't demanded of her. It wasn't a tone that screamed, 'Choose or I will kill them.' No, it was the tone of one who wanted to choose carefully, one who knew that slipping up would spell disaster, and one who wanted another opinion.

It made her heart leap into her throat, nearly choking her, and she felt so much bubbling energy racing through her chest, infinitely more than she could picture Pinkie Pie having. It was energy that made her need to gallop away, energy that made her need to release it somehow.

Then, Nightmare extended her wing and touched one of those divine feathers against her shoulder. The touch, the feeling of that feather, it worked against the panic consuming her mind: the bubbling, roaring energy in her chest deflated. The feather stroked back along her side, and she shivered.

Calmness overtook her, and she felt tired.

She inhaled, then exhaled. Nightmare folded her wing to her side and said, "I cannot tolerate such dissent. If I do not act, then this will undermine my rule; but likewise, if I am too harsh, they could become martyrs and spark even greater unrest."

"H-have they actually committed a crime?" she voiced, then bit her tongue when she realized what she said.

Nightmare stared at her, and that gaze felt so intent, as if her misspeaking had been challenging the Empress's authority. Nightmare Moon's word was law, and her misspeaking had challenged, if not undermined it.

She managed not to step back out of fear.

Nightmare slowly took in a deep breath, then exhaled and said, "Vandalism." And it was spat so bitterly because it was vandalism, yet so much more than just vandalism. "However given the circumstances, this could also be taken as an act of treason or a call to rebellion. I have not called a curfew, so I cannot punish them for violating that without causing uncertainty."

Nightmare closed her eyes and shook her head. "The punishment for vandalism is hardly punishment. The punishment for treason or inciting rebellion is far more severe." Her teacher opened her eyes. "I am inclined to lean towards the later. I will not tolerate this insult. To not act would be foalish, as it would invite questions of my rule and encourage dissent."

There was a pause, and Nightmare grimaced before begrudgingly muttering, "Yet I also recognize that I could very easily turn them into martyrs, and that is assuredly not in my best interest."

Another pause and Nightmare's eyes jumped back and forth a few times. She just barely made out Nightmare mumbling, "A thousand years ago I would have thrown them in the dungeon or killed them and been done with it." Nightmare's eyes jumped back onto hers and her teacher inhaled.

Without thinking about it, under her breath Twilight muttered, "Couldn't you just make them disappear?" And when she realized what she had said, she cringed, knowing she might have just been directly responsible for the deaths of two ponies. Her chest twisted and tightened, and her gut knotted. And when word of that inevitably got out, Equestria would demand her blood. If by some miraculous means Princess Celestia returned after that, she had to hope that Nightmare Moon won again, and that Nightmare Moon wouldn't just betray her.

Nightmare looked at her with bewilderment. "You-"

"I-I mean-!" she tried to backpedal, but there really wasn't any reasonable argument she could make there about meaning something different.

"I will assume that was a slipup and that you are not suggesting I make them disappear," Nightmare stated carefully. Then, said even more carefully, "But that is an option."

And it made her shiver, because Nightmare Moon could very well do that same thing to her. "It-it would cause uncertainty," she rushed out, scrambling to sway the option out of Nightmare's reach.

"Would it?" Nightmare inquired genuinely. "Who would notice two such ponies going missing, and who would suspect I had anything to do with it? I could make them disappear, to a dungeon cell or..." she trailed off as a frown twisted onto her face. Something went over her teacher's expression, then Nightmare's frown grew more pronounced and disgusted. Hastily, Nightmare stated, "No. I could, but I will not. I will not do something so underhoofed."

Twilight felt relief wash over her like a tsunami, and it left her feeling tired. Her eyelids drifted closed as that blissful feeling consumed her. She wouldn't have blood on her hooves. She didn't know how much time passed before the anxiety slowly pulsed back to life inside her chest, but when it did, she opened her eyes. Nightmare Moon still stood there, waiting for her answer.

She wanted to ask if her teacher would make her disappear if she betrayed her. She didn't want to know the answer, and she wasn't sure if she knew it or not. She didn't voice the question.

"C-can you just... punish them for vandalism?" she squeaked out, wincing and shying back from Nightmare's inevitable rage at her suggestion.

But Nightmare didn't snap at her. Nightmare's eyes hardened, but there wasn't an immediate retort. "What is your reasoning?" she asked.

Twilight bit her lip and looked left, then right. There had to be some logical reason why they shouldn't be thrown in a dungeon, banished, or worse! And then it came to her, and she felt more confident. Her gaze locked on her mentor and she answered, "Because there's nopony else here! It's not inciting rebellion because there isn't anypony else here to be incited!" It had to work.

She held her breath and chewed on her lip.

She watched Nightmare ponder it, almost mulling it over in her mind, swishing the words around in her mouth. "You make a valid point, yet I could still charge them with treason-"

"And wouldn't that be almost the same as just making them disappear?" she questioned.

Nightmare was silent again, and Twilight watched her teacher ponder the thought once more and felt her anxiety rising.

She had questioned Nightmare Moon's authority.

"Very well, Twilight Sparkle," was said carefully, "I will adhere to the punishment for vandalism. Nothing more."

She nodded quickly.

Nightmare's expression softened. "Do not think that I am angry at you," she said.

"Y-you're not? B-but I questioned your authority!" she blabbered. And it was silly to think that she was making that argument. She knew it was; it wasn't in her best interest to say that, yet she did. It was foolish to say that she had questioned Nightmare's authority. It would have been better to pretend it hadn't have happened, and it would have been much better to never have said anything. She cringed.

Her teacher's expression neither softened nor hardened. "As I have said, I desire your advice. I may wish for greater punishment on them for this disrespect, but I do not wish to cause more uncertainty, and turning them into martyrs would be stupid." Nightmare Moon studied her for a moment, then added, "And do not think that I consider this questioning my authority. We need to be able to talk about this openly. It would not do for you to be afraid to bring up a point that I have not considered, out of fear that I will punish you for doing so. It would be like refusing to listen to ponies voice concerns about problems. Ignoring problems until they become worse. It would be unwise."

Twilight nodded, this time more slowly. Her teacher turned away from her, then walked back to the alley. She heard a crack of magic as Nightmare teleported something as she walked beside her teacher. When she saw into the alleyway, her teacher was writing out a scroll, and then Nightmare finished, rolled it up, and bound it with her seal before picking both unicorns up with her magic and carrying them out onto the street.

She watched her teacher set them down well within sight, and then her teacher left the scroll with them. She could only assume that it was orders for whatever guard would find them.

She could only hope that the orders were what she thought, and that Nightmare Moon did not leave an order to kill them.

Although maybe it was unlikely the guard would obey such orders.

'No... she wouldn't do that...' Twilight told herself. But she wasn't sure.

Nightmare walked back to her, then stopped and stared at the mural. Her teacher scowled, yet she found some semblance of reminiscence in her teacher's gaze as she stared at that mural.

And then the reminiscence was gone. Nightmare faced her and asked, "Shall we continue?"

She glanced aside at the two ponies. Neither were going anywhere until the Royal Guard showed up. And even then they might not be going anywhere. She looked back at Nightmare and nodded, wondering, 'Are we going to fly again?'

But to her disappointment, Nightmare said, "Then I shall teleport us to the next crowd."

Twilight didn't get a chance to say anything, not that she would have, before Nightmare's magic enveloped her. She tried to close her eyes but was too slow. There was the crack of the air and the flash of light that accompanied the teleportation spell followed up with the disorientating double image.

It still wasn't as bad as it had been. She was used to feeling Nightmare's magic. She was used to being teleported around, at least compared to what it had been like before.

Twilight's attention snapped to the distant rumble of ponies screaming and shouting before the double image faded. Fortunately, there was some distance between them and the crowd. It gave them time to prepare, though she wasn't sure she would have enough time to brace herself. When the double image faded, she swept her gaze around the pavement. Something had happened, but it had since passed, leaving behind debris strewn across the pavement. Looking back at Nightmare, her teacher held herself with regality as she slowly turned her head left and right, trying to decide on the best course of action while maintaining an appearance of control.

"Cadance is making more progress than us," Nightmare commented. With a glance aside at Twilight, she added, "The ponies seem to respect her," and both of them knew 'love her' went unsaid. Twilight gave a brief nod, then Nightmare looked ahead and inhaled. "Follow. Stay close. I do not want you to be injured." And with that, Nightmare strode forward once more, walking at a quick, intent stride. Just like before, it was a stride that said, 'Stay out of my way! I am in control.'

Never once did her teacher stumble as she strode forward. Nightmare neither looked down nor even glanced to check for debris, yet her hooves avoided the debris so skillfully that she felt certain Nightmare Moon was somehow staring at the pavement and memorizing the locations of the even the slightest cracks.

As Nightmare continued forward, she trotted alongside her teacher. She didn't have to gallop this time; Nightmare had slowed just enough that she could keep up with a brisk trot. She stayed close to her teacher's side and kept her head turned to the right, facing away from Nightmare, sweeping her eyes left and right so that nothing would jump them. Nightmare guarded her left side, but her right side was exposed.

Every so often as she searched, she glanced down at the pavement to make sure she wouldn't stumble on the various debris that scraped at her hooves. When she stumbled, she felt the faintest sense that Nightmare glanced at her: not the glance of predator pouncing because of her prey moving, but out of concern to make certain she was unharmed.

Twilight stayed alert but never saw any threats on her right. There were no ponies lurking in the shadows of alleyways, waiting to strike out at her or her teacher, nor any monsters waiting to jump out at them. There were no ponies there to cause trouble, but that was because they had already moved on. The buildings were shorter than the ones deeper inside the city, leaving her to believe they were near the edge. More importantly, she found her ears folding back from seeing the shattered windows and shards of glass strewn across the street. Shops and homes alike had their windows broken in and out, and the various goods that the shops had for sale were tossed out onto the street like garbage. Perhaps the shops had even been looted entirely, leaving nothing but an empty husk of their former glory.

And Twilight stared on, taking in the disaster and feeling disbelief. She couldn't have been seeing this! Her eyes had to have been lying to her! This was Equestria, the home of ponykind! Ponies were friendly, ponies were peace-loving! Ponies weren't supposed to act this way! Before the Summer Sun Celebration, she couldn't have pictured what now plagued her eyes. Princess Celestia wouldn't have let it happen. Ponies wouldn't have been driven to such actions by fear. They would have been confident and felt secure.

Now they didn't feel that confidence. Now they didn't feel that security.

Twilight knew how they felt all too well. She still wanted to scream, 'Why!? Why are ponies doing this?' Yet as much as she wanted to reject it, to pass it off as her eyes betraying her, she knew better. She couldn't refute what she saw, and so she was silent. It had happened. It was happening. It would continue to happen.

It felt like Equestria, her home, was falling apart under Nightmare Moon's rule. But then, it had, hadn't it? 'Princess Celestia is gone... she'll never be back,' whispered in her mind. Maybe Princess Celestia would see Equestria fall apart from the moon. Maybe she would have to see her own home fall apart under her teacher's rule. It certainly felt like that was what was happening. Her eyes dropped to the pavement and she swallowed.

Maybe the unrest was isolated, maybe it wouldn't spread to the point where every city was dealing with problems as widespread as this, but Equestria had already fallen apart. Ponies were terrified of their Queen. Ponies were terrified of that eternal night their Queen had brought. Ponies were terrified to go outside. Ponies were terrified to do even the most basic tasks now that it was always nighttime.

Ponyville was that way. She barely comprehended the difference because of how little she knew of Ponyville before Nightmare Moon's return, but she knew it was different. She felt it. When she was outside, there were barely any other ponies out and about. Her five friends also related the same to her: ponies avoided going outside as much as they could, out of fear. Maybe they were justified because monsters could attack, yet it was so irrational. But at the same time, she felt that same irrational fear everypony did.

She didn't know if Rarity would be able to stay in business: ponies weren't willing to buy dresses like they were before. Applejack was mostly okay, aside from it being more dangerous for her to do her job and it being more difficult because she was afraid something would happen to Applebloom if the filly helped with the orchard. Fluttershy lived near the Everfree forest, and although the timid pegasus was terrified of it all, she was doing okay. Fluttershy had her animal friends to keep her company and protect her. Maybe monsters wouldn't even bother Fluttershy, because she had a way with animals. Pinkie Pie was in a state not all that different from Rarity, although ponies still liked the sugary treats Sugarcube Corner sold. Even with the fear unfolding all over Equestria, Pinkie still somehow managed to cheer up everypony that visited.

And then there was Rainbow Dash. Working on weather in the dark was dangerous, which was why most storms occurred during the day. The pegasus said that the weather wasn't cooperating with them as well given the lack of sunlight and that everypony was scarred to the point that they made 'rookie' mistakes. Rainbow hadn't gone into great detail but did say that the problems shouldn't effect Ponyville too badly, although she wasn't sure how things were in Cloudsdale. However, knowing what she did, problems in Cloudsdale would inevitably affect all of Equestria.

Princess Celestia would have fixed it all in a heartbeat, but she couldn't. Not while she was imprisoned.

Knowing that Princess Celestia was gone and wouldn't return didn't hurt like normal. Princess Celestia wouldn't be back; she would never see her mentor again, but she couldn't let it weigh her down now. Now, she had to remain focused and alert. Nightmare Moon was counting on it. 'If I lose focus and make a mistake, I could get hurt.'

The screams of ponies rioting gradually grew louder. The scent of smoke still choked the streets, even with no pillars of flame stabbing the sky. She swiveled her ears around, listening to the yells and cries of ponies shouting into the night. She couldn't make out any individual words, but she didn't need to. In those screams and cries, she heard their fear, and that was enough to tell her just how bad things were. She couldn't tell how large the crowd was, but she didn't need to know. It was a given that the crowd would outnumber whatever Royal Guards and police were.

And either because of that or some other reason, she found her hooves slowing down. Her trot turned into a shuffle, and her hooves scraped against the pavement. Debris cut against her hoof as she hesitated to keep going. Her teacher strode on past her just long enough to be a few steps ahead, then Nightmare slowed to a crawl. She felt Nightmare's gaze slither over her, and in turn, looked up at her teacher.

"Is something wrong?" her teacher asked, coming to a stop.

Twilight looked away from her teacher and thought about how to answer it. Everything felt wrong, but she couldn't say that. She couldn't admit it, even if Nightmare was smart enough to piece it together, then take it as, 'You find me at fault for all of this.' She managed to shuffle along until she was at Nightmare's side, then her hooves refused to carry her any further ahead. "Ponies acting like this," she quietly answered, then turned to face her teacher.

And Nightmare Moon slowly nodded her head. "I will not lie to you, Twilight Sparkle," her teacher stated emphatically. "I have seen far worse than this." Nightmare turned away from her, then turned her head left and right, taking in the pointless destruction inflicted by the mobs before turning back to face her. "This? It is tame compared to what I have seen, but I do not like it either. I have seen what ponies are capable of, and I am thankful this is no worse than what it is."

Twilight felt her ears fold back against her mane. She looked down at the pavement and slowly nodded.

"This is hard on you," her teacher said. It was a statement of fact.

Twilight nodded again.

"Sister sheltered you, did she not?" Nightmare inquired.

Twilight didn't want to agree, but to shake her head or say no was a lie, and both of them knew that. She held her head a little lower.

She heard Nightmare turn to face her, then reluctantly looked up at her teacher without lifting her head back up. Nightmare studied her. "I will not coddle you and lie to you about this like my sister has," was stated. Then Nightmare hesitated. Her teacher's mouth parted, drifting open, but Nightmare was reluctant to add more. Finally, Nightmare overcame that hesitation and added, "But I will not force you into positions that you are not ready for. I do not wish for you to be harmed."

Twilight dropped her gaze down onto that cyan chestplate Nightmare always wore. She nodded without thinking about it.

"Sister left you unprepared for the realities of the world," Nightmare continued, then she could feel her teacher's agitation as she said, "and I do not like this."

When Nightmare went silent, something inside her told her that there was more that her teacher could say. Whatever part of her it was, it told her that something went unsaid. And what went unsaid was important, but she could only guess at what she knew went unspoken. Reluctantly, she lifted her gaze up once again and met her teacher's eyes. Neither malice nor ill intent. Nothing that spoke of wanting to harm or betray her. Nightmare Moon didn't lie to her. Her teacher just didn't tell her everything. Or maybe Nightmare Moon was lying to her, and she couldn't tell.

Which meant that she had to trust Nightmare Moon. She had to trust that Nightmare Moon was telling her the truth. She had to trust that Nightmare Moon would uphold her promises. She looked back down at that cyan chestplate.

She took a deep breath. 'Okay... can I trust you?' she wondered. 'I don't really have a choice...' muttered back, making her grimace.

Nightmare had asked for her trust.

A part of her asked, 'What's the point of this anyway? I don't have a choice.' Another part mused over knowing, 'Princess Celestia lied to me. I know she lied to me. Maybe it was to keep me safe, but she lied! I don't know if Nightmare Moon lied to me about anything.'

Her true mentor had lied to her, and yet she felt like Nightmare Moon was being honest with her. Maybe Nightmare wouldn't tell her everything, but Nightmare wouldn't lie to her.

She felt a familiar, deep-seated unease in her core.

Nightmare was waiting on her. Her gaze jumped back up meet her teacher's gaze. Nightmare stood there before her, willing to wait on her. Nightmare Moon wasn't agitated, wasn't pacing back and forth, wasn't fretting over the unrest that grew while they delayed. Instead, her teacher stood there, risking more damage to Manehattan, while Twilight wrestled with her conflicting thoughts.

Twilight felt her grimace grow more pronounced on her lips. She slid her tongue over her dry lips and recoiled as she tasted smoke. "W-we should... go," she offered.

Nightmare gave a hesitant nod and turned away from her, though her head still faced Twilight. Twilight felt like Nightmare had something to say, she felt like Nightmare was wrestling with whether to say something or not. And feeling that left her even more unsure. Surely, her teacher, Nightmare Moon, the Queen, was more decisive than that!

Nightmare's head turned away from her, then she saw her teacher's right wing stretch out. With the gentlest touch, she felt her teacher's feather brush along her back. It felt like, instead of saying it aloud, her teacher used that stroke to say, 'Try to relax. Do not worry so much. I will not abandon you.' It was meant for her alone.

Twilight sucked her lip in between her teeth, then gently pinned her lip in place with her teeth. She rolled her head to the right and looked down at the street. Her gaze was drawn to the debris: broken bricks, bits of wood, and shards of glass. Nightmare's feather brushed below her ribcage, almost tickling her, then lifted away before reaching her flank. But even with that silken feather gone, she still felt the lingering pleasure on her side. She felt the full length of that trail as if Nightmare's feather was still there, stroking along her side. She let go of her lip, then glanced aside at her teacher.

"Let us proceed," Nightmare said.

Twilight nodded, and her teacher turned away from her and then walked on ahead. Her teacher's pace was even slower than before. Not quite as intent; almost casual and relaxed, yet still conveying authority and control. She walked alongside her teacher, not needing to gallop or trot to match the alicorn's pace.

The shouting and yelling grew in volume until they reached another intersection. Whether it was Nightmare's plan or not, like before, the crowd was on their right and a line of Royal Guards separated them and the crowd.

The building immediately to the right of the crowd was burning. She could hear the ripples of the flames licking the walls, she could see the menacing glow that flickered into the night. She saw the smoke starting to rise as the fire continued to spread. The building wasn't consumed yet, but the first floor was mostly engulfed.

And Twilight felt a pang of guilt. Her lips tugged back. If they had been quicker, if she hadn't delayed, then maybe the fire never would have started. Maybe the fire had burned longer than she delayed, but there was a chance the Royal Guards could have done more if they had scattered the crowd. She stood still as she stared at the flames. 'Is that a store, or somepony's home?' she wondered.

Nightmare's black coat shot past her gaze, blocking the fire from view. Twilight blinked and saw Nightmare charging towards the line of Royal Guards and the crowd.

She couldn't see much of the crowd for the guards like before, but it wasn't as thick. Once again, she watched Nightmare jump over the line of Royal Guards and land on the other side. The crowd's reaction wasn't quite the same as the first's. Perhaps it was because the crowd was thinner, but the hysteria wasn't the same.

She turned to the right, then glanced over what she could see. A part of her told her, 'This is a bad idea,' but Nightmare Moon had not told her to stay put this time. She carefully walked closer, approaching the back of the line of the Royal Guards.

Nightmare silently swept her gaze over the crowd. That much she could see, but the Royal Guards still blocked her view. Between the gaps, she could see most of the crowd nervously disperse without a word being said. The line of Royal Guard broke once the crowd mostly dissolved. Unicorns rushed towards the burning building, only keeping enough distance to stay out of danger, and the earth ponies did their best to help her the rest of the crowd away.

A few of the earth ponies had started to approach her, then backed off. She hadn't paid any attention to them, but she suspected that they recognized her.

The screams had gone silent, but now there was the dissociated murmur of Royal Guards coordinating over the sound of the crackling fire. Nightmare glanced back at her, then turned around and walked towards her.

"We should continue-" was all her teacher got out before somepony scream. A loud scream that shook Twilight to her core, sending a wave of panic through her core.

It was a mare's scream. High pitched, desperate. A frantic wail. Nightmare's head whipped around, and likewise, she looked at the source.

"Please!" the mare scream. The glow of the fire reflected in we trails descending from her eyes. She was a unicorn, and she struggled against two earth pony Royal Guards. She wasn't making headway at resisting them, but they were struggling to keep her controlled. Their hooves stumbled back and forth as the mare fought back. "Please I-I have to-!"

She could barely hear one of the earth ponies say, "Ma'am, you need to-" before being cut off by another scream.

"M-my daughter's i-in there!" the mare wailed.

And Twilight felt a wave of ice cascade over her body. Her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, just a moment, she could convince herself that she hadn't heard it. For just a moment, she could convince herself that she had imagined it. The moment passed, and it repeated in her mind. She felt frigid.

"Please!" the mare screamed. And it clicked, it wasn't just some frantic pony acting out of some irrational fear of the eternal night or Nightmare Moon. No, it was a much, much worse fear. A much more rational fear: that of a mother fearing for the life of her foal.

She tried to listen, but she heard nothing else. No sounds of life from inside the fire, no cries of pain, no screams of fear besides those of the mother. The very edges of her vision blurred, and the edges of her eyes felt hot, so, so hot in comparison to the gripping ice consuming the rest of her body.

Her legs and hooves trembled. Surely, surely, she was just imagining this? Surely, surely this was just a nightmare? But no, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she knew that it was happening. No matter how many times her mind declared, 'No!' it was still happening. The mother continued to struggle against the two earth ponies so, so desperately. Wailing, sobbing, whimpering, and screaming. If they hadn't stopped her, she knew the mare would have just rushed into those flames.

She couldn't speak and she couldn't move. She stood there watching and felt like everything was crumbling around her. There wasn't anything she could do. The Royal Guards, maybe they could do something, but it felt like a lost cause. They didn't have any pegasi with them to manage the fire. There wasn't much the unicorns could do.

And that was assuming the foal was still alive.

Her eyes flicked to the crowd that had gathered around. She searched the crowd, but nopony did anything to intervene. All they did was watch from a distance, curious and mortified, about what was happening. Nopony acted. Perhaps the pony who started the fire was in the crowd and had left. Maybe whoever had started it was still there, watching the scene unfold.

Doing nothing to help, like everypony else. Leaving a foal to die.

"Please!" screamed again.

Without thinking or realizing it, her gaze fell on Nightmare's chestplate. She knew that Nightmare Moon was the only pony who could do anything. She knew Nightmare could just teleport into that burning building, find the foal, and then come back out. She knew that Nightmare probably could have found the foal and teleported her out without even going inside. Nightmare could have just extinguished that fire with her magic. There were so many options available that her teacher could have acted on to intervene. It would have been so easy for Nightmare Moon to save that filly's life.

But she knew it wouldn't happen. It was soul-crushing to know that. It wasn't in Nightmare Moon's best interest. What was the life of one filly when all of Manehattan was in such a state? It would only have taken seconds, but those were seconds that worse things could have happened. She knew Nightmare wouldn't act. She knew that filly, if she wasn't already, would die.

And there wasn't a single thing she could do about it. Only Nightmare Moon could intervene now. Not even Princess Celestia could make this alright. She looked up at her teacher, met her gaze. She wanted to plead and beg for Nightmare to intervene, to do something, anythign, to save that filly's life! But she had no words. Her voice betrayed her. She couldn't speak. Her mouth wouldn't open, her throat was clamped shut. She was utterly powerless. And the world blurred and shattered around the edges of her vision, and all she could see that was clear was Nightmare Moon's expression, and it didn't register.

And then even that was gone; Nightmare Moon turned around, as if slapping her in the face to say, 'I will not intervene.'

Twilight stared into the sky for a moment, then her eyes leveled with the street. Then she closed her eyes and felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Remain here," Nightmare growled.

She barely managed to open her eyes. Everything was blurred and distorted by her tears, but she could still see Nightmare's dark coat blotting out the flames. She could still hear the rushed, intent click of Nightmare's boots hitting the pavement.

And she felt something deep inside her chest. Hope. And it made her legs tremble more and more. She couldn't stop it, she couldn't slow it. She shook as if an earthquake was battering the city. She shook as if she would collapse if even the slightest breeze blew past her. 'Maybe,' she hoped, 'Nightmare Moon will save her.'

She saw the glow of Nightmare's horn, then the door to the building exploded inward in a spray of fiery splinters. The flames gushed higher and hotter. Her teacher disappeared inside behind the wall of flames. Her heart surged up into her throat, her trembling stopped. She was frozen in place.

Her mind raced. 'Why is she going in there!? Why is she walking in there!? Why isn't she teleporting inside!? Why isn't she teleporting back outside!? Why didn't she just teleport the foal out!? Why if she doing this!?' screamed in her mind again and again. She couldn't comprehend it, she couldn't wrap her mind around it.

It made no sense. It wasn't in Nightmare Moon's best interest. Even if in the slightest moment it was in her best interest to save that foal, why didn't her teacher just teleport inside or teleport the foal out!? It would have been easier! It would have been quicker! It was safer!

And then there was another fear, the fear that she wouldn't see Nightmare Moon again. Maybe Cadance would be able to protect her. She still wouldn't see Princess Celestia again. Equestria would turn on her.

There was a flash of blue light and a crack of the air from the teleportation spell. Her head whipped to the right, and standing just a step away from the mother, Nightmare Moon stood, holding a filly in her magic. The filly's coat, mane, and tail were all singed, and soot dirtied her fur. She felt hope, then she felt her hope die. The filly wasn't moving. But the mother bolted, overpowering the earth ponies and grabbing her filly.

The filly moved, then she saw the filly crack open her eyes before clinging to her mother's chest. The mother sat down on her haunches and hugged her foal so close, so tight, that she felt certain they would never part.

Then the mother looked up at Nightmare Moon. She couldn't hear it, but she could tell what was said: "Thank you."

Nightmare Moon gave a quick incline of her head, then turned and strode back to her. The two Royal Guards stepped back over to the mother, though just stood there.

She stared at them, then at Nightmare Moon. She could see the crowd staring at Nightmare Moon, too. Without saying anything, Nightmare walked past her. She turned her head to keep staring at her teacher. Her fur wasn't singed in the slightest, and it was like the fire hadn't touched her.

"Come," her teacher called.

And she moved without processing it, and she walked around to Nightmare's right side, still staring at her. "Why?" she voiced without comprehending it. Nightmare stopped and turned her head to look at her. "You didn't have to do that, you didn't gain anything from that. Why?"

Nightmare almost looked at her like that question had been a kick. "Surely you do not think," came her teacher's disbelieving voice, "that I would have left a foal to burn alive?"

And she couldn't miss that one quality in her teacher's voice that was so pronounced, it was a quality that spoke of having seen that happen before. A quality of horror at something so innately wrong and twisted, that to not act would have been even worse.

Nightmare Moon's voice was haunted.

Then Nightmare turned to face her, and her expression hardened. Her teacher looked at her with an intense gaze that she hadn't seen directed at her for such a long time now. And her teacher said in a quiet, firm voice, "I want you to promise me, Twilight Sparkle. Unless you are in a situation where there is no other choice, and I mean absolutely no choice," there was a pause and she was certain Nightmare Moon swallowed, "I want you to promise me that you will never, unless there is no alternative to save your life, use fire as a weapon to kill."

She nodded before she could process that she was nodding. And when she realized she was nodding, she also realized what she was agreeing to. Maybe the full implications didn't hit her, but she thought she realized why Nightmare asked that of her. And she could agree, whole-heartedly, with no hesitation. It would have been crossing a line. A line that, judging by how intently that demand had been spoken, her teacher had seen crossedbefore.

And at her nodding, Nightmare visibly relaxed. She could see the wave of calm and comfort wash over her teacher's features, and the intense, burning ferocity that demanded agreement to that promise was forgotten.

She stopped nodding. "You didn't gain anything from that," she whispered.

And like that, Nightmare's intellect returned to the forefront of her expression. "To leave her to die would have been the work of a monster, Twilight Sparkle," her teacher chastized. "I am not a monster."

Her gaze dropped down onto her teacher's chestplate and she nodded.

"And you are incorrect," Nightmare stated factually. Her gaze jumped back up to meet her teacher's eyes. "I did gain from doing that. Ponies saw me save the life of that filly, they saw me go into a fire to save her. They will know that I have done that, and word will spread."

There was a moment where nothing was said, and she knew what would be said next. Finally, it was said, "It is in my best interest."

"Why did you walk in there!? You could have teleported in or-or teleported her out!" she shot back.

Nightmare raised an eyebrow, and she thought she saw a smirk that told of amusement. "Surely you do not think a fire would best me, do you, Twilight Sparkle? Do not be so naive. I could have teleported in there, or just teleported her out, but what I did had far more impact. A fire such as that was no match for me. To walk in and retrieve her, the benefits are immense. Ponies saw that. Ponies saw that I walked in where nopony else would to save the life of a filly."

But then Nightmare turned away from her as disappointment and anger crossed her expression. Bitterly, Nightmare growled, "And it won't matter to any of them..." Nightmare shook her head and let out a growled exhale, then turned back to face her.

"Their house..." she mumbled as her gaze fell back onto that cyan chestplate.

A pause, then Nightmare said, "I will see to it that they have somewhere to stay. And I will ensure that they will be repaid for damages."

Nightmare moved and walked off somewhere behind her. Twilight didn't bother turning back to look. Without looking, she could guess that her teacher was either talking to the mare of the Royal Guards, perhaps both. She didn't bother listening either.

She felt tired.

She heard the sound of Nightmare walking back to her, then she felt Nightmare's feather touch her back, at the start of her backbone. She closed her eyes and smiled, listening and shivering as Nightmare walked forward alongside her, brushing that wonderful, silky feather along the length of her back, up to her neck.

"I do not wish to delay longer, and given what has transpired here, I am not inclined to waste time," Nightmare said quickly. She opened her eyes and nodded in agreement. "We will do what we can, although from what I can tell, Cadance is far more effectively dealing with the unrest than us; she has had ponies go out and find other mobs and, whether it has worked or not I do not know, but they are supposed to calm them down and tell them that she is here."

"That... sounds like something Cadance would do..." Twilight quietly agreed.

There was the slightest pause, then Nightmare added, "We will do what we can and then return to Canterlot."

Twilight nodded even more slowly than before.

The sharp crack of the air as Nightmare's teleportation spell finished barely registered. The double image was disorienting, and for a moment, she was afraid she was going to fall down on the floor. Her legs wobbled and she stumbled forward, though caught herself.

Her hooves and legs ached. She was neither an active nor fit pony. No, she didn't normally exercise anywhere near as much as the trouble in Manehattan had forced her too. Sure, she was a pony, and ponies naturally had decent endurance compared to a lot of other species, but when somepony was used to studying and reading books all the time? Not so much.

She suppressed a groan. She suppressed the urge to yawn. What little jolt of energy Nightmare's teleport had given her wore off nearly immediately. She was ready to find the nearest bed, provided it wasn't Nightmare Moon's bed, and pass out on it.

Assuming her aching legs would carry her there and then stop aching once she laid down so she could sleep. Alternatively, the floor would suffice.

She was exhausted. Not just physically, either. The hours had piled up, the chaos had taken its toll on her mind. The crowds and their frantic insanity ground down her defenses. There really was only so much she could take before nearly shutting down, and she was so close to being at that point. So close to just stopping. She wanted to curl up and cry. She wanted to scream in exasperation. She wanted to lay down in her bed and stare at the ceiling, trying to pretend half of it hadn't happened.

But it was over, or at least things in Manehattan had calmed down enough that they could leave. It hadn't been easy. It had taken hours. She couldn't even remember how many crowds they, mostly her teacher, had faced down and managed to disperse. And yet, Cadance had done so much more for Manehattan than they had. Cadance managed to talk ponies down and calm them down so much quicker than Nightmare Moon could. Cadance was able to reassure them, and the Royal Guards were able to tell ponies that Cadance was there, and that helped.

The night had still dragged on. But of course, that was also part of why things had calmed down. In a way, it surprised her. When the moon started to disappear, the crowds became more panicked, yet at the same time, they started to disperse so much quicker because of the fear that the unnatural darkness brought.

That darkness hid the columns of smoke, it only made their sources all the more visible. Infernos had raged across Manehattan. Seeing that from above while riding on Nightmare's back again had left her haunted. Haunted right up until she felt a numb exhaustion seal off those emotions. And then she didn't care anymore.

Thinking back on everything only brought back more exhaustion. She felt numb and tired. But when the thought came back to her mind of that mother, of how that filly could have died, she felt a renewed waved of energy pulse through her body, brought on by a cold sensation of dread and anxiety buried inside her.

It was enough to push her limit back a little further.

She inhaled. They weren't in Manehattan, but that stench of thick, heavy smoke still hovered in the air. The stench of smoke was in their coats. She hated that smell, even if she had grown used to it. She refocused her eyes as much as she could and took in her surroundings: bookshelves, a fireplace, and looking behind her, a desk. Just in front of Nightmare's chest and to her left, a wall and a door.

Nightmare Moon's chambers. Where they had left from. Her eyes unfocused again as she stared ahead.

She wasn't sure what to think of that. Nightmare looked at her. She felt it, but it didn't drive her into a panic. She was used to that gaze and too tired to care. She turned and looked up at her teacher. Nightmare studied her with a contemplative look, her eyes slowly drifting across her body, then settling on her cutie mark for a moment before jumping back to meet Twilight's eyes.

"I know this was a lot to put you through," was her teacher's calm, reluctant acknowledgment. There was a brief pause, and Nightmare's lips slowly parted as her jaw drifted open, then her teacher asked, "Are you alright?"

Twilight's eyes fell down onto Nightmare's cyan chestplate, fell onto that crescent moon set in the center. She thought about the question. The night and everything that had happened weighed on her mind, weighed her down. Her body hurt. The scent of smoke was stuck in her coat. She was emotionally drained, and she was exhausted. She was ready to go to sleep, and no magic could change that.

Considering everything, she felt okay. Or at the very least, being so close to her limits left her feeling a subdued sense that it was okay. She wasn't about to start freaking out and panicking over everything that had happened, but only because she didn't have the energy left to deal with any of it. She didn't expect to wake up and suddenly panic over everything, either. She looked back up and met Nightmare's gaze, gave a nod, and quietly said, "I think so..." For a moment, she hesitated and pulled her lip in between her teeth. She didn't bite down, she just held her skin there, then let it go and mumbled, "At least... right now."

Nightmare nodded in acknowledgment. "I..." her teacher trailed off, rolled her head to the left and looked ahead at the door to the hallway before finishing, "am sorry that this took so long." She saw Nightmare swallow, then her teacher looked back at her, studied her for a moment, then testingly said, "And I am sorry that you had to see all of that."

Her eyes dropped to that crescent moon once more and she gave a brief, timid nod.

A few seconds passed with nothing more being said as the two of them stood there. Nightmare turned to face her, giving her a full view of the crescent moon set in the center of her chestplate, along with the chestplate itself. Twilight lifted her head up and met her teacher's gaze. Nightmare Moon's mouth was parted, but once again her teacher hesitated to speak. And that hesitation was so different from Nightmare taking action when it was demanded of her. The hesitation reminded her of something, but she wasn't sure what. "I do not..." Nightmare said, then pausing to think for a moment, "wish to coddle you and lie to you," she finished quickly. Her teacher licked her lips, then continued, "I will not lie to you about the world. It can be a dangerous place. But I do not wish..." and once more, Nightmare trailed off.

Then, she saw it: a spark in Nightmare's eyes as she found the answer to what she needed to say. Nightmare inhaled. "I do not wish to lie to you about the world, but I recognize that there are things you are not ready to deal with. Things that you are not prepared for."

Twilight shifted her hooves closer together and swallowed. "O-oh?" she managed to voice.

Nightmare hesitantly nodded. "Sister sheltered you. Sister left you unprepared," was her almost dismissive answer.

Twilight didn't hear any bitterness in Nightmare's voice; it was a simple acknowledgment of fact. But she also knew something else went unsaid. She could tell Nightmare didn't voice something else, something that her teacher considered important. Nightmare was keeping something from her.

But Nightmare wasn't lying to her.

She shifted her weight. 'Princess Celestia lied to me...' replayed in her mind yet again.

Or maybe there was bitterness in her teacher's voice and she was just too tired to pick up on it. Maybe Nightmare knew not to let the bitterness slip out. A part of her, when thinking that her teacher would hold herself back, found herself grasping for an answer as to why that would be. Her teacher had no reason to hold back. No reason except the one she knew, that Nightmare was adapting to her, that Nightmare was acting differently with her because Nightmare knew her.

"You did well tonight, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare complemented.

Twilight's eyes darted up to meet her teacher's in an instant. It wasn't Princess Celestia's praise, but it was still the praise of her teacher, and it still made her feel a giddiness in her chest. That giddiness fought back against the exhaustion sieging her body, and she felt more energy come back to her. "Thanks..." she replied.

Nightmare waited a moment, then inclined her head once in acknowledgment. A few more seconds of silence passed between them. She didn't know what to say, and she saw Nightmare struggling to find what to say. Eventually, Nightmare settled on asking, "Are you certain that you are alright?" And with that, Nightmare's hesitation started to fade, and her teacher's gaze dropped down to her hooves, studying them, looking them over, as if she was searching for any signs of injury. And as if to confirm her thoughts, Nightmare asked, "You are uninjured?"

Twilight nodded, then, one at a time, lifted her hooves from the floor before setting them back down. There wasn't any pain aside from the dull ache of too much use.

Nightmare nodded, almost as if it was to herself, then looked back up to meet her gaze. "If there is anything you wish to talk about, please do so," was her offer. "Tonight was-" her teacher's gaze darted from her eyes and landed on her cutie mark, "-hard on you."

Twilight didn't need to ask to know what Nightmare Moon was referring to. For the briefest instant, she wondered, 'What would have happened if you weren't there with me?'

Not many of the ponies had seen her. Things could have been different if they had and if she had been alone. She was afraid of what would have happened if she had been there alone, and she was glad that Nightmare Moon had been there with her.

And then her mind went to the biggest part that Nightmare Moon was referring to: the foal. But she didn't let herself linger on it. She closed her eyes, then hung her head. After a moment, she opened her eyes and stared at the floor. "Thank you for... saving her," she said. Before Nightmare could say anything, she lifted her head up and met Nightmare's eyes to say, "Even if it was in your best interest."

"I would not wish harm on foals, Twilight Sparkle," was Nightmare's calm yet intent answer: to suggest that she did would have been to draw her ire.

Her eyes dropped to Nightmare's chestplate and she nodded.

"Nor do I wish harm on you," Nightmare added.

For just a second, her eyes glanced up at Nightmare's eyes, then they fell back to her chestplate.

Nightmare inhaled, then her wing extended. Twilight looked at that majestic wing as it reached out for her. It paused with a feather just inches away from her muzzle, then after a moment passed, the feather brushed against her. She closed her eyes as she felt that rich, soft feather against her cheek. She felt the feather stroke along her cheek, then down her neck. She felt the trail it left, how gentle the stroke was, and felt it brush the strands of her mane aside.

Twilight shivered, and a smile pulled at her lips. The strangest feeling occurred to her, that of wanting to cry for some reason, wanting to cry solely because of that stroke. Was Nightmare Moon that good at slipping past her guard now? Had it just been too much? Was that need to cry based on everything that had happened tonight, or everything since Nightmare returned?

The feather stroked down to her shoulder, then left. The urge to cry stayed and her throat felt tight, but she held back the urge to cry. She slowly took in a deep breath, then let it out just as slowly. She opened her eyes, and her first sight was yet again Nightmare Moon. Not a predator, not a psychopath, not a monster.

Her teacher.

The need to cry slowly faded away as she inhaled again, and the tightness relaxed as she exhaled.

Nightmare's mouth parted again, and the hesitance came back. Eventually, her teacher overcame it and asked, "Join me for a bath?"

Twilight wasn't sure what she had expected to hear, but it hadn't been that. It wasn't a demand, either; it was an offer. It was an opportunity. It was something friends did together. She hadn't had friends to bathe with before, which meant it would be a new experience for her.

And surely, that was insane. They weren't that close. Not by a long shot. A part of her mind once again had the treacherous thought, 'She's a psychopath!' for her teacher having made that offer. It was insane!

But it wouldn't be a bath shared by friends. It would be something else: a bath shared between teacher and student. Not friends. She had never shared a bath with Princess Celestia, and so it was still a new experience. Twilight's mind kept going over how Nightmare Moon offered the experience, rather than Princess Celestia. Nightmare Moon had never had a student before, either.

She was hesitant to accept. Fear assaulted her, attacking her with questions like, 'What if I do something wrong? What if she takes this differently? What if this is just a trick-'

And the last thought drew a near-immediate, 'No.'

"You do not have to," her teacher voiced almost casually, "but I thought you may want to. It would give us time to relax and talk if you so wished, and it would help with the smoke still in our coats."

Had Princess Celestia offered that to her before Nightmare Moon returned, she would have been too afraid and nervous to accept. She would have been so anxious that she would have messed up and then Princess Celestia, even if it wasn't in her nature, would have decided not to be her teacher anymore.

And she knew it was a silly fear.

She took a deep breath. It didn't help with her anxiety, but it did remind her even more of that stench. She managed to nod. "Okay," she agreed. Nightmare turned to her left and stepped towards the door. She swallowed then added, "Um... I've never... done anything like this before."

Nightmare paused and looked back at her. For a moment, Nightmare was silent, then she said, "You have not had friends to bathe with. And my sister has not?"

Twilight nodded. She wasn't certain, but she thought she saw surprise cross Nightmare's expression.

"I see," Nightmare said with a nod, then slightly lifted her right wing from her body and motioned Twilight over.

Twilight didn't hesitate before walking over to her teacher's side. Nightmare's gaze lingered on her as she approached, then once she was at her teacher's side, Nightmare walked forward and led her through the bedchambers, then into the bathroom. Twilight's eyes darted around as soon as she stepped inside the bathroom. It was similar to the rest of the guest rooms' bathrooms, though certainly larger. The golden swirls in the room didn't fit Nightmare Moon, but for whatever reason, they were still there.

Nightmare approached the gigantic bathtub, which was more fitting of a hot tub than a bathtub, and used her magic to turn on the water. The sounds of gushing water crashing into the tub filled the air as Twilight stood by and watched. Her teacher turned so that her side was to the bathtub, then lifted her hooves up one at a time and slipped those cyan boots off.

For some reason, Twilight found herself transfixed by that simple act; she had never seen Nightmare Moon without her boots on, without her chestplate on, or without her helmet on. Nightmare Moon did not take her armor off. Yet here she was, watching her teacher take off that armor. The only time she had seen Nightmare Moon taking off her armor or without her armor on. The boots were levitated aside, leaving her hooves bare. And just like Princess Celestia, her hooves were nearly the same color as her coat to the point where it was hard to see in the dim light where Nightmare's fur stopped and her hoof started.

Nightmare's eyes glanced at her, and her teacher said, "You do not have to remain standing there. Come."

Reluctantly, Twilight picked her hoof up, then stepped forward. Once she was clear of the door, she heard it click shut from Nightmare's magic. For a brief moment, she glanced back at the door, then her gaze returned to her teacher.

Nightmare lifted her helmet up off her head, then set it down beside her boots. And she found herself transfixed, staring at Nightmare Moon's bare head. Without the helmet on, Nightmare Moon looked so different, yet it was undeniably the same pony. Striking and sharp, still authoritative and regal, yet as she studied Nightmare Moon's bare head and found herself thinking the alicorn looked vulnerable without her armor on, as if the pony beneath was laid bare for her and her alone to see.

Twilight held her breath.

Her eyes flicked back and settled on the base of Nightmare's ethereal mane, and it was such a different sight from what she had expected. But then, she wasn't sure what she had expected either. With Princess Celestia, she could never see the base of her mane because of the colors and height difference. But with Nightmare Moon? her mane was partially transparent around the outermost edge, and at the very back of her neck where her mane started, she saw that same black coat, where the mane just flowed out from it, as if she had no mane and it was simply an extension of her magic.

She wondered if it was.

Nightmare looked at her again. She looked over Nightmare's body so she wasn't' staring, then her eyes settled on Nightmare's chestplate. She knew Nightmare wasn't going to take it off, and a part of her felt disappointed by that. Another part of her wondered if her teacher was trying to hide something with that chestplate. She tried to imagine what Nightmare Moon looked like without the chestplate on. She could almost make it work; she had seen Nightmare Moon without the boots and helmet. But she still couldn't picture Nightmare's bare chest.

She just couldn't picture it in her mind.

And because her teacher kept that chestplate on, she wasn't completely vulnerable. For a moment, Twilight wondered if Nightmare Moon kept it on because she would feel vulnerable if she wasn't wearing it. But surely that wasn't the case. Nightmare Moon was an alicorn, and with just the two of them there, there was nothing to threaten her.

Nightmare turned the water off, then turned away from her and climbed into the tub to sit down on her haunches. She watched her teacher climb into the bath, then sink into the water. It was such an equine action that she had trouble comprehending that Nightmare Moon did it. Twilight closed her eyes, then carefully crept over to the bath. She hesitated at the edge and opened her eyes to stare at Nightmare Moon.

'A week ago I wouldn't have done this,' occurred to her. A week ago the thought would have horrified her! As it was, she felt uncomfortable and nervous and wanted to run around in circles, but she forced back those feelings: it was an opportunity, and that was how she had to look at it. Running around in circles fretting over it really wouldn't benefit her. She still had to tell herself, 'She's not psychotic,' before she could lift a forehoof and set it on the rim of the tub.

But she still didn't know what to do! What was the etiquette she was supposed to follow? She wasn't about to climb in and make a fool of herself or embarrass herself by making a silly mistake that practically anypony else wouldn't have! As the anxiety coiled in her chest, she sucked in her lip and looked at her teacher, who was still just sitting there with her eyes closed. She released her lip and whispered, "Um..."

Nightmare's eyelids drifted open, and her teacher's gaze fell on her. "Speak."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do..." Twilitght replied as the anxiety coiled tighter.

"You get in the water," was Nightmare's flat response. "If this is not obvious-"

Twilight winced and muttered, "I know that!"

"Yet you have not," her teacher pointed out.

Twilight turned away from her and stared at the wall. "Because I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do! What if I-"

"Try to relax, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare chastized. "That is half of the reason behind this."

Reluctantly, Twilight turned back to face her teacher. For a few seconds, Twilight just watched the alicorn, but her teacher said nothing more as she closed her eyes. "It is not something worth worrying about," her teacher offered.

Twilight took a deep breath, then gradually pushed herself up onto the rim of the bath. She reached out with her right forehoof to test the water. It was almost too warm. The warmth left her hoof tingling as the water pressed against her; It was enveloping, offering her a comforting embrace that she only had to climb in to accept. It felt nice.

She slowly stepped into the tub and found the aching of her hooves relieved by the warm embrace. Slowly and carefully, she turned to face Nightmare Moon, then sat down, bringing the water up to envelop her chest. As she sank into the water and felt it embrace her, she closed her eyes as the warm water washed the chaos from her mind.

Seconds, perhaps even minutes passed while she sat there in blissful silence, just enjoying the warm weight of the water pressing against her from all sides. Eventually, she felt Nightmare open her eyes to look at her, and she opened her eyes to look back at her teacher. Nightmare studied her contemplatively. The alicorn took the madness of the night in stride and kept going like nothing more than an annoyance had happened.

'What would this be like if it was Princess Celestia instead of you?' a part of her mind wondered. And thinking about it made her nervous because she knew that she would have been scared of making a mistake just like now. It didn't even comfort her to know Princess Celestia would have been able to say a few words to calm her down.

She felt calmer bathing with Nightmare Moon than she thought she would be if it had been Princess Celestia, but only because she was too exhausted to worry more.

Her gaze dropped from Nightmare's eyes to her teacher's chestplate. It wasn't waterproof, and so she knew that water would have been between the armor and her teacher's coat. Wearing the armor was pointless; all it did was weigh her teacher down. "Why are you still wearing your chestplate?" she asked, then met Nightmare's gaze.

"It would leave me more exposed than I am comfortable with," was her teacher's answer. "It would not do to be caught off-guard if something were to happen, or if somepony were to attack me."

With a frown, Twilight said, "But we're the only two ponies here?"

Nightmare was silent for a moment, then mumbled, "Perhaps. But it still would be unwise."

Twilight felt like Nightmare's logic was flawed, but kept it to herself. Her frown grew deeper. She felt certain that there was another reason for it, but that Nightmare just didn't want to admit it. "Why do you wear armor anyway?" She winced and clarified, "I mean... I know why, but... You're an alicorn."

"I will not die from old age or disease, but that does not mean I cannot be killed," Nightmare retorted. "I assure you, it would not be easy, but there is no reason for me to make it any easier for my enemies to do so. And it would not do for me to be caught off-guard."

Twilight nodded reluctantly. She felt like she should have taken comfort in knowing Nightmare Moon could be killed, but instead, she only found it making her uneasy. If Nightmare Moon could be killed, that meant Cadance and Princess Celestia could be killed. She shivered from the unease, despite the warm water enveloping her. If Nightmare Moon was killed, she would have to fend for herself unless Princess Celestia somehow escaped.

Her gaze drifted lower until she found herself staring down into the water, watching the reflection of the magelight that hovered in the middle of the room. The surface of the water shimmered and the rippling of the water broke the reflection like a shattered mirror.

Uncontrolled, her thoughts drifted back to the mother and foal, then wandered back to Nightmare's answer, and how after a moment, it twisted in bitterness. Her brow creased and she lifted her head back up to face her teacher. "I'm... surprised that you didn't just... take over the media and tell them to... print propaganda," she voiced in a hushed tone.

Propaganda had been a poor word choice. She winced.

Nightmare's expression hardened, then her teacher inhaled deeply before letting it out. "I have an aversion to lying. So long as they do not slander me I do not care what they print. Not that it matters; ponies will never believe anything positive written about me. They would see it as lies and, as you said, propaganda."

Twilight leaned forward and asked, "How do you know, though?" She shook her head and added, "You were banished for a thousand years! Things had to change!"

"You are correct; things did change, but this is a fact: that they will never love me as they do my sister," her teacher retorted in a dismissive, almost annoyed tone.

Twilight had to bite back the question, 'Why do you even care about that!?' Asking wouldn't have helped anything.

She inhaled and smelled the scent of smoke. Her lips jerked back in disgust. She sucked in a deep breath through her mouth and held it, then closed her eyes and plunged her head under the water. Maybe it wasn't exactly proper etiquette, but surely Nightmare wouldn't care. It was supposed to be a bath.

She heard the silent, rain-like ringing of her heartbeat echoing in the water. She felt the warm pressure enveloping her, leaving her body tingling from the pleasant warmth. Under the water, there was nothing there to threaten her. The worries, anxieties, and fears couldn't drive her insane. She was free, and she wanted to stay under the water for as long as she could. The water washed the smoke out of her coat, washed the rest of the night away, and refreshed her body and mind.

She felt the water swirl around her and knew Nightmare Moon had joined her under the water, but it only lasted for a few seconds before she felt the water rush again. She assumed Nightmare lifted her head back out. She stayed under until her lungs started to grow uncomfortable, then she pushed her head back above the water. She exhaled and blew droplets of water off of her lips as streams rolled down her face, and finally inhaled.

She felt the water rolling off of her body, rolling down her mane and muzzle, and heard the water dripping off into the water. Droplets rolled over her lips and she blew more air out of her mouth to get rid of them. She opened her eyes and looked at her teacher. Seeing the alicorn in a similar state with water rolling down her head, her fur wet and clinging to her body, left her feeling almost perplexed. It served to reinforce in her mind that Nightmare Moon was, despite what it felt like, still a pony like her.

And she wasn't quite sure what to think of that.

She tentatively sniffed the air. The smell of smoke was still there, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been.

"I would request that you remain here in Canterlot for the time being, given what has transpired," Nightmare stated, "but you will be able to return to Ponyville sometime tomorrow or the following night. Assuming nothing worse transpires."

Twilight reluctantly nodded. Spike would be taken care of. He'd be worried, but he'd be fine. 'I can probably write him a letter and have Nightmare send it to him,' she thought. "Could you..." she ventured, leaning her head to the right, "send Spike a letter telling him that I'll be here for... a while?"

"I can, yes," Nightmare answered. There was barely any delay before her teacher lit her horn and teleported a scroll and quill into the air over the water, then wrote out a scroll before rolling it up and teleporting it away. It wasn't the same spell Princess Celestia used to send scrolls to her through Spike.

She turned her head back and said, "Thanks."

Nightmare inclined her head once.

Without anything else said, she felt her teacher's magic envelop her for a moment, then it faded. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. "What was that?"

"Taking care of the smoke. It is perhaps not as relaxing or thorough as properly bathing, but I presume you would be uncomfortable with that," Nightmare replied dismissively.

Twilight hesitated before she nodded. For a moment, she thought she saw Nightmare frown, but her eyes must have been playing tricks on her.

She started to feel the chill of the air against her wet coat.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss?" Nightmare questioned.

Twilight felt a grimace pull at her lips. "Well..." There was quite a bit she could think of, even if she was tired. Most of it, however, wasn't something she wanted to bring up. As her mind sifted through her thoughts and memories, she felt a stab of pain as a memory slipped to the forefront of her mind. She winced and her head drifted to the right until it pointed away from her teacher. She stared at the wall, looking over the dimly lit marble and the reflective golden swirls. There was probably some pattern in it that she could find, but she knew she was just trying to distract herself.

"What is it?" Nightmare inquired. "You may not believe this but I do desire for you to be comfortable talking to me, Twilight Sparkle."

The pattern of the swirls would have to wait. Twilight's chest tightened as unease slithered through her body. She slowly clenched her jaw and gradually nudged her head back to face Nightmare. The alicorn looked at her contemplatively but stayed silent, waiting on her to proceed.

It left her feeling more anxious. "Earlier..." she ventured reluctantly.

Her teacher's contemplative look faded. "You're going to have to be more specific than that, Twilight Sparkle," was said flatly. Twilight shifted her weight in the water. Nightmare tilted her head and the contemplative look returned. "Unless you're referring to making ponies disappear."

The warm water didn't feel quite as warm, and a shiver raced down Twilight's spine. She managed to nudge her head up and down to nod as she swallowed a knot in her throat.

Nightmare relaxed but sat up straighter. "You are wondering why I did not simply make them disappear?" her teacher guessed.

Again, Twilight gave a timid nod.

Nightmare's head lifted up, and her gaze landed on the ceiling. Twilight watched her teacher's eyes slowly slide over the marble, then out of curiosity, looked up. Her teacher might have been looking over one of the golden swirls, but she couldn't be sure. She looked back down at Nightmare, who continued to study the ceiling.

Nightmare inhaled, then looked down at Twilight. "It is not necessarily in my best interest to make ponies simply disappear," was her answer. "Perhaps it could be in the short term, yet in the long term, this could cause uncertainty. If we assume that I could get away with it, then it is not a problem and thus would not cause problems, however, I find such methods... distasteful."

"Distasteful?" she mumbled.

Nightmare gave a succinct nod. "Sister," was all she said.

Twilight felt another chill and her brow twisted down. "Sh-she would never do something like that!" she blabbered out.

"I would not trust her not to," Nightmare spat. Twilight went silent. Nightmare shook her head then stated, "I do not wish to discuss this."

It was probably a good idea.

But Twilight's mind still ran over the implications. She stared down at the water and watched the reflection of the magelight. 'Princess Celestia would never just make anypony disappear!' shouted out in her mind, but it didn't quell the uncertainty. At one time, she knew Princess Celestia would never lie to her. She couldn't convince herself Princess Celestia wouldn't make somepony disappear.

She couldn't picture it, but it still weighed her down.

The bath wasn't as nice as it had been.

"Twilight Sparkle?" Nightmare called.

Twilight looked up at her teacher and asked, "Um, yes?"

Nightmare's eyes jumped side to side over her body, then returned to meet her gaze. "On the topic of trust," she started carefully. Her teacher paused as if to mull the words over on her tongue, then continued, "Thank you for trusting me tonight."

Twilight gave a reserved nod.

Nightmare went back to studying her. There was something more her teacher wanted to say. Twilight could see it, how it was just on the tip of her tongue.

Nightmare groaned quietly, then gave in and added, "I want to be able to trust you, and I would like for you to trust me. It would be beneficial for both of us. And I do not want you to be so afraid of me. I want you to feel comfortable talking to me."

'How am I supposed to respond to that?' Twilight wondered.

Nightmare bobbed her head and looked away from her. "You are my student and I suppose I would prefer you be comfortable around me." Her teacher looked at her again, let out the faintest hint of a sigh and added, "And you do not."

Twilight licked her already wet lips and mumbled, "You don't make it easy..."

For a second, Nightmare's cheeks pulled up and her eyelids drifted down as her teacher squinted at her, then it faded. "Yes... you are correct," Nightmare admitted. "I do not know what I am doing with a student, Twilight Sparkle. And I am not the most sociable pony there is. I never have been."

'Well, that sounds familiar!' Twilight's mind snapped, making her wince. She turned her head to the right. "Well... I'm not either."

Nightmare nodded slowly. "So I have heard..." The squint returned. "And you wanted a book for help with a... slumber party," was mumbled in a barely audible voice.

Twilight was sure she wasn't meant to hear it. She bushed and squeaked. "W-well, h-how am I supposed to know if I'm doing everything right!?" she stuttered out.

Nightmare looked at her with a peculiar squint that made her shift her weight. Her teacher opened her mouth. It stayed open for a few seconds, then drifted closed. Nightmare exhaled and shook her head. "Would you be interested in watching the moonrise with me tomorrow?"

Twilight slowly nodded. "Sure."

For a moment, Nightmare smiled. "I would appreciate that," her teacher said. The smile faded into contemplation. "And then we can share a meal? Provided nothing demands my immediate attention."

Twilight nodded again. "It's not like I have anywhere else to eat..." she muttered.

Nightmare frowned. "You are not required to remain on the castle's grounds while you are here in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle. I do not desire to manage every aspect of your life. You are my student but you are your own pony."

Twilight cringed and looked down and to the left. She stared at the floor just beyond the bath. "Sorry," she apologized.

"It is alright," Nightmare replied, "but perhaps there are more things we need to discuss in time..."

Twilight glanced back at her teacher. "Like what?"

"Many things," was Nightmare's vague answer. "But now is perhaps not the time. If you so desire, you may retire for the night. You are tired and I will not keep you longer than you wish."

Twilight turned back to face her and nodded slowly. "And-" she licked her lips, "-what about you?"

"I will see to it that ponies are not trying to burn down any other cities, and then assuming they are not, I will retire myself," Nightmare answered.

"I still find it odd that you have to sleep," Twilight replied.

"I can sustain myself with my magic for a time, as can anypony, but it is not the same as sleep, Twilight Sparkle," her teacher stated. "And it would not do for me to be poorly rested."

Twilight nodded slowly, then yawned. Her jaw muscles ached as her mouth opened, and her eyes watered a bit. She closed her mouth as the yawn ended.

"Go sleep," Nightmare told her. "If you desire, I can use my magic to help."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary," she said cautiously.

Nightmare translated that into, "You do not trust me."

Twilight groaned and slumped forward. "No, I don't. I trust you a bit more than I did, but I still don't trust you. You scare me. But that's not why. I just don't think it's necessary. I am tired."

"I am sorry that I upset you," Nightmare said.

Twilight inhaled, then exhaled. "It's fine. I'm tired."

Nightmare nodded slowly, then said, "Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle. I wish you well."

Twilight stared at Nightmare for a few seconds. It was odd and it made her uncomfortable. She pushed the discomfort aside, nodded, and then stood up. As soon as her body was above the water, she felt the chill of the air and missed the warmth. She stood there for several seconds as water rushed down her body and crashed into the bath. Once the flow subsided to a trickle, she turned and climbed out of the bath.

She felt Nightmare watching her and turned back to watch her teacher. Nightmare's gaze slowly slithered over her side, then turned back to the bath. Finally, Nightmare closed her eyes.

Twilight looked away from Nightmare, then searched the room for a towel or anything to dry herself off with. She grimaced and turned back to her teacher. "Um, can I have a towel?"

Her teacher's horn glowed, and she felt that aura envelop her, then a pleasant warmth washed over her coat, drying her body.

"If you do not know that spell I will be disappointed," Nightmare said dismissively.

Twilight grimaced. "I didn't think about it..."

Nightmare frowned, then turned to face her and opened her eyes. "I see..." was all that she said.

For a few seconds, Nightmare watched her again.

"Thank you?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare inclined her head, turned her head back and closed her eyes.

Twilight lingered for a moment, then slowly walked to the door.

And so ends what was the longest single chapter I've written, broken into three parts. Actual action finally happened!

After rereading and editing this chapter, I'm not entirely pleased by it. One reason is I'm now questioning which is better: the style of "showing" a character feeling things (In example: "Twilight felt a grimace pull at her lips" versus "Twilight grimaced?"). The first might be more immersive? The second is more direct.

A beam of magic surged forth from her student's horn. Nightmare Moon followed it with her eyes and watched as it struck the rough, woody trunk of an oak tree. She felt a sense of fascination overtake her as she watched the magic soaked into the wood, saturated it to the point that a spiderweb of magenta lines raced through the length of the trunk, burning into the wood, then shattered the trunk with a sharp crack! Chunks of wood, bark, and splinters flew every which way. Some pelted her chestplate. Some slammed into the damp ground. Looking aside at her student, some of the debris had landed on her mane and coat.

Twilight quizzically stared at what used to be the tree. For a moment, Nightmare just looked over her student. A shiver of delight race down her spine. Her power, her potential, oh how it thrilled her to see it unlocked! And the way her student stood there so confidently! Free from that oppressive fear and anxiety that ate at her and plagued their relationship!

Watching her student stand there with the humble pride of self-confidence made her feel almost giddy. It even left her feeling free! It was like she was flying during the middle of the night, soaring through the sky with nothing to haunt or mock her. She felt freedom; freedom from the oppressive worry that her student had radiated, and freedom from the weight of the burdens of ruling. She was free to teach her student; free to enjoy her reign; free from her anger and hatred and mockery of her sister!

It was bliss, and she felt her chest bubbling from sheer excitement.

She swiped her tongue over her lips, then looked back at what had been the tree. Leaves fluttered in the night air, like a gentle shower drifting towards the ground. Branches and the remnants of larger limbs dropped from above and smashed into the ground. Some branches stabbed the ground and stuck out at odd angles.

She looked back at her student and felt a sense of fondness for the filly. Her student; her friend. Twilight glanced aside at her and smiled. It was a calm, confident smile; one that wasn't haunted by fear or indecision. It didn't seek out her approval, and it didn't worry that she would snap. It was a peaceful smile, and a familiar smile that her student had grown into.

Nightmare reached out with a wing and brushed some of the refuse off Twilight's mane and body. "Thanks," was her student's friendly reply, her voice free from formality. They were friends and here alone, formality was not needed. They shared a bond.

Nightmare inclined her head to nod, then slowly brushed her feather along Twilight's cheek. Her student closed her eyes and leaned into that stroke as her lips twitched into an even warmer smile. Nightmare swept the feather under her student's ear, and then once she broke contact she folded her wing to her side. Twilight opened her eyes, and for a moment, they watched each other, then Twilight turned to face away from her.

Then that glorious raspberry aura enveloped the whole area, and all of the little splinters and chunks of wood flew back towards what had been the tree's trunk. The branches floated up into the air, and the leaves zipped back to the branches. The trunk reassembled itself splinter by splinter, bit by bit, and those magenta lines grew back in reverse, then coalesced at the point where the beam had struck before finally fading away.

And it was a marvelous sight, that the damage had been undone.

Nightmare looked back at her student. The filly had so much power, so much potential! And she was seeing it! How her student surpassed Starswirl the Bearded; how there would never be another unicorn that could rival her.

It was her destiny.

But the feeling in her chest twisted. The comfort and ecstatic glee drifted further away, becoming more subdued. She felt the smile on her lips fading as her lips drifted down into a neutral line. Twilight continued to look away from her, unaware of her change in demeanor.

Something was wrong. Something was still missing. She felt it in her core, that something just wasn't right. She lit her horn and brushed her magic against her student's magic.

Her student was still incomplete. There was more there that could be done. She felt it. She knew it. It ate at her mind, stealing the joy and peace away from her. It troubled her because she did not know what was missing. She did not know why her student was incomplete, but she was. And it brought her a sense of wrongness. It wasn't how it was supposed to be, and it made her want to squirm.

Even in her dreams, Twilight's potential wasn't fully realized.

Her eyes drifted over her student's body. It barely registered that her student wasn't wearing the silvered crescent moon necklace; it wasn't necessary that she wore it anymore. She saw that golden tiara atop her head, which held the Element of Magic set in its center, but it didn't register to her.

Her eyes swept down the length of her student's bare back, then drifted to her flank. She tilted her head as her eyes traced over the outline of the pink starburst. The feeling that something was wrong grew worse, plaguing her mind. Her smile was gone as she stared at the familiar starburst.

She felt the urge to turn to face her student, so she turned her body to face her student. Twilight's head drifted left towards her, and when her student saw her expression, she frowned. "What's wrong?"

Twilight's voice echoed in her mind, 'What's wrong?'

But she couldn't answer it. Something was wrong. Something was off. Her student was, somehow, still incomplete. Something was missing. It wasn't her full potential; her student wasn't all she could be. But she didn't know what was missing.

Nightmare felt like the words were on the tip of her tongue, that if she spoke, the words that needed to be said would come. She felt like the knowledge was at the forefront of her mind, yet when she tried to reach for it, it was just beyond her grasp. Out of reach, like something she had forgotten. She felt like the memory was right there in the back of her mind, that even the most frivolous, pointless action would bring it back.

But it was out of reach. Her student, despite her potential being there on full display, was incomplete. But then, it was just a dream; of course Twilight was still incomplete.

It churned in her mind, and she felt the need to scream.

She held the scream back and met her student's gaze. "I do not know," she answered.

Her vision twisted and spun. Her voice was wrong. It sounded off. It was too soft. It shocked her. It made her feel cold. The voice was alien to her. It was a voice that she hadn't heard in centuries. A voice belonging to a pony who was dead.

"Luna?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare felt ice creeping through her veins as even more shock caught her unprepared. Her whole body grew cold as that name became the entire focus on her thoughts.

Twilight frowned and turned to face her. More quietly, more concerned, her student asked, "Luna, what's wrong?"

Then Nightmare Moon realized it wasn't night. It was day. The sun was overhead and the light filtered through the leaves, leaving a flickering, shimmering display of light and shadow on the ground as the leaves rustled in the summer's breeze. She felt the warmth in the air, that of sister's sun, yet it wasn't oppressive. The warmth didn't try to take advantage of her, it didn't try to mock or betray her. The warmth was simply there in all its uncaring glory.

Nightmare turned left until she was facing away from Twilight. She swept her head around and surveyed the forest, lit in the light of her sister's day. The branches swayed in the wind, and the leaves all rustled together, producing gentle music that felt so out of place, yet so right at the same time. Soothing and welcome, yet unwelcome because of how soothing and calm it was. How could it have been soothing with the return of her damned sister's day!? How dare it!

Nightmare felt a sense of dread well up inside her chest, and it twisted in on itself. She turned left again until she faced Twilight once more. Her chest felt tight. She couldn't breathe; her chest was too tight, too constricted. The air was being forced out of her lungs.

Twilight stood there before her, still frowning with concern. Still incomplete. "Luna?" her student's voice called again.

The dread grew worse. But no anger came. She felt disconnected from her surroundings; disconnected from who she was. 'Luna is dead,' was stated in her mind, yet it did not provoke anger and she did not speak to correct the filly.

'How do you know that name?' she wondered.

Twilight stepped towards her, then her student pressed herself against her chestplate. The filly lifted her right leg and did her best to wrap it around her neck while laying her head on the left side of her neck.

Nightmare found herself leaning down to return the hug. She couldn't stop it. But it didn't feel like a hug.

It just felt wrong.

Nightmare Moon felt disappointed.

It was time to raise the moon.

Nightmare's eyelids opened and she stared up at the ceiling. The dream was still there, lingering in her mind. Every last bit of it; every detail. The disappointment haunted her mind, making her so very aware of how silent her chambers were. The feeling of wrongness was still there, plaguing her, unnerving her, making her eyes dance along the walls, searching to make certain she was alone. It was a dream, but the effects lingered. The uncertainty she felt lingered. It made her uneasy.

She laid there in silence. She said nothing and kept her breathing quiet. There were no sounds in her chambers; nopony else was there. It was empty and quiet to the point that she could hear her own steady heartbeat. She was alone. She was too aware of the oppressive silence.

She inhaled deeply and broke that accursed silence. Her lips twitched into a smile as the light scent of lavender eased the discomfort plaguing her mind. She closed her eyes for a moment-

-and she saw how Twilight had stood there in her dream.

The disappointment came back, forcing her ears to pin back against her mane. She opened her eyes; the image of Twilight disappeared.

'I'm too fond of you,' came to mind again. But she didn't have the will to change that. Why would she want to? Twilight Sparkle was her student. Her student had so much potential, not only magical but also in that she could have a friend!

The thought caught her off-guard. The feeling of wrongness churned inside her chest until her chest felt tight.

Unease.

She missed the feeling of freedom she had in her dream. It was so wonderful compared to when she was awake! She didn't have time to enjoy herself like she wanted to when she was awake; Equestria demanded so much of her. Or maybe she was simply giving Equestria too much of her time. She was Queen, after all.

But Equestria needed her. Without her, without Sister, Equestria would hardly last. That was unacceptable.

She rolled her head to the right and stared at the door to her balcony. As she idly watched the door, the dream replayed in her mind. And she yearned to go back to sleep and to have that dream again. At least up until where it all went wrong.

She wished Twilight was that confident outside of her dreams.

She turned her gaze to the window and looked out into the starry night sky. 'It is nearly time to raise the moon,' occurred to her again, and with that, she felt the desire to actually leave her bed. And the whisper of, 'Twilight will join me to watch it,' made her feel eager.

She pushed herself out of bed and walked towards the balcony. As she approached the door, she used her magic to remake her bed, then open the door. She walked out into the cool night air and smiled. The darkness was peaceful. The darkness accepted her for who she was. The darkness, unlike ponies, loved her.

She walked to the railing and came to a stop. She looked out across Canterlot as she breathed in the cool air. Since she hadn't raised the moon, very few lights were on as most ponies still slept, and so the city was almost entirely enveloped in darkness. It looked peaceful.

But looks could be deceiving.

Ponies were still sleeping, and even if they weren't, they assuredly wouldn't be outside. They wouldn't be enjoying her moonless night. They wouldn't even enjoy the moonlit night. They would simply curse both and rage against it, ruining it.

And as her thoughts lingered on that wretched knowledge, she felt more disappointed and angered. She kept the anger locked away and turned her gaze to the right until she looked at Twilight's tower.

The filly was still sleeping peacefully. After everything that they had seen, that her student had seen and had to deal with, yesterday, her student needed that rest. And it was a rest she had earned.

She was comforted to know that her student had not had nightmares during the night, or at the very least, that she had not been awoken by her student screaming in fear. She was glad such a thing had not happened; she had no desire for such a thing to happen.

Perhaps she would wish or bring nightmares on her enemies, but not her student. Not Twilight.

And the thought came to mind, 'I have not used dream magic in centuries...' Sister had sealed even that away during her banishment. She hadn't used such magic in over a thousand years, and she hadn't used it since her return.

Once upon a time, that thought would have horrified her. Dream magic was a part of her domain! Yet now the thought only left her feeling cautious and leery: could she still use such magic? She remembered how, but she had not attempted it in so long. Such magic was her right!

Yet she was not using it.

She felt a temptation to try to see if she could still use such magic. 'What are you dreaming of?' she wondered. Her eyes glossed over as she stared at the tower, almost trying to look through the marble walls to see her student. In her mind she imagined what her student was dreaming of: Sister, Sister's sunny days, her studies, perhaps even her friends, but not her. No, her student wouldn't dream of her because those dreams would be nightmares.

Her vision refocused. The temptation to delve into her student's dreams disintegrated. Perhaps it was her right because dream magic was a part of her; perhaps it was her right because she was Queen. But she would not do that to her student. No, it would have violated her student's trust. It would have crippled her student even further.

If she did so, she might as well have been right there with Twilight and told her, 'You will never be safe from me!'

She felt bitterness bubbling up inside her chest. She looked away from the tower. 'Perhaps in time I will tell you,' she thought.

But so long as she had a choice, so long as there was an alternative, she would not surprise her student in such a way. If her student had nightmares, then she would intervene in secret, but she would not use her magic to hurt her student. It would be detrimental to her efforts; it wouldn't be in her best interest. And Twilight was young.

But surely her student had been having nightmares! And she had not thought to check; she had not thought to intervene. 'What have I lost because I have not tried to help you?' she thought. Her lips pulled into a grimace.

She felt guilt. She had the magic to help her student; she could have eased her student's troubled mind, or at least help her to sleep peacefully, yet she had not. And each time was a missed opportunity, one that could have helped her student and helped herself.

She inhaled and filled her lungs with the cold night air. She closed her eyes and held that breath in for several seconds, then opened her eyes and let the air out. She turned her head back to face her student's tower.

'You held up better than I expected...' she mused with a nod. And that was progress.

Her thoughts drifted over the night and everything that had transpired. As she thought about it, worry edged into the back of her mind. It was unrest; it was disorder. It was dissent; it was rebellion.

It was chaos.

Reluctantly, she turned her head to face the castle's gardens. Her eyes jumped from spot to spot, then she stared at the center of the garden. Nothing looked out of place. Nothing immediately felt out of place. The world wasn't inverting; reality wasn't fracturing. She was hesitant to check with her magic, but she had to. To not check would have been foalish, so she lit her horn and reached out with her magic.

And relief washed over her immediately. Her lips even drew up into a confident smile. 'You're still sealed away.'

She turned her gaze back to her student's tower. Her smile faded as the memory of seeing Twilight look at her so desperately played through her mind. It agitated her to think about. It agitated her to see Twilight looking like that. The agitation made her shift her weight. The sound of her metal boots scraping on the smooth marble broke the stillness.

She tried not to think about it, but how could she stop herself? It was a haunting thought, what had brought on that desperate look. She did her damnedest not to think about what caused it, but that only made her think about it more, and it enraged her further.

She pictured the filly. She trembled and bared her teeth. She found her before the flames had reached her, but it wouldn't have taken long.

She threw her hoof into the air and slammed it down into the marble to crush the thought from her mind. The marble balcony cracked beneath her. She felt the impact in her hoof and in her leg. Her leg ached and throbbed through the whole length of her muscle.

Her hoof tingled.

She let out a growl and leaned to the left, then lifted her right foreleg into the air. Begrudgingly, she looked down at the marble. She scowled at the crack and lit her horn, only to hesitate as she watched the marble shimmer and slowly heal.

The crack disappeared after a few seconds. The ache in her leg did not.

Carefully, she set her hoof back down. The damage wasn't permanent; it would heal. Until then, she would endure the tingle in her leg and hoof.

She looked to the east and reached out to the moon with her magic.

She hesitated. She held the moon in her magic but hesitated. She could feel her sister's disgusting presence tarnishing her moon. It made her bitter, and she bared her teeth.

She didn't want to have to see that damned corruption. She had half the mind to leave the moon where it was, just so she didn't have to see her sister mocking her. But to leave it there was the worst thing she could do for Equestria and the whole world. She had to raise the moon, or there would be no Equestria for her to rule.

She still hesitated.

She wanted Twilight to be there with her, but Twilight needed her sleep. Her grip on the moon faded, and her head drifted to the right until she stared at Twilight's tower again. She realized, 'I am delaying for you,' and felt a sense of bewilderment.

Delaying too long would cause uncertainty. Uncertainty wasn't in her best interest.

But she was still willing to wait. A few minutes would not cause too much uncertainty, and Twilight could better recover.

She inhaled, then exhaled. Her gaze dropped down to the railing. 'You're going to be the death of me, aren't you?'

She inhaled again, then forced the air back out of her lungs. She swallowed, then licked her lips. Her gaze lifted back up to her student's tower, then she spread her wings. She beat them downward and arose into the air. She flew over the railing, banked, then glided towards her student's tower.

The two guards jumped as she arrived, and their armor clattered against the marble when they landed. She scowled and sent both a glare that was missed in the darkness as she strode towards the door. In the back of her mind, 'I need to replace them with batponies so they can actually see,' occurred to her.

It wouldn't do for her student to be so unprotected.

She opened the door with her magic, then walked inside. Once she was past the door, she shut it silently, then walked further into the room, only to find her stride slowing. Her head drifted right and her eyes scanned over all of the books her student's library was filled with.

'How much more does she know than I do? How much more do I know than her?' she wondered. There had to be so much learned during her thousand-year banishment. Catching up on it all would take time. A month was not enough. Perhaps it was enough if she skimmed everything, but she wouldn't truly know and understand.

She inhaled, then exhaled. Her head drifted to the left and once again she looked over the spines of the books. She ignored the title and just took in how many books there were. 'Have you read all of them?' she wondered. If that was the case, then she found herself partly impressed. Even if Twilight was a scholar.

'What do you know that I do not know?' she wondered. There had to be hundreds of books in Twilight's tower. And who was to say those were the only books her student had read? No, that thought was silly. There had to be books that her student had read which were not here.

Surely her sister had given Twilight other books to read. Books that would have been kept restricted. 'You had access to the Archives, did you not?' She found herself nodding, and she found herself worried. 'Perhaps there is more that you know that I do not realize...'

And perhaps there were spells that she didn't know Twilight knew; spells that she didn't even know existed. Twilight already knew mind magic.

"So much potential..." she whispered in fascination.

She turned to the left, then walked to the stairs that lead to the second level. She set her hoof on the bottom step and paused. Last time she had ascended those stairs, she had felt uneasy and had ended up scaring her student. And that knowledge left her hesitant.

She bit her lip. 'We will talk and you will not be afraid of me,' she told herself.

With a nod to herself, she released her lip then crept up the stairs. Unlike before, she did not feel fear or the desire to leave. Instead, she found herself feeling comfortable. She walked to the doorway to Twilight's bedroom, and as she approached it, she slowed.

The anxiety returned.

She came to a stop at the doorway and lingered, reluctant to enter her student's bedroom. She looked right at her student and watched her sleep. It was peaceful, and the blankets over her body rose and fell no different from any other time she had watched her sleep.

But she still looked so vulnerable! The thought left her feeling exasperated. 'You shouldn't be so vulnerable!' hissed in her mind. 'You're the bearer of the Element of Magic! You're my student!' It was unthinkable that somepony so valuable could be so unprotected.

'Perhaps I should make you armor,' she mused. At that thought, she looked at the ceiling and tilted her head. She tried to picture her student wearing armor, but she couldn't. She couldn't picture Twilight wearing armor like the Royal Guard or batponies. She couldn't picture Twilight wearing armor like herself. Nothing seemed to fit her. Twilight wasn't a soldier. Her student was a scholar.

In the end, all she was able to picture was Twilight wearing some kind of dress. Even that was hard to picture, and it was so frivolous that it was pointless.

She shook the thought from her mind and turned her gaze back to her student, who still slept peacefully. It made her reluctant to wake her student. 'You need the rest...' repeated in her mind, making her chest churn. 'But I do want to watch the moonrise with you...'

'What am I to do, Twilight Sparkle? You agreed to watch the moonrise with me and it is time to raise the moon, yet you still sleep...'

Reluctantly, she lifted her aching right foreleg, then stepped into her student's room. The step was followed by another, then another, and with each step, her unease grew more prominent. Eventually, she stopped at the side of Twilight's bed. Her student was still unaware of her presence. She felt relief, yet it also agitated her.

Anypony could have sneaked up on her student when she was sleeping, but it also meant that her student wasn't so terrified of her presence.

'What are you dreaming of?' she wondered again. The thought brought on an immediate sense of discomfort as, 'You're probably dreaming of Sister,' came to mind. She looked away from her student and looked out the window.

Wasn't that a mockery of her? For her own student to be dreaming of her damned sister! Yet her student was most likely comforted by those dreams; they likely left her feeling at peace. A peace that her student would never have with her outside of her own dreams.

She wanted to turn around and leave, but she stayed. Her gaze inevitably drifted back to her student. The filly's dark blue mane was a mess, with strands of it sticking out as if a something had licked the left side of her face. It brought a smile to her lips, but it was short-lived.

She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, then quietly exhaled. "Twilight Sparkle?" she called. She opened her eyes to look at her student.

Her student groaned, pressed her eyelids closed tighter, then gradually opened her eyes. For a few seconds, there was a lack of recognition in those purple irises, then her student's eyelids shot open. "O-oh," Twilight squeaked. "Um, good... morning?"

'You are still scared of me,' came with a silent sigh. Nightmare gave a slow nod of acknowledgment. "It is time for me to raise the moon," she said. She hesitated to say the next part, and the hesitation felt odd. Why did she hesitate? She hoped her student would still want to. She didn't want her student to reject her. Her hesitation was audible as she ventured, "And you said you would watch the moonrise with me?"

But Twilight didn't notice the hesitation in her voice. Her student only blinked, then nodded. "Oh, right..." she mumbled. Her student sucked in a deep breath and yawned, rolled onto her left side, then slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Twilight slowly shook her head and lifted a forehoof to rub her eyes.

Nightmare watched the filly curiously. "How... did you sleep?" she asked.

Twilight's forehoof paused at her right eye for a few seconds, then her student lowered the hoof to the bed, looked at her and nodded. "I slept fine," was the awkward answer.

Nightmare nodded to herself and looked away from her. "That is," she paused to mull over the next word, "good."

For a few seconds, nothing was said between them. She saw Twilight yawn again out of the corner of her eye, then when the yawn ended, her student asked, "What about you?"

The question felt odd. Why would her student ask such a thing? Why would she care? It was utterly pointless!

Then again, she had asked the same question.

Nightmare turned back to her student, who was still looking up at her. Waiting for an answer. "I slept well," she answered with an incline of her head.

"That's good," Twilight likewise answered.

The silence felt awkward. She stood there, watching her student. Her student sat on the bed, trying to avoid looking at her, or perhaps trying to avoid staring at her. 'Neither of us really know how to act around the other, do we?' she wondered. It was silly. She didn't even need to wonder about it or think about it. She already knew the answer was, 'Yes.'

Eventually, Twilight's head rolled back to face her, then her student nudged herself forward and slid off the bed. Nightmare watched Twilight take a few steps forward, and likewise, Twilight kept her head turned to face her. But it didn't look like it was out of fear, no. Twilight didn't hold herself with the same timid, fearful caution that seemed to be an innate part of who she was. There was still a timidness in how she held herself, but it wasn't one where her student was ready to try to escape if something happened.

It wasn't necessary.

Her student didn't tremble before her, and she found herself smiling. Seeing that her student wasn't quite so afraid of her helped soothe her mind. Perhaps something actually was going right! She would still have to raise the moon and see her damned sister's corruption, but at least she could hold it over her sister that Twilight was hers!

And somepony would be there with her when she did it. Her student would share that moment with her. She felt more eager than before. The concern about the chaos in Manehattan was cast aside. The dread at the prospect of Discord escaping flew away.

The freedom wasn't quite what she felt in her dream, but it was still a taste of it. A taste that left her yearning for more.

She inhaled as she turned back around to face the doorway. She turned her head back to her student and reached out with her left wing to stroke a feather along Twilight's back. She found herself watching her feather as it slid through Twilight's coat. She could see a lingering line left in Twilight's coat where her feather passed through. It didn't stand out too much, but it was there. She could see it. Maybe nopony else would see it, but she did.

She slowly folded her wing back to her side, then faced Twilight. Her student was looking back at the same crease she had been; her student had been watching as she had been. Twilight blinked, then turned her head back to face her. She felt some distant sense of doubt start nibbling on the back of her mind as she watched her student. Twilight was calm, but she didn't look excited. She felt disappointed.

For the barest moment, she thought she saw Twilight's brow twitch down; she thought she saw Twilight's ears flick back. But she wasn't sure.

She lifted her right forehoof, then took a hesitant step forward and leaned her head to the right. "You do still wish to watch me raise the moon, do you not?" she asked. She turned back to face her student, then spoke, "If you would prefer not to-"

"No, it's fine," Twilight cut her off, taking a step forward. "I just... it's early-"

"Very astute," she commented dryly.

Twilight visibly winced, then shied back. She winced on the inside and felt a bit of guilt.

"I'm sorry-"

"I apologize-"

Nightmare wasn't sure who had started speaking first. They both went silent at that. She inhaled, then turned her head back to face the doorway. She looked out into the library and watched the magelight illuminating the tower. "You do not need to apologize," she preempted before anything else could be said.

"I'd still... like to watch the moonrise, if that's okay?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare inclined her head as the disappointment grew worse. She suppressed a sigh as the thought, 'So much for your confidence...' came to mind. "I am looking forward to your company, yes," she answered.

Twilight reacted to that. She saw the reaction, but she couldn't quite place it. She knew it wasn't surprise. It wasn't fear, nor anxiety. It wasn't hope, nor eagerness. It almost seemed like it was some kind of confirmation. It made her feel a twinge of worry.

But before she could dwell on it too much longer, her student spoke up, "Um, may I use the bathroom first?"

"Of course," Nightmare answered, her eyes immediately jumping to the mess of a mane atop her student's head.

Twilight shifted her weight uncomfortably, then scurried around in front of her and hurried to the bathroom. She idly watched her student right up until the door closed. She stood there for a moment, then turned her attention back to that magelight.

It was her student's work. The light was pleasant.

She turned her attention to the books that spanned the bookshelves and walked out of the bedroom. She came to a stop at the railing and looked over the library.

There were so many books, and she was sure her student had read so many more than what were here. Her student was but a filly of sixteen. And it was impressive that she had read and studied so much. 'It is a wonder that you could make friends at all,' came to mind.

She suspected that if she had seen her student before that bond had formed between the six of them, she wouldn't have been capable of picturing the filly with friends.

And her friends loved her. All five of them. They shared a special bond. Not just the Elements of Harmony, either. Friendship. Her sister and herself had, once upon a time, wielded the six Elements of Harmony. Three each. A similar bond. Not the same, but close.

She hated the memories. Sure, she took a sense of satisfaction in defeating Discord, but it didn't change how her sister had lied to her. How her sister had used her and betrayed her. Their friendship, their familial bond?

It was just a lie her sister had spun to use her.

She felt bitter.

Twilight's friends didn't use her for their own gain.

She felt jealous of her student.

When she realized that, the bitterness and jealousness faded, just a little bit. It was still there, but her mind calmed down. She would not snap at her student. It wasn't in her best interest, and harming her student in such a way was wrong. 'I will not hold Sister's crimes against you,' her mind wholeheartedly agreed.

But once upon a time, it would have been different.

She shook the thought from her mind before it could do any damage. She stuck her tongue out of her mouth, then ran it across her lips.

She waited on her student. She focused on the necklace and felt Twilight's position, her movement. She listened to her almost disgruntled breathing and wondered, 'You are brushing your mane, are you not?'

She turned her attention to Cadance. The alicorn was still sleeping soundly, not that she had expected different. Shining Armor was there as well; she could hear two sets of breathing. In her mind, she could picture them cuddled up, and the image made her scowl. 'You two will be useful,' she knew, 'as long as I can tolerate you,' came more bitterly.

Yes, the end result would be useful. If they were to be married, she could replace Captain Shining Armor with essentially no problems. That and a royal wedding would assuredly help Equestria feel more normal and stable for the average pony. A celebration would be good. Assuming that the two of them didn't end up stabbing her in the back after being married. That could happen, although she wasn't entirely sure how. 'The benefits still outweigh the risks,' she knew.

But she still couldn't force it to happen, no. That was up to them. She had yet to hear them talk about it, but surely it would eventually come up. If it didn't, she would be surprised. All she could do was wait.

She was good at waiting.

At times.

She heard the door to the bathroom open. She turned her head to the right and looked back to watch her student walk out from the bedroom and approach her. She studied the filly's now-brushed mane, then glanced over the length of her groomed tail before meeting her gaze and inclining her head. "I presume you are ready now?" she asked.

Twilight nodded and slowed until she came to a stop at her side. "Yes," her student answered.

"Good," Nightmare replied. She lit her horn, enveloped Twilight in her magic, then teleported the two of them to her balcony. She stood facing the east, looking out over Canterlot towards the horizon. Twilight stood at her right side. With Twilight standing in her proper place, she felt more at ease, more unified. It reminded her of wearing her armor, and then when Twilight wasn't there, it was almost like she wasn't wearing her boots or her helmet.

She put the strange thought aside and turned her attention to the moon. It hid somewhere just below the horizon to the east, almost slumbering as it waited for her magic to coax it into ascending into the sky. She reached out and wrapped the moon in her magic.

And as soon as she did, she felt that sickening disgust of her sister's presence. Sure, her sister was locked away, banished, bound and held captive with her magic locked away, but her sister was still there, sickening her moon like a disease. A part of her, and she wasn't sure how much of a part of her it was, wanted to teleport to the moon and fix the issue. She wanted to crush her sister's bones under her hooves, she wanted to see the white-gray moonscape painted crimson with her sister's blood, she wanted to hear those agonized, pained screams of her sister's pleading for her to stop that fell on her ears like the sweetest of musics.

And another part of her, thinking on that part that wanted to torture her sister so, felt cold and distant. The desire was there, and to vent would have been welcome. Her sister would recover from just about anything she could do to her, so she could vent and vent and vent, all without fear of accidentally killing her sister. Death was simply too good for that damned sibling of hers! Celestia deserved to suffer. And she could choose when to end it.

But she felt hesitant to act on such impulses. The impulse left an uncomfortable twist in her chest, it brought a grimace to her lips. She couldn't teleport the distance to the moon, not now. Not while she was actively suppressing the Elements of Harmony. Even if she could teleport the distance, she still felt hesitant to do so. She had no desire to see that damned white coat again. She had no desire to see that damned pony violating her moon. No desire to see that damned, lifeless moonscape again.

And it would still be torturing her sister.

She felt it was entirely in her right to do so, given what her dear sister had done to her. Yet the thought, 'I am better than you,' growling in her mind was enough to steel her resolve not to act on it.

Torturing Sister would have been the work of a monster.

"Um... are you alright?" Twilight's voice called.

The thoughts of her sister snapped away even though Nightmare could still feel that accursed presence on the moon. She turned her head to her student and gave a quick incline of her head. "I am merely thinking," she responded, then turned her head back to face the horizon.

It came quickly, and she wasn't prepared for it. She couldn't stop herself fast enough, and "Did you watch this with her?" slipped out.

More quietly, Twilight answered, "Um... I did watch her raise the sun... we... well... a few times we were here..."

Nightmare inhaled. Twilight didn't continue. 'You are afraid to discuss this with me,' she knew. It made her want to grimace, but she held it back. She slowly turned her head to face Twilight, then asked, "And what of her raising the moon?"

It came out more coldly than she had intended. The grimace slipped out.

Twilight nibbled on her lip. She had half the mind to chastise her for that, but she bit her tongue to stop herself. It wouldn't have helped her student's confidence any. "A few times," was her student's shy, high-pitched answer. It wasn't quite a squeak, but the nervousness was there.

"You do not wish to speak of this, do you not?" Nightmare asked.

Twilight nodded emphatically.

Nightmare reached out with her right wing, then slowly brushed a feather up along her student's side from about halfway down her back to her withers. She glided her feather all the way off Twilight's coat, then folded her wing to her side.

"Uh... we... I've not..." her student trailed off as she struggled to figure out what to say. For a moment, Twilight closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, then her student opened her eyes and let the breath out. "I only saw her do it in private a few times when I was younger." Twilight shifted her weight, then added, "Um, raise the sun and moon. I still saw her do it in public when..."

Twilight trailed off, and the silence following the last word felt pronounced. 'The Summer Sun Celebration,' growled in Nightmare's mind. Her lip twitched up, but not enough to show her teeth. "I see," she replied.

Twilight looked away from her and starred off towards the horizon.

"I am surprised she did not do this more with you," Nightmare commented.

Twilight blinked, then turned to face her. There was a lack of recognition in her student's face; the statement had caught her off guard.

'Why didn't you?' Nightmare wondered. 'Or was it because she is not comfortable with it?'

'I am procrastinating,' came to mind. She suppressed a sigh, then channeled more magic into her horn and cast the spell. She coaxed the moon up and watched. Seconds passed, and then she saw the barest sliver of the moon testingly peak over the horizon. She let her horn go dim and watched.

It wasn't quite as enjoyable as she had hoped. Her student's presence was nice, but it didn't feel as peaceful as she imagined. It was disappointing. She glanced aside at her student, who stared at that small sliver of the moon as she sat there.

She slowly sat down beside her and watched the moonrise. It was so slow and drawn out, and watching it, it was easy to forget that it was moving at all. The small sliver grew so slowly. It didn't care that it was tarnished. It didn't care that ponies despised it. It didn't care about whatever stress was plaguing her.

It just was; it simply ascended into the sky in a slow march that would have, once upon a time, danced in sync with the sun's descent. As she watched, she felt like she could drift off into her memories. Tens of thousands of moonrises, all watched alone. Tens of thousands of moonrises spent with somepony who lied to her and mocked her. Thousands of moonrises with ponies who weren't there by sunrise.

Hundreds of thousands of moonrises missed in her banishment.

"Wait... you don't have to constantly use your magic to move the moon?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare blinked as the reminiscence faded away and turned her attention to her student. The filly looked at her with wide-eyes that made her frown. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Surely you did not think that I have to constantly do so?" For Twilight to think she had to constantly use her magic to move the moon was utter stupidity.

Twilight blushed and tripped over her words, stammering and stuttering out incoherent nonsense she couldn't make out. The filly pointed her muzzle towards the balcony floor and turned her head away from her. Eventually, she managed to make out a very defensive, "W-well..."

"This is something I would have expected you to realize from being my sister's student," Nightmare stated dryly. "Neither of us had to constantly move the sun or moon in order to keep it in its path. Such a thing would be insanity," she stated. And as she thought about that, she found herself shaking her head and grimacing.

The thought of having to constantly use her magic to move the moon around? That was insane! The drain on her magic would be far too great. The time consumed would be too much. It would have been too much of a distraction to constantly adjust the moon's course.

She wouldn't do it. Consequences be damned. It would leave her too vulnerable; it would be too taxing on her concentration.

And then the fact that Twilight didn't realize that simple truth left her feeling exasperated. 'How could you not realize this!?' her mind demanded. She couldn't fathom it! It made absolutely no sense! If Twilight had been her sister's student, then the filly should have known and saw that Sister didn't have to use her magic constantly to move the sun and moon.

Or maybe Twilight had, and the question only now came to mind for her student to ask. It was still a stupid question.

Or perhaps Sister had lied to Twilight more than she knew.

The thought left her seething.

"I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to constantly move the moon with my magic," Nightmare admitted, "and in truth, if such was the case I likely would not," she said with finality.

"Wait, what?" Twilight asked, head whipping up to face Nightmare. Glancing aside at her student, she saw the lingering remnants of embarrassment, though it went ignored as Twilight asked, "Why?"

"The drain on my magic, the time it would take, and the concentration it would require. I would..." she trailed off and shut her mouth. It didn't stop a quick jolt from racing through her body. 'I should not tell her that,' snapped in her mind. But she wouldn't lie about it either. The fact that she had nearly admitted such a thing being beyond her capabilities? It made her uneasy.

Or maybe admitting that wouldn't be as bad as she expected. Twilight already knew she had limits. She had admitted as much.

She kept it to herself. "It is not something I would do," she stated.

Twilight saw through it. It wasn't a lie, but her student knew she was keeping something from her. The filly just slowly nodded. "Right... well. Sorry, I should have realized that... you don't have to constantly move it. I mean, I know that, I just..." the filly trailed off and let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know what I was thinking. That was stupid."

'Yes,' Nightmare's mind agreed. Instead, she comforted, "It is fine."

"I guess... I just hadn't thought about it before?" Twilight offered with a wince.

"Perhaps," Nightmare replied.

"How does it work?" was her student's next question.

Nightmare smiled. The mysteries of the heavens. If there was any unicorn aside from Starswirl the Bearded who could comprehend and understand how it worked; if there was any unicorn who could grasp it and deserved to know besides Starswirl the Bearded, it was Twilight. But the smile faded. Twilight was just a unicorn filly.

But her student would be able to understand and figure it out. It was something that she knew they could talk about. It was something that she knew Twilight would love to learn. 'Sister never told you.' It was another way to make Twilight her own student.

"I do not believe you are ready yet," Nightmare stated. Twilight's ears folded back at hearing that, and her head drooped. And she hated seeing that for some reason. "Perhaps in time, I will teach you," she offered.

Twilight perked right up. A smile nearly split her lips, and her eyes almost sparkled in the faint moonlight, as if stars shined from within her eyes. Joy.

She saw that look, but it passed her by. Instead, her mind lingered on what she said, 'I will teach you.'

Not tell; not explain. Teach.

If anypony other than Starswirl, her sister, and herself could grasp it, it would be Twilight. Perhaps not even Cadance could.

She felt a shiver race down her spine.

But before she could linger on the idea any longer, before everything could fall into place, her student said, "Um, thank you."

Nightmare nodded and looked over her student. It was a genuine thanks. Twilight timidly sat there, but It wasn't discomfort; it wasn't fear. Timidness might not have been the proper description of how her student sat there. Twilight was grateful.

It felt nice to have somepony thank her. It felt nice for the thanks to be so genuine and truly meant! It wasn't just a quick 'thanks' that was said in passing or without thought, but one that actually had meaning to it.

"Join me for a meal?" Nightmare asked.

Twilight slowly leaned her head to the right, then back to the left. "I am hungry," her student finally admitted.

"I imagine Cadance will join us," Nightmare commented.

Twilight frowned and looked down at her chestplate for a moment before looking back up at her. "How is... Cadance doing?" was her more cautious question.

"I have not spoken with her since last night," was Nightmare's answer. "So I would know no better than you."

Twilight grimaced. "Right."

"How," Nightmare ventured, "are you doing?"

"Um, I'm... alright?" Twilight replied.

"After last night," Nightmare amended.

Twilight winced, and her head drifted back to the right until her gaze fell on the moon. "I..." she drawled, "think I'm... okay." Nightmare saw her student swallow, then watched her lick her lips. "I... think I'll be fine," was added.

"You have not experienced anything like that before, correct?" Nightmare asked.

Twilight's eyes darted over to her for a brief second, then returned to the moon. Her student gave a quick, timid nod. "Yeah... I've never... well, I've never heard of anything like that happening in Equestria... recently. I don't think it's been like that in centuries."

Nightmare slowly inclined her head, then lifted it back up. "That was not putting too much on you, was it?" she asked. "I do not want to... push you too far, but I do want you to have experience with... matters that you are lacking experience in. It would be good for you."

Twilight grimaced but said nothing.

Nightmare turned her gaze back to Canterlot. The city was still mostly dark, but she knew it wouldn't last. Eventually, ponies would wake and turn on lights that would ruin the city's serenity. And then they would stay inside for the rest of the moonlit night and refuse to step out into the darkness, mocking her. "I am slightly concerned that we may have to deal with such dissent again soon," she admitted. "Likely in Manehattan, but I do not know."

Her student reluctantly turned to look at her and quietly, almost desperately asked, "It's... not going to be in Canterlot, right?"

Nightmare couldn't be sure. "I do not know," she admitted. "We will deal with it if it does transpire."

"Right..." Twilight muttered. "You know I'm just a filly, right?"

"Yes, I am aware of that," Nightmare stated. "I recognize that you are young and I do not intend to put you into situations you are not ready for, nor do I intend to put you in situations where you could be hurt, so long as there is a better alternative, but I do want you to have such experience. Sister would shelter you from it, but it is good for you to have this experience."

"Why?" was her student's innocent question.

Nightmare turned her head to regard her student's curious expression. "To prepare you, should something ever arise where there is no choice but for you to confront it," she replied. "And because this experience will likely help you learn to protect yourself."

Twilight frowned and slowly looked away from her.

Nightmare watched the filly for a few more seconds, then turned her gaze back to the rising moon. She wasn't enjoying it as much as she had hoped, but the same could be said for their shared bath. There was still some wall between them. 'We are missing something, are we not?' she wondered. There was something missing. She was sure of it. Perhaps it was Twilight still being unable to fully relax around her.

And she couldn't blame Twilight for that if that was the case. So she had to keep trying.

She tilted her head to glance at Twilight. 'You are still incomplete,' she knew. It weighed on her mind, and her thoughts drifted back to her dreams.

Twilight was hesitant to use her magic. She had power, she had knowledge, but she seemed hesitant to use her magic. She wasn't confident, despite her capabilities, or perhaps because of her capabilities. 'Is that why you are incomplete?' she wondered. But no, that couldn't be it. In her dreams, she had seen Twilight use her magic, but the wrongness was still there.

But it had been in a dream, and it had not been real, so she couldn't be sure. Yet she felt inclined to believe that even if it had been real, her student would still feel somehow incomplete.

Or maybe she was obsessing over something that wasn't the case.

Still staring at Twilight, her mind cried out, 'What are you missing!?'

Perhaps in time, she would figure out what was wrong. She just had to wait, and she was good at waiting.

But this wasn't one of those times.

She inhaled deeply then asked, "Shall we go have a meal? Or would you rather remain here and watch the moonrise for a time?"

"I am hungry, but... I don't mind staying here and watching it. It's... kind of nice, I just..." her student trailed off and turned to face her. "I keep thinking about... everything that..."

No more needed to be said. Nightmare gave a slow nod. She wanted to say, 'I have seen worse,' but didn't. Twilight perhaps didn't need to know that, and she doubted it would be any comfort for her student. Her student was not ready to hear of such things. Nightmare was not ready to speak of such things. "If you desire to talk about it, you may," she offered.

Twilight grimaced and said, "I'm not sure I want to... I... I don't know."

"If not me, then perhaps speak with Cadance or your friends about the matter," Nightmare suggested.

"Okay..." was Twilight's unsure reply.

Nightmare wanted to say something, but she hesitated. It was silly that she wanted to say it, and it was silly that she hesitated. She was Queen and Empress! She was the ruler of Equestria! Yet she was also Twilight's teacher, and wanted to grow that fragile bond they shared. "If you do desire to talk to me about it, I will not turn you away," she offered.

Twilight's eyes jumped up to meet hers. One second passed, then her student's eyes jumped back down to her chestplate. Twilight nodded slowly.

"I think it would be good for us to talk more," Nightmare added.

"I suppose..." Twilight mumbled as she turned to face the moon. "It... does help me... um..."

"Feel more comfortable around me," Nightmare acknowledged. Twilight gave a timid nod. "Yes, I can tell," she added. Twilight stopped nodding and winced. "You need to be more confident in yourself," she stated.

Twilight sat there and slowly turned her head to face her. "Can we just... watch the moonrise and not talk for a little bit?"

Nightmare's lips pulled into a thin line. "Very well, Twilight Sparkle. But if you do desire to talk, you may," she said.

"Thanks..." her student mumbled as she looked back at the moon. "I just... don't really want to talk right now. It's still early and... well, I have a lot on my mind."

"It is alright," Nightmare replied. "I think that perhaps it would be best to simply sit here and watch the moonrise together. Talking is... not quite helpful for relaxing, given what we have been talking about."

Twilight moved her head up and down in a slow, absent manner, but her student's gaze didn't break from that growing sliver of moon.

After a few more seconds of watching the filly, she turned her head back to face the moon. Not enough of it had risen above the horizon to mock her with her sister's banishment, but with each passing second, she knew it drew nearer. She tried to push it from her mind. She tried not to think about how even now, with her sister banished, Sister still mocked her; Sister still denied her the proper enjoyment of her victory.

She tried not to think about it, but watching the moon made it impossible.

Her thoughts drifted back to those one thousand years, each one blurring into the next and the last. Sister would experience that now. The thought should have comforted her, yet it didn't. Sister scarred her moon; ponies didn't see the moon unblemished. It was always there; it would always be there.

'And you grew up knowing no different,' came to mind, and with it, her thoughts shifted to her student. She knew, didn't she? But did her student truly understand? Surely she could not truly grasp it; surely her student, as bright as she seemed to be, did not fully comprehend it. Twilight knew that those black blemishes upon the surface of the moon had been evidence of her banishment; Twilight knew that those black blemishes upon the surface of the moon were evidence of her sister's banishment.

Her eyes flicked aside to Twilight for the barest moment before returning to the moon. The image lingered in her mind. Twilight's head drifted left towards her, and for a moment, Twilight looked at her. She said nothing. Twilight said nothing. Her student's head drifted back to the right before centering on the moon once more.

Twilight knew the scaring on the moon was the result of Sister's banishment. And that scarring made her student uncomfortable because she knew what it meant.

Then that was something that they shared: neither of them liked those blemishes dotting the surface of the moon.

She knew she didn't want to stay there long enough to see those craters come into sight. She was certain her student felt the same way. Until then, if she could force herself not to think about it, she could enjoy the peace and quiet. She could enjoy the company: somepony, her student, choosing to be there with her and watch the moonrise. Sharing in the beauty of the night, the beauty of the night sky and the stars. Sharing the tranquil peace that the moment offered.

But it felt like a lie, and that lie weighed on her mind.

The weight refused to let up, and the seconds dragged on with the thought, 'This is just an illusion, just a lie,' hissing in her mind. She was lying to herself, she knew, just like Sister had. She was lying to herself to enjoy the moonrise: she did her best to ignore what would come; she did her best to ignore knowing that eventually, those black spots would come into view above the horizon.

She felt bitter. Sister stole even the enjoyment that she should have had from watching the moonrise.

But a part of her hissed in her mind, 'It is your own fault! You were the one who cast that damned spell!' and it made the bitterness that much more pronounced. It twisted in her chest. The fire raged in the back of her mind. She sat there, staring at the moon and seething.

But if she forced herself not to think about it, if she forced herself to forget, then it still remained that she had company with her that she could enjoy. The bitterness and anger cooled, yet still lingered, denying her the enjoyment she should have had.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare glanced at the filly, and in response, her student fidgeted. Twilight might have even tried to scoot away.

That made her feel the scowl on her lips. She corrected it, forcing her lips to relax, but all she could muster was a flat line. She enjoyed her student's company, but it was still overshadowed by her sister. The urge to scowl was still there, pulling at the corners of her lips, pulling at her brow. But it wasn't fair to take it out on Twilight, just like what Sister had done to her wasn't fair. "I am..." she trailed off. What was she to say? How would her student react if she were to admit that she wasn't enjoying this because of her sister? Would her student even care that she wasn't enjoying it? Would Twilight be surprised that she wanted to enjoy it?

She wasn't sure. She felt uncertain. She finally settled on, "I am merely thinking," and it came out more coldly than she had wanted. The bitterness was there. She knew it. Twilight knew it. Her student kept silent.

She turned her gaze back to the moon. Her lips flicked down before she could stop them, and so she had to force them back up. "Sister," she growled.

She leaned her head back and stared straight up into the jeweled, pitch black night sky. Each star was but a tiny pinprick of light. None of the stars offered any help. None of them gave enough light to help anypony. But they were there, their beauty on full display, filling the heavens above. They appeared unmoving, neither twinkling nor shimmering. The air was too dry, cold, and thin for either. The stars, though beautiful, didn't give a damn about her problems. They didn't care about her, they didn't care about Equestria. They didn't care about how her sister had betrayed her.

In a way, the stars then showed that same damned pride that her sister had.

But the stars were still beautiful. They were still peaceful, and they comforted her. The stars didn't boast of their beauty.

The bitterness and anger mellowed out. She didn't have to face the moon and know that it was just a matter of time before that wound was visible.

"I think I would prefer to simply stargaze instead of watch the moonrise anymore," Nightmare admitted.

Too many had been tainted by what her sister had done. Too many had been lost because of her dear sister.

No. She wanted to enjoy the moonrise but couldn't. Not now, not anymore. Luna would have been delighted to watch the moonrise with somepony, even her damned sister. But Luna was dead, and that would have been so long ago that Luna would have enjoyed watching the moonrise. There was a time before Luna realized what Sister was doing.

Stargazing was better. It wasn't tainted by memories of her dear sister. Sister never truly stargazed with her, so the memory wasn't tainted by those damned, lying hugs and manipulative nuzzles her sister had given her when she raised the moon. There were no memories of standing on the balcony watching the stars while her sister was there lying to her as there were with the moon.

Sister simply ruined everything she touched.

Even her student.

Her head lowered and her gaze fell on that filly. Twilight's timidness was back, and seeing it left her feeling disappointed like normal. The foal had so much potential, yet she was blind to it. Perhaps that was good, yet it still made her want to scream. Twilight should not have been so crippled, yet that was exactly what her dear sister had done. Her student was incomplete, and it had to be Sister's fault!

And now she was just ruining the moment for her student, just like Sister had ruined the moonrise for her.

She turned her head to the left and looked out across Canterlot to avoid looking at her student.

It didn't stop her thoughts from lingering on Twilight.

She inhaled, then exhaled and stood up. She looked back down at Twilight and said, "Come. Let us go eat. After that, you may return to your tower if you so desire. If nothing comes up, you may return to Ponyville tomorrow."

Twilight nodded slowly and stood up. "When are you actually going to... teach me?" was her hesitant question.

Nightmare grimaced. "As soon as I can," she answered. "I... apologize for having neglected teaching you-"

Twilight winced, looked away from her, and drawled, "Well, it's not entirely your fault..."

Nightmare waited for Twilight to look back at her before saying, "Perhaps, but I still have been negligent. I will see to it that you have proper material to study when you return, and then shortly thereafter I will begin teaching you in earnest."

Twilight perked right back up at that: her head jumped back up and she stood up straight and eagerly. "Okay."

Nightmare inclined her head, then turned right until she faced the balcony. She strode towards the doorway, and she felt Twilight turn and walk around behind her. She drifted to the left, and Twilight came into place at her right side once again. With her back to the moon, it felt better.

As she walked into the bedroom, the thought, 'I do not know how to teach you,' nearly made her break stride. Once Twilight was clear of the door, she shut it with her magic, but her mind lingered on the problem, 'How will I teach you?'

What would be the best approach for teaching Twilight? Where would she start? The obvious answer was magic, but where exactly should she start? 'I have never done this before... what am I doing?' a part of her mind mumbled.

But she would figure it out. Twilight had the potential. There were so many areas to tackle! She just needed to know where to start.

I used to write Author's Notes when I first drafted/wrote these chapters, but I seem to have stopped because now when I reread and edit these chapters I find a lot of them lack Author's notes and I don't know why.

Overall, I am pleased with this chapter.

Symbolism. Foreshadowing.

Also, I am listening to Halo music while editing this chapter. Halo music makes everything better. Even the most simple, banal task becomes a quest to save the entire galaxy if you're listening to Halo music.

Nightmare Moon walked in silence through the castle's courtyard. At her immediate right, Twilight walked alongside her. The moon hung low in the sky, still hours away from reaching its apex, still casting Twilight in her shadow. She tried to ignore the moon, but couldn't. It was there in the edge of her vision, almost smiling a damned smile at her. She didn't turn to look at it; she kept walking straight forward. She refused to turn to look upon the moon.

But she still saw it. She still saw those scars. Even without turning to face the moon, she could see those dark blemishes. It was almost screaming at her, and she felt so much pull towards the moon because of that scarring. It weighed on her mind so much more than it should have; It weighed on her mind too much. She felt like half of her mind kept being drawn to the moon. Even with all the problems and potential problems she faced, her attention was divided and unfocused.

Though perhaps for a short while, she could allow her mind to roam: Last night had gone without issue; the rioting in Manehattan hadn't resumed, and so the city was starting to recover.

Even though that recovery was limited to forgetting about what had happened and returning to the normalcy of, 'Stay inside at all times, because it is night at all times,' excepting the ponies whose job it was to sort through and clear the debris.

To her relief, the rioting hadn't spread outside of Manehattan, though it did not quell the unease the dissent gave her. All it would take was a spark, and then surely, surely, Equestria would be consumed with rebellion. And when that happened, she would be forced to take drastic action. If she didn't take drastic action, she would lose control.

And when she did take drastic action, she would lose control.

It was a lose-lose scenario. She should have devoted more thought to the matter, but her treacherous mind wouldn't cooperate.

The half of her mind not so drawn to the moon was instead drawn to the right, focused on her student and how soon, Twilight would depart once more. The batpony-pulled chariot was already prepared and waiting. As they approached, she could see the two batponies already harnessed to the chariot, standing at attention, just waiting for her student to climb aboard and for her to give the order.

She could have simply sent her student off without seeing her depart. She could have, but she would not. To send Twilight back to Ponyville without seeing her off was improper since nothing demanded her immediate attention. She would not betray Twilight so. Twilight was, after all, her student.

She could have simply teleported Twilight back to Ponyville. It would have been quicker and more efficient, but it didn't have the same symbolism.

She let her eyes drift away from the chariot, then caught herself before her eyes drifted too close to the moon. Her lips flicked open for a moment, then she forced them closed again, pressing them into a tight line so they couldn't betray her. Her eyes wandered back to the chariot, then jumped onto Cadance's form. She squinted at Cadance and wondered, 'Why are you here? Last time you were not.'

Cadance's head turned in a graceful motion, and for just a moment, Cadance looked at her. The lesser alicorn was thinking about something, Nightmare Moon could see it in her eyes, but she didn't know what. Then, Cadance looked back at Twilight, the thoughtful, almost reminiscent look still in place. Cadance's right wing twitched, and Nightmare's eyes snapped onto the movement. For a moment, she saw the feathers of Cadance's left wing dance above her back as the lesser alicorn fluffed her wings. But not Cadance's right wing. Rather, Cadance held it firmly against her side. 'You are holding something.' She scrutinized Cadance's wing, but there was nothing to give away that she was holding anything, let alone any signs to help her determine what it was. 'You are hiding something.'

But what? It wasn't a weapon; Cadance wasn't an assassin, let alone a fighter or a threat as anything more than a symbol and a leader. It had to be something small, because there wasn't a noticeable bulge beneath her wing, nor was her wing stuck out from her body any more than usual. 'You are here to see Twilight off...' occurred to her, and her head drifted to the right, then her eyes settled on Twilight's back for a moment before settling back onto Cadance's form.

Most likely, then, it was some kind of surprise gift for her student. She felt a draw of curiosity to know what it was, but it wouldn't be anything so important that she had to know. Sentimental, perhaps, but not important. Cadance wouldn't intentionally harm Twilight either. Whatever it was, it wasn't a threat to either of them.

She still felt curious.

She pushed it from her mind and looked back at her student. "When you return to Ponyville, you should find a crate of books that I have prepared for you to study," she said.

Twilight's ears perked right up. Nightmare couldn't miss that smile, nor the joy that flooded Twilight's eyes as they lit up. Twilight's desire to learn and study was something she could use to strengthen their nascent bond; but of course, she had been failing to strengthen that bond of teacher and student. The opportunity had always been there, but she had been neglecting it. It was another failure on her part.

A month and a half since her return, and she hadn't started teaching her student. Could she truly call herself 'teacher' at this point? It weighed on her mind, almost as badly as the scarred moon did. The thought, 'I am betraying you because I have not taught you,' came to mind, making the feeling all the worse.

Betraying her student. Breaking that promise to teach her student. The promise that was supposed to be the foundation of their nascent relationship. Twilight wasn't her student. Not yet. She hadn't had the time, or perhaps she simply hadn't made the time. And so she was betraying Twilight and lying to her.

The knowledge agitated her. It made her chest feel tight, it made her chest feel like it was moving and squirming around inside her body, and her chestplate was no help either. She wanted it to stop. She wanted to teach her student. And the only way that would happen was if she made it happen.

It was unacceptable that she called Twilight Sparkle her student, yet had not started teaching and training her. It was unacceptable that she wasn't teaching Twilight, even more so than those nations waiting over a month before acknowledging her! It ought not be that she didn't teach her student!

And so she wouldn't keep waiting. She had to act when she could. A part of her reasoned, 'I have been busy establishing my rule,' which was true, yet it still felt like nothing more than an excuse.

It was simple, really. She hadn't taught Twilight like she was supposed to, and so she was betraying the filly. And that reminded her of her sister betraying her.

It was unacceptable.

Her jaw tightened for a moment, then slacked. Dwelling on her failure to teach her student wouldn't fix the problem; it only wasted time. "I will visit tomorrow and I will begin teaching you," she affirmed aloud.

Twilight's excitement changed. It wasn't the same carefree joy that it was before. Worry seeped into it. Concern and fear pulled on her mind, breaking her focus, ruining the joy. "O-oh, um, okay," her student stuttered out. "W-what should I study, or-or-"

Nightmare wanted to sigh as Twilight tripped over herself. 'You do not wish to disappoint me because you were Sister's student...' Her jaw tightened. She hated that relic, and she hadn't truly begun to teach her student. She knew she would grow to hate it even more. She looked back ahead at the chariot and inhaled. "We will discuss it tomorrow," she said. "When you return to Ponyville, I would presume you would want to see and talk to your friends-"

"It-it's fine, they can wait until I've studied-" her student tried to counter, yet a certain disappointment had slipped into her voice.

Nightmare shook her head. "Do not concern yourself with it," she stated. "Speak to them. Spend time with them." She let a moment pass in silence, punctuated by one of her boots clicking against the ground. Glancing aside at Twilight, she continued, "Then study, if you so desire. I still do not know the full extent of your magic and knowledge, so I do not yet know where to start."

Twilight watched her. Nightmare turned her head to face Twilight. When her gaze fell on the filly, her student's stride slowed until she fell a step behind. Nightmare stopped. Twilight stopped. "As I have said," Nightmare started, turning to face her student, "I have never done this before. You will have to bear with me-" she licked her lips and bobbed her head to the right, "-because I do not know what I am doing."

It took a few seconds before Twilight gave a hesitant, reluctant nod accompanied with a quiet, "Okay..."

"Good," Nightmare said, smiling ever so slightly. She turned back to the chariot and inhaled. "And do not worry so much about disappointing me. I do not expect you to be perfect. You are not perfect." The thought, 'And you will never be perfect,' came to mind, yet voicing it was unwise, so she kept it to herself.

She glanced back at Twilight, who was, of course, biting her lip. 'That is because I told you that you are not perfect, isn't it?' her mind groaned. She sucked in a deep breath, then chastised, "And stop trying to make yourself bleed."

Twilight released her lip and swallowed. "Sorry."

"Do not apologize," Nightmare retorted. "Come."

Twilight hesitated, leaned to the right, then timidly walked forward once more. Once her student was back beside her, she resumed her calm stride towards the chariot. "And in truth, you may have already studied these books," Nightmare admitted. A scowl slipped onto her expression as she grumbled, "Sister did not leave anything behind so that I know where to begin."

"W-we can figure it out," Twilight stuttered.

"Yes," Nightmare acknowledged. She stopped a few steps away from the chariot, turned to face Cadance, and nodded. Cadance's contemplative look was now more hesitant, with the lesser alicorn nibbling on her lip. "Cadance."

"Nightmare Moon..." was Cadance's drawled acknowledgment.

For a moment, Nightmare looked at that insignificant tiara atop Cadance's head. It felt out of place; It felt wrong. Why was it so that she let Cadance keep her title and tiara, yet she did not wear her own tiara!? It made a mockery of her, yet it was still in her best interest. To keep Cadance and Princess Cadance was beneficial. How the lesser alicorn had helped with Manehattan was evidence of that.

Cadance wasn't a fighter, but she was a symbol. A symbol of hope for everypony to look at- and perhaps, a threat because she was a symbol.

Cadance begrudgingly had Nightmare's respect, even though she still hated the young alicorn. It wasn't nearly as bad as Sister, but she was still jealous. Ponies loved Cadance.

Cadance looked at Twilight. Some of the hesitation lifted, and a thin, rigid smile wormed its way onto her lips. As if asking for permission, Cadance looked at Nightmare. She inclined her head, and then Cadance walked around to her student. Twilight walked out from her side, and the two of them met and hugged in front of her.

The jealousy grew worse: both of her student and of Cadance. They shared a special bond, one that she didn't have with anypony.

As the hug lingered and the seconds wore on, a feeling of disappointment bubbled up inside Nightmare's body.

Both Twilight and Cadance almost melted into the hug, flexing their muscles to hold each other close, closing their eyes. They even went so far as to share a nuzzle, and watching that nuzzle left Nightmare feeling somehow cold. The coldness lingered beyond the two of them finally parting. Twilight stepped back, then faced her. Nightmare swallowed, then slowly licked her lips before turning her head to face her student. "As I said, you should find a crate of books when you return. Open the crate and see what books there are. I do not know which, if any of them, you have read and studied."

She paused. Twilight nodded. She took a moment to think, then looked Twilight in the eye. "Spend time with your friends. Talk to them. I will visit tomorrow and we will go over which books you do and do not know."

Twilight seemed genuinely confused by her command, but nonetheless, gave a slow nod. "Okay... why?"

"It is good for you," Nightmare answered. 'And it is in my best interest.' Her student would do well to learn how to interact with other ponies. It would help her confidence.

Cadance's eyes jumped onto Nightmare, and the lesser alicorn blinked in surprise.

Twilight frowned, yet her head still drifted down, then back up in a slow, cautious nod. Yet behind that reluctant acknowledgment, behind the confusion, Nightmare could see something more: Twilight wanted to be with her friends. 'But is it in my best interest?' she wondered. Twilight's gaze unfocused, and her eyes settled on Nightmare's chestplate.

'They wield the Elements of Harmony. Keeping them in check is imperative. They are threats, yet they are also potential allies...' she thought, bringing a grimace to her lips. She could not trust them with the Elements of Harmony. That was simply insane! To trust those mares with the Elements would be stupid. They would use the Elements against her in a heartbeat.

'Or... perhaps you would not,' a part of her mind cautiously reasoned. And she wasn't sure if it was reason or simply a hope. 'Would you use them to kill me if you had the chance?' she wondered with growing dread.

Her eyes drifted all over her student's body. Mane, head, back, sides, tail, flank. Cutie mark. She stared at the pink starburst for several seconds before her eyes jumped back to meet Twilight's. She couldn't be sure. She just couldn't. She couldn't trust that her student wouldn't do it just to get Sister back. She couldn't trust that her student wouldn't do it. Twilight didn't know it would kill her. She couldn't trust that her student wouldn't, given the chance, betray her in such a way. She couldn't trust that her student's friends wouldn't convince her to do it.

Nightmare Moon wanted to be able to trust her student, but couldn't. Not with the Elements. The idea of Twilight betraying her played through her mind, how she would have her back turned, then suddenly, without provocation, Twilight and the rest of her friends turn on her. Betrayed her. The thought left her squirming where she stood. 'Surely you would not,' was her hope. But, perhaps, that hope was insane and foalish. Their bond wasn't that strong. Twilight had a stronger bond with her dear sister.

She wanted to trust her student. But she couldn't.

Not yet.

Nightmare Moon inhaled, then calmly exhaled, casting the agitation the maddening thoughts aside. She inclined her head and told her student, "Go. Return to Ponyville. See your friends."

"Okay..." Twilight mumbled. Nightmare watched her student turn around, then walk around behind the chariot. The filly put one hoof on the chariot, then hesitated. Twilight's lips pulled into a grimace and her head drifted back to face Nightmare Moon. "Um... what time will you show up?" was her question.

"In the morning," Nightmare answered. "If you do not mind, I will come and we can talk as I raise the moon."

For a moment, Nightmare watched as Twilight thought it over, then her student nodded. "Okay."

Nightmare smiled, then turned to face the batponies. Both of them had their heads turned back to face her; they looked at her with pride. "Do take care of her," she commanded. They both gave quick, serious nods of acknowledgment: a single incline of the head, and wasting no more time than that. She turned back to face her student. Twilight sat down on the chariot in the center with her forelegs draped over the front rail. Her student could have looked anywhere she wanted; her student could have looked away from her.

But that didn't stop either of them from watching the other as the batponies took off and ascended into the sky. She watched her student's climb and followed the chariot with her gaze for over a minute, well passed when Twilight should have been able to see her.

Then she felt Twilight look away.

Nightmare gradually brought her head back down. Something felt wrong. Watching Twilight depart yet again gave her some insane sense of longing! She missed her student's company. A part of her wanted to laugh at how absurd it was. Another part of her wanted to sit down and brood over it.

She was used to isolation; she was used to being alone. One thousand years of banishment, and the isolation she suffered before that were more than enough for her to be used to being alone. Yet she still missed her student. 'I am too fond of you...' came to mind. And she was certain she was. Undoubtedly, she was too fond of that filly. It was insane, and surely it wasn't in her best interest! And that itself was insane!

She knew it was likely clouding her judgment. Yet she still tolerated it; she still welcomed Twilight's company.

She still had the audacity to hope that their bond would grow and solidify.

"Are you okay?" came Cadance's soft, almost musical voice.

Nightmare blinked away the thoughts and her eyes jumped onto the younger alicorn, forming into an immediate, distrustful squint. As she looked at Cadance, she felt the scowl on her expression and crushed it out. "I am simply thinking," she retorted.

Cadance's brow folded down. "You miss her," wasn't a question.

Nightmare felt a hesitation that was becoming too familiar. She lifted her right forehoof and calmly turned to face Cadance. "You are correct," she stated.

Surely she had to have misread Cadance's expression because she felt certain the younger alicorn looked at her almost sympathetically. Surely, surely, surely that wasn't the case! Yet that sympathetic expression lingered, making no sense, just like everything else since her return. Her own squint faded away and mellowed out.

"I can't imagine what it was like for you..." was Cadance's hesitant comment. Her eyes and muzzle even drifted away while Nightmare continued to stare at her. The memories sparked in the back of her mind. Cadance refused to look at her as she added, "Being alone for a thousand years. Not having anypony to talk to but yourself."

"I dealt with it," Nightmare snapped.

Cadance, muzzle still pointed away from her, looked at her, the crease in her brow growing even more pronounced. "I think ponies would like you more if you weren't so bitter."

Nightmare laughed. Her lips pulled up, she threw her head back, and she laughed. It was a laugh at the sheer absurdity of the suggestion. She stared up at the stars, laughing, laughing, and laughing. Cadance actually thought that would help! To think that there was anything she could do by which ponies would somehow love her! Oh, how incredibly amusing!

How incredibly naive.

The bitterness came back to the front of her mind. The laugh suffocated. Her muzzle drifted back down, and she leveled a seething glare on Cadance. "Do not," she growled, "pretend to know me, Cadenza." Her nostrils flares as she exhaled.

Cadance mostly held her ground, only lifting her right forehoof and limply holding it a few inches off the ground while her body leaned away from Nightmare. And she took a sense of accomplishment in how frail Cadance's backbone was, as it meant the young alicorn knew her place and was not a threat to her.

But Cadance was still a symbol, and that was still a threat to her. Ponies saw Cadance as hope, and that meant that as long as Cadance was around, they could despise her while they gave Cadance the love they had given her sister.

And that wouldn't change.

"It doesn't matter what I do, ponies will always hate me," Nightmare spat. "I could save the world from certain doom, and they would find cause to hate me, that is if they did not believe I was not the pony who caused it! I could free dear sister and they would still hate me and love her while she uses everypony without them realizing it!" she snapped.

Her legs trembled in rage. Cadance still stood there, not quite ready to flee out of fear, but not quite ready to hold her ground: if she attacked, Cadance would run.

But not escape.

Cadance's wings twitched at her sides. Carefully, the lesser alicorn bowed her head, though her eyes stayed locked in place on Nightmare Moon. The sight brought a victorious, ecstatic smile to Nightmare's lips. It was a victory that she so deserved! One that sister had previously stolen from her! Then Cadance nodded, and a bit of that smile faded away. The lesser alicorn lifted her head up, met Nightmare's gaze for a moment, then turned her head back to look at her right wing. Cadance unfolded her wing. Something white-gray fell an inch before Cadance's light-blue aura caught it.

Nightmare's gaze immediately fell on the object. A newspaper. A simple newspaper. 'That is what you were hiding?' her mind scoffed, then mocked 'So it was not a gift for my student, or did you forget?'

Cadance levitated the paper over to her, unfolded it, and then faced Nightmare.

And Nightmare stared, feeling her blood run cold as she saw the headline and picture. That victorious, ecstatic smile crumbled. She felt her lips falling down, but she couldn't stop it; there was nothing she could do about it, and then there was just a numb line on her lips.

"You're wrong," was all Cadance said as she turned to her right, then walked away. Cadance's horn went dim and her aura winked out.

On instinct, Nightmare caught the paper in her own magic.

The headline read, 'Queen Nightmare Moon Saves Foal From Fiery Fate!'

Nightmare stared. She heard Cadance walking away so casually, so dismissively, yet the sound of each step was lost on her as she stared at the headline and picture. Her blood grew colder and colder until her entire body felt like it was void of warmth. Her skin felt numb. She didn't feel the night air holding her body. The edges of her vision were almost black, leaving a small circle where all she could see was that picture and headline and flickering light in the darkened edges of her vision. And it all burned into her mind.

It was a newspaper from Manehattan. The front page headline was about herself. They could have put anything there. They could have written about the chaos of the rioting. They could have glorified Cadance for putting a stop to it. They could have written of the two young adults she had stopped. They could have mocked her, or blamed her for instigating the crisis. They could have brought up the arrival of batponies to keep peace, yet spun it as if it was occupation. They could have raged against the eternal night she brought, demanded the return of Sister.

But they didn't. Instead, the front page story was about her saving the life of a foal.

She didn't understand it. She didn't comprehend it. Her legs trembled. She wasn't sure why they trembled, but they did, and she couldn't stop it. She just stared at the headline and picture, her eyes jumping back and forth between the two.

Her mind demanded, 'Why!?' because it made no sense. She felt a compulsion to incinerate the newspaper. She felt compelled to teleport to a forest and make a city-sized clearing. She felt compelled to scream.

But she didn't do any of that. She was almost paralyzed by how little sense it made. Why would they have written such an article!? Why would they have shed her in a positive light!? How did Cadance acquire such a paper!? Was it true, or was it fake!? Why did Cadance give it to her!? Why!?

But it didn't matter. Anypony who saw it would simply know it was propaganda. They wouldn't care. They wouldn't believe it. They would still hate her just the same as before. Or perhaps they would believe it, but even then it wouldn't matter: they would find a new reason to hate her, even if the new reason was a lie in of itself.

'How did they get this picture?' her mind asked. She blinked away the darkness at the edges of her vision, and her eyes shot over the picture, taking in every detail. It had to have been somepony in that crowd, but she still didn't understand how. She was facing the mother after having returned the foal, so the mother was hugging the foal.

And the mother's look. Relief and gratitude! It was almost paralyzing, it shocked her so much. She remembered the way the mother had looked at her. It had stirred memories from so long ago, and looking at it now, once again, it stirred memories from centuries upon centuries ago. And that look was stuck in her mind. At the time, it hadn't done anything for her. It wasn't important, and it did not matter; there were more important things to deal with.

But now, the look almost haunted her.

It made her have the audacity to hope, 'Perhaps you are correct, Cadance.'

She stamped the thought out, lowered the paper, then looked across the courtyard. Staring straight ahead, nothing moved. For a few seconds, she continued to stare ahead as her mind churned. She blinked, then turned her head left, then right.

She stood there alone. There were no Royal Guards nor Batponies to be seen anywhere. Cadance was back inside the castle. Twilight was on her way to Ponyville.

She felt too aware of the silence permeating the courtyard. That silence was oppressive and felt overbearing. It felt like it was pressing down on her from all sides.

'Perhaps I will read the article later, out of curiosity,' she mused. She folded the newspaper, then teleported it to her chambers.

But it would be out of curiosity, nothing more. She crushed that futile, doomed hope that Cadance was right out with the first step she took towards the castle. Nopony would believe the article was anything more than lies, perhaps except for those ponies who had been there.

It would not matter or make a difference.

But perhaps it would help, despite what she knew. After all, she was not always right. And it wasn't as if the article would bring her any harm. It was, somehow, in her best interest.

She put it out of mind.

She tried to put it out of mind. The walk back to the castle had been too quiet. The moon didn't distract her, and her student didn't distract her. Instead, her mind kept drifting back to the headline and picture. It stayed with her, despite her desires to forget about it. It stayed with her, almost mocking her, as she trotted through the marble hallways to her chambers.

And when she closed the doors behind her, shutting herself in her bedchambers, the thought was still there with her. It made her want to scream. It had to be fake. It had to be fake!

She stopped, closed her eyes, then sucked in a deep breath. 'Why does this bother me so?' her mind wondered.

Before she could find the answer, she heard a crack.

Then she felt the crack, and where it came from. A flood of disorientation overwhelmed her, nearly knocking the air out of her lungs, nearly bringing her to her knees.

Her eyes snapped open and she froze as ice cascaded over her body.

She felt reality shift, get forced aside and warped, then cut in two and stitched back together in some disorganized, impossible way, like mashing the pieces of a puzzle together so that they overlapped.

Two serpentine eyes bore into her from every direction at once; nowhere was safe. Her eyes darted back and forth across the features of her room as tingles raced down her spine, as her black coat stood straight up.

One of the golden swirls shifted. Her eyes landed on it. She stared as the golden swirl unwound itself. Her breath caught in her throat. Her chest tightened. She couldn't breathe. The air grew thick with raw power, turning into a soup, then into something almost like a paste that locked her body in place.

A primal sense of wrongness overtook her. An unnatural sensation of primordial fear smashed down on her mind.

That golden line twisted, bulged out, then morphed from gold to brown. A pair of mismatched horns grew from the top, then an angular head winked into place. Two yellow eyes glowed into existence, surrounding crimson red pupils. A tail unwound from the body, and white spines grew out of it as the color broke from brown to green. Mismatched legs and arms popped into existence on the body.

A fang and a beard grew from the head, then a pair of lips fluttered into life, already smiling with raw amusement.

Maddening laughter filled her chambers, gradually growing in volume and glee with each second. The laughter echoed off the walls. The laughter echoed in her mind. She wanted to tear her ears off as that sound penetrated her entire being. The laughter came from everywhere at once, even inside her own body and mind.

The two-dimensional thing on the ceiling peeled away from the marble and became a three-dimensional beast.

"Hello, Luna..."

The beast fell away from the ceiling, spun around, then hovered in the air in front of her. She found herself unable to move as the world moved her closer to him. He tilted his head and gave a look that was somehow meant to be sad, with his lips drooping halfway down the length of his body. "Did you miss me?" he asked. The sadness melted into a viscous liquid that dripped onto the floor, which then sizzled and boiled when it hit the floor. Steam rose up from the liquid. "I missed you," was the cold growl. His slit pupils flashed crimson.

Her body once again became her own. Her gaze sharpened, her horn surged to life. "Discord," she seethed.

And with that, the world pushed her back to where she had been. Discord's eyes lit up in recognition, and he threw his body straight up and exploded his arms outward in ecstatic glee. "You remember me!" he bellowed in utter joy.

The joy faded and he leveled a glare on her. "Trapping beings of chaos in stone isn't very nice, you know. That really wreaked havoc on my schedule, and not the good kind!"

Nightmare's head twisted to the side in anger and she snapped, "Were it not for Sister I would have killed you myself!"

Discord's expression drooped in faux hurt and he mocked in a voice that one would speak to a young foal, "Aww, you know better than to say that Luna!"

Nightmare Moon's cheeks trembled from uncontained rage. She lifted her right forehoof, bolted forward one step, leveled her horn on him, then declared, "LUNA IS DEAD!" at the top of her lungs. Her magic surged out of her horn with enough force that she felt her body pushed back from the recoil. She felt a shockwave crash around the room and slam back into her, but she held her ground.

The column of dark blue light lanced towards Discord.

If it had been anything else, it wouldn't have survived. But it was Discord. The beam touched his brown fur, and in response, he laughed in jubilant joy! His body shook and shivered as he coiled up as if to protect himself. "O-oh stop! Th-that tickles!" he cackled.

Nightmare's horn burned hot from the magic she channeled. She felt the drain on her strength. Her legs trembled. Discord spun around one more time, and then finally she stopped. It was wasting magic.

Discord kept spinning in the air, laughing and squirming in response.

And there wasn't a thing she could do about it. Discord could shrug off anything she did to him. And no amount of anger, hatred, and rage would change that.

Her body felt icy as Discord finally righted himself and grinned at her. "Speaking of your oh-so-lovely dear sister," came his deceptively pleasant voice before it twisted to the sound of metal scraping against metal, "where is she?"

Nightmare kept silent and glared at him. Her mind raced, and dread welled up inside her chest. 'I cannot stop him!' her mind hissed. And then what that meant settled in, 'I need the Elements of Harmony.'

The thought left her feeling sick. She barely held back an agonized grimace. But she couldn't act just yet. No, Discord would find out if she did. She couldn't take that risk. She needed to take advantage of his overconfidence and playfulness. She needed to distract him long enough for him to grow bored and decide to leave.

'And leaving will mean causing chaos elsewhere...' she realized.

Discord brought his claw to bear, then snapped his talons. She felt her stomach drop out of her body when nothing changed. He could have done anything and she didn't know what it was! She couldn't put up any resistance to that thing! Her rule was in jeopardy!

And cleaning up after Discord, assuming he could be stopped, would be a challenge.

"That's odd," Discord muttered absently to himself. He turned around, left and right, right and left, searching for something. He lifted the bed up with a single talon, and his eyes elongated to roll over the floor. "I don't see her anywhere," he muttered again.

His eyes pulled back to his head, he set the bed down and then faced her.

Nightmare's mind raced. 'You cannot break the banishment spell? Why? How?' It made no sense! The only thing that could stop Discord was the Elements of Harmony. Was he just toying with her, mocking her and waiting for the right moment? Or was it somehow beyond his abilities? The banishment spell was the same one Sister had used on her, but it wasn't powered by the Elements. She didn't understand, and had no answers. 'You must not know where she is in case you can retrieve her...' she knew. She swallowed and matched his gaze. "She is gone," Nightmare growled.

Discord brought his claw to his chest. His ears fell back and he pulled his head back as he left out a defeated, disappointed sigh. "Oh, that's too bad."

Then as if nothing had happened, he perked right back up. "Well, it was good to see you again Luna!" he declared.

Nightmare opened her mouth, only to feel a cold pressure force her mouth closed. She stared down at her mouth to find a muzzle keeping her mouth closed.

And oh, how her body trembled in rage.

"But I have chaos to cause," came Discord's threatening voice. "Ta-ta, Luna."

She heard him snap his talons. There was a flash of light, and then he was gone. Her horn exploded to life. Her magic erupted around the muzzle. She ripped it off and threw it to the floor.

The overbearing feeling of primordial wrongness fled the room. The air no longer felt like a paste. She no longer felt as cold as ice. The feeling of being looked at from every direction disappeared.

Her legs still trembled as her mind cried out, making one single, simple demand that could never be, 'No!'

She charged towards the balcony door, threw it open with an uncontrolled burst of magic and jumped outside.

Gone was the beautiful purple and black tapestry of her night, dotted with those jeweled stars. Now, it was a mishmash of every color she could see. Oranges, reds, purples, browns, blues, greens, indigos, violets, whites, and every color in between. The colors boiled and shifted, twisting in on themselves, flowing and inverting in ways that made her head hurt.

Reality itself couldn't decide which color to settle on, at least not until the moon suddenly fell back under the horizon as if a ball had been dropped. The ice in her heart returned as the sun shot up into the sky, burning away the chaos and her beautiful night with its scorching brightness.

She felt the heat of the sun against her coat. The light burned her eyes. Everything turned far, far too bright. Canterlot was barely visible. She squinted, pressing her eyes nearly all the way closed, leaving just a small sliver through which she could see the sun-soaked, whitewashed marble of Canterlot.

"Princess Celestia?" her student whispered, nearly frantically.

Instead of feeling anger, she felt a subdued, distant sense of disappointment.

Then the light died down, the warmth faded, and darkness returned. The moon bounced back into the sky as if rebounding like a ball hitting the floor.

Internally, she screamed. Her mind screamed in rage and anguish. Her work had been violated yet again by a being she couldn't stop. She felt powerless. She was powerless. She knew she was powerless.

And she hated it. She hated it more than she hated anything, her sister included. Her legs trembled, her lips pulled back into tight, vicious lines and revealed her sharp teeth. She clenched her jaw as that fire and anger boiled and raged inside her mind and heart. She felt the pressure of the bite in her gums.

She flared her wings out and screamed at the top of her lungs, "DISCORD!" But the world didn't care. He didn't care. He laughed.

The scream ended with a choked cough. She felt something tear, then warmth trickled down her throat. She let out a gurgled growl and lowered her head. She coughed again, and specks of crimson dotted the otherwise pristine white marble.

A small portion of the rage subsided, just enough for her to think logically, even as the world fell apart around her.

Clouds swirled together in the sky, yet they weren't proper clouds. Instead of being true clouds made by pegasi, the clouds were a disgusting, bright pink color. Instead of raining water, some foul brown liquid fell down onto the world. The clouds grew in size until the whole of Canterlot was covered in the pink-colored clouds. The brown fluid rained down on her body, and she felt it stick to her coat and mat her fur.

It was almost like it was raining on that fire, but the anger and rage didn't subside. She had to force it back; she needed to think. She needed to be in control. She seethed as she glared straight ahead.

She licked her lips. Mixed in with her own blood, she tasted chocolate milk.

Had it not been Discord's doing, perhaps it wouldn't have infuriated her so much.

'My student is out there,' whispered in her mind.

Her chest tightened and her lungs deflated. Her head whipped left, then right. She nearly launched herself to the railing, then looked out across the castle's courtyard. Some Royal Guards and the occasional batpony remained at their posts, others raced across the courtyard, or flew in the case of the batponies and pegasi, for shelter.

She heard a frantic knock on Cadance's door, then the lesser alicorn answered it. She put the conversation out of mind because it would waste time and distract her. Instead, she planned and prioritized: 'I must ensure my student and her friends are safe so that they may use the Elements of Harmony against Discord.'

Then the anguish of, 'Can I trust them to do this? Will they be able to do this?' set in and twisted in her chest. They had to succeed, and she could not help them. They had to succeed because she couldn't stop Discord. Only her student and her friends, wielding the Elements of Harmony, could overpower Discord. She had to rely on her student and her student's friends.

And she wasn't sure she could trust them with the Elements of Harmony to stop Discord and not turn on her. The twist in her heart grew to encompass her whole chest as the thought, 'I have no choice,' came to mind. 'If I do not give them the Elements to use, Discord will win and destroy Equestria.'

But knowing that didn't make it any easier.

Yet another part of her, absurd as it was, thought, 'I am giving my student an opportunity to show her loyalty and prove that I can trust her,' and she wanted to laugh. It truly was absurd! She might as well be considering giving Twilight some weapon to kill her with and telling her, "If you use this on me, my sister will return," and expecting her not to follow through on it! It was begging for things to go wrong. The whole idea was foalish.

And she felt uncertain. But that didn't matter, and she was letting it paralyze her. Twilight would either succeed or fail; Equestria would either be saved or Discord would destroy it again; Twilight would either use the Elements of Harmony on her or would not.

But she could still maximize her chances of success. After all, the six of them would be, for a short time after using the Elements, incapacitated. If they succeeded, if they stopped Discord, then there was enough time for her to act. And surely they would prioritize Discord, the bigger threat, over her?

It would be stupid not too, and her student was smart.

So then it was in her and their best interest to deal with Discord first! It was in their combined best interest to be allies. It helped ease her anxiety, yet the world still fell apart around her.

'You are still out there,' came to mind again.

She pressed her jaw tight and scanned the sky for her student. Discord wouldn't know. At least not at first. He might figure it out. But unlike her, Discord wasn't a killer, and that was one of the few comforts she could take. He wouldn't kill her student to stop her.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't stop her student somehow.

Or worse, turn her student against her.

She fluffed her wings, then dashed back inside and headed to the door. She threw it open, and Captain Shining Armor jumped back. "Queen Nightmare M- what's going on!?"

And that question made Nightmare feel some sense of defeat that made her hate Sister all the more. 'You did not tell them!?' her mind screamed. "I do not have time to explain," she stated. "Gather the Guard and do what you can to slow him down. You will not be able to stop him, but I require you to distract him as long as possible while I deal with him."

The captain gave a reluctant nod, one which all but said, 'This isn't going to end well for us.'

She twitched her head to the side and growled, "He will not kill you, nor should that matter! You have your task, tend to it!"

His metal boots scraped on the marble floor as he bolted to perform his orders.

Nightmare ignored it and lit her horn and charged a teleportation spell. The world warped around her, then Cadance came into sight in front of her, skidding to a stop in the hallway. "N-Nightmare," was the lesser alicorn's stutter.

"Cadenza," Nightmare Moon greeted hastily. She flicked her eyes over the two guards accompanying Cadance, then met the alicorn's gaze and asked, "Pray tell, did sister tell you of him?"

A quick, nervous nod was the answer she needed. Anything else would have taken too long. 'Good. You did something right.' Cadance bit her lip and fidgeted on her hooves, alternating between holding her weight on her right legs and left legs. Her wings bristled at her sides, continually spasming.

And she recalled, 'You are not a fighter.' A grimace pulled at her lips. Cadance would perhaps not be much assistance in stopping Discord. Perhaps in restoring order if Discord was defeated, but not in defeating him. And for some reason, a part of her found some sense of irony in having an alicorn at her disposal, yet it was one who couldn't help because she was weak.

She inhaled deeply, then exhaled to cast it aside; it was distracting her. "Good."

"What are we going to do? Shouldn't you be trying to stop him!?" Cadance asked.

"I-" Nightmare drawled, her eyes jumping on to the two guards before meeting Cadance's once again, "will speak to you of it in private." It would take slightly longer, but there were things she could not say in front of other ponies. To admit in front of the guards that she could not stop Discord? It would be foalish and insane! It would show weakness and invite more dissent, this time from the Royal Guard! She didn't give Cadance an opportunity to say anything before she teleported the two of them back into Cadance's chambers.

It took Cadance a second to recover from her sudden teleport, and her mind screamed out, 'I am wasting time with her! I need to tend to my student and her friends!' But Cadance could still have some use in this situation, and so talking to her had its use, even if it delayed her. Rushing head first into the situation without a plan would get her nowhere. "I cannot stop him," she admitted.

There was one single second during which time Cadance just looked at her, recognition escaping her as if what Nightmare said had gone unheard. Then, Nightmare watched and saw it click in Cadance's mind. Any semblance of a smile, any hint of confidence or reassurance that it would be okay? It all disintegrated. The alicorn's lip wobbled, she took a step back, recoiling in fear. "W-what?" was Cadance's quiet stutter.

"He is more powerful than I," Nightmare related, "and I cannot harm him."

And oh, how she hated admitting that. The bitterness seethed in her mind.

"B-but you-" Cadance started.

And Nightmare knew where that was going, and wasn't about to let it continue, so she jerked her head to the side and snapped, "Yes, my sister and I defeated him once before!" She leveled her head once again, inhaled, then scanned the room, looking everywhere except Cadance as she said, "But I cannot do that now."

"But if you-"

Her eyes snapped onto Cadance and narrowed. "No," was all she said. Any more than that would have only further infuriated her.

"Then-"

"I will deal with it!" Nightmare preemptively snapped. She strode past Cadance and walked towards the alicorn's bedchambers. Cadance turned to face her as she walked by, then followed. She headed into the chambers, ignoring the unkempt bed, then proceeded out onto the balcony. The chocolate milk rain fell down on her black coat, making her uncomfortably sticky. But she ignored it. She scanned the sky, searching for Discord, searching for any signs of her student, hoping that he would not find her.

She could almost hear ponies screaming out in Canterlot. Buildings lifted off the platform and hovered in the air, some spinning or rotating, and others just slowly bobbing up and down as if in some liquid, only to bob back up again and stay in the air. A part of her felt a sense of hopelessness.

There wasn't anything she could directly do. She had power; she had authority, but neither served her in this situation. Neither held any capability of slowing Discord, let alone stopping him.

But she could still intervene. She could assist her student somehow. She could still make sure that Discord didn't find out about Twilight, make sure that Discord didn't hurt her student or her student's friends.

And most assuredly, she wouldn't make that stupid mistake that her sister had. 'You will not find out about her until it is too late!' came a bitter hiss in her mind.

Then, she smiled. She would be there, just close enough to watch, but far enough away that she wasn't in danger when her student won.

And the gears of her mind turned, 'Perhaps I can use your victory to my advantage,' came to mind. After all, once her student won, her student would have vanquished a great evil; a threat to all of Equestria and the entire world. She could use that, somehow.

Perhaps celebrating it. It would give ponies some reassurance, maybe it would even help smooth things out. And of course, her student would deserve such recognition. And her student would have gained more of her trust.

Perhaps it would help her student's confidence.

But that was all in the future. Before any of those plans could come to fruition, Discord had to be stopped. 'I am getting ahead of myself,' was her disappointed reminder. She glanced back at Cadance, who lingered in the doorway. "Do what you can to distract him. I will work on defeating him," she ordered.

Cadance gave a reluctant, timid nod.

Nightmare studied the alicorn's frightened expression and exhaled. "You will be helping protect other ponies," she explained.

Cadance's expression twisted, then softened. "I- I guess you're right."

"I am," Nightmare replied.

Cadance winced, then nodded. Her horn glowed, then flashed, and she was gone.

Nightmare Moon looked back out across Canterlot. 'You need to learn how to teleport, Twilight Sparkle,' occurred to her.

Once she finally got around to teaching her student, that would be the first thing they went over.

She channeled magic into her horn to teleport but hesitated. She could teleport to her student right then, retrieve her, then retrieve her student's friends. She could do that. It would only take so long, perhaps fifteen minutes. And then they could deal with Discord.

But that was assuming Discord didn't figure out what she was doing. That was assuming that Discord didn't find out and intervene.

Directly acting, then, was perhaps putting her student in danger. Directly gathering them was perhaps a mistake. It could alert Discord of her plans, and to do so was a mistake. It gave him the opportunity to react. Yet at the same time, giving Discord more time to sow chaos was also a mistake. The Elements would protect her student and her friends from Discord, yet the fact remained, they could be interdicted before they could act.

Her lips pulled into a grimace and she tasted the chocolate milk rain on the tip of her tongue.

She teleported back to her chambers. She walked to her desk, picked up a quill and levitated a scroll over. Personally gathering them would alert Discord, but sending a letter? He may detect it, but a letter was boring. Discord wouldn't care to investigate that.

She wrote the letter out, rolled it up and bound it with her seal, then sent it off.

The chariot landed much harder than it had before. Twilight's whole body lurched a few inches into the air from her sitting position, and she grunted as she landed. The most likely answer that came to mind was, 'Batponies don't have much experience pulling chariots, do they?' And that made sense, given that the batponies kept to themselves, and that she hadn't seen any batponies pulling such chariots before!

So the Royal Guard had at least one way in which they were better.

But that might also have been ignoring the biggest point: how the ride back to Ponyville had been a terrifying experience.

Of course, that was just distracting herself so she could try, and fail, to ignore the sky and the weather. She nibbled on her sore lip as her eyes jumped back and forth, and a feeling of dread left her with no desire to climb down from the chariot.

The sky was certainly acting up. At first, when she had seen the sunrise, her heart had swooned with joy and burned with hope! Surely it had to have meant Princess Celestia had somehow escaped!

And then the sun fell again, much quicker than it should have. Of course, it had been foolish to hope Princess Celestia had escaped. It crushed that wellspring of hope inside her, and as the flight went on and the sun and moon kept rising and falling unnaturally fast, it only made her more uncertain.

Princess Celestia wasn't free. She was certain of that. Instead, something seemed to be fundamentally wrong. And really, that was easy to figure out. Clouds weren't supposed to be pink. It wasn't supposed to rain chocolate milk. Grass wasn't supposed to look like a blue checkerboard.

A part of her wanted to blame Rainbow Dash for this, but seeing as though Rainbow Dash was a single pegasus and in no way an alicorn, she knew better than to put the blame on her friend, as much as she wanted to.

So no, something was wrong with her teacher. That had to be the reason why. Nothing else remotely made sense. She couldn't think of anything else that had the magic required to act on such a large scale. She didn't know what and she hadn't heard anything, but something had to have happened to Nightmare Moon. And it left her squirming where she sat, despite the paralysis preventing her from climbing off the chariot.

Though the batponies didn't seem to mind her staying there. A quick glance at them found that they were both squinting at Canterlot with the sort of look one has when somepony does something absolutely stupid, yet whatever it was actually somehow worked.

Twilight shook her head. Her chocolate-milk soaked mane flung around to the other side of her neck, then slapped her. Her body jerked and she winced. Her lips spread into a grimace. The reminder made her feel that much more aware of how she felt.

Drenched in chocolate milk. Her coat felt sticky and grimy. It was in no way refreshing. There was absolutely no way she would see Rarity out in this mess. Begrudgingly, she lowered her head and let her eyes roll over her coat.

"I need a bath..." she muttered. 'Or several.'

It was really going to suck if it dried before she bathed.

Resentfully, she pushed herself up into a standing position. She looked down and saw a puddle of chocolate milk where she had been sitting, and her grimace grew even more disgusted. At least she hadn't felt it. She flicked her eyes to the two batponies and looked over their leathery wings. They had an advantage over pegasi in this situation, and even if their sensitivity to the sudden change between night and day had made the trip unpleasant, she had made it safely.

And she wished she was still in Canterlot.

"Thank you for the ride," she said to the two batponies. Their squints disappeared as they both turned their heads back towards her and gave succinct nods. Without wasting any time, they went back to squinting at Canterlot.

She ignored it, turned around, then hopped out of the chariot.

Into chocolate milk mud. The ground felt soft under her hooves, and oh, how she hated it! Feeling the mud press up around the edges of her hooves and squish in against her frogs. Slimy, slick, and absolutely disgusting. Worse than the Everfree, even. 'Why can't these streets be more like Canterlot!' groaned out in her mind. But of course it was a small town, so they weren't.

She took a deep breath in through her mouth, sighed and lowered her head to where it was even with her body. The two batponies hastily took off back into the sky, heading towards Canterlot. She watched them for a moment and her gut twisted into a knot. 'I should be going back with them...'

But now it was too late. 'Nightmare Moon will fix this. I hope.'

She walked the thankfully short distance to her library, but each step was still a nuisance; her hooves pressed down into the soft ground and squished more mud up around the edges. Lifting her hooves proved challenging as well since the mud wanted to keep her hooves held in place.

She didn't even bother to knock. Maybe it was rude, but then she was staying at the library and almost nopony was ever there! She threw the door open with her magic, lifted a forehoof to march inside, then paused and blinked as seven pairs of eyes fell on her.

"Twilight!" was the group's happy cry.

All five of her friends rushed over towards her, among which Rainbow was the fastest, and it gave her flashbacks. Her eyes widened in fear. Not only would the pegasus undoubtedly knock her down again, but the pegasus was going to knock her down in chocolate milk mud! Chocolate. Milk. Mud!

She winced, braced herself as best she could in the soft mud, and closed her eyes.

The impact never came.

Reluctantly, she cracked open her eyes. The five of them were at the door. Refusing to come outside. She couldn't blame them and was grateful for it.

"Darling! You simply must come inside out of that- that! Whatever it is!" Rarity chided. Unsurprisingly, Rarity's expression was one of pure horror. Her eyes never stayed in one spot and constantly slithered over her body, and no matter where Rarity looked, Twilight's body was a mess that made her horror grow worse.

"Well, if you'd get out of my way I'd be happy to oblige," Twilight snapped back.

"Oh, er, right," Rarity backtracked and stepped aside, offering a sheepish, apologetic smile.

Twilight quickly strode inside. She inhaled through her nose, hoping to take comfort in the scent of books, paper, and ink, only for her muzzle to scrunch up from the smell of chocolate milk. She walked inside to the middle of the room and heard her friends follow her. Reluctantly, she looked back at them. They were, including Rarity, soaked with chocolate milk, and their hooves had mud all over them.

And they were inside her library now. Muddy tracks led up to where she stood, and muddy tracks were left all over the library from the rest of her friends.

'Great. Just great!' her mind commented. A scowl slipped out.

But still, it was better than kicking them outside and forcing them to go home and risk that 'rain' striking again. She couldn't and wouldn't do that to them. Besides, she had company. Good company.

Although she still wished she was in Canterlot. Or maybe she was overreacting again.

None of them asked her how everything had gone, and the five of them gathered around her in a semicircle. Midnight and Spike walked over in front of her. 'Something's wrong,' came to mind, followed closely by a sarcastic, 'Gee, I wonder what?' as she looked out the window. The very top of Canterlot mountain was obscured by pink clouds, and the city was tinted brown from 'rain'. She pushed the thought aside and turned looked back at her friends.

Spike carried a scroll bound with Nightmare Moon's seal, and a bad feeling welled up inside her chest.

"How bad is it..?" was her drawled question.

Midnight shrugged casually as if nothing was going wrong or out of the ordinary. It was enough to make her squint. "Nightmare didn't say. All she said is that I'm to escort you and your friends back to Canterlot by train."

"I was just there," Twilight groaned. Out of instinct, she lifted her forehoof to press it against her head. Fortunately, she stopped herself before she made an even worse mess of her mane. She inhaled deeply and put her forehoof back down. She looked at Midnight and asked, "Why does she need-" but her mind answered her own question before she could finish, 'The Elements of Harmony.'

The dread in her chest grew worse. She stood there, facing and watching Midnight, who just shrugged and smiled. "She has a reason, but I don't know it," was Midnight's casual response.

"Right," Twilight growled. She sucked in a deep breath, swiveled around and looked over her friends. She forced a smile and raised her eyebrows up, then called out, "Well!" before dropping the forced expression and adding a flat, "Let's go."

"Uh, okay," Rainbow muttered.

"Are you alright dear? You seem a bit..." Rarity fidgeted on her hooves as her gaze shot over to her. Twilight squinted Rarity. "Well, stressed," her friend finally finished.

"Like I said. I was just in Canterlot," Twilight answered. "And the other night was..." she trailed off and looked away from them. "We can talk about it on the train I guess..." she mumbled as she trudged to the door.

"Um, what about me?" Spike asked.

Twilight paused and winced. She stopped, then gradually turned back to face him as her friends all walked towards the door. Midnight even followed. Spike came into view, standing there at a loss, not knowing what to do and just tapping his claws together as he watched her. His uncertainty stabbed at her heart.

'I shouldn't leave him here alone,' came to mind. But could she really take Spike with her? She had her suspicions of what Nightmare wanted her for, although the reason behind that she could barely guess at. 'Why is the weather so messed up?! What's going on!?' her mind demanded. Of course, standing there doing nothing didn't answer either of those questions.

It was still probably better to take him with her. "Come on, Spike. We need to figure out what's happening," she called.

The uncertainty faded and Spike quickly ran over to her, then stood beside her.

She turned around, then walked out into the muddy streets. Spike followed immediately behind her, then Midnight, and finally her friends. Fortunately, it wasn't raining, but that still didn't make it any less unpleasant. She glanced back at her friends. They all looked to her for guidance.

Somehow, she was still apparently the de facto leader of the group, even now. They all looked at her when she looked at them and they gave her reassuring smiles. Rarity's smile was a bit more forced than the rest and was more of a grimace than a smile. Twilight was certain the mud was responsible.

But still, it made her feel better and reassured. Sure, she had no idea what was going on, but at least she knew she had five friends who would stick by her no matter what!

Just like that chocolate milk mud.

Some things to note: Originally there was a short ~800 word scene from Midnight's PoV, but I realized, "It doesn't really add anything important, so cut it." Secondly, unless I'm misremembering, this is the first chapter where the PoV switches between Nightmare Moon and Twilight- this is intentional and somewhat important.

Thirdly, chaos.

I'm slightly concerned with how I've wound up writing the 'action' chapters as it were in short arcs, which is to say that the Manehattan dissent arc ended not so long ago and now this is starting so close to that. Although it reasonably makes sense given that said dissent/chaos is supposed to have been the trigger for Discord's escape. Still. It also concerns me that it's such a change from how the story had been going to it beforehand, but I suppose it may be a welcome change of pace.

Originally, Discord's ordeal was supposed to happen around 120k words into the story and was supposed to be a major turning point in Nightmare Moon and Twilight's relationship. Well, it's a bit late, but it's still a very important plot point.

Lastly, while I have edited this chapter a few times and have had prereaders go over it, I did not reread it one last time before publishing like I normally do because I've not slept in a few days.

Canterlot's train station was a mess.

No, that was an understatement. Twilight stood on the platform after disembarking the train, staring ahead at what was supposed to be the train station.

The sun was a disco ball, spinning around and casting beams of light down all over the place. The sky was no color, and yet every color at the same time. She could see reality being fractured, like a kaleidoscope, or like a mirror, shattered into a thousand pieces, each offering its own twisted reflection.

Ponies danced around like ballerinas, yet their heads were the heads of rabbits, with their ears almost as long as her tail. A line of massive, pony-sized ants marched in sync away from the train, as if it was an invading army. Their pincers were large enough that one of then managed to snap a marble pillar in half as it walked by.

The ant didn't even seem to notice or care.

And the top of the pillar summarily fell towards the sky, only to fall into the, as Rainbow Dash had informed her, cotton candy clouds. The pillar almost made it through the clouds, only for the clouds to catch the pillar and launch it back down at the train station. And then the pillar came to a stop and rebounded again, shooting back up into the blanket of pink clouds as the clouds enveloping it were a rubber band. In the end, no matter how long she stared at it, the pillar kept jerking back and forth with no signs of slowing.

At length, Twilight closed her eyes, then sucked in a deep breath. Her brain simply couldn't process all she was seeing, and so it did the only thing that it was remotely capable of doing: trying to ignore it.

Unfortunately, that didn't really work because of how insane everything was.

Twilight opened her eyes.

Sure, there might have been a few things that actually made sense somewhere around there! But if there were, she couldn't see it for everything else- too much was happening at once, and almost all of it was something she couldn't process.

She turned her head to the left, looked back behind her, then to the right and once again checked behind her.

Her five friends and batpony guard all wore squints as they surveyed the madness. Spike hugged her leg, and for a moment, she wished Spike wasn't a baby dragon. She wished Spike was an adult dragon so that their roles could be switched: Spike could carry and take care of her, instead of her having to take care of him.

Her expression fell into a scowl. "I don't even..." she hissed at the insanity. As if insulted by it, the madness somehow physically struck her. Her head jerked to the left as she winced, and a short lance of pain went through her head. She sucked in a breath as she recoiled. She groaned and pressed her eyes closed as her head throbbed, marking the start of a headache.

"So... uh... this is happening," Applejack noted.

Twilight shot a glare at Applejack before closing her eyes and inhaling. 'Nope.' She opened her eyes and turned her head to the right.

Midnight stood right beside her, casually nodding her head as it drifted left and right. Midnight's eyes looked unfocused as she stared at the batpony. Then Midnight blinked, turned to face her, and oh-so-innocently asked, "Is it just me or does Canterlot look different from normal?"

Twilight stared at Midnight. Without looking away from Midnight, she was certain all of her friends did too. Except for Pinkie Pie. She saw Rarity and Fluttershy past Midnight, both of whom turned their heads to keep staring at the batpony. 'No, really?' came to mind. She clenched her eyes shut, turned her head back to face the marching line of ants, then opened her eyes.

One of them carried a flag that had the head of an ant wearing a golden crown. In the center of the crown was the map of Equestria, rather than a jewel. She squinted at that for a moment, then put it aside as best she could. Thinking about it made her head hurt, and really, even trying to think about it was a mistake. "I have no idea what is going on. I assume we're supposed to get to the castle?" she asked flatly.

No answer. Twilight turned her head right and looked at Midnight. The batpony shrugged dismissively. "Probably."

Twilight forced a bold smile and inhaled before calling out, "Well then!" She paused and let the forced smile vanish. More quietly, she ordered, "Let's go." She was the first pony of her little group to walk ahead, and the insanity of that wasn't lost on her! Excluding Spike, she was the youngest! Unless Midnight was younger than her, which she doubted. And she was somehow their leader!

But at least it made slightly more sense- or maybe she had lost her mind. 'Yes, that makes more sense than all of this combined!' Clearly, she was imagining all of this. Clearly, she was either dreaming, in a coma, or had lost her mind. Maybe Nightmare Moon wasn't even real!

Nothing changed.

She managed to take one step forward before her right forehoof slid out from under her. Her eyes widened as she felt that sinking feeling where one realizes they're falling. She shut her eyes and clenched her jaw, bracing herself for the inevitable backstab of gravity. She felt her chest smack against the ground, making her grunt as the impact forced air out of her lungs. "Ugghh..."

"Twilight!" her friends called out in near-unison.

Twilight let the groan continue for a few seconds. She barely opened her eyes before squinting. The marble looked glossy and oily bubbles slowly and spontaneously inflated and then hovered away from the platform. Where her chest hit the platform, there was suddy foam. 'Soap. Of course.'

Because that certainly made perfect sense.

She managed to lift her head up and look back just in time to see Fluttershy go sliding across the platform while spinning around in circles. The poor pegasus looked equal parts bewildered and confused, just staring ahead not knowing what was happening. Fluttershy didn't even try to use her wings to stop herself, rather, Twilight could see just how tight Fluttershy had them pressed against her sides. She let out a sigh.

Rainbow Dash landed beside her. Twilight barely had time to register that before the pegasus had fallen on her face, groaning, "Whaa..?"

Rarity yelped in alarm as she joined Twilight on the platform. "My mane!" she shrieked. "Do you know how hard it will be to fix this mess!?" was her infuriated demand.

To Twilight, it didn't look that bad. In all honesty, the chocolate milk rain had made a bigger mess, though working together, her and Rarity had managed to clean everypony up fairly well with their magic.

Applejack apparently had the most common sense and stayed back. Twilight looked back towards Fluttershy just in time to see her hit the wall. She winced and felt her ears press against her mane as Fluttershy let out a soft, sharp whimper. Her friend stumbled back from the wall, wobbling and somehow not slipping on the soapy floor.

Although the floor wasn't shining or glossy now.

Twilight looked down. The soap was gone, and the suds in her fur weren't even there. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Come on..." she groaned. Not even five minutes- or perhaps it had been longer and she didn't realize it- and already this was a disaster.

Today had started off so well! And now it just sucked.

Manehattan had been better than this! Sure, in Manehattan she had been scared, but at least it made sense! At least she could wrap her mind around the 'why' and 'how,' but here? How in Tartarus could anypony explain this!? Wild magic? Sure! But no! Why!? How!?

She stood up wanting to scream. The very act of standing up made her head hurt worse. As hard as it was, she forced the scream back. Screaming would neither fix nor help anything. Maybe she would feel better, but it would probably wouldn't reassure her friends any, and they were, for whatever reason, counting on her to lead them.

In a way, it was nice. They respected her and thought so highly of her. They trusted her and had faith in her abilities, even when she didn't.

She stood there for a moment as her friends picked themselves back up and gathered around her again. Rainbow stood beside Fluttershy, hugging her. To her relief, she heard Fluttershy say, "I'm okay." Rarity fussed with her mane, using her brush to try to fix whatever had suddenly made her normally flowing mane a mess of tangles and sudden, jarring zigzags. She tried not to stare.

Spike clambered up onto Twilight's back and settled down on her withers. Midnight giggled, but Twilight ignored both the giggle and the batpony's teasing comment of, "Free pony rides!"

Twilight took a breath and steeled her nerves then galloped towards the street and called, "Come on, girls!"

In hindsight, galloping ahead to lead the charge was probably a bad idea. Fortunately, she didn't fall down again. She heard the galloping hoofsteps of the rest of the girls as she charged ahead and, unsurprisingly, Applejack fell in sync with her and galloped beside her effortlessly. Rainbow flew at her right, and then Midnight galloped at Rainbow's immediate right. The rest of the girls closed in as well, yet she somehow kept the lead. Her friends probably wanted her to stay at the front.

Even though galloping absolutely sucked. She was a student, not an athlete!

They managed to race down the stairs to the street without tripping over themselves. The marching line of ants turned to look at them, which made her fur stand on end, but nothing came of it. Eventually, they passed the ant leading the pseudo-charge towards the castle.

But even then, the street wasn't deserted. Ponies ran back and forth as pink clouds of cotton candy chased them. The chocolate milk rain shot towards the ponies, even against the wind, as if directed by some higher power. Some ponies even ran in place, staring back at the clouds, not realizing they weren't making any progress.

And that was just what made the most sense. There were ponies who danced in the chocolate milk rain, spinning around and around so fast they blurred. There were pegasi whose wings were on their ears, and unicorns whose horns were forks, spoons, and sporks. Fish swam through the air, their mouths opening and closing and bubbles aimlessly wondering out to drift up into the sky. Buildings hovered in the air, not caring that it should have been impossible for anypony, save for the most powerful unicorns and alicorns, to have done so.

The grass they passed either ended up looking like a blue checkerboard, or, if she made the mistake of staring too long, a window into some deep, dark, infinite void that seemed to hunger for something more. Leaves acted like they tried to fly away from their branches- sometimes even taking the whole tree with them.

It made her headache worse. And then she simply didn't care about what was going on. So what if it didn't make any sense!? She didn't care! It was too much for a filly like her to deal with.

Nightmare Moon would take care of it, she was certain.

But there were no spells she could think of that could do this on such a large scale. 'What kind of magic is this anyway!?' her mind cried out.

The certainty twisted into uncertainty in her chest, and she felt like she left her stomach behind in Ponyville. The doubt, 'She called us...' whispered in her mind, and then her mind raced with thoughts of, 'She doesn't need us, right? I mean, are we even connected to the Elements of Harmony? I don't even know how to use them! I'm overthinking this.' She tried to reassure herself, 'She'll fix this. She just wants to talk to us is all!'

But if that was the case, why was the world still insane?

She managed to believe her reasoning for all of five seconds until the sun fell below the horizon. The moon ascended into the sky, and her hooves skidded on the thankfully-soap-free street. Her friends followed suit, all coming to a silent stop just like her.

As the moon ascended in the west she stared at it. The mare on the moon seemed to be literally crying. The same sort of dark craters somehow jumped off the moon from where the eye was and arced down into space, where they sparkled like stars, before fading.

The night felt cold and uncaring, callous and distant. There was nopony there to comfort Princess Celestia, if she was crying.

And she wanted to cry too.

"Hey," Midnight called.

Twilight managed to look away from the moon. As her gaze fell on Midnight, she found the edges of her vision blurred. The batpony gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "It'll be alright," was all Midnight said.

Twilight wasn't sure she could believe it.

"Heck yeah, it'll be alright!" Rainbow called out, beating her wings harder to launch herself another foot into the air as she pumped her right forehoof up. She smiled boldly and swooped back down to her prior position and said, "We'll figure this out and fix things in no time!"

A smile pulled at Twilight's lips, even as her mind screamed out, 'How!?' What were they supposed to do if Nightmare Moon couldn't stop this!?

What were five mares and a filly supposed to do if two alicorns and the Royal Guard couldn't stop something!?

She took a deep breath and gave a timid nod. "Okay..." she managed to mumble. Midnight and Rainbow both gave her reassuring smiles.

"Come on, we got this!" Rainbow encouraged.

"Yeah, if anypony can figure out what's going on I'm sure it's you or Nightmare Moon, Twilight," Applejack voiced.

"I don't know, I think this is great!" called Pinkie Pie.

Twilight turned to look at Pinkie, then squinted. Pinkie sat under one of those pink clouds, her mouth wide open, letting the chocolate milk rain pour into her mouth, either oblivious to the rain staining her coat or not caring about the mess.

It was Pinkie Pie. But surely, she wasn't the only pony who thought it was weird, right? A quick glance around at her friends found all of them staring too, so no, she wasn't the only pony who thought it was weird.

"Pinkie!" Rarity chastised.

Pinkie lowered her head and frowned at Rarity as she whined in a high-pitched, "Whaaaat?"

Applejack gave a tired sigh. "Come on, Pinkie. We don't have time for this! We need to get to the castle to see what Nightmare Moon has to say."

"Aww!" Pinkie whined, her mane deflating slightly.

Twilight shook her head and turned back to look towards the castle. The moon silhouetted it. She tried not to look up at the moon, but she still saw those tears flying off. 'Is that my fault?' she wondered.

She felt a forehoof touch her shoulder. Her head flicked to the right and her eyes landed on a light blue hoof. For a second, she stared at it, then met Rainbow's determined, supportive gaze. "Right," Twilight mumbled. She turned her head back around and faced the silhouetted castle.

She could worry about the moon and Princess Celestia later.

"Let's go," she called. She took the lead again and her friends followed, right beside her.

"Twilight, dear, do you have any idea what is going on?" Rarity asked. "None of this makes any sense and I, while granted, am not as familiar with magic as I'm sure you are, haven't heard of any kind of magic that could... do this."

Twilight winced. She glanced aside at Rarity and found everypony looking at her for answers. "I... don't know. I've never seen or heard of anything like this! I... would presume it's something Nightmare Moon or... her sister... can do but..."

"Nightmare Moon wouldn't do this," Midnight stated.

"Are you sure about that?" Applejack asked wearily. "She did banish her sister and bring eternal night..."

The urge to cry came back. She nibbled on her lip. Midnight shook her head and frowned as she repeated, "Nightmare Moon wouldn't do this."

"Then who!? Or what!?" Rainbow demanded.

Twilight looked away from them and mumbled, "I wish I knew..."

The castle wasn't guarded like it should have been. That was painfully clear, as neither Royal Guards nor batponies guarded the gate or the doors to the castle. But at the very least, the castle wasn't floating in the air like half of the buildings in Canterlot, so it wasn't a complete loss.

The Royal Guards and batponies were, of course, otherwise occupied. They had passed by many Royal Guards and batponies alike who were doing their best to keep ponies calm and rescue them from the clouds. Somehow, the eight of them had gone by without notice or scrutiny. The guards were just too busy trying to maintain order, which was an impossible task.

Twilight still felt hesitant to just open the door to the castle and walk inside. There was no way for her to know what was on the other side. And Nightmare Moon hadn't greeted her, nor had any guards acknowledged her. So she just stood there until Midnight casually opened the door and looked back at her with one of those oblivious smiles.

Which reminded her that Midnight was a batpony guard. "Right," she muttered.

Midnight giggled as if the chaos didn't phase her.

Twilight took the lead once again and headed inside. Her friends followed her. As she looked around the room, she took comfort in seeing that the chaos hadn't assaulted the interior. It was much the same as it had been, with banners of the moon and purple tapestries hanging from the walls and columns. It wasn't as comforting as it would have been to see the tapestries she had grown up with, but at the very least it made sense.

There was a sharp crack that made her stop. She barely managed to face her teacher before Nightmare said, "Good, you are here."

Then before she could react, she felt Nightmare's magic embrace her. She knew what would follow, but didn't have time to close her eyes. There was another sharp crack and a double image as Nightmare teleported them to her chambers. The double image of the background behind her teacher made the headache worse, but at least her teacher had been a constant from one place to the next.

Twilight heard her friends all groan in discomfort, and glancing left and right, she saw all of them there with her.

"I do not know how long we will have before he returns so I will make this quick," Nightmare declared.

Twilight turned back to face her teacher and asked, "What's going on?"

And Nightmare's mouth paused and hung open for a second before it closed. Annoyance ran across her teacher's expression, and she thought she heard a faint groan. "And she did not tell you of him, did she?" was her teacher's muttered growl. Twilight barely made out, "Of course not," as Nightmare exhaled. Nightmare inhaled, then hissed, "Discord."

Well, discord certainly described what was happening. Although she still would have preferred to use the term, 'Utter insanity!' "Right, but how do we stop this? Why do you need us!?"

Nightmare's eyes narrowed on her. "You do not recognize that name?"

"Name?" Twilight asked. Nightmare hadn't said any names, or if Nightmare did, she missed it. "Discord?" she ventured.

"Yes," was Nightmare's quick response. "The Spirit of Chaos and Disorder. Discord," she said. Her teacher glanced left, then right, then faced her once again. "I am hesitant to continue speaking his name, lest he return quicker than he should."

"What's going on anyway?" Applejack asked.

Twilight looked left at Applejack and nibbled on her lip.

Nightmare faced Applejack, tilted her head and said, "He has escaped his imprisonment."

"And what do you need us for, exactly?" was Applejack's next question.

Nightmare didn't immediately respond. Twilight turned back to face her teacher, who stood up straighter. She would have sworn that Nightmare looked uncomfortable. Her teacher's wings twitched. Nightmare glanced at her, then looked above her and behind her. Nightmare's chest rose, then fell. "I cannot stop him," was her admission.

Her heart skipped a beat. "What!?"

Nightmare looked down at her with a glare and snapped, "He is more powerful than I. I cannot stop him."

Twilight took the slightest step back. Nightmare's brow twitched back up, then she inhaled and exhaled. The glare faded. She glanced at Rainbow, then Applejack. Both looked at her teacher with a defiant look that made her even more nervous. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Nightmare didn't apologize, but she continued, "I cannot stop him. Sister and I imprisoned him a great many centuries before my imprisonment-"

Rainbow cut in with, "Well can't you just-"

Nightmare's eyes snapped onto Rainbow with a glare. "No," was her statement. A few seconds passed, then Nightmare faced her once again and added. "And it would not matter."

"Why not?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare shook her head. Her teacher gritted her teeth, then she watched Nightmare swallow back pride and disgust before she spat, "Sister and I are no longer linked to the Elements of Harmony, which are the only things that can stop him."

And then it occurred to Twilight, 'And we are...' She felt a hollow pit form in her stomach, and it grew into a vast emptiness inside her whole body.

Nightmare looked at her intently and with purpose, and it seemed that her teacher knew exactly what she thought. "Yes," was her teacher's succinct acknowledgment.

Twilight's mouth felt dry. "W-what?"

"Do you not understand?" Nightmare chastized, her head snapping at an angle. "You and your friends are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." Her teacher waited for a few seconds for her words to sink in, then she looked to the right at her desk and muttered in a low growl, "As much as I detest the idea I have no choice." Nightmare turned back to face her, then looked over her five friends. Once her teacher looked back at her, she stated, "You must stop him, for I cannot."

"And why should we help you!?" Rainbow demanded. "We already said that-"

Nightmare's eyes snapped onto Rainbow. "Defiant as ever, I see," she quipped. Then she inhaled. The anger subsided as her teacher recollected herself. "It is in our best interest. If you do not stop him, Discord would destroy Equestria. He is an existential threat to both my reign and Equestria. The entire world, even. If I did not need you to stop him I would do it myself, but as it is, I require you six to tend to him."

"So... Equestria needs us?" was Rainbow's much quieter question.

"Yes," was all Nightmare replied.

Twilight wanted to go scream and curl up in a ball. Why did her friends and herself have to deal with this!? Why did they have to bear the Elements of Harmony!? Why couldn't it have been somepony else's job!?

She would have settled for hitting her head against the wall. Maybe then the chaos would stop hurting as much.

Nightmare looked back at her, then her teacher's eyes wandered over her body in that familiar manner. The anger in her teacher's expression faded even more as the seconds passed while Nightmare looked over her. Then Nightmare met her eyes and said, "You are capable of handling this."

It was supposed to be encouraging. She was certain that was what it was meant to be. It didn't stop her from taking it as a lie.

"You're just going to send us against something that's a threat to you and Equestria without anything else?" Rarity chastized. "You do realize we're just five mares and a filly, right? Surely-"

Nightmare looked at Rarity and said, "I do recall the six of you facing me."

Rarity squirmed. "Yes, well... we all remember how that ended."

"If he's a threat to you what chance do we have!?" Applejack demanded. "Especially considering last time we tried something like that!"

'Why do we have to bring this up!?' An agonized wince rolled over Twilight's expression. 'Nightmare Moon is already mad enough, why do you have to remind her about that!'

For a moment, Nightmare looked back at her with an expression that seemed to say, 'We are wasting time, and there's not a thing I can do about it, is there?' Her teacher held back a sigh or a groan, or maybe both.

Nightmare looked at Applejack and said, "He is confident in his victory. He will not be expecting anypony to be able to stop him. He is arrogant. He will not harm you, aside from his," she looked away and mocked, "harmless fun," then looked back at her. "I will accompany you and support you to the best of my abilities- but I cannot wield the Elements of Harmony. You must."

Twilight nodded timidly.

Nightmare slowly licked her lips, then added, "Deal with Discord. Do not use the Elements of Harmony against me."

'I am trusting you to deal with Discord and not harm me,' went unsaid. It made her heart skip another beat. She felt queasy. 'If we turned on you... you'd stop us.'

Of course, turning on Nightmare Moon would be stupid.

"You said you don't have a choice. What's to stop us from using them against you after we stop Discord?" was Pinkie's genuinely innocent question.

Twilight glared at Pinkie Pie. 'Why? Just why?'

Nightmare didn't answer. She felt Nightmare staring at her. Nightmare putting it all on her. Her friends were her responsibility. Her chest tightened and twisted. It shook the glare from her face. "Girls..." she mumbled softly.

They all looked at her instead of Nightmare.

"We all saw what Discord's doing," Twilight voiced carefully. Of course, that was assuming Nightmare wasn't lying about it. But then, why would Nightmare lie about something like this? Why would Nightmare lie about Discord and then give her and her friends the Elements of Harmony? If her friends and herself really were the only ponies who could stop Discord and save Equestria from his madness, then they really didn't have a choice.

But it also meant she might somehow have the opportunity to rescue Princess Celestia.

Nightmare continued staring at her and the unease grew worse. 'She doesn't know what I'm thinking,' she told herself. 'She's trusting me not to...' whispered in her mind.

Breaking that trust would be bad, but even beyond that, she didn't want to break that trust. Maybe that was insane. She would have the chance to rescue her true mentor! But it would be betraying Nightmare Moon.

She clenched her jaws and swallowed. "We need to stop Discord," she affirmed. Her voice wavered. She slowly turned her head back to face Nightmare, then asked, "What's the plan?"

"I will leave that to you," Nightmare immediately countered.

'Even she's making me the leader! Why!?' she wanted to scream. As it was she grimaced.

"However, I will teleport us to the castle's courtyard. It would be better to meet him outside than inside, I think," Nightmare voiced to her relief.

Before she could say anything or close her eyes, there was another crack and double image, and the white walls were replaced with a pink sky.

Nightmare glared at the sky, then turned around and swept her head left and right.

Maybe Twilight could trust Nightmare, then. Nightmare was willing to trust her. 'You don't have a choice though... and I don't either.' She took a deep breath, then looked at her friends. Spike climbed down from her back and timidly walked over to Midnight. Midnight looked at her seriously. "Keep him safe, please," she asked. She glanced at Nightmare, but Nightmare didn't look back at her or say anything.

Midnight nodded without her normal, casual playfulness. Without saying anything, she extended a leathery wing for Spike to climb up onto her back.

"Take him to my tower," Twilight suggested.

Midnight nodded again, then took off at a brisk trot.

Spike looked back at her, his eyes filled with worry while he tapped his claws together. She watched him leave and felt an emptiness in her chest.

"I do not know where he is," Nightmare stated. "I would presume he is close by but I do not know. The Guard and Cadance are supposed to be distracting him."

"Uh, how will we know it's him?" Applejack asked warily.

There was a short pause, then Nightmare answered, "You will not be able to mistake him for anything else. He is a draconequus."

Which made perfect sense.

Twilight licked her lips, then asked, "Are you going to give us the Elements-"

"Not until he shows up," Nightmare preemptively answered.

Which she took to mean, 'Not while you have an opportunity to use them against me instead of him.'

'I won't...' she told herself.

"So... we just wait here for him to show up?" Rainbow asked, boredom seeping into her voice.

"This isn't much of a plan," Applejack flatly agreed.

"He could be anywhere, so it is in our best interest to remain here. He will show up, if only for me," Nightmare answered. "Likely, he will take an interest as to why the six of you are here with me."

The sky grew dim as the sun fell back below the horizon. Lightning crackled in the air, making Twilight take a step back. Rainbow landed, then she felt Rainbow and Applejack at her sides. Without thinking of it, she glanced at her friends and found the six of them huddled together, staring at the rapidly darkening sky.

The clouds started to swirl together and more lightning cracked.

Then she saw something like a twisted face in the clouds looking down at them, and she felt pins and needles race through her body, stabbing her from everywhere, inside and out. Serpentine eyes seemed to slither over her, looking at her from everywhere at once.

The feeling was worse than Nightmare Moon watching her.

Fluttershy squeaked and ducked back under her mane.

Laughter filled the air, filled her mind, echoing and thumping around inside her skull.

"Discord!" Nightmare growled out.

Twilight glanced at her teacher, who reared up, then slammed her forehooves into the ground. Her wings flared out and a burst of magic radiated out from her horn. A blue barrier flashed to life around her teacher and enveloped the six of them.

Rain, for once actual water, poured down in literal sheets, making the shield bend inward, yet it held back the downpour.

"Tch, tch, tch," came a chastizing click.

There was a flash of white, then directly outside of that blue shield, in front of her teacher, a being appeared sitting in a gray and black throne that hovered in the air. His eyes were yellow with crimson red slit pupils. A jagged antler and lumpy horn grew from the top of his head, and a black mane descended down the back of his long neck. His body was long and thin, almost snakelike, right at home on the red cushions. Looking at him sent shivers down her spine. His neck was covered in gray fur, while his body was covered in reddish-brown fur. His limbs were mismatched, each one coming from a different species.

Twilight had a moment of clarity when looking at him, and she deduced that yes, Nightmare was right. You couldn't mistake him for anything else. He was clearly a draconequus, but a twisted one. She had never seen a real draconequus, let alone one like that thing.

"You started a party without me!?" was the draconequus' complaint. His eyes widened as he leaned forward, then slithered out of his throne like a snake. He curled in the air and then unwrapped himself. He grinned at Nightmare Moon, then at her and her friends. He brought his claw and paw together a scheming manner that made her feel a sudden sense of panic surge through her body. It was only because her friends were right there with her that she didn't bolt.

She heard Nightmare growl and saw her teacher lower her head so that her horn was pointed right at him.

"I guess that makes me the game master, doesn't it now?" came Discord's calm tease.

"I think not," Nightmare hissed. Another flash of magic emanated from her horn.

Nothing happened, other than Discord's smile twisting further up. "Awww, Luna," he moaned.

'Luna,' repeated in her mind. Luna? Glancing at her teacher, the name seemed to only further infuriate her. Nightmare's legs trembled and her lips were pulled back, baring her teeth at the draconequus. Luna. Nightmare Moon knew that name. Discord called her Luna. The first references to Nightmare Moon only happened after her banishment. She couldn't recall reading the name Luna anywhere, but nor could she recall reading the name Nightmare Moon anywhere but Predictions and Prophecies.

And surely, Nightmare Moon hadn't been her name before her banishment? What sort of name would that have been? It didn't sit right with her.

She felt a vague sense of recognition, then it slammed into her, 'That's... what the batponies were going to call you... Princess Luna...'

Princess Luna. That had been her name before she became Nightmare Moon.

"Luna," Nightmare growled in a calm yet irate voice, "is dead."

Discord only laughed. "Aww, little Woona's throwing a temper tantrum, is she?" he mocked. The barrier shattered and a column of blue light exploded out from Nightmare's horn.

The beam lurched at Discord, then went right through his neck, leaving a completely clean hole the size of her hoof through his neck. The color in the inside was, rather than a bloody mess, simply the same color as his neck, albeit darker. It simply looked like she had cut through butter.

And Discord entirely ignored it, even as Nightmare trembled in rage. He threw his arms out and bellowed, "Well, I know what'll cheer you right up!"

He snapped a talon, and her heart sank as soon as the white light faded. "Looking for these?" he mocked, waving those six Elements of Harmony around without a care in the world.

Twilight blinked, and Nightmare's glare was gone. Her teacher didn't even tremble; Nightmare Moon was frozen stiff.

Fear.

Nightmare Moon was scared.

Discord idly looked over each of the Elements of Harmony in turn, as if scrutinizing a piece of art. They hovered in the air oblivious. He reached out and touched the Element of Magic, only to quickly pull his talon back and let out a wild, "Yeeouch!" He shook his hand, and smoke wafted into the air from his burnt claw. Finally, he stuck it in his mouth to suck on it before pulling it back out like nothing had happened. "That thing's dangerous," he stated bluntly, balling his talon up into a fist and pointing at it with his thumb.

The Elements flew aside, then disappeared in a flash of white light.

Discord looked at her. She looked at Nightmare. Her teacher was still. Discord slithered towards her, then pressed his nose against hers.

Twilight's blood ran cold as he stared directly into her eyes. "Ah, well, what have we here!?" he bellowed with a chuckle. His head snapped back. He lifted his head up into the air and brought a claw to stroke his goatee. "You seem familiar somehow..." he muttered.

A lightbulb glowed over his head and his eyes likewise lit up. "Ah! You're Celestia's student!" he called out, once again uncoiling his body with glee. The glee faded as quickly as it came and he mumbled, "Shame she's not here right now." Then the glee was back.

"Leave her alone," was Nightmare's infinitely cold threat.

Discord paused as if surprised, then spun around to face her teacher.

The ice filling her veins seemed to recede, but she still felt her legs trembling, even with her friends pressed up against her.