Daylight was approaching. Princess Luna was growing tired, and the pain from the claw attack on her side was throbbing, but she had to continue on. She had to know if there was anything left here at the palace, particularly the jewel for her crown. If she could find that, she could use its power to locate the source of those gel monsters, and a couple more kinds she had recently added to the list. She wondered how much her list of foes to vanquish would expand along the way. As she walked into the cracked stone courtyard that led to the keep, she turned her head back to her zebra companion.

“Zecora, there is something I must ask thee. Those twisted abominations with the fungal tubes growing out of their bodies—what were they? One of them was a pony...”

“Far to the west lies a deep and inviting fresh water lake,” Zecora said, following close behind. “But those who approach it soon find that they have made their last mistake. The very water is filled with corruption and disease, and the desperate ones who drink from it become like zombies.”

“I see. Then it is of the utmost importance that I destroy that place on my way back. Canst thou show me the way?”

Zecora was silent as she surveyed the ruins of what used to be Luna's home. Zecora had been here several times in the past. Not searching for anything in particular, but very interested in this unique piece of Equestrian history. Much to her disappointment, she had never found anything but some old statues and rare herbs. Nonetheless, the Princess seemed to think there was something here, so Zecora would follow her. It was a little disturbing to learn that she was “born of darkness” while wearing her special masks, but it was not surprising considering their origin.

“That I can surely do,” she finally said, “if it is that vital to you.”

“‘Tis indeed,” Luna commented as she pushed open a rotten, wooden door.

Dark bats stirred on the ceiling of the long hall, which looked to be an audience chamber with a simple, raised platform at the end. The walls were mostly intact, except for the windows that had grown larger than intended as stones had fallen out. As the pair made their way along the ragged carpet, the bright, red eyes and the black wings of the bats opened up. They left their perches, and began to circle through the rafters far above. The Princess smiled up at the creatures. As if on cue, they swooped down to circle around her, surrounding her in a tiny black tornado. Zecora was startled, but chuckled at the sight.

“I am told the box is still here,” Luna said after nothing resembling a conversation, with a touch of excitement in her statement. The bats flew away as one, and then hovered in place around a rectangular space in mid-air, off to the side of the room, behind a collapsed stone pillar. After a brief blue aura of magic appeared around Luna's horn, a large, ornate, blue chest with black trim poofed into existence, then landed on the floor with a heavy thud. The bats continued hovering, as if waiting for further orders.

Luna motioned with her hoof for Zecora to stay back, and asked her to look away. Zecora bit her lip, but she obliged. Luna stepped closer to the object, where she saw a faint, white light emanating from the key-hole. Or rather, the horn-hole, the kind used by powerful unicorns to make sure that only they could access the contents. With a giddy sigh, half-apprehensive and half-excited, she slowly pushed her horn inside, and sent a small amount of magic running through the lock. It clicked, and as she drew her head back, the top of the chest swung open. Against the will of every bone in her body, Zecora held down her ears to block out the tantalizing aroma of those sounds.

The contents of the chest were draped with a silver-hooded cloak, delicately embroidered with black stars of five tiny points. A dark circle representing a new moon was sewn into the center. Unfortunately, huge bits of it were ripped, eaten, or otherwise missing, rendering it useless for practical purposes. Though it caused a dazzling, spectral shine when the moonlight hit it at just the right angles, Luna quickly tossed it aside with a “hmph.”

Princess Luna quickly forgot about it as she removed the next set of items. They were a full set of white plate and chain armor, made to fit a tall but slender pony, with a hole in the helmet for a horn and holes in the breastplate for wings. The plates were etched with long, winding, elegant lines that gave the impression of thin cirrus clouds passing over a bright moon. Large patches of rust marred the impression, however. The moon the clouds were passing over was more like a blood-red one. Luna sighed deeply and put the armor to the side as well.

There were two more things left inside. One, a thick book bound in black leather and magically locked with a five-pointed metal star, she frowned at. At the sight of the other, her eyes lit up and she immediately pulled it out and held it up to her eyes. It was an oval, just small enough to be held in the sole of her hoof cap, made of white marble with black veins. She put it in place at the middle of her royal crown, then waited expectantly. The marble fell off and clinked onto the floor. Only then did she notice that one of the veins was actually a crack.

She had been relatively calm up until then, but at this she whipped her rear legs around and kicked the chest mightily, sending it crashing through the wall. The chest remained intact solely thanks to its enchantment. Blocks of stone crumbled, and the keep shook ominously, but nothing came crashing down on them—for now.

“This is not possible,” she declared in an angry, booming voice. She began to stomp back and forth around the floor, with her head bobbing up and down and her tail flicking back and forth with irritation. “They cannot decay in there! I sealed it!”

“What is the matter?” Zecora whirled around, and shouted over the noise. “You're going to make this whole place shatter!”

Luna halted, then took several deep breaths, exhaling them through her nostrils. “My possessions have rotten, despite a magical seal only I can break. Something is wrong.”

“I'm sure they are things we can remake. For now, why don't we concern ourselves with that lake?” Zecora gazed at her with kindness. The audacity of the look, combined with its concern, made the Princess stop her pacing.

“That is a good idea,” Luna answered as her expression softened and her rage ebbed. “But art thou not tired? It is nearly dawn. More importantly, what interest is this of thine, that thou wouldst follow me toward potentially mortal danger?” While her face was no longer etched with anger, it was now twisted by a suscpicious grimace as she looked Zecora up and down.

“Yes, I am very tired,” the zebra said and turned to look to the sunrise in the east. A very bright, cloudless morning was beginning. “Yet there is much to accomplish before the rest I have desired. Directions are not as useful as a guide, so I hope you will bring me along for the ride. As for my motivation, that is not something I would make a long oration. I made a promise that I would, in order for me to do good.”

“That is it?” Luna looked bewildered. “A vague promise?”

“Promises hold a great deal of weight, especially when given to one who is great. I made my vow to the sun, so you see I must stay until the battle is won.”

“What?” Luna recoiled, lifted one front hoof up, and widened her eyes. “Surely thou dost not mean Celestia?”

“I met her only one time,” Zecora said, “while I was running from a great crime. Here she let me stay, but only if I aided any ponies who came my way.”

“Is there naught in which she doth not mettle?” Princess Luna let out a bitter sigh. “Art thou going to be her spy and tell her I passed through as well?”

“That may be how she wishes me to behave, but I never promised to be her slave. I did not say I would reveal who, and that is not what I intend to do.”

“I hope that is true. I am so weary of the way she watcheth me, as if I shall turn back toward evil at a moment’s notice.” She shook her head slowly, then, with a startled look, began quickly gathering up the contents of her chest in a cloud of blue magic, hoping Zecora had not gotten a good look at them. She cast a new illusion spell on it as soon as it closed. The zebra had been looking curiously at the display, but it was dark enough that she could not have seen much. Luna hoped. She sighed with relief, then thought of what she should ask next. “Whence cometh thy ‘cutie mark’? Only ponies get those.”

“I gave it to myself, you see,” Zecora said as she looked back at the stylized, black spiral that adorned her flank, “so I might recall my vow more clearly.”

“Gave it to thyself?” Luna stared at the image as well. “Thy abilities become more mysterious by the minute.”

“Maybe, but it is just a minor trick. A simple illusion that sticks like a tick.”

“This is all quite a lot to take in...” Luna walked very close to Zecora, so she could look hard into her eyes. “I have one more question. What is this great crime thou spokest of?”

“It is quite complicated,” said Zecora, returning the stare steadily, “but put simply, in murder I was implicated.”

“I shall not travel with one who still harbors such impulses.” Luna’s jaw stiffened. “I know very well what it is like to sin, and I have no desire to demand the details of yours, provided they will not impact the future. For my own sake... and theirs.”

“It is by far my greatest regret, to be sure. You have my solemn promise—”she paused for a second to blink slowly as she said that word—“that I am no longer so impure.”

“I shall take thy word as a token of thy honesty,” Luna spoke in an ominous tone. “Let us both hope that this matter is settled. Now, art thou sure of being my temporary guide?” Zecora gave a firm nod. “I see. Whether thou art innocent or not, I must still treat thee as such until it is proven otherwise. Thou shouldst stay back and allow me to protect thee.”

“If you're that concerned about this task, then I shall wear a mask. I believe I have just the one—”

“No,” Luna said hastily, and grabbed Zecora by the shoulders with her hooves. “Whatever sorcery that may be, I can not allow it in my presence. The blood still stains thy coat!” Now it was Luna's eyes which were full of concern.

“Princess, please allay your fears. I have been doing this for many years. You are correct that it is painful and unsightly, and in calling it sorcery perhaps you judge rightly. However, I do not use them as did my master. In order to do good here, I must be stronger, wiser, and faster. These souls are not my slaves. We are partners in leading the helpless away from early graves.”

“Come, let us walk as we speak,” Luna said. She gestured for Zecora to lead the way. As the two crossed the bridge back into the forest, the sun finally peeked over the horizon. Almost gratefully, the Princess of the Night allowed the moon to finally set completely on the opposite side of the sky. She squinted even in this gentle light. It would take some time for her eyes to adjust. Luckily, all she had to do was follow her guide. “I accept that what thou sayest may be true. Of course, thou art not my subject, and as such I can not actually forbid thee to do anything. It was merely a request. Do whatever thou must for thy own survival, as long as it does not harm those who deserve no harm. If that happens, I must intervene.”

Turning around to take a long look at Luna before they once more ventured into the jungle ahead, Zecora gave a reassuring grin. “For now I will honor your request, unless my life is endangered by our quest. Mustaslim.” Conceding a conflict. With that, she began winding her way through the branches, bushes, and brambles. Luna followed, wincing as various things brushed up against the already-scarred wounds on her side. The sensation pleased her though, reminding her how rapidly she was healing. After another hour of tromping through the woods, with twists and turns like a labyrinth of flora, they came upon a small brook. Zecora, with an odd smile on her face throughout the entire journey, explained that this fed into the lake and began to follow it downstream.

For Princess Luna, it was much different walking through the Everfree Forest after visiting her decrepit home. She walked slowly, overwhelmed by how much this entire area had changed. There used to be cities, villages, roads, inns, and ponies of all kinds here. Now they were all gone, replaced by swamps, hydras, strangling vines, poisonous flowers, corrupted animals, and many more dangers she fully expected to encounter in the future. But she also saw many harmless creatures, and Zecora could not be the only fully-intelligent, potentially-innocent being here, either. Burning the forest down, which Luna had contemplated mostly in a fit of anger anyway, was no longer a viable option.

If she were not so deeply connected to the natural ebb and flow of days, she might have thought it was midnight this far in. From there her thoughts wandered to the sun, then to her sister. She wondered if Celestia had started looking for her yet, or if it was still just guards scrambling around like they were chickens missing their heads. Either way, Luna was running low on time. To get her mind off of the subject, she asked if her companion had any insight into what they would be facing and how to defeat it.

“While I can only guess at its purpose,” she said, “I have seen something swimming just beneath the surface. The air is thick and pungent like that of a marsh, so you should use your magic against a place so harsh. That was the first and only time I have gone, but things may have changed because it has been so long. I wish I could be of more aid, but it’s a trip I was not eager to have remade.”

“Speaking of such,” said Luna, ducking under a tree limb that lazily tried to grab her, then forcing it to back off with a sharp kick, “thou appearest almost eager to make the trip now. Thou hast not stopped smiling since we left. Why?”

“I can not say what has transpired,” she responded, looking around carefully to make sure nothing was grabbing at her, “but when I'm around you, I feel not a little inspired.”

“I have used no enchantment on thee, if that is thy fear.”

“Fear? It may be that way for some, but the longer I'm here, the less afraid I become.”

Sensing a subtle change in the smell and consistency of the air, Luna concentrated for a moment in order to form a protective bubble around the two of them. A translucent blue sphere popped into existence and rolled along with their steps, purifying the air that passed through it. She explained that to a surprised but bemused Zecora, then continued her earlier thought. “No pony has been as open to me as thou hast been since my return, which seems an especially odd thing to say considering I know so little about thee and thy past. Yet I find myself not overly troubled by that fact, because what thou hast shared hath been so important and frank. I am not sure what else to say, save that I appreciate thy presence now. It has been a tremendous help on my mission.”

“Rahimaka,” Zecora said happily.

Bless me? thought Luna. Something like that.

Only a few more minutes passed before their destination became clear. There was always something odd about the trees, a different something depending on which part of the forest one was in. Here, the “regular” trees gradually gave way to giant white-capped mushrooms. A yellow and green haze rolled along the ground underneath them. The water of the lake, perhaps a mile across, seemed untouched, but Luna could sense that it was being held that way by some form of magic. More streams fed into and out of the main body of water, and along each of them patches of mushroom trees dominated the landscape.

There were at least three former animals around the edges of the lake. Even with the large, blue aura enveloping them, Luna and Zecora seemed to escape notice. Perhaps the creatures were too busy, or were drawn more by other senses than by sight. One of them, a squirrel whose tail had been replaced by tendrils with mushroom caps on the end, was gnawing on a tree with its toothless mouth. Another, a cockatrice whose eyes were, perhaps thankfully, now a collection of fungal tubes spitting green toxin into the air, was just mindlessly trying to eat a rock. The third was a brown wolf who laid on the ground, completely still. It had the same self-awareness and terror in its eyes that the deer Luna had killed in the earlier battle had.

“I am not sure I have enough potion,” whispered Zecora, when she saw that Luna was heading toward the wolf hastily, “to cure a thing that has been robbed of motion.”

“Wilt thou try?” Luna hissed back. She knelt before the wolf and willed her aura to engulf it as well. Its breathing quickened as soon as this happened. “See! This one can be saved, can it not?”

Zecora was already opening her pack. After the doses they had both taken earlier, only half a bottle out of the two she had brought remained. “This seems dangerous, to revive a creature who may awake ravenous.”

“Wolves can be reasoned with,” said Luna, “but I will restrain him if need be.”

“Okay,” Zecora replied after a couple seconds of consideration. She knelt beside Luna and very slowly reached out to part the wolf's jaws with her hooves. It did not so much as blink, even as its sharp, glistening teeth were exposed. She positioned its head so that the drought would go down the throat and began to pour. His esophagus opened, and he drank the remaining contents greedily. When the bottle was empty, Zecora stepped back as far as she could while staying inside Luna's purifying force field.

The milky eyes of the wolf faded away, and after a single beat it leaped up and began snapping wildly at Luna with fierce growls. In response, she brought a hoof down on its throat, and held the rest of its body in place with her legs. It yelped and attempted to struggle, but her prodigious strength kept it pinned. During the hold, the wolf gradually appeared less and less deathly ill, and its clear eyes darted around wildly, confused, hungry, afraid, and angry. But it finally realized that its struggle was useless, and relented. Luna eased the pressure off of its throat.

“Be still,” she commanded. “We are going to give thee water.” Her horn cast a blue field around one of their canteens and levitated it over, hovering it in place above the wolf's mouth.

“You're a pony,” said the wolf in a dry, raspy male voice. “You know we eat ponies right?” He noticed Zecora. “And zebras?”

The Princess ignored the comment and tipped the container over, giving one small gulp at a time. He savored each one like it might be his last, then shut his eyes.

“Tell us of this lake,” Luna said. “We are going to put a stop to this.”

“Got separated from my pack, came to the first source of water I could find, then noticed my own body turning against me the more I drank. My brain was starting to go when you got here. Some type of infection. That's all I know. Now could you get off of me please?”

“If thou tryest to eat us we shall slay thee,” Luna said menacingly, then backed off of the pinned wolf.

“What's with this thou stuff?” he asked, getting up slowly on wobbly legs.

“Second-singular pronoun. 'Tis not that difficult to comprehend. Now enough with the inane questions. What is thy name?”

“I'm Breca,” he said, squinting up at the pony who was even taller than he was. He seemed to see her for the first time, and was struck dumb. The river-like movement of her mane and tail was mesmerizing, especially when taken together with the way her collar and shoes glittered, as if made of crystal. Her face was grim and determined, a look made even darker by her black crown and the shimmering resonance of power coming from her unicorn horn. Her eyes were a mystery he could only begin to fathom.

“We are the royal crown of Equestria, Princess Luna of the Night,” she paused in the middle of her speech to proudly point at herself, chest puffed out, then swept the hoof over to where Zecora was watching warily. “This is madam Zecora. Well met, Mister Breca. After we have dealt with this menace, we shall heal thee and lead thee to safety if possible.” To punctuate her declaration, she slapped her hoof back down on the ground, causing a slight rumble.

“Thanks,” he said, still distracted by the sight before him, “I should really just get back to my pack now though. You don't have to heal me or anything.”

“Absolutely we do,” said Luna emphatically. “Thou canst barely stand, and the air is choked with poison besides. We would be remiss in our duty if we were to abandon thee.”

“Your duty?” the wolf looked genuinely confused as he questioned her. “To wander around the Everfree Forest saving dying carnivores?”

“No,” Luna spoke solemnly, even more so than usual. “We have vowed to succor the poor and needy, to defend the weak and helpless, to honor and respect all those of virtue and goodness, and to destroy all that which is vile and corrupt. Species is not mentioned in our code, and that is by design.” She seemed to be reciting her words from a very old memory.

“You're strange...” Breca said, with a little wonder in his bewildered voice now.

Zecora was a little less surprised than the wolf, though still caught somewhat off-guard, when Luna laughed deeply and heartily at these words. The laugh was perhaps a little too loud, however, as the two other infected creatures they saw earlier turned to face the trio. The deformed animals did not advance though; in fact, they backed away. Luna and the others soon saw that this was probably because a dark shadow beneath the surface of the water was approaching them with astonishing speed. A blinding, green light burst out of the water to hover in the air above the coast, and Luna immediately leaped in front of the other two into a defensive battle stance.

The light gradually resolved into the outline of a pony, a white-coated mare with a black mane. The lower half of her body, instead of ending in two legs and a tail of hair, tapered off into a wet, scaly, finned fish-like tail. Her horn glowed with the same green as the light, encasing her in a levitation spell.

“Princess Luna!” she exclaimed with a gurgling distortion in her voice caused by the folds of gills that lined her neck. Her rheumy, sea-green eyes glimmered with joy. “I knew you would return! As soon as I saw the signs, I woke up and—”

“Hold,” Luna commanded, and was obeyed. “What is the meaning of this? Who art thou?”

“Oh yes,” she said, shaking her head and smacking it with her hoof. “Of course. I can be so simple sometimes. It would have been a very long time for you, but for me it was just yesterday. I'm Thin Mint, one of your apprentices. I've changed a bit, but surely you recognize me!”

The Princess gave the mare a confused and disturbed look, with one of her forelegs raising reflexively as if to back off. While she did stand her ground, Zecora and Breca backed off as far as they could, with very similar looks.

“Yes,” she said slowly as the memories rose to the surface of her mind. “I do. Is this the – the research I asked thee to conduct?”

“It is!” Thin Mint shouted, clapped her hooves together, and beamed. “I didn't have long to really perfect things before your rebellious sister rolled in, so I had to memorize my results and hide here. I've been able to wake up a few times for the past—what is it?—thousand years, and that's how I learned to swim, but you're probably not interested in that. I know you will be interested in the fact that ever since your return, things have been quiet enough for me to do a test run of my techniques. The poison is a nearly-complete success. I can control anything it has infected, but only so much at a time. Pretty much this area you see around me. The animals are too much for me except one or two at a time, but somepony of your power... Here, let me dust this place off so I can share the results with you!”

With a flash of green magic, the unicorn created a space about twenty yards around completely free of the poisonous fog. She flopped down onto land, standing with her hooves at the edge of the lake, and flapping her tail excitedly against its mild surf. Her cutie mark was still visible above her transformed legs—a pair of crossed candy canes.

Luna stepped forward out of the purple field she had created, but left it up for the others she was protecting, just in case. Zecora ran to the edge to try to stop her, but halted there, seeing she was too late. She unclasped the packs containing her potions and masks as Luna stopped directly in front of the strange pony creature. Zecora’s body tensed up to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

“Things are not as they were, my student,” said Luna. “This must stop immediately.”

“Huh?” Mint said with a blink. “But you made me promise. Are you testing me?”

“This is no test. What thou hast created is an abomination, and dark indeed was the day that I forcefully extracted obedience from a pony such as thyself.”

“An abomination? No way. Look!” She waved her hoof toward the forest and concentrated, then a huge cloud of vapor poured out as the cap of one of the mushroom trees burst open. Even though she smiled at this accomplishment, her watery eyes started to drip. “And I could grow that back in a couple days! Think what you could do with this. If you give me something to write with, I can give you my exact projections. I have them committed to my mem—”

“Stop,” said Luna through grit teeth. “Mint, I release thee from thy oath. Dost thou understand? Thy task is done.”

“Good one, Your Highness,” Thin Mint scoffed. “Even a second-year apprentice knows your oath spell doesn't work like that. I may not have been your best student, but nopony could ever remember things like me. I'll never forget anything you taught me, and I'll never forget anything you told me to do. And you told me to work on this weapon so you could use it to stop the tyrant Celestia. Maybe this isn't good enough for that goal by itself, but it will help. I swear!”

“I see I shall have to destroy all of this myself,” the Princess said, forcing her lip not to quiver.

A look of horror struck the apprentice's face. “Oh gosh,” she gasped and recoiled away, moving closer to the water. “Please, no. If I've done something wrong, punish me however you want. I'll clean the whole castle, I'll put out the fires with my hooves, I'll even go to the basement again. Just don't destroy my work. You know what that will do to me...”

Luna answered by stepping forward hoof-deep into the water.

“No!” Mint glanced down at those hooves in a panic and started using her slick tail to slither back into the lake. Her horn began to glow once again. “I won’t let you!”

“‘Tis not up to thee!” Luna flung herself forward fast enough to knock her own blue-lit horn against Thin Mint’s. Their respective colors swirled in a whirlpool of light, and the water beneath them started to ripple. As the colors deformed before their eyes, Luna and Mint saw their vision of each other and the whole world around them distort...

The young filly Thin Mint’s throat was dry from all her profuse sweating. The draft of her thesis was being reviewed by Her Highness Princess Luna herself. With a quill dipped in dark red ink, she was circling words, writing notes in the margins, and making absolutely no sound except for an occasional grunt. She barely even seemed to know the student was there. Mint swallowed hard at the turn of each page. When the last one had turned, the thick folio landed with a smack on the hard floor between the two. She gulped and prepared herself for the worst.

“We had not considered this particular application of the theory of metastatic magic before,” Luna finally said. “There are numerous errors to correct before we will consider this for a public defense, but it hath potential.”

“I am sorry for wasting your time, Your Highness. I...” Thin Mint paused and tried to shake her head clear. “Wait, what?”

“We hope that question is not indicative of the level of attention thou payest to thy studies,” said Luna impassively, “or thou wilt be in for a very short stay here.”

“It is not...” The white unicorn’s hooves shuffled as she used her telekinesis to tuck her work back into her bag.

“Good. We would hate to see such creativity go to waste. Thou mayest leave now.”

Thin Mint bowed, exited the room, then ran down the hallway toward her dorm with a sound halfway between a whoop and a sob.

Meanwhile, Luna brought one of her scrolls of student lists before her, and made a note to keep an eye on that one in particular.

“What art thou doing to me?” barked Luna as Thin Mint broke their horn-lock and dove neck-deep into the lake.

“Reminding you of what you mean to me,” the deformed pony gurgled. The aura around her horn intensified while increasingly-larger waves swept up against the shore. “How much I gave to you. Then you’ll see you need me. You will need me!”

Luna suddenly felt like she had been struck in the back of the head. She turned around and saw that the sensation was due to her barrier around the others collapsing, The ominous, green fog was slowly rolling back in. Zecora was frantically mixing something using a series of vials. Luna growled as her eyes ignited with white fire, giving her enough power to reinforce the barrier just in time. The fog was closing in on her as well though, and there was no way she could form another bubble while still having enough concentration to counter the spell Thin Mint was using on her.

“Let them go,” Luna bellowed, the force from her voice blowing back the air to give her a few more seconds to think. “They have nothing to do with this!”

“You can’t scare me with those eyes, not anymore!” Mint swam farther out into the lake and began circling. “I have dreamed terrible things down here, Your Highness. If you come in and meet my friends, yours are free to go.”

Luna took one huge breath of what little fresh air remained around her, then lunged at Thin Mint. The “sea pony” was too slippery though, and she effortlessly slid out of Luna’s grasp, sending the Princess straight down into the deep, blue lake.

Luna heard distorted shouts coming from the surface above her, but they were soon replaced by distant, ancient voices which seemed to come from every direction, as if the now-turbulent water itself were speaking to her.

“I think that with the correct heraldry,” Thin Mint, then a third-year student, was saying as she struggled to keep up with the Princess’ long strides through the hallways of the academy, “and a Come To Life spell, it should be possible to do what you’re suggesting, but—”

“Think?” Luna interjected, “Or know? Be confident in thy assertions. Can it be done or not?

“I know it can,” her student replied, “but I can’t do it by myself...”

“We never expected thee to do it alone. We shall assign a research team, which will practice on dead plants or other such organic tissue. Thou wilt head this team.”

“Wow, I—”

“Prove to us that this is not a wasted gesture, fledgling. Do not thank us until then.” She dismissed the apprentice with a wave of her hoof.

“Of course, Your Highness.” Mint bowed, and set off toward the library. “I shall start right away!”

Luna blinked hard, mentally pushing back against the mess of illusions before her. She caught sight of the wake of a finned tail heading downward and swam with rapid, powerful strokes toward it. It was all she could do merely to keep it in view. Other shapes fought for her attention at her sides: the water-logged corpses of ponies staring blankly at her. She was as used to such traumatic flashbacks as one could be, having lived with them for millenia, but this was different. These corpses were actually here, and they were trying to move. At least six of them were slowly and clumsily following her. In that moment of distraction, Thin Mint’s mind pushed against hers once again.

“Thy social skills leave much to be desired,” Luna said to Thin Mint, who had been at the academy long enough to have grown into marehood. “The answers to many of our questions were extremely awkward. Still, thou hast answered most of them to our satisfaction. Consider thy thesis accepted. Congratulations.”

Mint’s heart skipped a beat and, without thinking, she threw her hooves around the Princess’ neck. All the other assembled students shared in Luna’s stunned silence. After a pause, Luna gently removed her student’s hooves. Her mentor did not glare or scowl though, like she expected. Instead, Luna said in a low voice. “It is inappropriate to show affection to me in this manner; it is a severe breach of royal decorum. However, I understand. I am happy as well. Thou art a good student whom I am pleased to include in the ranks of my apprentices.”

Luna’s air supply would be gone in a matter of minutes. She realized that even if she did manage to catch her mark, she would not be able to fully counter the spell before she drowned. She would have to overpower Mint’s will. Realizing the full implications of that caused her gut to sink into a dark, terrible pit. But it was too late. She had to do this. Waves rocked across the lake as Luna sent her own memories through the mental link between them.

Thin Mint stood at the top of a stone stairwell, shivering in her graduate student robes. She trembled less at the pitch-black darkness that stretched out behind her than at the vision that stood in the light at the doorway. It was Princess Luna, only her body was covered with scars, her armor had been dented and cracked, and thick, black tar was dripping from her hair and feathers. Worst of all, her scowl was unlike any Mint had seen before, and she had seen a lot of her teacher’s scowls. This one seemed almost... reptilian.

“Get thee down those stairs,” Luna said in a strained rasp, her voice scratching from the scar that split straight across her jugular. “Thy spell was worthless in my fight, and attempting to use it cost me several wounds I should not have received. Worse, it nearly cost me a kill.”

“I’m sorry!” Mint pleaded. “I thought a spell for simultaneous illusions would be extremely helpful!”

“Ignorant foal!” Luna stomped onto the stone, causing a crack to spread down to the step where her apprentice was standing. “I have no reason to hide from those pathetic beasts, and trying to do so was a distraction. I can only pray thy time in the darkness will allow actual inspiration to strike thee again, as it hath in the past.”

A whimper was the only reply Thin Mint could manage before the heavy, iron door slammed shut. A clank echoed in the deep, winding stairway as the lock turned. Far in the distance below, she could just barely make out the sound of heavy breathing, previous memories of which she had almost managed to repress.

“I was weak back then!” Mint’s words burbled up from the depths. Her grip on Luna’s mind slipped just slightly. “But I’ve been practicing, even while I was sleeping! I’m strong now!”

“Thou hast been practicing evil arts,” Luna projected her words toward Thin Mint’s mind along with a renewed assault, “which I spent centuries battling. Dost thou truly think victory is possible?”

“Yes, because I’m fighting for my life! When have you ever fought for your life!? You have no idea what it’s like to be terrified of your own death!”

“Perhaps, perhaps not. But thou knowest death well.”

Thin Mint clutched the tear-soaked letter to her chest. With her magic, she was carefully packing what few possessions she kept in her dorm into a suitcase.

“Where art thou going?” a familiar voice said as her door was violently pushed open.

“M-My mother is...” she stammered hopelessly, unable to continue her sentence while retaining any semblance of dignity before her liege and teacher.

“Out with it,” said Luna with an imperious gaze. “We have no patience for thy simpering.”

Thin Mint passed the letter to the Princess. After quickly reading it, she crumpled the paper and tossed it into the corner. “What reason is there to pack thy belongings over a death in the family? Send a letter, and they will be fine.”

“But my sister needs me,” Mint said mechanically, staring at the ruined letter. “My father isn’t well enough to care for her, and she’s still young.”

“She can wait until thy work is done.”

The white unicorn lay down on the floor and bowed her head, staring at the lines between the stones. “I don’t know when it will be done, Your Highness.”

“I am sorry,” Luna said with no regret in her voice, “but it is too late to turn back. Thou hast sworn to me that thou wilt complete this task, and so thou shalt. Put aside these distractions. I, and by extension Equestria itself, need thee.”

Resolve burned in the pupil’s heart as much as the fear of breaking her magical oath. The Princess had given her such a huge opportunity. Yes, family could wait. Thin Mint would just have to work around the clock, and send them back what money she could. The kingdom and its defense is what truly mattered. More than that, Princess Luna herself needed her...

But the money she sent made no difference. Despite the doctors’ best efforts, her father succumbed to the same disease her mother had. Luna took the last letter he sent her and burned it without reading it, like she had burned all of the letters Mint tried to send. Luna commanded an aide to make sure that Mint’s sister Candice did not starve, but other than that the Princess paid the issue no mind. The young, orphaned filly had to work constantly to pay off all of her parents’ medical bills.

Fed up with the perceived silence, Candy finally showed up at the academy’s steps one day and demanded to see her sister. Luna stood at the top of its steps, and told her that Thin Mint was too busy to see her. The project she was working on was too important. She would write when she could, and she may be able to visit in a few years. “Begone at once,” Luna finally commanded.

“That is just the kind of coldness I would expect from a pony who cares nothing for her own sister,” Candy said, watching the royal night guard glance nervously back and forth between her and the Princess. “Everypony knows all the tension recently is because of you—”

Candice yelped as Luna leaped all the way down the steps and landed with a thunderous crack right in front of Candy. She was sent sprawling by the force of the landing. Luna walked over as if to help her stand, but first she craned her neck down to whisper into Candy’s ear.

“Thou art lucky we are in public,” she said, her voice dripping with silky venom, “or I would make thee feel what coldness truly is. Thy sister is mine, and if she doth mean anything to thee, thou wilt flee this place and never return.”

The Princess lifted her head up, then almost-violently hoisted her subject back onto her hooves.

“We gave thee a command,” Luna said loudly enough for others to hear now. “We shall give thy sister thy love, but thou must depart now. Farewell.”

Luna involuntarily tried to cry out as her mental hold almost broke completely. Bubbles formed out of all the air left in her lungs. They ascended out of her grasp and were replaced with a flood of water. Slimy, rotten hooves grabbed at her from all sides. She continued to struggle against them, mentally and physically, and she might have succeeded if she were not so focused on protecting those on the surface from the toxic mist of the lake. Darkness was creeping in along the edges of her vision, and what little she could see was the blue and white light of her own magic slowly fading and being replaced with green.

Thin Mint, in her present form, so different from, yet so similar to, the eager, young pony she had seen in the previous visions, swam up close. She cupped Luna’s face in her hooves and spoke with twisted compassion to her. “Promise me,” she said. “Promise me that you need me, and this will end.” Luna made no attempt to speak, focusing all her energy on maintaining the protective orb she had cast above the surface. Thin Mint gave her former mentor a heartbroken look, then caressed the Princess’ mane for the first and last time... Suddenly, both ponies felt the sensation of a third mind intruding on the link.

“Come, little Pip, now don’t you fret,” Zecora said to a pirate-costumed foal. “Nightmare Night’s not over yet. We still have candy left to give, so Nightmare Moon might let us live!”

Zecora liked Twilight Sparkle’s plan. Maybe it could help salvage the situation, which for a brief but shining moment had been full of smiles and laughter. It at least might mitigate the damage to Luna and Ponyville that Zecora felt her stories had helped cause. As the foals were led off to give the traditional offering of candy to the “statue” of Nightmare Moon, she tugged gently at the hem of Twilight’s robe.

“I should have known better,” Zecora said quietly to Twilight. “This follows my past almost to the letter.”

“It’s not your fault,” Twilight reassured her. “This is right where Nightmare Moon came back a little over a year ago. It makes sense for everypony to be afraid of her.”

“But did you see her expression? She stands on the very brink of depression.” Zecora’s face was more downcast than Twilight had ever seen it.

“It’ll be okay. I still think you should come.”

Zecora nodded and smiled. She made sure the spiders—which were alive and slowly moving, but nopony had seemed to notice that all night—were still safe in her mane, then followed the unicorn back into the woods.

A short time later, Zecora looked on with apprehension as Luna performed the pre-planned scare. She started out as a stone statue, then morphed into the Nightmare herself, sending the ponies, children and adults alike, running away in terror, then finally transformed back to her normal self, spitting out her false fangs into her hoof. The mystic and knowledgeable zebra could not help but think of the physical changes of chemistry that she had studied as she watched the process. She wondered if such a thing could be done to a soul too. It was an idle, pointless thought, but it made her hopeful for the future anyway.

Zecora watched in delight as Pipsqueak returned, then ran up to the Princess and tugged on her mane.

“It’s fun,” the tiny pony said during their brief conversation. “Scary, but fun!”

Zecora backed away unnoticed into the foliage, quietly praying for blessings upon Luna in her journey. The foreigner hoped it would be easier than hers had been so far.

The visions all broke with a mental and physical snap from both ponies. Seizing the opportunity that faintest glimmer of happiness had given her, Luna finally managed to wrap her mind around Thin Mint’s will, and just barely summoned enough energy to crush it. Mint let out a bubbly shriek as her horn cracked. Then she watched in horror as it began to crumble into dust. The pony corpses seizing Luna broke down right along with the horn, their skeletal forms drifting down to the bottom of the lake to remain there forever. Mint’s magic had been broken, since she had thrown every ounce of strength she had into that one spell. Now that it had failed, she would be unable to bring the goals Luna had demanded of her to fruition, and so the curse of the oath-breaker was rapidly coming for her. Black, smoky tendrils grew like vines all over her body, spreading pain wherever they went and filling the water with inky darkness. Her howls were the last thing Luna heard before slipping into unconsciousness.

Zecora struck Luna’s chest firmly, causing her to spit out a stream of water. She shot up, coughing and gasping for air. Once her vision recovered enough to make sense of her surroundings, she saw that she was at the shore of the lake. The toxic mist had diminished greatly in thickness, and no more of it was being pumped into the air. She could feel some of the spores inside her, but they were not growing or spreading. The two beings she had struggled to protect had obviously inhaled some as well, but no further harm seemed to be coming to them now. She tried to smile at that victory, at least, but the attempt only caused her to cough again.

Luna noticed that both of them were looking off to the side, toward some sound that she could barely make out. She turned her head and saw that Thin Mint had washed ashore, whispering to herself as her body was gradually enveloped by more external veins of darkness. Her gills were twitching and her tail was lashing from side to side. Luna crawled over toward her.

“I failed, I failed...” Mint was repeating over and over, with salty tears mingled with fresh water flowing out of her rheumatic eyes. Her cries intensified as she saw the particles of her white horn being carried away and dissolving into the steadily-calming eddies in the middle of the lake.

“No,” Luna croaked as she dragged her body to Mint’s side, “thou art studious, intelligent, creative, and most of all, loyal.” She looked long into the twisted eyes of Thin Mint, who tried her best to return the stare, but her eyes only rolled around and shut tightly in agony. “Thy only failure was choosing to be loyal to me, and thus to the monster I became. Thin Mint, I am so sorry...”

Mint curled up tightly, wrapping her hooves around her torso. Luna gently laid a hoof on her forehead, right where her horn had been. While the pain didn't stop, it didn't seem so bad now as her mistress allowed her mind to focus on other things. Happy memories. The one that stuck out was the day she got her cutie mark. It seemed so dumb to think about it now that her own sovereign had killed her and everything she had spent a millennium creating, but all she could see was the happiness on her dear Candy’s face when she won back their treats from a pair of bullies with all the righteous fury of a unicorn foal. The sugary canes were half-eaten and covered with snow, but the siblings had devoured them anyway, and they were absolutely delicious.

“I hate you,” she said with her last breath, just before the black tendrils closed around her eyes and forced them shut forever. Luna's gaze stayed locked there, even after all consciousness was gone.

Planting one hoof at a time firmly in the earth, Luna very deliberately willed herself to stand, then turned to face the wolf she had gone through all of this to save. “Mister Breca,” she said at a volume little more than a ragged stage whisper, in a forced but proud tone. “The immediate danger hath passed. Regretfully, we cannot lead thee anywhere, but we shall attempt to mend thee with what little power we have left. Please take care, and remember that if we come upon thee threatening our subjects or other innocents, thy life shall be forfeit in this same manner.” She enveloped him in her magical light, and he began to glow the same color as the moon. He coughed violently, and the last remaining spores in his body came out and burned away to nothing. The healing magic tried to fix him further, but Luna’s horn sparked and sputtered until no more light could come from it. Once the glow stopped, Luna let out a strained, ruined sigh. Two of her hooves gave out from under her, but she furiously pushed herself back up in order to stand as tall as she could... for now.

“I won't do any of that,” he said. “Ever. Thank you. I won't forget what you've done for me...”

Seeing that Princess Luna had no more words forthcoming, he nodded to her, then to Zecora, and loped off up one of the lake's streams, disappearing ahead where the normal, uninfected trees stood.

Once the wolf was far out of sight, Zecora stepped up to Luna and searched her face for... anything.

“What was that?” Luna asked incredulously.

Zecora summoned up her courage and rested a hoof on the shoulder of the Princess, who stiffened and ground her teeth. She looked down at the hoof, then at who it was attached to, with a withering glare that likely would have sent any of her subjects scrambling away in fear. This foreigner just stood there, her great fear overtaken by her greater compassion. After the heavy toll levied on Luna these past few days and nights of arguments, inner turmoil, and bitter struggle of all kinds, this final sight was too much. Before Zecora could remove her touch, Luna exploded with a loud, choked sob, then threw her forelegs around the other body with such force that they both fell to the ground. Burying her face in her friend's neck, Luna cried until the zebra's black and white striped hair was soaked with tears. Zecora didn't mind. She simply returned the embrace and waited.

When the tears were spent and the last of her dry sobs abated, Luna drifted off into an exhausted, dreamless rest. Before sleep could overtake her as well, Zecora brought out one of her bottles and sprinkled a fine silver dust in a circle around them. Even if it didn't ward everything off perfectly, it would at least wake them if something tried to come at them. She settled back in against Luna and dreamed of her distant home.