The pony sat at the desk, in her dorm room. It was early in the morning, just before dawn. There was a book on the desk before her, a blue journal with a crescent moon on its cover. She flipped it open to a random page, read a few of the entries, thoughtful and silent.

"Nightmare Moon..." Trixie whispered.

And she felt, like the touch of a ghost, an armored hoof settling gently onto her shoulder.

"Thou summoned me?" the Nightmare asked, a hint of cold humor in her tone.

Trixie sighed, angrily.

"I had friends... well, followers! Ponies who listened to me, believed in me, did what I told them. To them, I was Great and Powerful! Well, sort of. And you made me give all that up. After I worked so hard for it!"

"Merely a stepping stone," the nightmare chuckled dismissively. "One small step on the path to true greatness." She leaned closer. Hot, sulfurous breath whispered at Trixie's ear. "What matters is, you have settled any doubt concerning you, amongst the others -- Twilight and her friends. They will trust you now, believe you now. You are in the right place, my little pony, ready to act. All is in readiness! You should be proud of what you have accomplished!"

Trixie was silent for a while.

Then she tapped the pages in front of her. "Moondancer had a journal, just like Sunset. And she wrote to you, again and again, even though she never got answers back. She just kept writing."

"What need have you, Trixie, for such things?" The nightmare snorted. "You can talk to me directly now. You need not wait for night, for dreams..."

"And then you make me forget again!" Trixie grumbled. "So I never know whether what I do is my own idea... or yours."

"But the two should be one and the same, correct? You serve me, I protect and guide you. Unless you're saying that's not what you want any longer?" There was a sharp edge in her voice.

"No..." Trixie said sadly. "I do want to be Great and Powerful, just like you promised. I just... I don't know..."

Trixie sighed, and stared at the journal again. She idly flipped through its pages, reading the words, the many messages. The quiet, lonely voice, struggling against its own self-doubt...

"She cares about you so much," Trixie said. "You matter to her."

Nightmare Moon sniffed. "In name only. To her I am merely an imaginary friend, a substitute for a mother she felt unable to talk to directly, an outlet for her private thoughts..."

Trixie stared out through the window, at the first rays of sunlight verging over the distant mountains. "And she believes that you care about her. That you watch over her. That you'd protect her, if she was ever frightened or in danger."

There was silence behind her. Then, suddenly, a different voice spoke.

"Is that what this is all about, my diligent student? You worry we do not care about thee? You worry that, having attained our dominion, we should forget about thee? Thou should know better than that by now!"

Trixie turned to look. "Princess Luna?"

The dark-blue alicorn smiled. "Who else would it be?"

"But... you shouldn't be here! What if Nightmare Moon finds out..."

"Silly little pony!" Luna replied. "I am Nightmare Moon. We are, and have always been, one and the same. During my Night, when she is awake, I slumber in her thoughts. During the Day, she sleeps... and dreams of me."

The hoof on Trixie's shoulder squeezed gently, caringly.

"Have no fear, Trixie Luna Moon. When we are set free, we shall never forget the one who aided us. The one that we shall set above all others, as archmage of our dominion -- our Great and Powerful student." She leaned closer, nuzzling Trixie's mane. "Just remember, Trixie: never any fear...

... and never any doubt!"

Trixie knew enough not to reach out, as dearly as she wanted to. It would shatter the illusion, as it always did.

She just smiled up at the Princess...

... with tears streaming down her cheeks.