As Polar helped Nightmare Moon onto the air mattress, he noticed her eyes were quite different from pony eyes when reflected in the fire.

"If I may Luna, you're eyes, they are..."

"Serpentine?" She said, finishing his sentence. "Yes, I know. But trust me, you don't want to know why. You wouldn't like it. And probably run away like all the other friends I had tried to make." She said, a hint of sadness trailing in her voice.

"No," Polar said, sitting beside the mattress on a chair and looking at Luna. "Well, I mean yes, they're serpentine. But I was going to say... beautiful." He smiled, taking a drink of water from his canteen.

Nightmare Moon hid a small blush. Nopony had ever called her beautiful. Especially not when she was stuck in a halfway transformation between her normal form, and her evil one.

"O-oh, well thank you. Nopony has ever complimented me before. Not even before I looked like this," she said, using her hooves to indicate her mismatched body. "I wasn't very popular where I came from. I made... some poor choices in my younger years." Luna ate a spoonful of soup, her strength slowly returning to her as she warmed up underneath a fluffy blanket.

"We all make poor choices sometimes," said Polar, looking out towards the town square. Luna thought she detected a bit of sadness in his words, but before she could think on it further, the white stallion turned back and looked at her.

"If you're not comfortable sharing your past with me, that's okay. I won't try to pester you into it," he said, a warm smile forming on his muzzle. Nightmare took a drink of water and shook her head.

"No, it's no trouble. I feel if you're going to be my friend. You should know the truth about me." The princess set down her bowl and looked up at Polar.

"How much do you know about me Polar? About my past I mean." The stallion shrugged.

"Only a little, stuff my parents told me. There were no books about you where I lived. But they told me that you used to be co-ruler of Equestria, and your responsibility was raising and lowering the moon," he said.

"Well, you're right about that. I was co-ruler, and my duties were to raise and lower the moon. However, there was a bit more to it than that," Luna said, looking into the crackling fire.

"I'm all ears," said Polar. The princess closed her eyes and sighed.

"Years ago, before Twilight Sparkle and her time as ruler. There was only Tia and I."

"Tia?" Polar asked.

"Celestia, Tia was a nickname I gave her. Anyway, a long time ago, when it was just us ruling Equestria. My sister and I got along pretty well. I would raise and lower the moon, while she raised and lowered the sun. One of my additional duties, being the Princess of the Night, was to enter the dream realm and protect the dreams of ponies from nightmares as they slept. However, at the time, my big sister was admired by the public. Everyone basked and played in her daylight. While everypony slept and ignored my beautiful night. I grew jealous, envious of my sisters limelight. She unknowingly cast a shadow on me which pushed me towards the darknes.." Luna paused, taking a second to take a drink of water. Polar listened to her carefully, giving her his full attention.

"Go on princess," he said. Luna nodded.

"Everytime I tried to explain to her how I felt, she brushed it aside and reassured me that the ponies of Equestria did love my night time. But the more I dreamwalked in the dream realm, the more I saw of ponies dreaming of sunny days instead of my beautiful night skies. I had worked so hard to make the night beautiful, and there they were giving my sister all the glory and admiration that was rightfully mine." Nightmare Moons eyes glowed a little, black whisps of magic dancing from the corners of her eyes.

"Those ignorant little assholes, reveling in my sisters day," Luna's voice began to grow louder as Polar watched. He wasn't frightened however.

"Then one day, I decided enough was enough. I let the darkness consume me. Change me. Into a wicked mare of darkness! I took my revenge on Celestia. I kept the moon high in the sky and waited for her to confront me!" Luna's voice began echoing, the second voice coming out of her was deeper and more demonic sounding.

"She did, and we fought, I fought her with all the hatred I had. The pain, the sorrow, the rage. And I almost defeated her too. But as I moved to make the final blow, she used the elements against me, and banished me to that HELL!!" She screamed the last word. Polar put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Hey... calm down Luna, please. It's all in the past now. That isn't who you are right now, is it?" He asked quietly. Luna shook her head as her breathing slowed and her eyes turned back into their serpentine slits. She looked up at Polar.

"No.. that isn't me anymore. But you wouldn't want me as a friend Polar. I carry demons inside me, an infection I can't get rid of myself." Nightmare's voice cracked as tears dripped off her muzzle. "I am nothing but a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon.. an evil tyrant hellbent on bathing the world in eternal night." Luna sniffled softly. Polar did the only sensible thing he could think of. He gave her a friendly hug. After a minute, he released her and looked at her.

"You're not Luna. You're just battling demons, and if you ever need to talk. I'm here," said Polar smiling. The princess nodded and looked at her mismatched legs.

"Thank you.. but I've intruded upon you enough Polar. I shall leave in the morning." Nightmare set her empty bowl on the nearby table and lay down. "I appreciate your assistance with healing my leg, I was taught a spell long ago to fix broken bones, but it required the energy I just don't have at the moment."

Polar got up and took their dishes to the kitchen. "Its quite alright Luna, say, if I may ask. Where are you heading?" The wooden doors to the kitchen swung open then shut as the distant sound of clinking glass could be heard.

"Well, I need to find somepony who can help me transform into my original form." She said, staring into the flames of the fireplace.

"Can't you do that already?" Polar asked.

Luna shook her head as she heard the wooden doors swing open again.

"No, this type of transformation is a one way deal. I'm either Nightmare Moon, or Princess Luna. Once I'm fully Luna again, there's no going back to being Nightmare Moon."

Polar sat back in his chair and also stared into the fireplace.

"So, what turned you into Nightmare Moon?" He asked.

"An evil entity, known as the pony of shadows. He is a being if pure darkness who feeds on others anger, sorrow, and fear. When I was being pushed toward the dark by my sister, he saw an opportunity to take me over and took it. After my return from the moon, I always felt like he was stalking me. But I could never quite prove it until the day magic began to fade in Equestria. He was searching for a safe haven, a shelter if you will. Once all magic was gone, he'd have to rely on my life-source to keep him sustained. He tried to take me again, and somewhat failed but also succeeded. When I banished myself to the moon, he got caught in the beam and morphed into me. But only partially."

Polar added on another log onto the fire and continued to listen.

"So when I returned. I was transformed into.. this," Luna said, pointing to herself. "A pony of mixed emotions. I feel love, sympathy, and kindness. But I also feel rage, hatred, and sorrow. That is why I told you, you wouldn't want me around Polar. I am better off being alone so I hurt nopony else." The princess looked away from the fire and pulled the blanket up over her, laying on her side facing away from Polar.

The white stallion looked over at her and thought for a minute or two.

"You know Luna. I've been living in these ruins my entire life. I've met occasional ponies passing through. Some were explorers, some were historical professors from Zephyr Heights. All of them asked me the same thing. Why did I want to live in the abandoned ruins of a long lost town from a time nopony cares to remember? And my answer to them, is the same I'll give you." Polar reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a tattered book.

"I found this after escaping the frozen north and fleeing south. It was in a massive crystal castle on the outskirts of town."

Luna rolled over and looked at the book in Polars magic. It was a purple one, with a horseshoe on it. On the horseshoe were six symbols. A lightning bolt, an apple, a diamond, a butterfly, a balloon, and a large six pointed star in the middle of the horseshoe.

"Why.. I know that book. That's Princess Twilight's Friendship Journal," said Luna, taking it from Polar and running a hoof across the peeling cover. Polar nodded.

"Yes, and what I read and saw inside it. Made me realize that the true magic has always been friendship. No matter how you feel, what you've been through, the things you've done. Friendship will always be magic."

Luna flipped through the pages, some were water stained and some of the ink was smudged. But it was legible. The princess read entries from Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. And as she did, a small smile formed on her lips.

"I have fond memories of Twilight and her friends. They were good ponies." Said Luna.

Polar nodded in agreement.

"I agree. I wish I could have met them all those years ago. You know.. they're buried here in Ponyville. Twilight and the others. Her final wish was to be buried with her friends," said Polar, looking out at the town square. Luna looked up at him.

"Twilight's gone? But alicorns live thousands of-"

"I know," Polar said, cutting her off. "But losing her friends was too much for her to bear. She fell into a deep depression after Pinkie Pie passed.. Pinkie held on longer than the others because of her will to make everypony laugh. It crushed Twilight. Spike tried to help her, he did everything he could. But she was never the same after losing them. Her health deteriorated quickly and she was diagnosed with cancer 12 years after Pinkie passed away. She battled it for 2 more years, but passed away sadly in Ponyville Memorial Hospital."

Luna teared up and set the journal gently on the table next to Polar.

"She didn't deserve that.." the Princess said quietly. "She didn't deserve to die like that. But being practically immortal... it's more a curse than a blessing. It's the reason why I never grew close to anypony or dated or married. Because their were no other alicorns who were stallions."

Polar took the journal and placed it carefully back in his bag.

"No.. she didn't deserve what happened to her. Twilight Sparkle was a good pony. After her death, they erected a statue in her honor on the edge of Ponyville. Would you like to see it before bed? It's the one thing in town that still looks pristine. As keeper of Ponyville, I try my best to keep the town looking good, but I am one pony. However the statue is the one thing I work the hardest on."

Luna nodded and stood up.

"Sure, and maybe afterwards we could visit her grave? Pay our respects?"

Polar smiled and stood with her, helping her up off the floor.

"I would like that very much Princess."

Next Chapter: Odyssey Estimated time remaining: 24 Minutes