‘You ready?’ Trixie heard the Nightmare’s voice echo in her head, though she couldn't see Nightmare’s form anywhere. As Trixie understood it, Nightmare Moon could only been seen by Trixie. But that was actually an illusion, Nightmare Moon was really in her head and saw out of Trixie's eyes.

“Yes,” Trixie replied eagerly. She felt a large surge of energy pass through her horn as a wave of magic enveloped the room. When it was gone the cracks in the floor, ceiling and walls had all vanished.

“Wow!” Trixie said as she looked over the newly mended room. Normally, spending enough magic to repair a thousand year's worth of decay would have caused Trixie to pass out from exhaustion. However, now she hardly noticed it. It felt as though she was at least ten times more powerful than she was with the alicorn amulet, and this type of power is exactly what Trixie wanted.

But what is power with no free will? There was a nagging feeling in the back of Trixie's head that her current dilemna was no better than being under the influence of the alicorn amulet. Power at the price of control. The only question was, how much control did she have now?

But her musing was abruptly ended by the sound of Nightmare's voice.

‘Well, we’ve fixed this place up enough. It'll be our living quarters in this region,’ Nightmare responded as Trixie looked around the room. It had been fully restored and the furniture mended to pristine condition.

“So why are we staying in a basement of an abandoned castle?” Trixie began.  “I mean,- “

‘Stop talking aloud,' Nightmare Moon interrupted the unicorn. 'Think what you want to say and I will hear it. No one else can hear or see me, so it looks like you're talking to yourself.’

‘So why are we staying here?’ Trixie tried again. It was strange to think something in her own mind to expect an answer from someone else. 'With this amount of power we could easily make some bits and get a better place to stay.'

‘It will serve the purpose I need it to,’ was Nightmare moon's short explanation. ‘No pony visits, its isolated and it's familiar ground. I am not concerned with luxuries, and I prefer my quarters to be spartan.’

Looking around the restored room once more, Trixie noticed that there were no sources of light. No torches, no candles and no windows.

‘umm... princess?’ Trixie thought. She summed a flame and lit the candle on the newly mended table. For a moment, the little flame was blindingly bright. But once her eyes adjusted she could still see everything in the room; shadow’s cast by the flame were noticeable but failed to conceal anything.

‘Benefits of being a nightmare,' The dark alicorn replied, responding to Trixie's curiosity of her newfound night vision. 'You can see in and through the dark. Oh, and don't call me princess, call me Nightmare Moon.'

'Okay, Nightmare Moon. Why don't you speak in old equestrian like princess Luna?' Trixie asked, She had read about how the princess of the night spoke in a dated dialect.

'Well, in reality I am. But I just cast a translation spell between old equestrian and the modern dialect, so nopony can tell the difference.' The Nightmare replied as another pulse of magic from Trixie extinguished the candle.

'Really?' Trixie scoffed in amusement. 'That's a . . . shortcut, almost like cheating if you ask me.'

'Another benefit of being a Nightmare, you get to cheat.' She replied smugly. 'By the way, you won't be needing those’ Trixie spotted her hat and cape seconds before they went up in flames.

“Hey!” Trixie protested, a moment too late. They were nothing but ash now.

‘Shut up. They’re the only way anypony would recognize you now.’ Nightmare responded.

“What does that mean?” Trixie replied.

‘Didn’t we discuss the hole talking to yourself thing?’ Nightmare answered snarkly.

Trixie growled in response. ‘What does that mean?’

‘My presense may have . . . caused a change in your appearance.’ Nightmare replied. Trixie sensed a little dread from Nightmare Moon. 'Only a slight change.'

It took Trixie only a few moments to find the remains of a mirror, and a quick restoration spell later . . .

"THE HAY HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!?!" Trixie shouted, observing her knew appearance. Her coat was now several shades darker. Not dark enough to be completely black, but a very dark blue. Her mane and tail color didn't change, nor did the color of her violet eyes. But what was shocking was her cutie mark.

It was no longer a wand with pixie dust flowing from it. The stem of the wand had disappeared, leaving only the star. The pixie dust itself had morphed and shifted to form a moon, with the crescent facing away from the star and up toward Trixie's front.

'Beautiful isn't it?' Nightmare Moon replied. 'I must say, the star is a nice touch.'

"B-b-But how is that possible?!" Trixie stammered. "I mean, aren't cutie marks supposed to determine our destinies? Isn't it a part of who we are?" Trixie asked.

Nightmare scoffed before replying. 'Contrary to popular belief, your destiny is for you to decide. You're not limited by a mark on your flank.  Besides, I know you want more than stage performer all your life.' Before adding with certainty.

Trixie took a few more moments to examine her new cutie mark before sitting on her haunches in front of the mirror. She could grow to like her new appearance. But she was still mortified that her cutie mark had changed. It was something that she thought would always be a part of her, something that would always single her out. Unique and immutable.  

'The moon is just like the one in Nightmare Moon's cutie mark.' Trixie thought to herself, almost forgetting that she had an audience.

'Yes, it is. And if you're going to be wearing it in public you'd had better not make a foal of yourself.' She replied, almost threateningly. And though Trixie could see that the new mark wasn't all too similar to Nightmare Moon's, Trixie could sense no small amount of pride coming from the Nightmare when it came to said mark.  

‘Speaking of public, it's almost dawn. There's some stuff I'd like to take care of and it would be easier for me to do it than to tell you what to do. . .' Nightmare Moon paused, searching for the right word 'umm... move over.’

Trixie felt what was the mental equivalent of a shove, followed by all the sensations that accompany her rising to her hooves. Though, It wasn't her controlling her hooves this time.

"THE HAY!?!" Trixie shouted in suprise, before trying to jump. However, she was surprised by a  sudden return in control over her body, and it caused her to trip over her own hooves. Her face hit the floor with an audible smack.  

'Don't do that,' The Nightmare replied. Trixie felt another mental shove, followed by her body rising to its hooves outside her control. 'I can only control your body if you let me.'

"I suppose that's a plus-" Trixie remarked before she felt her snout snap shut.

'Think what you want to say...' Nightmare reminded, again.

Nightmare, now in control of Trixie's body again, grabbed a blue messengers satchel in her an aura of magic. With another pulse of magic, several objects from around the room flew into the bag.

Other than a coin purse and other basic essentials, she spotted one object in particular before it disappeared into the bag. It was a blue disk with a symbol carved into its side. Trixie recognized it to be one of the runes she saw in Nightmare Moon's memory.

'We need to go into the nearby town, let me handle the talking, the walking... and just about everything else. . .'

---

By the time they had arrived in Ponyville the sun was already up. Trixie could have swore that presence of the sun had somehow soured the Nightmare's mood, jugdging from what Trixie could sense from the her. But the dark alicorn didn't openly reveal any of her emotions, at least to the outside world. Trixie wasn't sure if Nightmare's mood would translate into something more vindictive against the residents of Ponyville. Though it did give her comfort to know that she could retake control of her body at any time.

At least she thought she could.    

On top of that, Trixie wasn't entirely sure how the ponies of ponyville would react to her return.  However, judging by their reactions to her, they had either forgotten about her  completely or didn't recognize her at all. Most likely the latter. This was only confirmed as Nightmare had enter an antique shop and an older brown coated earth pony stallion greeted her, asking if she was new in town.  

Now, it turns out that the bag of coins Nightmare had taken from the ruins contained an older currency which was no longer in circulation. This proved to be a boon. The older coins were highly sought by collectors,  and it was also composed of solid gold whereas the modern bits were only gold plated.

She was able to trade in ten of the ancient coins for five hundred bits.

'Wow, easiest half a grand I've ever made,' Trixie remarked with a little regret. If only she had searched a little deeper into the ruins without picking up that old helmet . . .

'Umm... Nightmare Moon?' Trixie thought again, 'How did you know that we'd need to get bits. In fact, how did you know that this antique shop would be here?'

'One, I have all your memories so I know what you know,' Nightmare answered. 'Two, I can pull information from the dreamscape of all these ponies.' She motioned toward the stallion behind the counter, who was busy eyeing the coins. 'I glean whatever information i want. Including where I can find somepony willing to pay for those ancient coins. . . don't worry, I didn't stiff him. He should make a nice profit reselling those.'

'Really? I didn't take you for the nice type.' Trixie  retorted.

'Not really, not to be nice anyway. I'm hoping a nice profit margin will make him want to keep his mouth shut about where he got them. He's not the type to appreciate competitors buying out  one of his sources.' Nightmare replied as they left the store.

'Who cares if anypony knows where he got them?'

'Greatest villianess in history remember?' Nightmare reminded. 'I'll do whatever I can to be cover my tracks, no detail is too minute to be overlooked when tricking a pursuer.' She sounded slightly paranoid.

'You think the princesses and the elements will be coming after us?' Trixie asked with a slight amount of fear.  

'Well,' Nightmare began. 'If I know my other half, that is Luna, they'll be relentless. . .'

---

'That's like the fifth magic shop you've taken us to,' Trixie complained. Nightmare Moon had been walking her around all morning, from shop to shop. They had visited every last magic related store in the entire town. Granted, it wasn't a very big town, but that tid bit of knowledge did little to sooth the aching Trixie was starting to feel.

'Quit complaining,' Nightmare Moon responded non-chalantely. 'If you weren't out of shape your legs wouldn't hurt.'

'But we've been walking around all morning...' Trixie replied, elliciting no response. 'At least tell me what you're looking for.'

After a few moments of silence Nightmare replied, still with her less than sympatric tone.  'You remember that crystal you broke when I first woke you up?' Reading Trixie's thoughts, Nightmare Moon didn't need a confirmation. 'Well, it turns out I need one to remove an ancient seal. . .'

'Really? Can't you just overpower it or something?'

'No,' The Nightmare replied, now turning to walk through the market. 'I designed the spell on the runes myself. The seal is made to prevent any meddlesome ponies, who had significant power, from overpowering the runes'

Trixie saw the image of Celestia flash through her mind.  

'The runes need a specific object nearby to activate them,' Nightmare Moon explained. 'It helps to keep the identity of said objects secret so that no pony else can breach the runes. In this case, a type two arcane crystal made from moonstone.'

Trixie was about to respond with another question when the familiar scent of apples hit her nose. That's when she realized that she hadn't eaten the entire morning, or the entire night before.

It caused her mouth to water and her stomach to grumble. Turning toward the source, Nightmare spotted a large stand occupied by an equally large red stallion. Judging by the line, the 'sweet apple acres' vendor was rather popular.  

'Oh. . . right, you mortals need . . . food' Nightmare remarked. Was Trixie sensing disgust from the Nightmare's Moon?

'umm. . . excuse me?' Trixie asked.

'It's so revolting,' Nightmare made no effort to hide a growing disgust. 'The idea that you ingest foreign objects into your body, things that used to be part of plant life . . . and that you enjoy it. . .'

'What?, Theres nothing wrong with eating. . .' Trixie would have harrumphed if she was controlling her body. 'And us mortals have to eat, so we might as well enjoy. Are you telling me that immortal alicorns don't eat?'

'I didn't . . . but Tia did. I never understood her disgusting compulsion to consume that. . . oh what was that brown stuff she kept trying to get to to taste? chocolate?' The Nightmare sighed, trying to convey to Trixie exactly how much she didn't care for eating.

"WHAT? YOU'VE NEVER TASTED CHOCOLATE BEF-" Trixies mouth snapped shut before she could finish the question. Though a few nearby ponies heard what she blurted out, which earned her a few strange looks as they noticed she wasn't near enough to anyone else to be talking to them.

'Shhhh, you idiot. Think, not speak, you start talking to yourself in public and we'll look insane.' Nightmare chastised. Trixie could sense the Nightmare's sudden anger at her mistake, as well as what she could describe as a pressure on her neck choking her.

'Okay, Okay! Im sorry!' Trixie responded. After a few moments the pressure on her neck receded. Nightmare looked back up toward the crowd of ponies, they all seemed to have stopped paying attention to her and went about their business.

'See that you dont make that mistake again, foal.' Nightmare warned once more. She turned back toward the stand, eyeing it from afar. 'You know what? on second thought. . . you deal with it.' Nightmare responded curtly as she returned control of Trixie's body to her.

Unfortunately, Trixie wasn't prepared to take control again. This resulted in her legs collapsing under her, followed by a face plant with a loud thump.

That earned her another series of strange looks from nearby ponies.

"Ow, the hay? What did you do that for?" Trixie said as she pulled her face out of the dirt, using a hoof to wipe dirt off her face.

"Ah hope yer not expect'n the ground ta reply, ma'am." Came a voice from above her. Looking up she saw that the red stallion from the stand had walked over to her and was now offering a hoof to pull her up.

"Hehe . . ." Trixie gave a nervous chuckle, followed by an equally nervous smile. She took hold of his hoof and pulled herself up.

"Are you okay miss?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? heh, I'm fine." Trixie replied, though he didn't appear entirely convinced. "Well, I had a late night" She continued. "And I haven't had a breakfast, so I was wondering if you still had some apples to sell."

"Indeed I do ma'am," He replied as he turned toward the stand. "What'll ya have? We have most popular types of apples, as well as some apple pastries and desserts" He said as they reached the stand, he took up his place behind it.

Trixie took a moment to think before a mischievous grin crept onto her face. "Do you have  any chocolate covered apples?"

'I am not amused, mortal.'

'Go back to brooding'

"Yes we do," He hoofed over a chocolate covered apple, though hesitated for a moment when he noticed her grin. This mare was a tad bit unsettling. "Ah'm not the one usually run'n the stand, but ah don't think ah've seen you before? You from around here?"

"No, I'm just here visiting a friend." Nightmare Moon was impressed with the ease in which Trixie lied.

"Well, Ah'm Big Mac. What brings ya ta market? Ah' saw ya walking around earlier." He asked.

"I was looking for a crystal used in . . . advanced magical research," Trixie answered. "It's a gem with unique magical properties, apparently none of the vendors here are carry it. Which isn't surprising."

"Well, if yer look'n fer anything with advanced magic, ya outta try an' talk to the town librarian; Twilight Sparkle. If anypony in this town has special gems for magic, it'd be her." He replied as she put the bits on the stand and pushed them toward the red stallion.

'You know, thats not a bad idea,' remarked Nightmare Moon.

"In fact, mah sister is over there right now." He continued before he noticed the bits she placed on the table. "Oh, no charge miss." He said as pushed the bits back toward the mare.  "Consider it a welcome to ponyville treat. Just don't let Pinkie Pie know ah beat her to the punch."

Trixie smiled, picking up the treat "Why thank y-"

'No,' The voice of Nightmare Moon in her head cut Trixie off.

'What do you mean, No?' Trixie answered with surprise.

'I mean no, I will not be indebted to this bumpkin.'

"Bumpkin? Jeez, He's just being ni-" Trixie felt her snout snap shut with a clack.  All the while the red stallion was clearly getting unnerved, did she just call him a bumpkin?  

'Pay him...' Nightmare ordered more forcefully.

'We don't have to' Trixie could sense the pride inside Nightmare Moon, It  wouldn't let her accept a handout. 'He's trying to welcome us to-

'PAY HIM  NOW.'

---

"Why thank y- . . . Bumpkin? Jeez, He's just being ni-" CLACK.  

"Uhh, Miss?" Big Mac started, the mare before him was starting to creep him out. For a second time."Are you sure yer okay?" He asked as he looked over the mare once more. She seemed familiar, like she was someone he'd seen before. But he would have definitely remembered that her color scheme. It wasn't often he saw somepony with a midnight blue coat and a set of dark violet eyes.  

His uneasiness wasn't helped by a sudden twitch from the mare,  followed by those violet eyes flashing blue for a moment. They snapped to focus on him.

"Well actually sir, I insist." Now there was no emotion from the mare, and the bits had reappeared on the table.  

Yah, this strange mare was definitely creeping him out. Then again, living in ponyville Big Mac had seen plenty of strange ponies. Maybe the unicorn was just a relative of Lyra's or something?

"It's really not necessary miss," He pushed them away again, trying to offer a reassuring smile through the awkwardness.

"No, I Insist." She pushed them back toward the stallion.  Her voice was a little more forceful this time.  

"Well if ya dont  want ta take a Ponyville welcome, you can still take back some of them bits" He said, pushing all but one bit back. "Ya over paid," Her head jerked down at the bits then back up at the stallion, the emotionless facade was starting to crumble.

"There's no way that cost only one bit." She stated, only a little anger managed to make it into her expression and voice.

"Yer tellin me how much ah’ sell my apples fer?" He had her there and he knew it.  Though his moment of smugness didn't last. His smile was quickly wiped off his face by a pair of blue hooves exploding through his stand; sending pieces of wood, shrapnel and the bits in every direction. His brain didn't have time to process what was happening when mare grabbed his head, and  yanked it down to her level.

He would have been impressed at her speed and strength, had it not felt like his head was about to be twisted off.

"Listen to me you big red simpleton," Her eyes were threatening to drill a hole in his head. "I don't need your charity, and I will not be indebted to a small town bumpkin like you."

For a unicorn, this mare had to be strong. Oh wow, look, she's strong enough to lift Big Mac off the ground and . . .

-Crash-

and that was the sound of Big Mac's back being used to pulverize what was left of his humble apple stand. He never expected to be used as an impromptu wrecking ball, but the experience had made him regret building the stand out of such strong wood.

"Ow. . ." Big Mac groaned at the pain in his back. He sure wouldn't be pulling any apple carts for a while.  

He peaked open his eyes. The psychotic mare was standing over him, pinning him to the ground with a hoof to his chest. She was still angry. She was sort of hot when she was angry.

"Now just take my money," She said as she used magic to throw a rather large coin pouch down at the stallion, he just barely managed to catch  it. "There is some extra to pay for the stand."

There had to be at least fifty bits there, if the weight and size of the bag were any indication. Wow, she's pretty and she pays well. Though fifty gold plated bits was far too much for replacing the stand.

The mare was about to leave, retrieving her chocolate apple. "B-But yah ova p-paid." She turned to fix Big Mac in another glare. The violet of her eyes pulsed blue again. "The s-stand would o-only o-only-"

Yah, he decided to save his own life by shutting up now. But that wasn't enough for the mare, she had to make sure.

Place her hoof back on his chest. "So you accept the payment?" She hissed, Big Mac only responded with a week nod before shrinking under her glare. "Good," Her tone drastically shifted to its original apathetic tone. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

He only gave a another pained groan as she got up to walk away. He tried to move, but his back still felt like it had been run over by a train. He tried to move, but only managed to shift around the pulverized mess that used to be the stand.

How was he going to explain a broken stand, the small fortune in his hooves, and the bruises on his body? No pony would believe him if he said that he had gotten smashed up by a mare not half his size.

He turned his head toward the mare's retreating form, but she was no longer walking. She was standing completely still with her eyes wide.  The chocolate apple floated in a blue aura in front of her, a big bite-shaped chunk missing from it.  

She then proceeded to attack it like a ravenous pinkie pie let loose on a cupcake. The way the mare ate it made Big Mac wonder if she had ever tasted chocolate before. Or eaten for that matter.

He shifted and tried to pull himself up, but only succeeded in letting out another pained groan before giving up. He resolved to just lie there until the pain receded and he could regain feeling in his back. But he decided to chance once more glance at the crazy mare. . .

Oh no, she coming back!

---

‘The hay was that?!?’ Trixie protested, ‘You didn't have to do that to him, he was just trying to be nice! And I thought you didn’t want to draw attention!’

‘Oh don’t worry Trixie,’ Nightmare replied smugly, organizing a half dozen chocolate apples in their satchel. ‘He’s not about to go and tell anypony that he got beat up by a mare half his size.’

‘Well, I don't know how you 'conducted business' a thousand years ago,’ Trixie countered angrily. ‘but us up-to-date ponies don't respond to hospitality by throwing others through wooden stands! You should've been nicer.’

‘Pff,’ NIghtmare scoffed. ‘As if you're the one to know what nice is.’

'At least I can recognize when a stallion is trying to be nice to a mare." Trixie replied hotly. 'What? You never had a stallion hit on you before?’

'For the most part? No. . .' The Nightmare replied nonchalantly, commanding Trixie's hooves to move. 'Most stallions were not so bold. . . I think they didn't like fangs.'

'Wow. . . no chocolate and no romance, no wonder she tried to end the world with an eternal night.' Trixie thought to herself, completely forgetting that she was sharing her head with the exact same pony she was thinking about.

Which was a stupid mistake that she regretted instantly, she could sense the Nightmare's mood  plummet dangerously. Suddenly her entire body felt painfully cold.

'Silence foal, you know little of the reasons why I did what I did.  Do not equate them to the trivialities of your mortal perspective.' Nightmare hissed threateningly.

With that Trixie decided not to say - or think- anything for the rest of the trip. It was clear to her that she had pushed the wrong button.

However, the one thing Nightmare Moon had taken from the apple vendor for free was his advice. They were headed toward the library. The town librarian, Twilight Sparkle, prized student of the princess and bearer of the element of magic, was the only individual in the entire town that was likely to possess the crystal Nightmare Moon was looking for.

It didn't take long for them to reach the Ponyville library. Thankfully Nightmare Moon’s mood had improved before they had arrived, which made Trixie brave enough to formulate a question. She was wondering how Nightmare Moon planned on getting what she wanted from Twilight without the lavender unicorn recognizing either one of them.

‘Don’t worry about it Trixie,’ Nightmare answered. ‘Let me do the talking. Oh, and try not to interrupt or do anything. Looking crazy in front of her is more dangerous than looking strange in front of a vendor in the market.’ Nightmare's tone became more threatening.  'And don't try to ask the elements for help, or  any other stunts. If the elements of harmony try to banish me to the moon again, your coming with me; that's if you don't get killed.'

She knocked on the door. Which was answered with a shout. She couldn't tell exactly what was said, just that someone had shouted a reply. Another knock on the door elicited another shout, this time it was understandable.

“Coming, I’m coming!” It answered. A few moments later the door swung open to reveal a purple lizard. “Hello?”

“You must be Spike.” She addressed the baby dragon that looked up at her.

  “Umm. . . do I know you?” He replied.

“No, I’m new in town.” She answered. Trixie felt a small amount of relief at the fact that Spike did not recognize her. Nightmare was right, her changes in appearance made her look like a totally different pony.

“Well, Welcome to the Ponyville library.” He said, welcoming her in. “What brings you here?” He closed the door behind her.

“I’m actually looking for the librarian.” She replied.

“Really? Well you have great timing.” Spike replied. “If you’d come ten minutes later you would have missed her.”

Nightmare Moon was going to ask why, but her question was answered when the three of them entered the main room of the library. It’s walls were filled with books and it had a round table in the center of the room. On that table were two sets of luggage. One of the sets of luggage was sitting next to an orange earth pony. She had a blonde mane and a stetson hat, and she happened to be reading a book that, judging by its cover, had something to do with apples.

The other set of luggage was still open, a set of books floated in a purple aura above it. There appeared to be a slightly flustered lavender unicorn trying to decide between which of the books to pack.

“Hey Twi!” Spike called to her, interrupting her thoughts. “Somepony’s here to see you.”

“Hello,” Twilight greeted as she put the books down.

“Hello, You’re the librarian correct?” Nightmare asked as if she didn't already know the answer.

“Yes, I am.” Twilight replied kindly. “But I don’t believe we've met. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this here-” She motion toward the blond pony. “Is my friend Applejack.” The blond pony reach up and tilted her had in acknowledgement.

“Pleasure to meet you, my name is . . . Lulamoon. I’m new in town.” She replied. Trixie felt like she wanted to face hoof. Why would she pick the name Lulamoon, especially if she is trying to prevent ponies from recognizing her as Trixie. Granted not many knew that Trixie had a last name, and certainly no one in Ponyville did; but it was an unnecessary risk wasn't it?

Her question was answered by Nightmare Moon before she thought about asking it. Nightmare Moon considered in ill-advised to lie while the element of honesty was nearby; and with Lulamoon actually being one of Trixie's names, it was technically a truthful response to Twilight's question.

It was strange sharing her head with someone, that Nightmare Moon could sense and answer her doubts before she even chose to express them.

“Lulamoon? That’s a pretty name.” Twilight complimented, before tilting her head to get a good luck at Trixie's new cutie mark. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I came here because I think you can help me with something,” Lulamoon answered.

“Well, I’d love to.” Twilight answered with hesitation. She was honestly hoping the newcomer only wanted to check out a book. “ But I’m sort of in a hurry, can it wait a few days?”

Lulamoon glanced at the luggage than back toward the lavender unicorn. “I only want some information, it should only take a few moments.”

“Go on Twi,” Applejack added with encouragement. “By the time you finish picking which book to bring it’ll be apple bucking season anyway.”

“Alright,” She said, casting an annoyed glance at her friend who remained hiding behind her book.

“One of the merchants in town said you were quite adept at magic, and that you would probably be able to tell me where I could find a type two crystal lattice of moonstone?”

“Type two, moonstone?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Those are rather rare, and only ponies doing highly advanced magic have any use for one. What do you want one for?”

“I plan on doing an. . . experiment, of sorts, which involves high level magic.” Lulamoon answered. “And, unfortunately, the last stone I had shattered.”

“Oh, an experiment?” Twilight asked, her enthusiasm now growing. Twilight, ever the curious scientist. It excited her even more that there may be another high-level mage in town performing experiments. “What are you researching?”

“You could say it's astronomy related,” She replied.  It wasn't entirely the truth, but thankfully it appeared that Applejack stopped paying attention and went back to her book at the first signs of nerd speak.

“Really?” Twilight asked, clearly indicating that she wanted Lulamoon to elaborate.

“Sorry, Twilight Sparkle.” Lulamoon replied. “You know how it is. The first pony to discover something, something not put there by princess Luna, gets to name it. I’ll be happy to tell you more after I’ve finished my experiments.”

“Fair enough, I look forward to it.” Twilight nodded. If anypony in Ponyville  could appreciate some scientific competition it was Twilight. “SPPPIIKKKEEEEE” She called toward the upstairs room with a sudden burst of volume. “CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE PLEASE?”

When the baby dragon had returned, Twilight directed him to retrieve a case from the basement. Upon his return, he dropped the case on the table before disappearing upstairs again. Twilight opened the case to reveal an assortment of various gems.

Trixie didn’t really recognize any of them, but Nightmare Moon did. They were very rare.  

“Wow, you’re family must be very wealthy.” Lulamoon remarked as she inspected the gem’s in the case.

“Well, yes.” Twilight hesitated to admit. “But these aren't mine. Princess Celestia lent them to me.”  

“I hope you keep a lock on your door then,” She replied. “I’d hate to have to explain to the princess of all ponies if those went missing.”

“Oh, in a town like Ponyville I’m not too worried.” Twilight said before turning toward the case. “Now let's see, type three ruby. . . diamond-sunstone composite. . . ah, here it is. Moonstone crystal with Type two lattice structure.  You can borrow it.” She put the stone in a smaller case and passed it over to Lulamoon.

“Uh, you sure?” Lulamoon asked. She was surprised that the mare would be so trusting with complete stranger to let her borrow a valuable and precious gem. “This is rather expensive.”

“Oh, it's no problem.” Twilight assured. “I know how rare those are, and I am virtual certain that you wouldn’t find another one in this town. In fact, I’m pretty sure the nearest place to find another one would be Canterlot.”  

This seemed to be too good to be true, this mare couldn’t be that naïve. “Oh, and in case it gets lost, princess Celestia has a tracking spell on it.” Twilight added. But the underlying meaning of it was not lost on Lulamoon. The convenient way to keep track of a small valuable item was also a major deterrent to theft.

“Well then, for your kindness you can at least take this.” Lulamoon opened her satchel and brought out one of the larger pouches filled with bits. She dropped it on the table next to the moonstone with a loud thud, the coins clanging together. At the sound of the thud, applejack put down her book and Twilight’s eyes bugged out.

“That’s got to be worth at least five times the going rate of that stone!” Twilight exclaimed as she lifted the pouch with a hoof to feel it’s weight. “Ones of superior quality too!”

“Yes,” Lulamoon answered calmly as she picked up the moonstone and examined it. “You can hold on to that until I have returned the moonstone.”

“Well thanks but,” Twilight pushed the pouch away. “It’s not necessary.”

“No, it is.” Lulamoon replied, pushing the coins back to Twilight. “My experiment may result in the moonstone’s destruction. And you saved me a lot of trouble of having to hunt one down, thank you.”

“Well okay. . . I guess.” Twilight replied. “You can bring back the moonstone in a about a week, I am going to be gone for the next few days or so.”

“Really?” Lulamoon replied, it was her turn to be curious. “You travelling for your own research?” Nightmare Moon highly doubted that such was the case. But being here, with Celestia’s prized protégé, presented the opportunity for gathering some information. An opportunity the Nightmare wouldn't pass up.

“No, were traveling under a royal directive.” Twilight replied. “I can’t really talk about it.”

“Fair enough. But if it is royal business, is it wise to keep everypony waiting on-“ Lulamoon craned her neck to look at the books Twilight had set on the table. They were both reference books that she didn’t recognize “on a pair of books?”

“I-I know,” Twilight admitted, which elicited a nodded from Applejack. “I just can’t decide which book to take.”

“Well, when I’m travelling for business I try to select my books by utility.” Lulamoon explained as she turned toward the shelf of books. “And if I were on royal business, I would probably take a few political science books.”

“No. . .” Twilight replied as she turned toward the bookshelf herself. “Were going to be within Equestria’s boarders, so I don’t imagine politics will be much of an issue.”

“Well then, maybe a good history book?” She suggested.

“Perhaps a history of magic book used around the end of the first diarchy.” Twilight answered. The reply itself didn't seem to reveal much, but it had given Nightmare Moon all the information she needed.

“Well, I'm sure I could find a few good reference books for you, but seeing how I am new in town I don’t know the stock of your library.” She said to twilight who responded with a nod. “I’m sure I can find the way out.” She said to dismiss herself.

“By the way Lulamoon,” Twilight said before Lulamoon could turn to go. “The library is usually open from nine to five, and ponies can freely come and go to check out any of the books. Just remember to sign them out.”

“Thank you,” She replied before turning to the blond earth pony. “Applejack was it? Lend her a hoof, you might get her to choose faster with a suggestion or two.”

Applejack nodded and moved to Twilight’s side. Once both of their backs were turned toward the book case,  Nightmare Moon unzipped her satchel and extracted the metal rune from the bag.  

She quickly cast a cloaking spell on the rune and, judging by how the blue aura levitating the disk moved, stuffed it into a space in one of Twilight’s bag.

‘What was that for?’ Trixie asked, both curiosity and concern in her tone. She had mixed feelings toward Twilight, but she didn’t want to see the lavender unicorn hurt.

‘I’ll explain later,’ was the only answer Nightmare gave before turning to leave. It wasn’t until they had left the library and walked halfway through ponyville before Nightmare Moon began again.

‘Well, that couldn’t have gone better.’ Nightmare Moon remarked. ‘Though, I'm not entirely happy about what we’ve learned.’

‘Wait, what?’ Trixie replied. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Well, there is only one reason why Celestia’s number one student would be interested in magic from  around the time of my banishment while getting ready to travel for ‘royal business’ that she can’t talk about.’ Nightmare Explained.  ‘Princess Luna and princess Celestia somehow know that I am active, and they’re probably looking for me.’

‘Well, then why did you put your rune in Twilight’s bag?’ Trixie asked. 'Aren't you going to need it?'

'No, I dont need it at this point, and planting it in Twilight's bag is an attempt at misdirection,' Nightmare began to explain as the pair continued walking. 'When Twilight discovers it, hopefully when she’s far away from here, She’ll pass it off to the princesses. Celestia will recognize it because she knew I used it a thousand years ago. However, Luna won’t remember anything about it at all.’

‘So?’ Trixie asked. ‘How does that help you in any way?’

‘It helps us because it will get them to spend a few weeks scratching their heads to figure out what it means.’ Nightmare continued. ‘ and, because an alicorn’s memory is photograph and near perfect, Celestia won’t believe Luna when she says that she doesn’t remember the rune. And over time that doubt might turn into mistrust . . . and well, it’s all downhill between the two of them from there.’

'Thats. . . wow,' Trixie processed what Nightmare just relayed. 'Scheme much?'

'I may have put a little thought into it,' Nightmare admitted with a small hint of enjoyment. 'But to tell the truth the biggest threat to my plans is those two working together in harmony.  So I'll take any chance at sowing discord between them.'

'They've been sisters for thousands of years, I'd imagine sowing distrust between them would be a little difficult.' Trixie asked.

This got Nightmare Moon to laugh. It wasn't mocking or condescending, but rather something Trixie said was genuinely funny to Nightmare Moon.  

'You're kidding right? You seem to forget that I was princess Luna. If there is anypony that I know well it's those two,' Nightmare claimed with certainty. 'though making their relationship dysfunctional will be difficult, it is far from impossible.'

'Do you really think they are hunting us already?' Trixie asked slightly afraid.

'Yes, with unrelenting determination,' Nightmare Moon replied with certainty. 'I know because it's what I'd do. In fact, both Tia and Luna will become obsessed with finding me. And if they do, were both going to end up on the moon.'

'So. . . I guess we'll need to be prepared.' Trixie replied, betraying a hint of fear.

'We will be.' Nightmare answered. 'But dealing with them will have to wait, There are a few things we need to take care of.' At those words, Nightmare retrieved their newly acquired crystal and started to inspect it.

'Like what?' Trixie could only wonder what was more important than evading the princesses.

'Well, were going to need a friend.'

---

Nightmare Moon had Trixie walk a few miles outside Ponyville, where no one could see them, before re-entering the Everfree forest. She didn't want anyone to see them going into the forest, claiming that it might arouse suspicion. Trixie thought she was being overly cautious, maybe even paranoid.

She was more concerned about running into some of the dangerous animals or monsters that lived in the forest. Nightmare Moon only replied with  a laugh before responding, 'I am the darkness of this forest, what creature do you think should be feared more than I?'

However all that was of little concern to Trixie now, she was more disturbed with what had happened early in the morning; namely what happened with the apple vendor. Trixie, from what Nightmare Moon had told her, was able to retake control of her body at any time. That Nightmare Moon could only control Trixie's body if Trixie let her.

But that didn't seem to be the case this morning. It felt as if Nightmare Moon was easily able to brush her aside and assume control. Which made Trixie worry, she didn't willingly give up control. Admittedly, she didn't try to prevent Nightmare Moon from taking control; at the time Trixie was too surprised at Nightmare's sudden outburst to put up that much of a mental defense.

Trixie also remembered the first time Nightmare Moon had experimented with taking control over Trixie's body. At that time it was easy, if not accidental.  So Nightmare Moon may have been telling the truth, that Trixie could retake control whenever she wanted. Though, how easy retaking it would be was something probably determined by Nightmare Moon.

However, there was something else on Trixie's mind. It was remarkable how easily she was able to throw around that large red earth pony. The earth ponies were known for being heavier and having stronger builds than the other two tribes. So the idea that a average sized mare like her could trash a rather larger earth pony stallion, without breaking a sweat, was rather surprising.

When she asked Nightmare Moon about it, the dark alicorn simply responded. 'I've “enhanced” your physiology.' Followed by some quip about how 'this mortal body' was miserably inferior  to her original one.

Though Nightmare Moon's words weren't particularly encouraging, Trixie was glad to hear that she was at least getting something back from the hitch-hiker. If her physical strength had increased like her magical strength had, Trixie should be able to lift a train car by now.

By the time they had arrived at the Everfree castle, it was late evening. Nightmare Moon led them to another basement room, deep under the castle.

The room itself was plain, it looked like an ordinary store room. However in the center of the room, cover by a cloth, was the statue of a pony. After a spell or two to remove the covering and dust the statue, Trixie realized that it was the most detailed statue she had ever seen.

The statue was of a stallion, a unicorn to be more specific. He was larger than the average pony, and sported a beard.  He was wearing an elaborate hat and cape with star patterns on them, not unlike the set that belonged Trixie's before they were burned. However, his  hat and cape also had bells.

The interesting part was his cutie mark. It was what appeared to be a constellation of stars that followed a swirling pattern.

"Who's he?" The oblivious Trixie asked.

'Just an old friend,' Nightmare replied cryptically. 'A friend that's been waiting a long, long time.

"For what? I don’t think he really cares about what is done with his statue ten centuries after he lived." Trixie eyed the statue.

'Be quiet Trixie.' Nightmare replied. A surge of magic shot its way through Trixie's horn, and with a loud pop Trixie and the statue teleported to their living quarters in the run down castle.

Nightmare Moon then took control over Trixie's body again, something Trixie didn't resist. She directed their gaze toward the statue, and what followed was a burst of magic stronger than Trixie had ever thought possible. So much magic was flowing out of Trixie's horn that, under normal circumstances, she would have passed out instantly. But like last time, she felt almost nothing. Barely any fatigue at all.

The spell itself was covering the statue in a blinding blue aura. But after a few moments the aura disappeared, and Trixie’s jaw dropped.  

A pony now stood in place of the statue.

His coat was a dark grey, and his eyes were a dark golden color. For a moment he didn't move, standing completely still. However, after a few moments the stallion let out a miserable groan before closing his eyes and crumpling to the floor.

'Did you just bring that statue to life?!?' Trixie asked in awe.

'No,' Nightmare replied. ‘Thats impossible.'

'Well then, what happened? Who is this?" Trixie replied with more curiosity.

'Tell me Trixie,' Nightmare began with a smug grin as she checked the stallion over, making sure he wasn't injured. ’If you turned somepony to stone, would the age? Or could they wait a thousand years?'