//------------------------------//
// Stop Dragon That Around 
// Story: The Night's Stars 
// by SC_Orion 
//------------------------------//

The crack of Nightmare's teleportation spell rolled through the forest, and the light made shadows from trees and bushes dance in the corners of her eyes.

From her side, Twilight asked, "So... what are we doing this time? And you never did tell me why my brother is here."

Nightmare smiled as she turned to regard her student. "Tonight will be simple," she said with a nod.

Twilight perked up ever so slightly. "Simple? No hunting me down and driving me to the point of exhaustion while you criticize my athletic and survival skills? No evasion, just sparring?" Her student's voice wasn't quite disgruntled, but there was the barest hint of an edge in Twilight's voice-perhaps worry, concern, or caution, but not mistrust.

She held back a smirk as she tilted her head to the left and glanced at the tree canopy. "Not quite," she voiced. When she looked back at Twilight, the filly almost glared at her. Truly, Twilight's reactions were amusing. "The only thing you need to do is shield yourself," she said.

And the scowl faded as Twilight blinked. A moment passed and Twilight looked at her unsurely, her brow folding down. "Just shield myself?" was her uncertain question. And then Twilight frowned suspiciously because her student was smart.

Nightmare nodded, then turned her gaze to the pony she would rather ignore beside Twilight. "Such is why your brother is with us."

The Captain shifted his weight uncomfortably and avoided her gaze. But, he was talented with shields. Such was his cutie mark. If anypony would be able to help Twilight perfect shielding herself, surely there was no better pony for the task than her brother?

Twilight looked aside at him with a mixture of a smile, grimace, and scowl, then turned back to her.

With a nod, Nightmare said, "You have to hold off my magic."

And Twilight was horrified, wincing and squirming where she stood. "I-I can't do that!" her student sputtered. "I'm just a unicorn filly and-"

"Stop," Nightmare preempted, closing her eyes. Twilight went silent. For a moment, Nightmare let herself enjoy the absolute silence in the wake of their arrival. The silence was far better, far more preferred, than listening to Twilight voicing her own insecurities and crippling self-doubt. Opening her eyes, she met Twilight's gaze. "Twilight," she sighed, "must I remind you every time we begin that your goal is not to best me, but to improve? You will not improve so drastically over the course of one session, but it is a gradual improvement over time. Do not discount yourself, because you are improving. You are not perfect, and neither am I. You are inexperienced but you are learning."

Twilight pointedly looked off to the right, avoiding her gaze. The filly might have blushed, but Nightmare couldn't tell. Shining Armor turned and walked up beside Twilight and gave her an encouraging smile. "New recruits are never able to hold their own against veteran Royal Guards, but every veteran started out as a new recruit at one time," Shining put in.

While the captain's summarization may not have been inaccurate, she felt slightly irked by it. Still, if it helped Twilight, it was worthwhile.

Nevertheless, she eventually heard Twilight mutter, "Sorry."

"It is..." Nightmare drawled, stopping as the thought, 'No, it is not fine,' smacked into her. And it wasn't. It was a problem that needed to be addressed, and a problem she had determined to address. Not addressing it was a mistake, even if addressing it was painful. Disappointment tickled her mind and she held back a sigh. "We need to speak," she said.

Twilight turned back to face her and looked up at her. "Uh, we do?"

"Yes," Nightmare acknowledged. She slowly stepped to the left and turned so that she stood facing Twilight, and Twilight mirrored her. "Your continued insistence that you are just a unicorn filly and that our sparring is not fair must stop, Twilight," she voiced.

Twilight looked away from her gaze. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Nightmare turned her head slightly and bowed her head. Twilight was upset or at least unhappy, and she didn't like seeing it. But she could not just drop it, she could not just ignore it. "I know you are, and I am not angry," she specified, "but Twilight..." she trailed off, then reached out with her wing to brush a feather along the filly's cheek. Her student's brother frowned with distrust and unease as he stared at her. She glanced aside at him for a moment, then turned her gaze back to her student. Twilight kept her head low but met her gaze. "You need to realize that as much as I want to and intend to-" she tilted her head, "-I cannot always be there to protect you." She folded her wing back to her side. She took a moment to breathe in and then softly spoke, "You cannot continue to fall back on the excuse that you are not an adult or that you are a unicorn." She paused and studied Twilight's eyes to see if it sank in, but she couldn't tell. 'I should not let this bother me so! I am too fond of you.' That Twilight's discomfort made her hesitant to continue was problematic; she was Nightmare Moon! She should not hesitate.

"Neither matter," she stated as she inclined her head. "If you are in a situation where your life or the life of your friends is on the line, you cannot rely on the excuse that you are a foal. You must be capable of protecting yourself and others. If you are in a battle and your life is on the line, your enemy will not care that you are a filly. Your enemy will not care that you're a unicorn and not an alicorn. Starswirl was only a unicorn, but that did not stop him, nor his enemies."

Twilight turned her head to the side. "Okay..." she murmured.

She extended her left wing and coaxed Twilight back into facing her; Twilight offered no resistance. "I mean it," she emphasized. "I cannot shelter you by telling you that you can fall back on that excuse because I would be crippling you, and I will not. I must push you to help you. Please take this to heart." She waited for a moment, then nodded and emphasized, "Rise to the challenge, Twilight. I know you can."

A few seconds passed, and then Twilight gradually nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

A touch of a smile pulled at Nightmare's lips. "Thank you." Twilight smiled awkwardly and shifted her weight. "You are capable of more than you know, Twilight. I wish you would see it," she said.

Twilight flexed her eyebrows up and turned away again as she muttered, "It doesn't feel that way."

"You can teleport quicker than I can," Nightmare countered. Twilight turned back to look at her. "Perhaps you are less physically inclined than I am, but your magic is potent."

"Still not a match for yours," Twilight pointed out.

"Perhaps..." Nightmare mumbled. 'And yet, will that always be the case?' she wondered. And thinking about it left her awed and anxious, afraid and ecstatic because she could see it in her dreams.

Twilight frowned. She shook the thoughts from her mind. "But that is beyond the point. The longer you manage to hold me off, the better. It shows improvement, even if I am holding myself back. Besides, you are already better at magic than nearly every unicorn I have known. You are just... less experienced. And perhaps less disciplined." Twilight scowled, making her stop for a moment. 'You are not a soldier; you are a scholar.' The moment passed; it was wasting time. "I desire to see how strong your shield is in an outright battle without anything else to distract you or drain your magic. Or perhaps I should say I desire to see how well you can shield yourself, rather than an actual battle. I do not want you counter-attacking. Focus all of your magic on your shield."

Twilight grimaced. "So, you're just going to... keep attacking my shield until it fails," she muttered.

Nightmare nodded. "You are correct. I..." she pursed her lips and looked at the treetops. "I do not believe I have been able to fairly judge your shields given that in prior sparring you have a tendency to..." She squinted and her eyes fell back on Twilight. "Teleport far more than is necessary." Twilight smiled sheepishly. "And teleporting so quickly in addition to physical exertion drains you. Though I will admit-" Nightmare nodded, "-you are improving on it."

Twilight grimaced.

Continuing, Nightmare said, "Your shields are quite strong initially, but as time wears on I notice that your shields tend to get much weaker as you use your magic..." she trailed off and nodded. "You are not used to shielding yourself for an extended time, nor are you used to shielding yourself in battle, even with our sparring."

Twilight grimaced and rolled her head to the right to look at her brother. "Well... I'm not a Royal Guard..."

"Yes," Nightmare agreed. "I would... like for you to practice shielding yourself for extended periods of time when you can and I am not present. Maintaining the shield should help you get a firmer grasp on the spell in addition to helping you unlock your potential. Likewise, sparring should also help given that you will be..." What was the best way to phrase it? After a moment's thought, she settled on, "Putting your shield to use. Practicing."

"I think it has helped," Twilight muttered. "Although we both know that if you wanted to, there's no way I could make a shield that could stop you."

Nightmare pursed her lips and inclined her head. "Give it time. You are still relatively inexperienced, yet your shields are already better than most Royal Guards who can shield themselves from what I am aware."

Twilight nodded and half-smiled. "Excluding my brother."

Shining Armor smiled back at Twilight. It was a smile than Nightmare wasn't quite sure how to regard: a mixture of pride, that of an elder sibling looking out for the younger, embarrassment, and a grimace.

"Excluding your brother," Nightmare echoed in agreement. The Captain's smile disappeared as he looked at her again. "As I said, give it time. I expect you will surpass him with enough study and practice. He will be helping you tonight, and-" she nodded once, "-in the future as the two of you have time. Perhaps you are correct that it is unfair in sparring with me, and though I would argue that you should, I think you should spar with your brother as well."

Twilight turned back to her. Nightmare smiled at how Twilight's muzzle scrunched up.

She turned to the Captain and nodded once. At that, Twilight's brother cleared his throat, drawing Twilight's attention. "Knowing you, I don't need to explain theory or give you any examples of a good shield," he said with an awkward half-smile.

"Of course not!" Twilight defended. "I have been shielding myself..."

Nightmare nodded once, and put in the important point of, "And failing to hold the shield against my magic."

Twilight looked at her with a slight scowl, but before anything could come of it, the Captain said, "Don't let worries get the best of you, okay? That's a great way for a shield to fail. Fear and being afraid. It weakens shield spells. If you don't think you can do it, then you're not going to be able to do it."

Twilight nearly whipped her head around to face him, nearly snapping, "But I can't do it!"

Shining Armor inhaled and straightened. "And with that attitude, you're right."

Twilight opened her mouth, then stopped for a moment before closing her mouth and puffing her cheeks out. Her student inhaled, closed her eyes, then bowed her head and sighed. "Okay." Twilight lifted her head back up. "So, try not to worry. What else?"

"Don't freak out," he specified. Twilight blinked at length. Shining Armor turned his muzzle to the side. "Hey, I know you Twilight."

Twilight grumbled something under her breath that she didn't catch.

The captain looked at her, and for a moment, met her gaze. "And don't focus on what your opponent can do." Then he looked back at Twilight.

Twilight frowned. "If I don't focus on her then what am I supposed to focus on?"

He chuckled. "Let me guess, you studied most of the theory books?"

Twilight squirmed. "Yes..." was said in a high-pitched voice.

He rolled his eyes. "And you're missing something important, then. None of the books actually prepare you for what it's like to use the spell to protect yourself. That's something you can only get from practice."

"And I have been," Twilight mumbled.

"I know," Shining Armor said with a nod. "But there's something else you're missing. Do you remember?"

Twilight frowned. "Remember what?"

For a moment, the Captain was disappointed, then he nodded. "Don't focus on what your opponent can do when you're using the shield spell. It's okay to think about them, it's okay to think about what they might be able to do, but don't focus on them. Focus on yourself, or better yet, focus on others. On protecting them. It gives you a reason to succeed. It pushes you to do better. My special talent might be shield spells, Twilight, but I'm sure you remember how I got my cutie mark."

Twilight looked away, shifting her weight. "Yes..."

Twilight's brother smiled. "You'll do fine, Twilight..." And with that said, The Captain looked at her. She did not like Captain Shining Armor. He was disrespectful, he was a relic of Sister. Yet in that firm gaze directed back at her, Nightmare found something she could respect: concern for his sister.

Even if it agitated her.

She inclined her head once; it was a mutual understanding, even if he didn't recognize it. 'I will not hurt Twilight.' She turned her attention back to her friend. "Fear can break your focus, and so fear leaves you vulnerable. But all fear is not bad. Fear can keep you alert. Fear can keep you quick." She paused and shook her head without looking away from Twilight. "But do not let fear break your focus and leave you paralyzed."

Because she had seen what fear could do to ponies and soldiers, and she had seen how it could end.

Twilight looked at her with a strained uplift in the corners of her lips. "Right..." was her mumble.

And perhaps fear was something Twilight needed to face, so that she could overcome it, so that she could grow. "Do not lose focus. Do not lose faith in yourself. Your magic is potent. Far more potent than your brother's. His special talent may be shield spells, but yours is magic." She paused to consider what else to say, what else might help Twilight grasp her own potential. Twilight needed to recognize it, Twilight needed to stop doubting herself. "You have magic surges when you are exhausted, yet I believe you should be able to continue longer given how much magic you should have."

And she had to wonder, 'Did sister not push you enough so that you would grasp the full extent of you magic?' The thought left her feeling disappointed. Why would her sister have crippled Twilight like that? Or did Sister think Twilight wasn't ready for it?

Or was she missing something?

Twilight frowned. "You've never actually told me how much magic you think I have."

"You should already have as much magic as Starswirl the Bearded," Nightmare answered. Then she grimaced and bobbed her head. "Though I will admit it has been some time since I felt his magic. You may have more or you may not have quite as much, but I am certain that will increase significantly with work. You more than have the potential, and that potential is far greater than Starswirl's."

Twilight stared at her. Several seconds passed before Twilight blinked. "Um, really?"

Nightmare nodded. "Yes."

"You think I have as much magic as Starswirl..?" was Twilight's careful, quiet question.

Nightmare nodded more hesitantly as uncertainty crept into her mind. Her wings pressed against her sides. "Yes?" she questioned.

For several seconds, Twilight just quietly stared at her. Eventually, Twilight glanced away and lowered her head. She watched the filly's eyes dance back and forth over the forest floor, and a frown crept onto her face. Looking up at her, Twilight's brow was folded down, and her ears angled back ever so slightly. "It doesn't... feel that way."

Nightmare hesitantly nodded. "Your special talent is magic, like his, but I am certain your potential is greater than his. You bear the Element of Magic. You also have advantages he does not."

Twilight shifted her weight like she felt uncomfortable and turned away again. Quietly, Twilight mumbled, "Your sister said that I could surpass him."

Nightmare nodded more slowly. "I am aware," she acknowledged. Gradually, Twilight looked back up at her, but her student still squirmed where she stood. "And I am certain that you will if you work at it," she said.

And she would make certain that Twilight did surpass Starswirl because anything less than that was unacceptable.

And Twilight just stared at her, as if for some reason unable or unwilling to comprehend it. Why was it so? Was it Sister's doing? Was it her own doing? Was there something else that she did not understand? The letter Sister had sent Twilight prior to her return told Twilight that her sister thought the filly would surpass Starswirl the Bearded. Why did Twilight now shy away from it when she should have embraced it? Why did she refuse to believe it?

The disappointment and lack of comprehension distracted her. Slowly, she shook her head. "If you are ready," she voiced as she wrapped her magic around her horn, "I would like to begin."

Twilight blinked a few times, glanced left and right, just barely turning her head both ways, then looked at her and nodded. "Right," was her disgruntled mutter. Before she could say anything, Twilight sucked in a deep breath, turned her head right and paced back.

Shining coughed once, then quickly hurried off to the sidelines to observe. 'Perhaps,' Nightmare considered, 'he should join you. If not to help you stop my magic, then to give you a reason to try harder.'

She calmly mirrored her student, backing away until they were both a good ten steps away from where they had been. The forest was thin enough that she could see Twilight with nothing between them, and likewise, with the glow of her magic and the moonlight, there should be enough light for Twilight to see her.

She studied her student for a moment as the filly came to a stop. Twilight's muscles all tightened and the filly held herself rigid. Not quite afraid, but nervous and anxious. Twilight doubted herself for some reason. 'Why has your confidence fallen?' she wondered. Her eyes danced back and forth across Twilight's face and body, but there was nothing there to tell her why Twilight's confidence was once again faltering. 'You were better after defeating Discord. What has happened?'

Twilight's shield snapped to life around her, tinting her body with a familiar, welcome raspberry-pink light. She watched Twilight's chest deflate with a drawn-out exhale, one perhaps meant to calm her nerves. 'Perhaps I am simply overthinking it?' she wondered. 'We will continue to work on your confidence as well,' she decided.

"If you are ready?" Nightmare repeated.

Twilight nodded. "Yes."

"Good." Nightmare slowly tilted her head down and aimed her horn right at Twilight's shield, centering it to where if the shield failed, it would strike Twilight in the chest. The briefest moment of thought drew a twist of anxiety, so she aimed her horn higher that way the spell would pass harmlessly over Twilight's head if the shield failed.

Her mind chastised her for it because it was stupid. It did not push Twilight as she needed to. But she was too fond of the filly, and it would give her student time to prepare.

And then she fired. A simple stun spell, like the ones she normally used when sparring with Twilight so she wouldn't risk injuring her friend. The blue bolt lanced across the distance and struck Twilight's shield, resulting in a sharp crack! and a flash as the shield took the impact slightly off-center.

One spell off-center, and Twilight's shield held. She scrutinized her student's expression for signs of stress or exertion but found none. 'Perhaps it is the physical exhaustion which weakens your shields,' she wondered. But it wasn't a true test of strength; the spell didn't hit head-on. She fired again, and like before, the bolt struck off-center, snapping against the shield with a flash of blue light. She frowned when she caught the barest hint of a flinch in Twilight's lips as the spell struck the shield. 'You should be able to sustain your shield for some time against this.'

Momentarily, she winced as she remembered, 'You are a scholar, not a soldier.' But that was all the more reason to work at this. If the reason Twilight failed was because of fear, it had to be addressed. She fired again and then again, continually pounding away at Twilight's shield with a stream of stun spells that struck the shield off-center each time with a sharp crack!

A second passed. Crack!

Another second marked by a crack!

And another, crack!

Each time the spell struck Twilight's shield, the shield shrugged it off. With each spell, she saw Twilight's lip gradually flinch less as she grew used to the bombardment until Twilight stared at her with a sharp, unbroken focus.

Nightmare kept the spells coming at a steady, predictable pace. It was no substitute for proper sparring, let alone combat, but it gave Twilight the opportunity to get a feel for what it was like more than the prior times they had sparred. It gave Twilight time to analyze the situation, time to feel out how the shield reacted to taking the spells. And perhaps that was all Twilight needed. Experience and time to reflect.

Something she would not have in true combat.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

Without Twilight teleporting almost constantly, without her student running herself to the point of exhaustion, and without her friend counter-attacking, the filly's shield held strong. She lowered her horn and sent her spells dead-center towards Twilight's chest. The head-on impacts flashed brighter and cracked even sharper, and Twilight's flinches returned as her breathing quickened.

'Perhaps your problem is a combination of fear and lack of experience?' Nightmare wondered. And yes, that was likely the answer. Twilight needed to be pushed.

Crack!

She needed to push Twilight harder. "Be confident in yourself!" she chastised.

Crack!

Twilight winced but her shield held. She needed to push Twilight to her limits. Past her limits.

Crack!

And Twilight's shield could take more. "If you were in battle this would be much worse and far more important!" Nightmare declared as she fired again, charging the spell more than before.

Crack! Twilight's legs shook from the impact.

"I know that!" Twilight hissed back.

"And yet you let your fear of failure bring you to fail!" Nightmare retorted.

Crack! Twilight grunted.

Yes, she needed to push Twilight. Because Twilight would never get proper experience unless it was a life or death situation, and she would not put Twilight into such a situation until she was certain Twilight would come out alive. And even then, she would try to keep Twilight out of such a situation.

"If I was not holding back, your shield would not save you!" she declared.

Crack! Twilight flinched, her horn sparking once. She caught a tremble in Twilight's legs, and that tremble made her feel a spark of anger.

She took a step forward. "Your friends' lives could depend on this, Twilight!" she bellowed. "Are you going to fail them!?"

Crack! The shield split, but held. Through the raspberry-pink glow of Twilight's shield, Nightmare saw fear.

"Do not fail them!" she demanded. Another step forward.

Crack! The shield shattered with the spell's impact and Twilight squeaked, flinching in fear or surprise.

And it was the perfect opportunity to push her student harder. Something that she needed to do because otherwise, she was betraying Twilight. If this was an actual battle, Twilight would get no reprieve. She needed to push Twilight, and Twilight needed to push herself. Twilight needed to understand. And waiting until an opponent actually wanted to kill her student was unacceptable! She swiped her tongue over her lips and lurched forward. "Defend yourself!" she demanded.

She fired a spell. The whole distance between them lit up from how bright the bolt was. Twilight threw herself to the ground and her student's horn darkened. The bolt of magic raced over her student's head, making the air churn in its wake, and then it exploded against a tree, sending a spray of splinters over Twilight's back. The tree cracked and groaned, then started to topple over as the trunk gave out.

"Twilight!" her brother shouted.

Twilight looked back and saw the tree, scrambled to her hooves and jumped out of the way. The tree crashed down but its branches caught on other trees, so the trunk never landed. But Nightmare didn't let up. She fired another spell, and the air boiled around it, bending the images of the trees as she looked through the spell's wake. Twilight's eyes widened and she dove to the ground. Again the spell missed, then fizzled out while Twilight's side rubbed against the forest floor as she slid over the rough ground.

Shining Armor swiveled around to face her, crouching low, his horn ablaze and his pink shield snapping to life around them. For a moment, she contemplated her options. The defiance in his eyes was welcome! The way Twilight looked up at him as if he was her savior was welcome! It was the opportunity she needed!

She let out a battlecry, charged forward and launched another spell powered just as much as before. The air boiled as the forest grew bright as day. CRACK! The spell hit dead-center.

His shield shrugged it off like it had been a pebble striking a mountain. She clamped her jaw shut, stared into his eyes and saw that damned love he had for his sister.

The love of an elder sibling for the younger, wanting nothing more than to keep her safe, wanting nothing less than the best for her.

And she felt anger burning and seething in her mind and body because of that damned love.

Twilight was loved and she was not.

She was glad for it.

She was bitter.

She felt rage.

She screamed and couldn't remember screaming like that since she had last fought Sister. She charged forward again and put everything she could into that spell. All the anger, all the hatred, all the rage. Everything she could muster, and fired a spell to drain his shield and shatter it.

The air cracked and split, ripping apart as her spell shot towards the captain's shield. And yet in that minuscule time between the spell leaving her horn and it colliding with his barrier, she looked into his eyes and saw defiance and love. And it made her seethe.

Because Shining Armor loved his sister.

Because Twilight was loved.

Because Sister did not love her.

Because she was not loved.

The spell struck. Night became day for the briefest moment, blinding her and deafening her with a BAM! that rattled her whole body. She wasn't sure if Sister could have stopped the spell.

When she could hear again, the forest was entirely silent, having born witness to the rage of an alicorn.

When she could see again, Twilight's brother stood defiant, steadfast against her. His shield having splintered and cracked, halfway fading, yet still holding in place. Though his horn sparked and flickered, though his chest heaves and his legs trembled, the shield started to recover. And she felt overwhelmed at the sight before her, that Twilight's brother loved her enough that his shield held.

And she felt lost.

For several long seconds, she stared at the Captain who glared back at her. A sense of calm gradually settled in, her anger having been spent on that wasted spell. She considered the two of them before her, considered how Twilight looked at her and her brother with shock. Considered how there wasn't even a crater around them. Contemplated how she had lost control, and how Twilight's brother had withstood it.

Perhaps he was more useful than she had given him credit for.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then swallowed. "Stand down, Captain," she ordered.

And he did not. "No."

"This battle is between me and-"

"After that?" he asked. "You expect me to just stand down after you did that? I don't care if you're the Queen, I don't care if you beat Princess Celestia, you're not hurting Twilight."

"And I won't," she snapped.

He did not stand down.

She fired again. CRACK! His shield splintered.

Again. CRACK! He grunted, his horn sparking and sputtering.

And one last time. CRACK! His shield disintegrated, he gasped and fell beside Twilight, groaning and panting.

Only a few steps between them. Twilight stared at her brother, then looked at her.

And then Twilight stared at her fearfully. She felt a stab of pain in her heart and mind. She stood still. 'This is too much,' whispered in her mind. She was taking things too far, scaring her student. She wanted to stop and comfort Twilight.

Of course she was taking it too far! She had snapped again because of Twilight's damned brother! And so she had forced Twilight to see her anger again, and she felt sickened and bitter over it.

But maybe this was what Twilight needed. To be pushed like this. Perhaps it was too much or perhaps it was necessary. Maybe it was both. But her goal wasn't to injure Twilight, and Twilight needed to know that. She let a moment pass without any followup spells, giving the filly a chance to reorientate herself. Then she looked at the panting Captain who glared up at her. His forehoof dragged over the ground as he tried in vain to push himself back up. She had half the mind to teleport him back to Canterlot, but held off for the moment. She met Twilight's gaze and inclined her head. A calm, "Defend yourself," was all the warning she gave. As much as it pained her, she crushed the worry out, stepped forward and fired again. The forest lit up as the spell raced towards Twilight.

It wouldn't kill her student.

Twilight's horn sparked back to life and then a shield burned brightly around her. Still, the filly's fear was on full display as her body went rigid and she curled into a ball in a vain attempt to protect herself if her shield failed.

Crack! The shield held. A rippling wave washed over the shield's surface, making it flicker and wobble, but it neither cracked nor popped.

And a moment passed, and Twilight testingly opened her eyes to stare at her with that same damned fear as before. And for a moment, there was a flicker of joy and relief, and for a second she thought Twilight was going to jump to her hooves and celebrate: her student knew she was alive and that she had succeeded!

Nightmare smiled. A wonderful, calm sensation of satisfaction and accomplishment washed through her body. But there was still more to be done. "Again," Nightmare calmly called.

"This isn't-!" Twilight called.

She preempted it with another spell. Again the forest lit up and she felt the air churn as the bolt of magic rocketed towards the filly's shield. Crack!

"Are you-!?"

Twilight's snap was cut short by another crack! loud enough to drown out the rest of what was said.

"Again!" Nightmare demanded.

Twilight's lips pressed tight; Nightmare saw Twilight's muscles through her coat. Nightmare fired another spell. Crack!

Twilight's lips flicked apart, showing her teeth.

Again she fired her spell, and again it exploded against Twilight's shield with a thunderous crack! that send a spiderweb of fractures through the shield.

"Stop!" Twilight called out.

But Twilight would get no reprieve. Not yet.

With the next crack! Twilight flinched and dropped her muzzle to the ground, tensing up as her horn sparked and flickered. And then Twilight's aura blinked out and the shield collapsed.

And Nightmare felt disappointment.

Twilight trembled as she lifted her head up and glared at her. "This isn't-"

'You are not finished yet. I am not finished with you yet.' Because there was another thing she could do. Perhaps it was crossing a line, but it was necessary.

The spell would not kill her brother.

Letting out a growl, Nightmare aimed at the Captain as he struggled to push himself up, only to fall back to the ground with a grunt, though kept her eyes locked on Twilight's.

And for a moment, she hesitated, doubting her decision because of the fear and shock in Twilight's eyes. "Defend him," she ordered, then charged her spell.

The Captain's horn sputtered. Twilight's horn sparked to life.

But no shield came.

She fired her spell.

Even a flimsy shield would have at least detonated the spell, but neither Twilight nor her brother cast the spell.

And so her spell raced towards Captain Shining Armor.

And Twilight fired back.

The spells collided and destroyed each other in a bright flash of blue-raspberry-white light that made Nightmare recoil from the brightness. Holding back a growl, she stepped back and fired again, sending a disapproving glare at her student. "Shield him!"

Twilight pushed herself into a sitting position and shot down her spell again, then stood up on shaking legs, head low, horn charged, and glaring at her.

She aimed at Twilight and fired.

Twilight's horn burned even brighter and then a flash of light blinded her. She swiveled to the sound of the second crack and fired a spell. The spell from before Twilight teleported hit a tree and the tree exploded. Twilight dropped under the next spell and fired a spell back at Nightmare. The bolt of magic was dim compared to her own bolts, but it would still disrupt her own spells.

The spells did not hit.

On instinct, Nightmare wrapped her magic into a shield, and the shield barely flared from the spell's impact. She dropped the shield to fire back, only for Twilight to anticipate her response, firing another spell and teleporting behind her. Their spells collided and destroyed each other. Nightmare held in a growl. 'This isn't what I had in mind.' She turned around to face Twilight-

-she barely powered her shield in time to catch another spell. 'You are dangerous with your teleportation,' left her cautious, and 'You have not passed out yet,' left her smiling.

And again Twilight teleported. She kept her shield up and spun around to face her. A slight tinge of a headache and nausea pulled at her focus. Yes, Twilight's rapid-fire teleportation was a nuisance. It was disorientating. Something she had never faced in battle before. Starswirl would teleport, but Twilight's extensive use of teleportation put it to shame.

Twilight stopped firing spells since Nightmare kept her shield up, so she let the shield drop to fire a spell. Futile as it was. Twilight teleported again, this time behind her. She spun around and lowered her head-

-Twilight's horn pressed against her neck.

And for a moment, her heart froze with fear, skipping a beat, sending ice through her veins, making her cheeks and lips tighten. Her eyes snapped down onto Twilight, who glared up at her. The filly's whole body trembled, perhaps a mixture of fear and adrenaline and anger, and both her mane and tail clung to her damp body. Her student's horn glowed bright, and she could feel the magic against her exposed neck. "Checkmate?" Twilight growled.

Her fear passed. 'How naive.'

Nightmare didn't give her student a chance to do anything else before throwing herself against Twilight. The filly grunted in surprise as her horn was knocked out of position. And then Twilight lost. Nightmare pushed on, diving down and then jumping up to lift Twilight into the air and then throw her student onto the ground with her chest exposed. Twilight didn't have time to do anything other than look surprised as she landed on her back, and then Nightmare fell on top of Twilight to pin her, making the foal grunt and wheeze from the weight.

She looked down at the pinned filly, who leaned her head back to avoid her gaze. A disgruntled scowl crossed Twilight's lips. She couldn't decide whether to smile or not. She felt both amused and disappointed, with a tinge of anger. Perhaps even excited and ecstatic. That her student had held so well against her magic! That Twilight had not done as she had asked. That Twilight had slipped up and not taken advantage of the opportunity! Truly, Twilight discounted herself too much. She had the capability if she forced herself.

Twilight could win. Twilight almost won.

But Twilight hesitated.

And perhaps that was the answer, that she simply wasn't pushing Twilight hard enough. She was coddling her student, as Sister undoubtedly did.

Nightmare took a deep breath and studied Twilight's exposed neck for a moment. She found the sight calming and pleasant to look at, yet the filly left herself in a position where she could not possibly protect herself, and so that familiar disappointment crept back in, choking the joy from her student's success. She wasn't sure if Twilight was even aware of how vulnerable she left herself in. 'Or is this an attempt to appease me?' she wondered. "I think not," she stated. "You hesitated."

"This..." Twilight grumbled, refusing to meet her gaze. "Isn't what I had in mind."

"Nor I," Nightmare murmured. "Though I will admit, you caught me off-guard. I will applaud that, though I must chastise you for not following through."

Twilight's eyes flicked to look at her, still annoyed. "Following through?" Twilight echoed. The annoyance dropped into anger. "Following through. You could have killed us!"

Nightmare winced and turned away. "I was being careful," she defended.

"Sure, and what would have happened if a tree fell on my brother? Or me?" Twilight growled.

Nightmare's wings shifted at her sides. "I would have stopped-"

"If," Twilight snapped, "it landed on us."

Nightmare looked back down at Twilight. "I would have used my magic to heal you."

"Healing spells are inefficient," Twilight countered, anger still in her eyes.

Nightmare tilted her head up. "I have the magic to do so," she retorted.

"It could still kill us," Twilight growled through clenched teeth. "And if that happened there isn't anything you can do."

"You..." Nightmare drawled as she turned her head away from Twilight so she didn't have to see the filly's angered gaze. Before Twilight could say anything, she hastily voiced, "You are worrying too much. I would not have let that happen. Neither of you were in danger." She turned back to Twilight. "You should know this."

"Worrying too much?" Twilight snapped. "Oh, I don't know, it just so happens that you nearly killed us with that spell. You did lose control, you know."

Yes, from the tone of Twilight's voice, Nightmare knew beyond any doubt, "I should not have done that." Because it had been a mistake. Yes, she had been carried away by anger. She swallowed. Nearly choked on pride and fear. Had his shield collapsed, the spell might not have been disrupted. The spell might have continued. They might not have been killed since the spell wasn't designed to kill, but assuredly it would have hurt both of them.

A lot.

Twilight leaned her head back and inhaled; she could feel her student struggle to breathe under her weight.

Nightmare bobbed her head as she looked to the right and pressed her forehooves against the ground. Slowly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, taking her weight off Twilight and drawing a grunt from her friend. She hoped Twilight was still her friend. And the guilt came even worse than before, and she nearly choked on it. Vile as it was. She felt her ears fold back. "I... apologize. Please forgive me," she murmured.

For a moment, the only thing she heard was Twilight's gradually calming breathing. Then even that changed: Twilight took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Neither a huff, nor a growl, but still annoyed. And she felt her chest tense with the worry that it had been too much, that the spell had been the last straw, and that she would lose her only friend.

Twilight wiggled the rest of the way out from under her, then stood back up. Though she was afraid of what she would see, she managed to slowly force her head back to look at her student.

The filly's muzzle was scrunched up. Twilight's chest rose and fell quickly, and her legs continued to shake. Twilight licked her lips and swallowed, then turned away from her, blinking several times.

"Please do not be angry," Nightmare mumbled. Twilight looked back at her. "I... apologize for pushing you, but... it is something I need to do."

"Don't do that again," Twilight stated.

Nightmare's jaw tightened. She turned her head to the left. 'Coward,' her mind accosted. Her lips twitched just enough that she felt the cool air against her teeth. She forced her head back around to face Twilight. She forced herself to meet Twilight's gaze. "I... will try not to..." she mumbled out.

Twilight breathed in deep, then exhaled sharply. "Okay," her student said.

"You are angry at me," Nightmare stated.

Twilight looked back at her. For a moment, the anger was there. Then it dimmed into something she didn't recognize. "I am, yes, but... now that we're done with that, and I can reflect, I recognize that you reason it's better to push me like this now than to risk something like Discord happening again where I can't do anything." Twilight lifted her head up slightly and specified, "When it's more dangerous."

Nightmare nodded reluctantly. "You... are correct," she admitted.

"I'm still not happy." Twilight closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Several seconds passed before Twilight opened her eyes and let the breath out. "You could have killed us."

"The spell would not have-"

"Nightmare," Twilight stated.

She went silent.

Twilight judged her. She knew it. Twilight knew it. She nearly choked on saying, "You have more to say." Because she did not want to say that.

For a while, Twilight was silent. Her student's expression remained hardened, though seemed to slowly soften. Finally, Twilight inhaled and shook her head. "You already know you shouldn't have done that."

Nightmare grimaced and turned away from Twilight, nodding her head. And oh, how it tore at her! That a filly was chastising her, that a filly made her feel guilty, that a filly made her feel regret and shame!

Nightmare looked back at her student. "It was not my intention to scare..." she trailed off, her lips twisting into a grimace.

"It was though, wasn't it?" Twilight acknowledged.

'How am I supposed to answer this!?' her mind cried out. It was, but it wasn't! She wanted to scare Twilight only to push her, but she did not want her friend to be afraid! And oh, it made her chest twist with discomfort! "Only to the extent that you would have to overcome your fears to succeed," she said as quickly as she could. "I do not wish you to be afraid of me or of failing, nor do I desire this to have any negative impact on our friendship."

A few seconds passed. Twilight closed her eyes, then shook her head before replying with a forced, "It won't."

And she took some comfort in that, and her chest no longer felt unpleasant, though she still felt like squirming. 'You do not want to remain friends with me, do you?' her mind asked, but she could not bring herself to ask Twilight.

"Well..." Twilight drawled as she stood up and rolled her head. Her student's head came to a stop, looking up at her. "How did I do?"

Yes, ignoring what just transpired in favor of discussing how Twilight performed was a much better idea.

Nightmare licked her lips and nodded. "Quite well. Your shielding tonight has been more on par with what I expected you to be able to do before. And as I said, you caught me off-guard with your teleportation." Twilight almost smiled, and Nightmare found herself hesitating as she saw it. "Though..." she trailed off and squirmed. The thought, 'You almost beat me. You had the opportunity to, and you did not take it,' consumed most of her attention.

It was wonderful! That her student had come so close!

And it left her feeling an edge of fear and of doubt because Twilight was yet a unicorn.

Nightmare inclined her head and continued, "You did not use your advantage. You hesitated and did not follow through."

Twilight frowned. "I didn't think you'd want me to follow through."

Nightmare tossed her head to the side. "We are sparring. I expect you to follow through next time. Do not hesitate. If it was a real battle, that hesitation could have killed you. Besides, I have experienced worse." Leveling her head, she looked at Twilight with a slight smile. "Consider that you do not think you could beat me, and then realize that your horn was against my neck."

Twilight just grimaced and rolled her eyes. "Sure..." was mumbled.

Her smile faded. "Twilight, you had the opportunity to. I may be an alicorn, but I am still a pony. Even if the stun spell did not disable me, you would have slowed me, which makes it that much more likely I would slip up again, which gives you more opportunity to win."

Twilight stared at her. "And you're fine with that?"

Nightmare felt her lips part. 'If you were anypony else? Perhaps not,' she thought. If it was Cadance or any of the Royal Guards, she could not trust them with such knowledge, she could not let them see her in such a state. It would only invite dissent and stir trouble. She glanced aside at the Captain who had propped himself up against a tree, panting as he watched from a distance, still glaring at her. For a moment, she felt a touch of something she couldn't place. She turned back to Twilight. "You... are special," she stated with a nod. "We are sparring, and I trust you. I know that it would be because we are sparring and nothing else," she said. Twilight nodded reluctantly. She opened her mouth to say more, but caught herself before she did: bringing up that she would not hurt Twilight was probably not a good idea. She closed her mouth and looked away from Twilight.

Twilight's eyes drifted away from her to look at the ground, then unfocused.

She winced. 'I should have asked this sooner.' "Are you alright?" Nightmare asked.

Twilight's eyes refocused on Nightmare and she nodded. "Yeah. I'm... I feel fine now. Mostly."

"Good..." Nightmare replied. "Do you feel winded?"

Twilight's eyes darted to the right, then landed back on her. "Yes... I uh, I'm still... could I actually have... landed a spell?"

Nightmare inclined her head. "If you did not hesitate. You could have landed at least one spell, perhaps more."

And Twilight just stared at her again, lost in thought. Eventually, Twilight's eyes dropped to her chestplate, and the filly shifted her weight on her hooves. "And... you're still going easy on me."

"I am holding back with my magic," Nightmare acknowledged, "but as I said, you caught me off guard with that teleport," she countered. She bobbed her head and grimaced, then mumbled, "I am not used to fighting an opponent who teleports so much. Sister... I don't remember if she ever teleported when we battled. Starswirl... he would teleport, but nowhere near as much as you do. He would use teleportation spells to position himself for strategic advantages, while you use it for tactical advantages." She paused for a moment, then inclined her head. "It occurs to me that I have rarely faced opponents who wield magic. The griffins do not have magic to teleport, and... the unicorns I have battled generally do not have the ability to teleport, and those that do are not capable of teleporting like you."

"I guess that makes me special?" Twilight half-joked.

And all Nightmare could think was, 'More than you realize.' She nodded in absolute agreement. "You are."

For a moment, Twilight's brow pulled down with a look of reminiscence and confusion and thought. When it passed, Twilight looked back up at her and asked, "So, now what?"

And Nightmare felt disappointed because Twilight still did not recognize it, still did not take it to heart. But her student had still succeeded in holding off her magic, and Twilight felt a little more complete for having done so well. "If you are up to it, I would like to continue to push you further." Twilight frowned, so she added, "If... if you are willing."

"By which you mean, continue casting spells at my shield until it breaks," Twilight summarized.

"Yes..." Nightmare acknowledged.

Twilight groaned softly. "I miss back when I could just... study spells and... not have to run myself ragged practicing them." Then Twilight winced. "No offense..."

"It is... fine," Nightmare said.

Twilight sighed, then swiveled around and paced ten steps away from her. Once in position, Twilight turned back to face her.

Nightmare hesitated as Twilight braced herself and relit her horn. "You... do still wish to be my student, correct? Even with this being how I am teaching you?" She bit her tongue, stopping herself from asking the other question that haunted her.

Twilight's brow twitched down, but she nodded. "Yes. It may be different from what I'm used to, but I am learning, and I know you can teach me a lot."

"Very well," Nightmare said, then turned and walked ten steps back before turning back to face Twilight. "If you are ready?"

Twilight nodded, then her shield wrapped into a bubble around her.

Nightmare brought her head down to take aim, then charged up her spell before releasing it. The brilliant blue bolt lurched from her horn, lighting up the forest, and then struck Twilight's shield dead center with a sharp crack!

"Can you at least aim so that it won't hit me if my shield fails?" Twilight asked.

'Even after that, you are still afraid?' How disappointing. Nightmare held in a sigh and tilted her head up a bit higher.  "Very well..." She fired again, and again Twilight's shield held. 'I look forward to the next time we spar when you attempt to evade me. Or perhaps we will do battle?' Seeing how Twilight fared in either of those situations now that her student seemed to have a better grasp of shielding herself was something to look forward to. 'Perhaps you will even provide a challenge as you have tonight,' she hoped.

And perhaps Twilight would win.

"I am going to make each spell more powerful than the last until your shield collapses," Nightmare called.

Twilight grimaced. "Okay..."

"Do put forth your best effort," Nightmare said. Before Twilight could say anything, she fired again, once more lighting up the forest.

Crack!

"This is going to give me a headache... ooooh, I'm going to feel this tomorrow," Twilight groaned dishearteningly.

"Do not focus on that, Twilight," Nightmare chastized, then fired another spell. It hit with a sharp crack! and split the barrier about halfway from the top to the bottom. Twilight flinched back. Nightmare fired again. Twilight winced and clenched her eyes shut, then her horn glowed brighter and sparked. The split in the barrier disappeared as a wave of magic washed over it. The spell hit and both Twilight and the shield shuddered.

A thin spiderweb of jagged fractures raced out from the point where the spell hit. Nightmare fired again, and as the bolt flew towards the shield, another wave of magic rinsed the damage away in an attempt to reinforce the shield.

The spell hit. The shield exploded into hundreds of tiny shards of uncontrolled magic that immediately disintegrated and evaporated. Twilight yelped, and her horn sparked from strain as her legs wobbled.

Nightmare raised her head back up and let her aura disperse. "Very good," she complimented.

Twilight's face scrunched up in pain as she looked at Nightmare, and Nightmare thought she heard Twilight mutter, "Easy for you to say..." The filly groaned and lifted her forehoof to her head, then massaged her temple and worked her hoof to the left to rub the base of her horn.

"Are you alright?" Nightmare asked.

"I think so?" Twilight said unsurely. A moment later, and the filly's aura flickered back to life around her horn. A few embers of magic sparked off, and Twilight grunted as she strained. A few seconds later and the aura stabilized into a constant glow. Twilight looked up at her horn and watched it glow. Nightmare studied the way the light of Twilight's magic made her student's eyes shine, and then after a few more seconds, Twilight looked back at her. "Yes."

"Then we will go again," Nightmare stated.

Twilight jerked her head side to side and Nightmare saw her student's lips twitching erratically, but heard nothing. 'You are unhappy,' she knew. Nevertheless, the filly's magic coalesced into a shield again.

"I desire to see how quickly you can shield yourself again as soon as I break this one," Nightmare said.

Twilight grimaced and groaned. "Alright..."

Nightmare aimed and purposefully fired a spell strong enough to break the shield.

And when it hit, Twilight gasped as her shield exploded around her, making her horn go dark.

Nightmare fired again, refusing to give Twilight any time to recover. With a wince, Twilight's horn sputtered back to life and another bubble wrapped around her, only to shatter as soon as the spell struck it. Twilight whimpered and fell to her knees, her body shaking.

Nightmare felt her ears fold back and took a step forward before she realized it. "Twilight?" she called. The filly looked up at her. She hesitated for barely a second, then found herself sitting on her haunches in front of Twilight.

"That... hurt," Twilight groaned.

Nightmare reached out with her right foreleg and coaxed Twilight into leaning against her chest. Twilight didn't fight back, and feeling Twilight's body trembling against her reminded her of when Twilight had been so afraid of her. "You will get used to it," she said, but her heart wasn't in it.

"That's not comforting," Twilight grumbled.

"I... apologize," Nightmare said.

Twilight shifted her weight and laid her head down on Nightmare's shoulder, groaning the whole time. "I need," her student wheezed, "a break."

'We have not been at this very long,' Nightmare wanted to counter. But she knew she was pushing Twilight. The strain had to be taking its toll. There was a balance to be had: pushing too much would hurt Twilight, while not pushing enough would not drive Twilight towards success. After how much she had pushed Twilight, the filly deserved a break, and she may have already pushed Twilight too much. "Very well," she voiced.

Twilight just groaned and pulled herself closer.

Nightmare let her eyes wander. For the first few seconds, she studied the forest and turned her head left and right as she did so, but inevitably, her gaze was drawn back to Twilight. The filly still shook against her, though not as much as she had. She unfolded her right wing and wrapped it around Twilight's back, holding her close.

"Why is it that your wing feels... so... the way it does?" Twilight mumbled.

What did that even mean? She squinted down at the filly's back. "Pray tell?"

Twilight inhaled, and her chest pushed against Nightmare's chestplate before she lifted her head up, then looked to the left at Nightmare's wing over her back. "It's... comforting," Twilight voiced as she looked back at Nightmare.

Nightmare nodded slowly. She could remember the times when Sister held her in a similar way, and thinking back on it left her disappointed. Not angry, just disappointed. Almost defeated. "Yes," she agreed.

"Why?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare bobbed her head. "It is... comforting, perhaps because of the feathers or perhaps because of my magic, and likely because of our instincts and desire for companionship."

Twilight frowned. After a few seconds, the filly rested her head on Nightmare's shoulder again, then let her head roll to the right to lay against Nightmare's neck. She turned her head to the right and looked at Twilight's mane. 'Did you do that on purpose?' she wondered.

Perhaps it was foalish and naive to think Twilight did that on purpose. Yet even if it was thoughtless, she still welcomed the contact. She was still a pony.

Slowly, she stroked her wing down Twilight's back. The filly shivered under her feathers until Nightmare lifted her wing from Twilight's back and folded it to her side. She laid her right foreleg around the back of Twilight's neck and gently squeezed her for a few seconds before letting up and putting her forehoof back on the ground, but Twilight continued to lean against her, resting her head against Nightmare's neck.

For several long minutes, Nightmare's mind wandered, contemplating Twilight's weight and warmth, her student's magic and incompleteness, and her friend's potential. Twilight finally lifted her head up, and Nightmare blinked as it shook her mind back into focus. She turned her head and watched Twilight stand up and take a step back. In the back of her mind, something gnawed at her. A word she couldn't remember, a word that she would use to describe Twilight. The word felt like it fit her friend perfectly.

And then it came, 'You are innocent.'

Twilight watched her for a few seconds, then turned to the right and looked around the forest, leaving her side exposed to Nightmare's sight. 'Of course, you are innocent,' mumbled in Nightmare's mind. It shouldn't have been that hard to remember the word! The filly bore the Element of Magic. The filly had so much potential, but her friend was young, with all the youth, naivety, vulnerability, and petiteness it brought.

'And you will always be so young compared to me.' The thought brought her to look away from Twilight, brought her ears to press back as discomfort bubbled in her chest. 'It does not matter what I do, I cannot protect you from everything.'

And if she was wrong about Twilight's destiny? If she was wrong about Twilight's potential? If she failed to grow and guide Twilight as she needed? Then teaching Twilight would have been for nothing, because time would inevitably march on and steal the filly away from her. It wouldn't matter what Twilight accomplished, it wouldn't matter how much she had taught her friend if she was wrong or if she failed.

Eighty years, if that, and then Twilight would pass on. Eighty years of companionship. Not even a tenth of how long she had been banished to the moon for.

And then she would be alone.

And the thought brought her to worry, brought her to feel an uncomfortable twist in her chest while sorrow and anxiety plagued her mind. 'I cannot fail you. You must succeed, you must fulfill your destiny.'

Time was forever her enemy.

But maybe it would be okay, even if she was wrong. Maybe it would be okay, even if she failed. Twilight would pass on, she would lose her only and closest friend, but she would still have had eighty years. If that. She would still have her memories.

But damn the though! She would not let Twilight go so easily. She would not be alone again.

'You will ascend. It is part of your destiny. I will make sure of this.' And the thought brought her to feel a sense of ecstasy.

And then it would be like her dreams.

If she succeeded.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

She turned back to look at Twilight. For several seconds, she was silent. A retort wormed its way onto her tongue, that she was, and yet, 'No,' haunted her mind. She would not lie to Twilight, and Twilight already knew the answer because of her hesitation. "I am considering the future," she answered.

And Twilight knew there was more to it than that. She could see it in Twilight's expression, the way her eyebrows twitched down, her lips with the barest hint of a frown. And then it passed. Twilight grimaced and bobbed her head. "I worry about the future a lot too," was her quiet admission.

And Nightmare couldn't help but smile. "I suppose it is... to an extent foolish, is it not?" Twilight looked at her with a frown. She licked her lips, then explained, "There is nothing wrong with planning for the future, but I suppose worrying about it is pointless. You can plan and prepare, but... too much analysis can prevent one from taking action. I am... not used to suffering from this affliction."

Twilight smiled sheepishly and looked away from her. "I uh, well, I'm familiar with that. Spike would say I'm too familiar with it."

"Then let us return to the present," Nightmare voiced, drawing Twilight's gaze back to her. "Are you recovered?"

Twilight nodded. "More or less, I guess."

"Good," Nightmare said with an incline of her head. "Then we shall-"

Twilight let out a groan and fell to the ground. "Please not again..."

Though they hadn't been at it very long, she was inclined to give in to Twilight's request. She had, after all, made a mistake and pushed Twilight harder than she intended. A grimace twisted her lips. "Very well... we shall-"

A crack and flash of light interrupted her. On instinct, she caught the scroll that flashed into existence, and her eyes narrowed as they snapped onto it.

Before she had a chance to unroll it, Twilight stood back up and asked, "What's that?"

"I do not know as I have not yet opened it," Nightmare answered.

Twilight blushed and coughed. "Right, sorry."

"It is fine," Nightmare replied. She broke the seal and unrolled the scroll to read its message.

Nightmare scowled and levitated the scroll lower after finishing. She had half the mind to incinerate the scroll. "One of the dragons inhabiting Equestria has..." she trailed off as her gaze fell down on Twilight. She felt a split in her core. 'I desire to protect you but in doing so I am sheltering you and hurting you.' And she was hesitating. She crushed the dissent and continued, "Made a meal of one of my batponies."

Twilight looked horrified. "W-what!?"

Nightmare nodded slowly and rolled the scroll back up, then teleported it away. "I was concerned that this would happen-"

Twilight's brow folded down and her lips twisted as her mouth opened. "Why would a dragon eat anypony!? They eat gems!"

Nightmare nodded. "It was not always the case, but yes, they are supposed to eat gems."

"What do you-" and then she saw the realization crash over Twilight, and the filly's horror only grew. "Dragons used to eat ponies!?" It could probably be heard for a mile around.

Nightmare winced. "They did, along with deer, griffins, and minotaurs. Anything that was alive and wasn't a plant, really. Luna put an end to it."

Twilight cringed and squirmed where she stood, turning away from her, her face scrunched up in disgust. And then fear and worry, not for herself, but for somepony close to her. Twilight's head snapped back to face her, and Twilight's eyes met Nightmare's. "Spike-"

"Will be fine," Nightmare countered. "Given that you and Sister raised him, I would not expect him to ever cause any trouble."

She sincerely hoped he did not.

Twilight closed her eyes. Nightmare saw a single tear roll down Twilight's cheek, and then Twilight bowed her head. "O-okay."

She reached out with her wing and wiped the tear away. Twilight looked back up at her. "I will deal with this dragon myself. Leaving it to roam free after this has transpired is not an option. If I must remind the dragons why this is unacceptable, then I shall," she affirmed.

A moment passed. She grimaced. "Would you accompany me?"

Twilight's horror returned. "Accompany you!?" was the filly's shriek.

Nightmare nodded. "I would... appreciate your company."

"Is that even safe!?" Twilight croaked.

Nightmare held in a sigh. "As I have said, Twilight, your opponent will not care that you are young. However, I will not allow any harm to befall you should you accompany me, but this also gives you an opportunity to acquire experience. You are more magically competent than the Royal Guard-" she glanced aside at the Captain, who had his horn lit as he glared at her, then turned back to Twilight, "-so I would prefer you accompany me than they, as you are less likely to be injured."

"B-but it's a dragon!" Twilight retorted.

"Yes," Nightmare acknowledged, holding in a sigh, "and I have fought many dragons before on my own. We will both be fine."

Twilight grimaced and turned away from her.

"If you do not desire to accompany me, I will not force you. I will return you to Ponyville and then... we will be done for tonight," she offered.

A few seconds passed, and Twilight jerked back to face her. "You promise I'll be safe?"

Nightmare nodded. "You have my word." She paused for a moment and then specified, "Provided you are not purposefully trying to get yourself killed."

Twilight blinked, then her muzzle scrunched up. "I very much want to live."

Nightmare nodded again. "Good. Just be certain to stay alert. If the dragon goes after you, do remember to act instead of freezing. Whether that is teleporting out of the way or shielding yourself, I do not care. But if you get yourself hurt I will be very displeased."

Twilight smiled nervously and gulped. "I'll um, do my best."

"I expect nothing less," Nightmare said. "Do not be afraid, but remain alert. I will teleport us to the closest village and then we will fly the rest of the way to its lair."

Twilight frowned. "Why not teleport right there?"

Nightmare cocked her head at an angle and looked down at Twilight intently. "I am unfamiliar with his lair, and likewise, teleporting into a situation I know nothing about is unsafe. This is why I teleported into the air when visiting the griffins rather than onto the land: so that there was less chance of an ambush."

Twilight's lips pressed into a line. "Right..." Her student breathed in before asking, "And is long-range teleportation dangerous in general?"

"Provided you know where you are going, and assuming you're not risking coming out of the teleport into an ambush, no more dangerous than short teleports," Nightmare answered. She turned to the Captain and nodded. "I will teleport you back to Canterlot. Return to your duties if you feel well enough." He gave a forced, annoyed salute, then she teleported him away. Looking back at Twilight, she summoned her magic and wrapped it around both of them. Twilight clenched her eyes shut in preparation for the flash, and then she cast the spell.




As soon as the flash of light vanished, Nightmare looked around her surroundings. Ponies and deer were all frozen on the dirt streets, staring at her with mixtures of fear and surprise and shock. In particular, she found herself scrutinizing the deer.

The scroll hadn't said anything about the village being inhabited by either deer or ponies, and as she looked around, at least from what she could see, it seemed that the village was three-fourths deer, with the remaining one fourth being ponies, judging from who she saw now staring at her. 'Interesting... perhaps the integration is further along than I thought,' drifted through her mind.

But if that was so, why was she only finding out now? And how many more villages and cities like this one existed, isolated in forests? She shook her head; it was a thought to consider another time. Besides, she could see a dirt path through the trees that must have led out of the forest or onto a main road of some kind. It was not entirely cut off from the rest of pony civilization.

The path could do with improvements, so surely improving the road would help Equestria as a whole. 'I shall have to investigate this.'

The buildings surrounding them reminded her of a mixture of Ponyville, Hollow Shades, and Antlerfall: dirt roads, many large trees, both deciduous and evergreen mixed together, some stone buildings reminiscent of the ones in Hollow Shades, with smoke billowing into the night through chimneys. She heard water rushing nearby, but couldn't see the river. None of the trees were large enough to be buildings, but there were houses built of wood and straw, like in Ponyville.

"I thought this was an Equestrian City," Twilight whispered.

Nightmare turned her gaze away from the town to look at Twilight, who gradually broke eye contact with one of the bucks to look at her. "It is," she answered, "and likewise I did not realize deer lived here."

Twilight's muzzle scrunched up. "Shouldn't you know that!?"

Nightmare tilted her head. "Equestria is a large nation, Twilight. I am Queen but I cannot keep track of every single village in my domain. Likewise, I do not desire absolute control. It is a foolish notion."

"Yet there's a detachment of batponies here to keep ponies safe," Twilight muttered.

"You are correct," Nightmare said. "This village is in a forest and one of the few dozen dragons living in Equestria resides nearby."

"Right..." Twilight grumbled. "But I'm guessing you've never been here before."

Nightmare pursed her lips. "You are correct," she admitted. She shook her head and looked back at the deer, some of whom backed up when she looked at them. It made her scowl for a moment before she cast the agitation aside.

Twilight grumbled something she couldn't make out. She ignored it and watched the deer stare at her. Was it truly all they could do? They were her subjects, like the ponies who lived beside them, and they all looked at her so strangely, so fearfully.  Ponies and deer hadn't looked at Luna with the same paralyzing fear. They respected her when she defended them, then turned on her when they were safe. It hurt. But then she knew, to them, she was the apex predator, and they were the prey.

They did not view her as their protector. They viewed her as a monster.

She blinked and looked back at Twilight, who continued watching the deer. 'Perhaps I am-' the thought drifted away yet lingered. She couldn't think of the right word. The deer and ponies all feared her, even when they were her subjects. Luna had been their protector; they hadn't feared Luna the same. The deer had respected Luna, but the deer had not been Luna's subjects. And the ponies who were Luna's subjects hated her.

And now they both feared her. They didn't look at her as if she was there to protect them, but rather they were alert as if she was there to get them.

And she felt angry, but turning on them would only prove their fears well-placed. Regardless, there was something more important to tend to. "I will fly us up the mountain to his lair," she said as she sat down.

And the deer and ponies watched her, silently judging her as Twilight climbed onto her back. She stood up and stretched out her wings, then left the village behind. As the buildings grew distant, she put it all out of mind.

Being distracted in a battle was a good way to get oneself or another killed. She would not get Twilight killed.

'One day, we will fly together, and you will carry yourself on your own wings,' Nightmare knew. She turned her head back to glance at Twilight's face and body for a moment. And it would be wonderful. She would miss Twilight's warmth atop her back and the feeling of Twilight holding onto her, but Twilight would be so much freer!

So much more complete, and so perfect for it.

And then she would never be alone.

She looked back at the mountain and studied it. The forest below climbed up the mountain's slopes about halfway up, and the rest of the mountain was bare and visible. Rocky and rugged, reminding her of the badlands laying far beyond the mountain. The mountain wasn't tall enough for its top to be capped with glacial ice, or perhaps it was simply the dragon's doing, that he didn't want any ice on his mountain, like how he may have been responsible for the sudden stop in the forest's ascent.

After all, what pegasi would have flown so close to deliver clouds with rain or snow for the trees or ice to grow? Ponies were prey, and dragons were predators.

She found herself grimacing. As she flew upward continually, she felt the air grow colder and thinner until it was like in Canterlot. Or perhaps it was colder than Canterlot, because she thought she felt Twilight's body shivering from the night's chill. Perhaps it was simply that fall had set in, or that there weren't pegasi to tend to the weather here.

She reached out with her magic and searched for the dragon's lair. Once she found it, she glided the distance to it and scrutinized the area: a large cave in the side of the mountain, but with a large flattened plateau dotted with boulders and smaller rocks that offered ample room for her to land, along with cover should such prove necessary.

She glided down lower and landed with four clicks of her hooves. She peered into the cave as she sat down on her haunches while Twilight climbed down, unwilling to risk glancing back so to give the dragon an opportunity to strike when she was distracted. She stood back up and strode forward, and Twilight stayed close at her side.

The air stunk of smoke and dragon as they drew nearer to the cave. She held herself proudly, for she would not let a mere dragon get the best of her nor intimidate her. Twilight, however, tried to make herself look as small as she could at Nightmare's side, even falling a few steps back to where she could duck behind her teacher for protection.

Though it irked her, she let it slide: Twilight was young and afraid; a dragon could swallow the filly whole, and against dragonscales on her own, Twilight could only shield herself or teleport, unless she figured out dragons' weaknesses.

She stopped several steps from the cave. "Show thyself!" she shouted.

And with that, she felt the air rush around her as it was sucked into the cave. The dragon inhaled, and then exhaled, sending a plume of smoke their way. "Who disturbs me!?" was the dragon's demand.

"You have killed one of my subjects!" Nightmare spat. "I will not allow this to stand! Leave now!"

Another plume of smoke, followed by the ground shaking as the dragon lumbered closer to the cave's entrance. And then she saw it: the massive beast on all fours towered over her and even dwarfed Twilight's library in Ponyville. His scales were crimson, and his slit pupils bore down on her. He blinked, and she watched layers of thick, half-transparent skin close horizontally and vertically before parting again.

His claws were big enough that a single talon could have cleaved her in half or gored her body, and his sharp, angular snout had teeth protruding from the top and bottom of his jaw, each one capable of killing her if he managed to get her in his mouth. His leathery wings were half outstretched, with the tips against the floor of the cave and the scaled front high with the leathery skin spun between bones.

He looked at her with disdain and regarded her student as insignificant, having neither spotted her wings nor recognizing her. "Princess Celestia let me take this lair! Who are you to take it away!?" he demanded.

She sparked her horn to life and extended her wings. "The one who taught your kind to eat gems!" she hissed.

She saw the light of her horn glisten in his eyes, which hardly moved as he took in her wings. Another sharp gust of wind blew by as he inhaled and lurched up, rearing up on his hind legs. "DEMON!" his voice boomed, rattling Nightmare's insides.

He hissed and his scaly face twisted in anger. And she just took a step forward, and he fell back to the floor on all fours and lurched back. "Good. You remember me," she forced out.

He growled, and it was like thunder. More plumes of smoke filled the air, coming out of his nostrils, both of which were easily large enough for her and Twilight to fit inside. Twilight coughed from the smoke, and he looked at her with annoyance before looking back at Nightmare. "Equestria is weak! I merely took what was rightfully mine!"

"You will not," Nightmare growled, "take the lives of my ponies. Leave. Now! And I will let you live to serve as a warning to the rest of your kind. Attack Equestria again and perish."

The dragon opened his maw wide, and Nightmare saw a flicker in the back of his throat. A flicker she recognized.

Reacting on instinct, she pushed her forehoof into Twilight's shoulder and threw her student to the ground. The flicker burst into flame. Eyes widening, Nightmare growled and dived to the right, throwing herself on top of Twilight, spreading her wings, and channeling more magic into her horn. And even before she landed on Twilight, her magic formed into a shield to protect both of them the dragon's attack.

The flame exploded towards them and blocked the dragon from view. The hot jet enveloped the shield and hugged it close, draining her magic, but it was no match for her shield. The heat never touched them. The brilliant orange glow burned at her eyes, so she squinted and dropped her gaze to the only place the flame didn't surround them.

Twilight stared up at her, wide-eyed. Staring into her eyes to avoid the flame's bright light. Scared and shocked. She stared back down at Twilight, who had either landed on her back or had rolled onto her back, and was now pinned under her weight. Twilight's shallow, panicked breath tickled the hairs of her nose, and every time she inhaled, she caught the filly's scent of lavender and lilacs, books and ink, and a faint hint of her friends mixed in with a forest and earth and sweat. And the pungent stench of dragon smoke that nearly smothered both of them, nearly overpowered Twilight's calming scent. She felt Twilight's rapid breathing push her chestplate and body, up and down, and felt the shake in the filly's legs. She broke eye contact and glanced along Twilight's sides. To her surprise, she had her wings unfolded and held low, sheltering Twilight. She looked back into Twilight's eyes.

"If your shield-"

"It will hold," Nightmare preempted. Without breaking eye contact, "I will not let it fail. I forced them to eat gems or face extinction. No dragon can match me."

And the dragons foolish enough to test that had not lived long.

Twilight gave a quick, timid nod, and Nightmare could still see the fear in her eyes. Fear not born from her nor lack of trust in her magic, rather at 'knowing how close they came to being cooked' even though she would not have let such a thing happen. "We-" Twilight paused to lick her dry lips, and Nightmare could feel a bit of her fur move as Twilight's tongue brushed against it from how close they were. Twilight didn't seem to notice. "-might be stuck here if he can inhale and do that again because the heat won't immediately dissipate."

"We can still teleport out," Nightmare chastized, still staring down into Twilight's purple eyes. She broke eye contact only to glance at her student's unlit horn. Her lips twitched down as she looked Twilight in the eye again. "If it was just me I would drop the shield a few seconds after he stops so that the heat would have dissipated and he would think he has defeated me, then teleport while he is attempting to incinerate me, but since you are here..."

"It would burn me. Even with... you on top of me."

"Perhaps," Nightmare mumbled. Studying the filly below her, she found Twilight looking dazed, perhaps confused, and unfocused. It brought her to frown. 'You are distracted and we are in battle, this is not acceptable.'

Twilight's brow flicked. "Wouldn't it burn you too?"

"Not if the heat has dissipated," Nightmare stated. "it would be unpleasant, but it would not kill me. I have been through worse."

Twilight shifted her weight, which wasn't much, given Nightmare held her in place. That seemed to help refocus the filly. "He sure can breathe..."

Nightmare's lips twitched. "That he can," she muttered. "They all can once they are of that size."

The orange glow started to dim, and the whoosh of flame started to quiet. Nightmare broke eye contact to check the wall of dragonfire, but it still burned hot around her shield. She looked back at Twilight. "Do you have a plan?" Twilight asked quietly.

"You will teleport us out of the way once he breathes on us again," Nightmare answered.

"Why don't you?" Twilight croaked.

A tinge of annoyance stabbed at Nightmare's mind. She just barely stopped herself from snapping, "Because I am holding the shield and you are far better at teleporting than I am. Furthermore, it will give you experience in teleporting in such a situation like this." She inhaled deeply and took in Twilight's scent, letting it tickle her nose and calm her mind, then lifted her head up a little further so that when she exhaled, her breath fell on Twilight's mane.

"Can't you teleport us both out of the way?" Twilight asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes," Nightmare answered flatly. "But as I said, I want you to. Now please stop arguing because arguing in the middle of a battle is a great way to get yourself and others killed."

Twilight went silent. She might have been a bit too harsh, but a mistake could prove costly. She could repair the damage she had done, but the same was not so if it was the dragon's doing.

Her shield did its job, blocking out the heat of the dragonfire and protecting them until the orange glow and roar of flame faded. The dragon's burning gaze lingered on her shield as he lumbered forth out of his cave. She made eye contact with him and scowled as the air warped and churned from the lingering heat. She heard him suck in a deep breath and saw dust fly through the air, and then as he opened his maw, another flicker in the back of his throat. He lunged closer and reared up above them.

The jet of flame raced towards her shield and beat against her magic, boiling the air around them. She looked back down at Twilight, acutely aware that, though her shield would not fail, if it did, the flame would hit her first. Twilight might have some semblance of safety below her. "You're going to have to trust me."

"I do," Twilight stated quietly, a frown pulling at her lips.

Nightmare jerked her head a bit. "Of course," she muttered. "Teleport us above him, and then teleport yourself to the ground."

Horror washed over Twilight's face. "What!?" she shrieked. "But I can't! That'll-"

"You can," Nightmare stated. "You can teleport fast enough to get me into position, and likewise teleport yourself back to the ground before the impact would stun or injure you."

Twilight whispered, "We'll be separated."

Nightmare tilted her head. "You are correct. Keep yourself shielded and teleport if he tries to attack you. I will engage him and he will focus on me."

Twilight nodded. The fear was still present in her eyes, plain for her to see, but there was something else there. Even if Twilight's body trembled below her, there was some hint of courage and bravery. Perhaps spurred on by thinking on her friends, or perhaps spurred on by the Element of Magic. "S-so... now?" Twilight stuttered.

"Now," Nightmare agreed.

Twilight clenched her eyes shut, then her raspberry magic wrapped around her horn. And there was a flash of light and a crack, and the enveloping orange glow disappeared, replaced by darkness and light from below. She felt the moment of weightlessness pass immediately and dropped her shield.

Twilight teleported out from under her, and she spread her wings wide. The dragon heard the cracks, and his flame went dark as his head twitched at an angle. A single eye looked up at her.

And she dived, horn first. He spread his wings wide and lifted them up.

She was faster.

A beam of magic descended from her horn and struck the base of his neck. He roared in anger, and she felt the very air shake from his rage. His armored scales cracked under her magical assault, but they still took the brunt of her magic, protecting his more vulnerable flesh. He lowered his head, then pushed against the ground and launched himself into the air.

She dove left and spun around to face him as he shot past where she had been. The wake of his ascent battered her, nearly knocking her out of the air. His maw opened and a jet of flame shot towards her. She clenched her jaw and folded her right wing while beating her left and shielding herself.

The flame grazed her shield and bounced off of it at an angle, but he tracked her, and so the jet of flame kept following her, scorching the rock below. 'You had better stay safe!' her mind snapped.

If that dragon killed Twilight, well, there wouldn't be a dragon left.

And then she would be alone.

And the thought twisted in her mind, splitting her focus with fears and worries that she wouldn't be able to keep Twilight safe. And it was stupid and foalish that she let it split her attention. It left her vulnerable, even with the shield. 'Focus! She will be fine!'

She unfolded her right wing and beat hard and fast, trying to rise above the flame, but it kept following her until it burnt out. His chest heaved as he sucked in another breath, and she felt the air pulled out from around her.

He opened his maw, and she aimed her horn. Before the flicker could even form, her beam of magic shot from her horn and struck the back of his throat, sending a spray of blood out of his mouth and down to the rock below. He coughed and his body shook violently, making the air tremble.

His claw went up to grasp his throat and he shut his maw. He snorted and plumes of smoke exploded from his nostrils. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, DEMON!" his voice rumbled like thunder, shaking the air and rock.

"I think not!" she spat back.

He roared and shot towards her, reaching out with his left claw while his right still held his neck.

She teleported behind him. He tracked the crack of her magic and rolled onto his back. His claw struck her shield. The impact made everything spin for a split second as she shot towards the ground. Rock cracked against her shield as she landed. Her shield flared, cracked, and popped out of existence. She hissed through clenched teeth and leveled a seething glare on the dragon as he circled around the plateau, ignoring the pain stabbing her head at the base of her horn.

Nothing was broken. Nightmare stood back up and bowed her head, tracking him with her horn aimed right at him, magic burning bright. "Leave," she demanded in a cold voice, "Now." She stepped forward and spread her wings, holding them out at a low angle. "You have one. Last. Chance."

"YOU ARE WEAK!" his voice shook the air. "ONCE I EAT YOU, I WILL RULE EQUESTRIA AND FEED AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE!"

"So be it!" Nightmare hissed.

The dragon rolled and then dived towards her. She flared her horn bright and fired spell after spell at him. Each spell struck a scale with a sharp crack! that split or shattered the scale, sending fragments to pelt the barren plateau, yet the scales still blocked her magic from reaching his flesh.

And in seconds, he was too close. She teleported above him. He smashed into the ground and his body hit the rock from his momentum, then he lifted himself back up and turned his head back to face her.

She fired another barrage of spells. His size left him too slow to evade them, and so the magic crashed over his back, shattering dozens of his scales. He roared in anger, then crouched down and jumped at her.

She rolled and refocused her magic into another shield. His claw grazed her shield with a horrible screeching sound that hurt her ears and left a visible crack. He flew on and banked. She spun around and lowered her head to aim, dropping her shield.

And then she unleashed her magic. A brilliant blue beam of her magic lurched from her horn and crashed into the dragon's chest. Dozens of scales split, shattered, and exploded, sending little shards of dragonscales shooting down to pepper the rocky ground below. The dragon shuddered and roared in anger and agony as her magic cut through his scales and tore through his body. Burrowing all the way through his insides and then shooting out his back, blowing off more of his scales.

He banked to the left, and her beam continued its devastation, exploding his scales and cutting through his body until it only grazed his side, shattering scales along the length of his body and continuing on into empty air.

Her horn burned, and the dragon's blood rained down on the ground below. He looked at her with an almost empty glare for a split second, then crashed into the ground. His body tumbled and rolled lifelessly until it went over the edge of the plateau.

She flew over and watched him tumble down the cliff, eventually seeing his body level a dozen trees before finally slowing to a stop.

In the silence, the wind blew calmly, entirely unaware and uncaring of what she had done. The silence was wonderful. She turned her gaze back to the plateau and found Twilight staring up at her. She quickly glanced around to make sure she hadn't missed anything, then glided down and landed a few steps away from the filly.

The filly who looked at her with a clenched jaw and wide eyes, legs trembling. It made her stand where she was for several seconds. 'You are afraid,' she knew. But it wasn't fear of the dead dragon. She inhaled, then exhaled. Quietly, she asked, "You are uninjured?"

And Twilight blinked a few times, then bowed her head and looked at her forehooves and the rock below her. Since Twilight didn't immediately answer, Nightmare scrutinized her friend's body as best she could. Twilight looked back up at her and licked her lips as she nodded. "Yes."

"Good," Nightmare said. "I believe I have dealt with the dragon."

"You killed him," Twilight said quietly.

"You are correct," Nightmare answered.

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"He was a threat," Nightmare said. "I gave him the chance to leave and he did not take it."

Twilight looked back down at her hooves. "You killed him."

Nightmare tilted her head and stepped closer to Twilight. The filly looked up at her but didn't move away. "I killed him to protect us along with everypony in Equestria."

"You didn't have to kill him," Twilight quietly insisted.

"I gave him opportunities to leave," Nightmare countered. Twilight looked up at her. "He attacked us. He killed one of my batponies. He was a threat to Equestria. I can not tolerate that," she added.

"You attacked us. You killed a Royal Guard. You were a threat to Equestria," Twilight said in a quiet, innocent voice. "You didn't have to kill the dragon like he killed the batpony."

Twilight compared her to the dragon. Twilight compared her to a monster. Yet she felt no anger. The silence surrounding them was all-encompassing, even inside her mind and body. The filly looked up at her, expression almost blank, almost not there, and so pure and innocent.

Why did this make her so uncomfortable?

Twilight was judging her. That had to be why it made her insides squirm. 'You do not approve,' she knew. Of course Twilight wouldn't approve! Twilight had been taught by her sister for so long. Sister left Twilight weak, but that was only an extension of Sister's own weakness, that she didn't do what was necessary to protect Equestria.

'I was a threat to Equestria. I would have destroyed Equestria if Sister had not stopped me,' stabbed her mind. Her chest coiled with anxiety, and she turned away from Twilight.

'If our roles had been switched, Celestia, I would have killed you,' she thought. 'Or would I have?' And she wasn't sure, and the uncertainty tore at her mind.

'Would I have?' she considered. And at first, she knew, 'Of course I would! You would have deserved nothing less!' But as seconds drew on, the uncertainty only grew worse. But she would not consider it further.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Sister didn't do what she thought was necessary.

She was conflicted and angry and bitter and lost.

But it didn't matter. Their roles were not reversed. 

"It was necessary," she answered, then turned back to face Twilight.

"It wasn't," Twilight stated. The filly looked straight ahead at her chestplate, refusing to meet her gaze. "You could have given him another chance."

"Who is to say he would have taken it?" Nightmare asked. "Who is to say that, even if he had taken it, he would not have returned and killed another batpony? Who is to say that he would not have taken it only to use it as a weapon against us in an attempt to catch us off-guard?"

"We'll never know now because you killed him," Twilight said.

"He will not harm anypony else, and it sent a message," Nightmare countered.

"Stay in line, or else," Twilight said.

Nightmare found herself frowning as she watched Twilight mull over what she had spoken.

"The same message you sent to everypony. Stay in line or else." Twilight met her gaze. "You want ponies to love you? You sent the wrong message," was all Twilight had to say.

Nightmare turned away from Twilight again. "No matter what you and Cadance insist, ponies will never love me. They will always hate me, always spite me." She turned back to Twilight, who looked at her unflinchingly, and without the same judgment everypony else did. "Time has taught me this lesson, Twilight. And Sister made certain of it."

"I don't hate you," Twilight said in a simple, innocent voice. "Cadance doesn't hate you."

"You two are exceptions to the rule," Nightmare retorted. "Everypony else-"

"You gave us a chance. You didn't give anypony else a chance," Twilight replied. "You just told them to stay in line or else."

She stamped her hoof down on the ground. It sent a jolt of pain up her foreleg, but she didn't care. "I gave ponies a chance for centuries! And EVERY time!" Twilight stood there unflinchingly. She took a moment to recompose herself, breathing in and then exhaling. "And every time," she repeated, "they turned on me. It did not matter to them what I did. It did not matter how much I hoped, Twilight. My loyalty to them?" she asked, snorting as her lips flicked up. "They spat on it. My honesty? They lied to me. Sister lied to me." Shaking her head, she turned away from the filly. "My laughter, my joy? They stole that away from me. Strangled it out over centuries, Twilight."

"I am not perfect," Nightmare said. "I make mistakes." And with finality, "But so did they." She looked back at the foal.

"And how is it right to take it out on us?" Twilight asked. A moment passed and then Twilight looked away from her. Not out of disgust or fear or horror. Twilight simply looked off to her right in contemplation, perhaps even realization. "You never gave anypony else except Cadance and me a chance. And you really only gave Cadance a chance because I asked. How different were you one thousand years ago? And yet you don't give anypony else a chance because you think it's all the same. A thousand years is a long time, Nightmare Moon. You know that."

And she had nothing to say to that. Nightmare tilted her head and reached out with her wing. But before she touched Twilight's fur with her feathers, she thought better of it and folded her wing back to her side. It was getting them nowhere. Twilight looked down at her chestplate. "You are angry at me."

Twilight didn't reply.

Nightmare sighed. "I will return you to Ponyville."

Twilight didn't say anything, but watched her. After a few seconds, Twilight looked at the ground.

Nightmare reluctantly nodded. "Very well..." 'I have made a mistake,' she knew. "I... am sorry that I brought you. I should not have. You were not ready for-"

Twilight looked up at her and shook her head. "I just... I need some time to think."

Nightmare nodded even more slowly. "I... see. Very well... I will..." she trailed off and turned her head to the side. 'This was a mistake.' She licked her lips, looked back at Twilight, and worried. "Enjoy your night, Twilight." The filly looked at her, and she could see something in Twilight's eyes that she didn't want to see. She teleported Twilight back to Ponyville.

And then she was alone.