//------------------------------//
// Chapter Six - Looking to the Future 
// Story: Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon Team up to Save Everyone 
// by Codex Ex Equus 
//------------------------------//

Weeks passed. The time felt like an eternity to Celestia, but now, finally, they had done it. Chrysalis's hive had given them all the answers they needed, and after a time that had seemed far too long, Celestia, Shining Armor, Nightmare Moon, and Ka-klack had managed to locate a spell deep in the ruins of Old Griffonstone that could reverse the effects of petrification. Celestia had learned it quickly—she was motivated, after all—and now the moment had come.

Power crackled along her being, and a beam of sun broke through the clouds over Twilight's castle and enveloped her in golden light. Lowering her head, she let the magic flow freely, and a dome of magic encompassed the four statues.

When it faded, all four ponies stood in place, blinking in surprise. Twilight was quickly buried under her friends, and Cadance swept up in an embrace by Shining Armor, but Luna was all for Celestia. Well, and Queen Chrysalis, but she still even gave the changeling a friendly pat on the back.

Finally, after all the explanations, apologies, and thanks had been made, Celestia found herself alone with Twilight inside the castle.

"I'm really glad you're safe," Celestia said quietly, looking at the smaller Princess from across the table they were sharing tea at.

Twilight smiled back. "Of course I am," she said. "It may have been a bit boring trapped in stone like that, but I was never afraid. Because I knew you'd save me. You're always there for me."

"And I'll always be there for you, Twilight," said Celestia earnestly, putting a hoof to her chest. "You mean so much to me. I couldn't bear to lose you."

"Thank you," said Twilight, with a shy smile. "You mean a lot to me, too."

Celestia took a deep breath. "That's g-good," she said, managing to steady her voice after a moment. "Because… well, I have something really important I want to ask you."

"Go ahead!" Twilight said cheerfully. "After what you just did for me, I think I'd do almost anything you ask!"

"Well, you see… Twilight, I've known you for a long time. A-and in that time, I've seen what an amazing pony you've grown to be. Smart, friendly, brave… you are, truly, one of the most wonderful ponies I've ever met. I just… Twilight, I love you. I know we were already going to spend eternity together as friends, but I want more! I want to share your whole life with you, win when you win and lose when you lose. I want to experience that eternity with you, not just near you. I want to be by your side forever."

"Oh! …oh." Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously on the tabletop, averting her gaze. "Remember when I said I'd do almost anything you wanted?"

Celestia's heart broke.

"It's not that I don't care for you," Twilight said, her voice dim and far away. "You'll always be one of my closest friends. But… just that. A friend. I'm sorry."

"I-it's okay," said Celestia, watching, detached, as the world around her faded to a dull, sepia-toned blandness. "I understand completely."

"And, well, there's another pony I think I might have feelings for anyway. One I just met," Twilight continued, a blush on her face. "This might be inappropriate to ask, but I was wondering if you could help introduce us? You know her better than I do."

"Anything you want," Celestia replied numbly.

"Oh, thank you so much!" gushed Twilight, getting up from her seat to dance happily around the table. "This will probably be awkward, but it's Nightmare Moon! Isn't she just the dreamiest pony you've ever seen?"

Celestia's eyes came back into focus, and she slowly raised her head.

"Her coat is such a pure shade of black, and her voice is so commanding. And her flanks are just—"

A burst of magic leapt from Celestia's horn, wiping away Twilight, the table, and the room. When the light faded, Celestia stood upon an inky, murky blackness that extended infinitely in every direction.

"Nice try," she said into the darkness, glancing around. "I'll admit, you had me going there for a bit. I guess you've learned how to be at least a little subtle. But you pushed it too far there at the end."

"Well, pride and hubris have always kind of been my thing," said Nightmare Moon with a grin, materializing out of the gloom behind Celestia. "Besides, what fun is a nightmare if it's too realistic?"

"Only somepony like you would think that kind of nightmare is fun," snarled Celestia, turning to face her. "But since you're asleep too, let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine."

Her horn lit up, but only threw off a shower of sparks, and she looked up at it, blinking.

"Have some trouble there?" mocked Nightmare Moon, prancing around the other Princess. "I was as surprised as you. Yes, I seem to be fully in control of the Dreamscape now. Apparently when I left Luna, I took that with me. Now all the dreams of Equestria bow to my commands!"

"You monster…" growled Celestia, eyes squeezing shut as her mind was flooded with images of the horrors her little ponies were no doubt being forced to experience in their dreams at this very moment. "If you hurt any of them with your sadistic, twisted nightmares…"

There was no response, and Celestia turned to where Nightmare Moon had stopped. The Nightmare stared back at her, eyes flat, mouth drawn into a thin line.

"You never understood, did you?" Nightmare said finally. "You think I do everything because I'm some monster, because I'm evil. But you've never stopped to think that I do it because of you.

"All I ever wanted was to be loved as you are, and to be loved by you. To have my ponies—our ponies—love my night as they do your day. I wanted to do my duty, and have it be appreciated. But you didn't care, and the ponies of Equestria didn't care. So I did what I had to, to get what I deserve. And even for that, I was spat upon. For that, you turned me into Equestria's greatest villain, a pony so evil I was but a legend when I returned.

"I saved those ponies on the train. I smote their foes most justly, saving the purses and possibly even the lives of my subjects. Was I met with love? With gratitude? No; they looked at me like I was a monster. Nothing's changed since they rejected Luna and me for bringing their nights a thousand years ago… and it's because of you."

She glowered at Celestia, taking a step forward. "And now, you think I would shirk my responsibilities out of some sense of spite?" Nightmare Moon let out a snort of rage, stomping one hoof upon the nebulous ground she stood upon. "Rest assured, I do not take my duty lightly. All the ponies of Equestria that deserve good dreams shall have them. And the ones that deserve nightmares shall suffer those as well. As you just did."

Celestia glared at her, before finally saying, "What are you doing? What's your plan here? You obviously can't just lock me away again, but why go through all this? You can't seriously want to free three more Princesses, let alone Luna. So what's your endgame?"

Nightmare Moon threw her head back and cackled. "Just going to ignore any opportunities for self-reflection, are you?" she sneered. "How typical. But as for my plan… you'll just have to wait and see!"

Celestia's lip curled back with a small growl, and for a moment the mocking glee dropped off Nightmare Moon's face.

"I want you to believe me about this, though," she said, voice earnest and serious. "I really do want to free all those ponies trapped in stone, and I will do everything in my power to help you. No backstabbing, no double crossing, no trying to steal all the power for myself. The only thing I care about is freeing them."

She let out a chuckle, back to her normal self. "Of course, you may not like what happens afterwards," she sang tauntingly.

Celestia continued to glare, but then a smile twisted its way across her face.

"Okay, Nightmare Moon," she said graciously. "Since you've been so kind as to tell me you plans, I'll let you in on mine. Specifically, what I intend to do to you once all of this is over."

"Oh, do tell!" Nightmare clapped her hooves together. "Turn me to stone? Send me back to the moon? Turn me to stone and then banish me to the moon?"

"Oh, no." Celestia's voice was soft and sinister, like an invisible gas leak. "I'm just going to put you back into Luna's head."

Nightmare Moon froze. For a split second, her face held an expression of utter terror and horror. She shook it off quickly, but Celestia saw it. Worse, Nightmare knew she had seen it.

"Oh no, not that! Anything but t-that!" Nightmare Moon gave a snort, trying to look as though her slight stammer had been merely something caught in her throat. Then she sneered. "It only took me a hoofful of years to escape from there once. Do you really think I'll have any trouble doing so a second time?"

"I do," Celestia said confidently. "You didn't escape this time. The Tree of Harmony, through the Rainbow Power, let you out for some unfathomable reason of its own. Hopefully so that I can take care of you once and for all. But you see, it doesn't matter anyway. I know you can't escape by yourself. Because I know being returned to Luna is the one thing you fear more than anything else."

"That traitorous little guard captain," spat Nightmare, glaring off to the side.

"Now, now, don't blame him for your own loose tongue," chided Celestia. "You know he's loyal to me beyond all else, except maybe Cadance. It's not his fault you went around spilling your secrets."

"Fine, so you're putting me back inside Luna's mind." Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "I hated it because it was boring. So what?"

"Ah, but that's not why you're scared of it." The Nightmare gave her a nervous glance, and Celestia's grin widened. "It was the Tantabus, wasn't it?"

Nightmare Moon quailed, her ears pinning back, and she stumbled backwards a few steps. Celestia let out a bark of laughter and slid lithely forward, matching Nightmare's retreat.

"I thought so. You probably didn't even notice you were getting weaker at first, did you? It would be hard to, trapped without a physical form and barely even a spiritual one. You must have known something was wrong, but there was no way for you to figure out exactly what was going on. And then the Tantabus came.

"I'm sure you were happy to see her at first. A real sister for you, not to mention all the anguish it caused Luna. Every night that Luna went to sleep and tortured herself with nightmares over what you did must have been like a pleasant dream for you."

Celestia crept forward a few more steps, towards the frozen Nightmare.

"But… what happened when Luna didn't need the Tantabus anymore, Nightmare?" Nightmare Moon flinched, breaking eye contact and slinking backwards again, and Celestia grinned ferally. "She took the Tantabus back into herself, didn't she? She created it out of her mind, and when its purpose was gone, she took it back. That's when you realized it. Why you felt so weak. Why you were struggling more and more to influence Luna. And that's why you could only fight me to a standstill when you finally escaped, rather than overwhelming me as you have before.

"It's because Luna's been eating you.

"Piece by piece, as she came to realize how much things had changed, how much Equestria needed and loved her, how much I love her and how sorry I am for what happened, she took your power back. Just as she took the Tantabus back into herself when she absolved herself of her guilt, she started taking you back as her jealousy and anger faded. Taking you back and making you a part of her mind once again. No more Nightmare Moon and Luna… just Luna, with an angry side that's a little bit darker than most. And that, once upon a time, had been its own person."

Nightmare Moon had lost the ability to stand up, and now cowered upon the nebulous ground, gazing fearfully up at Celestia, who stared back with a death's-head grin on her face.

"So… that's what I'm going to do to you, Nightmare Moon," Celestia said softly, almost sweetly. "I'm going to put you back into Luna's head, and then I will be the absolute best big sister I can possibly be. I'll shower her with love, give her little gifts every day, let her know every waking hour how much I cherish her. I'll declare a national holiday to celebrate her night. I'll redesign the Equestrian flag to make her side of the diarchy more prominent than ever before. I'll make her more beloved than any leader has ever been.

"My only regret is that I won't be able to see inside her head. That I won't be able to watch you getting smaller and smaller, I won't be able to hear your voice in Luna's ear getting fainter and fainter, and I won't be able to watch when one day… poof! You'll be gone. Just a pile of bad memories in our heads that, Goddess willing, will one day fade away. Just… like… you did."

Celestia bent down, towering over Nightmare Moon, and her grin became a kind smile. Which just made it even worse.

"And do you know what the best part is? I'll never be able to fight with Luna again. Anytime we have an argument, anytime she starts to get mad at me… all I'll be able to do is laugh, and give her whatever she wants. Because I'll look into her eyes, and see a tiny spark of anger… and know that is all that is left of you."

Nightmare Moon shook where she sat, staring up at Celestia like a pony facing down Death himself. She licked her dry lips, mouth working silently as she tried to come up with a reply, and finally a few words managed to escape her throat.

"And you call me a monster," she said hoarsely.

"ONE THOUSAND YEARS!" howled Celestia, tackling Nightmare Moon, slamming her onto her side and beginning to swing at her with her hooves. "You took my sister away from me for one… thousand… YEARS!"

"Do you think that's what I wanted?!" Nightmare bellowed back, bucking Celestia off and striking back with her own hooves. "I was just trying to get the respect I deserve! I never wanted to hurt you like that!"

They flailed at each other, rolling back and forth on the ground, neither managing to actually land a telling blow. Finally, they broke apart, standing several paces away from each other, both panting. Celestia's grimace slowly turned into a full out snarl, and in a burst of golden light she vanished.

Breathing hard, Nightmare Moon stared at the spot where Celestia had stood, then threw her head back.

"I missed you too!" she screamed into the empty Dreamscape. "I hate you more than anything else, but you're still my sister!"

And with that, she disappeared from the Dreamscape as well.







Shining Armor and Ka-klack sat at the bar, doing their best to pretend they weren't both immensely uncomfortable with the other occupants of the small dining area. The Restful Ranch ("Come for the ranchin', stay for the brunchin'!"™) wasn't the most high-end hotel available in Appleloosa. It was, in fact, a run-down tourist trap, complete with cheerfully smiling ponies with dead eyes to greet them and so much kitschy junk hanging on the walls that you could probably remove the actual walls and the building would stay up. But, most important of all, it had been the first place to sleep that they had seen after their much-delayed train pulled into Appleloosa late in the night.

"So…" said Shining Armor, trying to pretend there weren't two disguised Goddesses sitting on either side of the room shooting furious glares—and, when nopony from the waitstaff was watching, the occasional bolt of magic—at each other. "This is, um, awkward."

"Yes, they seem upset about something," Ka-klack agreed. "I'm going to guess it has to do with whatever happened last night, while we were asleep."

"Something happened?"

"I don't know about you, but I had some really weird dreams," Ka-klack replied with a shrug. "I assume Nightmare Moon had something to do with that."

"That's strange, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary myself," mused Shining Armor.

"In one, I was drowning in a pile of fruit snacks," Ka-klack said, then paused. "I'm actually not sure if that was supposed to be a good dream or a nightmare."

"Well, whatever she did to Celestia, it must have been a doozy," muttered Shining Armor, glancing back at the pegasus as she fire another shot of magic across the room with her invisible horn.

"No doubt. She's very spiteful. And quite powerful. She's actually one of the most powerful wraiths I've ever heard of. Which isn't surprising."

"A… wraith?" Shining Armor looked at the changeling in puzzlement. "Wait, you know what she is?"

"They're called wraiths. They're… emotional spirits," explained Ka-klack. "Very intense emotions can create them. The weakest ones are what you'd probably call poltergeists. That's why they tend to be found around teenaged ponies. It's all those hormones and emotions going out of control.

"If you've ever heard legends of ponies being possessed by demons, that's a wraith so strong it can actually take over the pony who created it. That, fortunately, is extremely uncommon. And not as dangerous as it sounds. It's rare that any of them can focus enough to do any harm, and they tend to quickly burn out.

"But Nightmare Moon…" Ka-klack shook her head. "It's rather unfortunate that Luna created a wraith. With her being an alicorn, it's not surprising that something that came from her mind has such unprecedented power. And now that the Rainbow Power has made Nightmare Moon, well, real… I don't think she even is a wraith anymore. She's just a normal pony. I mean, she's an alicorn with crazy darkness powers and all that, but still just a pony."

Shining Armor let out a long sigh, then drained the last of his mug of cider. "Well, that's just great. Like there wasn't already enough wrong with this whole situation, it turns out now we're dealing with a spirit that's been given a real body. A spirit of… what, vengeance? Rage? Jealousy?"

"Passion."

"Pas—" Shining Armor blinked, turning to the changeling. "Really?"

"Sure. Can't you taste it?" Shining Armor gave her a look, and Ka-klack shrugged. "Oh. Right. But it is passion. Luna loved Equestria so intensely that she created Nightmare Moon when she was rejected, when her efforts and love were ignored by its people. I can't say for sure what happened between Luna and Celestia back then, but any fights they had would have only fed into Nightmare's birth."

"So…" Shining Armor frowned down at his mug. "Now we have a spirit of passion running around… and her passion makes her so angry that she wants to destroy anything that stands in the way of her taking control of Equestria… so that she can love it and be loved by its citizens. And along with that, she's focused on getting revenge on Princess Celestia for ignoring her."

"That pretty much sums it up," agreed Ka-klack.

"Well…" A bolt of bright turquoise magic shattered his mug, and Shining Armor let out a sigh. "Fantastic."