“Aah!”
Twilight flinched as she was engulfed in flames. First, the icy tendrils of Nightmare Moon’s magic wrapped around her. An instant later, they were burned away by an unbearable heat, and Twilight found herself in the midst of a roaring inferno. Even the ground itself seemed to be made of fire, and was so hot she had to take to the sky to escape it.
Even high in the air, the flames licked at her hooves as she looked around. It was all the same, a world of endless, boiling flames. Even the sky itself was a bright orange, as if somewhere, too far to ever see, reality itself was burning away.
In all the flickering flames, only one thing stood out. A hunched white shape off in the distance, the form of a pony with her head hung low.
Twilight flew as fast as she could to Celestia. The Princess looked absolutely terrible. Her mane had lost all its volume and fallen to her side, her horn rippled with the flames that now passed all throughout it, and sweat dripped from her face. Or, at least, Twilight chose to believe it was sweat.
“Princess?” Twilight tried to stay calm, but could hardly keep her voice from trembling. “What did she do to you.”
Celestia looked up in shock. “Twilight? What are you doing here, what has she done? That wicked beast, I knew it would only be a matter of time before she went after you and Cadance.”
Twilight winced. “Princess, please, slow down. I’m not in trouble, I came here on my own.”
“You what? Twilight, why? You need to stop her!”
“Applejack is talking to her.” Twilight got tired of flying and conjured herself up a large pillow to sit on, so that she had at least some protection from the flames. “So, I came to talk to you.”
“Applejack probably had a part in this to begin with! Surely you don’t trust her to deal with that monster.”
“Princess, I-” Twilight cut herself off and shook her head. “Look, let’s get you out of those.” Twilight zapped the shackles binding Celestia’s legs and made them disappear. Immediately, Celestia sat on the ground to rest, seemingly oblivious to the heat. “Okay, and then…”
Twilight tried to give the ring binding Celestia’s horn the same treatment, but the flames had run too deep. When she fired on the ring, Celestia’s horn lit up on its own and blocked the blast, making it impossible for Twilight to restore Celestia’s magic.
Twilight frowned. “Okay, well… At least you can walk.”
Celestia sighed deeply. “Thank you, Twilight, but you need to leave. You’re the only pony who can stop her!”
“It’s just Luna,” Twilight said.
“That creature is not Luna.”
Twilight frowned. “I mean, even if you believe that, she stopped being Nightmare Moon earlier today. Luna isn’t dangerous.”
“Twilight, you’ve always listened to me before. Why, now, do you choose to ignore my warnings?”
“Because…” Twilight looked away from her. “Because you’re wrong, Princess.”
“Wh-” Celestia’s mouth hung open. “She shackled me to the sun!”
“Yeah, and that was wrong too. But that doesn’t make you right.” Twilight still couldn’t bring herself to look at Celestia.
“So, what? I should have just let her waltz in and claim all the power she wanted?”
“She didn’t claim anything,” Twilight said. “Luna was already a Princess.”
“Nightmare Moon is not Luna.”
“She is!” Twilight shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “She’s Luna, and I don’t understand how you can say such horrible things about her.”
“You can’t seriously believe I would speak of Luna in such a way.”
“Nightmare Moon didn’t come from nowhere,” Twilight said. “She came from things you played a part in, and saying she’s not Luna is just a way to say you never did those things.”
“Oh, so now Nightmare Moon was my fault? She’s a monster born of hatred and rage, a parasite that drove my sister against me.”
Twilight stood up and took a few steps away from Celestia, ignoring the heat under her hooves. “I’ve only seen hatred from one of you,” Twilight said, “and it isn’t her.”
Celestia stood up as well. “Twilight, I am only trying to protect Equestria. What am I supposed to do? Nightmare Moon has filled my sister’s head so full of lies that she may never feel like she can speak to me again. How am I meant to address problems I don’t know exist?”
“Have you ever tried to talk to her about it?”
“I can’t,” Celestia said. “Were I to try, I would risk provoking Nightmare Moon.”
“And when Nightmare Moon showed up anyway, and actually tried to talk to you, you didn’t let her.”
“I have nothing to say to her. I’ve no reason to trust that a single thing she says reflects how my sister feels.”
“She is-” Twilight cut herself off and shook her head. “Princess, if you aren’t willing to question yourself, there’s nothing else I can say to you.”
Celestia frowned. “Twilight. Please. Just trust me this once, and stop Nightmare Moon. Please, trust your Princess.”
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “I am trusting the Princess, Celesia. I’m trusting myself. I think you may have gotten too used to ruling alone.”
“Twilight—” Celestia started to talk, but before she could say anything, Twilight lit up her horn and disappeared. Once more, Celestia was on her own.
After so long in the inferno, returning to Canterlot felt like walking into a freezer, and Twilight couldn’t have been more relieved. A moment ago, she had been angry and distraught, on the verge of tears, but the relief was so intense that all of that melted away. All that was left was her, standing with her eyes closed and her head low in the middle of the Canterlot throne room.
“See? I told you she could make it back.”
Twilight looked up to see Nightmare Moon lounging in her throne, surrounded by ponies. The guards from the balcony were there, as was the pony Twilight recognized as Celestia’s assistant, and between the two thrones stood Applejack. An anxious look was plastered on her face, but it lightened up a bit on seeing Twilight come back.
“How’d it go?” Applejack asked.
Twilight sighed and walked up to them. “Bad.”
“Tsk.” Nightmare Moon shook her head. “I had hoped your intervention might help to smooth things out.”
“How’d it go here?” Twilight asked.
“Good, I think,” Applejack replied. “Mostly good. A little terrifying.”
“The important part is, I am fully prepared to speak with my sister and get past this… Misstep,” Nightmare Moon added.
Beside them, Vim cleared her throat. “Um, Princess Luna, I’m just going to go get those books for you, alright?” Nightmare Moon nodded, and Vim scurried off as quickly as she could while remaining professional.
“Books?” Twilight asked.
“History books,” Nightmare Moon told her, “on past Princesses. Apparently, you can’t just declare somepony a Princess. The magical transformation is actually a requirement, and Applejack is being stubborn.”
“I’m an earth pony,” Applejack said, “and I ain’t gonna throw that away for some fancy title, no matter how cute you think it’d be.”
“Okaaay,” Twilight said awkwardly, “well, getting back to important stuff… I think you should bring Celestia back as soon as possible.”
“And why is that?” Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow.
“Because it’s something,” Twilight said. “It’s a first step, and Celestia isn’t going to make the first step. Or the second, or the third. You’re going to have to make her have a civil conversation with you, like you should have done before you banished her.”
Nightmare Moon regarded her for a moment as she thought. “I see your point,” she eventually said. “Thank you for trying, Twilight. What do you plan to do from here?”
“Me?” Twilight scoffed. “I’m gonna go home, lie down with my girlfriend, and wait until all of this is over.”
Applejack laughed. “Wish I had that option. See ya, Twilight.”
Twilight nodded. “See you later.”
Twilight walked away and out of the throne room, and as she did Vim slipped back inside carrying a huge stack of books. Twilight offered to help her, but she didn’t need it; despite the tower looking so tall and unwieldy that even Spike would struggle with it, she carried it around on her back without a second through, never breaking stride or slowing down as she carried them up to Nightmare Moon.
She dropped the stack beside the throne and huffed. “Alright, I believe this is every book we have regarding past Princesses, alicorn magic, and transformative spells.”
“Excellent,” Nightmare Moon said. “Did any in particular seem noteworthy?”
Vim nodded. “Yeah, I put the best bets at the top.”
“Wonderful.” Nightmare Moon floated the first book down, a copy of a textbook titled Theoretical Magic: Innate Spells. Apparently, it covered magic that was a part of reality itself. “Mm… Vim, are you particularly busy? I’m not eager to read through dense scientific literature.”
“Um, actually, I have a lot of scheduling to do,” Vim said. “You have some meetings today, and I have to find time for them later.”
“Later? No, send them in now,” Nightmare Moon told her.
“While you’re researching?” Vim pursed her lips. “They may see that as a slight against them.”
“Do you think I care?”
“Not really, no,” Vim said. “I just thought I should mention it. I’ll get started on that right away.”
Vim dashed off again, and Nightmare Moon floated the textbook over to Seabeam. “Here, you look like you could read this without falling asleep. Look through it for me.”
“Oh, um, y-yes, Your Highness,” Seabeam said, nervously grabbing the book and flipping it open.
Nightmare Moon thought for a moment, then decided to grab the stack of books and split it into four parts, giving a pile to both guards, one to herself, and the final, smallest pile to Applejack.
“There,” she said. “Hop to it.”
So they did, all of them cracking open books and scanning through them at their own pace. Amber Dusk sped through hers, fast enough that at first Nightmare Moon feared she may miss something, but in the end she decided she should trust her guards. For her part, Nightmare Moon wasn’t slow, but she was being so overly diligent that she was going at about the same rate as Applejack. Seabeam was going the slowest, reading every page thoroughly, and he was still on the textbook when Vim brought the first ponies into the throne room.
The first pony to walk in was a familiar stallion in a very pricey, very ugly suit, flanked by two other stallions, both very stoic and professional. At first Nightmare Moon didn’t even notice him, but after a moment Vim cleared her throat and Nightmare Moon looked up.
She narrowed her eyes at the stallion. “Vim, what is he doing here?”
“He was very insistent,” Vim said. “He said that—”
“I can speak for myself, thank you,” the stallion said. “Princess, do you know who I am?”
“No,” Nightmare Moon said, “and at this point if you try to tell me I’ll throw you out a window.” She turned her head back to the book she was working through.
He grimaced. “Well, suffice it to say, I am a very important pony. These,” he gestured to the ponies to his side, “are ponies from Manehattan who run a very successful business, and they’re very interested in my land.”
“Mm,” Nightmare Moon hummed. “What business?”
“Well, it’s a bit hard to explain,” the stallion said, “but in a way their business is helping other businesses to—”
“How does this replace what the parks bring to the ponies of Canterlot?”
“Well, they’d bring in a lot of opportunities, letting the ponies in the city—”
“No.”
The stallion flinched. “What?”
“I said no,” Nightmare Moon repeated. “Sell them your land if you wish, but they’ll not receive permits for this business. If they wish to own the parks, though, I imagine that would be perfectly acceptable for everypony.”
“At least hear me out, Princess.”
“Do not test me.” Nightmare Moon’s voice was still calm and quiet, and she continued to flip through her book. “You have your answer. Vim, if this pony insists on seeing me again, and does not have a very good reason, I want you to bring him directly to me so that I may show him what happens when I run out of patience.”
The stallion’s face was starting to get red. “This is just preposterous, you can’t threaten me! I’m not going to leave this room until—”
Nightmare Moon grabbed the trio with her magic, slid them out into the hallway, and slammed the door behind them.
“I’m startin to see why you can’t do this as Luna,” Applejack said.
“It’s unbelievable!” Nightmare Moon groaned. “How do ponies like this even exist in Equestria?”
Applejack shrugged. “I’ve wondered that ever since I met Flim and Flam.”
Nightmare Moon sighed. “Vim, is there another?”
“Oh, yes, Princess! I’ll go get him,” she said as she slipped out the door. She was careful not to open it too wide, lest the stallion try to get back in.
“So,” Applejack said, “you gonna talk to Celestia?”
“I suppose I have to,” Nightmare Moon said, “I’m just not sure how I should do it. Is it truly wise to bring her back, when doing so may make her feel like she has the option of escape? She’ll never listen if she thinks she can get away.”
“What, then?” Applejack asked. “Are you gonna go to the sun?”
Nightmare Moon shook her head. “I’ve too much work here for that. I think I may have to visit her dreams to accomplish my goals.”
“You don’t sound real excited for that.”
“The moon affected my dreams in strange ways,” Nightmare Moon said. “Conversation will prove difficult.”
“Well, I think you’ve got it in you to get through to her,” Applejack told her.
“Thank you,” she replied.
The doors opened again, this time revealing a tall, colorful creature. It wasn’t a pony at all this time, much to Nightmare Moon’s surprise, and she found herself standing respectfully as the king of the changelings entered the room.
Applejack leaned over to whisper to her. “Uhh, I know it ain’t the plan, but I don’t know if Nightmare Moon is the best for meeting Thorax.”
“I’ll be fine,” Nightmare Moon replied. “Greetings, Thorax.”
They bowed to each other, and Nightmare Moon returned to her lounging.
“Um, greetings, Princess… Luna?” Thorax tilted his head. “Are you Luna?”
“In a sense.”
“Okay… Well, anyway.” He shifted awkwardly where he stood. “I know this meeting wasn’t, like, planned or anything, so it’s kind of unorthodox, but it just seemed like I should—”
“Get to the point,” Nightmare Moon told him.
“Right, right. Well, Changelings get news pretty fast, what with the hivemind and all, so we heard about what happened with Celestia, and some of them are getting really worried. They were already anxious about Chrysalis, and now you’re back and Celestia’s gone so, uh, you know…”
“Do you consider me a threat?” Nightmare Moon asked.
Thorax blinked. “Um… I don’t know, I guess. Are you?”
Nightmare Moon looked hard at him, then laughed. “No, Thorax, I am not. Even if I were intending to conquer Equestria, your hive would be far from my first target. Your subjects are safe.”
“Alright… Well, I guess I trust you,” Thorax said. “Is there anything you can give me to tell them about Chrysalis?”
“Have you tried ‘get over it?’”
“Ah, well, no, but I don’t think… Well, thank you anyway.” Thorax bowed politely. “That’s all I came for. Honestly, just my coming here was probably enough to calm them down.”
“Mm.” Nightmare Moon nodded. “Well, goodbye, then.”
“Wait!” Seabeam suddenly spoke up, and all the faces in the room snapped to him, which immediately made him far more nervous. “Uh, sorry, Your Highnesses, but I think I found something, and it mentions changelings.”
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. “Let me see that,” she said as she floated the book over to herself.
“Something I can help with?” Thorax asked.
“Well, I’d like to make Applejack a Princess,” Nightmare Moon explained, “but she insists on staying an Earth Pony, so I’m seeking a compromise.”
“Oh, interesting,” Thorax said. “You know, we actually had a few changelings who didn’t want to transform just because they liked how they looked already.”
Nightmare Moon looked up at him. “Oh?”
Thorax nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t get it, but I guess I’m kinda biased because I have bad memories about looking like that.”
“So?”
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, so we got this unicorn, I think his name was Starblast or something, who said that if we did a spell to change how they looked during the transformation, the spell would be permanent, and it worked! Real nifty.”
“Excellent!” Nightmare Moon grinned wide. “We didn’t even need-” she checked the cover of the book to see the title, then snapped it shut and glared at Seabeam. “Is this the first book I gave you?”
“I read slow!” Seabeam said defensively.
Nightmare Moon growled and threw the book over his head. Beside her, Applejack covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.