//------------------------------//
// Part 15: The best laid plans. 
// Story: True Harmony 
// by Saturni_Rose 
//------------------------------//

High noon in Canterlot. The blazing sun fought valiantly against the chill rising on the autumn wind. It was losing, of course, but it never gave up. And somewhere in the metropolis, lost in a jungle of glass and concrete, wandered a navy blue alicorn under its baleful gaze. 
The others had wanted to get lunch before catching the train home. Luna left them to it, thinking it still best to give them a little space. A lie about having some lingering business she wanted to see to at the castle had come out of her dishonest mouth easily enough. Fluttershy made her promise she’d get something to eat, and she’d at least held true to that. What she picked up, however, certainly wasn’t the healthy meal the poor dear meant. 
Luna didn’t care. On she went, aimlessly wandering in search of somewhere secluded to have at the delicious filth waiting for her. Somewhere away from prying, judgemental eyes. The journey saw her loping along through back alleys, the chatter of foot traffic fading away somewhat. It was a busy city. She missed her home in Ponyville, and wanted somewhere even the sun couldn’t reach her. 
After another turn, her only companion was what looked like a pink pegasus in black coveralls. She was humming away above, cleaning windows higher up. But as Luna passed under her, she realized something didn’t sound right. 
That tune; it was the melody to the summer hymn she’d sang to warm up the crowd for Lined Lips. She kept walking, trying to listen intently without letting on just yet. She realized the sound of her wings was wrong; the air being displaced by them wasn’t hissing through the feathers at all. Luna practically groaned when she came to a stop. 
“Can we please not do this right now, Pinkie?” she asked Pinkie as she turned around to look up at her. 
“Huh? Who’s Pinkie?” asked Pinkie while turning to look down at her. The voice she was putting on woudln’t fool a foal, and the mustache she had on was crooked. 
Luna just looked up at her, nonplussed. 
“Clever girl. You saw right through my disguise.” Pinkie tried to twirl the mustache, and it came right off. “Oops.” 
Luna paused. She realized she hadn’t seen her face since the night of the concert. Something in her heart ached. “I can literally see your fuzzy white bat wings too.” 
Pinkie looked at them holding her aloft, as if gobsmacked. “Okay, fair enough.” She spun down through the air, coveralls flying in one direction, fake mustache and cleaning bucket off in the other. Upon landing, she had her smiling mask back on. “Well it’s so good to see you again. I was just on my way to where Petra and Nimbus are having their lunch break. Think I might just kidnap them if somepony doesn’t stop me.” 
Luna blinked at her, exasperated. “It’s the second date, and you’re already putting in so much less effort.” 
The mask changed over to the frown and Pinkie furrowed her brows. “Hey, c’mon, I’m serious. Look, okay, I wanted you to notice me, I was just playing it up for the sake of the bit. Laugh a little, would ya? But I am going to go use them to goad you into another fight.” 
Lip curling back in a tight sneer, Luna told her shrewdly: “I have had a very tiresome couple of days, alright? I am beyond not in the mood for this.” 
One of Pinkie’s wings unfolded from where they rested, claws hooking at the nape of her neck, and from behind it, a baseball bat fell out of thin air. The head hit the ground with a thunk. Mask smiling, Pinkie took it up and said: “Okay, we can skip straight to the fun part if you like.” 
“Or,” said Luna sternly, “you can respect what I just said about not being in the mood, and maybe I’ll give you some of my lunch.” 
“Psh. Do you really think you can tempt me wi—” Pinkie stopped when Luna took the large pink box out from under her wing and propped it open. The scent of sweet dough and frosting hit her in a wave. She blinked at the bounty, a single droplet of drool gathering at the corner of her mouth. Looking back up at her, she gave a churlish, unconvinced grin. “Your lunch is a dozen doughnuts?” 
“Two dozen, actually.” said Luna, slipping the lid closed. When she got a judgemental stare which pierced through the mask, she repeated herself: “Like I said, the last few days have been terrible. So. I’m treating myself to some indulgence.” 
“You can’t eat all that.” scoffed Pinkie, resting the bat across her shoulder. She looked this way and that. “Where are you meeting the girls? Trying to lure me so they can try and convince me how much they all love me, or whatever?” She shook her head and looked in her eyes. The mask was frowning. “Now who’s putting in less effort? Puh-lease.” 
“Nope.” said Luna. She tucked the box back under her wing, turned up her nose, and began walking away. “The girls aren’t really talking to me right now. So these are all mine.” 
Pinkie watched her go. She eyed the box. Every evil, monstrous instinct roared at her not to. She bit her lip. Calling out, she said: “Y-you can’t just… negotiate with me like that.” 
Luna paused and looked back at her. They stared at one another. “What?” 
Shaking her head, she explained: “We’re hated enemies. Rivals. You can’t just offer me doughnuts like that. I-it’s not how the story is s’posed to go.” 
If Luna didn’t know any better, she thought she saw a few magenta hairs curling in as she stammered. Smirking, she replied with a shrug: “Says who? I’m an alicorn mage warrior, and you’re a nightmare of laughter. We can do as we please. Write our own story.” 
Pinkie trembled in place for a moment. She stumbled back a step. Then, she took off, disappearing beyond the corner of the nearest building. Luna watched her go, and waited. Seemingly gone, she sighed, turning back around to continue on. She only got a few steps when Pinkie appeared again ahead of her through another narrow intersection, screaming like a banshee. 
“Raaaaaah!” Pinkie’s bat went behind her, winding up as far as she could. When it came swinging around, it crunched into a metal trashcan, sending the dented receptacle tumbling further down the alley. She stood in Luna’s path, huffing as the damaged object rolled past the alicorn. 
Luna watched it clink and click to a stop. Looking up at her, she asked: “Are you quite done?” 
Lurching forth, Pinkie shoved the heavy end up right beside Luna’s snout. “I’m the one in control here, Luna. No games.” 
“No games.” Luna said, gently pushing the bat out of her face. Pinkie let her, of course. “Only doughnuts.” 
“I get two thirds of ‘em, and I’ll agree to leave your guard friends alone. This time.” Pulling the bat back, she rested it across her shoulder again, more heavily this time. She wanted Luna to hear how sturdy it was; how much damage it could do. 
Reaching out, Luna snatched her free hoof and shook it. Smirking, she told her: “Deal.” 





Luna took another bite and relished the sensation of sugar spiking her taste buds. As she chewed, she closed her eyes and took a nice, long, deep breath. The air up here had a crispness to it. She hadn’t felt so relaxed in what felt like ages. 
“Moon above, but I love chocolate.” 
“It’s a classic for a reason. Though I’m partial to jelly filled myself.” 
The two of them were lounging back across a slanted roof somewhere in the upper district. And it literally was the upper district, this part of the city was at a substantially higher elevation. It wasn’t too far off from where the castle was; when Luna peeked down her nose, past her lazy hooves, she could see a small portion of the wall and a few golden bulbs just beyond the rising stone climb of the mountain. 
She laid her head back against the shingles and dropped the last bite into her mouth. As she chewed, she stole a glance over at Pinkie. The smiling mask rested on top of her head. Heavens above forbid she get jelly or frosting or crumbs on the magic item she totally, definitely did not respect. Her words on this had been very clear, but also very unconvincing. 
Their efforts had been commendable thus far. But there were nine left, and Luna could tell they were both slowing down considerably. She also couldn’t help but notice Pinkie had taken turns picking them out with her. So much for claiming the lion’s share. She groaned over onto her side to look at her. 
“I think I’m done.” she said with a pat on her stomach. Pointing at the box, she said: “And perhaps I’m miscounting, but I believe the rest are yours. As per our little agreement.” 
Pinkie looked over at her, confused. It took a moment for it to register. “Oh, right, right. Yeah. Um, actually, I thought about it.” 
“Have you now?” Luna’s cheek rested against her hoof as she propped onto her elbow. 
Pinkie raised a hoof to her, trying to keep a defiant face. “Shush. I have. And I’ve decided it would be better drama if I split them more evenly with you.” 
“Better drama.” repeated Luna, bemused. 
“Yes.” nodded Pinkie. “For you see, when you've finished eating those extra doughnuts you otherwise wouldn’t have had—” she slapped one hoof against the other, “—that’s when I’ll ambush you.” 
Luna smiled. It was unbelievably nice to borrow Pinkie back from the Nightmare for a little while. She really needed this right now. Somehow, though, she imagined that if she actually told her then and there to fight back, then she’d be snatched away from her again. So she didn’t try it. Instead, she stretched out across her back and tried to enjoy this as long as she could. 
“And you think your plan shall succeed?” she asked. The few clouds above moved as listlessly and lazily as she felt at the moment. 
“Absotively.” said Pinkie warmly by her side. “Posilutely.” 
“You are truly a devious mastermind.” said Luna with a facetious chuckle. “Surely the queen should shiver before your tactical prowess.” She stifled a giggle. “I bet my sister would faint if she heard—”
A hoof slammed down beside Luna’s face. Pinkie leered over her, and when she lifted her hoof again, broken shingles fell away. “Hey. Stop making fun of me.” 
Luna blinked timidly, supposing it wasn’t to last. “I wasn’t t—”
“Yes you were.” She leaned down closer. “Nopony takes me seriously. All of Ponyville, they think I’m just a random spaz. Even my own friends think I’m crazy.” She huffed. Then she shook her head and refocused her eyes into Luna’s. “Just cut it out.” 
Their faces hadn’t been this close likely since the Gala. Luna couldn’t help but think about how easy it would be to lift her head all of one inch. She wanted to, too. But it wasn’t the right time. Instead, she said: “You have lovely eyes.” 
Pinkie gaped, eyes shooting wide open. She sputtered and stammered, cheeks going red. Eventually she slid back over to her spot, crossing her hooves and looking away. She was quiet for a long time. 
“Hey,” said Luna at last, “I thought we were joking around with each other. I’m sorry if I worded that in a way that made it seem at your expense.” She got no response for a moment. “I was… having a good time.” 
Pinkie slumped over onto her side and splayed out onto her back. All her limbs were limp. Especially the new ones. “No, I’m sorry I snapped at you. I’ve just been getting upset way more easily since… well, you know.” 
Luna didn’t want to let her go just yet. She thought back to that moment in the bakery, about not needing her pity. So that’s what that had been. Would that she had done more for her. For now, she had to find a way to change the subject, quick. “The um… wings are an interesting… choice?” 
Pinkie lifted one, turning the little opposable claw. She mused at how the pale membrane let a surprising amount of light through. She lifted her hoof and traced the new veins she didn’t have before. Following it along, she felt the fine layer of white hair on the appendage itself. “You don’t think they’re too much? I mean, I had to be able to fly because it makes things more dramatic, right? And I thought about the bat wings you had in your… Nightmare form…” 
Luna gestured for her to keep going. “O-oh, and the transformation of the jacket was a great way to introduce them.” 
Pinkie sat up gripped at her knees. “I’m being such a copycat, aren’t I? I bet they’re calling me ‘Nightmare Pinkie’ back in Ponyville and everything. I’m even only flying as well as I am because I’m borrowing some of your memories on how.” 
“Oh.” said Luna, disconcerted. She chewed her lip. “It can show you those, can it?” 
Pinkie nodded numbly. 
Luna looked away and grimaced. Part of her wanted to push this thought away. But another realized the moment was slipping by, and Pinkie would be leaving with it. She looked back at her, her eyes pleading and forlorn. “Do you… think you could still love me? Knowing now everything I’ve done?” 
Pinkie’s head lifted from her knees. She gaped at her. Try as she might to look away, she kept turning her eyes back on her as the words began, caught in her throat, and began again. “I don’t understand, I thought we weren’t…” 
Luna slid over closer and and sat up; she placed her hoof onto Pinkie’s where she leaned back on it. “We could be again. With time.” 
Pinkie gawked down at that hoof. “Well, I…” She looked back into her eyes, wondering when the cool autumn day high up on a windy mountain had gotten so warm. “I mean, I loved you even when I knew what happened when you were at your worst. It didn’t stop me then, so… why would it stop me now?” 
Luna placed her other hoof onto Pinkie’s and yanked her over. Their blushing faces were mere inches apart. “Then fight this. Come back to us—come back to me. Shed the shadow here and now, and I’ll kiss your lips again. You can have me here, like this, as long as you like. Just fight for me.” 
Each new word set Pinkie shaking in place. She shuddered and trembled and quaked like soft, malleable clay on a potter’s wheel. Her mouth closed tight, her lips quavering. When her eyes wrenched shut, she shook her head slowly from side to side. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but you know I can’t.” 
“You can always try. You won’t lose any of my respect if you fail, just make the attempt.” Luna pat her hoof. “Please, Pinkie.” 
“I want to. I really do.” she said, strained, a bead of sweat rolling down her forhead. Then, Pinkie pushed her away and brought the frowning mask down over her face. “But of course I can’t, Luna. It just wouldn’t be satisfying if it were so easy. Duh.” 
Luna pawed the rooftop trying not to slip as she pushed up onto her hooves. She eyed an arch that leveled out for an extended window facade and shuffled over toward it as inconspicuously as she could. She kept talking to try and keep her attention. “I suppose you can’t blame a gal for trying. But fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” 
The mask smiled again. Pinkie hopped onto her hooves and spread them out. “That’s what I like to—”
Luna’s horn flashed and she fell limp onto the roof’s outcropping. Her body hit it with a thud, as though lifeless.
“—hear?” Pinkie’s stance eased in an instance as she gawked at Luna. “Huh?” 
Looking down, Luna thanked her lucky stars that her sleeping body had fallen into place exactly how she’d intended. It was a risky maneuver, considering the drop beneath them. The world was an incredibly fuzzy facsimile of the scene she’d just been gazing at with Pinkie. Turning to look at her again, however, she saw that familiar silhouette looming over her, a dark shadow that blotted out everything immediately around her. 
Luckily, its eyes were closed, focusing on the senses of the possessed as she ambled over to inspect Luna’s limp body. While she did, Luna tried every single variation of Twilight’s mixed spells for detecting—and hopefully tracking—Nightmare entities. Each one she tried by pointing directly at her then moving away to see how the feedback changed. 
One seemed to track but not detect. One detected, but didn’t track. One did neither. She grew desperate, knowing Pinkie would surely catch on soon. Another; it detected but wouldn’t track. Again. That one did neither. She grimaced. Something about the meeting of spells caused them to interfere with each other. She went again. 
Her horn lit up, detecting. When she moved it away, it dimmed, but didn’t go out. She pushed it further away, and felt the magical tugging. This was it. It detected it and could track it. A perfect experiment. Twilight would be so proud. Luna couldn’t help let out a victorious yell of: “Ah ha! I can see you!” 
Pinkie stopped prodding Luna’s body. She heard her voice coming from somewhere else, but only as though it were halfway there. It dawned on her. 
In the dream, Luna watched the shadow’s head slowly lift off of Pinkie’s, but never quite letting go. White eyes opened up, burning like stars in the dark, with thick, waxy streams of glowing tears that ran over Pinkie’s head. “And I see you too.” 
Luna gulped as she watched Pinkie hoist her sleeping body across her shoulders, balancing her precariously across her wide spanning wings. 
“Pretty sneaky, babe. But now I have some collateral.” Pinkie tipped ever so slightly. “If I drop you, do you think you can dream walk back in here fast enough? Want to find out?” 
Dream Luna watched her body begin to slip, ever so slightly, inch by inch. She had to think fast. If she darted forward, she might go ahead and toss her over. But if she didn’t act, she might not be able to wake up in time. “W-wait,” she blurted, desperate, “don’t you… want to hear about, um… about how—oh, Gilda! Yeah, don’t you want to hear how she’s holding up now that your charm has worn off?”
Pinkie paused. Both sets of eyes Luna could see grinned mischievously. “Well, you’re not wrong.” After a brief thought, Pinkie pulled Luna into a limp piggyback position. “Okay, tell me. I bet it was real good, heheh.” 
Luna let go of a held breath. She’d bought some time. Her mind raced as she relayed what Fluttershy had told her about her conversations with Rainbow and Gilda. “Erm, well, Gilda, she—you remember the grumpy griffin of course.” 
“Quit stalling.” said Nightmare Pinkie, nonplussed. 
“She, ahem, said she wants to… thank you, actually.” Luna paused when all joy left the three faces she could see, that of the shadow’s, Pinkie’s, and the mask’s. Something had apparently struck a nerve. 
“Thank me? I go all the way to three towns over where she’s been staying since summer, make her dance like a puppet on a string, and she wants to thank me?” 
“Y-yes?” Luna couldn’t feel her heart, yet she knew it was racing back in her body. 
“Psh.” She shook her heads. “I don’t believe you. What for?” 
She tapped her dream hooves together nervously. “It turns out she, um… has found quite the passion for acting. She wishes to pursue a career in it.” 
Pinkie stared at her as she processed this. Then she tossed Luna’s body down with a frustrated grunt, where it slid right back onto the arch, much to Luna’s relief. Her relief didn’t last when Pinkie started kicking this way and that, the white eyes in her halo of shadow glowing hot with anger. One of them accidentally landed her right in the gut. Her body shifted from the impact, inching closer to the ledge. 
“No, no, no!” shouted Pinkie. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! She was supposed to hate all that froufrou, stuffed shirt, fine arts nonsense. She was supposed to be mad and bitter and upset and take it out on others like she always does. Then her outburst would upset Rainbow and she’d be double ex bff’s with her, for good, ugh!” 
Not wanting to waste a good distraction, Luna dream walked back into her body. Rising with a start, her stomach stung, and she was definitely regretting all those doughnuts now. She tried to push up while Pinkie was yelling and kvetching, but it hurt. She weakly reached out. “H-hey, Pinkie. It’s okay, really. Trust me, not every plan works out, no matter how well thought through.”
Pinkie turned her furious gaze upon her. 
“Plus, double ex would be double negative. They cancel out.” She laughed meekly. 
One of Pinkie’s wings whirled out in front of her and flipped back. That baseball bat from before flew up into the air and she snatched it by the handle. Rising by her hackles, she readied a strike, coldly growling: “You asked for this.” 
Luna blinked away in a blue flash. 
Pinkie’s bat bounced back in a shower of roofing material. She looked this way and that, determined to find her. But when she lurched forward she realized, to her chagrin, she’d let her physical corpus have too many doughnuts to placate the creature. The sudden movements were a pain. Her shoulders sank, and she stowed the bat. But she knew Luna was likely somewhere she could hear her. “You win this round, babe. But no more softball. Next time, I’m playing to win.” 
Luna peered up over the far edge of the roof in time to see her fade away into shadows. She was gone. Relief sighed out of her and she slumped back down. That had been delightful right up until it wasn’t. But now she had news for Twilight. And a new idea for drawing Pinkie out. Looking back over, the box was still there. She wondered if the princesses liked doughnuts… 





“Boom, yes, nailed it, ah haha!” Twilight jerked her hoof back in a victorious nod. She headed the pack through the archives, a spring in her step. “I had a good feeling about that particular combination. Just enough detection to latch on, and just enough tracking to keep a hold of it. Oh, we’ve got her now.” 
“Easy, there, tiger.” Sunset caught up to her. “We’ve only got the first steps covered. This is the hard part.” 
Twilight waved it off. “Oh pshaw, Sunny. It’s going to be several alicorns against one nightmare. It’s in the bag.” 
Sunset watched her jaunty stride, surprised by the nickname but not hating it. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re actually excited about this.” 
“It’s the first direct contact pony kind has had with a nightmare being in who knows how long. Plus, I get to fight alongside a hero of mine and one of my best friends.” She put up her dukes and jabbed at the air a couple times. 
“I thought we talked about this hero thing.” Luna dragged her hooves along behind them. She might have kept pace, if not for the regret she was carrying. Of course, there were many actions to regret. Currently, however, it was over doughnuts. In that moment, she thought she might not ever touch one again. How thankful then, the princesses were more than glad to take them off her hooves. 
Twilight glanced back at her with a playful look. “Oh c’mon, you’ll totally be one after this. Saving Equestria, then your new hometown, even your…” She paused, hoof halfway reaching out for the gate locking off the more secretive section of the archives. “Hang on, I’m just a little confused here. Is she still your ex? The way you described what happened, it kinda sounds—” 
Luna’s sad eyes said she didn’t want to go over it again. 
Twilight chewed her lip and went to unlock the black iron gating. “Right, sorry. Not really the point.”
Sunset watched the arcane locks unlatch. She sidled up beside Luna. “Whatever she is to you, I think this could really work. I think we’re really about to save her.” Laying a hoof on her shoulder, mint eyes met azure. “If, uh, that happens, will things be okay between us? Better at least?” 
Luna considered her carefully. She tried not to wear an expression that might offend, though feeling sick to her stomach made that somewhat tricky. “I suppose I cannot blame how you acted, given your reasons. I’m certainly guilty of similar behavior.”
They followed Twilight in. Sunset asked: “Sooo?” 
“I think better is a good word for it.” Luna set a magelight for them. “Really, I’ve been meaning to thank you. Both of you, really. It has been tremendous having the two of you to count on in all of this.”
“I’d say this is the least I can do for setting that thing free.” said Sunset, nudging her. 
“And they say a burden shared is a burden lightened.” agreed Twilight. 
What she said reminded Luna of Fluttershy’s words. She grew quiet while the princess went on about how it was an exciting learning opportunity, icing on the cake. Growing solemn, Luna said: “I should have believed I could count on my other friends, though. I should have been more open and honest with them.” 
As they spilled out into the room the princesses had been using to study in, Sunset gave her an apologetic look before shrugging and saying: “I hate to say I told you so, girl. I know you don’t always think they’ll get it, you being what you are. But you owe it to them to try. And be patient when it takes them a little bit.” 
“Well,” stammered Twilight, chiming in, “I’m sure saving a good friend will be an excellent first step to mending bridges. What do you say we go over the plan to make it happen?” 
“Let’s.” said Sunset excitedly. She pulled a table nearby while Twilight set up her chalkboard. She offered Luna a seat, and she gladly took it. Anything to rest her aches. 
“The pieces are all on the table. We just need to put them to use.” Luna reached over and spread out their notes. “What did you have in mind?” 
Twilight began scratching out straight edged symbols, neatly rendered in rapid jotting motions. “We set out tomorrow morning—preferably around ten, when everyone should be awake and we can avoid errant dreams—to scour Ponyville. And the immediately surrounding province if necessary. I imagine that’s the best place to start.” 
“It is.” Luna nodded emphatically. “I have reason to believe she’s hiding somewhere in that vicinity. It’s allowed her to be close by for her elaborate stage play plan.” 
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” interjected Sunset, “was that any good?” 
“It really was, actually. Some of the actors especially were quite good at their roles, despite being amateurs.” She shook her head. “I might have enjoyed it far more, however, if it hadn’t been designed to rile me up. And, to my shame, it worked splendidly.” 
“Focus.” Twilight pointed at her. “You’re our expert dream walker. You seem to have the easiest time entering into and exiting the necessary sleep-like trance state for it. So you can bounce between as needed.” Beneath Luna’s mark on the board, she drew two symbols. A sun, and a triple Z, then connected the two by cyclical arrows. Next up was Sunset. “Sunny is our intermediate dream walker. I think we should have her stay in the dream world with the tracking spell open until we get much closer.” 
“Let’s see how this thing likes it when it can’t surprise me.” Sunset rubbed her hooves together while Twilight drew the triple Z’s under her mark. 
“I’ll carry her along. That will free Luna to lie down and get up in between checking in on her. We want to be efficient, so we can start out with hundred meter intervals.” She drew a long line on the board. “We land to check in with her for directionality, then fly for another hundred.” She drew another line, shorter this time. “Once the tracking spell has stronger feedback, we can go down to fifty meter intervals.” Another line appeared, even shorter. “Then twenty-five.” 
“Methodical. I like it.” Luna sat back and crossed her hooves, even as Twilight beamed before her. “But we need to be flexible as well. The first casualty of any skirmish is the plan itself.” 
“Once I feel feedback at a quarter as strong as you described,” said Sunset with a nod, “I’ll pull myself out of the dream walk and let you know it’s go time.” 
“That should give us just enough time to prepare.” Twilight tapped her chin, anxious but excited. “I can easily take up a support role. I know a plethora of spells for offense—long range and short—defense, illusions, empowers, disempowers—”
“I think she gets the picture, Twi.” said Sunset as appreciatively as she could. 
Luna’s face contorted ponderously. “I’ve had the most experience fighting her. I should be our frontline.” Looking over, she pointed to Sunset. “Can you be at my side, ready to ensnare her?” 
“Can do.” she told her with a confident nod. 
All that left was the role for Twilight. Luna gestured at her. “You, I am told, are quite the master of the arcane.” 
“I’m pretty good.” she said, suddenly sheepish. The mastermind orchestrating every step of the plan was seemingly gone. “But I don’t know about that.” 
“I think you should be our support, like you say. And our escape plan besides. If things go wrong, can you teleport us out of there?”
Some of her vim returned. “Oh, I’m whizz at teleporting. It’s how I save so much time. Watch this.” 
Luna and Sunset followed her around the room as she rapidly changed places, pink magic flashing again and again. When she stumbled back into her original spot, she let out a quick pant and asked: “How was that?” 
Luna gaped, eyes resting from the newfound absence of blinking pink lights. “S-spectacular. I… think this could really work.” She clicked her hooves together. “Once we capture her, it’s a simple matter of gathering the other Elements. And then…” She leaned back, shoulders going slack. “It will all finally be over.” 
The three of them softly sighed. That notion was unbelievably attractive to the three tired alicorns. Together, they briefly imagined a relaxed day without this on their plate for the first time in months. It was downright dreamy. 
First one out of the dream was Luna. Leaning forth again, far more conspiratorially, she looked at one princess, then the other. “By the by, my sister needn’t know so soon how I tested your spell, Twilight. I can’t imagine how she’d react, knowing the Nightmare was not just in her city, but that I’d brought her that close to the castle. And I’m not keen on finding out.” 
“Mum’s the word.” agreed Sunset. She was no stranger to giving the queen a little white lie. 
“Oh, also, one last piece of information I picked up on.” Luna held the back of her hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “She seems obsessed with being in control of a given situation. When she learned one of her plans hadn’t gone at all how she’d wanted, she became very irate.” She shrugged and added: “I’m not sure how we can use this just yet, but it could be useful.” 
Twilight nodded and clicked her hooves to conclude the planning. “All that’s left is a plan to get a good night’s rest.” She pointed at Luna, in as gentle and non accusatory a manner as she could manage. This was extremely difficult, considering she was royalty. “Especially for you.” 
Luna paused, midway out of her seat. “Beg pardon?” 
“We all need to be in top form tomorrow. And I don’t think a bedroll on a hardwood floor will do that for you.” Twilight gave a curt nod, very sure of this. 
“I can’t exactly sleep in my bed, at the moment.” she told the princess. “My window was broken and my wall burned in the fight with Pinkie.” 
Sunset arched a brow. “You were a little dodgy on the details for the start of that. How did all that happen?” 
Luna’s mouth went tight. She tried to hold back an answer, but Sunset’s stare was persistent. “Let’s call it getting caught up in the heat of the moment.” 
Sunset turned the other way and threw her hooves up. “Say no more. I don’t need those details.” 
“Regardless,” cut in Twilight before Luna could bristle and bluster, “I know how you can have a very comfy bed for an excellent night’s sleep.” 
She blinked at her a moment. Slowly, Luna asked: “Okay? What did you have in mind?” 
“I propose a guest room here in the castle.” 
Before Luna could protest, Sunset chimed in: “Plus, it would mean the three of us would all be in the same place. It would make prepping for tomorrow go smoother and quicker. We could even readjust our plans on the fly if something new comes up.” 
She glanced from princess to princess, confounded and defeated. “Okay. Alright.” 
Twilight hopped in place, seemingly giddy it had worked. “The queen will be so pleased to hear this.” 
Now it was Sunset’s turn to show consternation. “Hold on, isn’t she entertaining the griffin queen tonight? I thought that’s why Cadance was here.” 
“I’m sure her grace Conradine would just love to hear about some of Luna’s exploits.” She walked by for the exit, excitedly muttering: “Score. Two birds fed with one scone.” 
Looking to Sunset, she only got a shake of the head and a shrug, every bit as confused as she was. Luna grimaced, wondering what she’d just been roped into. Then she frowned, hating it. And so she sighed, resigning herself to her fate. “Give a little to get a little, I suppose.”