Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all sat around the map table in the castle, talking about random things, playing games and doing other stuff. It had been a pretty slow week around Ponyville, with few issues to solve and nothing else better to do.
Suddenly the map came alive, and transparent versions of the Elements started spinning around Canterlot Castle. The six ponies noticed this almost immediately.
“Uh, Twilight, your map is glowin’ again,” Applejack said in her characteristic country drawl.
“Oooo! A new friendship mission, where’s it at?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing over to where the elements indicated.
The rest of the ponies gathered around the table, watching their elements orbit the Canterlot Castle.
“It’s coming from Canterlot, you think that’s an issue? I mean what if the Princesses are under a threat or something?” Rainbow Dash said to Twilight.
“I don’t know what’s going on girls, but I think we ought to go check it out,” Twilight said. “Hopefully it’s just a non-issue.”
“Well let’s get going!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced over to the door leading out of the room. The rest of the group followed behind, making sure to grab their elements.
After all, they didn’t know what they were up against.
Celestia was walking with a pair of dignitaries down the hallway towards her throne room. They had requested a tour of the castle after a short meeting, and she was happy to oblige.
Celestia opened the doors to the throne room, and let the two dignitaries in, before walking into the room herself and shutting the door. Immediately, she noticed the very tall and pitch black alicorn sat on her throne, and that the dignitaries had fainted.
“Good afternoon, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon said curtly. “I see your friends have fainted at the sight of me, glad to know I’m still feared far and wide,” she added with a grin.
“What have you done to Luna?” Celestia asked sternly.
“Oh she’s fine, she’s currently…preoccupied,” Nightmare Moon responded.
Celestia charged up her horn, but felt her magic dissipate. She looked up at Nightmare Moon in anger.
“Don’t even try that, Celestia,” the pitch black alicorn said from across the room. “Now, I’m content to sit here and wait for Twilight and her friends to come and banish me again, so if you’ll just hang tight and summon them here with their little map table, that would be great.”
“Don’t move,” Celestia said, a confused expression on her face as she exited the room.
“I didn’t have any intentions of doing so in the first place,” Nightmare Moon retorted.
Fifteen minutes later, Celestia stepped into the throne room with Twilight and her friends, each wearing their respective element.
Nightmare Moon immediately noticed Twilight’s wings. “Congratulations on your wings, Twilight Sparkle,” she said sarcastically, while clapping her hooves together slowly. “And Celestia, I still cannot believe you need to call in other ponies to do your dirty work. Aren’t you supposed to be super powerful or something?” She added.
“See what I mean, Twilight? She’s gotten more sarcastic since the last time we saw her,” Celestia said.
“I don’t think we’ll need the elements to defeat her,” Twilight responded. “I have an idea.” Celestia and Twilight spoke a bit longer, while the other ponies kept an eye on Nightmare Moon.
Finally, Twilight was ready to put her plan into action. Stepping forward, she approached Nightmare Moon. “So, it just so happens that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And it just so happens Celestia is hosting a special feast for my friends and I,” she said with a gleam in her eye.
“Where are you going with this?” Nightmare Moon asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You are going to join us. Honestly we feel bad you’ve been banished for so long, so we’re giving you a bit of time to think, eat a nice meal and get some real rest, before we decide what we’ll actually do with you,” Twilight said with a smile.
“And what is the purpose of this ‘Thanksgiving’?” Nightmare Moon asked, clearly concerned.
Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared next to her, and Nightmare Moon flinched, causing snickers to come from Celestia and the other ponies in the room, including the dignitaries who had regained consciousness.
“It’s basically where ponies get together over a big feast and talk about what they’re thankful for! Usually it’s between friends and family, however you’re neither of those things so we’re making an exception for you to join in!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. “Maybe you’ll become a friend!”
Nightmare Moon’s eyes went wide. “No, no, nonononononono! Nooooooooooooooo!”
This only caused more laughter from the ponies in the throne room.
“Come along Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, motioning for her to follow her. “We’re going to give you a room to stay in for your time here.”
Nightmare Moon sighed, and reluctantly got up and followed Celestia down the hall, Twilight and her friends still snickering.
The day of the feast arrived, and Celestia closed down the main dining area in preparation for the feast. Using a spell, she soundproofed the walls, just in case things got out of hand.
She had told her cooks to make not just standard fruits and vegetables, but also a whole turkey for the occasion. Celestia had a good feeling Nightmare Moon would be unlikely to eat only squash and grain, and would probably complain about it.
This feast was to be as enjoyable as possible, in order to minimize conflict and prevent their guest from going crazy.
At 3:30 PM, Twilight and her friends entered the dining hall, and took up seats around the table. Celestia instructed them to not touch the seat she set aside for Nightmare Moon, and they complied.
Finally, Nightmare Moon entered the dining hall, closing the door behind her. She had a neutral expression, and took the only open seat at the end of the table.
Sitting there, she observed the other ponies talking, but made no effort to join in, instead closing her eyes and listening, waiting for the food to come.
Twilight noticed that Nightmare Moon had clocked out, and realized they weren’t doing what they set out to do in the first place, so she motioned for silence.
“Nightmare Moon, you can’t just not interact with anypony,” Twilight said to her.
Nightmare Moon opened an eye and looked back at her. “Well you ought to say something to me first. Not keen on starting conversations with my enemies,” she replied.
“Today we are not enemies, we will cooperate as friends. That’s a part of Thanksgiving, isn’t it?” Celestia chimed in. “And if you want to be difficult I can banish you right now.”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Nightmare Moon said quickly.
Just at that moment, the cooks entered with the food, setting platters of various vegetables and fruits on the table. The last cook cautiously approached Nightmare Moon with a nondescript silver platter, and placed it in front of her. When he removed the lid, the smell of a perfectly cooked turkey entered the room.
Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened, and she turned to Celestia. “You didn’t have to do this! We’re enemies, you’re supposed to loathe me and hate me with your entire being! Why would you serve me something like this?”
“Again, we are not enemies today,” Celestia said with a smile.
Nightmare Moon looked at the cook who had served her the turkey, and nodded a silent thanks to him.
“Well girls, let’s dig in!” Applejack said, and the rest of them nodded in agreement.
As they ate, Nightmare Moon couldn’t believe their generosity and kindness towards her. She had almost plunged the world into eternal night twice, and yet here they are, serving her turkey that no other pony would eat.
She would’ve eaten the food regardless, but it was still nice to know that they thought of her.
After their meal had concluded, the ponies decided to talk some more. All except for Nightmare Moon, who had nothing to say to anypony. That was until Rainbow Dash asked her a question.
“So Nightmare Moon, heard you were banished for a thousand years,” she said.
“That’s true, yes.”
“What was it like up there on the moon?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Suddenly a wave of emotion enveloped Nightmare Moon. She remembered her time up there, how all of her life had been spent living on the moon, and how terrible it was. A tear fell from her cheek, then another, before she started sobbing.
“Oh it was horrible! At times I wanted to die, other times I wanted to come back to Equestria and hug my sister and tell her I’m sorry, and other times I wanted to kill her,” Nightmare Moon cried. “You have no idea how thankful I am to be in Equestria right now instead of that stupid sphere of rock!”
Upon those words leaving her mouth, the room fell silent, apart from Nightmare Moon’s tears.
“So ya hate the moon?” Applejack asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes! I hate it! I never want to go there again! I never want to see it again!” Nightmare Moon said angrily, slamming her armored hoof on the table.
Every pony in the room looked at her with wide eyes. To most of them, including Celestia, Nightmare Moon saying she hated the moon was a massive surprise.
“Well…maybe I don’t not want to ever see it again, but I don’t want to go back there,” Nightmare Moon added. “You must understand that one thousand years of banishment takes a massive toll on your mental state.”
“You said you were thankful for something, what was it?” Twilight asked
“I’m thankful to be here instead of on the moon,” Nightmare Moon replied, somewhat confused.
Twilight looked at Celestia and smiled. Celestia nodded back in agreement. Their plan had succeeded.
It was late, Twilight and her friends had left, leaving Celestia and Nightmare Moon in the dining hall. Celestia somehow had three pies, and Nightmare Moon had been served a chocolate cake.
“Celestia, I never knew you had such a sweet tooth,” Nightmare Moon said with a chuckle, sipping on some wine.
“That’s right, you never did figure it out,” Celestia said with a sigh. “You know we never really had a chance to talk, Twilight and her friends defeated you before I got the chance.”
“Well you talked to Luna, what did she say?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“Nothing I didn’t already know. Luna said your memories were hard to access,” Celestia responded.
“The moon is a cold, dark place. A thousand years of banishment turned me insane, I wanted to die, kill you and say sorry all at once,” Nightmare Moon said, taking another sip of wine. “So when Twilight came to banish me again, it really made me mad, hence me breaking away and coming back for a third time. Just couldn’t take the strain on my mental health.”
“So that’s why you didn’t do anything this time?” Celestia asked.
“Yes, I had a feeling that if I didn’t do anything, I’d be let off easier. And don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad, but I’m less mad now that I’ve eaten and had a good laugh with you, Twilight, and her friends,” Nightmare Moon said with a chuckle.
The two sat in silence for a while, and ate their desserts, lost in thought.
“I’ve been thinking about what to do with you, since you can’t stay here and all…” Celestia paused, as she noticed Nightmare Moon frowning. “But, Twilight suggested we send you to a special place of your own creation, where you can do anything you want, and even come visit us every so often,” Celestia said.
“Now that does sound intriguing,” Nightmare Moon said with a smile. She activated her magic, creating a small hologram on the table. The hologram displayed a large castle in a valley, with a river running near it. “Think I could make this?”
“As I said before, it’s your own creation. You can do whatever,” Celestia said, standing up.
The dark alicorn took a moment to think about her future. “Thank you, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon said. “I’m grateful for your kindness, even after all the stuff I did to you.”
“You’ve got a day left here, make it count,” Celestia said with a smile as she walked out of the room. “Happy Thanksgiving, Nightmare Moon.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon replied.
Nightmare Moon’s final day in Equestria came and went without an issue. She took a long walk through the Canterlot gardens, visited the Castle of the Two Sisters, and enjoyed herself.
At last, her time to leave arrived, with Twilight and her friends entering her room with Celestia.
“Well, Nightmare Moon, I guess it’s time for you to go,” Twilight said to her.
“I really enjoyed my time here. Glad I’m not going back to the moon,” Nightmare Moon said with a chuckle.
“We thought it would be best if you didn’t suffer any longer,” Twilight added. “Celestia, you ready?”
Celestia nodded, and the two activated their magic. A rift opened in the room, and beyond the rift was a river valley. Nightmare Moon took a glance at her new home, and decided she was ready.
Looking on at the other ponies in the room, she sighed, walked forward, and disappeared through the portal. Celestia and Twilight stopped the spell, and the rift faded away.
“You know, she wasn’t as bad as I remember,” Rarity said.
“She was actually kinda nice to be around,” Rainbow Dash added. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.
“And her story of what she did while she was banished made me really sad!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, starting to cry.
“It’s okay Pinkie,” Fluttershy soothed.
“So Twilight, what are you thankful for?” Celestia asked. “You never answered yesterday.”
“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said calmly. This brought gasps from her friends.
“Hear me out, girls. She brought us together, challenged us, and showed us how to use elements. We have a lot to owe to her, even if she did a lot of things that weren’t good,” Twilight said to the rest of the group.
“That’s an interesting way of thinking, Twilight, but I don’t doubt you,” Celestia said. “Though I wonder what Luna would think of that.”
Twilight and her friends laughed as they walked out of the castle and into the night. As they exited, they thought about what Nightmare Moon had done. Sure, she had almost succeeded in bringing about eternal night twice, but if that hadn’t happened, where would Equestria be? What strange turn of events would’ve happened without her?
Just at that moment, Luna appeared next to Celestia in a black cloud.
“Where have I been, sister?” She asked Celestia.
Celestia chuckled. “Nightmare Moon said you were ‘preoccupied’.”
“How long was I gone?” Luna asked, panicked.
“About three days. Nightmare Moon left ten minutes ago,” Celestia responded.
Out of the corner of her eye, Luna noticed Twilight and her friends walking away. “I’m going to talk to Twilight,” she said. With one flap of her wings, she was rocketing away from Celestia, calling out Twilight’s name. Celestia couldn’t help but smile and laugh.