Twilight shook her head as coming to, not exactly sure what happened, only that she was trapped behind the doors she sought to open. She wondered how long she'd been out, or even when she lost consciousness, but first thing was first, she brought herself to her hooves, standing slowly. She headed to the door, reaching out with one hoof as to push, but remembered it was far too much for her, or any pony, to move. Immediately, she gathered her thoughts, focusing her energies into her horn to force it open again, when a voice called out from behind her. "That won't work again, little one."
Twilight turned around to face the source, Nightmare Moon standing at the opposite end of the chamber. Now that she had a clear view, she could see a mural of the night sky on the ceiling, numerous etched pillars holding it up with stained glass windows all around. This room was pristine, not touched at all by the ages. Twilight pushed her questions about the chamber behind her, stepping forth to her foe.
"Why am I here?" Twilight asked plainly. "If you wanted to stop us, all you had to do was keep the door closed."
"Perceptive, aren't you?" Nightmare Moon laughed. "No, I did not wish to keep you out. Your little spell was actually quite impressive, simple as it was. I wanted to know more of the unicorn who could manage it." Twilight swallowed emptily as Nightmare Moon stepped in closer. Her smoky mane billowed in wind that came from nowhere, her eyes pierced into Twilight's soul, it seemed, and her superior size made it all complete. Despite her pride, she couldn't help being intimidated; this was an Alicorn, thousands of years old, likely having forgotten more about magic than she would ever learn. Nightmare Moon smiled wickedly, stopping after a certain point. "You are right. Your own prowess is as nothing, compared to my own. Even your simple thoughts are an open book to me."
"And you wanted to gloat some more?" Twilight did her best to put on a brave face, standing firmly in place. Not that she had anywhere to go.
"Glass houses, little foal," Nightmare Moon turned her head, glaring at Twilight out of the corner of her eye. "You are no stranger to pride, either. Ever since you were enrolled in school, you've sought recognition for your superior abilities. Surely, after your years of rejection, you would wish to celebrate your accomplishments."
"I..." Twilight bit her lip, dropping her head. Soon after, she fell to the floor again, cradling her chin in her hooves. "I've wanted acknowledgement for a long time. Nopony understands, I can't help that they aren't up to my level."
"And now that you're here," Nightmare Moon took another step closer, "In front of your better, you feel so insignificant."
"Like none of it even matters," Twilight forced back a tear.
"Oh, but it does. You have much more to offer than those tiny ponies in Ponyville or Canterlot could ever imagine. I can show you. I have access to untold secrets, the likes of which you will never find anywhere in Equestria." Nightmare Moon accentuated her claim, producing a tome from thin air and presenting it to Twilight. The cover opened, showing her diagrams of things she never dreamed to comprehend. Other worlds like Equestria, distant yet familiar danced on the pages, only for it to close again. Nightmare Moon relinquished the volume, where it vanished into her mane as though never there at all. "All you have to do is ask."
Twilight looked up in wonder, taking in the alicorn's visage again. She was even closer now, but the unicorn didn't edge away. "Ask what?" She questioned, showing doubt in her captor's sincerity.
"For my guidance, of course," The dark being before Twilight chuckled. "I could make great use of a pony with your talents at my side. Far more than Celestia ever gave you credit for." Twilight winced at that mention. Everything she'd done to impress, nothing ever seemed good enough for the princess. She was always overlooked, in favor of another who couldn't even use magic. 'Why did she even open the School for Gifted Unicorns if she wasn't going to acknowledge its brightest student?' Twilight thought in frustration. Nightmare Moon took another step, lowering her head to better meet Twilight's gaze. "You can do better than that silly school. Surrounded by peers and self-appointed 'superiors' who couldn't handle your greatness. I could show you--"
"I've always been better on my own," Twilight got the nerve to interrupt. The black alicorn was visibly surprised, not a small gesture for one who had been reading her mind this entire time. Twilight slowly stood again, facing Nightmare Moon directly. "No teacher could ever give me the guidance I sought. What makes you any different from them?"
"Pride," Nightmare Moon scoffed, "Is a grand trait. There are lessons that cannot be put to words, and I offer them to you."
"Why?" Twilight inquired more forcibly. "With all your power, you have nothing to gain in indulging me."
"Except for your power, added to mine." The tension in the air grew, another step forward from the alicorn. "It is a better offer than those 'wizards' in Canterlot ever gave you. Turned away at every door, all because you sought results." Twilight shook her head, inching a little closer herself. The condescending leers of school and the days afterward echoed in her mind, she pushed them back as this opportunity arose.
"I just don't know," Twilight spoke again. "What kind of world is it, that has no sun? How will everypony survive without its light?"
"Is that what's stopping you? The lives of other ponies?" Nightmare Moon seemed rather amused, finding the concept quaint. "The same ponies who laughed at your expense not an hour ago? The ones who left you alone in your time of need?"
"Answer the question!" Twilight demanded, growing more angered by these jabs. For a moment, it seemed she had forgotten who she was talking to. Her dark mistress edged ever-closer, seeming all too entertained by this show of backbone.
"If I must. It all seems so hopeless to you, because you cannot imagine a sunless world. In the absense of a natural resource... life will find a way." That phrase struck Twilight, as she recalled earlier those same words.
"I suppose it will," Twilight smiled at last. Her eyes grew more confident, facing Nightmare Moon in this way. "But how will the world see me, having turned my back on everypony in it?"
"You've never been one to linger on reputation, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon laughed, another step still taken. "You don't need anypony else, as long as you are at my side."
Suddenly, Twilight stepped back, a little surprised. A thought occurred to her, and there was silence. Nightmare Moon didn't respond to it, which left her even more curious. "Why are you so insistent about this? What do you really have to gain from me?" It was the alicorn's turn to back away, shocked even, by this question. She had no answer for this question, and this steeled Twilight's resolve as she strode up herself. "We both know you don't need my magic, anything I can do, you're better than I am. Why would you reach out to anypony at all?"
"Silence, foal!" Nightmare Moon flapped her wings, forming a barrer of wind around herself to keep Twilight back. Her resolve destroyed, the alicorn was visibly angered, but Twilight was sure she saw more than that. "I did not escape the cold moon to be lectured by a peon who cannot accept a gift!"
"Gift?" Twilight tilted her head aside. She looked past her captor a moment, the Elements of Harmony sitting behind her. "Seems to me you've taken more than you've given."
"I have only taken what was due to me!" Nightmare Moon's voice cracked in that exclamation. It was Twilight's turn to hit a nerve, it seemed. "My sister had everything, given to her before I! I was every bit as deserving..."
"And you had plenty, Princess Luna," Twilight spoke out a name only known to ancient texts. "You each shared a world, two sides of the same coin. Like..." She paused again, hesitant to use the term. "Day and night. You harp on the cruelty I faced, but you have a different problem, don't you?"
"Quiet!" Nightmare moon cried out, driving herself even further back. The vortex she shielded herself with faltered, Twilight stepping through the wind unharmed, closer than the two had been in this exchange. "You know nothing! Only what you've read in books..."
"You were right about one thing," Twilight smirked, recalling what she'd been through, and how alien it all was. "I have a lot to learn, but not from you. The ponies I traveled with showed me solutions to problems I'd never have come to on my own."
"Those same ponies who aren't here for you now?" Nightmare Moon grasped at whatever straw she could find, but Twilight's confident stare told her it wasn't enough. Twilight's horn sparked to life, not even looking back as the doors sealed behind her opened wide, with hardly any resistance. The others poured in, all taking different sides, looking on in awe at not Nightmare Moon, but Twilight, whose eyes seemed to be glowing.
"You mean these ponies?" She smiled, not in any cocky way, but a pleasant one, moving in again. "I've been alone for a long time, but now I know I don't have to. What about you, Luna?" The others stared on, but Fluttershy touched down beside her first. Facing Nightmare Moon, the fear she felt before faded away to pity, soon to be replaced by a knowing smile. One of the Elements hovered above the floor, shattering into uncounted pieces, flying around the yellow pegasus, forming an unusual necklace. She didn't seem to notice, striding right up to Nightmare Moon, leaning on one of her forelegs.
"It's okay," Fluttershy spoke softly. "We all get lonely sometimes." Twilight thought to comment on how simplistic her grasp of the situation was, but as the alicorn stared down at this invader of her personal space, surprised and a little panicked, she knew it was as good as any other impression. Rarity soon followed, not being quite so forward, but one could see that same pleasant approach in her eye. Another of the Elements shot out, as she was adorned with a gem-encrusted garb of her own.
"That's right," Rarity said calmly. "But no sacrifice is too great, for those we care about." Rainbow Dash was the next to come closer, setting down next to Twilight, glancing back to her with a smirk. All that anger she built up faded away in the face of her companion, and she turned back to their quarry. Once again, another orb broke apart and headed for her, producing similar results.
"No matter how difficult," She added simply to Rarity's statement. "We'll always be there." "Pink." looked between all of them, ending on Nightmare Moon as she strode inward. Her expression flat as always, they were nonetheless greeted with an encore from yet another Element.
"Because even in our darkest hours," "Pink." spoke plainly, "We can find a way to smile together." Twilight looked at her again, her own smile widening; she couldn't help it, something just clicked right then. Finally, Jacqueline moved alongside Twilight on her opposite side from "Pink.". The last of the spheres broke out as she spoke, joining with her existing necklace.
"You just need to be honest when you have a problem," She offered, "And you don't have to face it alone." All of these ponies surrounding her, Nightmare Moon broke down herself, quivering all over as she backed herself into a corner. It was Twilight's turn again, she reasoned, approaching the confused and scared alicorn. She didn't have any words of wisdom anymore, she just held one hoof out expectantly. Nightmare Moon stared on, hesitating at first, but she soon did the same, joining with Twilight's. All at once, a spark of energy emitted from that little contact, twisting and twirling around them both. On impulse, Nightmare Moon reached around Twilight in an embrace, a light engulfing them from within, her shadowy mane and tail seeming to fade away first, the two lost in a blinding radiance.
For a moment, all was silent, serene, even, as the light dissipated around the two at the center of the disturbance. When all was cleared, Nightmare Moon was no more. In her place was a smaller alicorn possessing a grayish blue coat, her mane and tail in a luxurious blue. She pulled away slowly from Twilight, staring down at her with a soft smile, laden with a weak smile. There were no words, but Twilight returned in kind, slowly releasing as well. Finally, the alicorn looked to the others, still staring in awe, at which point she pulled away, some residual sadness and fear overtaking her. They moved closer, their shocked expressions dropping, to be replaced with more pleasant smiles, which gave her the strength to give that much back.
A new light emerged from high above, this one even brighter, as a white alicorn with a rainbow mane descended below. Twilight was the first to look, noting the mural on the ceiling had gone, leaving Princess Celestia in its place. She looked down over the ponies one and all in quiet judgement for a moment, before approaching the scene herself. "Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, "Pink.", Jacqueline Apple," She rattled off names, giving each of them a nod along the way. "You've done Equestria a great service this night, but now that night must end. Princess Luna." The smaller alicorn flinched a little, turning her head as if expecting the worst. "I have not seen you like this in one thousand years. I have but one question to ask of you."
"Yes?" Luna looked up, in fear it seemed, of her elder. Celestia smiled at this humble response, closing her eyes for but a moment.
"Will you join me in Canterlot, so we might rule together once more?" Celestia's question rang true to her target, and Luna rushed up to her with a whole-hearted hug. Celestia returned the gesture without hesitation, nuzzling her nose against Luna's neck reassuringly. Luna did her best to choke out some kind of apology, anything that would convey her regret, but Celestia would hear none of it. "It's alright, sister. We can start again."
"Pink." watched on in this scene, a single tear forming on her cheek as her lips quivered briefly. A smile finally broke as she looked on, Which she would assure would never be seen again in her mind, in case anyone was still peeking. Jacqueline joined her side, playfully punching her shoulder, as she'd had done to her before. "Let's go home," She suggested, leading the way through the doors again. It was a long walk back, but everypony knew everything would be just fine now.