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// The Court is Now in Session 
// Story: A Better Place, A Better Time 
// by Mental_Zero 
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		I arrived at Canterlot Castle some time around 3 in the morning, and was stopped by a pair of Night Guards at the gates. Neither seemed particularly phased by my sudden appearance, and looked at me steadily,
"State your business." I returned the look,
"I request a meeting with Princess Luna, it is of the utmost importance."
The larger one looked at me skeptically, "What is the nature of this meeting?"
I quickly glanced around for other guards, "I cannot say, but it is extremely important that I see Princess Luna immediately." They crossed their lances in front of me, blocking the doorway. I looked at the larger one, "I apologize for my curtness, but this very much concerns the safety of Equestria, possibly the entire planet. If I felt I could tell you without there being an issue, I would, Night Guard, but I cannot, this information is exclusively for the Princesses. Now, I wish no harm upon you, but I am not afraid of forcing my way in if you two persist in attempting to keep me out of the castle, so I will ask one last time. Let, me, in." My voice had dropped to a near-demonic growl with those last few words, and I saw the Night Guard's stonewall expression waver for a split second. After a moment of consideration, he nodded slightly and moved out of the way, his colleague doing the same.
"Thank you. I again do apologize for my curtness. Have a pleasant evening."

It seemed luck was in my favor at the moment, as the throne room where the Night Court was held was completely empty, save for Luna and her small cadre of guards. She brightened up once she saw me, I'd guess if only at the prospect of an escape from the boredom of sitting alone in a throne room for hours on end,
"Greetings, Ryan, we understand that you requested to meet with us."
I bowed to her, "That is correct, Luna. I come with rather disturbing news that I wish to discuss with you..." I glanced at the guards, "...alone, if you may."
Each guard cast a brief glare at me, and after a few seconds, Luna spoke up again, "Very well. Guards, leave us for the time being." They all exited the throne room silently, closing the door behind them. Luna looked at me, "Judging by your tone, Ryan, it would perhaps be better if we discussed these matters in my quarters."
I nodded, "Probably."
She lead me down the winding hallways to her room, and I must say on a brief side note, most of the artwork people back home ever saw of the personal quarters of the Princesses did not do it justice. Merely being in the room made my mind feel more at ease, able to process my thoughts more clearly, it's an unreal experience. Anyway, once we were in, she pulled out two chairs and placed them across from each other, "Please, sit." I quietly obliged and she climbed into her own chair, "Now then, what, precisely, is this news you bring?"
I took a breath and told her everything I told Twilight, along with the few details I spared from telling her. Once I was done, she began pacing, looking to be a mix of seriousness and anxiety, "This is very unsettling news indeed, Ryan."
I looked at her, "Which is why I came to you, Luna. You dealt with the Nightmare for over a millennium, you seemed a reasonable source for advice on how to approach this situation."
She stopped pacing and looked back at me, her face trying to hide more than a bit of shame, "Yes, but our experience with the Nightmare was not like yours seems to be. We allowed our jealousy and anger towards our sister warp us, and the Nightmare tricked us into letting it in of our own free will. We will tell you what we can, but it may be less than what you hoped for."
I nodded thoughtfully, "Very well. Regardless, tell me all that you can."
She composed herself a moment and got back onto her chair, "The most important thing you must know is that the Nightmare is a master of deception and persuasion. It will attempt to trick you, lie to you, convince you that those around you are your enemies. Keep this in mind and it will give you a considerable advantage over its main strengths. That being said, it also wields great power, and while it may prefer to use more subtle tactics, it is not above simply forcing its way into the mind of any individual that it cannot deceive. But hopefully, and with my mother's blessing, this knowledge and the additional mental fortitude provided by your assistants should keep the Nightmare at bay for a short while. Your actions must be quick, decisive, and absolute, or it will simply overwhelm you with its will."
I listened intently, already feeling Fail and Safe beginning to prepare psychological defenses, "Is there anything more that you can do to assist me?"
She shook her head, "Under other circumstances, I would suggest calling upon the Elements of Harmony, as they have defeated the Nightmare once before. But, considering what you have told us about this Evil, it would be too high of a risk of losing the Elements. We are unable to directly intervene, either. The Nightmare knows us and our weaknesses. If given the chance it could force its way back into our mind, and..." She shuddered ever so slightly, "...we would prefer to not endure that experience again. We are sorry, Ryan."
I inclined my head to her, "It is alright, Luna, the information you've already given me should be very helpful in taking him on. Though I do have one last question: Would it not be unreasonable to assume that the Nightmare, and possibly Evil, are currently based in the Castle of the Two Sisters?"
She blinked, "How do you know of the Castle?"
I shrugged, "I do my history homework."
She nodded slightly, "Yes, that would indeed be a reasonable conclusion. Why, do you intend to take them on directly?"
I gave her a knowing grin, "Perhaps, perhaps not. Have a pleasant evening, Luna."
She looked at me for a moment, then nodded, "To you as well, Ryan."

I was maybe a mile away from Canterlot when Safe decided to speak up,
"Boss, we have some good news, some bad news, some really bad news, and some horrifyingly bad news."
I landed in a clearing and straightened myself out,
"Alright, let's hear it. From best to worst, please."
He appeared on my shoulder, "The good news is that we've located Evil. The bad news is that it seems he's taken a body as his own."
I nodded slightly, "Do you know whose body?"
Fail appeared on my other shoulder,
"Remember that copy you gave to Luna so she could get out of Night Court duty? That one. That's what that random splitting headache we had a few weeks back was. That's the really bad news."
I cursed under my breath, "And the horrifyingly bad news?"
They both disappeared, "He's been in Canterlot all night tonight."
For a few seconds I stood there in silence, processing. Then, once it clicked, I could hear my heart hammering like a drum. "Oh god...shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" I took off and flew back towards Canterlot, faster than I ever could hope to achieve any other day.

But, even with all my speed, I was far too late getting back to Canterlot Castle, as evidenced by the fact that as soon as Luna caught sight of me, she plucked me out of the air and slammed me down into the ground with the force of a falling comet. I laid there in agony, desperately trying to recover from suddenly having every bone in my body turned to powder at the same time, and she walked up to me, eyes blazing white with rage,
"WHERE HAS THOU TAKEN OUR SISTER?" I tried to form words, but I was too dazed and broken to make anything better than a pitiful croak. I could hear Fail and Safe yelling back and forth, I think they were trying to get me back up to functioning capacity. Luna pulled me in very close, to the point where my nose nearly touched her muzzle, and she spoke to me in one of the most terrifying tones any being capable of speech can perform; cold, quiet, righteous fury,
"Thou hast made a grave mistake with thine actions on this night." The last thing I saw before everything went black was the brilliant light fading from her eyes, replaced by betrayed, hateful tears. That, and the smaller Night Guard from earlier flashing me a knowing grin.