//------------------------------//
// Chapter Three: Accommodation 
// Story: From Dat Place to Dis Place 
// by Elric of Melnipony 
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	Celestia woke up. "Thank you, Luna."

Luna was sitting on her haunches on the opposite side of the room, just inside the open double doors to the balcony, staring off into the distance. Now that her connection to the magic of their world had been restored, she was regaining her former stature. Also, her mane was looking less like hair and starting to once again resemble a dark nebula swirling in the heart of the night sky.

She responded wordlessly. "Hmm?"

Celestia got out of her bed. Her own mane looked the same as it had every day since receiving her cutie mark so many centuries ago: like the auroras on display in the sky in the polar regions of their world, and many other Earths besides. The eldest of Equestria's three princesses hadn't experienced bed-head since childhood.

She walked over to Luna and placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder, a hoof that was not at that time clad in her royal golden shoes. "Thank you for showing me that creature's dreams, sister. It confirms everything I've suspected, and validates what I've been doing for many years now."

Tears were making their way down Luna's cheek, but she refused to acknowledge them. "So much anger... at everything, and at nothing. So much hate." She tilted her head back and would have been looking at the ceiling if she hadn't closed her eyes. "He is as we were within the Nightmare. Nay, worse." She moved her head to the opposite extreme and opened her eyes, looking down at the floor. "I was. He is as I was within the Nightmare."

Celestia's hoof moved up and began rubbing the back of her neck. "That was Nightmare Moon. She became part of you, but she wasn't you. This is my sweet sister; this is the Luna I love, and who loves me."

Luna nodded and wiped her face with the back of one hoof before leaning against her big sister. "But how didst thou..." She trailed off, shook her head, and started over. "How did you know? Without dream-walking to tell you what is truly within them, how could you learn what was in their hearts?"

"They showed us," Celestia said quietly. "Whoever sends these beings here robs them of energy to power the transfer, so they always arrive unconscious. The first ones to come here were always unnoticed when they arrived, but when they awoke, they would always head for the nearest city, town, or village. Once there, they always did their best to terrorize our little ponies, not realizing that they were just as powerless as before."

"So they waved about their mummers' props, thinking they had been imbued with vast magical power for no reason save satisfying their deranged wishes? What did they whence it was discovered otherwise?"

"Some broke mentally and went catatonic. Others tried violence without the benefit of these imagined abilities, but they were always quickly subdued by earth pony strength, pegasus swiftness, or unicorn magic. Others tried to kill themselves but were also restrained."

Luna pulled away from her sister and turned to face her. "Thou -- nay, you -- said 'the first ones'. And after? When more of these things arrived?"

"Sister, try to recall your connection to the Element of Kindness. These are beings, not things." Celestia spoke gently but firmly. "From what we learned by interviewing the initial subjects, most of the trouble with them is from them seeing other beings as things. Some of them, not many, have shallow conenctions with others and call them friends, but none of them truly understand the magic of friendship." She looked out the balcony doors herself, taking in the beauty of the night sky before continuing. "Honestly, I think that's why they're sent here. Not to learn, because they've shown they can't do that. I think they're sent here so that other worlds can simply get rid of them."

"I consider myself corrected, sister. That answers not my question. The other beings who arrived after the initial attempted rampages?"

Celestia looked back at her sister. "After I learned to recognize the magical signature of the planar breaches, I began teaching the more promising students of my school how to detect it, as well as many alumni who volunteered to return for one more class. Unicorns all over Equestria now know how to tell when these beings have crossed over, and where to find them. We simply locate them, make certain they remain asleep, and take them to one of the care facilities that have been established."

Luna's eyes widened. "'Facilities', plural? How many of these creatures have been exiled here?"

"Hundreds."

"And... you never thought of simply... killing them?"

"Of course I thought about it, Luna. I think about all sorts of things. Remember when we were little and you accused me of thinking about things too much?"

Luna eyes lost their focus as she looked into the memories of their distant past. One corner of her mouth quirked upward. "I do. There is something of you in your young protégé Twilight Sparkle, I think."

Celestia smiled broadly, a playful gleam in her eyes. "How do you think I knew she was special?"

Luna reached out a hoof and lightly smacked her sister on the shoulder in the universal sign for "Oh, you!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. In addition to two of Celestia's guards flanking the door, there was a member of the newly reinstated Night Guard standing between them and looking expectant. He bowed low, saluted with both a hoof and one bat-like wing, gave appropriate greetings, and declined the offer to enter the royal chambers. Protocol satisfied, he gave the royal sisters a brief verbal summary, then retrieved a sheaf of documents from his saddle bag. He left after Celestia took the report in her magical grip and Luna formally dismissed him.

The stack of papers detailed how the latest human intruder had been found, magically sedated, and was at that very moment being transported to a comfortable, caring place where he would spend the rest of his life. On top of them was a picture, a close-up image of the once-troubled human's sleeping face.

Celestia levitated the photo, holding it up between herself and her sister. "Anyway, Luna, look how happy he is."

"True. And judging by his dreams, possibly for the first time in his life."

"Exactly. And he's young; based on our best estimates, he'll live for decades until our doctors can do no more for him, and he'll be this happy his entire life. The perpetual dream is everything he wants."

Luna looked thoughtful. "You not only protect our ponies, but you give these disturbed creatures a great gift as well."

"I like to think so, sister. The first exiles, the ones who remained coherent, spoke at length about their twisted desires for endless death and destruction. This one's dreams told us all that and more. But anypony -- any being -- can kill. That's not difficult at all. Showing compassion? That's much harder."

There was silence for several long moments.

"I feel sorry for them," said Luna softly.

Celestia sighed. "As do I, sister. As do I."