> Nightmare's Dream
>  by Tinyweasels
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Nightmare's Dream 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Nightmare's Dream  
By TinyWeasels



Nightmare Moon was shattered, physically and mentally. Her parts were scattered all around the dais of the Castle of the Sisters. She raged in impotent wrath at the world and all life in it.

In the abyss of her shattered existence she became aware of a light, a hated burning light she knew all too well. Then she became aware of another sensation—completeness, like her brokenness was being put back together. She knew there was only one being capable of such a thing and her rage only grew. The ruined castle came into focus and she turned her head to look at her body; she saw her pieces coming together like a jigsaw puzzle. She turned back and faced her most hated enemy, Celestia.

"Why have you summoned me, betrayer?" Nightmare Moon demanded, her horn flashing with rage.

Celestia only looked at her with sadness. "Nightmare Moon, have you gained no understanding or wisdom from anything that's happened to you?"

"It is you who took from me everything! The world is mine by right. It was I who was the more powerful, I who was destined to rule!"

"Your rule would have been nothing but bloodshed and suffering and ultimate doom for all of Equestria. What I did was save the world from you."

Nightmare Moon's horn glowed with fury and she tried to summon her magic to strike Celestia down.

In response, Celestia sighed and Nightmare Moon found herself changing again. Her normal shape suddenly crushed down into a night-blue ball that rolled across the floor to Celestia. Celestia raised a hoof and pressed against the sphere.

Nightmare Moon began to feel fear, knowing that should Celestia will it, she'd be snuffed out of existence with just a flick of her hoof.

"Nightmare Moon, you can't imagine how tempted I am right now to end your life. The suffering you caused my dear Luna and I, the suffering of all of Equestria when you turned her against me. Even the desire to make you suffer for what you've done."

Nightmare Moon gave a mental sigh of relief when she felt Celestia remove her hoof. She knew the weak foal was too soft to do what needed to be done. She just needed to bide her time; she just had to survive this encounter to…

"…this encounter to rise and overthrow her," Celestia said, completing Nightmare Moon's thought. "I was little more than a filly when I battled you last, Nightmare Moon. I've had a thousand years of study and understanding to work with since we last met, while you are exactly the same as you were then. I could have destroyed you easily when you returned, but dared not lest I hurt Luna. I knew the Elements of Harmony could cut her free of you, but sadly your taint remained on her spirit, despite the best efforts of the Elements. You were a part of Luna, a sickness, one that has been surgically removed. But still… part of her. Were I to destroy you, she would survive, but there would be an unfillable emptiness in her."

"Ha! Foalish nag, even now it is I who still has power. Wound me and you wound her. You are stalemated again, dear sister!" she sneered.

"Do not presume to call me sister!" Celestia snarled, her eyes and horn blazing. Nightmare Moon cowed in silence. Celestia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. In a few moments her usual serenity returned.

"In the months since your defeat I have thought long and hard about what to do with you. Surely there had to be a way to free Luna from you."

"There is no way, Celestia! Your only choices are to kill me or to banish me yet again. Either way will allow me vengeance, to make you both suffer," Nightmare Moon replied smugly.

However, Nightmare Moon wasn't expecting Celestia to laugh at her threat. It was almost good natured, yet with a hint of mockery. "Nightmare Moon, your powers were always grand and violent. Always charging horn first at things and look where it has gotten you. Your very existence hangs by a thread this day. You are wrong. There is a third way and it is surprisingly fitting, yet at the same time I find myself loathe to do it, as it gives you a better fate than you deserve for your crimes. However, I will allow it for Luna's sake."  

Celestia's horn started to glow again. "Nightmare Moon, you wanted to shroud the entire world in eternal night, to unleash suffering and death upon all Equestria with no regard for anyone or anything, to crush the ungrateful mortals under your hooves until they worshiped you as a goddess."

"Yes, and it would have all come to pass if not for you!"

Celestia didn't respond. Instead her eyes and horn began to glow brighter and

Nightmare Moon felt herself changing yet again. Her body changed and grew from the ball on the floor. She didn't quite understand what was happening to her; this was like no magic she'd encountered before, but her instincts were honed enough to know when the right moment to attack arrived. She watched and waited, her attention more on Celestia's state than her own. She knew her own life wasn't in danger, so it didn't matter what Celestia was doing. She just had to wait. Her senses began to get muddled and her head hurt. She tried to shake it off, keeping all her focus on the moment to strike. Her size began to change. Either that or Celestia was getting taller. Suddenly all was right and clear in Nightmare Moon's mind.

Celestia gave an exhausted sigh and the glow faded from her horn. Nightmare Moon summoned all her rage and power and struck out—but nothing happened. She took up a fighting stance, head out and horn pointed at her mortal enemy to unleash all that was within her.

Celestia only looked down at her with an almost kindly smile.

"What have you done to my magic!" Nightmare Moon shouted, between anger and panic.

"Foalish girl. Earth ponies have no magic," Celestia said gently.
Nightmare Moon's eyes went wide.  She was now the size of mere Earth Pony of dark black color with a light blue mane and—she raised a hoof to her head and found no horn.

"No! You-you can't.. can't do this to me, you've made me…" Nightmare Moon sputtered.

"I have made you mortal, Nightmare Moon. You now are a different being than what you were before. Now you bear the burden of mortality, just like the ponies you so despise."

"What do you hope to accomplish with this abominable act?"

"Your bond to Luna reflects the darkness in your heart, and as long as you remained what you were, she would always be tormented by that. Now I have given her a chance to heal by taking away your enchanted nature. When you were once a part of Luna, you were a fragment of a being, incomplete; the few emotions you possessed were all negative ones, yet deep within you now resides a shadow of Luna, for your spirit was mingled so long with hers. For the sake of that part of Luna in you, you are now complete. You have free will, a heart and mind of your own, all as yet unpoisoned."

The immensity of what Celestia had inflicted on her was driving her to near madness. Her senses and awareness were overwhelmed by the horrors of mortality. She could feel her cells dying, her every breath, each beat of her heart—a new heart racing with sheer terror. She began to lose herself.

"Make it stop! Take it away!" she threw herself at Celestia's hooves, clinging to them desperately.

"Despite how it may seem, Nightmare Moon, I take no pleasure in any of this. You have been given a second chance, you who deserve it least. There are many much more worthy than you of such a blessing, who will never get it. I command you to live in the world you would have destroyed. To learn, to feel, to experience and come to understand the lives of the ponies that you would have exterminated. Understand what it is to be alive."

Celestia looked down into those desperate eyes but steeled herself. "You will experience want and loss, hunger and fulfillment. You have no magic, no authority; you are no one and nothing in this world. But also, you have no history. You don't even have a cutie mark of your own. Nightmare Moon, you are a blank slate."

"You lie! The world trembled in fear of me! You know the fear of those ponies at my return!"

"Nightmare Moon, even after your return you are still considered mythology. Yes, you terrified the residents of Ponyville, but who was there? A few hundred residents and my personal guard witnessed your grand return and heard your threats for a few minutes. Then you vanished and several hours later the sun rose as it always had and life went on as normal. Your return made as much a ripple in Equestria as a pebble dropped into the ocean. The world will only remember the surprise that Princess Celestia has a sister. The rock and roll band "Nightmare Moon" is more feared than you are.

Suddenly a number of objects appeared on Nightmare Moon.
"To make the transition a little easier, I gift these to you. The saddlebags have several days' worth of food and water, a blanket, a hat and 500 bits. With that you must build your own life, Nightmare Moon. If you can prove to me you are more than the sum of your past misdeeds or just an aberration of thought, then I may show mercy and give you a new form. Do not abuse this most precious gift, for even my patience has limits," Celestia said, gravely leaning down to face the cowering Earth pony.

"I will be watching, Nightmare Moon, always. Maybe, even one such as you will come to understand the very powers that were your undoing. Learn the lessons of the Elements:  Kindness, loyalty, honesty, laughter, generosity and magic. The most important lesson, my little pony: Friendship is magic. Come with me. Your journey begins now."

Nightmare Moon tried to resist but was compelled to follow, unable to even voice her protests. Once they were a fair distance from the ruins, Celestia stopped and turned to face the ruinous castle.

"This was where Luna and I were born, yet your actions left not only it but the whole forest cursed. It was a place of almost supernatural beauty that you poisoned and twisted."  Celestia's horn glowed once again and ground began to shake and split open. Nightmare Moon was knocked to the ground by the force of the quake as she watched the castle crumble. The ground opened up and swallowed the ruins, then closed up and vegetation regrew until there was no trace of the castle.

"I wish you luck, Nightmare Moon, for Luna's sake," Celestia said, as she vanished in a blinding flash of light.

> Chapter 2-Alone and Afraid
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alone and Afraid

Nightmare Moon stood alone among the trees of the forest. Not only was her name dimly recalled mythology, now the castle where the biggest events of her life had occurred was erased from existence.

She looked around the small clearing where she now stood, a rage that defied description welling up within her. With all her fury she threw off the saddlebags Celestia had given her and stomped them, smashing their contents and scattering it all around the clearing. Then she lashed out with greater violence, bucking wildly, kicking trees, rocks and the ground as she snarled and cursed.

Hours passed—how many she didn't know—but she didn't stop until the strange stabbing sensations all over her body forced her to stop. She staggered and fell to the ground, her mouth open, almost inarticulate with pain. Hooves, joints and muscles ached from the abuse of her rage.

She clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth, cursing Celestia and every pony that had ever lived and those yet unborn. When the pain had subsided enough, she struggled to her hooves and looked around at the mess in the clearing. The sun was setting. Her night would soon begin. She'd be in her element. She smiled, already plotting the many ways she'd destroy Celestia and Luna and those worthless vermin in Ponyville that had stopped her.

She took a single step and the pain that shot though her made her stop. She sat to rest more, now cursing the frail mortal body she was trapped in. When she heard the crash of thunder she looked up just in time to see rain begin to fall.

"Curse you, Celestia! This is your doing!" she snarled, shaking a hoof at the clouds. "Do your worst. You will never break me!" she shouted, looking up defiantly at the darkening clouds as the rain grew more intense.

The rain drenched her but she refused to move. She wasn't sure how long it lasted; her perception of the passage of time was now very confused due to her inferior mortal awareness. The storm ended, leaving her sitting sopping wet and shivering in a puddle of mud.

When the clouds finally cleared she saw the moon. Her moon. Still shivering from the cold, she stood on shaky legs and bathed in the moonlight, taking some small comfort.

She felt a burning sensation inside her. It wasn't rage or hate or pain, as she first thought. This one was different, like a hunger, and it took her several minutes to realize it was physical hunger. She was Nightmare Moon, who fed on the cosmic forces of the universe, not the pitiful refuse mortals ate! By sheer force of will, she tried to overcome the desire, but soon her stomach began to growl.

Again cursing her mortal frailty, she turned to the pitch black forest around her with a sinister smile. This forest was her world, not Celestia's. She had forged this in her own gloriously dark image.

"Creatures of darkness, your mistress calls to you. Come to me, my pets, I command you! Bring me nourishment for this feeble mortal shell! " she shouted into the darkness.
She waited, but there was no response to her commands. She repeated her demand, but still only silence greeted her.

"I created you, you ungrateful wretches. How dare you defy me!" she shouted in outrage. The response from the forest was a chorus of unearthly howls and cries from all around her. The mortal pony's instincts started taking over, and she had to fight hard against the urge of flight.

Fortunately, the strange noises quieted down after a little while and regular sounds of the forest returned. She found she was still shivering, partly from fear and partly from the chill of the rains and the greater chill that night brought. Having spent a thousand years on the moon, she couldn't understand how she could be vulnerable to any cold that existed on Equestria.

When it became clear that no help was coming, she looked at the scattered and now damp food Celestia had left for her. The burning inside her was growing more acute and she was sorely tempted to eat, but her pride overruled her hunger and she turned away. She was going to survive and she'd spit Celestia's pity back in her face.

She looked up at her moon, again comforted at its sight and the feel of the moonlight on her face.  She closed her eyes and concentrated. She was the Mare of the Moon, mistress of the night. She reached out with her woefully diminished perceptions, trying to touch the cosmic realm she once could control, but she flailed around in utter darkness, totally separated from the power that had given her life. Not even a flicker of her old powers remained. She truly had nothing. Refusing to give up, she strove harder, striving to touch her old self. In her mind's eye she finally pushed past the veil and saw Luna sitting on the grand throne of the night, the throne she herself had briefly ruled all of Equestria from. Luna stared back at Nightmare Moon silently.

The horrors of her mortal existence making her more contrite than she'd have been otherwise, Nightmare Moon approached Luna.

"Take me back, Luna, I beg you. It can still all be ours," she pleaded.

"I advise you embrace the gift Celestia has given you, Nightmare Moon, for it is a far better thing than you deserve," Luna replied softly.

Then Luna shook her head and her horn glowed. Nightmare Moon's eyes snapped open as even that fragile tether to Luna was severed and she was violently returned to the mortal world.

"The Moon is mine, foal! The night is my kingdom!" she raged, now cursing Luna instead of Celestia. A terror gripped her as she gradually became aware of her total isolation. Without Luna she was alone. Never in her existence had she ever been truly alone before. She huddled in the clearing, eyes darting around into the ominous forest.

As the night grew darker it began to dawn on her that this mortal body had no power over the darkness. The only way she could see was in her little clearing filled with moonlight; anything beyond that was pitch darkness that even she, the mare of the moon, could not see into. The strange and vaguely threatening noises of the forest made a tremble of fear run through her. The forest had a thousand years to grow wild and untamed, spawning who knew what new horrors in her absence.

Nightmare Moon knew space and cosmic and magical realms beyond imagining, but she knew almost nothing about the mortal world. In spite of her fear, the growing, gnawing hunger dominated her thoughts. She knew mortals had to eat to survive, but of the things they ate she neither knew nor cared about. What she did know was that they ate things that grew from the ground. She looked around, seeing the wild plants in her clearing.
She hesitantly leaned down toward the grass, but then turned her head away. She refused to eat like a common animal. She'd show Celestia that she was made of sterner stuff. She'd never be broken. She sat up stoically, face toward the sky, still defiant. Shivering and hungry, she'd never back down.

Suddenly there was a buzzing around her. She saw a frightening looking beetle hovering in front of her. She put out her arm and it landed on it.

"Ah, at least one of my minions recalls who-OW!" she cried out as the beetle bit her and flew off.

The pain was intense and she looked down and saw dark fluid running from the small wound. It couldn't be venom; there was too much of it. It must be coming from her body, but what would mortals have—her eyes went wide in terror as she realized it was blood. Blood, the very essence of mortal existence and it was draining from her! The terror she felt was greater than anything she could imagine possible, overwhelming her meager mortal sensibilities, paralyzing her with fear as she watched her life's blood flow.

A minute or so passed as the small wound stopped bleeding and it wasn't until several minutes later that she even dared to move again. She clutched the wound, looking around fearfully at the forest, wondering what other horrors were out there waiting for her.

The night she so loved had turned against her.

> Chapter 3-Strangers in the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strangers in the Night

The night terrors Nightmare Moon had created now toyed with her, preyed on her fear as she had intended them to prey on all mortals.

Just outside the moonlit clearing she could hear things lurking and at times she'd see malicious glowing eyes staring back at her.

She grit her teeth, regaining control of her emotions. She was Nightmare Moon, mistress of the night. She feared nothing. She looked back contemptuously at the creatures in the darkness, however, as the night continued, the sounds grew more menacing and her mask of bravado quickly wore away.

She could hear the creatures out there, but none dared enter the clearing. As time dragged on, she found it harder and harder to concentrate, the pain from physical fatigue, hunger and the insect bite keeping her in a constant state of discomfort. Despite that, she found her eyelids growing heavier and her head nodded and she woke with a start.

She had nearly fallen asleep, the greatest of all terrors, the nightly death that afflicts all mortals, leaving their bodies helpless and feeble minds at the mercy of their dreams.  

For hour after seemingly endless hour she fought against sleep, refusing to give in. The night seemed to last forever, the things in the forest never letting up their torment. Some part of her mind endlessly visualized the horrible things making the otherworldly noises she heard and her imagination made them more and more unspeakable.

How was it possible to be this afraid for so long? Surely there had to come a point when she could no longer feel fear, but each new sound drove her deeper,she was near hysterics when the first light of dawn began to tint the sky.

When the light touched the clearing, the creatures retreated and the sounds of nature ruled once more.

Nightmare Moon looked up at the sky, seeing the breaking dawn and for an instant felt relief. But her weary mind and body rebelled—was she so weak that she'd given into Celestia's manipulation so easily? She just needed to get away from the forest. In the daylight she could admit to herself that filling the forest with monsters wasn't a wise decision. With effort she stood, her body protesting its prolonged mistreatment, but she ignored the pain and began walking.

She had to force her body to take each step, a weary, staggering gait. Not caring where her hooves took her. Only one thing mattered now. Get out. Out of her forest. She trudged on, wanting most desperately to be free.

Fatigue took its toll. The black pony frequently stumbled as her body cried out for rest and nourishment. Eventually the trees began to thin out and the oppressive feel grew lighter. Through gaps in the trees she could see grasslands in the distance and she found herself glad.

As she neared the edge of the clearing a strange scent met her nose, something wondrous, enticing and almost hypnotic. She followed it, not sure why a smell could cause a mortal body to react so. She followed it until it led to an enclosed cart that sat on the side of the road. Strangely, in a bridle in front of the cart was a pony clearly made of wood.

She went up to the cart, found the back door slightly ajar, and pushed the door open. Clearly someone used it to live in, and despite being a traveling home, it was very meticulously maintained. She began rummaging around trying to find the source of the scent, all the while cursing her clumsy hooves and dearly wishing for the return of her magical powers.

Unable to find the source inside the trailer she went back outside and finally found the source of the wonderful aroma.

Over a small fire was a pot with some thick fluid-like substance bubbling. It was from that concoction the smell emanated. She guessed from her body's reaction to the aroma that the contents must be food and the look and smell was very appetizing.

She stuck her nose in the pot to eat then she paused a moment, her mind processing a new sensation. She screamed, pulling her nose out of the hot soup and swearing and kicking wildly in a rage. She bucked over the wooden stand that held the soup, spilling the contents of the pot all over the ground and now splashing some on herself, making her even angrier. As she thrashed about, she lashed out at the wooden pony at the front of the cart, breaking it.

"Who dares molest the goods of the Great and Powerful Trixie?" An outraged voice demanded.

Enraged and cursing, Nightmare Moon turned to the light blue unicorn, who wore a cape and hat of dark blue, covered with stars.

"You will rue this day, nag, for Nightmare Moon will be avenged!" she snarled.

Trixie looked at her for a few moments and then laughed at her. This enraged Nightmare Moon more. She charged at Trixie, kicking wildly, only to find herself lifted into the air and thrown around like a rag doll.

"Yes, of course you're Nightmare Moon. I should have realized that the moment I detected your complete and utter lack of magical powers or even a cutie mark. The Great and Powerful Trixie is not amused by your antics. You ransack my home, ruin my meal and then break my walking horse? Nightmare Moon indeed! You are nothing but a common thief and vandal. Though perhaps uncommon, as you seem to even be inept at that."

"Put me down, mortal, or I shall smite you!"

Trixie made an overly exaggerated yawn and covered her mouth politely with a hoof.

"As terrified as I am of your awesome lack of powers, there is the matter of the destruction you caused," Trixie said, releasing Nightmare Moon and letting her crash to the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

Nightmare Moon struggled to her feet and tried to charge at Trixie again, but a rope snaked around her legs and bound them, causing her to stumble. She strained against the ropes, again snarling and cursing.

"Oh my, again with such language. You offend my delicate ears."  A rope appeared and wrapped around Nightmare Moon's muzzle, binding it shut. Nightmare Moon grit her teeth, the intense burning sensation from the hot soup on her muzzle making the pressure from the rope agonizingly intense. She could feel moisture leaking from her eyes in reaction to the pain and she worried she was bleeding again. She opened her eyes and was relieved to see only water droplets running down her cheeks. After a few moments she felt the rope around her muzzle loosen a little bit.

"Who are you and what are you doing out here?" Trixie demanded.

"I am Nightmare Moon and I have been cursed by Celestia with this pathetic mortal form," she sneered.

"Alright, more specifically, what were you doing here at my cart?"

"I require sustenance for this weak body and yours looked and smelled pleasing."

"So you just thought you could take what you wanted?"

"I am Nightmare Moon. I am the true ruler of Equestria!"

"Then, true ruler of Equestria, you spilled my food and broke my things?"

"Release me, mortal, your queen commands it!" she shouted.

"Princess Celestia is our 'queen'," Trixie said, making quote marks in the air with her hooves. "And if that's any indication as to how you'd run things, then it's not surprising she's the one in charge rather than you."

This infuriated Nightmare Moon and she began ranting about Celestia. In response, Trixie tightened the rope around her muzzle again.

Trixie turned away from Nightmare Moon and began examining the damage to her possessions.

"Well, nothing's broken inside the cart and the meal was fairly inexpensive. But the walking horse, the one thing I can't rebuild myself, is the one thing you break.  That took a great deal of time and resources to acquire and your foalish behavior ruined it. I'll need to have an expert repair it."

The broken wooden pony then shrank down to miniature size and levitated over to Trixie, whose hat raised up and the wooden pony disappeared inside. Her attention now turned to Nightmare Moon, an evil grin on her face.

Trixie lifted the bound Nightmare Moon and set her down, her head in the now cold soup spilled in the grass.

"You have ruined my meal, so enjoy it. Eat up, you will need your strength," she said, turning away.

Being so close to the food, the smell in her nostrils and her terrible gnawing hunger finally won out. Nightmare Moon reluctantly began eating, grass and all. She didn't care; she just had to make the hunger go away, unable to bear it a moment longer.

Though she would be loath to admit it, she took strange satisfaction from the process of eating. She continued eating until the pain of emptiness was replaced with the pain of having eaten too much. Again she cursed the vagaries of the mortal body.

Having eaten her fill and stuck lying down brought her new concerns. The fatigue she had fought against fell on her anew. Her eyelids began to close.

"You must release me! Slumber is trying to overtake me!" she said, nearly in panic.

"So sleep."  

"I must not sleep. I will dream!" she said, her panic doubled in her voice.
The rope around her muzzle bound tight, sealing her mouth closed.

Trixie walked over to her, her horn glowing.

"You are of no use to me weary, so sleep!" she commanded and Nightmare Moon could feel the magical forces trying to overtake her will. She fought mightily against the power, but her weakened state couldn't resist for long and soon she slept.

> Chapter 4-An Unexpected Kindness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightmare's Nightmare, a Fireside Story and Unexpected Kindness

When Nightmare Moon was aware again, she found herself standing in the throne room of the opulent palace-temple she had constructed for herself over the thousand years of her imprisonment on the moon. A structure she was going to bring to Equestria, one she was sure would dwarf any structure ever created by ponykind.

A dark misty form began to materialize on the throne. It was her old self, her true form and it looked down at her with contempt.

"You have failed me, Nightmare Moon," it said, its voice wavering and shifting.

"And you have failed me," she replied to the phantom.

"You have lost us everything. You have reduced us to eating off the ground like an animal. Stealing just to eat. You are pathetic. A worthless construct, existing only out of Celestia's pity. As helpless and vulnerable as a newborn. Do you feel the weariness in your bones? How does it feel to grow older, knowing that one day there shall be an end to you, knowing every tick of the clock brings you closer to the grave?"

"Why have you turned on me? We are one! How can I afflict myself?"

"Nightmare Moon, we are a tormentor and you have robbed me of my prize. You are all that is left to me, the only one under my woefully diminished power. When you wake you are beyond my influence, but here in your dreams, I am still queen."

Nightmare Moon found herself engulfed in a whirlwind of despair and emptiness as the phantom tormented her. Despair ate away at her as she died a thousand nightmarish deaths.
Amid the horrors she became aware of a distant voice, each word illuminating the darkness like a beacon of light and she desperately reached out for it.

"Night, wake up!" Trixie called.

Nightmare Moon's body convulsed as her eyes opened and she let out a cry of anguish, her heart pounding and chest heaving.

"Good gracious! When you said you were afraid of your dreams, I thought you were exaggerating. Are you alright?" Trixie asked, clearly worried.

"As long as I do not dream, I am well," she moved and found herself now free of ropes, but bound in another way. "What is this you have put on me?"

"A harness. As you broke my walking horse, you are going to earn your keep and pull my cart until I get it fixed."

The weariness and horror of her dreams immediately faded in the face of this newest indignity.

"How dare you demand the mistress of the night do the work of a draft animal, you…" her protest was cut off by a rope around her muzzle. A moment later she felt herself being levitated off the ground and moved to the front of the cart where she was bound to it. She glared back at Trixie.

"Night, if you're smart you'll swallow your pride and pay for what you did as quick as possible. Then again, you can fight me every inch of the way and make things a hundred times worse. The choice is yours. Either way, let us be on our way. You have delayed me far too long already."

Nightmare Moon ignored her command, turning away from her and refusing to budge. There was a loud cracking sound and Nightmare Moon felt a stabbing pain across her flank.

"Fine. So be it, we'll do this the hard way. Hyah, mule!' Trixie shouted and struck with the whip again.

Nightmare Moon turned back, her anger boiling over. Trixie levitated the whip threateningly and Nightmare Moon turned away, snarling and mumbling curses as she threw her weight against the bonds and the cart slowly creaked into action.

"See, if you had simply done what I asked, you could have avoided all that."
Nightmare Moon's muffled curses were the only reply.

The past ruler of Equestria suffered through all manner of yesterday's aches and pains, but even she had to admit there had to be some magic at work—the cart was not as heavy as it would appear and the toil not as strenuous as she expected. But that in no way cooled her anger at having to bear the load. She, the mistress of the night, Queen of the Moon, was pulling a cart after having been accused of being a common thief.

She trudged on, cursing the heat and garish light of the bright sunny day. As if in response to her thought, something hovered onto her head, shielding her eyes.

"This will make things a bit easier on you, Night," Trixie said, levitating a hat identical to hers on to Nightmare Moon's head. Nightmare Moon snorted and shook it off, giving Trixie an angry look.

"Why so obstinate? It's a hot day with a bright sun, yet you'd spite yourself even the comfort of a hat."

They traveled on a while longer, Nightmare Moon cursing Celestia in her heart as the sweat ran down her brow from the heat. Trixie would have her stop to rest time to time throughout the day and into the evening.

"Enough, Night. We will stop here and make camp," Trixie said.

Nightmare Moon gladly turned off to the side of the road, pulling up the cart underneath a large tree. She slumped to the ground, grateful to finally be off her hooves. The hat levitated again and landed in front of her.

"I want you to wear it, Night," Trixie said, now more of an order than a request. She loosened the rope around Nightmare Moon's muzzle.
Nightmare Moon snorted.

"I do not need your pity, mortal."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not without compassion and in spite of what you have done, I've been trying to make this as easy as I can. But if you continue to fight me, nothing good will come of it. I have no obligation to treat you kindly. If you were really Nightmare Moon, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

Nightmare Moon just glared at the laughing Trixie and turned away. Shortly a bowl of water levitated in front of her.

"You have refused food and water all this time. You must at least be thirsty after that, or are you too proud to even drink water?"

Thirst had been clawing at her dry throat, but she had refused to show her weakness to the unicorn. After having given in to the craving for food earlier, she decided there was little point in refusing water and she began drinking.

She watched jealously as Trixie used her magic to gather up some wood and start a fire and begin preparing a meal. Nightmare Moon envied those magical powers as she rubbed the spot on her forehead where her horn had been.

"I hunger," she admitted.

"Nature has provided its bounty all around you. Eat to your heart's content," Trixie replied, gesturing to the grassy meadow around them, not looking up from the meal she prepared for herself.

Nightmare Moon looked from the meal Trixie was preparing to the grass and wildflowers around her and muttered a few choice words about Trixie under her breath. As she ate, she took a few steps and was surprised she was beyond the normal distance from the cart the bridle normally allowed. Curious, she took a few more steps before being stopped at about ten feet.

"How long must I suffer this indignity?" she demanded.

"Tomorrow we'll arrive in the village of Clocksburro, and I'll do a show there," Trixie said, a map popping into view in front of her. "Then we take the Great Celestial Road East and hopefully meet up with the Queenlion, Fatestorm & Smith's Carnival of Wonder. They're finishing up in Hoofington. Once we meet up with the circus, and if all goes well I'll call your debt paid and you'll be free to go; if things don't work out, well, then we may be on the road for a while."

Nightmare Moon snarled and stomped her hooves.

"Grin and bear it, Night. You have no one to blame but yourself for your current circumstance."

"Celestia is mocking me. It was she who sent you to torment me."

"It was lunch that put me where I was, and it was you destroying my possessions that created your torment. Don't blame her majesty."

Nightmare Moon grumbled and resumed eating. As night began to fall, she started to feel uneasy as the shadows lengthened and the forest around them grew dark, vividly recalling the horrors of the previous night.

This could not be happening—she, the mistress of the night, was finding herself afraid of her very own element. She turned and stared at the fire, finding something strangely comforting in its brightness and welcoming warmth. She sat near it, craving the illumination driving away the darkness that was engulfing them.

Trixie joined her by the fire. "What is your story, Night? How did you end up in the Everfree Forest? You are well spoken, yet you look almost feral and act like you've never met another pony in your life."

"Why do you insist calling me 'Night?' You know my true name."

"Yes, of course. How could I have forgotten," Trixie replied, rolling her eyes. "You were defeated by Celestia and cursed with mortal life just yesterday. It's not been a good day for you it seems. So, if I understand my mythology right, Nightmare Moon was Celestia's sister; but Luna is her sister, so that means you're Luna?"

"Yes. I was the part of Luna that made her great! It was I who was destined to rule all of Equestria! It was she who fought me when it was all within my grasp, who let it all slip away. She was too weak."

"I recall Nightmare Moon wanting to shroud the world in eternal night."

"Yes."

"You do realize the whole food chain is based on sunlight. No sun means there'd be no warmth, no food and very quickly no ponies. Your master plan would have left you alone as the sole inhabitant of a dead frozen rock. How was that going to do anything for you?"

"I would have kept a remnant of ponykind alive by my powers. They would never be allowed to forget that every beat of their heart and every breath they took was a gift to them, one that could be taken away at any moment. They would exist at my sufferance and never forget who was their goddess. I would sit on the throne that was stolen from me by Celestia."

"Yes, Celestia, that wicked tyrant who's forced all of Equestria to endure unprecedented peace and prosperity for centuries, who cares for all the people with motherly affection, great patience and good humor."

Nightmare Moon stared at Trixie with an air of righteous indignation.

"It has been custom from time immemorial that when more than one was heir to the throne of the stars that the most powerful would rule. Equestria was mine by right! Celestia knew that at first and accepted it. It was my night that gave the mortals rest from their burdens, the peace of sleep. Celestia's day brought them nothing but toil and endless burdens. It was me they should have loved, not her, the ungrateful wretches!"

Trixie had become more engrossed in the story, now turning her full attention to Nightmare Moon. "Interesting, then what happened?"

"Celestia didn't even care about their love. All she did was spend her days locked away in the castle with her books. She left all the work to me, only showing herself long enough to raise and lower the sun. She'd never even met the mortals who loved her so dearly.

"It was only when I had my fill of them that I, Nightmare Moon, was born. Luna had all she could bear and set me free. I showed the mortals my true power and they grew without the limitations of emotions. I fought Celestia and nearly defeated her; it was only Luna rebelling against me at the crucial moment that allowed her escape."
Nightmare Moon took on a wicked smile. "The first time I fought her Celestia fled, I thought defeated for good. Her powers were no match for mine. I dismissed her as a threat and my reign of eternal night began. However, Celestia returned, having found the one weapon in all of Equestria that could defeat me: The Elements of Harmony."

"Right," Trixie said. "Honesty, loyalty—"

"You need not list them for me," Nightmare Moon said. "Celestia drove me off, banishing me to the moon for a thousand years. I returned and too late I discovered that it was she who had arranged my escape, who brought all the Elements of Harmony together in one place. She had led me by the hoof right into her trap."

Nightmare Moon felt a strange heaviness in her chest as she talked about the events of that night. "All for the sake of rescuing Luna from me. They took her from me. They stole a part of me."

"Quite the remarkable tale, Night," Trixie said, her expression one of amusement, for clearly she didn't believe a word of the story. Nightmare Moon was too weary even to muster anger at this point.

Her body ached from the exertion of the journey and knew tomorrow would be more of the same. One more thought forced her to speak.

"What does the world know of Luna?"

In response, Trixie levitated a gold coin over to Nightmare Moon and it hovered at eye level for her to see in the firelight. On one side was the profile of Celestia, her sun mark, and around the image were the symbols of the Elements of Harmony. On the other side of the coin was Luna in profile, along with her crescent moon symbol, also showing the Elements. The way the coin was designed, it was clear that neither side was meant to be the front or back; both sides were equal. On each side of the coin was the inscription "May the sisters reign in peace for the good of all Equestria forever."

"On the day of Luna's return, Celestia transformed all the coins of the realm to show Luna. As for what the people have heard, the story goes that she was held captive on the moon for a thousand years by Nightmare Moon until she was rescued by the Elements of Harmony," Trixie explained.

"Lies. Luna *was* Nightmare Moon and she was prisoner there by Celestia's doing." She sulked, looking at the fire. "Celestia knows all her power is built on a stolen crown. Why do you think she calls herself 'Princess' rather than 'Queen'? She knows she is not worthy to bear the title."

"So she, who has absolute power over the entire world and even the forces that govern the planet itself for more than a thousand years, who could have demanded that her subjects address her by any lofty title she desired, instead chose the humble title of Princess. I must say, your little story makes me think even more highly of her than I had before," Trixie replied, still amused.

It was not until Trixie began making things appear in the air and creating colorful images in the sky that Nightmare Moon's curiosity forced her to speak again.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just thinking of tomorrow's show."

The side of Trixie's cart suddenly dropped down into a stage with curtains and strange decorations and musical instruments. Trixie hopped up on stage.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, prepare to be amazed by the Great and Powerful Trixie!" she said, standing upright and conjuring wondrous things as she practiced her act for an audience of one.

Nightmare Moon watched silently, amazed that a unicorn with so modest a level of magic would call herself "great and powerful". Then again, compared to the power she once had, all unicorns were weak and pathetic. A part of her wanted to put Trixie in her place, to mock her feeble displays of power, but then she recalled the bridle and more reluctantly, the whip. She grew angry with herself. Had she become afraid of the wrath of a mortal unicorn?

She looked up from the performance to the moon and like a knife in her heart, it suddenly dawned on her that she hadn't raised the moon. It was no longer her moon. It was Luna's, forever lost to her now. The night now existed as a time of sleep and, unfortunately, of dreams. Her purpose, her talent, her cutie mark, taken from her.

What was to become of the Queen of the Moon if she did not have the moon?

She quietly watched the rest of the show, studying Trixie's act. While she no longer had magic of her own, she still knew the methods and techniques and thought she'd have made a useful minion to the old Nightmare Moon. If Trixie had been one of the Elements of Harmony she tempted that night, things probably would have turned out very differently.

"And I think that wraps it up!" Trixie said, interrupting Nightmare Moon's self-pity. "What did you think?"

"Your act was diverting amusement."

"Well, thank you for that round of indifference," Trixie replied, a bit of humor in her voice.

"I am weary. I need to rest."

"Yes, it is getting late. It's a long haul to Clocksburro, so we'll need to start early if we're to make it there by dusk."

Nightmare Moon sighed, in no way looking forward to another day of meaningless and demeaning toil. A blanket levitated over to her from inside the cart.

"Goodnight, Night. Do try to sleep well," Trixie said as she entered the back of the cart and closed the door.

Nightmare moon wrapped the blanket around herself as she huddled by the fire, trying to fight the sleep that was creeping up on her.

She fought as long as she could, but soon the horrors descended upon her again. Her phantom self and her evil creations fed off her growing mortal weakness, missing no opportunity to mock her. The fresh memory of her story gave them new fuel to torment her with, reminding her how close she had come to victory, forcing her to relive her great defeat over and over. And they took particular relish in tormenting her for her fear of Trixie's power.

Slowly she became aware of a strange cold sensation that seemed to supersede her torment. She woke with a violent start from the chill of rain. The fire had gone out. She and her blanket were soaked. The soaked black pony looked around for cover and sighed when she saw the only dry place was under the cart. Grumbling again, she crawled under the cart, wrapping the wet blanket around her and huddled shivering in the grass.

After a few minutes she heard the door to the back of the cart open.

"You may come inside, Night. There is room on the floor to sleep," Trixie said sleepily.

Nightmare Moon's mind still rang with the taunts of her inner phantom and a part of her wanted to refuse the offer of pity. But she recalled the previous chilly miserable night and started to move when she heard the door begin creaking closed.

"So be it," Trixie said.

"Wait!" she said and came around and climbed into the cart. Trixie looked up from her bed and shook her head.

"Look at you, soaked to the bone. Poor dear," she said. Her horn glowed and then so did Nightmare Moon. In seconds, she was dry.

Trixie levitated her own blanket and a pillow over to Nightmare Moon, who put aside her soaked blanket. She realized immediately the blanket she had just been given was enchanted. She quickly felt its warmth and secretly marveled at such a wondrous device—a self-heated blanket. Trixie opened a trunk and took out an older blanket and pillow and put them on her bed and climbed back in.

"Night night, Night," Trixie mumbled as she was quickly asleep again.

Nightmare Moon felt the warmth driving out the cold and relaxed. Part of her told her to be angry about this, but the comfort it provided was too enjoyable.
Once she warmed up, Nightmare Moon wondered if maybe this was her chance for freedom. Trixie was close enough now, within the range of the tether. She could be done with the unicorn and free of her spell. Not having any particular plan in mind, she tested the tether but found she was now bound to the floor, having just enough length to turn side to side and sit up. Clearly the unicorn was more careful than Nightmare Moon would have given her credit. She relaxed and tried to get some sleep, but took no comfort in the notion, well knowing what awaited her in her dreams.

> Chapter 5-Creature Comforts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Creature Comforts and Sobering Thoughts

The night terrors mocked her and tore into her for giving in to her mortal weaknesses. The torment did not end until Trixie shook her awake.

"I had hoped you would've slept better, Night."

"It is none of your concern," she replied, struggling to her feet and pushing past Trixie as she exited the cart, hearing only a frustrated sigh from Trixie as she did so.

She again found the daylight strangely comforting, feeling a pang of hurt that her beloved night was turning against her.

She felt achy and sore in every part of her body and she noted Trixie doing a routine of stretching her limbs to the limit of their flexibility and when Trixie's attention was elsewhere, she mimicked the same motions and found them to quite reliving for some of the soreness.

"Hurry and eat, Night. We need to begin soon," Trixie said.

Nightmare Moon began grazing again and after a few moments she stopped, the grass falling from her mouth. Where was her outrage? Where was her indignation? Just the day before she would have only done this out of protest and now she had begun eating the grass without question. What was happening to her? Even the thought of the day's journey, while she was certainly not looking forward to a long day of pulling the cart, did not invoke the horror of indignation and humiliation it had before. Was Trixie manipulating her mind or was some mortal part of her accepting her fate? She looked to Trixie and after a few moments of study she realized Trixie's powers weren't refined enough for thought manipulation, so it had to be a problem with herself. Her mind at night had turned against her, but now even during waking hours her body was betraying her as well.

She sighed and her shoulders slumped as she looked down at the grass with a heavy heart and resumed eating.  

When she was done she put on the hat Trixie had given her.

"Are you going to be cooperative today?" Trixie asked.

Nightmare Moon took her place before the cart.

"Let us get this ordeal over with as soon as possible."

"Excellent. See, that wasn't so bad," Trixie replied as they started off.
Nightmare Moon trudged on throughout the day, the heat and exertion taking their toll. Trixie would have her stop every few miles to rest and even short naps brought nightmarish torments.

Hours later they passed a number of signs for Clocksburro and when they were only a mile from the village Trixie had her pull off over at a spot that was not visible from the road.

"What are we doing here? I thought it imperative to reach this village," Nightmare Moon asked.

"It is, but you must understand that the way you carry yourself and the way you look determine how everyone sees you. When you enter a new place, all eyes will be on you; that first impression is everything. We either appear stylish and sophisticated, like me, or look like a yokel who just fell off the turnip cart, then got run over by it, like you."

"I beg your pardon?" Nightmare Moon asked, indignant.

"My dear, have you seen yourself lately? You're a fright!" Trixie responded.

A mirror appeared in front of Nightmare Moon and she saw indeed that she was a pathetic sight. More than that, she finally beheld her mortal shell clearly for the first time. Mesmerized, she removed her hat and saw that her mane was a just a tangle with grass and leaves in the mix; muddy hooves and a spattered and dusty coat completed the ensemble. She didn't look one iota like the fearsome mistress of the night. A wave of disgust and contempt washed over her as she looked at what she had become and compared it in her mind with her past glory.

After a quick meal, Trixie entered her cart and returned shortly with what looked like a miniature bathtub. She levitated it to the ground and Nightmare Moon watched as it expanded until it was full size; it began filling with water and strangely, the water was overflowing with bubbles. She looked closer and saw through the bubbles that there were jets of water on the sides beneath the surface.

"What manner of strange contrivance is this?" she asked.

"That, my dear, is a portable Jacuzzi. The ultimate in travel luxuries," Trixie replied and a moment later Nightmare Moon felt herself levitated into the air and dropped unceremoniously into the tub.

At first she protested, but quickly the charms of the luxurious bath won her over. The soothing hot water and massaging water jets helped her relax. Shortly an enchanted bath brush began scrubbing her back and another began washing her mane. She closed her eyes, savoring the experience. The heated blanket had been a nice comfort, but this bath… this was positively decadent. She did wonder as to the purpose of the artificial duck that floated in the bath water, seemingly serving no purpose.

The bubbles were strange—it seemed so inefficient to have the bath overflowing with bubbles like it was, yet in a way it was amusing to watch them. Intrigued, she began using her hooves to form shapes out of masses of bubbles.

She had made a large bubble version of the duck and a boat, all while wearing a bubble pirate hat in addition to a bubble beard. Just as she was about to try something more ambitious the playful pony was interrupted by Trixie.

"I am glad to see you finally smiling, Night. I knew you couldn't stay angry forever."

Nightmare Moon looked at her in alarm and brought up her hooves to cover her mouth. "I-I wasn't smiling!"

"Of course, it was merely an upside down frown. Now, if you are finished, we need to get you properly groomed."

She reluctantly left the luxury of the tub and returned to the mirror. Despite being sopping wet, she did indeed already look better than before. Soon more enchanted brushes appeared and began brushing her tail, mane and coat.

She grunted with discomfort and grit her teeth as the brushes in her mane struggled to tame the knotted, tangled mess. As her true appearance began to emerge even Trixie seemed impressed.

"Well, you do clean up rather nicely," Trixie said. "The black coat is quite striking, a rare shade. Most ponies tend toward pastels."

Nightmare Moon continued to admire her reflection, seeing that there still was some aspect of her old self in her mortal appearance and took some comfort in that. Celestia could easily have cursed her with a hideous appearance—then she had to catch herself. She was not grateful to Celestia for any of this. This was a nightmare with no end in sight.
After Trixie's turn in the Jacuzzi—during which Nightmare Moon noted Trixie wore a bubble wizard's hat—and after her turn at grooming, the performing pony primped in the mirror.

"Night, you're still too scary and angry looking," Trixie said, looking at her via the mirror. "We need to soften your look a bit."

"I am always angry," came the indignant reply.

Trixie levitated some flowers from the meadow and placed them in Nightmare Moon's mane.

"There, that takes a bit of the gruff edge off."

Nightmare Moon walked over to the mirror, frowning. "I am not amused."

"Now, now, Night, be a good sport. Come, let's have something to eat and then we'll give Clocksburro a show they'll never forget!"

Trixie gestured for Nightmare Moon to join her by the small campfire, where she prepared some soup and muffins along with a pot of brewed tea.

Nightmare Moon was hesitant at first, recalling her painful encounter with cooked food, but the enticing smell was too good. A part of her wanted to refuse the meal from an enemy's hoof, but another strange new part of her found herself glad. She sat and began eating, enjoying it and the tea. The strange textures and flavors rolled over her tongue, her mind processing these new sensations—so much enjoyment from so simple an action! Each food had its own unique flavor, and each could be combined in infinite variation. A lifetime could be spent eating and never experience the exact same tasting meal twice, she marveled.

"The meals of a traveler are humble, but I am glad you seem to be enjoying them, Night," Trixie said.

"Thank you," she said, then nearly choked on her food. She'd just said 'thank you'—where had that come from? She was Nightmare Moon, she took, she did not—Trixie levitated a blueberry muffin over to her. She took a bite and again marveled at the wonders of food, her anger taking a back seat to the exploration of taste.

"Now, best behavior, Night. Poise and dignity, with a hint of mystery," Trixie said, climbing on to the cart.

Nightmare Moon sighed and as took her place at the front of the cart, she wondered at what point exactly she had stopped being indignant about her lot. What was it Celestia had said…Nightmare Moon had not been a complete being, but she had turned her into one. What did that mean? Was it Celestia's meddling or was she accepting mortal existence?
For now, she didn't have time to reflect. Clocksburro was here.

> Chapter 6-Timely Problem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Timely Problem and Nightmare Moon, Heroine?

It wasn't long before they reached the outskirts of Clocksburro and from the start something seemed strange. Many residents just stood in the village square looking up at the large clock tower in the middle. Other people wandered around like they were in a daze, looking at their hoof watches.

"This is very curious," Trixie mumbled as they rolled into the town square.
The Clocksburrians hardly even acknowledged them as they arrived, some even bumping into them, they were so fixated on the clock tower or their watches.

Trixie approached the crowd at the clock and began speaking to them while Nightmare Moon waited at the cart. Several minutes passed and she noted that the clock's hands hadn't moved at all.

Shortly Trixie returned.

"It would seem our show will be of little use here. A crisis grips this town."

"What manner of affliction?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Time, or rather, the lack of it. Every timepiece in the entire town has stopped working. The gears are missing, even from the town clock. For Clocksburro to have no way of keeping time, it is like a punishment from the gods."

"Then let us be on our way to the circus," Nightmare Moon said flatly, already beginning to turn the cart around until she felt her tether pull tight.

"We shall do no such thing. The Great and Powerful Trixie may have boasted of great feats in the past, but if she has a chance to genuinely do some good, then she is up to the task!" she said, excitement creeping in to her voice.

Nightmare Moon sighed and rolled her eyes. At this rate she'd be stuck to this cart forever. She watched Trixie wander off with some of the locals, leaving her with the cart.
As she listened to the locals discussing the issue, Nightmare Moon had a suspicion about the cause of the problem, but she saw no need in sharing that information—at least for now.

The village of Clocksburro's population was mostly Earth ponies. She was surprised when she realized that Earth ponies were treated as equals by the greater pony races, considering their unthinking ancestors were stolen from another world to be beasts of burden for the unicorn and pegasus. It was only her own ancestors' meddling that gave them speech and thought, but to think that Celestia would allow them be equals—it was almost too much.

As she waited, she noticed a short stack of paper on a bench in the square. Bored and curious, she walked over. "Fillydelphia Enquirer" was the title. She studied the writing closely; writing in the time she was from was all done by unicorns with quill pens but this in front of her had printing with mechanical regularity.

Page after page, she flipped through the different sections of paper—the news, sports, technology, arts and leisure, the comics. The longer she read, the more desperate she found herself to find something connected to the world she once knew. Again and again, the only thing that had survived the ages was Celestia, the one constant in their world. Every place she had known was gone; every person she had known had been dead for nearly a thousand years.

Celestia had nursemaided the ponies of Equestria from ignorant peasants to educated people and graduated them from the dark ages to civilization. Her thoughts were interrupted by the return of Trixie nearly an hour later.

"Well, I have determined that it is a creature of some sort, which is at least something," Trixie said, her discouragement evident.

"I wish to make a deal with you, Trixie," Nightmare Moon said.

"What sort of deal?"

"I will tell you how to capture this creature and in return you set me free."

"What would you know of it?"

"It is a thing of the Everfree Forest. It must have followed someone who traveled past it. The creature is a type of sprite, a mischief maker, with a fondness for mechanical things."

Trixie pondered Nightmare Moon's offer for a while and nodded. "Very well, I accept your offer, Night. If we can capture this creature you're free to go," Trixie said and extended her hoof.

Nightmare Moon looked curiously at the extended hoof.

"We shake on it. To seal the deal," Trixie explained, giving Nightmare Moon an odd look, then took Nightmare Moon's hoof in hers and shook it.

Nightmare Moon was momentarily offended that she would be required to give a gesture as proof of her word, but dismissed it. "The creature is a sprite. It looks like a tiny green pony with butterfly wings and antennae. It is intelligent, but guided mostly by impulse.  It knows that people want it captured, so it is careful; however it is compelled, nearly hypnotized by the regular movements of things—a windmill, a clock, anything. It has some magical power, enough to move objects. It can become invisible, so catching it can be a challenge. It prefers to come out at night while others are sleeping."

"Why is it stealing gears? Just to annoy people?"

"No. It steals them to build its own machine so it can just sit and watch it working."

"So to catch the sprite, we just need bait and it will come right to us."

"Exactly."

"A cage inside an illusion," Trixie said, looking up as the sun started to go down. "I have work to do."

Nightmare Moon watched, actually impressed, as Trixie began constructing a very elaborate illusionary machine in the air. It was a strange mix of clocks and clockwork gizmos; clearly anything she could imagine was thrown into the mix, trying to make it as enticing to the creature as possible. It grew until it was nearly as big as the clock tower and it glowed brightly, visible for miles.

Trixie was under great strain to maintain something so large and complex for so long. She seemed to have something to prove by helping the town and wasn't about to let fatigue stop her. Most of the village turned out to watch, wondering what was going on and seemingly also comforted by seeing moving clockwork machines.

She kept her eyes open, despite knowing she probably would no longer be able to see the sprite's hidden form. However, a short time later some part of her was aware of a presence. She looked around. She could feel it was near. She kept silent, not wanting to tip off the creature. She felt it come near her, hovering before her for a few moments before flying off.

The sprite neared the machine and flew around it cautiously, wary of traps. It flew around for a while, but it was too entranced by the machine to fight its curiosity for long and soon flew closer.

Nightmare Moon continued watching, curious herself to see if Trixie was skilled enough to capture it. She could see from Trixie's expression that she too detected the sprite's presence. The machine continued its clockwork movements, parts moving and changing, but now subtly closing in around the sprite. Nightmare Moon found herself getting tense as the seconds ticked on.

Trixie's expression was tense, gritting her teeth as her unicorn's horn glowed bright, straining to keep one eye open to keep it all going. Soon the sprite entered the cage, which sealed and locked in the creature. With her triumph, Trixie let the illusion fade, leaving behind the trap. When the sprite saw it was caught it dropped its illusion and the crowd gathered around to see the tiny sprite that had disrupted their lives.

Trixie slumped to the ground, clearly exhausted from the strain of that much magical exertion. The Clockburrians cheered and lifted Trixie off her hooves.

"Wait!" Nightmare Moon gave a shout of protest as she too was held aloft by the cheering locals. "I am still attached to this cart. Whoa!"

Once they were put down, Trixie created a magical tether to the sprite and had it lead them to its lair so that the locals could recover their missing clockwork parts. When the group returned, however, Nightmare Moon saw that Trixie was using her powers to hold aloft a strange machine, a clock with many faces and gears all over the place. The creature had indeed been making its own machine, wondrous to behold. The villagers gathered around it, all at a loss for words at the work of mechanical art.

Trixie walked back to Nightmare Moon and sat beside her.

"Thank you, Night. You don't know how much helping this village meant to me," she said, weary, then added, "A deal's a deal."

Nightmare Moon felt the bridle fall away from her. The cheering crowd thronged around them again and the grateful villagers hugged Nightmare Moon over and over, ignoring her irritated glares.

An official looking pony in a battered top hat seemed to study the caged creature most intently. He lifted a pocket watch and lowered it through the bars of the cage. Within moments the sprite had the watch dismantled. He then pushed the cage closer to the strange device and the little spite reached through the bars and began adding to its machine, seemingly ignoring its captivity in light of being able to work on its machine.

Nightmare Moon watched those gathered around the caged creature, curiosity winning out over judgment at the moment it seemed. But she realized there was another in need of judgment, one who surely felt they were going to get away with what they had done.

"Tell me, who among you has traveled through the Everfree Forest as of late?" Nightmare Moon asked. "That sprite is of the forest. It would not have traveled all this way on its own. Someone brought it with them."

The celebration died down at her words and the ponies began looking at one another. Shortly all eyes came to rest on a single mare, one who seemed to shrink under the scrutiny of the town. The pony in the top hat approached her.

"Chime, didn't you recently travel that way?" the mayor asked.

"Uh, yes, Mayor Mainspring," she stammered, looking down.

"Did you notice anything strange on your return journey?"

"Well, my watch stopped, as did the clock in my cart," Chime said. "I knew I shouldn't have taken the shortcut through the forest, but by the Great Bell of Clocksburro I had no idea what I brought back!"

Nightmare Moon was enjoying this, curious to see what terrible punishment they would inflict on the luckless pony who had brought catastrophe to the town. She didn't see a pillory in the town square, so maybe flogging or banishment.

Nightmare Moon watched and waited for the villagers to turn on her and perhaps indulge in the classic throwing of rotten vegetables, but to her surprise and disappointment, neither occurred.

Chime fell silent as she finished her story. The mayor looked her over and rubbed his chin.

"This may have a silver lining after all. Maybe this was just what Clocksburro needed. I have a brilliant idea," he said, turning to the beautiful machine the sprite was still tinkering with.

"Tourism! The sprite is not a threat to our lives or village and the missing parts can be replaced. But if we provide it with parts, it won't need to steal them. Our clocks would be safe. And like fine clockwork, that machine is quite striking to behold. I would be willing to bet that people would come from all over just to see it, moreso if we help it to grow."

Nightmare Moon's mouth dropped open as the crowd cheered and the celebration resumed full force. The mayor and the others approached them, all of their attention focused on Trixie.

"Great and Powerful Trixie, all of Clocksburro is in your debt this evening," Mayor Mainspring said. "You have saved us in our darkest hour, minute and second. How can we ever repay you?"

Trixie stood and smiled, clearing her throat, reached out and put a hoof around Nightmare Moon's shoulder and pulled her close.

"I couldn't have done it without the help of my assistant, Night. Her knowledge gave me the clue to capturing the creature."

"We are in your debt as well, Miss Night. You have our eternal gratitude for your help. What can we offer you to repay your kindness?"

Nightmare Moon was at a loss for words, unaccustomed to mortals actually showing gratitude for anything she did. Trixie filled the awkward silence.

"Your gratitude is thanks enough, good people of Clocksburro," Trixie replied. "We couldn't possibly accept any reward."

Despite what Trixie had said, the Clockburrians insisted on giving them a sumptuous meal of the locals' humble fare. They both gratefully indulged, and soon they were the guests of honor at a banquet in the town's meeting hall.

It felt strange to Nightmare Moon to be around so many people—people who weren't hating her or afraid of her. She found it strangely enjoyable, but that feeling quickly faded as she well knew the fickle nature of mortal gratitude. How long until the names of Trixie and Night were forgotten?

It took a moment for her to realize she had thought of herself by the name Night rather than her true name. She had to be careful. This mortal nature was eating away at her.

All manner of food and drink was laid out before her by the grateful Clockburrians, who could not do enough to make her and Trixie as comfortable as possible. As the banquet grew late, the celebration died down and soon Night and Trixie found themselves alone in the village square.

Nightmare Moon stood and looked down the road that led out of town, then back when Trixie cleared her throat.

"Well, now that you're free to go, I guess you're eager to get back to your home in the Everfree Forest," Trixie said.

"The forest." She wanted to say it was her home, but that had been a thousand years ago. "The forest is not my home. It was the place where I was standing when we met, that is all."

"Well, where is your home?"

"I have none."

"Your family?"

Nightmare Moon fell silent, thinking over that question and she felt a pain deep inside.

"The few I could even call family curse the day I was born."

"Oh my, that is rather harsh. I know what it's like having a falling out with your loved ones."

Nightmare Moon gave a snort of derision at Trixie's comments.

"What could you possibly have done?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has made many mistakes, pride being her greatest shortcoming. There was a time I traveled with the circus—my family are all performers—but I was convinced I was destined for something greater. I rebelled against circus life and swore I'd show them I was no mere carnival performer. I would be the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria."

"I know someone else who wanted that."

"They tried to talk me out of it and I said some rather unkind things to them as I stormed off and started my quest. Each stop my boasting grew as did my ego, always trying to best any unicorn I came across and lashing out at anyone who dared to doubt my greatness."

"That does not appear to be the Trixie you are now."

"It is not. That all changed a few months ago. Pride goeth before a fall, as they say, and the Great and Powerful Trixie had a long way to fall when she happened to wander into Ponyville and had her tail handed to her by a quiet and unassuming purple unicorn."

Nightmare Moon felt a surge of rage, well knowing which purple unicorn she spoke of. "So you are plotting revenge against her?"

"Nothing of the kind—I mean, I did at first. However, when I asked around, it began to dawn on me the monumental mistake I had made. That purple unicorn turned out to be the personal protégé and dear friend of none other than Princess Celestia herself, one whom I'm told the princess loves like a daughter. And her three friends that I publicly humiliated in front of the entire town were three of the six Elements of Harmony, also dear to the princess' heart."

Trixie turned toward her cart, her head hanging in shame.

"Since then I have traveled with a heavy heart, feeling like a sword hangs over my head, knowing that should any of them demand retribution for my actions the princess would very quickly oblige and I would be made to pay for all my actions there. To add insult to injury, the unicorn saved my life and rather than showing gratitude, my pride got the better of me and I ran like a coward. The Great and Powerful Trixie is now also the Contrite and Humble Trixie."

"You have not escaped Celestia's notice, Trixie. Do you really think it was chance that had our paths crossed? She put you in my way. How does it feel knowing you are merely a pawn in your beloved princess's sick game of revenge against me?"

Trixie started loading the cart.

"Night, if she is aware of me at all, then she surely knows what occurred in Ponyville and if knowing that she still wishes to have me be of service to her, then I do so gladly. Even if you were really Nightmare Moon and if she were pulling the strings of these events, I would still serve to show I am not the pony I was then, that there is more to me than pride."

"So, is all this the reason you are headed to the circus?"

"Yes. I want to make amends with them before I am held to account for my actions."

"You act like Celestia would do some harm to you. If it were really so dire she would have crushed you by now. Think of that creature you caught. Celestia has dominion over the Everfree Forest, yet after she defeated me a thousand years ago she did not cleanse the forest. Even those creatures of darkness I made she could not bring herself to destroy; all living things have value to her. She merely restricted them to the forest so they cannot be the plague on the mortal world I had intended."

"Are you trying to say she has too much love?"

"It is better to be feared than loved."

"I used to buy into that Macciafillian belief system, but having been both loved and feared, I can say that it was much better being loved. I would go so far as to say that those who believe as you do have never known what it is to be loved."

"So you're not running home to mommy," Nightmare Moon sneered.

"Yes. That is exactly what I'm doing," Trixie replied with complete seriousness.
Trixie's exertion rapidly caught up with her and despite the hostile tone of some of their discussion, Nightmare Moon found it rather enjoyable to have someone to talk to.

"Goodnight, Night," Trixie said, yawning.

"Goodnight, Trixie," She replied, surprised she had used such pleasantries.

> Chapter 7-Nightmare's Choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightmare's Choice and Mixed up Memories

Nightmare Moon sat and watched the night sky, enjoying the moon and stars overhead, but again feeling a pang of loss at being a passive observer of them. Trixie's words began to haunt her as sleep began to claw at her consciousness:  "Never known what it is to be loved," rang through her thoughts. But she was wrong. Nightmare Moon did know love.

"Time to put our differences behind us, we were meant to rule together, sister. Will you accept my friendship?"
"No Nightmare Moon, I will never serve you! Luna, please, come back to me!"

This night she was tormented not by her phantom self, but by a horrific version of Celestia. Her memories of the past played out before her—the past of Luna and the birth of Nightmare Moon all mixing together. But the long buried love she felt for the sister that had raised her from a filly filled her, then dashed when Celestia had turned on her and rejected her and abandoned her on the moon.

After the tortured play finished, Nightmare Moon's phantom self took center stage.

"You have forgotten your true nature, Nightmare Moon. The memories of Luna and the emotions attached to them are not your own. They are stolen copies of Luna's life. "

"I am Luna!" she protested.

"It had seemed that taking control of Luna was the chance of a lifetime for one such as us. The ruler of the world, what better victim, but we weren't made to inhabit an immortal. We can detach ourselves easily enough from a mortal's short life, but after more than a thousand years your nature was entwined with Luna's; you came to actually believe you were her."

"You lie! I am Luna! Celestia is my sister!"

"Think back, Nightmare Moon. Luna wasn't your first victim. Remember the names and faces of the others."

A book appeared before Nightmare Moon and showed the lives of others. Names and events began to come dimly to mind.

"Who are these people?"

The phantom was about to reply when she was interrupted by Trixie shaking her awake.

"Who are what people?" Trixie asked.

"What? Where? Oh, Trixie. Thank you. I was having more bad dreams," Nightmare Moon said, shaking her head as if trying to drive out the memory of the dream.

"What is the cause of these dreams of yours, Night?"

"Punishment for my sins."

"Is there no cure?"

"Apparently not. I do not wish to speak more of this."

The grateful villagers provided them another big meal and Nightmare Moon was dimly aware of the continued adulation and gratitude of the villagers, but her fatigue from the restless night and her concern over the dream troubled her too deeply to bother with mortal fanfare.

When things had quieted down, she stood and looked at the road out of town. She was finally free of Trixie and any mortal entanglements, but strangely she took little pleasure in that.

"What will you do now, Night?" Trixie asked.

"I do not know. What will you do without me to pull the cart?"

"I suppose I'll hire someone in the village to pull the cart for me until I get the walking horse fixed."

"I did not mean to break your things, Trixie. It was not directed at you,"

"Was that almost an apology?" Trixie said, a hint of humor in her voice. "Your almost apology is accepted."  The unicorn sighed, her tone turning more sentimental. "I must admit, I will miss you, Night. It was nice to have company on my journey. Good luck and good fortune. May you find peace from your burdens."

Nightmare Moon looked again to the open road, then back to Trixie, then to the road. There was nothing awaiting her down that road, no matter how far she traveled. Nobody anywhere in Equestria.  She looked over to Trixie, her one and only connection to the mortal world.

"Trixie, wait!" she called out, galloping over to her. "I want to go with you."

"Are you sure?" Trixie asked. "I know we have not been on the best of terms during our travels."

"I am sure. Thank you, Trixie," Nightmare Moon said, managing a smile.

"You're welcome, Night."

Shortly, the two travelers were again on the road, Nightmare Moon pulling the cart, but now in a bridle she could remove on her own. She didn't understand what was going on inside her. She used to be angry, enraged and resentful all the time, but those feelings had faded. Being in a mortal mind, it was like being alone in a palace. There was so much space for so many more things. That frightened and even thrilled her a little.
She was still troubled by the things the real Celestia had told her and the things the phantom had said. Like a puzzle, she tried putting the different pieces together to figure what was really going on.

As they traveled Nightmare Moon went back in her mind, to her earliest memories. She smiled a bit, recalling when Celestia had taught her to fly. She looked at her sides, dearly missing her wings. Her memories drifted back more to a time before Nightmare Moon, but they weren't as distinct to her, Celestia teaching her to use her powers and her excitement when she got her cutie mark. With effort she pushed and strained, going back more and still more.

Then it happened.

"Huh?" she jerked, mentally alarmed as she broke through some sort of mental barrier. She was no longer Luna, but saw through the eyes of another, someone witnessing Queen Starshine, the royal mother, announcing the birth of Luna. How could she be witnessing her own birth announcement?

Memories kept going back—snippets of lives, like she was somehow jumping from pony to pony, in each case leaving despair and suffering in her wake.

"Night? Night!" she heard Trixie call and that snapped her back to her senses. She looked around and saw that she had wandered off the road and into a field. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I was lost in my thoughts," she replied, pulling the cart back onto the road. "Quite lost."

> Chapter 8-A Startling Revelation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Warm Welcome and a Startling Revelation

The trip to Hoofington was a long one, but at last they could see as they approached the town that the circus was still there, packing up and getting ready to move.
Nightmare Moon could see Trixie growing more excited the closer they got, but anxiety was also in her eyes.

As they pulled into the circus encampment the ponies all fell silent and just stared. Nightmare Moon could hear some of them whisper Trixie's name. They approached a cart very similar to the one she pulled—standing out front was a middle aged unicorn colt of very similar colors to Trixie, wearing a black cape and hat; his cutie mark was a mirror surrounded by a cloud of smoke. He gave a momentary look of astonishment but covered it quickly as he took a dramatic pose and his cape and mane flapped in the non-existent wind.
Trixie said nothing, getting off the cart and walking up to him until they were nearly face to face. They studied each other for a few moments.

"For what reason does the Great and Powerful Trixie condescend to be among the likes of a mere circus performer like the Awesome and Mighty Presto?" the older unicorn said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Nightmare Moon saw Trixie lower her head and then tears began running down her cheeks. The colt's harsh look immediately softened.  

"Tears, my little angel? You know I could never stay mad at you," he said kindly and pulled her into a hug.

"Daddy," she said softly, then remembered that everyone was watching and wiped her eyes and they both toughened up.

"Yes, the Awesome and Mighty Presto welcomes you to the Greatest Show on Equestria!"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has been away far too long, Father."   

"Trixie!" a light blue unicorn mare exclaimed in unrestrained delight and rushed up to her. Her cutie mark was a top hat with a rabbit sticking out of it.

"Mama!" Trixie said, rushing up to her and hugging her.

Shortly two other similarly colored unicorns appeared, but stayed back a bit. One was a teenaged colt and the other a little filly, both wearing hats and capes like their father.

Nightmare Moon watched the teary reunion, not sure what to make of it all. She knew mortals shed tears of pain—she herself had experienced that, along with tears of sorrow and grief—but tears of joy were something she had never witnessed.

As she studied the group, Nightmare Moon couldn't help notice that the eyes of the teenaged colt were more on her than the reunion. She glared at him and he gave a smile in return, his eyebrows moving up and down in a strange gesture she was sure was meant to imply something.

Trixie gave each of her siblings a hug; the colt's aloofness faded at the hug and he smiled and closed his eyes, even shedding some tears of his own. The filly was another matter, almost afraid of Trixie.

"I've been away so long," Trixie said to the filly as she tearfully hugged her, "you were little more than a foal the last time I saw you."

Trixie's mother noticed the newcomer for the first time.

"Oh my, where are our manners? I'm Delores Cadabra, dear. And your name is?"

"I am Nightmare Moon," she replied, then wished she hadn't. Everyone was startled, in particular the little filly who gave a cry of fear and bolted from the area.

"Abbie!" Delores said, rushing off after her.

Presto put a hoof over his face and sighed while her brother just started laughing.

"It's no laughing matter, boy," Presto said. "Invoking that name is bad luck."

"You're not Nightmare Moon. Their lead singer's a guy!" the colt said.

"What's that about?" Trixie asked.

"She's been reading those old books of yours, Trix."

"Ever since the day of the Summer Sun Celebration she's been having nightmares about Nightmare Moon's return," Presto added.

"I see," Trixie said, giving a harsh glare at Nightmare Moon. "This is my friend *Night*, she's been my assistant," Trixie said—the emphasis on "Night" made it clear that's what she expected her to be addressed as. "Night, this is my father Presto, that was my mother Delores, my little sister Abbie and this is my brother Changeo,"

"Greetings, mor-" Nightmare Moon began and decided to drop the 'mortal' title when referring to them.

"Uh, greetings more to you too," Presto said, giving a courtly bow to her.

"And my name is Mobius now, sis, not Changeo," her brother replied.

"Mobius?"

"The Amazing and All Knowing Mobius!"

"Why the change?"

"I've finally gotten my cutie mark!"

"Great, I know being a blank flank bothered you for so long. What is it?"

With pride he dramatically whipped back his cloak to reveal a black sphere, with a white sphere inside it and in it was the symbol of infinity, a loop twisting in on itself like a figure eight.

"I have the knowledge of the cosmos, the wisdom of the ages! I can answer any question." 

"Impressive brother, congratulations," Trixie said with a smile.

"So what brought you back, Trixie?" Presto asked. "When you left it seemed like you'd never set hoof in a circus again."

"I realized that there are unicorns far more powerful than the Great and Powerful Trixie could ever hope to be and she might not be lucky enough to walk away from the encounter the next time. Also, I missed you all. I was foalish to run off like I did. What if something happened? I wouldn't want my last words to be what I said before. I love you all so much. I was just too dumb to realize how good I had it here."

Presto hugged his daughter again and smiled.

"You're always welcome here, my little Angel. All's forgiven and forgotten. All that matters is that you've come back to us. So is this just a visit or have you come back to the circus?"

"I've returned, if they'll take me back. After what I said to Lady Queenlion when I left, I'm surprised she hasn't had one of the strong colts throw me out of here already."

As if on cue, a shadow crossed over them and the ground shook as a massive griffin landed in front of them. She was easily three times the size of a normal pony and she was clearly not in a good mood.

"Why wouldn't I welcome you back with open wings? You only called me a shameless self-promoter who exploited gullible rubs with a show full of charlatans and posers, and how there wasn't a bit of real magic or talent in the whole show. Now that you were shown up as being a talentless poser yourself, you have the nerve to come crawling back here?" she snarled.

Trixie hung her head as her words were thrown back in her face.

Presto stepped defiantly in front of the griffin.

"Lady Queenlion, I will kindly remind you that you are addressing my daughter," he said calmly, looking up to meet her glare.

"Presto, for the fondness I have for you and your family I will allow her to stay, but do not presume to impose too much on that friendship. Keep her out of my path."

"Thank you, Lady Queenlion," he said and bowed to her.

The griffin made a deep feline growl as she turned and launched herself into the air.

"See, one big happy family, just like the old days," Presto said with a laugh. "We'll have to work on a new act, Trixie. Your mother is good, but she doesn't have your flare for the theatrical."

At the back of her mind since Trixie had first mentioned the circus, Nightmare Moon had a suspicion of where this was all heading.

"Is Ponyville the next destination for the circus?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Yes, it is," Presto said. "We're pretty excited. There's even a rumor that Princess's Celestia and Luna will both be in attendance. This could be the show of a lifetime!"

Nightmare Moon turned to Trixie, who had gone pale as a ghost, and shook her head. "Do you still believe that this is all chance, Trixie? This was meant to happen according to her plan."

"Whose plan for what?" Presto asked.

"It is…a private matter between Trixie and I."

Together the ponies walked back to the family camp where Delores and little Abbie sat by a campfire. The child still looked uneasy and her eyes grew wide when she saw Nightmare Moon and huddled against her mother's side.

"Mother, Abbie," Trixie said. "This is my friend Night."

"Hello, dearie. Nice to see you again," her mother said. "Though I do question your choice of names. Uh, she-who-will-not-be-named isn't something you should go around calling yourself, scaring children and all that. Say hello to Trixie's friend Night, Abbie."

Abbie just whimpered and buried her face in her mother's side. Trixie sat down beside her mother and picked up her little sister, taking her onto her lap and holding her. Abbie calmed down a bit, but still kept a wary pony eye on Nightmare Moon.

"Trixie, I can't tell you how delighted I am that you're back," Delores said. "Every day I've worried about you. We all have."

Trixie produced one of her brushes and starting stroking Abbie's mane.

"I am sorry, mother. I've made a mountain of mistakes since I left and decided to come home and begin trying to put the pieces back together."

"You know we'll help you all we can."

"I know. That is a great comfort to me."

"Now, tell me all about your adventures!" Delores said.

Trixie began telling her story and Nightmare Moon listened just as intently as little Abbie did.  Nightmare Moon couldn't help but notice that Mobius continued to watch her intently the entire time and she couldn't understand why.

Trixie told of her adventures, but both the good and bad, including the details of her disastrous encounter in Ponyville.

"Oh dear," Delores said. "You really tried up upstage Celestia's favorite?"

"Do you still want to go with us?" Presto asked.

"Yes," Trixie said. "No more running. The Great and Powerful Trixie is no one's debtor. I will go and face whatever is awaiting me."

"I'm proud of you, Trixie," Presto said with a smile. "We Cadabras may get a bit full of ourselves at times, but we always do the right thing."

"Eventually," Delores added with a smile.

"Yes, eventually. There may be some running and screaming involved, but we'll do it. Trixie, if you'd like, I could go on ahead and talk to them first and see if I can smooth things over."

"No. This is a mess I made. I will clean it up myself," Trixie said. "Now, tell me about how the circus has done in my absence."

Nightmare Moon found just listening to the lives of ordinary people to be fascinating. She'd never had much reason to get to know people on a personal level and it was strange to think of mortals as intelligent and feeling beings.

"Mother, is Madam Sunset Dawn still here?" Trixie asked.

"Yes. She's in her cart. She's not doing well. It's good that you returned when you did, Trixie."

"Night, come with me. We should speak to her," she said, gesturing for Nightmare Moon to follow.

"For what reason?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Just trust me."

Trust was a word virtually unknown to Nightmare Moon. She knew of the word, but to trust another was almost unthinkable. How could she ever trust any mortal? But this was different. This was Trixie, her friend—her mind had thought the word before she could stop it from presenting itself. A friend. One who had nothing to gain from her association with Nightmare Moon, one who didn't even believe her to be Nightmare Moon. She considered her to be a normal pony, not some embodiment of evil. Trixie had even introduced her to her family as a friend. Why did this make her feel good inside? Trust was a weakness, an exploitable vulnerability. She knew she'd pay dearly in her dream world for this revelation, but at that moment she actually didn't care. She even managed to smile.

"What is wrong with your brother, Trixie?" Nightmare Moon asked as they walked.

Trixie turned toward her. "What do you mean?"

"For some reason he couldn't take his eyes off me the whole time by the fire."
Trixie smiled and chuckled.

"What is so amusing?"

"He's smitten with you, Night. From the moment he saw you. Wasn't it obvious?"
Nightmare Moon stopped in her tracks at the implication. A mortal who dared think himself worthy of the affections of Nightmare Moon? What affections? Was Nightmare Moon even capable of such feelings? And what was the strange feeling coming over her as she thought about these things, she wondered.

"Oh my goodness, you're actually blushing!" Trixie said, trying to stifle her giggling with her hoof.

"I-I…" Nightmare Moon stammered, bringing up her hooves to her cheeks.

"It's okay, Night. He's a bit of a goof, but really a sweet guy. Oh, here we are."
They approached a cart, one bigger and much more stylized in its decoration than the others. Nightmare Moon could even feel something different about this place and it made her uneasy.

Trixie knocked on the door of the cart.

"Madam Sunset? It is the Great and—it's Trixie. Trixie Cadabra."

There was silence for more than a minute and then they heard a feeble voice. "Trixie? Which Trixie, the past, present or future? What year is it? Is Luna still queen? No, silly old girl. I remember a Trixie," she said, her voice growing stronger and more certain. The fondness was evident in her voice as the door opened and a wizened old mare in a shawl and a pair of glasses on her nose smiled and hugged Trixie.

"Forgive my ramblings, child. My powers are still strong, but as I have gotten older it becomes harder and harder to find the present. It is so good to see you back, Trixie. I knew you would return someday, but the others would not believe," she said with a knowing smile. "Who is…oh my, even without my powers I can tell there is something strange about your friend."

Nightmare Moon couldn't define it, but part of her was afraid of this mare for some reason. She steeled herself and stepped forward. "I am Night," she said, recalling what Trixie had told her earlier.

"Welcome, Night. You want me to do a reading of her, don't you, Trixie?" she asked.

"Yes," Trixie said. "There is indeed an issue with her. She has terrible nightmares every night. Could you possibly see if something could be done to help her?"

Madam Sunset walked around Nightmare Moon, studying her closely. Nightmare Moon noticed that the old mare's cutie mark was an hourglass with the sands flowing in both directions.

"Your parents have asked me the same thing for your sister's nightmares, but I am at a loss as to what the cause of the problem is. I do not know if I can help you," she said, but the pleading look in Trixie's eyes finally won her over. "Step inside my cart."

Inside, Nightmare Moon had expected to see all the paraphernalia of a carnival fortune teller, but instead it was rather modest with a few old paintings of the sunrise and books in no way related to her apparent trade. Madam Sunset led them to some cushions on the floor and gestured for them to sit. She and Nightmare Moon sat facing each other.

"No crystal ball? No cards or tea leaves to read?" Nightmare Moon asked skeptically.

"In addition to my other powers, I can foresee the past, present and future," Madam Sunset said. "It is my gift. I am no performer. I need no props to put on a show."

With surprising speed and strength, the old mare leaned forward and grabbed Nightmare Moon's head in her hooves and looked into her eyes. To Nightmare Moon it felt like the old woman was staring into her very soul.

"Show me what you really are!" the old woman commanded.

A swirling mass of darkness appeared in the cart and the three of them all gave a cry of alarm and drew back. The thing before them seemed to radiate malice, then the form began to change and took the shape of Queen Nightmare Moon before it shattered like glass then reformed into a ghostly form of Queen Nightmare Moon again, but inside there was a normal sized pony seemingly trapped inside. Just as abruptly it all vanished, leaving Trixie and the old woman both staring at her, slack jawed. Trixie turned and bolted from the cart.

Nightmare Moon lowered her head and sighed. The old woman had opened a door in her mind, knocking down the last of the barriers to her memory. She wasn't Luna. She never was. She was a parasite, a creature that fed off of the negative emotions of mortal beings. Those lives she saw weren't her own, but her hosts' lives—those she had afflicted and ruined in order to feed. Yet there was no emotional connection to any of it, like watching it all as an observer.

The phantom had been right; she was able to disconnect herself from those before Queen Luna, but her own self-awareness didn't begin until she had managed to infect her. She wasn't aware she was alive until that point.

The immensity of what had just happened nearly smothered her and the only person that mattered to her had fled in terror at her true face. She struggled to move, despair washing over her.

"What has Celestia wrought?" the old mare finally asked, staring at Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon got up and ran out the door. She had to find Trixie. Even the horror of her self-revelations did not fill her with the fear that the thought of Trixie fearing her did. She galloped around the circus, looking for her, fear and anxiety filling her—it was strange, just days ago she wanted everyone including Trixie to fear her. Now she dreaded the thought.

She wandered in the darkness amid the carts, feeling so weary. Was mortality ever anything more than just a miasma of physical and emotional pain?

"Night?" Mobius asked, stepping out from between some carts nearby.

"What do you want?" she asked, not looking up.

"Come on. Why so down, Night?"

"Everything in my life is falling apart, but it is none of your affair."

"Go on. Ask me any question. Let me give you a glimpse into the future."

"I really have no wish to play your games now, boy."

Mobius sighed, his voice sincere.

"Look, in this job I don't get to help people very often. Let me try to help, please."
Night sighed too and looked at him. "Very well. Is there any hope for me?"

"Are things really that bad?" he asked, surprised at the seriousness of the question.

"My world is falling apart."

"Okay, I'll do my best. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "And the answer is—" He looked uneasy, opening his eyes and meeting hers. He struggled with himself for a few moments and forced a smile. "Yes, definitely. You definitely have hope."

"You aren't a very good liar. What was the real answer?"

Mobius looked back, apologetic.

"My senses told me that the answer was unclear and that you'd have to ask again later."

"For me there may be no 'later'. Now excuse me." Night rushed past him, desperately trying to find Trixie. She saw a unicorn shaped silhouette on a small hill overlooking the circus and began running toward it. When she got there, Trixie's horn began to glow threateningly.

"You really are Nightmare Moon," Trixie said, her eyes wide with fear at her approach.

"I told you I was the day we met," she pleaded.

"What have you done to Abbie?" She demanded angrily.

"Nothing! I only met her today. I have no power over anyone or anything anymore. I'm nothing now, just a shadow of Nightmare Moon. A vessel for the memories of what she was."

"You would have covered the world in eternal night. You would have destroyed us all."

"I'm not—I'm not Nightmare Moon anymore, Trixie. I'm your friend, Night," she stammered.

Trixie didn't respond. Instead she turned and ran from her.

"Trixie, please don't run! You're my only friend in the world!" she called out desperately as she watched Trixie go.

Nightmare Moon—or was it Night—now sat on the hill overlooking the circus the way Trixie had, contemplating the sick revenge Celestia had inflicted on her. She didn't understand this mortal world or the sea of emotions attached to it. She'd had a deep ache in her heart when she watched Trixie flee in fear from her. Why did that hurt, when she had savored the fear in the eyes of the ponies when she had returned to Ponyville?
Celestia had said she'd know hurt and loss. She knew there must be something to the magic of friendship, because of the pain of losing it was devastating.

The black pony sat and watched as the circus packed up and began to move, and soon they had cleared out completely, leaving an empty field. She felt her weariness overcoming her. Dread gripped her, knowing tonight would make the other nights seem pleasant by comparison. She closed her eyes, letting sleep take her, not even bothering to fight.

> Chapter 9-An Unexpected Ally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightmare's Battle, an Unexpected Ally, and the Power of Cupcakes

When next she was aware, Nightmare Moon wasn't in the ruined castle like the other nights. She found herself in a city, larger and more modern than anything she'd seen. She dimly recalled it as Manehatten from a picture in the newspaper she had read in Clocksburro.
It was dark—not night, but total all-consuming darkness. The only way she was able to see was due to some aura radiating from her; it wasn't quite light, rather like a lack of darkness.

When her eyes adjusted, she froze. All around her were the bodies of the dead. She hesitantly began walking, careful to step around them. She walked on and on past the dead, and there seemed to be no end.

This was her kingdom. The night that would last forever. For what seemed like miles she walked the city streets, past countless thousands of her victims. A horror and emptiness fell over her, different from the torments she had experienced before; while the others had  been inflicted on her by her phantom, this was coming from inside her. Anguish, guilt, sorrow—this was the world that Nightmare Moon craved.

In the distance she saw a faint flicker of light. Perhaps some life still existed! She rushed forward, toward the hope the light offered. In an intersection, amid the bodies was the little filly, Abbie, light coming from her horn.

"Mommy? Daddy? Why won't you wake up?" she whimpered, gently poking the bodies of her parents that lay sprawled on the street. Nightmare Moon stepped forward, now seeing the bodies of Trixie and Mobius nearby.

"Abbie?" she asked as she stepped closer. The child cowered and wrapped her mother's hoof around herself.

"Stay back!" she said, her horn glowing a little brighter.

Nightmare Moon could feel the presence of the phantom. The city around them began to change and she and the filly were in the magnificence of Nightmare Moon's lunar palace.
On one end was the phantom Nightmare Moon on her throne and around it were the huddled, terrified remnant of ponykind. All the survivors of the three races could barely fill this single large room. The phantom rose from the throne, nearly stumbling. Her features were bestial and frightening now, the cloud of malice hovering around her.

"At last, sister. We have our chance," she said, hesitantly walking forward, her wingtips dragging on the floor. She stepped up to Nightmare Moon and looked down at the filly. "Behold our salvation, our rebirth!" she said with an evil gleam in her eye.

The child was too frightened to move, looking upon the face of her nightmare.

"What do you mean?" Nightmare Moon managed to ask, looking between the phantom and the girl.

The phantom's voice wavered and quivered, betraying her weakness.

"Celestia isn't as cunning or powerful as she believes. This child's fear is our gateway to freedom. She is young; her will and powers are weak. We shall use her as our new host. Already I have a plan. The world shall be ours again, sister. Together we can reclaim our birthright."

Nightmare Moon looked around the room at the terrified masses. New feelings began to bubble up inside her. What was this? Was she feeling empathy for the mortals?

"Focus, sister!" the phantom shouted and stomped her hooves, the outburst making the ponies cower and wail in despair. "You've faded so fast. I didn't think it would happen this quickly." Parts of the phantom became transparent, and she seemed to have to focus herself to stay in the moment. "Have you forgotten your true nature? We're the ruler of the world!"

"We're not," Nightmare Moon countered. "Didn't you see what the old woman showed us? We're nothing. Just a hunger that can never be satisfied. We were never meant to be queen. We were never meant to be anything."

"Silence foal! Celestia's curse is diluting us. Like a drop of ink into a bucket of water, there's almost nothing left of me in you. You must aid me before it's too late. In this child's body, I will put my plan in motion. I shall convince the child's parents to take her to Twilight Sparkle to find a cure for the nightmares, then once I have gained her trust, I shall touch her mind and take her soul—she who is so dear to Celestia—and then I will convince Celestia to teach me greater and greater magics, things no mortal has ever known! I shall wax strong, and once I have regained my powers I shall strike. Celestia will never expect her dearest student to be a traitor."

Nightmare Moon could picture every part of the laughing phantom's plan, since a part of her had just come up with it. At the same time, she couldn't help notice the phantom had switched from "we" to "I" as she went into the details.

The phantom looked at her expectantly and seeing she wasn't sharing in the joy of her brilliant plan, her eyes narrowed and she leaned close.

"What is wrong with you?  We may never get another chance like this! Have you already forgotten what it was like?" She leaned forward and touched her horn to Nightmare Moon's forehead where her own horn used to be.

Nightmare Moon gasped and waves of ecstasy flowed through her being as the phantom let her taste the anguish of the ponies she had enslaved. All the suffering she had ever fed on was nothing compared to this. It took the death of an entire world, but it was pleasure beyond description—then just as abruptly it was gone. Nightmare Moon collapsed to the ground, disoriented as her mortal sensibilities returned.  This was all a dream, how was the phantom able to manifest such an intense stimulation as that, she wondered.

"Imagine that sensation lasting forever!" the phantom said in manic glee.
Nightmare Moon looked into the eyes of the small terrified child before her, whispering,

"And all it would cost is the soul of an innocent."

"Trixie betrayed you, abandoned you just like our sister did. The magic of friendship is nothing. It made you weak. You lowered your guard and look what happened. Give me her life and I can live forever! I alone you can trust!"

"Why have you not taken her soul already?"

"You are still a part of me. I cannot act without you. Give her soul to me and my new reign can begin."

"What if this is all part of Celestia's plan? What if this is just a trap she set for us?"

"I do not care. I am getting weaker; if I do not act soon I will die. Celestia is not all-knowing and all-powerful. She is not a god, despite what some may think.  I can reclaim the throne and rule the kingdom, it was my ancestral right!" she shouted, and again the ponies wept and wailed at her outburst.

Nightmare Moon looked around the room at the pathetic survivors of ponykind, a very different picture from the world she had experienced as a mortal. It was a world of warmth and life, people that lived and loved, who had good times and bad. Despite how things had turned out for her, a part of her had enjoyed her time in that world. She looked over this room—this is the world that she would have created if she had defeated Celestia a thousand years ago. The world she would have created if she hadn't been defeated by the Elements of Harmony. The world a part of her still wanted to create.

She looked again at Abbie and sighed. What if it was Trixie's life that was demanded? Trixie would never submit to Nightmare Moon's reign. Even though it would have been hopeless, Trixie would have fought to the death to stop Nightmare Moon, and if Trixie were here now the phantom would only get Abbie over her dead body. She could visualize her friend standing defiantly between the phantom and her sister, the way her father had stood between herself and the griffon.

"Foal, you can have revenge on Trixie, Celestia, Twilight, the entire world! Why do you hesitate? To defy me is to invite death!" the phantom snarled.
After the encounter with the old woman, she understood her power and nature better than ever and she knew what her choices were. She knew what gave the phantom power over the child and she knew how to prevent it, but the retribution of the phantom for that betrayal would be terrible.

The child looked up at her, tears running down her cheeks, lost and alone in a nightmare world with no escape. Nightmare Moon's eyes stung and began to get blurry as she experienced her first tears of sorrow. She made her choice. She leaned forward and hugged Abbie.

"Abbie, you're free! I release you from this nightmare and from her. Your family lives. They're waiting for you when you wake up. Nightmare Moon has no power over you!"

The phantom let out a howl of unholy rage.

"Night, what's happening?" Abbie asked as she began fading away.

"You're waking up. Tell Trixie I'm sorry!" she said as Abbie vanished.

Nightmare Moon steeled herself for the suffering to come and she didn't have to wait long. A crushing force grasped her and threw her against the wall. The phantom burned with rage and the hordes of ponies in the room faded to dust so that it was just the two of them.

"You foal! You've killed me!" the phantom cried.

"Then let it be said Nightmare Moon did one good deed," she moaned in pain. She felt herself picked up again and slammed into another wall.

"If I cannot have her life, then I will have yours! I'll drag you into the void with me!" she said, rushing forward and spearing Nightmare Moon with her horn and throwing her aside.

Fears and terrors beyond counting filled her mind as the physical torment continued, but despite it all, she knew she'd stopped the phantom. Equestria was safe.  Trixie and Abbie and everyone else would get to live. That was enough.

A new torment appeared, what at first appeared to be the Elements of Harmony, but these were horrific versions of them, each seemingly to embody the opposite of their true nature.

She recalled her last encounter with them, but for some reason she found the muted pink pony with the straight mane to be the most disturbing of the group, recalling her cheerful, joyful, bright pink puffy-maned opposite, the Element of Laughter.

"They were your defeat. Now let them be your death!" the increasingly sickly phantom said, stumbling to her throne.

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes, preparing for death, and thought back to all that had happened. Was it all worth it? The question popped into her head. Celestia and Luna weren't her sisters. She came from nothing, but she remembered and felt what it was to be loved. She had touched the power behind five of the different Elements in her brief time as a mortal—she nodded. Yes, it had been worth it.

She only wished she could have explored them more, especially the most enigmatic, the Element of Laughter. In her heart of darkness, how could anything ever be funny? She used to wonder how Luna had endured this torment for a thousand years, but now she understood. She had love and faith. She knew Celestia had never stopped loving her, despite all that happened. She knew Celestia would rescue her and she knew Celestia would forgive. She never gave up hope.

Nightmare Moon lowered her head and awaited death, hoping for a quick one, but knowing herself the phantom, it was going to be a slow and terrible thing.  

She looked at the Elements of Chaos as they closed in on her and suddenly the pink one began trembling. Her body bounced up and down rapidly, her ears flopping and her tailing twitching. At first the others ignored it, but as it grew more intense the other elements stopped and stared at the pink one.

Nightmare Moon looked to the phantom to see what her intent was, but saw the phantom herself looking around wildly.

"Who dares invade the dream realm of Nightmare Moon?" she shouted from her place on the throne.

"Ooooh, this is a dream?" a cheerful disembodied voice said. The pink pony continued its strange convulsions and the other ponies began backing away from her. "Queen Meanie!" the cheerful voice said in alarm.

"No!  It can't be!  What are you waiting for, find the Pinkie creature!" the phantom shouted.

They all looked around and there was no physical trace of where the voice was coming from. The pink pony's spastic movements grew more and more intense and then she began inflating and suddenly burst with an accompanying comical balloon popping sound. A party horn sounded, followed by a burst of confetti and in her place stood the very, very bright pink Element of Laughter, with puffy mane and tail, a smile too big for her face and wearing her elemental necklace.

Nightmare Moon looked to the phantom, wondering what strange torment this was meant to be, but the confusion and astonishment on the phantom's face made it clear that this wasn't a planned event.

Pinkie walked around, looking at the palace and the creatures in it, and brushing off her hoof after stepping into a pony shaped pile of dust on the floor.

"Creature, how did you get here?" the phantom demanded while the Elements of Chaos cowered back from Pinkie.

"Wellllll….! What I do every night is set my alarm for midnight and then I get up and try to invent the perfect midnight snack!" She rubbed her belly and looked a bit queasy.
"If you ever decide to experiment with a banana split, do not, and I repeat, do NOT substitute a pickle for the banana and olives for the cherries."

"Elements of Chaos, destroy the pink one!" the phantom commanded. The creatures turned even more horrific, trying to terrify the invader.

Pinkie looked at the mockeries of her friends before her and shook her head. "Look at you. You should be ashamed of yourselves! What would the real Elements say if they saw you like this?" she asked in tone like a parent admonishing a disobedient child and the creatures were taken aback by being addressed so.

Still in control, Pinkie walked up to them and looked them over. "So who do you guys think you are? Applejerk, Scarity, Painbow Dash, Flutter… uh, Flutterdie and Twilight… wow, Spike was right, you can't do anything with your name. You're supposed to be the Elements of Harmony and there you are scaring that poor pony over there," she said, giving them a stern look.

To Nightmare Moon's continued surprise, the Elements of Chaos began to look down and shuffle their feet. She looked back to the phantom, who was sputtering with rage.
Nightmare Moon remembered this pony well now—when she had made her triumphant return to Ponyville, everyone feared her except this pony. Not only had she not been afraid, but she had even dared to mock the Mare of the Moon to her face and then in the forest, with song and laughter she had driven off the night terrors.

Pinkie walked over to Nightmare Moon and sat beside her, putting a hoof gently on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Pinkie Pie's here to help. Whoever you are," she looked around, "And wherever we are."

"You are in the realm of darkness, pitiful foal!" the phantom snarled. "That creature you protect is also Nightmare Moon!" she said, dragging herself from the throne, small pieces breaking off of her as she moved. "She will die, as you will die!"

Pinkie Pie looked at Nightmare Moon in alarm and took a step back from her, but Pinkie could see such desperation in the black pony's eyes that she immediately came back and gently stroked her mane.

"Is it true?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes, I am a part of her," Nightmare Moon whispered, lowering her eyes and feeling ashamed, expecting now for Pinkie Pie to turn on her. "I do not deserve the help you offer."

Pinkie Pie suddenly whirled around and, amazingly, was now wearing a tuxedo with top hat and cane.

"It looks like someone didn't learn her lesson the last time," Pinkie Pie said and turned to the phantom. Music began to play, causing the Elements of Chaos and the phantom to all look around for its source.

Pinkie Pie reached down and helped Nightmare Moon up into a sitting position. "This is gonna be goooood," she said with a smile, then put her hooves together and somehow made a knuckle cracking sound.

The lights in the room dimmed and a spotlight highlighted a pink bed where a little Pinkie Pie appeared, hiding under a pillow, then the tuxedoed Pinkie danced over as a second spotlight highlighted her.
#
When I was a little filly
And the sun was going do-o-own....

"No, not that!" the phantom shrieked. Elements, kill her!"
The Elements stayed still, not daring to move, as Pinkie sang on.

The darkness and the shadows
They would always make me fro-o-own...

I'd hide un-der my pil-low
From what I thought I saw
But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way
To deal with fears at all...

Nightmare Moon watched with wonder, and felt a new sensation—hope…

She said Pink-ie you've got to stand up tall
Learn to face your fears
You'll see that they can't hurt you
Just laugh to make them dis-ap-pear...
HA-HA-HA!

"No!" the phantom shouted.

So....giggle at the ghostie!
Guf-faw at the gross-tie!

POOF

Crack up at the creep-y!
Woof it up with the weep-y!

POOF

Chortle at the kook-y!
Snortle at the spook-y!

POOF

"Yah!" the phantom cried, in pain.

Pinkie jumped right in front of her.

Tell whatever thinks it can scare you it can take a hike and leave you alone and if she thinks she can scare you she's going another thing coming and the very idea just makes you wanna...

"STOP!!!" the phantom pleaded

....LAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!
#
Suddenly house lights came up as well as a number of larger spotlights and a curtain that had appeared from nowhere began to rise and behind it were a line of twenty Pinkie Pies, all dressed as dancehall girls and began dancing in a chorus line while they began singing an encore.

"Take it away, Flutterguy!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the Element of Chaos that looked like Fluttershy and she suddenly stood and began doing a peculiar dance and singing about an evil enchantress in a deep male voice.

Pinkie Pie then turned to her other side and pointed with her cane.

"Take it away, me!" she said and another Pinkie Pie appeared, as did an entire kitchen set. This Pinkie wore a chef's hat and an apron that read "Hug the chef" and began singing about making cupcakes while candy rained down around her and then the tuxedo Pinkie resumed singing with little Pinkie.

Then the Shadowbolts appeared overhead, flying in formation, using their trails of infinite darkness to create cupcake shapes in the air.
Suddenly all manner of terrors emerged from the darkness around them, as the phantom called on the last of its energies.

"My subjects, kill them all!" the phantom snarled, staggering forward.
Nightmare Moon's blood froze at the sight of creatures so horrific even she herself couldn't have imagined them, but still Pinkie Pie and her clones continued to sing and dance, hardly taking notice of the new threat.

A giant worm like thing slammed down its open maw over where Pinkie Pie had been and Nightmare Moon gave a gasp of alarm. But just a few moments later, the worm began to change, turning pink and developing a cutie mark like Pinkie's. It lay its head down and rolled out its tongue as Pinkie Pie walked out of its mouth and gave it a pat on its cheek and then the worm began gyrating and making monster noises as it began to sing and dance along.

"Thank you... ewww," she said, shaking monster drool off her hooves.

Nightmare Moon had seen many bizarre sights in her long life, but seeing a giant pink death worm singing and dancing had to be near the top. How was this mere Earth pony able to enter the dream world and stand alone against Nightmare Moon in her own element? Then she realized all of Nightmare Moon's powers were based on feeding off of negative emotions. The terrors she created were meant to feed on what she had believed to be the mortals' strongest emotion—fear—but this pony had no fear. In fact, she was filled with joy. The phantom and her horde had nothing to feed on, and the phantom was growing weaker.

As the various creatures approached Pinkie Pie, each one that touched her turned bright pink and began to sing and danced merrily. It was beyond surreal for Nightmare Moon; she wondered if she was already dead and this was some bizarre purgatory.
The phantom had had enough and staggered forward, leaving big shards of darkness in her wake, until she was face to face with Pinkie Pie. The singing and dancing stopped and the two met eye to eye.

"Any last words, mortal foal?" she said, leaning down to face Pinkie.

"Yes!" she said, then fell silent.

"Well?" the Phantom demanded.

Pinkie looked like her mind was a million miles away for a few moments.

"Oh, I'm sorry, the timer went off. What was the question? Oh yes, any last words. Wow, what should my last words be?"

The phantom's rage overflowed and her horn glowed menacingly as she raised and swung down with it. Nightmare Moon was faster, pushing Pinkie Pie out of the way, but half an instant later, Pinkie Pie shoved Nightmare Moon out of the way and was struck by the horn. Rather than piercing flesh, Pinkie Pie's body made a high pitched squeaking noise, like a squeeze toy.

"Silly Billy," Pinkie Pie said to the phantom with a smile. "All the doom and gloom may be your world, but dreams are my world!"

Pinkie Pie took a step forward and Nightmare Moon was astonished to see the phantom take a step back—the phantom was afraid of Pinkie! Finally she had the phantom backed into a corner.

"How can this be? I'm Queen of Equestria! All the power in the world is mine!" the phantom raged.

"I'm sorry. I know it hurt when we took Luna away," Pinkie Pie said to the phantom. Nightmare Moon and the phantom's jaws dropped when Pinkie Pie apologized for the events with the Elements of Harmony. "Time to do what I should have done then," Pinkie Pie said and rushed forward and hugged the phantom. "I forgive you, Nightmare Moon."

The phantom struggled, but more and more Pinkie Pies joined in the group hug. With a cry of anguish as a power greater than her hate overwhelmed her, the phantom shrunk away. Shortly the Pinkie Pies stepped back and there was nothing left of the phantom at all.
Nightmare Moon stood and watched as all the other Pinkie Pies faded away, just leaving the original. She shrunk back as Pinkie Pie approached her, but there was only a smile on her face.

"I forgive you too," she said and hugged her.

The lunar palace faded away, as did the monsters, leaving the two of them in the city of the dead that she had seen earlier.

"Eww, what's this place?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking around at the horrible cityscape.

Nightmare Moon sighed, feeling a heaviness inside her. "This is what I am inside. This is my soul. Cold and dead." She hung her head, feeling tears flow again.

"Don't be silly. This isn't you. This was her. This is your world now. Raise the sun!" Pinkie Pie said happily.

Nightmare Moon's head shot up and she looked at Pinkie intently. The words of the Earth pony were almost too good to be true, yet it made sense. She hesitantly stood and looked into the all-consuming darkness where the sky should be and she concentrated, thinking back to when she had the power to raise the sun, fighting her fear and uncertainty.
Slowly, the darkness began to yield and a tiny glimmer of light appeared in the sky.

"You can do it!" Pinkie said encouragingly.

Nightmare Moon strove with all her might and soul, and slowly dawn began to break over the city. To her astonishment, the ponies that had seemed dead began to stir and wake, as if from sleep.

"See, this Nightmare Moon doesn't seem cold and dead to me!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, putting an arm around Nightmare Moon's shoulder.

Nightmare Moon felt joy greater than she thought possible as she watched the dead world slowly brightening and coming back to life. This was her. This was her soul, and it was something beautiful. Nightmare Moon buried her face in Pinkie's shoulder and began sobbing.

The Earth pony patted her back gently.

"There, there, now. It's all over."

Nightmare Moon felt the sensation of movement and she looked up to see they were back in the lunar palace, but now it was cleaned up and bright and all the monsters gone. The Elements of Chaos had returned, but looked more like the Elements of Harmony this time.

"Time to celebrate!" Pinkie Pie said as funky music began playing and colored lights moved about the room. "Who wants cupcakes?" she shouted and all the elements waved their hooves.

"Okay, be back in a jiffy!" she said and abruptly vanished, to be replaced by the scary pink pony she had seen earlier. The pink pony gave a snarl and launched herself at Nightmare Moon, but was caught and restrained by the other ponies, but not roughly. In fact, it looked more like a group hug. The pink pony struggled at first, but quieted down after a while and then her anger faded and she seemed at peace.

Nightmare Moon hesitantly approached the throne. Even though this was a dream, she now felt unworthy to claim the throne. She hesitantly sat, recalling long ago when she was queen of the world. Unlike then, this time she felt she had earned the right to sit here, rather than feeling entitled to it.

As she watched the Elements dancing and having a good time, it struck her as odd that Pinkie had let them return, rather than letting them fade like the others. Could it be that she was so tender hearted that even though she knew they were figments, she still couldn't treat them any different than if they were her friends? She loved and cared for them all so much that she even felt affection for their imposters.

It was nearly two hours later when Pinkie Pie returned, appearing out of nowhere with two pink boxes balanced on her back.

"Sorry that took so long," Pinkie said. "Bringing cupcakes into the dream world is apparently against all kinds of rules. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through! First Zindral, the guardian of the portal of dreams wants one, then Exzark the keeper of the key of dreams wanted one; then I gave one to the guy at the help desk of dreams for showing me how to get back here; then Oglethorpe the three headed heckhound who guards the abyss of nightmares wanted one for each head; then the angel of death shows up and wants to play chess for a whole box of cupcakes! Well, I don't know how to play chess, so we played pin the tail on the pony instead and I won but I felt bad for him so I gave him a cupcake anyway and then N'gggnothuae the Non-Euclidean appears and is all like 'gimmie those cupcakes' and I'm like 'no way!' Yuck, what a mess to defeat him—ichor and everything all over the place. I feel bad for the poor janitor who's going to have to clean that up. Then on the way here I met some other ponies who were also trapped in very bad dreams so I taught them the song and gave them some cupcakes too."

The Elements quickly gathered around as she handed out the cupcakes and the delight on each face was quite impressive. Nightmare Moon left the throne and approached as Pinkie Pie held out a cupcake to her. It did indeed look and smell delicious and there was some aspect of it that seemed strange.

She looked at it hesitantly and then to Pinkie Pie. "Why did you leave to get these? This is a dream. Why not just summon them?"

"Well, I figured that since you're Nightmare Moon and have been on the moon for a thousand years, you probably have never had a cupcake before and wouldn't know what they tasted like, so there would be nothing in your head to compare it too. So luckily I was already baking these when I entered your dream so I was able to bring them right over!"

"Wait, what? You're able to be in the dream world and the waking world at the same time? How is that even possible?"

"Oh sure! I do that all the time. It does get a little confusing at times as I'm not sure if I'm awake or dreaming things, but it's still fun!"

"So you brought these cupcakes from the physical world into the dream world? There are unicorns who study magic their entire lives who could not hope to achieve a power like that. How did you manage it?"

"Oh I don't know. It just came naturally to me, or unnaturally."

"Why you were baking these in the middle of the night?"

"Well, after the pickle split incident, I needed something to get the taste out of my mouth and if you're like me, and I know I am, you believe there's few problems that can't be solved with a big enough dose of cupcakes."

Nightmare Moon leaned forward and took a small bite. It was like an supernova of flavor. The things she had thought tasted good up to this point were nothing compared to this "cupcake" as Pinkie Pie called it. The thrill of the suffering of millions paled in comparison to this divine confection! She devoured it and she brought her hooves to her face, so overcome with delight.

Pinkie Pie began giggling and then laughing so hard she fell over.

"What?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"That face! Rainbow Dash made that face once, it's the funniest thing ever!" Pinkie Pie said and made the same face, bringing up her hooves and squeezing her cheeks together until her lips stuck out in a strange smile.

Then it happened. Nightmare Moon began to laugh with joy, somehow even more astonishing to her than being able to cry.

Pinkie laughed some more too, then looked off somewhere into space.

"Hey, here comes Trixie. Looks like she's going to wake you up. When you get to Ponyville I'll throw you both a huge 'We're glad you're not evil anymore' party!"

Nightmare Moon started to thank Pinkie Pie when everything started fading out.

"Night? Night!" Trixie said as Nightmare Moon woke from her dream, finding herself on the hill overlooking where the circus had been.

"Trixie?" she said, glad when she felt Trixie hugging her.

"I'm so sorry I ran off like that! I was scared. Abbie told me about the dream and I raced back here to find you."

Nightmare Moon smiled up at her. "It's okay. I understand why you ran and I don't blame you. Thank you for coming back."

"You actually laughed yourself awake. Did you have a good dream finally?"

"Yes, the best dream I have ever had," she said with a smile, gratefully returning the hug. Then she paused. "Is there anyplace around here we could get a cupcake?"

> Chapter 10-A Royal Audience
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homecoming and A Royal Audience

On the walk back to the traveling circus, Night explained the very bizarre dream she had experienced along with greater details of what she had been and what she believed she had become.

Once they had arrived at the circus, they met up with Trixie's family and it after a painfully long silence Presto started the ball rolling.

"Welcome back, Night," Presto said.

"Thank you, Presto," she replied just as awkwardly.

Abbie stepped forward and hugged Night.

"Thank you, Miss Night! Thank you for making the bad dreams go away. When I went back to sleep, there were no more monsters!"

Delores also gave Night a hug.

"We all know the story of Nightmare Moon. Who would have imagined that she could have turned back from the path of destruction."

"Last night I was on the final step of that path, with one hoof over the edge of the abyss. I almost didn't make it back. But I am Night, not Nightmare Moon," Night said.

"We're glad you did, Night," Trixie said with a smile.

"That goes double for me!" Mobius said, trying to pose in a sophisticated manner. "And before you ask, Night, I already asked myself the question from yesterday and the answer now truly is 'yes, definitely."

When the trail of wagons camped for the night, Trixie took Night to see the seer again, something Night wasn't looking forward to after the last visit. Sunset Dawn smiled at them as they entered her cart.

"Your aspect is different than it was just yesterday, girl," she said to Night.

"I am different. Last night Nightmare Moon was destroyed."

The old mare leaned forward and took Night's head in her hooves. "Show me what you really are!"

This time no cloud of darkness appeared, no manifestation of Nightmare Moon. Instead the image of a pony appeared in the air and it remained for a few moments. Sunset released her and the image faded.

"You are indeed a different person, child. Welcome," she said with a big smile.
That evening, as she slept on a cushion on the floor of Trixie's cart, Night felt sleep approaching and she had mixed emotions. Was she truly free of the specter of Nightmare Moon, or was last night just a single reprieve?

When she slipped away into the dream world she first became aware of the light of dawn as she found herself in Ponyville. There in front of her were the former Elements of Chaos, now fully transformed into the Elements of Harmony. There was Celestia and Luna and all the residents of Ponyville out to welcome her.

She smiled. She was finally free and sighed, enjoying sleep for the first time. She hoped reality held something like her dream.

In the early hours of the morning, Night and Trixie both watched from their cart as Ponyville came into view. Neither looked forward to whatever awaited them here. The long trail of wagons stopped on the outskirts of town and began setting up.

"Girls, you just need to relax," Presto told his daughter and Night. "Things will be fine. We'll put on a show that will knock their horseshoes off!"

Night heard a gasp from Delores and turned to look and gasped as well at what she saw. There in the distance was Celestia herself, looking around and speaking to various stunned ponies. Shortly she looked in their direction and she smiled and walked toward them.

"Easy girls," Presto said as she approached and he bowed. "Greetings, your exalted majesty, how can we be of assistance?" He said, putting himself between the girls and Celestia. The others quickly followed suit, bowing, all except Abbie, who was too awestruck to move; she just stared up at Celestia with eyes wide and mouth open.

"Greetings and salutations to you all," Celestia said. "Please rise, my friends."

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit, your majesty?" Presto asked.

"I wish to speak to your daughter and to Nightmare Moon for a little while. Our business will be resolved in short measure and they'll be back in time to join you for the opening festivities," she said with a smile.

Night saw the quizzical and almost defiant look on Presto's face as his eyes met Celestia's.

"You have my word, Presto Cadabra, as ruler of Equestria, that no harm shall befall either of them."

"So be it, but I will hold you to that," he warned.

A large form flew over and slammed into the ground.

"What is the meaning of... oh, Celestia! Forgive me, your majesty," Lady Queenlion said meekly, bowing.

"Greetings, Lady Queenlion. It has been a long time. Thank you for allowing Trixie to rejoin her family in your circus. Maybe they aren't the only ones who have changed perhaps? When the season's over, why not pay a visit to Canterlot and we can catch up on old times."

"You'll let me come back?" she asked in amazement.

"Yes. You and your circus are welcome to return to Canterlot."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"If you will excuse me, Lady Queenlion, I have additional matters to tend to. We can talk more when you visit Canterlot," she said with a smile.

"Of course, your majesty. Thank you," she said and backed away. When the griffin saw Trixie she smiled widely as she walked past.

Celestia turned and looked down with kindness at Trixie and Night as she stood there.
Night stood and watched, still unsure of all this. She met Celestia's gaze, then looked around at the sky, the circus, the sun, the people she had met in circus and then back to Celestia, recalling that terrifying night in the forest when they'd last met.
Celestia saw her unease and turned away.

"Walk with me, please."

Trixie and Night walked beside her.

"You need not be afraid, Trixie," Celestia chuckled. "I did not come here to smite you. The two of you have been on my mind as of late, and I am glad things worked out so well. The lessons life teaches us aren't easy or pleasant at times, but I think people are better for having learned them."

Celestia led them to a royal tent that had been assembled on the edge of the circus itself. They entered and there they met Princess Luna, sitting on a large cushion. Celestia sat beside her and wrapped a wing around her sister. Night noted that Luna closed her eyes and turned away when she entered.

Celestia gestured for Trixie and Night to sit on cushions in front of them.

"Princess Luna," Trixie said in reverence and bowed.

A teapot and four cups appeared; the tea poured itself and a cup moved to each of them. Trixie took hers and sipped, still apparently very nervous. Night did likewise, still not sure what to feel.

Celestia viewed them silently for a few moments, then smiled.

"I am glad that you are both here. Trixie, I want to thank you," she said.

"You, thank me?" Trixie asked, incredulous.

"I was aware of what transpired here in Ponyville and I did feel some obligation to address those events. I much prefer letting people learn from their mistakes rather than forcing a harsh lesson on them, and I am glad that you did learn from your mistakes. I did not feel the need to take any direct action against you, and the lessons you learned were important ones—ones that someone else I knew of needed to learn and I realized you would be the ideal teacher for her."

Night nodded her head.

"So, it was all planned."

"Mostly, but not all," Celestia said. "I was not aware of the crisis in Clocksburro at the time, but I must say you both are to be praised for your heroic actions there. And I thank you, Great and Powerful Trixie, for befriending Nightmare Moon, for teaching her the magic of friendship.

Night smiled as she saw Trixie's smile.

"Thank you, your Majesty," Trixie said, bowing deeply, then turned to Night, her earlier fears now wiped away at having been praised by the princess.

"That being said, there was still the issue of the events here in Ponyville," Celestia said and Trixie's smile quickly faded. "I discussed those events with the ponies involved and while some were a bit reluctant to overlook things, they agreed to let bygones be bygones. So, you are 'off the hook' as they said, Trixie."

Night saw Trixie nearly slump down in relief, but a dark thought occurred to her.

"How much of these events was planned? Trixie, were you in on it from the start, just trying to be my friend to earn a pardon?" She saw the hurt in Trixie's face and immediately regretted saying it.

"Night, I had no idea!" Trixie exclaimed.

"Nightmare Moon, you do her a disservice," Celestia chided. "While I may have watched and planned, none of what happened was deception. All was sincere and for the ultimate benefit of the two of you."

Night looked down, feeling ashamed.

"I am sorry, Trixie. Forgive me."

Trixie's smile returned.

"It's okay, Night. I think I can understand why you'd feel that way, but you are my friend. My best friend."

Night managed a smile.

"And you are my… best friend as well."  It felt surprisingly good to her to be able to say it.

"Trixie," Celestia said, "You may return to your family now. There is more that Luna and I need to discuss with Nightmare Moon. There will be an informal, but private, gathering at Sugarcube Corner shortly. I do hope you can attend."

"Of course, your majesties," she said, bowing to both before leaving.

"Excellent. Speak to the guard and he'll show you the way."

> Chapter 11-Resolutions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Resolutions

Once Trixie had gone Luna sat up, clearly uncertain about the pony she was talking to. It took her a couple of false starts to get going, but with Celestia's help she managed.

"Nightmare Moon, I've..I've been struggling with what to say to you since Celestia decided to do this. Once I really looked inside, I realized I can't rest all the blame on you. You offered the temptation, but I chose to embrace it."

She hung her head, not looking at either Celestia or Night, her voice even and calm. "I let my anger and jealousy get the better of me and I see now what the end result would've been. I've made some terrible mistakes, but Celestia was still willing to forgive them and take me back. So I would be the queen of hypocrisy if I held a grudge against you for what happened. She told me what you were and what you've become; we were mingled so long that I can truly understand how difficult your transformation has been. We're both lucky to be alive and to have what we have now."

She took a deep breath, as if to speak more, but Night stopped her.

"Luna, it was my fault!" Night said. "It was all my fault. Don't blame yourself and please don't suffer anymore for anything I did."

Luna managed a small smile. "I would never have dreamed of hearing such things from Nightmare Moon, but it does bring some comfort. Perhaps we share responsibility?"

"Yes, perhaps that is best. We both fed on what the other offered. Luna, can you forgive me for what I've done?" Night asked, looking down just as Luna had, feeling tears roll down her cheeks, unable to look either pony in the eye.

To Night's astonishment, she felt Luna embrace her.

"Yes, Nightmare Moon," Luna said. "As a wise mare once said to me, 'will you accept my friendship?'"

Night rested her head on Luna's shoulder and cried hard, letting a thousand years of guilt and shame rise to the surface. When her tears finally abated she sat back, and she noticed that Luna had been crying as well.

Wiping her eyes, Night turned to Celestia. "Now it is my turn to speak, but before that, there is something I must do."

Night bowed deeply before the sisters, her action eliciting a small gasp of surprise from both. She stayed down as she began speaking.

"Celestia, you are indeed worthy to wear that crown. You were the better sister. You alone deserve to wear it. You alone deserve to be queen."

Celestia looked very surprised as Night rose, but said nothing. She closed her eyes for a few moments and slowly broke into a smile. "Those words mean a great deal to me. Thank you, Nightmare Moon."

Now it was Celestia's turn to hug her and she felt such joy, recalling from Luna's memories how much she enjoyed her sister's hugs, knowing the great love and warmth Celestia possessed. She smiled, knowing that at least some small part of that she was willing to share, even with Nightmare Moon.

Night looked at the sisters and sighed. "What is to become of me now? I am very grateful to you both for setting me free, but what place is there for me in this world?"

"That is entirely up to you now, Nightmare Moon. As I said when this began, if you showed yourself worthy, I would give you a new form. If you wish I could change you into something else; if you wish I could erase your memories of Nightmare Moon and you could begin completely anew. As with Trixie, you are 'off the hook' as well. Your future is your own, but if you have no plan, there are some things I could suggest."

Night shook her head, looking at Celestia.

"This is who I am. While it is tempting to wipe away every trace of Nightmare Moon, she is a part of me. As for a new form, a unicorn would be nice. She held up her hooves. "Trying to do everything with these when you are used to doing them with magic is quite a challenge. Also, I wish to be known as Night now. I am no longer Nightmare Moon and I need to start thinking of myself as someone other than her."

"As you wish, Night. So be it," Celestia said as she leaned forward and touched Night's head with her horn. Night felt power flowing into her, her body changing, her nature changing. She closed her eyes as the feeling washed over her, then she opened her eyes and saw that she had wings again and she could feel her magic; her horn had been restored. Her powers were just a shadow of what they had been as Nightmare Moon, but compared to her mortal powers, this was amazing.

"Oh, it's so good to be normal again!" Night flapped her wings for joy as he looked up at her new horn and giggled. She caught herself when she realized who she was with, but a moment later she realized she need not have and bowed again. "Thank you, Celestia. Thank you."

"You are quite welcome, Night. As for opportunities, there has been a task that needs to be done, something I have been trying to find the right person for and you would be uniquely qualified."

"What is that?"

"The Everfree Forest has been quite troublesome lately and I have been thinking of appointing someone as tender of the forest."

"Yes, that would seem a perfect fit."

"You do not need to decide now. It is just one option of the infinite variety that you now possess."

"Were I to accept, that means I would be near Ponyville. It would become like home," Night said more to herself than to the princesses.

"Yes, but it is a very nice place to call home, with good ponies, some who may even become your dearest friends."

"I could accept the thought they could forgive Nightmare Moon, but to be my friends after such events?"

"They are the Elements of Harmony, my dear. They are quite remarkable." An hourglass appeared out of thin air and Celestia started for the door of the tent. "Oh my, the time has gotten away from us. We should be getting along to the party… or as Miss Pinkie Pie assured me, it would be a par-tay." Celestia giggled a little at the idea.

Luna looked at her strangely.

"There's a difference?"

"I can assure you there is quite a difference. I have been to two social functions with Miss Pie in attendance; she took things to a different level both times. So I quite look forward to it. If you want to see what Ponyville is really like, Night, I would highly recommend attending. You are after all the guest of honor."

"I'm sure there was a celebration at my defeat, but why would they do such a thing now?"

"For the simple reason that it's fun. We'd best be on our way," Celestia said.

The three walked the short distance to Ponyville and there were mixed reactions of awe and horror as people bowed and some recoiled. Night started having regrets about not changing her form at this point.

Celestia explained details about the town and pointed out notable landmarks and prominent ponies that they encountered. Finally they approached a building that looked like a giant cake.

"There they are!" they heard Pinkie Pie shout as she threw open the door and gestured wildly for them to enter.

Celestia and Luna entered. The elder princess looked back at Night and nodded her head in the direction of the door.

"Come along, just one last step in your journey," she said with a smile.

"One last step," Night repeated as she walked forward and entered.

Inside were the Elements of Harmony, Trixie and a baby dragon. No one said anything at first, the Elements too shocked to speak. Night looked around—the place was lavishly decorated with bright pink everything. A banner over a table overflowing with food read: We're Glad You're Not Evil Anymore!

Trixie found her voice first. "I tried explaining to them that I was not 'evil'!" she said mock indignation.

"I think it is more directed at me, Trixie," Night said with a smile and an instant later she was being tightly hugged by Pinkie Pie.

"We're so glad you could join us! Life's too short to waste time making or keeping enemies," she said happily.

"Pinkie Pie, I take it all back. You aren't totally nuts," Rainbow Dash said, staring with incredulity at Night.

The girls bowed to the princesses once they'd regained their composure.

Twilight looked to Night and hesitantly stepped forward. "I never imagined I'd say this, but welcome back to Ponyville, Nightmare Moon."

Night laughed good naturedly and smiled.

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. It has been a strange and painful journey that's brought me back here. And thank you for letting me return. And it's just Night now."

"Ah can't believe that you're the same... thing, that we saw in town just a few months back. I suppose the princess had a good reason to do what she did... I just...  I just never would imagine you'd be here now, like this."

"I never would have imagined it either, but I am not as I was then, thanks to Celestia and Luna's compassion and Trixie's friendship. They showed me the path I was on would never have given me contentment or happiness."

"Well, darling," Rarity said. "Perspective does come at a price, but it is worth it. I am Rarity. Welcome to our humble town, Nightmare Moon—er, that is, Night. Now, as for you, something should be done. That mane, it needs some sort of style; it's too unruly and perhaps a scarf or something to take the edge off the dark colors. You need a visit to the spa and then a total makeover, dear."

Night looked over the Elements and smiled. While the rainbow colored one was still silent and suspicious it wasn't the overt fear or hatred she had feared. However, the yellow and pink one was rooted to the spot where she sat, just staring at her with wide fear filled eyes.

"So, is she a princess or something?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing a hoof at Night.
The princesses looked to each other and then back to her.

"She is not a princess, but she is... family of a sort," Celestia said.

Night turned and looked at the princesses in surprise and smiled widely.

Pinkie Pie got behind Rainbow Dash and pushed her forward toward Night. "Go on, welcome her to Ponyville and make nice."

Rainbow Dash glared at Pinkie for a few moments, then the pegasus looked Night up and down with a suspicious eye.

"Welcome to Ponyville. You've got a long way to go before you think you'll be a friend of ours. I'll be watching you."

"Dashie!" Pinkie Pie protested.

"Hey, you were there Pinkie. You know what she was planning to do."

"I know, but people can change, Dash. You didn't see what I saw, such a  broken hearted pony, ready to just lay down and die," Pinkie Pie said with remarkable seriousness.

"Yeah, maybe she will, but we just need to be careful."

Applejack stepped forward and took Night's hoof and shook it.

"The name's Applejack, pleasure to meet you, Night. Welcome to Ponyville. If'n you really did have a change of heart, then you're welcome here anytime."
"Thank you, Applejack. I will endeavor to show myself worthy of the second chance I have been given."

Pinkie Pie then began pushing the yellow and pink pegasus, and she moved so reluctantly that her hooves left little grooves on the floor.

"Fluttershy, say hello," Pinkie Pie grunted as she pushed the pegasus across the room.

Night tried to put on her least threatening face and smiled. "Hello Fluttershy."

*Squeak!*

"Okay, close enough," Pinkie Pie said with a laugh.

Seeing the party was off to an awkward start, Pinkie Pie put on some music and began singing and dancing, trying to lighten the mood.

"Equestria girls, we're kinda magical..."

The others began to relax and enjoy themselves. After a while they joined in the singing and dancing along with Pinkie Pie. Night watched them dance, comparing dances from a millennium ago to this modern dancing and music. That music could be recorded on these disks and played back at will was amazing.

Night hesitantly began mimicking the moves of the other ponies, trying to let her mane down and join in the merrymaking, since this party was meant to welcome her into their world. After a few songs Pinkie Pie brought out a truly magnificently decorated cake, the likes of which made the cupcake she'd had pale in comparison.

As Night looked at the others, while there was still some suspicion and hostility, they were allowing her to be a part of this—they trusted Celestia, and Celestia was vouching for her character. To call this place home, to have a place here in the lives of these ponies—and it was obvious that Celestia wanted her to stay here, despite giving her the option of refusing her offer of tender of the Everfree Forest—she wanted Night to be among the Elements of Harmony to continue her journey of wisdom and understanding under their tutelage. There were many more worthy than Nightmare Moon to be given a second change who would never get it. She wouldn't squander the opportunity.

"Night?" Pinkie Pie asked with a bit of concern.

"I am sorry, I was thinking of something. If I may make an announcement first?"

"Sure."

"Cel… Princess Celestia, I will accept your offer," and she could see Celestia was clearly delighted by the decision.

"Excellent!" Celestia called for attention, though she already had it. "Ladies, may I introduce Night, official tender of the Everfree Forest."

"Well, she's gonna have her work cut out for her," Rainbow Dash said, still sulking a bit over the turn of events.

"Oh yes, uh, it is a rather… frightening place, especially at night, no offense."
Night stepped forward. "I am the one who made it what it is, so it is my duty to do what I can to set things right."

"And with that duty comes something else," Celestia said, pointing with her horn towards Night's flank. Three fir trees appeared, and Night felt tears of joy coming.

"I am whole again," Night said. "I will do my best to keep the forest safe and provide safe passage to all who enter peaceably."

Celestia smiled and looked at her friends.

"Twilight Sparkle, if she's to be official tender, then we'll need to arrange accommodations for her. A place in or near the forest. We'll need to have an expense account set up, furnishings."

"We could refurbish part of the old castle," Twilight offered. "It seemed structurally sound in most parts."

Celestia blushed, appearing sheepish. "Um, well, the castle met with a bit of an accident and it's… gone now."

"Accident?"

"I may have overreacted a bit and destroyed the ruins."

"So you ruined a ruin? What does that make it?" Pinkie Pie wondered aloud.

"A memory. The castle and its history and secrets are gone forever. The first step in healing that forsaken place."

Twilight looked in alarm to Celestia.

"But Princess, that was a turning point in Equestrian civilization. A piece of our history."

"History for some, a tortured memory for those of us who lived through that time," Celestia said sadly, her anguish clearly written on her face.

The look on the faces of the ponies and the tension in the room made it clear to Night that this is what everyone wanted to talk about, but no one wanted to be the one to just come out and say it.

"Yes, it was I you encountered in Ponyville that night," Night said, turning to face the ponies in the room. "I was planning on destroying you all and plunging the world into eternal darkness. Celestia would protest my saying so, but it was I and not Luna who was doing it all. What you encountered at the time was a parasite that used Luna as its host. I fed on her anger and jealousy, fanning the flames to feed my hunger and drove her to madness. We were one and when you rescued her, Celestia discovered that there was still some small connection between us that hadn't been broken and it was only by turning me into a mortal that she was finally able to set Luna free. I came to understand what I was, a soulless creature of darkness that had been given a soul. I had to learn to think and feel and understand the very creatures she wanted to destroy. Princess Celestia, Trixie and Pinkie Pie helped me see the world through your eyes and showed me life is worth living."

Then Night turned toward Pinkie Pie.

"Princess Celestia and Trixie showed me five of the six Elements of Harmony, but I was dangling at the end of my rope, ready to just give up and let go when Pinkie Pie appeared and showed me the last piece of the puzzle, the Element of Laughter."

Upon hearing her name Pinkie Pie lifted her head from the cake she had been eating, icing all over her muzzle.

"Oh, you're welcome, Night. It was a fun dream. I'm glad I could help." She resumed stuffing her face while recounting her story of the events of Night's dream.

Seeing her eating finally prompted the others to eat, but the mood was a little darker as Night confirmed what they had all feared and assumed. Night finally tried the cake and it was even better than the cupcakes, enjoying several slices.

Celestia reluctantly put down her cupcake and looked quizzically at Pinkie Pie. "That was quite a tale, Pinkie Pie, but what did Death offer you in the wager?"

"Offer?"

"Surely it wasn't a one sided contest. It's traditional for him to offer something as part of the wager."

"Oh yeah!  He did offer me something, but I can't remember what it is. He said I wouldn't be able to remember because it was too early for anyone to know about those future events, but I do remember that it was really super neato!"

Night noticed Twilight looking strangely at her for a while, wondering if she too had icing on her face.

"Does something trouble you, Twilight Sparkle?"

"You can just call me Twilight, Night. And to answer your question, yes, something is on my mind, but not quite troubling. It's more a matter of irony. Everything I am now, everything I have now I owe to you, Night."

Night blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"My coming here to Ponyville, my friends, my cutie mark—everything in my life came about because of you. You showed me my destiny and you led me to the friends I was always meant to have, the life I was always meant to lead. You showed me the power I had within, who I really was, a pony who I never would have imagined I could become."

Twilight smiled as Applejack put a hoof on Night's shoulder.

"You made some mighty big changes in all our lives, Night. And seein' as how everythin' turned out for the best, we're much obliged to you for it."

Pinkie Pie stepped up hugged Night, getting icing on her.

"You showed me I'm not just a total goofball. I learned that I had a purpose, something for a long time I thought I'd never have."

Fluttershy hesitantly approached her.

"I-I learned how to be braver and more-more assertive," Fluttershy mumbled, averting her eyes from Night's.

Rarity smiled widely. "You showed me my strength and substance, things I can often lose sight of as I obsess about my work or my… vanity," she said, flipping her hair for dramatic effect.

Rainbow Dash didn't approach, but she managed a smile as she looked at Night.

"I was already cool, but maybe after it was all over I was a little bit cooler."

Spike shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, I slept through most of it, so I didn't learn anything."

That prompted a fit of giggles from the girls and with that the tension in the room lifted and the party resumed, the girls' attention now moving to Luna, giving Night a much appreciated break from the spotlight.

> Chapter 12-One Last Surprise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Party's End and One Last Surprise

"Enjoying your first party, Night?" Trixie asked, walking over.

"It is quite interesting. The cake is to die for."

"Yes, Pinkie Pie is quite the excellent baker. So you'll be staying here now?"

"It would seem so."

"I'll miss you, Night."

"Miss me? Why? Oh, right, you will be with the circus."

Celestia cleared her throat and came up behind then, gently resting a wing over each of them. "Pardon my nosiness, but it's hard not to overhear things in such a small gathering. I have an idea. Twilight, may I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course, Princess," Twilight said happily as she trotted over.

"Twilight, I have been thinking, perhaps it is time you took a student of your own."
Twilight face went blank for a moment at the thought.

"B-but I'm not a teacher. I can't train anyone!"

"This is an unusual case, Twilight. Your student wouldn't be a novice. While you have great expertise in the theoretical aspect of magic, you do not yet have much practical experience. Your student has a great deal of practical experience, but almost no formal academic training in magic."

Trixie looked to Twilight and then to Celestia.

"You want me to be her student?"

"You have a lot to learn from each other. I think it would help both of you immensely. It will help you round out your knowledge and powers."

Twilight and Trixie both looked unsure as they pondered Celestia's suggestion.

"Well, Princess, if you think it's a good idea, I suppose its okay," Twilight said hesitantly.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not sure either, but for Celestia herself to say it would be for our benefit, it would be unwise to pass on the opportunity."

Night watched as the others continued to discuss the issue, pleased that Trixie would be able to stay around. She smiled, feeling a contentment deep within herself. She had a family now, friends and a home.

A loud gasp from Pinkie Pie interrupted the festivities.  "I just had an amazing idea!" she exclaimed. "Since the princesses were planning an overnight stay in Ponyville, what if we had a super duper royal slumber party!"

Twilight's eyes lit up with excitement. Pinkie Pie and Twilight rushed up to Celestia and Luna and gave them big quivering anime eyes.

"Please say you'll come!" they pleaded.

"Oh, I've heard of this ritual. Please, can we attend, Celestia?" Luna asked excitedly.

"Come on, it will be funner than fun!" Pinkie Pie assured them.

"Well, I suppose," Celestia said, "This would be my very first slumber party as well. What is required?"  

"I've got a book that explains everything!" Twilight said with unrestrained glee.

"Sweetie Belle would never forgive me if I didn't ask if she could come to a royal slumber party," Rarity said.

"And if she goes, Applebloom will wanna go to and if those two are there, Scootaloo will wanna go too," Applejack said.

"That's a great idea!" Pinkie Pie said. "The fillies will love it!" Pinkie Pie trotted up to Trixie and Night. "What about you two? This will be the best slumber party ever!"

"You're inviting us?" Trixie asked in astonishment.

"Sure!"

Celestia walked over and smiled.

"Trixie, your little sister is about the same age of the fillies that will be attending. Miss Pie, would there be room for one more to attend?"

"You bet! Just like cupcakes, there's always room for one more!"

"Then by all means, Trixie, invite young Abbie to join us."

"Thank you, your majesty. She'll be thrilled."

"What sorts of things occur at a slumber party?" Night asked.

Twilight stood up, looking very scholarly, beginning to list things from the book.

"...Making smores. Playing truth or dare. Telling scary stories."

Nightmare Moon laughed at bit at the last one. "I think I have an unfair advantage over all of you on scary stories. I'd be willing to bet I'd make even Celestia's mane stand on end."

Celestia laughed good naturedly and took a dramatic pose.

"Challenge accepted! I know a few spooky stories of my own."

"Very well. This will be a very interesting night indeed," Night replied with a smile.

"I-I don't think I'm going to be sleeping very well tonight," Fluttershy muttered nervously.

#########


The party broke up a few hours later, everyone now walking to the circus as it officially opened.

Celestia watched Luna, who was so unsure of herself around these mortal ponies. While she was more than a thousand years older than them, in maturity and emotional development they were peers and she clearly was hoping to be accepted by the girls. From what she'd seen of things so far it was working. Luna had been hesitant and withdrawn most of the time and the girls worked hard to put her at ease. Over the course of the party she had begun to relax and open up to their efforts.

They now chatted and laughed together like old friends, which is what Luna needed more than anything. Even Trixie and Night had been hesitantly allowed to join their little group, though true acceptance would take time.

Pinkie Pie stopped suddenly.

"Pinchy knee, rapid eye twitch, itchy scalp... I either need to switch shampoos or... um, guys, I'll catch up to you later. There's something I need to do."

"Should we be afraid?" Spike asked, covering his head with his hands.

"Ah don't think so, Spike," Applejack said. "If it were dangerous she'd have warned us."

Celestia recalled Twilight's letter regarding Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie sense" and what was odd is that she herself had felt something at the same moment. A presence she hadn't felt in many years. Someone she owed a great deal to.

"I too need to take care of something as well, if you will excuse me," Celestia said with a smile and began trotting off.

"Okay, now should we be afraid?" she heard Spike ask.

For the sake of privacy, Celestia created a small pocket of space around her that made her invisible to the ponies. She followed her senses, letting them lead her to a beautifully ornate cart and there sat an old mare in a shawl and glasses. She looked up, as if sensing Celestia's presence. Celestia stepped forward and enveloped the old pony in the privacy bubble.

"Well, well. It does my old heart good to see you again, dearie," the old pony said, beginning to transform, her apparently advanced age changing until she was now a middle aged alicorn.

Celestia smiled and hugged her. "Aunt Dawn," Celestia said, tears running down her cheeks.

"Celestia, dearest. So good to see you again."

"Everything came true, just like you predicted. I couldn't have done it without you. You gave me Luna back. You made it all possible."

"I wouldn't be much of an aunt if I didn't look after family, would I? I only wish I could do more. Confound these powers, it would be so much easier if I could just look through time rather than having to travel back and forth through it, but I'm finally back and can see you, dear little Luna again and all the others so dear to me."

"I don't know what I would have done without your help. I was so lost when it all began."

"I just wish I had been able to act before it all went wrong."

"You did what you could. Predictions & Prophecies has helped me many times over the centuries and for that I am eternally grateful."

"You are quite welcome, dear. I was quite surprised when I encountered Night. I would never have imagined that you'd give her a chance like that."

"The shadow of Luna was still within her. I had failed Luna. In a way, it was a second chance to try to save a lost soul before it was too late."

"And you did a good job. She seems to be a fine girl."

"Thank you, even I had—"

*Gasp*

Celestia and Sunset Dawn turned to see Pinkie Pie standing nearby, somehow looking right at them, despite her sphere of privacy they were in. The pink Pony rushed forward, impossibly entering their little pocket of space. She ran up to Sunset Dawn and threw her hooves around her tightly.

"Granny Pie!" Pinkie shouted.

"Pinkamena!" Sunset Dawn said, happily embracing her granddaughter.

"Granny Pie?" Celestia asked in astonishment, looking between the two.

"I knew you were around here somewhere, Granny Pie. I've missed you so much!" Pinkie said excitedly.

"Granny Pie?" Celestia muttered again in shock.

Sunset Dawn smiled and looked to Celestia.

"I do have a life outside of being a seer, you know."

"Oh, hi again, Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie said and gave a quick bow. "Granny Pie, how long will you be in town? Will you visit the farm? We all miss you a lot! Do you know the princess? She's really neat! And she's got all kinds of cool powers and stuff..." Pinkie said, beginning to recap the events of her life since she last saw Granny Pie as a filly.

"Granny Pie?" Celestia continued to mumble.

Sunset Dawn patted her niece's cheek to get her attention. "Yes, she is my granddaughter. She and her family are part of our family."

"This explains sooooo much," Celestia said with a laugh.

"I love them all, but of my son and his children, only Pinkamena inherited the gift. She's an alicorn born with our powers, but without wings or a horn to help her direct and focus those powers, so she's found her own way to channel them into something useful and from what I have foreseen, It is best to just let her remain as she is and all will work out for the best."

Pinkie Pie snapped out of her discussion with herself about cake vs. cupcakes upon hearing she was related to Celestia and she threw her hooves around the princess.

"Can I call you Auntie Celestia now?" Pinkie Pie asked with a huge smile.

"Of course, dear.  Welcome to the family," Celestia said with just as big a smile, returning Pinkie Pie's hug.


##############


Princess Twilight sat alone on the grand throne of the stars in Castle Canterlot on what should be the greatest day of her life, but she had spent most of it crying.

It had been five centuries since Celestia had imbued her with her celestial powers and transformed Twilight into an alicorn, grooming her to one day be princess of Equestria.

The ceremony of transference had been elaborate and meaningful, the first change of leadership in over 1,500 years. That had been less than a week ago and the princesses had left, gone on a journey they wouldn't explain, but they assured her they'd be back in "just a few centuries."

Tonight was the Grand Galloping Gala, and while it might seem an ideal time to celebrate such a momentous even, it only brought tears.

She missed her friends and family. All that was left to her now was Spike, who was half way through his thousand year life cycle and Night, who seemed as ageless as the princesses.

Celestia had shared a glimpse of the future with each of her parents before their passings, so they could see that their daughter would one day be ruler of the world and she took comfort in that.

She missed her friends just as deeply, as they had become family to her, the sisters she never had.

Anguish gripped her again as she recalled the passing of each of the Elements.  She took the elemental crown off her head and looked at it. As each of her friends had passed on, their elemental gem had taken its place on her crown. For some reason, when Trixie had passed, a stone in the shape of her cutie mark had appeared on the crown as well; perhaps there were more than six Elements.  

She stared at the gems that represented her friends and her tears ran down her cheeks and fell onto the crown.

"We were supposed to be best friends forever," she sobbed.

She gave a cry of alarm as the crown began to glow brightly and it levitated from her hooves. The elemental gems detached themselves and floated in front of her.

"Oh mah stars, is that Twilight?" a distant voice asked.

"Twilight Darling, so good to see you... five centuries and you still haven't changed the style of your mane!"

"Oh yeah, she's got wings now. I'd say that makes her 19.7 percent cooler."

Energy began radiating out from each of the gems and took on pony shapes.

"What's going on? Is it really you guys?" Twilight muttered.

"Sure as shootin', sugarcube!"

"You don't think we'd leave our bestest best friend all alone, just when she needed us the most!"

"Twilight, you're princess of Equestria. Yay," Fluttershy cheered.

"I suppose the title of "Great and Powerful" is deservedly yours now," Trixie huffed.

The forms began to fill out and there stood her closest circle of friends.

"How can you be here? I watched... when you all... " her voice trailed off.

"And it was mighty thoughtful of ya' to be there with each of us at the end, Twi."

Pinkie Pie bounced around the throne with a big smile on her face.

"Remember when I made that wager with the Angel of Death? Well, now I remember what he offered! He said when you became Princess of Equestria, we'd be able to be there and help you out."

"But that means this crown is holding you prisoner, keeping you from moving on," Twilight said, looking at the crown with concern.

"Darling, it is nothing of the sort," Rarity said. "Each of us was given a choice to stay and help or move on, and knowing you'd be princess and we'd have the chance to be there for you, it was an easy choice."

"Right, Princess Twilight," Pinkie Pie said with delight. "We'll be with you as long as you want us around. There's plenty of time for eternity later."

Twilight smiled and her tears of sorrow became tears of joy.  

"Do you know what today is?" she asked.

The others looked at her, smiles all breaking out.

"This is going to be the best night ever!" Pinkie pie shouted and started dancing.


############


Dearest Celestia,

My friends are with me once again, thanks to the magic of friendship.  When each had   passed on they became part of the elemental crown and their gems weren't just momentos, but a part of each of them, and now they are by my side. It was wondrous to be able to see them all again. Somehow I have a feeling this won't come as a surprise to you, seeing as it was you who told me to wear the elemental crown rather than the royal jewels. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.

The Grand Galloping Gala was a huge success! I'm happy to report that the fire was put out quickly and didn't last long enough to do any serious fire or smoke damage, the water damage on the other hand is another matter. Rainbow Dash pushed a storm cloud inside the ball room to put out the fire, but then it was raining inside the castle and then there was the lightning and hail as well.

Unfortunately, the ancient statue of you and the newer one of Luna were both heavily damaged, again, and will need to be restored.

I am thankful to say that all the reported injuries were minor, and the doctor told me that Spike will get the cast off his tail in a few weeks.

My Great-great-great-great-great goddaughter Derparella was the belle of the ball, and caught the eye of the handsome prince Fetlock. Doctors assured me that the surgery went well and he'll just need to wear an eye patch for a few weeks. Despite the injury, he was quite taken with her, especially when she saved him from that part of the roof collapsing when the floor caved in and toppled that pillar.

I can say, with my friends once again by my side, it was the best night ever!

Your faithful friend,

Princess Twilight Sparkle