Nightmare Free Equestria

Luna, once again her Moon Shadow form, walked back toward Sweet Apple Acres. She had been helping to carry the unconscious ponies with them, but Lightning Dust, Vinyl, and Trixie had all recovered. Now they, as well as Octavia and Daring Do, all traveled toward the farm together.

The balloons were still there, ready to take them all back to Canterlot. Vinyl's weapon and DJ booth was destroyed, but there was a possibility of other ponies returning with them.

With little to do, the six of them waited for the others to arrive. Vinyl and Octavia moved to lie down next to the balloons, cuddling up as they rested. Daring Do was looking over the balloon, checking to make sure there would be no trouble once they were in flight. Trixie and Lightning Dust were feeling hungry, so they decided to help themselves to a few of the apples -- the bits for them could be paid if necessary. Moon Shadow mostly just walked around, pacing around the balloons and watching along the edges of the farm.

After the better part of twenty minutes since they started waiting, she caught sight of something approaching. From the forest emerged Twilight Sparkle, the five ponies she had gone through the forest with, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. The two princesses led the way with Twilight Sparkle in the middle, wearing her crown of magic.

"Princess Luna!" Trixie shouted. She began to run up toward the princess excitedly. Trixie suddenly stopped short of Luna.

"I mean..." She moved to bow down. "It is good to see that you are well, princess."

"You as well, my student," Luna replied. "I have been told that you were with that group which battled Discord to allow time for our rescue."

"Indeed," Moon Shadow stated as she moved forward, smiling down at Trixie. "She has been very helpful. Trixie is a talented unicorn who could be a very powerful wizard." She turned to look at Luna, narrowing her eyes. "That is, provided she has a good teacher."

"And who might you be?" Princess Celestia asked. "Twilight told us she was getting help, but did not say who from, claiming we would have to see for ourselves." She shifted to get a better look. "I can now understand why. I would not have expected an alicorn we had not met before."

"Please call me Moon Shadow." She gave a small bow of her head toward Celestia. "It is a pleasure to meet you princess, and to see that you are safe. We should get going though. The refugees will be grateful for your return, and they will want to know they can return to Ponyville."

"You are correct," Princess Celestia said. "I am certain that running Canterlot has been quite trying for Cadence." With that she started for one of the balloons.

Moon Shadow watched her a moment before starting to walk toward one of the other balloons.

"Excuse me," a voice said gently, drawing her attention. Moon Shadow turned to look at the source, the Princess Luna of this world.

Moon Shadow studied her native counterpart. Although not as tall as Princess Celestia, she was taller than Moon Shadow would be if she were in her natural form. This Luna was not actually looking her in the eye, looking more at the ground between them.

"I..." Luna started. She stopped then took a deep breath. "I may be mistaken, but I have gotten the impression that you are feeling hostile toward me."

"You are not mistaken."

"Why? We have not met before and I have done nothing I know of to offend you. What reason would you have to dislike me so?"

Moon Shadow turned, looking at the ponies that had come with them. Celestia was taking to one of the balloons, quickly followed by Twilight Sparkle. Trixie stood nearby, watching the two other alicorns. It was most likely that she was waiting to see which one her mentor was taking. Daring Do stood on the opposite side, ready to take flight. Lightning Dust had already climbed into a basket and was waiting, holding and ice pack to her head. Like Trixie, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were also waiting. Moon Shadow wondered, were they waiting for her? Was it possible that she had found friends in the musical ponies of this world?

"A thousand years," Moon Shadow said, "that is how long you and your sister have been the rulers of Equestria, correct?"

"Yes," Luna replied. "That is correct."

"And in that time," Moon Shadow turned to face Luna, "what have you done?"

"We have done a great many things," Luna responded. "Our rule has been marked by great progress and relative peace throughout Equestria."

"You seem to misunderstand." The black alicorn moved closer, took a hold of Luna's jaw and lifted her face so that they were looking at each other in the eye.

"In the thousand years of rule, what have you, Princess Luna, personally done to help Equestria?"

Luna looked at Moon Shadow, opened her mouth to speak, then looked away and shut it again.

"Trixie told me that she is your first student," Moon Shadow continued as she kept her gaze on the princess, "and this was at Celestia's insistence. It was not your own volition which brought her into your life."

"I have taught her much," Luna nearly shouted.

"Yes, and imagine how much you could have done if you had been teaching for the entire millennium."

Luna's eyes went wide and her ears dropped. She turned to look at her student then down at the ground. The princess's gaze suddenly shot up as she glared at Moon Shadow.

"Why do my affairs matter so much to you?" Luna asked, snarling. "I do not see how my decisions influence your life!"

"You are finally starting to show some passion," Moon Shadow stated with a smirk. It quickly faded as sadness filled her features. She looked away from Luna now, watching Princess Celestia with the ponies instead.

"Long ago I betrayed my sister," the black mare explained, "and was banished for it until recently. I now live with the regret for what I have done, and often wonder how different things would be had I not done such a thing. How much I could have helped ponies and made Equestria better if I had not become jealous and angry.

"Then I come here and learn of you. All the ponies I meet know of you: Princess Luna, raiser of the moon and walker of dreams. Yet few could ever speak of having met you, and not one could tell me of a single action you have done in the aid of Equestria."

Moon Shadow spun around to face Luna again. Her eyes narrowed to slits and she bared her teeth in a snarl at the princess. One black hoof rose up, poking the dark blue chest.

"You have had an opportunity I have not, and you have done nothing with it. You have enjoyed the title of royalty yet have done nothing with it. A thousand years, a million opportunities, and you have let them pass you by." She turned away from Luna. "You are not even a pale reflection of your sister. You are just a shadow in the night." She walked away from the princess, leaving a stunned Luna in her wake.

"Come on," Moon Shadow said softly to Octavia and Vinyl. "We need to rest and start planning how we are going to save the rest of Equestria." She then continued to walk past them and toward the balloon with Lightning Dust in it. The three of them quickly got into the basket with their injured and exhausted ally.

"Was that really necessary?" Vinyl asked, "Tearing into Princess Luna like that? Seemed really harsh."

Moon Shadow looked at her a moment, then closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"You're right," she said, "it was. Blowing up at her like that was not what I had in mind when I thought of meeting her."

"So what made you do it?" Octavia asked.

"As I said, she had an opportunity I did not and has done nothing with it. Not a night has gone by that I have not wondered what I would have done with my life had I not given in to my jealousy and anger." She let out a sigh. "It seems it would not have mattered. If I had not rebelled, I would have done nothing."

"Want my advice?" Lightning Dust said, taking the ice pack off her head. "Stop worrying about the past and what you might have done. Look forward and push yourself to the limit. That way, you won't find yourself feeling like you wasted another thousand years or something."

"...Perhaps you are right..."