Twilight Moonby Foals ErrandChaptersPrologueNightmareCelestiaAmnesiaPrologueTwilight Moon Upon the balcony, where everypony had been awaiting Princess Celestia, a smokey apparition of stars seeped in through the open window and appeared to solidify, becoming the form of Nightmare Moon. She beat her wings once before looking upon the crowd. “Oh, my beloved subjects, it’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little sun-loving faces.” “What did you do to our princess?!”Rainbow Dash demanded from Nightmare Moon. Applejack, held her back as she tried to rush at Nightmare Moon. “Easy, Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash looked back at her.If I hadn’t had been so entranced by what was occurring on the balcony I may have even found it humorous. Nightmare Moon began to laugh at the display of the two ponies. “Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?” A pink earth pony perked up at this question. “Oh! Oh! More guessing games! Uhm, Hockey Smokes? How about Queen Meany? Oh, Black Snooty! Black Snooty!” “Black Snooty? Is she serious? I’m surprised she wasn’t the first one blasted.” “I personally feel Nightmare Moon was too confused by Pinkie Pie to think of blasting her.” An apple was quickly shoved into Pinkie Pie’s mouth. I think Applejack did it but I can’t be certain. Nightmare Moon looked directly towards the trembling Fluttershy. “Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for one thousand years?” Not receiving a answer, she turned to Rarity. “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?” That was when Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “I’m guessing this unicorn was related to you, Princess?” “That unicorn is me, Shooting Star. Why?” “This sounds like it was written for foals. No offense, Princess Twilight, but seriously?” “This is a precise biographical account. Fluttershy and Rarity will both attest to this.” “I did, and I know who you are! You’re the ‘Mare in the Moon’: Nightmare Moon.” The rest of the ponies in attendance gasped. “Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I am here?” Twilight eyes went to either side, searching for a way out. “Y-you’re here to… to…” She gulped as Nightmare Moon chortled. “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” Lighting began to crack overhead as all the ponies cowered. “A bit melodramatic, but she doesn’t read, like, the stuff of evil and retributions.” “Oh, and what have you been reading about evil lately? Never mind, don’t answer that.” The mayor then ordered Nightmare Moon to be seized, as only she knew where Princess Celestia was. Several of the Solar Guards flew up to do just that. Nightmare Moon zapped them with lightning bolts, stunning them momentarily so that she was able to escape. “Escape? Isn't she winning? She’s supposed to be a nigh unstoppable evil. And aside from the fact that nopony can find Princess Celestia, all Nightmare Moon has done is some taunting, lightly zap the guards, and ran away! She ought to be striking ponies into the ground. She’s not a mosquito! She’s doom and destruction!” “She had just returned from the moon. Perhaps she needed time to regroup herself?” “She has had a thousand years to think about what she would do when she got free. Unless we assume she was brain-dead, she ought to have been better than this! If she wasn’t going to have the power she needed then she would’ve appeared at the old palace, not Ponyville City Hall. Maybe even hide the Elements of Harmony or try to use them herself? She gets one shot and she’s playing games!” “She escaped to get the elements, my student. Now.” Rainbow Dash raced after Nightmare Moon, but she was far too quick and got away. Twilight ran for the library, and after tucking in Spike, her baby dragon, she went downstairs to search for anything about the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash, who had watched Twilight race off, confronted her. “Just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Huh? Are you a spy?” Applejack grabbed ahold of her tail again to make her stop advancing upon Twilight, who was already backed into the wall. Twilight explained to the five ponies surrounding her what she had learned in her studies. It was then that Pinkie Pie found a book: “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide”. It explained that there were six elements but only five known ones; Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. The sixth one was a total mystery. “Right. The same Elements of Harmony that the Royal Sisters used to seal Discord in stone! The Element of Magic wasn’t exactly a secret!” “Well, it wasn’t mentioned in the book.” “The last known location of the elements was in the castle of the Royal Sisters, which was located in what is now the Everfree Forest.” Twilight Sparkle was determined to enter the forest on her own, however, the ponies who had been in the library with her insisted they would come as they would not allow their new friend to do this alone. As the six ponies chatted about what to expect, the cliff they were standing on collapsed. Rainbow Dash caught Pinkie Pie; Fluttershy was able to grab Rarity. Applejack stopped herself by grabbing hold of a root with her teeth and was barely able to catch Twilight by the hooves. “I have to admit, Shooting Star, that was one of the times I’ve truly been terrified.” “Especially since, by all rights, Nightmare Moon could have killed you and Applejack right there and then. She can shatter a cliff? She can snap a root. A root that was very conveniently located, wouldn’t you agree, Princess Twilight?” “Ahem, one cannot explain the Everfree Forest. I’ve taken you there student.” “What do I do?” Twilight Sparkle cried out, trying to hold on. “Let go.” “Are you crazy?” “No, I ain’t. I promise you’ll be safe. What I’m saying to you is the honest truth.” Twilight let go to be caught by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Next, the six mares ran right into an enraged manticore. The mares all tried different forms of attacks until Fluttershy was able to get the courage. “Wait!” She flew to the manticore and walked over to it with a smile. “Shhh, it’s ok.” He lifted a paw to show a large thorn which Fluttershy pulled out after warning him it would hurt. He roared, then began licking her. “How did you know about the thorn?” Twilight asked. “I didn’t. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.” “Interesting that Rainbow Dash didn’t get hurt a lot worse.” “It was good luck. The manticore wasn’t really thinking straight. He was in pain.” The next obstacle was terrifying trees which seemed to be coming towards them. Pinkie Pie began to sing and laugh at the trees, which caused them to turn back into regular trees. “Seriously? Trees? They didn’t do anything!” “I… You know what? I can’t explain that one.” The six mares ran straight into their next problem. The river was uncrossable due to a sobbing sea serpent who was unconscionable due to half of his mustache being cut off. Rarity told him how fabulous he was, but admitted that without his mustache it simply didn’t work. So she grabbed one of his sharper scales and used it to cut off most of her tail and used her magic to attach to the small remates that existed.. “Short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back.” He then allowed them to cross over his back. “What is this? Ponies Quarterly?” “It was important to him.” The castle was in sight. The only problem: the rope bridge was broken. At least it would have been a problem if there had not been a pegasus with them. Rainbow Dash grabbed the edge of the bridge and flew it over to meet up with three pegasi who offered her the chance to be captain of their aerial team, the Shadow Bolts. They fed into her ego and she agreed to join them just as soon as she tied the bridge. The Shadow Bolts told her she had to choose them or the five mares she was traveling with. Loyalty won out and Rainbow Dash tied the bridge, informing her friends she’d never leave them hanging. “Another Straw Pony obstacle.” “What do you mean by that, Shooting Star?” “Aside from raising their voices and threatening to not make Rainbow Dash their Captain, what threat did they ever really pose to her? None! It’s like Nightmare Moon was testing the future element bearers and not really trying to stop them!” The six mares walked into the ruins of the palace. There they were: the Elements of Harmony. Moving slowly, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy laid the elements in a circle by Twilight’s hooves. “One, two, three, four, there’s only five!” Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight explained that the book said that when the five were together a spark would make the sixth one appear. Having an idea what it meant she told her new friends to stand back. She concentrated her magic as the five mares left to leave her in peace. Twilight was focusing so hard she didn’t notice Nightmare Moon grabbing the elements and beginning to teleport until it was almost too late. Twilight jumped and was teleported as well. “Teleported? Lucky she didn’t do anything violent.” “What do you mean by that? I surprised her by jumping into the teleportation spell.” “Going in. Coming out you could have found yourself in real trouble. You had no idea where she was going and she knew that exactly.” Twilight came out of the teleportation to see Nightmare Moon on a dais chortling to herself. Twilight snorted and pawed the ground, getting ready to charge. “You’re kidding? You’re kidding right?” "Are you kidding me? Really, the big, bad, evil, ancient Nightmare Moon said ‘are you kidding me’? Th-that makes no sense! Princess Luna speaks old Equestrian. If anything, Nightmare Moon should have said ‘Doth thou jest’! No, Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna. She knew those elements first hoof! You just read about them! I get it that sometimes we don’t get to know everything but this is… unbelievable!” “What do you mean by unbelievable, my student?” “All you guys had to do was show up and prove you were good ponies and you won. No real struggle. And most of the time there was no real danger from a relentless opponent who seemed to know everything about you! I mean, Nightmare Moon didn’t know Rainbow Dash from any other pony, so how could she play with her ego? If she reads minds then she ought to have been able to come up with your worst fears. What about a huge shadow dragon instead of a Manticore?” “So you’re saying you don’t think Nightmare Moon was evil?” “Not if we believe the story as it stands, no.” Princess Twilight Sparkle smiled at the dark-blue unicorn sitting beside her. Her student was a bright one, but was she really ready? Well, no time like the present. “Alright, Shooting Star, do you want to know the real story of Nightmare Moon?” “If you’ll tell me, then I’m all ears, Princess!” Author's Note Don't get scared off the real story starts next chapter. I don't think I need to say it, however, Shooting Star is my creation. If you wish to use her please ask. See you in the first chapter! NightmareThe real story, my faithful student? Well, the real story starts a few days after I had used the time spell created by Starswirl the Bearded. You remember that story, don’t you? Because I’d be happy to tell you! ...Princess, you’re stalling, aren't you? Ah... not exactly, just gathering my thoughts. Alright, it was a few days after the time spell. My mane had mostly grown back out and Spike was helping me move all of the time travel books I had purchased down to the basement. Twilight Sparkle wiped the sweat from her forehead, yes, she had been using her magic to move the books down to the basement, but buck, there were a lot of them! “I just can’t believe how many books I ordered last week, Spike! I hope I still have enough of my stipend left to feed us for the rest of the month.” Spike looked up from shelving a large tome called Out of Time and grinned. “Don’t worry Twilight, I have a bit of a ’Twilight Fund’ just in case of an emergency like this!” He puffed out his chest proudly. Twilight sighed but then smiled. “That was a really good idea Spike, I wonder if the Princess has a ’Crazy Twilight’ contingency plan?” She made a note in the back of her mind to check with her. So, did you ever ask Princess Celestia if she had a ‘Crazy Twilight’ contingency plan Princess? I did. And? Did or does it still exist? ...So we were shelving all the time travel books I had purchased... They continued shelving the multiple books for several minutes, until they were both suddenly startled by an unusually loud bump. It sounded as if something very heavy had fallen upstairs in the main library. Twilight quickly ran through the very short list of things in the library that could have made that noise. They consisted of a bookcase, and the unicorn head statue on the table. Neither should have fallen without assistance, and Twilight was certain Rainbow Dash was napping at this time of day. "Spike!" She hissed, gathering him to her barrel as she gazed up the stairs. Her eyes narrowed. "What was that?!" Spike looked up at Twilight, his bright green eyes wide with worry, and his spines had fallen back against his head. He nervously rubbed his claws together, having dropped the book he was holding when he was startled. "Go check upstairs." Twilight motioned to the door at the top of the stairs with a fore hoof. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you, Spike.” She softly nuzzled him, then nudged him forward with her muzzle. Spike nodded and took a deep breath before walking up the stairs. He opened the door slowly as he poked his head through it. His eyes widened and he shut the door quickly. "Gah! Twilight!" Twilight raced up the stairs to stand right behind Spike. She could hear his heart pounding against his chest. “What is it, Spike? Let me see.” She lit up her horn and used the smallest amount of magic that she needed to open the door. She slowly poked her head out, and there, laying on the floor next to the table, was the obvious reason for Spike’s minor freak-out. It was a pony, but not just any pony. This was a very large pony; roughly eight feet tall from horn-to-hooves. She also had wings and… Oh! Light blue armor. Can’t forget the armor. There was no doubt who this pony was, and Twilight felt herself swallow hard. "I don't believe it! Twilight, it's Nightmare Moon!" Spike hissed, hiding under Twilight's barrel and peering out nervously. Twilight looked out the door at the obviously unconscious alicorn with pursed eyebrows. "Is she hurt?" "She looks more stunned than hurt. Maybe we should... I don't know... run?" Spike glanced out the door, wondering if they could make it to the front door before Nightmare Moon woke up and they were trapped. "Spike, what is running going to do? If this is Nightmare Moon, maybe we can talk Luna into coming back to us without using the elements." Twilight slowly crept out of the basement doorway so as not to disturb the Princess. "Uh huh..." Spike muttered unhappily, and dubiously hung back while hiding behind Twilight. "Princess Luna is our friend, Spike. Th-this is just a minor setback in her recovery!" Twilight smiled over her shoulder, looking Spike in the eye. Spike wasn’t certain who Twilight was trying to convince more. Him or herself? "Then, shouldn't we contact Princess Celestia?" Twilight considered the suggestion for a few moments, then shook her head. "No, what if they had a fight? Listen, if she came to the library, she might let me try talking to her before we contact Princess Celestia." "Alright, Twilight, I promise." Spike sighed, still not moving very quickly. Twilight paused and smiled at her number one assistant. "You can stay in here if you’ll feel safer?” She opened the basement door and watched as Spike eagerly scampered back through it. Spike nervously poked his head out while wringing his claws."I'd better have an emergency note ready to send Princess Celestia, just in case." "Just relax, Spike." Twilight sighed, “Remember you promised to let me talk to Princess Luna first.” Nightmare Moon let out a soft groan and moved her head a bit, slowly opening her eyes to reveal serpentine pupils. "Princess? Princess Luna?" Twilight called in a gentle manner, stopping to stand a few feet away from her. Nightmare Moon blinked a few times and looked up to see the bearer of the Element of Magic standing before her. She blinked again. "I haven't been called that in a very long time, Magic." Her voice lacked the malice that Twilight remembered from their last encounter. "It's alright, Princess! I’m here to help you!" Twilight smiled at the confused... Monster? No, not a monster; this was only Princess Luna. "Help me?" Nightmare Moon struggled to lift her head with a wince. "Whatever caused you to take this form again, it's only temporary! We won't even involve Princess Celestia if you would rather avoid that." Nightmare Moon closed her eyes again as she felt her head throbbing. Her mouth felt dry. There was only one thing she desired, and at this time it certainly wasn’t eternal night. " Actually, may I have some water?" "Of course!" Twilight smiled and headed towards the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. Nightmare Moon gingerly sat up and rested on her haunches "Ow..." "What's the last thing you remember?" Twilight asked as she filled the glass with ice cold water. She carried the glass back to Nightmare Moon and offered it with a smile. "The Elements of Harmony." She reached for the glass with her magic. Her horn sparked a few times before flickering out. "Ugh… no good." Nightmare rubbed her head with her right fore hoof, her head throbbing in tune with her heart beat. Twilight bit her lip at the sight, but held the glass still until Nightmare moon discarded her light blue hoof boots. Nightmare took the glass it in her bare hooves. "Thank you, Magic." "You're welcome!" Twilight absentmindedly watched her, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. “Oh, and you don’t have to call me ‘Magic.’ My name is Twilight Sparkle!” Nightmare Moon drained the cup and set it down onto the tabletop. "Much better... Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight glanced at the glass but forced herself to ignore it for the moment. "What do you remember before the elements and Ponyville?" Nightmare Moon seemed to stare into nothingness for several moments. Twilight hesitated to prod her out of her stupor. She was concerned, as well as Spike, who had come out of the basement once it was apparent that either Nightmare Moon meant no harm or could do no harm. "...A very long time out." was stated in a matter-of-fact yet sad tone as Nightmare Moon returned to gaze at the sputtering Twilight Sparkle. "W-wait... this... that makes no sense!" Nightmare lifted an eyebrow at the sputtering mare with slight amusement. Twilight took a deep breath before sitting on her haunches in front of Nightmare Moon. This was not going to be an easy conversation. "Princess... you have to be suffering some kind of memory block." "I am?" Nightmare Moon cocked her head and hissed, righting her head immediately. That had been a mistake. Twilight slowly nodded, a bit concerned for the mare in front of her. She had managed not to back away when nightmare hissed, but it had been a close thing. Twilight realized the hiss was from pain and bit her lip. "It does seem that you’re missing a significant amount of your memory, Princess." "How long has it been?" Nightmare asked after a few moments of thought. “Since you used the elements on me?” Twilight looked away from the observant black mare. Her serpentine eyes were disconcerting. “I-it’s been about nine months, Princess... Almost ten.” Nightmare Moon briefly closed her eyes then sighed, "Nothing compared to one thousand years on the moon.” "I-I suppose not, but, I would hope that you would want to remember one more than the other?" Twilight smiled hopefully, allowing a name to remain unsaid. After a few moments of silence the black mare spoke in a breathless voice, but with a bit of hope. "Celestia..." Twilight grinned with pleasure at the reaction Nightmare Moon had given her. She was right; this had to be Luna! Nightmare Moon gave not one bit of care for Celestia. "How is she?" Nightmare Moon asked, carefully biting so not to pierce her bottom lip with a fang. "She is doing well." Twilight hoped this would encourage Luna to come back to herself. It seemed to work as she watched Nightmare Moon cheer up significantly. Nightmare Moon stopped chewing her lip and smiled. "I… Maybe you are right, Twilight Sparkle, because the fact she is doing well fills me with joy." "I'm glad." That was the understatement of all time. Twilight was ecstatic with what Nightmare Moon had just said. "I remember hating Celestia, but now I'm so relieved. So thankful she is safe and doing well." A single tear fell down her fuzzy black cheek. "You had reconciled. You were raising and lowering the moon again. Going on patrols..." Twilight offered more information hoping to spark a memory. "Patrols?" Nightmare Moon rubbed her aching head. "Ouch." Her helm was not helping the pain in her head, yet she needed either her magic or assistance to remove it, and she was still somewhat unsure of Twilight Sparkle. "You would go on nighttime patrols looking for dangers to subdue," Twilight explained in as few words as she could as she watched the pain in Nightmare Moon’s eyes grow. “My head hurts, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon huffed out. “I need your help to remove my helm; it can only be removed with both magic and my permission, and I give that to you.” Twilight nodded eagerly, happy that Nightmare Moon was trusting her to remove part of her armor. "I'll get a cold compress. Spike!" Twilight levitated a ice cold rag over and set it down on the floor next to her. Nightmare stood still as Twilight unclasped the helm and slowly and carefully pulled it from Nightmare Moon’s head. Once it had pulled away completely, Twilight allowed it to fall to the ground unceremoniously. "Spike!" Twilight called again as she picked up the cold compress. She held it gingerly to the large lump that had been revealed once the helm was removed. "Yes, Twilight?" Spike asked. He wasn’t as confident as Twilight about whether this was Princess Luna or if Nightmare Moon was just a very good actress. "I need you to get to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as you can and get Applejack," Twilight stated after a few moments of thought. It had been between Applejack and Fluttershy, but she needed the pony to stay conscious, so that ruled out Fluttershy’s help. At least for now. "Shouldn't we contact the Princess?" Spike asked, watching the sedate but whimpering Nightmare Moon. With her eyes closed and her helm off, she almost appeared approachable. "I think you're right, Spike, but get Applejack first." Twilight smiled sadly as she continued to cool the compress to keep Nightmare Moon at least somewhat comfortable. "Alright, Twi!" He raced off to Sweet Apple Acres. He wasn’t sure why Twilight wanted Applejack, but he would trust her in this case. Besides, it let him get away for at least a few minutes. Nightmare winced upon feeling a liquid run down her face. It was cool and almost felt like sweat, but Nightmare recognized the scent far too quickly. She allowed a whimper to escape her lips. "What is it, Princess?" Twilight looked up to see Nightmare’s eyes open again, in pain. "I think that my helm cut me, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon stated with a small whimper. She was in pain and wanted it to stop. "I'll go find my first aid kit!" Twilight allowed the compress to fall to the ground and sprinted upstairs to where she kept her personal first aid kit. She had to get that cut treated. Twilight truly hoped Nightmare Moon would not require stitches, because that would be very difficult to explain to a doctor. Spike ran into the south orchard where he had heard Applejack was doing some branch removal. At least, that was what Applebloom had told him when he had run into the crusaders on his way here. "Applejack!" He called at the top of his lungs, cupping his claws around his mouth. "Spike?" AJ called back. Her voice seemed to be coming from quite some distance, so much so that Spike was almost certain that Applebloom had been mistaken about the location of her older sister. “Where are you?" Spike called back in the same manner, moving towards where he assumed her voice was coming from. "Ah’m by the barn, Spike!" Certain he was heading the correct way, he picked up the pace and raced over to her. "Applejack you need to come to the library!" "What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she stepped away from the hay bales she had been stacking. She lifted a forehoof and wiped away her sweat-drenched bangs from out of her eyes. "Somepony is hurt and Twilight said to get you because we can't take her to the hospital." Spike nervously rubbed his claws together; it was becoming a habit, nowadays. He was nervous about taking Applejack back to the library without telling her just who it was that was hurt, but… He didn’t have much time to worry as Applejack’s eyes narrowed and she turned yelling towards the house. "BIG MAC! I'll be back! Twilight needs my help! Let Granny know!” Without waiting for an answer she ducked her head between Spike’s legs, tossing him into the air. Spike yelped as he wound up on Applejack's back. "Warn a guy wontcha’, AJ?” "Sorry Spike, but Ah thought you said this was urgent?" Applejack questioned as she waited for Spike to get settled. "It is!” Spike insisted, finding a safe and comfortable spot to ride upon Applejack’s back. "Well then hold on!" Applejack warned as she broke into a full gallop. Spike gulped and held tight to her mane. ‘I hope you’re right that Applejack will be able to handle this, Twilight!’ Twilight smiled gently as she levitated some gauze soaked in rubbing alcohol up to the long cut on Nightmare Moon’s head. "Alright, Princess. This is going to sting a bit..." Nightmare nodded as her cut was carefully dabbed with the gauze in Twilight’s magic. She winced sharply from the burning as Twilight cleaned the blood away and sanitized the cut. She bit back a curse so not to scare the small mare. Twilight bit her lip at seeing her friend in obvious pain. "I’m sorry, Princess, but I need to carefully clean this cut which was caused by your helm. I’m almost done." "It is alright, Twilight." Nightmare Moon mumbled, her eyes shut tight as she lay upon her belly getting comfortable on Twilight’s bed. It was very soft; much softer than the crater she had slept in. Twilight smiled, having finished cleaning the cut. "After AJ takes a look at your cut and bump, I'll wrap your head in gauze." "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Nightmare lowered her head onto Twilight’s pillow. She felt so safe here... If her head wasn’t throbbing so badly she’d close her eyes and sleep. Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard the door open and slam shut. "We're up here in my bedroom, Applejack!" "Ah’m coming on up now, Twi!" Twilight met her at the stairs and opened the door to her loft. "What did Spike tell you?" "That it was important that I get here fast as Ah’ could!" Applejack allowed Spike to slide off her back and followed Twilight into her loft. "Princess Luna hurt her head. Can you take a look?" Twilight requested with a slightly guilty expression. "Sure enough, but why didn't ya’ get a real doctor?" Applejack inquired with a raised eyebrow. Her purple friend was hiding something from her and Applejack wasn’t pleased by the deception. "Well..." Twilight started, but stopped and gestured Applejack up to where her bedroom was. Nightmare opened a serpentine eye as she heard the two sets of hooves approaching. Her eyes gazed at the orange earth mare for several seconds before looking up into her eyes. "Element of Honesty, am I correct?" "Er... Right, um... Princess. Twilight? What's going on?" Applejack turned to glare down her friend, determined to know why Nightmare Moon was comfortably resting on Twilight’s bed. "Well, this is the reason we can't take her to a doctor. She seems to have had a relapse, but shes good now!” Twilight smiled confidently as she looked Applejack in the eyes. Applejack carefully looked for any sign of deception. Heck, Twilight was almost as bad of a liar as she was, but to her eyes there was no trace of a lie to be found. "Well, okay then. Don't need a panic." Nightmare smiled sadly but with hope, as Honesty didn’t get upset or disbelieve Twilight. Nightmare wondered if she and Twilight Sparkle were very close. That would be a question for later. She snorted a touch. “My head hurts, Honesty." "Ah'm not surprised! You got a heck of a knot on the side of yer’ horn." Applejack carefully checked Nightmare Moon’s head for any other injuries, but only the cut and goose egg-sized lump were visible. She tenderly felt the bump. Nightmare cried out as Applejack's hoof touched the knot on her head. "What is your true name, Honesty?" she asked, desperate to keep her mind off of the pain. Honesty did not seem to be frightened by her, either. Maybe she was close to all of the bearers. Maybe… they were friends? It had been so very long since she had friends. The last time she had still… still been Luna. Was she Luna now? She tested the name under her breath it… it sounded right. "Applejack. My name is Applejack, Princess." Applejack continued investigating the knot to determine exactly how big it was. "Hello, Applejack. You may call me Luna." She shivered and closed her eyes as Applejack continued to prod the lump. Luna... Yes, she was Luna, and she had no idea why her body was a nightmare. But for now, it didn’t matter; she was Luna. "Oh that hurts." Luna had thoughts of pulling her head away, but refrained, as Applejack was just trying to help her. It would be over soon, she was certain. "Ah’ have no doubt. We need ta’ keep ice on that. We really need ta’ get the swelling down." Applejack finally pulled her hoof away. That lump was obviously big enough to cause the memory loss that Princess Luna was exhibiting. Twilight nodded and left the room. She returned with crushed ice wrapped in a towel a minute or so later. "Here, AJ." "Thanks, Twi." Applejack placed the ice onto the lump and held it there with a gentle hoof. Luna smiled as the ice was applied. The coolness was already making her head feel better. "Thank you, Applejack." "Yer’ welcome! Now, we gotta keep you from moving around a lot, Princess." Applejack grinned at the black mare as she made a sound that Applejack would have expected from Applebloom. Shoot, I can’t believe I was even frightened that this was the Nightmare. "So I need to stay in bed?" Luna asked, closing her eyes and enjoying the icy coldness that was numbing her horn. "For the time being, eeyup.” Applejack lifted an eyebrow, ready to deal with whining. Luckily there was none; just the black mare getting more comfortable. “Agreed.” Luna winced, unfolding a bloody wing. She didn’t think there was any injury to her wing, but the blood was clearly staining her feathers. "Somepony oughta preen those an’ clean that up," Applejack declared after seeing that Luna’s left wing was just as bad as her right one. Broken and bent feathers covered with blood were clearly visible. "My head hurts too much," Luna mumbled, gazing at her wings. She knew they needed care, but even if she was feeling better she wasn’t certain she’d be able to stand taking those black feathers between her lips. But maybe... "Twilight, where is my sister?" Twilight blinked. She hadn’t thought of Celestia since Applejack had begun tending to Luna’s injuries. "She should still be in Canterlot. Would you like me to contact her?" Luna almost nodded her head, but a firm look from Applejack stopped her. Instead, she settled with giving her a sheepish expression before turning to look at Twilight with tear filled eyes. "Please? If I was hurt during a patrol, she’s probably very worried!" Twilight nodded, glancing at the sun. Luna was right; it was late morning now, around eleven AM or so. Celestia was probably beside herself with worry when she had to set the moon for Luna. "Alright. Spike? A letter please, my number one assistant!" Spike hurried over to her, armed with a quill, some ink and some parchment which he had just retrieved from Twilight’s desk. "Ready, Twi." "Princess Celestia. Urgent. Princess Luna is here in Ponyville and appears to have suffered some sort of accident. She cannot seem to recall anything after the Elements of Harmony. She is anxious to see you as soon as possible. Please respond A.S.A.P. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” "Got it! aaaand-" He rolled the parchment, stamped it with Twilight’s cutie mark, wrapped it in ribbon and breathed flame on it the, green smoke racing out the window. “Sent.” Celestia's eyes opened in surprise as a trail of green smoke appeared and formed into a scroll. "Hm? A letter from Twilight!" She read it, and a look of confusion soon set upon her face as she walked down the hall and knocked upon an ornate navy blue door. The door slowly opened as the Princess of the Night poked her head out, her starry mane all mussed up. She had a horrid case of bed mane "Tia? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Author's Note ...The heck? Luna and... Luna? Oh by the way Princess Celestia does have a Twilight Contingency plan. She calls it the PTM plan and it consists of three rolls of duct tape. CelestiaNow, where was I? Oh yes, Celestia had just woken up Luna in Canterlot. Princess, can you get on with it? Feels like I’ve been waiting a year! ... "Yes, I apologize Luna but I just received an interesting letter from Twilight Sparkle. I think you had better read it." Celestia's horn glowed slightly as the scroll was passed over to the very sleepy Night Princess. Luna yawned while blinking her eyes as she took the scroll in her own dark blue magic. She took the chance to stretch her wings out with a satisfying crack before unfolding the scroll to read it. Her eyes darted a bit before she blinked and cocked her head at the scroll’s contents before reading it again. "We... er, I am..." She blinked. "Tia, what in Discord's name is this?" Celestia shrugged, albeit a bit weakly. "I was sort of hoping that you might have some idea." Luna cocked her head while staring up at Celestia with half-lidded eyes "Well I... Er, I think I am here, sister. Mind you I am very much still half asleep." Celestia shook her head with a soft chuckle, remembering why it was an unwise idea to awaken her sister too early; she became rather silly. As unintentional as it was, there was nothing to do for it. "Do you have any suggestions on how to proceed, sister?" Luna rolled up the scroll a bit sloppily with a sigh while rubbing under her horn with a hoof. It was apparent to Celestia that she was at a loss as both of them held out hope that it was an explanation, but one which they both feared. 'Well... is it possible that something happened during my normal patrols of the Everfree which would cause myself to split in twine? Mayhaps to save my life?” Celestia gently took the scroll from Luna’s hesitant magic. "It is possible Luna and that explanation may help to explain the apparent amnesia which your doppelganger seems to be suffering." Luna willingly allowed Celestia to take the scroll back. The idea that there was another of her, a version of her which wore the form of a nightmare, disturbed her in a way she wasn’t sure she could put into words. "Well, Twilight doesn't seem concerned that she may be evil…” She swallowed at the idea of her closest friend being tricked in such a manner but firmly shook her head. No, Twilight is a smarter mare than that. If she is certain of my… doppelganger? Then I have no reason to doubt that it is the truth. “So for now that is the explanation I'm going with, Tia." She stopped. “Tia? Does that mean we have a new little sister?” Celestia sighed, tucking the scroll away as her wings made a shrugging motion. “I couldn’t say yet, Luna. This needs to be carefully investigated.” Luna nodded while stretching her wings out, moving just enough to stay conscious if not completely awake. "I think you may be right, Tia. For now, maybe we should keep me a secret from her?" Celestia considered it for a few moments, chewing her lip as she did so. “I will not reveal your location here sister unless I feel it is safe to do so. Is that fair?" Luna stared ahead for a few moments before nodding."I take it that you mean to leave for Ponyville now then, Tia?” Celestia clicked her tongue in thought before nodding. "I think I ought to. Whatever the situation may be, that is the logical choice." Luna yawned again. “With all this sorted out does that mean I may return to my bed?” She had been doing her best but her normal reserves were utterly spent. Celestia wrapped her large wing around Luna’s back and gave a gentle squeeze. "Yes Lulu, you are welcome to return to your own sweet dreams." Luna sighed happily before nuzzling her cheek into Celestia’s chest, feeling safe under her sister’s wing. Thoughts of the being masquerading as her briefly forgotten as she closed her eyes with a soft sigh. Celestia smiled bending her neck to lay her cheek on top of Luna’s head. “I will see you this evening, dear little sister. Don’t worry about the Solar court; I will have it suspended.” Luna nodded with a sleepy murmur before pulling back from under Celestia’s wing. “Sorry Tia, but if I do not return to my bed I fear I will collapse onto you, not that you would be a bad pillow…” Celestia chuckled. “Yes, I understand. Go on back to bed, little sister. I think I’ll be seeing you at dinner, though depending on how this trip goes there may be a few more settings needed.” Luna simply yawned before slowly walking back into her darkened room and shutting the door with a quiet click. Tia, be safe… Twilight looked up as Spike suddenly belched the green fire, instantly materializing into a scroll. “Oh good, I was starting to get worried! It usually doesn’t take the Princess so long to respond, especially to such a serious matter!” She sighed in relief as Spike opened the scroll and cleared his throat. "Dear Twilight. I was most distressed by your last letter but am very relieved to hear that Princess Luna is safe in your care. With that said however, I will be coming to Ponyville as soon as I can. Signed, Princess Celestia." Spike checked the rest of the scroll and shrugged. “Well that’s that.” Twilight beamed as her shoulders relaxed a bit. She turned to where Nightmare Moon was curled up on her too-small bed, a smile on her lips. "Your sister will be here soon, Princess Luna. Just relax, I’m certain she’ll be able to explain everything." With the scroll rolled back up and put away, she trotted over to the bed and carefully began unrolling a roll of gauze around Nightmare Moon’s head. She frowned as she tried to cover the long gash but not do more damage to the goose egg against her horn. Nightmare winced as the gauze was applied just a bit too tightly on her lump but swallowed the pain, determined not to startle her host. "Did she seem worried?" If she and Celestia had indeed had an alteration then it was likely that Celestia would not have been as worried then if she simply hadn’t returned from a patrol. Twilight carefully tied off the gauze before pausing in consideration. “She did seem concerned, but I think the fact that you are here with me helped a lot.” Nightmare gazed down at her pitch black hooves, biting her lip carefully as she took a shaky breath. "Then… why do I look like this, Twilight Sparkle? Why after nine months have I turned into the Nightmare again?" Twilight opened her mouth before pausing and shaking her head. "I don't know, Princess Luna. Maybe Princess Celestia will have some sort of idea about why this is happening, I’m sure she’ll be able to fix it!" Nightmare nodded before looking down at the petryal which was still encircled around her body along with the remaining two hoof boots. Her ears pinned back as her horn weakly sputtered; her magic had obviously been damaged far greater than she had originally thought. She swallowed hard before looking back over at Twilight. "Help me get this armor off please, Twilight Sparkle. I can't bear to see my sister while wearing it." Twilight nodded, remembering what Nightmare had told her earlier. She took a deep breathe before lighting her horn’s aura, carefully she pulled off Nightmare’s hind hoof boots and set them delicately on the floor as her eyes scanned Nightmare for anymore injuries. Finding none, her magic slowly took hold of the light blue petryal and unclipped it, allowing it to lay along with the boots. Nightmare looked at the armor laid on the ground ever so thoughtfully before frowning. It looked so benign like that. "Twilight?" Twilight smiled; without the armor on Luna--even in her Nightmare form--seemed far more approachable. "Yes, Princess?" Nightmare closed her eyes tightly, her muzzle twitching as she turned her head from where the armor lay. "Destroy it... destroy all of it, please!” Her wings slumped as a few bloody feathers came loose landing on the floor. Twilight stared wordlessly for a moment before nodding firmly. “Of course, Princess Luna." Her horn was surrounded by an aura of pink magic. Her tongue poked out as she glared at the armor, the aura growing far more powerful. Unnoticed to her, Nightmare opened her eyes to watch her mouth opening the smallest amount as Twilight cried out, a large burst of magic consuming the armor and turning it into smoking slag. She sat down with heavy breathing, relieved no damage had been done to the floor. After a few moments of rest she turned to check on Nightmare. Nightmare swallowed hard, feeling Twilight’s eyes on her. There was something about that magic. She shook her head as a tear ran down her cheek. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. You do not know what that act means to me.” Twilight smiled before walking over and sitting on her haunches next to the bed. “I was happy to help you, Princess Luna. Ever since seeing you last Nightmare Night, I had been hoping that you might send me a letter wanting to get together again, but I understand you’ve probably been really busy what with helping your sister rule our country right?” Nightmare stared at Twilight with wide eyes before letting out a soft sob as she fell back onto the bed, burying her head in the pillow. She began crying, soaking the pillow with her tears. “Celestia, oh Tia… Tia, I’m sorry, please. I’m sorry…” Twilight watched as Nightmare cried, not sure what to do, before shaking her head firmly and lifting a hoof towards her. She began to gently stroke Nightmare’s mane while not saying a word, just being there to comfort. Spike slipped out the door, chewing his lip as he walked down the stairs to where Applejack sat in the library paging through some sort of book, though Spike could see from the way her eyes were not moving and the way her ears perked that it was only to maintain appearances. She was listening to what was going on upstairs. Spike sighed, sitting down next to her as he rubbed his claws together. he sighed and turned to her. "What do you think?" Applejack sighed, closing the book with a light thump and running her hoof over her mane before shaking her head. “I just… I can’t quite tell, Spike. It doesn’t seem like she’s lying to us. What do you think?” Spike sighed, his shoulders slumping as he stared at a picture of the lot of them which Twilight had hung on the wall. He crossed his arms as if to hug himself. “I-I’m worried that Twilight is being tricked,” he admitted after several seconds of thought. “We’ve been through so much together, I just… Twilight is just so trusting!” He looked at Applejack’s gentle smile as she lifted his chin with her hoof. “Hey now, sugar cube. Take a deep breath and relax, alright?” Applejack gave him a small nuzzle before releasing his chin. “You might be right but I can tell you that the injuries she has are very much real. As for the rest, Princess Celestia should be arriving soon and I doubt the Nightmare is good enough of an actress to fool the Princess, least not for very long.” As Applejack finished speaking a firm knock came from the front door to the library. Spike eagerly sprang to his feet and practically ran to the door, swinging it open to reveal Princess Celestia outside alone. A few ponies walking by had looks of astonishment on their faces as Spike bowed, standing out of the way. “Princess Celestia, please come in! Twilight is upstairs with our guest.” Celestia softly smiled down at Spike before she stepped inside and waited for the door to be closed behind her. Her eyes scanned the room, briefly pausing on Nightmare Moon’s helm and two of her hoof boots before spotting Applejack bowing before her. Celestia simply shook her head. “Arise, Applejack. There is no need for you to prostrate yourself before me. After all, I have been invited here by Twilight, same as yourself.” Applejack nodded, standing back up. “You should probably head on upstairs, Princess. I’m pretty sure Twi could use your help.” Celestia nodded and climbed the stairs, hesitating a mere moment before stepping into the bottom level of her student’s bedroom. "Twilight Sparkle, may I come up?" Twilight poked her head over the side of the loft. “Oh, Princess Celestia! I’m so glad you are here, please come on up!” Her head vanished from Celestia’s sight as she returned to Nightmare’s side. Celestia cocked her head at how Twilight was reacting before giving herself a small shake and climbing up the final flight of stairs, not certain of what she would find and readying herself for anything. The sound of her sister’s sobs was the last thing she was expecting as she came to a stop a few feet away from the foot of Twilight’s bed. Laying curled up in the bed which was far to short for her large frame was a sobbing black alicorn. Her face buried in Twilight’s pillow. Celestia frowned before swallowing hard and taking another step forward "Luna?" Nightmare lifted her head from the pillow looking into Celestia’s eyes her own eyes filled with tears and swollen red. Two trails of tears fell down her black cheeks. "T-Tia, I'm sorry! I’m so very sorry!" Celestia took a deep breath then smiled gently for all her bravado while speaking with Luna being here and seeing this being, this pony who looked at the Nightmare but resembled Luna in so many ways. I’m not certain what is happening but… "For what, my dear sweet Luna?" Nightmare shivered turning away from Celestia’s expression staring at the bed spread. So forgiving. Why can I not remember… "I… I don't know, b-but I'm N-N-Nightmare Moon again s-so something had t-to have h-happened! S-so I'm s-s-sorry!" Celestia walked slowly to the bed and sat next to Nightmare before wrapping a wing around her trembling form and giving a small squeeze. "Nothing happened, sister. I swear it to you." Nightmare let out a sob before turning into Celestia’s embrace and wrapping her forelegs around her neck and burying her head in Celestia’s chest. "Tia!" Celestia softly nuzzled into Nightmare’s mane cooing into her ear."Shh, Luna. It's alright, little sister." Twilight stood back several feet from the embracing sisters watching as Celestia attempted to soothe Nightmare whose sobs were slowing into nothing more then whimpers her trembling had just about ceased. Twilight smiled as her body finally began to relax. "Princesses, may I get either of you anything?" Celestia pulled back from Nightmare to better respond to Twilight her wing still firmly embracing Nightmare. "Camomile tea please, sister?" Nightmare nodded her cheek resting against Celestia’s chest. “T-that sounds lovely." She winced; her crying had made her head ache more. Twilight gave a small bow and headed downstairs not only to prepare the tea but give the sisters a bit of privacy. Celestia placed a gentle hoof on Nightmare’s back soothing her in a circular motion. Nightmare released a small whimper after noticing that the white gauze covering her head had soaked up some of the red tint of her blood. "My head hurts, Tia." Celestia glanced at the blood tinged bandage and frowned. "I know sweetie, it’ll be alright." Celestia’s horn glowed, summoning an ice pack which she softly held to Nightmare’s head. Nightmare smiled into Celestia’s fur as Celestia gently applied the ice pack, her eyes closing from exhaustion. "I love you, Tia." Celestia smiled touching Nightmare’s forehead with her lips. "And I, you." She smiled as she felt Nightmare’s breaths slow. She cradled Nightmare against her chest for a few moments longer before laying Nightmare back down on the bed, bringing the quilt up to cover her while trying to ignore the injuries her eyes had only glimpsed. Later Celestia, for now she needs rest. She sat next to the bed, her face emotionless as she watched Nightmare sleep with a small smile on her muzzle. At least she is having a good dream. That thought caused a small smile to form upon Celestia’s own muzzle. Twilight soon returned upstairs with three cups of tea held within her magical aura. She set them down on her desk before turning back to see Celestia sitting on her haunches watching Nightmare sleeping. Twilight took a step forward, her head slightly cocked. "Did Princess Luna fall asleep?" Celestia turned her head towards Twilight and smiled "She did indeed.” Celestia sighed softly. Twilight blinked and her brow crinkled. Though most would have never noticed it Twilight had grown up under Celestia’s wing and was privy to the Celestia under the mask. There was something bothering her princess. “Princess Celestia, is something wrong?" Celestia turned back to watch Nightmare sleep. "Twilight, what are your impressions of all this? I mean, what have you thought since Luna arrived this evening." Twilight blinked and chewed her lip. My impressions? Th-that is kind of an odd question to ask but… "Well, at first I thought she... you know, had a relapse, er… a back-track? I mean, she did appear here as Nightmare Moon, but there was something not quite right? She… she was very polite and she asked about your well-being right away!" Celestia nodded, her eyes still focused away from Twilight taking in the sight of the sleeping Nightmare. "What else have you noticed since her arrival?" Twilight sat down, her tail flicking back and forth in thought. "Well… it seems as if she’s missing a large chunk of her memory. In fact, I’d say she has no memories after returning from the moon nine months ago, except...” Celestia’s ear flicked the smallest amount. “Except what, my faithful student?” Twilight took a deep breath and swallowed. “Well, she seems to remember seeing us use the Elements. In fact, she recognized Applejack and called her Honesty." Celestia turned away from watching Nightmare sleep to smile gently at Twilight. "Well, that’s interesting and very relieving. It seems that the six of you seem to be a focal point in her memory. Yes, I do think we can and should work with that fact." Twilight’s cheeks flushed a bit before she shook her head. "It’s not just us, Princess. She was so very relieved to hear you were safe. In fact—" Twilight picked up the metal slag which remained after burning Nightmare Moon’s armor, "This was the armor she was wearing when I met her. Well, minus her helm." Celestia cocked her head slightly to the side as she took in the sight. "May I see her helm, Twilight?" Twilight nodded and went downstairs to retrieve the helm once she had dropped the slag back to the ground. "Here you are, Princess Celestia. It broke a bit, cutting into her head, so I removed it with her permission. In fact you can see where it fractured, cutting into her head. Could that have been caused by the impact that caused her to lose her memory?” Celestia nodded before taking the helm into her own magic and sliding it into a saddle bag which Twilight had left simply lying about. "Thank you, Twilight. I'm going to study this helm for any traces of magic. Twilight blinked but nodded. "Of course, Princess. Also you are welcome to the use of my bag for as long as you may need it." She cocked her head as Celestia’s cheeks seemed to flush the smallest amount. She opened her mouth just to close it again as she heard the bed shift a bit and turned her full attention back to Nightmare. Nightmare mumbled a bit, her wing twitching as she tried to rouse herself from deep sleep. "T-tia..." "Yes, Luna?" Celestia asked gently, lowering her head to Nightmare's level and softly nuzzling at her cheek with the side of her muzzle. Nightmare’s eyes opened. "I-I had a n-nightmare, Tia. A horrible nightmare. M-my body was Nightmare's again, a-and I don’t know why. It was so awful, Tia!" Celestia slowly licked the single tear that escaped Nightmare’s eye away and cooed to her in a soft voice."The nightmare is over, Luna. You are safe with me." Nightmare smiled up at Celestia before lifting her hoof to touch Celestia’s muzzle. Before making contact however, she froze, her leg trembling. “Black…” "But not your heart, dear sister." Celestia gently placed her forehoof on Nightmare’s chest, right over her heart. “Your heart is as light as anypony’s.” Nightmare trembled, her eyes flicking down towards the blanket covering her lower body. "I don't understand what caused me to relapse... Please, sister! I'm sorry!" She jerked her head back up to look Celestia in the eye, tears running down her cheeks. Celestia wiped the tears away, a loving smile on her muzzle. "Hush now, It's alright. We'll figure this all out and it will be alright. I swear it." Twilight hesitated a moment before taking a step forward and clearing her throat. “Princess Celestia?" Celestia paused in comforting Nightmare to give Twilight her full attention. "Yes, Twilight, what is it my faithful student?" Twilight swallowed hard before straightening up and looking Celestia in the eyes, forcing herself to keep her courage. "Would I be able to give Princess Luna some of my magic? I mean, i-it might be enough that she can change back at least! Or, um... would that aggravate her injuries?" Twilight winced as she finished her thought. Good job Twilight, you should have thought of that first before offering. "Twilight, I’m afraid that at this point it is better for Luna’s health for her to remain as she is." Celestia lovingly smiled down at Twilight before turning back to her sister and nuzzling her cheek. “At least until she has had time to heal from whatever caused these injuries.” Twilight chewed her lip but took a hard look at Nightmare’s battered body, her shoulders finally slumping in disappointment but also relief. There was no telling just how much of her magic would be needed to let Nightmare return to her normal self. “I-I understand, Princess.” Celestia turned back to Nightmare, her eyes firm though loving as she placed a hoof on Nightmare’s shoulder. “And you, little sister... Can you understand why it is important you remain as you are until we figure out what happened?” Nightmare nodded, though she seemed weary. "I-I'm very tired, Tia..." Her eyes drifted shut once again, unable to hold them open another moment. Celestia caught Nightmare’s body as she slumped against her. "Rest then, sister. I am going to take this helm back to Canterlot for study later today, but before then we'll have lunch together. How does that sound?" Nightmare weakly nodded."I'd like that, Tia. Just a small nap fir..." She fell asleep on Celestia's shoulder before she could finish her sentence. Celestia smiled before using her magic to gently lower Nightmare back onto the bed and tucking her in and giving her a single kiss under her horn. "Rest, dear sister. Big sister will figure this all out, I promise." Twilight waited quietly as Celestia got to her hooves, stretching her wings before folding them back against her sides. She seemed deep in thought and Twilight hated to disturb her, but… "Is everything alright now, Princess Celestia?" Celestia smiled down at Twilight. "Yes, I think so. We still need answers about what has happened, but at least we aren't worrying for Luna's safety nor of a renewed threat by Nightmare Moon." Twilight perked up. Even though she had been almost one hundred percent certain that this was Luna and not a trick, to hear the same from Celestia was quite the relief. "So this is Princess Luna then? I'm so glad I was right to trust her!" Celestia paused, looking out the window above the bed Nightmare slept in before turning to head downstairs "Walk with me, Twilight?" Twilight blinked. “Of course, Princess.” She paused, watching as Celestia silently walked down the stairs. she shook her head and quickly followed her, helplessly shrugging at Applejack and Spike as they walked past them and out the door. Heading away from the town they arrived at a babbling brook. Celestia gazed at the brook a few moments before sighing and turning to look down at Twilight. "Twilight. I have no doubt that the injured mare in your home is my dear little sister Princess Luna. This, however, presents a riddle to me." Twilight’s ear flicked; that hadn’t been what she had expected her teacher to say. "A riddle, Princess?" Celestia pursed her lips together before nodding. "Yes, my dear Twilight. Because Princess Luna in fact returned from her nightly patrol and lowered the moon this morning. She is now comfortably sleeping in her bed at the palace." Twilight’s eyes widened as she took an involuntary step back. "I-I don't understand... you just told me that Princess Luna is asleep in my bed." Celestia nodded. "Indeed I did, Luna is asleep in your bed as well as asleep in her own bed. Twilight? Somehow it seems we now have two Princess Lunas!" Twilight sat down in shock, unable to think. Her mouth began and opening and closing a few times in an effort to form a coherent sentence before she finally blurted out what she was thinking. "Oh wow! So, uh... how does it feel to have twin baby sisters?" Celestia paused as she watched Twilight’s eyes grow wide looking as if she desperately wanted to bury her head in the ground. She shook her head with a quiet chuckle. "It is very confusing, Twilight. I need to know more about how this happened before we tell this Luna if possible. The one at home has all of her memory, apparently." Twilight stopped searching for hiding spots and cocked her head, clearing her thinking. "Maybe a strong unicorn cast a spell? Somepony with a grudge against Luna?" Celestia considered it and nodded. "It is possible. Another possibility could be a time travel spell gone wrong?" Twilight hesitated, the words on her tongue she shivered a bit at the thought. "W-what if the Elements of Harmony sent her here?" Celestia stopped mid step as she turned to head back to Twilight’s home, her trembling forehoof frozen in the air before she set it back down firmly. "We have to consider that as a possibility, but it’s confusing since she is clearly in no way the Nightmare Moon that neither you or I have battled." Princess… Haven’t you always taught me that we must seek facts before we dwell on theory? Yes, well in this case Celestia and I were quite baffled… and as a filly I wasn’t so… well, time has tempered me. Twilight caught up to Celestia, matching her stride as they walked back towards the library. "I can ask Fluttershy later today if any of her animal friends saw anything. Meanwhile, I'll begin my own research. There has to be something about malicious magic or unintended effects." Celestia nodded, pausing before opening the door back to the library, her eyes taking in the several different ponies trying not to stare as they quickly walked past. "Good. Twilight? I want you to keep things quiet, Luna needs comfort and gentleness to get through this but I still feel the involvement of the Elements of Harmony is desirable." Especially if they somehow caused this. Twilight took a look around and quickly understood Celestia’s reasoning. "I promise, Princess. I'll go speak to Mayor Mare in the morning to get the paperwork which will allow me to temporarily close the library." Celestia’s shoulders seemed to relax as she smiled. "Good. I need to inform Luna at the Palace by this evening, but I would rather this Luna be in better condition before exposing her to such a shock." Twilight nodded, opening the door with a small burst of her magic and allowing Celestia to enter first. "I agree, Princess. A shock like that can be bad enough when you're healthy injured as she is? I fear how she’d react. Are sandwiches and soup alright for lunch?" Celestia nodded, walking fully into the library with a smile on her muzzle. "Quite fine, I assure you! It would even be a treat for me, my faithful student." Twilight smiled and walked in after Celestia, closing the door behind her before turning her attention to where Applejack was still pretending to read. "Applejack, would you like to stay for lunch?" Applejack closed the book startled before nodding. "Sure! Ah need to get back to the farm first and tell Granny and Big Mac something, but Ah'll be back before you can say Apploosa three times fast." Celestia smiled gently at the young mare. "Applejack, please do not let it be known my sister is here, not even to your family." Applejack hesitated a moment before taking her hat off and bowing her head down. "I swear, not a word about the Princess will cross my lips." With that said and a smile from Celestia she put her hat back on and quickly left the library, shutting the door with a solid click. Twilight poked her head into the kitchen to see Spike setting up the pot and other necessities for soup and sandwiches. "Spike, do we have the ingredients for celery soup and daffodil sandwiches?" Spike turned around, giving Twilight a thumbs up. "You bet, Twilight!" Twilight rubbed the back of her neck, glancing towards the library trying to figure out where to even start. "Could you make enough for the Princesses, Applejack and myself?" Spike eyed the pot for a moment before nodding, deciding it would be just big enough. "Sure thing, Twilight!" Twilight sighed; at least lunch was taken care of. "Thanks, Spike." She watched Celestia head back upstairs to watch over Nightmare while she headed for the research section. Where to start… Which books were these, Princess? “Care and Feeding of your Ailing Supervillain” or “The Users Guide to Split Personality?” ... Oh, what is going on in here? I haven’t seen Twilight’s mane in this shape in many a year. Story time. Princess Twilight is telling me the real story of Nightmare Moon. No offense, Princess Celestia, but I could tell what's in the history books is fake. Is that right? Well now, I have always enjoyed this story. May I stay to listen? O-oh yes! Of course Pr-Celestia. After all, you probably know parts of the story I do not. Yes, I believe I do. Now… shall we continue? AmnesiaShooting Star drooled on her book before coming quickly back to consciousness as the door opened and Princess Twilight re-entered along with Princess Celestia. “Finally! I was certain that you were trying to get out of finishing the story!” “No, no just court issues my dear student. Now, where were we?” “Princess Celestia and you were totally confused about how there could be two Princess Lunas and you were going to research.” “Ah, yes… I was mostly concentrating my search on brain injuries…” Twilight clicked her tongue as she carefully read looking over the diagram of the unicorn skull and brain before glancing at the sketch she had done of Princess Luna’s goose egg and cut. “Right, well… that checks out.” “What does?” Spike asked as he returned from the kitchen with a ladle in his right claw. “Oh, I was looking over this book on head injuries and without a doubt, the injury Princess Luna sustained easily could have caused the amnesia she's experiencing. Anterograde amnesia to be exact. Luckily according to this book, it is very rarely ever not temporary.” “So she’ll get better?” Spike asked with a cocked head he grinned as Twilight nodded eagerly. “That's great Twilight! So we don’t have to try to figure out what happened she’ll be able to tell us herself!” “According to the book? Exactly! Oh, I’m so glad, I was hoping I’d have good news for Princess Celestia when she returned!” Luna hummed as she considered what Celestia had told her thankful she had been able to get a bit more sleep. “I agree, at this point, it is not in her best interest to be told about me. Let her stay with Twilight Sparkle until she is healed.” “I’m thankful you agree with me Luna, still I worry about what could have caused the separation between you both. And more worrisome. When did it happen?” Celestia frowned as she rubbed her chin. “What with Twilight Sparkle’s experience with time travel last week, it is possible she caused… not so much a hole but a thinning in the time stream around her?” Luna hummed in consideration. “Possible, but I wouldn’t bring it up to her until we know for certain, you know I adore Twilight Sparkle but she is a touch…” She trailed off as Celestia nodded in agreement. ”I was a touch what exactly Celestia?” “Hmm? Oh, you were a touch of many things my dear Twilight Sparkle you’ll have to specify.” Shooting Star giggled as her teacher glared at the elder princess who was simply smiling peacefully. “Anyway…” Twilight looked up as Applejack came back in glancing around. “Everything okay Sugarcube?” “Mmhmm, Princess Celestia needed to go back to Canterlot for a few minutes and Princess Luna is asleep upstairs. Lunch is almost ready and I have good news to tell her!” Twilight beamed as she got to her hooves. “Yeah? Good news never hurts ‘specially in a situation like this un.” Applejack smiled at her unicorn friend who seemed to be trying not to dance in place. It was a touch amusing honestly. “Exactly! According to this book on head injuries what Princess Luna has is called anterograde amnesia and excepting some rare occasions is always temporary.” “That is wonderful news, my Faithful student, I know Luna will be very thankful to hear that as well.” Twilight spun around to see Princess Celestia standing behind her and quickly bowed before she ran to embrace her. “Princess I’m so glad to see you, don’t worry Princess Luna has been asleep the whole time you were gone.” Celestia laughed as she returned her student’s embrace. “I’m very relieved to hear that, however, I do think she should be roused long enough to eat some lunch.” “I can do it if you’d like?” Twilight volunteered but understood when Celestia shook her head. “No, I think it best if I rouse her myself. Her amnesia seems the worst when she's awakening. I’d hate for her to harm you in a half-awakened state is all.” “O-of course Princess, I guess I forgot for a moment just how powerful she is, and I…” Twilight glanced down her voice softer. “And I only saw my friend scared and hurting.” Celestia’s breath caught in her throat as she murmured a thank you before heading upstairs to rouse Luna. A friend, oh Twilight Sparkle if only you had been born millennia ago… She shook her head Enough of that Celestia, Twilight Sparkle is here now and will help Luna. Both of them. ”I think that's a good stopping point for today.” Shooting Star stared at her teacher in shock. “Wait but we just got started!” “And you have other studies which you must complete in addition to history.” “...Yes Princess, but…” “No buts young filly, I promise we’ll continue tomorrow after lunch now go on.” Shooting Star sighed but left the room after a final pleading glance at Princess Celestia who simply smiled. “Do you think she's ready to hear the rest?” Celestia asked as she took a sip of her tea. “I don’t think anypony is ready to hear the rest but…” Twilight shook her head. “The cover story didn’t work. If I tried another story she’d just dig deeper, I do not want to lose her trust.” “Then we tell her everything?” “Yes, the full truth, I pray she can understand why we have kept it so quiet.” “She's a smart filly, much like my own Faithful student.” “Yes, sometimes too smart for her own good. Until tomorrow.” Twilight watched as Celestia left before turning to the window and staring outside she shut her eyes. “Please forgive me for what I did my Faithful student.”
PrologueTwilight Moon Upon the balcony, where everypony had been awaiting Princess Celestia, a smokey apparition of stars seeped in through the open window and appeared to solidify, becoming the form of Nightmare Moon. She beat her wings once before looking upon the crowd. “Oh, my beloved subjects, it’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little sun-loving faces.” “What did you do to our princess?!”Rainbow Dash demanded from Nightmare Moon. Applejack, held her back as she tried to rush at Nightmare Moon. “Easy, Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash looked back at her.If I hadn’t had been so entranced by what was occurring on the balcony I may have even found it humorous. Nightmare Moon began to laugh at the display of the two ponies. “Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?” A pink earth pony perked up at this question. “Oh! Oh! More guessing games! Uhm, Hockey Smokes? How about Queen Meany? Oh, Black Snooty! Black Snooty!” “Black Snooty? Is she serious? I’m surprised she wasn’t the first one blasted.” “I personally feel Nightmare Moon was too confused by Pinkie Pie to think of blasting her.” An apple was quickly shoved into Pinkie Pie’s mouth. I think Applejack did it but I can’t be certain. Nightmare Moon looked directly towards the trembling Fluttershy. “Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for one thousand years?” Not receiving a answer, she turned to Rarity. “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?” That was when Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “I’m guessing this unicorn was related to you, Princess?” “That unicorn is me, Shooting Star. Why?” “This sounds like it was written for foals. No offense, Princess Twilight, but seriously?” “This is a precise biographical account. Fluttershy and Rarity will both attest to this.” “I did, and I know who you are! You’re the ‘Mare in the Moon’: Nightmare Moon.” The rest of the ponies in attendance gasped. “Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I am here?” Twilight eyes went to either side, searching for a way out. “Y-you’re here to… to…” She gulped as Nightmare Moon chortled. “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” Lighting began to crack overhead as all the ponies cowered. “A bit melodramatic, but she doesn’t read, like, the stuff of evil and retributions.” “Oh, and what have you been reading about evil lately? Never mind, don’t answer that.” The mayor then ordered Nightmare Moon to be seized, as only she knew where Princess Celestia was. Several of the Solar Guards flew up to do just that. Nightmare Moon zapped them with lightning bolts, stunning them momentarily so that she was able to escape. “Escape? Isn't she winning? She’s supposed to be a nigh unstoppable evil. And aside from the fact that nopony can find Princess Celestia, all Nightmare Moon has done is some taunting, lightly zap the guards, and ran away! She ought to be striking ponies into the ground. She’s not a mosquito! She’s doom and destruction!” “She had just returned from the moon. Perhaps she needed time to regroup herself?” “She has had a thousand years to think about what she would do when she got free. Unless we assume she was brain-dead, she ought to have been better than this! If she wasn’t going to have the power she needed then she would’ve appeared at the old palace, not Ponyville City Hall. Maybe even hide the Elements of Harmony or try to use them herself? She gets one shot and she’s playing games!” “She escaped to get the elements, my student. Now.” Rainbow Dash raced after Nightmare Moon, but she was far too quick and got away. Twilight ran for the library, and after tucking in Spike, her baby dragon, she went downstairs to search for anything about the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash, who had watched Twilight race off, confronted her. “Just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Huh? Are you a spy?” Applejack grabbed ahold of her tail again to make her stop advancing upon Twilight, who was already backed into the wall. Twilight explained to the five ponies surrounding her what she had learned in her studies. It was then that Pinkie Pie found a book: “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide”. It explained that there were six elements but only five known ones; Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. The sixth one was a total mystery. “Right. The same Elements of Harmony that the Royal Sisters used to seal Discord in stone! The Element of Magic wasn’t exactly a secret!” “Well, it wasn’t mentioned in the book.” “The last known location of the elements was in the castle of the Royal Sisters, which was located in what is now the Everfree Forest.” Twilight Sparkle was determined to enter the forest on her own, however, the ponies who had been in the library with her insisted they would come as they would not allow their new friend to do this alone. As the six ponies chatted about what to expect, the cliff they were standing on collapsed. Rainbow Dash caught Pinkie Pie; Fluttershy was able to grab Rarity. Applejack stopped herself by grabbing hold of a root with her teeth and was barely able to catch Twilight by the hooves. “I have to admit, Shooting Star, that was one of the times I’ve truly been terrified.” “Especially since, by all rights, Nightmare Moon could have killed you and Applejack right there and then. She can shatter a cliff? She can snap a root. A root that was very conveniently located, wouldn’t you agree, Princess Twilight?” “Ahem, one cannot explain the Everfree Forest. I’ve taken you there student.” “What do I do?” Twilight Sparkle cried out, trying to hold on. “Let go.” “Are you crazy?” “No, I ain’t. I promise you’ll be safe. What I’m saying to you is the honest truth.” Twilight let go to be caught by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Next, the six mares ran right into an enraged manticore. The mares all tried different forms of attacks until Fluttershy was able to get the courage. “Wait!” She flew to the manticore and walked over to it with a smile. “Shhh, it’s ok.” He lifted a paw to show a large thorn which Fluttershy pulled out after warning him it would hurt. He roared, then began licking her. “How did you know about the thorn?” Twilight asked. “I didn’t. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.” “Interesting that Rainbow Dash didn’t get hurt a lot worse.” “It was good luck. The manticore wasn’t really thinking straight. He was in pain.” The next obstacle was terrifying trees which seemed to be coming towards them. Pinkie Pie began to sing and laugh at the trees, which caused them to turn back into regular trees. “Seriously? Trees? They didn’t do anything!” “I… You know what? I can’t explain that one.” The six mares ran straight into their next problem. The river was uncrossable due to a sobbing sea serpent who was unconscionable due to half of his mustache being cut off. Rarity told him how fabulous he was, but admitted that without his mustache it simply didn’t work. So she grabbed one of his sharper scales and used it to cut off most of her tail and used her magic to attach to the small remates that existed.. “Short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back.” He then allowed them to cross over his back. “What is this? Ponies Quarterly?” “It was important to him.” The castle was in sight. The only problem: the rope bridge was broken. At least it would have been a problem if there had not been a pegasus with them. Rainbow Dash grabbed the edge of the bridge and flew it over to meet up with three pegasi who offered her the chance to be captain of their aerial team, the Shadow Bolts. They fed into her ego and she agreed to join them just as soon as she tied the bridge. The Shadow Bolts told her she had to choose them or the five mares she was traveling with. Loyalty won out and Rainbow Dash tied the bridge, informing her friends she’d never leave them hanging. “Another Straw Pony obstacle.” “What do you mean by that, Shooting Star?” “Aside from raising their voices and threatening to not make Rainbow Dash their Captain, what threat did they ever really pose to her? None! It’s like Nightmare Moon was testing the future element bearers and not really trying to stop them!” The six mares walked into the ruins of the palace. There they were: the Elements of Harmony. Moving slowly, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy laid the elements in a circle by Twilight’s hooves. “One, two, three, four, there’s only five!” Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight explained that the book said that when the five were together a spark would make the sixth one appear. Having an idea what it meant she told her new friends to stand back. She concentrated her magic as the five mares left to leave her in peace. Twilight was focusing so hard she didn’t notice Nightmare Moon grabbing the elements and beginning to teleport until it was almost too late. Twilight jumped and was teleported as well. “Teleported? Lucky she didn’t do anything violent.” “What do you mean by that? I surprised her by jumping into the teleportation spell.” “Going in. Coming out you could have found yourself in real trouble. You had no idea where she was going and she knew that exactly.” Twilight came out of the teleportation to see Nightmare Moon on a dais chortling to herself. Twilight snorted and pawed the ground, getting ready to charge. “You’re kidding? You’re kidding right?” "Are you kidding me? Really, the big, bad, evil, ancient Nightmare Moon said ‘are you kidding me’? Th-that makes no sense! Princess Luna speaks old Equestrian. If anything, Nightmare Moon should have said ‘Doth thou jest’! No, Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna. She knew those elements first hoof! You just read about them! I get it that sometimes we don’t get to know everything but this is… unbelievable!” “What do you mean by unbelievable, my student?” “All you guys had to do was show up and prove you were good ponies and you won. No real struggle. And most of the time there was no real danger from a relentless opponent who seemed to know everything about you! I mean, Nightmare Moon didn’t know Rainbow Dash from any other pony, so how could she play with her ego? If she reads minds then she ought to have been able to come up with your worst fears. What about a huge shadow dragon instead of a Manticore?” “So you’re saying you don’t think Nightmare Moon was evil?” “Not if we believe the story as it stands, no.” Princess Twilight Sparkle smiled at the dark-blue unicorn sitting beside her. Her student was a bright one, but was she really ready? Well, no time like the present. “Alright, Shooting Star, do you want to know the real story of Nightmare Moon?” “If you’ll tell me, then I’m all ears, Princess!” Author's Note Don't get scared off the real story starts next chapter. I don't think I need to say it, however, Shooting Star is my creation. If you wish to use her please ask. See you in the first chapter!
NightmareThe real story, my faithful student? Well, the real story starts a few days after I had used the time spell created by Starswirl the Bearded. You remember that story, don’t you? Because I’d be happy to tell you! ...Princess, you’re stalling, aren't you? Ah... not exactly, just gathering my thoughts. Alright, it was a few days after the time spell. My mane had mostly grown back out and Spike was helping me move all of the time travel books I had purchased down to the basement. Twilight Sparkle wiped the sweat from her forehead, yes, she had been using her magic to move the books down to the basement, but buck, there were a lot of them! “I just can’t believe how many books I ordered last week, Spike! I hope I still have enough of my stipend left to feed us for the rest of the month.” Spike looked up from shelving a large tome called Out of Time and grinned. “Don’t worry Twilight, I have a bit of a ’Twilight Fund’ just in case of an emergency like this!” He puffed out his chest proudly. Twilight sighed but then smiled. “That was a really good idea Spike, I wonder if the Princess has a ’Crazy Twilight’ contingency plan?” She made a note in the back of her mind to check with her. So, did you ever ask Princess Celestia if she had a ‘Crazy Twilight’ contingency plan Princess? I did. And? Did or does it still exist? ...So we were shelving all the time travel books I had purchased... They continued shelving the multiple books for several minutes, until they were both suddenly startled by an unusually loud bump. It sounded as if something very heavy had fallen upstairs in the main library. Twilight quickly ran through the very short list of things in the library that could have made that noise. They consisted of a bookcase, and the unicorn head statue on the table. Neither should have fallen without assistance, and Twilight was certain Rainbow Dash was napping at this time of day. "Spike!" She hissed, gathering him to her barrel as she gazed up the stairs. Her eyes narrowed. "What was that?!" Spike looked up at Twilight, his bright green eyes wide with worry, and his spines had fallen back against his head. He nervously rubbed his claws together, having dropped the book he was holding when he was startled. "Go check upstairs." Twilight motioned to the door at the top of the stairs with a fore hoof. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you, Spike.” She softly nuzzled him, then nudged him forward with her muzzle. Spike nodded and took a deep breath before walking up the stairs. He opened the door slowly as he poked his head through it. His eyes widened and he shut the door quickly. "Gah! Twilight!" Twilight raced up the stairs to stand right behind Spike. She could hear his heart pounding against his chest. “What is it, Spike? Let me see.” She lit up her horn and used the smallest amount of magic that she needed to open the door. She slowly poked her head out, and there, laying on the floor next to the table, was the obvious reason for Spike’s minor freak-out. It was a pony, but not just any pony. This was a very large pony; roughly eight feet tall from horn-to-hooves. She also had wings and… Oh! Light blue armor. Can’t forget the armor. There was no doubt who this pony was, and Twilight felt herself swallow hard. "I don't believe it! Twilight, it's Nightmare Moon!" Spike hissed, hiding under Twilight's barrel and peering out nervously. Twilight looked out the door at the obviously unconscious alicorn with pursed eyebrows. "Is she hurt?" "She looks more stunned than hurt. Maybe we should... I don't know... run?" Spike glanced out the door, wondering if they could make it to the front door before Nightmare Moon woke up and they were trapped. "Spike, what is running going to do? If this is Nightmare Moon, maybe we can talk Luna into coming back to us without using the elements." Twilight slowly crept out of the basement doorway so as not to disturb the Princess. "Uh huh..." Spike muttered unhappily, and dubiously hung back while hiding behind Twilight. "Princess Luna is our friend, Spike. Th-this is just a minor setback in her recovery!" Twilight smiled over her shoulder, looking Spike in the eye. Spike wasn’t certain who Twilight was trying to convince more. Him or herself? "Then, shouldn't we contact Princess Celestia?" Twilight considered the suggestion for a few moments, then shook her head. "No, what if they had a fight? Listen, if she came to the library, she might let me try talking to her before we contact Princess Celestia." "Alright, Twilight, I promise." Spike sighed, still not moving very quickly. Twilight paused and smiled at her number one assistant. "You can stay in here if you’ll feel safer?” She opened the basement door and watched as Spike eagerly scampered back through it. Spike nervously poked his head out while wringing his claws."I'd better have an emergency note ready to send Princess Celestia, just in case." "Just relax, Spike." Twilight sighed, “Remember you promised to let me talk to Princess Luna first.” Nightmare Moon let out a soft groan and moved her head a bit, slowly opening her eyes to reveal serpentine pupils. "Princess? Princess Luna?" Twilight called in a gentle manner, stopping to stand a few feet away from her. Nightmare Moon blinked a few times and looked up to see the bearer of the Element of Magic standing before her. She blinked again. "I haven't been called that in a very long time, Magic." Her voice lacked the malice that Twilight remembered from their last encounter. "It's alright, Princess! I’m here to help you!" Twilight smiled at the confused... Monster? No, not a monster; this was only Princess Luna. "Help me?" Nightmare Moon struggled to lift her head with a wince. "Whatever caused you to take this form again, it's only temporary! We won't even involve Princess Celestia if you would rather avoid that." Nightmare Moon closed her eyes again as she felt her head throbbing. Her mouth felt dry. There was only one thing she desired, and at this time it certainly wasn’t eternal night. " Actually, may I have some water?" "Of course!" Twilight smiled and headed towards the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. Nightmare Moon gingerly sat up and rested on her haunches "Ow..." "What's the last thing you remember?" Twilight asked as she filled the glass with ice cold water. She carried the glass back to Nightmare Moon and offered it with a smile. "The Elements of Harmony." She reached for the glass with her magic. Her horn sparked a few times before flickering out. "Ugh… no good." Nightmare rubbed her head with her right fore hoof, her head throbbing in tune with her heart beat. Twilight bit her lip at the sight, but held the glass still until Nightmare moon discarded her light blue hoof boots. Nightmare took the glass it in her bare hooves. "Thank you, Magic." "You're welcome!" Twilight absentmindedly watched her, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. “Oh, and you don’t have to call me ‘Magic.’ My name is Twilight Sparkle!” Nightmare Moon drained the cup and set it down onto the tabletop. "Much better... Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight glanced at the glass but forced herself to ignore it for the moment. "What do you remember before the elements and Ponyville?" Nightmare Moon seemed to stare into nothingness for several moments. Twilight hesitated to prod her out of her stupor. She was concerned, as well as Spike, who had come out of the basement once it was apparent that either Nightmare Moon meant no harm or could do no harm. "...A very long time out." was stated in a matter-of-fact yet sad tone as Nightmare Moon returned to gaze at the sputtering Twilight Sparkle. "W-wait... this... that makes no sense!" Nightmare lifted an eyebrow at the sputtering mare with slight amusement. Twilight took a deep breath before sitting on her haunches in front of Nightmare Moon. This was not going to be an easy conversation. "Princess... you have to be suffering some kind of memory block." "I am?" Nightmare Moon cocked her head and hissed, righting her head immediately. That had been a mistake. Twilight slowly nodded, a bit concerned for the mare in front of her. She had managed not to back away when nightmare hissed, but it had been a close thing. Twilight realized the hiss was from pain and bit her lip. "It does seem that you’re missing a significant amount of your memory, Princess." "How long has it been?" Nightmare asked after a few moments of thought. “Since you used the elements on me?” Twilight looked away from the observant black mare. Her serpentine eyes were disconcerting. “I-it’s been about nine months, Princess... Almost ten.” Nightmare Moon briefly closed her eyes then sighed, "Nothing compared to one thousand years on the moon.” "I-I suppose not, but, I would hope that you would want to remember one more than the other?" Twilight smiled hopefully, allowing a name to remain unsaid. After a few moments of silence the black mare spoke in a breathless voice, but with a bit of hope. "Celestia..." Twilight grinned with pleasure at the reaction Nightmare Moon had given her. She was right; this had to be Luna! Nightmare Moon gave not one bit of care for Celestia. "How is she?" Nightmare Moon asked, carefully biting so not to pierce her bottom lip with a fang. "She is doing well." Twilight hoped this would encourage Luna to come back to herself. It seemed to work as she watched Nightmare Moon cheer up significantly. Nightmare Moon stopped chewing her lip and smiled. "I… Maybe you are right, Twilight Sparkle, because the fact she is doing well fills me with joy." "I'm glad." That was the understatement of all time. Twilight was ecstatic with what Nightmare Moon had just said. "I remember hating Celestia, but now I'm so relieved. So thankful she is safe and doing well." A single tear fell down her fuzzy black cheek. "You had reconciled. You were raising and lowering the moon again. Going on patrols..." Twilight offered more information hoping to spark a memory. "Patrols?" Nightmare Moon rubbed her aching head. "Ouch." Her helm was not helping the pain in her head, yet she needed either her magic or assistance to remove it, and she was still somewhat unsure of Twilight Sparkle. "You would go on nighttime patrols looking for dangers to subdue," Twilight explained in as few words as she could as she watched the pain in Nightmare Moon’s eyes grow. “My head hurts, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon huffed out. “I need your help to remove my helm; it can only be removed with both magic and my permission, and I give that to you.” Twilight nodded eagerly, happy that Nightmare Moon was trusting her to remove part of her armor. "I'll get a cold compress. Spike!" Twilight levitated a ice cold rag over and set it down on the floor next to her. Nightmare stood still as Twilight unclasped the helm and slowly and carefully pulled it from Nightmare Moon’s head. Once it had pulled away completely, Twilight allowed it to fall to the ground unceremoniously. "Spike!" Twilight called again as she picked up the cold compress. She held it gingerly to the large lump that had been revealed once the helm was removed. "Yes, Twilight?" Spike asked. He wasn’t as confident as Twilight about whether this was Princess Luna or if Nightmare Moon was just a very good actress. "I need you to get to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as you can and get Applejack," Twilight stated after a few moments of thought. It had been between Applejack and Fluttershy, but she needed the pony to stay conscious, so that ruled out Fluttershy’s help. At least for now. "Shouldn't we contact the Princess?" Spike asked, watching the sedate but whimpering Nightmare Moon. With her eyes closed and her helm off, she almost appeared approachable. "I think you're right, Spike, but get Applejack first." Twilight smiled sadly as she continued to cool the compress to keep Nightmare Moon at least somewhat comfortable. "Alright, Twi!" He raced off to Sweet Apple Acres. He wasn’t sure why Twilight wanted Applejack, but he would trust her in this case. Besides, it let him get away for at least a few minutes. Nightmare winced upon feeling a liquid run down her face. It was cool and almost felt like sweat, but Nightmare recognized the scent far too quickly. She allowed a whimper to escape her lips. "What is it, Princess?" Twilight looked up to see Nightmare’s eyes open again, in pain. "I think that my helm cut me, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon stated with a small whimper. She was in pain and wanted it to stop. "I'll go find my first aid kit!" Twilight allowed the compress to fall to the ground and sprinted upstairs to where she kept her personal first aid kit. She had to get that cut treated. Twilight truly hoped Nightmare Moon would not require stitches, because that would be very difficult to explain to a doctor. Spike ran into the south orchard where he had heard Applejack was doing some branch removal. At least, that was what Applebloom had told him when he had run into the crusaders on his way here. "Applejack!" He called at the top of his lungs, cupping his claws around his mouth. "Spike?" AJ called back. Her voice seemed to be coming from quite some distance, so much so that Spike was almost certain that Applebloom had been mistaken about the location of her older sister. “Where are you?" Spike called back in the same manner, moving towards where he assumed her voice was coming from. "Ah’m by the barn, Spike!" Certain he was heading the correct way, he picked up the pace and raced over to her. "Applejack you need to come to the library!" "What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she stepped away from the hay bales she had been stacking. She lifted a forehoof and wiped away her sweat-drenched bangs from out of her eyes. "Somepony is hurt and Twilight said to get you because we can't take her to the hospital." Spike nervously rubbed his claws together; it was becoming a habit, nowadays. He was nervous about taking Applejack back to the library without telling her just who it was that was hurt, but… He didn’t have much time to worry as Applejack’s eyes narrowed and she turned yelling towards the house. "BIG MAC! I'll be back! Twilight needs my help! Let Granny know!” Without waiting for an answer she ducked her head between Spike’s legs, tossing him into the air. Spike yelped as he wound up on Applejack's back. "Warn a guy wontcha’, AJ?” "Sorry Spike, but Ah thought you said this was urgent?" Applejack questioned as she waited for Spike to get settled. "It is!” Spike insisted, finding a safe and comfortable spot to ride upon Applejack’s back. "Well then hold on!" Applejack warned as she broke into a full gallop. Spike gulped and held tight to her mane. ‘I hope you’re right that Applejack will be able to handle this, Twilight!’ Twilight smiled gently as she levitated some gauze soaked in rubbing alcohol up to the long cut on Nightmare Moon’s head. "Alright, Princess. This is going to sting a bit..." Nightmare nodded as her cut was carefully dabbed with the gauze in Twilight’s magic. She winced sharply from the burning as Twilight cleaned the blood away and sanitized the cut. She bit back a curse so not to scare the small mare. Twilight bit her lip at seeing her friend in obvious pain. "I’m sorry, Princess, but I need to carefully clean this cut which was caused by your helm. I’m almost done." "It is alright, Twilight." Nightmare Moon mumbled, her eyes shut tight as she lay upon her belly getting comfortable on Twilight’s bed. It was very soft; much softer than the crater she had slept in. Twilight smiled, having finished cleaning the cut. "After AJ takes a look at your cut and bump, I'll wrap your head in gauze." "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Nightmare lowered her head onto Twilight’s pillow. She felt so safe here... If her head wasn’t throbbing so badly she’d close her eyes and sleep. Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard the door open and slam shut. "We're up here in my bedroom, Applejack!" "Ah’m coming on up now, Twi!" Twilight met her at the stairs and opened the door to her loft. "What did Spike tell you?" "That it was important that I get here fast as Ah’ could!" Applejack allowed Spike to slide off her back and followed Twilight into her loft. "Princess Luna hurt her head. Can you take a look?" Twilight requested with a slightly guilty expression. "Sure enough, but why didn't ya’ get a real doctor?" Applejack inquired with a raised eyebrow. Her purple friend was hiding something from her and Applejack wasn’t pleased by the deception. "Well..." Twilight started, but stopped and gestured Applejack up to where her bedroom was. Nightmare opened a serpentine eye as she heard the two sets of hooves approaching. Her eyes gazed at the orange earth mare for several seconds before looking up into her eyes. "Element of Honesty, am I correct?" "Er... Right, um... Princess. Twilight? What's going on?" Applejack turned to glare down her friend, determined to know why Nightmare Moon was comfortably resting on Twilight’s bed. "Well, this is the reason we can't take her to a doctor. She seems to have had a relapse, but shes good now!” Twilight smiled confidently as she looked Applejack in the eyes. Applejack carefully looked for any sign of deception. Heck, Twilight was almost as bad of a liar as she was, but to her eyes there was no trace of a lie to be found. "Well, okay then. Don't need a panic." Nightmare smiled sadly but with hope, as Honesty didn’t get upset or disbelieve Twilight. Nightmare wondered if she and Twilight Sparkle were very close. That would be a question for later. She snorted a touch. “My head hurts, Honesty." "Ah'm not surprised! You got a heck of a knot on the side of yer’ horn." Applejack carefully checked Nightmare Moon’s head for any other injuries, but only the cut and goose egg-sized lump were visible. She tenderly felt the bump. Nightmare cried out as Applejack's hoof touched the knot on her head. "What is your true name, Honesty?" she asked, desperate to keep her mind off of the pain. Honesty did not seem to be frightened by her, either. Maybe she was close to all of the bearers. Maybe… they were friends? It had been so very long since she had friends. The last time she had still… still been Luna. Was she Luna now? She tested the name under her breath it… it sounded right. "Applejack. My name is Applejack, Princess." Applejack continued investigating the knot to determine exactly how big it was. "Hello, Applejack. You may call me Luna." She shivered and closed her eyes as Applejack continued to prod the lump. Luna... Yes, she was Luna, and she had no idea why her body was a nightmare. But for now, it didn’t matter; she was Luna. "Oh that hurts." Luna had thoughts of pulling her head away, but refrained, as Applejack was just trying to help her. It would be over soon, she was certain. "Ah’ have no doubt. We need ta’ keep ice on that. We really need ta’ get the swelling down." Applejack finally pulled her hoof away. That lump was obviously big enough to cause the memory loss that Princess Luna was exhibiting. Twilight nodded and left the room. She returned with crushed ice wrapped in a towel a minute or so later. "Here, AJ." "Thanks, Twi." Applejack placed the ice onto the lump and held it there with a gentle hoof. Luna smiled as the ice was applied. The coolness was already making her head feel better. "Thank you, Applejack." "Yer’ welcome! Now, we gotta keep you from moving around a lot, Princess." Applejack grinned at the black mare as she made a sound that Applejack would have expected from Applebloom. Shoot, I can’t believe I was even frightened that this was the Nightmare. "So I need to stay in bed?" Luna asked, closing her eyes and enjoying the icy coldness that was numbing her horn. "For the time being, eeyup.” Applejack lifted an eyebrow, ready to deal with whining. Luckily there was none; just the black mare getting more comfortable. “Agreed.” Luna winced, unfolding a bloody wing. She didn’t think there was any injury to her wing, but the blood was clearly staining her feathers. "Somepony oughta preen those an’ clean that up," Applejack declared after seeing that Luna’s left wing was just as bad as her right one. Broken and bent feathers covered with blood were clearly visible. "My head hurts too much," Luna mumbled, gazing at her wings. She knew they needed care, but even if she was feeling better she wasn’t certain she’d be able to stand taking those black feathers between her lips. But maybe... "Twilight, where is my sister?" Twilight blinked. She hadn’t thought of Celestia since Applejack had begun tending to Luna’s injuries. "She should still be in Canterlot. Would you like me to contact her?" Luna almost nodded her head, but a firm look from Applejack stopped her. Instead, she settled with giving her a sheepish expression before turning to look at Twilight with tear filled eyes. "Please? If I was hurt during a patrol, she’s probably very worried!" Twilight nodded, glancing at the sun. Luna was right; it was late morning now, around eleven AM or so. Celestia was probably beside herself with worry when she had to set the moon for Luna. "Alright. Spike? A letter please, my number one assistant!" Spike hurried over to her, armed with a quill, some ink and some parchment which he had just retrieved from Twilight’s desk. "Ready, Twi." "Princess Celestia. Urgent. Princess Luna is here in Ponyville and appears to have suffered some sort of accident. She cannot seem to recall anything after the Elements of Harmony. She is anxious to see you as soon as possible. Please respond A.S.A.P. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” "Got it! aaaand-" He rolled the parchment, stamped it with Twilight’s cutie mark, wrapped it in ribbon and breathed flame on it the, green smoke racing out the window. “Sent.” Celestia's eyes opened in surprise as a trail of green smoke appeared and formed into a scroll. "Hm? A letter from Twilight!" She read it, and a look of confusion soon set upon her face as she walked down the hall and knocked upon an ornate navy blue door. The door slowly opened as the Princess of the Night poked her head out, her starry mane all mussed up. She had a horrid case of bed mane "Tia? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Author's Note ...The heck? Luna and... Luna? Oh by the way Princess Celestia does have a Twilight Contingency plan. She calls it the PTM plan and it consists of three rolls of duct tape.
CelestiaNow, where was I? Oh yes, Celestia had just woken up Luna in Canterlot. Princess, can you get on with it? Feels like I’ve been waiting a year! ... "Yes, I apologize Luna but I just received an interesting letter from Twilight Sparkle. I think you had better read it." Celestia's horn glowed slightly as the scroll was passed over to the very sleepy Night Princess. Luna yawned while blinking her eyes as she took the scroll in her own dark blue magic. She took the chance to stretch her wings out with a satisfying crack before unfolding the scroll to read it. Her eyes darted a bit before she blinked and cocked her head at the scroll’s contents before reading it again. "We... er, I am..." She blinked. "Tia, what in Discord's name is this?" Celestia shrugged, albeit a bit weakly. "I was sort of hoping that you might have some idea." Luna cocked her head while staring up at Celestia with half-lidded eyes "Well I... Er, I think I am here, sister. Mind you I am very much still half asleep." Celestia shook her head with a soft chuckle, remembering why it was an unwise idea to awaken her sister too early; she became rather silly. As unintentional as it was, there was nothing to do for it. "Do you have any suggestions on how to proceed, sister?" Luna rolled up the scroll a bit sloppily with a sigh while rubbing under her horn with a hoof. It was apparent to Celestia that she was at a loss as both of them held out hope that it was an explanation, but one which they both feared. 'Well... is it possible that something happened during my normal patrols of the Everfree which would cause myself to split in twine? Mayhaps to save my life?” Celestia gently took the scroll from Luna’s hesitant magic. "It is possible Luna and that explanation may help to explain the apparent amnesia which your doppelganger seems to be suffering." Luna willingly allowed Celestia to take the scroll back. The idea that there was another of her, a version of her which wore the form of a nightmare, disturbed her in a way she wasn’t sure she could put into words. "Well, Twilight doesn't seem concerned that she may be evil…” She swallowed at the idea of her closest friend being tricked in such a manner but firmly shook her head. No, Twilight is a smarter mare than that. If she is certain of my… doppelganger? Then I have no reason to doubt that it is the truth. “So for now that is the explanation I'm going with, Tia." She stopped. “Tia? Does that mean we have a new little sister?” Celestia sighed, tucking the scroll away as her wings made a shrugging motion. “I couldn’t say yet, Luna. This needs to be carefully investigated.” Luna nodded while stretching her wings out, moving just enough to stay conscious if not completely awake. "I think you may be right, Tia. For now, maybe we should keep me a secret from her?" Celestia considered it for a few moments, chewing her lip as she did so. “I will not reveal your location here sister unless I feel it is safe to do so. Is that fair?" Luna stared ahead for a few moments before nodding."I take it that you mean to leave for Ponyville now then, Tia?” Celestia clicked her tongue in thought before nodding. "I think I ought to. Whatever the situation may be, that is the logical choice." Luna yawned again. “With all this sorted out does that mean I may return to my bed?” She had been doing her best but her normal reserves were utterly spent. Celestia wrapped her large wing around Luna’s back and gave a gentle squeeze. "Yes Lulu, you are welcome to return to your own sweet dreams." Luna sighed happily before nuzzling her cheek into Celestia’s chest, feeling safe under her sister’s wing. Thoughts of the being masquerading as her briefly forgotten as she closed her eyes with a soft sigh. Celestia smiled bending her neck to lay her cheek on top of Luna’s head. “I will see you this evening, dear little sister. Don’t worry about the Solar court; I will have it suspended.” Luna nodded with a sleepy murmur before pulling back from under Celestia’s wing. “Sorry Tia, but if I do not return to my bed I fear I will collapse onto you, not that you would be a bad pillow…” Celestia chuckled. “Yes, I understand. Go on back to bed, little sister. I think I’ll be seeing you at dinner, though depending on how this trip goes there may be a few more settings needed.” Luna simply yawned before slowly walking back into her darkened room and shutting the door with a quiet click. Tia, be safe… Twilight looked up as Spike suddenly belched the green fire, instantly materializing into a scroll. “Oh good, I was starting to get worried! It usually doesn’t take the Princess so long to respond, especially to such a serious matter!” She sighed in relief as Spike opened the scroll and cleared his throat. "Dear Twilight. I was most distressed by your last letter but am very relieved to hear that Princess Luna is safe in your care. With that said however, I will be coming to Ponyville as soon as I can. Signed, Princess Celestia." Spike checked the rest of the scroll and shrugged. “Well that’s that.” Twilight beamed as her shoulders relaxed a bit. She turned to where Nightmare Moon was curled up on her too-small bed, a smile on her lips. "Your sister will be here soon, Princess Luna. Just relax, I’m certain she’ll be able to explain everything." With the scroll rolled back up and put away, she trotted over to the bed and carefully began unrolling a roll of gauze around Nightmare Moon’s head. She frowned as she tried to cover the long gash but not do more damage to the goose egg against her horn. Nightmare winced as the gauze was applied just a bit too tightly on her lump but swallowed the pain, determined not to startle her host. "Did she seem worried?" If she and Celestia had indeed had an alteration then it was likely that Celestia would not have been as worried then if she simply hadn’t returned from a patrol. Twilight carefully tied off the gauze before pausing in consideration. “She did seem concerned, but I think the fact that you are here with me helped a lot.” Nightmare gazed down at her pitch black hooves, biting her lip carefully as she took a shaky breath. "Then… why do I look like this, Twilight Sparkle? Why after nine months have I turned into the Nightmare again?" Twilight opened her mouth before pausing and shaking her head. "I don't know, Princess Luna. Maybe Princess Celestia will have some sort of idea about why this is happening, I’m sure she’ll be able to fix it!" Nightmare nodded before looking down at the petryal which was still encircled around her body along with the remaining two hoof boots. Her ears pinned back as her horn weakly sputtered; her magic had obviously been damaged far greater than she had originally thought. She swallowed hard before looking back over at Twilight. "Help me get this armor off please, Twilight Sparkle. I can't bear to see my sister while wearing it." Twilight nodded, remembering what Nightmare had told her earlier. She took a deep breathe before lighting her horn’s aura, carefully she pulled off Nightmare’s hind hoof boots and set them delicately on the floor as her eyes scanned Nightmare for anymore injuries. Finding none, her magic slowly took hold of the light blue petryal and unclipped it, allowing it to lay along with the boots. Nightmare looked at the armor laid on the ground ever so thoughtfully before frowning. It looked so benign like that. "Twilight?" Twilight smiled; without the armor on Luna--even in her Nightmare form--seemed far more approachable. "Yes, Princess?" Nightmare closed her eyes tightly, her muzzle twitching as she turned her head from where the armor lay. "Destroy it... destroy all of it, please!” Her wings slumped as a few bloody feathers came loose landing on the floor. Twilight stared wordlessly for a moment before nodding firmly. “Of course, Princess Luna." Her horn was surrounded by an aura of pink magic. Her tongue poked out as she glared at the armor, the aura growing far more powerful. Unnoticed to her, Nightmare opened her eyes to watch her mouth opening the smallest amount as Twilight cried out, a large burst of magic consuming the armor and turning it into smoking slag. She sat down with heavy breathing, relieved no damage had been done to the floor. After a few moments of rest she turned to check on Nightmare. Nightmare swallowed hard, feeling Twilight’s eyes on her. There was something about that magic. She shook her head as a tear ran down her cheek. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. You do not know what that act means to me.” Twilight smiled before walking over and sitting on her haunches next to the bed. “I was happy to help you, Princess Luna. Ever since seeing you last Nightmare Night, I had been hoping that you might send me a letter wanting to get together again, but I understand you’ve probably been really busy what with helping your sister rule our country right?” Nightmare stared at Twilight with wide eyes before letting out a soft sob as she fell back onto the bed, burying her head in the pillow. She began crying, soaking the pillow with her tears. “Celestia, oh Tia… Tia, I’m sorry, please. I’m sorry…” Twilight watched as Nightmare cried, not sure what to do, before shaking her head firmly and lifting a hoof towards her. She began to gently stroke Nightmare’s mane while not saying a word, just being there to comfort. Spike slipped out the door, chewing his lip as he walked down the stairs to where Applejack sat in the library paging through some sort of book, though Spike could see from the way her eyes were not moving and the way her ears perked that it was only to maintain appearances. She was listening to what was going on upstairs. Spike sighed, sitting down next to her as he rubbed his claws together. he sighed and turned to her. "What do you think?" Applejack sighed, closing the book with a light thump and running her hoof over her mane before shaking her head. “I just… I can’t quite tell, Spike. It doesn’t seem like she’s lying to us. What do you think?” Spike sighed, his shoulders slumping as he stared at a picture of the lot of them which Twilight had hung on the wall. He crossed his arms as if to hug himself. “I-I’m worried that Twilight is being tricked,” he admitted after several seconds of thought. “We’ve been through so much together, I just… Twilight is just so trusting!” He looked at Applejack’s gentle smile as she lifted his chin with her hoof. “Hey now, sugar cube. Take a deep breath and relax, alright?” Applejack gave him a small nuzzle before releasing his chin. “You might be right but I can tell you that the injuries she has are very much real. As for the rest, Princess Celestia should be arriving soon and I doubt the Nightmare is good enough of an actress to fool the Princess, least not for very long.” As Applejack finished speaking a firm knock came from the front door to the library. Spike eagerly sprang to his feet and practically ran to the door, swinging it open to reveal Princess Celestia outside alone. A few ponies walking by had looks of astonishment on their faces as Spike bowed, standing out of the way. “Princess Celestia, please come in! Twilight is upstairs with our guest.” Celestia softly smiled down at Spike before she stepped inside and waited for the door to be closed behind her. Her eyes scanned the room, briefly pausing on Nightmare Moon’s helm and two of her hoof boots before spotting Applejack bowing before her. Celestia simply shook her head. “Arise, Applejack. There is no need for you to prostrate yourself before me. After all, I have been invited here by Twilight, same as yourself.” Applejack nodded, standing back up. “You should probably head on upstairs, Princess. I’m pretty sure Twi could use your help.” Celestia nodded and climbed the stairs, hesitating a mere moment before stepping into the bottom level of her student’s bedroom. "Twilight Sparkle, may I come up?" Twilight poked her head over the side of the loft. “Oh, Princess Celestia! I’m so glad you are here, please come on up!” Her head vanished from Celestia’s sight as she returned to Nightmare’s side. Celestia cocked her head at how Twilight was reacting before giving herself a small shake and climbing up the final flight of stairs, not certain of what she would find and readying herself for anything. The sound of her sister’s sobs was the last thing she was expecting as she came to a stop a few feet away from the foot of Twilight’s bed. Laying curled up in the bed which was far to short for her large frame was a sobbing black alicorn. Her face buried in Twilight’s pillow. Celestia frowned before swallowing hard and taking another step forward "Luna?" Nightmare lifted her head from the pillow looking into Celestia’s eyes her own eyes filled with tears and swollen red. Two trails of tears fell down her black cheeks. "T-Tia, I'm sorry! I’m so very sorry!" Celestia took a deep breath then smiled gently for all her bravado while speaking with Luna being here and seeing this being, this pony who looked at the Nightmare but resembled Luna in so many ways. I’m not certain what is happening but… "For what, my dear sweet Luna?" Nightmare shivered turning away from Celestia’s expression staring at the bed spread. So forgiving. Why can I not remember… "I… I don't know, b-but I'm N-N-Nightmare Moon again s-so something had t-to have h-happened! S-so I'm s-s-sorry!" Celestia walked slowly to the bed and sat next to Nightmare before wrapping a wing around her trembling form and giving a small squeeze. "Nothing happened, sister. I swear it to you." Nightmare let out a sob before turning into Celestia’s embrace and wrapping her forelegs around her neck and burying her head in Celestia’s chest. "Tia!" Celestia softly nuzzled into Nightmare’s mane cooing into her ear."Shh, Luna. It's alright, little sister." Twilight stood back several feet from the embracing sisters watching as Celestia attempted to soothe Nightmare whose sobs were slowing into nothing more then whimpers her trembling had just about ceased. Twilight smiled as her body finally began to relax. "Princesses, may I get either of you anything?" Celestia pulled back from Nightmare to better respond to Twilight her wing still firmly embracing Nightmare. "Camomile tea please, sister?" Nightmare nodded her cheek resting against Celestia’s chest. “T-that sounds lovely." She winced; her crying had made her head ache more. Twilight gave a small bow and headed downstairs not only to prepare the tea but give the sisters a bit of privacy. Celestia placed a gentle hoof on Nightmare’s back soothing her in a circular motion. Nightmare released a small whimper after noticing that the white gauze covering her head had soaked up some of the red tint of her blood. "My head hurts, Tia." Celestia glanced at the blood tinged bandage and frowned. "I know sweetie, it’ll be alright." Celestia’s horn glowed, summoning an ice pack which she softly held to Nightmare’s head. Nightmare smiled into Celestia’s fur as Celestia gently applied the ice pack, her eyes closing from exhaustion. "I love you, Tia." Celestia smiled touching Nightmare’s forehead with her lips. "And I, you." She smiled as she felt Nightmare’s breaths slow. She cradled Nightmare against her chest for a few moments longer before laying Nightmare back down on the bed, bringing the quilt up to cover her while trying to ignore the injuries her eyes had only glimpsed. Later Celestia, for now she needs rest. She sat next to the bed, her face emotionless as she watched Nightmare sleep with a small smile on her muzzle. At least she is having a good dream. That thought caused a small smile to form upon Celestia’s own muzzle. Twilight soon returned upstairs with three cups of tea held within her magical aura. She set them down on her desk before turning back to see Celestia sitting on her haunches watching Nightmare sleeping. Twilight took a step forward, her head slightly cocked. "Did Princess Luna fall asleep?" Celestia turned her head towards Twilight and smiled "She did indeed.” Celestia sighed softly. Twilight blinked and her brow crinkled. Though most would have never noticed it Twilight had grown up under Celestia’s wing and was privy to the Celestia under the mask. There was something bothering her princess. “Princess Celestia, is something wrong?" Celestia turned back to watch Nightmare sleep. "Twilight, what are your impressions of all this? I mean, what have you thought since Luna arrived this evening." Twilight blinked and chewed her lip. My impressions? Th-that is kind of an odd question to ask but… "Well, at first I thought she... you know, had a relapse, er… a back-track? I mean, she did appear here as Nightmare Moon, but there was something not quite right? She… she was very polite and she asked about your well-being right away!" Celestia nodded, her eyes still focused away from Twilight taking in the sight of the sleeping Nightmare. "What else have you noticed since her arrival?" Twilight sat down, her tail flicking back and forth in thought. "Well… it seems as if she’s missing a large chunk of her memory. In fact, I’d say she has no memories after returning from the moon nine months ago, except...” Celestia’s ear flicked the smallest amount. “Except what, my faithful student?” Twilight took a deep breath and swallowed. “Well, she seems to remember seeing us use the Elements. In fact, she recognized Applejack and called her Honesty." Celestia turned away from watching Nightmare sleep to smile gently at Twilight. "Well, that’s interesting and very relieving. It seems that the six of you seem to be a focal point in her memory. Yes, I do think we can and should work with that fact." Twilight’s cheeks flushed a bit before she shook her head. "It’s not just us, Princess. She was so very relieved to hear you were safe. In fact—" Twilight picked up the metal slag which remained after burning Nightmare Moon’s armor, "This was the armor she was wearing when I met her. Well, minus her helm." Celestia cocked her head slightly to the side as she took in the sight. "May I see her helm, Twilight?" Twilight nodded and went downstairs to retrieve the helm once she had dropped the slag back to the ground. "Here you are, Princess Celestia. It broke a bit, cutting into her head, so I removed it with her permission. In fact you can see where it fractured, cutting into her head. Could that have been caused by the impact that caused her to lose her memory?” Celestia nodded before taking the helm into her own magic and sliding it into a saddle bag which Twilight had left simply lying about. "Thank you, Twilight. I'm going to study this helm for any traces of magic. Twilight blinked but nodded. "Of course, Princess. Also you are welcome to the use of my bag for as long as you may need it." She cocked her head as Celestia’s cheeks seemed to flush the smallest amount. She opened her mouth just to close it again as she heard the bed shift a bit and turned her full attention back to Nightmare. Nightmare mumbled a bit, her wing twitching as she tried to rouse herself from deep sleep. "T-tia..." "Yes, Luna?" Celestia asked gently, lowering her head to Nightmare's level and softly nuzzling at her cheek with the side of her muzzle. Nightmare’s eyes opened. "I-I had a n-nightmare, Tia. A horrible nightmare. M-my body was Nightmare's again, a-and I don’t know why. It was so awful, Tia!" Celestia slowly licked the single tear that escaped Nightmare’s eye away and cooed to her in a soft voice."The nightmare is over, Luna. You are safe with me." Nightmare smiled up at Celestia before lifting her hoof to touch Celestia’s muzzle. Before making contact however, she froze, her leg trembling. “Black…” "But not your heart, dear sister." Celestia gently placed her forehoof on Nightmare’s chest, right over her heart. “Your heart is as light as anypony’s.” Nightmare trembled, her eyes flicking down towards the blanket covering her lower body. "I don't understand what caused me to relapse... Please, sister! I'm sorry!" She jerked her head back up to look Celestia in the eye, tears running down her cheeks. Celestia wiped the tears away, a loving smile on her muzzle. "Hush now, It's alright. We'll figure this all out and it will be alright. I swear it." Twilight hesitated a moment before taking a step forward and clearing her throat. “Princess Celestia?" Celestia paused in comforting Nightmare to give Twilight her full attention. "Yes, Twilight, what is it my faithful student?" Twilight swallowed hard before straightening up and looking Celestia in the eyes, forcing herself to keep her courage. "Would I be able to give Princess Luna some of my magic? I mean, i-it might be enough that she can change back at least! Or, um... would that aggravate her injuries?" Twilight winced as she finished her thought. Good job Twilight, you should have thought of that first before offering. "Twilight, I’m afraid that at this point it is better for Luna’s health for her to remain as she is." Celestia lovingly smiled down at Twilight before turning back to her sister and nuzzling her cheek. “At least until she has had time to heal from whatever caused these injuries.” Twilight chewed her lip but took a hard look at Nightmare’s battered body, her shoulders finally slumping in disappointment but also relief. There was no telling just how much of her magic would be needed to let Nightmare return to her normal self. “I-I understand, Princess.” Celestia turned back to Nightmare, her eyes firm though loving as she placed a hoof on Nightmare’s shoulder. “And you, little sister... Can you understand why it is important you remain as you are until we figure out what happened?” Nightmare nodded, though she seemed weary. "I-I'm very tired, Tia..." Her eyes drifted shut once again, unable to hold them open another moment. Celestia caught Nightmare’s body as she slumped against her. "Rest then, sister. I am going to take this helm back to Canterlot for study later today, but before then we'll have lunch together. How does that sound?" Nightmare weakly nodded."I'd like that, Tia. Just a small nap fir..." She fell asleep on Celestia's shoulder before she could finish her sentence. Celestia smiled before using her magic to gently lower Nightmare back onto the bed and tucking her in and giving her a single kiss under her horn. "Rest, dear sister. Big sister will figure this all out, I promise." Twilight waited quietly as Celestia got to her hooves, stretching her wings before folding them back against her sides. She seemed deep in thought and Twilight hated to disturb her, but… "Is everything alright now, Princess Celestia?" Celestia smiled down at Twilight. "Yes, I think so. We still need answers about what has happened, but at least we aren't worrying for Luna's safety nor of a renewed threat by Nightmare Moon." Twilight perked up. Even though she had been almost one hundred percent certain that this was Luna and not a trick, to hear the same from Celestia was quite the relief. "So this is Princess Luna then? I'm so glad I was right to trust her!" Celestia paused, looking out the window above the bed Nightmare slept in before turning to head downstairs "Walk with me, Twilight?" Twilight blinked. “Of course, Princess.” She paused, watching as Celestia silently walked down the stairs. she shook her head and quickly followed her, helplessly shrugging at Applejack and Spike as they walked past them and out the door. Heading away from the town they arrived at a babbling brook. Celestia gazed at the brook a few moments before sighing and turning to look down at Twilight. "Twilight. I have no doubt that the injured mare in your home is my dear little sister Princess Luna. This, however, presents a riddle to me." Twilight’s ear flicked; that hadn’t been what she had expected her teacher to say. "A riddle, Princess?" Celestia pursed her lips together before nodding. "Yes, my dear Twilight. Because Princess Luna in fact returned from her nightly patrol and lowered the moon this morning. She is now comfortably sleeping in her bed at the palace." Twilight’s eyes widened as she took an involuntary step back. "I-I don't understand... you just told me that Princess Luna is asleep in my bed." Celestia nodded. "Indeed I did, Luna is asleep in your bed as well as asleep in her own bed. Twilight? Somehow it seems we now have two Princess Lunas!" Twilight sat down in shock, unable to think. Her mouth began and opening and closing a few times in an effort to form a coherent sentence before she finally blurted out what she was thinking. "Oh wow! So, uh... how does it feel to have twin baby sisters?" Celestia paused as she watched Twilight’s eyes grow wide looking as if she desperately wanted to bury her head in the ground. She shook her head with a quiet chuckle. "It is very confusing, Twilight. I need to know more about how this happened before we tell this Luna if possible. The one at home has all of her memory, apparently." Twilight stopped searching for hiding spots and cocked her head, clearing her thinking. "Maybe a strong unicorn cast a spell? Somepony with a grudge against Luna?" Celestia considered it and nodded. "It is possible. Another possibility could be a time travel spell gone wrong?" Twilight hesitated, the words on her tongue she shivered a bit at the thought. "W-what if the Elements of Harmony sent her here?" Celestia stopped mid step as she turned to head back to Twilight’s home, her trembling forehoof frozen in the air before she set it back down firmly. "We have to consider that as a possibility, but it’s confusing since she is clearly in no way the Nightmare Moon that neither you or I have battled." Princess… Haven’t you always taught me that we must seek facts before we dwell on theory? Yes, well in this case Celestia and I were quite baffled… and as a filly I wasn’t so… well, time has tempered me. Twilight caught up to Celestia, matching her stride as they walked back towards the library. "I can ask Fluttershy later today if any of her animal friends saw anything. Meanwhile, I'll begin my own research. There has to be something about malicious magic or unintended effects." Celestia nodded, pausing before opening the door back to the library, her eyes taking in the several different ponies trying not to stare as they quickly walked past. "Good. Twilight? I want you to keep things quiet, Luna needs comfort and gentleness to get through this but I still feel the involvement of the Elements of Harmony is desirable." Especially if they somehow caused this. Twilight took a look around and quickly understood Celestia’s reasoning. "I promise, Princess. I'll go speak to Mayor Mare in the morning to get the paperwork which will allow me to temporarily close the library." Celestia’s shoulders seemed to relax as she smiled. "Good. I need to inform Luna at the Palace by this evening, but I would rather this Luna be in better condition before exposing her to such a shock." Twilight nodded, opening the door with a small burst of her magic and allowing Celestia to enter first. "I agree, Princess. A shock like that can be bad enough when you're healthy injured as she is? I fear how she’d react. Are sandwiches and soup alright for lunch?" Celestia nodded, walking fully into the library with a smile on her muzzle. "Quite fine, I assure you! It would even be a treat for me, my faithful student." Twilight smiled and walked in after Celestia, closing the door behind her before turning her attention to where Applejack was still pretending to read. "Applejack, would you like to stay for lunch?" Applejack closed the book startled before nodding. "Sure! Ah need to get back to the farm first and tell Granny and Big Mac something, but Ah'll be back before you can say Apploosa three times fast." Celestia smiled gently at the young mare. "Applejack, please do not let it be known my sister is here, not even to your family." Applejack hesitated a moment before taking her hat off and bowing her head down. "I swear, not a word about the Princess will cross my lips." With that said and a smile from Celestia she put her hat back on and quickly left the library, shutting the door with a solid click. Twilight poked her head into the kitchen to see Spike setting up the pot and other necessities for soup and sandwiches. "Spike, do we have the ingredients for celery soup and daffodil sandwiches?" Spike turned around, giving Twilight a thumbs up. "You bet, Twilight!" Twilight rubbed the back of her neck, glancing towards the library trying to figure out where to even start. "Could you make enough for the Princesses, Applejack and myself?" Spike eyed the pot for a moment before nodding, deciding it would be just big enough. "Sure thing, Twilight!" Twilight sighed; at least lunch was taken care of. "Thanks, Spike." She watched Celestia head back upstairs to watch over Nightmare while she headed for the research section. Where to start… Which books were these, Princess? “Care and Feeding of your Ailing Supervillain” or “The Users Guide to Split Personality?” ... Oh, what is going on in here? I haven’t seen Twilight’s mane in this shape in many a year. Story time. Princess Twilight is telling me the real story of Nightmare Moon. No offense, Princess Celestia, but I could tell what's in the history books is fake. Is that right? Well now, I have always enjoyed this story. May I stay to listen? O-oh yes! Of course Pr-Celestia. After all, you probably know parts of the story I do not. Yes, I believe I do. Now… shall we continue?
AmnesiaShooting Star drooled on her book before coming quickly back to consciousness as the door opened and Princess Twilight re-entered along with Princess Celestia. “Finally! I was certain that you were trying to get out of finishing the story!” “No, no just court issues my dear student. Now, where were we?” “Princess Celestia and you were totally confused about how there could be two Princess Lunas and you were going to research.” “Ah, yes… I was mostly concentrating my search on brain injuries…” Twilight clicked her tongue as she carefully read looking over the diagram of the unicorn skull and brain before glancing at the sketch she had done of Princess Luna’s goose egg and cut. “Right, well… that checks out.” “What does?” Spike asked as he returned from the kitchen with a ladle in his right claw. “Oh, I was looking over this book on head injuries and without a doubt, the injury Princess Luna sustained easily could have caused the amnesia she's experiencing. Anterograde amnesia to be exact. Luckily according to this book, it is very rarely ever not temporary.” “So she’ll get better?” Spike asked with a cocked head he grinned as Twilight nodded eagerly. “That's great Twilight! So we don’t have to try to figure out what happened she’ll be able to tell us herself!” “According to the book? Exactly! Oh, I’m so glad, I was hoping I’d have good news for Princess Celestia when she returned!” Luna hummed as she considered what Celestia had told her thankful she had been able to get a bit more sleep. “I agree, at this point, it is not in her best interest to be told about me. Let her stay with Twilight Sparkle until she is healed.” “I’m thankful you agree with me Luna, still I worry about what could have caused the separation between you both. And more worrisome. When did it happen?” Celestia frowned as she rubbed her chin. “What with Twilight Sparkle’s experience with time travel last week, it is possible she caused… not so much a hole but a thinning in the time stream around her?” Luna hummed in consideration. “Possible, but I wouldn’t bring it up to her until we know for certain, you know I adore Twilight Sparkle but she is a touch…” She trailed off as Celestia nodded in agreement. ”I was a touch what exactly Celestia?” “Hmm? Oh, you were a touch of many things my dear Twilight Sparkle you’ll have to specify.” Shooting Star giggled as her teacher glared at the elder princess who was simply smiling peacefully. “Anyway…” Twilight looked up as Applejack came back in glancing around. “Everything okay Sugarcube?” “Mmhmm, Princess Celestia needed to go back to Canterlot for a few minutes and Princess Luna is asleep upstairs. Lunch is almost ready and I have good news to tell her!” Twilight beamed as she got to her hooves. “Yeah? Good news never hurts ‘specially in a situation like this un.” Applejack smiled at her unicorn friend who seemed to be trying not to dance in place. It was a touch amusing honestly. “Exactly! According to this book on head injuries what Princess Luna has is called anterograde amnesia and excepting some rare occasions is always temporary.” “That is wonderful news, my Faithful student, I know Luna will be very thankful to hear that as well.” Twilight spun around to see Princess Celestia standing behind her and quickly bowed before she ran to embrace her. “Princess I’m so glad to see you, don’t worry Princess Luna has been asleep the whole time you were gone.” Celestia laughed as she returned her student’s embrace. “I’m very relieved to hear that, however, I do think she should be roused long enough to eat some lunch.” “I can do it if you’d like?” Twilight volunteered but understood when Celestia shook her head. “No, I think it best if I rouse her myself. Her amnesia seems the worst when she's awakening. I’d hate for her to harm you in a half-awakened state is all.” “O-of course Princess, I guess I forgot for a moment just how powerful she is, and I…” Twilight glanced down her voice softer. “And I only saw my friend scared and hurting.” Celestia’s breath caught in her throat as she murmured a thank you before heading upstairs to rouse Luna. A friend, oh Twilight Sparkle if only you had been born millennia ago… She shook her head Enough of that Celestia, Twilight Sparkle is here now and will help Luna. Both of them. ”I think that's a good stopping point for today.” Shooting Star stared at her teacher in shock. “Wait but we just got started!” “And you have other studies which you must complete in addition to history.” “...Yes Princess, but…” “No buts young filly, I promise we’ll continue tomorrow after lunch now go on.” Shooting Star sighed but left the room after a final pleading glance at Princess Celestia who simply smiled. “Do you think she's ready to hear the rest?” Celestia asked as she took a sip of her tea. “I don’t think anypony is ready to hear the rest but…” Twilight shook her head. “The cover story didn’t work. If I tried another story she’d just dig deeper, I do not want to lose her trust.” “Then we tell her everything?” “Yes, the full truth, I pray she can understand why we have kept it so quiet.” “She's a smart filly, much like my own Faithful student.” “Yes, sometimes too smart for her own good. Until tomorrow.” Twilight watched as Celestia left before turning to the window and staring outside she shut her eyes. “Please forgive me for what I did my Faithful student.”
