Luna's eyes fluttered opened. Her vision was blurry, and she was in a strange place. A small white bunny stared down at her, seemingly suspicious of her. Luna raised an eyebrow, wondering if she had hit her head somehow.
The door opened to the side, revealing a yellow pegasus balancing a bowl of soup on her head. She set it carefully on the small table by the cot before yelping, having spilled a drop on her hoof. Luna shot up, instinctively wanting to help the mare.
"Art thou alright, young mare?" Luna asked. The yellow pegasus eeped and scrambled away, hiding behind a couch. "We art truly sorry, young mare," Luna said, lowering her voice, "We meant no fright for thee."
"O-okay..." the yellow mare whimpered, still hiding. Luna tried to walk to her, but stumbled and fell. The yellow mare peeked out and gasped, hurrying to Luna's side. "Are you okay?!"
"We art unharmed, thank thee," Luna said, smiling, "What ist thy name, young mare?"
"F-Fl-Fluttershy..." the shy yellow pegasus said, rubbing her hoof.
"Fluttershy," Luna said, smiling, "Thou hast a lovely name, young Fluttershy. We shall mention thee to our sister to reward thee for thy aid."
"Oh, it's no trouble," Fluttershy said softly, blushing.
"Where art we?" Luna asked, looking out the window, "This is not our royal bedchamber."
"Oh, we're in Ponyville," Fluttershy replied quietly, "Or, the edge of Ponyville. And also the edge of the Everfree Forest. And also my cottage. And I'm still talking aren't I? I'll be quiet now..."
Luna smiled. "Nonsense, young Fluttershy," she said, "We quite enjoy thy voice. We have slept for quite sometime. What day is it?"
"Oh, it's Tuesday," Fluttershy replied, "And it's only a few days until the Grand Galloping Gala. And it's morning. And I'm rambling again..."
"Well, we did not plan to sleep for two days," Luna said, "We do have a question, however. How didst we come to rest in thine cottage?"
"Oh, you were a big scary monster called Nightmare Moon and you were attacking Twilight Sparkle and my other friends. But then you turned purple and shrank to normal pony size and I caught you because I don't like ponies to get hurt and I brought you here and I'm rambling again so I'll stop now." Fluttershy said, taking a deep breath. Luna's jaw hung agape.
"D-did you say... Nightmare Moon?" she asked. Fluttershy nodded. "O horrible, o horrible, most horrible! I must see my sister at once! Would you please accompany me to Canterlot?" Luna asked, dropping any hint of her royal accent.
"I-I-I-I-" Fluttershy stuttered. Luna pleaded to her through her eyes. Fluttershy took a deep breath and nodded.
"Excellent!" Luna said, "Follow me!" She tried to rush out the door but merely tumbled to the floor again.
"Are you okay?!" Fluttershy said, hurrying to Luna's side once more.
Luna shook her head, trying to fix her blurred vision. "I must notify Celestia..."
"I'll go find Twilight, she can get her," Fluttershy said, helping Luna back onto the cot. Fluttershy rushed out the door, leaving Luna alone with the still suspicious bunny.
Luna awoke suddenly as Fluttershy came back into the cottage with Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia.
"I see you're doing much better, Lulu," Celestia said, smiling warmly, "What was it you wanted to see me about?"
"The pegasus mare, Fluttershy," Luna said, slightly panicked, "She said I was Nightmare Moon and had attacked her friends?!"
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but you managed to stop yourself. You seemed bent on eternal night until Fluttershy appeared, according to Twilight." Fluttershy blushed slightly.
"But I haven't had a Conversion in six years!" Luna cried, "What if they start up again?"
"I'm afraid it's been much longer than six years, sister," Celestia said sadly, "Do you remember the past millennium?"
"Of course," Luna said, "We came into power two centuries ago. Why?"
"Oh dear," Celestia said, "Luna, you had a severe Conversion a thousand years ago. I had feared it was permanent, so... I sent you to the moon. You returned recently, still as Nightmare Moon, and almost began a rampage."
Luna shook her head slowly. "No, that's not true," she whimpered, tears starting to form, "It can't be true. I was doing so well!"
"I'm sorry, Lulu," Celestia said sadly. Luna broke down, sobbing heavily. Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around her in a gentle hug.
"All my friends," Luna cried, "My little duckling..." She sobbed into Fluttershy's mane, letting herself fall to pieces.
"Shhh," Fluttershy whispered softly, "You'll be okay, Luna. Everything will be okay." Celestia joined the comforting hug as Twilight crept out, feeling awkward.
The others were outside. "What's going on in there?" Applejack asked, genuinely worried.
"Princess Luna is..." Twilight said, "Well, she didn't realize she had become Nightmare Moon. She just found out how long it's been."
"Oh, my," Rarity said woefully, "The poor dear! We simply must find some way to cheer her up, the sooner the better."
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie shouted, "I have my Party Cannon!"
Rainbow Dash put her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "This isn't the time for a party, Pinkie," she said.
Luna sniffled, lying on Fluttershy's couch. She had spent the past few days there, letting Fluttershy care for her. Celestia visited as often as possible, trying to keep Luna happy, to no avail. She missed her friends.
"Luna?" Fluttershy asked at the door, "Are you awake?"
"Yes," Luna said softly, "Hello, Fluttershy."
"I have someone for you to meet," Fluttershy said, as a tiny duckling waddled in. Luna gasped.
"Ducky!" she said happily, smiling for the first time in days, "Oh, I love ducks! Thank you, Fluttershy!"
"I found her all alone in a puddle today," Fluttershy said, smiling, "I thought you might appreciate her."
"I love her!" Luna said, gently picking up the duckling, "She's cute, aren't you, Katy?" Fluttershy giggled.
Luna was happy again.
