The First Steps

by BlabideeblahMLP

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Nightmare Moon, Romance, Princess Luna
Length: 5594

Mære and Luna take the first steps to reformation.

Nightmare Moon, now dubbed Mære by Princess Luna, has decided to begin the life of a helper, rather than the life of a monster. Luna believes that she can start by saving ponies from their nightmares, but without her horn, Mære is unable to enter dreams. Luna takes matters into her own hooves, and uses her own magic to take Mære along with her to the realm of dreams. The two begin searching for a target, and immediately find an option.

Twilight Sparkle is having a nightmare. About Mære.

This discovery leads to something far more long-term.

Cover art by this noble Cobalion.

Published 2015-02-03 15:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-03-13 15:16:59 UTC

Chapter 1: Forward

"So, Mære, is it pleasurable to consume real food?"

Luna sat in front of her bedroom mirror, preening her wings, while a dark-furred mare next to her chewed on an apple. Mære grinned. "Just because you don't eat meat, Luna, doesn't mean I don't consider it real food."

Mære was the new name Luna had given to Nightmare Moon, whom Luna had found weeping in the forest just two weeks ago. Feeling pity for her alter ego, Luna had secretly taken her in to aid her in her goal of helping ponies and finding friendship. Since then, the two had become very close friends. Mære had changed from an Alicorn to an Earth Pony without a cutie mark since Luna had last seen her, and her mane was no longer an ethereal mist, but a sleek, sapphire blue elegance that went down to her chest. Her personality had changed, too, from ruthless and smug to small and meek. Luna was the only pony that Mære could talk comfortably to.

"That is quite the point," Luna conceded, straightening out a covert on her right wing. Shortly after cleaning the feather, she nudged Mære's shoulder. "But your eating does not qualify it as real food." Mære chuckled, then shoved Luna back, a little harder. In response, Luna jostled her so roughly she fell to her side, causing her to hit the floor with a loud thud. Her apple rolled under their bed. "That'll teach you!" Luna yelled in mock triumph. Mære didn't respond.

"...Mære?" Luna asked, cocking her head. Still no response. Mære lay with her back turned to Luna, curled up into a ball. A small sob shook her shoulders.

Alarmed, Luna knelt down beside her. "Mære? What's wrong?"

"I-I've twisted my hoof," Mære whimpered. She gingerly held it up for Luna to see.

Luna inspected the hoof carefully. It did not seem twisted. "Mære, are you certain-"

At once, the hoof shot out and wrapped itself around the back of Luna's neck. With lightning speed, Mære pulled Luna towards her and nuzzled her nose into the side of her neck where it met her jaw, right where Luna was ticklish. Luna gasped. She attempted to squirm free, but Mære held her close, borrowing into her ticklish neck.

Luna slowly dissolved into giggles. "S-stop!" she pleaded. Mære grinned in mock malice and dragged the tapered tip of her tongue across Luna's neck, which made Luna even more ticklish. Luna's hooves shot up to protect her neck, and she curled up as tight as she could, all the while laughing uncontrollably. Mære ran her tongue faster and faster across Luna's neck, lightly brushing her hoof across Luna's other ticklish spot—her belly.

Luna was unable to defend herself from the onslaught. She weakly moved her hooves in front of her belly, trying in vain to protect herself from Mære. Her sides ached from laughter, and tears leaked out of her eyes. "Sto-AHAHAHAHAHA!" were the only words that she could utter. Mære nibbled Luna's neck, holding her in place with her "twisted" hoof.

"I-" Luna wheezed. "S-s-stop! I'm going to wet myself!"

Mære mercifully shot up from Luna, offering the incapacitated mare a hoof. Luna paused to quell her fit of laughter, then gratefully took Mære's hoof. The dark mare pulled her up and lightly nuzzled her nose. "Isn't it a miracle that I kept my tongue and teeth?" She bared her sharp fangs in a pretend snarl.

"No!" Luna wheezed. "That is not a good thing!"

"Oh, hush up," Mære smiled, "I keep your life from being boring."

"You most certainly spice up my day, if that is what you're trying to say."

"It most certainly is." Luna scoffed, then turned to open the bedroom door. "I am irritated of staying in this room at all times. I shall go with Celestia to draw constellations," she said. "I will return when I have raised the moon high into the sky."

"You didn't even bother to use magic to get me off of you!" Mære called after her. Luna chuckled.

Luna returned just as the bottom of the moon left the horizon. Mære was at the room's balcony, staring quietly up at the silver claw in the sky. Luna walked up beside her and sat down, gazing up at it with equal silence. She draped a wing over the dark mare, watching as the stars twinkled above. Luna sensed the moon slowing down, so she used a quick spell to keep it going. Mære gave a sidelong glance at the brief glow in Luna's horn, but said nothing.

They remained there for a while, silently sharing their fondness of the night, until Mære turned to Luna and broke the ambient quiet.

"Luna," she began, a trace of uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes?"

Mære shrugged her wing off. "Ever since you took me in from the Everfree, I've been sitting in your room without doing anything."

Luna nodded. "Go on."

"I feel like I haven't even begun fulfilling my goal."

"Ah." Luna smiled, suddenly knowing. "You wish to help ponies."

"Yes, but..." Mære worriedly glanced back at the sky, "I don't know where to begin. You know I can't show my face to the public, and-"

"We never said you must," Luna interrupted. "You can do them favors without revealing yourself."

"Really?" Mære snapped to attention. "How?"

"Relieve them of their nightmares."

"How do I do that?" Mære was confused. "I don't have a horn; I can't access any magic and visit dreams."

"Yes, but I do." Luna raised a hoof and tapped the horn on her head. Mære nodded, then returned her stare to the starry canvas above them. "How do you know if it'll work?" She asked.

"I do not," Luna replied, "But it is safer than going out in public and risking being seen, and rather than do it tomorrow, we can began right now."

"What—" Mære couldn't utter another word before Luna touched her horn against her head. A white glow emanated from it, and then Mære blacked out.

"Mære! Mære, rise!"

"Huh?" Mære murmured groggily. She rubbed an eye and looked up at Luna. "What happened?"

"I delivered us to the dream realm," Luna stated matter-of-factly. She turned and headed in the opposite direction. "Come, we have fears to quench."

Mære pushed herself to her hooves, shook herself awake, and trotted up to Luna. She gazed around at the environment of the dream realm. It seemed to be superfluid, with no defined colors. It was mostly an expanse of black with very dark, near-invisible hues and miniscule sparkles of white. She had been here before, walking in ponies' dreams one thousand years ago, before her imprisonment. The memory of inflicting nightmare upon nightmare upon those innocent ponies, some so severe they had a heart attack in their sleep, made Mære wince. Guilt overwhelmed her, making her stop.

Luna noticed that Mære was no longer close behind and stopped as well, turning to look over her shoulder. "Mære?"

"I'm okay," she sighed from thirty feet away. "I'm just having a guilt trip."

"A what?"

"A guilt trip." Mære rested her hoof against the half-existent wall next to her. "When you feel very guilty about something. I'm tripping, if you will, over all of the nightmares I caused a thousand years ago."

"Well, we are here to repair some of that damage," Luna said, heading back to where Mære was and nudging her onward. "And I think I sense a nightmare right... now."

Slowly, a small street began to materialize in front of the two mares, a street consisting of the exact same houses over and over again: two stories high, slanting roofs made from compacted hay, flowers out front... they were all eerily alike. At the very end of the street, Mære could make out a huge oak tree.

Luna's horn flashed, and the next thing Mære knew, they were right at the door to the tree, which Mære realized was a building. Luna magically opened the door and stepped inside. "Come," she said quietly to Mære. She led them past a fallen pile of books with a note saying Must clean this first thing in the morning stuck to the book on top. Luna led Mære up a flight of stairs and past a small bed with a small, purple dragon sleeping in it. She walked over to another, larger bed holding a lavender unicorn. The unicorn fidgeted in her sleep, holding her blanket tightly against her chest and whimpering. A fearful expression covered her face, and her body was soaked in sweat. Mære recognized that mare. She was the very same one that had been the key to her separation from Luna.

"Twilight Sparkle?" she gasped. Luna nodded. She placed a hoof on Twilight's chest, and a look of concentration crossed her face. Twilight squirmed a little more under her touch, and when Luna let go of her, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Luna turned to Mære with a somber expression on her face. "I'll send you an image of what she is dreaming about," Luna said flatly, "but you might not like it."

At that, an image flashed through Mære's mind, an image of Twilight in the ruins of the Princesses' old castle. Her back was against the wall, and she cowered beneath a large mare. A large mare with green snake eyes, a black pelt, wings, and a horn. Nightmare Moon.

Mære let out a gasp once the image faded from her vision. "She's having a nightmare about...me?"

Luna nodded. Mære knew exactly what Luna what was planning, and shook her head vigorously. "No, Luna. I can't fix that one."

"Of course you can." Luna turned to look over at her. "It is merely the first step, but it is quite a large step."

"Luna..." Mære's ears splayed. "There's no way it will work. I don't think being saved from Nightmare Moon by Nightmare Moon is very relieving."

"Except that you are not Nightmare Moon." Luna placed a hoof on Mære's shoulder. "You are Mære."

"No matter what my name is, I'm still the mare that gave her that dream."

"No you are not," Luna replied forcefully. "You seek change. You are different. Nightmare Moon was a tyrant seeking only to destroy the light of day. You are a mare with a desire to help, to save. The Nightmare within Twilight's dream is not real. You are."

"Twilight doesn't know that."

"Then tell her." Luna's horn shone.

Dread washed over Mære. She quickly reached up for Luna's horn. "Wait! I can't—"

Luna fired her beam at the dark mare, and she blacked out once more.

Mære awoke near the entrance of the grey, crumbling ruins of a castle-the old castle Luna and Celestia used to reside in. The night was eerily quiet, and the stars seemed to be in disarray-Mære was unable to make out any familiar lights.

Mære moaned, her stomach knotted. How was she going to convince Twilight that she was here to help? How was she even going to build up the courage to face her old self? Nightmare Moon was far more powerful. She had magic, wings, and the strength of an Earth Pony. Mære did not. There was no way she was going to put a dent in Nightmare.

Remember, Mære. Luna's voice sounded in the back of her head. You have a will to do good. You are real. The dream and the Nightmare Moon within it has neither of these aspects.

Mære nearly keeled over. How are you doing that? She thought, hoping that hearing the words in her own mind would allow Luna to hear them-that was, if Mære could even speak telepathically.

It's an ability I have only when inside of a dream. Relief flooded through Mære; Luna could hear her. What it is, however, is not important. What is important is you stopping that Nightmare Moon and relieving Twilight of her fear before she wakes up. A small tingling in the back of Mære's head she hadn't realized was there began to fade; Mære took that to be Luna.

Wait! She screamed, panicked. How do I defeat Nightmare Moon? This isn't my dream. I can't manipulate this!

An exasperated breath seemed to escape from Luna, and it was a long while before she spoke. What was one of the many emotions you felt as Nightmare Moon? Rage. And simply because you have ceased to be Nightmare Moon does not mean you cannot feel that rage. Think of all the things Nightmare Moon has done to you. To me. To Equestria. Let it burn your soul, let the rage take over, and take it out on Nightmare Moon. Manipulate Nightmare Moon's own rage. Let the rage be your ally. Then, the tingling in the back of Mære's head vanished.

Luna! Mære pleaded. I don't understand! How do I make rage my ally? Wasn't that a feeling that bore Nightmare Moon in the first place? But Luna was gone. No more response came from the princess of the night. Fear throbbed throughout Mære's body, making her head hurt and her knees weak. What had Luna meant? Turn rage into her ally? When had she ever felt any rage since-

Then it struck her.

Luna had also said to think of all the things Nightmare Moon had done to them. Understanding flooded through Mære. Luna wanted her to concentrate on every little misdeed Nighmare Moon had done that she now resented as Mære. Change the reaction towards the things she had done from guilt to anger. She had to remember that she and Nightmare Moon were two different ponies. One had desired for no more than the eternal night, and the other regretted everything she had done in the past since she first landed on the moon with Luna.

Mære closed her eyes, letting the blackness take over her vision. She told herself just how much Luna mattered to her. Luna was the one that had offered Mære a hoof. Nightmare Moon was the one that put Luna, Mære's savior, through unimaginable pain. Nightmare Moon had terrorized Equestria.

Mære's muscles tensed. That's it, she told herself. You know what Nightmare's done to the world. You were Nightmare once.

Nightmare separated Luna from all she knew for one thousand years. She left Celestia to suffer in her own guilt during that very same millennia. She'd driven fear and loss into the hearts of thousands of innocent ponies, and now...

A scream cut through the air.

...and now once of those ponies was Twilight.

Mære gritted her teeth. Anger for everything Nightmare had done, everypony that feared for their life becuase of her, began to build up in her muscles, heating her veins. She has killed. She has no remorse. She's shown Luna nothing but loss and trickery. Luna! My only friend!

"Every little thing..." Mære hissed. "Luna suffers because of Nightmare Moon." Her anger started showing; her breath came in small snorts, and her face donned a snarling expression—the same hateful look she had once used every time she looked at the sun. "I hate her..."

Mære thought it was near impossible to experience any real anger again. She had grown so timid and unconfident in the time after she and Luna were separated that she had thought any sort of violent feeling was no longer felt by her. She was wrong. As the hatred and anger of what she once was coalesced into rage, it boiled over, and when another scream pierced the night, Mære, the very edges of her vision blurred and red, charged in that direction, viciously determined not to let Twilight suffer any longer.

Her galloping strides rocketed her over the ground. She darted around anything that blocked her path, swerving her body and never breaking stride. The ground became a blur beneath her and soon, she was near the entrance.

Upon getting closer to the source of the noise, Mære's ears began picking up conversation.

"You thought... me... away?" That was clearly Mæ-Nightmare Moon. Mære would no longer tell herself that she and Nightmare Moon were the same pony.

"The night will last forever!" Nightmare again, clearer this time. Mære knew she was getting close. The main entrance of the old building flashed by her as she darted past statues of the Princesses, all falling apart and turning to dust. Mære narrowed her eyes against the wind batting her face. She glided around a sculpture of Starswirl the Bearded, darting through the decayed halls of the castle she still knew by heart, even after a thousand years.

Mære rounded a corner, and soon the two ponies she was looking for were in sight, right out in the courtyard. Nightmare Moon had backed Twilight, whom looked small and frail next to the black alicorn, into a wall. A look of complete shock and fear was plastered to her face, while Nightmare grinned in morbid delight, relishing in the fear of Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was adorned in dirt and a few bruises. Nightmare was charging a spell. Just as Mære's lungs began to burn, Nightmare Moon lifted her head and screamed, "Prepare to die, Twilight!"

Mære wished she could stretch her legs out to run even faster; the final few metres seemed an interminable distance. She was coming up on Nightmare's side. Just a little further, and soon that beast would die.

"Once I am done with your pitiful life, I will move on and take over the cycle once more! Night will last forever!" Nightmare cackled in glee as Twilight shrank beneath her. She pressed herself further into the wall as fear took her over. Twilight's heart shot into her throat as Nightmare Moon lowered her face down to Twilight's.

"And once the night begins, everypony shall die," Nightmare Moon snarled. "They will scream for mercy that will not come. But, alas," Nightmare sighed in pretend sadness, "'Tis the price you must pay for never acknowledging my beautiful night." Nightmare Moon exhaled right into Twilight's face; her rancid breath nearly made the purple unicorn gag. "And I feel like the first casualty will be..." Nightmare leaned in and slowly, deliberately, scraped her tongue along Twilight's cheek. "...you, little Twily."

Twilight nearly spasmed in revulsion. "H-how do you know about that name?" she whispered.

Nightmare Moon laughed. "Your death is nigh, and yet that's the question you ask?" Nightmare's grin grew. "I know you all too well, Twilight. You think I wasn't capable of observing Equestria while I was on the moon? Of course I was! And I just so happened to stumble upon you playing with your precious Shining Armor when he called you 'his little Twily!' Isn't that cute?" Nightmare Moon put on a mock endearing face, before it changed back to her sadistic smile. "It's a shame you'll never hear him call you that again, Twily." Nightmare raised herself back above Twilight's bruised body as the tip of her horn formed a small, blue sphere. Twilight trembled beneath the hulking form of the demon as the sphere slowly grew. "Prepare to die, Twilight!" Nightmare Moon howled.

"NonononononoNO!" Twilight hastily charged up a defensive spell, as if it would be of any use. The purple unicorn cringed, terror mounting as the seconds before her death ticked away. This was it. She was going to-

"Unhand her, you fiend!" Out of the shadows, a huge mare with fur as equally dark as Nightmare Moon's leaped forward and tackled into Nightmare. The monster let out a huff of breath as the force of the impact sent them both flying into a crumbled wall. Nightmare cried out when her back smashed into the old brick, and in seconds, the dark mare—whom Twilight realized looked almost exactly like Nightmare Moon—sprang backwards, away from Nightmare's reach.

"I will not let this onslaught of yours continue any further!" The pseudo-Moon screamed. She charged forward and, just as Nightmare found her footing, Pseudo-Moon tackled her again, this time ramming her head into her belly. Nightmare Moon's air left her body, and she fell once more to the floor, crashing painfully into the now-destroyed brick wall.

Pseudo-Moon stood menacingly over the dark alicorn, glaring down at her as she struggled to regain her breath. Wordless, she picked up a brick within her teeth and dropped it on Nightmare's head. The monster shrieked in agony when the rubble collided with her skull. Desperately, she fired a magic blast from her horn, right at the black twin above her.

Pseudo-Moon flew backwards and crashed into a pillar, stunned. Before she could recover, Nightmare was back on her hooves, and she fired another blast, hitting her square in the chest. Twilight gasped as the ripples of magic pulsed through the dark mare's body, and Pseudo-Moon screamed.

Pain went up and down Mære's body as she lay against the pillar, too hurt to move. Nightmare grinned as she picked up a brick with her magic and launched it at Mære. The brick struck her in the head, right where she had hit Nightmare Moon with a brick of her own. Mære's skull felt as if it were breaking apart. Her hooves shot up to where the brick had hit her as another wave of agony exploded within her; Nightmare must have fired another blast.

She heard a laugh come from Nightmare Moon. Soon, the alicorn was above her, glaring down at her with a mixture of sadistic glee and hatred.

"I don't know who you are," she growled. "And I don't know why you look like me. But what I do know is that you were foolish to try and take me on!" Nightmare charged up a killing spell. "And now, you will learn!" She eagerly pawed at the ground as she waited for her spell to fire. "And here I was, thinking Twilight would die first!"

Out of her peripherals, Mære saw the ground beneath Nightmare's stamping hoof shift, just the smallest amount.

Twilight had seen it too. The ground beneath Nightmare Moon had shifted about two millimeters. It did not take long for Twilight to evaluate that the ground beneath the dark beast's hooves likely held nothing beneath them. An idea began to form in her head, but it was extremely risky. Twilight Sparkle kicked into gear and immediately began searching for loopholes in her plan and finding ways to plug them. She would test the ground, jump back upon acting, and get out...

Move quietly...

Get it done.

Soon, Twilight had a plan. She quietly stood up and stalked to where Nightmare Moon, whom had began to speak, was standing.

"I think that after you and Twilight are dead, I'll recuperate for a bit before finally taking down the Princesses," Nightmare mused to the strange twin beneath her. "Quite whimsical, how easy it is. It just makes me want to frolic in the corpses of those sun-worshipping ponies." She smiled again as her spell finally took shape. The dark mare kicked fruitlessly beneath her; whatever spell Nightmare had cast upon her had worn off.

I can do this, Twilight thought. She was right behind Nightmare Moon. She rose and, without hesitation, reared up on two legs, whinnying what sounded like some sort of battle cry.

Nightmare's head whipped around in surprise, just as Twilight's front legs crashed into the stone floor. At once, the weakened ground caved beneath the trio. Twilight leaped backwards, putting all of her strength into kicking off with her back legs, something she had seen Applejack do when making leaps. It worked, despite her unathletic body, and the leap had taken her out of the range of collapsing ground. She spun around and saw that the other Nightmare Moon had managed to grab a pillar with her front and back legs; she clung to the spire with all her might to prevent herself from falling.

Nightmare, however, was not as lucky. The ground caved beneath her hooves faster than she could react; soon she was falling along with the stone into some sort of dungeon. She landed breathlessly on the ground at the lower floor, before even more collapsing rubble fell on top of the winded mare, crushing her. Through all the din of the floor falling apart, Twilight could just make out a scream from below cut off as Nightmare Moon died. Twilight quickly backed up as the ground continued caving; better safe than sorry.

Before long, hollow ground turned into fortified brick, and all was still, Nightmare's body buried beneath piles of rubble. Twilight stared breathlessly at the hole in the middle of the courtyard. Even though she had just witnessed it, she found it hard to believe she just killed Nightmare Moon. She found it even harder to believe that she had just straight-up killed, murdered.

She hastily regained herself as she recognized a new problem: getting the strange mare back on solid ground. She turned to look at said mare, who still had all four limbs clinging to the pillar, which had somehow not fallen or even leaned towards the hole.

"Hey!" Twilight called. The mare, who had been gawking down at the gaping hole, snapped her head up. "What?" She called back.

"We need to get you back here somehow!"

"The-the ground behind this pillar is still here," the dark mare replied. "M-Maybe if I can just..." she kicked against the inner side of the pillar, launching herself from it and landing—barely—on the stone. She stumbled forward a few steps, then slowly composed herself. "Well, that solves that."

Twilight was by her in an instant. Yet another problem had risen. She cut straight to the chase. "Who are you and how did you manage to fight Nightmare Moon?"

"Ah, yes, that." The mare sighed. "I am going to need a lot of time to explain."

Mære told Twilight everything, from her losing her wings and horn, to Luna's decision to forgive her, to the princess's other decision to make her rescue Twilight from her nightmare, to the fact that that Nightmare Moon she had just killed was not real, that she was, in fact, dreaming; however, Mære herself was real. When Twilight protested against this being a dream, Mære asked her how she had managed to get into the castle, which Twilight had no answer to. She stayed quiet the duration of the explanation.

By the time she was done with it all, Twilight was dumbfounded, staring at Mære with her jaw slack and her eyes huge. It took her quite a while to find her voice, and when she did, it was slow and cautious.

"So, what you're saying..." Twilight began, "Is that this whole thing,"—Twilight gestured at their surroundings—"was me having a nightmare about being killed by Nightmare Moon."

"Yes." Mære nodded.

"And I was just 'saved' from said nightmare by another, reformed Nightmare Moon who wants to help the world?"

"Indeed."

"And that reformed Nightmare Moon is... you?"

"That's all one way of putting it." Mære stood up. "But, Twilight, I need to ask you something."

"Yes?" Twilight asked skeptically, remaining cautious should this "Mære" lie about her reformation and attack her.

Mære glanced away briefly. "I want to become someone better. I want to be accepted. Luna told me this was a good place to start. If I can be accepted, Twilight, and live like a normal pony for once in my life, it would mean more to me than the night sky. But on my first attempt—this whole thing—I adopted rage because Luna had ordered me to and became angry to the point that I attacked. I didn't leave a good first impression. So the question remains: Twilight Sparkle, do you accept this new me? Will you not scream and run away from me should we see each other again? I don't want to have to go back to square one, Twilight. Please, will you be my square two?"

Mære's countenance had changed as she spoke; she had gone from calm and indifferent to pleading, maybe even desperate. Twilight stared at the hunched mare indecisively. She did not know if this was all an act or not; Nightmare Moon could be just as easily trying to force her way inside of Twilight's body, trying to take her over and begin a new takeover of the sun.

Then again, where had her horn gone? Where had her wings gone? Where were her ethereal mane and tail? Her cutie marks? Twilight had no doubt that this was some sort of Nightmare Moon, but no degree of magic could erase such major detail. One could temporarily alter their eyes, color, and even age, but not camouflage what they already bore with them. Whatever had happened to Nightmare Moon to make her change this much in appearance, it was real.

And how could she take over without wings or a horn?

Twilight didn't want to believe it, but most of the evidence pointed towards a truly reformed Nightmare Moon. Had she still wanted to take over the day, she probably would have just robbed Twilight of her body while she was still asleep. Clearly, such was not the case. Instead, she was here in front of her, pleading for Twilight to, at the very least, treat her like a normal pony.

Twilight thought. She felt as if she were making a life-and-death decision here, which, chances are, she probably was. But even that kind of decision had to be made, and soon, Twilight knew her answer.

Mære stared pitifully at Twilight. Oh, please, Luna. She whimpered in her mind. Please, let her say yes. Her stomach twisted and turned in all directions as she nervously waited for Twilight's answer. She didn't want to start again. She just wanted some way to gain ground in her plight.

Eventually, Twilight had to say something, and when she did, it was with an uncertain smile. "Listen, Night... Mære. I don't know if we can be real friends, since we'll have almost no means of communication, but I will say I trust you when you say that you want another chance. If Luna really wanted this to happen, then she got what she wanted." Then came the real smile. "Here's your square two." She pointed a hoof at herself.

Elation flooded through Mære. At once, she raced forward and wrapped Twilight in a crushing hug, lifting her off of the floor. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Mære squealed foalishly. "You don't know how much this means to me, Twilight. Really, you don't."

"I do know that you act different when you're angry," Twilight joked through a mouthful of black fur. "Also that you need to put me down."

"Oh! S-sorry." Mære shakily lowered Twilight onto the ground. Twilight stretched up and nuzzled Mære on the nose. The black mare nuzzled right back. Somewhere in the back of her head, she felt a tingling sensation.

Well done, Mære, Luna said. I shall allow you to take your time, but keep in mind Twilight might wake up soon.

Mære telepathically nodded. She wrapped Twilight Sparkle in another, gentler embrace. Bliss enveloped her as Twilight hugged her back. She wanted to remain like this forever.

"I'll visit you in some other dream sometime," Mære murmured.

"I know," Twilight replied.

"Welcome home, Mære," Luna chuckled.

Mære groggily stirred from her dream. The two princesses were back at the castle balcony, with the sun rising in the distance, the stars fading into the light of dawn. Mære sat up and grinned cheekily at Luna. "Hello, Luna."

"I take it you and Twilight have begun a bond?"

"I believe so, Luna." Mære's grin grew even further. "I can't believe that actually worked!"

Luna chuckled. "Being entirely honest, I suffer difficulty believing as well. But I am glad you have succeeded." She draped a wing over Mære. "Now come along, even the princess of the night needs sleep, and I suspect you have not gotten your complete eight hours." Luna led the black mare over to the bed and pulled the covers aside with her magic. Pulling Mære in with her, Luna fell onto the bed and pulled the sheets back over them, embracing Mære and pulling her head into her chest. Mære loosely wrapped her forelegs around Luna's back, snuggling deeply into her chest, already tired; Luna had cast a sleeping spell on her without Mære knowing.

Stroking the pony's blue mane, the princess of the night drifted off to sleep the same time as Mære.

Twilight blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and pulled the blankets aside. What a dream! She didn't think she would get any further sleep after that strange of a...thing, whatever it was. Spike was still asleep, having gorged on pyrite the night before. Twilight walked in front of the mirror, pulled out a comb, and brushed her mane until it was its usual flat, curled shape. She then put a hoofful of books back into their proper shelf before going to reorganize her bed. As the unicorn flattened the wrinkles in the sheets, she reached under the covers with her hoof to feel for any more in case her magic had not gotten them all, and felt something slightly scratchy.

"Huh?" Twilight said to herself, surprised, then slowly pulled the stringy object out, careful not to ruffle her bedsheets. Once she removed it, she pulled it forward for closer inspection.

It was a tuft of pure black fur.