Sunrise, Moonrise

"Hello, Luna."

The dark, whispery voice that had been the cause of Nightmare Moon brushed past her ear once more, snapping Luna out of her thoughts. The Night Alicorn looked up, glaring at the source of the sound with angry, teary eyes. "Go away, Nightmare," she hissed, straining to keep herself from lashing out. She could feel the dark forces pressing in all around her. "Now is not a good time."

The vaguely alicorn-shaped, star-speckled cloud of black night magic that was the Nightmare smiled in its usual devilish way, showing sharp fangs in its mouth. Curiously enough, a trail of stars and oozy, dark magic followed in its wake. "Oh, what's wrong?" it jeered mockingly, weaving around Luna. "Is this too . . . upsetting for you, Lulu?"

"Don't call me that!" Luna spat, springing to her hooves. Her horn lit up with a blue glow, even though she knew that the Nightmare would not be harmed by her magic, which was useless in her moon prison. "Only my sister calls me that, and . . . and she's g-gone . . . now . . ." She sank to the floor, the fight draining out of her as the cold reality hit her heart and her mind at the same time. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, and her wings and shoulders shook with heaving sobs.

To her extreme annoyance, the Nightmare smirked, seemingly amused by Luna's despair. "I'll leave you to your 'waterworks', as they call it, then," it said in a somewhat smug tone of voice. "Ta-ta!" The magical cloud-alicorn melted into the starry darkness that surrounded them. Luna squinted until she could no longer see, but she could catch no sign of it. Where did the Nightmare go when it was done tormenting her, anyway?

Even though it was bad company, it was still her only companion. Even if the Nightmare taunted and mocked her every chance it got, it was still somepony – or something – to talk to.

Celestia . . . Luna missed her sister greatly. She'd been stuck in the star-filled darkness of the lunar prison for three weeks now. The Sun Princess had banished her with the Elements of Harmony, but Luna knew that it was not Celestia's fault. It was Luna who became jealous of her sister, Luna who had hated the sun and the day, Luna who had submitted to the dark forces and turned into Nightmare Moon. It was her fault, not Celestia's.

Why couldn't I have waited?

Luna remembered that night all too clearly. The way she had felt when she raised the moon to block the sun and to create a total eclipse. The wondrous feeling of thinking that she would be the sole ruler of Equestria when she struck Celestia out of the sky. The pain she had known when she was blasted by the rainbow of the Elements of Harmony. The tears and the look on Celestia's face just before the Elements hit Luna.

It was a facet of Celestia that Luna had never, ever seen before – until then. She would never forget the torrents of tears that poured from her sister's eyes, or the distraught way she had screamed out Luna's name as the Elements banished the younger princess to the moon. That memory would haunt Luna forever, reminding her of the sins she had committed but could never undo.

As much as Luna hated it, the Nightmare was the one with all the power here. And it had the option of helping her or not helping her.

"Nightmare," Luna called out loud, "take me into the dreams of Celestia, right now."

Right on cue, the Nightmare materialized out of thin air as a shapeless, floating cloud. Quick as a flash of lightning, it morphed into its alicorn-like form with a self-satisfied, conceited smile on its face. "What's the magic word?" it teased, flapping a blobby, star-trailing wing in Luna's face.

The Moon Princess batted the wing away with a scowl. "For something that's supposed to be evil, you don't act much like it. Fine!" she muttered under her breath. Taking a deep breath in, she stood up, spread her dark blue wings, and roared this in its face (well, what would be its face if it were a real pony): "Please bring me into Celestia's dreams or . . . I WILL PERSONALLY RIP YOU APART, EAT YOU FOR DINNER, AND –"

She suddenly felt silent. A prick of guilt and shame stabbed at her heart. What was she doing? Even if the Nightmare was infuriating and exasperating, she should not have been mindlessly yelling at something with no feelings. Had she fallen so far from happiness that she would do all of this?

Once more, amusement was conveyed in the Nightmare's ever-present smirk. It did not seem the least bit intimidated by Luna, which only annoyed the young princess more. "I will regret doing this . . . but very well, Your Highness," the creature of the night said smoothly. "Here we go!" It swept its wings back and lit up its horn. The black nightscape of the moon prison was swiftly pushed away by a wide swath of soft, sparkly powder blue: they were in a new place, a temporary escape from the cage.

"The dreamscape, a place where the ponies' deepest dreams are born," Luna breathed. For the first time in what seemed like forever, her heart lightened, and a gentle smile was brought to her face. She'd always had a special connection with the dreamscape. It was her favorite place in the world to be. "Even I did not know that your power extended here, Nightmare."

The Nightmare puffed up its chest in pride. "Oh . . . you tend to pick up things here and there, especially if you've lived for as long as I have," it said in its usual superior voice. As if!

A snort escaped Luna as they walked along the path of stars, which was lined with doors – no two entrances were exactly alike – on each side. "On the contrary, I very much doubt that you have been around longer than my parents, whom even Celestia does not remember," she replied in an argumentative sort of way.

"Oh, but I have," the Nightmare countered. That irritatingly complacent smile returned, full force, to its face. "Did they see the beginning of this world, even before the Three Tribe Kingdoms? Have they fought the legendary Fausticorn, Creator of All, for world dominance before the world was blasted into existence? Did they defend Equest –" It snapped its mouth shut suddenly, cutting off the words it was about to say.

"What was that?" Luna asked, genuinely curious. "Were you going to say 'defend Equestria'?" She leaned closer to the Nightmare with wide blue eyes. "You were once a friend of my ponies?"

The holes where the Nightmare's eyes would have been flashed ice blue, and it threw her a glare that was cold enough to make a sliver of ice trail down Luna's back. The Nightmare hurried on along the starry pathway, and the alicorn had to catch up quickly. In the frosty atmosphere, Luna hesitated to risk the wrath of this night creature by persisting. It obviously did not want to talk about its past.

After several minutes of walking in silence, the Nightmare finally spoke.

"Yes, I guess you could say that I was . . . used to be . . . a loyal defender of Equestria." The Nightmare kept its gaze focused directly in front of them, as if it were seeing the past right now. "Back then, I had a different name. I was called Daydream . . . a bringer of sweet dreams and protector of all ponykind. I looked different, too; my magical body was just like your sister's dawn. This was thousands of millennia ago, during the time of Fausticorn."

Daydream. Eager interest sparked and gleamed in Luna's eyes, and she pricked her ears to hear her jailer's story.

"Fausticorn, or Laurel as I liked to call her, was a dear friend of mine, believe it or not." Luna was surprised to hear sadness in the Nightmare's voice. "Then . . . something happened. The Divide, when Day and Night were created.

"Laurel became the Ruler of Day, but she offered me a position as Ruler of Night. I accepted; what else could I do? That is when things changed, shifted. Eventually, I became the way I am now. Dark like our Night.

"Lightning struck quickly after that. Little bursts of anger from me, futile calming attempts from her. And then there was the Great Battle of Day and Night. Laurel defeated my dark powers, and now I am bound to this place with invisible chains. I cannot leave, doomed to walk this desolate moonfield prison forever." The Nightmare took a deep breath to compose itself, its usual, fanged smile in place as if nothing had happened.

Luna could only stare in shock. A shadow of dark resentment, a blizzard of icy jealousy, a blast of fiery battle that ended in defeat . . .

The Nightmare was like her.

Celestia and Fausticorn, Sun and Moon, Daydream and Nightmare. No matter how she worded it, Luna and the Nightmare were almost one and the same. They were trapped here, with two dark pasts that were so different yet so similar.

Am I going to be like that forever?

She didn't want to match the Nightmare – her Nightmare. She didn't want to stay like this, dark and lonely and resentful, forced to roam the endless prison in the moon for countless years. She didn't want to escape her imprisonment as Nightmare Moon, the deepest fear of every single pony in Equestria. She wanted to be a princess, a protector, and most of all, a sister.

A companion to the sister she had left so far behind.

And she could not go back and undo what she had already done.

"Here it is," the Nightmare announced grandly, gesturing broadly at a particular door placed randomly in the dream-door line. It was very obvious that the door belonged to Celestia's dreams. It was painted soft white, the same color as the Day Alicorn's coat, with a bold sun painted in the middle, bordered by stripes of powder pink, sky blue, and misty green. "The door to your sister's dreams," it added unnecessarily.

Luna stopped and stared at it, afraid to open the door. What kind of dream would she be facing? Maybe it's about Nightmare, whispered a tiny voice in her head. Luna jumped a little and glanced over at the Nightmare. It was studying her intently.

"Go on, open it." The Nightmare's voice was uncharacteristically soft and gentle. "Your sister is dreaming, and it isn't a good one. She needs you right now, Princess."

Trying to sweep away all hesitation, Luna turned the golden doorknob with her magic. Then she hesitated, which was the last thing she wanted to do. Turning back to the Nightmare, she asked, "Aren't you coming with me?" It was standing back, watching her.

"No. My presence will only make her dream worse. You will go without me." A little bit of surprise flashed from the Nightmare, that Luna would want it with her in Celestia's dream.

"Okay." With a deep, nervous breath, Luna pulled the door open.

And a flash of warm white light came forth to embrace her, all of her surroundings erased by a simple burst of sunshine.

Luna opened her eyes.

She was standing on the front steps leading up to the main entryway of the old castle, which was now whole again. It was dusk, and the first stars were beginning to appear. She drew comfort from the lighthearted winks of her silver stars above, and her pale white moon that was peeking over the horizon.

A glow of light came from within the castle. As if her hooves were guiding her, Luna moved up the wide marble steps and into the impeccably kept castle that she knew so well. She knew every corner, every stone, every speck of dust in here. This was home, and she loved it.

Luna followed the light until she came into a large, rectangular room that was partly open to the darkening sky. She sucked in a breath, startled. This was the royal throne room, where she and Celestia had battled. No, where Nightmare, Luna, and Celestia had battled.

Suddenly, Luna's point of view changed. She was sitting on her Throne of Night, looking down at a familiar white alicorn through narrowed eyes. The sudden spike of fury, sharp as a spear, that pierced her heart caught her by surprise. What am I doing?

Princess Celestia stood on the deep red carpet that led to the twin thrones' raised dais, staring at Luna. "Sister!" she cried out. "Why are you doing this? We were meant to rule together, as equals! Please, you're not the Nightmare they think you are now!"

Nightmare?

Against her will, Luna found herself yelling back. "Sister! I am no longer your sister, your weak little Princess Luna!" she shouted, standing up and flaring her wings. Looking down, Luna saw that she was wearing Nightmare's silver-blue armor, complimented by her midnight-black coat. "You ignored and neglected me, Celestia, and so did the ponies of Equestria! The NIGHT will last FOREVER!"

She knew what would happen before it did. The silver moon flashed with dark blues, purples, and reds, rapidly rising into the sky. Darkness sprang from it, coating the entire land of Equestria in eternal night.

This wasn't only Celestia's Nightmare, but it was Luna's, too.

No! I'm not Nightmare Moon! Luna screamed out, but it seemed to be only in her mind. She had to watch with pangs of guilt as Celestia's eyes filled with tears.

"I will not fight you, sister, but I will to defend Equestria." With that simple statement, Celestia spread her white wings and prepared to take flight. Her violet eyes were narrowed at Luna, and they seemed to hold a single plea: I don't want to fight you! Please, stop this!

Luna laughed. She laughed and laughed maniacally, opening her own jagged black wings and flapping into the air. "Then fight we shall. If you want to save your precious little ponies, then you must get through me first!" She shot into the eclipsed sky and instantly whirled to fire a bolt of sharp turquoise magic at her sister.

Before the blast hit Celestia, before anything else could happen, another field of white folded around her, and everything seemed to stop.

Luna jumped up with wide eyes and frantic, heavy breathing. "What happened!" she burst out, looking around wildly. Her gaze landed on the Nightmare, floating there calmly and staring at her evenly. The memories came flooding back.

"No."

The single word was dragged out of Luna as she sank to the ground. "She was dreaming of me, of Nightmare Moon. I really am her greatest fear . . . and it's all my fault."

If I could see you, if I could speak to you again, I would beg for your forgiveness. Sister, I'm so sorry.

Why do things have to be this way?

It's all my fault, and I can't turn back time.

I'm sorry!

Please . . .