This is Twilight Sparkle, aboard the newly christened starship Harmony. If anybody is out there, anyone at all, we need your help... I need your help. I'm currently floating along the Lunar Axis star cluster, and this message has the ship's current coordinates pinged in a subfrequency piggybacking on this one.

...Please, my people are in danger. Help us...Save Me...

Twilight listened to the broadcast again, wondering if there truly was anyone left out there. It had been a long, long time since she saw any race aside from ponies... And Him. Sighing, she got up and left the barely functioning Communications wing. "Computer, I'm going back to the infirmary. Care to light the way?"

Of course, Twilight! the computer's voice echoed through the empty corridors, powering the emergency path lights to the Spike the Dragon Memorial Wing. The section itself served both as a hospital and a memoir to families' lost loved ones and old friends, long gone. Twisting and turning through the winding hallways, the girl came across the entryway at long last. If she didn't see it's entrance enough through her routine patrols and catalogues of critical or failing systems, Twilight would have cried:

The doors themselves weren't much to behold, just a standard set of sliding plastic that most ships used. The thing that twisted her heartstrings every time she even stole a passing glance was the enormous statue of a dragon on the other side. It sat in the middle of a large atrium, standing there as a Guardian for its great halls. Approaching closer, Twilight leaned down to the plaque that sat at its feet, dusting it off with a quick huff of breath:

I stand at the ready, so others will never have to; We will meet again, I promise, and friends don't break promises...

It was the very last thing Spike said to Twilight and the Princesses before he and his people left. It brought a tear to her eye every time she read it. Shaking her head, she smiled up at the stalwart idol of her friend. "I'm close, Spike. I'll see you soon." Leaving behind a set of gems she found near Finance, the girl continued through the Memorial Wing, walking briskly through the entrance.

The left side of the atrium was dedicated to remembering the fallen and also held the morgue and crematory. The right wing was the exact opposite, it's sole purpose to oversee the wellbeing of every man, woman, and child aboard the small starship, as well as a whole city if need be. Though designed to operate with a small crew, the vessel was still large in its own right, offering several docking stations for modular expansion.

Shifting her focus to the right wing, Twilight climbed a set of stairs and twisted and turned through the second floor, looking for the Psychological and Magical Ailments wing. Finding the right room, she entered, triggering the light sensors and showering the medium sized lab with artificial light. "Computer, was there anything found in the blood sample I gave you?" Twilight sat down at a nearby counter, several holographic screens appearing before her.

PROCESSING... Patience, my faithful student... ANALYSIS COMPLETE, NO SIGN OF CHAOTIC INFECTION. You are as healthy as a horse! Or a pony! *giggle*

A sigh of relief left her. That's one conclusion that I desperately needed to hear.

Swiping away the screens noting her toxicology report, the lonesome princess tapped a few buttons on another screen. "That's good to hear, computer. I'd rather not initiate Code Indigo just yet, not unless we have no choice and I am confirmed as having been... Compromised." After swiping and tapping on the various screens, a machine appeared out of a panel on the counter. It looked like a small platform for her head to rest on, with cushions for comfort. In front of the head rest were two lenses and a clamp attached via a tube at the base of the device. Gulping, she powered the machine. "Computer, run a Psych Eval. Tension set to Serpent."

Chirping, the computer acknowledged. Sighing, Twilight grit her teeth and rested her chin on the device, it's lenses lining up with her eyes and the clamp tightening around her horn. WARNING! TENSION SETTING: SERPENT MAY CAUSE SEVERE MENTAL TRAUMA. Are you sure this is a good idea, my little pony?

"Just do it." She had no time to argue with the mockingly similar voice of her long lost mentor. Suddenly, a searing pain surged through her horn and what felt like a burning white fire assaulted her eyes. She screamed in pain, clawing at the machine, desperately trying to tear it off. It msde her relive terrifying moments in her life, as well as recent events that just made her fight it more. "MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE!" She pleaded, no one able to answer. It continued for several minutes, each memory and flash of magic through the device more painful than the last, until the machine came across the memory from a few cycles ago. The shadowy figure, her excessive use of combat spells, even the less terrifying aftermath. Howling in pain, Twilight was at her limits. Finally, the machine powered down, letting go of her now searing hot horn. The device collapsed back into the panel it came from, and deposited a pair of pitch black sunglasses. Her chair suddenly began to levitate and take her to the Recovery Wing, the glasses set gently in front of her eyes. The procedure left Twilight blind and disoriented, so there was no argument. An automated voice spoke on her arrival to the wing, instructing her to stay still while the system went about undressing her and easing her down gently into one of the nearby beds. "I-I I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." She mumbled to the machines, the same automated voice reassuring her as it was programmed to do with all traumatized patients. Once she was fully comfortable and dressed in a hospital gown, the machines injected her with a mild anesthetic, easing her into sleep.

It's time to wake up, Twilight...

The voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite remember where it was from. Her mind was still groggy from the procedure and anesthetic, but nonetheless she still sat up, observing the dimly lit room to the best of her abilities. Recovery had separate rooms for its patients, each supplied with a kitchen and bathroom, fully automated to provide comfort for the patients bedridden. On the table adjacent to her sat a small pill bottle, the paper underneath listing medication instructions.

"I see you're finally awake," that voice spoke again from within the darkness.

Still recovering from the blindness, Twilight peered into the dark of her room, not sure if the voice was an illusion from her drug addled mind or not. She took a gamble, and asked the ship's AI. "Computer, is there someone else in here with me?"

There was no response. "...Computer?" She hesitantly called out again.

"I disabled 'Celestia', for now." The voice spoke, this time sending chills down Twilight's spine. It was real after all...

"W-what do you want?" She fumbled with the sheets, trying to get up. Suddenly, a gentle but firm pressure found it's way on her chest. Squinting, the girl could make out a humanoid blob hovering over her, holding it's hand on her chest. "Easy now, you need rest. I heard your call for help, that was all."

"...Who are you?" She croaked out weakly, trying to summon various spells, but her horn fizzled out with every attempt.

"Do you still not recognize me? My my, you have changed..." The blob spoke as if they were old friends.

"I-I don't want to repeat myself." Twilight watned.

"And I don't want you to. After all, you were the one to send me away from Luna and back to where I came from." It chuckled menacingly.

"No, it can't be..." She weakly struggled against her old foe. "Not You!"

"Oh?" The voice giggled. "And who do you think I am?" It spoke with cockiness, already knowing the answer.

"Nightmare Moon..." She echoed before another injection put her to sleep again.

Author's Note

Dang, that was something! Is it really the same Nightmare Moon from before, or did she turn good this time around?

Who knows?