A wondrous array of constellations peppered the immaculately crafted night sky of Equestria, all the little ponies sleeping peacefully under its cover. Thegrand jewel of this cosmic tapestry bathed those few still awake with a cool, pale light, rewarding their questionable sleeping habits with a mesmerizing sight. Among those few still in the waking world, one was patiently waiting to hear her subjects' pleas, no matter the significance. It was a duty Luna's grown to appreciate, one that let her face her subjects in a more direct manner, rather than hiding behind the veil of sleep.

Things were improving as of late, more and more ponies asking for her guidance each year, yet sometimes she couldn't help but feel a little bored. After all, her sister was getting ten times as many visitors, mostly for having a more reasonable timeframe for holding the royal court. Still, she appreciated the ability to help her little ponies even in this boredom, i.e. drifting off to sleep for a little dream walk.

The throne room giant wooden doors opened with a creek, a concerned lunar guard stepping into the throne room. "Your Highness!" She said with a bow. "A visitor requests your audience, he says it's urgent!"

Counting her blessing for a little excitement this session, Luna nevertheless felt a twinge of worry worm into her heart. "Then delay him no further." She calmly stated, the mare answering the unspoken question.

"He is... agitated, if not to say hysterical." She began, the doors behind him opening to show the offending stallion carried into the room by two thestrals, each standing at the unicorn's side. His eyes, wide from fear and bloodshot from lack of sleep, focused on the ruler of the night, his nerves soothing ever so slightly.

"Princess Luna, you have to listen to me! I know it might be hard to believe, but please-" He felt silent as Luna raised her hoof, the stallion fearing he'd be dismissed for his lack of proper etiquette, or his demands.

"Tell me everything, from the beginning."

She did not utter a word as the unicorn relayed his, to be fair, quite extravagant retelling of the events. Partway through his story the stallion started shaking, only a glass of water and a couple of soothing words from Luna calming him down. Admittedly, the younger diarch wasn't as astute in her interaction with her subjects, but it seemed the mere fact she was near calmed the stallion. She listened closely to his story, as unbelievable and stomach-churning as it was, Luna heard worse things in times before her banishment. Entire villages burned to the ground to prevent the spread of a plague, bodies lying on the streets, nopony brave enough to dispose of them.

She had hoped such tragedies were left buried in the past, but it seemed even Celestia's advancements in medicine left much to be desired. Or, perhaps it was a relic of old times, a malignant curse or spell, which complicated things. Our subjects had grown more astute in matters physical, yet more lackluster in arcane knowledge. Such horrific deformities... We must take this situation under control.

By the time Fracture finished, he was so worn out Luna barely had to use her magic to pull him into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. As the two guards carried the unicorn to his guest chambers, Luna turned to face the remaining thestral mare.

"Night court is adjourned. Inform my sister on the current situation. Tell her to meet me in my chambers when you're finished." Having said that, Luna disappeared in a flash of white, leaving the throne room empty for the night.

Luna took a deep breath, sinking into the velvet sheets of her bed, making herself as comfortable as possible for the task ahead of her. She closed her eyes and drifted off into her place of power, one she'd grown to love over the course of her long life. The Dreamscape allowed her to see dreams, and while it was easier to read them the closer they were, with enough concentration, she could reach surprisingly far. It shifted and changed from time to time, yet Luna always felt comfortable. She navigated the nebulous space around her with practiced ease, weaving between dreams of ponies she wished not to disturb, sorrowfully passing by those of her subjects suffering from nightmares. Tonight, they had to be brave.

She expected to see a myriad of little black bubbles, each representing the nightmare of an individual, something quite expected under the circumstances. What she found instead, gave her pause. Enormous, tumultuous and ever-shifting, the dream 'bubble' dwarfed even the dreams of dragons. The closest thing Luna could compare it to were the chageling hivemind, something she'd dealt with personally not too long ago. As Luna got closer, her suspicions of Chrysalis' involvement were quickly proven wrong. Whatever it was, it felt completely alien to anything she ever experienced in her time dreamwalking.

As she stepped into the dream bubble, finding herself in the vast void with no points of interest, she understood the difference between whatever this was, and the changeling hivemind. The latter consisted of many individuals, however little authority they had, while the former only possessed one mind. Her entrance rippled across the 'dream', no doubt alerting the 'dreamer' to her presence. She remained calm, choosing to wait for the dreamer to make the first move, and react accordingly.

"Well, you look unique."

Luna heard from behind, turning to see something she'd expect last in a place like this. A tall, bipedal creature wearing what Luna supposed was casual attire, was peering curiously at the alicorn. "Horn, wings, and a weird mane to boot? Can't say I've seen something like you 'round Appleloosa." He craned his head, the black chitinous plate covering the side of his neck proving to be quite flexible. "I wonder, why would I make something like you up?"

Now, Luna knew that she should judge a book by its cover, but at the moment, she chose to believe that first impressions were quite important. And she wasn't liking the human standing before her one bit, and not because he differed a little from Twilight's descriptions.

"I doubt your imagination is good enough, human." Luna replied, circling the man.

"A hallucination that bites back! I could get used to you!" The alicorn remained silent, noticing the curious gleam in his eyes. "By the by, you wouldn't mind giving me constructive criticism on my latest little project? Having a second opinion helps weed out bad ideas, you know?" He stepped to the side, revealing a bulky silhouette the size of a bodybuilder yak, covered from head to toe in thick, black exoskeleton plates. Its muzzle was closed shut, just hard chitin where its eyes and mouth should be.

To say Luna was repulsed, was an understatement.

"Is that a-"

"It's a Smasher!" The man said with a smile, proudly presenting his creation. "Can you guess what's his gimmick?" Luna stayed silent, unable to avert her eyes from the creature. "Come on, three tries!" He huffed in annoyance when no reply came. "Fine, be that way. This thing's supposed to be a cavalry of sorts, gotta put something against pony tanks, you know? I think it came out rather well, shame I can't make every Appeloosean - Is that how you say it?- like this." He crossed his hands on his chest. "Takes a shitload of effort to make one." He raised an eyebrow as Luna stayed silent, her disgusted expression causing him concern. "Uh, you alright there? Christ, did one of the neuron clusters die again?" He facepalmed, approaching Luna. "I swear to-"

He didn't make it farther than a step when blue flames engulfed his body, freezing him in place as magic coursed through Luna's horn. She leveled a hateful glance at the man, meeting his surprised expression.

"Don't you dare to move, fiend. If you are responsible for the horrors in Appleloosa, you will experience the full wrath of The Moon!"

"Wrath of the Moon?" His eyes hazed over for a moment, clearing as an epiphany dawned on him. "You're Nightmare Moon, aren't you?" He felt his throat tighten as the aura around him pushed harder.

"It's Princess Luna for you, wretch." She spat, keeping his throat closed shut. Contrary to popular opinion, you couldn't die in the dreamscape. She felt the man attempting to will away his constraints, but his mind was no match against hers, his will failing against her own. "Clear Appleloosa and all its residents of your scourge, and I may yet spare your life." Her intimidation seemingly worked, the man squirming for a moment, his eyes growing wide as the lack of oxygen caught up to him. His face turned a shade of purple, and just before Luna considered releasing her hold on his throat, his face smoothed into an impassive expression, his eyes hazing over.

His face split along a vertical line in-between his eyes, slowly peeling away to reveal rows upon rows on tiny, black needles on each side of the skull. His back erupted into a shower of tiny black needles and four insectoid legs, Luna releasing her hold on the creature out of shock. It fell onto the hard ground, stumbling to balance itself, it's center of gravity uneven. Its arms trembled as chitinous blades emerged through the palms of its hands, forming mandibles that constricted angrily at the Lunar Diarch.

In a blink of an eye, the Thing rushed Luna, crashing against a cobalt blue field protecting the mare. It threw its weight against the barrier, forcing Luna to pour more and more magic into keeping it operational. Each strike sent a pattern of web-cracks cascading over the field, each pulse of cobalt mending the cracks. A bead of sweat rolled down Luna's forehead as the Thing finally relented, stopping its assault on the mare. Despite the breathing room it gave Luna, things were far from over.

The spider legs it was standing on slowly lowered the body onto the ground, propping it up to stand on its own two legs, before receding into its back, the wound closing shut without a trace. Bones cracked and bent as its head and body righted itself to face the princess, the blades on its palms hiding under the skin. Finally, the maw splitting its face in two stitched shut, its cloudy eyes piercing Luna's soul for what felt like forever.

His eyes cleared, wide in panic, the man gasping for air for a brief moment. Having finally caught his breath, he focused on the Princess, searching for the right words.

"You said I was human." He finally spoke, circling the mare. "I'll cut you a deal: You get me back to Earth, and I'll leave this place forever. Hell, I'll promise you everypony in Appleloosa will be unharmed. It will be as if I never even arrived." His expression turned grim, the man putting his finger right against the shield. "But if you even think of crossing me, every Goddamned inch of this planet will look like Appleloosa. Have I made myself clear?"

A flash of white light left the man alone again, pondering the answer.

Celestia took a deep breath as her sister finished her tale, finally taking a sip of one of the few brands of tea Luna enjoyed.

"And you are certain he is not human?"

Luna nearly spat the tea out of surprise, managing to keep it down by nothing short of a miracle.

"Were you even listening to me? If Twilight omitted humankind's ability to shapeshift into horrific abominations during our last talk, I'd like to have a word with her. Even then, the carelessness with which that thing talked about reshaping our subjects..." A shiver ran down her spine. "I care not for its origin or species, it is vile and deserves no quarter."

Celestia hummed, setting her cup of tea onto the table. "He deserves to be punished for his wrongdoings, I agree. But have you asked why he did what he did? How or why was he transported here?" Silence answered her questions. "Lulu, I do not fault you for your reaction, I can't say I would've acted much better, but if we can resolve this peacefully, I believe it is worth a try." Luna conceded with a small nod, an uncomfortable expression on her face. "But that matter can wait, you need rest, Lulu." She offered with a soft smile, draping her wing over her sister's back. "In the meanwhile, I will order a containment team to lock down Appleloosa." Her expression turned grim.

"If diplomacy fails, we need to have a way of protecting the rest of Equestria."

I stared blankly at the empty space where, no more than mere seconds ago, stood the first person I've spoken to in a millenia. A new perspective on things, a new person brimming with thoughts, memories, loves and losses, a new friend, perhaps.

And I've fumbled the bag.

So overwhelmed with joy, I was blinded to the fact that bragging about inhumane experimentation on sentient beings made me look like a maniac. Christ, and I did it in front of royalty, no less! One of the two ponies capable of moving cosmic bodies, for fuck's sake!

I took a calming breath, massaging my temples.

Maybe it was all just make belief. Just because every pony I assimilated came across had the exact same notion drilled into their stupid little brains, didn't make it the truth. Opium for the masses, and all that shit.

Still, I couldn't help but ponder on what happened during our confrontation. She held me in the air, squeezing the life out of me, and just as my vision went black...

I was staring at the most terrified expression I've seen on a pony, and that's saying something. Made me feel like a right asshole, too. And then I threatened her, made an ultimatum...

God, I'm a fucking idiot.

I couldn't get the scene out of my head. What could I, a man who mere moments ago was overwhelmed so thoroughly, have done to not only break free of her grip, but terrify a supposedly thousands-years old ruler out of her mind?

I thought I recalled cracking of bones, and squelching of twisted flesh, and then...

I thought I couldn't afford to think about it at that moment.

If the royal sister weren't goddesses, they were still rulers. If one knew about me, then the other knew too, which meant I had to brace for retaliation, immediately.

A neural cluster allocated for management of ground forces informed me of the successful reconfiguration of the first Smasher, a welcome thought, after a dozen failed attempts.

Perhaps, my threats weren't all bark.

Author's Note

"Get way from him, he's not human anymore!"
"How do you know?"
"He'd released a new chapter in less than six months!"