A Warm Welcome for Nightmare Moon

You have to stay strong.

If not for me, but for everyone else.

Please.

I can’t lose you again.

Nightmare Moon gasped as she regained consciousness. Her bright teal eyes shot wide open, and her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. She found herself lying in a large bed, under its white covers, staring up at a dimly lit white ceiling. A bout of panic and confusion set over her; the large device next to her started to emit beeps faster as if reflecting her distress. Where was she? What happened to her? Her immediate fear of being vulnerable and exposed struck her first; she couldn’t afford to be left in the mercy of others.

Unlike last time, however, her disorientation was brief. As she began to piece her fragmented memories back together, this time, things were starting to look clear. She recalled everything that happened to her: her eventual return and confrontation with Celestia… and the reconciliation that all took her by surprise. An outcome most unexpected, a path that she tried to give up a long time ago. Not in her life had she expected an outcome like this, bordering on the unbelievable. A cynical and fearful part of her whispered whether all of this was nothing more than an illusion; either a fabricated reality she had weaved together in the dream realm as a pathetic attempt to appease her pitiful self, or a hallucination of a delirious dying mare on the moon, withering away from a head injury she will never recover from.

But the rational part of her knew those concerns were unlikely. Flawed though they might be, she trusted her senses, her judgment, and her intuition. And if there was any lingering doubt, it was quelled by hope, Tantabus its guardian. Over time, within her psyche, the two became nearly one and the same. It kept her alive through all those years of pain, a torturous existence. Many times had she tried to break her promise; to abandon hope, to crush that persistent little thing out of agony and resignation. But over and over, despite her attempts, she just couldn’t do it. It simply refused to die, and in its stubbornness, the Mare of the Moon had survived.

It’s going to be alright.

Now it was calling out to her once again, giving her strength, and soothing her. Like how it always did; doing what it could to comfort and reassure its dear friend. And this time, Nightmare fully embraced it without resistance, for she truly wanted to believe.

...I know.

Slowly but surely, the remnants of her worries faded, and the Midnight Alicorn began to calm, feeling more at ease with herself and her situation. The frantic high-pitched tones from the machine gradually tempered itself down to a gentle, slower rhythm, and the room returned to its relative calm and silence once more.

With her mind now unburdened, she initially considered going back to sleep. She soon found it hard to, however. As much as the warm, soft bed gently supported her form, unlike the cold, hard surface of the moon, she found the contrast too sharp—a stark difference from what she had become accustomed to for so long. It almost made her feel out of place. As if she weren’t supposed to be here.

“Can’t believe I’ve gotten habituated to my own shackles.” Nightmare muttered to herself as she sighed.

Like a bird yearning for its cage. Aren't you miserable enough? How pathetic.

I am not.

Bothered by such thoughts, lying in the bed only made her discomfort consume her further. Before her thoughts could spiral further out of control, she gave up on getting more sleep and instead decided to get up. When she raised her upper body without much thought though, she first winced in pain when she felt her broken ribs, and again when she tried to bend her left foreleg, which was still encased in a cast. And as if that wasn’t enough, it seemed like every part of her body began aching in protest, almost enough to elicit a groan out of her. All reminders of her injuries, and also a strong suggestion from her body that perhaps, she should remain in bed for now.

At least my eyes seem to be fine. Nightmare thought to herself as she blinked her set of teal eyes, checking for any signs of impairment. She stared at her set of clean bandages around her torso for a moment; the wounds beneath itching just enough to grab her attention. Perhaps she could take the bandage off, or scratch it just a little? It was certainly tempting, but she knew it was better to leave them be. Instead, the princess decided to distract herself and look around elsewhere. She first turned her gaze to her left without much thought, but she was caught off guard by what she saw. Next to her, was somebody that she certainly was not expecting.

There, next to her bed, lay nopony other than Celestia, sleeping on top of several wooden armless chairs lined up together. It was an uncomfortable makeshift bed rather small for her size, but she lay there regardless, sleeping quietly. She had her own set of bandages wrapped around her barrel, presumably to cover up cuts and bruises she had suffered from the fight.

…It really happened, didn’t it? It made Nightmare feel a mix of relief and unease. It was proof that her memories were real, confirming that they were not mere figments of her imagination. On the other hoof, it was a stark reminder of the violence she’d inflicted on her sister, and what she had nearly done to her.

As Nightmare wondered why Celestia was here like this, she noticed a dark blue blanket lying in a heap on the polished grey concrete floor beside her. Quietly and without a word, Nightmare's horn slowly lit up. Must have fallen off of her, she thought as she stared at the alicorn to her left for several seconds. Then, feeling no inhibitor ring limiting her magic, her cyan magic grabbed the edges of the deep blue blanket. Careful not to disturb her, she stretched it wide and draped it over the sleeping mare's large form. For a moment, her sister shifted under her cover as if she were awakening. But it was simply a dream-induced stirring; the mare just pulled her blanket closer around her, nestling under it with a contented sigh, before drifting back into a peaceful slumber, now with a smile.

Nightmare’s gaze lingered on her sister for a bit longer. After making sure her blanket wouldn’t slide off her this time, she averted her gaze and surveyed the rest of her room. The room was wide, but not as excessively spacious as the first room she was first brought into. Some of the furniture in the room remained similar, but the rest, she could see noticeable changes. To her right was a nightstand with a crystal lamp(as well as that infernal machine she’d destroyed last time), and further alongside the wall were drawers and cabinets. The same ones that she’d seen before. The entire wall on the far side of the room, however, was lined with bookshelves each filled with different types of tomes. Mostly ones that she didn't recognize, but amidst them, she could spot some familiar ones she recognized just by the covers. At the center of the room, a lightly worn rectangular mahogany table, wide enough to hold numerous open tomes one might look up while adjusting spell matrices. There was even a grandfather clock on the right side of the room near the exit, which looked nearly identical to the one she had back in the day. The clock struck 2:30, and with its small crescent moon-shaped sapphire lit up bright, it told her it was before dawn.

Seeing these elements brought a soothing sense of familiarity to the Princess of the Night. The subtle memories of her past life were like a gentle whisper, wrapping around her like a warm embrace. The room was tidy and comfortingly reminiscent of her old quarters in the Everfree Castle. The old clock, the bookshelves, and the overall arrangement filled her with a nostalgic comfort she hadn't felt in ages. It was as if, in this room, she was given a piece of her past back, woven into the fabric of her present. To her, the room felt right, orderly, and well-organized.

Well, mostly.

The large rectangular mahogany table at the center of the room had several stacks of books and papers on it. And it was the way they were arranged that caught her eye. Loose documents were scattered around the table while several books were left open. Among that, empty cups littered the table, and she could see a stray scroll or two that had rolled off the table and fallen to the ground. All this disorganization was spreading out from a single point, one of the seats at the table. And at that epicenter, was a pony. A purple unicorn, her slightly frazzled mane dark blue with a pink and purple streak, was seated on a chair and had fallen asleep on the desk.

At the sight of another pony asleep in her room, Nightmare wondered who this young mare might be. Clueless at first, she wondered whether she was one of the doctors, but in her assessment, her casual appearance suggested she perhaps wasn’t here in an official capacity.

Then who…? The princess squinted her eyes as she took a closer look at the sleeping unicorn. Wait, did Celestia finally…? She then turned her head to look back at Celestia’s sleeping form.

Then back at the unicorn.

Then back at her sister.

“…….”

Then back at the unicorn.

Maybe not. Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself, she concluded. They barely shared any color tones in their mane or coat, so the two being related by blood seemed dubious for now. Not to mention Nightmare was pretty sure what Celestia’s preferences were, so the possibility that this unicorn was someone her sister held very dear was also out of the way.

Nightmare was left wondering as her eyes wandered back to the purple unicorn and the disarray surrounding her. She noticed a quill, likely dropped from the mare's magical grasp as she fell asleep, which had stained a sheet of paper in front of her with black ink. Judging by the large stack of papers piled beside her, the mare had likely been buried in paperwork until late at night before finally succumbing to fatigue. As soon as Nightmare caught this, things began to click into place. It almost seemed obvious now—how had she missed the most likely answer?

The immense pressure and responsibilities she and her sister had to bear during Early Equestria were considerable. That weight, despite feeling unmanageable at times, had been eased by the meticulous scheduling and management of their respective secretaries. She remembered them, always accompanying her and her sister, often just as overworked as the princesses they served. Their duty was to organize, record, and relay information for their diarchs, assisting them until they were dismissed for the day. Now, in this mare’s case…

The purple unicorn mumbled something unintelligible, shifting slightly as she slumbered.

Celestia must have forgotten to dismiss her from her duties for the day, didn’t she?

Nightmare let out a little disappointed sigh as her brows lowered slightly. She’d seen her sister make this mistake before while she was too carried away with other things. As for her loyal secretary, it was their duty to serve and assist their princess to the best of their abilities under all circumstances. Requesting to be relieved for the day before Her Highness deemed it right was simply viewed as unbecoming of them. What was that young mare going to do, dare wake the princess up?

With her plight in mind, the Mare of the Moon didn’t hesitate long before she began to tidy up the table. She certainly didn’t expect “helping her sister’s secretary get off work” to be included in her agenda, but still, she couldn’t help but feel pity for the overworked unicorn. It’s not like I’m going to leave here anytime soon, she thought. One by one, encased in her magical grip, objects were levitated as Nightmare began to organize everything. Bookmarks were placed in the open tomes before they were closed and organized, loose sheets of documents were collected and bound together, and scrolls and empty mugs scattered around her were collected. A series of menial tasks, but she seemed satisfied enough from watching the desk gradually return to a semblance of normalcy. Soon, she’d gently wake that mare up and finally send her off from her duties on behalf of her sister. But as she picked up the last of the loose documents off the dark brown mahogany surface, something about them caught her attention.

“Huh.” Nightmare had assumed she knew what those papers were. Usual paperwork that needed the diarch’s attention—reports and petitions that haunted her during her waking moment. But even at a distance, she could tell this wasn’t the usual bureaucratic fare. On the contrary. It was something of personal interest to her.

Bringing those pages closer to her, her eyes brightened as she confirmed what she saw. A spell diagram, followed by lines upon lines of calculations filling the rest of the page. This was no ordinary report, this was a blueprint for a spell, a powerful one in fact. Tempted by her intellectual curiosity, Nightmare Moon gathered the entire stack of documents from the table. Pulling them closer to examine it to its fullest extent, she examined the first few pages with anticipation.

Post Casting Analysis Report: Enchantment-Based Long-Distance Teleportation Assistance and Interception

The following document details the framework, execution, observations, and outcomes of the Enchantment-Based Long-Distance Teleportation Assistance and Interception spell used for the safe rescue of her highness Nightmare Moon. Further included are spell diagrams, calculations, thaumic measurements and expenditure, and any anomalies or unexpected results observed during and after the casting. Authored by Lead Researcher Twilight Sparkle and her team at the Ponyville Royal Observatory. Unauthorized access to this document will result in-

Nightmare didn’t bother reading the rest of the introduction; the disclaimer at the end only made her more curious.

I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me taking a look at it. Or Celestia.

Lighting up her horn for better lighting and going through each page, she found the subject matter rather interesting. It certainly wasn’t without trouble; some of the calculations were too complicated even for her, and the accompanying text occasionally contained terminology that she had no understanding of. But that didn’t discourage her. She may have been behind in the field of thaumaturgy for harmony knows long, but she was an avid practitioner of the arcane arts herself back in the day. Eagerly consuming more of its contents, the alicorn managed to gradually make sense of what Celestia’s court mages had prepared for, and why she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with this.

The countless number of overlaid spell matrices built on top of each other was a structure beyond what most scholars at her time were capable of weaving, let alone fully comprehending. The lengths they had gone to for a single activation of this spell, all to bring her back… It was awe-inspiring, and Nightmare couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude. Despite the flaws and weaknesses the spell harbored, this was an unprecedented achievement. It must have taken years of work from ponies with not only extensive knowledge and understanding of thaumaturgy to fully design this spell framework, but also the magical strength to back it up. She recognized this because she had seen a similar spell before, one of Starswirl’s many unfinished spells. Novel ideas and glimpses of his genius, all of which remained broken and incomplete.

Starswirl...

A bittersweet expression crept up on the princess’s face, knowing that at least one of her old mentor’s half-baked ideas from the far past had inspired others in the distant future to use it to aid her escape.

...Thank you.

Twilight Sparkle was a conscientious pony. At least, that was what she hoped she was good enough to be considered as one. Planning schedules, and following routines, were like second nature to her, one of the better habits she had kept up over the years. Efficiency was her rule, and diligence was her motto; fundamentals that helped her pursuit of knowledge. Part of it was her natural meticulousness and neuroticism, and part of it was necessity. Ever since becoming Princess Celestia’s personal student, Twilight had adhered to these practices. Her responsibilities demanded a lot from her, even more so since she had taken charge of a research team at the Ponyville Royal Observatory several years ago. So when she slowly woke up, her face pressed against the mahogany desk and her left cheek squished, she groaned.

“Can’t believe I’ve fallen asleep again…”

The mare carefully raised her head, feeling her neck stiffen with the motion. Twilight chastised herself. It wasn’t because she was behind schedule. In fact, she was ahead of it. With her dislike for uncertainty and the bad surprises that often accompanied it, she had made sure to finish all her planned work a day earlier, even tackling extra tasks in advance. The problem was, she hadn’t intended to fall asleep. She intended to keep Princess Celestia company; revising the report was secondary. Falling asleep while in the room with the princess? That was unbecoming of her as Celestia’s personal student.

“I’m sorry Princess, I just-“ A yawn cut her off, her voice slightly hoarse from waking up moments ago. “Maybe I just need another cup of tea.”

“No need to fret,” came a regal voice. “You’ve already done enough. Perhaps it’s time you retired for the night.”

“I… I suppose so. I was feeling a bit more worn out than usual, I guess.” Twilight admitted, still half-asleep and trying to rub the blurriness out of her eyes. The last few months had been demanding, and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, perhaps she had been overdoing it.

As the weary unicorn prepared to gather all her stuff before she left, she found it strange that all her books, papers, and even her miscellaneous items were already organized into neat stacks, ready to be picked up. Odd. she thought. When did she do that? Perhaps she had a simple lapse in her memory. Perplexed yet reluctantly acknowledging it, she was ready to grab all her belongings with her magic and bid farewell to her mentor, till she realized something very important missing: her report.

Where the hay did it go???

Twilight’s gaze swiftly screened over every item on the table, and her confusion rose only further when she failed to find it. The thing she’d been revising for the past three days was supposed to be right in front of her; it’s not like that 300-page report would magically float away from her desk on its own! Looking under the desk hoping to find her missing report yielded nothing. Clueless to the whereabouts of her work, she wondered just how much her lack of sleep was affecting her memory.

And just as her confusion was beginning to be replaced with anxiety, the regal voice rang out once again, coming to her aid.

“I believe you are looking for this.”

Before Twilight could ask what she was referring to, a stack of her missing reports was immediately brought in front of her by a bluish magical aura, which soon dissipated and gently dropped them onto the table with a quiet thud. Twilight sighed in relief. Of course they wouldn’t just vanish for no reason, turns out the Princess was just having a look at them.

“Oh, Thank you, Princess Cele-“

Twilight stopped in the middle of her words. Her sleep-addled brain had almost overlooked it, but her meticulous nature had managed to pick up that something was wrong. Not only did she finally realize her mentor's voice sounded slightly off, but her magical aura was not hers; its color was teal blue instead of golden yellow which she had associated with her for a long time. Whoever she was talking to, it certainly wasn't Princess Celestia. And when Twilight mustered up her courage to turn her head and look at the far left side of the room, she was left speechless.

Princess Celestia was indeed there, except she was quietly sleeping next to the bed, which may have been expected; she’d been known to occasionally spend the night at the observatory watching over her sister, and she seemed awfully tired today. Now, what was truly unexpected for Twilight was for the other Princess in the room to be awake instead. The bookish mare’s eyes widened and her heart began to beat faster as she saw her: the ancient alicorn from the legends of a thousand years past looking at her nonchalantly from the bed. Twilight had visited her before, yes, but now, she had woken from her medically induced sleep she wasn’t supposed to be awake for another week or so, looking at her with slight curiosity. Her cat-like eyes gleamed under the low light, their luminous teal both beautiful and mesmerizing. A faint smile rested on her lips, its edges curled up slightly—a gesture that seemed almost tender, though laced with an inscrutable elegance. And her flowing ethereal mane—a display of her magical might and alicornhood, glimmered like the starry summer night sky.

Her eyes and mane, they really are-

What do I do? What do I do?!

Just act natural. Greet her!

No, you know what you should do. She’s returned from her thousand-year exile. Politely greet her, following her time's early Equestrian royal etiquette. You’ve researched it, remember?

Caught off guard, Twilight’s head began to race with multiple thoughts fighting for her mind space. She knew she’d have to meet the Night Princess face to face eventually; either officially at the inauguration ceremony, or earlier unofficially via a personal introduction from Princess Celestia. However, this just wasn’t in her plan. She didn’t expect their introduction to be so abrupt like this.

They’re beautiful.

Oh crap, how do I look? My mane probably looks horrible right now.

You’ve looked up to her since you were a filly. Give her the utmost respect she deserves, don’t you dare mess this up.

How about pre-Equestrian etiquette? Would that be preferable?

“Are you alright?”

Twilight was quickly shaken from her thoughts by the Princess’s words, the pitch black alicorn still smiling at her. Returning to reality, her mind went blank from anxiety, removing any previous thoughts or plans she had in her head. She hastily concluded she had to say something immediately, lest she make an even bigger fool of herself. It didn’t take long before her gut feeling, which she seldom followed nor trusted, began shouting at her.

Don’t just stare at her, say something!

Her mind raced for something—anything—to say, and before she could think better of it, her mouth moved faster than her brain...

“…W-w-what's up?”

Oh Tartarus why did I say that.

The strained response that came from her dry throat was hoarse, but worse still, it was completely inappropriate. Twilight cringed internally, horrified at the sheer casualness of her words. She could practically feel the tension rising as she realized what a mistake she'd made. Her heart plummeted, and the anxious mare couldn’t shake the thought that she’d just ruined her one chance at a good first impression.

Twilight…

The petrified mare's nervous smile strained further, watching Princess Nightmare Moon’s faint smile fade into confusion.

You’ve really done it this time.