There were many things the Princess of the night hated. Even before she shrouded her form in dark magic to become the embodiment of nightmares she hated heat. As a filly she would refuse to leave the house while that ball of terror still hung in the sky, and thank Faust she earned her cutie mark controlling the moon instead.

Her hatred, along with quite a few of her feelings simply ceased to matter after her imprisonment. This fiendish hellscape robbed her of any heat coming from the ball of light that was once the bane of her existence.

It was odd, missing something she used to hate so much.

The magic those blasted elements imprisoned her was vexing. It took her a grand total of ten seconds after arriving to attempt escape, yet the spell would not give. Had it not been for the spell's unique properties, she would have blown her own horn off from the amount of force she fired at those damnable barriers.

Oh Faust, those barriers.

She hated barriers. That was another thing she could not stand. Yes, as Equestrias warmaster she saw the benefits to such magic but it always made conflicts drag on for so long. A fort was already hard to break, but one with barriers? The kinds of magic required to pierce those are as scarce as they are frustrating to work with. It didn't help that everything that was made for such situations simply didn't work on these blasted things.

It didn't matter what she did. Be it repeated blasts, erosion spells or even attempts to bypass the barrier entirely. Every failed attempt only added fuel to the inferno of rage burning in her chest and hooves.

Then there was that thing. The purple bipedal moonbeast that would not say a word. If it weren't for its apparent lack of hostility she would have reduced it to space dust. It did not speak, not that she gave it any reason to do so. It mattered not who shared her prison, only that she escaped.

Meeting it for the first time... it was the first time since dawning her new form that all the rage and resentment in her heart stilled. It did not give way to fear either, it was odd. It was all simply quiet. Of course, such peace would never last with the lunar monarch. No, the rage did inevitably return and so did her efforts in cracking the shell that bound her.

This time however there was a certain calm. The creature did not watch her, and instead turned its gaze to the barrier that only showed itself as she launched her spells. It too was observing it, though for what reason she couldn't tell.

They spent a long time like that, longer than either would care to keep track. She kicked up dust in a failed attempt to break free, while it sat and kept her company in silence. While physical exhaustion seemed to be impossible due to the odd magic binding her, mental exhaustion was very real and soon even she gave in.

She collapsed onto her stomach, tucking her hooves under her in an attempt to find some kind of comfort on the moon's rough surface. The beast's gaze lingered on where her magic met the now invisible barrier, only to turn to her moments later. She felt the embers within flicker with flame as she glared at it.

"What, did mine lightshow not entertain thee? Was it perhaps too far from thine face?" She growled out, finding it hard to keep civil. "Perhaps a closer demonstra-" she began, only to be cut off as the beast raised its hand.

"Do not threaten what you cannot hurt. Such futility is a waste of both time and energy" the beast replied, its tone dripping with disinterest. "That barrier... such magics are foreign to me. My blood boils at such an obstacle, but I must stay my hand for now it seems."

"Ha! Stay thy hand? Beast, thou cannot understand what that spell is, but we can. We know it is not insurmountable, for we once wielded it" she replied with a huff, turning her gaze up to the planet above. "It can be broken, just not from within. The Elements cannot contain more than one threat at once, not with the measly power mine sister could muster without me."

"You say it as if there are more threats it is containing. It also seems to be containing more than just one in this prison alone" the beast added, staring up into the void. "That explains you wasting precious time cracking at it. That does not explain why you simply refuse to take the time afforded to you to plan."

"It contains Discord, a god that would destroy our world if released. He is of greater importance than..." she trailed off and then snarled. "Of greater importance than us. And, Faust permit it, the enchantment holding us would fail soon. We only seek to hasten that process."

"You seek to weaken what is already doomed to fail. Why is this? This is valuable time you can spend to plan your counterattack" he repeated, his eyes moving back down to hers. "You will not be afforded that chance when you are released. Your... sister was it? She would be a fool to allow it. She too will likely use this time to gather a more permanent solution."

The beast's words stung deep. While she could argue her sister would potentially try to fix her as oppose to end her, he absolutely had a point. The worst case scenario, Celestia would find new wielders to potentially strip her of her magic or worse extend her prison sentence. Best case, she would simply leave her be and continue running the world as if she never existed. The mere thought of any of these possibilities made her eyes glow with rage.

She got to her hooves, turning to rant at the moon beast when something he had said rushed to the forefront of her mind. Her rage simmered down, and her head perked up as she mulled over the last few words exchanged.

"This prison was made to bind us, yet thou speakest as if it has ensnared thine self as well. Art... thou not native to the moon?"

His shoulders dropped slightly, and his mouth pressed to a thin line. It was clear to her that she had struck true with her words, and not wanting to lose momentum she pressed on.

"Perhaps it is not simply we who need plan our escape. Thine own plans must also be drafted. Perhaps we can... exchange notes?"

"... I know not what world awaits us when we leave this cursed prison. I... am not from here. That is not my home. I can help you, but I will need information" the bipedal creature replied slowly, and after a moment let out a soft hum. "Before any of that, perhaps introductions are in order."

"That is agreeable. Thou stand before Nightmare Moon, once princess of the moon and Diarch of the kingdom of Equestria. What is thy name, moon beast?"

"... Fell Dragon, not moon beast. My name is Lord Sombron. Once ruler of the kingdom of Elusia, sole Fell Dragon of this realm." For the first time in a while, the purple creature- no- dragon got to his feet. She stood her ground as he approached her, and she was pleased to find herself slightly taller than him. He nonetheless maintained his dispassionate stare. She could feel a spark of indignant rage at his nonchalance, but buried it deep inside. Best not blow this opportunity.

She flashed her fangs in her best attempts at an inviting smile, though perhaps it came off as more sinister. It was so much harder to appear personable in this form. Sure it was by design, but perhaps taking it on when she was locked away like this was unnecessary. Then again... she did feel powerful like this.

The two walked off to a smoother spot to rest, and a parley began in earnest. It started with drafting basic plans for storming the castle just from the princesses' memories, which turned into plans to infiltrate the nobility and undermine the guards. The talks slowly morphed away from that, more elaborating on her plans for after she won.

"That is easy" she boasted, puffing her chest ever so slightly. "We shall rip the sun's light away, granting mine subjects a full unobstructed view of the beautiful night sky. The magic inherent to ponies allows us to care for nature without it, and tis not but a blot to our otherwise perfect land."

He did not seem terribly impressed by her words, and while she felt indignant for it she would not allow herself to cut off his response.

"That... perhaps it would be wise to adjust. I know not how magic works here, but where I am from... magic is at its strongest with contrast. We of the Fell fought endlessly with Divine Dragons, each side benefiting from the existence of the other" Sombron explained, using a steady stream of magic to carve a small diagram into the moon's surface as a visual aid. "When the Divine grew too strong, the Fell rose to meet it. When the Fell grew too prominent, a Divine Dragons blade brought it low. It is by this natural balance I both found my rise and fall."

"... You mean to imply my moon is only as beautiful when it has competition in the sun?" He gave her the smallest of smirks, and continued sketching into the dirt.

"I mean distance makes the heart grow fond. They may admire your moon less if they see only that as opposed to more. Besides, we would have burned to ash had we been imprisoned in the sun. I say we have experienced firsthand which is superior." She couldn't hold it in, she laughed. Not a dignified giggle or a villainous cackle, but a full on gut busting guffaw. Part of her wanted to rub that fact in her sister's face when she returned.

After taking longer than intended to calm herself, she extended the same question to him.

He was at first silent on the topic, seemingly struggling to find the words. When he finally did speak, it was slower. His tone was more sombre than before, as if his words were laced with regret.

"At one time... my goal would have been to return home. Yet now... no, it is not my time. I was refused my return for a reason. There is something... here, that my emblem wants of me. Perhaps helping you may help me discover what that is" he murmured, his gaze as unfocused as his tone. After a moment of silence, he let out a sigh. "I will aid in your escape, perhaps even in the subdual of your sister. After that? We shall see."

She did not comment further. There was no need. The two fell into a comfortable silence. All that was left really was to wait.

And so they did just that. They waited. And waited some more. Hours turned to days, days to weeks and weeks to years.

She found the experience maddening. By the two year point everything simply began to bleed together, and while their interactions did wonders to preserve her sanity it was clear neither of them were faring well. That was when the fighting started.

It began as a simple offer to spar. The two would stand across from each other and juggle magic back and forth. While their magic was fundamentally different, it was still quite simple to keep pace in these spars. No, what became an issue is when the two started getting creative.

What started as small bruises and cuts from terrain turned into battle crazed grins and brutal wounds. It hardly mattered to the pair, as anything done healed up over the course of a nap. They did not grow hungry due to the prison containing them and could not run out of magic. It was perhaps for the best that they couldn't produce craters large enough to be visible, as that would tip Celestia off their hand too early.

Be it as it may, the two soon found a certain peace in beating the stuffing out of each other. For a time anyways. While they certainly gained a strong respect for eachother, even that small joy lost its lustre.

When fighting stopped being effective, she instead turned to debating with him. Arguments over the most mundane of topics, of which he was bored enough to entertain. Such conversations did a bit to fill the silence, but fell off fairly quicky. There weren't many things to be passionate about on this lump of rock, and the quiet resumed.

More years went on, and the seal was barely any worse for wear. But it was wearing out, ever so slightly. She took solace from that. He, meanwhile, took solace in long naps. Perhaps he was onto something...

She would of course try to find other ways to fill the time. Carving structures into the moon's surface, attempting to build siege weapons or carriages from stone. She made him a crown that would sit on his horns comfortably, but it broke fairly fast. Let it never be said that moon rock was durable.

Nightmare Moon would never admit it, but as she curled up beside the slumbering dragon she couldn't help but find solace in his presence. She may have lost her mind within the first decade had she faced this nightmarish imprisonment alone. She did, ultimately, give in to his solution and she too began to slumber.

As sleep became the main method of passing time, years became decades. Decades became centuries. And then, as the stars aligned....

Cyan eyes snapped open, and a slumbering dragon was shocked awake by the sound of mad cackling.

It was finally time. The damnable barrier fell.

Nightmare Moon had returned.

Author's Note

Ok, part 2 of 3. Please be gentle, this particular chapter was rough to make work. While I didnt show it as much here, its gonna be apparent fast just how bad that thousand year power nap messed em both up.

Anyways, thank you for reading.

Marlo