Radiant Hope stared at the ponified Nightmare Moon, unsure of how to react. Nightmare Moon clearly hadn't meant to gain her own body, that was for sure, but was it really that bad? The combination of wings and a horn meant that Nightmare Moon’s new body was an alicorn, so she was surely powerful enough to help. Honestly, Radiant Hope couldn't find it in herself to consider this anything less than a stroke of good luck. She could keep her body, and Nightmare Moon could have one of her own.

Nightmare Moon, apparently disagreed.

“What did you do!?” Nightmare Moon screamed, diving at Radiant Hope.

Radiant Hope was not a dexterous pony and so was tackled without much resistance.

“I didn't do anything!” Radiant Hope yelped, scrambling out from under Nightmare Moon and putting some distance between them.

“Really?” Nightmare Moon growled, climbing to her hooves and stalking towards Radiant Hope. “Really? You expect me to believe that, for no reason at all, completely and utterly randomly, like a lightning strike in a clear sky, I've been turned into… this?”

Nightmare Moon glared down at herself in disgust, which Radiant Hope thought was a bit unnecessary. She wasn't ugly or anything. In fact, Radiant Hope would've gone so far as to say Nightmare Moon’s new form was pretty, though maybe that was her preference for dark coats talking.

“Well… um… maybe you messed up the spell?” Radiant Hope suggested, taking a small step back.

“There is no spell!” Nightmare Moon shouted, getting right up in Radiant Hope’s face. “It’s just something I can do! I go in your head, I control you, and that's all there is to it! So, I will ask again. What. Did. You. Do!?”

Radiant Hope looked into Nightmare Moon’s eyes, having to tilt her head down slightly to do so, and saw a storm of emotion. Her slit eyes showed anger, which the rest of her showed quite plainly, confusion, see previous, and, otherwise very well hidden, fear. Even in her eyes it was barely visible, and it was only through Radiant Hope’s millennium of experience with the emotionally distant umbrum that she was able to notice it at all.

Nightmare Moon was scared, and whether that was because her magic didn't work or because she was in her own body for probably the first time ever or just because she was smaller than Radiant Hope, the fear was there. Radiant Hope couldn't let that stand.

So, with absolute confidence, Radiant Hope got up on her hind legs and engulfed Nightmare Moon in a soothing hug.

For a moment, the two ponies stood in absolute silence. Then, with a voice like ten thousand metal crates smashing into each other, Nightmare Moon screeched.

“–and that's the spell dispelled.”

“Heh, spell dispel–”

“Finish that comment and I’m sending you to Yakyakistan. Explosively.”

“Understood, Princess Sparkle.”

Sombra opened his eyes, groaning. As always, he began his day by taking stock of the situation. The first thing he determined was that his head was killing him. The second was that Twilight Sparkle and a royal guard were looking down at him with unrestrained loathing, and the third was that he was sprawled out on the stone floor of a prison cell.

“Oh. You're awake.” Twilight stated, her look becoming a proper glare in response to this information. “Couldn't have waited another minute?”

“Good morning to you, too.” Sombra responded grumpily, before getting to the meat of things. “Why am I in prison?”

“Crime.” Twilight answered.

“Drat.” Sombra said, too groggy to argue her accusation. “Is bail posted? I have work in the morning.”

“It is morning.” Twilight said, and, as if sensing his next question, groaned. “You slipped in a puddle of milk when Cadance called for me and knocked yourself out.”

“Oh.” Sombra coughed, a tad embarrassed. “So… bail?”

Twilight walked out of the cell, barely waiting for the royal guard to follow before telekinetically slamming the door behind her.

Radiant Hope’s eyes fluttered open as she mumbled incoherently, the remnants of the night’s dreams fading from her mind. Looking around, she found herself in a fairly dry cave. She was against the back wall, and from there she could see daylight pouring in through the cave’s entrance. It wasn't a particularly large cave, probably wouldn't have taken longer than fifteen seconds to walk to the entrance, but Radiant Hope could see the charm. All it needed were a couple of lights, maybe a table or two… oh, and a bed would be nice. Radiant Hope was not unfamiliar with sleeping on the ground, but stone was very good at pricking at a few specific aches and pains that she did not enjoy being reminded of.

Radiant Hope gave the cave another look around, now slotting imaginary furniture into place. Sure, it was going to be a bit of work, but the place had potential. She could already imagine the look on Sombra’s face when she showed him her awesome new home. He could live there too, of course. It'd be like a sleepover every night!

“Oh. You're awake.”

Radiant Hope squeaked, head snapping towards the origin of the voice. Standing at the entrance to the cave was Nightmare Moon, who was looking at Radiant Hope with a seemingly conflicted expression. It was quickly replaced by a bored one, though, making Radiant Hope question if she'd seen anything at all.

The sight of the ponified Nightmare Moon snapped Radiant Hope out of her home decor stupor, and she tried to stand. A bolt of pain went through her left hind leg, and she fell back to the ground with a groan.

“Don’t try to move.” Nightmare Moon scolded, walking over to Radiant Hope. “You hurt your leg pretty badly last night.”

“What did I do?” Radiant Hope asked, not remembering anything that would've caused such an injury.

“Well…” Nightmare Moon glanced away, voice quieting. “It wasn't exactly you who did something.”

“What?” Radiant Hope looked at the clearly embarrassed Nightmare Moon and sucked in a breath. “You…?”

“I may or may not have, through no fault of my own, broken your leg.” Nightmare Moon revealed, voice dropping to a whisper on the last few words.

Radiant Hope looked back at her hurt leg and shifted it experimentally, wincing at the results. Yep, that was broken. Theoretically, she could heal it, but she had no desire to deal with the issues associated with self-healing. There was a reason even the most powerful unicorns went to the doctor, and it wasn't the bedside manners.

Radiant Hope looked back up at Nightmare Moon, who was shifting uncomfortably.

“I… I'm not going to apologize.” Nightmare Moon began shakily, before gaining confidence. “I mean, really, it was your fault. I don't know why you grabbed me like that, but my response was completely reasonable. Violence begets violence, as they say, and you were clearly planning some sort of violence. It was only fair that I responded in kind… before you had the chance to do anything. Preventive measures, as they say. I already used that line, didn't I? Well, it's still true. They say a lot.”

Nightmare Moon took a breath as if she was about to continue ranting, but Radiant Hope interrupted.

“Um… okay. I'm not mad.” Radiant Hope said.

“I didn't say I cared if you were mad.” Nightmare Moon replied quickly.

“It was implied, I think.” Radiant Hope said.

One of Nightmare Moon’s eyes twitched. Instead of continuing the argument, though, she sat down silently next to Radiant Hope, looking down at the broken leg. After a long moment, she looked away from it and made eye contact with Radiant Hope.

“Are you going to fix it?” Nightmare Moon questioned.

“My leg?” Radiant Hope asked, not discounting the possibility that Nightmare Moon was referring to her hurt feelings.

Nightmare Moon nodded, saving the both of them from Radiant Hope’s awkward attempts at comforting Nightmare Moon. Normally she'd be more confident in her comforting abilities, but the broken leg had put a bit of a damper on that.

“I'd rather not. Are there any hospitals nearby?” Radiant Hope asked.

“Why not?” Nightmare Moon asked, completely ignoring Radiant Hope’s question. “Your cutie mark is medical, is it not?”

Radiant Hope glanced down at her cutie mark, a golden staff with two similarly colored snakes coiled around it. It was called a caduceus, and Radiant Hope liked it quite a bit.

“The history there is actually really interesting. While it does have a modern meaning of healing, or at least it did a millennium ago, it has also historically been used to represent diplomacy, commerce, and, according to my therapist, being a lying bitch. I don't talk to her anymore, though.” Radiant Hope explained, happy to get a chance to talk about her cutie mark, as the umbrum didn't really care about things like that. Egalitarian weirdos.

“Right. That sounds like a good choice.” Nightmare Moon said awkwardly, waiting a few moments before clearing her throat. “So, can you heal your leg?”

“Oh, I can, definitely. I'd just… really rather not. Are you sure you didn't see any hospitals while you were out and about?” Radiant Hope asked once again, a note of desperation entering her voice.

“The nearest settlement has a population of eight.” Nightmare Moon stated, before, completely unprompted, continuing. “I have been stalking them for the past two years, bringing about poor harvests and undue misery. I believe Derby Striker is days away from snapping and finally murdering the young mare he has been cheating on his wife with for the past six months. It is something of a big moment for me.”

“Please never mention that again.” Radiant Hope requested. “So, no hospital?”

“I do what I want. But, no. Unless you wish to walk to the nearest city on a broken leg, you will have to heal it here.” Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes. “Something you seem unusually hesitant about.”

“Me? Unusual? I’m perfectly usual! Nopony is more usual than me, especially in this situation. My reluctance is perfectly normal, as I have already explained in my internal monologue. Really, you're the unusual one for not remembering.” Radiant Hope explained concisely and convincingly.

Nightmare Moon looked up at the cave’s ceiling, took a deep breath, and then looked back down.

“I can not read your mind.” Nightmare Moon stated simply.

“Oh.” Radiant Hope grinned awkwardly. “Right.”

Nightmare Moon stood and walked a slow circle around Radiant Hope.

“I grow bored of this meaningless debate. So, instead of wasting even more of my time, let's lay out the facts.” Nightmare Moon stopped in front of Radiant Hope and began laying them out. “Your hind leg is broken. You can not stand up, much less walk, and the nearest hospital is well over three hours away regardless. You, for whatever reason, completely refuse to heal your own leg, and I have no experience in the art of healing magic myself. On top of all of that, you're an insane mare with no friends except an ancient dictator who I honestly doubt even knows you exist and a bunch of mental illnesses you collectively refer to as fairies and/or umbrum, depending on how edgy you feel at the time. Did I get anything wrong?”

Radiant Hope stared up at Nightmare Moon with wide eyes. The nightmarish pony smirked back at her, waiting to see how Radiant Hope would respond.

“Well?” Nightmare Moon questioned, her smirk only growing as the seconds ticked by. “I'm waiting.”

Then, Radiant Hope sniffled. Nightmare Moon's face fell, and she took a quick step closer.

“Oh no. Come on, don't cry–” Nightmare Moon was cut off as Radiant Hope burst into tears.

“You're so mean!” Radiant Hope sobbed, burying her face in her forehooves.

Nightmare Moon waved her forehooves around frantically, seemingly at a loss as to what to do.

“It was just a joke!” Nightmare Moon claimed.

“You– you said I was mentally ill! And that I– I’m making everything up, including my relationship with Sombra!” Radiant Hope cried.

“I… did say those things, yes.” Nightmare Moon admitted. “Oops?”

“You're just like my therapist!” Radiant Hope continued to sob, unaffected by Nightmare Moon’s response.

“Hey, I am nothing like your therapist! I haven't even called you a bitch yet.” Nightmare Moon argued, seemingly surprised when this did not improve Radiant Hope’s mood. “You’re oddly bothered by this.”

Radiant Hope didn't give a response this time, as she had passed the point of being able to articulate her thoughts and was now sobbing wordlessly and messily.

“I… I'm going to give you some space.” Nightmare Moon said, the proclamation accompanied by the sound of hooves on stone. “Hope you… uh…”

Nightmare Moon stopped walking for a moment, as if pondering what to say.

“Ah, whatever.” Nightmare Moon eventually decided. “See you later.”

With that, Nightmare Moon left the cave, and Radiant Hope was alone.

And all alone, surrounded by nothing but the echoing sound of her own misery, Radiant Hope remembered what she'd forgotten. She remembered why she'd first met Sombra, why she'd held on so desperately to their friendship as he wasted away, why she couldn't live with herself after what she did to him.

It was because not a single one of these hateful, disrespectful, careless ingrates were even one billionth of the ponies they pretended to be. It was because each and every one of them were nothing more than bullies, pulling and tugging at the ponies least deserving of their torment until all that was left was a shell of a pony to be molded into the same monster as the rest.

Nopony deserved what they had. Each and every one of them took and took and took while the good ponies, the ones who'd done nothing wrong, suffered. She'd hoped the centuries would result in a change, but all she'd found was the same rotten core.

Her earlier moral compass was inaccurate. The world was not a battle between the good Sombra and his supporters versus the evil opposition.

No.

It was him and her, against everypony.

Always and forever.

The King and his Queen.

Author's Note

I made a funny image for this chapter. If you want to see it, it's here on tumblr because I can not for the life of me figure out how images work on this website and I am very tired.