That night, beneath the soft and silvery glow of the moon, eight ponies departed unnoticed from Canterlot Castle. At the head of the procession were the element bearers who had previously been imprisoned in the castle dungeons. They grimly walked with their heads held low, barely speaking to one another. In the middle was Nightmare Moon. She walked with her head held high, her poise every bit that of a princess or queen. If Twilight has been able to see the regal alicorn she might have been reminded of how Princess Celestia had carried herself. However, she was not able to see Nightmare or the element bearers. She and General Dawn brought up the rear of the column, with Twilight riding in a plain red wagon with a single door. Twilight could not make the journey on hoof due to her recent injury with Nightmare, and Dawn had all but threatened her with treason if she was not allowed to pull the chancellor while she rested. Despite this, each jolt in the road sent bolts of pain lancing through Twilight's legs as though a knife were being constantly twisted in them. For hours in silence she cursed the dark alicorn through gritted teeth.

After many hours of travel the ponies had finally made it down the mountain and into the Everfree Forrest. Once they had found a sufficient place to camp the procession stopped, and everyone began setting up camp for the night. Everyone except for Twilight. The unicorn hissed in pain as she lowered herself over the edge of the wagon, the pain flaring up with a vengeance as her hoof touched the cold earth. At one point General Dawn had tried to help her down but the glare that Twilight shot her forced her to stop in her tracks and watch helplessly. Once Twilight was fully on the ground she used her magic to levitate a dark gray traveling cloak, from within the wagon, around her shoulders and limped her way to the far edge of the camp. Away from everyone else.

About another hour had passed before Twilight heard the soft crunch of hooves on dried earth approaching from behind her. This was the second time she had heard this, but the one from before stopped and turned around before getting this close. Sighing she spoke without turning around:

“Leave me alone.” She said, her voice curt. She didn't feel like talking to any of them. Not after everything that had taken place these past few nights.

“You can't seriously expect to get rid of me that easily.” Came the unfazed response from behind.

Amethyst eyes narrowing in irritation Twilight turned her cloaked head to see who would so blatantly ignore her, only to see Nightmare Moon smiling cockily back at her. She should have known. With a growl she turned back to gaze at the wild trees once more.

“Leave me alone.” She said again, the irritation in her voice clear. “I do not like having to repeat myself.”

“Yes, well neither do I.” Nightmare said dryly. Sitting down next to her she continued, levitating a wooden bowl of steaming soup in front of the unicorn. “The pink haired pegasus wanted to give this to you, but she couldn't work up the nerve.”

“Her name is Fluttershy.” Twilight said, still not looking at her. She made no move to touch her food either.

“Ah, so you remember the names of your friends, but you can not sit and have food with them?” The alicorn asked, her head cocked as she looked down at her.

“I am not their friend... not anymore.” Twilight said, her voice lower than it had been before. “I am nothing more than a monster to them now.”

Nightmare paused, taken aback for a moment by her response. Monster? That couldn't be how she saw herself... but then it hit her: The Sparkle Mandate. She must blame herself for every pony she sentenced to death with that single piece of parchment. The alicorn stared at her for a few long moments, truly seeing her for the first time. She was different than when she had faced her in the castle upon the alicorns first return. Back then she was full of righteousness and determination. She was so sure of herself, a mere child standing up to the might of an alicorn as though it were nothing. Nightmare remembered thinking Celestia must have been proud. But now... Now the unicorn before her was older. Her shoulders slumped with the weight of the things she had done. Her voice that was once so full of determination was now full of sadness. This was her pressure point. If Nightmare pushed her failure now then her resolve would crumble to nothing.

The malicious idea flashed across Nightmares mind and made her jade eyes widen in surprise. Was this who she really was? The desire to crush the unicorn while she was weak was tempting, but there was something else. She thought harder, searching out the other feeling until she finally understood. It was empathy. Luna had spent centuries on the moon racked with guilt over the ponies she had killed, and over the ones who had died fighting for her. Nightmare had done her best to console her when she could, but the pain was deep. Nightshade... The memory of the bloodied guard Captain laying lifeless in her hooves as she cried over him made her wince in pain. Pushing it aside she focused on the unicorn and spoke again.

“Why did you sign that document in the first place? Did you think it would lead to the death of so many?”

“Of course not!” Twilight snapped, her voice pained. “I just... I wanted the rebellions to stop. Ponies were scared and fighting all over Equestria. The nation would not have survived if I had continued to do nothing.” For a time the unicorn paused, her head hanging as she thought. “But... that does not excuse me for what I did. I signed my name knowing what might happen, and now their blood is on my hooves. I am a monster.”

Nightmare sighed, looking up at the night sky and her moon. It had once been her prison, but she could never bring herself to despise it. Its pale white surface softly illuminated the green leaves of the trees and bushes, making them seem to almost look like part of a painting when they were still. She could never hate something that could make the world seem so beautiful.

“Twilight... you are neither evil nor a monster.” Twilight looked at Nightmare, her mouth opening to protest but the alicorn cut her off. “You know why I rebelled against Tia all those years ago? It was because nopony would appreciate this...” Her onyx hoof gestured to the starless heavens and moon. “... but they worshiped my sisters day. They danced and played in her sun, and slept through my moon. For centuries I spent every day putting all of my soul into making the night sky more beautiful for them, so I could show them the majesty of the night. For centuries they ignored the stars, and me. They feared the dark because they didn't understand it. They feared me, their own princess, because they didn't understand me.”

“And so, one night I made a decision. In desperation I tried to force them to see what they had refused to for so long, proclaiming that the night would last forever. It was a lie. I knew very well that if I did not eventually yield to the sun then ponies would die from the cold and starvation. I never wanted that, but I could not say otherwise. If I had then they would have just stayed in their homes in fear until I was forced to return control to Tia.” Nightmare paused, her head hanging in shame as she continued. “They rioted. They feared my night so much that they attacked my guards in an attempt to get back at me for what they perceived as my madness. My own guard captain died while being ambushed by a group of ponies in the streets of Centerlot one night. If... If I had not tried to make them see the night, if I had simply just left things as they were, then none of that would have happened. No one would have died because of my foolish desire to be loved like my sister.”

Twilight stared at the dark alicorn in stunned silence, unsure what to say. She had never heard Nightmare speak like this before. She had never even heard Luna speak of the things Nightmare was now talking with her about. Again she was seeing a side of Nightmare that was making her realize she was more than just the wicked alicorn that stories made her out to be. There were two sides to every story, and it ashamed the unicorn that she had never considered to stop and think about Nightmare's side before.

“Listen Twilight Sparkle.” Nightmare continued, her voice more firm. “Take it from a pony who has done monstrous things in the pursuit of what she thought was right. If you did not intend for evil to happen as a result of your actions when you made them then you are not a bad person. You are not a monster. You are just another pony who makes mistakes. What truly matters is our intentions and our willingness to do the right thing when we see that we are in the wrong. All you can do is try and be a better pony than you were yesterday.” Nightmare stood and turned to leave, but Twilight could have sworn she saw a tear glisten in the moonlight sliding down her cheek. Before she could say anything Nightmare was gone.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~Later that evening~

Nightmare walked quietly through the dark camp in contemplative silence. The rest of the ponies had gone to sleep not too long ago. The element bearers huddled around the dying embers of the campfire, their flanks pressed against one another for comfort while a large blanket covered them all. General Dawn sat with her head slumped in deep sleep next to the wagon, having passed out not long after arriving at the campsite. The poor unicorn must have been exhausted after pulling the wagon for so long because her food was not even half gone. Walking to the other side of the wagon she spotted Twilight's cloaked figure once more, sitting facing the trees just as she had left her. Curious the alicorn made her way across the distance between them, half expecting to be told to leave once more. However, when no such order came she quietly stepped beside the unicorn and peered under her hood. She was asleep.

Nightmare smiled, looking down at the now empty soup bowl at the mare's hooves. So, her plan had worked after all. Earlier that evening the alicorn had mixed a few herbs into the soup pot when no one was looking to help everyone sleep. She was especially pleased that it had worked on Twilight for the unicorn would have likely been up all night with her thoughts and guilt had she not. Nightmare turned to leave when she heard a pained mummer escape the unicorn's lips. Looking back at Twilight she saw her body twitch and jerk every so often as though she was having a nightmare.

A soft azure glow illuminated the alicorn's horn as she gently pressed it to the tip of the unicorn's own. Within moments Twilight stopped twitching and her face became more relaxed. Then Nightmare used her magic to levitate Twilight into a more comfortable laying position beside her. She wasn't afraid of waking her for she would be asleep for many hours due to the herbs she had slipped into the soup. Laying her head on the cold earth she closed her eyes and extended her onyx wing over the smaller unicorn, sheltering her from the wind.

Author's Note

So, not quite dead after all my little ponies. Again I apologize for the delay here. Life is a pain sometimes.

More Chapters to come. A sincere thank you for all of you who have stuck around to see if this thing will end despite the horrible writing behind it X3

Much love you all,
General D.