The next day, Trixie was allowed to walk around. Her wounds were largely healed, through magic, though she winced with each step at her still-cracked ribs. There would be scars as well, though hard to see through her blue hair.

She noticed there were plenty of guards around, all of them stoic and expressionless as usual, except for their eyes. The eyes followed her everywhere, and not a few of them clearly would volunteer to be the one to kill her. Twilight Sparkle was popular with the Royal Guards—her brother was once their commander, after all—and news traveled fast. Trixie sighed. Clearly the only reason she was being treated decently was to get her healthy enough to stand trial, after which she would be convicted, and then executed.

It didn't explain why Luna was being so kind to her, however. Her last words the day before haunted Trixie. As they walked through the palace garden, she finally asked the alicorn, "What did you mean by that, that you saw yourself in me?"

Luna smiled. "I should think the Great and Powerful Trixie would have deduced my meaning."

"Please don't call me that."

"Very well."

Trixie stared at Luna, who took in a deep breath of the night air and smiled pleasantly. The unicorn felt adrift. She understood the guards' hate; she understood Celestia's reasoning for her to be back to full health for the trial. She did not understand why Luna was so accommodating. Coming from Celestia, she could almost believe it; she could certainly believe it coming from Twilight Sparkle, the naïve little idiot. But not Luna, the alicorn of the night.

"Well?" Luna asked. "Have you not figured out why I said that?" Trixie gave a shake of her head, and Luna stopped.

And began.

"Trixie, what you attempted to do—and did, by your actions with the Alicorn Amulet—is indeed punishable by death. There is no question of that. The Royal Court would not take very long to come to that conclusion. I do not mind telling you that my sister strongly desires it."

"Celestia the Cruel," Trixie snapped.

To her surprise, Luna only laughed. "Please, Trixie, enough. Your attempts at goading me into attacking you make no impression on me. I am almost two thousand years old; I have heard far worse and tolerated much more. That is one of the reasons why you're still alive."

Now Trixie was thoroughly confused. "Why's that?"

"Because you want to die." Before Trixie could say anything, Luna kept talking. "I know the feeling. After being freed from Nightmare Moon…death is all I wanted."

"And instead Ponyville threw you a 'welcome back, thanks for not killing us' party," Trixie said sarcastically.

"'Tis true. But do you think that made things better, or worse? How did you feel after Twilight defeated you with…what was it, a doorstop?"

Trixie felt the rage building. "Thank you ever so much for reminding me."

Luna ignored that. "It made things worse, the party did. It brought me face to face with the very ponies that I wanted to destroy. For you, watching Twilight perform for the Saddle Arabians must have been like a slap to the muzzle."

Trixie reluctantly nodded. "You're right about that." She looked at Luna. "But you did all that under the influence of Nightmare Moon."

"Nightmare Moon would've been powerless without me." Luna took a deep breath. This was not something she liked to relive, but she had to. "You know the story of how I became Nightmare Moon; I will not bore you with that. What you do not know is the aftermath. I was exiled to the moon for a thousand years, Trixie. Can you imagine a thousand years passing? No, you cannot. You are too young, and too mortal. I can, however, because I lived it.

"While there are some creatures up there, most of my exile was spent in silence. Every morning, I saw the sun come up over Equestria with the knowledge that my sister was raising it. I knew that the moon's very movement was due to my sister. I screamed at her, Trixie. I screamed until my voice was gone. I screamed that I was sorry, that I hated her, that I would kill her…" Luna fought back the tears. So many years, wasted. "And every day, Nightmare Moon grew more powerful. I let her. I wanted her. The hate filled the hole in my heart. When the stars aligned and I was able to escape, all I could think of was how all of Equestria would suffer. Instead of the joy a prisoner should feel when her sentence ends, all I wanted was to make everyone feel the same pain I did. I wanted them to hurt. I wanted to see them scream in terror as Nightmare Moon came to devour them.

"Which is why I started with Ponyville. I had no idea Twilight and her friends were there. They were unknown to me. All I knew was that the Elements of Harmony were nearby and I must destroy them, the most powerful weapon Celestia had at her disposal. I could've just as easily attacked Canterlot directly, but the Elements weren't the only thing that drew me there. I wanted to make the ponies suffer—because if they suffered, my sister would."

Luna glanced at Trixie. She expected to see an expression of horror, or hatred. Instead, she saw understanding. Trixie knew.

"And that would not be the end of it," Luna continued. "I would plunge Equestria into eternal night. Celestia could not raise the sun, because I would not lower the moon. Darkness would cover all. Crops would die without the sun. It would be worse than the blizzard that led to the founding of Equestria." Luna looked up at the starry sky. She could not stop the tears now. "The foals would go first. They would starve. Mares would roll over on top of them, smother them quickly rather than let them die by inches. Food might still exist in some places, and wars would break out over who would possess them. The pegasi would try to get to the moon, I think, but of course they would die in the attempt. And many would try to kill Nightmare Moon…and fail." She turned her gaze on Trixie; now the unicorn was horrified at last, thinking of a ruined, cold, dark world of a night that would never end. "That is what I wanted, Trixie. Nightmare Moon wanted it, to be sure, but she would be nothing but a dark spirit in the void if I was not for my hate. You only wanted to kill Twilight Sparkle; I wanted to kill the entire world. Now…which of us is the greater criminal?"

Trixie gulped. "And…after all that… Celestia still spared you?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Trixie checked herself. "Because you're her sister."

"Because she loved me, Trixie."

Trixie thought about that for a moment. "I'm sorry for what I did to Ponyville, Princess Luna. But…I…I still want…"

"…to kill Twilight Sparkle?"

Trixie looked at her hooves. "Maybe. I don't know anymore. I just can't…every time I think of her, I just want to…do something!" She stomped the ground in frustration. "She just makes me so damn angry!"

"Why?"

"Because…she's better than me!" Suddenly, Trixie could not stop talking, and months of frustration poured out. "She's so perfect, Luna! Everything about her! She's Celestia's little pet! She's got all of her friends, who think she's just so great—even that moron Rainbow Dash, who's got an ego the size of an ursa major, looks up to her! Ponyville practically worships her. Her magic is perfect and she can take out ursa minors and she can even fool me with stupid illusions! Me! The Great and Powerful Trixie, who can whip up illusions with the very best!

"Do you know what that's like, Luna? To want to be the very best? All of her so-called friends want to be the best. I saw that in Ponyville when I ran the place, you know. Rarity wants to be the best dressmaker. Applejack wants to be the best farmer. Rainbow Dash wants to be the fastest. That dolt Pinkie Pie wants to be the best at partying. Even that doormat Fluttershy wants to be the best at being with animals. Nopony comes after them or makes fun of them for wanting that—but that's all I get! No, Trixie, sorry, you don't get to be the best—Twilight Sparkle's got that all sewed up!" Trixie was crying again. "There, now I'm crying. See? I can't even get angry right. I bet Twilight Sparkle doesn't cry!" Trixie wiped at her eyes with a hoof. "You don't even know what that's like, Luna. To want to be the best and realize that there's always going to be someone better than you. You don't know what it's like!"

"Trixie," Luna said quietly, "I know exactly what that's like."

"How? How could you? You're a princess! An alicorn! You're rich! You can have anything you want—"

"Trixie, who is my sister?"

Trixie stopped instantly, her mouth open.

Luna nodded. Then she began to walk towards the palace. "It's late for you, Trixie, and early for me. Go to sleep. We'll continue this conversation later."