>Interlude; Night 16 for Anon in Pone Prison
>The night is dark, the setting is Celestia's throne room
>Celestia has had a hard day of work, but nothing out of the ordinary
>She has had to deal with diplomatic issues between her neighboring countries by acting as a mediator, she has had to attend a royal event between the marriage of a far off relative and a commoner turned princess, and she has had the Elements of Harmony staying in the castle for one of their little adventures
>Nothing overwhelming, just another day for her
>She is getting ready for sleep, but she is waiting on her sister, Luna, who has the right of ruling the kingdom during the night
>Her sister is late, like usual, but abnormally much later than she normally is
>Celestia trusts her sister and continues to wait while ordering snacks to keep her empty belly company
>*tick tock* *tick tock*
>Over an hour has passed since Luna should have been in the throne room to take over for Celestia, which annoys Celestia greatly, but worries her more
>"Guards! Please go and escort my sister to the throne room."
>The guards do as she says, but before they can return Luna shows up on her own
>"Luna! Where have you been? I was becoming worried for you."
>Luna does not reply to her sister, but instead semi-glares silently at her
>"My sister, is something wrong?"
>Luna gathers her words for a second, then asks in an interrogating manner
>"Celestia, my beloved older sister, what exactly were you thinking?"
>This catches Celestia off-guard
>"Pardon me? What ever would you mean by that?"
>Luna clarifies
>"I am asking what you hath done with the unknown creature that hath appeared in our world? I hath been gone in search of him every morning, but alas he seems to have just disappeared. I doth not want be accusatory towards you, but I demand to know."
>Celestia picks up on what her sister was talking about and is smart enough to know that side stepping the question or playing dumb will not work on her sister
>She sighs and looks down towards Luna and answers her request with a stern, but soft, tone
>"I have done what is best for Equestria, Luna. In there, neither him or his kind can become a threat to the ponies of Equestria."
>Luna is taken aback by her sister's reasoning
>"What is thine reasoning for declaring Equestria safer by the creature being away from ponies? And you hath not answered my question. Where exactly is the creature?"
>Celestia looks towards the window of depicting Nightmare Moon's initial banishing
>"A long time ago, before you had returned to Equestria, I had become weary and weak from many battles with unique creatures I had to fight without your aid. I knew that if I did not find a way to keep the creatures with abnormalities that could prove dangerous to Equestria from attempting to conquer it, I would likely one day end up defeated and Equestria would lay in ruins. So I had created a system and a place to lock up, and study, these dangerous creatures before they could harm anypony. This place, outside of the public's eye, is where the creature you seek is being held."
>Luna looks pitifully upon her sister, obviously saddened by her choice
>"But sister, this creature did not seem dangerous when I had first encountered him. He seemed weak and fragile, literally collapsing before me. When I reported his appearance to you, I did not expect thine decision to be hiding him from me and sealing him away. Even if he did end up being a threat, I am back with you now sister, so you do not have to worry. Along with me, you also have the Elements of Harmony at your side. Why doth thine fear of the creature exceed thine trust of us?"
>Celestia looks at Luna and attempts to explain
>"I understand I have both you and the Elements of Harmony to help save Equestria, but this creature poses a threat Equestria has never seen before."
>Luna asks gently
>"Is thine judgement flawed? The creature did not seem to be powerful in the slightest."
>Celestia shakes her head and recalls the dreams she had
>"Not alone is he powerful, but the destructive and cruel nature of his species is worse than anything that Equestria has ever faced. Their will is unstoppable and their selfishness would have all other creatures than themselves subjugated and completely eradicated. I have seen it many times in dreams. Before this creature came to Equestria, I saw the history of his species. They were cruel and unforgiving, killing all indiscriminately, whether it be other species or even their own. They would commit unspeakable acts that still make me sick to remember, things such as tearing the skin off or slowly breaking the creature's body while keeping it alive to feel all of the pain."
>Celestia starts to shiver as she recalls the dreams
>"They would kill animals for sport and enslave the larger and less intelligent ponies of their world for manual labor, killing and eating the smaller ones; sometimes even the foals."
>Celestia goes into a state of pure terror as she recalls everything her dreams held
>"They would burn and kill countless amounts of their own species just for thinking differently or looking differently. They would consume each other in the false hopes of gaining intangible concepts like courage or wisdom. Even in the most recent of their history, they happily force others to do their labor, starving them of precious resources so that they can live happily ignorant and gluttonous. Not a single time in their history have they not indulged in selfishness and horrifying behaviors that leave all but their most powerful unhappy. And they never stop growing, they never stop stealing from and destroying their planet, never stop killing and forcing others to do what they do not want."
>Celestia is nearly in tears as she recalls the thousands of years of horror she had seen in only a few months worth of nightmares
>Luna attempts to comfort her sister
>"But this creature is not like that. I hath watched his dreams and seen the good that his species hath brought. While they can be cruel, they can also be kind. This creature is like anypony else. He is born into the world with loving parents, he is raised alongside his peers, he is taught what is considered right from wrong, he grows up to be an adult who wishes only to be happy and to make those he loves happy. This creature is like you and I. Why should he be punished for the actions of others of his species, many long gone and no longer able to influence their world? He should be allowed a chance!"
>Celestia sighs
>"Sister, I had given him a chance. I had watched him and had seen how he would react upon meeting another pony. Sadly to say, he was no different than what I had seen. He acted in selfishness and destroyed without thinking. This creature is not going to be punished for indulging in his nature, but I will never allow him to be free in this world to spread his species' nature and offspring."
>Celestia walks past her sister
>"For the goodness of Equestria, I implore you to forget about that creature. No longer is he a problem of yours. I shall keep him under close surveillance enough for the both of us."
>As she begins to exit the room to allow Luna to take over the night shift, she concludes with
>"They will never stop. Domination is inevitable as long as they have ambition and freedom."
>The door comes to a slam as Celestia exits
>Luna continues to stand there, frozen
>She does not believe she is wrong, but her sister does not believe so either
>It is likely because she had not seen the same thing you had seen, that is why she could only see the bad in this creature
>But she had hesitations, as she also did see the destructive and selfish nature of his species
>Would it be wise to attempt and give the creature his freedom or was her sister right about this creature being too dangerous for Equestria?
>Luna ponders this and fights inside her own head for what she should do
>She moves to sit on the throne, when she hears the door open behind her
>She turns towards the noise and sees that it is one of the Elements of Harmony
>"I-Is everything alright? I-I saw the princess-- err, I mean Princess Celestia, outside looking very unhappy. I-I'm sorry..."
>Luna just sighs and signals the Element of Harmony to leave the throne room
>"Nothing is of the matter. Please return to your quarters. We appreciate your concern, though."
>The Element of Harmony turns away to exit the throne room
>"W-Well okay then. I am sorry for disturbing you. Good night, Princess Luna."
>Princess Luna gives a smile to her close friend from Ponyville who taught her how to speak to other ponies of the current generation
>"Yes. And we wish you a wonderful night also, Fluttershy."

- END OF PART III INTERLUDE -