Meanwhile, something occurs to Edmund.

He approaches the bar.

"What happens to the money we pay you?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. Physically it simply disappears but it's possible an equivalent amount is created and spent elsewhere."

"Oh well."

He was hoping he could write a large check from the Narnian treasury which they'd be able to immediately replace without inflating the currency, but apparently it only might work that way.

"Well, I think we've covered everything we need to before we begin the evacuation. Time to open your door?"

She dips her head regally. "I am sure we are forgetting something, but I am equally sure standing here wondering what it is will not bear fruit. My plan is to open the door to Canterlot, write a message in the stars directing creatures to find the nearest Equestrian population center or embassy, then use the door to travel to various nations on the hot side of the world and offer them sanctuary in exchange for fealty. These will be the dragons, the zebra, the kirin, the minotaurs, and any other smaller groups they may be harboring within their lands. By the time that is done I expect most ponies, griffons, changelings, and hippogriffs will have followed my instructions or been convinced by the smarter members of their communities to do so. I would like them in groups of about fifty or so to a room, to prevent widespread panic. Bar, you may bill the Equestrian treasury for any foodstuffs or comfort items the refugees request, and assure them I will speak with them as soon as I am able and that this is only a temporary measure." She turns to the humans. "Many will likely try to help. Let them organize each other and care for the foals; it will give them something to do. You may answer any questions to your liking, but do not tell them Celestia is hurt, let alone dead. I will handle that later. Are there any objections?"

"Evacuation?"

"Nightmare's world is ending. We're helping the people there evacuate to Earth."

"Oh. Should we be using the-"

"No. Not if you were thinking what I think you were. Not just because Aslan said not to; we don't think Nightmare Moon or Bar is like Jadis but we can't be sure, and somebody in Nightmare's world probably is."

"Yes, I think we're ready for you to open the door."

Nightmare Moon gives Lucy a cool, evaluating stare. She holds it for a moment, then blinks slowly, like a great cat, and turns to Peter. "Then let us make haste." And she opens the door.

First, she rearranges the stars to spell "Equestria Canterlot." A bit vague, but it will do, and it's only four characters. Next is the zebras, since Nightmare Moon knows the most about them and the two nations are relatively friendly. As predicted, the Caesar clearly realizes she's not telling the whole story, but his guard is well-organized and they agree to publicly announce the evacuation and gather citizens near the embassy. Nightmare will return in several hours to take everyone waiting at that time. The guard moves out and the Caesar gestures for Nightmare to step away and speak privately with him. She does so.

"You realize I do not govern all zebras," he says quietly. "Zebrica is a vast landmass with many tribes, and the giraffes, elephants, and rhinoceros tend to keep to themselves. Some will be left behind."

Nightmare inclines her head. She doesn't apologize; her regret will not help the situation. "I can create an eclipse over part of the country. That may buy time. I can also return after about a week, to take any latecomers."

"Do it. Many Senators have some means of contacting their home tribes in a hurry. Mostly illegal means, but--we have more urgent priorities. Your method of transportation is not fine-grained enough to take you anywhere else in Zebrica?"

"Unfortunately, no." She leaves it at that. "Your citizens will be fed and sheltered at Equestria's expense. I will return in no more than twelve hours." She pulls the moon over their location, and brings it closer to Equus so the shadow will be larger. Any change in the tides will take effect long after they are gone.

From Zebrica she brings back the refugees nearest the embassy and moves to the dragons, who turn out to be much easier than expected; the Dragon Lord, a towering behemoth with gleaming wine-red scales, laughs and blows smoke in Nightmare's face. "So you ponies fucked it up, huh?" she says. "Dragons are a lot tougher than you little cutesy critters. We like the heat. You might be bailing, but I'm thinking we're about to get the whole planet to ourselves. We'll be fine right where we are, Princess."

Nightmare waves the smoke away with a wing. "As you wish. I would request you make the announcement public, however."

The Dragon Lord sneers. "Why? So they can all tell you in person?"

"If there is one thing I know about dragons, it is that they are independent," Nightmare counters. "There may be some who consider fealty to Equestria less tragic a fate than you would."

"No real dragon would," the Dragon Lord scoffs.

"Then wouldn't you rather get rid of any of the ones who do?"

The Dragon Lord stares at Nightmare, then smirks. "Gotta say, you're doing a lot better than the white one. Sure. I'll send 'em along, and good riddance. Now get out."

Nightmare bows and leaves.

The kirin she knows nearly nothing about, and winds up not having to; their leader is refreshingly reasonable, and their country is relatively small. The minotaurs want to hold a vote, of all things, so she eventually flies up high enough that she won't deafen anyone and amplifies her voice so the entire region can hear her. It's less organized than she'd like but at least the information gets out. That done, she heads to Canterlot to direct the palace guard to start organizing the refugees. They're terrified and confused, but their training holds.

Nightmare Moon is personal friends with Queen Imago, which makes this visit at once much smoother and much more awkward. The hive mind advantages the changelings, and most agree to take appropriate forms to help guide other species to evacuation points. They can sort themselves out on the other side.

The griffons are also as predicted, i.e., a headache. There is a furious debate between several community leaders, who by default are simply the oldest griffons in the immediate area, over whether Nightmare Moon is lying, at which point she rolls her eyes and does the same thing she did for the minotaurs, with the caveat that any refugees will be considered Equestrian citizens.

The hippogriffs turn out to be the most interesting, in that apparently, most of them aren't hippogriffs most of the time. The giant pearl rumor is true, and from what Nightmare can deduce (they don't let her see it), the small population on Mount Aris is a decoy, and the real bulk of the country is somewhere else. Because of this, however, they have a smooth system in place for getting everyone to a central location, enough that she can take the current batch of five hundred-odd hippogriffs and be assured the rest will be there when she returns.

And then she returns to the zebras, and starts the whole thing over again. And again. And again. It's over eight hours before Nightmare notices everyone else's fatigue and calls a temporary halt so they can rest. She's only keeping herself upright through a mixture of adrenaline, coffee, semi-legal stimulant spells, and stubbornness.

The Pevensies will help to organize the refugees and to keep everyone as calm as possible. They are indeed very good at it.

They will also ask Donkey and Cattle and Sheep and Equestrian Gryphons what they think of Nightmare Moon in particular and of Equestrian state in general; "We're trying to work out how to expect her to treat other species. We're not sure whether we can trust your princess to say, and we expect you might know things the chroniclers wouldn't".

The donkeys, mules, and the few griffons who lived in Equestria before the evacuation give approximately the same answer as most of the ponies; that is, "I don't know what's going on but I'm sure glad I'm not in charge right now." Most of them also seem to vaguely recollect that there is a Moon Princess and a Sun Princess, but the former doesn't really do anything, and sure, Nightmare Moon could probably be her, she's tall and she's got a horn and wings and a moon stamped on her butt, doesn't she? And she acts like she knows what she's doing, so, good enough for them.

Most groups of sheep and cattle are accompanied by a shepherd or cowpony, though a more accurate translation to human terms might be "chaperone." Generally this is a harried-looking earth pony who is doing their best impression of a kindergarten teacher screaming on the inside. Five minutes of speaking with the sheep and a short demonstration by a deadpan rancher will reveal that they will agree with whatever was said most recently, as long as it was said with confidence ("You know, I've always said the sky was green!" "My word, so have I!"), and the cows as a group display exactly zero interest in anything that's not food or being milked. If questioned at any length, they will think about their answer for a few minutes, lapse into silence, and, when prodded, placidly admit that they have forgotten the question, and by the way, did I ever tell you about the day last spring when the grass tasted so sweet, you see I remember because June had just had her calf and I said to her, I said June....

(The listener may, a friendly farmhoof explains to them, quietly wander off at this point, especially if said listener has heard the story several dozen times already or indeed was present during it, because the cow is by then usually quite unaware she was even talking to anyone. This social strategem works better with other cows, who mostly just like the sound of each other's voices and don't care at all about the content.)

Seeing the impromptu interviews, another farmpony scolds the Pevensies for "disturbing the fine ladyfolk after the day they've had" and wants to know just what is so important that it's worth distressing her livestock over.

"I'm sorry. We didn't expect it to distress them; cattle where we're from are either much more clever than these ones or too idiotic to understand language at all. We're not entirely confident this wont end up with Equestria conquering us, so we want to get a better idea of how she treats those of her subjects who aren't Ponies. Asking Equestrians who weren't Ponies seemed like the best way to figure it out."

The farmpony blinks. "Conquer you? Why would she conquer you? Do you need to be conquered?" 

"We do not, powerful countries often conquer weaker ones regardless of need."

This stumps the farmpony. After a moment to make sure Peter is serious and that she heard right, she says, "Why?" She seems to be genuinely and utterly confused.

"I think some people just want power over others and don't care much what they need to do to get it. What would you say makes a country need to be conquered? Has Equestria ever had to conquer a country?"

"Well, no," the farmpony says, and then thinks about it. "I guess it depends on your definition of conquering. We invaded the Crystal Empire back when the Shadow King took over, but that was because everypony was really unhappy and he wasn't letting anyone leave. I think the plan was to give it back after, but there was some magic thing that happened. I don't know, not my field. You should ask the Princesses if you want the story firsthoof."

"Ask me what?" Nightmare Moon says, having gone looking for the humans.

The farmpony gasps and rushes into a bow. "Your Majesty! They wanted to know if Equestria has ever needed to conquer some other country. I can't remember very much about the Crystal Empire from school, I'm afraid."

Nightmare's eyes flick to Peter's. "Did they," she says mildly. "And what conclusions have you drawn?"

"That you are unlikely to conquer us, although I'm still not perfectly confident on the point. And that your treatment of your non-pony subjects seems largely just, on which point I had also been uncertain."

Nightmare smiles, rewarding Peter's genuine reply with one of her own. "Your honesty is appreciated. As is your diligence. If you will excuse us?" she adds to the farmpony, who bows again and returns to soothing her cows, who aren't used to being around many things taller than they are.

Nightmare half-turns and holds the door to the hallway open for herself and the Pevensies. Her tone turns dry as she says, "Rather a compliment, really, if you think I could conquer you with--" She waves a wing to encompass their surroundings, generating a gentle breeze. "--this. Believe me when I say that I do not, at this moment, have the luxury of scheming. Do any of you require rest, or may we resume?"

They may resume