Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary

Chapter 6

Part 2

Since it was the last time they would be able to see Twilight before she returned to Canterlot, the small group decided to spend the night together in Town Hall. After such an exciting adventure, there was so much to talk about, but all of them seemed most interested in hearing Luna's explanation about what had happened to Twilight's eyes.

Despite a great number of yawns, the exhausted ponies made their best effort at getting whatever information they could out of the two guard ponies. Spike was spared the questioning because he was snoring loud enough to show the futility of any attempt at waking him.

“So you’re the mares who saved Twilight’s life,” Shining Armor said, making a respectful bow when he had caught their attention. “I owe you more than I could ever repay. Thank you.”

Everypony looked at him in surprise, quickly recognizing him as the officer they met on their way back to Ponyville. Rarity approached him with a small curtsy and said, “Why, you're very welcome, though, if you wouldn’t mind me asking, why is such a handsome stallion thanking us for saving her?”

From her perch on Shining Armor's back, Twilight leaned to one side and waved at as much of Rarity as she could see through her brother's frazzled mane. It seemed to catch the fashionista by surprise, and she looked back and forth between Twilight and Shining with a growing and far too smug smile.

"Oh, Twilight! Let me guess!" said Rarity, almost on the edge of a happy squeal. "You found a Very Special Somepony!"

Shining Armor and his little sister both blushed a very deep red, looking between each other and Rarity uncertainly as the other mares turned to watch. Twilight smirked and said, “Well… he’s certainly very special to me.”

Shining Armor looked from the corner of his eye to Twilight, raising an eyebrow. “What’re you doing, Twilight?” he murmured from the side of his mouth.

“Hush and play along,” Twilight whispered as the fashionista reared back on her hind legs temporarily, clapping her front hooves together excitedly with a wide grin.

Rarity rounded the guard officer with a look of admiration before she turned eagerly to her small friend. “Oh, Twilight. I’m so jealous. Please tell me how you managed to attract such a big, handsome gentlestallion? How do you two manage to carry on a romantic relationship with such a disparity in your—" Rarity waved a hoof between Shining Armor and Twilight, "—relative sizes?”

Shining Armor blinked in wordless bafflement. Rarity had apparently gone into her own little romantic world without further prompting, with the back of one hoof against her forehead and a hint of wedding bells in her voice.

"Oh, I can see it now!" she gushed. "The two of you, living in separate worlds but with hearts intertwined. Him, the big noble Royal Guard, and you, the princess' tiny student, unable to show your true faces in public. You simply must tell me all of the little details, darling." Rarity took a guilty glance at Shining Armor and blushed slightly, as if she had forgotten he was standing there. "In private, of course," she added.

“Now hold up there, sugarcube. Aren’t ya bein’ a bit nosey? We just met ‘er and yer askin’ our friend somethin' of that sort?” Applejack said, frowning, but Twilight jumped onto the white stallion’s head, gesturing with her hoof dismissively as she held onto his horn with her other foreleg.

“It’s okay, Applejack. I’ll gladly answer Rarity’s questions,” Twilight said, looking down at the starry-eyed face of her friend. “Shining Armor is very kind and caring to me. A bit overprotective at times, but he has my best interests at heart,” she began, with Rarity glued to every word and nodding encouragingly. “I don’t think he’s had much experience with ‘romantic’ situations though.”

“Hey!” interrupted Shining Armor with a sharp frown. “I resent that! I’m sure Overwatch’ll tell you differently!” He turned to the guard in question, who had flopped down on one of the beds. “You know what I’m talking about, right? Back me up here.”

Overwatch shrugged as much as she could while laying on her back, waving a hoof at the guard captain as if batting away a persistent fly. “Hey, don’t drag me into this one. I just burnt all my energy carrying a few of your guards back here. I’m going to need a lot more love and care before you get me to spill anything.”

Shining Armor let out a huff, rolling his eyes as the mare perched next to his horn patted him on the head. “As for when I met him—” Twilight said, before she was interrupted by Rarity’s gasp.

“Hospital?” interrupted Rarity with yet another gasp. “Whatever in the world happened, Twilight? Were you injured? Was he injured? Was he at your bedside while you recovered from some terrible accident, holding your hoof and nursing you back to health? Or had he succumbed to some terrible illness that only you were able to treat? Is that where you fell in love?”

“Pfft… yeah, right!” Rainbow Dash interjected, rolling her eyes. “I bet he either found her in there after she’d spent the entire morning on some epic adventure, or she was the one who saved his large flank from some sort of monster.” She crossed her forelegs, smirking at Twilight. “Am I right, or am I right?”

Applejack chuckled. “Ah dunno. Considerin’ how reckless she was rushin’ into the forest and tanglin’ with that manticore, Ah think Rarity may have a point.”

Fluttershy peeked from behind Applejack and asked with hesitant quiet voice, “Um… what happened that you needed to go to the hospital?” She tapped her forehooves together, her eyes looking at the floor as she continued, “I mean, I hope that whatever happened to you wasn’t painful.”

Pinkie popped up from behind Fluttershy, spooking the yellow pegasus into jumping a few hoof lengths into the air. “So, is Rarity right?” the pink pony exclaimed, a grin on her muzzle. “Were you having some sort of fun adventure when he saved you from a monster and brought you to the hospital?”

“Not really,” Twilight said, much to Rarity’s disappointment. “My mother introduced him to me.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, looking back in confusion. “She did? But why in the hospital? Why would your mother introduce you both?” she asked, rubbing the top of her head. “Arranged date? No, that still wouldn’t account for the setting. Maybe it was meant to be an arranged date, and you ended up in the hospital at the time.”

Rarity blinked, lost in thought for just a moment before Twilight burst into laughter, with Shining Armor and Overwatch joining in soon after. “What's so funny?” Rarity asked, looking between their faces for an answer.

Twilight wiped away her tears of joy, saying, “He was in the hospital to see his little newborn sister. Me!”

Rarity stopped and simply sat there in silence, staring back dumbfoundedly as everypony joined in on the laughter. “He’s your… your brother… Oh... Oh, my.”

Shining Armor cleared his throat. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guards and Twilight’s bigger, older brother, at your service.” He lowered his head, lifting Rarity’s foreleg and placing a small kiss on it.

“B-brother… Captain of the Royal G-Guards? I…” She fell back into a faint, landing onto a convenient fainting couch that had somehow replaced one of the cots when they weren’t looking.

“Good one, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said with a snicker as she flew over to the little mare still perched atop Shining Armor’s head and raised a hoof. “Hoof bump!”

Dash's hoof collided with Twilight's with a bit more force than either expected, and the tiny mare tumbled backwards down Shining Armor's mane and across his broad back, although she quickly grabbed his tail before she could fall to the floor.

Twilight climbed back onto her brother’s back, perching herself just behind his neck as the farm mare got up from her cot to shake the officer’s hoof. “Name’s Applejack. Nice ta meet’cha,” she said with a smile. “Now b’fore Rarity went on that tangent, you were thankin’ us for savin’ yer sis. T’aint no problem.”

“Oh, riiight. That’s what we were talking about,” Rainbow Dash said, turning to Shining Armor and exchanging a hoofbump with him. “I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest pony in Equestria. By the way, totally expected an awesome pony like Twilight to also have a cool brother. No doubt.”

“Pinkie Pie’s the name, making parties is my game!” Pinkie giggled. “A friend of a friend is a friend of mine, and I love making new friends! Wait, Twilight’s guards are also her friends, aren’t they? So they’re my friends too! Oh, this calls for a special party—” Pinkie said energetically before Twilight sealed her mouth with her magic.

The tiny mare smiled apologetically. “Sorry Pinkie,” she said, releasing the pink pony’s mouth, “but Shining Armor has duties. The same goes for my guards. They don’t have time for another welcome party.”

“Awww…” Pinkie said, lowering her head. Steel Blade let out a sigh of relief.

Twilight shot the pink mare a grin. “Besides, Pinkie, weren’t you going to make a welcome party for Luna? I think one party a day is good enough.”

Pinkie gasped, her smile returning in an instant. “You’re right, Twilight! I need to make this party super duper big to make up for all the other parties I can’t do! I’ll get right on it! Well, after I recover my pinkie strength, that is,” she said before flopping down onto a nearby cot and letting out a loud snore.

Barely five seconds later, she popped up, wide awake. “Okay, I’m done!” Pinkie exclaimed, running out of Town Hall with a speed that would put Rainbow Dash to shame.

Shining Armor turned to the one pony left, giving Fluttershy his best encouraging smile even as the shy pegasus was trying to hide behind her mane. "And that only leaves you. What is your name, young lady?"

The yellow pegasus drew farther behind her mane, her voice barely a whisper. “Fl..t..shy.”

The officer blinked. ” Err… what was your name again?” he asked, although a tap on his shoulder directed his attention towards his sister.

“Her name’s Fluttershy. She saved me from that manticore,” Twilight said with a grin.

Shining Armor turned back to the frightened pegasus in confusion. “Really?” he asked, looking at everypony for confirmation. Seeing all the nods around him, a warm smile grew on his face and he bowed to the yellow pegasus.

“You saved my sister from certain death, young lady. I am forever in your debt,” the captain said, raising Fluttershy’s foreleg to kiss, but he wound up holding nothing but air when the terrified pegasus quickly scooted a few steps backward and curled into a ball.

“Um... I...” whispered Fluttershy, shaking even more than when she first entered the forest.

“Please, I only wish to thank you,” Shining Armor said, taking Fluttershy’s foreleg in his magic before gently kissing the top of her foreleg as per Canterlot custom.

“Oh my gosh!” he exclaimed, “Was she injured in the manticore attack? Medic!”

***

It took the group a minute or two to stop laughing and reassure Twilight’s brother that everything was alright, though they did make the stallion lift the still unconscious Fluttershy to a nearby bed to rest on as his reward for making the ever-bashful pegasus faint. Despite the embarrassing fiasco, Shining Armor was enjoying his time in Twilight’s and her friends’ company, sharing stories and snacks in a blur of time until one question got his attention.

“Yo, Twilight,” Dash said, “Isn’t it about time to ask Luna about your eyes? She’s been delaying answering this question ever since Overwatch pointed them out.”

Twilight peeked out from behind Shining’s neck at the pegasus for a moment, giving her a questioning look. “Out of curiosity, when did you first notice my eyes were different?”

Dash rubbed the back of her neck. “Ehhh… Probably after Flutters saved you from that manticore.”

Applejack scooted up beside Rainbow Dash. “Yep, sugarcube. Yer eyes were like Nightmare Moon’s when we found ya in the Everfree Forest. Ah didn't wanna make a fuss about it when we had more pressin’ matters at hoof, but now Ah’m curious.”

There was a general consensus from the other ponies to finally obtain some answers from Luna, and Twilight raised a hoof to her chin in thought.

“Well, I only have theories on what Nightmare Moon did to me. I’m fairly certain that beyond just the eye change, it helped me resist Overwatch’s sleeping spell and see better at night, but I can’t be sure.” Twilight paused for a moment, deep in thought, before giving a sharp nod. "You're right. It's about time I went to the one pony who might know something,” she declared before hopping off Shining Armor’s back and trotting in the direction of the princess’ beds. “You girls just wait there and rest! I’ll be back soon!”

Dash immediately straightened up. “What? I want to know more about whatever turned Twilight’s eyes all snake-like and stuff! They look sooo awesome!” she said, hopping after the tiny unicorn, who had soon disappeared into the forest of pony legs in the crowded Town Hall.

“Hold up there, sugarcube,” Applejack said, standing up and following after the pegasus. “You ain’t th’ only one who wants to know what’s goin’ on!”

“You girls go then,” Rarity said, beckoning them onwards. “I’ll just stay here and watch over Fluttershy. Poor dear’s still out cold.”

Overwatch rolled off the cot she was laying on, bumping Steel Blade with her flank as she passed. “Come on, Steelie. The cute purple pony we were supposed to be looking after is running away, and she sounds excited.”

Steel Blade let out a groan, but eventually followed suit. “I should’ve expected that she wouldn’t hold still for long,” he said. “And besides, you’re not following her to protect her. You just want to know more about her eyes like those two.”

Overwatch giggled, dancing around the idle groups of ponies as she followed after Dash. “Well, of course! Who doesn’t want dragon eyes? They’re way cooler than these boring old pupils! All about looks, remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” Steel Blade said simply, before muttering under his breath, “I’m not sure if I’m more concerned about Twilight being excited or you being excited.”

“Hey, I don’t see Celestia or Luna,” Dash called out from ahead. “And I think I’ve lost track of Twilight too.”

“Y’lost track of Twilight?” Applejack said. “Land sakes, girl! We’re never gonna find her in this crowd.”

“Well, the fastest pegasus in Equestria doesn’t give up that easily!” the blue pegasus said. “C’mon! We gotta find out if Luna’s anywhere in Town Hall, and then I can try looking for her around Ponyville from the sky. We find her, and we’ll probably find Twilight too.”

“Right! You look fer her over there, and Ah’ll cover this side a’ Town Hall,” Applejack said, and the two separated, leaving the two guards behind at Celestia’s and Luna’s bed.

Overwatch simply let out a sigh as she watched the two other ponies dart away. “Why doesn’t anypony ever ask me to find somepony for them? I feel like I get no respect around here.”

Steel Blade looked at his companion in surprise. “Don’t tell me you’ve already found Twilight.”

“Well, not exactly. I know where she went though,” Overwatch said, before trotting in the direction of the exit. “Come on, she hasn’t gotten far. She’s so excited, I could just taste it in the air! Down yonder, like the sweet tang of pink lemonade!”

The guard pegasus shook his head in amusement, chuckling as he followed the charcoal mare. “I’m not even going to ask where you got that comparison.”

Celestia convinced her guards not to accompany her when she left Town Hall in search of Cadence and Luna. As she strolled through Ponyville, the princess asked around to see if anypony had seen a young night-blue alicorn passing by, but all she got in response were bows, some polite “No, we haven’t, Your Highness,” as well as a few odd looks and stares at her injuries. Celestia almost regretted not bringing along her royal regalia—perhaps to present a more familiar image to her little ponies—before she remembered that all of her regalia was either damaged or bent out of shape.

Cadence, why did you have to take Luna away before I could ask her about Twilight’s eyes?

The alicorn let out a sigh as she continued to scan the town, opting to avoid flying around for fear that her subjects would become apprehensive again.

“Excuse me,” she called to a waiter at a nearby restaurant, who bowed instantly when he noticed who had spoken to him.

“Y-your Highness, you honor us,” the waiter said before gesturing towards an open table with a hoof. “Please, take a seat.”

Celestia shook her foreleg. “There is no need for that. I am just searching for a blue and a pi… for a midnight blue alicorn named Luna accompanied by a tall pink unicorn named Cadence. Any information on their whereabouts would be both helpful and appreciated,” she asked calmly.

The waiter shook his head. “N-no, Your Highness. I have not seen any alicorns at all. I had no idea that there were more of your kind.”

The princess let out a sigh and was about to thank the waiter for his time, but her eye drifted towards two ponies at a nearby table and the huge stack of food before them. “What about those two?” Celestia asked as she gestured with her hoof towards them.

The waiter glanced at the pair of mares, specifically at the smaller pegasus who was eating her tenth sandwich like there was no tomorrow, before he looked at his ruler again. “The unicorn mare at table six fits the description, Your Highness, but I do not see any alicorns with her. The pegasus mare is indeed midnight blue though.”

Celestia chuckled. “I see how it is. Please excuse me,” the princess said as she walked past the waiter.

In a moment, she was behind the disguised pink alicorn, who still hadn’t noticed her. She leaned in, holding her breath until her muzzle was right beside her prey’s ear. “Enjoying yourselves?”

Cadence flinched to the side and froze, but Luna simply nodded towards her sister, her eyes wide open and joyful. “A-ot!” Luna said, crumbs falling from her mouth. “We ‘ad no i’ea ‘ow m’ch we m-ssed all ‘ese ‘ears.”

Celestia laughed, noticing Luna’s alarming eating speed. “Please slow down, sister. You have millennia to eat as much as you want. There’s no need to devour Equestria’s entire granary in one day,” she joked. The disguised blue alicorn gave her an annoyed glare, and Cadence looked as if she was resisting the urge to giggle.

“Don’t worry, Auntie,” Cadence said with a confident grin. “I finally have a reason to use all of that job money I have in Manehatten Bank, not to mention a couple hundred years of interest! I can cover Luna’s food expenses, no matter how large they get.”

Luna frowned, tossing half of her sandwich back onto the table. “Is that an accusation of gluttony? We have not eaten in a thousand years! Surely, we have the right to—” she said before Cadence cut her off with a laugh.

“We’re just teasing, Luna. What happened to your sense of humor?” Cadence asked.

“It died,” Luna deadpanned. “On the moon. From boredom. We can show you where we buried it.”

Both alicorns giggled, and Cadence levitated a small pile of bits to the baffled waiter, who had been watching the scene from the side. “Keep the change.”

The waiter nodded politely as he counted out the bits, noting the rather hefty sum left as tip on the end. “Thank you kindly,” he said before he turned to the princess and bowed. “There will always be a place in our restaurant for you, Your Highness.”

Celestia nodded her head, bowing slightly in return. “Thank you. I appreciate the gesture, but for now, could you leave us in private? I have a few things I wish to discuss with these two here.”

The waiter bowed again. “Certainly, Your Highness. Do not hesitate to call for us if you need anything,” he said, before he straightened up and re-entered the restaurant.

Celestia’s cheerful expression turned serious the moment he left, and she took a spot at the table, looking at her disguised sister and clearing her throat. “Luna,” she said, ignoring the ‘don’t-interrupt-me-while-I’m-eating’ glare she was receiving. “Joking aside, I do wish to discuss some important matters with you.”

Luna frowned, a small strand of watercress hanging out of the corner of her mouth. "Important?"

Celestia sighed. “I would like to speak with you about your feelings, learn more about Nightmare Moon, who she was to you, and how you are taking her disappearance…”

Those words caught both of the other alicorns’ full attention, with Luna staring back at her sister with a shocked expression.

“However,” Celestia continued, “before we start talking about her, I must admit that I am more worried about Twilight.”

“Worried about Twilight?” Luna asked with concern. “Pray tell, hath she not suppressed her sorrow over what happened to Nightmare Moon, or hath something else troubled thy little star?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, she is all right. Or, at least, I think she is,” she added as Luna leaned in closer. “It is Twilight’s eyes that I am worried about.”

Luna nodded with comprehension. “Ahhh, the promise. We said that we would explain once we had arrived in Ponyville.”

“Yes, Luna. I didn’t notice it at first, but when we were in the ruins of our old castle and I saw her eyes, they looked like Nightmare Moon’s. I was afraid that she tried to possess my student to escape her fate, but my scanning spell didn’t detect her presence, nor any signs of dark magic.”

Celestia took a deep breath. “When I asked Shining Armor about it, he said that she had those eyes after the incident inside Town Hall.” she explained. “Nightmare Moon did something to her, Luna, and as much as I do not wish to open any old wounds, if you know anything about it, please, tell me.”

Luna closed her eyes, inhaling deeply as she sat in silence for several seconds. Celestia waited patiently for a response, fear and anxiety burning through her mind.

The midnight blue alicorn finally opened her eyes. “We believe we know what hath happened.”

“Please, tell me!” Celestia pled, lowering herself to her sister’s level over the table.

Cadence let out a snorting giggle as Celestia drew back, almost losing her balance as she said, “W-what?”

Luna burst into laughter, causing her sister to blink in confusion. “It wouldst seem that our sense of humor hath risen from its grave to rejoin us! We missed teasing thee so much, sister,” the little alicorn said, her mood improved. “With all seriousness, thou dost not need to worry, because what hath been placed upon thy student was merely the blessing we shared with our loyal soldiers in the past.”

Celestia looked at Luna blankly, who frowned at her sister’s silence. “Was a thousand years enough to erase most of thy memory?” Luna said, scowling as she raised herself over the table. “Surely thou remembrest the proud lunar guards who accompanied us in the past whenever we fought against the monsters of the night to ensure the safety of our subjects!”

The white alicorn looked back in surprise for a moment before she dipped her head in shame. “I… I’m sorry, Luna. I never paid much attention to those guards of yours. I was truly blind back in those days.”

Luna took in a deep breath and sat back on a hay cushion, staring intently at the Princess of the Sun. “You were indeed blind,” she remarked coldly, before she shook her head clear, “but back to the matter at hoof. If anypony deserves our blessing, thy student does.”

Celestia looked at her sister curiously. “And what does this blessing do, Luna?”

The smaller alicorn raised her head proudly. “Thy student possesses a fragment of our magic within her. When our moon shines upon her, she will be rejuvenated with power and vigor, and as long as the moon floats proudly in the sky, thy student’s eyes will change to see night as though it were day,” she said. “During the day your student will feel no different, but at night, she shall become stronger than before.”

“A-are there any side effects I should be aware of?” Celestia asked hesitantly as Cadence listened on in silence. “After all, Twilight’s magic was so strong at her first entrance exam that she nearly tore the building apart. I don't want her put in any more danger. Well, other than what she insists upon.”

The midnight-blue alicorn let out a hum, rubbing her chin in contemplation. “Well... If she were a pegasus, her wings would change to a more batlike appearance, making her much more agile at the cost of speed,” she explained, spreading her own wings and touching their soft, feathery surface. ”Besides the alteration of her ears and eyes, a unicorn should not experience any noticeable changes outside of...”

The smaller princess coughed and smiled awkwardly. “If thy student useth our gift to wander during the night, her sleep patterns may be… altered. That is how our sleeping habits made it so difficult for us to meet with our subjects. Rest assured, no pony would give up on sleeping during the night for no reason.”

Celestia and Cadence exchanged a very quick, terrified look, and Luna’s smile quickly evaporated. “Surely thy student would not…”

The white alicorn raised a hoof to her muzzle and cleared her throat. “You’d be surprised,” she remarked simply. “Anything else?”

“Oh, a small detail,” Luna said, a smirk on her face. “Thy student may also become capable of drinking the blood of other ponies to strengthen her body and magic.”

“Oh, so Twilight’s a vampony now?” Cadence said, clapping her hooves together. “I so saw that coming.”

The shocked princess looked at Twilight’s foalsitter, her eyes wide. “How can you say that so casually?”

The pink alicorn let out a laugh at her aunt’s expense. “Oh, please. How much blood could your student possibly want? At her size, anything she does drink will be amount to little more than an annoyance.”

Luna nodded. “We had not thought about it that way before, but Cadence is correct. Thy student will only benefit from it. Like we said, tis a blessing, not a curse. She can choose whether she drinks or not,” she explained.

“You… you can’t be serious,” Celestia responded as she looked unseeing into her own imagination.

***

”Good night, Twilight,” Celestia said, giving a warm nuzzle to her student curled up on the pillow beside her before she slumped down and wriggled into the mold of her own bed.

Twilight’s eye peeked open after a few minutes, looking cautiously at the princess and listening for the alicorn’s light snoring to start before she stretched up and carefully made her way over to the princess’s neck. Fangs sprang from her mouth as she regarded the warm flesh before her, particularly the enticing blood in the vein just below the skin.

The little unicorn took a deep breath. “Just one nip? For science? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind it if she was advancing the realm of knowledge, right?” she said, carefully leaning in.

With a final lick of her lips, she lunged the final few centimeters and sunk her teeth into her mentor’s neck.

It was only moments later when the princess caught the smell of burning in her room, and she opened her eyes quickly, noticing immediately the flames dancing around her bedroom and the singed holes in the pillow beside her head.

And across the bed, trotting furiously in place, was her panicking student. The tiny mare had originally been clumsily attempting to control her new batlike wings, her horn spewing magic bolts in all directions, but she had now turned her serpentine eyes towards the half coherent and highly confused alicorn princess staring at her.

“Uhh…” Twilight said, flashing her the guiltiest fanged smile possible. “I’m sorry, I’ll fix it?”

***

The Princess of the Sun massaged her forehead with both hooves. “You’re joking, right? Luna? Please tell me you just made that up.”

“Perhaps we are,” Luna said with an innocent smile. “Truth be told, our memories of the past might also be a bit hazy after all that time away.”

Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head. She took few slow breaths to regain her composure before she spoke again, “Luna, may I ask a favor of you?”

“It depends on what thou wishest of us,” Luna said, looking at her sister suspiciously.

“When Twilight asks you about this blessing—and knowing her, she’ll do it any minute now—please, do not tell her too much.”

Luna scowled, growling in disgust and spreading her wings. “Thou wouldst ask us to abandon our honesty and keep thy student in ignorance? Thou shouldst know by now how we dislike thy manipulative nature.”

“I know, I know, Luna,” Celestia said warmly, trying to calm her irate sister, “and I don’t expect you to do what I ask. It is just a suggestion. My student is absolutely brilliant, but even more than that, she is curious, and she loves challenges. I am sure she would enjoy finding out the secrets behind your blessing without any help. Furthermore—" Celestia rubbed the top of her sister's head in an affectionate noogie “—even if you don't remember exactly what it does, she'll find out. Besides, she may surprise you and find something you never dreamed of inside that spell of yours."

The exhaustion from her tiresome night was just catching up with Twilight Sparkle, and she was looking forward to a break from all of the running and jumping from nose-to-nose in search of her mentor when she finally spotted Princess Celestia’s unmistakable form at a cafe table. Making one last dash across the ground and a leap onto the table before she collapsed onto a soft napkin, she looked up into the smiling face she had been looking for. Celestia seemed concerned behind her ever-present smile, though filled with a deep sense of serenity that was far beyond anything Twilight had ever seen.

“Twilight, I thought you were going to get some rest,” Celestia said. “You look exhausted.”

She used the napkin she was sitting on to wipe the sweat from her face, only to abruptly recognize that Celestia was not alone at the table, and that the napkin probably belonged to one of her guests, a pink unicorn and a blue pegasus mare, both of whom looked vaguely familiar.

Lighting up her horn and casting a scanning spell was second nature to her, but the results made little sense to her scrambled mind. The pegasus gave her a curious look with a sly smile that reminded Twilight of Princess Celestia for some reason.

“Thou hast endured a night filled with hardship and adventures beyond mortal ken! How canst thy legs still be capable of such incredible leaps?” asked the pegasus, glancing between the ground and Twilight’s resting spot as if she were measuring the distance.

“Don’t worry about that. You get used to this kind of behavior after a while,” Cadence said as she placed a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “At this point, nothing she does can surprise me anymore.”

Twilight blinked a few times, rubbing at her sleepy eyes before realization finally struck her. “Princess… Luna? Oh. Illusion spell, right?” she said, cancelling her scanning spell. The leap of logic was quite simple now that she had heard Princess Luna speak.

Cadence nodded. “Mmhmm! I wanted to treat Luna to dinner without attracting anypony’s attention, but it doesn’t look like we made it very hard to figure us out, did we?”

“Apparently not,” Luna said offhoofedly, before she turned to Twilight. “We would ask thee what thou art here for, but we believe we already know the reason for thy visit. Thou art worried about thine eyes and the changes within thyself when under the light of our moon. Are we wrong?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, you’re not. Though, uhhh… was it that obvious?”

Luna looked at her sister for a moment and smirked before she turned back to the tiny mare. “Thy mentor may hath warned us beforehoof,” she said, prompting a chuckle from the white alicorn. “And we have good news and bad news for thee.”

The blue alicorn nodded. “Correct, but the good news is that there is no need for thee to worry. It was a blessing, not a curse, that Nightmare Moon put on you, and thou hast nothing to fear from it.”

Luna stiffened, standing there silent for a moment, seemingly deliberating on something within her own mind.

Luna took a deep breath before her mouth softened into a gentle smile. “We do not recall the exact details of our blessing.”

“W-what?” Twilight said, plopping down on the napkin as she stared at Luna in disbelief. “But why? Is this some royal secret or forbidden knowledge? I-I don't understand.” She looked up at the small princess with puppy eyes and as she begged for an answer.

The midnight-blue alicorn giggled. “Thou art very adorable, Twilight. Hath anypony said it to thee before?” Luna asked as Twilight immediately scrunched her face up in a frown.

“We have,” Cadence said, grinning. “You’re not the first one to say that to her, and I don’t think you’re going to be the last either. Sometimes we’d even call her adorkable. Here, try poking her belly. She makes this adorable little squeaking noise if you catch her ribs just—"

"Cadence! Shush!" Twilight snapped, glaring at her foalsitter for a moment before switching her gaze back to Luna. “Princess, how can I be sure there’s nothing to worry about if I don’t know what the blessing does?”

Luna shrugged. “We used this blessing on our pegasus soldiers over a millennium ago to confer upon them the strength to combat the monsters of the night. Would we gift our brave warriors with something that could bring them harm?” she asked, lowering yourself to the tiny mare’s level. “And besides, we do not believe thou art as ignorant about the effects of our blessing as thou seemest. Tell us, what hast thou discovered of it so far?”

“Discovered?” Twilight asked, before she sunk into thought. “Well, I think I have night vision of some sort. My guard’s spell failed to put me to sleep for more than a few seconds, so there might be some magical resistance within the blessing, not to mention it feels as if my magic and stamina recover much faster when I’m under moonlight.”

Twilight blinked. “Moonlight? Did you share your connection to the moon with your guards?”

Luna nodded, grinning as she moved her hoof towards Twilight’s belly, snaking it under the tiny unicorn’s exhausted hooves without much resistance and rubbing at her ribs. Twilight attempted to squirm away, but soon found herself defenseless as the evening’s events caught up with her, her giggles a testament to how little she could do to keep Luna away.

“Thou needst not our guidance or knowledge to find the answers,” the Princess of the Night said, smirking. “Thou art the first unicorn we have shared this gift with in a thousand years, and we wish to task thee with researching and rediscovering the effects of our blessing.”

Luna turned suddenly to Cadence. “And thou art correct. This is quite adorable,” she said, to Cadence’s happy nodding.

She finally withdrew her hoof, allowing Twilight a moment to breath after her laughing fit. The tiny mare wiped a tear from her eye before she looked up at her tormenter. “You-you want me to… research it?”

A grin slowly spread across Twilight’s face, and she attempted to jump up in excitement, though her efforts only resulted in a half-hearted attempt to stand before she fell back down in exhaustion.

The group looked up to find Overwatch pushing her way past the crowds of ponies attending the Summer Sun Celebration, followed shortly by Steel Blade. The guard mare stopped in front of them with a wide grin on her muzzle, looking expectantly at the ponies gathered there before her expression suddenly turned into a frown.

“We missed the entire explanation, didn’t we,” she said flatly, letting out a groan of frustration before anypony could answer her.

Twilight once again tried to stand, but she was soon caught in Cadence’s magical aura and levitated onto the pink alicorn’s back. “Oh, Twilight,” Cadence coo’ed, putting her mane under the tiny unicorn as a pillow. “You really need to take a rest. I know that you have a strong spirit, but even you can’t defeat the limitations of your body.”

Cadence slowly turned towards Celestia, trying not to shake her mane from under Twilight’s head. “I should get Twilight back to Town Hall and under the covers for a well deserved rest," she said, before continuing with a smirk, "even if I have to sit on her to keep her there."

Celestia simply nodded before she looked at her student, who managed a sleepy wave in return.

“Good ni…errr, day, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, before turning to the blue, disguised alicorn. “Princess Luna, you can count on me. I will rediscover the secrets behind your blessing and make a full report on it. I will not fail.” she said determinedly before, with a yawn, she curled into a ball and closed her eyes, her head resting comfortably on Cadence’s mane.

Twilight's foalsitter rolled her eyes before she began walking away, trying not shake her passenger too much.

“Wait! Hold on, Twilight!” Overwatch suddenly said as Cadence passed her, falling in line behind the pink disguised alicorn as they made their way back to Town Hall. “You still gotta tell me everything they said!”

“Hey, there’s the princess!” another voice called out as the pink alicorn made her exit.

Steel Blade looked up at the newest arrival, who landed in a blue blur on the ground in front of the royal sisters. Rainbow Dash looked around curiously, before turning to Celestia and asking, “Hey Princess, do you know where Twilight is? We wanted to ask you about—”

“Umm...” the guard pegasus said, drawing Dash’s attention. “You kinda missed that discussion. Twilight’s already headed back to Town Hall.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in alarm. “You think I could catch her on the road? Wait, forget that. I can definitely catch her heading back, no problem! See ya!”

The blue pegasus exploded back into the air, and Steel Blade simply rubbed at his forehead with a groan before he turned around and headed back into the crowd after Twilight. “Just let her be! She’s half-asleep right now!”

***

The Royal Sisters were soon left to themselves in their corner of the restaurant, and after a moment, Celestia looked down at Luna and said, “I… can’t say I was expecting you to follow my suggestion. I never thought I would live long enough to witness the day you purposefully hid the truth from your subjects.”

“Tia, dost thou remembrest thy statement of how we were polar opposites?” Luna asked as she continued to look at the departing ponies in the crowd.

“Well, thou wert right. While we would prefer to try and solve a problem directly or assist in solving it, thou wouldst prefer to guide thy subjects and stay on the sidelines. Today, however...”

Luna’s lips curled into a smile, and she turned to look up at her elder sister. “Today, thou hast acted more like us. Thou hast attempted to directly face me… err, Nightmare Moon, and thou didst protect thy subjects and worked side by side with them. Thou hast even given up on thy plan to send thy student against us.”

The white alicorn nodded again, her eyes still questioning and uncertain. “I have, but I do not understand your point.”

“Well, if we are like polar opposites and thou takest a break from thy manipulative ways, then it is only fair that we balance it by letting thy student rediscover the secrets of our blessing on her own,” the little blue alicorn explained very matter-of-factly.

Celestia let out a light chuckle. “Well sister, I’m impressed. You accomplished what I had hoped for without lying. You tasked Twilight with researching your blessing and admitted to the holes in your own knowledge, both of which are true, all while leaving out the most important part.”

Luna frowned, narrowing her eyes a touch. “We did it because thou saidst thy student will benefit from it. If she flounders at the task, we will not hesitate to share our knowledge and apologize for hiding it.”

Celestia gave her sister a nod. “I understand, Luna, but worry not. I have faith that my student will succeed,” she said confidently, before she returned to their table and sat down again. “But enough about that. I had something else to discuss with you, if you remember.”

“Indeed, we remember. Thou mentioned it when thou first arrived,” she said as she sat at the seat opposite her sister.

The Night Princess attempted to keep her expression neutral, but Celestia caught a hint of a smile on her lips. It was surprising, to say the least, that Luna seemed like she was looking forward to discussing Nightmare Moon, though whether it was because she wanted to honor her memory or because it seemed like proof that Celestia cared about their feelings was harder to discern. Then again, Luna could have been waiting for a discussion like this for longer than a thousand years.

Celestia wished she could share her sister’s enthusiasm, but she couldn’t help but fall into an air of seriousness. Her multicolored mane seemed to dull slightly, and its perpetual waving seemed to slow as she leveled a somber look at her sister.

They stared at each other for a while, but it quickly became clear that Luna was waiting eagerly for Celestia to start. So, after a moment to gather her courage, she obliged her little sister, starting out uncertainly.

“Err… N-Nightmare Moon. Who was she?” Celestia began, slowly gaining confidence in what she wanted to ask. “Was she born from your anger towards me? Was she a darker part of your personality that overtook your body? Or was she a spirit that was drawn to you and possessed you?”

“She was…” Luna stopped, looking off to the side as she contemplated her answer, “a quiet voice in our mind at first. But as time progressed, it grew into something more.”

Luna looked at her sister and nodded, her expression more contemplative. “With the growing number of vicious beasts that threatened the land in the darkness of our night, our warriors’ lives were put in danger more and more often. We tried to protect those at our side by going out into the field ourself, but even with our efforts to curb the vicious attacks, our ponies became… hostile towards us. When the hostility became too much to bear, she took over.”

“She took control whenever you were threatened?” Celestia asked, her mind working to string together her gathered information.

So Nightmare Moon was born in Luna’s mind to protect her… but then, why was she ready to sacrifice Luna in a fight she couldn’t win?

“Partially true. We were caught off guard when she tried it the first time, but we were able to stop Nightmare from fighting against the mob without much difficulty. After we retreated to the safety of our castle, we learned to communicate with each other through the dreamscape.”

Luna let out a sigh, looking more melancholy, but continuing at her original pace, “We attempted to inform thee of the growing hate of Equestria towards us, but nothing happened. Nothing was done to change the population’s view of us, a result of thy delusion that time would fix this particular wound. We were ignored, and as the reviled sister, we could do little about it.”

Celestia shifted uncomfortably at the reminder, but Luna pressed on regardless, “Frustrated and desperate to get your attention and come out from your shadow, we…”

The blue alicorn paused, taking a moment to clear her throat. “Nightmare Moon suggested we stop the raising of the sun and force thee to acknowledge us. We refused this outright the first time, but as the decades passed, we became hopeless. She did her best to protect us and to comfort us, but without an end in sight to the hate, we finally agreed.”

Whenever I was around Luna, nopony displayed any hostility towards her, and I believed my subjects over my own sister. Even now I can’t forget my shock at seeing how willingly my own guards tried to take her life after I tried reasoning with her.

The white alicorn soon became more downcast. No, I hadn’t tried to reason with her. I demanded her to lower the moon, over and over again. I thought she was a filly throwing a tantrum, but…

“Nightmare Moon took over,” the younger alicorn continued, “and we allowed her to press forward with her plan. She swore to me she wouldn’t kill you, and that she would raise the sun after forcing you into submission. At worst, she would stop her campaign as soon as the cold and lack of sunlight would cause suffering upon the ponies of our kingdom.”

Luna took in a deep breath, the first such interruption in her explanation. "She did battle with thee, and it was just before she was to ask for thy surrender that thou fled to allow thy wounds to recover. With thee gone, there was nopony to negotiate with, nopony to order the Solar Guards to stand down. Thy guards came to slay us, and the Lunar Guards came to our aid. The start of that battle marked the point of no return. Thou rememberest the events that followed.”

Celestia nodded. “I-I was afraid that more lives would be lost and that Equestria would freeze without the sun because of your jealousy, so I retrieved the Elements of Harmony and used them against you. They… they were meant to destroy the spirit I believed controlled you.”

“Indeed…” Luna snorted. “We are still mad at thee for believing we were so inane as to doom the entire world for some foalish desires, but that is not the point of this conversation.”

Celestia looked down at the table in embarrassment, nervously shifting her hooves together. She cleared her throat, hoping to dispel the awkward silence, before she began speaking again. “From what I understand, Nightmare Moon was born in your mind, quickly developing a personality of her own and becoming the friend you needed, perhaps as close to you as a sister…”

When Luna nodded, Celestia took a deep breath before she continued to her next question. “However, when you both returned from your unjust banishment, Nightmare Moon was willing to die should she not succeed in completing her revenge. If she wanted to protect you, why was she so willing to let you die?”

The white alicorn drew back quickly, her heart skipping a beat as she stared at her sister incredulously. Luna jumped at the sudden motion, but quickly continued before Celestia could respond. “Perhaps we should elaborate on our statement. We had endured a thousand years on the moon with nothing but our seething hate towards thee to keep us occupied. Even with Nightmare Moon placing us in a deep slumber for half of that time, it was more than we could bear.

“However, three things transpired to make us change our mind. First, Cadence’s magic distanced ourself from our hate by reminding us of the good memories we had forgotten. In addition, the power of the Elements helped us deal the with past thousand years of solitude, making it seem little more than a bad dream. Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, thy precious, little star gave us the friendship and hope we had so desperately desired. Were it not for those, we would wish for nothing but to leave this world.”

Celestia took a deep breath, her eyes watering as she attempted to keep her emotions at bay. With a few false starts, she finally began speaking again, unsteadily at first. “I-I see. And what of Nightmare Moon’s fate? You two were so close to each other. H-how are you taking her disappearance?”

Luna gave her sister a reassuring smile, an attempt to ease her sister’s worries. “We… we were so very close to her, but we find solace in the knowledge that she hath fulfilled her desires, and that thy star pupil was the one who helped her find peace.” She slowly raised her forehoof and pressed against her chest. “Though she may be gone on the outside, she shall forever live within our heart.”

Celestia lowered her head and rubbed her foreleg. “I understand... “ she said, taking a few deep breaths before continuing. “Still, I cannot deny that I am surprised the Elements did what they did. When we faced Discord, they trapped him in stone. When I used them against you, it resulted in your banishment. Tonight, however, the Elements erased Nightmare Moon from existence. Those artifacts had never taken a life when we used them against other powerful foes in the past.”

As Celestia raised her head and looked back at her curiously, Luna continued, “Thou hast mentioned thy worries that Nightmare Moon had possessed thy student. How wouldst thou react had this truly happened?”

The Princess of the Sun looked at her sister strangely, answering cautiously. “To be honest, Luna, I don’t know. While I should be relieved that she was not destroyed by the Elements, I don’t think I would be able to live wholly under all the fear and worries.”

“Yes,” Celestia said firmly. “I sympathise with her and understand her motives, but it does not change the fact that she was consumed with a desire for vengeance. Her actions were in part responsible for your banishment and for the death of many guards in the past, and I do not believe I could stop myself from looking behind me every step I take for fear that she would use the ponies I care about most to gain revenge against me. I am not sure I could find it in my heart to trust her.”

Celestia’s expression turned suspicious, and she scooted around the table to her sister’s side, looking down at Luna in concern. “Do you think that Nightmare Moon may still be alive? Is her soul hiding inside my precious student?”

Luna quickly focused back on the white alicorn, shaking her head firmly. “Twilight Sparkle was blessed, not possessed. The hateful mare of vengeance thou knowest exists…” She stopped with a sniffle, wiping out her eye before she finished lamely, “exists no more.”

Celestia wished she could smile at hearing that statement, but the more she spoke to Luna, the more those words sounded like the death notice of a close companion than the proclamation of victory it should have been. She spread her large wing and draped it over the small blue alicorn comfortingly.

While Luna still felt anger towards her sister after today’s events and wasn’t planning on forgiving her anytime soon, the warmth of her sister’s wing around her was a welcome reminder of the things she had missed. Though her own pride told her to free herself from this humiliating position, she scooted herself closer to the white alicorn and pressed her cheek against her sister’s fur.

Celestia’s face brightened up with a small, honest smile, mirrored in a similar brightening of her mane and tail. She tightened her embrace for a few more moments before asking, “Would you like another salad?”

“Certainly!” Luna responded, her mood turning completely around at the mention of food.

Celestia let out a chuckle. “I’ll go see if the waiter can get us something else then,” she said, drawing back her wing and standing to leave.

As the white alicorn was walking away however, her ears perked up, and she could have sworn that Luna had said something further. She turned back expectantly, asking, “Did you want something else, Luna?”

The smaller alicorn chuckled hesitantly, waving her foreleg dismissively. “T-tis nothing. We were merely talking to ourselves.”

Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary

by CommanderX5

Dawn - Friendships and Blessings