Nightmares Are Tragic

by Jordan179

Chapter 3: Ranking the Pieces

The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was remarkably intact, given a thousand years of abandonment.

Nightmare Moon could taste the spells emanating from and laid upon it. Some bore her sister’s scent – particularly, several which were maintaining the remaining structure of the castle itself. Some were far older, including the energies from the Tree of Harmony in the canyon on whose precipice the castle stood, and which the castle had been built to protect. Something else pulsed from the ground beneath, radiated throughout the forest. It smelt like Chaos.

The mysteries here were too complexly layered for any immediate solution, and she dared not spend the energies required to solve them, while Celestia remained strong. There was only one thing of which she needed to be certain, if her sister had not already beaten her to them.

Swiftly, she streaked through the castle’s upper corridors, remaining in the form of cold fire.

There! Though part of the roof had fallen in, and vines grew here and there, the room was remarkably intact, given a thousand years of exposure to the elements. More of her sister’s magic, no doubt, had protected the ruins from futher deterioration. She must have been sentimental about the old pile, the dark alicorn scornfully thought. More proof of her weakness!

Though she herself had enjoyed living in the castle, in the days before she grew discontent. We were safe at last, really safe for the first time since the fall of Paradise Estate, the Moon Princess recalled. Discord defeated at last, the nobles reconciled to our rule. We played, romped like little fillies down these old corridors. There was merrymaking and laughter. There was happiness, and love between us …

No! the Nightmare reminded herself. It was all a lie on her part! She lulled me into a false sense of security, to keep me from ever demanding my due share of the power. She seduced away the love of the little ponies, taught them to despise me and my Night. Her love for me was false, and my love for her but naivete and folly. She is my enemy, she has injured me, I shall have revenge upon her body and soul for her outrages!

Clarity of thought returned. In the room's center was a great orrery-like device which held five crystals.

They looked like ... but if so, why had they simply been left here unguarded? Suspiscious, the Moon Princess probed them with all her senses.

The Elements of Harmony – and they are almost dead. Of course – my sister must have broken the Harmony when she turned them against me! She laughed to herself at the way in which Celestia had defeated herself. Without the Elements, she has no chance against me in single combat.

She looked up again at the sky, still black with night. It confirmed what she felt in her heart as she extended her senses, to feel the crystalized dark-matter spheres ranked around the Earth, in which Sun and Moon respectively rode.

She hasn’t yet raised the Sun, she thought, frowning in concentration. Why not? The ponies must be starting to panic by now. But then, sister, that would take energy, wouldn’t it? Energy that you cannot now spare, not if you face your final confrontation with me. If you touch the spheres to set the Moon, to raise the Sun, you exhaust yourself, and I win.

Nightmare Moon laughed out loud at the implications.

Celestia, I have snared you in a dilemma! Raise the Sun and I defeat you, and the night will last forever, and your ponies starve to death in the dark! Don’t raise the Sun, and the night by definition lasts forever, and once again your dear ponies perish! Foolish sister, how could you miss the inevitability of this outcome? You were not once so slow-witted. Have you grown soft, basking lazily in the love of your little ponies for a thousand years?

Probably not, the Moon Princess decided. She stopped laughing, frowned once more in concentration. My once-beloved sister was many vicious things, but never stupid

There is something I am missing. Some design which has been laid against me, perhaps generations before my return. I had best trot warily, lest I tumble into it unawares.

She cast her mind around the castle. There were no traps, beyond the harmless pranks she and her sister had spent decades devising to play on one another and on their long-suffering courtiers. Nothing that would more than very slightly delay a fully-empowered Alicorn.

Very well, she thought. So it’s not here. Then where?

In Canterlot? Well yes, of course, but there she has a whole fortress and city, built atop the ruins of several layers of civilization, brimming with ancient artifacts and defended by a whole regiment of Royal Guards. There, she does not need to be subtle, and I would be the fool to go there, without first raising my own army. Many will doubtless flock to my cause – the desperate, the mad, outright enemies of the kingdom who will think to use me as a tool. The dragons, the griffons, others.

The Moon Princess winced for a moment, feeling a twinge of shame that she would even consider calling in Equestria’s ancient enemies against its own ponies. Then she firmed her jaw in resolution. Anything, everything, is permissible in my pursuit of vengeance, the Nightmare reminded herself, and the moment of weakness passed.

She returned to the problem at hoof. Slowly she paced, head down, brow furrowed in intense concentration.

No, it must be something closer, she thought, something which is right under my hooves, even something staring me right in the face, but whose significance I am failing to grasp. Something which will cause me to gallop headlong and put my hoof into the pot-hole of my doom, using my own momentum to shatter my leg. That was how the sun-witch had often operated: tricking her foes into using their own strength against themselves – the better to conserve her own ponypower. Many a foe of Celestia had fallen into such traps, in the old wars of nobles and clans which had first unified Equestria.

I am not about to join them, Nightmare Moon promised herself.

What was the first thing she did? What was the first thing she made me do?

The answer was obvious.

She made me travel to that small new town, Nightmare Moon realized. Lured me there with her life-scent, then leaped away to Canterlot before I could so much as lay hoof upon her. Why did she do that?

So that I would then follow her to Canterlot? Perhaps, but she knows me well enough to know that my grasp of strategy is almost as – is even more acute than her own! She cannot have counted on my stepping into so elementary a snare. Even a charging minotaur would have thought twice about a one-mare assault on such a fortress.

No, there must have been something at that town. Some prepared ambush --? In that case, I evaded it simply by leaving that hall, by coming here.

But it nagged at her. Celestia could not have counted on her staying in town either. And the town was less than a day’s march from here – could she leave to gather allies, while such a menace remained within easy striking distance of the Castle she had decided to make her new capital? At the very least, she should launch a spoiling attack, to disrupt any planned invasion!

She had to go back and scout things out.

She leapt from the battlements.

Her return to the small town was accomplished by stealth, as a barely-florescent wisp of gas, interacting as little as possible with the surrounding environment. Few ponies would see her; of those who did few would recognize her; and only a few sorts of traps could seize her intangible form.

The town was clearly in some confusion. Lights were on in many houses. Most of the ponies were behind shut and probably barricaded doors. It was obvious that Nightmare Moon’s appearance had utterly-terrified these simple country ponies.

There were no signs of any preparations for counterattack. A squadron of Royal Guards struggled to control a small crowd before the main hall, but theirs was a force so pitiful that a mage far less powerful than the Moon Princess could have scattered them in a trice. Since there was absolutely nothing to be gained by any such assault, she simply ignored them.

Where was that unicorn? The lavender stargazer? She had first seen her in Canterlot – she was probably not resident to this town. She must be a Royal official! Nightmare Moon quested after her life-scent.

There! A large structure had been built into a tree, in woodspony fashion. Seeming an errant wisp of night-fog, she drifted over to an upper window, from which a light burned. She poked a bit of herself over the sill, formed eyes and ears out of her own shimmering self. She looked and listened.

She gazed down into the great hall of what was obviously a library. Shelves built into the round walls were lined with books of every kind. Despite her concerns, the Moon Princess found her curiosity drawn by the concentration of knowledge. I wonder what they’ve written over the last thousand years? she wondered. We once had such a nice library… she remembered long, happy hours poring over the tomes together with …

Woolgathering! the Nightmare angrily reminded herself. Time enough to plunder the greatest library of all history from the frozen ruins of the world once I have won! Now, I must focus on attaining that victory!

The indigo-maned lavender unicorn was there, of course, before a scattered pile of books she had evidently been consulting. She saw five other mares from the hall in there. They were all ones whom the Nightmare Moon had already met. The sturdy Apple; the blue rainbow-maned pegasus; the pink simpleton of an earth pony; the elegant white unicorn; even the canary-yellow pegasus who had seemed so afraid of her. The five other mares were intent on her as she explained her findings.

“I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon,” the lavender unicorn said. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don’t know what they are, where to find them; I don’t even know what they do!”

Celestia, the Moon Princess thought angrily, You send an innocent against me! Did you imagine this would make me spare her life? Did you judge me that weak and sentimental?

Wait, what is this?

Nightmare Moon suddenly felt powerful magic. To her higher senses, the room wavered, as if potential timelines were being fanned like a deck of cards. Something picked one, the one it had intended. That one became Truth.

The pink Earth pony bounded over to a bookshelf, unerringly drew forth a single book.

“The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide,” said the pink pony, smugly reading off the title.

The lavender unicorn leaped to the pink one’s side, shoved her aside in her excitement. “How did you find that?” she asked in utter disbelief.

“It was under 'E'-eee!” the pink pony half-sang, happily bouncing around her.

“Oh,” said the lavender one in near-disbelief. Her horn glowed, and the book floated up to her face. She began flipping through the pages, scanning rapidly.

The mind of the Moon Princess reeled. What she had just seen was – no, not impossible, but absurdly improbable. The pink pony, the apparent half-wit, had just done something that was far beyond Nightmare Moon’s own abilities!

She had not used any normal form of precognition. What she had done was many times more difficult. She had somehow directly attuned herself with the flows of probability and used it to generate an acausal effect to her own desire.

She had wished.

And reality had answered … Nightmare Moon oozed around and around the library, considering the implications of what she had just seen …

The lavender unicorn had found the right page.

“There are six Elements of Harmony,” she read, “but only five are known. Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the five Elements was in the ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters …”

Nightmare Moon streaked away back to the castle. On the battlements, she coalesced, and gazed in the direction of the northern town.

My sister’s plan is obvious, she mused. Those six are her Champions, sent to reclaim the Elements of Harmony with which she defeated me before. She may have found a way to re-attune them. Or she might mean to use them as a standard to which to rally her forces ... or even just a bluff … but I obviously can’t simply leave them to be taken from my control. As long as I face this threat, I am tied to the vicinity of our old castle.

She looked down toward the Elements Chamber.

I could try to destroy the Elements ... but they might simply reincarnate. Possibly my sly sister is ready for such an attempt, and has new receptacles prepared for them. No ... I must keep the Elements, destroy them only if they are in danger of falling into enemy hooves. As long as I hold them myself, I am safe.

The Moon Princess looked back up at the surrounding forest.

If I move the Elements now to some new hiding place, I risk being seen by her spies. And few new hiding places would be as secure as the place in which they are right now. Outside of this castle’s wards, they would be readily detected by Celestia or her mages.

There was only one, obvious conclusion.

I need to take these six Champions out of play before I can spare my attention for any other tasks.

She looked out at the town glimmering in the distance. The trees obscured her vision of the road, but she knew it was very likely that they were already on their way.

They will have been carefully selected, carefully trained … and each one probably possesses an unusual talent. The lavender mare is both courageous and erudite; the Apple is strong and quick-witted. The pink one can somehow produce acausal effects – hers might be the most dangerous power of all. The rainbow-maned blue pegasus is brave beyond all reason. I don’t know what special abilities the well-groomed white unicorn or the easily-frightened yellow pegasus have, but they must be able to do something, or Celestia wouldn’t have chosen them.

How best to proceed? the Moon Princess wondered. Attack immediately? Prepare defenses?

I should harass them, test them before I confront them directly. If any of the other five have abilities on the scale of that pink one, they might be able to defeat even myself. I can subject them to attrition – once a few are killed or wounded, the survivors will have lost not only numbers, but perhaps powers Celestia was counting upon to vanquish me

I can’t take too long at this. They’re obviously also meant to be a distraction, and Celestia is surely taking other steps. That rail road leading right from her new capital will let her move forces rapidly: I don’t want to delay too long and get trapped in here before I have my army.

Take these young would-be heroines out, then secure and move the Elements myself. When these have been done, I can begin the next steps of the reconquest of my rightful kingdom! Nightmare Moon grinned, with savage anticipation.

And if I have to kill the lavender star-gazer? The Moon Princess found this prospect surprisingly distasteful. Well, then so be it! thought Nightmare Moon, reminding herself of the imperatives of the situation. This is war, and she has chosen her side. She is no longer the filly I saw from the Moon, she is a mare full-grown. And she can die like one.

Transforming back to plasma, she streaked off to deploy her own pieces for the coming match.

Author's Note:

Yes, you read right. This is a geocentric and specifically Ptolemaic Solar System. Not by accident, either -- but the reasons for and implications of that will be explored in another story.

Comments

[Dark Void]

awesome possum

[Jordan179]

3589989

Thank you for saying that. I was a little surprised when I got three down-votes out of nowhere as soon as I posted the first chapter. I think it was because some people like to see Nightmare Moon as a cool villainess -- which of course she is, or I wouldn't be writing this -- but miss the point that she was herself (as Princess Luna) a victim, whether of something From Beyond (as my story clearly states) or of her own growing madness. And so, maybe, they don't like my portrayal of her as internally-conflicted -- torn between Princess Luna's saner feelings and the maelstrom of hatred and vengeance that is Nightmare Moon.

Or perhaps it's the science-fantasy aspects of the backstory? The (highly-technological) lost Age of Wonders, Luna's prior mortal incarnation as Dr. Moondreamer Finemare, a literal "rocket scientist?" But to me, even the canon My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has always seemed to be very much in the science-fantasy genre, as in the works of Lin Carter or Andre Norton (or for that matter, H. P. Lovecraft, though the tone is much lighter). The steam trains (and in one case a steam road-engine / mechanical cider press), the balloons, the airships -- the weird machinery Twilight Sparkle works on in her basement -- it seems very much to me like Gaslight (Steampunk to you kids!) era science fiction. There's also magic and goddesses and monsters and demons, so it's obviously also fantasy, but that didn't stop H. P. Lovecraft or Clark Ashton Smith from writing science fantasy, so why should it have stopped Lauren Faust or Meghan McCarthy? Or me?

I can't imagine it's the TwiLuna shipping (subtle in this story, because Luna hasn't recognized who Twilight used to be so far, just that there's a strange affinity between them; more obvious in "A Meeting by Moonlight" and "Feeling Adrift.") Is it because I'm characterizing them as straight mares who feel a growing passion from their past lives that overrides their normal orientation? Is everyone supposed to be gay, or at least bi, even if there's no evidence of this in canon?

Or is it because I'm developing it slowly, instead of having them come together "in an insensate explosion of lust," as Celestia jokingly puts it in "Feeling Adrift"? Sorry, I see Luna as very reserved until she comes to like you, and even then more innocently merry than blatantly sexual, until she comes to really like you. And Twilight is, well, Twilight. Shy in matters of the heart, and prefers to do everything by the book, preferably with checklists. Not that she'd necessarily do that in such a fashion, but for her it's pretty unexplored territory.

[I don't know how Nightmare Moon would approach sex. Probably as a form of conquest, followed by raping the vanquished. She's basically a combination of Things From Beyond Space and Time with Princess Luna's darkest desires, so I suspect it wouldn't be at all pretty. I don't think that "love" in any sane sense of the word would even figure into the equation].

I don't know, because whoever disliked the story never gave any reasons why they disliked it.

So I appreciated your statement of support all the more

[Loeden]

Honestly, I doubt the downvoters read the story, because this is really good. You really thought this out, and it comes through as a fresh look at the situation. Looking forward to more!

[Ardashir]

[I don't know how Nightmare Moon would approach sex. Probably as a form of conquest, followed by raping the vanquished. She's basically a combination of Things From Beyond Space and Time with Princess Luna's darkest desires, so I suspect it wouldn't be at all pretty. I don't think that "love" in any sane sense of the word would even figure into the equation].

I am imagining someone trying Byron's lines on her as a distraction (I.e., 'She walks in beauty, like the night/of cloudless climes and sunless skies...'), trying to sneak out, only for Nighty to drag them back with a smile and, "Tell me more about my eyes."

But yeah, I rather doubt that the original Nightmare Moon could love anyone or thing besides herself.

And I do like your own take on what NMM was thinking back in episode one. It's very well done; and I am amused to see her be so frightened of the harmless (?) Pinkie Pie, and wondering what kind of weapons or talents the ponies must have. Especially Fluttershy and Rarity. It'll be entertaining to see just how wrongheaded NMM gets before she realizes what's actually going on.

[Redric Carrun]

Time enough to plunder the greatest library of all history from the frozen ruins of the world once I have won!

*italics error

It amuses me that Pinkie Pie had to bend the fabric of reality to find a book in a library. That's generally a sign that the sorting method needs to be made a bit more user-friendly.

[Stormwatch]

destroy them only if they are in danger of falling into enemy hands

Enemy hooves, duh.

[JAPH]

This is a geocentric and specifically Ptolemaic Solar System.

I've always thought that the mythological cosmology most directly compatible with show canon was the Egyptian one, where the world is flat and the sun and the moon go over our side by magic, then go back across underneath by a different path.

[Magical Trevor]

This is certainly interesting. Meant to say this in the first chapter, but I'm guessing that the 'Dusk' she was talking about was Dusk Shine, a male ancestor of Twilight's who looked just (or at least, mostly) like her.

[Frankie2]

I figured out Celestia's real plan. He Twilight to Ponyville and Nightmare Moon will over think everything and be extra cautious, to the point of paranoia.

[Jordan179]

7627915

What Nightmare Moon doesn't realize is that she is already enmeshed in Celestia's trap.

[Maran]

Luna sensing Pinkie Sense? Huh. I haven't seen that one before. I like it. And Luna's plan to test the Bearers before they reach the Elements makes total sense.

[LucarioFan2066]

Something else pulsed from the ground beneath, radiated throughout the forest. It smelt like Chaos.

Oh, that. Seek them out and destroy them; they're Discord's secret weapon, meant to grow and drain the Tree eons ago. And, more importantly to you, foalnap his two enemies.

I don’t know what special abilities the well-groomed white unicorn or the easily-frightened yellow pegasus have

The unicorn? Being able to find gems and make dresses. Yay. The pegasus? Talking to animals, having a soul-binding Stare, and becoming Rage Incarnate when her friends are threatened. How effective.
...Those two suck compared to the others, in terms of powers/abilities. The other pegasus can at least perform a Sonic Rainboom as a last resort, even if at this point she doesn't believe she can.

[SilverDiamond]

One problem here, why doesn't Nightmare speak "old equish"? She's supposed to be "outdated", at least in language department.