A Cavalcade of Cards

by QueenMoriarty

Last Night

The night after Nightmare Moon was banished was almost horrifically quiet. The populace of Equestria was not so quick to panic in those days, and the panic of the unplanned eclipse and the news of Luna's madness had made for a tiring and long day. When the sun set on the first day of the Age of the Unconquered Sun, Equestria slept more deeply and more immediately than they ever had when Luna was in power. Even her worshipers and loyalists slept through that night, for their grief at her falling had been so great that they had no strength left to mourn her in her own time.

All save for the chiropterans, whose very nature compelled them to bear witness to the night. The bat-winged creatures, whose origin was a long-forgotten secret to all but themselves, looked out over the sleeping Equestria, and then looked up at the moon. But they did not weep, and they did not mourn, and they did not curse the name of Celestia or scream at the face burned into the moon. Because they believed that their princess was still there, still listening to them, and that to worship her when she had gone mad from silence would only bring her more pain. And so those who had always looked upon the night could not bring themselves to find it beautiful.

It was a time of beginnings, and it was a time of endings.

Selene of the Night Guard sat perched on the edge of the Canterlot lighthouse, cutting an imposing figure to any who might have caught her silhouette against the moonlight. She watched the shanty town with a practiced, emotionless eye, trying not to let herself turn to stare at the ruins of Castle Everfree. Tonight, she was on duty. Tonight, she had to pretend that everything was fine. She could visit the ruins tomorrow night. She could weep tomorrow night. For now, she had a duty.

Luna had never told them. For all her suffering, and all of her loneliness, she had never told them, her most trusted followers. The question Selene was asking, and the question that every other chiropteran was asking, was; 'was it because she didn't want to trouble us, or was it because she took us for granted?' Or the worst possibility, which most of them desperately tried not to think about, the idea that she hadn't told them because she didn't think they would be able to help.

Selene remembered approaching Luna meekly, and telling her that she was the most beautiful and magnificent creature in all of creation. She remembered doing that, with increasing boldness, at least once every time she could. And the idea that it had all amounted to nothing, that her words might have meant nothing because hers were not the words of the entire world, was one that was probably going to give her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Nightmares...

Selene shuddered. Nightmares had been a thing of incredible rarity for centuries, before she was even born. The only reason that ponies even knew what nightmares were was because Luna didn't want to stretch herself that far. But now that she was gone, what would happen to sleep? Even beyond the sheer horror that the first few nightmares might inspire, how hard would sleep be? Was the peaceful bliss of sleep a Princess Luna original? How long would it take to fall asleep now?

And worst of all, would the ponies blame Luna? Would they say that all of this was a curse by Nightmare Moon, not understanding that it was because of Luna that they had known such peaceful sleep? Was all of this yet another opportunity for the princess to be forgotten and cursed?

Selene felt the wetness on her cheek, and was forced to admit to herself that she was crying. She could say that she was a soldier and a guard first, a chiropteran and child of the moon second, but that only counted for so much at times like this. The body knew enough to keep to its post and watch over the city, but the mind and soul refused to do anything but mourn. The world had changed, and Selene had no idea what she was supposed to do or be in this new arrangement.

Unable to look away any longer, Selene looked up at the sky, at the moon. She had always thought of it as her princess's great lantern, a sun that one could bear to look at for hours on end without going blind. But now, it bore the face of Nightmare Moon, burned into its earth with hundreds upon thousands of blackened craters; not even the face of her glorious Princess Luna, watching over the world even when it turned its back on her, but the silhouette of that blast-ended demon that had taken her from them. The creature that wanted to make the night everlasting, and force all of Equestria to worship her even as they slowly froze to death...

Selene quickly checked to make sure that there were no vagabonds or late-night roamers within range, and once she was sure they weren't, she spat in disgust at the very thought of Nightmare Moon. Had she been able, she probably would have flown all the way up to the moon simply to curse the demon directly to her face.

"What is this that I see in the eyes of my dear soldier?"

Selene started back in shock, then rounded on the intruder. She had heard the voice of her princess, and the moment that she did not see the alicorn, she was ready to kill the impostor...

But then she saw who the intruder was. Or rather, what it was. It was one of Luna's herons, a golem fashioned purely from magic and moonlight and filled with words spoken by the princess herself. They had been designed as the answer to the age-old question, "Who watches the watchponies?"

The heron reached out a crackling wing, and brushed it against Selene's cheek. "Dost thou weep, my soldier?"

Selene sniffled, and the tears flowed harder. "I beg thy forgiveness, princess. 'Tis nothing, a briefest betrayal of mine heart that doth compel me to lament... the loss of someone so very dear..."

The heron made motions as if to quiet her, and for the first time since seeing the strange creatures, Selene actually looked into the bird's eyes. The mourning she saw, the silent attempt at comfort, those were not the actions of a soulless golem.

"There needest be no apology for the shedding of tears," the heron whispered in Luna's disturbingly calm voice, even as it reached out with trembling form and embraced Selene. "If those who art lost be not remembered, then they hath done nothing worthy of our tears. Those for whom we mourn, we mourn because they hath wrought great change upon us and our world. Do not stopper thy tears, young one, nor attempt to hide them. Those who wouldst command thee otherwise hath no place in a proper world."

Selene and the heron broke apart, and she smiled at the construct. Even with the patched-together echoes of all the things her princess had said, it was a good comforter, and a good friend. And she told it as much, but it made gestures that clearly said it was but a cog in a greater machine, and trying to do the best it could.

"Wouldst thou rest here awhile with me?" she asked the spirit. "I keep a lonely watch, and even the echo of one so loved is more a comfort than my memories of her."

The heron nodded, and settled in beside her. Just then, a scream tore the night sky, and Selene was in the air before even a construct of pure magic could react. She had made it halfway across Canterlot by the time that the heron caught up with her.

"A nightmare," the spirit urged in Luna's voice. "A brief and unfortunate terror in the night, but now passed with thy waking."

Selene stopped, and hovered in the air for a while. Then she laughed. And the laughter only grew stronger as the light came on in a single house, and half-awake shadows scurried around and made the first step to understanding the world without Luna. Even the heron joined in.

And as the centuries passed, they came to call it Nightmare Night.

Author's Note:

All things, drawn to an end. And yet in that ending, one finds the hopes and trails of a new beginning.

Thank you for joining me. I hope you were entertained, amused, and perhaps even slightly scared.

Happy Halloween.

Comments

[Pretentious Narwhal]

NOOOOOO ITS OOVER HOW IS IT OVEEEER

[FanOfMostEverything]

Oh my goodness, someone else actually used my name for batponies!

In any case, a touching sendoff for the collection. Thank you for it; I hope you enjoyed the experience more than you cursed yourself for ever thinking it was a good idea.

[devas]

This was an excellent collection.

I truly thank you for having blessed us with your work :-P

[QueenMoriarty]

7685461 BECAUSE THAT'S HOW MONTHS WOOOOOOORK

7685492 Blessed? My goodness, you must be starved for good content if you equate my work with blessings.

[Ice Star]

I love how you describe the guards. The details and descriptions you give them are always enjoyable.