Reset Password
Resend Verification Email
8
184
91
Joined March 2012
Groups
-
45w, 5dTwilight is Best Pony
-
45w, 5dTwilight Sparkle
-
41w, 6dPinkie Pies Only!
-
45w, 53mTwilight's Library
-
31w, 6dfimfiction's favorites
-
42w, 14mRead later
- Show All Groups
-
18w, 9hShining Armor and Cadence
-
31w, 6h501st Party Brigade
-
20w, 2dStories I've read
-
29w, 1dFimFiction Gold Archives
-
16w, 6dCompleted Story Compendium
-
12w, 3dThe Petriculture Cycle
-
10w, 3dthe creation center
-
9w, 6dVallett's Private Library
-
10w, 1dFallen Heroes
-
4w, 1dDark Twilight
823
13,147
“.... This will ensure that the transition will be accepted with a minimum of fuss from the general population,” Twilight Sparkle said as she concluded the first section of her proposal. Everything seemed to have gone well; at the very least, none of the ponies in her audience appeared to be angry with her, which was quite encouraging. She had been worried that the Princesses in particular would feel insulted that she thought them incapable of properly governing the ponies of Equestria, but it seemed like they were taking the points she had made seriously.
Still, this reception wasn’t the primary reason for Twilight’s optimism. No, her hopefulness stemmed from the fact that her plan to bore Pinkie Pie to sleep had gone off without a hitch—she hadn’t even needed to trigger the drowsiness enchantment she’d placed on the normally hyperactive pony’s chair that morning. Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly playing fair, but Pinkie was the one pony who possessed both the intellect and the knowledge to effectively challenge her claims about the potential benefits of this new branch of magic, and this issue was just too important to take any sort of risks in that regard.
“Now,” the unicorn said with the most authoritative voice she could muster, “I am ready to take your questions.” She scanned the table and stopped at the first raised hoof she saw. “Yes, Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus coughed politely and took a sip from her glass of water. She then slammed the glass against the table, shattering it into dozens of shards as she pounded her hooves on the table. “That has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
Oddly enough, the Nightmare didn’t really look all that different from the last time Pinkie had seen her, in the ruins of Old Canterlot. She had the same black coat, the same sparkly, translucent blue mane, and the same silver helmet as Nightmare Moon. In fact, the only thing that seemed to be different was her cutie mark: instead of depicting the moon on a starry splotch covering her hip, it showed a black circle that somehow had a white glow, and there was no unusually-colored patch on the coat surrounding it.
Of course, the earth pony had precious little time to dwell on this, as The Nightmare had used her magic to levitate the pony that had so rudely violated her personal space to eye level, giving Pinkie Pie a clear view of her scowl. “Well, this is an unpleasant surprise. I set my trap for a princess, and lo! I catch a peasant!” She squinted her eyes tighter together as her suspicion increased. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh... I’m just an ordinary memory. There’s... something you need to see, back in the Residential District.”
“Do not waste my time with such foalish games!” the black alicorn (or alicorn-shaped thing) roared. “The reminiscences of Twilight Sparkle go out of their way to avoid admitting that they are memories in conversation, in accordance with her preference that they remain ‘in character.’ More to the point, you are so saturated with the Element of Laughter that the mere act of suspending you is giving me a mild case of nausea! No, you are the true Pinkie Pie, and I shall have my answer from you: What are you doing here?”
“Uh, well, I’m kind of here to... um, stop you, I guess.” There didn’t seem to be much point in claiming otherwise.
“And who else is with you?”
“Nopony. I came by myself.”
“Balderdash! The Princesses know what I’m capable of, and they’d never send a mere earth pony to face me alone.”
“Hey! I’m no ‘mere’ earth pony. I used to live here.”
“Don’t change the subject! Who else is with you?”
“I told you, it’s just me—”
“Who else is with you?!”
Pinkie Pie sighed in exasperation. “Star Swirl the Bearded.”
“Do not jest with me. He’s been dead for centuries.”
“Yeah, well, you obviously didn’t want the truth, so I made something up.” At this point, logic dictated that the earth pony probably should have been more fearful of her safety, but she was too busy feeling irritated to give logic the time of day.
The Nightmare’s eyes widened; apparently, something about her captive’s demeanor had convinced her that she’d been telling the truth. “This is... preposterous! I am the Nightmare! I’ve convinced the Element of Magic to defect! How can they just... dismiss me as a threat?!”
As the rant continued, Pinkie Pie noticed that the magical aura around the Nightmare’s horn had started wavering in intensity, and as it did, it seemed that the “stickiness” of her bonds waxed and waned in tandem. The earth pony smiled, if only because there now appeared to be a way out of her predicament: good old-fashioned distraction, in the form of some conversation. “You’ll never get away with this!” In stories, that was always a good way to get the bad guy talking.
“Do you even know what I’m trying to get away with?” The Nightmare asked with a sneer.
“Um... taking over Equestria... so you can get Luna’s notes, or something.”
The sneer morphed into a smirk. “And why, pray tell, would I want Luna’s notes?”
“Uh...” This is not how Pinkie had thought the conversation would go. “I dunno. You... want Twilight to make you your own body, maybe?”
The Nightmare’s body quivered for a few seconds before she erupted in full-throated laughter. “You blockheaded simpleton! You really believe this was all about some thousand-year-old research? I shared a mind with Luna for an entire millennium! I not only know the contents of her notes, I know what she left out of them. And before you attempt some feeble attempt at indignation, you should know that I have already informed Twilight Sparkle of their details, so any accusations to her of hypocrisy on my part shall fall on deaf ears.”
“But why did Twilight ask the Princesses for help?”
“Because she needed to see for herself that they wouldn’t be willing to provide it, unlike me. The only reason we aren’t in power now is because Celestia was willing to humor her student by pretending to take her offer seriously. No matter—once the Princesses reject her, all that obnoxious hero worship should cease to be an obstacle.”
“Wait... you’re expecting Twilight to fail?”
“Of course I am! At the end of the day, Twilight is still threatening to use violence, and for some bizarre reason, as far as Celestia is concerned, that invalidates her student’s entire argument! I only assented to this travesty because the Princesses were short-sighted enough to let Twilight Sparkle keep the Element of Magic.”
“But... if that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to be nice to the Princesses so they’d be willing to help Twilight make you a body?”
“I do not need anypony to make me a body!” the Nightmare shouted in what Pinkie Pie now recognized as the Royal Canterlot Voice. “I have better things in mind,” she added darkly.
The other committee members had eventually gotten Rainbow Dash to calm down, although she was still glowering at Twilight Sparkle. Rather than make some snarky comment, the unicorn decided that the most diplomatic solution was to pretend that the outburst hadn’t happened. “Yes, Shining Armor.”
Her brother leaned forward, thoughtfully bringing a hoof to his chin. “Well, Twilight, it seems that you’ve put a lot of thought into maintaining domestic order, but what about foreign affairs? A lot of Equestria’s treaties are in the form of contracts with Princess Celestia, and I know that more than a few parties would jump at the chance to declare them void because she’s no longer a head of government, even if she remains a head of state. How do you plan on dealing with them?”
That one had Twilight stumped—she really hadn’t thought about how she’d deal with the rest of the world. “Er... that would have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, of course, so unless you give me specific examples, I doubt I could give you an adequate response. That being said....”
Pinkie Pie was now thoroughly confused. Better things? What could that mean? Something wasn’t adding up, and whatever it was was likely to remain un-added as long as she continued to be levitated in front of an angry... whatever-it-was. Since talking about the Princesses seemed to be the best approach to weakening the Nightmare’s concentration so far, she decided to push the matter farther.
“Which one were you expecting?”
“Excuse me?”
“You said you were trying to trap a princess. Which one did you think was going to show up? I mean, both of them are kind of busy talking to Twilight right now.”
“Humph. It matters not which one arrives—I have contingency plans in place for either.”
“Like what?”
“You do not truly believe that I would tell you, do you?”
“Eh, it was worth a shot. Still, I don’t know why you expected one of them to show up now. That seems kind of silly to me.”
The Nightmare sighed, apparently deciding to humor her captive. “Once Twilight’s efforts failed, the only way they would have to ‘save’ her would be to enter her mind themselves. Luna knows a spell that will allow a pony to enter another’s dreams, but that requires the subject to be asleep—or so I thought. Apparently, she’s modified the spell so that it works even when the subject’s awake, though I still don’t know how you entered through the Dreamfields without me noticing.”
“She didn’t do anything and I didn’t come in through the Dreamfields. I did it myself.”
“What? But... you’re an earth pony! You and Twilight determined that conclusively!”
“Yeah, but I’ve still got lots of imaginary friend powers, too; I just normally keep them locked away so I don’t use them by accident. Twilight didn’t learn that because you were too busy making her obsessed with how I got out of her head.”
“But... you... I... how....” The Nightmare was really getting flustered, and it seemed that her magical grip was slipping. It was time for Pinkie to make her move.
Gathering up all of her willpower, she flung herself into the air, snapping the magical bonds that had held her in front of the Nightmare. She vaulted over her adversary’s head, twisting her body 540° as she did so (because why not?) before landing her hind legs on the Nightmare’s croup. “And she sticks the landing!”
“What?! How could you possibly have done that?” the Nightmare exclaimed as she twisted her head around to view the increasingly obnoxious pink monstrosity. “Twilight Sparkle has delegated absolute control to—”
The nominal despot’s rant was cut short when Pinkie Pie smooshed a hoof into her muzzle. “I just booped your nose,” she said cheerfully. “Your argument is invalid. Ooh, and your helmet’s pretty, too.” The earth pony reached out, swiftly removed the silver headgear, and before the Nightmare could react, Pinkie Pie had shoved it onto her own noggin. “Hey, guess what? My head’s the same size as yours! Well, that, or my mane is even poofier than I thought—”
“Cease this insolence at once!”
The force of the Royal Canterlot Voice almost knocked Pinkie Pie back onto the ground. “Hey, didn’t anypony ever teach you to say... please...?” The earth pony’s voice trailed off as she looked at the Nightmare’s uncovered face for the first time.
The corners of the black alicorn’s mouth curled up into a smug smile. “Finally, some respect. Now, you shall listen to me, my little pony—hey!” But the earth pony was already galloping back towards the Residential District as fast as she could, with the Nightmare’s helmet still on her head.
“....then let me put it this way: What will you do if your studies indicate that this new field of magic is, in fact, too dangerous to be useful to the general public?”
Twilight breathed deeply. “Well, Rarity, I suppose I’ll have to seal the results and keep information about my findings restricted, since I’d be obligated to maintain public welfare.”
“But is that not precisely what you are accusing the Princesses of doing? How can they be unfit to rule Equestria if you would do the same thing were you in their position?”
“The context of each action is what is applicable here. In the theoretical example you speak of, I would still have taken my studies as far as they could go, and records would still be available for other ponies to continue my work later, provided that they demonstrate an appropriate level of responsibility. On the other hoof, the Princesses....”
Gotta get to Twilight.... Gotta get to Twilight.... Gotta get to Twilight....
Pinkie Pie had realized something very important during her conversation with the Nightmare, although she couldn’t quite explain it yet. Still, she was fairly certain that if she could show Twilight what she’d learned, Twilight could easily handle the why. Of course, this task was complicated by the fact that the Nightmare was chasing after her, Tartarus-bent on getting her helmet back. Fortunately, Pinkie had already thought to transform back into Surprise; Twilight had originally made her faster than any pegasus in recorded history, which gave her a top speed that was almost two-thirds that of Rainbow Dash’s. That said, the Nightmare was no slouch, either, and if she was to pull this off, Pinkie Pie would need much more prep time than her meager (and possibly nonexistent) speed advantage could provide. She needed a diversion—and she knew just what to do.
The pegasus rocketed into the center of the Residential District, nearly upsetting Sleepyjack’s apple cart (although Sleepyjack herself continued snoozing). When she reached a large intersection, she stopped and turned around to face the black mare who was closing in on her. The Nightmare landed in front of her with enough force to crack the cobblestones beneath her hooves. “You think the mere presence of bystanders will convince me to forbear my wrath?”
“You have four bears?”
“What?! No—” The Nightmare cut herself off with an irritated groan. “I shall not fall into these foalish traps of yours. Have you any last words?”
“Actually, I do.” The pegasus took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs: “Hey, everypony! It’s the Nightmare’s birthday!”
The Nightmare might have responded to this, were it not for the deafening wall of exuberant shouting that materialized as hundreds of Pinkie Pie memories exited their hiding places and swarmed the autocratic mare in the biggest group hug that their real-life counterpart had ever witnessed. “Cease this at once! All memories are to stay inside unless they have official business!”
“Duh!” replied a voice from somewhere within the pink mob as a conical cardboard hat was strapped onto the alicorn’s cranium. “And since it’s your birthday, that means that you officially need a party!” To her credit, the Nightmare did attempt to make an irate, cynical reply, but she was drowned out by a series of twenty-one party cannon salutes.
Pinkie-Surprise saluted her adversary as her counterparts dragged her away for the impromptu festivities. “Have fun!” Once the Nightmare was out of sight, the pegasus took off and headed into the heart of the Imagination District.
As it turned out, Twilight Sparkle had indeed redesigned her creative hub over the years. Before, its design was fairly similar to that of Canterlot’s central marketplace, albeit with fewer stalls and more buildings, but now, everything was decorated with whimsical-looking machines that seemed to be powered by a combination of magic and steam, sort of like the Flim Flam Brothers’ mechanical cider machine thingy. Still, the general layout hadn’t changed, which meant it was no time at all before she’d found her destination, still situated next to a large concert hall: the Art Studio. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to find the supplies she needed.
“....with minimal changes to the tax code. Yes, Applejack?”
“Well, quite frankly, Twi, I’m a bit concerned about whether or not y’all’re up ta runnin’ Equestria. I mean, sure, you’re great at makin’ sure that everythin’ gets done, but when it comes ta decidin’ just what needs doin’, yer a little hit-or-miss. Remember the time-travel thing? Y’all were so busy runnin’ all over Equestria gettin’ things done, that it never occured to ya that the right thing ta do might be absolutely nothin’ at all. How do ya plan on takin’ care of that?”
The unicorn briefly considered quibbling over whether the farmer’s example truly supported the point she was trying to make, but she elected to let it slide. Instead, she nodded sagely as she answered: “While I admit that there might be some rough patches at the beginning, I’m certain that I’ll be able to figure out the rest after some trial-and-error. It’s simply a matter of figuring out how the lessons of the past can apply to situations that may arise in the future.”
Applejack, however, wasn’t buying this. “Twi, do ya’ll really think that smarts are the only thing a pony needs to run Equestria?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Sounds to me like ya do, because that’s the only reason you’ve mentioned for why you’d do a better job than Celestia an’ Luna. But if just bein’ clever fixed everything, then there’s a certain showmare who would never have gotten her cart smashed under the foot of giant space-bear a while back.”
Twilight Sparkle looked nonplussed. “I hardly think I merit that sort of comparison with Trixie.”
“You certainly seem to think you’re Great and Powerful, though,” Rainbow Dash muttered almost inaudibly.
Pinkie Pie hovered in the nave of the Hall of Knowledge, admiring her hoofwork. While in the studio, she’d gotten slightly distracted by a rough draft for an as-yet-undrawn sketch of Spike’s pet phoenix, Peewee, which would doubtless be amazing if Twilight ever found the time to develop the skills needed to accurately translate her mental image to a physical piece of paper. In any case, Pinkie had been forced to simplify her plan a bit, since she couldn’t expect her mnemonic counterparts to hold the Nightmare at bay forever, no matter how awesome their party was—in fact, given that raucous noises from the general direction of the Residential District were no longer filtering into the Hall, it seemed that time was running out. Luckily, there was just one thing left to do: get Twilight’s attention.
A quick peek into the Staging Room revealed that the unicorn was still deep in discussion: at that moment, she appeared to be answering a question from Fluttershy, though what ursine chiropractic had to do with taking over Equestria was anypony’s guess. Unfortunately, this meant that Pinkie would have to exercise the “all necessary means” clause to get her friend’s attention, and this time, Twilight Sparkle would find it much more unpleasant.
The temporary pegasus sighed as she got ready to make her friend’s presentation rather difficult to finish. She muttered a brief apology to the ceiling, and then she then took off down a row of bookshelves, holding out one of her forelegs so she could easily push all of the contents onto the marble floor. After a dozen or so passes she refocused her attention on the filing cabinets, where most of Twilight’s mental activity seemed to be focused. Pinkie started opening drawers at random, scooping up the contents and flinging them into the air. Soon the hallway floors were a cluttered, disorganized mess. Honestly, it would have been fun, except that Pinkie Pie knew that fastidious librarian would be absolutely furious with her. She made a mental note to offer her assistance in cleaning up the place, assuming that everything turned out the way she hoped it would.
“....Yes, Princess Luna?”
The Princess of the Night absently flipped through the pages of her binder as she asked her question. “I can’t help but notice that you are presuming that our cooperation will be sufficient to get the general populace to accept you as a ruler.”
Twilight Sparkle wasn’t quite sure where this was going. “You’re saying it wouldn’t?”
“I’m saying that I’m not certain you understand why my sister and I were granted the authority we have in the first place. Because we assumed control of the cycle between day and night, we have a huge effect on agricultural production, which made our cooperation in nearly every large-scale endeavor a virtual necessity. Now, you may be given all of our authority, but can you gain the respect needed to wield it without our assistance?”
“You’re asking me if I can raise the sun and the moon, correct?”
“More or less.”
“Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve done my calculations, and I think I’ve developed a spell that will allow me to accomplish this, if necessary, so long as I have access to the extra power that Nightmare is providing me.”
“I see. And would you care to explain the theory behind this spell?”
“Of course. You see... I... uh... there’s something... about a disk... or maybe a ring....”
“Are you feeling alright, Twilight Sparkle?” Celestia asked with some concern. She, like most of the others in the room, couldn’t help but notice that the Element of Magic was once again emitting a dull glow, which could only mean that something was happening beneath the surface of Twilight’s mind.
“I’m... I’m fine, I think. I just need a chance to collect my thoughts, that’s all. Would it be alright if we took a short break?”
“That seems reasonable. Will thirty minutes be sufficient?”
“Um... yeah. That should work.”
Twilight Sparkle stood in the small washroom, staring at the somewhat dingy mirror as water flowed in the porcelain sink. The librarian-who-would-be-princess pressed a hoof to her temple, trying to figure out why her tremendous capacity for storing information was suddenly failing her, but her attempts to reason her way back to a calmer state were doing little more than giving her a migraine. “What is wrong with me?” she groaned. “And more importantly, why did this have to happen at the worst... possible... moment...?” Her voice trailed off as she noticed the sickly glow emanating from the Element of Magic’s jewel. Apparently, something was happening, and the Nightmare was somehow involved.
Twilight needed to get to the bottom of this, and she needed to do it now. Settling back on her haunches, the unicorn shut her eyes and imagined that she wasn’t sitting on the floor of a claustrophobic washroom, but on a sort of theatrical stage. When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to her original size and shape, and there was a tremendous racket coming from the wooden door behind her, which was no doubt the source of her present difficulties. The unicorn marched quickly towards the door and flung it open, intent on reigning in whatever madness was going on in a swift, orderly fashion.
This intention, however, was completely derailed in less than a second. “Sweet filly Luna on a pogo stick! What... why... what happened to... huh?!” Twilight hadn’t seen a mess like this in the Hall of Knowledge since... well, since before she’d decided to organize her thoughts into the Hall in the first place. Papers, files, and books were strewn about the hallways, and it sounded like there was somepony who was in the process of making things worse. “Who is doing this? Show yourself!”
Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure who to expect—perhaps a rogue memory, or maybe the Nightmare engaging in some frantic search for an obscure bit of trivia. However, she most certainly did not expect to see a white pegasus with a blonde mane poking her head out of one of the hallways and chirping a jaunty greeting. “Hiya, Twilight!”
“Surprise? How can you be here? I haven’t thought of you as an imaginary friend since Pinkie Pie... showed up....” Twilight Sparkle’s eyes went wide as her friend’s sudden nap suddenly seemed more conspicuous than fortuitous. “Pinkie Pie! What are you doing here?!”
“I’m trying to get your attention, duh,” Pinkie replied as she landed and transformed back into her standard pink earth pony form.
“But how—”
“I’ve been doing some Pinkiology studies on my own,” she replied, as if that was a sufficient answer.
“I don’t believe this! This was all just a setup?”
“Look, Twilight, if you’ll just listen—”
“Why should I listen to somepony who would just invade my mind the way you did?!”
“You mean the Nightmare didn’t invade your mind?”
“That’s... I mean... arrgh!” Twilight let out a noise that sounded like a mix of a groan and a scream. “Alright, you listen to me,” the unicorn said as the lighting in the hall grew more noticeably purple. “You are going to tell me everything. I want to know what you’re doing here, why you’re wearing Nightmare’s helmet, and every single detail of all the other ploys the Princesses are running. And you’re going to start by explaining what that bucket is doing over the front door!”
Luckily, Pinkie Pie didn’t need to answer this query, as the Nightmare picked that moment to burst through the hall’s double doors, upending the bucket perched above and sending several gallons of white paint cascading onto her head. As the alicorn sputtered in an attempt to spit out the paint that had entered her open mouth, Twilight stared at her in complete and utter shock.
“Celestia?!”
Comments ( 91 )
Post Comment
Refresh
No, her hopefulness stemmed from the fact that her plan to bore Pinkie Pie to sleep had gone off without a hitch—she hadn’t even needed to trigger the drowsiness enchantment she’d placed on the normally hyperactive pony’s chair that morning. Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly playing fair, but Pinkie was the one pony who possessed both the intellect and the knowledge to effectively challenge her claims about the potential benefits of this new branch of magic, and this issue was just too important to take any sort of risks in that regard.
Both Twilight and the princesses wanted Pinkie to go to sleep? That amuses me to no end. 
And Shining bringing up foreign policy was a brilliant move. I wonder how Twilight handled that one.
Twilight stared at her in complete and utter shock.“Celestia?!”
...Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? 
“Duh!” replied a voice from somewhere within the pink mob as a conical cardboard hat was strapped onto her cranium. “And since it’s your birthday, that means that you officially need a party!” To her credit, the Nightmare did attempt to make an irate, cynical reply, but she was drowned out by a series of twenty-one party cannon salutes.
This is the most awesome distraction tactic ever. Five Pinkies. 
And Nightmare Moon is Celestia?! 
Excellent twist.
"I booped your nose! Your argument is invalid!"
Possibly one the best lines, ever.
XXXXXDDDDD
I'm both happy and sad that the next chapter is the last chapter.
Because WHY DID TWI SAY CELESTIA
But then it'll be OOOOVVVEEEERRRR
Oh well.
Anticipation in spades, here!
That is all.
Journcy Out.
Hmm...Considering how on board with everything Twilight has been not sure forgiveness for this should be easy. At least Luna had an excuse of centuries of Ponies ignoring her...Twilight fell into power hungry despot from just one decision she didn't agree with. Which is actually the biggest problem of this piece just not sure enough of an argument was raised for Twilight to buy in this much still...
That problem aside love the story and really enjoying how it is developing. Can't wait for the conclusion. Also lovely work on Twilight's mindscape. Too bad we aren't going to see more of it. Also too bad that we aren't going to see Celestia, Luna, or the other casts either. Think that'd be quite intriguing too.
Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MznoFmmj_dA/TohN1uxUc_I/AAAAAAAANG4/DMTRnNtsueg/s1600/bald_by_tavisharts-d4bcapa.png
Ok now.
1) Luna made Nightmare, an imaginary Celestia with an eclipse cutie mark
2) Nightmare mind rapes Luna into Nightmare Moon, banished to the Moon
3) Nightmare gets kicked out by Elements of Harmony, hides in Twilights enormous cranium
4) Nightmare mind f**ks Twilight
5) ???
6) PROFIT
Maybe Luna pushed all her loneliness and insecurity onto Eclipse? And the Nightmare wants to overthrow Celestia to finally be rid of that huge inferiority complex?
And now, please stand by while I laugh myself to the floor. A bucket of whitewash over the door? That's classics!
>>1042307 Can you blame Twilight and the Princesses? xD
Image: http://fim.413chan.net/fim/src/132440918115-FiM49.gifPs. To all the people (and ponies) Wondering about Nightmare Moon and Celestia, it DOES make sense! Luna, being alone and feared, and hated too, Only had Celestia as a friend, sister, and person to talk to. So of course, her imaginary friend... Would be Celestia!
Of course Nightmare Moon would probably deny it...
Image: http://images.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2379-99229_-_animated_applejack_Applelie_liarjack_what_.gif
Eh, that conversation between Pinkie Pie and Nightmare wasn't as entertaining as it could have been. It felt flat like another stream of exposition from chapter two. The difference being that nothing that was said in this chapter was as important in moving the story forward.
First, I'm from Denmark where civil disarmament have been practised for centuries, I think the law that prohibited civilian nonnobles from carrying arms was from the eleventh or twelfth century. I'm not sure when the nobles lost the right too but I think it was sometime between the passing of the King law of 1660 and the Ground law of 1849. Anyway we have build a very successful society on the principles of civil disarmament with the lowest crime rate in the world.
Anyway to the GIAA.
Of course there is the possibility that power is misused, there is always that possibility. But by making it subordinate to the UN and securing adequate supervision and control over it, we can ensure that that threat is minimised. It should only prevent the spreading of information that are a treat to international security so things like "how to make bombs" and "wikileeks" can't exist.
Also always remember that the alternative to order is anarchy. I'm not advocating for totalitarianism but I am saying that a state needs certain powers, not too much and not too little all for the public good.
Also I am not quite sure what you mean about your population control example. In the civilized part of the world (North America and Europe) population is in decline and the nations there have therefore an obligation to encourage reproduction.
In the less then civilized part of the world, population are out of control, and in these part the states should of course pass laws to prevent excessive breading. Chinas one-child policy are a shinning example*, other nations in the region particular India ought to start a similar program. In fact they are morally obligated to do so.
Voluntary population control is of course better then coercing population control when the problem is not critical. Which it unfortunately are in many parts of the world as the total number of humans are today close to 7 billions where it ought to be only half.
correction. As Chinas total population is still increasing it means that their population control laws are not strict enough.
Anyway I think we digressed enough. Great chapter love to read more.
...so Pinkie takes the Nightmare's helmet, and then runs off with it. Heh, since I had glimpsed at your recent blog post prior to reading, I thought Pinkie was gonna burst out laughing about the Nightmare being bald under that helmet. 
Awesome move with having the Nightmare getting swarmed by a dozen Pinkie Pies!
"That wasn’t to say that she hadn’t done any shapeshifting since becoming an independent pony, but for the most part she’d limited herself [...]"
Woah. She was limiting herself? Oh dear. 
But yeah, I can see Pinkie coming to the conclusion that breaking the laws of reality on a casual basis is already stretching it. Any more, and she might get odd looks... well, worried odd looks. Which was actually exactly what happened in Batty Gloom's "The Truth about Pinkie Pie".
I generally find the concept of exploring Pinkie Pie's "abilities" very intriguing. It provides for a lot of potential and various interpretations on how Pinkie Pie "works", that's for sure.
That being said -
Great story, keep up the good work! 
"The Nightmare’s body quivered for a few seconds before she erupted in full-throated laughter. “You blockheaded simpleton! You really believe this was all about some thousand-year-old research? I shared a mind with Luna for an entire millennium! I not only know the contents of her notes, I know what she left out of them."
Well well well, this, alongside the apparent resemblance... 
It really would make sense. First Celestia makes Discord, so of course Luna tries to make her own imaginary friend. She succeeds, but then everything goes wrong. I wonder though; Did Discord go wrong first or was it Luna suddenly backing away out of fear/uncertainty? And if Nightmare doesn't need anypony to make her a body (since she apparently hints to knowing how already), then what does she really want? Does it have to do with why exactly Twilight seemed to easily team up with her?
Oooh I'm so looking forward to the next chapter!
"Sweet filly Luna on a Pogo stick!" This is great. You do not forget to be awesome. I'm lovin' every word of it. Keep up the great work. And question: Have you proofread all of this work yet? I have noticed a few minor errors. Very minor, and they do not in any way detract from the work overall, but I'd be more than happy to help you proofread if you want. But, you know... um... whatever you want to do is fine.
Image: http://mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2669-Smiling_Twist.jpg
SPOILER ALERT!!!
he concluded the first section of her proposal.
-Well, that gives a bit of a time-mark for how long Pinkie may have left. It depends on how many other sections there are and how long. Given this is Twilight, I suspect "Many" and "All Long", but there could be as few as three I suppose. I just hope she doesn't try to enforce a bathroom and leg-stretching break.
her hopefulness stemmed from the fact that her plan to bore Pinkie Pie to sleep had gone off without a hitch
-What could this be useful for? Was The Nightmare WANTING Pinkie Pie to come back? Perhaps hoping that once returned to the place of her forging from raw imagination she could be re-made into an ally by the same tools that made her in the first place?
but Pinkie was the one pony who possessed both the intellect and the knowledge to effectively challenge her claims about the potential benefits of this new branch of magic,
-Ok, so that it at least Twilight's motivation, but The Nightmare's might be as listed above. I also have an idle thought about Pinkie fighting like crazy to mutter a few key words in her sleep that will give the others the hint they need to ask a simple question that requires a very long answer, thus buying her more time. It also occurs to me that this might be subtle self-sabotage, just as NMM could be theorized to be setting up the Mane Six to demonstrate their Elements when she opposed them in the Everfree.
“I am ready to take your questions.”
-Oh, so is it just "presentation" and then "questions"? Only two sections? Probably not... probably multiple question and answer sessions. I hope Pinkie Pie stayed up for two days straight so she can sleep a long time...
The pegasus coughed politely and took a sip from her glass of water.
-Good bit of stalling.
“That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
-This on the other hoof is risky. It MIGHT even wake Pinkie up, or at least tend towards a shouting match which could do that. Of course, narratively the first is nearly impossible and the second is unlikely.
Oddly enough, the Nightmare didn’t really look all that different from the last time Pinkie had seen her,
-Tried to decide if this was really that odd. Actually, the this COULD just be a bad day-dream/PTSD, but I doubt it. Perhaps the banished memory of how evil The Nightmare really was so that Twilight doesn't remember? With the actual Nightmare acting in a much more subtle way?
, it showed a black circle that somehow had a white glow, and there was no unusually-colored patch on the coat surrounding it.
-The Eclipse(which Pinkie might never have heard of since it could have been millenia since the last one since the sun and the moon don't like to share Equestria's sky)? Or is it glowing, not just a picture of glowing? Was half expecting Twilight's cutie-mark, but I guess that wouldn't make much sense.
I set my trap for a princess, and lo! I catch a peasant!
-Hmmm... she only got one small sample of Pinkie's power, but then again she knows everything Luna did about imaginary friend incarnations. Granted Pinkie is very different from Discord in how she reality-warps, but there is also the fact that Pinkie is on her home turf, which the Nightmare has less data on her performance as. It also now occurs to me that since you very explicitly said that no-pony understands the incarnation process, that by the end of this The Nightmare might incarnate, perhaps tagging along on Pinkie's heels as she wakes up... or at least that might be a threat that comes up. Of course that would leave her in a room with all six Elements of Bearers plus two alicorns and perhaps Shining Armor, who I have forgotten in the lag while writing this commentary over the course of several weeks if is actually in the room or not. (EDIT: And it turns out that it is TWILIGHT who isn't in that room.) Of course, the brainwashing is natural enough that it might take a memory spell before Twilight would be willing to use her Element against NMM, but I guess Shiny could grab it (which probably means he IS in the room).
She squinted her eyes tighter together as her suspicion increased. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh... I’m just an ordinary memory.
-If this even ALMOST works then The Nightmare isn't half as magically perceptive as I would expect.
“The reminiscences of Twilight Sparkle go out of their way to avoid admitting that they are memories in conversation, in accordance with her preference that they remain ‘in character.’
-Smarts can substitute...
More to the point, you are so saturated with the Element of Laughter that the mere act of suspending you is giving me a mild case of nausea
-But apparently aren't needed.
“Uh, well, I’m kind of here to... um, stop you, I guess.” There didn’t seem to be much point in claiming otherwise.
-Bad move... just attack her, or stall for time.
“And who else is with you?”
-Interesting that she even considers it... the Alicorns didn't even mention that they ALMOST could come along, but The Nightmare was expecting them. Did it sense the intrusion but not the nature of it?
The Princesses know what I’m capable of, and they’d never send a mere earth pony to face me alone.”
-Wait, so she figured out she wasn't a memory, can sense she is the Element of Laughter, might as well have written the book on incarnate imaginary friends, and presumably observed Pinkie Pie countering her magic while doing a physics-defying dance in the Everfree Forest, and can't connect the dots to know that they are BOTH fighting on there home turf (and presumably have equal access to Twilight's power over the realm and her magic)?
“Don’t change the subject!
-Wow... it is shoved in its face and it still dismisses the point? Although I guess to its way of thinking if Pinkie COULD fight back effectively she would have already done so.
Who else is with you?”
-Ok, this is... ALMOST plausible. Target fixation, not outright idiocy. Plus what I said about assuming that Pinkie is more of a soldier in her approach to interacting with an enemy than she actually is.
“Yeah, well, you obviously didn’t want the truth, so I made something up.”
-Nice one... and I only now get the irony of demanding that the Element of Laughter not jest.
How can they just... dismiss me as a threat?!”
-They didn't, they just have more than one plan for resolving the situation.
As the rant continued, Pinkie Pie noticed that the magical aura around the Nightmare’s horn had started wavering in intensity, and as it did, it seemed that the “stickiness” of her bonds waxed and waned in tandem.
-Impairing her concentration? Interesting... reminds me of the idea that I have that there is no particular reason that a unicorn with strong enough TK (Twilight over-qualifies by several orders of magnitude) couldn't fly by TKing themself, but it is extremely dangerous since any lapse in concentration results in a fall, which is further distracting, and thus tends to be a self-reenforcing event. I actually have an entire short fic idea based around Twilight training herself for cliff-proofing purposes.
good old-fashioned distraction, in the form of some conversation.
-Something she excels at...
“Um... taking over Equestria... so you can get Luna’s notes, or something.”
-Oh, so it knows about the notes, but not all the details of them?
“And why, pray tell, would I want Luna’s notes?”
-Right... that wouldn't make any sense. It is out for rulership or suffering.
You... want Twilight to make you your own body, maybe?”
-Ok, so at least Pinkie has thought of that... so unless this turns into "Well, not actually, but now that you mention that, that would be a good way to make myself even more powerful! Thank you very much for suggesting it!" I am thinking this won't even be on the table.
I not only know the contents of her notes, I know what she left out of them.
-Interesting... I wonder if we will find out? It could be a secret weapon that, like the first time they faced The Nightmare, is most effective when the wielder goes into the scenario not knowing all the details... or at least my fanon is that if Twilight had known what she was doing more, NMM would have attacked her directly at the start rather than risk using kid gloves on the situation. Actually, I have a much more complicated fanon involving Celestia and Luna being slightly precognitive (Pinkie is, so why shouldn't they be more-so?) and Celestia using that fact against the Nightmare because Luna was smart enough to be querying her precog for "If I continue on my current course of action, will I be happy at the end of this?" rather than the less canny question of "Will I win the fight?". Celestia's lack of any shaming words was part of her batmare gambit.
And before you attempt some feeble attempt at indignation, you should know that I have already informed Twilight Sparkle of their details, so any accusations to her of hypocrisy on my part shall fall on deaf ears.”
-Interesting. I was going to say that that will help matters in the end, but then again if it was good for Twilight and/or Pinkie to know that stuff, then Princess Luna would have already told her probably. Still, it could be a misjudgement on Luna's part, or something she will be happy in retrospect happened since it DIDN'T have whatever disastrous effect she was thinking of. I am a bit foggy on why Luna didn't mention her notes... maybe they were so inconclusive as to be worthless or she was hoping that a fresh perspective would shed new light on the situation... or didn't want to make Pinkie and/or Twilight ashamed or fearful of Pinkie. Sorta like I could see a couple not telling a child that they were the product of another man raping the mother.
“Wait... you’re expecting Twilight to fail?”
-This surprises me exactly zero, and shouldn't surprise Pinkie at all. Twilight is giving peace a chance, no reason to think that The Nightmare is that unclear in its assessment of the situation.
so they’d be willing to help Twilight make you a body?”
-She still thinks this is possible? Or is she just scrambling to keep the conversation going to distract it? I almost forgot that was the point of the conversation from Pinkie's perspective. I do wonder it The Nightmare has some particular reason other than actually having the moral restraint that even the worst villains in Equestria have (unlike the beast-level monsters such as the hydra and the quarray eels), in that she won't use fully lethal force.
“I have better things in mind,” she added darkly.
-Like say, ruling Equestria, or killing every living thing on the planet.
The other committee members had eventually gotten Rainbow Dash to calm down,
-I wonder if RD was faking or not? Probably not based on how this was worded. Still I expect that it will work out to the good for delaying things as long as communication doesn't break down too much (or Pinkie gets disturbed, quite frankly it is suspicious that she DIDN'T wake up, since "deep sleeper" doesn't seem like it would be one of her traits... although it could be if she rests as intensely as she moves, or if being imaginary does something weird to her when she is dreaming other than it being lucid.).
but what about foreign affairs?
-A good question... which implies that The Nightmare's might be planning Armageddon and was subtly leading Twilight away from focusing on the subject, thus setting things up to be mismanaged when it made a few suggestions when Twilight was actually meeting with foreign dignitaries somewhat under-researched.
A lot of Equestria’s treaties are in the form of contracts with Princess Celestia, and I know that more than a few parties would jump at the chance to declare them void because she’s no longer a head of government, even if she remains a head of state.
-Something that Twilight SHOULD be aware of since she seems to know her history. Interesting point, and one more in favor of Armageddon, although only a small point leaving the "total" very far from the level of conclusive.
That one had Twilight stumped—she really hadn’t thought about how she’d deal with the rest of the world.
-One more point.
That being said....”
Pinkie Pie was now thoroughly confused.
-I think you are missing a line across the page here.
Something wasn’t adding up, and whatever it was was likely to remain un-added
-Nice Pinkie-Speak.
“You said you were trying to trap a princess. Which one did you think was going to show up? I mean, both of them are kind of busy talking to Twilight right now.”
-"Both" of them are... "all three or more" of them are NOT. In other words she may have been expecting Cadance.
Still, I don’t know why you expected one of them to show up now. That seems kind of silly to me.”
-Yeah, it does... maybe The Nightmare is letting something slip and she THINKS that the Princesses know the way in, but they actually don't? Distantly possible that she knows they don't know, but is trying to lure them in by letting Pinkie escape with that information. In which case Pinkie will probably consider it then decide that the risk of the secondary plan going into effect when she wakes up before she can quash it is too great.
Luna knows a spell that will allow a pony to enter another’s dreams, but that requires the subject to be asleep—or so I thought.
-Ah, I see... but can't it tell that Twilight never fell asleep? Or was it just contingency planning?
Apparently, she’s modified the spell so that it works even when the subject’s awake,
-Oh, so it hasn't figured out that that was all Pinkie?
“She didn’t do anything and I didn’t come in through the Dreamfields. I did it myself.”
-Ah, so it got "incoming" and assumed that Luna had modified the spell like that. Interesting that Luna didn't mention trying that method one night when Twilight WAS asleep in the preparation period. Maybe she is wanting to try a double-team if things don't work out for Pinkie within a certain period of time, but doesn't want Pinkie to telegraph that information (wise since Pinkie is being very open here).
“What? But... you’re an earth pony! You and Twilight determined that conclusively!”
-Yes, a reality warping, born-from-dreams, earth pony. Or maybe not even really an earth pony, any more than Klingons, Mimbari, or other "rubber forehead" aliens are humans. She hasn't demonstrated any particular closeness to the land. Granted, that is true for a lot of earth ponies, but for all practical purpose she is her own kind, outside the triad that the Alicorns most visibly straddle.
Twilight didn’t learn that because you were too busy making her obsessed with how I got out of her head.”
-Well, she didn't learn about the "locking away" but she DID know about them in general.
(because why not?)
-.... indeed!
“And she sticks the landing!”
-Been watching/thinking about the Olympics have you?
“What?! How could you possibly have done that?”
-"Screw Physics, I'm Pinkie Pie."
“Twilight Sparkle has delegated absolute control to—”
-Oh, I see. A more specific reason for disbelief. In any case I would say that the answer is that control over Pinkie isn't something can do, so Twilight's can't grant that control. Also, it got distracted. Also, I wonder how it got Twilight to do that deligation. Suggested that Luna might try to come in in their sleep? Offering to keep her focused (IE imprisoning the ideas that would bring her to an accurate analysis of the situation).
Hey, guess what? My head’s the same size as yours! Well, that, or my mane is even poofier than I thought—”
-DID you get your inspiration from the "BALD!" picture that someone posted? Also, I don't think that resizing some headgear would be that hard in dreamland.
The earth pony’s voice trailed off as she looked at the Nightmare’s uncovered face for the first time.
-The helmet revealed something? Maybe you are going to straight-out use the whole "BALD!" concept, even if you don't use the same words? Interestingly enough, despite having a mostly starry mane and only a small tiara, Luna in "Luna Eclipsed" never struck me as matching that idea.
pseudo-alicorn
-Because she is just faking that form, being a formless creature? Or maybe her true form would raise questions from Twilight that she would prefer weren't raised?
“....then let me put it this way: What will you do if your studies indicate that this new field of magic is, in fact, too dangerous to be useful to the general public?”
-Good question, but I suspect she will answer: "Release it in academic circles anyway for the sake of abstract knowledge." Of course, she might be deluded enough to think that that can't possibly be the case.
“But is that not precisely what you are accusing the Princesses of doing? How can they be unfit to rule Equestria if you would do the same thing were you in their position?”
-A very good point.
In the theoretical example you speak of, I would still have taken my studies as far as they could go, and records would still be available for other ponies to continue my work later, provided that they demonstrate an appropriate level of responsibility. On the other hoof, the Princesses....”
-I would be very interested to see where she was going with this, although it actually agrees with my feelings on the matter to a certain extent. Again, not sure why Luna DIDN'T tell Twilight except to protect Twilight and Pinkie's feelings perhaps.
Gotta get to Twilight.... Gotta get to Twilight.... Gotta get to Twilight....
-To show her the Nightmare un-masked?
Pinkie Pie had realized something very important during her conversation with the Nightmare, although she couldn’t quite explain it yet. Still, she was fairly certain that if she could show Twilight what she’d learned, Twilight could easily handle the why.
-Not sure what she DID learn, unless it was what was under the mask. Interesting she is revealing herself to Twilight like that.
which gave her a top speed that was almost two-thirds that of Rainbow Dash’s.
-
(and possibly nonexistent) speed advantage could provide.
-I was going to point out that NMM can teleport... then I remembered so can Pinkie. Maybe it doesn't work so well in the mind-scape?
"You think the mere presence of bystanders will convince me to forbear my wrath?”
-Ok, I KNOW Pinkie would be really good at diversions so but I am not seeing it... perhaps she will startle Sleepyjack into waking up and accidentally bucking The Nightmare in the flank? Jumping out of the pile of apples?
“Hey, everypony! It’s the Nightmare’s birthday!”
-Heh... who knew that Summon Party IV (to make up some D&D terminology) had combative uses?
hundreds of Pinkie Pie memories
-Ah... and here I thought she would be summoning every memory within a large radius, not just memories or splits of herself... I wonder if they ARE memories, one for each Pinkie-Party that Twilight has every attended? I wonder if Pinkimena is in there alternating to a Pinkie mode, since she did arrive at her own birthday party in Pinkimena mode and stayed that way for a few minutes until she read the cake.
biggest group hug
-Great pick! Also it now occurs to me that non-party memories of Pinkie might have been called in too.
their real-life counterpart
-Ah, so they ARE just memories.
“And since it’s your birthday, that means that you officially need a party!”
-Nice twisting of logic. I wonder if she is doing it intentionally now that she has been able to relax about her status around her friends? Probably not. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would have any reason to be part of her "Nope, just an ordinary earth pony!" act, even as a bad side-effect.
-Going to take a break here and post this rather than risk it getting eaten the next time my browser crashes. Not that it hasn't survived a few of those, but why take chances?
SPOILER ALERT!!!
To her credit, the Nightmare did attempt to make an irate, cynical reply,
-I like this phrasing for some reason. perhaps it is the "To her credit" part.
but she was drowned out by a series of twenty-one party cannon salutes.
-Too bad the weaponized uses of that would only be in one memory probably... of course, if they could have fought back then MAYBE they already would have, but perhaps they lacked a directing will due to both Twilight and Nightmare being in authority and opposed to them. Which makes me think that the Memory Spell from S2E2 might have appeared in this sort of place as a rallying cry from everywhere at once for a revolution against a mini-Discord sitting in the control center.
Once the Nightmare was out of sight, the pegasus took off and headed into the heart of the Imagination District.
-I forget, is that where she started out?
As it turned out, Twilight Sparkle had indeed redesigned her creative hub over the years.
-Ah, so probably not. She may be in the middle of the "right brain" now whereas before she was in the "left-brain" (or vice versa, I always get those confused). Alternatively she may still be in the sub-conscious, and is just looking for an intelligence analyst, not the commander-in-chief.
everything was decorated with whimsical-looking machines that seemed to be powered by a combination of magic and steam, sort of like the Flim Flam Brothers’ mechanical cider machine thingy.
-Clean-burning steam-punk... chrome-punk? In any case, it makes sense that it would become futuristic as she learns more about what already exists.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to find the supplies she needed.
-First thought: She isn't going for the intelligence analyst, she is Tony Stark seeking out a box of scraps. I have no idea what she is going to make, but it. Will. Be. Awesome.
-Second thought: No, that makes no sense, she specifically said she wanted to show what she had learned to some part of Twilight capable of interpreting it. She is going to make a sign (not necessarily a literal on) "big" enough to attract the attention of whatever part she needs to attract the attention of.
-Third Thought: No reason she can't do both... imagine the love child of the light-board equiped Good-Year blimp and the war dirigibles (or were they blimps too?) of WWI. Or a mech with fireworks that spell out what she needs to say in the sky one line at a time.
that it never occured to ya that the right thing ta do might be absolutely nothin’ at all.
-Well, she did try "nothin' at all." it was just a bit TOO "nothin'".
“While I admit that there might be some rough patches at the beginning, I’m certain that I’ll be able to figure out the rest after some trial-and-error.
-Sounds like some very costly trial and error.
then there’s a certain showmare who would never have gotten her cart smashed under the foot of giant space-bear a while back.”
-I wouldn't say that Trixie was a supra-genius.
“You certainly seem to think you’re Great and Powerful, though,” Rainbow Dash muttered almost inaudibly.
-Powerful, yes, especially with The Nightmare added in. To quote I Can Has Cheezburger: "Not so grate acktually..." (my MIS-spelling may be flawed).
hile in the studio, she’d gotten slightly distracted by a rough draft for an as-yet-undrawn sketch of Spike’s pet phoenix, Peewee, which would doubtless be amazing if Twilight ever found the time to develop the skills needed to accurately translate her mental image to a physical piece of paper.
-Interesting... I wonder how good the diagrams in Twilight's scientific reports are? Perhaps she uses a drafting set and/or camera more than free-horning anything?
In any case, Pinkie had been forced to simplify her plan a bit,
-Ah, so she might have been going for the armored blimp with the scrolling display on both sides and the taffy auto-cannons, but she is going to have to go for something simpler. Maybe even a scroll with the relevant details written out. Or maybe a bit more than that and call it a shoulder-launched scroll-bazooka.
Luckily, there was just one thing left to do: get Twilight’s attention.
-Interesting that that isn't the objective of what she was building... maybe she is sculpting a copy of what she saw?
though what ursine chiropractic had to do with taking over Equestria was anypony’s guess.
-Maybe Fluttershy just panicked and asked an irrelevant question, then backed it up with the pup-dog eyes when Twilight started to say it wasn't relevant?
Unfortunately, this meant that Pinkie would have to exercise the “all necessary means” clause to get her friend’s attention, and this time, Twilight Sparkle would find it much more unpleasant.
-I don't think it will be much worse than getting hog-tied, which Fluttershy had to put up with in a similar situation.
took off down a row of bookshelves, holding out one of her forelegs so she could easily push all of the contents onto the marble floor.
-I wonder if that will cause logorrhea, or just cause Twilight to lose track of what she is going to say? Probably the second I wonder if she will substitute in her own notes for the ones on the lectern while Twilight is hunting for her?
She made a mental note to offer her assistance in cleaning up the place, assuming that everything turned out the way she hoped it would.
-I guess that makes sense. I hope she isn't running the risk of being re-assorbed though, with her physical body vanishing or going into a coma.
“I can’t help but notice that you are presuming that our cooperation will be sufficient to get the general populace to accept you as a ruler.”
-Actually seems a fairly plausible assumption given how much Celestia seems to be loved... then again, that doesn't stop young children from trying to escape back to their mothers on the first day of school, no matter how much their mothers tell them that they should stay with the teacher. (odd example I know).
Because we assumed control of the cycle between day and night, we have a huge effect on agricultural production, which made our cooperation in nearly every large-scale endeavor a virtual necessity.
-Seems a bit... cold somehow.
Now, you may be given all of our authority, but can you gain the respect needed to wield it without our assistance?”
-Interesting that need would translate to respect.
“You’re asking me if I can raise the sun and the moon, correct?”
“More or less.”
-Not really seeing the connection per se, and given what I seem to remember I think the answer is "No", because she seemed to be implying that Celestia and Luna would still be doing those things.
“Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve done my calculations, and I think I’ve developed a spell that will allow me to accomplish this, if necessary, so long as I have access to the extra power that Nightmare is providing me.”
-Going to dare her to do it, without any opposition?
“Of course. You see... I... uh... there’s something... about a disk... or maybe a ring....”
-Ah, the disorganization kicks in... perhaps Pinkie will merely insert whatever she crafted into the flow/give it to Twilight's avatar when it comes looking through the files more personally as she concentrates on remembering.
couldn’t help but notice that the Element of Magic was once again emitting a dull glow, which could only mean that something was happening beneath the surface of Twilight’s mind.
-When did that happen before?
“I’m... I’m fine, I think. I just need a chance to collect my thoughts, that’s all. Would it be alright if we took a short break?”
-VERY MUCH OK with them.
“That seems reasonable. Will thirty minutes be sufficient?”
-Hope that she doesn't think it odd that Pinkie sleeps straight through... perhaps if Twilight goes off to have privacy to (literally) collect her thoughts she will assume that Pinkie was woken up by one of the others. Of course, that MIGHT mean she would be suspicious when she comes back in 30 minutes and finds Pinkie still asleep, but then again Pinkie's reputation is odd enough to pull it off.
staring at the somewhat dingy mirror
-Interesting that nopony spit-shined everything for the VIP meeting... then again, I would imagine that that was Twilight's thing.
The librarian-who-would-be-princess
-That anything like "The Man Who Would Be King"?
Apparently, something was happening, and the Nightmare was somehow involved.
-Did that start when The Nightmare entered the more active areas? Seems like it was later unless time dilation is involved.
When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to her original size and shape, and there was a tremendous racket coming from the wooden door behind her, which was no doubt the source of her present difficulties.
-I wonder if she learned that technique from The Nightmare? And was it a meditation (or possibly communication if she learned it from The Nightmare) technique or was it for mental defense? Also, it seems that the half-hour break might not have much meaning. Of course, if she realizes that all she has to do to get Pinkie out is to teleport+run far enough away... then again she wouldn't know about the range limitation, although she might guess.
intent on reigning in whatever madness was going on
-"madness" being a fairly literal term in this case.
well, since before she’d decided to organize her thoughts into the Hall in the first place.
-Does that require the technique she is currently using? Can only unicorns do this sort of thing, or is it just a meditation technique at its core?
However, she most certainly did not expect to see a white pegasus with a blonde mane poking her head out of one of the hallways and chirping a jaunty greeting. “Hiya, Twilight!”
-Once again, Pinkie seems to have no concept of denying knowledge to the enemy... actually, I guess that presenting her evidence directly to Twilight was the whole point... maybe Twilight will think she is still just a memory, especially after she offers to help clean up? I wonder if Celestia will be taking this opportunity to extend/reenforce the sleeping spell on Pinkie a bit?
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes went wide as her friend’s sudden nap suddenly seemed more conspicuous than fortuitous.
-I recommend "suspicious" instead of "conspicuous".
“Why should I listen to somepony who would just invade my mind the way you did?!”
-And this is why trying to pretend to be just a memory might have been a good ploy.... then again it is a pretty weak ploy, so maybe this was the best move after all.
“You are going to tell me everything. I want to know what you’re doing here, why you’re wearing Nightmare’s helmet, and every single detail of all the other ploys the Princesses are running.
-Well, that makes sense if she assumes that Pinkie can't eject from her mind easily.
And you’re going to start by explaining what that bucket is doing over the front door!”
-Was this mentioned before? Probably a trap for The Nightmare to slow it down if it tries to interfere in the conversation... and perhaps she is learning to do intentionally what she and Dash did accidentally to Gilda. Then again, I think The Nightmare is too cunning to fall for that, even after being partied on so hard. Incidentally, if it destroyed some of Twilight's memories... well, that might be sorta hard on their relationship after this is all over.
“Celestia?!”
-Ah, so The Nightmare looks like Celestia under her helmet? An imaginary friend that was created by Luna to be "Her Real Big Sister", and was evicted, but not given physical form by the Elements? Something that Discord tried to create to be his Love after Celestia rejected him? Not saying you have Discord trying to romance Celestia (although I VAGUELY seem to recall that in this story) but a lot of people do. She could be a third sister of the diarchs with a strong family resemblance. And interesting use of the bucket.
though what ursine chiropractic had to do with taking over Equestria was anypony’s guess.-Maybe Fluttershy just panicked and asked an irrelevant question, then backed it up with the pup-dog eyes when Twilight started to say it wasn't relevant?
Actually, it's a variation on the classic bear-trap analogy used to explain why an all-loving deity would allow painful things to happen. The basic idea (if I remember correctly) is that freeing a bear from a bear-trap will either temporarily cause it more pain, or will look like further cruelty from a distance. I just took that idea and applied it to the scene in "Lesson Zero" where Fluttershy looks like she's beating the crap out of a bear, and possibly killing it, when she's just realigning his spine.
The full question (which went undescribed because I didn't think Pinkie Pie would pay attention long enough to listen to the whole exchange) was about whether some of Twilight's proposed actions would be excessively harmful.
Reading this chapter was somehow really hurtful. 
Especially RD´s and AJ´s part, they were attacking Twi directly, not the Nightmare in her but Twi herself. Saying that shes like Trixie or only got her smarts for her going though they´re her friends for so long and should know that Twi is shy about her power, modest cause she´s afraid to be hated, nice, listens to others, helpful and all that seems to suddenly not be important for them at all.
At least Luna, Shining, Fluttershy and Rarity asked about the plan and its possible flaws itself not about Twi and her characteristic flaws. Reading those lines from them felt the same like when everyone left Twi alone in that wedding room after fake Cadence went off crying.
It´s the same thing for me, what Twi wants is from her perspective right and just, and from mine too especially if she can find a solution to really deal with Discord expect sealing him in stone (which didn´t go so well last time...), what she did was wrong/stupid but that no one jumps to her aid (expect Pinkie here with invading her mind to face NMM) is what really hurts. 
>>1247655 - So, I was reading through the comments of this story again, and I noticed this little misunderstanding. I didn't say that Surprise was faster than Rainbow Dash, I said she was faster than any pegasus in recorded history at the time of her creation, which gives her a top speed that is 33% slower than RD's. In other words, Rainbow Dash is so fast that she completely blew the previous speed records away.
Cancel
Send