In a middle-class home in an upscale neighborhood in Canterlot, two unicorns looked up at the sky, frowning. "That's peculiar," Twilight Velvet said. "The Mare in the Moon..."
"I've...I've never heard of anything like this," Night Light commented, staring at the smooth, blank, silver-white moon, its face marked only by a few craters. The mare-shaped shadow that had covered half the moon's surface since time immemorable had, moments earlier, simply vanished. "What do you think it means?"
"I don't know," Velvet said, biting her lip. "Maybe Shining Armor will know, he's at the Palace with Cadance, right? We should ask him when he comes home..."
"Mommy? Daddy?" A small voice piped up. The unicorn couple turned away from their bedroom balcony as the door opened and a small purple filly trotted in. "What's wrong with the moon?"
"Twilight, sweetie, you should be in bed," Velvet chided.
"I know, Mommy, but I hadda pee, and when I looked out the window I saw the moon and it's not right. Why's the moon wrong?"
"We don't know, sweetie," Night Light said. "Your brother's at the castle right now, we were going to ask him if he knows when he comes home later."
Twilight Sparkle frowned. "Can I sit up until Shiny comes home?" she asked. "I don't think I can sleep until I know what happened to the moon."
"That's not a good i—" Velvet broke off and sighed. "How's this?" she tried. "You can stay in here with Mommy and Daddy, and if you're still awake when Shiny comes back, we can all go ask him then. If not, we can ask him tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay Mommy," Twilight said, yawning. She crawled up onto the bed; her parents smiled at each other and rolled their eyes, then got into bed on either side of her.
Within minutes, the little family was sound asleep as the moonlight streamed peacefully through the window.
* * * * *
The various ponies gathered in the throne room—courtesans, guards, scholars, and the like—looked up as Shining Armor cantered through the doors. "By order of Princess Cadance, clear the throne room!" he barked. "Only Kibitz and two guards from each company are to remain. You bunch, the unicorn scholars, Cadance wants you to get that mirror out of here. Take it someplace secure and tell no one except the guards where it is."
The guards immediately snapped to attention and began herding ponies. Kibitz stood fully at attention, his ears perked, his mustache twitching.
The other ponies were slower to move.
"Now see here, young colt!" a gruff unicorn stallion said. "Who do you think you are, barging in here barking orders—"
"The situation just changed," Shining Armor said over him. "We're not going to be able to cover up the fact that Princess Celestia is gone anymore!" He braced himself, then continued: "When Cadance raised the moon, something...went wrong."
Kibitz's eyes widened.
"For right now, we need as few ponies as possible underhoof while we deal with this...situation," Shining Armor said. "Please, I ask that you do as I say and don't argue! This is for the good of all Equestria!"
Glancing uncertainly at one another, the milling crowd of scholars and courtesans began to thin. Several guards seized the mirror and carted it off. The remaining guards stood crisply at attention, flanking the throne.
Once the room was mostly clear, Kibitz trotted over to Shining Armor, his eyes clouded with worry. "Should I take this to mean, erm..." He cleared his throat. "An unexpected guest will be—"
"Nightmare Moon has returned," Shining Armor said bluntly. "Nightmare Moon is back, and Cadance made a deal with her." His muzzle twisted into a sour grimace. "She'll be ruling Equestria until we can get Her Majesty back."
"My word," Kibitz breathed hoarsely.
"It...it's the only choice Cadance had," Shining Armor said miserably. "I mean, this is Nightmare Moon we're talking about. Without Princess Celestia..." He shook his head.
"Yes...yes, of course," Kibitz said absently. His eyes widened and he let out an alarmed whinny as the throne room doors suddenly burst open with a sharp bang, and a stream of blue-black smoke whirled into the room, settling above the throne before coalescing into a pitch-black alicorn mare wearing a midnight blue helm, peytral, and hoofguards. Seconds later, Princess Cadance and Zecora trotted into the throne room, closing the doors behind them.
The guards tensed, watching Nightmare Moon with alarm, ready to spring into action. "Stand down!" Cadance called to them.
"Yes, stand down, you weak foals," Nightmare Moon said, cold menace dripping from her voice. "I am far too elated at the moment to ruin my good mood with a demonstration of discipline." The guards backed off, whickering nervously and pawing the floor, their eyes never leaving Nightmare Moon.
"Your Majesty," Cadance said softly, "could you please not use the Royal Canterlot Voice? Nopony here doubts your power, but it'll help put ponies more at ease with your presence if you, well..." She gestured vaguely with a hoof.
Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "Oh, very well," she said scornfully in a much more sedate tone. She settled herself onto the throne and looked around. "Such a bright, opulent palace my sister has crafted in my absence," she observed. "This is not the Castle of Two Sisters, I know that much from the view outside. Where are we, child?"
"Canterlot, Your Majesty," Cadance said. "It's a city Princess Celestia and the unicorns built after...well," she trailed off.
Kibitz coughed. "Princess Celestia could not bring herself to remain in the old castle," he said. "Too many painful memories."
"Uh-huh," Nightmare Moon said in an unimpressed tone. She looked up and down the long room, taking in the various stained glass windows. "A stained glass record of the lone rule of the Sun Princess," she observed. "How arrogant you have become, sister." Her gaze snapped to Kibitz. "See to it I receive due immortalization in stained glass at once," she ordered.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty," Kibitz stammered.
"Hmm...I will need a great many more tributes," Nightmare Moon mused. "I shall prepare a list..." She waved a hoof vaguely. "Soon. In the meantime, I believe I should introduce myself to my subjects..."
"Not yet," Cadance said. At Nightmare Moon's sharp look, she flinched, but she held her ground. "Look..." She took a deep breath. "I can't stop you from doing whatever you want, but please listen. When ponies find out Princess Celestia is gone, it's going to cause a panic. Then they'll find out you're the new ruler of Equestria, and..." Her ears folded back. "It's going to cause fear, chaos, and widespread panic. That's pretty much unavoidable under the circumstances. Even if we handle this as carefully as possible, once word gets out, the entire kingdom will go crazy. If you just suddenly show up and start proclaiming things left and right, well..."
"You're going to terrorize a lot of innocent, peaceful ponies," Shining Armor said. "Is that what you want? A kingdom ruled by fear, terror, and chaos? Ponies all across Equestria scared to leave their homes, living in fear and misery, afraid you're going to hunt them down and do terrible things to them?"
Nightmare Moon gazed imperiously at him, her pupils thin and sharp. "If they will not worship me with the same love and adulation they gave so freely to Celestia, then I will revel in their screams of terror," she said.
"That's not right!" Cadance said. "You can rule Equestria without spreading fear and chaos and terror! Look, just..." She sighed. "Please don't go out of your way to make the ponies of Equestria fearful and downtrodden? What good is that to anyone? Wouldn't you rather prove you can be just as loved, just as adored, just as admired as Celestia?"
Nightmare Moon snorted. "Is this to be your pathetic attempt at corraling me into doing as you wish? To compare my every action and whim to my sister? Because I warn you, child, that will wear extremely thin in short order."
"I'm just trying to make a point," Cadance said. "You don't need to be an evil queen of darkness and fear! You can be a benevolent, peaceful ruler and allow Equestria to continue as it always has, with ponies happy, healthy, and productive!"
Nightmare Moon drew herself up. "And my appearance, my presence, is so guaranteed to strike terror into these precious ponies' hearts?" she challenged.
"Have you looked in a mirror?" Shining Armor muttered.
Nightmare Moon turned her gaze to him, baring fangs. "And just what is THAT supposed to mean?!" she bellowed.
Cadance winced, but interposed herself between Nightmare Moon and her boyfriend. "It means, Your Majesty, that, well..." She levitated a mirror out of her saddlebag and floated it up to the throne. "Your appearance is...somewhat intimidating."
Nightmare Moon blinked at her reflection. She took the mirror in her own magic and expanded it to full-length, studying herself from various angles. "That's what I look like? Seriously?"
"You...you didn't know?" Shining Armor asked.
Nightmare Moon returned the mirror to its original size and floated it back to Cadance. "I had this form for less than an hour before being banished and there aren't exactly any mirrors up there," she said dismissively. "Forgive me if I was a bit busy trying to kill my sister and usurp her throne to worry about this little makeover."
"Pardon me, but I have a suggestion," Zecora interrupted, stepping forward, "that may settle the pace of this succession." All eyes turned to her. She gazed at Nightmare Moon without a hint of fear or trepidation. "The issue at hand is both simple and grand. That which you seek, the worship and glory, will not come easy given your current backstory. If you wish to reign without terror and fear, begin with the ponies living right here. Learn of the way ponies live today, listen to what these ponies have to say. Ease into your rule one day at a time—"
"Enough with your pedantic rhyme!" Nightmare Moon snapped.
"She's right, though," Shining Armor said. "It might be better for you to learn how Equestria works before you upset the apple cart."
"That's right," Cadance said. "Right now, you're the most powerful being in all Equestria. There's no dispute of that. But if you go out those doors tomorrow morning and declare yourself the new ruler of Equestria, all you're going to do is cause a panic. You should take it slow, get to know how things work, get the ponies here in the castle used to you first, then we can sort of start letting the rest of Equestria know what's...what's going on here."
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. "You are trying to keep me at bay, to stall for time, hoping you can somehow free my sister without all of Equestria learning of her disappearance."
"Not at all!" Cadance said hastily. "It's just..." She sighed. "Princess Celestia is a constant in everypony's lives. Except for you, there isn't a single pony alive who hasn't grown up revering and worshipping her. Surely you can understand...finding out she's gone is going to shake them to the core, and if they find out on top of that that Nightmare Moon is the new ruler of Equestria, it's..." She shook her head. "It's not something we can just dump on the whole kingdom overnight. It'd turn Equestria upside down."
Nightmare Moon frowned in contemplation. "I...suppose there is some truth to that," she said. "I would prefer a worshipful and reverent flock beneath my hoof than ponies who are too frightened to even think straight." She closed her eyes. "Besides, I will be stuck walking through their nightmares whether I want to or not, and frightened ponies have far worse nightmares than ponies at peace." She fluffed her wings and sat back in the throne, arching her neck imperiously. "Very well," she said. "Beginning first thing in the morning, we will proceed with your plan to...ease into my reign."
Cadance bowed. "Of course, Your Majesty."
"I'd...better get home," Shining Armor said. "Will you be okay?"
"I'll be just fine," Cadance said. "Be careful what you tell your family, okay?"
"I'll...yeah," Shining Armor said, worrying at his lip. He glanced at the throne, frowned, then turned and left.
"I should start working on tomorrow's schedule," Kibitz said hurriedly, bustling away. "Good evening, Your Majesties."
"I believe I will retire now too," Zecora said. "I bid good evening and good luck to you."
With Zecora gone, only the guards, Cadance, and Nightmare Moon remained. Nightmare Moon tilted her head. "And you?" she asked. "Surely it is past your bedtime, little one?"
"Are you kidding?" Cadance asked, all the politeness and civility gone from her voice. "I may have basically handed Equestria over to you without a fight, but if I don't at least keep a close eye on you at all times, I'll never be able to look Princess Celestia in the eye again." She scraped at the floor firmly with one dainty hoof. "I'm going to keep you in check, Nightmare Moon. Equestria will not be your plaything."
Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "So dramatic," she said. Chuckling, she stretched out on the throne, eyes half-lidded. "Do as you wish. Just remember your place."
"Oh, I know my place," Cadance said softly as she conjured a large, plush cushion and folded her legs under her.
as the other story is still on going and this takes place at the same time as it, this is a side story not a sequel, not that my ocd nitpicking is done keep up the good work on both stories
Oh dang, it's the other side of that story. Gotta read it.
9193626
Eh, pretty sure that's just how the site labels it, there's not really any other mechanism for linking stories.
9193626
FiMF only gives the option to label stories as sequels, not sidestories. It isn't a thing I can control, so there's no use pointing it out.
9193644
sorry then
I'm really looking forward to how this story develops.
You should write in the description that is a side story, regardless of what the side says automatically there XD. oh well, in any case, I'm reading this XD.
Finally!
... ha! I get it!
Yes, I have been waiting for this. Nightmare Moon is in for a lot of trouble. A 1000 years to catch up to won't be easy on top of a thousand years of politics and law making... Joy...
And this is where a competent villain (or conqueror) would just execute Cadance at once. (But then, we would have much less of a story, wouldn't we?)
I was a little surprised to see this but it looks great so far. Looks like everyone convinced Nightmare Moon to take her rule one step at a time.
That line is way funnier when it comes from a villain like Nightmare Moon.
9194164 Given how NMM acted in the show... she's about as far from competent as one could get. She got defeated by 6 untrained mares, only one of whom even suspected she existed... and only, like, two days beforehand. So it's perfectly in-character.
NMM was about as cunning and subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. People gotta realize SOMBRA was more competent! At least he left traps.
9194164
Hahahahahahaha next you'll be telling me Celestia is a mighty warrior.
9194378
And then there's Chrysalis, who's just become more and more pathetic over time.
She paused at the window of the two sisters sealing Discord. Several seconds passed in uncomfortable silence. Finally, the Nightmare turned away and muttered, "Didn't even get my good side."
In any case, this should be a gripping read indeed. Eagerly looking forward to more, especially when the topic of raising the sun comes up.
9194164
But even in her Nightmarish state, Luna doesn't want to be a villain. She may be willing to settle for fear, but what she has always wanted from her subjects is recognition, respect, love. It's one thing to conquer. It's quite another to rule sustainably afterwards. The question is how long NMM's patience will hold out against her egomania and paranoia.
9194437 Yeah, Chrysalis' original plan worked out of sheer luck. She clearly had no idea what to do against the Princesses, and had Luna not been plot-conveniently absent for the wedding itself, it would've been game over instantly.
After that, she shows up again and the show hands her victory over the ponies without even explaining how. Then all her changelings suddenly decide to become Skittles bugs... somehow...
Tirek actually won. The Tree just threw the ponies a Deux Ex at the last second.
Discord almost legitimately won. He turned the Bearers against each other and didn't expect them to recover.
Sombra was a legitimate loss. The ponies were looking for the Crystal Heart the whole time, so it's not as if it was an unknown property.
Nightmare Moon... sheer, where to even begin. Thinking retroactively, her loss makes even less sense if the Nightmare was indeed a part of Luna's mind all along. Luna would have known full well how the EoH were made and how they worked, AND ABOUT THE TREE. NMM didn't seem to know a damned thing.
Eh, but this is all less about the villains' competence and more about the show's sloppy continuity.
9194514
Not long, I think.
Gimme. Gimme gimme gimme! I MUST HAVE MORE!
9194514
Considering that Cadance has openly declared her intent to continuously defy and undermine Nightmare's rule, killing her wouldn't even be villainous or paranoid, it would just be NMM dealing with sedition and treason and stabilizing her rule.
Yeah, it would upset ponies in Canterlot, but anything less than Celestia 2.0 will upset them anyway, and it's not like anypony outside of Canterlot even knows Cadance exists (at least in Cannon).
It was just me musing aloud anyway, MythrilMoth's stories are generally too lighthearted for such things (not that that is a bad thing).
Oh yes, I'm happy to see this one and looking forward to where it goes!
I get that this is a side story, but no lies when I first saw 'sequel' I was a bit sad as I really really really want to see more on the human side of the mirror.
Strong start for this though! It will be grand if Twi becomes Nightmare's protege, cause if you think about it the parallels are there in universe.
9197406
You do know Cheer Princess isn't done yet, right? I'm still writing it, it's just that I needed to get rolling with this story too and the inspiration to work on it finally hit.
9197515
I know, I just meant that for a second the whole sequel tag on the site made me sad till I reminded myself of that
9196836
Um, you did catch the part were Cadance declares that she will keep NMM "in check" and keep Equestria from being NMM's "plaything", right? Yes, Cadance has knowledge about the current government and current society, (both very useful, but neither are something NMM actually needs to rule [NMM was ready to rule through fear from the get go, after all]) but when she has made it clear that she will not be using her knowledge to help NMM's rule, but instead will only use it to limit and circumvent NMM, as well as to manipulate NMM into ruling the way Cadance wants her to, that severely reduces the value of the knowledge. Especially since all of Cadance's knowledge (except for personal knowledge of Celestia) can be acquired from other ponies (ponies who are not rivals for the throne). Then there is the whole "taking rulership advice from someone who is openly opposed to, and trying to undermine, the regime" thing ....
Yes, letting mayors and bureaucrats and (possibly) even nobles remain in place to keep the government running is necessary, but Cadance doesn't actually do anything (that we currently know of), so she is irrelevant to the running of the government. But she is a symbol of Celestia's regime that rebels and malcontents will rally around.
9198313
A succesful evil overlord, however, does not randomly destroy useful resources,. NMM knows what Cadance is doing- and it is better to have your enemies close at hand and under control than having random callow youths raising rebellions around the countryside.
Until NMM successfully appraises the current situation (as MythrilMoth appears to be making a reasonable attempt to show the effect of a thousand-year reign and possibly the societal and technological disparity of an entire millenium[1], getting rid of a usual resource - despite it being uncooperative - would be unwise.
(And killing her would just turn her into a martyr, for that matter.
Now, quietly finding some leverage (e.g Shining Armor - or Twilight) with which to ensure Cadance doesn't get any funny ideas if necessary, THAT'S what she shold be doing.)
[1]Celestia must, incidently, be commended for managing to quash lingual drift for a thousand years. Let's not forget that English speakers weren't even speaking MIDDLE English a thousand years ago (which is just about comprehensible i you've ever had to read Chaucer), but Old Englisg (which isn't.)
9198393
Hey, we're talking about magical talking ponies here, I wouldn't be surprised if they're still using the exact same language (with a few new words) as Hurricane, Puddinghead and Platinum.
that of the ruling candence, while cely, is in the other world?
Sometimes I forget, about what I read some time
more and very good, more I found a bit rooted, that in his first time doing the work, she released the equivalent of the ponies of anti-christ
9198393
Again, Cadance's usefulness to NMM is actually very minimal and very replaceable, and the "random callow youths raising rebellion" will likely happen anyway once it gets out that NMM is in control, having Cadance around will just give them a "true princess" to try and put on the throne. So it becomes a question of a dead martyr or a living symbol who is also actively trying to undermine and subvert NMM's rule. Dead causes far fewer problems.
Getting leverage over Cadance isn't a bad thought, as far as it goes, but it still requires NMM to keep Cadance around, even though any profit to NMM from that is debatable at best. (Like we're debating it right now )
9198473
But is Cadance a competent administrator? She seems to have no place in the government, not even as a diplomat, that we are currently aware of. And she certainly isn't popular outside of Canterlot, Rarity (who adores anything to do with the royalty and lives in a nearby town) had never even heard of Cadance before the wedding. Even if NMM trumpeted Cadance's execution across Equestria, it looks like most ponies reaction would be "Who?"
As for your successful tyranny question, my opinion is: yes, NMM could control all of Equestria as a tyrant (bloody-hooved or otherwise). After all, nothing in Equestria is a physical threat to her, and she can see and manipulate her subjects dreams to find revolutionaries and alter (albeit slowly) how ponies see her (or leave them in abject terror of her).
Thank you, Kobla, Aotrs Commander, FanOfMostEverything, for an interesting discussion, but as has been pointed out, Cannon NMM was very much not competent, so this will have to remain in the hypothetical until we see how MythriMoth portrays his NMM.
9198773
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/d/d1/Baby_Cakes_wondering_what_Pinkie_is_doing_S2E13.png/revision/latest?cb=20121216203342
I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't speak...whatever language that is you're typing in.
9198782
idiot translator
well, I found it funny, that on his first day at work
candence, released the equivalent of ponies
of anti-Christ
and if it happens a lot of time, I forget what I read
9198781
Oh, absolutely.
A competant, effective NMM (of the sort who would be a welcome recruit to the Army Of The Red Spear, for instance) might have done the following:
1) Not appeared dramatically publically, after... Doing whatever she did with Celestia[1].
2) Instead, used her night-based stealth abilities to lurk around and do some recon; find out the lay of the land, ascertain what possible threats to her powers would, numbers, weapons, etc. (Including "will eternal night actually cause catastrophic environmentalt problems that will kill everyone?")
3) Construct a very careful plan to take the most critical region under control (which may not be the capital)
4) Quietly eliminate any located threats (e.g. Mane Six or, more likely Twilight (since without NMM being there, Twilight almost certainly wouldn't have worked out how to activate the even if the others accompanied her).
5) THEN enact conquest plan.
That would, of course, be an entirely different (and likely much darker) story to either this one or canon.
[1]Jury is out whether it may or may not have been prudent to kill her out of hoof - one the on hoof, she'd be permenanly out of the way, on the other that's a big source of to-level information you just wasted; access to necromancy, of course, allows you to have both, though NMM probablyt didn't.
9198810
9198853
Okay you two? Outta here, now. Take it to PMs.
9198861
My apologies; I am not sure precisely what the poster in question took offense to (I was directly debating with Dorath, and I was sort of on their side) - perhaps to me merely being my usual Evil self (which is fair enough), but I had pretty much said my piece anyway (nor would I have continued in any case if threatened to become uncivil as it has done); so you may consider my part of this closed, my good sir/madam/small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.
*mimes zipping his jawbone shut*
*tips helmet*
9198910
No harm, no foul.
*tips helmet*
YAY!!!!!!! Thank you so much for writing this. I've been looking forward to this fic since NMM was freed in Cheer Princess.
I'm seriously loving this so far. Although it does make me wonder how thing's will work out for Twilight being destined to being the Princess's student, and both her and the other EoH becoming a thing. Chosen by the Tree of Harmony.
9198807
Rather like with that comment. He's pointing out you have horrible spelling, and had no idea what you were writing because your spelling and sentence structure is atrocious. It's physically painful how bad it is.
For instance, Cadance is the proper name, and canonical name of Princess Cadance. Not Candence (which isn't remotely right). And you don't cap names. Also another tip. You don't slaughter a sentence by splitting it to multiple lines, breaking the sentence randomly. You have 3 - 6 sentences (on average) of connected sentences. Then you space it out one or two lines. Then make the new paragraph.
9211111
first, if we forget or lose an accent or letter, the translator changes the whole sentence type ohe the difference
dog
ciao
the first word to be translated is thus ... cão ... Already the wrong word is like this, ... cõo ...
and your translations have changed completely
so if you never miss a word when writing anything, my congratulations, you can speak badly about how I write, otherwise, just point me that I wrote wrong, and I'll try to correct
9214158
Dude, let it go.
9214476
Sure sure. NP.
now I'm curious for what he wants, that he said
NMM: "Always those hard decisions..."
In her defence, you just ordered your guards to remove the mirror...
Nightmare Moon not realizing what she looks like makes a shocking amount of sense.
9362776
Well after all, there weren't exactly any mirrors lying around during her battle with Celestia. Or on the moon.
> courtesans
You mean courtiers. Courtesans are… different. Even if one happened to be there, you probably wouldn't be able to tell, and you wouldn't expect them to be standing around in crowds in that setting.