Chapter 6
“Well that was fun,” I said as I pulled the cellar door shut behind us.
Trixie didn’t answer. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her wander over to a corner and sit there with a puff of dust. She took her time settling in, before she looked back over to me.
“Fun?” she repeated. “In what way was that fun?”
“Aww, come on, admit it. A good brawl’s always an awesome time.” I took the time to look around the room for any spot that wouldn’t be hard stone floor or dusty. Nope. So I settled for the middle of the room. “I saw you on the table, making your cloak all billowy and shit. You were getting into it.”
“Ha! A simpleton like you would not understand the effort that goes into being a mare as great as Trixie,” she replied.
I laughed. “Right... So the fireworks couldn’t have been launched from anywhere else in the room?”
Trixie scoffed and looked at me as though I had just said I ate her pet cat or something. “Of course not! How dare you suggest such a thing. Trixie is a performer of the highest caliber.”
I snorted. “You had fun, admit it.”
“Trixie will admit to being... thrilled at having such an active audience. To think her beauty and skills could provoke such a reaction.” She smirked. “Trixie played those fools like an expert.”
“I don’t know about beauty and skill, but I have to say, good call starting that bar fight.” I noticed that my claw guards were pretty nasty looking with that minotaur’s blood on them so I took them off and slid them into my belt under my cloak.
Trixie watched me with a disgusted look on her face and turned away. “Trixie supposes it would be too much to believe that you have a plan?”
“Not really. We’re pretty much fucked as it is. They know we’re here and who we are. As a Wide Eyes, Grace can call up more soldiers to come after us. No river smuggler would be willing to take us, and if we try to cross the plains then they’ll find us. Maybe if I was on my own I could make it, but with you slowing me down, our best chance is to sit here and wait it out for maybe a day, then try our luck at another way across the border. But that’s a real long shot. Like I said, we’re pretty much fucked.”
“Why must Trixie be surrounded by idiots?” she asked aloud.
“Yeah, well fuck you too Trix.” Really I wasn’t ticked off. You get used to how much of a bitch she is after a while.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such vulgar language will get you nowhere in life young cub.” A half amused look was sent in my direction. “Something you already know all about from the looks of things. Now watch and learn.”
Trixie closed her eyes and her horn began glowing a light blue. Then, as easy as breathing out, a second Trixie appeared beside her and they both directed that smug grin at me. Fuck. And here I thought things couldn’t get worse.
“What do you think?” they spoke as one. “Trixie can create up a dozen at once; after all, she is called the Great and Powerful for a reason.”
“Illusions...” I tapped a claw against my beak. “You can make one of me, right?”
“Of course,” Trixie scoffed.
“Well this can work...” I stood up and began pacing. “How long can you keep it up? How close do you have to be for it to work?”
“It gets harder the further away it is, but with smoke and mirrors, Trixie is more than capable of getting us out of any sticky situations. And with a bit more magic, she can make them explode.” A small smile danced on her lips as she examined her hooves. “Trixie is not as defenseless as she sounds.”
Still not used to the idea of killing though. Still doesn’t react fast enough when someone wants to kill her. Still, I’d underestimated her. I got up and made my way over to the fake Trixie. I poked it in the face, and my finger passed straight through.
“Trixie, any way you can make these things more... solid? If they’re purely ghosty, then they’re not going to leave any tracks. They’ll only work for so long.”
“Trixie is powerful, not a miracle worker. Doing things to the degree you’re suggesting will limit us to just one pair of illusions for no more than ten minutes.” Trixie almost seemed annoyed at having to say that, as though she was swallowing poison or something. “If that.”
“Heh, bet it burns her to admit the Great and Powerful Trixie has limits?” I put my fist through the Illusions face. Damn, if only this thing had a bit of weight to it, it’d be an awesome punching bag. I turned around and caught the scowl that was set into her muzzle. “Well, I think we should try to sneak out first, and when that doesn’t work we use the illusions to make a break for it.” I shrugged. “Not the best plan, but I’m not a genius... Wait a second. Remember that invisibility spell?”
“Yes,” she replied, still very hostile. Then, to my surprise, the illusion beside me exploded, sending me stumbling sideways as stars dashed in front of my eyes. “What about it?”
“Fuck you, Trix,” I muttered as I rearranged my feathers. “Can you do that solid illusion and the invisibility at the same time? If you can, then we can set some false tracks leading Grace away, and I can fly us far enough to get a good lead out of here.”
“Trixie believes so. Difficult, but doable,” and then she smirked. “What’s this? Is Gilda preening herself in preparation for a date? Got a hot mare lined up for tonight?”
I rolled my eyes. Preening was important for more than just looks. It was necessary for flight. “Whatever, that’s our plan. Let’s just hope they don’t have any zeb powder.”
I coughed out a mouthful of the purple dust as we were both shoved into the iron bar sky carriage. Turns out they do have zeb powders.
“Well that wasn’t fun.” I said as the cage door slammed shut behind us and the carriage took to the air.
“It would have worked if you flew into the forest like Trixie suggested,” snapped the unicorn as she smoothed down her charred mane.
I snorted. “I told you, that would have just made more rustling for them to follow. We would have made a completely clean break if you just kept you fat muzzle shut and didn’t shout out ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie mocks your puny gryphon brains,’ which is bullshit by the way. Don’t go saying that shit while I’m flying you, and next time I won’t let go.”
“Says the gryphon who dropped Trixie into an outhouse. If not for that, we would have escaped!”
“Speaking of which, you can stay on the other side of the cage.” I told her and shoved her towards the other side. “Look, you just said that shit, and the outhouse was right there, and we were fucked anyway. What was I supposed to do?”
“Gone around the thing that was straight in front of you? Watch where you were going? Not be a total idiot!?” With each word she spoke, she advanced. “And if Trixie has to suffer, so do you!”
“I went over it, I just let you fall into it...” I gagged. “Goddesses! What the fuck do they eat around here! You smell like some real nasty shit, let me tell you.” I shoved her away from me again. “Fuck me dead.”
“Ha! So you admit it!” She looked way too pleased with herself. “And please, Trixie wouldn’t ‘fuck’ you normally so she most certainly would not ‘fuck you dead’ no matter how much she was paid.”
“Admit what?” I backed away from her again. “And I would definitely not fuck you coated in shit. I wouldn’t fuck anything coated in shit.”
“Please, Trixie is so magnificent she could walk into a bar as is and have males fall over their hooves for her. Trixie will have you know, she is so hot, even straight mares fall over their hooves for her.”
I coughed and turned away, gasping for air. “Speaking for the mares, I would not tap that.”
There was a loud thump from outside. “Will you two just screw each other already!? It’s been a long night and your bickering is not helping!”
Trixie immediately replied with a buck to the wall. “Shut up you insolent foal! The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be spoken to in such a manner. And to insinuate such a thing! Trixie is not some low down tramp willing to have sex with whatever horror is dragged up from Tartarus. Though to be fair, the creatures from Tartarus probably look more appealing than this female.”
“Go suck a big fat monster cock, Trix.” I turned to face the bars and called out for whoever that was. “And you, spit the one you’ve got out. No one wants to see that shit.”
“At least Trixie could get some if she wanted to.” Then she leaned back with a smug grin plastered all over that annoying face of hers. “You on the other hoof... Even if you did pick one up, you’d be too busy eyeing his sister to do anything.”
“Fuck you Trix.” I muttered.
“You’d love to, wouldn’t you?”
“Please, you have less curves than my brother. You’d be lucky to find anything that’d tap that.”
“Your brother has more curves than the entire female race.”
“Hey! That’s my brother you’re talking about. I’m the only one that’s allowed to give him shit.”
Trixie merely shrugged and turned away from me. “Whatever. This is still all your fault.”
“Bull shit. If you hadn’t-”
“To think for a while there, I actually thought you might be somewhat intelligent.” I glanced around and saw Grace flying behind us smirking.
I smiled back at him. “Yeah fuck you too Grace.” I jerked my thumb at Trixie. “If shit coat here hadn’t been with me I’d have made it.”
“Ha! It was Trixie’s superior wit and intelligence that came up with the plan to begin with. Without a dead weight like you, she would be in Equestria right this moment.”
“Bullshit.” I said and turned back to her. “It was my plan, you were the one that fucked it up, and even if you had gotten away, it’s three days to the Equestrian border in the closest direction. Idiot.” I turned back to Graciano. “Ignore her,” I told him with a roll of my eyes. “You feeling alright? She hit you pretty hard with that earth pony.”
“And the flare,” added Trixie with a smirk. “And don’t forget that outhouse some gryphon dropped Trixie into.”
“I’m fine,” he assured me. “But, was it really necessary for you to blind that soldier? He needs to be medically discharged now.”
I shrugged. “He’s still breathing. So uh... what’s going to happen to us?” I glanced back over at Trixie.
“I’m taking you to Aviana, where it will be someone else's decision. Trixie’s going to get the ‘royal treatment’,” he did finger quotes in the air, and I shuddered. “But given that you’re female and I have some influence, I believe I can help you.”
“The royal treatment? What’s that?” Trixie asked sounding worried.
“Not pretty,” I told her. Yeah, no. As much as Trixie was a complete bitch, there was no way in Tartarus that I was going to let her go through that. Mind you, it’s not like I had much of a choice in the matter. “You’re still gonna try to get me off out of this?”
He nodded. “Of course. Whatever happens I’m still your brother.”
I smirked. “Yeah-yeah-yeah. Big hug.” We were silent for a bit until Trixie spoke up again.
“Please get a room. Trixie is trying to sleep.”
We both glanced at each other as our beaks curled in disgust. “Trixie, he’s my brother.”
“If that stopped everypony, there would not need to be a law about it.”
Grace chuckled. “She raises a strong point. Regardless I assure you we would never do that. Plus, I suspect Gilda’s gay anyway.”
“Hah. You’re prettier than Trixie, Grace. That’s not a good argument.”
“Trixie is not even offended by that comment. He could be a model. For female clothing that is,” Trixie said without even looking up at us.
I laughed, and Grace smirked too. I guess he’d gotten used to stuff like that over the years. I glanced back at him. “Guess some things never change, hey?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “I better go now. I’ll wake you when we arrive in Aviana,” he gave a sniff. “And I’ll make sure Trixie gets a bath too.”
“Thank fuck for that. She smells worse than dragon turd.” I rolled my neck and yawned. “See you tomorrow then.”
He nodded. “Alright. Try to get some sleep, and tomorrow, if you want to get in as little trouble as possible, try to act less like... you.”
I snorted. Not likely. Even with his help I was practically an exile, and this wasn’t the first run in I’d had with the Wide Eyes. My chances of getting out of this clean, were about the same as Trixie’s.
“Yeah, night Grace.”
He didn’t answer, just hopped of the carriage and took to the air.
“Finally,” Trixie muttered. “Now Trixie can get some sleep.”
“Fuck you Trix.”
“Well, th-”
“No. Shut up. That wasn’t funny the first time.”
“Whatever.”
“You have been oddly silent these past few days.”
“There is something far deeper going on here than we first suspected,” I replied as we stared out the window together. “Thou feels it too, dost thou not?
“A tension.A fear.Anticipation.” She turned our head to look up at the moon and the stars. “Change. Something is happening.”
“No doubt Celestia feels it too.” With a snarl, I forced my head back to gazing out over the plains and forests before us. “This body is mine. Thou wouldst do best to remember that.”
Her chuckled echoed through the confines of my head. “And what would little Lulu do? Kill me? I’d love to see you try.”
“Silence.” Even to my ears the command sounded weak. What was the point of it anymore? I was useless and worthless and pathetic. The sooner I admitted that to myself the better. I used to be powerful! My commands would be obeyed, I could do as I pleased and none could say the contrary. Perhaps a certain filly would catch my eye, or a particular plot of land, or maybe even some nice jewelry. It mattered not. I was Princess, and it was my right to claim such items for myself.
Now? Now I would get laughed at, or somepony would quote some obscure historical law that shouldn’t have been created in the first place. In place of fear and awe, I got baby faces and ‘Awwwwww, isn’t she just so cute!’.Stupid Celly and her stupid declaration of pony rights.Stupid laws. We used to have everything!
“Everything except love and admiration.”
Yes! Except love and admiration. The one thing we desired most was stripped away from us at every opportunity. Who fought back the dragons? Who pushed the changelings and prevented the greatest catastrophe from every befalling our fair nation? We did! Who got the credit? Stupid Celly. Oh yes, she was all nice and prim, making orders from the safety of her stupid Canterlot and adhering to the stupid rules of engagement. Ha! Who obeys those? War is war and everything is fair game.
“She vilified the night. She wanted everything to herself. The lands.The power.Their love. Everything is her fault”
Yes, everything is her fault. It was all her fault. We could have had it all. Everything could have been o-
“No!” I slammed my hoof into the glass before me, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Though they dug into my fur and left cuts along my hoof, the pain did not register at all. “Get out of our head!”
The door suddenly burst open, sending splintered wood in all directions as gryphons poured in.
“Your Majesty! Is everything alright?”
“Who dost thou think thou art? Who gave thee permission to burst in so?” I asked with a deathly chill whisper. “Well?”
“We... We heard shattering glass and... um...” The guard backed up, glancing to his companions for support out the corner of his eye, but they offered no words. Try as he might, he could not escape my gaze. He coughed and straightened up before saying, “I apologize, Your Majesty. I made a snap judgment.”
“Leave Us.”
“But your hoof. Surely you will requ-”
“We said, leave Us.” Glass crunched underhoof as I walked towards the guard. “Does thou lack basic hearing? Leave. Us.”
“Your Majesty, I must protest. Those are seriou-”
“Thou dares question Us!?” With the full force of the Royal Canterlot Voice unleashed, the rest of the windows shattered and the guards were thrown across the room. One unfortunate guard slammed into a dresser with enough force to break it and leave a piece of wood embedded in his arm.
“We are the Mistress of the Night! We hold enough power to level this entire city! Thou dare question Us!?” Wings flared open, sending gale force winds out in all directions. What furniture wasn’t destroyed now lay in tatters and the three guards were pinned up against the wall, slowly being crushed to death.
Just as suddenly as the outburst had occurred, the winds died down and everything fell to the ground. My head throbbed and I was panting to catch my breath as sweat dripped down my brow, but I covered that up with the most simplistic illusion spell.
“Be glad thou art not under Our direct rule.” In the deathly silent room, my whisper was like a guillotine. “Now be gone.”
A slow clap filled the air.
“Who dares mock Us?”
There, reflected in the shards of broken glass was Nightmare Moon, slowly clapping her hooves as she grinned at me. “Bravo! Encore I say, encore! I have not seen a performance like that in quite some time. I doubt I could have done much better. Encore!” Then to add insult to injury, she threw in one of those whistles modern ponies use when they see an attractive member of the opposite gender.
All I needed was a bit of magic and then all the glass in the room was turned to dust. It was only then that I noticed the destruction I had caused. Stones were cracked, the roof had collapsed in, water was leaking out of the bathroom, and there was not a single usable piece of furniture left in the room.
“We... We are sorry...” I took a step towards the three guards, but they immediately shrunk back. Or, at least they tried to. Cuts, bruises, broken bones, impaled limbs. It would take forever for them to return to active duty. With a sigh, I returned to my spot by the window.
For the second time that night, gryphons invaded my private room.
“Princess Luna?” I glanced over and saw Teotore standing in the doorway. His eyes were calm as he took in the damage, and settled on the gryphon soldiers. “Did these soldiers cause you offense?”
Silence.
“You three, out.” I heard the groaning and shuffling as the soldiers left the room. “My lady, are you well?” he asked with what I could have mistaken for genuine concern.
Once more, all he got in reply was silence. As it stretched on and the nervous shuffling of claws and wings filled the air, I finally turned around and looked Teotore straight in the eye. “We wish to speak to thy King.”
“Of course my lady.” He bowed. “Would you like to freshen up before hand, or perhaps have that hoof tended to?”
“There is no need. We are fine as is.” I brushed past him and his guards as I made my way out.
“Yes Princess,” he said as he fell in behind me. His voice brightened up. “I have some good news though, the mare and the gryphoness who were your companions have been found, and are in good health. They will face justice for crimes against the Equestrian royalty.”
“That is good news indeed. Thou hast Our thanks for bringing it to our attention,” I replied lazily.
Those idiots! I told them to make a break for the border. How stupid has Equestria become in these past one thousand years? No doubt it is thanks to Celly coddling them all this time. Stupid! Now the gryphons had my journal and who knows what secrets are contained within it.
“They’re in the dungeon currently, if you wish to speak with them.” I could not hear a trace of implication in his voice. Could it be my flirtations had indeed succeeded?
“We care not for those miscreants. We are certain thy judicial system will be adequate.”
“As you wish princess. No interest in what they intended for you? Perhaps you wish to know what will likely become of them?”
“Perhaps. Speaking with thy King is of the utmost importance right now,” I replied with a toss of my mane before gazing up at him through my eyelashes. “We would appreciate it if thou accompanied Us to meet our former companions though. They were a brutish pair and thy presence will help keep me calm. We fear they may say something and We may react in a... regretful manner.”
“Yes, the guards have informed me that they are quite... uncouth. Rest assured I will accompany you when you see them. At the moment, it looks like the unicorn will face execution, but the gryphoness seems to have some pull here. She might be let off lightly.”
How interesting.
Before I could reply, we turned the corner and the large double doors of the throne room came into view. With a simple nod to the gryphons posted outside, they opened up the door and Teotore and I stepped in. No one else followed and the doors immediately closed once we were through.
“Your majesty,” bowed Teotore.
He was a large gryphon, broad in the shoulders and masculine in his presence. He appeared healthy and vibrant, though the greying tips of his crown feathers betrayed his age, as did the wrinkles around his eyes. His feathers were a golden brown, and his fur was a deeper chocolate. From the way Celly gushes about him, I was expecting something a bit more, but I had to admit, there was something to this mortal. Once I return to Canterlot, I will definitely have to keep a close eye on this one.
“Teotore,” he said with a nod of his head before he turned to me. “Princess Luna.” he rose from his throne and bowed. “It’s an honor.” His voice was deep and powerful.
“The honor is all ours King Joaquim,” I replied with a slight inclination of my head. “Teotore, leave us.”
I noticed him glance at the king, and the slight look that passed between them before he bowed again. “As you wish Your Highness.” The doors opened as he left, and closed behind him.
“It is fortunate you came, Princess Luna, I was just about to send someone to collect you. Please, sit, and tell me why it is you sought me out.”
I glanced over at the feminine gryphon standing beside him. That Wide Eyes was the one who went after Gilda and Trixie. Had he been giving a report? Either way, his presence was certainly not welcome.
“Do not mind Graciano, Princess Luna. He has my full confidence.”
“We shall defer to thy judgment.” I ignored the chair and simply stared up at him. “Why were thou at my temple?”
“Routine archaeology.” he chuckled. “Despite my kind’s disinterest in history, I agree with Celestia when she says it is quite important.”
“Is that so? Then thou wouldst not mind if we were allowed in on thy findings? The temple holds a special part in Our past and We would like to collect some of the more... emotionally important artifacts from Our past. We are sure some kind of compensation can be worked out.”
“I would love to, but sadly the ruin was buried in an avalanche, if you recall. We have no findings to share.” His smile seemed genuine, and he was treating me as though I were an equal. Foalish upstart.
“Nightmare?”
“I thought you would never ask.”
Grace watched Luna with his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. His was still worried about his sister’s wellbeing, but even so. Professionalism was a trait to be admired, and he reminded himself of that as he stood there.
“But, Graciano here was overseeing most of the excavation with Teotore. Perhaps he would care to share his finding with you.”
Luna glanced back at Grace, and he smiled as he gave a low bow to her. “Your Majesty, I would be honored.”
And by that he meant he’d be happy to tell her exactly nothing of value. He’d memorized much on its historical significance and architecture that he could successfully talk about for hours without saying anything remotely worthwhile. One thing he’d learned long before his Wide Eyes training was a good lie took work.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, the alicorn began changing. Her fur darkened, her eyes became that of a reptile and she held herself differently. Graciano’s mind jumped to what his sister had told him, about the difference between Nightmare and Luna.
Grace shifted slightly, and the king’s gaze turned to him. He shook his head slightly and shifted his head in Nightmare’s direction. A scratch behind his ear, and swallowing of the throat let his sire know the risk she presented. Mind magic is at play. Watch your thoughts.
A faint twitch of the king’s eye, and Grace lowered his head in deference.
“Ah, it is so refreshing when others know mind magic is at play,” chuckled Nightmare Moon. “What’s that? Your sister told you? Oh dear, she really shouldn’t be spreading state secrets around like that. So, tell me Kingy, will we engage in a battle of wills or shall you just tell me the answer? I doubt Celly uses such tactics at all, so I can promise you that I will win.”
Grace barely caught his beak before it hit the floor. The warning against mind magic was not a warning about having every thought in your head read; just that there might be risk of a thought press or similar spell that could be overcome with the right mental barriers. To have his mind read so cleanly was quite concerning for someone whose life was secrets.
The king, however, showed no reaction for a second, before he gave a throaty chuckle. “Then you better be careful, Grace. I’m sure she could learn many an unpleasant thing from your thoughts alone.” He smiled at Nightmare. “No, Celestia has no need to bully or frighten me. Her tactics are far more subtle than fear and her result are cleaner too.”
“Ah, but I get results faster and with far more accuracy,” smirked the dark alicorn. “And please, I doubt Graciano’s thoughts could be any worse than his sister’s.”
“His sister’s?” The king asked, and Grace’s jaw tightened. “What about your sister, Grace?”
That was one little part of his life he’d hoped would stay buried, even if she was in Aviana at this moment. There were ways he could help her without anyone ever knowing he’d had anything to do with it.
“My sister is something I’d like to treat as a private matter your highness. It’s unrelated to state affairs. Of course though, I will tell you if it’s your command.”
“Can we just skip past all this idle chatter and you all just tell me what is going on? I would rather skip the whole ‘breaking your mind’ to get the information I want bit.” She paused and looked over her shoulder before turning back. “Oh, and Luna wants you to know that it is exceptionally difficult to put the mind back together again once it has been cracked open like an egg.”
Again the king showed no fear. “I’m sure you’ve noticed trouble reading my thoughts?” He tapped his crown. “I have little interest in idle trinkets or decoration.” He shifted on his throne. “Though I doubt it would take much effort for you to break through a unicorn’s magic. I will gladly tell you everything, in fact I was considering asking you for aid anyway.”
Grace shifted uncomfortably. He did not like seeing his king so willing to share information. It went against his instincts.
Nightmare cocked an eyebrow. “I see, very interesting indeed. But can you say the same for the rest of your staff? Take Graciano for example, all I need is a bit of magic and all his secrets will be mine. Even your charm could be easily overcome if I decided to. Speak then, but know that if I suspect you are lying, I will not hesitate to use my magic.”
The king smiled. “For some reason I doubt even mind magic could fully separate a Wide Eyes from his lies. Even I do not know the depth of some of their deceptions. Still, his sanity is not a gamble I’ll make. No need for threats or brute force, we can do this with the civility that you ponies value so highly.”
The king was right. There were some truths that would never leave the Wide Eyes. His loyalty was to the king, but it was best that his hands remain clean of some of the less... savory things the Wide Eyes had locked away. Grace barely managed to catch his thoughts before they went to his last stint in Zebrica. That was one thought Nightmare would not catch.
“My King, I would gladly sacrifice myself or my sanity should you see it as necessary.”
“Worry not Graciano. I value you as a servant and friend, I would not see you destroyed so young.” He turned back to Nightmare and paused for thought. “Tell me... Nightmare, I assume?”
She merely inclined her head in acknowledgement.
“Tell me, does the story Celestia tells of your origin have any reflection on the truth at all?”
“Does it matter? Quit stalling.”
“Calm. There is time, and this is all relevant I assure you. For some reason, I find myself doubting that the power of jealousy alone is enough to possess the mind and soul of an alicorn so completely. The story feels... thin, don’t you think? I believe your origin lies elsewhere. I believe you were conceived in the wake of something called Thanatos.” He turned to Grace. “Is that the correct pronunciation?”
“Yes sire.”
He turned back to Nightmare. “Am I wrong?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” she replied with a shrug. Grace had to admire her poker face. It was much better than Luna’s. In fact, it seemed to him that Gilda was right when she said Nightmare was altogether smarter and more dangerous than Luna in every conceivable way.
The king rolled his eyes. “Please, there’s no need for obscurity here. I’m being open with you, perhaps you can return the favor?” He stepped away from his throne. “Regardless, I find myself believing that you, Nightmare, were created as something of an accident. A byproduct, of research into immortality, or perhaps alicorn power.”
All of a sudden, Nightmare collapsed onto her knees, her head pressed against the cool marble floor. Grace and the king exchanged a look, unsure of how to react and unsure if approaching would get them killed. Then, just as suddenly as the attack had begun, Nightmare was back on her hooves as though nothing had happened though her fur constantly flickered between her lighter and darker coloration. Eventually though, it settled back on her darker hue.
“Something like that. Yes,” she said into the silence, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
The King paused. “Are you feeling well?”
“Yes. Please continue.”
“...Very well. Simply put, I would like your help in discovering the truth of your origins. Any information or aid you provide would speed the process up by months. Better yet, there would be no need for all the cloak and dagger. I much prefer to do things honestly, though I admit I am no apple farmer.”
“You think we would help you gain immortality or the powers of an alicorn? You must be a foal then.”
He smiled. “Cub. The gryphon terminology is cub.”
“Luna would like you to know that modern linguistics is an affront to civilization. Though I’m personally rather partial to ‘fuck’.” Grace bit back a chuckle. Oh Elders, to think Gilda was influencing a goddess. “It has such emotion behind such simple four letters.”
The king simply cocked his head, noting Grace’s reaction. “Is there a joke I’m not a party to here?”
“Probably,” smirked Nightmare before rolling her eyes. “Though somepony is getting annoyed at all the useless chatter. I assume there’s a laboratory where you’re conducting your experiments?”
Grace tried very hard not to think of that location, the moment it was mentioned. Instead, he decided to work his thoughts through a series of mental exercises he’d learned over the years. It was frustrating having so many state secrets in your head, and no way to be certain they stayed there.
“From the look on Grace’s face, I’m guessing you already know there is,” the king answered dryly. “The point is, we have been doing research on immortality and alicorn powers. We’ve yet to move to testing on sentients. The idea is that we find a way to separate the powers from the immortality as well as removing any horrible side effects such as mutation or... divergent personalities forming.”
“We will require our old research notes as well as our companions.”
Grace grit his jaw. He supposed that was better than Gilda being hung, but he’d much prefer she simply return to Equestria.
“If you’ve decided to help us, you can have both. Though I’m not sure how much help your companions will provide in a scientific endeavor.”
“Regardless, those are my conditions for helping you. Do you accept?”
Grace couldn’t help but note that the king had yet to explain why he even wanted the research conducted in the first place. He knew for a fact the king did not envy the role of a god.
“That’s all?” The king replied. “Easily done. I’ll gladly provide both, and I’ll even offer to talk with Celestia about bringing more ponies for your retainers from Equestria.”
“Thou shalt do no such thing!” Nightmare cleared her throat as her coat turned dark again. “There is no need to involve Celestia in this endeavor. What I am truly curious about is why you are pursuing this line of research to begin with. Hostile takeover perhaps?”
The king laughed. “No of course not. I have nothing but respect for Celestia and Equestria. They have been our strongest allies for years now. No, our military interests are focused elsewhere. Why do I want this research?” He paused. “Gryphons have no natural magic, yet we find ourselves sharing a border with the Changeling Wastes and the Dragon Lands. In recent years changeling numbers have been swelling, and the dragons have been breeding. We’re engaged in peacekeeping operations in zebrica purely to supply ourselves with the magical substances and fetishes necessary to outfit our army.
“If however, there was a way to introduce a simpler form of magical control to those who do not have it, then the resources we could save would be staggering. We could cut into the Changeling Wastes itself, and burn their hives to ashes. I’d never tempt the dragons to war, but a little extra security on the front is always a good idea. It’s simple really. If my kingdom’s borders are more secure, Equestria’s are too.”
“Understandable and a lofty goal. It would be a pleasure for me to help you in your endeavor.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” He answered. “Though, I have to ask why you don’t wish to involve Celestia in this.”
“Your actions can be declared an act of war. You are pursuing illegal research in the hopes of attaining a weapon that could easily be turned against us. I fear Equestria has grown severely lacking in the warring front since my departure, so now we provide you magical support and in return, you provide us security. If you no longer need our magical support, you are free to turn on us on a whim.”
The king laughed openly. “War with Equestria is a ridiculous concept. We import more Equestrian goods than any other nation. You outstrip us in agriculture and industry so heavily, that any attempt we make at competition would be laughable. The only part of our industry we don’t rely on you for is meat and fishing. If you were to cut trade ties with us, our entire economy would collapse virtually overnight. It’d be a week at best before famine sets in. In a month we’d have innocents starving. I’m more than happy for Equestria to provide our needs, and us to supply Equestria’s in return. We coexist, and all benefit. I’d be a fool to change that.”
“Why buy when you can rule? Why eat when you’re immortal?” Nightmare began advancing in slow, deliberate steps. “How long will Equestria last? One quick strike is all it would take and is more than within your capabilities.”
Graciano had to admit he was fascinated by this exchange of words. The king was only noble, and had the Kingdoms best interest at heart, but even so his gift for the worded duel matched, and exceeded, Grace’s own easily.
The King stopped, and took off his crown. Grace blinked in surprise, and watched as the King met Nightmares eyes. “I would rather die, than face immortality. The idea of life without death terrifies me, and I would see any gryphon who wanted such a thing dead.” He returned the crown to his head. “Satisfied my intentions are noble?” he asked with a smile. “I can’t say I’m so convinced of yours.”
“I’m Nightmare Moon.” A sadistic grin spread across her face. “That should be enough reason for you.”
“But I’m not just speaking with you am I? What of Luna? I’d rather hear her reasons from the Princess herself.”
“I am afraid the Princess cannot join us this evening. Please try again at a later date.”
The King hmphd. “Uneager to relinquish control again? I doubt Celestia would be happy to hear that you're still controlling her sister from time to time. Or is that a state secret? It might explain why you’ve been so reclusive since your return. In any case, very well then. If you agree, then I see no reason to ask you to reconsider.” He approached Nightmare and held his claw out for a shake. “Do you agree then? You aid us in this matter, in exchange for what we know and your companions?”
“Are you threatening me?” What started out as a small chuckle soon grew into a full-blown maniacal laughter. “As far as Celestia knows, I do not exist. So what do you think will happen once she finds out I am still around and that you’re conducting research into Luna’s old experiments that you think might have caused me to appear in the first place? Foals, the lot of you. I accept your offer, but make no mistake, we have been playing this game longer than thee and we have not lost yet.”
“Oh, of that I am well aware.” The king answered, and lowered his claw. “Celestia trounces me thoroughly in ‘the game’ as you call it. I don’t even try to play it anymore.”
“A pity. From what I have seen, you could be a masterful player.” Without a second word, she turned around and began walking towards the door. “I require a new room and send up my companions, I wish to speak to them in private.”
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This chapter was a fun one to write for me. The interaction between Gilda and Trixie very dynamic as we bounced ideas off each other and when it came to Luna's section, it was all about flirting and having fun. Of course, Nightmare Moon's sudden appearance was right on schedule and there's a blink and you'll miss it section in this chapter that hints at a lot of stuff in future chapter.
Um... very short note from me this time. I'll probably edit in something more substantial at a later date. Maybe.
Ah yes. This chapter. I honestly did most of the writing here. I'm not bragging or down sizing Orphius contribution, it's just that's how it turned out. I wrote the scene with Gilda, I wrote the scene with Grace, and I wrote all the King's interactions with Nightmare.
One of the things in this story that's interesting, or at least I find it interesting, is that the 'antagonists' up till this point are all better and nicer people then the main characters. Orphius pulled a bit of a 'suddenly Nightmare' on me by letting Nightmare loose again. I was suddenly expected to write the rest of the scene from Grace's perspective.
Ugh.
Anyway, moaning aside I think it's worth mentioning just how awesome Nightmare is in this. Honestly, the times when Orphius is writing Nightmare and my characters are just bouncing off her are the most interesting to write.
1655854
What about later on with Trixie? Those are damn fun as well.
1655945
Yeah they are. But, there's some serious 'suddenly Nightmare' in those later scenes.
1655968
Whatever
Another fantastic chapter you two. well done.
1658679
Thank you very much.
1658679
Thanks!
1699953
Um... I wrote Breaking Twilight remember? Do you really need to ask me what's wrong with me?
1699945
I did in the lower comment,
Yeah, true. We'll see how our readers react to it. Though it really does feel to me like I'm pulling the rug out from under you a few times to often.
We did not plan to have Gilda get dragged through the palace by Nightmare didn't we? How the fuck was I supposed to expect that? I just had Gilda react like she would to a wordless order, and then you decided 'hey! You know what would be great? bondage!' That's what I call a wtf scene.
1699965
And I wrote Penumbra! That's not exactly a kids bed time story either, and I'm not going and challenging people to go write male on male clop about me? Frick dude. With the way that image is drawn I'd understand it if someone wrote that story rule 63 or something.
Seriously people. Do not write that story. Orphius is already creeping me out without all of you giving him messed up ideas.
1699921 Challenge accepted, never mind the fact that I have no writing ability. There's a reason I stick to being an editor.
More seriously though, did you guys take down the chapter after posting it? Because it's not showing up for me.
You did that on purpose
1699994>>1655800 You should totally make an alternate ending where Trixie and Gilda get tortured.