Nightmare Moon paused and let her eyes wander over the door before her. She hadn't seen this door from the outside, or at the very least, when she had left this room before, she had given it so little thought that it hadn't been put to mind. The door was so plain and bland, too. It was like the door was meant to force the viewer's attention away from it, to direct the viewer's attention to the white-plastered walls. It didn't quite work since the walls were about as exciting to look at as the door, but perhaps other ponies would pass the door by without realizing what it was.
It was probably meant to be that way, but then the plaque with the words 'Mayor's Office' written on it probably foiled the entire plan.
'At least you do not have her cutie mark,' hissed in her mind.
She inhaled, then lit her horn and opened the door. Without pausing, she stepped into the room. She looked to her right, at the desk, then at the lone pony sitting behind the desk. For a moment, the mayor glanced up at her, but recognition escaped her.
"Can you wa-" was all the mayor said before coming to a complete stop. Her head jerked back up, and "O-oh," escaped her lips. She jumped out of her chair to stand, and her hind leg must have clipped the chair because it fell over. Next, she joined the chair on the floor. "Q-Queen N-Nightmare," was her dazed stutter.
"Yes," she acknowledged.
And that was all it took for the mayor- Mayor Mare- to scramble to her hooves, limp out from behind the desk, and throw herself onto the floor in a bow. "I-I uh, ah, I wasn't e-expecting... to see you..." 'Again' went unsaid.
She glanced over the mare's trembling body, studying her. Looking at her cowering so, she felt irked and annoyed. The show of respect was good, the obedience was good, but the paralysis by fear was not. She had expected better of the bureaucrat. She had expected her presence to force the mayor into action, rather than paralyze her in inaction. But then, as with her past experience with bureaucrats since her return, she knew she shouldn't have been surprised.
For the most part, fear was an effective tool when dealing with them. Or at least it used to be that way. The problem was that they were now, as with this mayor, paralyzed by fear. They didn't want to act out of the fear that they would make a mistake and draw her wrath, so instead, they were content to let problems remain unfixed, content to let problems grow into bigger problems.
Like not informing her that monsters were attacking ponies, out of fear that she would do something worse. Or not informing her that the towns where this was happening were effectively entirely unprotected, out of the fear that the protection would be something worse.
And it occurred to her, not for the first time, that militarizing the bureaucracy would streamline her administration so efficiently. Replacing all of them with soldiers, Royal Guards, or her batponies, it would make her rule so much easier. Or at least, it would, up until all of the problems came crashing down, the problems that such changes would cause. Her subjects would grow even more fearful if such a thing happened. But perhaps enforcing her will was worth the risk. And if she balanced it right, then perhaps the problems it would cause could be minimized.
Perhaps it was still worth it. 'I should integrate my batponies into my administration,' she thought. Even with the risks, it would be beneficial. Not filling every position with batponies, but having some roles filled by them; putting her batponies in supportive roles, such that they would carry out tasks and see to it that problems were fixed, but perhaps not on local levels such as this.
But for now, there were more pressing matters at hoof. "Dear Mayor, pray tell, why did you not inform me of problems with the creatures of the Everfree?" was her growl.
And as with each mayor she had previously asked a question similar to that, she could see the hairs of the mayor's coat stiffening, almost standing straight up, in fear. The mayor blabbered something incoherent and indecisive until she finally made out, "I didn't w-want to di-disturb you," said in an appeasing voice.
"And so instead," she accused, "you decided it was better to let such problems grow and fester, risking even greater problems?"
The mayor kept silent and trembled.
She inhaled, then exhaled. She barely avoided growling in frustration. If every mayor, if every bureaucrat, was as bad as her, then she needed to either take drastic actions and replace them, or find a way to somehow get them to function instead of being paralyzed by fear.
And then, it occurred to her, 'Some of you may be intentionally doing this to resist my rule.' She bared her teeth in disgust. Perhaps that explained more than she thought. Perhaps all of them were faking it if only to make things more difficult for her.
'No, that cannot be. They cannot all be faking this,' she knew. But then that brought one more thought to mind, 'Why did you cripple Equestria so!?'
She growled. It wasn't directed at the mayor, but it might as well have been. The mayor, despite her appearance, let out a squeak, not unlike that of a filly of her student's age. "When you have such problems," she stated, "I do expect to be informed of them." Though the mayor wasn't looking at her, she tilted her head to the side. "It is in my best interest," she hissed, "to ensure these problems do not become worse."
"O-of course," was the mayor's weak acknowledgment.
She studied the mayor again. For a few seconds, she said nothing and took the time to think and recompose herself. "I do not want to deal with every problem you face," she stated. "I am one pony, and even with my magic, even with being able to write out orders and send scrolls to every city in Equestria, I cannot deal with every single local issue. There are too many. This is why I have left such autonomies in place. I do not know how best to deal with perhaps most issues local governments face. However, when it comes to bigger problems such as this," she paused to let it sink in before adding, "I do expect to be made aware of it."
"Of c-course," the mayor stuttered out.
"I mean it," she growled.
There was a silence as it sunk in, then the mayor nodded.
With nothing more to say, she turned and left. Once she was out of the room, she closed the door behind her and let out a growl.
Tonight had not been a fun night. No, of course it hadn't! Would anypony in their right mind enjoy spending the night chastizing bureaucrats? She had sent out orders before, of course. But it seemed that those scrolls had somehow been misinterpreted by the recipients. Not all of the recipients misinterpreted them; some of the mayors she chastized actually seemed to comprehend what she meant.
And then there were the others who immediately sent her scroll upon scroll. For each local issue they faced. Land rights. Local tax codes. Zoning codes. And even more frivolous matters than just that.
'How,' she wondered in anger, 'are they so inept?' They had their autonomy under her sister. She had no desire to take that autonomy away from them, save from dealing with particular issues such as seeing to it that her rule was assured. Were they truly so stupid as to think she wanted to decide each and every banal, frivolous issue they faced? She was the Queen of the Night! The Empress!
She had better things to do than decide local zoning codes for a town she knew nothing about. It was so foalish. And she was only one pony. She couldn't do everything all the time. The local governments were necessary. A minute for her was the same as a minute for anypony else. The only difference was where other ponies were mortal, she was not.
She suppressed a growl as she strode through the town hall and made her way back to the ground level.
Walking out into the lobby, she glanced left and right, and unsurprisingly, found it empty. The town's residents probably knew she was there and wanted to avoid her. At the very least, Ponyville was a small town, and so there were probably few issues that they needed to discuss with the Mayor anyway.
She cast the thought aside and strode out of the lobby. As soon as that accursed glow of light was gone and she stepped into the darkness of her night, she felt a sense of calm. Gone was the anger caused by idiotic bureaucrats, gone was the annoyance at their ineptness. She slowed, then stopped in the middle of the street.
For a moment, just a moment, she looked up at the sky. She looked straight up and beheld the twinkling of the stars. The moon was just at the edge of her vision, and so she was not mocked by the scarring of her sister. She lowered her head, then glanced around the street.
And it stood out like a sore hoof that, even now, the street was deserted. The moon was out, so there was light by which ponies could navigate with. There was light that kept the monsters away, and yet, the ponies still stayed indoors. She bared her teeth in disgust. Over a month, and they still didn't accept her gift. Over a month, and they still spited her. Over a month, and they still missed this beauty.
It was just the same as so long ago, but now it was even worse. There was no day, yet even faced with that prospect, they ignored the beauty of her night. Ponies were not so stupid as to spit on her face, but they might as well have been doing such.
'Perhaps time,' she thought, 'will fix this.' But she wasn't hopeful of that. No, time had taught her that this would not change. Ponies would never love her. It was a simple fact of her life. The only respect she would get from them was for protecting them, and out of fear.
And it worried her. Not their lack of love, but that they stayed inside as much as was possible. Perhaps here in a town so close to the Everfree, it could be expected, if only for safety. But in other cities that did not have to worry about such things, Manehattan for example, it should not have been so. But yet, ponies in those cities still feared the night and dreaded to roam it. They stayed inside out of fear.
And that fear, them staying inside, was crippling to Equestria. It would stagnate Equestria if it did not reverse. If it didn't change, then Equestria could very well fall to chaos. If only for the simple fact that ponies were only out when they had to be, then they were not spending bits, and if they were not spending bits, then ponies were not making bits. Perhaps to anypony else, such a thing would seem frivolous. But not to her, no.
If the Equestrian economy ground to a halt, her reign would be off to an even worse start. She expected a recession, but that did not mean she wanted one. It would do Equestria no good. And she had been around long enough to understand that a recession could bring revolution.
And that, most assuredly, was not in her best interests.
She inhaled, then growled as she exhaled. She shook her head, then turned and strode down the street. The moon hung in the sky a few hours from setting, and it was right there as she walked ahead, mocking her. She did her best to not look at it as she walked on.
She managed to ignore it, for the most part, but it was still there, always present in her mind.
If she had any victory over her sister, then it was a pyrrhic victory. Her only true victory, she felt, was that her sister's student was now her own.
She slowed as that tree came into sight. Through the windows, she could see the flickering glow of candlelight dancing out into the street.
Aside from Midnight and Spike, her student was alone in the library. She heard the chime of her student's magic and could hear the occasional turning of a page. But she didn't know what book her student was reading. She could only guess at it.
She approached the door, then stopped. She hesitated, unsure whether to knock or not. And it was a silly reason to hesitate. She was Queen. It was, theoretically, a public library. Although from what she had determined, essentially, it didn't matter, because nopony truly visited said library.
Aside from her student's friends. But those mares came for her student, not for books. At least most of the time. Rarity and Fluttershy occasionally looked for books, but the rest did not. Rainbow Dash also seemed to have a severe aversion to reading of any kind, from what she had picked up.
She lit her horn, then opened the door. There was hardly a sound from the door opening, but perhaps it was the sound of her magic that caused her student to look up at her. For a moment, Twilight tensed up. She saw her student's jaw part briefly, then it closed once more.
She walked inside, turned her head back to study the door, then shut it and looked back at her student, who was laying on the floor on her stomach with a book opened in front of her.
"Um... hello," was her student's greeting.
She turned back to face her student, then inclined her head in acknowledgment. She walked into the room and looked around for Midnight. Unsurprisingly, she found the batpony laying on her back with her hooves all stretched straight up into the air.
When she looked at Midnight, Midnight rolled over and jumped up, then fell into a reverential bow. "My Queen," she said.
She inclined her head in acknowledgment, then turned her attention back to her student. Calmly, she walked over to her. As she approached, she let her eyes drop down onto the book her student had opened before her. As with before, it was a spell book, and she recognized the spell matrix. "Surely you know this spell by now?" she inquired.
Slowly, her student sat up. "Well..." she drawled, rolling her head to the right. "There's, uh, not... really any advanced books here."
She pursed her lips. 'This is a small town, and from what I have seen, it is predominantly earth ponies.' Yes, it should have occurred to her before now that this library wouldn't have content that would be on her student's level. She nodded and said, "I will see to it that you have proper material to study."
Her student shifted her weight, then stood up. "Thanks..." There was a pause, then she asked, "Would... you like some tea?"
"I will not be staying long," she replied. "I have been speaking with several mayors regarding their ineptness for not reporting problems..." she trailed off. Even thinking about it left her feeling worse, leaving her wanting to groan. She inhaled, then sighed. "Tea would be nice," she relented.
Twilight nodded, and said, "It should be about ready," then timidly walked around into the kitchen.
She watched Twilight leave and once again studied her cutie mark. It was almost mesmerizing, despite how many times she had seen it. Twilight didn't tense up any further, nor did her timid shuffle fade. She shook her head, then walked over to Midnight. She glanced at the batpony, then stared into the kitchen, watching Twilight. "Anything to report?" was her quiet question.
"Not really," Midnight answered in an equally quiet whisper. "She's still pretty shaken up, but I've not had problems with her. I think she's starting to do better, but, ah..."
She nodded. "And she has not been planning anything with her friends?"
"No," Midnight answered, frowning a bit. "And nopony has given her any trouble." There was a pause and then Midnight started nodding, and in an afterthought, said, "Although it's only been a few nights, soo..."
"Yes," she acknowledged. She inhaled as Twilight turned around.
Her student watched her as she slowly walked back from the kitchen, levitating a teapot and two cups in her magic.
She could see steam wafting into the air from the cups. Twilight levitated one cup out to her and she took it. For a moment, as her magic wrapped around the teacup and took it, she saw something pass over Twilight's features. But it was gone so soon, she couldn't tell if it was fear, which was her first guess. After all, she had so easily overwhelmed the filly's magic.
But, even with that, she still knew, 'You have so much untapped potential...'
And Twilight resumed her timid walk back to where she had been laying. She watched Twilight walk back, then turned to face her student as she laid down once more. She walked over to her, then took a sip of her tea. She couldn't place the taste, but it was sweet, though not too sweet, and it had a rich nutty taste to it. She swallowed it and felt the warmth roll down her throat. "Pleasant," she commented.
Twilight glanced at her, then took a sip of her own tea.
"I presume you used your magic to heat it up?" she wondered aloud.
Twilight gave a nod and said, "Yes."
"Have you ever used it to fix food?" she asked.
Twilight blushed. "Um, yes." A momentary pause, followed by a very final-sounding, "And I don't anymore."
"I see," was her response. "So this is why Spike cooks for you?" she asked.
"Well..." Twilight drawled in a high-pitched voice. "That and that I tend to forget to eat. At times."
She nodded slowly. "Studying?"
"Yes," Twilight answered.
"I see." She glanced down at her cup of tea, then took another drink of it. She mulled over the flavor and let the warmth soak into her mouth before swallowing.
"Uh... is it... alright if I help Applejack tomorrow?" her student asked.
She looked down at her. Nothing came to mind that it would be interfering with, so she answered, "You may if you so desire. If I have need of you I will retrieve you. You are not my prisoner, and as I said, you are free to do whatever you wish." After saying that, a part of her felt the need to add on 'within reason' or remind her student not to betray her. But she knew she didn't need to add that on, and she knew it wouldn't be beneficial for Twilight to hear it yet again.
"Well she could use the help with her, uh, apple trees," Twilight elaborated.
"Yes, I am aware," she said.
Twilight winced. "Right..." was muttered.
'Perhaps in time I will let you go without that necklace,' she thought. But she wasn't sure. No, she couldn't, at least not yet. She couldn't trust Twilight with that sort of freedom. As much as she wanted to be able to trust Twilight without it, she couldn't. And the thought weighed on her mind that without the necklace, Twilight would be out of her reach. Without it, she wouldn't be able to protect Twilight if something happened. Midnight could only do so much.
Twilight bit her lip, and for several seconds, watched her, though her eyes drifted down to her chestplate, and then finally, her student looked down at the necklace on her chest. She watched Twilight's eyes dance back and forth as she looked at the necklace.
"I will tell you that a group of batponies should be arriving within a few nights to begin repairs on my castle," she stated.
Twilight inhaled, then nodded. "Uh, okay... So um... How... exactly... am I supposed to... oversee this?"
She smiled and said, "I will leave that up to you, as I am certain you are capable of this. They will be bringing with them, I believe the term is 'blueprints,' for rebuilding."
Twilight nodded. "Right. And... you know this isn't exactly going to be easy, right? Getting them out there and getting stone out there for rebuilding? That's not exactly going to go unnoticed. And where are the batponies supposed to stay?"
"They should be able to stay at the castle while they work on it," she answered.
"Right," was her student's flat response. "And getting the materials out there?"
"The castle was built with stone from a nearby quarry. It should still have resources for the reconstruction process," she retorted. "I have given this thought, Twilight Sparkle. Do not think that I have not."
Her student shifted her weight uncomfortably, and she felt a tinge of regret. "Okay..." Twilight squeaked.
She took a deep breath, then silently let it out. It was hard to hold herself in check around her student. She wanted to so that she would avoid straining their relationship, she wanted to so that she wouldn't hurt her student on accident, and she wanted to so that Twilight would relax around her, but it was still hard. It seemed she didn't react well when stressed, and that made it all the harder to keep herself in check. And of course holding herself in check was still a nuisance; it took more time, and a direct approach felt better. "You have more questions. Speak," she said.
Twilight winced and turned away from her. "You know that I have no experience with this, right?" Hesitantly, Twilight turned back to face her, a look of panic growing on her features. "I don't know what I'm doing here! I'm not an architect!"
It was enough to make her lips twitch, but she caught it before anything else could come of it. "I am aware," she acknowledged. "And you are not expected to know every detail. You will be overseeing it, making sure it progresses smoothly. The batponies are capable of overseeing the reconstruction on their own, but I believe this is a good experience for you. If they experience problems, you should be able to assist."
"Right..." Twilight muttered. She heard her student take in a deep breath, then let out a groan. Her student looked back at her. "And what about enchantments?"
"I will see to those myself once it is finished," was her immediate answer. "I would have it no other way," she added.
Twilight nodded. There was a pause, then her student looked down at the book, picked it up and closed it, and then her head drifted back to face her. "I uh... don't... suppose you'd be willing to teach me enchanting..?"
She smiled and said, "I will should you so desire. I believe it would be beneficial for you to learn this skill-"
"Well, I uh, already know a bit about it-"
"Theory, I presume?" she asked.
Twilight nodded. "But I've never actually tried it." There was a hesitation, then her student licked her lips and added, "She... didn't want me to try. She said I wasn't ready."
"Enchanting is not easy," she related with a nod. Twilight levitated the book aside and set it down, then stood back up. As her student stood up, she looked her over, then met her gaze once again, only for Twilight to shy back and stare at her chestplate. More cautiously she added, "But you should have the talent, magic, and skill for it."
Her student tried to hide it, she could tell, but it was obvious that her praise excited the filly. Her student held herself in a more-ready posture, and she could just see the subtle energy filling her student's features, causing her to stand up a bit straighter. Her student's ears twitched slightly, and she could see the eagerness in her student's eyes, even if she did not meet her gaze. She smiled calmly, letting her lips relax and pull up, but careful not to let them part. She would not ruin this by showing her teeth.
She lifted her teacup to her lips and took another quick sip. She looked away from her student as she pondered the flavor, then she swallowed and finished her tea before looking back at her student and saying, "If nothing else, then I have other matters to attend to."
Her student started to nod, then stopped. "Um..." she trailed off and leaned her head to the right sheepishly while her ears folded back halfway. "I... know that this is probably a stupid question, but... do you have any way that I could... send you letters?" With that said, her student looked back up at her. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, but there was a hopeful, pleading look in her eyes.
A part of her wanted to say, 'You're right, that is a stupid question,' but she kept it to herself as nothing more than a thought. She felt some strange sense of disappointment, but she couldn't immediately place it. Was it because of her thought? Was it because she knew exactly why her student wanted to write such letters to her? 'You desire this because of Sister, don't you?' was a question she didn't need to ask to know the answer, 'Yes.' But her student was used to that. Her student was used to writing letters to her teacher. So perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea. Perhaps it would make her more comfortable.
And it would probably be less awkward for the both of them than Twilight essentially talking to herself for her to overhear, and that didn't even factor in that she wasn't always listening in, or that she could be otherwise occupied.
'What would be the best way to address this?' she wondered. Looking down at her student, seeing that pleading expression, and given what her request was, she felt perhaps almost compelled to agree. Perhaps it wouldn't be the most efficient way, but sacrificing so little efficiency for something that would help her student be more comfortable was likely worth it. Although, it also occurred to her that it was more formal than talking, and that pained her.
The easiest way would likely be to modify the spell on her dragon, that way letters sent by his dragonfire would go to her, instead of nowhere, given that her sister was out of reach for the spell. "Where is Spike?" she asked.
It looked like her student hadn't expected her question because, for a brief moment, her expression drew a blank. The pleading look disappeared and her ears lifted back up. She blinked, then said, "Uh, he's helping Rarity." But then her student looked at her questioningly and asked, "Shouldn't you know that?"
She gave her student a flat look and said, "Just because I am listening does not mean that I put everything I hear to memory," she admitted. "I am mostly listening to make sure that you're not..." she trailed off as Twilight looked away from her, clenched her jaw, and gave a timid nod. She stared at Twilight for a moment, then inhaled and extended her left wing. Twilight's eyes darted onto her wing as she reached out, then she lightly touched her feathers to the right side of her student's muzzle and coaxed her head back into facing her.
Twilight avoided her gaze and continued to look at her chestplate.
She waited for a moment, then folded her wing back to her side. "Since I do not know where Rarity lives, perhaps you would be willing to take me there?"
Her student gave a short, quick nod, then shuffled forward, passing her and heading to the door. She stood in place and turned her head to watch Twilight walk on, then when Twilight stopped and looked back at her, she turned around and strolled over to her.
Her student was kind enough to open the door for her, but her student also stood and waited on her. She inclined her head and replied, "You lead. I do not know where I am going."
She watched her student's musclea tense up, then Twilight nodded mechanically and crept outside before stopping to wait for her. She held back a sigh, then walked on out and stood beside her.
"Sooo... I guess I'll just stay here?" Midnight offered.
Ignoring Midnight, she looked down at her student. "You do not need to be so timid around me, Twilight Sparkle," she chastised.
Her student closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then audibly sighed. "You don't make it easy, you know..." was whispered.
"Yes, and you don't make it any easier to be your teacher, either," she retorted.
Immediately, she regretted snapping: Twilight's brow twitched down, then her student opened her eyes and stared up at her. For a moment, she thought Twilight was going to ask a question or retort her back. Instead, she saw Twilight's eyes drop down onto the side of her chestplate, along with her ears pinning back. "I'm... sorry..." she offered.
And she sighed, then shook her head. "You are forgiven," she stated.
Twilight glanced up at her and said, "This isn't what I expected..."
She frowned. "As I have said, Twilight Sparkle, I have never had a student before, and in truth, I do not know what I am doing. I may be... easily agitated, and for that I am sorry. I do not... desire to harm you. I am not a monster."
Twilight turned away from her and shifted her weight away from her. For a few seconds, she watched her student fight a battle over saying something more. It ended when she bit her lip, then reluctantly lowered her head a few inches and turned back to her. And in a voice she barely heard, her student whispered, "You acted like one when you returned..."
And it was spoken with so much reluctance, and she knew better than to retort it. She knew better than to snarl in anger. She felt bitter at the accusation, but she knew better than to let it show. She clenched her jaw, and Twilight, in turn, looked at her clenched jaw.
No, her student knew exactly what she was saying. Her student knew how risky it was. But it was said. It needed to be said, because it was true. She knew it was true. She did not want to hear it, but it was still true. And they needed to talk about it, openly and honestly. So she had to address it carefully. Every word had to be meticulously planned. "Yes..." she reluctantly admitted.
There was so much more she could say. So many ways she could take it from here. 'Have you considered that I had just returned from a one-thousand-year banishment!?' was one. 'Have you considered that I had just fought and banished my sister!?' was another. And the one she dared not voice was, 'Have you considered that I defeated my sister, and she told me about her student, and I did not know what to expect. I expected a threat, a challenge. And I reacted as such.'
But why was she even considering this conversation? She was Queen and Empress! She had no reason to explain herself to this foal, even if she was her student. She did not have to justify her actions to her. But she still knew it was in her best interest. There were so many reasons why it was in her best interest.
"I recall saying this before," she stated. She turned her head to face her student. "I do regret how aggressively I reacted to you and your friends. However, I had to act, otherwise, you would have used the Elements of Harmony against me." It was an answer that made her student flinch and turn away from her. She took a moment to take a breath, then she exhaled and, for whatever reason, added, "Perhaps I was not thinking quite as rationally as I should have been. I had just returned from one-thousand years of isolation on the moon. And I had just fought off my dear sister."
Twilight kept looking away from her.
"I do not wish to scare you," she stated. At that, her student oh so reluctantly glanced back at her. The glance turned into a stare out of the corner of her eyes. "A thousand years ago, perhaps... perhaps I would have been a monster." And she didn't even need to think about it to know the answer was 'yes,' because she had already thought about that. A thousand years ago, had she succeeded, she would have brought a reign of terror, one so different from the plan she had since devised and put into action. A thousand years ago, she wanted vengeance against all of Equestria and her dear sister. "A thousand years ago, I would not have been so forgiving. I would have killed you and your friends a thousand years ago."
She hated saying that. It wouldn't help her student any, but she wouldn't lie about it. And even more, she hated that it was the truth.
After her ascent to Nightmare Moon, yes, she would have done things that would make ponies unabashedly call her a monster had dear sister not stopped her. Eventually, her rage would have subsided enough for her to think rationally, but the damage would have already been done. But she would not have cared that they called her monster, and she would have killed them for saying such things.
Although even once her rage had subsided, she still would have been so different from how she was now.
Perhaps there was some slight reason, insane as it was, for her to thank her sister for stopping her so long ago.
The thought enraged her, leaving her blood boiling, making her feel on the verge of trembling. She felt a scream building up in her throat. She would still rather have defeated her sister all those centuries ago.
But she didn't act on that anger.
She had changed sometime in the past thousand years. She still hated her sister, but she did not desire to destroy Equestria as she once did. The knowledge gave her pause to contemplate it. 'A thousand years of banishment was a long time to think...' she mused.
She turned her gaze away from her student and looked around the street. WIth nopony else, and no sounds aside from the rustle of leaves in the night breeze, everything felt so still. It all sounded so silent in the wake of what was said. It was a heavy, almost haunted silence.
She did not like thinking about this. She didn't like thinking about what she would have done had dear sister not stopped her. She didn't like thinking about how much it seemed she had changed. She didn't like remembering how everypony treated her before she was Nightmare Moon. Perhaps they were justified to treat Nightmare Moon such a way, but not who she had been. They would have been reaping what they planted. She didn't like thinking about that one-thousand-year banishment, the torture that it was.
She was not a monster, and that's what mattered.
But she could have been one.
What would she do if she was faced with some decision where it was in her best interest to do something, but doing that would make her slip into truly being a monster? A monster like the griffins of old, or worse?
A part of her didn't want to be a monster. She wanted nothing to do with what the griffins had done. Another part of her simply didn't care. If it was in her best interest, then it would be stupid not to act on it. Assuming, of course, that it would not cause further problems down the road by acting on it.
Cautiously, she said, "I do not wish to speak about this..." and looked back at her student. Looking at her again, the thought once more whispered in her mind, 'I'm too fond of you...'
Maybe it was a problem, or maybe it wasn't. It could cause problems, but yet Twilight was something special.
"I'm... sorry," Twilight whispered. Her student swallowed and slowly turned her head back to face her. "About what... happened to you."
She felt some sort of calmness drift over her body at that. The earlier anger, though still there, felt colder. It wasn't quite as enraging. "You are not at fault for this," she stated. "My anger is not directed at you, but my sister and Equestria so long ago..."
There was a silence for several seconds. She looked back at her student, and then in a quiet, timid voice, her student asked, "Am... I a disappointment..?"
Her jaw tightened as soon as she heard the question. Out of curiosity, she asked, "Do you truly care what I think of you?" Her student hesitated, then gave a timid nod. The nod gave her pause to consider it. 'You care what I think of you...' A part of her was surprised at that. A part of her felt like she already knew it and her student's nod was just confirming it. For some reason, she liked the admission. It made her feel as if they were, maybe, closer than what she thought. But she worried that she was just lying to herself about that.
She would not lie and coddle her student, telling her that there were no times she was not disappointed in her. She would not crush her student by telling her the truth. She wasn't sure how to answer, so instead, she replied, "You have a great deal of potential, Twilight Sparkle, and you are trying. You are not perfect, but I do not expect you to be perfect."
Twilight once again looked away from her, nodding. She extended her right wing and brushed her feathers along her student's coat. Twilight closed her eyes. "Do not think that I hate you. I do not. You do matter to me," she said. She lifted her wing from Twilight's back as her feathers danced across her shoulder, then she folded her wing to her side.
This time, Twilight's nod wasn't so timid, but more confident.
She smiled, even if her student's unease and fear still lingered. "Now come. I wish to modify the spell on Spike so that you may send your letters to me through him." For a brief moment, she saw what she knew translated into her student realizing that after that modification, Spike wouldn't be able to send letters to her sister, but it mellowed out. Her student didn't descend into a panic, and it was a relief. She turned her head back, then closed the door behind them. After that, she glanced at Twilight and said, "Lead on."
With nothing else to say, Twilight walked forward. She waited a moment for her student to take the lead, then followed behind her. Matching her student's stride, she felt like she was walking so slowly. She did her best to ignore it and she let her thoughts wander. She scanned her surroundings, searching the streets for anypony else out, and as with before, it was so deserted.
With a glance back at the moon, the thought, 'Perhaps it is the time...' occurred to her.
And yes, that was assuredly true. It was the time that kept them all inside.
After all, it was night.
Her eyes drifted back to Twilight, and though her student glanced back at her when her gaze fell on her back, nothing was said and her student did not immediately tense up. 'What will your full potential look like?' she wondered. Just thinking about it, she felt excitement, a bubbling energy in her core. Yet the thought also came with a cautious fear.
And she knew, 'A thousand years ago I would have killed you, even if you weren't my sister's student, solely because of that potential...' It made her tighten her jaw. But no, maybe she wouldn't have. Maybe she would have seen Twilight's potential and viewed it as a tool instead of a threat. But would she have tolerated the threat Twilight posed were she a thousand years younger?
She couldn't be sure.
'Perhaps I am more foalish than I think, keeping you around...' It could so easily be her undoing, yet she still tolerated the potential threat that was her student. And it fascinated her. Maybe it was stupid of her to not kill Twilight.
But she still wouldn't. To do so would have been betraying Twilight as her sister had betrayed her. To do so would have been such a waste. And she was too fond of the unicorn.
Unease welled up inside her, churning in her chest. "Do you," she asked, "think I am a monster?"
Twilight slowed and looked back at her. There was a hesitance in the way she looked at her. Her first instinct was to take that hesitance as all the answer she needed, but she also realized that there could be more that her student wanted to say.
"It is important that we talk openly," she reminded.
She heard Twilight inhale, then exhale. "Okay... I... have... mixed feelings," she stated. "On... one hoof, I don't hate you. I think... from what you've said, and assuming you're not lying to me-"
"I assure you," she stated, "I am not."
There was a pause before Twilight gave a reluctant nod. "Assuming you're not lying to me," she restated, "then I..." Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then said, "I think what your sister did was wrong. But I also know that I can't trust what you've told me. I have no way to know whether you're lying to me or not. And neither of us trust the other." Only with that said did she open her eyes.
She nodded cautiously. "You are correct. You do not trust me and I likewise do not trust you. However, mutual trust would be in both of our interests. I would... like to be able to trust you, and I wish you would trust me. It would make things easier on both of us." She paused to tilt her head to the side before speaking again, "I have something of an aversion to lying, Twilight Sparkle. Given the lies my sister spat at me..." she trailed off as her lips pulled back to show her teeth. "I do not wish to lie to you. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth," she stated. For a moment, she paused, then admitted, "But I will not necessarily tell you everything..."
There was a hesitation before her student nodded. "But I also know," she continued, "that Predictions and Prophecies said you were jealous of your sister. And I think that... bringing eternal night out of jealousy is..." Twilight clamped her eyes shut and whispered, "foalish."
She snorted. "Perhaps you are correct," she stated, "and I am jealous of my sister. But you do not know anything of what I have gone through, Twilight Sparkle."
She expected her student to raise her voice and retort her, but instead, her student's ears folded back again and she nodded. "I... know..." was whispered. "And... I... feel bad... knowing that... you seem to have been mistreated." There was a pause where both of them just watched each other, and Twilight's ears lifted up while her brow creased. "But I do think that the way you treat ponies is wrong. You don't need to be so aggressive or threatening."
"It gets results, does it not?" she asked.
"But it doesn't make them hate you any less. It doesn't make them like you any more. It doesn't give them any reason to love you," was her student's cautioning advice. "And what about in the long term?"
She smiled and snorted, then shook her head. It was absurd. Her student was just a foal. Hardly a newborn compared to her. Absolutely nothing compared to her. What were sixteen years of life when she had lived centuries? But Twilight still had so much potential. She wouldn't ignore Twilight's advice, but she knew better than to hope ponies would ever love her. "I will never have their love, Twilight Sparkle. Time has taught me this lesson."
"Why does that bother you so much?" was her student's genuine question. "You have the batponies... they... love you, don't they? Then why does it bother you that other ponies don't?"
"It is different," she answered. She turned her head to the left, then looked up at the stars shimmering in the sky. It was a peaceful night. A night not unlike so many others that she had experienced. The stars were the same as they had been one thousand years ago. Perhaps not exactly the same, perhaps they had drifted ever so slightly, but it was still so similar.
Just looking up at the sky, she could let herself forget about the present. She could let herself go back in time inside her memories. And it was deceptive, just how similar the sky was. It was deceptive that now, Equestria knew so much peace, yet it had been the same sky so many centuries ago, back when she had to protect Equestria. Back when dear sister told such lies to her. Back when she had been naive enough to believe her.
Her mind drifted back to the present. She looked down at the building to her left, then turned back to her student. "The batponies are mine," she said. "While they do have a choice, they are predisposed towards loving me. They will serve me. They will die for me should I ask it. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies are not so predisposed, and they choose to hate me. They choose to hate my night. They choose to spite me, despite all I have done for them."
"How would you feel," she asked, taking a step towards her student, "if you were one of the two rulers of a nation, and your sister received all the praise, and your subjects scorned you?" Another step and her student turned to face her, then stepped back. "How would you feel, if you had experienced the absolute worst of life, heard the screams of the dying, seen those you called 'friend' killed for protecting you and the same ponies that, as soon as the war ended, turned around and spat on your face or demanded your death, completely ignore your sacrifices to protect them?"
She stopped stepping towards her student but leaned down so that she was just as tall as her. Her student took another step back. "And then how would you feel if your sister, the only pony you had who you would not outlive, lied to you every single day." One last step. "Turned a blind eye to how everypony looked at me while she basked in her own glory. Used you, and then betrayed you."
The bitterness was there. It would never fade, she knew. Killing her sister wouldn't help it, it would only frustrate her beyond her own comprehension. She trembled from that bitterness and hatred.
But she didn't act on that bitterness and hatred. Not now. The subject of her wrath was just out of reach, and she would not take it out on her student.
'You have reason to fear me,' she knew, 'and I should not add on to that.'
She lifted her head back up and continued to watch Twilight. Had this conversation happened a month ago, or perhaps even a week ago, Twilight would have been on her stomach cowering in fear. As it was, her student faced her with just the barest hint of confidence, just the barest hint of courage. Barely able to stay there and not run away. Behind those hints, she could see her student's fear. The way that, if she continued, she would simply snap her student's fragile sense of safety.
It wasn't in her best interest.
And she felt regret. Regret that she had slipped up in such a way, so drawn in by those memories. Regret that she had let herself slip in anger in front of her student. At her student. Regret that she had probably further hurt her student, despite not wanting to. She almost felt ashamed, and a part of her recoiled at that knowledge.
She was Queen and Empress. She had no reason to feel the clutching grip of shame, yet the feeling came and took a hold of her.
But, Twilight was still standing. She had not laid down, despite backing up out of fear. She hadn't run off to cower in a corner.
She inhaled the cool night air, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. It didn't satisfy her, but she felt calmness. It made the feeling of shame and regret all the worse. Answering in such a way as she did would not help her student grow any; it was nearly attacking her. It wasn't in her best interest, yet she had still slipped up,
She turned her head away from Twilight and once more swept her gaze over the street to find that, once more, it was deserted. Without looking back at her student, she held her wing up and extended it towards her. 'Will you recognize this gesture?' she wondered. Her student was a unicorn, not a pegasus, although her student had been her sister's student.
Out of curiosity, she turned her gaze back to her student. Twilight stood still, lingering in the same spot she had been, but she stared at her extended wing. As her student studied the offer, she saw hints of recognition mixed in with confusion and disbelief.
Then, she saw her student nibble on her lip, which marked the start of her mind's battle over what to do.
"Come," she called softly.
And with that, the battle came to an abrupt end. For a moment, it was as if both sides stopped fighting for the sole purpose of staring at the newest entrant: her. After that moment past, Twilight crept towards her, taking each step with a reluctant timidness so as to not be presumptuous, even if she had given the offer.
She watched Twilight approach, but eventually, the filly stood beside her and faced the same direction as her. She saw her student tensing up, going rigid. The hairs of her student's coat nearly stood straight up as she locked herself in place. Slowly, she lowered her wing over Twilight's back, then carefully, she pulled her student to her side.
Enveloping Twilight with her wing. She could see her student's recognition of what it was: a hug. Her sister had surely done this before, as had Cadance. She felt Twilight's tensed muscles relaxing, yet her eyes danced back and forth, racing left and right and left again. Twilight didn't move her head, but Nightmare was certain that if she somehow had not been there, her student would have been frantically jerking her head around, making sure that nopony saw this. All out of fear.
'You do not want other ponies to see this...' came to mind, followed by, 'Why?' Why was her student afraid of being seen like this? Or was it that her student thought it would reflect poorly on her?
Against her wing, she felt Twilight's coat and warmth. Somewhat pleasant. More than pleasant, in fact. She had not been so close to another pony over one thousand years. It stirred a certain fondness in her mind and brought with it so many memories. Most memories that came to mind were bittersweet. And the rest were bitter in hindsight, knowing of her sister's lies. As the feeling of Twilight's warm body against her side lingered, the thoughts of why her student was worried faded back deeper into her mind.
Against her body, she felt Twilight's coat and warmth. She felt where Twilight's shoulder pressed against her chestplate, making it press into her body. But she still felt Twilight's coat against her own. She found a certain fondness for the feeling, if only because it was something she had not experienced in so long. Something that she had forgotten what it was like. She had forgotten how nice it was, banal as it was. She had forgotten how comforting it could be, now that it wasn't marred by the pain of loss or sickening betrayal. It was nice, pleasant, and enjoyable.
It reminded her of the dreams of her student where they shared a bond, where Twilight did not cower before her. It reminded her of how enjoyable it was to share a walk in the castle's garden with her student. It reminded her of what it was like to watch the moonrise or moonset with her student, or with anypony else who had tolerated it in the past, aside from her sister.
But she still felt like something was missing there. She still felt that her student was incomplete. And that feeling agitated her, fighting against how pleasant the hug was.
She stroked her feathers through her student's coat and in turn, felt Twilight shiver against her touch. But she didn't try to pull away. No, she stood there. She wasn't sure if her student remained out of choice, or out of fear or paralysis. It helped even more that her student wasn't tense, even if Twilight had not truly completely relaxed in her embrace. Her student stood there without trying to escape, and she took some comfort from that.
A pony not predisposed towards her, who did not hate her.
She treasured it.
As she held her student to her side, she found her head tilting back, and her gaze being lost in the vastness of the sky. She found that a part of her wished she wasn't wearing her armor, that it was not in between her student and herself like an uncrossable chasm. She yearned to feel that feeling which was so far away, that of a true hug, one returned by her student. The feeling of her student's coat against her chest.
But it would have been a betrayal to her closest companion. She would not remove her chestplate for this. It was insanity to do so. It was antithesis to her. And it would cause uncertainty.
She inhaled, then blinked away the stirrings of memories. She lowered her head and looked down at her student, who was intent on staring at the street beneath her hooves. "I am sorry," she reluctantly muttered. "I am sorry that I snapped at you like that," she repeated. "Do not think," she whispered, stroking her feathers over her student's side once more, and once more drawing a shiver from the unicorn, "that I hate you. I do not."
At that, Twilight managed to look up from the street and meet her gaze, though she still said nothing.
"Do not think that I desire to harm you. You are my student," she said with finality, "and that matters to me."
With that said, Twilight looked down at her chestplate and gave a nod. Not a reluctant nod, not a timid nod. An accepting nod.
"I am not angry at you for asking that question, and I apologize... for my actions," she said said again.
Her student mumbled, "Uh... I was... a bit... worried that..." before trailing off.
And a sense of guilt added to the regret and shame. She finished the statement her student was afraid to say, "That I would attack you?"
For the briefest instant, she felt panic shoot through her student's body. She felt her student's heart skip a beat. She felt her student's body tense, but then her body relaxed. Twilight inhaled, then sighed as she gave a defeated nod.
Of course, she knew her student was right. She really should have held herself in check better. But given that it brought up the memories that it did, it was not easy. "I will admit that I reacted poorly to your question," she mumbled. "Or rather to the memories it brought back..." she clarified. She closed her eyes for a moment and, as hard as it was, swallowed her pride to ask, "Forgive me?"
She managed to open her eyes and look at her student. Twilight stared at her, almost with a look of bewilderment or shock. It took several seconds before her student looked down at her chestplate and slowly nodded. Seeing that nod made her feel relieved.
For a few more seconds, she held her student to her side, then lifted her wing up, giving Twilight her chance to escape should she so choose. She felt Twilight's warmth linger on the underside of her wing. Twilight didn't immediately retreat from her, but after a few seconds, she shuffled to the right and gave a brief look back at her. By the time Twilight stopped, she could no longer feel Twilight's warmth lingering in her wing.
She folded her wing back to her side, but it just didn't feel the same. Her own body's warmth just wasn't quite the same as Twilight's warmth. It wasn't as comforting. It somehow didn't feel as accepting.
She shook the thoughts aside then said, "Shall we continue?"
"Right..." Twilight mumbled, then took a step forward. After the first step, she hesitated and looked aside at her.
"Yes, I still do not know the way to Rarity's Boutique," she affirmed calmly.
The brief hesitation lingered for perhaps a second longer, then Twilight turned ahead, inhaled, and walked on.
And she smiled, seeing Twilight walk with less timidity than before. Perhaps the hug had been good for both of them. Perhaps it would do what she had intended, and reassure her student. Perhaps it would help reaffirm that vulnerable relationship they shared. She followed her student, and as she walked, she found herself feeling better. Her thoughts didn't linger on her sister, her thoughts didn't linger on the ineptness of bureaucrats, her thoughts didn't linger on bitter memories.
Her thoughts lingered on her student.
And maybe it was silly. Maybe it was stupid or foalish, and maybe it wasn't in her best interest, but they did. And it didn't make her want to scream. It was pleasant, so long as the memories did not twist with her student's fear of her.
Twilight's head tilted to the left, then her student's eyes glanced back at her. "Uh... when... was," there was wince that caused a pause before she continued, "if you don't mind me asking... The last time you did... that?"
"I have not hugged anypony in over a thousand years," was her answer.
"So... I guess... I should..." her student put on some kind of forced, awkward smile before saying, "feel special, then?"
'Amusing,' was her thought. She let herself smile and felt the right side of her lips pull up into a smirk. "You are the only student I have ever had, so you should already feel special."
Twilight's smile faded, and her brow creased. "Why not? Uh, Why haven't you had any students... before?"
She lifted her head up and tilted her head to the left. "I have never seen the point of it," she answered. She looked back down at Twilight. "It is not in my nature. That, and few ponies would have considered such an apprenticeship. To most, it would have been a curse or punishment."
And at that, Twilight's ears drifted back. "Oh... Sorry."
"It is fine," she replied.
Twilight's eyes drifted down to the ground in front of her, then after a few seconds, she looked back and asked, "What about the batponies?"
"I did not take any of them as personal students like yourself," was her answer. "For one, none of them are unicorns. I did not train them one on one in the art of combat either. Most of the ponies I converted were already well trained, and they learned further from surviving, so it was unnecessary."
"But there were ponies who volunteered to let you... do that to them. They didn't hate you did they?" was her student's question.
She held back a scowl, but took a deep breath and huffed. "Every single batpony who I originally converted volunteered, yes, but the circumstances were... Different. I never converted anypony outside of war. They would not have volunteered otherwise."
"Uh, what ponies did you... convert? Earth ponies? Pegasi? What about unicorns?"
"Only pegasi," she answered. "Unicorns and earth ponies would never submit to such a change..."
Twilight watched her. She watched her student. After a few seconds, her student broke eye contact and looked forward once more. "I... have more questions I'd love to ask, but..." She stopped and turned to the left, then raised a forehoof and pointed ahead. "We're here."
She stopped and turned her head to the left. The building was far from grand by her experience, yet it stood out from the rest of the town. Compared to the rest of Ponyville, Rarity's Boutique was elegant, although perhaps not quite extravagant. It still managed to, for the most part, fit in. She mulled it over for a few seconds, then nodded and commented, "Quaint."
Twilight walked ahead and approached the door, then knocked. She followed behind, then came to a stop a few steps behind her student.
In just a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a white-coated unicorn with a purple mane. "Twilight, darling-" and perhaps Rarity would have said something more, but instead, she stopped as soon as she caught a glimpse of her black coat. "O-oh," she stumbled out much less delicately, then fell into a quick, rigid bow, her ears folding back. "Ah... I didn't realize..." she mumbled.
It was more respectful than most greetings and reactions directed at her, given that most ponies either forgot that she was Queen out of fear, or did not bow out of paralysis caused by fear, or did not bow out of spite. But it was still a bow spurred on by respect out of fear, rather than love. But it wasn't as sarcastic of a bow as the Captain of the Guard, no, so it was already better than most of what she received. "Rise," she said after several seconds.
Rarity gradually stood back up, then shifted her weight and carefully asked, "Ah... what brings... you here?"
Twilight glanced aside at her, so she answered, "We're here for Spike."
Rarity nibbled on her lip and turned her head to the right, looking somewhere behind her. "Spike?" she called.
She couldn't hear any delay between Rarity calling his name and the tapping of claws scrambling to find out what that call was for. And then Spike was standing there, right beside Rarity. For a fleeting moment, Spike's gaze was on Twilight, then it passed onto her, and he took a step back as his lips pulled up into a forced smile while letting out a low half-laugh.
She scrutinized him, letting her eyes drift up and down his body. Purple scales covered his back and head while yellowish, off-white scales covered his underbelly. Green, inverted u-shaped spines stood up on his head and trailed down his back, all the way to his tail, with each spine smaller than the last. 'And you hatched him eight years ago...' she mused.
'I may need to ensure your kind does not cause my rule any problems,' came to mind next, but this hatchling, Twilight's dragon, Spike, would not be one of them. Or at the very least, he would not cause problems like other dragons could. No, he was too young, and most likely, having been raised by her student and her sister would have tempered his dragon nature. In comparison, other dragons wouldn't have that tempering.
'Perhaps,' she thought, 'your kind will attempt to seize on perceived Equestrian vulnerability...' But it wouldn't be a war. The dragons were too uncoordinated for something of that nature. If individual dragons caused problems, well, that was something she would address.
Personally.
Fondly, the thought came to mind: 'I wonder if your kindred remember me...' Without realizing it, she smiled, and her lips drew back to show her teeth. The dragons had a very special name for her, even before her ascent to Nightmare Moon. 'They would do well to remember it. But would they recognize me?'
Spike took another step back, which broke her thoughts. She felt her smile, then forced it back. She glanced at Rarity, then at her student, then looked back at Spike. "Your-" and she paused as it occurred to her, 'I do not know what relationship they have. What does he consider her? What does she consider him?' She closed her mouth as she thought about it. Finally, she said, "The spell which allows you to send scrolls to my sister. I am going to alter it so that it will instead send scrolls to myself."
"Um," he paused and lifted his arms to tap his claws together. His eyes shot over to her student. "Twilight?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her student nod. But her student didn't say anything.
With that, Spike looked back at her and gave a short, slow nod. He managed to take a step forward, followed by another.
"This will not take long, nor should you feel anything," she stated. The spell wasn't that complicated. It wasn't a teleportation spell, although it was vaguely similar. All she had to do was alter the part that would send scrolls to her sister so that, instead, it would send those scrolls to her. And with a few seconds of work, it was done. A secure way for him to send scrolls to her, from her student.
But after she finished, she found herself on edge. The spell wouldn't have let anypony else modify it. Only four ponies would have been able to modify the spell without fighting through the protective measures: her student, her sister, and Cadance, which did not surprise her, and then the fourth pony, which was what concerned her. Herself.
'This isn't an oversight...' she knew. But it made no sense! It left her feeling exasperated. 'Why would you do this!?' her mind demanded. But there were no answers for her to find.
She inhaled and, after fighting off the urge to scream out of frustration, nodded. "It is done," she stated.
Spike looked back at Twilight. "I don't feel any different."
"You shouldn't," Twilight replied.
"If nothing else," she said, causing both unicorns and the dragon to look at her. She looked down at her student and continued, "I will walk you back home and then take my leave."
Twilight's eyes drifted back to her chestplate and she nodded.
She turned and looked at Rarity and Spike, then turned and walked back into the street. For a few seconds, her student lingered behind, then she heard her student's hoofsteps and felt her approach. The door closed with the chime of magic, either her student's or Rarity's, though she suspected the later.
She turned her head to the right as Twilight took her place. Twilight glanced at her, then faced her. "So... uh, what are you going to do after this..?"
"I will return to Canterlot," she answered. For a few seconds, she hesitated to continue. "And I intend to visit my sister's school again."
She saw Twilight's leg twitch in midair. It paused long enough for her student to fall out of sync with her.
Before Twilight could react any worse, she stopped and added, "I do not intend to close it, if that is what you are concerned about. To do so would be foalish. It is in my best interest to keep it running." Twilight gradually set her hoof back down on the ground and nodded in long, drawn out motions. "The name, however, is something I am not particularly fond of."
Twilight's ears flicked back, and her gaze dropped onto the ground. "Right..." was her sigh.
She inhaled, then extended her wing. With a gentle touch of one feather, she coaxed Twilight into lifting her muzzle back up. Then, she folded her wing. "And perhaps I should have done this some time ago, but I should check the curriculum to ensure that my sister hasn't been lying to them all."
Twilight cringed and turned away from her. She barely heard her student mutter, "Are you going to... erase her like she erased you?"
"Perhaps," she said carefully. She waited for Twilight to look back at her before she continued, "I am uncertain if it would be in my best interest to do so or not. To erase her would, after enough time, benefit the stability of my rule. Ponies would eventually forget about her, which would be beneficial because I would then be all they know. They would know no difference. That would perhaps be in my best interest, as it could make dissent less likely. However, to erase her would also not make it known what she had done to me." She paused, then turned her head back to face the moon. She scowled at that scarring.
There was more she could say on the matter, but she had no desire to elaborate further. The will just wasn't there.
With no desire to say anything else, she walked forward again. For a few seconds, her student lingered behind, but eventually, her student trotted back into her place at her right side.
As she walked, she swept her gaze around the streets. This time, however, there were a few ponies out, yet whenever her gaze glanced over them in the slightest, even if it was a glance that didn't even stop on them, they either froze or sped up while their coats stood on end.
But a few ponies roamed the streets. It was progress.
She turned her gaze back onto her student. "Do you have any suggestions on how to address ponies staying inside rather than going out?"
Twilight's brow folded down and her pace slowed. For a few seconds, she stayed silent, then she looked at her. "It would depend on why they're staying inside..." was her careful answer.
She gradually nodded. "Fear."
"And you don't want that," her student surmised.
"To an extent," she answered, "fear is useful, Twilight Sparkle." She paused for a second, then quickly added, "But this is not."
Twilight's gaze drifted away from her. They walked on in silence for a while before her student turned back to face her. "I can think of a few things... More speeches. Maybe have Cadance talk to ponies... try to get some kind of celebration going? Maybe get the Gala to happen sooner than normal? Maybe..." her student winced and continued, "try to be a little less intimidating..?"
She looked at her student flatly. "Ignoring the last statement," she affirmed. Twilight didn't look away, nor try to apologize. "I would rather not force the Gala to happen before it normally does. I do not believe that is in my best interest. I do not believe speeches would benefit me any further, either. Perhaps from Cadance, but not myself. However, a new celebration? I can see that being useful. But I would not be surprised to find that it would not be celebrated and would be a mockery of me. Pray tell, Twilight Sparkle, do you have any suggestions?"
"I don't know..." Twilight answered, and with that said, looked away from Nightmare.
She watched her student for a few more seconds. 'Disappointing, but not surprising.'
"I think... you should talk to Cadance about this," her student finally answered.
She nodded as Twilight turned back to look at her. And for a moment, Twilight met her gaze. 'You are so fragile and vulnerable... You are still uncomfortable around me... but you are trying... and we are improving... Perhaps I can trust you more than what I think.' Twilight stared up at her, and she found herself likewise staring down at her. She inhaled and the movement made Twilight blink, then look down at her chestplate before bringing her muzzle back to the right and looking ahead. "We should return to your library, then I shall take my leave," she said.
Twilight glanced at her and nodded, then looked forward once more.
She let her gaze linger on her student for another second, then looked away from her and resumed her walk to the library.