Nightmare

by Salty Alty


Interlude: Gaze Of The Crown

Celestia's ear flicked at the ticking of the large grandfather clock that sat next to her desk. It was early in the morning, and she hadn't even had tea before dozens of guards began clamoring for her attention. 

A typical day, usually.

But today was anything but typical. 

Her eyes scanned the reports in front of her, every treacherous word causing her frown to deepen. She didn't want to believe what she was reading. It had to have been a fabrication. A ruse. Anything but this. She sighed deeply, staring at the grotesque, shriveled up corpse in the photo.

"Why did it have to be Changelings?"

Over the last thousand years, she had been operating under the assumption that their kind was content to abide by the deal she had struck with their queen. That they would not interfere with pony affairs, and would instead reside solely in the badlands from whence they came.

And yet... here they were. 

Multiple carriages totaled, four dead changelings, one left alive but catatonic, and with nothing to show for it. Their silence had been broken. For what reasons, she couldn't possibly fathom. She shifted her eyes over to a new stack of papers, the smiling face of a Thestral greeting her. The victim. 

As far as her guards had been able to confirm, it had been some journalist from the lower areas of Canterlot. She had a reputation, though she wasn't notable in any sense of the word. She was average. Normal. 

Dare she say, boring.

Her criminal history was nothing special for somepony of her particular occupation either, with the only notable charges having been trespassing on private properties of various corporations, and attempting to escape arrest. A search of her home had revealed nothing too terribly interesting either, other than some suspect magical residue that Celestia could only attribute to whatever dark magics the Changelings had used in their attempts to subdue their quarry. Clearly, the best solution was to mobilize the guards and wash her hooves of it, and perhaps calling upon Twilight if she absolutely had to. She shouldn't be this concerned over it.

That didn't stop the questions nagging at the back of her mind, like writhing insects begging for her attention.

How had they failed to capture a simple Thestral? Why were they chasing her? Where was she now? Celestia frowned, turning her attention to the surveillance reports. All of the cameras in the area had been meticulously sabotaged, so she knew there would be no answers to her questions...

At least, any easy answers.

She let out a hollow chuckle, silently levitating a large bottle out from behind the clock, uncorking it and pouring the amber brown liquid into her empty cup. She knew it wouldn't do much in terms of getting her tipsy, but tea wasn't quite doing it for her at the moment, and coffee liqueur seemed like it would do her some good right now.

As she raised the cup to her lips, there was a whoosh in the darkened corner of the room. She didn't even need to turn her head to know what made the noise, though she did so anyway. "How was your rest, Luna?" 

Luna snorted, cracking her neck. "Unpleasant, after I heard the news. I was under the assumption that those bugs had been dealt with," she spat out, her eyes burning with barely restrained fury. 

Celestia pursed her lips; she would need to handle this delicately. "They were... until now, that is. I wasn't lying to you when I said I had handled the Changeling situation."

Luna stomped a hoof, nearly splintering the wooden floor. "So why are they still harassing our ponies?! Who knows how many times this has happened and we were simply not informed of it! You and I both damn well know how their kind operate! Who's to say they haven't wormed their way in to our society as they have done before?!" She said, pointing an accusatory hoof towards her sister. "What say you, Sister? Why is it that in my absence,  these threats have been allowed to flourish?!"

Celestia held up a hoof, silencing her sister. "Because I saw that the situation could be solved without the complete and utter genocide of their species. I had formed a geas with the last of the queens, and I had thought the matter settled. Thus, there was no more need for the Inquisition, and so I had it dissolved."

Luna's jaw dropped at that. "So you mean to tell me... that you formed a geas... with a race of lying, scheming parasites... and didn't expect them to worm their way out of it?" She said, an exasperated expression on her face. "Sister. Please tell me you jest."

Celestia grimaced. When Luna put it that way... "What would you have had me do? Put her to the sword for the simple crime of existing?"

"That depends." Luna snarled, taking a step towards her sister. "Which. One?"

"W-Wha—!"

Luna's face was only a few inches away from Celestia's now. "Which. Queen?!"

Celestia gulped. "C-Chrysalis..."

Luna’s eyes widened slightly. “I had thought her slain during the purge. A pity. You ask what I would have had you do?!” She stepped back, looking at her sister crossly. "I would have had you put her to the sword for the crime of kidnapping over seventy of our ponies, and having hundreds more killed! I would have had you put her to the sword for the ‘simple’ crime of attempting to subjugate numerous villages, as well as the many minor transgressions her offspring committed!"

Luna huffed, deflating a bit as she looked at her sister. "I would have had you carry out the duties expected of you as a Princess of Equestria." She snorted, trotting back to the shaded corner of the room. "I had thought you competent, Sister. It appears that I had misplaced my trust in you, and must clean up your mess, yet again. How many villains will you spare before you realize the harm it causes?" she said seethingly, scorn apparent across every inch of her face. Her body melted into inky blackness as she retreated from the room.

Celestia could only stare at that corner in shock. She didn't want to think about her sister's words, no matter how truthful they could have been.

She had been doing the right thing… 

She had to have been.