The Nightmare Knights Become A Band

by SwordTune


Verse 15

“I, Photo Finish, will be taking your picture soon!”
The Castle of Friendship was alive with the makeup and lighting crew. Backlights illuminated a black tarp behind the Knights. The thin fabric was just enough for a powerful lamp behind them to leak through, producing the illusion of a distant moon.
“Not enough atmosphere!” Photo Finish cried out to her crew. Fog machines placed on high stools reproduced clouds behind the band, further producing the illusion of a moonlit cloudy night.
From the sidelines, Coco Pommel had her coffee close and her sewing machine closer. Luna gave her a few extra hours by teleporting them back to Ponyville and purchased any extra fabric they needed from Rarity. The bloodshot eyes glaring out from her tired sockets told a story of a long night of rapid and stressful revisions and sewing.
Why was she this invested? She thought. It was like being in design school again where there were projects every week but she never started them until the day before. I’m not young enough for this, she told herself. Wait, does that make me too old? No, that can’t be right.
After a few test pictures and light adjustments, Lightning Dust came up to Coco with her outfit. “Photo Finish says the hood is too big on my head and she can’t see my eyes.”
“Your eyes?” she commented.
“Apparently her team has some contact lenses that make a cool effect in the photo, so she wants the eyes to be seen."
She took a pair of scissors to the outfit, removing the excess fabric and then quicking sewing the hood shut again. She took a thin piece of cardboard and cut it to the shape of the tip of the hood and fit it into the cloth, holding the new hood in place.
“There, trimmed down and held up. Your eyes should be in view now.”
And it went on like that for maybe thirty minutes. Photo Finish added and removed props, shifted the band around to have more or less of Luna in view. She was always in the centre of the picture, but the questions were whether to make her presence obvious to obscured in the back as a looming figure.
“We have to start setting up at the school in fifteen minutes or so,” Starlight reminded her.
The day to come would be busy, Coco understood. Night or day, it seemed that building up Luna’s band was hard work either way.


“And after that, we flew into a pirate airship!” Celestia was glowing from the excitement of her stories abroad.
With the album and photography done, Luna simply had to wait for the CD’s to be produced and sold. It was a little unnerving to have a stage of her new life be so out of sight, but she supposed that was part of being a normal pony. As a guardian of dreams, nothing escaped her sight. Every fear and anxiety could be confronted. In some ways, knowing the dangers that lied ahead was easier to handle than all the waiting that she had to do in the waking world.
“The pirates that Twilight met on her journey?”
Celestia waved her hoof. “No, no, these were savage, bloodthirsty pirates. Oh! Fighting them off was so fun!”
“Sister, of all the threats in the world, those that are of real danger to us number less than ten. I doubt those pirates were a challenge.”
Celestria looked away. “Well, sometimes you just need to stretch your legs a little.”
Their stroll on the outskirts of Silver Shoals brought them to the scenic docks where traditional sailboats could be rented out for excursions into the sea. But both sisters were looking for something else. They may have been as similar as night and day, but they both could not deny the allure of delicious crepes at a seaside cafe.
“The Nightmare Knights have done very well,” Luna said as they took their seat. “Yesterday we-”
“Oh hold on,” Celestia rested a hoof on Luna’s shoulder to pause her, “I want to hear all about it, but there’s one more thing that happened with the pirates. While we were just about to drive them off our airship, one of the remnants of the Storm King’s fleet found us. The pirates actually dropped our skirmish and started going after the other ship. Can you believe that? They must’ve hated him.”
“Uh-huh,” Luna nodded.
“And the craziest thing is that the ponies on my ship wanted to help the pirates!”
“Now that’s surprising.” Luna turned the menu on its back and spotted a sea-themed crepe, a savoury cheese blend with capers and seaweed for flavour.
Once Celestia had finished regaling her recent adventures to Luna, they took a short pause to place their orders and drink some iced tea.
“It is nice to relax again,” Luna leaned back into her chair. “Your adventures sound truly daring, sister, but with this view, I feel as if Equestria has given me my own kind of adventure.”
The air blowing in from the sea was cold against the warm sun. When she thought of the sea, she still imagined smelling the salt and feeling the cool spray of the water. But really there weren’t any specific sensations. The sea just felt refreshing.
“So, you mentioned an album,” Celestia made a snarky face at Luna. “I can’t believe my little sister’s going to be a music star. Based on Sapphire Shores’ approval ratings, I’d say this career’s a step up from being a princess.”
“Oh yeah? Why don’t you put yourself out there and direct your own plays? I know you’ve always wanted to.”
Celestia sputtered a laugh. “Maybe in a year or two. We’re not really short on time or anything. Which reminds me. Once your album’s done, what’s next for my dear sister?”
“We’ll probably go on tour, teleportation is really a wonderful tool for this day and age. I’m sure there will be time enough for Starlight and Tempest between their work and the band. After that, we’ll probably start on the next album.”
“That’s quite some time,” Celestia said. “Band tours can last months, you know. Isn’t there something else you want to do during that time?”
“I’ll probably find something interesting while I’m travelling,” Luna replied, “but right now I’m having a lot of fun. What are you going to do?”
Celestia looked off toward the shore. “Well… I was thinking I’d settle down and enjoy Silver Shoals for a while, at least until you were done with your band business. Then we could do something together.”
Luna cracked a smile. “Oh, Celestia, I’m busy but you don’t have to wait. I can always make time for days like this.”
“I don’t mean like ‘this,’ Luna,” Celestia said back, not realizing how much of a whine her voice sounded like. “You and I ruled Equestria, but we never really did it together. We took up different roles, but we didn’t work on it as a team. I was kind of hoping we could do something like that, once you were done with the Nightmare Knights.”
“What?” Luna scrunched up her face. “Wha-- I-- Now you want to do something together? Where was this five months ago when you were travelling outside of Equestria?”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Celestia leaned in with a sparkle of hope in her eyes. “But now I’m here, and we can do anything together. Oh! You know what, that playwright idea was great. We could work together, me writing the scripts and you directing them. With all the nightmare’s you’ve seen, you should have an eye for drama.”
“Sounds great,” Luna furrowed her brows, “But you don’t have to wait for me, you know. Being a director is a full-time commitment. I don’t know if I’d be a good director if I’m distracted with the Knights.”
“Starlight has a job and she’s in your band,” Celestia said. “From how it sounds in Twilight’s letters, the School of Friendship hasn’t noticed her divided responsibilities.”
“True, and I’m still occupied with guarding half of the dreams in Equestria. I can’t take on the responsibility of a third commitment for you, sister.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Celestia assured her, waving Luna’s concerns away. “It wouldn’t be the same without you, and I’m sure I can wait a year or two.”
“Wait for what?” Luna’s voice grew increasingly irritated. “A year or two from now I’ll probably still be with the band. This isn’t some tryst with adventure beyond Equestria’s borders. I remember spending a day in your horseshoes. You’re always switching from one task to another. You might be retired, but you’re still going from one adventure to the next like they’re tasks on your to-do list.”
“Is that so wrong?”
Luna placed her hoof firmly on the table. “Not for you. But I like to take my time with things. Normal ponies can spend their whole lives making music. I want to at least say I put in the full effort.”
Before Celestia could rebut Luna, the cafe manager came out to interrupt them. “Apologies, princesses, but there’s some pony at the front desk asking if they could sit with you. She says she has a message for Princess Luna.”
“It’s just Luna,” she corrected him flatly. “And yes, that will be fine.”
Celestia spotted a sharply-dressed mare with her blonde mane done up in a bun. “Who’s this?” she asked.
“Poppin Mix,” Luna answered. “She’s helping me manage the business side of the band. We might’ve been rulers, but government work is a little different from the private sector.”
Luna smiled and greeted Poppin with a rare smile. She pulled up a seat and sat between the two sisters. The satchel at her waist was filled with papers.
“So sorry to bother you both, but I was just too excited.” She produced a packaged CD from her satchel and gave it to Luna, along with an opened letter. “The first batch of CDs just got through the production line. I contacted some folks who are trying to get into the concert organizing business, and as soon as I played your album for them they were hooked. They've already sold about 500 tickets, but one of their performers is sick so they need a replacement.”
Luna’s mood was uplifted instantly. “Are you serious? I can’t believe it… I must tell the other Knights!” She turned to Celestia, completely driving out their ongoing conversation. “This is absolutely wonderful, sister! You have to come when we perform. This is going to be awesome!”
“Heh, yeah,” Celestia smiled. She had never known Luna to be some pony to cheer out “awesome.” Nor did she realize how important this band was to her. It was enlightening to see her sister so happy, but Celestia simply wondered when she had grown so distant from her sister once again.