//------------------------------// // Variance 4 - Remedial // Story: Glimpses 2 // by Pen Stroke //------------------------------// Based of a combination of request(s) by spoonlol, CaptMayhem, ShadeNightingale. What if Nyx became a teacher at the School of friendship? What if Nyx stayed an adult after the events of Past Sins? “Why can’t Headmare Twilight just cancel classes?” Gallus grumbled as he and his circle of friends departed what should have been one of Professor Applejack’s courses on honesty. Instead, however, they had been taught by a substitute, a kirin named Autumn Blaze. That mare had talked a mile a minute, and Gallus already knew most of the notes he had taken were going to be basically useless. Smolder was walking alongside Gallus, only a step behind. Silverstream and Ocellus were walking behind them while Yona and Sandbar brought up the rear. Smolder stretched her arms and wings over her head, causing a few joints to pop as she did it. “What are they even doing this time? I didn’t hear about Equestria needing to be saved.” “That’s right, you two were running late this morning and didn’t hear the announcement from Discord," Ocellus said. "Headmare Twilight and her friends are in Canterlot. Celestia and Luna are taking a long weekend to vacation around Equestria and Headmare Twilight is taking the opportunity to practice ruling Equestria.” “That explains why Headmare Twilight wouldn’t be here, but why do all the professors have to be in Canterlot?” Sandbar asked. Ocellus turned her head to look back at him, even as the group kept walking through the halls of the School of Friendship. “Something to do with a Royal Swanifiying.” Smolder rolled her eyes. “Even by pony standards, that sounds silly.” “Yona doesn't know what friends are complaining about. Yona loves substitute teachers!” Yona bounced, her landing causing a small shake in the floor. Gallus, however, took the vibration in stride as did all his friends. They were all too used to being around Yona. “Yona’s favorite was the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking about how they help creatures find their purpose!” Sandbar nodded. “That was pretty cool, though my favorite was Zecora’s kindness lecture. Getting to see how potions are made was so awesome.” Gallus chuckled and threw a glance Ocellus’s way. “I think mine was King Thorax’s loyalty lesson… mostly because of how embarrassed you were.” “I have a feeling you wouldn’t do any better if Grandpa Gruff suddenly showed up to teach a class,” Ocellus replied with puffy cheeks. “At least the lesson was about his brother, Pharynx. I still can’t believe he told the ‘stop hitting yourself’ story.”  Silverstream giggled and bounced with excitement. Compared to Yona, she landed like a feather and Gallus doubted he would have noticed her jumping if he hadn’t been looking back at the others. “Well, I can’t wait until laughter class. Substitute Headmare Discord is teaching that one himself. You know that one is going to be fun!” Smolder nodded as they rounded a corner. They were drawing near to their destination, the large atrium classroom where Twilight Sparkle often taught her history lectures. “Still can’t believe he actually got to be the substitute Headmare. Why isn't Starlight Glimmer doing it?”  “She’s away for a long weekend too,” Ocellus said. “She’s had it on a sign on her door for a few weeks now. Headmare Twilight probably just didn’t want to force Starlight to reschedule. That and Starlight probably advocated for Discord being given a chance after what happened last time.” Gallus slowed to a stop. The group was just a few dozen steps away from the big atrium classroom. He glanced back at his friends, all of which had stopped along with him. “Hey, who wants to have a bet?” “A bet on what?” Sandbar asked. “Let’s guess who Discord got to teach Headmare Twilight’s History of Friendship class,” Gallus said, using one of his front claws to motion towards the classroom. The others glanced around one another, starting to smile and nod. “Ooooo, what do we win?” “Are bragging rights enough?” The others nodded, and Yona put her hoof up. “Yona guesses… Starswirl the Bearded. Yona knows how much Headmare Twilight loves Starswirl. She’d let him teach her class no problem.” Sandbar smiled and nodded. “That’s a good guess, Yona. Though, we gotta remember Twilight didn’t pick the substitutes. Discord did. So it might not be the perfect pick. I think it’s going to be Grandpa Gruff.” Gallus flicked his tail and glared at Sandbar. “Really?” “Why should Ocellus be the only one embarrassed? And Grandpa Gruff would know a lot about history.” “Yeah, but maybe not a lot about friendship,” Ocellus said before her expression lit up a little. “Oh, maybe it’s Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. I know they’re on vacation doing fun things. Maybe one of them thinks teaching is fun, and so they want to be here for this lecture.” “What if it was Discord?” Silverstream said as she waved her foreclaws in the air for dramatic effect. “I mean, I know he’s teaching laughter, but maybe he’d teach history too! He can be in more places than one.” Smolder chuckled. “Yeah, that’d certainly be weird. But I think if Discord was going to do that, he’d do it for all the classes. I think it’s going to be Torch, the previous Dragon Lord!” “Isn’t he bigger than this entire building?” Ocellus asked. “That’s why it’d work. You’d never expect it!”  Ocellus rolled her eyes as Silverstream, Sandbar, and Yona giggled to themselves. Still, all eyes were on Gallus now. “So, you must have an idea if you started this whole bet,” Sandbar said. “Who do you think it’s going to be?” Gallus turned and resumed walking towards the lecture hall. “I bet it's going to be Commander Tempest. That or some other villain that’s been redeemed through the power of friendship.” The others moved with Gallus. The door to the classroom and the final truth to their bet looming ever closer. “That would be kind of cool,” Smolder said, “but… how many other villains are there besides Discord that are all buddy-buddy with Equestria now?” Ocellus’s eyes wandered to the ground, her gaze fixed on the floor as her expression became focused. “Tirek and Cozy Glow are in Tartarus, and I doubt they’d want to come and teach us anything. We don’t know where Queen Chrysalis is, and I doubt she’d have been reformed without at least King Thorax hearing about it. Stygian would definitely fit that bill just like Tempest would. It wouldn’t be Starlight Glimmer. She’d be the Headmare if she was here.” Gallus and Smolder turned to enter the classroom, even as Ocellus continued to speak. “Before Starlight it was Tirek. Then it was the first changeling invasion. Before that it was Discord, and before that it was…”  Ocellus stepped into something. She flinched and stumbled back, thankfully to be caught by Yona. She looked over her shoulder, flashed a smile at her sturdy friend, and then looked back forward. Gallus and Smolder had stopped dead in their tracks at the door. Ocellus quickly moved forward, as did Silverstream, Sandbar, and Yona, doing their best to cluster around Gallus and Smolder and peek their way into the room. There, they saw her, standing on the atrium’s small teaching stage. The words escaped Ocellus’s mouth, finishing the sentence that had been so abruptly interrupted. “Nightmare Moon.” ~~~ “Greetings, everyone, welcome to History of Friendship. I will be your substitute professor today. You may call me Nyx.” Nyx wrote out the short name on the chalkboard before glancing back at the students, seeing confused eyes and quiet whispers. “And that is my preferred name, though many of you may know me better as Nightmare Moon.” The whispers among the students decreased, so Nyx had at the very least addressed the thing that had been the primary source of confusion. Most of these students were from outside Ponyville, or even outside Equestria, and wouldn’t know the intricacies of her personal story. “Now, the lesson plan says that Twilight was going to speak to you about Equestria’s first friendships and alliances beyond its borders back when the kingdom was first founded. But… there is also this rather well-drawn note from Discord saying ‘teach what I know.’” Nyx held up the note for the class to see, and it was a rather detailed drawing of Discord at a chalkboard teaching Nyx, who had a dunce cap on. “So, I suppose to begin my lesson I need to ask a few questions of my own. First, has Headmare Twilight gone over the First Nightmare Incident?” The students were all quiet for a moment, but a brave soul raised a trembling hoof. It was the changeling student. Nyx had to quickly glance over to a clipboard that showed pictures and names of the students, but she was able to spot the student rather quickly. “Ocellus?” “Yes, she has,” Ocellus answered as she lowered her hoof. “It was one of our first lessons, how her learning the power of friendship helped her and her friends save Equestria. It was a lesson meant to show us that by learning friendship now, we can do great things in the world with it.” “I dare say it’s almost the school's mission statement,” Nyx said with a nod. “Now, has she taught you anything about the second Nightmare Incident?” Nyx waited a moment, eyes scanning the crowd, but the collective shaking heads made it clear that it was a subject that Twilight had avoided. “Well then, I think it’s rather clear why Discord left me that little note. Who else knows more about The Second Nightmare Incident than me?” A limb was raised, an eagle claw attached to a blue feathered foreleg. “So… like, you’re not Princess Luna.” Nyx felt herself deflate a little. “So, we have to go back even that far. Admittedly, Spell Nexus could give a full and proper explanation of exactly how he accomplished what he did. But as of late, I’ve come to favor a particular analogy.” Nyx called on her magic as she moved to one side of the platform at the front of the class. Her mane fluffed out, growing larger to fill the whole space. The dim but twinkling stars in that mane began to shift, clearing the space before a few of them clustered together into the distinctive image of a tree. As a final touch, lines became visible between the points of light, making it look like a textbook diagram of a constellation.” “This may be something Applejack has covered in one of her classes, but not all varieties of apples are self-sustaining. Some apples, created through hybridization, are able to bear fruit but the seeds in that apple cannot grow a new apple tree. Thus, the only way to get new trees of that particular apple variety is through a technique called grafting. In simplest terms, you take a branch of a tree and graft it onto a new sapling of a different, but compatible tree variety. Then, with proper care, that graft will grow into a whole new tree.” “This is what I am. I am what remains of the original Nightmare Moon grafted and pieced together into a new, separate entity. There are elements of me that are from the original Nightmare Moon, but I had to grow and replace everything that Luna kept when she was purified by the Elements of Harmony.” Nyx surveyed the class again, making sure there weren’t any faces that were overly confused. When she saw none, she continued. “Headmare Twilight and her friends have had many triumphs, where the power of friendship and even love carried them through to victory against frightful foes. However, how the villains were defeated was not always the same.” “Thus we come to the heart of what I feel will be today’s lesson, of what I am most qualified to speak on: a critical analysis and discussion on redeeming villains. As Discord, Starlight, and I prove, it is often the more difficult and time-consuming path compared to simply defeating and imprisoning a villain. Yet, despite our risk for relapse, I would argue it is the more sustainable solution in the long term. To put it more bluntly, today’s lesson will be how you can’t just blast all your problems with rainbows.” Several students laughed, and Nyx smiled at the delicate sound. It wasn’t much, but it was a sign that she had managed to cut the initial tension in the room and now they could go forward with the class in earnest.  ~~~ The students were filing out of the classroom a while later, all of them chattering about the lesson. Nyx watched them go, giving nods to those that made eye contact with her. Eventually, it was just her alone in the lecture hall, though that solitude did not last as she heard the characteristic snapping of a certain someone popping in. “My my, another class positively riveted,” Discord said with a grin. “Really, it seems you have a natural talent for being a teacher.” Nyx rolled her eyes as she went to the chalkboard and began erasing the words that had been scribbled there over the course of the class. “I attribute that more to the subject matter than my teaching ability. Seems mother has been avoiding teaching about my attack on Equestria as part of her lessons.” “Well, it was perhaps her first semi-failure on such a scale,” Discord said as he floated over and flopped to lounge in the student sitting section. “The little filly she took care of, despite all her love and care, still took over Equestria when her memories returned. Yes, you gave Equestria back eventually, but…” Nyx turned her head to look at Discord. "But Equestria still remembers the weeks of eternal night.”  “Shame Princess Luna couldn’t take back the bits of her magic you still have. I imagine things would have been a lot better for you and Twilight if you were able to be a filly again.” Discord snapped his claw and turned himself into a cute little child version of himself. “Creatures are so much more forgiving when you have cute little cheeks they can squish.” Discord snapped his claw again, turning back into his normal self. “I mean, getting a taste of that childhood only to not be able to go back. Truly that should have been punishment enough.” “Is there a point you are trying to make, or are you just intent on rubbing salt in my wounds?” Nyx said as she finished erasing the chalkboard. "Or are you bragging about how good you have it despite helping Tirek? That you’re free to pop in and out everywhere you want while I’m kept so busy I can barely visit Ponyville.” “Sorry, guess I struck a nerve.” Discord made a small medical hammer appear, which swung itself to strike one of his legs. Discord’s whole body convulsed while that one leg remained perfectly still. “Though… you do realize that your very busy “pay for my crimes” tour is partially your own fault. I suppose it eases the guilt, but really, one must strive for work-life balance.” “I will tend to my matters in the way I see fit, Discord,” she said as she began to walk from the room. “I’ll leave the notes from my class on your desk so you can pass them onto Headmare Twilight, though I don’t imagine she’ll be wanting to quiz her students on this very soon.” With that Nyx departed the room, leaving Discord and his annoying prodding behind. She navigated the halls to the nearest exit and from there took flight. Her ebony wings carried her easily as she soared higher and higher, becoming little more than a dark speck in the sky above Ponyville. She was expected back in Canterlot for her curfew within the hour. It was another limitation she had agreed to have to appease the populace of Equestria, though she had been rather vocal that it was beginning to grate on her. Still, that one hour gave her time. Magic glowed around Nyx’s horn. She was casting no real spell but was instead sending up a flare. One noticed and quickly answered. She felt herself being seized by a teleportation spell, and soon, her surroundings drastically changed. The place was dark and dismal, a strange lair formed from a naturally occurring limestone cavern. The roots from the swamp trees above dangled with moss from the ceiling. The murky water of the swamp filled the space with a musty smell. Everything was bathed in the warm light of an orb, a goat’s eye crystal ball that sat in a central place of honor. Around that orb sat a dark council, those of wicked minds and spirits who sought nothing less than the domination and destruction of Equestria. Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow, and the group’s leader, Grogar, were all in attendance. All eyes turned to Nyx as she arrived, brows furrowed and cautious. Nyx came and stood at her usual place at the table. Then, from the depths of her mane, produced a single jagged crystal. “As promised, a fragment from the magical map of Twilight’s castle.” Grogar lips curbed into a small smile as his own magic picked up the gem fragment and turned it over slowly. “Very good. It’s nice to find someone capable after these three failed so spectacularly at securing my bell.” Moving gently, Grogar lowered the crystal fragment to his crystal ball. The gemstone slowly sank into and merged with the mystical eye, and after a few brief moments, it began to display a visual. It was the throne room of the Castle of Friendship in clean detail. Grogar waved his hoof over the crystal ball, and the view moved to another chamber. A few more gestures and Grogar’s smile grew to a full, toothy grin. “Yes, now not only can we glimpse and see Twilight anywhere within her castle, but we should now also be shielded from that accursed map table. Now, no matter how our plans progress, we should not fear Twilight Sparkle and her friends storming in to stop us before we are ready. Yes, this is very good, Nightmare Moon. With you replacing that fool Sombra, our success is more than assured.” Grogar waved a hoof over the crystal ball again, returning it to the idle form of a glowing goat eye. He turned away from the table and began heading for the cavern’s entrance. “You should return to Equestria before you are missed. I will summon you once more when the next phase of our plan is complete.” Nyx, along with the others, watched as Grogar left. A great deal of tension seemed to leave the room, and soon Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis closed in on Nyx. “Now, onto more important matters,” Chrysalis said. “What about your other mission?” From her mane, Nyx once more produced an item. This time it was a book. It was brown with gold trim, and on its surface was an ornate pattern depicting a bell. Nyx saw the eyes of the three other villains light up with delight at the sight of the book. Cozy was the first to act, quickly snatching it up and cracking it open. “I had to send clones of myself into the library for five nights, and then it took another three to pick the lock. But I doubt anyone will notice this book is missing for a very long time,” Nyx said. Tirek moved to look over Cozy’s shoulder. “And you’re sure this book will contain information on Grogar’s bell?” “If it doesn’t, then we simply resume our search elsewhere.” “No, I can feel it,” Cozy closed the book and hugged. “This book is just what we need to turn the tables on that old goat. And with the power of his bell, Equestria will be ours.” “Just remember our bargain,” Nyx said as she glared down at the other three villains. “You’ll be free to do whatever you want with Twilight Sparkle and Spike after we’ve triumphed,” Chrysalis said. “After all, it's nice having a co-conspirator with such… low ambitions. Now, Grogar was right. You had better not stay here much longer. We’ll give you an update once we’ve confirmed whether or not this book has what we need.” “I’ll be waiting.” Nyx gently hopped into the air, her wings carrying her upward before she turned and began flying towards the cave exit. Before leaving entirely, she dared to stop and glance back. Those three villains circled around the book, their eyes hungry for the power it promised. Nyx lingered to watch them a moment more. She then turned and made her departure. ~~~ Nyx landed gingerly on the balcony of Canterlot. The sun should have already been set, but Nyx could already see what the delay was. On the same balcony was Twilight, holding a strange amulet in her magic and fiddling with it. The sound of Nyx’s hooves nearby drew Twilight’s attention, making her blush and quickly try to hide away the trinket. “Nyx… it’s good to see you.” Twilight said, putting on a smile. “How are you, mother?” Nyx answered almost coldly as she took a few steps forward. “A bit weird to have you greeting me instead of Princess Celestia, but I suppose the princesses' duty as my wardens transferred to you while they are on vacation. It would seem the changing of day to night is also your responsibility.” “Yes, just… the princesses didn’t really leave instructions on how to use this. I mean, I’ve used their magic before to move the sun and moon, but… it still feels… wait, ahah! I got it!” Twilight’s magic seemed to finally infuse into the amulet, and the sun did start to move… the wrong direction. It then began to wiggle and waggle across the sky as the moon came up from the horizon doing small loops. “If I may.” Nyx flared her wings and lit her horn as she extended her will to the sky. Suddenly, the sun and moon froze, hanging for a moment before quickly returning to their correct positions. The sun began to sink beyond the horizon, Nyx keeping her magic focused on the act. Yet, at the same time, another spell was cast. Twilight’s horn glowed a little more brightly. To a casual observer, it would hopefully look like Twilight was trying to help and understand how to move the sun and moon. In truth, Twilight was casting a protection spell, ensuring none could hear what they were saying. The spell, additionally, used illusion magic to mask the fact their lips were moving. To anyone looking in, the two were standing in silence as Nyx guided the sun through the sunset. “You delivered the items to them?” Twilight asked. “I did,” Nyx said, her wings slowly lowering as the sun disappeared further below the horizon. “You were right about the table fragment. They used it to bypass your protection spells on the castle and view the interior.” “Did they notice the counterspell?” “They didn’t. You should be able to use the same link to view their lair with the same ease.” Twilight smiled, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good. It’s not fun knowing they can spy on me whenever. I’m glad I just made sure certain rooms were protected with additional privacy spells. It should hopefully keep them from catching on that we’re aware of them.” Twilight sighed and gently put away the amulet Celestia and Luna had given her. “What about the other thing?” “Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy are definitely plotting against Grogar. They were practically giddy to have that book.” “But they still haven’t let you see the bell?” Nyx shook her head. “No, I still haven’t been able to see the bell itself. They’re still pretty guarded around me, probably because Grogar is actually happy I’m succeeding in my missions. But I am absolutely certain they have it now.” The sun was set, and Nyx adjusted her magic and began raising the moon. Twilight watched the moon, her eyes tracking its slow ascent. “Do they still believe you’re on their side?” “I think they’re trusting me more. Chrysalis even went so far as to say how nice it is to have an ally with such 'low ambitions'. They really think I’m in it to protect you and spite the rest of Equestria.” “I wouldn’t blame you if you really felt that way,” Twilight said, her ears drooping. “You’ve been working so hard to earn back everyone’s trust, and if this plan goes wrong, they’re going to hate you again. They’re going to really think you were intentionally helping those villains take over Equestria.” The moon was halfway up, its pale light bathing Equestria. Nyx kept watching her work, trying to ensure the moonrise was smooth. “We won’t let it come to that. We know they have that bell and the inaccuracies you inserted into that book will stall them. That will buy us time to read the original and come up with countermeasures.” Twilight nodded. “It’s strange, being on the other side of things. Trying to do all this cloak and subterfuge stuff is nerve-wracking.” “How do you think I feel? I’m conspiring with them to overthrow Equestria… so that I can help stop them from overthrowing Equestria.” “I know it’s been stressful, but it’s almost over. And I promise, once I’m ruler, we’re going to be a family again. I don’t care what any creature else says, including you. If Discord gets to be off the hook, so do you. Heck, I’m tempted to make my first official decree be naming you my co-ruler.” “You’re really dead set on tanking your approval rating in the first week, aren’t you?” Nyx said with a chuckle. “Be honest, you just want me around so I can be the one moving the sun and moon while you get to focus on Equestria’s friendship.” “I’m not saying it wouldn’t be an efficient division of duties,” Twilight said with a giggle before turning her gaze to the amulet. “And I’m not saying that… I find the very existence of this amulet a rather dangerous proposition. Besides, you do such a good job at it.” The moon was up all the way now, and Nyx was ending her spell. “Still, guess we’re out of time for today.” “Yeah, but soon, we’ll have all the time we could want.” Twilight began ending her protection spell. “Just be safe, okay. If anything goes wrong, get yourself out of there. I don’t care if you have to blow your cover. Just get out of there.” “I promise, I’ll be safe. And tell Spike I said ‘Hi.’” Nyx let those final words slip from her mouth before forcing her face back into a scowl. Twilight’s protection spell ended, and once more she had to act the part of the disgruntled villainess. “You had better practice moving the sun and moon yourself, mother. I’m sure Celestia, Luna, and the royal court will be cross that you let me dare indulge in such a grand act of magic.” “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with them. Still, let’s get you inside and to your room. It’s past your curfew, after all.” Twilight turned, heading back inside Canterlot Castle and Nyx followed a few steps behind. ~~~ Discord chuckled as he lounged in his home, resting on his ceiling couch as he looked at his floor coffee table. On it was a circular chess board with several unique pieces on it. The white pieces depicted Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and her fellow princesses. The black pieces, fewer in number, depicted Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis. And a third piece, in gray, depicted Nyx. It was all his little plan, and it was working out so well. Nyx was doing exactly as he hoped, leaking tidbits of information to Twilight. This would further help Twilight grow and believe she is truly capable of ruling Equestria. That and he felt it would be a nice PR boost for Nyx. Really, the pair would be thanking him later once they realized how brilliant his plan was. Discord still felt it was a shame that Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis had failed to get the bell. Really, his plan would have been practically perfect if they had just managed that one little errand. Still, if he couldn’t adjust his plans for minor chaotic mishaps, then he couldn’t really call himself a lord of chaos. Yes, his plan was going flawlessly. Really, what could possibly go wrong?