Nightmare Moon’s life sucked ass.
It didn’t just a minute ago, but now it did. She could think of a few things that were worse than getting body-slammed by a sun alicorn nearly a pony taller than her and then getting gagged and tied onto her own office chair with duct tape, but Nightmare couldn’t have been bothered. Besides, indignity through duct tape was the least of her problems when a 9mm semi-automatic pistol was being shoved right up against the side of her skull.
In protest, Nightmare mumbled something incoherently.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” the sun alicorn holding Nightmare hostage said as she tore off the tape.
Once it was off, Nightmare took a moment to breathe and then said, “Who are you and how dare you harass the empress of the night like this?”
The sun alicorn replied, “Well, you can call me Daybreaker.” Daybreaker offered a hoof.
Nightmare stared at the alicorn’s hoof then gazed back up. “Okay, ‘Daybreaker’. Would you mind telling me why you have barged into my palace, taken out my guards, attacked me, and then tied me up in my chair with duct tape and a magic suppressor?”
Daybreaker lowered her hoof then replied, “I’ll explain later. For now, we didn’t traverse the multiverse and infiltrate over two hundred miles of heavily-guarded Equestrian territory just to have a little chat with you in your palace.”
“Wait a second, ‘we’?”
A second later, a dark blue alicorn appeared through the door looking straight at Nightmare as she did. It was Luna, Nightmare Moon’s host. Or at least, it seemed like it.
“How-“
“I told you I’ll explain later. Answer a question for me first.” Daybreaker pressed the gun harder with her telekinesis against Nightmare’s head. “Gun or window?”
Nightmare took a moment to process things. One moment, she was poring over reports of changeling border incursions, and the next moment, a flaming alicorn burst into her room and managed to subdue her in terrifyingly quick succession. Nightmare Moon thought that she was simply dreaming - she has never thought of the possibility of people from alternate universes actually being able to travel to and disrupt her world like this - but the pain in her abdomen told her otherwise.
It was all too much. The sun alicorn, Luna, the…
“W-window?” Nightmare stammered.
Daybreaker smiled. “Window it is.”
“Wait-!” Before Nightmare could continue, however, her entire body along with the chair was gripped with an orange aura, levitating her off the ground.
The lunar empress went flying, crashing through the window and unceremoniously dropping down onto the pavement below.
“Daybreaker!” Luna glared at the mare.
“What? It’s not everyday you get to throw Nightmare Moon out of a window,” Daybreaker replied in defense. There was silence after that.
A heart monitor steadily beeped nearby as Nightmare Moon lied down on a hospital bed covered in sheets and bandages.
Daybreaker stood in front of the empress wearing a smug grin on her face. “Well good morning, Moony-“
“Don’t call me that.” Nightmare fiercely locked eyes with the sun alicorn.
Daybreaker chuckled. “Oh, Moony. I can call you whatever the hell I want.”
“Suck my royal ass.” Nightmare mumbled as she rolled her eyes. Daybreaker beamed a seductive smile in response.
Luna was there too, but no one had seemed to acknowledge her yet.
Just then, someone entered inside.
Princess Celestia was shocked when a guard barged into her private home in Silver Shoals that afternoon and relayed to her a message in bated breath. To say that she was utterly dumbfounded was an understatement when she had learned that Nightmare Moon had been kidnapped and that the perpetrators demanded to meet her in Ponyville General.
Celestia looked around the room and did not understand a single thing. Nightmare Moon was lain on a hospital bed, practically incapacitated and wrapped from horn to flank in bandages apart from her face. Already not a good sign, not in the slightest, Celestia thought.
There were also two, strange not-strangers in the room – a flaming one which immediately put Celestia on high alert and a shorter, blue one which stopped Celestia’s train of thought dead on its tracks .
Celestia decided to tackle what appeared to be her sister first.
“L-luna? How-?”
Luna cut her off before she could say any more and replied, “No, I’m not your sister.” Luna looked at Daybreaker. “I’m her sister.”
Daybreaker waved at Celestia with a faux innocent smile.
“Oh.” Celestia looked especially forlorn after hearing what Luna said. “Then does that mean-“
“Yes, we’re from another universe,” Daybreaker said. “And we want to help you.”
Both Celestia and Nightmare were caught off-guard by the statement. Celestia wanted to ask why the embodiment of her worst desires and impulses would want to help her and Nightmare out, but Nightmare was the first to speak up.
“Help us?” Nightmare said in bemusement. “You threw me out of a fucking window!”
That caught Celestia’s attention. “She what now?”
Daybreaker put a hoof up. “Okay, it wasn’t that high.“
Luna chimed in. “I’m pretty sure it was, like, six stories high.”
“You broke my damn spine!” Nightmare Moon added.
“Okay, look. It was only so we didn’t have to fight our way out and carry you while you were still conscious.” Daybreaker explained. “We were forced to fly out of the palace because of your anti-magic matrices, but your guards did conveniently pussy out and decided not to chase after us so that’s a plus.”
Someone was definitely getting demoted tomorrow.
“So why did you have to knock me out and fly away with my body in the first place?” Nightmare Moon was getting thoroughly annoyed.
“Because we needed to disable you, keep the guards away, and find a relatively safe place to talk where it wasn’t near a garrison. Oh, and I guess a place where you can also heal up, but whatever.”
Nightmare spoke. “You could have just shot or punched me, you know?”
Daybreaker grinned. “That’s why I was so happy that you chose the window option. Besides, you're an alicorn. Your poor spine will completely heal in no time.”
The lunar empress scoffed. Unbelievable. “You said you wanted to help us? Why? What’s your plan? Does it involve throwing me out of a window again?”
“It will if you don’t shut up,” Daybreaker said. “I know that you know your empire doesn’t have the capability to stand up against the changelings yet.”
“That’s not true,” Nightmare shot back. “My army is capable of standing up to whoever dares threaten to invade Equestria. I have already drafted out and passed orders to rearm and refit the army over a month ago for the eventuality.”
“Bullshit,” Daybreaker replied. “We’ve been observing your military for a week now and I hadn’t seen a single unit with the tools or training to handle the changelings. Your leadership is questionable and your industry has a long way to go.”
“And how should you know anything about running my army or trying to keep the changelings at bay?” Nightmare said.
“Because I conquered the damn world! The changelings, the griffons, the riverponies, the zebra - everyone!”
Nightmare Moon immediately closed her mouth and inspected Daybreaker’s face. She was deadly serious.
Daybreaker spoke up again. “Then you know well that it is in your very best interest to believe me when I say that I can beat the living shit out of everyone in this room right now and prove to you just that.”
The lunar alicorn stayed silent for another moment until she uttered a single word. “Why? ”
“Why? Why travel to another universe? Why beat you up and throw you out of a six-story window? Why put you in a hospital bed in Ponyville and plan to tell you everything? Why do all of this? Well, other than to save another Equestria…” Daybreaker thought about it for a second. “Honestly, I’m just bored as hell.”