//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: I Woke Up In My Favorite TV Show, But Before I Could Do Anything, I Was Recruited By The Villainess! // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// “Big mistake.” While I stood flabbergasted, Trixie was already in motion. She shot her hoof out and fired a quick shot at Nightmare Moon. Her aim was perfect, and with how close we were, there was no way to dodge it. It looked like a great shot, but right before it struck home, a pillar of rainbow light erupted from the ground at Nightmare Moon’s hooves. It barely appeared for a second, only long enough to block the attack before blinking out of sight again, leaving only a faint shimmer where Trixie’s attack had dissipated. “Ohohoho,” Nightmare Moon laughed haughtily, “yes, now this is power! I really must thank you two for bestowing it upon me!” Trixie was speechless, and I was slowly taking steps backwards. “B-But how?” I asked the obvious. Nightmare Moon flashed her teeth in an evil grin. “Well, you saw it, did you not? What do you expect to happen when you break an Element down to its raw power and send that streaming into a pony? Surely you didn’t think an Element of Harmony could kill me.” “Well, we could hope,” Trixie muttered under her breath. “Hah! Wonderful,” Nightmare Moon replied cheerfully. She suddenly disappeared, only to reappear beside Trixie and wrap a leg around her shoulder. “Oh, I like you. How would you like to be the first general in my fledgling empire?” Trixie scoffed and shrugged off the awkward embrace. “As if! The Great and Powerful Trixie is nopony’s subordinate. And besides, I am not EVIL!” Nightmare Moon looked affronted and gasped softly. “Now, who said anything about evil?” “You want to take over Equestria,” I said dryly. “And?” Nightmare Moon huffed. “My sister has had control over Equestria for a thousand years, and nopony calls her evil! Is it really evil to want respect? To want to be seen?” “If you plunge the world into an eternal night to get that? Yes,” I replied, “it is evil.” “And what would you know about it?” A twinge of anger was seeping into Nightmare Moon’s voice now. “That was the only way! Everypony is so poisoned worshiping my sister’s sun, I’ll never get through to them so long as it’s around!” “I don’t know what it was like a thousand years ago,” I said, “but today, that’s not true at all. Even with all those years being told you’re evil, if you just tried to be good, ponies would start to come around! You could sit beside your sister in Canterlot again!” “Don’t talk like you know my life!” A blast of dark blue magic suddenly hit the ground at my hooves, and I jumped back in shock. Nightmare Moon couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice any longer. “You’re nopony! You’re just some schmuck who stumbled on some magic rocks, you don’t know anything about what I’ve been through!” “I know that—” I bit my tongue. I’d almost let the truth slip out there. I couldn’t— “She does know! She knows the future!” I winced as Trixie blurted out what I’d just stopped myself from saying. “If Starfall says you can be good, then that’s because she’s seen it!” Nightmare Moon stood in stunned silence for a moment. Then, she turned her gaze sharply towards me. “Is this true?” “Well, I, uh…” “IS THIS TRUE?” “Gah!” The sudden shout shocked me enough that I lost my balance and fell backwards onto the ground. “Y-Yeah, it’s… It’s true.” Nightmare Moon went quiet for a long moment, staring me down as if she were trying to peer into the depths of my soul and see the truth. Slowly, a grin returned to her face. “Excellent,” she said, her excitement adding a hint of a purr to her voice. “Yes, this will do wonderfully.” “No,” I said, sensing what she was getting at. “Nope, not happening. I’m not helping you take over Equestria!” Nightmare Moon scoffed. “Oh, come now, do you really think so little of me? If you truly know me, you know why I did what I did. I’m not just some power hungry tyrant!” She blipped out of sight and then reappeared between me and Trixie, draping a wing over each of us. “Imagine the wonders I could bring about with your powers!” I grimaced and tried to shrug her wing off, but she wouldn’t let me. “Having an understandable reason doesn’t make the things you’ve done right,” I told her. “If I help you, you’re just gonna terrorize the ponies of Equestria!” “I want nothing but the best for my subjects!” Nightmare Moon objected. She lifted her wings and walked forward, then turned to face us with a determined look in her eyes. “Really, what do you think I’m going to do? My sister banished me the second I showed an inkling of self respect. What are my supposed crimes that have you so up in arms?” “You kept Equestria trapped in an eternal night!” “The night is beautiful!” Nightmare Moon growled, but quickly pushed the frustration away and put on an amicable smile. “But, fine. I’m willing to compromise. Help me, and I’ll make you an official advisor with free reign to object to anything I may do.” “Why would I even believe you?” I asked. I felt a hoof on my shoulder then, and turned to see Trixie giving me an empathetic look. “Starfall, maybe we should hear her out.” “Really, Trixie? You, too? She’s Nightmare Moon.” “I get that, really,” Trixie said, “but… I feel like we should at least give her a chance. Like you gave me a chance.” “You’re different,” I said, “you’re…” I searched for some reasoning, but I came up blank. After wracking my brain for a bit, I finally gave in and sighed. “Okay, fine. We can give her a chance.” I turned to Nightmare Moon. “But you’ve got to convince us you’ve actually got good intentions.” “Excellent!” Nightmare Moon grinned wide. “Come, let’s talk somewhere more comfortable, shall we?” With a wave of a wing, she beckoned us along as she set off back towards her castle. “Comfortable?” Trixie laughed. “Even my wagon would be more comfortable than some old, overgrown ruins.” “You two really must have more faith in me if we’re to be partners,” Nightmare Moon said. “Even weakened as I am in this diminished form, I am still the most powerful Alicorn in Equestria. Not only that,” she raised up her hoof, shining with bands of gold, and aimed it towards the ruins, “but I’ve now bonded with an Element of Harmony. There’s nothing I cannot do!” With that, she lit her horn up, and her dark, misty magic flowed forth and covered the ruins in a shimmery veil. She then fired a burst of rainbow magic from the element, which exploded in a burst of light when it hit her magic. When the light cleared, the magics had combined, resulting in a vast starscape filling the air where the ruins had been. It was pure black, impossible to see past, with pinpoints of blinding white forming constellations all throughout it. The stars swam through the magic void, forming constantly shifting shapes as they worked away at something unseen, until finally, after we watched in awe for several minutes, the magic field popped out of existence with a gust of wind. Trixie and I gasped. The ruins were gone, replaced with a grand, immaculate castle. It wasn’t quite like the one I remembered from the show. It was darker, made of black stones that shone like obsidian, reflecting the moonlight perfectly to make it all perfectly visible. Tall, sharp spires surrounded a central tower, dozens of stories tall and stark against the cloudy sky behind it. It was a wicked sight, but also elegant, beautiful in a way that undercut the foreboding atmosphere and made it seem almost inviting. That was helped by the gardens that filled the grounds around it, speckled with magnificent blue and purple and black flowers soaking in the moonlight. “Wow,” Trixie said quietly. I stood speechless beside her. “Glad to see my work being appreciated,” Nightmare Moon said. “Now, shall we?” She beckoned us again, and we followed her back into the castle. The inside was completely remodeled as well, with lush carpets covering the cold stone floors and vivid tapestries giving color to the walls. Dark blue banners hung here and there, denoting the castle as belonging clearly to Nightmare Moon, but there was a warmth to the decorations that kept it feeling comfortable. “I had no idea the Elements could do something like this,” I said as we walked. “Well, as you saw, I did have to help it along somewhat,” Nightmare Moon explained, “but with some creativity, I think we could do just about anything. Why, with the power of three Elements, I believe we can even devise a barrier to keep us hidden from prying eyes.” “That’s smart,” I said. “Twilight will show up eventually for the library, and we’d be in trouble if she saw… Well, all of this.” “Is Twilight all you think about?” Trixie asked, a sneer in her voice. “Of course not!” That came out more defensive than I had intended, but it was too late to take it back now. “I just know what she’s gonna do the best, cuz she was the main character.” “Character?” Nightmare Moon asked. “Ah, right,” I said, and I explained my situation to her as we walked. She listened intently, soaking everything in and weighing it in her mind, and seemed to me to be satisfied with my explanation. “We’ll have to discuss this more at a later date,” she told me, “but first…” With a flourish, Nightmare Moon thrust open a tall set of doors in front of us, revealing a throne room gleaming with grandeur. The throne was massive, with golden highlights gleaming against the dark fabric that covered it. Sconces along the wall billowed with bright, blue flames that filled the room with sharp, jittering shadows. The large stained glass windows all depicted either Nightmare Moon herself, or just a landscape centered on the moon. The room was large, empty, and cold, easily the least inviting room in the castle, and made clear the importance of whoever sat in the throne that dominated it all. Nightmare Moon wasted no time in making herself comfortable, settling into her throne like she’d never been away from it. Although, since she was our size now, the way she lounged made her look more like a spoiled princess than the grown ruler she viewed herself as. “Really?” I asked. “This is what you meant by going somewhere more comfortable?” “Well, of course,” Nightmare Moon said. “I am perfectly comfortable here, after all.” “What about us?” Trixie asked. “You’re fine where you are.” I groaned. “You’re not really convincing me you can actually try to be good so far.” Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “Oh, fine.” With a flash of her horn, she summoned two large, cushy armchairs for us. “Better?” “Much,” Trixie said, and we both settled in. “Thank you, um… Nightmare Moon is a bit long, could we just call you Luna?” “Absolutely not!” Anger flared in Nightmare Moon’s eyes for a brief second. “Luna was a weakling without the courage to do what was necessary. That identity no longer exists.” “I don’t know,” I said, “Trixie might have a point. I mean, ‘Nightmare Moon’ doesn’t exactly scream ‘not a tyrant.’” “And why not?” Nightmare Moon looked affronted. “I’ve watched over my subjects’ dreams for centuries! I am the moon that brightens nightmares, illuminates the night and shows the path forward! What is so tyrannical about that?” “That’s what it means?” Trixie asked. “Yeah, I dunno,” I said, “it definitely makes it sound more like you’re saying you are a nightmare.” “Preposterous,” Nightmare Moon said. “If that view does exist, it is only because of my sister’s slander. You’re simply biased.” “Eeehhh,” Trixie and I both sounded unconvinced. Nightmare Moon huffed. “Besides, even if the name does align me with nightmares, that doesn’t make me a tyrant! Nightmares are not evil. They illuminate anxieties, help to focus your mind towards whatever stands in the way of your happiness. It is a perfectly natural part of dreaming! I shan’t be ashamed to be associated with them.” “If you say so,” I relented. “We should move on, anyway.” “Yes, let’s,” Nightmare Moon agreed. “So, uh…” I thought through what I wanted to say. “What exactly do you want?” “Respect! Acknowledgement! The admiration my sister has relished for the past thousand years!” Nightmare Moon spoke with absolute certainty. “Okay, yeah, sure,” I said, “but how do you want to get those things? Cuz I’m not gonna help you if you plan to just force ponies to respect you!” “I don’t need to force anything,” Nightmare Moon said. “Once Celestia is out of the picture—” “Nope,” I cut in. “I’m not helping you depose your sister.” Nightmare Moon groaned. “Then what do you suggest, miss ‘I know everything?’ A bake sale?” I shrugged. “You could always just make up with your sister. In the story I know, you turned back into Luna and ruled beside Celestia, and ponies started to like you again.” “Not an option,” she said. “Luna is gone, and I will not bow to my sister and beg her forgiveness for crimes I have not done.” “Well, if you won’t rule beside Celestia, and you’re intent on ruling, your only option is to convince ponies to choose you over her,” I said. “Which is, well… A tall order, to say the least.” “Well, I was thinking,” Trixie spoke up, “why not just do what we were already planning to do? You know, save the world and all? Ponies will definitely start to like Nightmare Moon more if she saves their lives.” “I don’t see how that gets her to ruling over Equestria, though,” I said. “No, no, I like it,” Nightmare Moon said. “I don’t need Celestia’s kingdom. I just need to convince the ponies of her kingdom that they’d be safer under my rule! Celestia would never stop individual towns from seceding, and if she did, she would start to be seen as the tyrant, which would just make me look better!” “I’m not gonna help you invade Equestria,” I said preemptively. “You really think you could do that without using force at all?” “Of course I do,” Nightmare Moon said. There wasn’t a hint of doubt in her voice. “I am the better ruler, after all.” “It won’t be fast,” I warned. “I don’t need fast,” she said, “I just need to be set on the right course. Luna was sedentary, resigned to her fate. So long as I don’t fall back to that, I can be patient.” I thought for a long moment, then sighed and shook my head. “Fine. I’ll give you a chance. If you so much as think of getting aggressive, though, I’ll go straight to Celestia and put everything I have into taking you down. Understood?” Nightmare Moon laughed. “Oh, perfectly understood, ma’am. As I said, I’m happy to give you a position of power to keep me in check. Trixie, dear, how about you? Are you happy with this arrangement?” Trixie shrugged. “Yeah, sure. It sounds like it could be fun enough, and I’ll still get to be a hero.” Nightmare Moon grinned. “Oh, yes, I’m sure it’ll be fun. Very, very fun, indeed.”