After a few quick explanations from Gamine and Swift, summarising the state Nightmare Moon was in, the Queen went about isolating herself for a moment, leaving command to Major Antares after informing her of some imperative directives.
Aglowing reverted to her true form and began running towards Nightmare Moon, as she wanted to see her friend again. However, before she could get too far, Chitin held out a hoof, preventing her from proceeding. When she looked at the changeling, her heterochromic eyes filled with confusion, Chitin assured her that after today, even Chrysalis would need some time alone, and that it was better to wait for her friend to return on her own.
Gamine, noticing that Pepper’s alicorn bipedal body was being examined from hoof to horn by most of the bat ponies, teleported the jagged katana back to the hideout before assuming the form of a regular unicorn again.
While this was happening, Trixie had moved closer to the Equestrian regicide, overwhelmed by events, and seeking some form of security. The duel she’d had with Twilight last year seemed like a child's quarrel compared to the power that had been unleashed over her head but half an hour ago. After she’d been sent into the deepest part of the changelings' hive, it took only a matter of seconds for the walls to begin to shake. It had been so violent that Trixie had been convinced that she was going to end up buried with the remaining changelings, only to then becoming their meal.
Seeing that their presence was no longer required, the bat ponies took off, with Swift leading them as they returned to the camp with Luna's unconscious body so she could be treated without further delay. Antares, however, stayed behind, because her place was near the queen.
Once the regiment of bat ponies was far enough away, Nightmare Moon turned back to the small group. She would have never believed that on the day of her imminent death, such a motley band would be there to witness it.
Less than half an hour later, the very group Nightmare Moon had noticed after the battle entered the command tent of the Moon Guard military camp. Trixie Lulamoon remained at Gamine's side, while Aglowing Shell, her claymore under a hoof, followed soon after, with Chitin to her right. The changeling guard for his part kept his warrior's eyes fixed on Nightmare Moon, watching her like one would a dragon in its lair. Antares didn't appreciate this, even though she understood the reason for it, and was about to intervene when Swift entered the tent.
The bat pony saluted with a thumb to his forehead. "My Queen, the doctors are finishing treating Princess Luna's wounds, and as per your orders, she has been placed in a medically induced coma," he said before standing next to the entrance.
Nightmare Moon fell back into thought, concerned about the future of her subjects now that they had revealed to whom their allegiances lie.
Pepper, who had remained silent until then, began to put some pieces together regarding the present situation. "The more I think about it, the more I think you are not exploiting the full potential of your idea to take the blame for Luna’s condition. And since my day of freedom is not over yet, you will make it your duty to give me back control, since no one is in danger anymore. Then I will have the pleasure of explaining it myself."
True, there was still a whole night to go before the dawn of a new day, and Gamine was true to her word, so she conceded to the request.
The monster sighed easily. "Nightmare Moon, I do not know what you are planning in regards to your situation, but concerning the changelings, I have an idea about how to get and keep them out of danger."
Antares snarled, spreading her wings and showing her fangs. "Who do you think you're talking to?! Show some respect when you address our Queen, you impudent commoner!"
Nightmare Moon intervened, putting a hoof on the major's shoulder to order her to regain her composure. She stared at Pepper for a moment before speaking. "She has never shown that level of respect towards Celestia nor Luna, I'd be worried about her intentions if she did otherwise," the queen commented.
The aide-de-camp watched her queen for a moment before giving the unicorn a glare.
Pepper continued. "Blaming me for Luna's condition is one thing, but I realise that there is more to it than that. Equestria needs to know that their precious princess Luna risked her life in order to protect the changelings from an extra Equestrian threat."
It was Aglowing’s turn though to flare up in rage, taking on her adult form as she sprinted over to bark in Pepper’s face. "That's not true! She's the monster!"
Pepper remained calm, a mischievous smile on her lips. "Precisely. We are going to wrap this monster in a pretty lie. By making her the hero of the story, she will wake up trapped in a paper thin cage. She will never be able to reveal the truth, or she will lose the trust of her ponies. And if your mother had the sadistic desire to go and thank her, Luna will be forced to accept her thanks, no matter how hollow. The more she is revered for this selfless act, the stronger the sour taste of total defeat will remain on her tongue."
A grunt of pain suddenly sprung forth, and everyone turned their attention to its source, Nightmare Moon. She had a hoof pressed against her chest. "Chrysalis' heart just skipped a beat, looks like this twisted plan is to her liking." The pain passed, and the alicorn swept her eyes over the plan that no longer had any reason to exist. "First, the accommodations. Major, have two tents set up for our guests and one for myself, not far from here, and make sure they are lacking in nothing."
Before the bat pony could take a step towards the exit, Pepper spoke up. "I will decline the invitation, I will not sleep among creatures I do not trust. There is a forest east of here, I will camp there, and if an emergency arises," She pointed to Aglowing Shell with her left hoof. "Facehugger knows how to summon me." She looked at Aglowing. “And emergencies only, not because you are bored.”
Nightmare Moon was not surprised, as Pepper had never slept in Canterlot Castle despite the many offers of hospitality. "Do you need anything?"
"Yes. I will need a wash, so I will require something to dry off with, a ration of food, and anything I can use to tie up my mane." replied Pepper.
Antares took the lead. "Swift, fulfil the unicorns' requests and then lead them out of the camp, I'll take care of the tents."
A few minutes later, as Pepper and Trixie headed deeper into the forest, Trixie sighed with relief for the first time in hours. To spend an afternoon in the company of changelings without ending up being eaten was an experience she never thought possible. But Nightmare Moon's arrival at Princess Luna's side, and what followed, would haunt her for some time. "The Great and Wonderful Trixie can't believe she survived today’s events," she said, fatigue overtaking her now that she was out of danger. "Trixie can't decide whether to be happy about sleeping away from Nightmare Moon and the bat ponies, or complain that she has to set up camp when we were offered a tent to sleep in."
"There would be too much tension if I stayed there. I need to replace a tool I used after the fight with Luna, and for that, I need some place calm so I can concentrate, besides, you are being paid to follow me."
"Trixie definitely needs the money, but now that she knows what you did to Princess Celestia, Trixie regrets agreeing to it. Trixie feels bad for what she put Ponyville through in her quest for revenge against Twilight Sparkle, but you're clearly worse than Trixie!" the illusionist shouted as she extended an accusing hoof towards Pepper. But seeing the utter lack of remorse in the latter's scarlet eyes, the mare sighed in frustration as she put the hoof back down. "Trixie will go no further for tonight, and will pitch her tent here." With that, she used her telekinesis to pull out her personal tent and began to set it up.
"Trixie is right," Pepper thought.
Gamine raised an eyebrow when hearing this from the monster. "Really?"
"Yes. We are far enough away from the military camp," Pepper said, setting the supplies down before walking over to the nearest tree to slam it with her hoof.
Turning her back on Pepper, Trixie busied herself with setting up her tent for the night.
Even though she was far from Ponyville, Pepper preferred to make sure no creatures were living inside it. She didn't want, once again, the potential inhabitants to go and complain to Fluttershy. She was indifferent to her reproachful stare, but the next potential meal offered by the pegasus was a privilege she couldn't afford to lose.
"Ah," Gamine said, disappointed at the turn in the conversation.
Ignoring her, Pepper concentrated, using her magic to slice through the base of the trunk with a clean horizontal slash before reducing it to scrap wood. Then, she opened a portal to the ruins of the two sisters' castle and collected a dozen stones from the ravine, before planting a stone slab in the ground to cover the back of the portal. Once she had done this, she swept away the ground covering of leaves to make sure she had a clean area to work and began arranging the stones in a circle, and arranged the scraps of wood she had created into the shape of a pyramid in the centre of this circle.
The sounds of crackling fire startled Trixie, and bewildered, she looked at the campfire and the slab, twice the height of Pepper, upon which the regicide’s shadow was cast. “Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that you can pay to the great Trixie,” she commented before approaching the campfire and, sitting before it, listening to the crackling fire. Something she was used to given her life as a travelling performer. Something that, here and now, gave her a sense of normalcy.
Pepper focused next on replacing her used prism. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but it was better to be prepared if Gamine had the good idea of putting them in a dangerous situation again while staying in Equestria. Concentrating more intensely than usual, the planeswalker placed a temporary marker at the base of the stone behind the portal and pointed at where she wanted to warp back to once she collected the pebble. “Trixie, I will leave you for less than three minutes. Until my return, do not get any closer to this stone behind me, for your own security. I will warp back to this exact point and I do not wish to hit you,” she explained.
“You mean teleport?” asked Trixie.
“I can not teleport, I can only warp, so no,” corrected Pepper.
“Trixie fails to see the difference.”
Pepper shrugged it off and warped away.
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “So you call it warping because you fancy up your teleportation with a popping sound? When I think about how many times my persona has been called out for being too extravagant, those don’t even hold a candle next to that!”
Pepper appeared in the very same place Gamine travelled to only an hour ago, human once again.
“Pepper, what is this place?”
“This is my dimensional sanctuary, a pocket dimension Azari created for me, … how long now?” She paused, calculating how many years it has been since then. “Two decades ago.” Pepper walked next to the fire, going for the door carved in the stone, and passed through the doorway.
The young guardian felt the benefits of the fire energising Pepper’s body again. "Pepper, about that fire, the pictures on the wall, ..." the teenager didn't know how to phrase the question that was burning her lips.
"Why are you interested in this?" asked Pepper phlegmatically, "Was it the soul of Nightmare Moon in the palm of your hand that’ fanned the embers of your nature?" she continued mischievously. "Are you trying to get rid of your mentor’s lessons so that you can finally be who you should be?" she finished in a tempting whisper.
Gamine looked away, dropping the topic.
Creating a ball of light in her right hand using magic, Pepper dispelled the darkness filling the room to expose what was sleeping in there.
"A prison?" asked Gamine.
There were six cells, each with metal bars dividing them from the hallway. Three on each side of the aisle that ran from one end of the hall to the other. The cells were as wide as the wall that hid them, built to contain one hundred prisoners each.
"Once upon a time. Now I keep my items here."
She went to the first cell to her right, walked up to a table, and picked up another of those prisms to use as a recipient for the immediate warp spell.
“What’s this … shiny metallic wristband?,” muttered Gamine.
Pepper looked at said item. “It is an interdimensional communicator.”
“Call someone!” ordered Gamine, in awe.
“It ran out of battery years ago,” Pepper pointed out. “Hence why it is in the cell where I keep the items of little value.
“Oh.” Gamine was disappointed at first, but a bit puzzled by this last statement. “So, you can use it to talk to people who are in another dimension, but it’s worthless in your eyes?”
“It has little value only because I can not use those items anymore, just like this ethereal blade.” Pepper said, pointing at a bladeless hilt.
“I see.” But considering Pepper’s personality, something still felt off to Gamine. “Why do you have that anyway? I don’t picture you as a social type.”
Pepper sighed at the comment. Memories coming back as she mechanically picked up the communicator with her left hand, rubbing the screen with her thumb. “Sometimes, you are forced to do things. Remember me mentioning the planeswalker named Azari? I had to work under her command, in her recon squad. I was freshly a planeswalker myself back then. I had so much to learn, about what I am, about what I became, and all the dimensions I could now reach. Also, my homeworld’s inhabitants were all soldiers like me. So, I ended up signing a contract with Azari’s owner, sold them to him. This communicator was my leash for the next few years, until I fulfilled my part of the bargain. And everything in this room are weapons, armours, artefacts and treasures I collected during that period of my life,” she exhaled through the nostrils. “A habit I got from spending time with my mentor as a planeswalker and superior in this extra dimensional planet sized slave market, Azari.”
If Gamine had had control over the body, she would have gone as pale as a ghost at this revelation of Pepper’s past. For now, she settled for going speechless as a few pieces of the puzzle started to fit together.
Pepper put the wristband back on the table. “Now that I have quenched your curiosity, I have to ask myself, why did I waste my time? Answering you shall not make you shut up about everything you see in this place, am I right, Gamine?”
“Get out of my head!”
“But I am not in your head, you are in mine. And it is really easy to read your mind. So, by all means, if you are fed up, feel free to dispel the forbidden spell at any time.”
“Never!”
Again, Pepper shrugged it off. “Suit yourself.”
Swift, who had made sure Antares’ letter was still in his tent, was returning to the command tent when he saw Dauntless Halberd came galloping in from the west of the camp, holding two letters under his right wing. One of them was trailing a red ribbon that was lost behind the maze of tents. "Swift! Swift!" whispered the muscular bat pony in a vain effort to not attract attention from the soldiers around them.
Swift noticed the letters and quietly asked "What's the matter with you, Dauntless?"
"The mail pony from this morning, he came back!" the large warrior said. "He said I should deliver these letters to you, that you should read your letter before you deliver the second one to our Queen," he explained before stretching out a foreleg to present the envelopes to Swift.
Swift, however, was sceptical. "You're taking orders from a civilian now?" he asked as he took the two letters, noting that his name was on the envelope that the ribbon was not attached to.
Dauntless stood mute for a moment at this observation, realising that he had indeed done such. "He said it was of utmost importance," he said in his defence.
For a moment, Swift wondered if the letter was written by his late friend. "Let's see it." he said, opening his letter with the thumb of his wing before reading its contents. But at the mere sight of the small and precise style the letters were written with, he knew it wasn’t from her. This skill was a craft only a Canterlot unicorn noble could pull off, and he knew just who this author was.
<Soldier Swift Chess, Having delivered -without the slightest information about the sender- the missive to your Queen, fly to make sure Pepper does not cross my path. Pretend a training session is about to start for the little Caesar.>
Swift grunted. He looked up at Dauntless, spreading a wing to rest his thumb on Dauntless' shoulder. "You've done the right thing. Go back to your post." After the usual military greetings and farewells, they parted, and the soldier entered the command tent.
Within, Nightmare Moon had just put away the tactical plan that had been on the table. After today, it was no longer needed to mislead Luna.
Sitting near her on the table in front of a blank sheet of paper, the little Aglowing manipulated a quill with her magic and was trying to make lines of symbols to learn the Equestrian alphabet.
This had the benefit of distracting her while Nightmare Moon weighed the options about how she was to proceed.
Chitin and Antares stood nearby like two dogs waiting for an order from their respective queens.
Swift gave the letter attached to the ribbon to Antares and left after summarising in a whisper what he was going to do.
Nightmare Moon turned her attention to her aide-de-camp. "What's going on?" she asked, then noticed her young friend was watching her, to whom she smiled to reassure Aglowing.
"Swift just brought this, it's meant for you, but it's not his writing. He said he was going to make sure Pepper didn't bother you under the pretence of a training session."
Suspicious, Nightmare Moon used her telekinesis to grab said letter, disturbed for a few seconds at seeing her magic under the effect of all the negativity in her heart. She opened the envelope and removed the sheet of paper within, reading the few words written upon it.
<I, Bitter Truth, have the honour to inform her highness Nightmare Moon, that I am at the end of this ribbon.>
Nightmare Moon remained speechless. "What does this mean? All this time I've been trying to put the hoof on him, and now he dares to send me this? Does he think he's so important that it's my job to move? Who does he think he is?!" she thought internally.
"What does it say?" inquired Aglowing, still looking at her friend.
"It seems that Bitter Truth is hoping to have me come to him by following this piece of cloth," she replied absent-mindedly. There was no way she was going to be the one to come to him.
But before the alicorn could give her subordinate an order, Aglowing jumped from the table and used her mimicry to land on the floor in her adult form. Her eyes growing with hatred, she grabbed her claymore and began galloping like a tornado out of the tent, under the stunned gaze of Nightmare Moon and Antares.
"By the stars, what's wrong with her?" muttered Nightmare Moon, bewildered.
Convinced that it was the right choice to let Aglowing pass through, Chitin looked away from the exit, turning to the queen to answer the question. "Did you not tell my queen, in the presence of her daughter, that the oracle is the culprit for tonight's events, and therefore, your current condition? If the oracle is waiting outside-"
Just then, an earthquake rattled the tent. There were tremors following a magical detonation so powerful that the sound it created was heard by every inhabitant of the two nearby towns. When Nightmare Moon, Antares and Chitin came out of the tent, they took off like the rest of the bat ponies at seeing such a gigantic cloud of dust which continued to grow in size as if it were trying to reach the sky.
Near the epicentre of where the explosion had occurred, Aglowing Shell stood, out of breath from the attack she had just launched, trying to gather enough strength to launch a second attack, glaring at the oracle. "Why?" she muttered. "Why did you do that?!"
Bitter Truth lowered the wooden longsword he had magically extended into a shield around himself as protection from the devastating attack, causing the blast to instead pass harmlessly around him like a turbulent river splitting upon hitting a stone. This caused the deflected energy to scar the surrounding plain before it exploded a hundred metres away when it became too unstable to continue, resulting in a huge crater. He gave an annoyed pout before shrugging his shoulders and roughing up Aglowing, tapping the pommel of the wooden sword against the changeling's muzzle. "I don't have to answer you. Besides, a Caesar who allows herself to break a promise, what a disappointment. It seems you’re still far from deserving of such a title, little queen."
Aglowing found her second wind at such a statement, her anger rekindled, she charged, claymore haloed with energy to deliver a vertical attack.
Bitter merely dodged, the attack completing the gash by digging into the area once spared by the shield. The stallion took advantage of the opening this created to rough her up once more. "One would wonder if you learned anything from your friend's lessons."
"Silence!" the child ordered while initiating another attack that Bitter dodged with a curtsy before landing a third pommel blow. "Shut up!" she shouted after a grunt of pain, literally making the unicorn dance as she waved the sword around in an attempt to land a blow, leaving too many openings to avoid the blows that were thrown back at her. "Enough," she breathed, so weak that her mimicry broke and her claymore fell to the ground.
"You are angry because you have no control over your friend's situation, and you seek to take out your frustration on the culprit. I understand perfectly how you feel. My friend is dead, the criminal is right there, I could use my precognition to kill her." He sighed, "But this death won't get me anything. Avenging your friend will get you nothing. Have you forgotten your own words the day your friend came to you? Yes, what I did was ugly, but you cannot be inconsistent, forgiving what she did, but not what I did. It is not befitting of a princess, let alone a Cæsar." He sighed again, tired, the dark circles under his eyes growing heavy now that the reason for his recurring nightmares had been mentioned. However, a faint smile came to his lips. "Strangely enough, whether it's visible or imperceptible, it's with a smile on her lips that the Princess of the Sun and the Queen of the Moon share this surreal serenity in the face of death," he commented just as faintly, observing Nightmare Moon as she arrived.
"She's not smiling!" objected Aglowing vehemently before turning to her friend. "Tell her Moony! Tell her you're not smiling!"
Nightmare Moon stood silent for a moment, but having sent Major Antares to Dodge City to calm any fears, confident that the oracle was pushing in that direction, she was able to allow herself a moment of honesty with her friend, ignoring the unicorn that was walking away towards a rock north of their position, presumably out of politeness. "Aglowing Shell, do you remember that feeling of jealousy you used to have because of your mother?"
At the mention of that feeling, with a tight heart, the child looked down, the memories aching in her mind. "I remember it, yes."
"There is something you need to know about me. Jealousy has been a common thread in my life. For a thousand years, I was jealous because of the Princess of the Sun, because I was afraid I would no longer be a princess in the eyes of the ponies of Equestria. For four years I was jealous because of Luna, because I was afraid I would no longer be the queen in the eyes of the bat ponies." She smiled faintly. "But this friendship I have shared with you brightens this dark picture, these two months are a perfect epilogue to close the novel of this life that was never mine."
The child didn't quite understand the words, but she grasped the meaning of the metaphors, and it brought tears to her eyes. "I don't want to lose you." she whispered, her voice broken by sadness as she came to clutch at her chest.
"I do not desire death though, but my options are limited. If my soul were to return to Luna, I would be trapped there forever, I fear. And I have enough blood on my hooves already, I can not consider the option of stealing anyone's body for my own survival." Nightmare Moon clutched the child with a foreleg, attempting to offer some comfort to her friend. "I would at least have the opportunity to make amends to the changelings who died because of me, and watch over your dreams with them from the stars."
The embrace left a strange impression on the battle-weary child. The duality between the presence of her mother and the appearance of the friend, her mother's slow heartbeat, and the soft ebony fur around her that offered a most comfortable cocoon, all this drowsed the little Cæsar "All my dreams?" she asked with a sad pout and a fleeting yawn.
"All your dreams," Nightmare Moon assured her, smiling. "Until we meet in another life."
"What do you mean?" asked Aglowing, struggling to keep her eyelids open.
"One day my soul will be reincarnated somewhere. I will live another life, never knowing the one I had today. Maybe our paths will cross and we can be friends again."
"No!" gasped the child in a burst of energy. "Not perhaps. I don't know when, I don't know where, but I will find you. We will continue to be friends, because it's like you said, our friendship will last forever!"
"We're not there yet. Rest my friend. It seems that I am expected by the troublemaker," Nightmare Moon said, glancing at the oracle who had once again donned his mail pony costume which it looked like he intended to wear for the duration of the upcoming conversation.
The oracle approached her as he telekinetically pulled out a package and placed it on the ground in front of her. "Your Highness, I request an audience," he said after curtseying, horn against the ground. Then without waiting, he unwrapped the package, unfurling a thick blanket of black twill wool decorated with white wool star patterns. "Would you be so kind as to swaddle the little Caesar in it, and then give her over to Chitin for the next ten minutes, please?"
Recognising the object presented to her, Nightmare Moon remained silent for a moment, but with the surprise gone, and considering he had approached Lieutenant Antares years before, was it so surprising that he was in possession of one of the bed covers from her palace on the Moon? She conceded to the request.
"What's that smell?" whispered the child who was now enclosed in a cocoon of cloth, only her green and yellow eyes shining in the darkness of the makeshift bed.
"This is one of my personal blankets, so I assume the scent in question is that of the body I possessed for a thousand years," Nightmare Moon explained, impling Luna in this conversation.
"You smell good, Moony," the child said candidly.
The alicorn was taken aback by this remark. Carefully, she came and offered a caress of her muzzle to the child's face, seeking strength and courage to not fail. "I'll be back soon," she said, before turning to look down at the oracle for a moment. "What do you want from me, oracle?"
Before answering, Bitter erected a dome of silence around them. "To answer all your questions except one, which will be under conditions, your highness. It's the least I can do considering your situation."
Nightmare was taken aback by the offer. "How ironic to hear those words now," she thought.
"And I'll start by answering the one that's burning on your lips," the unicorn continued. "How was I able to infiltrate your kingdom three weeks before your banishment ended? Quite simple, I added myself to the monthly delivery of necessities, hidden in the double bottom of a crate of mangoes added for the occasion. The return to Equestria was made more simply, by teleportation."
Her curiosity sated, she looked down, thoughtful. Thinking back to her personal plans months ago, she realised something. "All this time I lost sight of what seemed important to me before, and left aside my duties as queen." She glanced at the main reason, wrapped in the blanket.
Aglowing was falling asleep. She released a big yawn that drew a tender smile from the queen.
"I could use this opportunity for more selfless matters." She turned her gaze to the waiting oracle, looking down on him, cold and distant as could be. "The changelings, what fate does the future hold for them?"
Bitter Truth smiled peacefully. "Everything will be fine from tonight on. When this conversation is over, I will tell Chitin that they can finally bring the sleeping ones out of stasis. After you leave, Aglowing will be melancholic for a while, but that will pass soon enough. And one day, she will keep her promise to you."
This last sentence cracked the mask on Nightmare Moon's face, his emotions turned upside down, the fear of death, the hope of a new life, devoid of this eternal jealousy. Her heart began to race. Hidden by the purple wisps emanating from her eyes, a tear fell from the corner of her right eye. So many questions about her upcoming reincarnation came to mind, but she brushed them from her mind, determined to focus on the present. "Will Luna take revenge in any way on my subjects?"
Bitter Truth pulled out the same handkerchief he had used this morning to dry his own tear with small, gentle squeezes at the corner of his eye. "The Moon was never her kingdom. And Equestria is not an expansionist kingdom. If Broncoliande’s citizens don't recognise her as the legitimate sovereign, what can she do? Besides, she'll have enough to do regarding Equestria already, don't you think, your highness?"
The alicorn recoiled when she saw the handkerchief come towards her face, but against all odds, she let it happen. She felt a strange warmth spreading throughout her body, giving her strength, unaware of the feelings the unicorn had for the changeling queen, and a more disturbing feeling of wanting more, which she had to suppress, and not without difficulty. "Who will take my place?"
The stallion put away the handkerchief with an amused laugh. "According to Princess Celestia, the primogens made wise choices when their advice was sought. If I were to tell you which of their descendants would succeed you, it would alter your attitude when you will present the situation to them, and the others would feel wronged. You of all ponies know how far jealousy can go.
She could not find anything to object to. She looked up at the moon, thinking about what question she could ask next. As she thought about the possible threats to her people, she remembered the rumour that had been going around Equestria for the past few months. A little nervous to know the answer, she turned her gaze to the unicorn. "Who will be the culprit in the resurrection of the dark tyrant?"
At the mention of the rumour he was responsible for, Bitter lowered his eyes, affected by the subject. "I will answer it, but please don't tell anypony. It's a hoax. If I spread that prediction ..." He sighed. "... It is to force Princess Cadance to look after her people. Logic would dictate that she be allowed to grieve, but then she wouldn't get out of bed, and her psychological state would only deteriorate."
Nightmare Moon didn't expect such a revelation, but her clones having watched over the Princess of Love's dreams on more than one occasion, she understood the intent perfectly. "Celestia would have been better off dying a thousand years ago than banishing me. It would have avoided the impact her disappearance had on those around her." she said bitterly.
"Maybe." the oracle said. "But in that case, being the sole ruler of Equestria, you would have been Pepper's target. One thousand years later, her victory saved your life." he pointed out with guilty pleasure. "Oh, by the way, she left me a letter for you," he said, telekinetically pulling out an envelope with the seal of the sun embedded in the sealing wax.
Nightmare Moon was so surprised that she spread her wings. "For me? Why me? I hate her, I tried to kill her!" she pointed out as she took the letter.
He shrugged. "I stopped trying to understand her many years ago."
She opened the letter and hastened to read its contents. It contained only a few lines running down the middle.
<My dear sister,
If fate would have us meet in the next life, would you accept my friendship?
Humbly,
Celestia.>
Nightmare Moon frowned. Her glare piercing Bitter Truth, resolved to find out for sure. "It can't be. Her soul is destroyed, she can't be reincarnated! Did she not know that?!"
The oracle watched the stars in the sky. "No, she knew the fate that awaited her. But the element of Magic chose her for this reason." He sighed again, but this time, with a sense of well-being. "I have a theory, though. Fully aware that you were back and that she could not help you, Princess Celestia placed her hopes in her pupil, and the element of magic carried by Princess Twilight is shaped like a star. What if the stars in the night sky were a glimmer of hope in the darkness of an uncertain future?"
She was not gullible enough to think that this monologue was trivial. "How? How can her soul be restored?" she shouted angrily.
Bitter raised an eyebrow at the queen. "How would I know? I'm an oracle, I predict the future. If you want an answer to that question, just ask Pepper."
Her gaze hardened, refusing to be routed so easily, and moved on to an even more important question. "Will she succeed?"
"Ah. The conditional question. Your Highness, you are faced with a choice. You can go and ask Pepper the previous question. Or you can openly admit that you are too afraid of her, and under that condition, I will answer your latest question."
Nightmare Moon felt anger boil through the blood that was not her own. "I am not afraid of her!"
"There is no shame in admitting it. I am afraid of her, and rightly so. But in your case, it's even worse. Two months of preparation and she steals your royal duty, where two attempts and a thousand years of preparation were not enough. And must I remind you that she had your soul in the palm of her hand, there is reason to feel vul-"
Utilising magic, Nightmare Moon shut him up by grabbing him by the mouth and pulling him to her. Breathless, she stared at him with such hatred that her eyes had gone entirely green.
Without blinking, he simply pointed to the east with his hoof.
She turned her head slightly, observing what he was pointing at. The camp, and behind it, the forest. Despite the situation, he dared to question her bravery. She wanted to kill him, but she suddenly felt her heart racing. Nightmare Moon felt Chrysalis struggle, and strangely, her stomach began to cry out. She abandoned the idea and the unicorn on the spot, galloping a short distance before taking flight. She wasn't afraid, and she was going to prove it by forcing Pepper to answer that bloody question.
Antares was only now returning from Dodge City. Seeing the queen in such a state, she stepped back without asking any questions. Seeing those still present, she couldn't help but ask ... "What happened?"
Chitin, who was watching over Aglowing Shell while observing the scene, thought it was good form, once again, to make an exception, and not follow Nightmare Moon right away. At Antares' question, they couldn't help but turn their interest to the oracle as they magically stowed the child's claymore in the sheath they were holding. "Ask the oracle," they replied, before approaching said stallion. "You should get yourself treated, unicorn. At first I thought you were reckless in brushing ice and fire upon my queen, but now I can tell, you are clearly deranged."
Bitter, still in the bubble and holding the back of his head in pain from the rough landing, laughed heartily at this, and when the giggle finally passed, he sat up straight and dispelled the magic. "It's hard to stay sane when you're an oracle," he commented to Chitin. He glanced briefly at Antares before returning to the changeling. "Warrior, you should know that as of tonight, I guarantee that the changelings are no longer under threat, so as soon as you can, you can bring out of stasis those sleeping deep in the hive. On another note, could you take care of your little queen, and go join her friend? By going at a walking pace, you will give her time to settle a matter close to her heart. I have my last appointment of the day, which has just arrived. Oh, and remember, you can't talk about me in front of Pepper. Make sure she does the same," he added, glancing briefly at Aglowing Shell.
No answer came. Instead, silently, the changeling momentarily watched the unicorn, as if trying to find out what he was up to, but they saw, once again, only that same gentle face behind which lay a tortured soul. Without a word, and without hurrying, they took the child away, leaving Antares alone with him.
Antares took a few steps closer, thinking. If Nightmare Moon had abandoned the oracle like that, he was of no use to her, otherwise she would have arrested him using her soldiers. She looked up at him, wondering what urgent business her queen might have with Pepper. She supposed she would know soon enough. "What do you want from me, oracle?" she said coldly.
The latter did not answer, gesturing for her to wait, and watched Chitin as they walked away. When they were too far away to hear the answer, he turned to the bat pony. "Me? Nothing. Your sister thought, she has a few words to say to you," he announced as he looked away.
The major, eyes wide, stepped back, spreading her wings as the answer left her feeling as if the ground was falling away beneath her hooves. Anger overcame her. "Impossible, my sister is dead!" she shouted, vehemently.
"It's true," the stallion said, putting one of the saddlebags on his hind legs and pulling out a letter which he placed in front of Antares' hooves.
She looked down, on the envelope was written a single line. <1. Impossible, my sister is dead!> With disbelief, her gaze went from the oracle to the letter, she didn't dare accept it, and yet, driven by that same disbelief, she grabbed the mail with a galloping fever. The magic of psychometry did its work, and Cute Bite felt the sororal love of her late sister as she wrapped her forelegs around her neck.
<Impossible, and yet beyond death, I speak these words to you. Hello little sister, I have heard that you will have the rank of Major, and that you will have become our Queen's aide-de-camp when you read this letter. Congratulations, it is as you said, you really wanted to follow in my hoofsteps.> A sense of pride accompanied this letter.
There was no more aide-de-camp. There was no more major. Just a filly who cried her eyes out, gutted as her wet eyes scanned the lines. "You have no idea how much we miss you, big sister," she whispered in a broken voice. Almost immediately she felt another letter land on her hooves. <2. You have no idea how much we miss you big sister."> She threw herself at the letter.
<And I miss you all just as much right now. But you don't need me. You never needed me. Only our revered Queen needed me. And I did my task until my last breath .... It feels strange to write an action in the past tense when for me it hasn't happened yet. But it is hard not to believe the unicorn standing before me, predicting your every word four years in advance. That said, he told me how Swift is making your life impossible. I have no trouble believing him on that point.> A playful laugh was heard in the reader's mind.
Despite the tears that kept rolling down her cheeks, Antares had a contagious laugh "Your death didn't help," she thought. "Antares, what did you want to tell me?" she asked, trying to chase the tears from her eyes. The answer was not long in coming, accompanied by a handkerchief that had already dried so many tears today. <4. Antares, what did you want to tell me?> The major twitched, her frown going to the oracle. "Where is the third letter?"
The oracle raised an eyebrow at the remark, as he shredded the letter number in question before her eyes with his magic. "Read," he said in reply.
What he had just done did not leave her indifferent, but her reaction time was so slow that she was faced with a fait accompli. Both saddened and angry at having lost such a precious letter, she dried her eyes to make it easier to read.
<If you're reading this letter, it means you got straight to the point. According to the oracle, a plausible future was for you to make a comment about Swift, or this question I am answering. However, regarding Swift, don't be too hard on him. If he has been behaving like this all this time towards you, it is because of me, because of an old promise he made to me.
To come back to the question, I will start by asking you a very simple request. Give up your desire for revenge against Twilight Sparkle. If in your eyes she is indirectly guilty for my death, in reality, she has saved many lives, both in Equestria and on the Moon. If I could, I would write her a letter to express my sincerest thanks from the bottom of my heart.> These last words were full of gratitude.
Disturbed by the joy she felt thanks to the enchantment, Cute Bite let her heart take over. "What do you mean you're grateful to her? I don't understand. How could you be grateful to... her." she said, her gaze lost. She grabbed the fifth letter on the fly.
<Simply because, by her victory, she has put an end to our Queen's torment, and in doing so, she has put an end to our family's role. You cannot understand, for it falls to the first child of each generation to hold that role. The direct descendants keep the secret, even from siblings, so that the secret does not leave the main branch.> At the end of this letter, there was such apprehension that the major felt herself choke up.
<I cannot let you live a lie any longer, little sister. Following my death, you become the heir to the family, worse, the heir to a dark and heavy secret. Inasmuch as our Queen was no longer the official ruler of our kingdom, I understand why Father and Mother spared you, but I will not allow it.> Apprehension had given way to a keen resolve.
<I was our Queen's royal assassin, like our father before me, and his father before him. But behind this facade of a lieutenant, we do not kill at the behest of our Queen, no, it is far worse than that. Since the first day of her banishment over a thousand years ago, our family has been ordered to watch over her, to make sure she doesn't lose control of herself again. To kill her if I could not reason with her, that was my order, little sister.> From the magical ghost of the late sister emanated a sense of relief at having written these few lines.
<I am responsible for the death of the blacksmith, the father of your friend Molten Core. This was not an attempted robbery gone wrong. It was a step in my training to not fail when the time came. A time that will never come. If only I had known. Those lives I stole, those families I shattered. All for nothing.>
The perfect image of Lieutenant Antares, idealised in her little sister's heart, shattered into a thousand pieces, and with it, all the Major's certainties. Physically prostrated, mentally and morally devastated, she could no longer find anything to hold on to.
Bitter Truth remained silent for a moment, no smile, looking away. Seeing that the conversation was paused, he opened a letter in an envelope marked with the number nine and pressed it to Cute Bite's neck.
Once again, the magic worked, spreading a gentle warmth as the bat pony felt her big sister's love embracing her. A warmth that roused her from her torpor, and encouraged her to continue. She took the letter to read it.
<I'm sorry. I wish I could have spared you all this, but at the time I had to keep up appearances, to be that lieutenant you so idealised. I don't deserve your admiration. I don't deserve to be a legend.
Until the last day of my life, I will pray to the stars for the opportunity to watch over you, and to see my little sister work for the prosperity of our people and Equestria, so that peace and harmony reign day and night. You have the chance to be free, to make your own choices, so please do what is right and live for yourself.
I refuse to believe that your destiny was to make me a hero. I am only but your sister, and I wish for you to finally fly away from this small world you were content with until now.
Become again the pony you should never have ceased to be and live a life that will leave you no regrets when the time comes for you to join me in the afterlife.
Live happily soldier,
that is an order from your superior officer,
It is the wish of your big sister.
Affectionately, Antares.>
"If I had not intervened, your sister would have died the same way. Knowing this, she decided not to defy fate."
"Why didn't she do anything to prevent our Queen's defeat?"
Bitter Truth held out the tenth letter on which this question was written.
<You do not know our Queen, as Father and I have known her. Generation after generation, our family has had the privilege of being the sole confidants of our Queen. I will probably never know if I was a friend to her, but from my perspective, that is the word I would use to describe this relationship between her and me. And knowing her, knowing the future that awaits her, questions nag at me. Is this really a life, to be consumed by anger and jealousy? Knowing that I can make the difference between her victory and her defeat, should I prioritise my queen's victory, or should I sacrifice her to free my friend from a thousand years old pain?
If I warned her, she would take precautions, and win I have no doubt. But at what cost? How many more lives will be wasted? How long before the elements of harmony finally deliver my friend from the suffering that is hers? I prefer to remain silent. My loyalty dictates that I do what is right for my friend.
My loyalty tells me to betray my queen for her own good.
And I would pay for this betrayal with my life, defending her throne against the opportunists. Until my last breath, with courage and pride, I will face death, knowing that my friend has finally found peace of mind, I will die, keeping in sight that I have fulfilled my duty as royal assassin.
{My hooves are covered with the blood of the moon}.
This sentence is one of my first mission codes.
If you tell Swift or our Queen this code, they will believe you when you say you know.
Don't blame Swift, yes he knew I was the royal assassin, but for many reasons, including the promise I mentioned in a previous letter, he had to keep the secret, his life depended on it.>
Such a family secret, the heaviness of this burden now weighed on Cute Bite's shoulders. Being the latest one of her generation, the weight of such a secret that she had to carry pinned her in place. In her heart, the truth had knocked her sister off her pedestal, and with it, all certainties had cracked. The sister she had glorified all this time was in reality a liar guilty of high treason, and a murderer. And worst of all, she was grateful to the one the Major had sworn to kill at the first opportunity. Cute Bite’s heart was beating wildly, and she felt feverish, but at the same time, goosebumps formed on the front of her body. The truth had devoured her from the inside, leaving only an empty shell on which the mass of heavy armour weighed.
The oracle collected letters and envelopes in the saddlebag of his travelling saddle except for one, the ninth letter, which he tucked almost entirely into the corresponding envelope, and pressed that protruding piece against Cute Bite's throat, so that her sister’s hope would give her the fortitude to endure this trial. "Despite everything, she is still your sister. A sister who tried to live up to your admiration, and mustered all the courage she could to confess the crime she was about to commit, before living her last days exactly as she would have lived them if I had never approached her, to live her last days as if she did not know what fate awaited her. Don't reject her, accept her for who she really was, and become a good pony." Thanks to the armour, he wedged the letter against her coat, and without a goodbye, he walked off in the direction of the moon, humming to a sad tune. "I hurt myself today..." the words that followed and the unicorn singing them very quickly dissipated into the night air .
Meanwhile, with her back exposed to the warmth of the campfire, Pepper faced a portal leading to the hideout and stared at her katana. Focusing on the peddle, she cast the spell to instantly warp her back to her dimensional sanctuary the day she would need for that to happen. She then telekinetically placed the shiny peddle within the pillow, and closed the portal.
“Is this okay to do that in front of them?” pointed out Gamine.
Out of the corner of her right eye, Pepper looked at Swift and Trixie.
Caught marvelling at the magic portal, they both looked away and began whistling. Feeling this was not enough though, Swift played pretend teaching an astrology lesson.
Creeped out by Pepper silently looking in their direction, Trixie played along, stammering.
“They can not pinpoint the location of the hideout. And they can not reach it anyway.” she thought, replying to Gamine. “Now the contingency plan is once more set, time to take a bath.” She opened the portal again, this time leading to the ruins of the two sisters' castle, and took advantage of the nearby river to clean the blood off her coat.
Left alone in front of the yawning portal, Swift and Trixie, like two kids sneaking into the kitchen in an attempt to snatch a cookie, approached it.
As Pepper was rubbing the blood off her coat, Gamine’s questions echoed back into her mind, and brought back Pepper’s memories, ones she would have preferred remained buried in a corner. Memories regarding what had to be done on her native planet. Her whole life flashed before her eyes. The weight of her choice pressed down on her a little more each moment, like the hands of the victims demanding justice, giving her a quiver more terrible than that of being chest-deep in a river at the bottom of a ravine on an autumn night. She sank until she disappeared under the water, blowing all the air out of her lungs through her nostrils, and centred herself, letting her past and her doubts be swept away by the current, before she emerged, serene and focused.
Swift and Trixie were interested by this magic which was making Pepper able to open a door to another place, passing through the portal several times. Incredulous, the soldier took flight to check their positions while the illusionist recognising the place where she had collapsed earlier in the day. Teleportation was one thing, but this was magic they had never seen before. The first saw it as a tactical advantage that could change the tide of a war, while the second saw it as an opportunity to make her performances match the fame of the Great and Wonderful Trixie.
Pepper used telekinesis to get out of the river and then the ravine, drying her coat as she closed the gate behind her. Sitting with her back to the stone slab, she couldn't miss Trixie's starry-eyed gaze, the smile going from ear to ear. She soon came to a conclusion that seemed obvious to her. "No, Trixie, I am not sharing my ration, you should have just asked for one for yourself," she said firmly.
Swift struggled to hold back a laugh as Pepper misunderstood the nature of the request.
The illusionist blinked at the misunderstanding. "What? No! The great and wonderful Trixie wanted to know if you could teach her that magic that opens doors to other places. Trixie would be greatly helped by such magic for the Humble and Repentant Trixie’s deep apology tour she is planning."
"Impossible," Pepper pointed out. "From what I have learned, the magic that allows one to roam the dimensions is innate, sometimes even hereditary. My case is an exception to this rule." she said, half-emphasising how she acquired such magic. "It is however possible to use it without having the talent, I have been told that some mages have in the past used this magic to save people, but this was possible at the cost of their life. However, I can create two portals if that would assist."
A little chilled by the toll such magic would take on those who did not possess it, Trixie was more circumspect. "Trixie wouldn't risk her life using these portals?"
Pepper stepped back from the slab. "Just as an example, considering that this block of stone represents the distance between here and Ponyville, and forgetting about teleportation for a moment, any unicorn would break its neck trying to get through." She carved a large cylinder with slightly asymmetrical ends with her magic through the stone before then withdrawing the piece to slip a paw through up to her shoulder. "But with a mental image and a minimum of magic, you can easily open a passage to your cache, and pull out anything that will fit through. Once the object is on the other side." She placed the cylinder back into the rock, which held in place. "It will be almost impossible to see where the object came from, the illusion will be almost par-" She suddenly turned her full attention to the west, alert.
Swift quickly began to scan in that same direction, but no sound came from the forest. He kept his ears peeled for the slightest sound as he moved closer to Pepper. "What did you see?"
"Nothing. Just felt..." she gestured before turning her attention back to the forest. "A creature is approaching, and it is not a friendly visit."
Gamine, shaking with all her being, watched the two natives with her peripheral vision. "Protect them, Pepper," she ordered.
"Stand on the other side of the campfire," Pepper firmly ordered.
Trixie obeyed without waiting, Swift in her wake, only because he had the idea that if he didn't, Pepper wouldn't mind doing it herself, imagining her throwing him directly into the fire on a whim.
Without further delay, Pepper set up a shield to protect them, standing by as she wondered how she would deal with the impending threat.
Suddenly, Nightmare Moon landed in front of her, frustrated and enraged by the conversation with the oracle, she didn't mince words, she asked the question as it swirled around her head. "Can you bring her back?!"
Pepper frowned, trying to understand. "What?"
"Celestia! Can you bring her back?!" Nightmare Moon reiterated, trying in vain to calm herself to find the words.
"I already said it. She is gone." replied Pepper.
"But can you restore her?" surmised Nightmare Moon, seconds away from letting his anger get the better of her.
From Swift and Trixie's point of view, the conversation was like two stray dogs having an unfortunate encounter on a street corner, barking at each other to see who would get to devour a piece of stale bread. Gamine, on the other hand, was watching this parody of a conversation with her mouth agape.
For Pepper, the situation was becoming absurd. "Restore her? But there is nothing left."
This answer was not enough for Nightmare Moon, but worse, it was the last straw. With a howl of hysterical anger and uncontrollable rage, she used telekinesis to grab Pepper by the belly and flipping her onto her back. Without giving her time to understand what was happening to her, she began to pound her against the floor, again and again, no matter what state she ended up in, pounding, again, and again, no matter how many bones she would break in the process.
Neither Swift nor Trixie had seen such savagery before, neither of them daring to intervene, terrified as they were of this alicorn who was nothing but anger and hatred, a force of nature unleashing her power on the one who had the misfortune of provoking her.
As mental fatigue began to set in, anger and frustration consumed, Nightmare Moon refocused her magic around Pepper's neck and lifted her so they were now muzzle to muzzle. "Last chance to answer me, Pepper. A closed question, to be answered with only a yes or no. Is there any way to restore an existence you previously destroyed?"
Pepper had endured as best she could. The shock treatment had not left her unharmed, her body was sending distress signals all over the place, yet she was not coughing up blood, which led her to believe that her organs were still intact. "No," she exhaled.
Nightmare Moon smiled with satisfaction. "A clear and concise answer, at last, was that so difficult?" She released a small, good-natured sigh. "This no of yours sounded almost like it was impossible. And as you described it, in your world, night and day, rain and shine, no creature is in charge of that, so it stands to reason that restoring one of your victims is beyond your abilities. How fortunate for you, however, that you are no longer in your world. Welcome to Equestria."
Pepper squinted, it was hard not to see her coming with such big hooves, so she played along. "My chances of restoring Celestia's existence are equal to finding a speck of dust in the void, though let us assume that being in Equestria gives me a very small chance of doing so, there are just two small concerns. Firstly, I am a warrior, not a scholar, I can not see myself finding a magic formula that would allow me to accomplish the impossible. The most magically gifted unicorn around, I killed her mentor, and officially, I just put Luna in a coma. I do not think she would be willing to help me, even if I asked her politely. Secondly, what is in it for me? I doubt you have any offer that would make me agree to your request."
The analysis of the situation, indeed, left Pepper at a dead end. Nightmare Moon released her so that she could land on her feet, to monopolise her concentration on the problems presented. Even if she could convince Twilight to work with Pepper, which wouldn't be difficult with such a goal, the queen was sure that Pepper would run away at the first opportunity.
"Your freedom," Gamine suddenly whispered nervously, no longer holding her ground.
Wide-eyed, Pepper thought she had hallucinated the proposal. "I am going to isolate myself for a moment to think," she lied as she walked about ten steps away. "Repeat what you just said to me?"
"You restore Celestia, and I promise I'll break the ritual, so you can go do whatever you want, but on the condition that you never come back to this world," the young guardian offered, blushing so nervously, her spiritual self avoiding eye contact with Pepper's.
She squinted, trying to get inside that little head to understand her. It didn't take long. "No way," she said as her toothy grin widened. "Am I under an illusion spell? I have the strong impression that you are placing your wildest hopes on the success of this improbable plan. Indeed, if we can restore Celestia, you can restore your mother."
"What's wrong with that?!" retorted Gamine defensively.
"Oh. Nothing at all. This hope is your weakness, and will be your undoing, Gamine. This hope will slowly crush you as time goes on. And when you are finally down, crushed by the weight of your own hope, you will be faced with a choice. Give up, or hope some more. But I can see it in your eyes, you shall not give up. You will not. I am still looking forward to that moment. That moment when I can read in your eyes that you have finally given up, that you have let despair consume you. I will wait, looking for that moment, because when it comes, you will no longer have the strength to impose your orders on me, and you will envy the dead," Pepper foresaw.
Tormented by the monster's words, Gamine searched within herself for the strength to retort. "You are wrong! Hope is my strength! Hope is the weapon of the guardians for the triumph of good over evil! That's why we step in when all seems lost!" Determined to achieve the impossible, she presented the offer again. "If you succeed, I'll release you, do we have a deal, Pepper?"
"If you want to delude yourself, that is your business. If tomorrow you want to chase a spell that restores from absolute destruction, it is not like I can stop you."
"Pepper?"
She turned her attention to Swift, who was standing to her left, but keeping his distance.
"It looks like we have a solution to the first problem," he continued, before nodding in Trixie's direction.
Pepper turned her head, raising an eyebrow.
Chitin had just arrived, and convinced that Nightmare Moon was in a better mood, entrusted her with the improvised cocoon the child was sleeping in.
Trixie stepped forward to stand with her back to the campfire. "The great and wonderful Trixie knows a unicorn. Trixie considers her as gifted and powerful as Twilight Sparkle was before she became a princess. And Trixie is sure that the crime you committed won't be a problem if you ask her for help. Her name is Starlight Glimmer."
The name had never occurred to Pepper, who was still convinced it was a waste of time, but if Trixie was certain that this mare was capable of helping Gamine, this information was at least a mediocre lead, which only had the merit of keeping Twilight out of it. "Well, in that case, we will go see her as soon as we are done here," Pepper commented.
Nightmare Moon squinted, intrigued. "What happened to the second problem?"
Pepper shrugged. "I am not in the mood for hunting right now, attempting the impossible after hearing a dying mare's last wish seems an acceptable alternative to pass the time."
Nightmare Moon remained incredulous at this answer, knowing Pepper all too well. She entrusted the cloth cocoon to Chitin to watch over for a moment, then moved closer to Pepper with slow steps. In silence, she lowered her head and stared at her for a moment. Only then, assured that she was not mistaken, did she crack an amused smile, as she prepared to play a card she had kept secret from every creature for two months now. "I rather think that the second human who inhabits your dreams, solved that problem for me."