As the black alicorn scanned the scene, she couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the unexpected situation.
The sun was shining, the crowd was screaming, and the comedy was... well, nonexistent, really. Nightmare Moon had expected something more predictable for her welcome to Ponyville party but instead found herself surrounded by a bunch of ponies screaming in terror.
She is not the target of their fears, no good sir.
It's Twilight.
"Ahhhh!" they shouted in the background as the chaos unfolded before them. Ponies ran in every direction, trying to get as far away from Twilight as much as possible.
There’s this Pegasus who had been trying to make a surprise attack on her, guess who she is? Need a hint?
Hint #1 she has a rainbow mane.
Nightmare Moon, for her part, was secretly pleased that the blue mare was out of the picture. She had never wanted to confront the pride flag pegasus as the villainous Mare of the Moon, not after nearly getting punched by her last time...
Personally, the alicorn never really liked Rainbow Dash anyway, brainless and reckless jock is not everyone's cup of tea, and many in horse-loving fandom are likely to have the same opinion as her if Anon-A-Miss and few other genres of fanfics are any indications.
Twilight had always been a good mare, and her instincts to protect those she cared about were second to none. She had seen the Pegasus coming and knew that Nightmare Moon could be in danger. Without hesitation, she charged up a powerful spell and unleashed it on Pegasus in a matter of seconds, too fast even for the fastest mare in Equestria to react.
The blast sent the Pegasus flying across the room, flattening her against the wall. The impact was so strong that it left a visible dent in the brickwork. The crowd of ponies at the party gasped in shock and horror before being sent into a frenzy of screams.
And Spike, so-called the brave, lose his consciousness and flopped face-first into the mare's back. What loser, but that is to be expected for an inferior specie like him. What kind of able-minded person would suck up on obvious propaganda artworks as a hobby? Why does.....
Breath in. *swoosh* Breathe out. *haaaah*
Ahem, let's move on.
Twilight, for her part, was equally shocked by what she had just done. She had never intended to harm anyone, let alone a fellow pony. Her eyes widened in terror as she realized what had just happened.
"W-what have I done? Wawawa!" Twilight stood frozen, trying to process the situation.
No one expected this, not even the queen of outer eldritch god, Pink Menace (AKA Pinkie Pie), who had her mouth agape.
And Fluttershy, the poor, gentle Fluttershy, was also present, trying to hide behind a potted plant, her eyes wide with fear. Nightmare Moon couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She wondered if the shy mare had been scammed by the pink party planner to come here.
Whatever the case, at least she wasn't the center of attention now, though Nightmare Moon to herself. Her poor introverted self was thankful for Twilight's action, even if what she had done was unintentional and very fucked up. But she couldn't let Twilight take all the blame for her mistake.
Approaching Twilight, she put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and said, "It's alright, my dear. You were just acting out on reflex. Everything is alright."
Twilight, still reeling from what had just happened, looked up at the black alicorn and said, "No, it's not alright! That Pegasus is trying to hurt you, and I just went and blasted her into a wall."
Nightmare Moon chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "I know, I know. I'm just kidding. But really, Twilight, it is okay. We all make mistakes sometimes."
Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No, it's not okay! I just attacked an innocent pony. What if I had killed her?"
Nightmare Moon placed a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight, I'm sure everypony will understand. After all, you were just trying to protect me from an assassin." She continues “We can finish the job if you wished so.”
Twilight's eyes widened in horror. "Your Highness! She was just some random pony. I don't even know why she was trying to attack us."
"Well, don't worry too much. I'm sure your big brother will bail you out of jail if it came to that." The alicorn nuzzled Twilight. "They'll probably just send you to magic kindergarten.
"Jail? You mean I'm going to jail?" The unicorn's jaw dropped, her voice shuddering in fear. "And Magic kindergarten? You mean I'll be sent back to basic magic lessons with the foals!?"
"Yep, that's the one. But hey, think of it as a chance to brush up on your basic magic skills." Nightmare Moon nodded. "Like a mini-vacation."
Twilight remained silent, her eyes still wide with shock.
"Twilight, are you okay?" The alicorn waved her hooves in front of Twilight's face, but there was still no response.
"Oh... I guess I broke her," The black alicorn muttered to herself. "She'll come back to her senses after a while, right?" She shrugged nonchalantly.
"Guard!" Nightmare Moon called out, her voice is just loud enough to get their attention without drawing too much-unwanted attention.
The guards, who had been in a stupor, snapped into sense after the Mare of the Night called out, standing at attention before her.
"You," she pointed her hoof at one of them, "call the Hospital. And you," she gestured to another guard, "take care of Twilight.... and Spike, make sure no harm befalls them."
"Yes, your highness!" they saluted in unison, glad to have a clear command to follow.
"Well, what's done is done," Nightmare Moon thought to herself, pleased that she had managed to diffuse the situation somewhat.
But still, even if all this mess, to be here is still a good opportunity because that pony was here.
This is a good opportunity to confirm her identity, to make sure that her isekai cheat knowledge was correct and maybe, they will brought her more time, or in the perfect scenario, they can deal with that GUY by themselves, without her involvement at all.
Looking around amidst the chaos, Nightmare Moon found exactly what she needed, the perfect tool to unmask that particular pony.
As a mischievous grin threaten to spread across her face, she slowly crept towards the unsuspecting (possible) spymaster.
She was almost upon her when the screaming earth pony mare finally turned around and froze up upon seeing the tall alicorn.
Two mares stared at each other in silence for a few moments
"Uh, hi there, N-nightmare Moon" the mare finally said, looking up at Nightmare Moon with wide eyes. Trembling in fear.
Or is it?
Sweetie Drop couldn't believe her luck or lack thereof, that she had stumbled into this unexpected situation.
Of all the ponies at the party, why did Nightmare Moon have to approach her? She tried her best to act innocent, playing the role of Bonbon the candy maker.
"Uh, hi there, N-Nightmare Moon," she said, her voice trembling as she looked up at the alicorn of the night.
"Why, hello there, my dear," Nightmare Moon replied with a smile. "It seems that you're tired from all the running and screaming. Would you care to sit down and have some snacks with me?"
Sweetie Drop's mind screamed, "No, please go away!" but she knew better than to speak out loud. Instead, she put on her best innocent face and replied, "B-but your highness, I am merely a candymaker. I am not deserving to speak with royalty such as you."
"I am a firm believer in equality!" The husky voice of Nightmare Moon declared.
Sweetie Drop froze as her mind raced as she tried to come up with a response to that statement. She knew her acting skills had to be on point if she was going to make it out unscratched.
She must have taken too long because the alicorn took her action as rejection. "Oh well, if you want to eat alone, then have it your way, " Nightmare Moon said levitated a candy to her "Here you go, don't forget to brush your teeth afterward"
Sweetie Drop's heart sank as she realized it was one of the candies with the same name as her real identity.
A Sweety Drop.
Sweetie Drop's eyes widened in fear, real fear. Did Nightmare Moon know her true identity? Was she in danger?
She tried to act innocent and hide her fear. "Uh, thank you for the candy, your highness. I-It's very sweet of you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady and try to find her way to escape.
The alicorn of the night only crept closer to her and whispered into her ear. "If I were you, I would check on Celestia's statue collection, or else the Canterlot may fall to chaos." the black alicorn's ominous words sent chills down Sweetie Drop's spine.
The agent tries not to gulp, trying to keep her cool. What did Nightmare Moon mean by that? Was it a threat? A warning? She had to find out, but she couldn't let anyone know she was.
But then Sweetie Drop remember why she accepted this career path, to be in this position, her vowed.....
Buck it.
The agent steeled herself, she will deal with consequences later. "what do you mean by that?" she called out.
The black alicorn turned her head back to her, a smile spread across her muzzle and her predator-liked slitted eyes filled with a hint of... satisfaction? "It's just a sentence of words, the words that contained a statement." Nightmare Moon quicken her pace after she uttered that sentence.
Sweetie Drop was left standing there, staring after Nightmare Moon's retreating figure with confusion and growing unease. What did she mean by that!? And why did she have to be so cryptic and seem so satisfied with herself after saying it?
She stood there pondering, the chaos of the party continued around her. Ponies were still screaming and running about, with Twilight Sparkle as the epicenter.
There is no malice in her voice. Maybe she was being messed with, a prank made by a lonely alicorn. She is Celestia's sister after all.
But there lies another possibility..... with the consequence that is too dire.
Celestia, Statue, Canterlot, Chaos. She needs more information, and she needs to report back. The agent thought to herself as she chewed her namesake's candy.
Ah, sugar......
As the earth mare tried to blend into the background and act as innocent as possible, she excused herself and made her way out of the party, Sweetie Drop couldn't help but think that this was turning out to be a very strange day indeed.
She is going to need a lot more sweets to get through this.