//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 - First Morning in Ponyville // Story: The Adventures of the New Nightmare // by hmaf43 //------------------------------// Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, Princess Celestia had banished herself to an asylum, leaving the responsibility of managing the nation to her trusted niece, Princess Cadance, and the diligent royal advisor, Raven Inkwell. Their usual calm and organized routine had been disrupted, leaving them scrambling to maintain order. The sun was high in the sky, casting a warm glow of the new dawn over the bustling streets of Canterlot. Cadance, worn out from dealing with stacks of paperwork, looked at Raven with tired eyes. "Auntie, why are you doing this to us? Running the day courts is exhausting!" Raven looked up from her own pile of endless paperwork, and chuckled darkly, her eyes twinkling in a way that made Cadance shiver. "Why indeed, my dear Cadence? Perhaps I should have locked her Highness down in the dungeon here when I had the chance and force-fed her paperwork until she gave in" the mare muttered darkly, her thoughts wandering to a place no pony should have gone Cadance's eyes widened, and a nervous bead of sweat trickled down her brow. "R-Raven, you know you say something really scary sometimes, right?" Raven smirked, a touch of wickedness in her voice. "Oh, your highness, it's all in good humor. You know I would never do such a thing... at least, not yet." Just as the weird tension threatened to consume them, a guard burst into the room, interrupting their conversation. The guard's chest heaved with exertion. Gasping for breath, he managed to blurt out. "Miss Raven, Princess! A guard stationed in Ponyville has arrived with news of an emergency!" the guard exclaimed, struggling to catch his breath. Cadance's heart sank as she exchanged a worried glance with Raven. "Oh, what happen this time?" Spike watched as Equestria’s newest alicorn gracefully adjusted her armor, preparing for her departure. He couldn't help but feel a mix of confusion and curiosity. A stark contrast to the image he had always associated with her. The sun glistened off her dark coat, giving her an ethereal glow. Her mere presence demanded respect from the royal guards. She was supposed to be the embodiment of evil, a cold-hearted villain who threatened Equestria. Yet here she was, behaving in such a civilized and caring manner, especially towards his caretaker, the student of the sun, the one who planned to defeat her, Twilight Sparkle. "I will be back by afternoon," Nightmare Moon assured him, her voice carrying an air of confidence and certainty. The drake couldn't help but feel a little admiration for the mare in front of him. "Until then, please take care of her," she continued, her gaze fixed on Spike. "You are the one closest to her here, and I know you can do it." Spike nodded, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he tried to process the situation. As Nightmare Moon opened the front door, Spike caught a glimpse of Twilight's saddlebag in her telekinesis grip, too small for the giantess to wear properly. It seemed she had 'borrowed' it for her journey. a couple of books carefully arranged inside. Twilight would be proud, he thought to himself with a small smile. It was both strange and fascinating to think that Nightmare Moon had taken an interest in the same hobby as Twilight's. Spike couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility settling over him. He had always been Twilight's number-one assistant, but now his responsibility increased tenfold. The young drake had found himself entrusted with her well-being. It was a daunting task, but he was determined to prevail. For the sake of his caretaker. As the front door creaked open, revealing the presence of royal guards stationed outside. They give her a crisp, sharp salute to the black alicorn. Turning her attention back to the guards, Nightmare Moon addressed them firmly. "You guys stay here and look after Twilight," she commanded, her voice carrying an air of authority. "But, Your Highness—" one guard started, opening his mouth to argue, but Nightmare Moon cut him off sharply and quickly silenced them. "No 'buts.' What would Shining Armor think of you if you abandoned her, hmm?" The alicorn makes her first attack, her words hung in the air, causing the guards to hesitate. "And besides," Not letting the guards prepare, Nightmare Moon make an accusation, her regal tone loss, now her voice filled with a tinge of amusement, "we both know other reasons why you were sent here," The guard's eyes widened, acknowledging that Nightmare Moon was well aware of their true purpose. Their ears folded back in shame, realizing the gravity of their situation. Nightmare Moon possessed an uncanny ability to see through their true motives. They were surprised that she somehow knew they were sent here with a side mission. At least, that's what is in the minds of both royal guards. But Spike realized it's actually not hard when logically thinking about it. The guards were stationed here before Twilight's incident. She was on friendly terms with townponies at that time. Twilight is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, Nightmare Moon is an alicorn, and he is the strongest and the most handsome dragon around. None of them needed protection in this friendly town, no reason other obvious reason than something like this. As they finished considering their options, the guards looked at each other, then one of them finally responded, his voice tinged with reluctant acceptance. "As you command, Your Highness." Nightmare Moon's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "No need to worry about that, my little harem, your old mistress has plenty of eyes and ears in this town," she revealed, her voice tinged with a hint of playfulness. At that comment, one of the guards dared to whine out his displeasure, to the satisfaction of the black alicorn Such a weird mare. As the door closed behind Nightmare Moon, Spike took a deep breath, he still fears her, yes, but that was no longer the main thing he felt. Now, there is something else mixed in. The forefront of his mind is now filled with curiosity. She is basically a comic book character who came to life. With how she is still on edge with law enforcement, his guts told him she is some kind of supervillain turned antihero. He can see it! A gray morale ancient alicorn, who sees wrongness in her way yet still seeks to lurk in shadow. the secret sister of the immortal ruler of the sun with past drama, ready to do what must be done to achieve whatever her goal is…. The situation is very similar to that time in the comics when Mane-iac gave herself up to Maretropolis Polices because she want to turn a new leap, yet she still keeps raked up her crimes by brutally cleaning up the city from her betrayer's lackeys, under the watchful eyes of the Power Ponies no less! Oh, Spike wished he could freeze time. The golden age has come and gone, even before he was born. That was the era where good story arcs keep coming like a flood. That time when it revealed that Hum Drum is the creator of knightfall protocol, a set of offensive countermeasures against everypony in the teams in case they go feral, or when Radiance had to fight against her mentor, the alien hero who gave her special power. Matter-Horn's new role as director of Power Ponies International is also great. Too bad nearly everything was reseted in the All-New Power Ponies! .....and Twilight said comic books are a waste of good paper. Spike couldn't help but wonder if Nightmare Moon might also be interested in something he held dear: his collection of comics. As he contemplated the idea, a smile spread across his face. Maybe, just maybe, he could find common ground with her. Nightmare Moon slowly distances herself from the iconic tree library, through the quiet morning streets of Ponyville, her regal presence casting an eerie shadow. Saddlebag filled with books floated effortlessly in her levitation grip, accompanied by the soft sound of her hooves against the road. Today, she was in a somewhat decent mood, hoping to find a peaceful spot to indulge in her research. As she made her way through the town, a faint whisper reached her ears. "S-servant of evil sorceress..." someone muttered under their breath. Nightmare Moon's keen hearing caught the words, and she couldn't help but involuntarily flop back her ears on the conversation. A little pang of sadness resonated within her, knowing that now, most ponies in ponyville viewed her new companion, Twilight Sparkle, in such a negative light. The incident caused by Twilight had been a rather sizable disaster, to say the least. Nightmare Moon grimaced, that day was so chaotic that she wondered if it was the lord of chaos who traveled back in time to mess with her, because of what she did to him. The silver lining was that the inhabitants of Ponyville now feared her less, their attention diverted by Twilight's misfortune. However, that was because their perception had shifted to viewing Nightmare Moon as a brainwashed servant of the lavender unicorn. It was better but still undoubtedly bad. It's a problem that she decided to leave for her future self to handle the burden of taking care of this mess. Setting those problems aside for the time being, she focused on her immediate goal: finding a quiet spot to relax and conduct her research. Today, she brought a few books with her, and the first one on her reading list was a book titled "The Beginner's Guide to Magic." She chuckled to herself, seeing that it had cartoon drawings and colorful fonts, she realized that it was a primer intended for young unicorns entering high school—a primer of sorts. It seemed like a rather basic choice and definitely didn't hold any world-changing revelations, but Nightmare Moon knew it was essential for her to read it. After all, It served as the foundation for more advanced modern magical studies and would likely shed light on her own weaknesses in the arts of arcane. Nightmare Moon had to rely on Luna's memories for her knowledge of this world, memories that were a thousand years outdated due to being in solitary confinement on the moon. The world had changed significantly during that period of time, and the alicorn she needed to catch up. Reading this book would help her bridge the gap and bring her closer to understanding the modern advancements in magic. The revelation that was forcefully shoved down her ears deeply by the Purplesmart herself had been a very ears-opening experience. The rapid advancements in magic and the intricacies of enchanted items had left Nightmare Moon with a knowledge gap, rendering her enchantments vulnerable to mere contact with a modern spellmatrix. Even simple enchantments, like anti-counterfeit spells on coins, could disrupt magical devices constructed using outdated techniques. With the sound of her armored hoofsteps echoing through the streets, The alicorn continued her search for a suitable spot, quiet, and out of judging glares from Ponyville's inhabitant.