//------------------------------//
// The Grand Galloping Gala (II of III) 
// Story: The Return of Princess Nightmare Moon 
// by Aegis Shield 
//------------------------------//

The Return of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 20: The Grand Galloping Gala (II of III)

There was no time for words before Nurse Bandaid charged wildly at his changeling clone. The Princess watched, open-mouthed, as the stallions crashed into each other with wild equine screams. Their hooves flailed back and forth, the fire raising monstrous shadows of both of them on the far wall. Nightmare ignited her horn, ready to blast the imposter— but which one?! One had come in with changeling goo all over him, stinking of violence and pain. Much like a pony that had been taken prisoner. The other had hardly left her sight and had been properly fussing over her like Bandaid always did. 

She began to second guess herself. Suppose Queen Chrysalis slathered herself with pod goo and came rushing in so Nightmare would harm the genuine article? Had they been switched? When had the switch happened? Bandaid had off-nights and breaks like anypony else, it could’ve been anytime! The black alicorn let her horn’s glow die down and she watched the fight with morbid curiosity. The terrible thing about changelings was, even if you knew one pony was false, you couldn’t tell which one it was when you thought too much about it. “Bandaid! Stop this madness!” she shouted as they crashed into her writing desk and smashed it. Wood and inks went everywhere as paper was scattered into the air.
Both stallions were dotted with ink and, in the whirl of papers and craziness a tapestry fell from the high part of the wall over both of them. They wrestled wildly in the darkness, one stallion with a scalpel in his teeth and the other with glowing green eyes. “I don’t know how you awoke but I’ll put you down again.” growled the fake with gritted teeth. He got a headbutt for his trouble, and little cut across his cheek.

“Dosed myself with adrenaline going down into the dungeons, when your guards weren’t looking.” Bandaid said. “S’not hard, just a little is enough to overcome natural anesthesia like your saliva.” They gripped each other, trying to choke one another into submission. The fake got a good hoof into his belly and the real Bandaid belted a grunt of pain. Tumbling over each other and out into the open again, they crashed into the wall and then across Princess Nightmare’s standing wardrobe. It shuddered violently, then one of the doors fell off. Seizing it with his earth pony strength, not-Bandaid swung it like a frying pan straight into Bandaid’s face. Clock! He staggered, shook his head quickly, then walked straight into another blow. Clock!

Spinning about, Bandaid thrust his back hooves high, shattering the weapon into impressive splinters. “I hate you!” he roared, spinning about and tackling the creature that held his image. “I hate you! So much!” spittle flew from his mouth onto his enemy’s face. They slammed into the four-poster bed, bouncing rather comically, barrel-rolling off the side and to the floor.

Princess Nightmare ran about the bed to keep watching, unsure of what to do. Let them fight? One was a minor goddess and the other a healer, neither was a war pony. “Luna!” she turned and rushed to the balcony, throwing open the glass door and tearing down the curtains. Luna peered in with silent concern, full and bright as she’d ever been. “Bandaid needs our aide!” she pressed the double-doors open all the way, spinning about. “I cannot do it alone! Help me reveal the false creature!” She spread her wings, tilting her head down like she might charge. She pointed her horn back and forth, unable to figure out which was which. Luna hesitated a moment, watching the Princess’ wings rise and display themselves in a full apocalyptic expanse. Her shadow was long and black. Oily and finally grown back to their elegant glory, they took in moonlight like a solar panel did with sunlight. Then, as she stood there waiting, the Princess felt the hesitation. She looked over her shoulder, up into the heavens. “Please!” she cried desperately to the moon. “We cannot tarry! Bandaid will suffer!” Luna was not ready to commit to allowing Nightmare to use her powers again. They were one, in certain ways, and the celestial body was not sure she deserved it.

There would have to be a price, Luna bade silently.

“Anything! Anything just do it!” Nightmare Moon roared angrily. Just as the words left her mouth a concentrated beam of white moonlight lanced down from the heavens. Ice crawled up the alicorn’s spine. An aura of liquid night enshrouded her, saturated her, filled her with all the potent powers of the heavens. Luna gave her everything she wanted and more. She cried out in exhilaration, her long spiraling horn crackling with raw power. Arcs of black magic raced back and forth across her body as she began to glow blue-black. The power! It felt good!

The twin stallions crashed violently into each other, head first, falling to the ground and then tumbling over one another. A scalpel went flying, lodging itself in the ceiling. Suddenly one grappled the other into a perfect full nelson. Teetering back and forth, the brown stallion exposed his enemy’s belly to her majesty. “Do it! Get her!” he roared angrily.

“No! He’s the fake you idiot!” shouted the one being held.

“Don’t listen, he’s using you for your love energy!” shouted one.

“I am the real thing!” snapped the other.

Nightmare gritted her teeth, horn igniting brighter and brighter with cosmic magicks. Luna pumped her full of everything her poor, still-recovering body could take. “How dare thee wander into my home and think to take the place of a pony *I* love so dearly!?” her spine was crackling as she began to seize up. Like so many muscles tensing up, her body was starting to give. The moonbeam pressing into her back and wings was like a physical force.

“Blast him!” shouted one stallion over the painful hum of magic.

“No him!” they wiggled back and forth, but one held the other firmly as they tottered on two hooves. Exposed and with the moon herself bearing down on them, both stallions were ready to face doom to spite the other. “Do I need to use one of those stupid cards on you?!” Nightmare blasted them both in an all-encompassing ray of white light and sparkling magic. The one in the tuxedo went spiraling through the air with a feral equine shriek. The one in the slime-covered vest felt his last bit of clothing explode into threads and all his tools go flying as he flew through the air. They both hit the ground hard. There was silence.

Nightmare stood there panting, weakened and feeling like a cracked stained-glass window. She stumbled a little. “Stupid… stupid straining…” she mumbled, leaning on the archway of the balcony. Her wings fell from their sheer weight. She felt drained and winded. Both smoldering stallions were quiet for a time, and she looked blearily back and forth as she waited.

“Urrrrrgh!” shreds of Changeling magic began to rip away from one of them like so many burnt leaves, exposing the black carapace within. Not-Bandaid rose, holding his face and green eyes flashing. “You bitch! You bucking little whore!” he roared in a voice that was both male and female. The droning tone had returned, and she didn’t have the energy to repair the disguise. “Look what you’ve done!”

“So that’s why you came.” Nightmare mumbled in understanding, leaning hard on the archway frame. Her eyes were lidded, half-closed already with exhaustion. She hadn’t been ready for it. No wonder her magic had not returned to her yet, her body had not been able to bear it. She sank down further, growling feebily. “To reinstate yourself as my lover so you could harvest a wealth of love energy from me, and return home to feed your hive. Parasite!”

Queen Chrysalis peeled off her disguise with a slap of rude magic, letting it melt off her like so much oil. Her wings sprouted out, and she finally returned to her normal form. Buzzing into the air with a snarl of anger, she gestured harshly. “If you’d welcomed me back as enthusiastically as everypony else welcomed you back, I’d not have resorted to this!” she snapped. “My hive thrived for five centuries thanks to the last time you graced my bed! Alicorn affection is worth more than ten times its measure in royal jelly and gold combined!”

“I went home ill and twisted.” Nightmare grumbled rather embarrassedly, rolling her eyes. “I remember it well. You fed on me while I slept, exhausted from our sex.” She pushed herself upright with a groan, trying to right her wings and look intimidating again. She lost a few feathers in the process, failing rather badly. “It was right around the time I—!” There was sudden, long quiet. Nightmare looked over at the fallen Nurse Bandaid. Something terrible, truly terrible clicked into place. A shroud was ripped away, revealing the ugliest secret ever hidden away. Nightmare had gone to bed with Chrysalis, been fed on, then went home and shortly thereafter… betrayed her sister in a rage. Then, she’d been sealed in the moon. “It— was— you.” Nightmare said softly, her eyes going wide in realization. Her pupils contracted into slits, and Chrysalis was not fast enough to contain her wince. She’d not expected Nightmare to figure out the secret. “Not I. You were why I betrayed fair Equestria a thousand years ago! Sucked the love out of me until I was a ball of rage, then unleashed me upon mine own sister!” She snapped a hoof towards the untidy form of Bandaid. “You did THAT to me! And I suffered a thousand years for it!” her jowls rose, exposing her fangs. The Royal Canterlot Voice exploded from her breast, “I’LL KILL YOU----!” and she dove forward with all her alicorn might. But, even as she dove upon the changeling queen, cracks were going up and down her legs like she were made of glass. A tiny bit of it fell away from her midnight body as she slammed into Chrysalis. Luna watched with a proverbial frown.


=-----=-----=-----=-----=


Blueblood held the door for Twilight, who smiled kindly and giggled as she went first. The royal dais had been moved to expose the ballroom, which was only used now and then for very special occasions. Princess Celestia stood at the top, at the head of a long line of ponies. Being the acting royal of the evening, the white alicorn was greeting every pony that came in. “Welcome to the gala. Oh yes, welcome back. Ladies, welcome to the gala.” She nodded and smiled to anypony that came before her, ushering them into the party. 

“Looking forward to the evening.” Blueblood said softly as they stood in line.

“What’ll you do all evening?” Twilight asked. She’d not forgotten that she’d promised Blueblood a dance, but that wouldn’t be until the end of the night.

“Oh you know, mingle, chit-chat, wait for night’s end when we might share a dance.” The Prince said a little boldly. He looked at her in a sideways, only to find her smiling shyly behind a hoof. He smiled back, pushing his mane coyly out of his face. “I erm… I want you to know I’m very honored, Twilight.” He said humbly, offering her a deep-nod-almost-bow. “For giving me the chance, and such.”

“I’m glad we could go together. The gala’s a big event, you never know what’ll happen.” Twilight nodded back, standing side-by-side with him. His heart soared at her words. She was glad they were going together, eee! He studied her lovely mane for a few moments, and longed to stroke it. But, twas not proper and he suppressed the urge to stare, like a proper stallion. The line was moving steadily, he would need to use his time wisely, for he wouldn’t see Twilight again until the last dance of the night.

“You should come over sometime,” he slammed into a conversational brick wall so hard it made his head throb. Twilight gave him a look, but he quickly chained the sentence into a rather suave, “I could cook for you. Perhaps you and Spike, for lunch?” He smiled handsomely. Whew…

“You cook?” Twilight said, shocked. “But you’re a Prince!” she showed interest, which helped lift the tension a bit. “Surely you’ve got servants for things like that?” Twilight couldn’t cook, and she sat at the royal table every day. The poor mare didn’t know the difference between a whisk and a blending spoon, to tell the absolute truth. The alien topic hadn’t made its way into her studies since, well, it was a skill she’d never needed to use. She was always provided for, and she’d been groomed to pursue things of importance— now revealed by her mentor what she was really meant to do.

The white stallion chuckled. “Just because I’m a Prince doesn’t mean I can’t feed myself now and then.” Blueblood said, happy with his recovery. “I make very good fruit-flavored muffins, I’ll have you know.”

“Sounds like brunch to me.” Twilight smiled, eyeing the line and then returning her attention to him. “That does sound like something fun to do. I’d love to see a Prince get his hooves dirty.” She teased, trying to imagine his perfect coat stained with batter or something of the sort.

“I’ll get a stool for you and everything, you can sit in my kitchen while I make it.” Blueblood smiled more genuinely, teasing her. It was a lopsided, coltish smile that charmed Twilight Sparkle very much. She was seeing the real him right then, she knew.

The two of them made small talk for perhaps another twenty minutes while the line kept moving steadily forward. Twilight would’ve gone forward to take her place at the Princess’ side, but she would’ve had to leave Blueblood behind and that wasn’t nice. She didn’t mind staying with him for a bit. “Ah, Twilight! Blueblood!” Celestia smiled when at last they came to the head of the line. “Good to see you both, welcome to the Gala.” She bent forward a bit further for Twilight, being one of very high station. “I’ve got your rug as usual this year, Twilight.” The white alicorn gestured. Matching the ceremonial rug she was standing on, she’d prepared a smaller one for her protégé. 

“Thank you!” Twilight cantered up onto the dais, leaving Blueblood looking hopefully up at her. She turned about, slowly seating herself on it in a regal way. She could see from the entrance all the way out the door, tons of ponies waiting to greet the Princess and herself. The purple mare knew she’d become somewhat of a fixture at royal events, so it was expected that she be at her mentor’s side.

Celestia eyed Blueblood with a neutral smile. She wasn’t sure she approved of the pair of them, but she’d long ago sworn off meddling in affairs of the heart. Twilight Sparkle was no exception to this rule. Was Blueblood worthy? She wasn’t sure, but Twilight would be a good judge of that. The past couple of months had changed the stallion greatly, and Project T.O.M.B.S. had reported every little bit. It wasn’t every day that one could profess to having a secret agent observing and protecting her descendants after all. But, that’s what Project T.O.M.B.S. was. (“To Observe My Bloodline Subtly” …T.o.m.b.s.). “I hope you have a good time this evening, Nephew.” Celestia offered kindly, but he wasn’t even looking at her.

Blueblood held Twilight’s gaze as he leaned regally forward. Her hoof lifted a little, and he hooked his ankle gently— oh so gently, under hers and pressed his lips to her. Smek. It was a coy little sound as he kissed her hoof and let it go. Such a gentlecolt! “I’ll see you later tonight.” He said, smiling that same coltish smile. Without waiting for a response from the blushing Twilight, he cantered past both royals and into the ballroom beyond.

“Why Twilight, you’re blushing.” Celestia smirked just a little. This only deepened the red in the poor mare’s cheeks, and the alicorn giggled softly. “He’s not a bad stallion when he tries.” She said, nodding mildly. “Ah, welcome to the gala!” she went right back to greeting ponies, to leave Twilight with her thoughts.

“As the Sun’s Favored Foal, I welcome you to the gala.” Twilight bowed to the next couple, a pair of nobles, who tittered happily as they passed. It was her old title, sure, but she'd not been Vizier for even a week yet, and she didn't want to cause confusion. Celestia approved. “He’s changed some, I kind of like it.” She said to her mentor softly, her face making a quiet expression of fondness. Celestia knew that face. That was the face of a mare that sighed, smiled, and thought of her stallion now and then. Then, sure enough, she heard her student give a rather troubled, aching sigh. Was she getting feelings for Prince Blueblood?

A mustached stallion passed between the Princess and her adopted daughter, nodding politely as he went. Celestia felt one side of her mouth rise into a smile. Everywhere her nephew went, that poor stallion went too. Though, he did enjoy that fake mustache a little too much since he couldn’t seem to grow his own with any success. Not for the first time, the alicorn longed to just rip it off his face and vanish it with magic. But that would be mean and trollish, and she wasn’t that sort of Princess. Steadying herself, Celestia favored the next pair of ponies with a royal smile and a lighter heart.

But then, black magic suddenly arced across Celestia’s supernatural radars like an overzealous stallion had slapped her royal butt cheeks. She gave a visible start, her eyes widening with a mix of surprise and horror. “Nightmare.” She mumbled worriedly. What was that she’d just sensed? Her sister had not wielded such powerful magic the entire time she’d been back. Such a sudden escalation smelled like desperation. Turning quickly to Twilight, she commanded, “Twilight, you’re in charge until I return. Do not leave this spot.”

“Uh-buh-wha--?!” Twilight watched her teacher burst into a shower of golden sparks. “Princess?!” the purple mare squeaked in fear and confusion. Most of the guards rushed away, following the signature of Celestia’s teleporting powers. This left the Royal Vizier to run the Grand Galloping Gala all by her lonesome. She gulped.

Just then, a group of six mares came before the royal dais. Two earth ponies (one orange one pink), two pegasi (one blue and one yellow) and two unicorns (one white and one powder blue). They were led by an earth pony mare in a stetson and a fancy cowgirl get-up. Twilight openly winced, for the mare had seen the Princess teleport away and was all frowns as she approached Twilight. “Ah do appreciate y’all sharin’ yer Gala tickets with us, Fluttershy. Princess Nightmare was right-kind giving you so many.” She said in her deep southern twang, glaring at Twilight as she spoke. “But I get this weird feelin’ that Princess Celestia is avoidin’ me!”

“W-welcome to the Gala?” Twilight smiled nervously, and her words came out like a question. “Please, go on in, ladies.” She said, gesturing for the little herd to head inside. To one side, one of the guards watched Twilight very closely. Everything was fine, she would be fine. He tried to send good vibes her way, the poor thing. She was the royal vizier, and now she was pretty much on her own until the Princess got back. Nothing could go wrong with such a smart and powerful unicorn at the helm, right?



End of Part 20