//------------------------------// // The Burning Question // Story: Knightmares // by NerfedFalcon //------------------------------// Three days later The dungeons of the Royal Palace in Canterlot are still used to contain the more undesirable elements of pony society. Many believe that Equestria is a utopia of peace and paradise, but despite Celestia’s best efforts over the last thousand years, there were still many ponies who believed that they could abuse the rights of others. While most of the more barbaric treatments have been phased out, the solitude, darkness and knowledge of wrongdoing is still enough on its own to reform even the worst offender. However, Shining Armor wasn’t interested in reformation. The Unicorn in the one currently occupied cell was a kidnapper, and had tried to accost a Royal Guard. He wanted to know why, and was starting to get frustrated at his inability to learn anything. Eventually, he brought Cloud Skipper down into the dungeon as well. “What did you need me for, sir?” Skipper asked. “I can’t get this guy to talk,” Shining admitted. “All he’s given me is a name, ‘Number Eight’. Do you remember anything from when you were being held captive that might help?” Skipper thought for a moment. “He said he knew me. He knew that I was a Day Guard, and he knew my name. I’ve never seen him before in my life, though.” He turned to the prisoner, wondering just what else he knew. “Oh, come now,” Eight said. “It’s not like all of Canterlot doesn’t know about the Day Guard rebellion by now. And as for your name... Well, let’s just say that I have my sources.” He laughed quietly. “My offer still stands, by the way. My benefactor is still willing to reward you greatly for your inaction.” “Inaction against what?” Shining asked. “And why are you trying to bribe a Guard? You’re in enough trouble already. You shouldn’t be making it any worse for yourself!” “Oh, I don’t think that it’s going to matter all that much in a few minutes. If everything is on schedule, then you’ll be wishing you had listened before.” Laughing again, Eight stepped back into the far corner of the cell, clearly unwilling to say any more. Skipper sighed loudly. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s ponies who speak in signs and portents,” he grumbled. “I just want to know what’s going to happen already.” Sighing again, he walked away, Shining following after taking one last look at Eight. “Do you think that ‘Number Eight’ is his real name?” Skipper asked. “Because to me, it sounds like a fake. I mean, I’ve heard some strange names before, but that can’t possibly be real. Right?” Shining Armor just shrugged and kept walking, wondering if it would be proper to ask Celestia about what else was done in the dungeons before his time. Then suddenly, a feeling of wrongness overcame both stallions, and they stopped, almost falling to the ground. An invasive energy was forcing itself into their bodies, and being forced out in return, presumably by the magic of the two princesses. As suddenly as it had come, it stopped, no longer immediately attacking their bodies. However, the air still felt heavy and a bad feeling pervaded the pair as they went to report to Celestia. ~ “Stop squirming, will you?” Cumulus asked the bound and gagged Earth Pony filly. “You’re not going to get anywhere like that. Besides, you should be rejoicing, for your life is about to find purpose. A glorious, glorious purpose.” He laughed, a full hearty laugh that did nothing to ease the filly’s worries. The firepit in the middle of the underground room didn’t do much for it, either. “This crystal contains the essence of midnight,” he said to himself as he pulled a crystal out of a pocket and tossed it into the fire. It didn’t react at all to the sudden heat, staying an inert dark blue. “A creation of Nightmare Moon herself, with three keys to open it. Three ponies, of three races and three ages. The elderly Pegasus,” and he cut across his hoof with a knife, letting some of his blood drip into the fire. A rush of smoke popped up, and the crystal glowed slightly from within. Next, he pulled a vial from another pocket, declaring it to be “the full-grown Unicorn”. The smoke appeared again, but for longer and with darker smoke, and the crystal glowed again. “And now... the unmarked Earth.” He picked up the filly and brought his knife across her throat, letting her blood drip into the fire. This time, it didn’t stop smoking, and Cumulus laughed again. “Nightmare Moon, I summon thee forth. Bring an endless nightmare to this place!” The crystal grew much larger and planted itself in the ground, putting out the fire and sending the smoke flying out of the room by every exit it could find. ~ Midnight Blossom arrived in the throne room shortly after Shining and Skipper, and the captain asked for a report. “Something’s wrong in Canterlot,” she said. “Everypony outside the palace is asleep. Just dropped wherever they were, it looks like. Only we in the palace were immune. I went outside, and it didn’t knock me out, but I couldn’t wake anypony up either. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it at all...” “That makes three of us,” Skipper said. “What about Celestia? Where’d she get to?” Right on cue, Celestia and Luna arrived from the back door, Luna looking worried, Celestia angry. “Ah, your Majesty. What’s the word?” Celestia pushed Luna forward with a wing, and the younger Alicorn gulped before saying, “One of my contingency plans as Nightmare Moon has been put into effect, and I don’t know by whom.” The three guards were all surprised, barely able to speak. Celestia seemed to have pulled herself together somewhat, and continued for her sister. “I still remember the last thing that Nightmare Moon said to me. She said it was a trick she’d learned from me: always have contingency plans. She took the parts of her that were separate from Luna and put them in a series of crystals. Those crystals would unleash curses on an impossible level.” “Like putting an entire city to sleep?” Shining asked. “That does sound just about impossible...” “For an Alicorn, very little is impossible,” Celestia replied. “The only way the curses could be broken, once they were unleashed, was by Luna herself. Lunar magic, and enough of it, was the only way that it could be done. And when she did, Nightmare Moon would take over Luna again, leaving me back where I started.” She sighed to herself. “I thought I’d found all the crystals, but it seems that one must have escaped my attention.” There was a short silence until Midnight spoke up. “I might be able to handle the crystal for you, Princess.” “What are you saying?” Luna asked. “Even if you could convince it that you were me, the exposure to Nightmare Moon's essence could easily kill you. Are you sure you want to take that risk?” “It’s just one crystal,” Midnight replied, smiling. “And Celestia said she had all the others. Besides, I joined the Night Guard to protect you. Let me at least try.” Skipper looked over at her like she was insane, but Shining’s glare got him looking back at his own ruler. Luna considered the Night Pony for about a minute before nodding slowly. “If you feel that this is the best way to protect me, then I accept.” Celestia nodded her own consent. “Shining Armor, we shall go to find the crystal. I can most likely track it down, since I remember... more than I would like of being Nightmare Moon.” “I’m coming too,” Skipper added, and everypony turned to look at him. “What? You’re gonna need all the help you can get, even if everypony else is asleep. And it’s still daylight out, so it’s my responsibility as a Day Guard. I’ll only need a few minutes to get my gear, anyway, and Midnight would need about the same.” “Do you really think you’ll need your armour and weapons?” Shining asked. “I mean, it’s not like there’s anypony out there that would hurt us, when they’re all asleep.” “One thing I learned as a colt: watch your back, even when you’re not in a fight. One could break out at any moment.” Skipper walked off without waiting for a response, and Shining sighed, resigned to the fact that he’d be bringing the Day Guard too. When the two princesses were alone, Celestia turned to Luna. “Sister, are you sure about this?” she asked. “Midnight Blossom is still but a child, and I doubt she truly knows what she’s getting into. And as for you... You aren’t fully recovered yet. I don’t want to lose you so soon after getting you back.” “There’s nopony outside but sleepers,” Luna replied. “I’ll be fine. And I’m sure that your faithful student should be able to stop me from turning again, if it happens that she is inadequate. I’m sure everything will be fine.” Luna flew off, using her magic to prevent the window from breaking, leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts, and her worries. She had clearly made a bad decision showing Midnight to Cumulus, but hadn’t seen just how bad it would be. The strategist that had defeated the Minotaurs so long ago had failed to see a setback, and now... No, she couldn’t think that way. No general can win every battle, or come into it on the best possible terms, but she had to make the best of a bad situation, as she had been for the last two weeks. Shining and Luna met Skipper and Midnight at the main gates. “There’s still time to leave it to us,” Luna said. Midnight shook her head in response, insistent on going. “If you are certain, then let us commence our search.” Her horn lit up in an ethereal blue, the spell searching the miasma in the air for the thickest part. Eventually, she started to walk off, her horn still glowing. The streets of Canterlot were eerily silent, not even the snores of the sleepers making any audible sound. The silence would likely have been enough to send any normal pony insane, if exposed to it for too long. None of the group spoke, either, leaving their hoofsteps and Luna releasing magical energy as the only sound, their irregular rhythm keeping the group from creating sounds of their own imagination. Skipper spent as long as possible looking directly at Luna’s horn, since even though she wasn’t quite the same size as Celestia, she was still noticeably taller than him. Looking at the highest point on her body helped him not look at the bodies in the streets. Unfortunately, since he wasn’t looking at the streets, he tripped over one of the bodies, landing face-first on the stone road. The body he’d tripped over didn’t even flinch, nor did it react to Midnight laughing at the scene. Shining cut her off with a glare, a trick he’d practised on his sister many a time. “This is even worse than I thought, from what you said,” Skipper said as he pulled himself back up, ignoring Midnight’s mocking him for the time being. “It’s almost like they really are dead. What kind of pony could possibly do a thing like this?” He suddenly stopped, almost falling over again. “Unless... How many of the Chikatetsu ring did you actually arrest, boss?” “They weren’t all there at the time, and it was never written down who the rest were,” Shining replied. “There could easily have been a few who got away... though, this is on a much greater scale. Even they probably wouldn’t have gone quite this far.” “Wait, wait, wait,” Midnight cut in. “What’s this Chikatetsu thing all of a sudden?” Both at once, the stallions replied, “You don’t want to know.” “I don’t have time to get into it now, and I don’t want to get into it ever,” Skipper added, walking off again. Midnight opened her mouth to ask why not, but closed it without a word when Shining glared at her again. Fuming slightly at being unable to learn anything, she followed. Luna stopped in front of a small tavern, saying that the miasma seemed to be coming from below. “How many Canterlot houses have basements where bad things are happening?” Skipper asked. “I mean, eventually you’d dig through the whole mountain.” “It means that Number Eight is definitely connected to some kind of conspiracy,” Shining said. “And if they’re trying to release Nightmare Moon’s curses on purpose, then we’re out of our league here.” He looked down at the ground, showing his resignation. “No good thinking that way, boss,” Skipper consoled him. “We’ll manage this, one way or another. Starting with this incident.” He pointed into the building after Luna, who had already found the door to the basement. It wasn’t a full-size underground room like the last one had been, being only the size of a regular wine cellar. However, it was clear that something had been going on there, from the large blue crystal and the dead filly at its base. Midnight nearly threw up at the sight. “They killed a child to cast this curse?” she asked, unable to believe it. “Equestria isn’t a utopia. Far from it,” Shining replied. “That’s why the Royal Guard is here, and it’s why we have to stop this.” He looked at the crystal again. “You said you could handle this?” Midnight gulped and craned her neck to see the whole crystal. “It’s pretty big... I don’t know if I can do this.” When Luna stepped forward, she immediately added, “But I’m still going to try, Princess. I won’t let Nightmare Moon take you back.” She stepped up to it and removed her horseshoes, placing her bare front hooves on the crystal’s sides. It immediately started glowing, a pulse of light in sync with the blue gem on her breastplate. She pulled backwards, uselessly, and breathed with the exertion. “I can’t pull it out,” she said finally. “There’s just not enough I can do.” “Let me help,” Skipper said, a bit too quickly. “Are you insane, Cloud Skipper?” Luna asked. “There’s no way that you could help! And besides, you shouldn’t be trying to help me!” “I know. But I can’t just stand here and let you turn back into a monster.” Luna tried to interrupt, but Skipper held up a hoof to stop her. “I’ve done a lot of bad things in my time, but I’ve never just stood by. If I became a bystander now, then I’d never forgive myself for it. Please, Luna, let me at least try to help you and Midnight.” The princess had no response, and Skipper took off his own horseshoes, placing himself on the opposite side and similarly to Midnight. All of a sudden, the basement seemed to disappear in a flash of light, and the pulse sucked both Skipper and Midnight into it. They tried to scream, but no sounds came out, and they tried to pull back, to no avail. Suddenly, the light disappeared, revealing a meadow of white flowers, identical to those on Midnight’s Cutie Mark. A pair of Night Ponies, one male and one female, were standing in front of him. They were looking right at him, and from their frowns, he thought it was disapproval. “You came back,” the stallion said. “Why have you come back?” “I...” Skipper said, trying to figure out what was going on. “Don’t bother,” the mare interrupted. “You clearly failed the princess. And you failed us. Failed our name. You are an insult to the Thestral!” She turned her back in a huff. “What are you even saying?! I’m not a—” “Say no more, child. You disgust me.” The stallion flew off, following his companion, leaving Skipper more confused than ashamed. It was almost like it wasn’t meant for him to see. It could have been Midnight’s nightmare, but if that was the case... He ran off, not thinking enough to know that he couldn’t reach her anyway. He was so desperate not to let her see his own nightmare that he couldn’t think of anything beyond that. In another place and time, Midnight was staring at a patch of bloody sand, the blood almost entirely her own. Several other ponies were strewn about, dead or dying, and one standing over her. “Looks like you just didn’t have what it took,” he said, his voice sickeningly confident. “Only one can leave... and it’s not gonna be you, runt.” All of a sudden, she jumped forward, biting at his neck. Her sharpened teeth cut right through her target, and he clutched at the massive hole, his screams muffled by the fact that his vocal chords had been partly severed. He lunged at her again, but she turned and bucked him in the neck, in the same part she’d attacked just before, and a sickening snapping sound signalled his sudden death. She suddenly noticed the taste of another pony’s blood in her mouth, and quickly spat out the flesh. The cheers of an invisible crowd filled the air, and suddenly stopped with a gasp as the stallion stood back up. “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?” he asked, his voice perfectly clear again. “What are you...?” Midnight started, unable to think clearly. “You try to hide it under your attempts to help other ponies, but you enjoy fighting, and you always have. You can’t get rid of that part of yourself. It’ll always be there, eating at your soul...” He laughed, and the laughter faded into that of a mare. Midnight screamed and covered her ears, unable to block out the laugh or the taste of blood. Both dreams suddenly came to a close, and the two ponies were catapulted back into reality. Luna had grasped the crystal with her magic, unable to watch the others. Shining Armor ran over to the pair, pulling them away and asking if they were fine. Neither of them heard, both still disoriented from the dreamscape. The crystal suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces, all of them falling back in on the centre like a miniature black hole was sucking them in. They disappeared, creating a single light, and Luna braced herself for its impact into her chest. To her surprise, the impact never came. The sphere of light split itself into two parts, and fired at Skipper and Midnight, the first two ponies who actually touched it. They both fell into a spasm for a few seconds before both falling entirely into the dreamless sleep of unconsciousness. ~ As the ponies in the street began waking up, Cumulus knew that he had succeeded. He’d never intended to let the curse last forever, and releasing Nightmare Moon’s soul from the crystal ensured that she would eventually return. In the meantime, Celestia would probably be sent reeling from the blow at the heart of her own empire, leaving her uncertain and second-guessing her next moves. He was somewhat surprised that both the two young guards were unconscious as they came out, but he paid it little mind. His plan was still proceeding, and Number Seven could probably have put the sleep to good use. Patience would win out, and he would be constantly wearing away at Celestia’s. The Guards, thinned out as they were, would never find him, remaining always on a reactionary stance while he took the initiative. As any good general would tell you, and as Celestia had told him, the initiative would always determine victory. And with the guards run ragged, he had it in spades. ~ It was about two days later that Skipper and Midnight finally woke up, both in beds in the palace’s medical wing. The Royal Canterlot Hospital was still trying to rebuild after the riots, and if anypony knew that any guards were there, they’d probably be killed in their sleep. That was Celestia’s reasoning for keeping them both as close as possible. Shining Armor had tried to keep to his own duties, but had been mostly distracted by the knowledge that his only two guards were practically in comas. He was overjoyed to learn that they were awake after such a short time, but both of them were too busy wondering what they’d seen to celebrate with him. They were both given one more day in the hospital to ensure that they really were fine before they returned to duty. Neither one spoke to the other, or to anypony else who came to see them, about what they’d seen. It wasn’t until after they were both alone that they finally spoke. “I think I saw your parents,” Skipper said, through the darkness. “My parents?” Midnight asked. “You mean... the crystal showed you my parents?” “They were disappointed in me. Or, perhaps, in you. I think what I saw was your nightmare. Are you really so scared of your parents’ disapproval?” “Did you really kill so many ponies?” Midnight replied, in the same wondering tone. “Your nightmare was this pit full of dead bodies, and a pony told me that I wanted to taste blood...” Skipper fell silent, unwilling to respond. “I really don’t want to talk about it. I won’t push you, either. Just let it go.” Midnight nodded, unseen, and turned over to go back to sleep. Neither of them were haunted by any further dreams that night, but Skipper still slept fitfully, wondering whether the dreams would return, and whether he could continue to suppress the part of him that Midnight had been shown by Nightmare Moon. No, that was just stupid. Nightmare Moon was gone, and she wouldn’t have switched a pony’s nightmares around with another’s. It was impossible. So why did it seem like the only logical explanation? The question haunted him long after the nightmare.