//------------------------------// // Reflected Light of a Hollow Moon (II) // Story: Nightmare's Reign // by NorrisThePony //------------------------------// With the world spread out underneath her, Luna soared. Unfurling her wings, she broke from her free-fall and glided high above the clouds, her eyes watering and her mind racing. Occasionally, she had to make slight adjustments to the tips of her wings, but for the most part she continued flying slowly downwards, watching with intensity as the planet of Equus slowly lost its curvature. After what seemed like an eternity of gliding gracefully over the earth, Luna finally broke through the first, highest layer of clouds. From this height, the first traces of ponykind came and went through the swirling mists still to come. A symphony of a billion blazing candles illuminated certain key points of Equestria, the town of Canterville the largest in what looked like a vast galaxy of artificial constellations. "See, Luna? You worry for nothing. Your night is beautiful! Think of all those ponies looking up at your sky, at YOUR stars!" "I know!" Luna shouted above the howling wind. Unlike her companion, Luna had to rely on literally speaking aloud to be heard. "But, it needs to be fixed. Equestria will die! Not that you care, of course." "You still haven't told me your plan. That is, assuming you even have one." "I do." Luna said as assertively as she could while still screaming. "But I have no reason to share it with you." "How rude. When you're dying or something, as a result of your miserable little plan, I'll remember that." Luna simply rolled her eyes. As if such a horrible manifestation of her psyche could even do anything to help her anyways. The...Nightmare, whatever it was called, was nothing more than a particularly annoying burden that she was in no mood to have to carry. Just because she could not be ridden of such a pest did not mean she had to put up with it. Quickly approaching were the tips of tall trees now, and Luna was dismayed to see that the leaves had already begun to die. She had prepared to see this, but she hadn't yet come up with a solution. She desperately hoped there was one, assuming her current plan was a failure. Touching down onto the grass, the first thing Luna noticed was the cold. After the initial chill of her descent failed to wear off, Luna quickly realized it was because the planet itself was nearly freezing. No wind blew through the trees, no snow fell from the clouds, and yet Luna could easily have pegged this as a cool autumn day. But she knew the truth; it was only a week since the peak of summer. The day she had carefully planned to make her rebellion against her own sister. Shaking the cold out of her wings, Luna set about trying to determine where it was she had landed. From the looks of the trees, she could have sworn these were the Whitetail Woods, but then again, it was difficult to tell given the state the trees were in. With no other option, Luna aimlessly began to wander through the slender, dying trees, grimacing at the sound of the leaves crunching beneath her feet. Without sun, these leaves would never grow back again. "You have wings, genius. Just fly, if the sound really bothers you." "I've had just about enough of you!" Luna growled, although she obediently began lifting herself into the air with a series of heavy flaps. "My first order of business is going to be to find a way to fix this, and as soon as I have, I'll proceed to find a way to be rid of your torment." "Mmhm. Good luck with that. Both of those are completely impossible." "Yes?" "Yes, they are. Celestia's dead, and you're incapable of raising the sun in her stead. As for me, well, I'm as part of your mind as you are. I'm here, unless you figure out a way to deprive yourself of the ability to think, which I'm pretty sure you've already succeeded in doing." "If I'm so foolish, then explain to me why the unicorns cannot simply raise the sun!" Luna said triumphantly. "They did it for nearly a thousand years, so why not now!" "If they could have, don't you think they'd have done it already? Besides, to answer your question directly, they can't because the moon is perpetually LOCKED in the state you see it in." "Locked?" "Yes, locked! Look at it, you idiot! Has it moved since you killed Celestia? Is it not in the same place as the moment you struck her dead? This isn't a matter of the day never coming, the moon itself is never going to move, period. The night isn't eternal, it's frozen." "But surely the unicorns can still—" "No, they cannot! Nopony can, because you virtually killed the day itself! You killed Celestia and you killed Luna. Look at yourself. You're not Luna anymore, you're a monster. You said it yourself, so why are you now getting these delusions of heroically bringing about the day as if nothing at all even happened?!" Luna nearly slammed into a tree, so shocked was she by her companion's words. Flaring her nostrils and instinctively snarling, Luna prepared a violent reply, but found herself instead stuttering like a foal. "I...I can't..." "What? Did I insult you? Good!" "No, it's not that." Luna sighed, succumbing to defeat. "What then? What can I possibly do?" "You tell me. You had a plan." Although every other pony had long since fled from the Castle of the Two Sisters, the Royal Guard remained, out of sheer bewilderment of what they were supposed to do. This was the sort of crisis that the princesses would typically deal with, but the body of Princess Celestia already betrayed any notion of that being an option. The Elements of Harmony stolen, the castle destroyed, and both Princesses gone, it seemed like Equestria couldn't possibly have fallen any further. But then the hours slowly dragged on, and the dawn never came, and Luna never returned... When the body of Princess Celestia was first found, everypony in Equestria immediately fell into an almost trance-like state. Some even blatantly denied what they were seeing, even after the painful hours turned into days and she did not wake. When it became clear that Equestria's most beloved Princess had fallen, outrage and fury slowly replaced the shock and confusion, but until Luna returned, or was otherwise proven deceased, the Royal Guard had refused to take any action. Such was the state of affairs when a lone Royal Guard caught sight of a single, cloaked figure traveling by foot, approaching the Castle of the Royal Sisters with a somber yet purposeful walk. The pony was tall, perhaps taller than Celestia, and its facial features were obscured by the cloak, which doubled as a hood. It was clear that it was an alicorn; its wings were directly exposed through holes in the cloak, and it was much too tall to be a pegasus. Cold, glowing blue eyes stared out from the darkness of the hood, analyzing the Everfree Forest, the Castle, and the terrified guard standing in front of it, a spear suspended in the air by magic and pointed directly at it. Whatever this beast was, it did not appear friendly. "Who are you?" He asked nervously, his words instantly catching the attention of at least a dozen other guards nearby. "Where is my sister?" The mare spoke, her voice instantly recognizable. The mare continued approaching, and the guards instinctively began backing away. "What has become of Celestia?" "Princess Luna?" The guard managed, dropping his spear and shakily lowering his head in a bow, the other guards instantly following suit. "My sister, please. Take me to her." "Of course, your Majesty, of course." The guard hastily replied. "Shall I take your cloak, Princess—" "No! Absolutely not!" Luna practically screamed. "You may do as I ask of you and nothing else." The guard immediately shrunk in new-found fear and turned around, leading Luna towards the partially destroyed castle. "Luna! How impolite! You know you're going to have to show them your new look eventually." "Pray be silent!" Luna whispered off hoof, trailing behind the guards so that they wouldn't hear her. "What if they hear you?" "Ah, but they cannot. Have you forgotten? Only you can hear me. You should be honored, really." Luna growled and once again increased her pace to match those of the guards, taking care to keep her hood from blowing off as she did. The walk across the courtyard felt like an eternity to Luna, every gust of wind nearly exposing her for what she really was. Even so, she had no doubt they were already incredibly suspicious of her. Perhaps it was her defensive behavior, perhaps it was her unexplained disappearance, or perhaps it was her unnatural, glowing blue eyes. Whatever it was, if her plan worked, she would never have to find out. Celestia's body had been laid down in the center of the main throne room of the Castle. Her eyes had been closed, and her forehooves lay crossed atop her chest. All around her were thousands of dying flower bouquets, covering the floor and the walls all around the immense room. The collective final gifts to Celestia from all of Equestria did nothing but add more guilt and sorrow to Luna's tortured soul, but she would much prefer to look at them than at her sister's body. "Why do they give her gifts?" The Nightmare asked, not out of disgust but out of genuine curiosity. "She's dead, so why waste Equestria's limited resources on her?" "They do it to show their respect." Luna spitefully replied, her cracking voice echoing across the large room. The guards had led her as far as the throne room but did not go in with her, leaving Luna once again alone. "Something you would know nothing about." "Certainly not from you. I can't comprehend your hostility, Luna." "For once, especially in my time of sorrow, could you please shut up?" Luna practically begged. Amazingly, The Nightmare complied, something Luna had genuinely not been prepared for. The silence was immediately uncomfortable, and after a few minutes, Luna realized how completely alone she really was without its company. She had not really been close with anypony other than her sister before, and now she was close with absolutely nopony at all... "What do I do..." Luna whispered, forcing herself to look back at her sister. She had been in the throne room, alone, for nearly two hours and still the shock of seeing Celestia like this was as fresh as ever. "Am I supposed to respond?" "Please. Do." "Look, Luna. You have a plan. If you're serious about it, then I recommend you go through with it. But don't you DARE think about putting yourself in any sort of danger because if you die then you have failed everypony. And yes, that includes your sister." Just as Luna was about to respond, a loud knocking rung out from the immense double doors leading out of the throne room. "Enter!" Luna called, as she readjusted the hood over her head, once again concealing her features which clearly exposed her as a twisted form of the dark blue alicorn she had once been. In entered half a dozen Royal Guards, and the sight of them immediately filled Luna with dread. Perhaps their suspicion had escalated to something more? If they asked her to remove her hood, what could she truly say in protest? She would have no choice but to expose herself for who she truly was. "Your majesty." Said a pony who Luna remembered as the Captain of the Royal Guard. She could not recall his name, she had never really paid much attention to that sort of thing. "Allow me to express my sincerest sympathies in your loss. I promise that whatever did this to Princess Celestia will be brought to justice." "Yes, well, that remains to be seen." Luna gulped. She had no doubt that the magical hoofprint left behind from her assault could be traced back to the Elements of Harmony...and, by extension, her. "What...pray tell...do you know of who is responsible?" "Not a lot." The Captain confessed. "Probably unicorn magic, although even that is uncertain...I'm sure we could have a more detailed determination if an autopsy could be—" "No. Certainly not." Luna shook her head, although inside she was feeling quite relieved. This would be the perfect excuse to prevent them from gaining any information that might prove her guilty...for the time being. "Surely there is another way?" The Captain looked visibly annoyed. Under any normal circumstance, expressing this to the supreme diarchs of Equestria would have been unheard of, but for whatever reason, Luna could see he had no qualms about opposing her now. "Princess Luna, that is an incredibly unwise decision! Whatever killed Princess Celestia is still out there! Do you intend to endanger yourself just to—" "Be silent." Luna said coldly. Without having to raise her voice at all, the fired up Captain immediately did as he was told. "I intend to make choices as I see fit, and I don't see where you assume you have the authority to oppose them." "Princess...permission to speak freely?" "Fine." Luna sighed, waving hoof for him to carry on. "Firstly, I'm slightly confused about why you do not want to take any action against the murderer of your sister. Secondly, I need to tell the citizens of Equestria something, because as you can imagine they are all quite impacted by her death. Therefore, I need to know whether or not she shall be buried, cremated, or interred. And finally, a request, if you will. Princess Luna, could you please remove your veil? With the possibility of changelings, not to mention your week-long disappearance, it would be in the best interest of the safety—" "That will be all." Luna cut him off. "I realize my behavior is unorthodox but I'm afraid I must stand by it. As for funeral rites, that is something I wish not to discuss with an audience, and certainly not with you. Now, leave me alone." To Luna's dismay, the guards all began whispering amongst themselves, blatantly ignoring her request for them to leave her immediately. Eventually, the Captain spoke up again. "Princess...we need orders. We need to know something is being done." "You want orders?" Luna screamed. "Fine! Firstly, I want to speak with representatives of the Changeling and Griffon Empires. Then, I want at least a thousand of the highest trained unicorns in Equestria in my courtyard by the end of the week. Finally, Captain, I want your resignation handed in to me before the day is done. I don't need you contradicting and insulting the choices I make, and I have much graver matters on my hooves than having to deal with your insolence. Now, for the last time, get out of my sight immediately." This time around, Luna's orders were met with unanimous compliance, as every pony made for the door as quickly as their dignity would allow them. The Captain of the Royal Guard turned back to give Luna one more suspicious, angry stare, hesitating to stare at her instead of immediately slamming the door. "My, my, Luna! THAT is the leadership I've been waiting to see! Although, you're forgetting one thing. Discord." "Wh...what?" Luna said aloud, the sound of her voice clearly reaching the Captain hovering in the entrance way. "Your Majesty?" The Captain of the Royal Guard asked, re-entering the room. "Umm...the...the..." "Discord's 'statue!' Ask him to bring you Discord immediately." "I want...I want Discord here, right now. The stone Draconequs Statue in the Everfree Forest." Unsurprisingly, the Captain looked befuddled, but if he had any objections, he did not voice them as she turned and closed the door behind him, the sound of the heavy wooden double doors slamming echoing across the large hall. Luna was once again alone. "Why him?" Luna blurted out. "What purpose could he possibly fulfill?" "None, obviously. But tell me, Luna, what keeps him encased in stone?" "The Elements of...oh my goodness, that's right! With them split from me and Celestia, he'll be released from his imprisonment!" "Yes, exactly. Oh, also, I've been thinking about names for your new form...you know, something for ponies to call you by now that you're clearly not Luna in appearance anymore. What do you think of the name 'Nightmare Moon?'" Luna couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous suggestion. Why in Equestria would she want to be called that? And why was The Nightmare being so sociable with her all of a sudden? "Nightmare Moon? I thought I was trying to gain their trust, not scare them into submission!" Luna said, amazed to hear her voice sounding somewhat cheery. "How about I call you that?" "Fine. I'll be the Nightmare then. As usual, I suppose, I'll accept all the blame. Also, what are 'changelings?'" "Neither a friend nor a foe to Equestria. Although hopefully I can change that around, because if they see us crippled like this, they might start getting ideas." Luna replied, shuddering at the thought of the flocks of insect-like-ponies that she had seen on her last diplomatic mission there. Who was their leader now? That sort of diplomacy had always been Celestia's strong suit. While Celestia had sat through boring summits, she would be off saving fillies and colts from nightmares, or occasionally even the real-world beasts that threatened her subjects. "So...Nightmare Moon..." "Actually, I like that. Keep calling me that." "Okay. Anyways, after I speak with the changeling and griffon ambassadors, and after I have taken care of Discord, I'll be putting my plan into motion." Luna told Nightmare Moon, finally turning away from the closed throne room doors and once again looking down at her sister. "I have no doubt you will oppose it, which is why I will still remain silent about it." "I take offense to that, Luna." Nightmare Moon grumbled. "I've done nothing but show you support." "Sorry." "What's her name?" Nightmare Moon hissed. "My goodness, they're as ugly as the griffons!" "Queen Elytra!" Luna greeted, as the Changeling queen herself made her way across the newly cleared throne room, two guards walking both in front and behind her. At the Queen's side was a younger changeling with a teal mane...Luna would have called her a teenager, but considering how Elytra was pushing fifteen centuries, she couldn't exactly be sure. At her current age, the Queen of the Changelings certainly looked every year of it. In less than a century, Luna was almost positive she would be dead. She walked with a nearly inconspicuous limp, and her lavender mane was greyed with age. Her horn was cracked and broken and Luna was skeptical whether or not it was even useful to her anymore. "Thank you for finding it possible to come in such troublesome circumstances." "Greetings, Luna." The Queen responded, Luna noting the way she had spat out her name, as well as discarding any of the routine etiquette she was used to being greeted with by her own subjects. "My condolences on Celestia's death. I won't pretend we always saw eye to eye, but I know she was a good mare, and even amongst us her loss comes as a tragedy." "I appreciate your words." Luna said, genuinely meaning it. After the lies the griffon king had spun about his high regard for Celestia, this was a welcome exercise in honesty, coming from a species which specialized in deceit. She had only met Queen Elytra once before, something like two hundred years ago, and even then she remembered taking a liking to the down-to-business changeling leader. "This is my daughter, and future Queen to the Changelings, Princess Chrysalis." The Queen introduced, the younger changeling stepping forward and bowing, all the while refusing to make eye contact with anything but the floor. Luna couldn't help but wonder how the concept of sons and daughters and royalty worked amongst a species which, technically, was born exclusively from the same mother. It disturbed and confused her more with every second she thought of it, so she instead chose not to. "Princess Luna." Chrysalis told the floor, stepping back in line with her mother. "It is an honor to meet you." "Likewise." Luna shuffled uncomfortably. "Now, I suppose you have many questions about what has—" "I have a few million subjects to care for, so if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if we could hurry this along." Elytra interrupted, the rest of Luna's sentence slowly breaking apart. "I'll immediately expel any concerns you might have about my drones invading Equestria. With so much moonlight to help our land flourish, I really should be thanking you. Furthermore, fear does not help creatures who feed on love, rendering nearly every one of your subjects worthless to me." "Th...thank you?" "However, while I will sign any peace treaties you throw at me, I will under no circumstance assist you in any uprisings amongst any other nations, and certainly not any uprisings involving your own." Queen Elytra affirmed. Even her daughter looked up from the floor to mirror her mother's assertive glare at Luna. "And, if you even think of touching a single one of my nation's resources in your plight, I will end your puny species before you can even raise your voice to declare war. Do I make myself understood, pony?" Luna could do nothing but nod, but really, she felt more humored than angry. The Griffons had been so indirect about telling her this same exact thing...they had wasted nearly three hours of her time with pedantic rants about bravery and courage, and all the while she had to listen to Nightmare Moon whine endlessly about their behavior. "Excellent. Now, come along, Chrysalis." Elytra said, and turned towards the door, pausing at the entrance-way. "I wish you luck with your endeavors, Princess Luna." She said without turning around, before continuing her march down the castle steps and into the eternal night. "What a disgusting species." Nightmare Moon jeered once they were gone. "Giant insects...that's all they are...giant, disgusting insects who somehow gained the ability to speak." "The Changelings are a very strange race." Luna simply said, silently disagreeing with Nightmare Moon's condemnation of Elytra's species. She had always been fascinated by changelings, perhaps more so now that she understood their pain of constantly having to disguise their identity. "Secluded, which is why I like them. Strong fighters, and plentiful in numbers, making them a terrifying threat to creatures they potentially see as prey. This treaty doesn't mean much, but it should silence the ponies of Equestria for the time being. As for the griffons, they are ruthless warriors, but as long as they assume I'm not responsible, their loyalty shouldn't falter." "Very good." Was Nightmare Moon's tired reply. "Not like they didn't say that a thousand times. So what's next, Luna?" "What I have been dreading." Luna sighed, rising to her feet and crossing the throne room until she was standing in front of a towering stone statue. "Discord."