//------------------------------//
// Lonely Civilization (V) 
// Story: Nightmare's Reign 
// by NorrisThePony 
//------------------------------//

Luna awoke, instantly gasping at the cold air. Her mane was caked in ice and frost, although not a single thing surrounding her was. For a while, she simply watched her own breath rise as fog into the air and dissipate. Rolling over and rising to her feet, Luna shook her entire body vigorously and started pacing in a futile attempt to warm herself up. 

"I was starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up." Nightmare Moon yawned, lounging against one of the strange trees and staring at a hoof. "Sleep good? Any bad dreams?" 

"I don't dream." Luna mumbled. "Centuries of dream-walking, I suppose." 

"Really? No dreams at all? That's impossible, everypony dreams." 

"Why must you argue for the sake of arguing?" Luna said, clearing her sides of the rest of the ice that had not yet fallen.

"Well, whatever. Your dreams probably wouldn't be very interesting anyways."  Nightmare Moon said, yawning again and disconnecting from the tree. "Can we finally be on our way now? Only you could find a way to procrastinate your own demise."  

"You said you wanted to stop in Canterville first?" 

"No, I said we're almost at Canterville." Nightmare Moon stretching her wings. "But it's much safer and quicker to travel through Canterville than it is around it. That being said, watch your step, and try not to draw any attention towards yourself." 

"Understood." Luna couldn't have agreed more; the less time spent around ponies here the better. Besides, with the unexpected journey across the Underworld came an unwanted addition of time she did not have to waste. "Then let's be off! Ah, but first..." 

Nudging her saddle-pack open with her muzzle, Luna used her magic to pluck several acorns from the freakish trees and place them inside. Nightmare Moon rose an eyebrow at this but said nothing, although it was clear she was somewhat amused by Luna's curiosity. As soon as she was done, Luna refastened the twine on her pack and gave Nightmare Moon a curt nod, before lifting into the air once again, glad to have some sort of physical exertion to help shake the cold out of her bones. Looking behind her, she did not see Nightmare Moon at all, leaving her to assume that she had taken on her non-physical form. 

It was only fifteen minutes after Luna had first taken off that she could see signs of a settlement ahead. The road below had the occasional burning lantern along it, forming a line of light all the way to what was surely Canterville. Luna changed the angle of her wings and lowered her altitude until she was only a dozen feet above the ground, clearly in sight of the wagon tracks and hoof prints in the dirt. Ahead, far above the straw roofs and stone buildings of Canterville, there laid a vast forest, which Luna assumed was the Everfree. The sheer fact that she could see the trees from this distance led her to believe that they were much taller than their Equestrian counterparts.  

"No." Luna reminded herself, well-aware that Nightmare Moon was probably listening to her thoughts at the moment. "Not the Everfree. Tartarus." 

For the first time, Luna felt a growing sense of dread and fear at what lay ahead. It started as a fluttering in her stomach, and she managed to stave it off with the thought of her sister's smiling face, and how much more important that was to her than her own welfare.  Nevertheless, she could not shake the terrifying knowledge that in less than a day, she would have to contend with an eternity of loneliness, and that was as a best case scenario.  She couldn't help but wonder if Nightmare Moon would still be with her, and whether or not that would make her situation better or worse.  

Soon enough, Canterville was looming in front of Luna and Nightmare Moon, both standing side by side on the road. Canterville stood tall, its medieval buildings separated by a stone wall which stretched around the perimeter at the height of about a dozen feet. The fence gave way to a metal gate at the road, which was not locked in any way. 

Nightmare Moon was wearing an almost malicious looking grin that clearly showed her fangs. Luna was slightly wary about entering a civilized area with her, and definitely fearful for what she might do to other ponies if there happened to be another confrontation. 

"Aren't they going to be a little frightened by you?" 

"How insulting!" Nightmare Moon gasped in false hurt, her smile only partially disappearing as she did so.  "If I were them, I'd be frightened of you, with your permanent glare and mopey tone!" 

Laughing, Nightmare Moon walked on ahead, pushing the gate open and striding into the town, Luna reluctantly trailing behind her. Luna was shocked to see that Canterville was a bustling community, with a busy town square that was occupied by dozens of merchant stands. What the dead would have reason to purchase, Luna could only assume. Regardless, it was a vast change from the town of several families she remembered. Immediately upon entering the midst of civilization, however, the busy atmosphere of the town instantly died away as every single pony looked on in surprise at the two alicorns strolling across the square. It seemed as though every single conversation instantly ended, and was replaced with hushed and panicked whispering. 

"They're looking at your glow, Luna." Nightmare Moon whispered, staring straight ahead at her destination on the other end of the town square and motioning for Luna to do the same. "Don't stare back, you'll freak them out."  

To Luna's surprise, the majority of them sunk to a bow as she passed, still maintaining their terrified expressions. Many were so mortified that they squeezed their eyes shut and lay shivering. She had never been this popular in Equestria, and certainly never this feared. Nightmare Moon continued leading the way, holding her head high and making a point to avoid the eye contact of each and every pony bowing before them. 

"So, Luna." Nightmare Moon said, still facing directly forwards. "Anypony you want to see here before we carry on? There's a high chance they're living here." 

"No, I want to be in Tartarus as soon as possible." Luna replied, speeding her walk into a light trot to catch up with Nightmare Moon. 

"Well, not much further. We need to cross the Everfree, and then we'll be there. " Nightmare Moon explained, pointing at some point to the North. "I couldn't help but over-hear your thoughts earlier. You're scared, aren't you?" 

"That's not—" Luna began to protest, but realized it would be foolhardy. "What of it? Dost thou intend to degrade me for it?"  

"Pfft, nah. Just curious." 

The two continued on in silence through the town, which as they got deeper and deeper into it, Luna realized was only busy in its epicenter and quite quiet elsewhere. The occasional pony she passed gasped and bowed in fear as all the others had, and she responded with a guilty, acknowledging nod each time. Nightmare Moon, who had taken to casting quick glances over her shoulder, noticed this and instantly stopped walking, frowning and shaking her head. 

"Don't." 

"Don't what?" 

"Don't acknowledge them, obviously! What did I TELL you before we entered this place? Don't draw attention to yourself!"

"That much seems impossible, and they have been doing nothing but bowing at me ever since I entered anyways!" 

"What makes you think they're bowing at you?" Nightmare Moon said shortly, pointing a hoof at Luna's black tiara. "You really think that means anything down here?"  

To prove her point, Nightmare Moon lunged forwards, grabbing Luna's glass tiara and throwing it to the ground, bringing her hoof down hard against it and shattering it into pieces.  

"You're nothing anymore, Luna." She snarled. "And don't look at me like that. You chose this fate for yourself." 

Luna did nothing but watch in mild disbelief, and it was only when Nightmare Moon whipped around again and continued on her brisk pace through Canterville that she floated the broken pieces of her tiara into her saddle-pack and followed. She could see the wall again, although this time it looked like it was separated from them by a sturdier looking fence, two armed ponies standing on both sides. 

Or, they at least looked like ponies to Luna. It was difficult to tell, as they were both wearing large, dark robes that completely concealed their entire bodies, including their faces. Glowing red eyes stared out from the other side of the jet-black fabric, leading Luna to believe that if these had ever been ponies, they certainly weren't anymore. 

"What business do you have in the Everfree?" The one to Luna's left asked, his voice raspy and strained. Luna noted that these were the first 'ponies' in Canterville who did not bow to acknowledge her presence, or look remotely frightened by her.  

"I am Princess Lu—" 

"This one aims to enter Tartarus." Nightmare Moon cut her off, stepping forward and nudging Luna aside roughly. "I'm merely leading her to the gate. Right, Lulu?"  

"Lies." The one to the right replied, his voice of the same raspy quality as his partner. "None willingly enter the land of which there is no return. Your treachery is not welcome amongst us, Nightmare Moon."   

"Heh. Calling me that down here now, too? Word travels fast." 

"Silence!" The first guard commanded, his partner following suit with what was surely some premeditated speech. "Do you take us for some sort of fools so easily swayed by your words of—"  

"Lulu, for goodness sakes, tell him."  

"Nightmare Moon speaks the truth." Luna sighed, annoyed at her companions seemingly higher authority than her. "I aim to enter Tartarus on my own accord." 

"Surely she is mad!" 

"Yes, yes she is." Nightmare agreed, lowering her voice. "You see, she's looking for her sister, whom she suspects is on the other side."  

"I see. Then I see no reason to prevent her from doing as she wishes. As for you, Nightmare Moon, you know that you are not welcome in Canterville. It is of sheer grace that we do not dispose of you and your traveling companion without a second thought." 

"Can we go now?" Nightmare rolled her eyes, nudging Luna and starting to move past the guards, who promptly crossed their spears across the gate. "Oh for the love of...! What is it now?" 

"Princess Lulu of Equestria." Both guards said in unison, ignoring Nightmare Moon's snickering. "You are permitted to enter Tartarus. It is your choice whether or not Nightmare Moon may accompany you."  

"Oh wow." Nightmare Moon instantly stopped laughing and directed her full attention to Luna. "If your past failures are of any indication, you wouldn't last a second in the Everfree without me, let alone Tartarus." 

Luna closed her eyes and thought. Should she? Indeed, Nightmare Moon had proved to actually be somewhat useful, but Luna could not shake what King Sombra had told her. Of course, King Sombra himself was not the most reliable source, but Nightmare Moon was at least partly responsible for Celestia's death, and Luna had no doubt that she would be able to cope with her misdeeds better without Nightmare Moon around to distract her. 

"Luna, think this through." Nightmare Moon said, sounding desperate. "Actually think. You don't trust me and that's understandable, but—" 

"Why dost thou care, anyway?" Luna retorted, reverting to her Royal vocabulary in her frustration. For the first time, she realized that it made very little sense for Nightmare Moon to do so much work for a pony she did not even really care for at all. 

"I...yeah, well, you know what, I don't." Nightmare scoffed in reply, all her desperation instantly dissipating. "I've done too much for you already."  

With that, Nightmare Moon turned and strode back down the road, pausing to look back at Luna and give her a sarcastic smile. Without another word, she whipped her wings out and took off into the air, exploding into purple smoke after flying a short distance above Canterville. Luna watched her go, feeling neither relief, nor loss...simply shocked that she had left so sporadically. She did not necessarily like or respect Nightmare Moon, but it would have been nice to have at least said farewell. 

Sighing deeply and shaking her head in disappointment, Luna turned back to the two hooded guards, nodding to both and passing through the gate. In front of her loomed the ridiculously tall trees of the Everfree Forest, one last hurdle separating Luna from her retribution.