After classes let out the next day, Rainbow Dash put her plan into action.
It was a simple matter to excuse herself from the typical after-school hanging out with her friends, and then simpler still to get on her bike and tail Vice Principal Luna's sky blue hatchback the short distance to her house. It was a beige, one-story affair in a nice suburb, nearly identical to every other house in the neighborhood. Rainbow Dash rummaged some espionage gear out of her backpack, and set up surveillance in a small park across the street from Luna's house.
Exactly as planned.
Until Sunset Shimmer showed up.
“Rainbow.” Sunset Shimmer said. “Why are you here?”
“I followed Principal Luna home. Why are you here?”
“I followed you.” Sunset Shimmer crouched down beside Rainbow Dash. “Now why are you in a cardboard box?”
“Sneaking mission! I stayed up all night playing Metal Gear Solid to get ready for this!”
“All night? When did you sleep?”
“During class, duh.”
Sunset Shimmer lifted the cardboard box off a protesting Rainbow Dash. She'd found a bandanna somewhere to tie back her multicolored hair, but at least she didn't have a cigarette.
“Hey, what gives!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Shhh. Someone'll hear you.” Sunset grabbed Rainbow by the arm and dragged her behind a nearby bush.
“Wha--?” Rainbow Dash blurted, right before Sunset clapped a hand over her mouth, and leaned in to murmur into her ear. “Just. Watch.”
Moments later, Vice-Principal Luna walked out her front door, phone clapped to her ear. She juggled her keys and purse with her free hand, locked the door behind her, and then got back into her car. Sunset Shimmer waited until the little hatchback had rounded the corner before letting go of Rainbow Dash.
“Whoa. That's convenient.” Rainbow Dash said.
Sunset Shimmer stood up. “Well, if something were to happen unexpectedly at the school that requires a Vice Principal's attention … “
“Wait.” The gears ticked away in Rainbow's head. “You set this up?”
“I may have rigged the school computer system page Vice Principal Luna once she'd gotten home. False alarm, you know.”
“Does that mean you're helping me?”
“Yes. But not for why you think.”
“Aw, c'mon, is this one of those boring 'it's for your own good' lectures?”
“No.” Sunset Shimmer said, and walked across the street to Vice Principal Luna's house. Rainbow Dash hurried to keep up. “Back where I'm from, Nightmare Moon nearly conquered the world, if it weren't for Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends. But since this Twilight never met this Luna … “
“You think she could still be Nightmare Moon?”
“Maybe. Or she could turn back into Nightmare Moon. Or … who knows?” Sunset Shimmer knelt in front of Luna's front door. “Keep lookout,” she said, and fished a bobby pin out of her hair. With the sort of speed that any of her other friends might have found alarming (Rainbow Dash merely found it cool), Sunset jimmied the lock, and opened up Vice-Principal Luna's front door.
Inside, Vice-Principal Luna's house was just as mundane as the outside. The walls were painted a boring beige color, contrasting the dark gray granite of the floor. A sable-black cat streaked across the house as the door opened, disappearing into a side bedroom.
“Quick, close the door.” Sunset Shimmer said. “Last the we need to do right now is let Vice Principal Luna's cat out.”
“Right.” Rainbow Dash eased the door shut, and locked it. “Oh man, this is such a better plan than mine was. I was just gonna watch her house and see if she started playing guitar in the middle of the night or something.”
“Why would she do that?”
“'cause it's the full moon tonight, duh.”
“She's a Vice-Principal, not a werewolf.” Sunset rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Now c'mon, we're wasting time. Don't disturb anything. We've got to leave everything exactly as it was when we got here, or else she'll know someone was here.”
“No trace. Got it.” Rainbow Dash said. “So, what're you looking for?”
“I'm … not sure. Magic, I guess. Glowing crystals, ancient tomes, scrolls, or something. I don't expect to find anything magical. I hope I won't find anything magical. But I've got to check, for my own piece of mind.”
“Got it.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I'll let you know if I find any wizard junk. And if you find any cool metal swag, you tell me. Got it?”
“Sure.” Sunset Shimmer said, and started prowling through the house. “Now hurry, we don't know how much time we've got.”
The two set about poking through Luna's house as unobtrusively as they could. There were a few boring family pictures on the walls, a small collection of knick knacks on the mantle, and a few glossy-covered magazines tossed haphazardly upon a coffee table.
“Hey, sweet!” Rainbow Dash said, early on. “She's got some guitar magazines!”
“They're not magical guitar magazines, are they?”
“Uh.” Rainbow picked one up and gave it a little shake. Nothing happened. “Don't think so.”
“Then put it back.”
“Fiiiiine.” Rainbow Dash did so, and continued to poke around the house. Nothing magical and/or cool in the fridge. Nothing magical and/or cool in the pantry. Nothing magical and/or cool in the closet. She'd almost given up hope until she rounded the corner into a side hallway.
“Whoa! Sunset, check this out!”
“What is it?”
“Look!”
Smiling, Rainbow Dash pointed to the framed poster hanging on the wall. The words Die Walkure were emblazoned in gothic script across the top. The rest was a stylized portrait of a young, defiant warrior woman, decked out with gleaming bronze armor and a massive spear. Ominous thunderclouds loomed behind her.
The winged helmet hid the woman's face, but blue hair spilled out the back.
“This is so metal, I wish I had a van so I could paint this on the side.” Rainbow Dash said, gleefully.
“I think this is Wagner, actually.”
“Never heard of that band.”
“Wagner's not a band, it's a name.”
“Like Danzig?”
“Not … exactly. Wagner was a composer. He wrote a bunch of operas over a hundred years ago.”
“Wait. Opera?” Rainbow Dash eyed the poster suspiciously. “But she's not fat!”
“That's just the stereotyped image from the original production.”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“Rarity wanted to see the costuming at the opera a couple weeks ago, but she didn't wanna go alone.”
“Go fig.”
“Now c'mon,” Sunset Shimmer said, “lets--”
The sound of keys jangling outside the door made Sunset and Rainbow freeze.
“Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo?!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hide!” Sunset Shimmer grabbed hold of her friend and dove through a door, which led into the main bedroom (which was just as boring as the rest of the house). The front door opened and closed, followed by a tired sigh from Luna. The click clack of Luna's heels echoed through the house for a few steps, paused, and were replaced by the shuffle of stockinged feet. Shod or no, the footsteps grew louder and louder as they approached the bedroom.
Glancing around in a panic, Sunset Shimmer dove for Luna's closet, and dragged Rainbow Dash with her. Apparently, a Vice-Principal's salary wasn't large enough to warrant a full walk-in. Sunset and Rainbow elbowed and jostled at each other, torn between stealth and comfort. Blazers and turtlenecks and other administrator attire jostled around them like jungle foliage.
“Whoa. Jackpot!” Rainbow Dash said as she squeezed herself into the back corner of the closet. “Sunset, look!” Rainbow leaned to the side, revealing a battered, dusty guitar case, decorated with a who's who of band stickers.
“Quiet!” Sunset Shimmer whispered as forcefully as she could. She peered through the slats in the closet door. “We just need to hide in here until we have an opening, and then we can make a run for it.”
“Right. But … I'm touching Nightmare Moon's guitar!”
“That's just a guitar case.”
“I'm touching Nightmare Moon's guitar case!”
“Sssh! She's coming!” Sunset said, and clapped a hand over Rainbow Dash's mouth. Sunset bit her lower lip and peered through a gap in the closet door's shutters.
Vice-Principal Luna walked into her bedroom, running her fingers through her thick blue hair. She flopped down onto her bed. “What. A. Day.” Luna said, as she stared up at the ceiling.
Sunset Shimmer winced, regretting the false page she'd sent earlier. It was strange, sobering, even, to see a figure of authority (and possible heavy metal star) in such a tired, vulnerable state. And yet, it gave her hope; if Luna went to sleep early, then all they would have to do is crawl out of her closet, and …
“Mew.”
Sunset Shimmer furrowed her brow, and peered downwards. Sure enough, the sleek black cat she'd only seen a glimpse of before was now sitting in front of the closet door, staring intently at it.
Sunset Shimmer gritted her teeth, suddenly wishing they'd brought Fluttershy along with her.
“Mew.” The cat repeated, green eyes riveted on the door.
“I fed you, Diana.” Luna said, still staring at the ceiling. “You can't fool me.”
“Mew.”
“And you've got water, too.”
“Mew.”
“Fine.” Luna said, and sat up. “What is it this time?”
“Mew.”
“Hm?” Luna said, tilting her head to the side. “What's so interesting in my closet?” She rolled off her bed, and walked over to the closet. “Better not be another squirrel. I'm still trying to get the smell out of--”
Luna closed her fingers around the door handle, and things went to hell.
“CHEESE IT!” Rainbow Dash lowered her shoulder and bulled forward, shoving Sunset Shimmer through the opening doorway and into into Luna. Sunset and Rainbow burst out of the closet in an explosion of business-casual attire.
Luna spouted the kind of obscenity that would've gotten any of her students sent directly to her office. Still, after the initial, chaotic moment, she recovered, and grabbed hold of Sunset's arm in a steely grip. Sunset pulled against Luna by reflex, and then cried out and sank to her knees as Luna levered Sunset's arm in a way that arms are not supposed to go.
Rainbow Dash stumbled over the prone Sunset Shimmer, and crashed to the floor soon past her. “Whoa!” she said, rolling to her back, getting a good look at the angry administrator applying that arm-lock to Sunset Shimmer. “Principal Luna knows kung fu! Awesome!”
“Vice-Principal Luna.” Luna glared daggers at Rainbow Dash. “Also, it's aikido.” She stopped twisting Sunset's arm, but still kept her pinned neatly in place. “Now, tell me what you're doing in my house before I have the both of you suspended and arrested.”
“Uh.” Sunset Shimmer tried to turn her grimace into a smile. “Funny story, actually … “
“We wanted to see if you were really Nightmare Moon!” Rainbow Dash blurted.
It took a moment for Luna to process those words. She pulled in a steadying breath, and slowly released Sunset's arm. Sunset scooted away from Vice-Principal Luna and tried to make herself look as innocent as someone possibly can after bursting out of someone else's closet.
“Ugh.” Luna said, and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Fans.”
Luna tried to look as Vice-Principaly as she could without any shoes on. She sat Rainbow and Sunset around her glass-paned kitchen table, and then primly sat down on the opposite side of the table. She steepled her fingers, and pulled in a deep breath.
“Now then,” Luna said, “I know the both of you are good kids. The last thing I want to do is to ruin your lives by starting a criminal record for either of you. But, I cannot stress how utterly unacceptable this is.”
“We weren't gonna steal anything!” Rainbow Dash said. “We were just, uh, curious if you were really Nightmare Moon or not.”
“And you didn't think to ask?”
Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “Would you have told us?”
Luna paused, and thought about it. “I don't know. It's … not exactly the sort of thing I tell a lot of people. Heck, the only person in the whole district who knows is Principal Celestia, and that's just because she was my sister. And I'd like to keep it that way.” She narrowed her eyes, and Sunset and Rainbow cringed in their seats as surely as if they'd been in the principal's office at school. Vice-Principal Luna was very, very good at glaring.
“Nightmare Moon was … a different stage in my life. One that I don't like to dwell on. And while I am flattered by your enthusiasm, I would very much like to leave my musical career behind me. So, I think we can come to an … agreement. You two promise not to tell anyone about 'Nightmare Moon,' and I won't have to discipline either of you.”
Sunset Shimmer leaned forward a little, puzzled. “Are you … blackmailing us?”
“Hardly. It's a mutually beneficial agreement. You two don't get in trouble, and I don't have to explain myself to the school board. And, just to sweeten the deal for you … “ Luna stood, and walked back to her bedroom. She returned a few moments later with a battered cardboard box, which she laid on the table in front of Rainbow Dash. “I've been meaning to get rid of this for awhile. I didn't want to throw it away, but if you two can go to these lengths ... maybe you could appreciate it.”
“What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked, even as she opened the box and peered inside.
“Odds and ends, mostly. A few old posters, T-shirts, there might be a demo tape or two in there.” Luna smiled, somewhat wistfully. “It's all yours, as long as you agree not to spread rumors about any of this.”
“Deal!” Rainbow Dash said. She pulled a black T-shirt with the Nightmare Moon logo out fo the box, and held it up against her chest, only to find it much, much too large. “XXXL? Shoot. Maybe I'll have Rarity make it into a dress or something.”
“Not. Now.” Sunset Shimmer murmured, and then looked back to Luna. “Look, this whole thing is a huge misunderstanding, and we're really, really sorry about all of this. Isn't that right, Rainbow?”
“Oh, uh, right!” Rainbow Dash looked up. “Don't worry! We can totally keep your secret! That almost makes it kind of cooler, right?”
“I don't care how 'cool' it is,” Luna said, “I just want to keep this confidential. Now.” Luna turned towards the clock on her microwave. “It's getting late, and it's a school night. Both of you should be getting home.”
“That's it?” Pinkie Pie leaned forward. “She just let you go?” Once again, they'd gathered in the band practice room for the full story. Most of them, anyway: Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all busy that afternoon.
“And she gave us a bunch of cool free stuff!” Rainbow Dash said.
“So you're sure she's not, you know, magically evil and stuff?” Twilight said.
“As far as I can tell.” Sunset Shimmer said. “At least, I didn't feel any dark magic … which isn't saying much, honestly.”
“Maybe we should go back?” Twilight Sparkle said. “I could bring a magic scanner, just to be sure.”
“Something tells me Vice-Principal Luna won't be as forgiving if we start snooping around her house a second time.” Sunset said.
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, “that reminds me, does Breaking and Entering count as one crime, or two?”
“I'd prefer not to find out.” Sunset Shimmer deadpanned. “We're lucky she let off so easy.”
Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair and laced her fingers behind her head. “We kinda did save the school and the world a couple of times. That counts for something, right?”
“I guess so,” said Sunset.
“Hey guys?” Twilight said, “you might want to take a look at this.” She turned her tablet around, showing a scan of an old newspaper with a bold-printed headline at top.
Heavy Metal Concert Disaster: Club Fire Injures Dozens
“Nobody was killed, thankfully,” Twilight Sparkle said. “But this is the last mention of Nightmare Moon I've been able to find. Any time someone brings that up, it probably reminds her of how awful the experience was … “ she trailed off.
“Whoa.” Rainbow Dash leaned forward. “Does that mean we get to do friendship stuff so she doesn't feel bad anymore and then she can be Nightmare Moon again and busts out a totally sweet guitar riff?”
“Probably not.” Sunset Shimmer said. “I mean, making friends is one thing, but … this is a little heavy, you know.” She held up a warning finger. “And do not make any heavy metal jokes.”
“Aw.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Anyway! Check this out.” Rainbow Dash reached into her backpack and pulled out an unlabeled white record sleeve. “I found this in the box of stuff Vice-Principal Luna gave me, but I don't have an old timey record player at home. Wanna give it a listen?”
“What is it?” Pinkie Pie said.
“I don't know!” Rainbow slid the record out of its sleeve and twirled the blank black disc between her fingers. “Maybe it's a super secret never released song or something!” She walked over to a corner of the band room, and dusted off an ancient-looking record player. “Good thing this school never throws anything away. Now, how's Vinyl do this?”
It took Rainbow Dash a few minutes (and some technical help from Twilight) to get the record player operational. The grin never left Rainbow Dash's face through the whole process. She finally lowered the needle onto the spinning record.
Instantly, the speakers blasted out a deep, angry, and incoherent roar. The very force of the sound was enough to blow the girls' hair back as sure as any hurricane gale. There were no drums, no guitars, no bass-- just a very, very angry man, with near limitless lung-power.
“Turn it off!” Pinkie Pie said, hands clapped over her ears.
Rainbow Dash nodded, and pulled the needle away from the disc.
The roar kept going.
In a panic, Rainbow Dash flipped switches, pushed buttons, and even went so far as to yank the power cord out of the wall, but nothing could stop the eardrum-punishing scream. Oily black smoke billowed up from the record, briefly coalescing into a semi-humanoid form with glowing green eyes. The smoke creature kept its form only long enough to stare contemptuously down at the four girls before it billowed upwards and smashed through one of the practice room's windows to streak screaming out into the sky.
“Whoa.” Rainbow Dash said over the ringing in her ears. “Metal.”