The Nightmare in the Moon

by Omega Dracomancer

Music

I borrowed Twilight's alarm clock so I could wake up on time. I ate a small breakfast, then met Rainbow at the station. It was dark outside, and I was still pretty sleepy.

"You made it! I didn't expect you to get here after that stunt you pulled yesterday."

"It took me like 20 minutes just to get out of my bed. I'm still pretty sore."

"You'll be fine."

We boarded the train. I got a cupcake from the dinner cart... or whatever the hell it was called. Food cart. Food court. Taco, you are charged with the crime of being delicious. How do you plead? Squishing noise. Guilty. Your sentence is immediate execution.

Being delicious is a serious crime in this day and age. I'm glad that malicious law breaker is getting his just deserts. Mmm... desert.

I giggled. "Food court."

I sat next to Rainbow, then it hit me... Shining wasn't here.

"Uh... Rainbow? Was Shining Armor with me when I arrived?"

"I didn't see him. Did you just let him sleep?"

"Oh boy... he is not gonna be happy when he finds out about this. Should I go get him?"

The train started moving.

"Guess not."

"He heard you say what time we were going. And he had to have heard the alarm go off. We sleep in the same room."

"Guess he's not coming."

"Probably not. Well, I'm going back to sleep."

"Fantastic idea."

I rested on my knees. I probably wouldn't make it back to sleep. It was too bright. It was hard for me to sleep with even a little light.

'So we're free from Shining Armor.'

'We're going to Canterlot, it doesn't really matter. The train's still going slow, though. We could jump off.'

'That's stupid.'

'Yeah it is.'

"You mind if I lay on you?"

"Not... really."

She laid her back against my shoulder.

"You into any sports?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Yep. Don't like sports."

"I thought you did."

"Nah. I just lay around all day. I used to, at least."

"There are tons of things to do here."

"Yeah."

"Well, whatever. I guess I'll just fall asleep like this."

"Alright."

A little bit later, she started to snore. I looked at her for a little while, then sighed.

'Man, Canterlot is pretty far away from Ponyville. Either we need to lure Twilight and her friends there, or we need to get help from outside.'

'I can't think of anypony who would even want to help.'

'Where are the changelings located?'

'I don't know. I was never able to find them. How do you know about them? And the other day you mentioned their Queen. She never stated her name during the attack, and you couldn't have learned about it here.'

'I know everything, Nightmare Moon. I've always known everything about you ponies.'

'You're not making any sense. How do you know about them?'

'I just do. Don't waste your time trying to get anything out of me. It's just not relevant. Even if I told you, it wouldn't matter. It'd like asking an alien what planet he comes from.'

She growled at me.

'They may help us. If I can find them, first. And besides, they're changelings. I could get the essence of love from them.'

'You do realize that you need to make them fall in love with you in able to get it, right?'

'That would've been helpful information a week ago. Tell me these things sooner. I still want to see them. I guess I'll change the target to somepony else.'

'You have Luna eating from your hands already. It wouldn't be hard to get it from her.'

Hearing her say that made me feel uneasy. 'It'll be a while before I'll do anything. Shining's probably pissed at me for leaving him.'

'Possibly.'

I looked back at Rainbow, sleeping soundly on my shoulder. I loved staring at ponies while they slept. They were so cute. She was so soft. It's like she wasn't even there.

What do ya know, I fell asleep.

About 12 or so hours later, the screeching brakes woke me up. Or 8 hours. Or 5. I have no idea. I shook my head and yawned.

"Rainbow, wake up." Her head was now laying on my lap. She opened her eyes an looked up at me. I glanced at her, then sleepily said, "Train stopped. C'mon, lets go."

She sat up. "Did I sleep through the breaks? Thanks for waking me. Unlike how you woke up Shining Armor."

"Yeah." I stood up and cracked my back. "Lets do this."

I yawned again, then stepped off the train. Canterlot was beautiful in the evening sun. Man, evening came kinda quick. Was it getting close to the fall? Haven't seen a calendar in a while. Don't really know what day it is.

"We got about three hours to kill before the show starts."

"Lets get our tickets now so we won't have to stand in line."

"Good idea."

Naturally, I had no idea where it was, so I followed Rainbow through town. There was already quite a line formed, so we were forced to stand in the back.

"Aw man, this is gonna take forever!" said Rainbow.

"Oh well. At least we got here early."

The pony in front of us turned and said, "The guys up front were in line all night."

"Oh really? They must be some hardcore fans." I said.

"I'm the most hardcore fan around here!" said Rainbow.

"Hey, it's the human." I heard from behind. I turned around to look at the pony.

"Oh my gosh, it's the captain!"

"Hello."

"You're the guy who was hanging around the castle, aren't ya."

"Yep. Name's Phil."

"Spitfire. Like Rainbow Dash said, I'm the captain."

"You remembered my name!"

"Of course I did."

Rainbow let out her little fangirl squeal.

"Calm down there, Rainbow."

She giggled. "Sorry."

"Hope the two of you enjoy the show."

"I'm sure we will. See ya."

"I can't believe it! She just talked to you."

I shrugged. "Well... alright, then. That's awesome."

"You know, I was in the Wonderbolts academy once."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. I was top of the class."

"I can believe that. Did you know... that I... exist?"

"Is that all?"

"Well, it's not like I accomplished anything in my life, ever."

"You haven't?"

"Nope."

"Well, you saved Lightning Dasher. That's an accomplishment."

"Oh yeah."

"How exactly did you take down a manticore, anyways?"

"I snuck up from behind and choked it. How did she know what I did?"

"It probably got in the paper. It's not easy to beat a manticore."

It took about 30 minutes to get to the booth. Or less. I don't know. My wallet took a kick to the nuts, but what was I gonna use it for, anyways?

The ticket had a location guide on it. Our section was about halfway in.

"I'd never go to something like this back home."

"Why's that?"

"I never did anything. If I had to pay for something, I'd stay home. Even if it was free, I'd probably stay at home. Sports bore me."

"Then why are you here now?"

"Well for one, I actually have money, but it's mostly 'cause you're here."

"So you just came with because I'm here?"

"Maybe. Sounds like something I'd do. Or maybe it's because you made the Wonderbolts sound awesome. That might've contributed to it."

"It's probably that. They're really awesome."

I saw a white pony go into a door to the stadium.

"Hey Dash, you know if there's gonna be music playing here?"

"Yeah, DJ-Pon3's playing here. She's into dubstep and stuff like that. The show's actually supposed to be synced to her music."

"Whoa... Ok, now I'm interested. I wish you would've told me earlier."

"Well, it's supposed to be a secret, but I know tonight's DJ. Se said that it's gonna be better than what got advertised."

"You gotta introduce me to her when the show's over."

"I guess I can do that. You gotta keep it down, though. She's kinda secretive."

"Yeah, yeah."

The line started growing. Lucky we got here earlier.

"Lets grab something to eat."

"Good idea."

We got some lunch from some restaurant. They didn't really have human food, so I just had some toast. Buttered toast.

Never underestimate the power of buttered toast. You'll probably end up getting shanked in a prison. I've seen it happen to the best of us. Ol' Ronnie's in a better place, now. Fighting hellhounds in the flaming pits of Tartarus. Wait, Hell isn't a better place? Well that's weird. Ronnie keeps telling me that it's better than it sounds.

Why's Ronnie in Hell, you ask? He didn't like that picture on Facebook. Who's Ronnie, you ask? That is the greatest mystery of them all.

Why wasn't I named Ronnie? Phil is an abomination of a name. I'd never name my kid Phil. I'd name him something cool like Maximillion. Phil's not even my real name, anyways. It's my middle name. I'm actually named after my dad, though. That's why I use my middle name. Two people who'd respond to the same thing would get confusing.

Anyways, after we ate, we walked back to the stadium to see the line, then I laughed at the ponies in the back.

Even with 4 ticket booths going at once now, it didn't look like they were making a dent in the line. Ponies kept joining in.

Me and Rainbow walked around the town. The entire inside area of the stadium was cut off until 20 minutes before the scheduled starting time. After the doors opened, we all poured in.

The stage in the middle was surrounded by huge speakers. Some of the ponies around us questioned the need for them.

Even with all the ponies, we still had room to move around.

It reminded me of the colosseum in Rome, with bench-like seats going all the way around. It was much shorter, though. I saw smaller speakers all around the place.

If only I knew about the music. I would've skipped buying clothes and bought a front-row ticket.

I heard somepony land behind me. "Hello, Phil."

"Celestia! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Where is Shining Armor?"

"Ponyville, probably."

"Really?"

"Well, what about your guards?"

"They'll be here shortly."

Celestia took a seat next to us. The sky was almost black. After we were all more or less seated, the lights dimmed.

The stage lit up, and the Wonderbolts landed in the center, decked out in their uniforms. Everypony cheered for them.

Music started to play as they flew in a circle. They changed their flight speed according to the tempo.

They slowly ascended, holding their circle.

The music got faster, doubling the speed, which made the Wonderbolts double their speed.

A loud bump came from the speakers, and a bright light flashed. They shot into the air.

They were playing follow the leader as the music steadily got louder, flying in a figure-8 pattern.

The bass got louder, and they spread out and paused in the air. They were in a circle around the center.

Different colored lights covered their bodies from the stage. They dived backwards as it built up, then shot back up into the air as the bass hit. A trail of light came from each of them.

Ponies cheered loudly. I looked down at the speakers. I could feel the bass all the way back here. I bet the ponies up front felt like they were being punched in the face.

'This is awesome!'

They did tons of intricate moves as the music played. They were almost too fast to follow, and the ponies working the lights couldn't keep up. No, that wasn't it, the lights made their own patterns.

The bass faded away, then another song started playing, flawlessly connecting with the previous.

They slowed down, and flew differently. This time, they split apart down the middle, with one remaining.

After that point, I lost interest in the Wonderbolts, and focused on the music. I still watched, but didn't really care.

I looked at Rainbow, who had a huge smile. Celestia seemed to be enjoying herself as well.

It was pretty hard to follow them for a few reasons. They were extremely fast, it was dark, and the lights made me look away from where they could be.

I was beginning to think that this wasn't even a Wonderbolt performance. It was probably a concert in disguise. I have solved my own mystery. I've done it. I've saved the universe. Really, having a Wonderbolts show late at night like this was kinda silly.

Midway through, a few slower songs played. Probably to let them rest. It went back to dubstep again rather quickly.

This was the point where I closed my eyes and listened. I'm not gonna say I cared about watching anymore, because I lost interest in that a while ago.

I laid back onto the empty seat behind me. This music was amazing. It reminded me of home, where I listened to incredibly loud music all day, every day.

The show lasted an hour and a half. At the end, the lights went out, and came back on a few seconds later, the Wonderbolts nowhere to be seen. The lights were shown at eleven different points around the stadium, revealing them sitting on the walls and smiling.

They soared back down to the stage just as the final note played, then bowed.

The ponies roared.

"That was amazing! I've never seen them do anything like that before."

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen. We gotta do this again."

"Got that right."

"I must say that this performance was quite impressive."

"It was mindblowing."

"Phil, may I have a word with you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Come with me. I'd like to talk in private."

"Can I come with?"

"If you wish."

She led us out of the stadium, walking along the path the ponies made for her.

When we were in a more private setting, Celestia spoke.

"Shining Armor isn't here."

"No, sorry. He knew about this beforehand."

"He did." said Rainbow, "I told both of them yesterday."

"I've decided that you have no need for a guard anymore. After risking yourself to save a pony, I think you've proven yourself to me."

"Thank you, Princess."

"There's more I wish to speak with you about."

"Hmm?"

"Shining Armor told me what happened in the forest. He noted that your attack was very precise. Are you trained?"

"No. I've never received any training."

"Yet you preformed a very precise choke hold."

"It isn't hard. It really isn't."

"He also said that you stopped him from attacking the manticore."

"I didn't want to risk him getting hurt. I was absolutely sure that he could have done it, though."

"So why did you do it?"

"Because I didn't want him in danger. I knew that if I got it from behind, nopony else would get hurt."

"He said that your hastily formed plan was better than what he was planning to do."

"Princess Celestia, no disrespect intended, but where exactly are you going with this?"

"I have a task for you, if you're interested."

"Alright."

"Underneath Luna's old castle in the Everfree Forest, there is a system of caverns. I'd like you to go through them and find a magical object called the Dark Sphere."

'What is this... There's no Dark Sphere under my castle.'

"Why me?"

"You seem to be able to handle yourself in dangerous situations. Discord has told me that you would be immune to its effects because you're human. Unfortunately, just entering the cave is dangerous for ponies, myself included. Just walking inside makes me queasy."

"That sounds really bad." said Rainbow, "Is this a good idea?"

"I believe that destroying it will remove Nightmare Moon from this world."

I nodded.

'There's nothing underneath my castle but empty caves. Accept the mission. We'll see what's going on ourselves.'

'I don't know if I can. I'll try, though.'

"Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Good." She gave me a map. "This shows the location of the cave entrance. I trust that you'll be able to do this."

"Yeah, I should be fine."

"Good luck."

"Yeah."

She gave me a nod, then left. Only one thing was left on my mind. "Where was she hiding this?"

"Dude, this Dark Sphere thing sounds really bad."

"Yeah. She said that if it got destroyed, then Nightmare Moon would disappear completely. The Elements of Harmony... Where are they?"

"Princess Celestia still has them."

"Alright. We'll probably be able to... use them. So Rainbow, you said you could introduce me to DJ-Pon3?"

"Yeah. We'll wait out here until she comes out."

"Alright."

About ten minutes later, she walked out of the door she went in earlier.

"Stay here."

"Alright."

Rainbow walked up to her. They started talking and she looked back, then did a double take. "What!?" She looked back again.

They talked a little more, then Rainbow waved me over. Cool.

"Hello. My name's Phil."

"Vinyl Scratch."

I looked at Rainbow.

"The other one was a stage name." she said.

I shrugged.

"You like the show?"

"Absolutely. I've never heard music like that before. I listen to a lot of dubstep, but the setup you have here made it phenomenal."

"Alright, a dubstep fan."

"Got that right. It's my favorite type of music. Your music is great."

"Thanks, man."

"Can you do something for me?"

"Maybe. What do you need?"

"I wanted to get a mobile device that can play music through headphones, and I figured that since you're an artist, you'd be able to help me."

"I got tons of those things laying around back home. I'll sell you one if you stop by."

"Sweet. I used to have one, but it's back home in another dimension or something."

"Bummer, man."

"Yeah."

"Listen, I gotta catch a train back to Ponyville."

"Same here."

"Oh really? Well, lets go."

We talked a little about music on the way back home.

"Man, I wish there were human songs here. There's a lot of artists back home that I really like."

"I kinda wanna hear some human songs, now. Are they any different?"

"Just different artists, but they're basically the same."

"So how did my music compare to yours?"

"Yours was pretty high up there, but it isn't #1. With dubstep artists alone... Probably top ten."

"Then I need to get better." she said.

"That would be so cool."

"I'm gonna make something way better than what I played tonight."

"You better tell me when you get done with it."

"You'll be the first to know."

"Aw yeah."

"I'm gonna call it a night."

"Yeah, alright."

I stood up, then went to the back of the train. I looked off of the balcony. Rainbow joined me.

"Yo Rainbow, you think that cave's safe?"

"If the Princess says that you can do it, then I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Good point. Would you?"

"Of course I would."

I looked at the moon. Nightmare noticed something briefly move in front of it. I couldn't locate whatever it was. It was too dark.

"Yeah. It's just that... Nevermind. When's the next show? Preferably one during the day."

"I don't know. I'll have to check. I agree with you on the day part. It was a little hard to follow."

"They should've thought about it more."

"Actually, this was kind of a last minute deal. They reused a few maneuvers from older shows. Vinyl wanted to do a show with them and both of their schedules were pretty tight."

"Alright... whatever."

I went back in and sat down.

'Nightmare, are you sure that there's nothing under the castle?'

'Positive. It's empty.'

'Hmm...'

'I don't trust Celestia.'

'Have you ever?'

'No, but this time, I'm sure she's lying.'

'I'll stay on my guard. You gotta watch my back.'

'Alright.'

Rainbow sat next to me.

"You look kinda worried. Are you up for this?"

"I think I'll be fine."

"Good. Don't get yourself lost down there."

"I won't."

She nodded. "You better come back. Pinkie's gonna cry if you don't."

"I can't have that."

"She gets pretty loud when she does. Well, night."

"Yeah."

She laid against my shoulder again and fell asleep.

So fucking cute...

Author's Note:

ENEMY CHAPTER UPDATE INCOMING! IT'S OVER!

Just sliding in a little plot advancement here. Don't mind me.
This one probably could've been better. I like it, though.

Comments

[f0st3r21]

"He said that your hastily formed plan was better than what he was planning to do."

MC’s an untrained, civilian minor. Shining Armor is a trained, decorated, experienced, mature adult soldier. How exactly does this work?

[f0st3r21]

She gave me a nod, then left. Only one thing was left on my mind. "Where was she hiding this?"

Why are you asking a lady about her hiding spots?
MC: Hey, you’re the one asking me to investigate your old cave system. Didn’t even offer me a drink first.