The Apocalypse Queen (XIII)
i
Twilight walked through the veil of hissing smoke fading into the late night air, weaving her way through the nearly-deserted New Canterlot train platform.
Nightmare Moon was waltzing beside Twilight—invisible to all but the nervous unicorn and casually phasing through ponies like the ghostly image she truly was. Occasionally she frowned and sniffed at some curious smell emanating from a society she had never before seen, but she did not speak as Twilight led the way from the station to the city proper, trying not to let her wide dress snag itself upon a parking meter or passing pony.
“This is…” Nightmare Moon murmured, peering with amazement as a streetcar past. The great alicorn shook her head and cleared her throat. “Where exactly are you going, Sparkle?”
“We’re gonna catch a streetcar downtown,” Twilight said without turning from her weaving path through New Canterlot. The streets were busy and flooded with the sounds of ponies talking, and surely nopony would notice her seemingly talking to herself. “Then we’re going to meet Celestia and her nephew at some restaurant for dinner. I think we’re going to be talking about how we’re moving forwards.”
“You used a whole lot of ‘we’ in that sentence,” Nightmare Moon replied, sounding amused. “As though you’re under the ludicrous belief that I would possibly be interested or welcomed to such an event.”
“Well, you are following me, and I do want you to keep me company,” Twilight said, fiddling with the buttons on her parka as a gust of cold night air snaked through the concrete valley. “And it’s not like anypony would be able to see you if you don’t show yourself to them, right?”
“Celestia might,” Nightmare Moon pointed out. “Even if I don’t show myself to her, she’s awfully perceptive. Ghosts don’t exactly get to chose who they do and don’t haunt.”
“I guess that’s true,” Twilight sighed. “It’s probably going to be boring anyways. I could just do with a bit of… uh, emotional support is all.”
Nightmare Moon cackled. “Your choice for emotional support is me? Are you a masochist?”
Twilight smiled. “Come on. You can’t be any worse than Celestia’s posh nephew.”
“I shall take that as a challenge, Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon scoffed. She stopped in her hooves, lifting a forehoof above the cobblestone street and holding her head up proudly, flaring her wings to their full length. It was a mighty and fearsome gesture, and it took Twilight a moment to realize that Nightmare Moon had intended it as a joke.
“Fine, I will accompany you. You’ve slaved for me enough to deserve the luxury of my company for one measly dinner. But if Celestia spots me, I shall hold you responsible and you will not quite like what will happen to you next.”
“Right,” Twilight said, nodding shakily. “I think she’s been having troubles lately with… uh, seeing things, though.”
“In the literal sense or the metaphorical?”
“Literal. She keeps saying it’s because she needs new glasses, but her left eye is basically all cataract now. I’m no optometrist, but I’m pretty sure she’s past the point of repair. She can’t even read and write letters herself anymore.”
Nightmare Moon laughed—her usual cruel, exaggerated affair. “And what’s wrong with her right eye? Too much rusty rebar in it?”
Twilight frowned at Nightmare Moon’s cruel joke. Oddly enough, like Celestia, the black alicorn had a morbid sense of humor that Twilight hardly shared.
“You really don’t feel sorry for her? Not even a little bit?”
Nightmare Moon’s smile vanished and a sneer overtook it. “She can rot in Tartarus for all I care. In fact, I would set off fireworks to celebrate the prospect of her burning for eternity. You are not changing my mind about this, Twilight Sparkle, so you’d best be silent about Celestia before I get annoyed.”
“I’m sorry.” Twilight’s head sunk, watching her hooves trod through the slushy sidewalk. “Gods, I’m an idiot. I really shouldn’t have said that.”
“Stop fretting—I’m not going to yell at you. But, for future reference, my sister is a topic not ripe for casual conversation. Understood?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Twilight's gaze sunk.
“Mm hrm. I said it was okay, Twilight.”
While Twilight’s head stayed in the same shameful slouch she had assumed since Nightmare’s mood had turned, she could not help but notice how Nightmare Moon had dropped the near religious formality placed upon her name. Gone were any irritated and official-sounding utterances of her full name—instead, Nightmare Moon had settled for what was in essence a nickname.
It was something small, but it was something nonetheless.
ii
It was a little difficult to appreciate the ritzy grandeur of whatever New Canterlot high-society establishment stood before her when Prince Blueblood’s airship dominated so much of Twilight Sparkle’s sight.
“Somepony’s overcompensating for something,” Nightmare Moon tutted, peering up at the lumbering, goldfish-like airship. “Are you sure you want to meet this Blueblood character?”
Twilight didn’t answer, although she couldn’t help but agree with Nightmare Moon’s snide sentiment. It was insultingly hypocritical that the stallion who would be helping them fight for the less fortunate travelled to fine dining establishments in a private airship. She could probably sell every single book in her library and not have enough even half of the required bits to afford the ship.
The restaurant before her—known as The Thestral, according to the tall, contemporary-looking white letters above the entrance—was the sort of place so far removed from Twilight’s circle of presence that the very thought of entering filled her with dread. Every step towards the modern-looking restaurant—with a polished patio beneath shimmering lightbulbs hanging from wires stretched like spiderwebs above—only caused a painful flutter of panic through Twilight’s chest.
There was no doubt in her mind she wouldn’t belong.
She’d been laughed out of public establishments before, but never with so much at stake.
Running a hoof nervously through her updone mane reeking of cheap hairspray, Twilight turned on her heels to face Nightmare Moon.
“How do I look?” she whispered.
Nightmare Moon blinked.
Twilight jerked her head towards the building. “That restaurant is going to be filled exclusively with millionaires and big shots, and I’m showing up in a ratty prom dress and a bee’s hive mane.”
"A prom?" Nightmare Moon cocked her head.
"Yeah. Some... some dance they throw at the end of high school."
"Sounds pretty pathetic."
"Yeah, well, I didn't even go," Twilight replied. She had vanished from her school before the end of the year anyways, and nopony had bothered sending her an invitation. The dress she was now wearing was the only one she owned, and she had worn it perhaps only once in the past. For all she knew, it did not even remotely fit.
"Ah. Doubly pathetic. No, I wouldn't fret. You look fine, Sparkle.”
“I don’t!” Twilight kicked at the dirt.
Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes. “Precisely why did you ask me how you looked if you did not wish to value my opinion? And, more importantly, precisely why do you care what any of these rich snobs think of you?”
“I… guess you’re right.”
“Statistically, I have been.” Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes.
Once more, Nightmare Moon seemed to be delivering comfort Twilight was surprised to receive. “Thanks, Nightmare Moon.”
“Oh, stop cajoling and move along.”
Despite Nightmare Moon’s assurances, several ponies did indeed stop talking and stared straight at Twilight as she trotted into the restaurant, and while their stares were by no means malicious looking, Twilight had half a mind to turn tail and flee instead of moving any further.
The hostess broke through Twilight’s reverie with a kind smile. “Good evening, ma’am! Welcome to The Thestral. Do you have a reservation?”
“Uh… yeah. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m expecting two… uh, friends, I guess. Prince Blueblood and Princess Celestia.”
The hostess glanced at her reservation book and intensified her grin. “You certainly are. If you’ll just follow me...”
Twilight wordlessly fell into step behind the hostess, who led the way into The Thestral proper.
A backwards glance, and Twilight saw that Nightmare Moon was still following, but nopony else in the restaurant seemed to have any reaction to the tall black alicorn walking proudly in their midst. Instead, they seemed content simply watching Twilight with the same passive curiosity the ponies sitting out on the porch had possessed. Twilight knew it was probably illogical, but every gaze towards her felt hostile and frightening, and for every shy smile she forced, she knew she did not belong. These were the sort of ponies she had gone on for paragraphs in her articles critiquing, and now she was waltzing amongst them, trying pathetically to look like she fit.
When Twilight finally diverted her gaze away from the judgement of other ponies, she could see that the hostess seemed to be leading her into a part of the restaurant that was divided from the rest of the patrons. From within, Twilight could hear Prince Blueblood concluding some meaningless anecdote, Celestia’s subsequent joyful laugh.
“... and that was just the mares!” Blueblood added, chuckling and lifting a glass of white wine to his lips.
The glass halted midway when the unicorn caught sight of Twilight and the hostess hovering in the entranceway. Catching his glance, Celestia, too, turned in Twilight’s direction.
She smiled widely upon seeing her. It seemed neither Celestia nor Blueblood could see Nightmare Moon lurking behind Twilight. “Twilight! You made it! Goodness, what a lovely dress you’re wearing!”
“Uh… y...you too, thanks.” Twilight scratched an ear.
“Oh, much obliged!” Celestia said, giving her own pinkish-orange dress a brief and scrutinizing glance. “Please, have a seat, Twilight.”
Wordlessly, Twilight obliged. Just as she set her rump on the cushion on the opposite side of Celestia and Blueblood, the waitress returned with a menu that she set on the table before her. Hurriedly, Twilight muttered something about needing a few minutes to decide, and the waitress was off.
“So…” Twilight tried not to tense as Blueblood spoke, all the while scanning her like she were some curio at a novelty shop. “You’re the infamous Twilight Sparkle.”
“I… suppose I am," she returned. Blueblood's opinion of her was hardly well veiled in the examining gaze he gave her. He probably had more respect for the Thestral's waitresses than he did for her.
Of course, the feeling was more or less mutual. Twilight didn't dislike Blueblood enough to warrant devoting her time into critiquing him, but the fact of the matter was, he was every bit a problem to her as Flim Flam Industry were. Celestia was perhaps partial towards him by virtue of relation, but Twilight had no trouble seeing him as a priviledged ex-noble with enough wealth to keep his hooves clean of labour for the rest of his days.
Nonetheless, for Celestia, Twilight put on a small smile. "Pleased to meet you, Prince Blueblood.”
Blueblood laughed—a frustratingly predictable sounding affair; he laughed exactly like how Twilight would have imagined a self-proclaimed 'prince' laughed. “I imagine you are. You’re… admittedly not what I was expecting ‘Twilight Sparkle’ to look like in the flesh.”
This time, it was Twilight’s turn to laugh. “And what were you expecting? Some mumbling lunatic wearing a tinfoil hat?”
Blueblood shrugged. “More or less. You must’ve lost weight since the last photo of you I’ve seen published. That, or I guess your mugshots added a few pounds, huh?”
The insult, petty as it was, caught Twilight off guard. She opened her mouth to offer some poorly thought-out retort, but Celestia cut in before she had the chance.
“Well, I’m glad you two have finally met.” Celestia was evidently proceeding with caution. “We have plenty to discuss, anyways.”
“About your next radio appearance, right?” Twilight asked.
“Hrm, that for sure.” Celestia nodded. “Blueblood and I have discussed that to great lengths already, but I feel we should be filling you in.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Twilight said, trying not to feel indignant that she seemed to have been excluded from such an important conversation.
“Well. Blueblood, care to run Twilight through it?”
“With pleasure,” Blueblood said. “We’re going to be very firm this time. Not aggressive, but I personally feel that Princess Celestia has been going about things in a rather passive way. Now that we’ve succeeded in striking a bit of public doubt towards Flim Flam Industry, we can afford to be more frank in our next appearance. So, we’re going in with a list of demands that we’re gonna present right to their board of directors, on live air no less.”
“Oh… uh, alright.” Twilight frowned. “When you say ‘we’...”
“I mean me and Princess Celestia, yes.”
“You mean me, you, and Celestia?”
“No, I mean me and Princess Celestia,” Blueblood repeated bluntly. “I mean, no offense intended, but last time you appeared on the radio with Princess Celestia, it was an utter disaster.”
“I don’t think I’m the reason for that, though,” Twilight protested.
“Well, I never said you were,” Blueblood returned. “But you need to understand, Sparkle—your reputation is a hindrance towards Princess Celestia’s cause.”
“Celestia?” Twilight turned her gaze to the elderly alicorn. “Do you agree with that? Am I a… a hindrance to you?”
Celestia sunk her head in shame. “I would not say it like that, but…” She sighed and sipped her glass of cognac. “I just want to try this one without you, Twilight. Just this once. I promise.”
“Uh, is that such a great idea though?” Twilight cocked her head. “I mean, public doubt or not, it seems to me like—”
“We have already discussed this,” Blueblood interrupted. “Me and Celestia.”
“That’s… well I mean, yeah, I know that.” Twilight scratched an ear. “But, I mean… I am technically her Crown Minister, so I think I should have some sort of final—”
“You’re technically a common vagrant, Twilight Sparkle.” Once more, Blueblood interrupted her. “You’re technically not anything until Celestia is in power, considering the position of ‘Crown Minister’ hasn’t been in use for centuries, and Celestia would have to be in power to bring it back into use. That is how it works.”
“I know that,” Twilight said again. “I just feel like I should have some sort of… y’know, say on this.”
Blueblood opened his mouth to retort, but Celestia stopped him with a raise of her hoof. “Twilight is quite right, Blueblood. I chose her for a reason, after all.”
“Forgive me Auntie, but I can’t begin to imagine what reason that is. She has no experience here.”
“Oh dear, not this again.” Celestia brought a hoof to the bridge of her snout. “I didn’t bring you two together so I could listen to you bicker. Please, Blueblood—”
“I do have experience, by the way,” Twilight piped up. “I’m a journalist.”
“First of all, so what?” Blueblood rolled his eyes. “Second of all, no you’re not. You’re freelance. That doesn’t count.”
Nightmare Moon, who had previously been watching the interchange with moderate annoyance, finally perked up, wearing an open glare.
“I’ve had quite enough of this stallion,” Nightmare Moon declared. “At least you’re magically skilled and you put effort into your livelihood.”
It was actually a rather solid point, Twilight thought. Since there was no hope that Blueblood himself would have heard it, Twilight took the liberty of reprising it.
“At least I work for my bits!” she said. “I’m peddling articles to newspapers nearly every day just so I can afford food and clean water. What do you know about living like that, Prince Blueblood?”
“Twilight, Blueblood, stop fighting please!” Celestia said again, her voice dismal and desperate.
“Just a minute, Auntie,” Blueblood said. “I’ll drop it, I promise, but before I do; what do you mean ‘living like that’, Sparkle?”
“You know exactly what I mean,” Twilight shot back, a manic grin on her face. “You’re telling all these ponies who are being exploited that you’re there for them, and meanwhile you’re living a life of wealth thanks to your aunt’s inheritance. You’re a hypocrite.”
“Goddesses above, you’re a petty mare,” Blueblood growled. “I’ve created charities and founded shelters. Hell, I even funded orphanages in Fillydelphia and Trottawa! Compared to that, what have you done to help anypony? Or do you seriously think your silly little articles are helping?”
“That is enough!" Celestia barked. "From both of you! My goodness, what has gotten into you two?”
Twilight and Blueblood both instantly tensed at the sound of Celestia's raised voice. She had kept any hints of hostility far from it, instead sounding like she was merely reacting out of sheer annoyance. Regardless, Celestia's anger was never something Twilight would have hoped to have directed at her again.
Nightmare Moon gave Twilight a cold glare. “Don’t leave this here. She’s replacing you with him, you know. You do see that, right?”
“Yeah,” Twilight said internally, hoping that Nightmare Moon would hear through thought alone. “But what do I say?”
“Just say what you think,” Nightmare Moon said aloud, shrugging. “Tell her it’s her decision but you think she’s making a huge mistake.”
Twilight gulped and nodded. “It’s… whatever you want to do is your choice, Celestia. But I think it’s a mistake.”
“We appreciate your input, Sparkle, but—”
Nightmare Moon gave Twilight a rough nudge, but whatever it was she had to say was lost as Twilight rose in thinly veiled frustration.
“You don’t get to speak for her,” Twilight said. “And definitely not for her cause. I’m done here. I’ll see you back at the library, Celestia. Unless you’ve decide Blueblood’s penthouse is more your speed now.”
Twilight turned tail from Celestia and Blueblood just as a waitress returned with Twilight’s menu, an expression of shock on the poor mare’s face.
“Twilight! Wait, please!” Celestia called, but Twilight pretended not to hear as she continued trotting back towards the exit of The Thestral.
“Good,” Nightmare Moon cooed from behind as they emerged back out into the windy night. “They don’t have the right to push you around like that.”
“What if Blueblood is right, though?” Twilight whispered, as soon as she was out of earshot of the ponies on The Thestral’s porch. “To Equestria, I really am just a worthless vagrant.”
“Oh, hogwash,” Nightmare Moon replied. “You’re not worthless and you know it. Stop being so melodramatic.”
“It’s not about what I think,” Twilight said. “It’s about what Equestria thinks I am.”
“Well, it pains me to say this, but you are special, Twilight. If idiots like that posh prick represent the norm, you must be. And if Equestria can’t see that for themselves, I don’t really think they’re worth saving.”
iii
Somewhere on the second floor of the library, a cupboard door loudly slammed.
“No ice-cream, Twilight? Seriously?” An irritated voice called out from the makeshift kitchen Twilight had constructed in the staff lunchroom on the library’s second floor.
“Sorry,” Twilight offered meekly as Nightmare Moon strode down the stairs and back into the ground-level reading area, where Twilight was hunched over her crackling radio. “I… uh, made some popcorn, if you’d like.”
Twilight floated the bowl over to Nightmare Moon without turning her attention from the radio and the voices emanating from within.
“Of course you did,” Nightmare Moon drawled. “You expect the Empress of Eternal Night to partake in common snack food?”
Twilight didn’t answer, instead returning her focus to the radio.
“...to their passing—we know practically from fillyhood what loss feels like,” Celestia was saying. “...It is that, in the weeks and years to follow…”
“She’s still going on?” Nightmare Moon gave a humourless laugh. “You’d think she’d know to stop stroking her ego when all of Equestria can hear her doing so.”
“I don’t think that’s what she’s doing,” Twilight replied.
“Well, what do you know about her?”
“I know that she’s on the radio trying to—”
“She shouldn’t be on the radio at all,” Nightmare Moon sneered. “Talking about heaven’s knows what. She should be on her damn throne by now. What the hell is she waiting for, another sister to steal glory from?”
“I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”
“Oh you are, are you?” Nightmare Moon tutted. “And picking Prince Blueblood whilst leaving you to the wolves—that’s yet another ever-wise decision on her part, hrm?”
Twilight grit her teeth, but said nothing.
“I mean seriously. In her eyes, I am the embodiment of Equestria’s greatest hatred and fears, and yet I accepted your friendship, meanwhile she refuses to do the same? What a bitch. What she should really be—”
“Wait, hold up…” Twilight blinked, all focus on the radio lost. “You… consider me a friend?”
Nightmare Moon gave a feral growl, looking annoyed. “You asked me. I don’t recall ever saying no. And don’t you ever interrupt me again, you pudgy purple cow.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Twilight said quickly. “I just… got excited.”
“Hrm, well, if you really are planning on one day ruling Equestria, you’d might as well practice being assertive somewhere.”
“I… ruling what now?”
“You do know that Crown Minister implies an eventual rise to central power?” Nightmare Moon said. “It’s in the title, for goodness sake. Minister to the Crown. Surely you’re not that dense?”
“No, I know that,” Twilight said, dropping the smoldering butt of her cigarette into a glass of rye she had poured herself weeks ago. “But that’s only in the event of Celestia’s passing. That’s not going to happen during my lifetime.”
“Not if you keep living like this,” Nightmare Moon growled, shaking the glass of rye and cigarette. “Good heavens. What would your parents think of you?”
Twilight frowned. She didn’t exactly get the impression Nightmare Moon was the sort of mare who would really care how much of a disappointment her mother and father thought she was.
“Anyway,” Nightmare Moon said, rolling her eyes and plucking a few pieces of popcorn from Twilight’s bowl. “My point is, you will one day be in a position of authority. With or without Celestia’s help. And with or without her prick of a nephew in the way.”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll poison his wine or something,” Twilight replied sarcastically. “I just don’t know, Nightmare Moon. If I’m not important to Celestia, why would I be important to anypony else?”
“Okay, several things. One: Celestia’s opinion of you doesn’t matter,” Nightmare Moon began. “Secondly… have you considered simply assassinating the leaders in power? You have the magical potential. I can teach you some nifty spells.”
Twilight glared.
Nightmare Moon gave an irritated sigh. “Fine, keep shying away from what needs to be done. You could sweep beneath Celestia and take the throne herself with ease, but here you are, limiting your own potential. You’re a student of Celestia if ever I’ve seen one. If I were in power—”
“...their heads would be hanging on pikes outside of the castle,” Twilight recounted. “You’ve told me this before.”
“I do believe I’ve also told you before not to interrupt me.” Nightmare Moon shot back. “Then if killing is off the table, your third option would be… well, I read some of your writing...”
“Oh no…” Twilight moaned.
“Actually, it wasn’t bad. Hearing Prince Blueblood berating you made me wonder, but you make good points and word them well. Anypony ridiculing you for them seems rather excessive. Besides, the public’s view on you in the past is sure to change now that Celestia has returned.”
“It… is?” Twilight cocked her head. “Why would it?”
“Because the Industry have already been exposed as liars, and all they’ve done to argue you has so far just been to softly deny your points.”
Pursing her lips, Twilight nodded. It did seem like a valid point, although Nightmare Moon of all ponies seemed a strange source to be offering it.
Then again, Twilight supposed Nightmare Moon knew about social rejection just as well as she did.
“My point is, your writing is no longer complete nonsense. Blueblood and Celestia think that screaming at a brick wall on the radio is helping things, but it isn’t. Right now, you can do as much damage to the Industry as they can, but you can do it all by yourself.”
“That’s ridiculous. No I can’t.”
“Look at me, Twilight Sparkle.” Nightmare Moon’s tone was stern, but somehow comforting. “Tell me what you are, right now.”
Twilight blinked. “Um… I’m a… pony?”
“Your career, you blithering foal! Tell me what you do!”
“Oh. I’m a… a freelance investigative journalist?”
“Okay. Exactly. Then investigate. Expose something about them. Or, if not that, then say something big! In my days, a speech could topple or unite a damn empire!”
“I’ve tried that before! And look how far it’s gotten me!”
“You’ve tried it before the Industry had been exposed as a malicious, kidnapping entity,” Nightmare Moon retorted. “I say you now have firm enough footing to start hurling boulders. Prove to Celestia that you’re doing the hard work while she sits on her flank doing nothing.”
Twilight scratched an ear. “I’m… well… there are… laws and the like, surrounding these sort of things. I’ve been scraping by on my talents as a journalist, not by trying to spur revolutions. I’m pretty sure I may land myself in hot water.”
“So what?” Nightmare Moon returned. “Do so anyways. This all just tells me they’re afraid of you! Surely you have something in that wreckage of a study that could fuel some credibility to your call to arms?”
“I’ve… got some, yeah,” Twilight sighed. “I mean, I’m fairly certain the water ponies are drinking in Ponyville contains run-off chemicals from the industries outside of New Canterlot. But even if I did hop the fence and sneak down to the river to get chemical samples, it’s not like anypony would believe me if I published—”
“Have you not been listening to a word I’ve been saying?!” Nightmare Moon barked. “They would, because you’ve already been proven right whilst they’ve been proven false.” To prove her point, Nightmare Moon withdrew one of the papers she had entered the room with. Twilight recognized it as an ancient article she had published nearly ten years ago.
“Nearly every wild assertion you made have been in some way given standing since Celestia’s return,” Nightmare Moon said. “To some of these ponies, you’re not a journalist, you’re a prophet! You’re more powerful now than you ever were before. You raise the damn Moon; I’m sure you can publish some soil samples and stern words, too.”
iii
Twilight didn’t think, she simply sprinted.
Her bits of testing equipment were pouring out of her saddlebags as she leaped over fences and ditches, and every shattering behind her sent a small cringe down her spine. Each bit of equipment had, admittedly, been rather valuable to her. Then again, with Celestia’s promises to split Blueblood’s cheque to them in two, it seemed that it didn’t matter after all.
Behind her, the beams of flashlights swept the dark field, always thankfully out of reach of her sprinting form.
Nightmare Moon, of course, was nowhere to be heard. Twilight was hardly surprised.
The last fence was a taller chainlink affair, just out of reach for her to jump. Rusted, sharp wiring doted the top, but with the amount of sweat Twilight was drenched in, she doubted it would even register. She scrambled over, more slowly and painfully than she had intended, and certainly enough for the beams of light to have struck her at least for a split-second—most likely too brief for anypony chasing her to have noticed.
Then again, Twilight mused, if there was a goddess of Luck, she doubted they were in each other's favour.
When her hooves finally hit the other side, she was covered in several more lacerations than before, but none severe enough that she allowed herself to slow. She scrambled into the railyard, hoping some freight-train wouldn’t promptly end her escape, but her path seemed clear of activity for now. She could no longer see dancing electric lights in the corners of her eyes—it seemed the fence had stopped them.
“Why are you slowing?” Nightmare Moon suddenly shrilled. “Run, you sloth!”
“Shut up!” Twilight nearly screamed back, but she managed to conceal it to a low hiss. Past the trainyard lay the road into Ponyville, and it stretched on deserted from the lights of any late-night traveller’s wagon lights.
Ten minutes of trotting along at a brisk pace brought her to the town proper. Ponyville was a town at least some degree nicer than Old Canterlot, perhaps simply because it was smaller. The occasional abandoned building still lined her fringes, but for the most part Ponyville seemed a decent place to be. Like Manehattan or Neighaghra Falls, it seemed it had been allowed to adapt a little better to the changing industry than so much of Equestria had.
The town was quiet, but the occasional light of some confectionary or hotel lobby still glowed just in frame of her sight as she locked her eyes straight ahead at the trainstation in the distance. Twilight could already see steam billowing and the line of cars waiting patiently at the station, and so she once more quickened her pace before it started to move.
“And where are you planning on going?” Nightmare Moon cocked her head, still standing tall in the middle of the street even as Twilight stealthily crept forwards in the shadows as quickly as she could afford.
“New Canterlot. I need to talk to Celestia about all of this. She’ll know what to do.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something? The Sunstone is still in your library.”
“Yeah, and I’ll bet they’ll be waiting for me there, if they really did see me!” Twilight shot back.
“All the more reason to go retrieve it, before they find it.”
“They didn’t last time.”
“Last time isn’t automatically this time.”
“Trust me, I’ll come back for it!” Twilight replied. “Come on, Nightmare, we need to go! It’s gonna be dawn soon!”
“Keep the Moon down longer,” Nightmare Moon said bluntly. “You have that power, you know.”
“No,” Twilight shook her head. “No more ‘Longest Nights.’ We’ve talked about this.”
“Regardless, they cannot obtain the Sunstone,” Nightmare Moon said, and yawned. “You do not need it, yes? Just sneak in and destroy it. It’s fairly fragile.”
“If I sneak in, they’ll see me!” Twilight replied shortly. “No. I need to find Celestia. She’ll know what to do.”
“Twilight Sparkle, do as you are told. You are my apprentice now. Not hers.”
Twilight didn’t bother debating Nightmare Moon any longer. Instead, she turned tail and began to gallop as quickly as she could to Ponyville’s trainstation—a warm-looking beacon of glowing light at the end of the long main street of the town.
She had purchased her ticket to New Canterlot in a fervour; drenched in sweat and panting as though she had run further than fifteen blocks without a break.
Nonetheless, the time stamped onto the ticket held in Twilight’s shaking hooves still read 5AM, and she could do little else but wait out the remaining four hours before then in terrified anticipation.
So, she had strode cautiously across the platform for the second time that night, keeping her head low and her stance inconspicuous to the empty station.
Under a bench on the deserted train platform, Twilight found two quarters, and so she took them with her to a little lantern of light that was a phone booth on the other side of the platform.
Dropping a quarter in and raising the receive to her ear, Twilight was more focused on the operator’s cheery voice than the sound of anypony else entering the train station.
“Operator! How may I direct your call?”
“Uh, New Canterlot, please. MH 5-9975.”
“Putting you through!” the operate chirruped, and for a moment more Twilight was flooded into the calm serenity of crackling static.
After several minutes, the line clicked as the last overworked switchboard operator made the right connection, and a haughty sounding mare picked up Blueblood’s phone in New Canterlot.
“My word! Have you any idea what hour it is?!”
“Uh… I’m sorry, are you… uh, of any relation to Prince Blueblood?”
“And who might you be? Hrm? Why is it some strange mare is telephoning my husband in the dead of night?”
“I’m... look, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m looking to speak with Princess Celestia, if she’s around. She told me to call this number if I needed to contact her.”
“Oh,” the other mare remarked bluntly. “Well, in that case, give me one moment to go collect her. I do apologize.”
The phone was set down again. More silence. In the distance, Twilight could hear the mare yelling something, but she couldn’t quite make out what it was she had said.
Eventually, it rustled, and Celestia’s wavering voice rung out.
"Twilight Sparkle?!”
“Celestia! Is it a bad time?”
“It... isn’t the best."
“Well… look, I don’t know how to really say this. I've... I've made a horrible mistake...” Twilight’s magic was wavering, and she accidentally dropped the telephone, catching it mid-fall and bringing it to her other ear.
“It’s… look, I’m really scared, Celestia. There's ponies in my library right now, and...”
The telephone booth gave an annoyed chirrup, and Twilight urgently shoved in another quarter, her heart rate instinctively speeding at the sudden countdown placed upon her phone call.
In the corner of her eye, reflected in the glass of the telephone booth, Twilight could see movement. Turning her head slightly, she could see what the paranoid part of her had been dreading. The station’s security officer was making his way across the platform in her direction.
“What happened?!” Celestia nearly barked, seemingly unaware of the interruption.
“I’m… I…” Twilight stuttered, as the stallion got closer. "Celestia, I think I'm being arrested."
iv
Click click click click.
Twilight glared as the ballpoint pen continued rapping loudly against the officer’s notepad.
The rapping pen was a constant infuriating pulse in her ears, always inconsistent, and loud enough that it echoed in the small, grungy room. Outside, it was midday over Old Canterlot, but the tinted glass on the only window prevented any of the sunlight from properly filtering through, instead casting them in somber light.
Twilight took one last draw from the smoldering tip of her cigarette before crushing it into the ashtray on the interrogation room table, the cuffs on her front hooves giving a little jangle as she did so.
The stallion carried on mercilessly writing in silence, seemingly unaware of Twilight’s slowly billowing fury.
“Look, I know my rights,” Twilight eventually said. “You can’t just keep me detained like this. Hell, you haven’t even told me what you’ve arrested me for. That’s an offence in itself.”
More silence. The guard continued writing.
“I know this routine, y’know,” Twilight said. “I am a journalist. You play this little waiting game, I sit around in this interrogation room for a while, and eventually, I accidentally spill something I shouldn’t have because I’m afraid.”
The guard’s scratching pen once again filled the silence. Twilight growled in frustration.
“I’m not here just for tax evasion, that’s for sure,” Twilight said. “You wouldn’t need to interrogate me just for that. So, you think I did something else. Or more likely, you’re really hoping I did. Or… or… you’re going to blackmail me into—”
“Miss Sparkle, I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself,” the guard drawled, finally looking up from his notepad. “You’re here to answer a few questions. That’s all.”
“I want to talk to Princess Celestia, first. Don’t I have the right to a phone call or something?”
“No. You’ve been watching too many films, Miss Sparkle,” he replied lazily. “Besides, you aren’t being charged with anything just yet. We’re just here to have a little chat.”
“About what?”
“Are you aware that you are presently classified as a ‘potential threat to Equestrian peace?’”
Twilight snorted. “Yeah? Why? Am I exercising too much free speech?”
“Publication of pro-anarchist literature. Disruptive and violent public protest. Felony tax evasion.” The guard recounted. “Tresspassing. Theft and damage to private property. Frequent violation of property law. Twilight Sparkle, you have unpaid debt for nearly thirteen-thousand bits, and have not paid any property, hydro, or electricity taxes in nearly eight years.”
“I live in an abandoned library. I don’t even have hydro or electricity. Why should I pay for something I don’t even have?”
The officer rose an eyebrow. “Why should you be considered an exception in the eyes of the government?”
“Look...” Twilight rubbed her temples. “What the hell do you want from me, anyways?”
“I think you know.”
“I think I don’t!” Twilight shrilled. She was trying to sound abrasive, but it seemed obvious that she was in actuality simply terrified. “What is the matter with you? I want to talk to Celestia! Or a lawyer! I’m entitled to one of those, right?”
“No,” the guard replied. “As I said, you are not being charged with anything. I have made no accusation against you.”
“Well, I’m not talking to you,” Twilight cut him off. “I’m not saying anything. You’re blackmailing me. Screw off.”
“Let me make something crystal clear, Miss Sparkle,” the guard said, his tone disturbingly neutral. “I don’t need you to say anything. I’m only here as a courtesy measure. If we wanted, we could escalate things further with or without your cooperation.”
In an instant, Twilight felt like she was about to be sick.
“So no. You don’t have to cooperate. Go ahead and make things even worse for yourself if you want.”
“You’re bluffing,” Twilight whispered.
“You keep hoping so, kid.”
With his piece said, the guard collected the notepad and rose, giving her a diabolical smile. Then, he turned and left the interrogation room without another word.
For what seemed like hours, Twilight simply waited, casting awkward glances at her reflection in the one-way glass—she looked horrid, like some rabid racoon, with her mane wild and unkempt and rings of cheap black makeup around her bloodshot eyes.
“I hope you’re happy,” Twilight growled under her breath.
Nightmare Moon scoffed. “I’m not. You’re still ignoring my orders.”
“Well, sorry, but ‘forcing my way to freedom’ doesn’t sound like a wise decision.”
“Well, I think—”
“I think you should shut up,” Twilight shot back wordlessly, instead casting the words into her own mind at a scream. “You’re the reason I’m here! This was all your idea!”
“I don’t recall telling you to get caught.”
Twilight didn’t reply. She wasn’t going to sit there bickering with Nightmare Moon any longer.
When the door to the interrogation room once again opened, Twilight instantly scowled at the stallion who entered.
“Hey, Twily.”
“No no no,” Twilight shook her head, her eyes wide in terror. “Anypony but you.”
“It’s good to see you, sis. You have no idea how much I mean that.”
There were a million questions running through Twilight’s head, but amazingly, the most juvenile of them all prevailed. “Have you ratted to Mom?”
Shining laughed, although it was the pained sort of laugh that might as well be open weeping. “Are you kidding, Twi? I’m the reason you’re here..”
“I’m… I… what?!” Twilight felt her temper flare. “What are you talking about?”
“Trust me, Twily, I’m doing you a favour. After that fiasco you think you escaped from, you’re lucky they’re allowing this at all.”
“You sent the guard after me?” Twilight growled. “Why would you do that?”
“You misunderstand, sis. I’m the reason you’re here in the interrogation room, instead of some cell in Ponyville. Your welcome for that, by the way.”
“Well, what do you want from me?” Twilight pouted. “Why are you here?”
“Because I’m tired of worrying about you, and I decided it’s time I do something about it.. I told them that if I could somehow talk to you, it may help them in the long run.. Turns out allowing your little crusade to carry on isn’t in their best interests, either.”
“Yeah?” Twilight gave a demented, squawking laugh. “And why should I care what their interests are? And why should I listen to you?”
“Because, their interests include more than a legal slap on the hoof this time. They’ve got enough on you to put you behind bars, Twily. You were identified fleeing a place you’ve been warned in-court not to be in. There’s no real grey area to skirt around, there. But I may have a solution for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Twilight replied. “And what solution may that be?”
“It’s simple,” Shining said. “They want you to go on record saying this whole mess was Celestia’s idea.”
Twilight blinked. “What.”
“You don’t have to be explicit,” Shining added. “Just that she sorta… endorses your actions. That’s all. That you weren’t acting alone.”
“That’s completely ludicrous. They can’t force me to say anything!”
“You’re really surprised they’re taking action against you? You pissed off the government of Equestria, Twilight.”
“Yeah? Good!”
Shining shook his head. “Not for you it isn’t. They’re going to be trying everything in their power to have you convicted of every single crime they can if you don’t co-operate with them; right here, right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I heard them, Twily. Right now, you could be looking at five years.”
Twilight’s smug expression fell, and she felt as though she were about to be sick. “No way.”
“Are you really willing to test the entire government of Equestria? Is that a fight you really think is in your favour?”
“Oh Goddesses...” Twilight whimpered. “Why me? Why are they blackmailing me?!”
“Because you made yourself vulnerable,” Shining replied cooly. “That’s why.”
“What do I do?”
“I just told you. They just want a statement.”
“They want my help bringing Celestia down.” Twilight translated, and parroted her earlier laugh. “No way! Screw them! And screw you for thinking that’s an okay thing to do to her!”
“Look, I know it doesn’t feel right,” Shining said. “But Twilight, just listen to me. You need to look out for yourself here. You’ve had no trouble doing it for eight years, so do it n—”
“No, stop right there!” Twilight shot back. “I may have spent eight years looking out for myself, but you know why? Because nopony else would’ve. Not you, and definitely not mom!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I don’t? Did she even try, Shining? Even try to help me?”
“Help you what? Turn your own life to hell?!”
“Do what I wanted!” Twilight was yelling, now, uncaring who was listening. “I wasn’t okay letting Equestria get a damn death sentence. And you and mom just didn’t care. So I looked out for myself.”
“Twilight, you have never even tried to contact us,” Shining growled. “So I don’t exactly expect you to know, but you are all Mom talks about. All she thinks about. Dad’s quiet, so it’s hard to read, but you know how Mom is.”
“I don’t believe you,” Twilight said.
“No?” Shining replied, and laughed with seemingly genuine mirth. “I took the train over for Mother’s Day, Twi. Dad was away for work, so I thought it’d be a good time, you know?”
Twilight simply nodded.
“I saw her start crying, Twilight,” Shining continued. “No rhyme, no reason; I think we were eating dinner, and bam. It almost could have been comical. Like she flipped a switch.”
Twilight felt like she was going to be sick. She hadn’t been there, and Shining was probably lying anyways, and yet somehow Twilight could see the scene vividly.
“Dad doesn’t know what to do to help her. I think he wants my help, but how do you ask that from your son, right?”
“Why are you telling me this, Shining?”
“Because I want you to know what you’re doing to your family, Twilight,” Shining’s voice was calm. Twilight wondered if it was some shamanistic protocol trick he’d been taught in the Royal Guard. “That’s all. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”
“That’s not my fault,” Twilight offered meekly. “I never asked for them to worry about me.”
“Well, sorry Twi, but you don’t get to be that selfish,” Shining replied levelly. “And how do you think Mom’s gonna take this, when it’s made official? That her daughter is now gonna be looking at 5 years behind bars? Do you think that’s gonna sit well with her?”
“I don’t feel like I have a say in thi—”
“No, you don’t, Twilight,” Shining agreed. “You don’t get to decide how much your family cares about you. That’s something you need to just put up with.”
“Celestia doesn’t deserve that, though,” Twilight whispered. “Shining, she’s my family, too. I can’t just…” she trailed off, some part of her mind still churning away, trying to cling to any dwindling bits of justification she had for her first argument before she leaped to a second.
“Twilight, do you really think Celestia is that weak?” Shining reasoned. “After all she’s been through, she’s still going, and you think this little hiccup is going to let them bring her down?”
“I need to help her, no matter what.”
“Says who, Twi?” Shining sighed. “Her?”
“No…”
“She didn’t say that to Cadance either, and yet Cadance thought exactly the same as you. And look where it got her.”
“That’s some way to talk about her,” Twilight said acidly. “She meant something to me, too, you know. Why would you even say that?!”
“Because I don’t want to lose you too!” Shining exclaimed. “Twilight, how can you be so smart and so damn stupid?!”
“Lose me?” Twilight cocked her head. “You said it yourself. Five years, tops. I’m not in danger like she was. I’m not fighting for my life here. That would be Celestia.”
“And then what? You serve your sentence, and then what? Your library is gone, whatever pathetic reputation you’ve built is gone. You’ve got this damn stubborn refusal to be part of Equestria, I wonder what you’ll think when they forget who you are entirely. I’m always afraid for you Twilight.”
“Afraid of what? What could you possibly be afraid—”
“Afraid that one day, I’ll see my sister on some street corner, shaking a tin cup. Or in a drunk tank somewhere. You’re the one who published it, Twi, so tell me, how many homeless ponies died in the streets of Old Canterlot last winter?”
“Fifteen,” Twilight growled, her gaze falling.
“And what if one day, I’m minding my business, and I see your name on some mass-grave newspaper obituary? Huh? You don’t think that thought scares me?”
“Shining…” Twilight shakily angled her head a little, just enough to catchy a blurry glimpse of her brother overshadowed by the mahogany table. “That’s never going to happen, and you know it. And if I do this, me and Celestia are going to be… she’s going to hate me. There’s no way I’ll ever be her Crown Minister.”
“No,” Shining agreed. “She’ll pick Blueblood. But Twilight… that sort of life isn’t yours. And Celestia is strong enough to win without you. She’s made it this far.”
Twilight finally looked up, meeting her brother’s eyes for the first time in eight years.
“I’ll think about it, Shining.”
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Needs an actual rabid raccoon. Simply unacceptable.
AHHHHH, IT'S HERE.
Twilight better not do it. Instead, she should take some of Nightmare's advice and become more aggressive. Some, mind. Escape and officially start a resistance. Queen Twilight Sparkle has a nice ring to it, eh?
8396231
I disagree in part here. Twilight should start thinking about where Nightmare Moon's advice is leading her, if she really wants to follow the example of the one whose actions led to all this in the first place. Nightmare Moon does not have Equestria's best interests in mind, or Celestia's for that matter, and what she's pushing Twilight into doing only worsen the problems her life already has. Had she stayed with them during the airship dinner, well... maybe she'd already be out on bail, courtesy of a very rich ex-noble.
Twilight can stand up to her brother, but is reduced to milquetoast by the mere ghost of Nightmare Moon... Flim and Flam really messed this world up.
8396298
I said take some of her advice, not all of it. Even when someone is wrong they can have bits of right.
Ah sweet it's back, and yet read all too quickly
Nightmare has the right idea, but Twilight won't commit. Alas.
Looks like Shining Armor knows who real rulers of Equestria are. Or at least he is high enough in the command chain.
8396328
I agree with this in all but your last point. A "true" democracy is a series of precariously balanced card houses one tiny whiff from tumbling down. And while there is a social order, (which does not fall in line with the commonly described term of anarchy) it only amounts to mob rule. A republic is leaps and bounds more stable, but it also has its many faults, for instance if something is wrong with a document its notoriously hard to change, which can be a bad thing in that it could in theroy prolong injustices, or a good thing in that it makes it hard to write injusticies into law. I cant really think of a better system then a democratic republic.
Also thats some hardcore necro you just pulled
choose
operator
You're welcome
Double periods on the end of both of these.
The cold, calculating thing to do is to stay in prison for five years. The emotional thing to do is to denounce Celestia. The really emotional thing to do is to burn down this building.
This story is so profoundly sad, is there a name for this kind of sadness? Why do I keep coming back...
Dragging in Family as blackmail material is an extremely low move. Don't do it Twilight!
8397570
Dude youve made this comment three times already. I totally get that you don't like it, and that's cool. Why are you reiterating it everytime I update?
8397603
Cause i legitimately forgot i commented on this story.... Was years ago.
8397681
gets hit by a few existential questions regarding my update frequency
8397706
Get hit harder
Timber Timbre!
8398234
Huzzah! Another fan!
8396298 That's a great point. Twilight spent a lot of time trying to get Nightmare Moon to befriend and open up to her, and good for her. But she hasn't actually stopped to think "wait a minute, what the hell does she know about politics or understanding other ponies or society in the modern age?"
I think at this point Nightmare Moon genuinely likes and is trying to help Twilight as best she can, and that's why Twilight is in so much danger.
8398313
Like a Mountain
Hope it's not gonna end in another hiatus lol
Great chapter!
Still the best running twilight and celestia-focused fic on the site.
8401389
There are plenty of contenders, so that is extremely flattering to me
So I just read this entire story over two days. I am suitably impressed. I like the little shout outs, the small jokes, the sheer horror that Celestia has gone through and not broken. The will Twilight has to push her crusade. And the little things like Applejack and Rarity and how there fates a far from what they should have been.
mooooar
Seriously, I look forward to each new chapter. The AU you've created is superb, keep it up.
Characters are getting in an action-y rush already now - if the situation accelerates more, not sure if they'll have time to talk with each other. Secondary characters haven't yet told how they live in this universe, probably for the mystery
8396680
Cause farm equipment is so safe. There have never been cases of accidents involving a harvester cotton gin. Thteshers balers. Any vehicles. Or how about any of the animals. Or falling into a silo. Historically speaking factory work was safer then farm work.
This is just too adorable.
Nightmare Moon is going to kill him. Nobody gets to insult her little bookhorse except her.
("Also, look at her you idiot, she's not fat." -GLaDOS)
Dammit, I was hoping Luna was being protective, but now I'm wondering if she's just trying to drive Twi and Celestia apart.
(Maybe both.)
And back to adorable.
SQUEEEEEEEEEEE
Oh crap.
So Celestia doesn't trust Twilight. Got it.
If she wasn't going to teach Twilight to use the Sunstone to raise the SUN, and is perturbed by Twilight using it on the Moon now, then WHY THE FUCK DID SHE GO RETRIEVE IT?!?!
Even if her connection would override and block Twilight, get her used to it! Train her, to train the future! Unless we are being misled, and she DOES want the world to burn(Or freeze) after Celestia dies.
Then there's...whatever the flying fuck Nightmare Moon is.
1) NIghtmare Moon drove a shard of her soul into Celestia's belly wound. I understand that much.
2) Luna put a bit of her soul into the Sunstone(the timeline in your backstory confuses me a bit, but I've been assuming that she did this pre-NMM, because she had reservations about the whole anti-Celestia booby traps).
3) Celestia dies, is revived by Twilight by merging their magic streams. Is this permanent? Are their lives linked now? When Celestia goes Twilight does?
4) After three, Twilight starts seeing Nightmare Moon. Uh, wut.
Celestia having hallucinations of Sombra, Cadance, and NMM I'm fine with(ok, not fine so much as 'I don't like this happening to this character but I can understand how it might have happened.') Twilight seeing a ghost is less fine. Is she seeing the Luna in the stone? If so, why is Luna so bitter about dying? If it's the fragment in Celestia...I dunno. Why would she be so surprised about what FFI did to Celestia?
I don't want you to think I'm hating the fic or anything, just trying to get across some plot bunnies that are making me mad as I tied myself in mental knows trying to work them out.
8411515
The explanation is basically just 'Moonie is a parasite echo.' Literally all that remains of her is a last-ditch effort on the part of the original Nightmare Moon to at least gradually kill Celestia or drive her insane. What we see of Nightmare Moon is that tiny shard of her soul, never actually her. Nightmare Moon technically died before the events of the story. She's less a ghost here, and more a copy with all the original's memories.
Of course, were anypony to confront her about this, she would deny it. Imagine being told you're nothing but a cognitive-copy of a greater being. It's also why Nightmare Moon seems largely motive-less... she knows at this point nothing matters in the grand scheme of things because she's already failed in her coup.
This shard-copy needs magic to leech off of to survive. Originally, she uses Celestia's, in a sort of 'well if I can't kill you I can at least make your life suck a little more'. But, seeing that Celestia sees Moon-raising Potential in Twi, NMM hatches a plan and takes the first chance she can get (Twi crossing magic streams with Celly).
If it helps, I don't approach writing the Nightmare Moon in this story as either a ghost nor a pony. She's literally a cognizant parasite; Nightmare Moon herself has been dead for the entirety of this story. I reiterate: we are not seeing Nightmare Moon in this story. We are seeing Nightmare Moon's last little 'fuck you' to Celestia, which just so happens to be a copy of her mind. Every character in this story that has been said to have 'died' has technically made no appearance in this story.
As for Cadance and Sombra; I aimed to keep it ambigious, but in my mind they were simply hallucinations. Celestia is under a lot of mental strain, and suffers from some extreme survivors guilt, which is why both hallucinations made an attempt to talk her into giving up the ghost.
Celestia and Twilight's lives are not linked anymore. Twilight healed Celestia and that's it. If one dies, the other will not.
So it IS Nightmare Moon's shard we're seeing? Luna's fragment in the Philosopher's Stone hasn't activated?
Was the timing of it all that had me a touch confused. Well that and how Nightmare Moon was so bitter about dying, since Luna shouldn't know about that.
8417304
While you're here, may I ask how often this updates? "Updates as and when" is an acceptable answer.
8417333
It went through several lengthy hiatuses. These hiatuses were not spurred out of any sort of disinterest in this story on my part, more akin to confidence regarding its quality.
I try to commit a good chunk of my writing efforts into this story, but I can't often deliver. I try to at least update every 2 months, but I sometimes take longer.
Nonetheless, I can assure you this isn't going to be a story that I intend to let die. It should be marked complete before Christmas, that I can almost guarantee.
The "Nightmare Moon" thing is either actually trying to help Twilight or sabotage her. Not sure which is actually worse. I'm leaning toward the latter, if only because the dynamic between the two of them definitely calls to mind an abusive relationship. The manipulative way NMM alternately insults and praises Twi... she's pretending to want to help build Twilight's self-esteem, but what she's really doing is tying Twilight's sense of worth to her. She wants Twilight to be utterly dependent on her. At least that's my take.
Well just found and read this and I’m loving it.
I hope you update more soon!
8523619
Very happy you're enjoying!
Updating sooner than later!
It’s been a long time, just reread this story and am excited for more chapters, this story is really great!
8615406
Very happy to hear that.
I'm super sorry for the lull in chapters. I wish I could be better.
8621504
Don’t be! Excellent story telling takes time and this story is very excellent. Just knowing you’re still working on It is more than enough for me! :)
Finally caught back up with this, and good god I just wanna throw Shining Armor through a window and into a dumpster full of rusty nails.
That goddamn fucking evil shill.
God I hope something awful happens to him when his Glorious Leaders realize they can't screw Twilight into submission and instead go after Twilight's parents. How's that Corporate Sandwich tasting now, Shiny?
Putting the restaurant section of this chapter and the previous one side by side is... interesting.
In Celly-vision, Blueblood is kind of a pompous ass, but when we get the same exchanges from Twilight's perspective, he's downright vicious. Question is, which of the two is the unreliable narrator? Is Nightmare Moon twisting Twilight's perceptions, or is Celestia simply putting her hooves in her ears and ignoring things she doesn't want to hear?
Really reminds my of "The Mare Who Once Lived On The Moon" by MrNumbers now.
welp i can't tell if nightmare is helping or not but I can say this she the punk in steampunk