Queen Nightmare Moon

by Makitk

Chapter 15

Not a week after learning of the Timberwolf-threat on the roads, Nightmare Moon herself had taken to them; complete with two four squads of guards, carts full of necessities, and her sister.

One squad was leading the caravan, with a pair of scouts just out of sight ahead of them, while another was protecting the rear, with both groups covering the sides as well.

While these squads had been with the large caravan of ponies since they left the palace at high noon, and had made sure to keep the crowds at bay as they passed through the nearby town, the other two squads had only joined them after they had left the town behind. Captains Merryweather and Starstruck had to be with the main two groups, of course, leaving the other groups in control of their secondants Evergreen and Starlit Meadow.

All in there were sixteen dayponies and an equal number of nightponies in the group, part of the Queen's continuing attempts to sway the remaining dayponies to her side by showing their kind in prominent positions. They were soon divided over resting carts and active guard duty, following the duty roster Merryweather had set up ahead of time, ensuring there was a squad of freshly rested ponies at all times.

The idea was to keep the caravan going day-and-night, at a reasonable pace, cutting the journey by road down from two weeks to a single one. Had they all been able to fly, taking the weight of the luggage into account, it would still have taken them three-to-four days at best.

The first two days were fairly uneventful, up to the evening of the second day. Nightmare Moon sat in the second cart, a cart with sleeping guards in front and behind her, with her sister two carts behind. All was peaceful, and the Queen was going over some written reports on scrolls which she levitated in front of her, making notes to a scribe seated in the car with her where required.

The caravan stopped moving forward without warning, causing the scribe to leave a nasty inkstain on the scroll they were using, and Nightmare Moon peered up ahead. One of the forward scouts had returned and was standing in front of the caravan, talking with the other guards standing around them in a small group.

The sound of fast hoofbeats passing by the left side of her cart came to her ears, and Starstruck's form was soon seen as he gallopped over to the front to find out what was going on. Starlit Meadow, in turn, poked her head out of the canvas covering the frontmost cart, ears perked up. The daypony captain and her squad had only just turned in for the night, the Queen knew, having switched with Starstruck's group who were taking the current lead.

The Queen just waited in her cart, knowing she would be informed in case the news was important enough for her to hear. With the caravan's motion ceased, she expected to be filled in about the reason before too long and sent her scribe away. The reports would have to wait until this was handled - whatever it was.

Another captain ran past her cart; Merryweather, of course. The former daypony had quickly risen to surpass even Starstruck in the amount of respect both day-and-night ponies gave her, with the other captains supporting her on most of her decisions. Starstruck himself had, not unlike his name, fallen for Merryweather. Her bodily change to a nightpony had sparked something within the other captain, and Nightmare Moon was waiting for the day they would both come to her to ask for permission to wed.

Merryweather's group was pulling the rear tonight, having taken over from Evergreen and his squadron of dayponies who had been in their position all day.

As expected, Merryweather quickly broke up the group in front, almost ordered Starstruck to get a defensive perimeter set around the caravan, and motioned for the returned scout to follow her to their Queen's cart. At the orders, Starlit Meadow disappeared back in her cart, only for her voice to ring out as she roused the sleeping guards in it.

Nightmare Moon stepped out of her own cart and took position to its left, letting her eyes wander over the grassy hills continuing on to the horizon. There was a large mountain which broke the monotony, and she idly pondered how far she could see from the top of it. Her eyes soon wandered lower, to the two guards approaching her.

"Why did we stop, Merryweather?" she demanded before the Earthpony captain could speak, taking the initiative.

Merryweather dipped her head down slightly, as a sign of respect, the scout beside her dipping his head deeper down. The daypony Pegasus was dressed in leather armor, equipped for speed, and a bottle of water was stuck by a strap to his side, tucked under a wing. There was a crack in it, and little droplets of water were leaking out of it to drip down along the stallion's leg.

"My Queen," Merryweather started, straightening her neck again, "Fleethoof here came back with disturbing reports; instead of the expected Timberwolves, they encountered a group of ponies who were themselves violent and attempted to kidnap them. Fleethoof himself only made a narrow escape thanks to his speed, but another of your scouts has been taken hostage."

Nightmare Moon felt the need to close her gemstone eye, trying to keep it from interfering with her rising rage at the report. "One of our Royal Guards, taken hostage?" she repeated incredulously.

"Yes, my Queen," Merryweather acknowledged with a hard glance in her eyes. "A grave insult to You, and us; Your guards. I would like Your permission to take a squad out to ensure they understand their mistake."

"Two squads," Nightmare Moon hissed through clenched teeth. "Find them, retrieve my scout, and take them before me. Make sure they breathe."

Merryweather gave a curt nod. "Yes, my Queen. I will see to it." She turned to the scout. "With me, Fleethoof. We need you to lead the way."

Nightmare Moon watched both ponies run off to the back of the caravan, knowing just the group Merryweather wanted to take along beside her own; Evergreen had the strongest group of dayponies under his command, and they matched Merryweather's band of nightponies in their undying loyalty to the crown. Where Starstruck was bound to her by duty and Starlit Meadow by her desire to protect the remaining dayponies by serving in the guard, both Merryweather and Evergreen had a fire which burned in their hearts like Celestia's sun had in the sky.

These two captains had found each other even before Merryweather's change into a nightpony, and set up team-based challenges for their respective squads. They pushed their ponies to catch the other group off-guard to the benefit of all, and were pulling pranks on each other in the barracks which even made their way up the grapevine to reach their Queen's ears.

They were competitive, rowdy, and would be perfect for catching a rogue group of ponies who clearly had not learned from Discord's defeat.

Nightmare Moon walked away from her cart and to that which held her sister Darkstar, watching as she stuck her head out into the fading light of her blue star to see what was going on.

"Sister," the Queen spoke as she drew near, motioning to a spot before her. Darkstar rolled her eyes at the motion, but climbed out of her cart to join Nightmare Moon out on the road. The current monarch waited for her sibling to stand before her, and then more until Darkstar reluctantly dipped her head down slightly.

"Have you heard?" Nightmare Moon asked calmly, but made it a point to keep her gemstone eye closed.

"Have I heard what, sister?" Darkstar asked in return, as two squads of guards rushed forward to do as Merryweather had been commanded to. On the other side of the cart, Starlit Meadow's group rushed back to set up defense at the rear in the others' absence.

"There seems to be a group of rebellious ponies up ahead who not only attacked our scouts, but have even had the gall to take one hostage," the Queen informed her sibling. "And here I thought Timberwolves were going to be the only issue we were going to have to resolve on our trip."

"Timberwolves?" Darkstar feigned innocence. "They have not been seen outside of the forests for decades. Why would they chance to attack a group as large as ours?"

"Reports claim they have grown more bold by the day, possibly aided by your sun's new light," Nightmare Moon explained calmly, still keeping her gemstone eye closed. "I was expecting to have to chase them back into the woods once we reached our guards stationed further up the road, but we are held up a full day before we should have reached them."

"Then, clearly, the Timberwolves can not be the cause of these ponies' poor decision to attack our Royal Guards, sister," Darkstar reasoned. "Does it anger you that they have resorted to this?"

There was a slow nod from the ruling sibling to her advisor. "Very. If not for the Element in my eye, I would have rushed out to make quick work of these ruffians myself," she agreed.

"And you are keeping your eye closed because it protests your emotional state?" Darkstar inquired with a slight tilt of her head.

"I found it helps me focus on my anger when I don't see the world in a pink hue," the Queen spoke flatly. "I am still unsure if I will ever do as you suggested; bond with it on a level where it becomes even more an integral part of me as it already is."

"It may shift from its position if you give in to it, allowing you to see the world in its proper splendour," the other coughed softly. "You look like somepony poked your eye out right now. It's not the most becoming of facial expressions."

Nightmare Moon's expression fell flat as she peered at her sibling with her only true eye. "Somepony did poke my eye out; when we fought over the Elements together."

"That's untrue," Darkstar started to protest, but then shook her head and let it fall down a little. "Pardon me, sister."

"No, no... keep talking," the Queen chuckled with an evil grin. "It's helping to raise my anger to the point where not even the Element of Kindness can block it spilling out. I'll need that if I am to teach those criminals to better their ways once they arrive."

"You ordered them to be brought back?" Darkstar realized, then looked past the Queen to the front. "Merryweather and Evergreen... ah, I see."

"They would not suffer them to live had I not," her sister commented flatly.

"They are... adorable," Darkstar grinned. "They truly embody the ferociousness you try to show others."

"Hmm, better than I am allowed to right now, yes," Nightmare Moon agreed. "We need to find out what is making these ponies resort to these acts. If this is indicative of a systemic issue, it could lead to a rebellion."

"Which neither of us can afford right now," the other sister mused.

"What was that, my advisor?" the Queen requested immediately.

"Ah, well, if there were a successful rebellion, there's no Celestia for them to put back on the throne; they would object to my rule as much as your own," Darkstar quickly explained. "You know I am loyal to you, my sister; more so than Celestia before me. Have I not revealed the games put in play by my predecessor?"

"Only when asked for directly," came the grumbled response. "You could be more forward with your information."

"I will endeavour to do so in the future," Darkstar promised with a smile.

"Why don't I believe you?" Nightmare Moon sighed, turning away from her to look ahead along the road. "I came to you for a question, Darkstar."

"I can't undo Celestia's agenda as quick as you want me to; some ponies she had contact with are out of my reach," her sister mumbled behind the Queen. "What was your question, my Queen?"

"Knowing our darkness, you have no qualms with causing damage to our subjects if it is needed, true?" came the question without the Queen turning to face her sibling again.

"Correct," Darkstar agreed, taking a few steps to her sister's side and looking at her at an angle. "That's a rather specific question."

"I can't have a rebellion. There's a wedding to go to," Nightmare Moon returned, looking back at Darkstar.

"You want a contingency," the other stated.

"I need them to disappear if it is necessary," the Queen clarified.

"To any particular location," Darkstar asked amusedly, "or just gone?"

"I don't care," Nightmare Moon sighed. "Discord's chaos dimension, the firey pits in the dragonlands, or out of existence. As long as they don't bother us anymore."

"You don't trust yourself with it. I hope I can earn your trust back by doing this," Darkstar stated. "If you say the word I will dispose of them."

"Thank you," Nightmare Moon returned to her, giving a wry smile. "Let's get dressed before our guards return with the criminals. If we can get them to change their ways without violence, perhaps my eye won't bother me as much tonight."

The Queen had a space cleared in the grass near to the carts, with the carts moved in a semi-circle around it. The small wooden throne she had taken along on one of the carts was offloaded and placed within this semi-circle, and a regular seat for her advisor set beside it. While her servants were preparing this impromptu outdoors throneroom for her, Nightmare Moon put her shoes and chestguard on, then lifted her helmet before her with her magic.

"Needlepoint, can you get me a cover for my right eye? Fasten it on the inside of my helmet," she told her tailor, levitating the helmet over to the Night-Unicorn in her employ. As the other rushed off to the supply carts to get materials, her Queen's helmet drifting after her by the Unicorn's own magic, Darkstar came up to the side of the Queen's cart.

"You should have gotten one made before we left the palace, sister," she helpfully remarked.

"An oversight, is all," Nightmare Moon snorted. "You may have noticed I rarely wore my helmet save for during the few ceremonies we've held."

"Very few they were, too," her sister chuckled weakly.

"I should have a muzzle made for you, while Stripe Gear is at it," the Queen mused.

"Woe would be the advisor to sit muzzled by the side of their monarch," Darkstar chuckled. "Or would you have me be the executioner after tonight?"

"That depends on how things play out," Nightmare Moon sighed. "I'd rather not think of it right now; my stomach turns from what I feel should be done, but which my eye protests against."

"Yeah, best not give in to it right now, sister of mine; I am kind of looking forward to it," her sister warned.

Nightmare Moon climbed out of her cart, then started to walk on over to the throne. "You're not helping."

"I'm just saying I am buzzing with desire to do something unspeakable tonight," Darkstar chuckled, following two steps behind.

The pair took their respective seats, and sat in silence until the royal tailor returned with the modified helmet; having added a piece of curved sheetmetal which was welded to the inside of the existing helmet and cut to smoothly connect both ends of the hole it covered. It made the helmet cover most of the Queen's right side now, but did hide her gemstone eye from sight altogether.

Spotting a large group of ponies approach the camp, Nightmare Moon shooed her tailor away and straightened her back.

Merryweather and Evergreen had returned, their two squads closely encircling a smaller group of five ponies who looked to have been beaten in submission. Off on the side, a few paces away from the captured ponies, were the two scouts; Fleethoof supporting the pony who had been captured as they limped on, their left foreleg held up as if they could not stand on it.

The scouts broke off from the main group as the royal doctors came rushing up to them, while Merryweather took the lead in taking the captives before her Queen. They were positioned in a single row before her throne, with Evergreen's squad forming a wall of mean-looking dayponies behind them to keep them from running, while Merryweather's nightponies spread out to give their Queen a proper view of them while standing in front of them as a protective barrier.

"Bow before your Queen," Merryweather barked, and four out of five fell down to the ground in complete submission. The fifth, a white Earthpony mare with a fiery red mane, remained standing defiantly.

"She's not my queen," she stated, red eyes staring up at Nightmare Moon with nothing but hatred burning in them.

"Sunmane, bow down already," hissed the blue stallion to her right from under his green bushy mane, looking up at her from a corner of his eye.

"Sunmane," Nightmare Moon pondered. "With a name like that, I take it you are still loyal to my sister Celestia?"

"I couldn't care less about you pony royals," Sunmane scoffed. "My Queen will rule your lands soon enough."

There was a look of shock going over the guards, and even Nightmare Moon had to do a doubletake on that response.

"Your queen?" she inquired, rising up from her throne to stand to her full height. "I am your Queen! Celestia surrendered to me, not to anypony else. Pray tell who has the gall to call themselves a queen in defiance to my rule!?"

A flash of green washed over 'Sunmane', and the white Earthpony disappeared to make place for a creature of grey and blue, with green chitin plating on its back and a pair of insectwings which made a low buzzing sound as they moved. It threw its head back and laughed evilly, baring its fangs.

"Hahaha! You ponies will fall to the might of my siblings, who surround you even now," they orated, pointing a hoof which was marred with unsightly holes around to the treeline on the other side of the road from the meadow. "Once we take down your pony 'queen', we will take over these lands in name of Queen Chrysalis, ruler of all Changelings!"

Comments

[Diamond Sparkle]

I like this fanfic. Nightmare Moon in some ways might be a good ruler.