Chapter 23
In the ruined throne room of the ancient Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters, once known as Dream Castle, Nightmare Moon brooded. The marble was cracked and broken everywhere, making Rainbow think of a recently opened tomb.
As much as Rainbow Dash wanted to simply fly through one of the windows, she realized that she’d be spotted and blasted almost immediately, so she’d decided to take a page from Daring Do’s book and sneak in. There were plenty enough cracks in the wall, so it was only a matter of finding one big enough for her to wriggle through. Unfortunately, some of them were deceptively large. It wasn’t until she was halfway through that she realized the crevice was too narrow for her to pull her hips through. She grumbled, grateful that nopony could see her like this as she struggled.
She was working her way in when she spotted Nightmare Moon being attended by the Shadowbolts. Nightmare Moon was in the middle of tearing her servants a new one—though, Rainbow mused darkly, seeing as the Shadowbolts were her own creation and apparently extensions of her own will, didn’t that mean she was yelling at herself?
Unaware of her presence, the dark alicorn continued to rail and threaten at her own minions. “...you manage to make your incompetence sound like an achievement! Because you allowed my captain to fall, I was forced to abandon my search in Canterlot for the Elements of Harmony!” She stamped her hoof, summoning bolts of lightning as her eyes blazed white. The Shadowbolts pressed themselves even lower before her. For a horrifying moment Rainbow thought she was preparing to destroy her mind-controlled friends.
Rainbow frantically tried to pull herself in, without success. She was about to call out in the hopes of distracting her when the dark alicorn calmed herself. “I suppose it hardly really mattered,” Nightmare Moon grumbled. “The Elements were nowhere to be found in all of Celestia’s pretty new city.” She narrowed her eyes and turned to her flunkeys. “You were following her apprentice here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” one of the Shadowbolts was quick to reply.
Nightmare Moon shook her head. “That makes no sense. If the Elements were here, if Celestia had used her magic to hide them, I’d know it. I’d know. Nopony’s magic can rival mine!”
A bark of laughter sounded from the doorway. “Ah, so what they say is true: arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you!”
Stunned, Nightmare Moon whirled around. Rainbow had to twist herself to get a good look, but she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure with an equally familiar brown hooded cloak and staff. She grinned with satisfaction when she saw the Shadowbolts flinch in recognition.
Nightmare Moon either didn’t notice or didn’t care about their reaction. “Such insolence before your queen … tell me who you are and I might see fit to show you some mercy. I am nothing if not kind.”
Zecora’s only response to the threat was dead silence. “Very well.” Nightmare Moon languidly turned her back to her and nodded to her forces. “Attack.”
The three Shadowbolts charged, determined not to let her get the better of them again. Zecora’s staff swung once, twice, three times, each time punctuated by a meaty smack that sent the Shadowbolts careening into the walls.
Nightmare Moon turned back angrily at this open defiance. Her eyes grew white as she summoned her own magic. Lightning flashed and arced at the intruder, filling Rainbow Dash with dread … only for it to rebound harmlessly off a white dome as Zecora chanted in a language she didn’t recognize. Her staff seemed to faintly glow, the runes carved into its sides glowing with an otherworldly light.
The Nightmare snarled. “How are you doing this?! Answer your Queen!”
Zecora snorted derisively. “You call yourself a Queen, but you act like a foal. You should cease your whining if respect is your goal.”
“Enough of your wretched doggerel.” Nightmare Moon spread her wings, lightning cracking in the air above her. “Nopony speaks this way to me, I am the Queen!”
“A true leader does not need to announce what they are,” Zecora scoffed. “I’m certainly one of many to say you’re subpar. And just to put the matter to bed—” she lowered her hood, revealing her striped face and mohawk. “—I am no pony like you said.”
“A zebra?” Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed into a snarl. “You! You’re the one who hid the Elements from my sight!”
From her own vantage point, Rainbow Dash momentarily stopped her struggling, her mind careening to a halt. Wait, what?!
Zecora dipped her head in a mocking imitation of a bow. “Clearly indeed, it is as you say. You’ll not get the Elements today.”
“You’ve come a long way from your home just to throw your life away,” Nightmare Moon hissed, her draconic eyes narrowing to little more than slits.
Zecora nodded, freely acknowledging the possibility. “Perhaps, but nothing is set in stone. I’ve come to remove you from that throne.”
“You shall fail.” The Nightmare flapped her wings, lightning crackling through her ethereal mane. “You do not have the power to defeat me!”
“Your words I could take to the bank.” Zecora narrowed her eyes as she readied her staff. “But first I can still kick your flank!”
Nightmare Moon bellowed as she struck at the mystic zebra with dark blasts of magical energy and lightning strikes. Zecora ducked to the side and hid behind some debris, leaving Nightmare Moon to vent at nothing. The room started to shake. At first, Rainbow thought she’d be crushed but she found the crack in the wall was widening. She could feel herself start to slide through as she watched the fight unfold.
Nightmare Moon’s magic enveloped the rubble and lifted it off the ground, exposing Zecora. She once again was on the move, which was fortunate as Nightmare Moon hurled broken bits of rock and even a fallen pillar her way. Rainbow’s heart leapt into her throat even as she struggled even harder to pull herself through. However, Zecora used her staff as a pole-vault to land on the falling pillar and use that as a platform to make it to another corner of the room.
Rainbow pumped her hoof in the air. On the ground, Zecora continued to duck and weave from place to place, occasionally using her magic to deflect some of Nightmare Moon’s attacks her way—though that seemed to do little more than just annoy her. She fell into an almost steady rhythm of dodging, deflection and, when unavoidable, blocking Nightmare Moon’s blasts with her wards, though that seemed to take more out of her.
Rainbow felt her hooves twitch, imagining tossing some punches in and mentally screaming for Zecora to blast Nightmare Moon back. But she didn’t press any counterattack against her, even when openings emerged. Rainbow frowned, wondering why Zecora wasn’t using her abilities more offensively, but it didn’t take her long to realize that she was playing for time. Going up against the Shadowbolts was one thing. Nightmare Moon was something else again; she had her totally outclassed. Going up her against her head-on was basically suicidal. But if Zecora stuck to just defending herself, she could drag this out—giving the rest of them more time to find the Elements of Harmony.
She briefly regretted not being with the others, which might have rendered Zecora’s actions meaningless. But the only other prospect was to abandon her to her fate, and Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to sit back and let that happen. She remembered the awful feeling of seeing Celestia sacrifice herself. She swore she was not going to let anypony—or anyzebra—else do the same. With one last heave, Rainbow hauled herself through.
Her own sense of triumph was quickly eclipsed by Nightmare Moon abruptly ending her duel by summoning a powerful burst of magical energy. It overwhelmed Zecora’s defenses and knocked her into the wall. Before she could recover, Nightmare Moon’s dark mane spread out and consolidated into pitch black tentacles that wrapped around Zecora and lifted her off the ground.
“I have you now. You have failed.” The ruler of nightmares chuckled as she brought Zecora face to face with her.
“Hey!” All eyes were drawn to Rainbow Dash as she resolutely flew over, moving so fast that her wings cut through the misty tendrils holding Zecora. “Back off!”
The wicked alicorn snorted. “If it isn’t Celestia’s charity case. What do you think you’re going to achieve here?”
Rainbow Dash flared her wings, boxing the air with her front legs. “It’s not what I’m gonna do—it’s what we’re gonna do!” She tossed her head to Zecora as she landed next to her, helping her to her hooves. “We’re going to knock you so far down that when you look up all you’ll be able to see will be our horseshoes!”
Nightmare Moon snorted. “Your arrogant faith in yourself and your companions will be the cause of your downfall.”
“The cause of your downfall will be your big fat flank!” Rainbow Dash shot back.
“Bold words.” Nightmare looked down imperiously on her would-be challengers. “You hide behind them like a shield, but you and I both know the truth: you’re a scared little filly, grossly outmatched and over your head.”
Rainbow made a big show of rolling her eyes. “You know, somepony should’ve sat you down a long time ago to explain why everypony hates you. You pick, do you want to start with your face, your personality or your breath? Or should I just pick one and go from there?”
Lightning cracked as Nightmare Moon smashed the floor with her hooves. “Impudent puling moppet!”
Rainbow Dash dug deep within herself to find the right answer. “Your mother!”
“Enough!” Nightmare Moon thundered, lightning exploding all around her.
Rainbow Dash and Zecora leapt behind a fallen chunk of ceiling, seeking shelter from the blasts. “Wow,” Rainbow called from behind it. “If I’d known that was the best you got, I would’ve said something really offensive!”
Zecora rubbed her face, looking tired and worn. Still, she had enough energy to shoot Rainbow an angry look. “Rainbow! What do you think you are doing in this place? Without the Elements, Nightmare Moon will stomp your face!”
“Relax, Z.” Rainbow chanced a look around the corner only to shrink and duck back, narrowly avoiding a lightning bolt. “The others will meet us here. I have a cunning plan!”
“You?” When she nodded, Zecora covered her own face with her hooves. “I doubt I’m speaking too soon—we are so completely doomed.”
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I... good question.
OOH, good one liner!
I love this bitch.
Hey, language.
*sigh* 3/10.
Well, you're half right. One of you is doomed.
Zecora was wonderful in this chapter. Just wondering what this magic plan Rainbow seems to have. Cus Zecora's plan of "stalling for time while Rainbow finds the Elements" hasn't exactly worked out yet.
Awesome Zecora, here.
truly, Rainbow, you have the wittiest of wits. :P
In Game of Thrones, Joffrey is told this as well: "a true leader doesn't have to call themselves anything."
puling is the correct spelling.
Anyway, lets hope said moppet really does have a plan. Preferably one that works!
Goddammit, Rainbow....
Zecora is just the best. We need more Zecora.
Excellent fight. Hope she has a real plan.
At the end there, Zecora has now become Giles. I wonder if she'll go after Chrysalis with a flaming baseball bat.
Rainbow's attitude isn't exactly helping her and I agree with Zecora since it didn't seem as if Rainbow could make plans that were other than punch stuff until it's over.
10097215
The difference is that Spy has the photos to back it up.
Nightmare Moon does not strike me as a particualrly well-balanced individual.
Actually on that note did we ever nail down what Elements each of the sisters wielded against Discord?
"My mother was an abstract concept of light and shadow! And also Celestia's mother! You just insuled her too!"
blackadderquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cunning-plan-blackadder-quotes.jpg
10681340
Yeah, I'm definitely playing with Nightmare Moon as the most-ego driven of all the villains, and for a reason.
And actually, it's a plan so cunning you can put a tail on it and call it a weasel.
Not a lot to say about this chapter.
Passive voice.
Past perfect tense is weaker than past tense. This would be stronger as “As much as Rainbow Dash wanted to simply fly through”.
Reason for using two hyphens instead of em dash?
Word repetition.
10738181
Thanks!
I do wish when editing they'd just turn -- into an emdash on its own, I swear...