Griffins and Galleries
Nightmare Moon found herself hesitating, her mind half there and half elsewhere. Twilight's six friends sat in the back of a chariot, all watching her, while Twilight herself stood just a step from climbing into the chariot. Midnight was already seated beside Spike, and everypony just waited on her to finish speaking with her student.
'That I am doing this...' Perhaps it was a waste of resources, having a batpony-drawn chariot take Twilight and her friends to Hollow Shades for that trip her student wanted to take. Yet because her student wanted it, she granted it. Otherwise, the trip would be more difficult for them unless she teleported them: there was no train station for them to disembark at; they would be getting off in the middle of nowhere. It was something that her student ought not have to experience, and it created unnecessary delays.
'That must be fixed,' she knew. And it would be, in time. Expanding the rail system would include such construction projects as adding more train stations around Equestria. Trade would prosper, ponies could move about more freely, and guards could deploy more quickly and effectively.
But it wasn't as if the batponies pulling the chariot would be missed anywhere else. There were enough batponies available, even with batponies deployed alongside Royal Guards to protect ponies and maintain order.
Still, the chariot looked overcapacity. Four batponies were hitched to pull it, which would be enough, but the chariot itself looked cramped. They had not been designed to transport so many ponies at once; rather, from what she could determine, they had primarily been designed to transport her sister, and perhaps a servant or two. But at least Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could fly, the former assuredly and the latter in theory.
They would be fine. Cramped, yes, but fine.
"Though I do wish you were coming with me rather than going to Hollow Shades," Nightmare ventured with a cautious nod, "do enjoy your trip."
Twilight smiled. "We will!"
She liked Twilight's smiles. They were perhaps endearing: it was proof that her student could relax around her, something she had longed for. It was proof of their friendship and the bond they shared. She smiled back, though not as warmly as Twilight. "I must admit I am... curious as to why you desire to visit Hollow Shades again." She paused and inclined her head, then looked at Twilight's friends. They watched her with cautious gazes, not quite trusting her, but maybe willing to give her a chance. 'But I believe I can understand why you want them to accompany you.'
Something else they shared, a desire for companionship.
Twilight smiled sheepishly, though Nightmare could see the discomfort and nervousness mixed in with it. "Well, it is a batpony city..." was her answer.
She frowned. Twilight wasn't lying to her, but Twilight wasn't telling her everything, either. But that was fine. She could trust Twilight. Even if not knowing did bother her. But yet she had done the same to Twilight, in not telling her everything. To chastise Twilight for holding something back when she did the same was unfair.
So she let it go.
And she was left standing there, not knowing what else to say and yet feeling the urge to say something more. She nodded one more time at Twilight, then turned her gaze to the six mares accompanying her: "Take care of her," she told them. Midnight nodded seriously. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash squinted cautiously at her. Fluttershy hid behind her mane but nodded.
Pinkie Pie nodded eagerly. "Don't you worry, Nightmare Moon! We'll take good care of Twilight!"
For a moment, her eyes met Rainbow Dash's eyes: 'I know you will,' she knew, and her gaze went back to Twilight. "If nothing else, I shall take my leave," she said.
"Uh, right," Twilight muttered, her smile splitting into a grimace. "Uh, enjoy your... trip."
Nightmare Moon winced. "Yes..." she drawled. "I am certain I will not," she admitted.
Twilight would get to enjoy her trip. After all, Twilight would be visiting Hollow Shades for whatever it is she wanted to do, and her friends were going with her. Nightmare Moon would not enjoy her trip. It was business and there were no friends she could take for company.
Twilight squirmed and rolled her head left, then right. "Give them a chance," Twilight told her.
Nightmare nodded. "I have said I would do as much." Inhaling, she broke eye contact and turned her gaze to a patch of the sky free from the stained moon. "And... as has been pointed out to me... holding grudges against them for the sins of the Empire is..."
She didn't complete the sentence, instead turning back to Twilight. She wouldn't complete it. At least not in front of Twilight's friends. Yet, even without finishing it, she suspected Twilight at least had some idea of what went unsaid.
Without any prompting, Twilight walked over and hugged her. Leaned against Nightmare's chestplate, turned her head to the side and laid it on Nightmare's shoulder. Wrapped her right foreleg around Nightmare's neck.
Nightmare returned it, leaning down and resting her head on Twilight's shoulder. Five of the six mares silently judged her. Five of the six mares silently judged them. But even if they didn't like it, even if they didn't trust her, they would stick by Twilight's side no matter what.
And she felt jealous.
So she turned her focus back to her student; she wouldn't let them take this away from her and ruin it! She nudged her muzzle to the right, holding Twilight's neck in place against her while she enveloped Twilight's back with her right wing. Twilight's mane smelled faintly of lilacs and lavender, books and ink, with hints of cupcakes and apples and flowers and the scent after the rain. The jealousy faded back as her mind drifted back to her dreams.
Twilight was safe. Twilight was free. But she was not all she could be.
The hug lingered for several seconds, and Nightmare Moon felt her usual equine longing to feel Twilight's fur against her chest, to feel Twilight's head resting against her bare shoulder. But she could not feel Twilights fur against her own without first abandoning her longest companion.
Something that, perhaps, she did not need to cling to.
Twilight pulled back. As much as she didn't want to, she let her friend go. Twilight took a few steps back, and for a moment, they met each other's gazes. The moment passed as soon as it happened, and Twilight turned around, then climbed into the back of the chariot.
The four batponies looked back at her. Waited on her. What more could she say to her student? She was worrying pointlessly; they would be safer in Hollow Shades than in Ponyville. Her batponies would make certain of it. The knowledge didn't banish the discomfort in her chest. She nodded, and they were off. She watched, and they flew away from Canterlot. She longed, and they disappeared in the night, flying east.
Nightmare put the loneliness away: it would only distract her. 'The quicker this is over with, the better.'
Yes, the sooner she visited the griffins to see first-hoof what had become of the empire, the better. She had read the reports, seen the pictures, listened to the griffin 'ambassador,' but none of that would compare to going herself and see just what had happened. Even with as much as she disliked the idea, visiting was necessary.
Their lands had resources to offer that would benefit Equestria, and in turn, Equestria had the ability to, as vile as the thought was, shelter and protect the griffins. They could both benefit, and perhaps, as Gilda had hinted in passing, it could be more than just trading. Perhaps she would be able to end the griffin threat once and for all. Not through war, but through peace. Lifting them out of their desolation and bringing them into Equestria. Making them her own subjects, out of the griffins' own choice.
If she could control herself. If she could survive the agony the thought caused her. Much could go wrong, but as she had seen so much of, the world had changed. The griffins had a much more agreeable diet now. So perhaps they could earn her trust, perhaps they could roam Equestria freely without causing problems for her ponies. The griffins weren't militaristic now. So perhaps there was nothing to fear from them.
She glanced at the batponies and pegasi flanking her: two of them on each side, with the pegasi in front and the batponies behind, all majors. The batponies were mares, and the Royal Guard pegasi were stallions. It was as much show and ceremony as it was practical: it befit her status to have such an escort, and if it was a trap, they would aid her, buying her time to react and correct such a mistake.
If it was a trap, she wouldn't be taken off-guard nor caught unprepared. The only trap it could be was small: they would have to hide it from her scouts. It would be easy for her to deal with; the guards weren't necessary. If by somehow it was an army, then the guards would not help, but she would have the advantage. They would all be in one place, within her reach.
And then they would scatter and die.
She wouldn't have to worry about the problems such an action would cause in other circumstances, either. She would be on their home ground. They would scatter, but they would not slip through into Equestria to sow chaos and kill ponies. If they did, her batponies would hunt them down.
If they had an army.
'They do not have an army,' she told herself. 'They cannot have one! The scouts would have found it.' Unless their army was hiding in the forests under tree cover, but then they would be too far away to cause her problems. She still gave thought to the idea: It would not do to be caught unprepared.
She channeled magic into her horn, then wrapped it around each of her guards. The pegasi straightened when she wove her magic around them, while the batponies almost leaned into her magic's embrace. She spread her wings wide, and they followed. She cast the teleportation spell, and they teleported.
For a moment, there was a feeling of weightlessness. Teleporting into the air high above the ground made certain they couldn't teleport directly into an ambush. How could anything plan such an ambush in the sky! There was no cloud cover to protect the griffins, and her and her batponies' sight was better than theirs at night.
The weightlessness passed and the wind came. She turned her head every which way; no griffins dove towards them, nor rose from the ground to skewer them. The five of them were alone in the night sky. She caught herself on the wind with her spread wings and glided to the left. The batponies followed with well-honed precision. The pegasi took a moment longer to reorganize after the teleportation.
But it had been expected.
Ignoring it, she cast her gaze down on the rugged, rocky terrain below. She could spot sparse fields stretching out across hills and valleys. In the distance, towards Equestria, forests. Further north, more forests dotting the sides of mountains. To the east, below the horizon and out of sight, a barren coastline. No armies, nor encampments. Neither grand cities nor fortresses.
And she felt that unshakable feeling of disappointment.
The city her eyes came to focus on was as much a let down as sister's resistance had been. Even from so high up, she could tell that nearly every structure had fallen into disrepair. It was as if their entire society had broken down. No train tracks, no grand towers like Manehattan, nor any exuberant yet wasteful displays like Canterlot. No evidence of electricity, nor of heavy industry that made such grand works possible. She could not even discern magical works like those in Equestria.
Yet they appeared to be in a better state than the deer.
And it seemed that, as she looked on and glided towards the ground, Equestria had marched on and left the world behind. All under the care of her sister. Without her.
Her ears drifted back. It must have been the wind. She righted the problem and refocused herself; letting distractions cut her attention was unacceptable. Even if there was no ambush nor threats, letting herself be distracted wouldn't benefit her.
They dropped lower and lower over the minutes, and as they neared the ground, the air grew warmer, though still had the all-encompassing night's chill. She looked and found what must have passed for the main road and glided towards it. The griffins called the unprotected city 'Griffinheim.' It was not their capital, but it was closer to Equestria, and so it had been agreed upon for their meeting.
Like the rest of the 'city,' the main road was in a state of disrepair: simply dirt. Not even rocks to ease the damage inflicted by uncontrolled weather. Wagons and carts had dug ruts into the dirt, almost like the griffins pulling the carts purposefully chose to damage the road as much as possible to spite everyone else, and the occasional hole reminded her of the scarring on the moon. A few griffins pulled carts along, but for the most part, the griffins she saw flew in and out and around the village, almost aimlessly. Their bodies were all free from metal armor, and she could not see any weapons on any of them, aside from the occasional tool.
Her shadow fell upon a griffin flying below her. He looked up, and she could see a wash of fear cascade over him, as if he instinctively knew who she was and remembered what she was responsible for. But he could not remember and he did not know. He quickly banked out of her shadow and landed well out of her way, and then he walked on, almost forgetting ever seeing her.
The two batponies landed before her, and the two Royal Guards after her. She stood tall and calmly turned to look left and then right. A few griffins pulled carts nearby; they lacked the magic required to enchant them to fly. Several griffins flew overhead, though giving her and her guards ample room to take off.
And all of the griffins' eyes were on her even though none of them stopped. She met each gaze in turn for a second. They did not look at her respectfully nor dismissively, but rather fearfully and curiously. There was no hatred in their eyes that had been taught to them from birth. There was no bloodlust, nor rage, nor ravenous hunger like it had been so long ago. They did not screech and charge. 'A thousand years ago,' flickered through her mind.
But that was in the past.
And then they didn't care. They all went back to their business- a little more cautious, but otherwise mostly ignoring her. The guards didn't notice, or if they did they kept silent. And perhaps it didn't matter. Perhaps the griffins had also forgotten who she was. Perhaps to them, she was just a curiosity: a mare with both wings and a horn, wearing armor and guarded by four more ponies.
Important, but not important enough to forget their tasks.
And perhaps that was a good thing.
Her eyes lifted up. She saw her horn and the cyan of her helmet and the magic of her mane, but what she didn't have was even more obvious. A tiara. Her eyes went to her chest. Simple metal armor, set with a crescent moon in the center. No regalia.
There was nothing that distinguished her as Queen, other than her horn and wings. But they were griffins, and Equestria was isolated. Yet they knew of her sister and of her return, but there was no respect there for her. 'Why!?' her mind questioned, yet answers eluded her, like water slipping through her feathers. Why did they react so indifferently!? Why did it bother her so!? They were griffins!
She deserved their respect, and they didn't give it to her. But they did not so mock her by staying inside at night as her subjects did. And so she was torn: angered by the lack of recognition and respect, yet soothed that they did not hide away from her night.
And she was conflicted because the griffins had been Equestria's enemy.
The feeling of being conflicted was becoming too familiar.
She inhaled and shook herself out of idleness. There were no griffins to welcome her, but she had a rough idea of her destination. With that in mind, she nodded to herself and took the lead, heading straight for the 'city.' Her four guards stayed a few steps away, with a Royal Guard and Batpony each on her left and right, with the Royal Guards in front and the batponies behind them.
Griffins slowed to watch her as she passed them by. She gave them cursory glances, but she found most of her attention drawn to their structures. Homes, businesses, public facilities, it didn't matter what the structure was, they were all in the same state of disrepair. She had to wonder, 'Is this Discord's doing? Did Twilight not fix this?' And yet, that the damage was still there meant it couldn't have been Discord's doing. Even if Twilight had failed, surely they would have cleaned up after him.
Aside from the disrepair, this particular griffin city reminded her of Ponyville: wooden and mud walls, straw roofs and thatched roofs. Most of the buildings on the small side, with only one level. Their buildings didn't have glass windows, instead, they had open holes that wooden shutters covered. A few buildings' roofs had collapsed, and yet as she peered inside, she caught sight of griffins still inside, still living as if nothing was amiss aside from bitter scowls pulling at their beaks and brows.
As she walked further into the city and saw all of the decay, she found a slight grimace pulling on her lips and a discomfort set in her chest. They were griffins! But they were living in such poor conditions. There were griffins in between houses wrapped in tattered blankets, who gazed upon her with hollow eyes as she passed. And not a single griffin who walked passed those in the alleys paused nor looked over at them nor gave them any thought.
Even their chicks were not sparred: some chased after other griffins, perhaps their parents, and yet their parents paid them no mind, nearly leaving the chicks to fend for themselves. Others weaved between buildings and stalls, swiping pieces of fruit and bread and nuts as they passed, drawing angered shouts from the griffins tending to the stalls. Chicks who didn't pay attention and ran into older griffins earned their wrath: shouts and screeches and flared wings that sent the chicks racing away.
Their chicks.
When had she stopped moving? Why was she staring on, watching a pair of chicks follow along after a single gray and brown griffin? The chicks couldn't have been more than three, and their parent ignored their pained chirps and flustered, high-pitched squawking when they passed by food. Their ears picked up when they saw, and then when they passed with nothing more than glances, their ears fell flat.
A griffin flew overhead. She looked a few years younger than Twilight. Nightmare Moon could see her ribs through her coat; the chick looked as light as a feather.
And for some damned reason, in her mind, she thought back to so long ago. In the place of their hungry chicks, she remembered seeing hungry foals. And there was nothing for them, and nothing Luna could do about it. And how it had torn at Luna's mind! Seeing such things that shouldn't have been: foals and fawns hungry because of a harsh winter, because griffins preyed on the weather pegasi, because griffins preyed on the earth pony farmers. Foals whose parents had been stolen away from them, left destitute.
Foals and fawns. Those who were so innocent. Just like Twilight.
Luna wanted to scream and hammer away at the ground with her bare hooves until those who were responsible for it were dead. But Luna didn't, and Luna couldn't. All Luna could do was what she could to make certain no more were lost, to make certain that no more foals and fawns had to experience losing their parents.
And Luna couldn't even do that, because Luna had been weak and naive. Because Luna let Sister temper her.
And Sister had not been there to see what Luna had seen. Sister had not seen, first hoof, the things Luna had seen.
And yet they were griffins! A thousand years ago she would not have paid it any mind! Because a thousand years ago, it wouldn't have been this way.
But how could she condemn them to hunger? The Griffin Empire was condemned for how they sated it; there had been another way and they did not choose it. And these were hungry, and they did not choose to sate it as the Empire had.
She turned her gaze to her guards. The two Royal Guards were visibly uncomfortable, shifting their weight, unable to stay stoic, they grimaced. The two batponies' eyes wandered and frowns pressed their brows down.
Three months was not enough time for this to have set in! Three months since her return, yet her return had not caused this! Sister had let this happen, and Sister had not fixed it.
And a part of her almost wanted to laugh! Sister in all her glory had done nothing to help the griffins out of this state! Sister in all her glory kept Equestria to itself! And she found herself actually caring! The sheer insanity of it made her want to laugh to the sky! Clearly, she had lost her sanity at some point for her to consider helping the griffins!
There was nothing funny about it. Even with as much anger as she felt towards the griffins, Twilight and Cadance were correct: her anger was at the griffins of old, not these. It would be the same as destroying Equestria for the sins of those ponies who mocked and spat on her. Doing so was foalish. Doing so was against her best interest. They were griffins, not ponies, but they were in need and left to conditions she would have only wished upon the Empire. Their chicks shouldn't go hungry.
It would be so easy to take advantage of the griffins. She held every card. They needed Equestria and they needed her. They would be so easy to exploit; she could ensure that the Griffin Empire never returned, that the griffins never hurt Equestria again!
She would not take advantage of them like Sister had taken advantage of her.
She was not a monster.
'Why did Sister do nothing?' she wondered in silence.
And she couldn't understand how Sister would have let it happen. Sister, she thought, would have been there to help them, even with what the Empire had done.
But the 'ambassador' said Sister had helped. Perhaps Discord had done more damage to the griffins than she realized. Perhaps they hadn't cleaned up after him because they couldn't or wouldn't.
'Foals!' she wanted to accost, and yet she did not. Perhaps the griffins were their own reason they were in such a state; it was their own fault. But to rub it in and mock them? It would be the same as Sister did to her.
Perhaps there was something more she was missing, something else she did not understand of why the griffins were in such a state. She had thought Gilda had been exaggerating over how the griffins taught their chicks to fly, but now she doubted that.
She walked on, and her guards followed. She summoned a scroll, wrote out an order, and sent it back to Canterlot. Perhaps ponies would learn of what she wrote. Perhaps they would think a little more of her. Perhaps it would help them come to respect her. Perhaps the griffins would look at her with a little more respect.
Of course, all of that was foalish and naive: it would not change how any of them looked at her. It wouldn't matter. It didn't matter.
It was still the best course of action. They would not bite the hoof that fed them. They were smarter than that.
And it was still right.
She made her way to the center of the village. Their 'town hall' looked nothing like Ponyville's town hall. Theirs was long and thin, almost sickly looking. Along the front was a porch with a decaying thatched roof; piles of old straw marked holes in the cover. There was no door in the doorway, rather a pile of wood. Shutters hung from their hinges at angles. The orange glow of candles washed out into the night from each open window, every little crack, and the door.
She climbed onto the porch, and the floorboards creaked under her weight. Her eyes dropped onto the floor and her nose wrinkled in disgust.
The place held absolutely none of the 'glory' of the Empire. None of the 'respect.'
Perhaps it was a good thing Twilight did not come with her. Twilight would not have liked what she saw. Sister had sheltered her.
And now, she couldn't help but feel, she was doing the same exact thing. Sheltering Twilight. But she would not make the mistake of leaving Twilight unprepared.
Twilight had to agree with Rarity. "Yeah, this is a bit cramped." Her friends nodded and murmured in agreement. 'Chariots were not designed for this.' No, they really weren't. They weren't designed to carry so many ponies at once. They were designed primarily for Princess Celestia's personal use!
Even with Midnight and Rainbow Dash flying outside of the chariot, with the latter flying circles around the chariot and doing little loops and spins, either for her own amusement or to show off, there wasn't much room for the rest of them.
"I, for one, look forward to landing," Rarity voiced.
"At least we're close..." Fluttershy murmured.
She looked aside at Fluttershy. The pegasus held herself towards the floor of the chariot, barely peeking over the front to watch the forested ground below. 'You can fly too, Fluttershy.' But of course, she didn't. Fluttershy wasn't the strongest flyer, as per her own admission and Rainbow's begrudging agreement. Such a 'long' trip from Canterlot to Hollow Shades under her own wing power was out of the question.
Rainbow had offered to carry Fluttershy on her back if only so that Fluttershy wouldn't be in the chariot with everypony else. Fluttershy said no.
She held back a sigh. 'It's fine. We're almost there.' She was still getting stir crazy. She watched Rainbow fly in another circle around them as if swimming through the air on her back. Rainbow Dash was, inarguably, in her element in the air. And she looked happy to be flying, rather than cramped in the chariot with the rest of them.
She rested her head on the railing and let her eyes glide over the ground before. One look was enough to make her shift her weight. 'If I fall, somepony will catch me right?' But of course, the concern was silly. She wouldn't fall. If she did, Rainbow or Midnight would catch her. But she wouldn't fall, so she didn't need to worry.
She still worried ever so slightly. Chariots weren't designed to carry so many ponies at once.
"It's kind of a nice view, though," Applejack commented. "As much as I don't like being up here in this thing, it sure is pretty."
And everypony murmured in agreement. Twilight turned to look at all of them, and to her shock, all of them looked up at the stars. 'You girls actually like this?'
She smiled and leaned her head back, letting her gaze go to the star-speckled sky. No clouds ruined the view, and while the moon was there and they flew towards it, she could put it out of mind.
And the peacefulness of the moment made her sigh happily. Surrounded by friends, flying through the night with them: something she never expected to experience, and something she wouldn't trade for the world. She felt the silly urge to jump in place for joy, and of course, she made certain not to do that. She turned back to face them, smiling, and declared, "I love you all!"
They looked at her with smiles of their own, and after a moment, they managed to form a group hug. Rainbow even managed to fly over behind her and join in without landing. They shared a nuzzle, and she felt a giddiness well up inside her. Oh, it was so exciting! Not only were her friends there with her, but she would get to see portraits and paintings of Princess Luna with them! And who knew what else they would find!
Their embrace broke as they pulled away, but she was left with a contentedness permeating her being. So what if the chariot was cramped? That only meant they were that much closer together!
She sighed happily and rested her head on the railing once more. "Thank you all for coming with me," she voiced.
"Think nothing of it, dear, I had time," Rarity answered.
"You have been a pretty big help around the farm," Applejack offered.
She glanced at Applejack and smiled sheepishly. "I've not been that big of a help-"
"Don't sell yourself short, Twilight. I've not seen any unicorn with half as much talent and magic as you!" Applejack retorted.
Twilight turned away, blushing as her ears folded back. Magic was her special talent, and both Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon had said as much that she had much potential. But still, it was silly. "I'm not that talented-"
Rainbow swooped over in front of her. The batponies pulling the chariot looked back nervously, but none of them faltered. "Sure you are!" Rainbow declared, beaming and throwing her hooves out wide. "I mean, obviously you are since you were Princess Celestia's student!" The bright smile faded. "And, you know, Nightmare Moon took you to be her student," was added with much less eagerness. Then her friend's smile brightened as she added, "And we beat Discord together!"
"Indeed," Rarity agreed.
"Yeah, Twilight!" Spike agreed. "Princess Celestia did say you could surpass Starswirl the Bearded!"
"Who?" Applejack muttered.
Twilight's head whipped around before she realized it. "Starswirl the Bearded!" she declared frantically. Surely Applejack had to know who that was!
Applejack looked at her blankly. Applejack did not know who that was.
All of them looked at her blankly. None of them knew who that was.
"The legendary unicorn?" she asked.
"I'm sorry dear, but that name doesn't sound familiar," Rarity replied.
"Nope!" Pinkie agreed.
"He's a legendary unicorn from a very long time ago," Midnight put in casually. "No unicorn before or since rivaled him in magic. Some of the legends around him say that he even rivaled Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, if not in raw magic, then in skill with his magic. Before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took over the sun and moon, Starswirl the Bearded led a group of powerful unicorns who moved the sun and moon."
Everypony, herself included, looked at Midnight. "How do you know all of this? Why didn't you tell me you knew all that?" Twilight asked.
Midnight shrugged casually. "You never asked."
Twilight groaned and closed her eyes.
"Anyway," Midnight continued, "nopony really knows what happened to him. He just disappeared one day, along with his five, uh, companions. They worked together to protect Equestria a long time ago." Midnight paused and spaced out, then nodded. "Kind of like all of you, actually..." she mused.
The comparison was flattering, if inaccurate. "And how do you know all of that?" Twilight had to ask.
Midnight smiled at her. "Batpony, duh! We know these kinds of things."
"Right," Twilight grumbled.
"So wait," Rainbow put in, flying around to hover in front of Midnight. "Are you saying Twilight could..." Rainbow trailed off, squinting at Midnight. "You know..." she said conspiratorily.
Midnight just blinked and tilted her head at an angle. "Know what?"
Rainbow's face scrunched up. "Oh come on! You know what I mean!"
Midnight just watched Rainbow innocently.
Rainbow's expression fell and she groaned. A moment later, the pegasus flew over to Spike and pointed at him with her forehooves. "Spike said Princess Celestia said Twilight could surpass Starswirl the Bearded, right?"
Twilight fidgeted as Spike declared, "Yeah!"
"Mhm," Midnight agreed. "We're also aware of that."
Twilight squinted at Midnight, and while she suspected she knew the answer, she had to ask, "We?"
Midnight looked over at her. "Batponies. We're supposed to know this sort of thing. I told you that before."
"Right..." she mumbled, turning her gaze back to Rainbow and clenching her jaw. 'Is there anyone who actually realizes I'm not capable of everything they think I can do!?' She felt frustrated.
Rainbow flew back over to Midnight, her body twitching in excitement. "So! If Princess Celestia thinks Twilight could surpass the bearded guy-"
Twilight frowned. "Hey!"
"-does that mean she could, you know, bring back the sun!?" Ignoring the deafening silence, Rainbow continued, "'Cause that'd be great!"
Twilight just stared at her and Midnight. She didn't even need to turn to see the four batponies' pulling the chariot staring back at Rainbow, but she couldn't read their expressions. They didn't look as if they were about to try to kill Rainbow Dash, which might have been a good thing. Her five friends in the chariot likewise stared at Rainbow and Midnight.
Like nothing had happened, Midnight just shrugged and rolled her shoulder. To Twilight's shock, Midnight said, "Maybe, maybe not."
And Twilight felt like something hit her on the head. Her vision broke and twisted, shifting at a wide angle that made her wobbly. Her heart skipped a beat and anxiety tore through her gut and stomach and body.
"I uh, wouldn't say that around Nightmare Moon though," Midnight cautioned.
Rainbow snorted, rolled her eyes, and folded her forelegs across her chest. "I'm just saying that would be pretty awesome! Also, it'd make my job a lot easier."
Rarity pointed out, "You never did apologize for that storm."
Rainbow swooped over in front of the unicorn and threw her forelegs out wide. "That wasn't my fault! I told you it's hard to control the weather when its always night!"
She turned away from them and looked off to the right. Nopony else was in that direction, so she could pretend she was alone! She didn't have to deal with anything! Except it was still crowded, and Rainbow and Rarity continued to argue until Applejack put in, "Okay, we get it! You two bicker more than chickens when a fox is in the hen house!"
At that, Rarity huffed indignantly and Rainbow swooped back around into Twilight's field of vision. "You should totally try that," was her encouragement.
"Are you CRAZY!?" Twilight accosted. "She'd never let me do something like that!" Nightmare Moon wouldn't hurt her, but her teacher wouldn't be happy. "Besides, it took Starswirl and a dozen talented unicorns to do it! There's no way I could do anything like that on my own!"
"You two are fairly close," Rarity commented.
And just like that, Twilight felt everypony looking at her. She winced. Reluctantly, she turned her head back around, and yes, everypony was indeed watching her. "Yes," she mumbled, "we are."
"If anypony can talk some sense into her, it'd be you, Twilight," Applejack said.
And again, it all fell on her, apparently. Her jaw tightened. She turned away from them. Somepony put a hoof on her shoulder. She didn't look to see who it was. Rainbow frowned a bit. She shook her head and scowled. "You do realize bringing this up now is stupid, right?" To emphasize her point, she nodded towards the four batponies pulling the chariot.
For a moment, Rainbow didn't react other than looking at them. Then, Rainbow cringed. "Uh... oops?"
She scowled at Rainbow. 'You are trying to get us all killed, aren't you?' But no, Rainbow wouldn't do that. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, then let out a groan as her head fell to rest on the railing.
"We won't mention anything," Midnight offered.
Twilight turned to look over at Midnight, who flew on looking straight ahead. "Why?" she asked.
Midnight bobbed her head once. "Nightmare likes you. She'd rather hear something like that from you."
Twilight winced. "So... I have to tell her or you will?"
Midnight looked at her with a frown. "No. I'm saying we're not going to say anything because that's something that should stay between you and Nightmare Moon. If you decide to tell her."
Twilight frowned. 'What exactly is that supposed to mean!?' her mind demanded. "That doesn't make sense..." she mumbled. Unless it was supposed to mean that Midnight didn't want to get involved in that, which made no sense to her. Or maybe it was supposed to mean Midnight didn't want Rainbow, or the rest of her friends, to get in trouble, and so Midnight figured that if she told Nightmare Moon instead of her, she would be able to keep Nightmare Moon from doing something rash?
Midnight went back to looking ahead without saying anything more.
"Why are you giving us so much leeway?" Twilight asked. She bit her lip and glanced around. Bringing it up was utterly stupid! "You're loyal to Nightmare Moon. And..." She didn't finish saying everything she wanted to. To do that would be turning on her friends, or possibly betraying Nightmare Moon.
Midnight didn't answer her at first, but Twilight saw a bit of a frown pull at her brow. Midnight's eyes even dropped to the forests below for a split second before returning to the sky. Without looking at her, Midnight said, "We're loyal to our Princess."
And before she could give it any thought, one of the batponies pulling the chariot put in, "You and your friends are important," and nothing more was said from the batponies.
Twilight barely made out Fluttershy asking, "Maybe it's because of the Elements of Harmony?"
"I guess that makes as much sense as anything," Applejack replied.
"Yes, well, given how Nightmare Moon took to us the first time," Rarity muttered.
She looked aside at Rarity. "We were trying to stop her." She sighed, feeling like she had to choose between loyalty to her five closest friends and loyalty to Nightmare Moon. The whole thing was a mess, and she was right in the middle, torn in two. "Look, I know none of you like her-"
"With good reason, dear," Rarity put in.
Twilight scowled. "-but she's not that bad."
"I think we have different definitions of 'bad' Twilight," Applejack cautioned. "She banished her sister and took over Equestria out of jealousy! That's pretty bad in my book."
"And she killed somepony," Rarity was quick to add.
"She's killed a lot more before," Midnight added idly.
Twilight shot her guard a glare. "Not. Helping."
"To defend Equestria," Midnight amended, not that it really helped.
"Doesn't seem like she's 'defending Equestria' now," Rainbow muttered, casually rolling over onto her back. "More like using it."
Twilight puffed out her cheeks. They didn't know Nightmare Moon like she did! Granted, Nightmare Moon terrified her for months, but they were friends now! And now she knew Nightmare Moon so much better! "You don't know her like I do!" she declared. Lifting her muzzle up a bit higher, she stated, "You're not as close to her as I am." And she was a bit proud of that.
Rarity tilted her head and a slight frown pulled at her lips. "That's what we worry about, dear." The rest of her friends murmured in agreement.
Twilight's pride wilted. "I'll be fine. She's not evil, just... it's complicated. Princess Celestia did banish her before-"
"Princess Celestia had good reason to," Rainbow muttered.
Twilight whipped around to face Rainbow. "And whose fault was that!? If Princess Celestia had seen what was happening, none of this would have happened!"
And it hit her what she was saying, casting the blame on Princess Celestia instead of Nightmare Moon. Her friends all looked at her with concerned frowned and tight jaws, and maybe their concern was right. She let out a soft sigh and dropped her gaze to her hooves. "Look... I'm not saying Nightmare Moon is perfect. She's not. Princess Celestia isn't either. They've both made mistakes." Lifting her gaze back up, she frowned as she looked at her friends. "It's not supposed to be this way. I'm sure they're supposed to rule together! Just... just give Nightmare Moon a chance. Just give me a chance, okay? Please..."
They all shared looks of worry then faced her. Spike hugged her left foreleg. She smiled down at him and stroked his crests with her right forehoof.
"We trust you, Twilight," Applejack finally said, "but we still worry about you. You may be Nightmare Moon's friend, but you're our friend too."
Twilight looked up at Applejack and gave her a small smile. "Thank you," she whispered.
Applejack nodded curtly.
"Ma'am?" one of the batponies pulling the chariot called. She turned to face him: he was in the front right. "We're going to be landing in a few minutes."
She nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay, thank you." He nodded back.
With that, silence returned. She kept expecting somepony to say something, but gradually, everypony went back to watching the sky or watching the forest below. Sure enough, she could see a bit of Hollow Shades: though the city was well-hidden in the forest, she could still spot some stone structures, most notably the castle. Rather than landing outside near the train tracks like she had expected, they flew towards the city and the castle, gradually descending.
She really hoped they would be able to land without dumping everypony when they inevitably hit a tree.
And yet, to her surprise, the batponies managed to land; there had been enough of a clearing from the streets that there was room to avoid the trees and buildings. Midnight and Rainbow both touched down beside the chariot at nearly the same time. She mostly ignored them as she looked around the city.
It was different from last time. No extravagant entourage to greet them; no ponies clad in armor lined the streets. There were batponies wearing armor patrolling, but it wasn't as serious as before. And like before when Nightmare Moon hadn't been with her, there were unarmored batponies walking and flying about: mares and stallions, fillies and colts. Some smiled and some had their tongues out, others laughed and played or talked, and some wore saddlebags loaded with goods.
It was like any normal Equestrian city, except they could actually function in the darkness of the night. They were free from the irrational fear other ponies had, even when set in a forest and surrounded by trees.
But there weren't as many batponies as before. Even ignoring the entourage from before, it seemed like only half as many batponies roamed the streets. And she had to wonder, 'How many batponies have left to follow your orders?'
"This is awesome!" Rainbow squealed.
Several of the batponies looked at her with squints and or cringes; many others regarded her curiously. Not a one of them had any malicious intent in their gazes, though a few of them looked at Rainbow more playfully than the rest.
She let everypony else climb off the chariot first.
Rarity shifted her weight as she looked around cautiously. "It's, uh, quaint," was her careful comment.
"Reminds me of the Castle of the Two Sisters," Applejack commented casually.
Pinkie Pie was already gone, having run over to the nearest batpony to ask, "Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours!?" with a bright smile.
And she found herself staring at the two of them with a squint and a tilted head: the batpony did a little prance in place, her leathery wings bristling at her sides as she let out a high-pitched "Eeee!"
Pinkie giggled happily and pranced in place like the batpony.
Twilight felt her squint morph into a smile. She turned away from them, rolling her eyes, yet still smiling. Pinkie Pie would be Pinkie Pie.
She heard the doors to the castle open and turned to look: Two batponies both wearing armor descended the stairs, approaching them. "Twilight Sparkle and friends, welcome to Hollow Shades." It was the batpony stallion who had escorted her before.
She walked over and smiled, and her friends, save Pinkie Pie, gathered at her side. "Hello," she greeted.
"We have chambers prepared for you and your friends for you to stay for the duration of your visit," he said.
She nodded. "Thank you!"
He bowed his head respectfully to her and said, "Of course." Rising from the bow, "Only the best for the Queen's Student and her friends."
She shifted her weight a bit. There was a glint of something in his eyes, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe she was imagining it, or maybe it was how the moonlight hit his eyes.
"Please, this way," he coaxed, turning around and climbing back up the stairs.
Twilight took the lead and followed, and her friends followed after her.
"Pinkie!" Applejack called.
"Aww!" Pinkie whined while bouncing over.
"There'll be time for that later," Applejack reminded.
"Yay!" Pinkie cheered.
Twilight shook her head, smiling again.
The door to the castle opened as they approached, two batponies stood inside, one on each side to hold the doors open for them. Both of them bowed respectfully as she stepped through the door, then rose as her friends walked inside.
And she cast her gaze around, taking in the entrance: a long, tall hallway with stone columns lining both sides of the wall. A midnight blue carpet stretched out across the length of the hallway down the center, adorned with cyan crescent moons and white stars along the edges. The orange glow of torches burning from the pillars and walls gave it a cozy feel, though not as cozy as her library.
Almost immediately, she watched Rainbow fly all the way to the ceiling, then dive back down and loop back up again. "This is cool!"
And nopony tried to stop her. But maybe she should have expected that; she was Nightmare Moon's student and friend, and Rainbow was one of her friends. Perhaps the batponies respected all of them, though it seemed most of that respect fell on herself.
"If you need anything," the batpony stallion called. She turned to see him looking back at her. "Don't hesitate to ask," he finished.
She nodded. "Thank you."
As they reached the end of the hallway, the next door was again opened by two armored batponies. Rainbow swooped down and flew through the open door into the next hallway, and as Twilight passed, the guards bowed to her. Once again, rising before her friends passed. It reminded her of the respect they gave Nightmare Moon, and for some reason, she felt like they knew something that she didn't.
"This castle reminds me of the Castle of the Two Sisters... In much better shape, of course," Rarity said.
Before she could answer, the stallion nodded and said, "Yes. It was built after the Castle of the Two Sisters, in a similar design, though smaller."
Rarity hummed in acknowledgment.
They turned to the left and walked on. "Does this place have a throne room?" Twilight asked.
The stallion hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, it does. It's not used but we keep it in shape."
"For Nightmare Moon?" she asked.
The stallion hesitated again, then nodded even slower. Twilight almost asked why, but then he continued, "In addition to that, the castle, as you may have guessed, functions as the government center for Hollow Shades. The Town Hall."
Twilight nodded in acknowledgment. "I figured as much."
They passed by a pair of doors that, if her guess was correct, lead to the Throne Room. Two batponies guarded it, and both bowed to her as she passed. After a few steps, she asked, "Can we see the Throne Room?"
"Of course," the stallion answered. "You may go wherever you desire."
It would be nice to see what the Throne Room looked like. A window to what the Castle of the Two Sisters looked like, and yet, she knew, 'It will only have one throne.' To have a second throne would be to insult Nightmare Moon.
They continued on for a while, to a section of the castle that she was unfamiliar with; she hadn't fully explored the Castle of the Two Sisters. One by one, he showed her friends to their rooms, which were all extravagant in their own rights, reminding her of Nightmare Moon's chambers in Canterlot, and yet more: the door opened to a large circular gathering room, from which there were doors that led to a study, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The beds were all fit for royalty, with enough room for Nightmare Moon to sleep on and velvety, rich blue covers and blankets, along with curtains for privacy. The only things missing were windows and magical lighting.
Spike and Rarity absolutely adored their rooms, with both of them nearly swooning and giggling madly. Rainbow and Applejack were a bit off-put by the extravagance.
While their rooms were along the sides of the hallway, the stallion led her to the doors at the end of the hallway: a double door emblazed with a white crescent moon in the middle set against a black backdrop. She found herself staring at the cutie mark, mostly ignoring the two guards. None of the other rooms had any marking like that, and they certainly didn't have guards, which was made up for by the castle itself being well-guarded in addition to the castle being in a batpony city.
He opened the door, and the room beyond put the rest of the rooms to shame. Rich blue carpeting, the ceiling painted like the night sky with the pristine, unblemished white moon at the apex of the domed ceiling. While the interior doors of her friends' rooms were single doors, each door in her chambers were double doors.
"The Queen's personal chambers," he explained. "You will be staying here for the duration of your visit, as per her request. If you need anything, let us know and we will take care of it."
And with that, he left. The doors closed behind her. She looked back, not remembering walking into the room, then turned back and looked around. The room was quiet and, unlike the rest of the castle, she could feel the enchantments in place: more powerful than the rest of the enchantments, woven together to protect the room and the room's occupants. Had Nightmare Moon enchanted this room? No. Perhaps other ponies had been hired to enchant the room, but it hadn't been Nightmare Moon's doing.
How old was Hollow Shades? How old was the castle? If this was Nightmare Moon's chambers, had it also been Princess Luna's chambers? What history did it hold!?
The barren gray stone walls looked out of place compared to the floor and ceiling, yet fit in with the rest of the castle. She walked across the room and set her forehoof against the stone. She held her hoof there until she felt the chill seep into her forehoof, then pulled her forehoof away and turned left.
She opened the door to the bedroom with her magic. Somehow, the bed managed to look even larger than the rest of the beds. Somehow, the curtains looked even finer than the rest of the curtains. Rather than red or light blue, the curtains were pitch black, speckled with little white dots that seemed to glow. Somehow, the curtains almost looked like they were made of magic, rather than fabric: they appeared to flow and shift and shimmer, like Nightmare Moon's mane.
Enchanted with magic.
The curtains were drawn back, yet they were not wrinkled. The bedsheets were a rich, purple-blue color, while the pillows were midnight blue. The domed ceiling was akin to the ceiling in the first room, yet seemed alive as magic danced across its surface. Rather than torches to light the room, a single magelight took the role of the moon, flooding the room with a soft white light from the apex of the dome. She hadn't seen any unicorns in Hollow Shades, but there had to be some.
The walls were a painted panoramic that stretched around the room: it was like a scene from a dream, or from Equestria at night. Rolling grasslands and meadows stretched out 'below' as if she was standing on a hill. The meadows were crossed by rivers and fields, and she could even make out a few small towns by the lights and smoke wafting into the sky. Further away, the grassland gave way to forests and then mountains rising up towards the purple-blue sky. Misty clouds rolled in from the edges, almost like phantoms in the soft magelight.
And she felt out of place, like she didn't belong, like she was intruding on something that wasn't meant for her to see.
She tried to ignore the thought as she turned around, then walked back out. She went to the study next. The walls were lined with empty bookshelves, though as she walked by and ran her forehoof over the wood, she found not a single hint of dust. A desk sat at the other end of the room, opposite the door. A desk that, from the way it looked, had never been used. No stains of ink, no scratches in its surface. Just pristine. Magic shimmered across its rich brown surface. Again, no windows. The wall above the desk was barren like the hallways, save for two metal fixtures that held candles which had never been lit. Neither fixture had wax on them.
She walked to the bathroom and opened the door. Warmth and the scent of lavender rolled out to greet her. The bathroom was almost like a miniature spa: there were slabs of stone large enough that Nightmare Moon could have laid on stretched out, there were large stone basins off to the room's sides filled with water that reflected the soft white light from a magelight at the ceiling, and deep pools of water that looked perfect for bathing in. Alcoves lined the walls, filled with fresh lavender.
She took it all in, then walked inside. She couldn't help but think, 'This doesn't seem like something you'd enjoy.' It wasn't direct. Rather, it seemed like a waste of resources. Something frivolous and pointless. But maybe there was a time when Nightmare Moon, or perhaps Princess Luna, had enjoyed it? Or perhaps it had simply been the batponies' doing, wanting to please Princess Luna or Nightmare Moon in case more was wanted.
She shook the thought away and touched one of the stone slabs. It felt warm, but not hot. She dipped her forehoof into the shallow pool of water. It was warm. The deeper pool of water was even warmer, and the warmth seeped into her hoof.
There was a knock on the door. 'Probably my friends.' She turned around and hurried back out, closing the door behind her once she left the 'bathroom' and then opening the door to the hallway. Sure enough, her friends stood there. They looked at her for a moment, then looked behind her and took in the room.
"Nice," Rainbow said.
"Nightmare Moon's chambers, apparently," Twilight preempted.
"Well, it's rather generous of her to let you stay here," Rarity commented.
Twilight smiled sheepishly. "I don't think she's ever been here before. Or at least... not recently."
"Well, shall we proceed to lunch and then the art gallery?" Rarity suggested.
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, let's go." They stepped back for her to walk on out, and as she passed through the doorway, she looked back into the room one last time before shutting the doors with her magic.
Nightmare Moon stood at one end of a table that looked like a wooden plate would make it collapse while Gilda stood at the opposite end. The warm orange glow of candles burning on the table made Gilda's shadow dance across the floor and wall. Beside Gilda stood two more griffins: one who looked like he would keel over and die of old age at any second, and one who looked like he had more important things to attend to.
The elderly griffin coughed, then threw his head back so his beak pointed at the ceiling, then let out a ragged screech before leveling his beak on her.
And not a single griffin stood to guard them. They had nothing deserving of respect or fear; the three griffins opposite of her were nothing like the griffins of old. She couldn't help but think, 'A single batpony could subdue all three of you,' in passing.
And the thought brought her to shake her head. Even if it wasn't true, there was no glory to be had from fighting them, let alone conquering them. But she was wasting time sizing them up, so she began, "You three represent this... 'council,' correct?"
"We wouldn't be here if we didn't!" the elderly griffin growled, then coughed. His wings shot out and a few gray feathers fluttered to the floor.
She frowned as Gilda rolled her eyes. The griffin on Gilda's left lifted his left claw up and scrutinized his talons.
She forced herself to ignore the disrespect. "And thus you are authorized to negotiate, I presume?"
"More or less," Gilda grumbled. "Like I said, they're going to be pissed no matter what."
"So I remember you saying," Nightmare acknowledged succinctly. "According to reports from the guards I sent before, every griffin city is in a similar state of disrepair. Is this a correct assessment?"
"Pretty much," Gilda answered carelessly.
"How did this happen?" Nightmare muttered.
"You get used to it," Gilda dismissed.
"It's been this way for centuries!" the elderly griffin squawked. The elderly griffin jumped into the air and did a backflip before flying over the lit candle to face her. "Ever since the first and second Empire fell, we griffins haven't had any lasting prosperity for more than a few years at a time!"
Gilda cringed. "Not again..." was muttered as her head fell to the table. There was a thud, and to Nightmare's surprise, the table didn't break.
'First and Second Empire?' she had to wonder, but kept it to herself. There was time for that later. "I see," she cut in.
The tuff of long fur on the elderly griffin's tail passed through the flame. The scent of burnt hair drifted through the room. Nightmare's chest tightened at the scent, but the elderly griffin didn't care. He flew back over and landed, his singed tail clipping Gilda's beak.
Gilda glared at him and rubbed her beak. "Anyway, what you see is basically what you get. We get by."
"Your kind is not much for collaboration now, are you?" Nightmare questioned.
The griffin on Gilda's left let out a "Bah!" as he turned his attention to her. "What are we even doing here!? We're wasting time-"
Gilda whacked the back of his head with her wing. "If you want Equestria's help-"
He leveled Gilda with a glare. "We don't need Equestria's help! We're doing just fine without it!"
"Just fine," Nightmare echoed, anger sparking in her mind. Undeniably, 'You are a fool.' "Your cities are in ruin," she stated. The griffins all turned to face her. She took a moment to look each one on the eye. Of the three, Gilda squirmed, and the other two didn't care. "Your chicks starve. And what, pray tell, do you have to show for it? Equestria prospers, and your kind suffer."
The griffin squinted at her. "And what do you get in return?"
"Like I said," Gilda offered, "we decided to ask for help and they'll be pissed no matter what."
'So it seems,' she had to agree. "I am willing to be generous and extend Equestria's aid," Nightmare said with a nod, "but I do require something in exchange for this. In addition to providing food and assistance rebuilding your cities, I will offer assistance with the construction of infrastructure: roads and trains, both between your cities and Equestria. In exchange, I require access to your natural resources. Metals, crystals, and the likes. These resources will be used for both Equestria's benefit and your own. I believe we can fairly use the going rates of said resources and goods in Equestria as a basis of exchange."
Because it would be good for Equestria, and good for them. If the Minotaur Empire severed trade ties, then they still had the potential to trade for resources with the griffins.
"Yeah, I don't know if you've noticed or not but we don't exactly have the ability to mine anything on the scale I think you're suggesting," Gilda dismissed.
"I will send Equestrian ponies to develop and extract the resources until such time that your kind prove capable of managing it," Nightmare said, inclining her head once.
"What stops you from taking our resources without giving us what we want?" the griffin on Gilda's left mocked.
Nightmare's eyes snapped on him, and her head twisted at an angle. "My word."
He scoffed. Gilda smacked his head again, making him wince and glare at the younger griffin.
Before he could say anything, Gilda offered, "We'll need to talk it over and come up with exact details-" Gilda rolled her eyes and muttered, "-and I'm sure they'll be pissed anyway-" Gilda shook her head and looked at her again, "but it's a good starting point to work something out."
"There better be bits and gold in it for us!" the elderly griffin squawked. Both Gilda and the third griffin looked at him and rolled their eyes.
"It would be a good way to motivate everygriff to make this work," Gilda grumbled.
Nightmare tilted her head. "Moreso than food?" she questioned.
Gilda flicked her eyebrows up, rolled her eyes, and turned her head to the right. "Yeah. You might be surprised how much greed motivates a lot of griffins."
And she felt lost for hearing that answer. 'Is your kind truly so uncaring about your chicks starving?' Or perhaps they did care, and perhaps she just did not see it. She found herself shaking her head. "Regardless, there will be."
"Had we the Idol of Borealis we'd be much better off!" the elderly griffin screeched.
"Whatever," Gilda snapped.
What was this 'idol' that he spoke of? She had not heard of such a thing. "The Idol of-"
Gilda's eyes widened in panic and flicked to her. "Don't!"
But it was too late. The elderly griffin jumped onto the table and raised a claw to the air, lifting his beak towards the ceiling. "The Idol of Borealis was our most treasured possession! Out of the ruins of the First Empire, the Second Empire was born from it!" his grating voice explained.
The griffin on Gilda's left groaned and hit his head on the table. "Why? Just why?"
Ignoring her, the elder continued, "After the collapse of the First Empire, we were lost, but the Idol gave us purpose! Reason to be! And so the Second Empire was born to its protection, and we prospered as the First Empire had never prospered! There was peace and gold and food and knowledge and gold! Our soldiers were the finest in the world..." he trailed off as his voice cracked, and his posture slumped, with his claw limply falling to the table, and his beak lowering straight down. "And then we lost it. We had it all, and we lost it. We failed to protect it, and it was stolen from us."
'Unsurprising,' Nightmare's mind snapped. She kept her self in check, stopping herself from rolling her eyes. Griffins had the advantage of strength and weight, but her batponies almost always had the advantage of better training and agility.
Though there was only so much that better training could do at times.
"Yeah, right," Gilda grumbled. "Just an old legend."
The elder whipped around and went beak to beak with Gilda. Spittle flew from his beak as he shouted, "It was more than just a legend!"
Gilda pushed his head back. "Well, how would you know!? You may be old but you're not that old! You've never seen it!"
He inhaled deeply and pulled back in relent. "It is true," was his admission. He lifted his claw to his chest, covering his heart, "But I know it to be true in my heart!"
Gilda just rolled her eyes dismissively. "Sure. Whatever."
She contemplated telling them that she had already ordered aid to be sent. It might make them more inclined to negotiate, it might alleviate some of their hesitation to accept. But then it might also show weakness, make them think that they could extort her or take advantage of her.
Regardless, they would find out sooner or later, so it was better to tell them now. "I am willing to extend some Equestrian aid- food- without anything in return, save for cooperation, and as such, I have already sent orders to have supplies prepared."
Gilda squinted and nodded cautiously. "Nothing in return except cooperation?"
Nightmare inclined her head once. "Yes." After pausing a moment, she questioned, "What did my Sister provide for your kind?"
"Food and supplies to rebuild," Gilda answered.
"And yet," Nightmare acknowledged, "you have not rebuilt."
Gilda halfway grimaced. "It's hard to get anygriff to pitch in, and construction isn't easy."
"I see." And perhaps that was another opportunity. "We will come to an agreement for having ponies assist with rebuilding." With a nod, she continued, "And assuming you allow it and cooperate, I am willing to work out details for sending ponies to assist with reconstruction alongside constructing infrastructure and conducting mineral surveys."
Gilda thought about it for a few seconds before answering, "They might not be pissed to hear that."
The slightest hint of a smile pulled at Nightmare's lips. "Good."
After lunch, which consisted of salads that were almost half leafy greens and half berries and an apple for each of them which wasn't quite as good as Applejack's apples in their collective opinion, Twilight and her friends broke into groups. She had insisted on visiting the art gallery, which was essentially the entire reason for her visiting. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike came with her, while Midnight served as their guide. Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie went their own ways, wanting to explore the town since an art gallery didn't appeal to them.
"Stay out of trouble," Twilight had told them.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry!" Rainbow replied dismissively before zooming off without giving Twilight a chance to say anything more.
Which only made her more concerned.
"We'll be fine," Applejack insisted.
She could actually believe Applejack. Besides, in all honesty, Pinkie and Rainbow should probably never visit an art gallery. Especially one as important as their destination! Who knew if any other art galleries had portraits of Princess Luna! Ignoring the obvious answer of probably every other art gallery in batpony cities, of course.
Still, she was glad they accompanied her to Hollow Shades in the first place. It was almost like going on vacation with friends! Something that, after the past few months, was welcomed. And a new experience! Even if they weren't all going to the art gallery, their short trip to Hollow Shades would be a fun bonding experience. Like the slumber party with Applejack and Rarity, except with less lightning, less wind, less rain, and less screaming.
And much, much more exciting. How many ponies who weren't batponies could say that had seen the art they were going to see!?
She did not prance behind Midnight as her guard led them to the art gallery, no matter what Spike and Midnight believed.
The art gallery was smaller than she expected. Being used to Canterlot, she had expected something grand and extravagant, decorated with fine statues and fountains and the usual Canterlot 'Look at me!' flair. Instead, at first glance, she dismissed the building as a slightly larger than normal house: two stories, raised off the ground a few steps by more stone, and of course, built of the same rough, dull gray stone as the rest of the city. A simple wooden double door marked the arched entrance, and a lantern hung from a hook on the side of the door opposite of them.
She almost walked right by it, and she would have if Midnight hadn't stopped, turned to face it, look at her and declare, "Here we are!"
So Twilight paused to look back at the art gallery, and no matter how long she looked at it, she couldn't see any signs or anything that said it was an art gallery. No signs, no paintings, no statues. "Are you sure?"
Midnight closed her eyes and jumped once. "Mhm!"
Twilight turned to face Midnight. "Uh, how can you tell?"
Opening her eyes, Midnight answered, "Comes from living here."
Twilight looked back at the building. "It's not marked."
"Nope," Midnight agreed happily.
Twilight glanced at Rarity and Fluttershy, who in turn glanced at each other, then she turned back to Midnight. "Why isn't it marked?"
Midnight shrugged. "We don't normally have visitors."
"Right," was all she had to say to that. "It should still be marked."
Again, Midnight shrugged. "Talk to the curator."
Twilight sighed, then felt somepony put a hoof on her shoulder. Turning to the left and looking back, she saw Fluttershy smiling softly. "I'm sure the curator has a good reason for not making it," Fluttershy softly offered.
'Maybe, maybe not,' her mind retorted.
"Are we all ready?" Midnight asked.
"I suppose," Rarity offered.
"Yep!" Spike called out.
Fluttershy murmured something that was probably an agreement.
"Yeah," Twilight voiced. With that, Midnight climbed the three steps to the top, then pulled the right side of the door open. Twilight proceeded up the steps, then stepped inside. Immediately inside the door was a short hallway with a vaulted ceiling. There were two doorways immediately inside, one on the left, and one on the right. Along the left wall, after the doorway, there was a staircase that led to the second level. Along the right wall, picture frames. She perked up as she saw them, but to her disappointment, they weren't what she was expecting: rather than artistic portraits of Princess Luna, they were paintings which had, she hoped, clearly been made by young foals.
Before she could look down either hallway, a mare called, "Oh, hello!"
She turned towards the voice: a batpony mare standing behind a desk at the right of the staircase. Her coat was an ashen gray, and her leathery wings were a dull maroon. Sharp amber eyes with slitted pupils and fluffy ears like every other batpony she had seen. Her mane and tail were both deep blue, perhaps midnight blue, but it was hard to tell from the dim orange lighting. Somepony nudged her flank; she glanced back. Rarity looked at her pointedly. She smiled sheepishly and stepped to the right so everypony else could come inside. Turning back to the batpony, she said, "Uh, hi."
The mare smiled. "Twilight Sparkle," was her acknowledgment.
Twilight shifted her weight. 'How did they-' Midnight walked by and winked at her. 'Oh right. That.' She probably wasn't the only pony who thought it was creepy the batponies kept tabs on her before Nightmare Moon's return, "Er, yes. And um, you are?"
The batpony smiled. "You can call me Vis. I'm, as you may have guessed, the curator."
She nodded slowly. "Vis?"
Vis giggled. "Mhm." The mare looked towards the paintings lining the wall on the right. "Do you like them?"
Twilight turned her gaze back to the foals' paintings. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike walked over to scrutinize them. They weren't the best paintings she had seen, but that wasn't a fair assessment: the artists were foals, and she had grown up around royalty. "They're... nice," she finally said.
Rarity squinted at one of the pictures: broad strokes of green and blue, speckled with white dots in the blue, and a crescent moon. Lifting her hoof to her chin, Rarity commented, "Imaginative. It reminds me of something Sweetie Belle would make..."
"I think they're lovely," was Fluttershy's soft praise.
"Hey, some of these are pretty good!" Spike eagerly complimented. In particular, he was admiring what might have been a diamond, or perhaps a star.
"It's always nice to showcase foals' art," Vis said. "It encourages them, and sometimes they're pretty good. Lots of ponies enjoy seeing what foals can think up and make, too. I know I do."
'So, you actually have free time to play?' she wanted to ask, but kept it to herself; they would probably take it as an insult if prior conversations with Midnight were any indication.
Midnight brushed up beside her; the cold chill of her armor almost made her recoil. "See! We do things other than just train to be soldiers," her guard eagerly declared. More calmly, Midnight stated, "Not that different from pegasi, like I said."
Twilight frowned but nodded.
"But I'm guessing the famed Twilight Sparkle isn't here to look at foals' paintings," the curator said.
She turned to face the batpony and found her smiling slyly. "Well, not really..."
Midnight perked up as she turned to face Vis. "She's here to see the portraits of Princess Luna."
Vis let out a happy, high-pitched "Eee!" and danced in place. Both Rarity and Fluttershy turned to look at her, and in response, Vis blushed and coughed after she stopped dancing. "Sorry. Not appropriate for an art gallery..." Stepping out from behind the desk, she walked towards them. "Down the hall on your right."
Twilight turned and looked down the hallway for the first time. Every few feet there were tables upon which sat three candles. The largest candle was in the center, and the two other candles were close by. The combined flickering orange glow gave her a calm, comforted feeling. But almost immediately, her eyes fell onto the portrait at the opposite end of the hallway, facing her.
She turned to stare at it, ignoring the click of ponies' hooves as they drew closer to her. The painting was small, looking only about as big as Nightmare Moon's chest was broad. The frame was silver and onyx, shimmering with a soft glow of magic. The flickering candlelight made silver crescent moons almost dance around the edges of the frame. But the frame wasn't what she was looking at.
The pony painted in the portrait looked nothing like Nightmare Moon. It had to be Princess Luna. Her fur was midnight blue, and the painter's skill made her fur appear, even from the distance, soft and rich, like it hadn't been painted. Her lips were set in a small, graceful smile- just barely lifted up, and yet it was enough that it was disarming. The smile reminded her of Fluttershy's smiles; she simply couldn't deny that Fluttershy's smiles could disarm anypony, and Princess Luna seemed to have the same trait. Princess Luna's eyes were a soft cyan, and she could see the artist's skill at work again: there was a sparkle in her eyes that complimented the graceful smile perfectly, making the Princess of the Night look beautiful, kind, and happy. Her regality was without question; she could spot not a single imperfection.
Atop her head, a tiara made of onyx, reminiscent of Princess Celestia's golden tiara: three graceful, rounded points, with the one at the forefront of the tiara most prominent. Unlike Princess Celestia, the tiara was less prominent on Princess Luna's head: the headband rested behind her ears and looked smaller than her sister's. It lacked both gems and intricate details, and around the edges, it had a silver glow, as if the moon's light was shining down on Princess Luna just right, even though the moon was nowhere to be seen in the painting.
The Princess's muzzle was tilted down, almost hiding her neck, giving her a vulnerable appearance that Nightmare Moon couldn't have. Why Princess Luna was depicted in such a way eluded her, yet the pose seemed to heighten the ruler's beauty and amplify her soft eyes and disarming smile. She couldn't help but smile and think, 'You look cute.' Then she wondered, 'Why did you agree to be painted in that pose?' What was the history behind it? Nightmare Moon was direct, and Midnight said Princess Luna was also direct. But then what was this side of Princess Luna, captured in paint? Or was it simply meant to highlight Princess Luna's beauty and grace?
Her horn, longer than any unicorn's, yet still shorter than Princess Celestia's, extended from her forehead, partially obscured by her mane.
And her mane. It was breathtaking to look at. Nightmare Moon's mane had nothing on Princess Luna's mane. Where Nightmare Moon's mane was a maelstrom of raw magic and power, Princess Luna's mane was controlled, calm, serene, and regal. It was almost like it had been taken right out of the night sky and brought to life with Princess Luna's magic. Even if the painting didn't move, she could picture the way it would softly billow in a nonexistent breeze: gracefully wafting through the air, free from the bonds of gravity, free from anger and hatred and bitterness. It was such a beautiful, rich blue color, highlighted with an enveloping, vivid lavender aura that was transparent. Within the mass of her rich blue mane, there were specs of white that looked like sparkling stars, like Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon's mane.
To Twilight, words just couldn't do it justice. "She's beautiful," she whispered, and Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike murmured in agreement. She couldn't look away from the portrait; her eyes were locked in place, taking in the details, staring into those life-filled eyes, scrutinizing the Princess's soft smile.
But nopony said anything more, and the moment lingered.
Princess Luna was beautiful. Princess Luna was regal and graceful, perhaps even more so than Princess Celestia. She couldn't understand how anypony could have disagreed. She couldn't understand how anypony could have hated Princess Luna. But she couldn't find it in herself to be frustrated with what she couldn't understand. The portrait left her feeling too calm. Anything less than perfect calm would have ruined it.
She found her gaze drawn back to Princess Luna's eyes. There was no malice, nothing to speak of a predator, nothing to speak of the pain Nightmare Moon had endured. Vibrant, youthful beauty. Innocent. Untainted. Unscarred. Happy. Free.
Princess Luna looked free, and in comparison, Nightmare Moon looked shackled. Shackled and bound by hatred and anger and bitterness. Princess Luna looked like she could soar through the sky without a care. Nightmare Moon looked like she would only fly when it was beneficial, and even then she would be weighed down to where flying was a burden.
Maybe Nightmare Moon was free from her banishment on the moon, but she was still imprisoned.
And this? That portrait was just a painting. No matter how skilled the painter was, it was just paint on a canvas.
How beautiful was Princess Luna in person?
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Well, of course not,
LunaNightmare Moon. Spending time or resources helping others who are so useless they can't fend for themselves isn't in their own best interests, after all.Wait, who else was it that keeps using words like those all the time again?
Hmm. Maybe only doing things after determining if they're of benefit to oneself isn't the best way to go about running a society, after all. But then... who could help you figure out a better way? I'd better not mention The-Sister-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Yup. That might get me blasted or something.
Good luck getting to see it, Twilight.
Rainbow Dash is an idiot with a loose tongue. I'm surprised she survived the movie.
Ah. The Mona Luna. Exquisite.
Twilight thinks Luna is beautiful, I definitely like where this is going
I can hardly wait for the potential TwiLuna ship to arrive!
Yeah I'm not sure you can equally conflict the problems Celestia has done to Nightmare Moon.
Though I am glad her friends are at least calling this out... somewhat anyways.
The griffons are I’m such a sorry state. I wonder what caused them to collapse the way they did. The idol of Boreas was lost, but the empire must have been very unstable to begin with forbthis to tip them over the edge.
Ohh this was good. I love the duel veiw and that painting.
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From what I remember, the backstory I had in mind (It might come up briefly in a future chapter, but I can't remember for sure nor which chapter) was basically that after the First and Second Empires collapsed, they've never entirely recovered, and they go through periods of prosperity (read as "they stabilize for a few years/decades") before collapsing again because they don't have anything really unifying them.
Though I'll also say this is still subject to change.
Their current state is due in part to Discord but also general problems from before Nightmare Moon's return.
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Just wait for the next chapter...
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Just wait for the next chapter, huh? You know it's been a minute since Twilight has had an interaction with Cadence or Shining. I wonder what Cadence may glean from Twilight.
Moreover I can't wait to for the chapter where Twilight learns more about Luna from the mare herself. Whether it's a lesson in history or friends sharing about themselves with one another is a whole other thing. : )
I don’t know, for me the art gallery shown can be called so with a very big stretch.
for some reason I expected that in addition to the portrait of princess Luna, there will be artistic illustrations of the war with the empire of the griffins or some other images of her exploits
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actually you can, one of THE main reason Luna went Nightmare Moon was because Celestia ignored her problems. this whole situation is because Celestia screwed up hard 1000 years ago.
Let's hope the gang understands Twilight's stance more after seeing that picture.
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Wait for the next chapter. I don't think you'll be disappointed, but I am biased.
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Yes, everything Luna does is because of Celestia. Rather then on the person who went and did all those things. Celestia is responsible for all the problems everywhere because Luna chose to do what she did.
Really now is that what you are saying? And even then I was only mentioning that because Twilight's thought process hasn't even brought that much to bear. It's been "Celestia lied to me, and that's equal to everything NM has done"
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Luna has some blame however you have to acknowledge Celestia and the ponies role in her going Nightmare Moon.
I honestly wonder right now... is NMM "someone else" than Princess Luna? or is NMM "just" a really bitter Luna?
How would "Luna" return if NMM would cease to be?
Or would she cease?
Is NMM an "evil spirit" which possesses Luna? Or is NMM and Luna the same pony, separated by bitterness and fear, both from herself and from being hurt?
If Twilight comes through to NMM (and she will, I am certain of that, it is Twilight, after all, the most wonderful pony I can imagine) would she simply... realize... that she has not to be that way? And can she even change after all this time?
Or do you really need to through the "Elements of Harmony" at each and every lackluster thing that needs to be changed to the "better".
What I think I see in this story is that NMM is slowly coming to terms with what happened and that she'll finally see reality as it is.
Sure, reality can be cruel, look only to the Griffin Wars of old and the state their lands are in right now. Though... what if not NMM would have held the negotiations (if you can even call those 3 griffins talking to NMM holding negotiations) but Luna?
Would there have been a difference in both outcome and tone?
Luna is always depicted as direct. - And so is NMM.
I believe Luna would have done much the same.
She, too, would be "haunted" by memories of war and suffering. But like NMM did, she would try to help.
Not because she has to.
But out of her own free will. Sure, NMM could have also done it to prove a point, that she is better than her sister... or whatever... but I don't believe that for a second.
And of course, because it would also be positive for her.
After all, a rule based on fear would not last.
I do believe NMM is more Luna than both she herself and many ponies of Equestria may yet realize.
Maybe even Twilight is still somewhat blind to this truth.
Though, I think she has seen the true face of NMM, or should I say, Luna?
And if not seen, maybe she suspects.
I sincerely hope when NMM comes "around" she will not choose to be blasted by the elements... or whatever silly thing there is.
I hope we see a true... conversion.
One coming from the inside. From the need or want to change.
One which takes time and is not done in about 5 minutes, and hour, a day or a week.
NMM is hesitant to remove her chest piece, even though it is now flawed and no longer perfect.
But, what is the chest piece to her?
Surely not armor.
Her helmet is armor. She has removed that.
Though, her chest piece is something different. It resembles something.
I believe it resembles her true self.
If NMM would take off her chest piece, I believe she would set the first hoof down the patch to return to being Princess Luna instead of the Night Queen she right now chose to be.
Because it would show not only that she feels increasingly comfortable but it would show her true self to the world.
It would expose her heart.
Her broken heart, which had only been held together by a piece of metal. Kept from being shattered from someone else.
And Twilight is almost at the point where NMM would take of the chest piece just to make her more comfortable.
Though I believe in the end they would both somewhat miss it too...
Ater all, there has to be a first time for everything...
It would be a long way... and I believe I want to read every step of that way for as long as it might take.
and as usual, I kindly demand more!
Good work!
Good chapter!
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Thank you for the comment. You ask a lot of good questions. I apologize for taking so long to reply.
Nightmare Moon is effectively Princess Luna, though there is at least one complication to this that I can't go into details on without spoiling things. That said, they're the same pony in that there's nothing possessing Princess Luna.
An interesting and thoughtful observation.
Thank you, and there will be more coming soon.
Unfortunately, I can't really comment on anything else without risking spoilers.
Oh my gosh, this chapter was amazing! I just love how the ride to Hollow Shades was written. And the the way Twilight described the painting of Luna is just amazing. Just shows how much she wishes that she could know Luna more than NMM. Man, you said to look forward to the next chapter, and I find myself looking forward to it more than I usually do.
Oooh, love this chapter so much. I love how Twilight is defending Nightmare Moon and her friends are worried that she's being brainwashed. I can totally see it basically being Nightmare moon and Twilight living in solitude because no one likes Nightmare moon. I am carious though on what kind of topic Twilight would ask Nightmare Moon about Luna?
But there is something that is bugging me that I notice. Twilight is missing the amulet (Pendent?) around her neck. Its like she wants to have Nightmare Moon close to her forever, which is awesome but my thing is, Twilight could just use magic and make it invisible so that way she still have it with her but no one would notice it at all.
I can't wait for the next update and I want to see more smexy time with Nightmare Moon and Twilight!
Also longer the chapters=A happy reader (Me)
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You will both find out soon and I will soon be writing more of this.
Nightmare Moon took it away from Twilight back in... um... You know, I don't remember which chapter and I can't find it... I hope I didn't just imagine Nightmare Moon taking it back, or something like rewriting and removing it or something.
I wrote that back in September.
I have seen one or two stories that are single chapters of more than 50,000 words long. If memory serves correctly, one of them was a single chapter akin to 100,000-120,000 words long.
I think chapters this long may be a little bit much.
Oh, Rainbow Dash, you're lucky they're not rushing off to tell her, lol. You shouldn't be talking so casually.
You fools underestimated the power of boomers' nostalgia, lol.
"Wait, don't ask about the—"
But Gruff was already boasting about the Idol.
Quite bittersweet for them to see a portrait of Luna, after everything.