New Moon

by AzuraKeres

10 - The Waiting Game

Author's Note:

Gold Jaeger

A private owner of museums that likes to collect the exotic. His taste had spread to living creatures, and now he wishes to obtain the rarest of them all.

“None of you have still gotten it to work,” a gold-coated stallion coldly said to a lanky stallion teetering before his office desk.

The gold stallion had been losing focus on his day-to-day activities in anticipation of any good news tonight. He hoped to receive some assurance to his ambition, but again, he was met with disappointment from his employees.

“I’m terribly sorry Mr. Gold,” the lanky stallion nervously voiced. He was internally cursing the associates that elected him to inform their boss of their findings, which to his bad luck was nothing much. “Though we have discovered that the branch has an astounding amount of magic coursing through it, nothing we try seems to expel an ounce of it.” The lanky stallion raised his eyes to meet Gold's and flinched when he noticed a glare from him. “W-we think that it may require a key of some sort to trigger it.”

“I don’t recall ever paying you to tell me about problems,” Gold said. “I hired you and your associates to bring me results. And yet here you are again spouting more about setbacks.”

“P-please understand Mr. Gold,” the stallion begged. “This branch is unlike anything any pony has ever seen. We still need to run many more tests to understand its properties. Only then could we possibly grasp its capabilities.”

“Is that so?” Gold was somewhat intrigued. “And how long must I wait before I can see its capabilities?”

“Well,” the stallion nervously brushed his hoof. He hoped to Celestia that his boss didn’t ask that. “From studying this branch for nearly three days, there are still a lot of grounds that must be made before we can pinpoint a deadline.”

“That’s not what I asked for,” Gold was dissatisfied with the stallion’s answer. “Give me an exact time frame for how long it will take.”

“Uh, well…Depending on how far our progress develops, perhaps a few weeks. Or...maybe some months.”

“I see,” Gold reclined on his office chair. His indifferent gaze toward the ceiling worried the stallion. He could see that his boss was deep in his thoughts, but of what was concerning to the stallion.

But what also concerned him was the branch itself. Where exactly did his boss find something so abnormal? And more importantly... “Excuse me, Mr. Gold,” the stallion found some courage to speak out again. “If I’m not infringing too much, might I ask what your intentions are for this branch?”

“You are excused,” Gold waved a hoof toward him. “You can resume your research, but I want some results before the latter. I would hate to waste my time sharing my dissatisfaction with other companies in your service.”

“Th-that won’t be necessary Mr. Gold,” the stallion stammered. “We promise we will not disappoint you again.” The stallion backed away and then retreated through the door.

When the door closed before the fleeing stallion, Gold sighed and rubbed his temple. He turned his chair opposite from his desk and gazed through a large window that stretched through his entire wall.

The luxurious buildings that lit tracks of light through the night of Baltimare was a mediocre sight for the stallion. A sight commonly seen by other ponies and are owned by a plentiful amount made them plain, lacking any rarity that would make them deserving of his fascination. The only thing worthy beyond his window was the moon floating atop the night sky, showering him with its rays of moonlight.

He was growing irritated by the patience he must endure in acquiring the power of the branch. If he had it now he would’ve already undone his Princess’s spell and gain access to the prize lying upon the moon. He could feel he was getting close; only inches away from reining her into his hooves. But yet again he was pushed away after receiving news of the incompetence of his employees.

Despite concealing the branch’s connection to the Elements of Harmony, he figured that hiring exceptional researchers of Equestria would’ve yield some swift results. No, he was just being impatient. The possibility of acquiring the fabled creature of the night with its powers was all too enticing for him to wait comfortably.

He had endured this wait for three days with no progress to speak of. If he had to be realistic, he may have to wait for a few years before that branch can be fully understood and utilized. And that’s only if he can continue to prevent ponies and especially his Princess from catching wind of his midnight embezzlement. Perhaps it would’ve been easier if he had simply followed through on everything that his anonymous informant had instructed.

As Gold tried to unwind himself with his allure of the moon, he noticed a dark speck passing over it. The speck gradually grew to a silhouette of a pony and then flew over his sight. The dark cloak that pony was adorned in was familiar to Gold.

He jumped out of his chair. It couldn’t be.

Gold rushed out of his office and made his way to the rooftop. He needed to confirm if that pony was who he thought it was.

---

Gold briefly huffed for air after barging through the door to the rooftop. On the vacant floor with only railings lining atop the ledges, his eyes bore upon a cloaked pony. The pony’s abnormally sharp ears perked through holes of the pony’s hood as the pony turned its gaze from the moon to Gold.

The hood draped to the pony’s snout, masking a clear vision of the pony’s face. “Gold Jaeger,” the pony announced him in a baritone voice. “How fortunate of I to make your acquaintance this night.”

“I can’t say the same myself,” Gold said as he approached the cloaked pony. He towered over the pony beneath his chin, incentivizing the pony look up towards him. “Your little tip sacrificed a lot of time and money. You better hope that I don’t come to regret it.”

“If I remember correctly, you are a renowned private owner of the many museums here in Baltimare. With the numerous traffic you receive, I doubt the lives of a few guards and purchased servants would do little harm to your autonomy.”

“Perhaps,” Gold admitted. “But don’t forget I placed my life at risk as well exploring that treacherous forest."

“And despite your awareness of the danger, you still went. Clearly, your desires outweigh your own safety. And for that, you have my gratitude.”

“Don’t take me for a mindless idiot. I only did so to confirm the truth of your words, so save your gratitude for some pony else. Now tell me, why are you here now?”

“I would think that’d be obvious. Recall from our previous discussion that I told you that a possible way to release Nightmare Moon from her imprisonment is to destroy the Tree of Harmony. To remove it would mean eliminating the fuel that maintains the bindings. However, you chose to simply blemish it by removing a single branch.”

“Did you honestly think I would rid of Equestria’s greatest means of defense,” Gold chuckled, feeling that he may have espoused irritation from his informant. “I’m not as foolish as you perceive. Besides, the Element is my only way to overwhelm her. I could never hope to tame her without it.”

“Are you suggesting that you aim to use that branch to acquire the Elements?”

“You truly underestimate my intelligence. Why on Equestria would I try to steal the Elements from the Princess? I think my chances are more fruitful if I make my own.”

“I would argue that is an even more impossible task. Things would’ve gone along much more smoothly if you had just followed my advice." The pony let out a sigh. "No matter, I’ll just have to work with what I’m given”

Given. Gold furrowed on the pony’s last statement. “I may not know of your intentions, but I will remind you that if it in any way interferes in my claim of Nightmare Moon, I will have you dealt with.”

“The thought had never crossed my mind,” the pony nonchalantly said. “And you may never have to concern yourself with the idea. This may very well be the last we will ever meet.”

“Don’t get coy with me,” Gold sneered. “Don’t forget you are speaking with a stallion with connections across all the dark edges of Equestria. No matter where you go or hide, I can easily find you with a simple call of a letter. And if I so wished, I can have you brought to me on a golden platter and unmask that dreadful hood you hide behind.”

“I’m well aware of your many connections Mr. Gold. Your desire to collect more than just artifacts has affiliated you with dangerous groups that your Princess would very much look down upon. You can perish the thought that I would ever combat such a group alone. I would prefer not to become one of your toys.”

The pony backed away from Gold and then stretched out his wings through his cloak. And again Gold beholden to those webbed wings that earned his interest to this pony in the first place.

No doubt this pony was unlike any other he as seen. He could feel his urge building in himself again. He wanted to restrain this creature into his chambers and study him. He wanted to unravel everything about this creature and learn what made it tick. From those mysterious wings to the sharp fangs, and what lies behind that hood. He wanted all of it.

But he held his hoof back. This pony has so far stayed true to his words and due to Gold’s code to respect his dealers, he must restrain himself. At least until this pony slips up. Then he would also become a part of his collection.

“Enjoy the rest of your night Mr. Gold,” the pony gave his regard and then ascended to the air. Gold watched the pony go until he disappeared behind the nearby buildings.

---

The cloaked pony glide passed the tall buildings of Baltimare while making his best effort to resign himself the darkest spots to conceal his presence from the ponies below. Those repugnant creatures that stripped the promised sanctuary for his kind. Their rightful Queen would have granted them their prosperity if not for the interference of the Elements of Harmony.

Its alliance with Equestria made it a troublesome obstacle for him. At least now he will no longer have to worry about it sealing his rightful Queen away again. As long as the tree remains damaged, she will never return to the moon.

And his foolish recipient who has a ridiculous ambition to conjure the power of a new Element will grant him nothing. A powerful artifact that is inclined towards admirable values would never heed to a pony so greedy and corrupt. By the end of this, he will be a simple steppingstone for his rightful Queen’s resurgence.

The pony descended when he found the place he was looking for. In a small neighbor within this metropolitan city, the stallion perched on the rooftop of a house.

From across the street, he can see them through a window. The lime-coated mare was providing sufficient warmth for the two foals. However, the thought of a pony catering his rulers sickened him.

If not for her meeting with Princess Celestia, he would have already disposed of this mare and shelter the foals far from the eyes of every pony. If only he found them sooner, his plans would not have changed so dramatically.

But now he must resign himself to allow this mare to serve her role as their surrogate mother. But once they have matured, he will remind them of who they truly are and see to the fruition of their destiny from long ago. Surely then the rest of his kind will join them then, and they will enact a crusade that shall transform all of Equestria for the better.

“Sleep soundly my Queen,” the pony murmured. “I shall watch over you from the shadows and when the time comes, all shall bow to Nightmare Moon.”

Comments

[toshibafox]

oh crap, the plot is threatening to ruin bud's day. I thought there was more time to see the relationship develop more. Is there going to be a time skip soon?

[Avogadro]

At one point in this chapter, she is called "Nightmare Mare."

Obviously Golden dude won't get Nightmare Moon herself to follow him in any way because she is with Bud and Lunacolt. And she is strongly aligned with Luna's desires and happiness, so if Luna is raised in such an environment that she doesn't want to bring eternal night, NMM also probably won't care about that either.

My concern is that Golden gets a hold of NMM's body on the moon and gets all her powers. Then that got me to thinking that both NMM and Luna are regular mortal ponies now, and even if they reconcile with Celestia (which I personally don't care if they do or not) they still only have one normal pony lifespan to spend, and that sucks.

[ponyreaper1]

Well... look at that

[Viper Pit]

Oh shit this is Intresting

[LSParg]

9798535
although they have mortal bodies, both have above average abilities, although they are weaker they should not be underestimated (when they grow up), in fact it would not surprise me that both become alicorns at one point in history
Of course, that depends on the course the author gives to the story

[Midknight Defender]

alighted

I know you mean the adjective sense of "alight" as in "lit up", but you forgot that "alighted" as a verb means something completely different and has nothing to do with light at all. It's giving me visions of massive buildings descending from the sky and landing in the city because of that.

Lit up the night, or shimmered in the night, or something else of that nature would be correct.

The possibility of acquiring the fabled creature of the night with its powers was all too enticing for him to wait comfortably.

Honestly, something is seriously wrong with this pony's brainy-think-a-majig-thingie. A fabled creature of phenomenal power...and you intend to lock it up in a menagerie as a part of a collection?

Just how does he not envision this going very, very, very wrong for him?

Alicorn magic ripping his spleen out through his nostrils levels of wrong!

[DavetheDJ2]

9800964
Heyo! Old comment I know.

But I wanted to say, never argue with someone that is deluded with self set grandeur and a clear inflated ego and money.

This guy is seven flavours of crazy that even Pinkie Pie wont touch.

[Asolem2]

“I don’t recall ever paying you to tell me about problems,” Gold said. “I hired you and your associates to bring me results. And yet here you are again spouting more about setbacks.”

No, he's not telling you about "setbacks", he's telling you about a complete lack of any real progress

No doubt this pony was unlike any other he as seen. He could feel his urge building in himself again. He wanted to restrain this creature into his chambers and study him. He wanted to unravel everything about this creature and learn what made it tick. From those mysterious wings to the sharp fangs, and what lies behind that hood. He wanted all of it.

This might become a problem later if he hears about Nebula

But now he must resign himself to allow this mare to serve her role as their surrogate mother. But once they have matured, he will remind them of who they truly are and see to the fruition of their destiny from long ago. Surely then the rest of his kind will join them then, and they will enact a crusade that shall transform all of Equestria for the better.

So he seems to be a fanatic of either a cult or a splinter faction among the thestrals that still worship Nightmare Moon