Do as you like

by PonkaPlatinum

The plan is simple (Part 1)

Author's Note:

Shortest chapter from all I've had, but I still hope you like it. I had quite a fun time making this chapter, mostly because of the world building I put. Though it's different, I hope you like it too. Have a good read now.

“The Princesses what?”

You skim through the letter once more, making sure you read that right.

It’s a fine Saturday evening as you reside in Twilight’s castle after she called you over. Princess must’ve finally had a little free time to send over a letter, especially considering how remarkable the penmanship is.

“That’s right, Anon. They want to see you.” Twilight reassures.

“This isn’t about last Nightmare Night, is it?” a sense of worry stirs within you.

She shrugs, “I don’t know, the letter’s pretty vague. But if it was, I’d be worried.”

“Welp, can’t just ignore it I guess. Besides, I need to see Luna anyway.”

“After what you did? Why?” a look of curiosity and concern plasters her face.

“Hey now, it was just a simple prank. But anyway, what you told me about Nightmare Moon gave me a hypothesis, and I’d like to test it.”

“Oh, mind if I ask what it is?” she leans in, the will to discover overcoming her.

“Yes, I do mind,” not really, “but if I’m right, you’ll probably find out soon enough.”

Her pouting aura is strong, but she relents, “So when are you gonna go?”

“It says here by next week at the latest. But anytime’s good, so probably now then.”

“Have fun in Canterlot then. I know their both a little, *ahem*...’old’, and even if they don’t seem like it because they're always tending to royal duties, trust me, the princesses know how to have a good time.” she whispered a little as the sentence went on.

“I believe every word of that. Now, you stay here and do the usual.” you summon up a copy of yourself and give him a pat on the back.

“You got it, boss. Anything else?” he queries before you leave.

“Tell ‘Sunshine’ where I am and what I’m doing. I’ll probably come back tonight,” you give him a wink, signaling that it’s actually Chrysalis, “And if anything really bad happens, destroy this world and reanimate an identical one again.” you joke knowing that Twilight’s listening.

“...A-again?” concern overcomes Twilight as her head starts to fill itself with many different questions.

“That was a joke, Twilight.” you ruffle her mane, calming her down considerably.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve business to attend to.”

*Snap*

Ah, Canterlot Castle. The aroma of a regal lifestyle coupled with the overwhelming royalty of the masterfully-crafted halls brings a smile to your face. It reminds you of how stunning a Secular life is back on Earth. That is, if you make it to the Vatican at least. Then again, the diarchy of the princesses, to an extent, could be considered a religion. Do they run a religion? Are they considered Goddesses? Are you considered a God? Are you gonna get some fresh mutz on this vegetarian panini you just conjured? Yes, yes you will. At least you can answer that question.

These halls sure are large. So large that its emptiness and the view almost feels like you’re in a beautifully peaceful pocket dimension. That is, until a pale blue Royal Guard Earth pony rounds the corner from afar.

He spots you and puts on a combat stance, “Halt!”

A natural response seeing as a large stranger has bypassed the main entrance, but you’ll have none of that, “Ah, excuse me good sir! Would you happen to know where the kitchen is? I am in need of fresh mutz for this vegetarian panini!”

He narrows his eyes and lowers his guard a little, “Sir Anonymous! We hadn’t expected you to visit so soon. My apologies for the hostility.”

“That’s quite alright, sir…?”

“Steel Brigade, sir Anonymous.” he bows.

“Raise that snoot, soldier. Just call me Anon, or Bob, or Tom, or Big Guy. Just call me anything really, but I do prefer Big Guy.”

“Certainly, ummm, Big Guy.” he hesitantly responds.

“Now you’re getting it, Brigade. Well then, would you assist me in finding the palace kitchen?” you politely request.

“I’m afraid not sir, I’m on Guard Duty. I cannot leave my post until I am permitted to do so or my shift ends. Though I can escort you to the nearby Royal Advisor’s office if you’d like.” he points a hoof down the hall behind you.

“I’d be quite grateful if you did.”

With a smile, he trots past you as you follow.

Shortly, you arrive at the office.

“Thank you, kindly.” you tell him just as he resumes his shift.

*knock knock knock*

“Come in!”

“It is I!” you announce just as you enter.

The black batpony with a pale mane gets startled at your rambunctious entrance.

After realizing how startled she was, she attempts to slightly cover the lower half of her face with both her wings to hide the shade of crimson that has encompassed it.

“Huh, I thought you’d be a unicorn.” you speak your mind out loud.

she returns to her regular standing position as she answers you with a quirky, high-pitched voice, “Batponies tend to need much less sleep than regular ponies, and Princess Celestia says that’ll be helpful for all the paperwork.”

Fair enough. She must be quite the prodigy to be the Royal Advisor then.

“Oh, you must be Anonymous. I’m Nightshade Blues. I apologize if I may be a little air-headed at times.” she confesses.

“Not at all. I’m sure you’re a wonderful mare. You’re the Royal Advisor after all.”

Nightshade seems to feel a little better at your words.

“So, would you like to go meet the Princesses?” she asks.

“Gee, I sure would but I still need to get a fresh piece of mutz before I do.” you show her the panini in your hand.

“Mutz?” is all she manages to muster as she stares at your incomplete sandwich.

“Yeah, mutz as in mutz-arella.”

“Ah, the cheese? That’s the first time I’d ever heard somepony phrase it like that. I...kinda like it. Mutz…”

She stares off into the distance with a mesmerized look on her face, especially the eyes.

In a second, she snaps out of it as a sheepish look replaces her expression. “Ah! Sorry about that. Let me take you to the kitchen.”

She quickly flies over her desk and exits the door to her office.

“Sorry to bother you on such a fine evening this weekend.”

“It’s fine, really. The workload is much lighter during Saturdays and Sundays, plus, I work really fast reviewing the paperwork so I have a lot of free time doing nothing.”

“Sounds like a nice job.” you reply.

“Just wait until you hear the salary and benefits, which I cannot disclose with other individuals as per government legal agreement.”

You give her a little chuckle which she returns.

“So here we are, the Royal kitchen. You can find Princess Celestia over there by the throne room when you’re done.” she points a few rooms away from your current location.

“Isn’t the kitchen a little too incredibly close to the throne room?” you do find that to be an odd discovery.

“Well, Princess Celestia DID help design the Canterlot Castle.” she gives you a wink before trotting off back to her office.

With a simple wave goodbye and a smile, you piece it together in your head.

The humble little kitchen smells heavenly just as you enter. Thoughts of your own kitchen sprung up in your head, except it’s quite a lot bigger, and noisier. Where is that noise coming from?

You examine the room and find that a certain large white Alicorn is munching away at a whole cake...with no utensils.

She locks eyes at you as she notices your presence as well. A stock-still standoff ensues.

“Is it 4 PM already?” you ask no one in particular.

You give your watch a look and “Oh yeah, it’s 4 PM.”

You walk past her and start rummaging through the fridge a mere few meters behind her, “You know, there’s other comfort foods besides confectioneries and cakes, right?”

After a chew and a swallow, “Cakes are simply what I’ve become accustomed to after all these years, Anonymous. And I must say, I didn’t really expect you to visit this soon. A few hours haven’t even passed since I sent that letter to Twilight.”

“What can I say? I’ve got all the time in the world. Ah, there we go,” fresh mutz acquired, “Try this panini then. It’s got a bit of salt, but not too much.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. Past experiences have shown me that desert before meals won’t exactly be...well on the tummy.” she grimaces a little at the memory.

“But the mutz is fresh.”

“Can’t you just make a fresh one out of thin air?” she raises an eyebrow at you.

“It’s not the same…but no matter. The fridge will have to do.”

She takes another chomp out of the strawberry and vanilla cake.

“Where’s Luna then?”

With a chunk of cake in her mouth, she speaks “She’s usually asleep at this hour, but ponies tend to stay awake on Friday night so she has more free time on Saturdays. She could be anywhere right now.” Another chomp.

“Well then, off I go.” you start to zoom out the kitchen, “Eating too much cake can make your flanks go bigger!”

And out the door before you can even witness her fury. Though you might witness another mare’s fury as you just bumped into Luna, quite literally as well.

“Anonymous!”

“Nice day!” you boop her snoot.

She charges a stance as her horn starts to glow a soothing Midnight Blue.

“Wait! Don’t tell me you called me all the way here just to attack me!” you front a flesh barricade of your arms and a leg out of instinct despite knowing that you’ll still be fine, or at least you hope you’ll be fine.

Luna heaves a heavy sigh and disperses her aura of magic, “...No. Me and sister are fairly certain that you’re a kind stallion, however, regular inspection of threats to Equestria is still government protocol. Even princesses such as we are required to conform under such policies, though we would very much still take these seriously considering the fate of Equestria is at stake.”

“Why now though?”

“It had been a slow week and sister and I were looking to spend some time dilly-dallying with you considering how it is technically still under our Royal duties.”

Fair enough, you suppose.

“So how long will you two be checking up on me? And how do you do it?” curiosity mounts your head.

“Every now and then for about a year at most, with several exceptions on some lazy days of course. There was a time before Sparkle and friends were the Elements of Harmony. Few fragments of those Elements still reside within me and sister, allowing us to harbor few of their abilities. Abilities such as ‘Chaos Detection EX’. Should we sense any in you, we shall undergo investigative formations to discover whether you have ulterior motives or not.”

Quite the explanation.

“Considering you’re comfortable enough to tell me that, I’m guessing you won’t really need it then.”

She gives a nod of affirmation, “Do not rest so easy yet, Anonymous. Think not for a second that I do not have plans to get back at you for the previous Nightmare Night.”

“How do you even know it was me?” you defend yourself.

She narrows her eyes at you and whispers, “That rubber duckie had a question mark on it and I am certain of it.”

Darn, caught green-handed. No regrets leaving that question mark though, credit is given where credit is due.

“Better keep my guard up then. Anyway, you mentioned skills earlier, right? I’m assuming you’re already quite versed in them.”

“Certainly. Every individual possesses a set of magical skills. Often they can be learned and often it is unique to certain individuals dependent on circumstances. Some are passive that every creature has, while others are active only for certain creatures. Why do you ask all of a sudden?” she tilts her head in confusion.

“I had a little talk with Twilight during Nightmare Night about its history given that we have our own version called ‘Halloween’, and, well...she brought up Nightmare Moon.”

Luna shrinks a little as the name echoes into the halls.

“...A-and?”

“One of my skills is the ability to analyze other individuals’ set of passive and active skills. I noticed one of yours is ‘Dream Manifestation A+’.”

“What are you trying to get at, Anonymous?” she asks with a rather confused look on her face.

“I’m saying that I think Nightmare Moon is a product of your ‘Dream Manifestation A+’.”

“I already know that, Anonymous.” she answers in a monotone voice.

“Yeah, well, here’s the thing. Apparently, ‘Dream Manifestation’ is a unique skill on its own. The only recorded individual with it that I found in Twilight’s library is you. Yours is a semi-passive skill because it can only be used when its user reaches a certain emotional point, whether it’s joy, rage or whatever emotion it may be. From what I know and given that negative emotions have a much lower quota for ‘Dream Manifestation’ given their volatile nature, I think Nightmare Moon is born from your desolation, anger and sorrow. Luna, I...I don’t think she’s inherently evil. She was born from your feelings. If you had a point of limitless euphoria equaling your sorrow, a good Nightmare Moon would appear instead.” you explain quite thoroughly.

“It doesn’t matter now, Anon. The past is past, even if my sins still haunt me. Nightmare Moon was already dealt with.” she turns away from you.

You grasp her withers and turn her back, “That’s right, I think your sins still haunt you. So long as you live, so does she. Her physical form was destroyed, but she still lives in your subconscious where she was born. And that’s why you still have nightmares when you sleep.”

“H-how did you know that!?” the surprise sinks in her.

“Heh...It doesn’t matter now. Sadly, an evil Nightmare Moon was made and she still haunts you, but we can change that. I...have a hypothesis.”

You dig your fingers down her mane and hold her head with both hands, “You see, I have ‘Dream Manifestation EX’.”

A flash of light blinds you both, but when everything settles down, there she is.

“A-Anon! What did you do!?” Luna shrieks at the sight of Nightmare Moon.

After the other Alicorn also recovers, she looks around in confusion, but then shouts after a point of realization, “At last, the night will last forever once more! My revenge will be glorious!”

With a hand directed at Nightmare Moon, you chant, ‘Proof of Existence D’.”

“Anon, what happened to her?” Luna quizzes you.

“So you know how I don’t really talk about skills often? That’s because most creatures don’t really have any exceptionally mentionable skills unless they’re born with it or they study advanced magic. Surprisingly, even non-Unicorns can sometimes get some by studying magic. Anyway, only advanced users like you and me have powerful skills like ‘Dream Manifestation’, but every living creature has ‘Proof of Existence’, also known as a lifespan. The rank growth is relative to the creature’s lifespan and traces of life and experience, but it’s pretty much mostly just a cosmetic skill because that’s all it does.”

“In English please.” she replies in slight annoyance.

“I made her younger. In more detail, I manipulated her ‘Proof of Existence’, but all I can change is her age.”

“Oh, that would explain that.”

“I am the Ruler of the Night! Fear me!” early-teen-Nightmare Moon commands you in a squeaky voice as she tries to take a swipe at your shins. Thankfully, your arm is long enough to push her back. As the manifestation of herself if Luna had created her when she was simply a teen, her magical capacity also degrades to that of a regular Unicorn.

“I still don’t get the whole ‘the night will last forever’ thing by the way. I mean, technically half the planet will have ‘day’ forever since the moon can only shine on one side at a time.” you query, but nothing changes as the swipes still keep on coming.

Celestia, who came bursting out of the kitchen earlier when she heard shouting, prods at the little filly in amusement. Nightmare Moon simply takes an unsuccessful swipe at her.

“In all my centuries of living, I certainly never thought I’d see this happen at some point in time.” Celestia giggles as she keeps prodding.

“Is...is this what you had in mind?” Luna asks.

“Well, not exactly. I planned to have her reformed into good and get all that sense of vengeance out of her, but I didn’t think she’d try to exact revenge the moment she got free.”

“And the age regression?”

“Spur of the moment, but hey, it works.”

But the question does arise. What now?

Dinner, you suppose. It’s around that time anyway.

Everyone gets a Panini! And each one has a piece of fresh mutz in it.

Things would probably be much better if Nightmare started digging in instead of just scowling at the three of you from across the table.

Quite the awkward predicament you’re all in.

“Dear me, she’s acting like an actually whose parents didn’t let her out to play.” Celestia remarks.

You remain silent at the stare off, but you know Celestia isn’t exactly right on the money.

Sure, Nightmare might be acting more like an angsty teen because of the age regression, but she’s playing it smart.

She’ll be lynched if she ever sets foot in public unprotected, and she can’t support herself alone given her current situation. With the loss of a majority of her magical capabilities, her best choice right now is to stay here and plot her next move. Unfortunately for her, she can’t have a next move no matter how hard she plans. That’s probably why she looks like she just got woken up very early on a Saturday morning. Maybe she’s just trying to accept how things are? Well, if there’s one thing that you’re sure of it’s that she’s mad.

“Eat.” Luna commands.

“You cannot make me, you lonely blue horse!”

“I am a grown mare!”

Luna lifts Nightmare’s Panini in the blue glow of her magic, presumably to force feed her. You say presumably because you’ll never know what Luna was about to do since Nightmare flails her hooves, tossing the plate and launching the Panini into the air. You manage to catch the plate but the Panini has taken a sacrifice of martyrdom.

“You threw a piece of fresh mutz on the ground!” you point out, but before anything else is said or done, Nightmare Moon has already rushed out of the dining room.

“Why must we keep her again? She brings nothing but trouble.” Luna complains, quite annoyedly as well.

“Because we can’t exactly just leave her to die.” you point out, dematerializing the brave little Panini, “Rest well, my friend.”

“I for one think she’s amusing.” Celestia pipes up.

“You’re laughing at her though, not with her.”

“Fun is fun, Anonymous.” she beams the biggest smile you’ve ever seen her make since your time here.

You can kind of get how Celestia feels, one of her greatest nemeses for over a millennia reduced to a little powerless filly.

“If you’d like, I’ll take her in. I caused all this after all.”

“No no, Anonymous. She’s been my demon for the longest time and it is no different from her being in my head, as such, she is my responsibility. She will stay here, so long as she does not cause too much trouble in the castle.”

You have a feeling that she WILL cause too much trouble in the castle, but if she really will be too much to handle on both Luna and Celestia’s hooves then you’ll try to take her in. You sure hope Chrysalis doesn’t mind.

“I’ll go see her then.” you get up from your seat and start following Nightmare’s trail. The farther you go, the softer the princesses’ chatter with each other gets.

Looking around, you see a corner with a dark shade of shadows.

“Hey there.”

No answer, followed by a moment of silence, and then…

“...Why?”

You don’t reply, but she goes on.

“Why did you do this to me...?”

…

“How were things before this?”

““...”

“I know it wasn’t exactly great. A desolate and pitch-black void, with no one else but yourself. I know this isn’t exactly a better alternative for you and I’m sorry for that, but I know that if given the opportunity and time, you can live a normal life. Your rage is not yours, you were simply born with it, but you’re not born evil. I released you not just for Luna, but also for you. That’s about all I’ve got to say. I’d like to help you, but it’s your life. Do what you like with the rest of it. Whatever happens, it will get better.”

“Just leave...no, just do as you please. I am powerless now to do anything or command anypony. Now...all I have is darkness and corners…”

“You can add me to that list if you’d like, but hey, that’s only if you’d like.”

“I need not friends nor peers. That is how it’s always been.” she replies from the shadows.

You give her a smirk and simply just turn to walk away. In time, Anonymous, you’ll see what’s poppin’. It’s her choice after all.

“Well?” Luna asks just as you return.

“I think she just needs her own time for now. Anyway, any Saturday night plans?” you return to your seat.

“How about baking?” Celestia suggests, simply happy for having any semblance of free time.

“Pancakes?” you follow up.

“Breakfast for after-dinner snacks?!” Luna continues, her mood shifting instantly.

“Sounds like a plan.” you stand up and start to move towards the royal kitchen as the sisters follow with a skip in their gallops.

Now that’s a LOT of pancakes.

More than enough to feed Twilight on a hungry day.

“Did we overdo it?” you start to consider that maybe this was a bit much.

…

Nah, this is fine.

“Who cares! Shall we clean up before we start chomping these down?” Celestia replies.

“Agreed!” Luna chirps in reply as they both leave the kitchen.

Time to get the rest of the condiments then. Let’s see, honey, fruits- wait. Hmmm…

“Looks like someone’s a little too eager to eat.”

You turn around and catch Nightmare Moon prowling around with a generous stack of plain pancakes on a plate held around in her magic.

You negate her magic and hold the plate. Quickly, you pour honey all over it, heavily coat it with whipped cream and add some strawberries and blueberries on it before you hand it back to her.

“I suggest scurrying off before they come back.” you hand her a glass of mango juice before sending her off.

The only response you get from her is a confused look before she hastily leaves.

Shortly, Celestia and Luna come back and the three of you start digging in.

“That was fun.” you comment after devouring a spoonful of fluffy pancakes.

“Indeed. We should do this again sometime.” Celestia agrees, gobbling down a rather large chunk of pancakes. At least it’s not cake this time.

“So, any plans with Nightmare Moon then?”

Luna stops eating her pancakes, “We are not entirely certain yet. Perhaps we shall let her roam around the castle as she pleases very much like how me and sister spent our days as a filly.”

Celestia continues for her sister, “At her current state, I think it’s safe to say that she won’t be able to wreak havoc for quite a while. I doubt she’d leave the castle too if ever, so I agree in having her stay here for now. Forcing friendship and goodness onto her doesn’t sound like such a good idea either, so I suggest we plan what we’ll do next after she makes a move.”

“If that is all then I think I’ll be taking my leave now.” you stand up and pat yourself off of the little crumbs that have stuck to your clothes.

“I would be disheartened to see you leave, but if you must, then take these pancakes with you. It has been fun, Anonymous.” she hovers a rather large tupperware of pancakes over to you. Maybe you three really did make too much pancakes.

“I had fun as well, Anonymous.”

“Me too, but I gotta go. Maybe send Twilight another letter when you both have free time again.”

“We shall await the next time we can have a fun time together.” Celestia says with a wave of a hoof, as does Luna.

“Until then, I suppose.” you snap your fingers and appear in front of Nightmare Moon, who is in mid-chew of her pancakes.

Moving on is an essential part of living, but sometimes, it sure is nice to have a semblance of the past. A nice sentimental to give you nostalgic memories someday.

You settle down a nicely wrapped present on the floor in front of her, inside awaits a cute little plushie of Nightmare Moon’s previous form.

Time to go.

After another snap, you’re in your diner once more at 9 PM.

Chrysalis should be done with her shift for the day, and so you walk up the stairs, giving bartender Anon a wave before you do.

Now, the plan is simple…

From what you were told, Discord was reformed by Fluttershy, and he’s a pretty cool guy now. That means there’s a slight chance that you can do the same with Nightmare Moon. Should things go well, maybe Chryssy can finally come out as herself into the limelight. Someday...for sure, someday she can truly be free. The plan is simple. For now, all you can do is wait and hope.

“You’re back!” Chrysalis pops out from the bed and wraps her hooves around you.

You return the hug as you ruffle her mane, “Hey Chryssy, I brought late-night pancake snacks for you.”

You hand her the tupperware as you both take a seat at the bed. Happily, she digs through the stacks.

You boop her muzzle to slow down her enthusiasm. She blushes in response, and so you settle down the stack and decorate in flavorful add-ons. Same as Nightmare Moon’s, honey, strawberries and blueberries and lots of whipped cream.

Her eyes light up even more at the sight. You hand it over to her and run your fingers through her mane as she digs in.

This feels...wonderful. You could really use more times like these.

You notice hooves prodding at your arm. Looking over, you see that she’s offering you a share of her pancakes. You give her a happy smile and start digging in yourself.

It’s been quite a day. From age regressing a powerful Alicorn from history to eating pancakes with your best friend. Your smile grows wider as you imagine how things will get better soon.

Comments

[Cheshirek4t]

I couldnt help but notice that this has 69k words
perfection

[Brandonheat]

“Just leave...no, just do as you please

Not quit the title but EHH EHH SHE SAID IT!

[Mister-H]

Makes me think of the Fate series with these SKills.

[ynfiltra]

MOAR pls!!!!!