Nyx Takes Charge

by Bronyxy

3 Search and Rescue

Luna lay in the dank cave, oblivious to the damp discomfort her refuge afforded. She cursed herself for not having had the courage to tell Twilight about her feelings sooner. She cursed the misfortune of it being her sister of all ponies to be the one to gain Twilight’s affections; the two ponies she cared most about being in an unsolvable love triangle. She had read of such things in the romance section of the Royal library when she thought nopony was watching her, but never considered this would be her fate.

She lay in the dampness and cursed her very existence, wishing in large parts that she had never comeback from the moon.
“Perhaps it would be better if I never went back?” she thought, “Ever.”
Her melancholy seemed to permeate her very surroundings, which magnified it and reflected it back to her, deepening her despair in an ever darkening spiral.

“Twilight will marry my Sister, and Nyx will take on my duties” her train of thought continued, “Nopony will miss me. All I have ever done is bring unhappiness.”
Her stomach rumbled, but she paid it no heed, only cursing the immortality that denied her an early release to her sadness.

Nyx awoke feeling a light chill and opened her eyes to see the sun hovering just above the horizon, clearly waiting for Celestia or her Mom to lower it so Luna could raise the moon. Suddenly she remembered what had led to her being on this cloud somewhere over the Badlands in the first place and realised that neither of the ponies capable of lowering the sun would likely be in the mood to do it, and also if the moon was going to rise then it would be down to nopony but her.

If she was going to use the moon to help find Luna, then she had to lower the sun first, so she focused hard and tried to draw it down. The sun sensed her, but it was like the two of them were trying to converse in different languages, and try as she might, the sun was not going to set for her. She reasoned, she pleaded and she begged, but although sympathetic to her, it would not take that one final step to leave the sky clear for the moon. Nyx hung her head in defeat; she would just have to manage as best she could.

Next, she reached out to the moon that was impatient to rise and felt it respond eagerly to her touch, but it stopped just below the horizon, unable to proceed any further with the sun in the way. She still tried to coax it to rise further, but the sun still held sway over the sky and the magic was just too strong for her to overcome.

She slammed her forehooves down in frustration and they sank harmlessly through the cloud, denying her even the smallest sense of satisfaction from a good stomp. She growled in her exasperation, but knew things wouldn’t get any better, so nosed over the cloud and fell for a short distance before deploying her wings and resuming her search, picking up the grid pattern from where she had left off.

Nyx flew long straight lines to the east away from the sun and then back again to the west, moving southwards with each sweep, the barren desolation unfolding beneath her affording no respite and yielding no clues. She could see paths of dried up river beds and even the occasional canyon, but everywhere the casually scattered debris of rocks and never anything remotely hospitable.

She flew for hours, her wings aching and her stomach crying out to eat while her parched throat demanded water, if only a few drops. There was nothing to mark the passage of time, just an eternal unending sunset, a scene that under any other circumstances would have been exquisitely beautiful, but now merely served to highlight the emotional wreckage that had claimed the three most powerful Princesses in Equestria.

Nyx had never been in love, and based upon the corrosive effect she had seen it have on three such respected and level-headed ponies, decided there and then that it was a curse she never wanted to experience for herself.

Progressively she became aware of a warm sensation on her neck and looked down to see her livery collar glowing faintly. This could not have been an accident; she knew it meant only one thing and offered thanks to the moon for its steadfast help. She continued on until she felt the warmth abate and then changed her heading trying to recapture the sensation, homing in bit at a time on her own flesh and blood.

She found herself being guided down into a tributary off an established canyon that hadn’t seen water in centuries, if not longer. The narrow crag seemed to offer no useful features and Nyx was about to lose heart when she saw the entrance to a cave, half way up the cliff face, clearly at a height where it had once been hewn out by fast moving waters sometime before ponies had learned to record things, if not before ponies altogether.

Landing at the mouth of the dark and uninviting cave, Nyx cancelled the spell on her livery collar as it was now glowing uncomfortably. She took a final look behind her and then a deep breath before steeling the courage to set hoof into the darkness.
“Hello?” she called tentatively as she ventured forward, her eyes struggling to adjust.
She shivered in the unexpected cold, but heard nothing except for the faint dripping of water coming from somewhere further inside.
“Hello?” she ventured again.
“Go away and leave me be” came a reply.
Nyx was elated, but her sense of achievement quickly dissipated in the dank and uninviting gloom that clung to her.

The faintest hint of blue greeted her straining eyes, the dull remnants of the once lustrous mane and tail of the fabled Princess of the Night. As her eyes adjusted better, she could make out which way round Luna lay and tiptoed towards her to lie down at her side.
“Please, leave me be” the lovelorn Princess cried self-piteously, “I just want to die.”
Nyx extended a wing over her clammy body and snuggled in closer, trying to share some rejuvenating warmth.

“Why do you persist so?” she moaned.
“I’m so happy I found you” whispered Nyx softly.
“No, no, no” sighed Luna, “My life would be over were it not for this cursed immortality. I do not want to go back; ever.”
“Then I’ll just have to stay with you” whispered Nyx, nuzzling her neck.
“No. I cannot allow it. You have your whole life ahead and Equestria will need you to raise the moon.”
“I may be able to raise the moon, but I am not the beloved Princess Luna.”
“Neither am I anymore. I am only an inconvenience to my Sister’s happiness, the evil Mare in the Moon that foals run away from on Nightmare Night.”
“No, Princess, you’re wrong. They’re all worried about you and they all miss you. If you won’t go back, then neither will I, and Equestria will bake under eternal day” said Nyx defiantly, snuggling closer and starting to feel some warmth return to her Princess, “I’m not leaving without you. I’ll never leave you.”

Luna shuddered as more tears fell, not tears of self-pity this time, but love for this brave young pony, whose sincerity was beyond doubt. She felt her closeness and her love, and for the first time in days felt truly valued.
“You must go back and prevent such a fate befalling Equestria” instructed Luna, regaining her composure, “The land cannot survive without the rejuvenation of night. Just do not tell anypony where I am.”
“No Princess” stated Nyx firmly, “It’s both of us, or neither of us.”
Luna reached out and gave Nyx a hug, her tears shining like sparkling diamonds on the young mare’s coat.

A rumbling sound interrupted the moment and Nyx apologised, suddenly realising how long it was since she had last eaten anything.
“We must get you back” confirmed Luna, “I cannot allow you to starve on my account.”
“I don’t know if I’m strong enough” Nyx lied, “I’m feeling weak because I haven’t eaten, and I have flown such a long way to find you. If you don’t come with me, I may not make it. Please would you come with me?”

Luna felt the furthest corners of her mouth beginning to lift at the obvious ruse, but if there were even the slightest chance that Nyx could be lost, then she did not want that on her eternal conscience, but still the thought of returning to her sister and Twilight Sparkle made the prospect most unpalatable. She pondered hard before realising that no matter how bad she may have felt herself, her duty was to safeguard Nyx; if nothing else so she could raise the moon while Luna retreated from the world for however long that would be.

Slowly, reluctantly, Luna raised herself up onto her forelegs and forced her hind quarters to comply, shaking the damp off as she rose.
“You would make a shrewd politician, Nyx” she commented, “You are far too clever a student of your adversary.”
Nyx smiled joyfully at the sight of Luna standing once more. The mane and tail may have been dull and lifeless, but still she carried herself with an unmistakeable regal poise that Nyx had always admired.

Luna emerged from the cave mouth and looked down at the deep shadows that sprawled across the canyon below and then frowned disapprovingly at the sight of the sun hovering expectantly just above the horizon.
“It appears that my Sister is waiting to lower the sun” she observed.
“No, I don’t think so” commented Nyx, “It’s been like that for some time now and I can’t get the moon past it.”
“Most odd. We should investigate further.”
Nyx smiled at the first signs of positivity flowing back into Princess Luna and followed her as she sprang off the ledge at the mouth of the cave and set course back to Canterlot.

They flew for hours, their tired wings straining to carry them back over the relentless inhospitality of the Badlands, but as they neared their destination, something was wrong; it was like there was a big black storm cloud over the city. Nyx gestured for them to land on a nearby cloud with a good vantage point and Luna nodded her approval, the two of them making one last steep climb to their lookout post. They landed and gently shook their wings into a comfortable furled position and lay down to watch.

From their secluded position they could both now see that it looked as if myriad tiny black flies were feasting on the remains of a giant rotting carcass.
“That doesn’t look good” gasped Nyx, struggling to comprehend what was happening.
“Changelings” muttered Luna under her breath.
Nyx looked at her questioningly.

“Do you recall the stories of Queen Chrysalis’ attempted invasion during Princess Cadence’s wedding? “
Nyx nodded.
“Reports attest to their having attacked in a swarm, just like this.”
“We have to go and help fight them off!”
“There is a garrison each of Royal Guard and Night Guard to do that. No, we must protect Twilight and my Sister from falling into Queen Chrysalis’ hooves. But in so doing, we must be careful to recognise that we too are high value assets and must not allow ourselves to be caught.”

“There is a secret entrance to the castle that was once used by the serving staff" suggested Nyx, "It’s really just a covered walkway that leads to the waterfall. They used to walk along it and dump all the waste from the castle over the edge before proper mains drainage was installed, but nopony uses it anymore. It’s so grown over now that you can’t see it unless you know it’s there.”
“How did you find out about it?”
“I’m inquisitive” replied Nyx, with a wry smile, “I bet I know Canterlot Castle about as well as you know the Castle of the Two Sisters.”
Luna cracked the first smile Nyx had seen since having found her, “Do you think we may be able to approach without being seen?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“You lead, as you know the way” Luna deferred, recognising the need to protect her fellow Princesses, but at the same time dreading their meeting.
Nyx nodded, her deceptively young persona sliding imperceptibly to reveal the face of a leader.

Luna nodded her ascent and they both slipped off their cloud together, gliding down away from the city until they intercepted the river and flew along together by its side, sheltered from the prying eyes of the changeling swarm under the protection of overhanging trees.

Comments

[Love able chaos]

Fly with haste Nyx.

[Bronyxy]

Two ponies against a changeling swarm is tough odds, but she's got spirit ...