• Published 20th May 2020
  • 1,011 Views, 192 Comments

The Nightmare Knights Become A Band - SwordTune



Frustrated with her sister's free spirit and new adventures, Luna resolves to find something new to live for, now that she is retired. The answer: A power metal band. And who better to join her on her quest than the Nightmare Knights?

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Verse 7

“...The Nightmare Knights.

The Nightmare Knights!

The Nightmare Knights,

We are! We are!

Svengallop unplugged the speakers. Luna’s song shook the walls of his studio apartment, a cramped and cluttered space with barely enough room for his keyboard and sound system. The tape recording wasn’t exactly what Luna expected. It sounded like the microphone was too far from her and too close to Starlight’s guitar, but she thought it still wasn’t bad for a first draft.

“Honey,” Svengallop took his reading glasses off and set down the lyrics for the song, “if this was your retirement plan, I suggest going back into government work.”

As expected, his words were harsh. Luna gathered that much about his personality after asking Starlight for all the details she could muster. According to what Applejack ranted about, he was the kind of manager who abused the trust of his artists and used half-truths to get his way. But if the Nightmare Knights could accept the Storm King’s former general and a rogue sorcerer who fractured the timeline for revenge, Luna wasn’t going to discount this stallion for his past mistakes.

But if working with past villains taught her one thing, it was that to convince some pony, you had to speak their language. If Svengallop was going to play it this way, she’d oblige him.

“And what are your retirement plans, Svengallop?” Luna ejected the tape from the cassette and returned it to her travel bag. “Chicoltgo’s not your usual spot for finding pop-artists to sponsor.”

“Like I need help from an eccentric aristocrat trying to find a way to pass time,” he scoffed. “Chicoltgo’s one of the most diverse cities in Equestria, second only to Manehattan. The world is changing and I will go with it. Non-pony music artists are going to be the next big thing, and I plan to make sure I’m part of it.”

“Hm, I see I stand corrected,” Luna kept her head postured up, “though, and forgive me if it’s an amateurish question, but how exactly are you going to be a part of it?” She produced two other tapes from her bag, both packaged and labelled with Svengallop’s name printed in them. “Found these on the discount shelf. Less than a thousand sales Equestria-wide. On top of that, your last long-term client, Coloratura, openly criticizes your work as a manager.”

Svengallop turned away and looked out of his window. “That fiasco has sailed. Ungrateful little ‘Rara’ can say whatever she wants. I’m beyond her now.”

“And coming to Chicoltgo has nothing to do with the fact Rara is performing out of Manehattan on Bridleway?”

“Not one bit,” he stomped his hoof down.

Luna absentmindedly inspected Svengallop’s tapes. “The polite thing would be to offer some words of advice. We are not rivals, after all. My music attracts a different set of fans.”

“As if I would be worried,” Svengallop rolled his eyes. “If you don’t even notice your drummer is slamming on his snare drum, then you’re going to need a lot more than a few tips.”

“Well, she was a stunt flier before,” Luna said, quickly producing a pencil and scroll from her bag to scribble down his notes. “A little aggressiveness can be expected.”

“Then stick to a rhythm she knows how to play,” he added. “Any passable drummer should be able to hold a simple beat.”

“Is that all?” Luna’s voice pitched up. “It seems so simple.”

Svengallop stared at her in disbelief. “Princess, please, you can’t be serious about this. I’m hardly the worst out there. Any other critic will tear you apart.”

“You almost sound like you care.”

“Who do you take me for?” He scowled. “Every pony I worked with might call me selfish, but even I have to draw the line somewhere. And frankly, the thought of you even trying to get onstage make my heart want to gag.”

Luna put her notebook away. There would be plenty of time to take notes if she could convince him to help the Nightmare Knights. Tempting him with her budget would’ve been easy. He was a middle-aged stallion with his career path completely abolished.

Across the street from his apartment was a bistro called the Grail. She could see it from his window. Luna had never heard of it before, but apparently it was locally famous for its wines, hence the name. Every cup tasted like it had been served in an enchanted grail from Starswirl’s own collection. Or at least that was the slogan. But Luna was more interested in their almost equally famous potatoes and egg breakfasts.

Luna glanced at the tied up trash bag by the door of the apartment. Cups of instant noodles and dried one-pony meals. Just add hot water. Living across from a restaurant with a reputation was just salt on the wound for Svengallop. If he could not bounce his career back, he’d never be able to see the world around him.

“If you’re convinced the Nightmare Knights are a lost cause, then I’m sure there’s no harm in offering more advice,” Luna suggested. “Perhaps we can talk over brunch?” She pointed to the Grail. “My treat.”


Luna could not decide whether to pity the stallion or to find his stubbornness charming. He was clearly hungry, and not the kind that could be sated by simple food. There was a desire in his eyes, like a greedy diamond dog reaching out for a polished ring. He muttered to himself about his choices.

Putting herself in his place wasn’t hard. Pride was so common in dreams that Luna was confident in saying she had seen all forms of it. On the one hoof, it was rude to order too much when some pony else was paying for it. But, she knew Svengallop believed he deserved more than a meagre portion.

Luna already knew what he’d choose. But, to speed things along, she made the first move. “I’m not really on a budget, but my appetite can be a little funny. I once ate a banana peel for breakfast.” Luna laughed off the memories of overworked nights. “I think I’ll just have the Avalon Platter. A little too much is better than not enough, right?”

It was the most expensive single item on the menu. She knew he would decide on it eventually, but picking it now just made him more comfortable with the choice. He would no look like he was taking advantage of her generosity.

“Hm, I actually have a very specific diet I need to stick to,” he grumbled a bit more, “I think I’ll just have the egg-whites on a spinach quiche.”

Luna twitched. Did he pick one of the lightest meals? What, you’re too good for my offerings? She scratched the back of her head, trying to drive away her other thoughts. There was only one thing she needed to focus on.

“You’re full of surprises, Princess,” Svengallop smirked. “Here I thought your sister was the one with the big appetite. What’s your secret to not getting fat?”

I will end his existence. The rage that was once Nightmare Moon pounded against Luna’s polite restraints. I am not a glutton!

“Please, just call me Luna,” she laughed lightheartedly at his remark. “And there’s no secret. The truth is, I’ve been so overworked for years that my diet hasn’t been very consistent. As I said, I once at a banana peel because it was the first thing I saw after a long night of dream monitoring.”

“That explains why you retired,” he said, “but I can’t understand why you’d leave that wonderful castle.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Svengallop closed up his menu and gestured to himself. “Listen, if it were me, I wouldn’t have left that castle for anything. You’re retired, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave. You ask me, every day would be a spa day, believe me.”

They gave their orders to a waitress and ordered tea and cream. Luna reconsidered her impression of him. She was used to the extravagance of Canterlot wealth. But truthfully, if he was like any of the aristocrats in the capital, he wouldn’t have lasted a day in Chicoltgo. The Grail was locally famous, but at the end of the day, it was not much different from any other slightly-pricey diner.

Across the street, Svengallop’s apartment building showed off its cracks and uncleaned bricks. No doubt the neighbourhood was rich in culture, but that didn’t change that the city’s businesses and economy had been irreversibly changed.

Once the centre of goods shipments by rail, it had become a shadow of its former self after the Crystal Empire rejoined Equestria. Luna remembered the dreams of hundreds of business owners that year. The national economy had changed, and it just so happened that Vanhoover became a geographically better centre for distribution. Without freight trains transitioning through the city, businesses and banks followed the goods and left Chicoltgo in the dust.

“Why come here?” Luna looked back at Svengallop. “I find it hard to believe you came here out of love for the community.”

Svengallop gasped disingenuously. “Princess! I’m shocked that you’d take me for some pony so shallow. Chicoltgo is the biggest scene for young musicians to start up in, full of dreams but no way to make them come true. But all of them want to play their way out of their neighbourhoods and make it to the big city. And I’m the pony who’ll get them there.”

Luna raised a brow. “How’s that any different from what you did to Rara? She was just unknown before you picked her up as her manager.”

“It’s not,” Svengallop held his head up, as if proud. “That’s the beauty of my plan. If I can work my way up to the top, I can do it again. And this time I won’t have any silly little conditions like helping school ponies or charity.”

“It won’t work,” Luna mocked him with a sly smile. “I give you five years. You’ll squeeze them until they don’t want to be squeezed anymore, and then they’ll leave you behind to try and prey on some pony else.”

“You’re just saying that because you want me for your pet project,” he frowned. “And as much as I love how much PR you’d get from the public, sweetheart, I just don’t it’ll work out for me. I was a manager for the biggest name in music since Sapphire Shores. I can’t be seen as a performer again.”

“I commanded an army and ruled over the night,” Luna countered. “But I’m willing to stand on stage because I want ponies to see who I am. Don’t you? Don’t you hate how all those Rolling Hooves magazines are calling you a washed-up has-been?

“No pony calls me that,” Svengallop face screwed up with frustration.

Huzzah! Insult him further and make him feel our dark fury! Luna took a sip of her tea to calm the nightmare inside her. Of course he was infuriating. But no pony was born that way. If she could pick him down to what drove him, then he would become more open to helping her. She didn’t need to change his mind completely. Just enough that he would open up.

“Well, some pony has to be,” she said, “how else would artists know to avoid you?”

“I’m just… in between a few choices, that’s all,” he insisted. “Ugh, why is my quiche taking so long?”

Luna would not let him deflect the conversation. “I think you’re letting your emotions cloud what you really want. I think you already know what it is, but your pride won’t let you accept that I’m here to give it to you. You still think you can take by yourself. But ponies like us can’t get far by ourselves.”

“Like us?” Svengallop’s frustration cracked into amusement. “I’m flattered, Princess. But flattery can only get you so far. What exactly are you here to give me?”

She shrugged nonchalantly and sat back in her seat. “It’s simple. Money. Fame. Success. You want to build up a super-star so badly that you won’t accept one already in front of you. How much easier can it be to make a former princess famous?” Luna remained leaned away from him, clenching her jaw and biting her tongue to keep from lashing out. How many times did she have to tell ponies? I am not “Princess” Luna anymore. It’s just me!

“It won’t be hard for me to turn any pony into a super-star,” he boasted, “but I still can’t commit to whatever it is you’re trying. One lousy recording can’t convince me how dedicated you are. If you want me to stake the next few years of my career on this, I need something more.”

“Then come to Ponyville with me and see how serious I am,” Luna offered.

Their plates finally came, freshly cooked and seasoned. Their waitress laid out everything on the table and cheerfully asked if they needed anything else, but the two were locked in death stares. Without any further requests, the waitress returned to the kitchen as fast as she could.

“That backwater town? The place of my downfall?” Svengallop turned his head away in disgust. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. Find some pony else.”

“Oh really?” Luna snickered. “And here I thought you wanted to stay in a castle.”

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