Imperial Forclousure

by The Sound of Loneliness

Queen To D7

Some things were expected, but they soured her mood non-the-less. It was one such piece of information that Nightmare Moon received from her willful farseer. Nightmare Moon had expected Princess Celestia to allow herself to be imprisoned, rather than harm those she is sworn to care for, for there was no way that simply asking would have compelled the peasant assembly to relinquish their power, as meager as it was compared to a true monarch. The confirmation given by Princess Flurry Heart only put her in an even darker mood. She would have to retrieve the stubborn fool from her cell before they could continue: and now that she knew precisely where that cell was, Nightmare Moon no longer had excuses to delay. She did not need any more intelligence than that, not truly. The guards will be numerous, but they won’t expect a quick strike, especially if it comes from within. Twilight could calculate a teleportation spell to the inside quite easily. They may still suffer losses, and the guards will most certainly suffer heavy casualties, but that was the price of Celestia’s stubborn refusal to do what her duty demanded of her.

There was still one problem she had to solve: someone had to lead her troops to battle. Her natural first choice was her sister, Daybreaker, of course. She was naturally aggressive, bold, and very eager to prove herself, even now, after she learned to curb her most destructive tendencies. Yet she was otherwise occupied.
She could go herself, she could probably do better even without having means of directly harming her enemies, but the thought of leaving her camp unattended was making her anxious. Changelings could take care of themselves, it is not her soldiers that she was wary of. For once, ponies made her much more uneasy. Flurry Heart, in particular, was an unknown variable. They seemed to come to an understanding, yet taking someone like Cadance’s daughter at her word screamed foolishness to Nightmare Moon. She could trust common ponies - even Twilight - to stay predictable and reliable. But a noble - no.
Nightmare Moon could take a risk and send Major Tarsus. He seemed competent enough: old and probably fought in the war or studied under those who did. But he was not a noble, not even an alicorn at that, and therefore much more fallible.
Sending Twilight was out of the question… regardless of how much sorcerous power she wielded. She was a prodigy - true, but her area of expertise was as far removed from command as hers was from pottery. Perhaps if their time together was not cut so short, but that ship had sailed a long time ago. But she may be able to look after the camp, if asking her to not fall for Flurry Heart’s trickery would be far too much.

It seemed that she simply had no good options left. Nightmare Moon resigned to having to go herself and leave her best officer behind. At least she could specifically instruct him to not play Flurry Heart’s game; and be sure that he would do his best to follow that order. Bringing Twilight along would also eliminate that vulnerability.
Now as for the next stage of her plan, she will have to plan the operation. They could not rely on magical support, aside from the lacklustre combat skills of Twilight, that is. Which means: the only means of avoiding rather costly close-quarters fighting would be speed and the element of surprise.

She hailed the closest changeling to have her find their major. But when the trooper was already trotting off, she realized there would have to be more than one strike. After such a brazen assault on a prison, aimed at freeing a high-profile prisoner, troops at other crucial targets will be brought to high alert. Her small force relied entirely on speed and the element of surprise since Cadance refused aid. If Nightmare Moon was honest with herself, their situation was far from good, and she was desperate for supplies and reinforcements. She hoped her sister would exceed expectations and bring more soldiers than Nightmare Moon could reasonably expect. Matters coming to the worst, exceeding reasonable expectations is likely what it will take from all of them. She could either: strike the small garrison in Ponyville and capture its ammunition stocks… or she could be daring and attack the Canterlot airbase, that would be one of her hardest battles of all time, but the reward would be enormous. If its arsenal was as large as it used to be during the Empire, then she wouldn’t need resupply for months. They will also gain access to heavy artillery, although they would still have to find crews to operate it.

The response time for this bureaucrat-ruled state would likely be on the slow end, especially in the army, but rumors travel quicker than bullets. But not necessarily faster than teleporting. If prepared thoroughly enough, she could lead two assaults in a single night.
Her soldiers shall be exhausted by the end, but they should have, at the very least, a day before any response could be mounted.

“My Lady, you have called,” her Major hailed her, fast approaching.

“Indeed,” Nightmare Moon felt like she could show him more favor after all. “I have need of your counsel. Say, have you inventoried our supplies?”

“Yes, My Lady,” he simply nodded. “Would you like a complete report drafted?”

“Not this time,. B just bring me the weapon stockpile manifesto. I believe we will be making our move tomorrow night;, prepare your troops for protracted deployment.”

The Major hesitated, internal struggle visible on his face and body language.

“Ugh. Speak what is on your mind,” she demanded, having no patience for indecisive underlings.

“My Lady, I regret having to say this: my soldiers are going hungry. It has been a week since we could replenish our energy reserves. Without being among ponies, we will soon become too weak to fight. I beg your pardon for havin’ to trouble you with something as disgusting as changeling feeding, b-”

“Major!” Nightmare Moon sharply silenced him, before he could give her the entire breakdown. “I am fully aware of your nutrition requirements and your ability to extract energy from other living beings. I shall only tell you this once: never utter the word ‘disgusting’ and yourselves in one sentence. Your attitude is throwing shade not only at your race, but also at everyone who allies with you and me as well. Know that I do not find your necessary feeding disgusting, even though it is indeed parasitic in nature. You are no more disgusting than ponies feeding on grass, and everyone who shall say otherwise must be made to answer for such insults. I will not stand for my soldiers belittling themselves.”

The changeling clumsily slumped down in a deep bow,
“My apologies, Lady. Ponies tend to react negatively to our feeding, and I assumed you would be displeased to hear of it.”

“Make it known to your subordinates that they are not to take such treatment anymore. Extract compensation for such insults and report them to me or my sister.”

“Understood, My Lady. I shall go retrieve the manifesto; unless there is something else you require?”

“One more thing. I require volunteers for a highly dangerous assignment. Make sure they know that it might be deadly.”

“We are always prepared for that, My Lady. I shall be back soon.”

That one last remark raised anxiety in her. Nightmare Moon usually enjoyed being among Changelings. They were much more single-minded than ponies but were also less prejudiced and more willing to cooperate with unfamiliar people. They knew next-to-nothing about her but accepted her without question, regardless, as it was the proper way of things. But their mentality was making her uneasy at times. They were fatalistic, indifferent to the suffering of themselves and others, and overzealous in their duty. She liked them, but they would have been a curse on her Empire much; like the zealots were, at least if settled together with ponies.

With her moment of reflection passed, she still had more of her supporters to call upon. She had to contact Luna and also discuss with Twilight the spells they will require. She hoped Shadow will return before she is finished.

Searching for the young Princess was a simple matter. She simply had to follow her voice. Whenever Twilight wasn’t laying down a lecture on biology for a changeling who thought incorrectly of pony nutritional needs, she was with Rarity. The seamstress always knew a way to remain friends with everyone, regardless of their views or attitude. Well, almost everyone. These two had quite a bit to talk about, it seemed.

Among the tents, they found themselves a seat on a flat piece of fallen brickwork, caringly covered with plaid. Nightmare Moon did not wish to intrude, much less eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help but hear them reminiscing on the old times… before her. Even after all the times she heard that she could not get used to it. Even though they immediately hushed soon as they saw her.

“Rarity, Twilight,” Nightmare Moon dryly greeted. “It is time.”

The mares looked at each other, Twilight grimaced and stood up, obediently coming over to Nightmare.

“What do we have to do?” she asked with determination. Nightmare Moon would have given her an approving nod if she could.

“I have received information on where your teacher must be held after she failed to reason with commoners in power. We require your expertise in transportation magic yet again to rescue her. I hope you are not yet growing tired.”

“Alright. Where do you need to go?”

“Bat Mountains, as ironic as that is. I will show you on the map exactly where, but before we discuss further: Rarity, I have something to ask of you also.”

“Me?” the seamstress was slightly surprised. “Of course! Anything you need.”

“I require you to wait for my Shadow and Lady Nighstar to return and then have her contact Luna. I must speak with her before we begin our operation.”

“Certainly. I must say, I hoped to get an opportunity to speak with her. I think we have a lot of common friends.”

“Be sure to not delay her for too long. I am sure you understand the gravity of the situation.”

“Just a little, I promise.”

“Very well, take care, my friend.”

Nightmare Moon, with Twilight in tow, departed for the command tent, leaving Rarity rather lonely. She thought she would have to stand somewhere close to the entrance, but having to do so alone was making her dreary already. She and Twilight were having a great time together; some changelings shared some tea while they talked about Spike and Cadance, and their time together. It’s a shame that they had to leave Spike behind, having him close by was always fun. Though he was, in all likelihood, completely fine on his own. Crystal ponies surely must remember him, they have a statue of him, after all. But she already missed him all the same. She had never noticed before just how much she missed Spike in particular.

Luckily, she had someone else to talk to while she was waiting. Rarity went over to the barrack tent. From what she understood, the smallest organizational unit in the Crystal Imperial Army was the company. Which could include hundreds of ponies or changelings. And for each one hundred soldiers, there was only one tent. Rarity couldn’t help but feel dreadful for all those that had to huddle together in one tent. It must be absolutely horrible.

“I am dreadfully sorry. But have any of you, by any chance, seen Tibia or Grossa?” Rarity asked, after flipping aside the hanging cloth of the tent with her magic. Wouldn’t want to touch that dirty ground cloth…

Changelings inside stared at her for a moment from the ground, before one of them, answered: “They are reinforcing the bridge outside.”

Reinforcing the bridge? How odd… couldn’t all of them either fly or teleport? Rarity gave her thanks and then departed, so as not to detract from their rest.
She indeed found Shadow’s daughters just outside, by the bridge. They had stacks of wooden planks and several coils of rope. Two new ropes were already swung across the ravine, and the two changelings were examining the bridge and trying the flooring to the new ropes.

“Girls!” Rarity announced herself to them. “I hope I do not intrude. I have just heard of this assignment of yours, and I immediately thought about how I could help.”

The changelings looked at each other.
“Rarity, if you would, bring over those ropes and planks and hold them closer.” A simple enough request. Rarity lifted up the building materials and sent them floating towards the sisters. Tibia shouted her thanks and returned to work. Rarity wanted to ask how they were doing, but shouting all the way across the ravine would be straining. Changelings worked somewhat quicker, but the sheer amount of work for two of them made sure it was taking a while still. There was one boon to it all the same: Rarity had time to think away from everyone else.
She did not doubt what she was doing there. That was where her place always was, with people who needed her support. But it seemed that nobody else understood quite what they were doing or what their goal was. Seemingly not even their Lady knew. Rarity felt disturbed by that. Never, in her many years of serving as Nightmare Moon’s chamberlain, had she seen her aimless. Perhaps she needed a friendly ear, it always seemed to do wonders for her mental state in the past.
Daybreaker as well. Rarity had to admit that she did not know her well enough to understand what was driving her. There was great affection between the two sisters, despite them being so radically different. Daybreaker seemed much more driven by impulses and emotion than Nightmare Moon was. Nightmare Moon was not entirely coldblooded, but she was highly rational, although the reasons for her making a particular decision were not always obvious. Rarity watched her holding court many times, the Empress devoted much of that time to careful deliberation before committing to any decree. Although she commanded much fear from her subjects, the sight of her on the throne was calming to petitioners, even if only because much of her reputation came from exaggerated stories. Daybreaker was very different: she was always eager to act and was known for her short temper, and volcanic rage. Her attitude was only tempered by her unflinching loyalty to her sister, if it wasn’t for that, Rarity was fearful to imagine how much horror Daybreaker could inflict. She wasn’t evil in her own right, but her pride and short temper made her very dangerous if let loose. There was something making her deeply anxious, especially in Nightmare’s presence. Some of it was guilt, but it wasn’t just that. Although Rarity doubted that Daybreaker would simply talk to her, there were other ways.

Rarity came to the conclusion that she needed to gather more information and perhaps Nightmare’s request would be just what she needed. Rarity had to talk to Shadow, she would know how her Mistress’ truly felt like.

“Darlings!” Rarity called to the sisters. “Do you, by any chance, know when your mother is tasked to return?”

“If I had to estimate, it would be before dawn,” Tibia answered without raising her head from the knot she was tying.

Rarity looked to the East, the sky on the horizon was beginning to grow lighter, it would not be much longer now. She continued to help the two sisters out until a characteristic buzzing was heard. Rarity looked in the direction of the sound, predictably, she was hard-pressed to see anything in the darkness of the night, even with the moon’s light brightening up the surrounding woods. Eventually, the changeling and her companion landed at the entrance. Rarity wasted no time.

“There you are, Darlings! It’s so good to see you again! Was your trip successful?”

“Rarity, don’t take this the wrong way, but we can’t wag chins right now,” Nightstar shut her out and tried to walk to the castle.

“Oh, but Lady Moon gave me specific instructions! In fact, I have a message for you. You are to contact Princess Luna immediately, Lady asks for an urgent meeting.”

Nighstar looked over to Shadow, but she displayed a completely neutral expression. Although Rarity knew better. Shadow was mostly unreadable for all but other changelings, but not for Rarity. Subtle, involuntary twitches of her plates and wings, shuffling of her legs. Yes, Shadow knew something.

“Now, dear. Run along, you wouldn’t want to keep the Lady waiting longer than necessary.”

Nightstar again looked at Shadow, but faced the same neutral look as before. Frowning, the mare turned around and flew off without a word. Rarity waited a few moments for her to get out of earshot.

“Shadow, darling, I believe we must speak,” Rarity said in a hushed voice. “I know you would like to report your findings, and this is likely outside of me to ask, but I have to ask you something first: Dear, did our Lady ever explain to you why we are preparing for a coup?” As damning as the question would be if asked by anycreature else, Rarity trusted Shadow to show her good faith. Even if outwardly she appeared fanatical, the truth of her loyalty was more nuanced: and Shadow could, very well much, think outside her instructions, usually even more so than regular changelings.

Shadow looked around for a few long moments, lingering on her daughters, continuing to labor away even as their mother returned. Satisfied that they were mostly alone, Shadow made a step closer,
“I believe Mistress understands that Princess Luna wants her to demonstrate a willingness to help their subjects to again become something more than they are now. But she does not know precisely what the Princess desires her to do.”

“And she returns to what she understands the most,” Rarity concluded. “Shadow, dear, why would your Mistress be so rash? She is not known to be hasty or violent. Her rushing headlong into battle seems very uncharacteristic.”

“Mistress speaks precious little of her motivation and I would not dare to presume, perhaps she does not think about such matters but only about what she believes must be done.”

“Aren’t you worried for her? She has been here once before, she did what she had to but came to regret it deeply.”

“It is not for us to question Mistress' judgment, Rarity. …But I fear so as well.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows, Shadow admitting to doubting her Mistress was rare…, but not unprecedented. Although perfectly willing to follow Nightmare even if she was making a mistake, Shadow still thinks for herself. There was something inspiring about that.

“We can help her nonetheless. Sometimes a pony who wants to do the right thing becomes so focused that they cannot see their other options. As always, she needs our support and our counsel may aid her in making a better decision. Do you imagine she would be receptive?”

“Perhaps even more so than you hope for. Our Mistress is greatly stressed. The absence of Princess Luna has not been good on her.”

“Do you think we should go together?”

“I… it may be beneficial.”

“On our way then, dear,” Rarity beckoned. “Don’t get in trouble, girls!”

Rarity took point and went first, no one gave them more than a look the whole way up until they reached the command tent. Inside, they could hear Nightmare Moon and Twilight discussing the magical component of the plan. As soon as Rarity flipped the cloth from the way, the discussion immediately stopped. Nightmare Moon, Twilight, and that officer of hers, were all eyeing Rarity and Shadow on their way in.

“What news?” Nightmare Moon spoke.

“My task is complete, Mistress,” Shadow produced a stack of papers from her bags, offering them with a mild bow. Nightmare Moon accepted the documents and began methodically flipping through them.

“Yes… Yes, this is exactly what I require. My Shadow, you excel as you always do. Find some rest for now, there will be more to do soon.”

“You are too kind, Mistress. But there is more. Can we have a moment alone?”

“Twilight, Major, you are free for a moment.” Nightmare Moon dismissed her staff without a moment of hesitation. Twilight gathered her notes and followed the Major out, giving Rarity and Shadow a glance on the way out.

“Lady…” Rarity stepped forward. “Nightmare, we are worried about you. Darling, you have been so stressed recently. You seem so rash and irritable… is there something you would like to talk about?”

Nightmare Moon turned away, was she trying to hide her eyes?

“I am grateful for your sentiment, truly. You are the only ones I could trust completely. It is so comforting to have creatures that will always stand by you. But sometimes, not even you can help. How could you?”

“Mistress, sometimes ponies need someone to speak to. Since Princess Luna is no longer with you, you seem to lack a confidant. You also seem to lack a vision of the future.”

“Ah, but isn’t that the truth... The future seems more nebulous than ever. We lack reliable intelligence, a source of supply, and most importantly, a clear objective. I intend to resolve both of these issues to a small extent at least…, but you are correct that I have no confidant for more private concerns. Concerns that perhaps no one can truly aid me. I know what I must do, but I find myself hesitating.”

“Hesitation is only natural for someone of your station, Mistress. But do not hesitate much longer, for even a wrong decision is better than none.”

“Yes, very wise, my Shadow. But how could I be decisive when any decision I can make will cost the lives of those few who still believe in me? Celestia’s stubbornness left us no other choice but to come into confrontation with our very people. Once they are aware of us, they will not stop until they destroy us.”

“Have you considered trying a more peaceful approach? I wouldn’t be surprised if ponies were feeling vengeful if we attacked them first. Perhaps poor things are simply afraid of you?”

“Perhaps, Rarity, but it changes nothing for us. I tried to talk Celestia out of her foolish endeavor, but she did not listen despite knowing that she was likely to be imprisoned instead. She wanted to try every option before resorting to what she knew was inevitable.”

“But is it inevitable? This is Equestria, our moniker was friendship, after all.”

“Indeed. Although I am no master of the Magic of Friendship, my expertise lies in other matters entirely.”

“Twilight usually knows how to help with friendship problems. Maybe you could ask her?”

“This is quite a large friendship problem, Rarity. I suppose we could ask her. However, I expect she wouldn’t know where to begin at this point. She has failed under pressure in much less hazardous conditions.”

“We all did, but we didn’t have you.”