Piece by Piece

by Eltirions

Chapter 43: Changes 6

14 December 1008

Dinner was, with such a large party, a bit of an affair. Nightmare headed the table, of course, and to her left and right were Rarity and Sunset respectively. Sweetie Belle had demanded to be seated next to her sister, and Rainbow had taken place next to Sunset. Lily Merrimare, Twinkle Flower and Captain Darkheart rounded out the group, leaving one seat sadly empty.

After dinner had arrived, Nightmare took an opportunity to speak once the servants bringing it were gone. ‘’Before we begin,’’ she said, ‘’I will take a moment to state a few things. For one, it is imperative that Flurry be found as soon as possible. To that end I will enter the Dream World once dinner is finished. Twilight Sparkle can do many things, but she cannot hide my niece’s presence from me there.’’

‘’So why are we waiting?’’ Rainbow Dash asked.

‘’Because such an effort will take time, concentration, and ask much of my energy. The Dream World is… extensive. I will not find Flurry instantly. And I will need to prepare. Hence the food.’’

‘’Fair enough.’’

‘’Once I have found Flurry, I shall awaken and direct our forces to her location. Sunset, Rainbow, Lancer, be ready at a moment’s notice.’’

‘’Of course, your majesty,’’ Sunset agreed.

‘’Sure, but who the Tartarus is Lancer?’’

‘’That would be me, Commander Dash,’’ Captain Darkheart spoke up. His eyes met Nightmare’s. ‘’We shall be ready, your majesty.’’

‘’Good,’’ Nightmare said as Rainbow continued to stare at Darkheart, apparently completely surprised. ‘’Make sure you have vehicles ready too. She could be out of the city by now. I will accompany you once I have risen again.’’

Rarity cleared her throat. ‘’Your majesty, I do not wish to sound disrespectful, but you said yourself that this process would be taxing. Are you sure you will be able to join Rainbow and the Guard?’’

Nightmare levelled her gaze at Rarity. ‘’Twilight Sparkle is my responsibility, and so is my niece. I will be ready.’’

That left no room for argument, and with no other questions and nothing else for her to say, Nightmare ordered the dinner to commence.

It was, she was sure, a great dinner. The cooks of the Crystal Empire were surely skilled. But she was so occupied with her own mind that by the time dinner ended, she could barely recall what she’d eaten, much less what it had tasted like.

If it had been truly terrible, surely I would have noticed.

‘’I shall head to my sleeping quarters,’’ she informed the group. ‘’See to it that you are ready. Get rest, if you need it, but do not think I shall be long.’’

‘’Of course. Good luck, your majesty.’’ Rarity bowed her head - Nightmare gave a nod back in return.

Their real conversation could wait for later, when Flurry was safe.

The rest of the party left with similar wishes, until only Sunset remained behind in the room.

‘’Did you wish to say something, Sunset?’’

The younger mare snorted. ‘’Nothing you don’t already know. Just figured I’d stay behind for you, see if there’s any last-minute instructions.’’

‘’There shall not be,’’ Nightmare declared after a moment’s hesitation. ‘’Make yourself ready to retrieve my niece.’’

‘’There’s not much I need to get ready,’’ Sunset pointed out with a shrug. ‘’Can’t really go anywhere without my horn.’’

‘’Tempest Shadow would disagree.’’

Sunset barked out a startled laugh. ‘’That’s cold.’’

Nightmare didn’t bother responding. ‘’Go,’’ she ordered instead.

Sunset tipped her head. ‘’As you wish. Good luck.’’ Then her horn flared, and in a flash of turquoise she was gone.

Now alone, Nightmare made her way out of the room and towards her quarters, retracing her steps from past visits through the hallways and up the stairs until she arrived before the opulent double doors. Two of her guards stood watch before it, and she passed them by with a nod. They already had their instructions on who to let in and who to not let in.

The room she was staying in - rooms, more accurately said - was opulent, and very comfortable if she remembered her past visits correctly. She didn’t care, however. Nightmare simply laid herself down on the bed, closed her eyes, and slipped into the Dream World.

The Dream World was impossibly vast. Nightmare, in fact, wasn’t quite sure how vast it was, or if it even had an end. It was, after all, a realm connected but not parallel to the physical world.

But she knew what to look for. She knew her niece, despite the short time they had actually spent together, and she would find her. In the physical world, she was not all-powerful, despite what some might claim; but here, she was as close to omnipotence as was possible to achieve.

She began to travel through the realm, on the search for her target. The hour was early; not many were yet asleep, and though physical distance meant little in the Dream World some elements of it carried over.

Hang on, Flurry. I’m coming for you.

|-x-X-x-|

14 December 1008

It had been hours, and Nightmare had not woken up.

Sunset was not a patient mare by nature.

These two facts were the primary reasons that she was busy flipping through a book she’d gotten out of the Palace’s library. She couldn’t even call it skimming, what she was doing; the only reason she was even holding the book was so she could do something, instead of waiting.

She sighed, before looking around and seeing what others could possibly be doing to pass the time.

Rainbow and the Thestral captain, she knew, had gone out earlier to speak with their soldiers. That left them with Sweetie and her sister, her sister’s secretary and Twinkle. Sweetie and Rarity were engaged in quiet conversation on one side of the table - too quiet for Sunset to hear, and it wasn’t her business anyway. She had absolutely no idea what Rarity’s secretary was doing, or why she wasn’t working, but that also wasn’t her business. And Twinkle was reading something.

‘’What’re you reading?’’ she asked him.

It took him a moment to respond. ‘’Oh, uhh… the Commentaries on the Mythic Dawn, volume three.’’

‘’I never read those. Any good?’’

‘’If you like pseudo-scientific, pseudo-religious theories on how life came to be, sure,’’ Twinkle said drolly. ‘’The author is overly pretentious, but there is some interesting stuff beneath all of the inane rambling.’’

‘’I met the Camareran heir in Canterlot once,’’ Sunset offered. ‘’I kicked him in the face.’’

‘’I bet he took that well.’’

‘’Got grounded for a week. Worth it.’’

‘’Who grounded you?’’

‘’Celestia. I was her student, at the time.’’

Twinkle nodded. ‘’Of course, of course. I’d forgotten that.’’

‘’Not something I advertise.’’

‘’I can imagine. What were you reading?’’

‘’I have no idea,’’ Sunset deadpanned. ‘’I just grabbed a book off the shelves. Let’s see.’’ She turned the cover over. ‘’Huh. Our Brightest Hour. I remember this one, it’s about Celestia declaring war on the Griffonian Empire after news came back of the Riverlands Crusades. Pretty sure I showed it to her once.’’

Twinkle raised his eyebrows. ‘’Would that even have worked?’’

‘’No, it would not have,’’ Rarity’s secretary suddenly spoke up. ‘’Equestria was at that time not prepared for a war. Though it did have a distinct naval advantage, the Empire would have had more soldiers and more resources at its disposal, even with its noble structure. And Grover II would not have stopped until he had burned down Canterlot.’’

Sunset didn’t disagree with the assessment - though she didn’t fully agree either - but she had not expected a secretary, of all people, to deliver such a well-reasoned argument. ‘’Do you think?’’ she mused. ‘’The Royal Guard still did stuff, back then. Monster hunting and the like.’’

‘’Monster hunting is not the same as fighting a war,’’ the secretary - wasn’t her name Merrimare or something? - pointed out. ‘’And the Royal Guard would still be outnumbered by the Reichsarmee, and inexperienced at fighting Griffons.’’

‘’True,’’ Twinkle jumped in, ‘’but as you said, Equestria had a naval advantage. And it is not like, if Celestia was going to war, she would not be preparing for it. And don’t forget that the Empire is also fighting with the Riverlands still.’’

The secretary hummed. ‘’You are right. I’m not saying that the Griffonian Empire would win, mind you. But it would not be an easy war.’’

‘’I think the book explores that,’’ Sunset remarked. ‘’But I haven’t read it in ages, so I’m not sure. I think it follows some Equestrian conscript campaigning in Wingbardy, and ends when he dies in Karthin.’’

‘’I’ll give it a read once you’re finished, I think,’’ the secretary said.

Sunset passed the book to her. ‘’You can have it.’’

‘’Thanks,’’ the mare said as she took the book. ‘’I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself. My name is Lily Merrimare.’’

‘’Sunset Shimmer.’’

‘’I’m Twinkle Flower. Pleasure to meet you.’’

‘’Likewise.’’

‘’Lily?’’ Rarity suddenly called out. ‘’Could you go and ask someone to retrieve some of the documents on my desk? The ones marked with my Cutie Mark.’’

‘’Of course, Rarity.’’

‘’Thank you, darling.’’

Sunset would admit some curiosity as to what was in those documents, but she wasn’t quite interested enough to try and find out what they actually said. Probably just some boring papers that Rarity couldn’t justify delaying working on any longer.

‘’Ask someone to check on the Empress too.’’

Rarity scoffed. ‘’Darling, if there was any news we would know.’’

Sunset met her gaze. ‘’I would know it sooner. I can’t stand this waiting.’’

‘’Neither can I,’’ Rarity said, ‘’but you must have patience.’’

‘’It’s been hours.’’

‘’The Empress said it would take time.’’

‘’I know that.’’

At that moment, the door opened and a Night Guard sprinted in. ‘’The Empress is awake!’’

Well, there we go.

|-x-X-x-|

14 December 1008

It had taken her far longer than she would have liked, but finally, she had found it: Twilight Sparkle’s hiding place.

She did not know how the other alicorn had managed it, but she had made some sort of hidden pocket within the Dream World, where Nightmare was unable to see her and her dreams - and Flurry and her dreams, presumably.

But though Twilight was undoubtedly powerful and skilled at magic, this was Nightmare’s domain, and here she was the master. With a grin, she tore away the spells that had kept the space hidden from her sight, and then leapt into the opened area.

‘’Twilight Sparkle!’’ she intoned as she strode forward. ‘’Show thyself!’’

From the darkness around her - no darkness of her own, but of the space she had entered - a purple light spread. It originated from Twilight’s horn, but Nightmare could recall what her magic had looked like: it had been purple too, but not like this. Now it was darker, and where it had once looked smooth and refined now it was jagged.

‘’You have fallen far, oh student of Celestia,’’ Nightmare taunted as she came to a halt. ‘’What would she say now, if she saw you here? Playing with dark magic, mind-controlling your own friends.’’

‘’Nightmare Moon,’’ Twilight growled; in her mouth the name sounded like a curse. ‘’You did this. You came and ruined everything. Equestria was fine until you came along. Everyone was friends with each other.’’

Nightmare laughed. ‘’You have always been blind, ever a failure of unicorns to see beyond their own horns. Equestria was not fine,’’ she snarled the last word. ‘’Thestrals were mistreated, insulted, excluded. And not just that. Celestia was blind to the failures of her rule. Stalliongrad, the rise of Changelingia, Sombra. All things she failed to foresee.’’

‘’And yet you were the one to destroy her,’’ Twilight countered. ‘’It was you who rose up. You who brought war to Equestria. It was you who brought Sombra back.’’

Nightmare blinked. ‘’I had nothing to do with that.’’

‘’Didn’t you?’’ There was an unnerving void in Twilight’s eyes. ‘’I tried to figure it out, afterwards. I needed to know how he came back. There wasn’t much, but there was a trail, and I followed it. It led me to mysterious clubs, funded by anonymous donors. Donors that weren’t so anonymous after I broke their weak little minds and left them blubbering on the floors. Donors that were agents of the Nightmare’s Hoof.’’

Fuck.

‘’If what you say is true,’’ Nightmare said in a low voice, ‘’then I had no knowledge of it.’’

‘’You expect me to believe that?’’

‘’I fought Sombra before, I would not wish him back.’’

‘’And yet it was your Chiropterrans that enabled his few deranged followers to bring him back. It was your uprising that allowed for Cadence’s defences to be distracted, so that he could easily appear and overwhelm the Empire. And because of you, they’re dead.’’

‘’I did not want them to die. I wanted to talk with Cadence, explain to her why I was right. I would never have hurt them.’’

‘’LIAR!’’ Twilight screamed, and her mane caught fire. Green flames. Fucking hell. ‘’You knew! You knew he would appear! That is why you only saved Flurry, and then removed her memories of it!’’

‘’I had nothing to do with her rescue.’’ Though I am glad every day that she is alive.

‘’Then why can’t she remember it?’’ Twilight’s voice had gone down a register again. ‘’I searched in her mind for hours. The memories were not there. When I found them, I found them trapped under a layer of alicorn magic, impossible even for me to remove. Who else but you could have placed that barrier?’’

Nightmare had no answer for that. ‘’Show me this barrier,’’ she said instead.

‘’Flurry is my niece. You will never see her again, Nightmare Moon,’’ Twilight simply declared, before taking a breath. ‘’Nightmare Moon, for your crimes against the Principality of Equestria - including, but not limited to, the banishment of Princess Celestia, high treason, and armed insurrection - I, Princess Regnant Twilight Sparkle, hereby sentence you to summary execution.’’

The light from the tip of her horn shot towards Nightmare, and she had only a second to dodge, ducking quickly to the left. Before she could regain her balance, Twilight was already hammering her with a barrage of spells, all of them deadly and reeking of dark magic.

‘’Very well,’’ she declared, rising to the challenge with a shield that caught all of Twilight’s attacks. ‘’I am done with you, Twilight Sparkle. Now die.’’

The torrent of magic she sent forward wasn’t a spell; it was raw magic, given shape by her will to destroy this insolent alicorn, who had tried to harm so much of her work. She was done. No more chances.

Twilight was almost caught by the attack, but managed to leap aside in the nick of time - and then Nightmare tackled her to the ground, forehooves pushing down into the other mare’s face.

In return, she got a kick in the stomach and a bite in the leg - then Twilight knocked her away with a blast of wind. Before either of them had gotten up, Nightmare already cast her next spell, sending spears of moonlight towards Twilight, who retaliated with her own projectiles. Some caught each other and exploded mid-air, but most were dodged.

Urgh.

Nightmare spread her wings, then dive-bombed Twilight again. This time she got a kick in the face, but she gave a kick in the side in return. Darkness curled around her, but it resisted her will; Twilight was contesting her magic, the little fucker. If it wasn't a fight, she'd be impressed.

Nightmare slammed her head into Twilight’s side, drawing blood with her horn. The next thing she knew, she felt Twilight draw the equivalent of a magical razor across her left wing. She snarled through the pain and called lightning to her horn, before slamming it into the other mare. And then Twilight threw what looked like three different curses stitched together at her. Only one of them hit - glancing blow - but she felt the mess of little cuts appear on her side instantly, each of them stinging with pain.

She let out a snarl that was half anger, half pain, before summoning up a wave of shadows and throwing it at Twilight. All-encompassing as the wave was, she was caught and slammed down by it. Quickly, while she had an angle, Nightmare shot a tracking spell at Twilight. It wouldn’t stick in the real world, of course, but if she fled out of this space of hers…

‘’I’m done with you.’’

Twilight rose, eyes glowing.

Oh shi-

‘’GO AWAY!’’

With that scream, the world exploded into nothing but light.

Nightmare’s eyes snapped open. She was back in the real world. Her entire body ached and hurt, and her magic was exhausted.

‘’Guards!’’

Author's Note:

We should be done this month. Let me know how you liked the fight scene.