Left Behind

by The Psychopath

My New Form

"Wake up," the mayor told Sunny.

He slapped the stallion several times until one of the unicorns came with a small, black cloth pouch filled with foul-smelling herbs. She pulled the string loose and ran the bag under the unconscious pony's muzzle. He immediately flew up, retching loudly and clutching his nostrils close.

"What was that?!" he croaked.

Nightmare Moon was tapping the ground with every laugh she had. "Oh, you peasants sure are a riot at times, preferably when not rioting. Then it's even funnier when I send in the soldiers!" She bellowed in laughter, confusing the observers.

"What did she say?" the mayor asked Sunny. He shrugged.

Sunny rubbed his muzzle and snorted several times before he was able to answer. "I-I don't know. She spoke too quickly, and then there was that weird reverb to her voice." The young stallion pulled his lips back when he saw the mare's sharp, very long teeth. "I think she's unstable. Look at how she's laughing at her own jokes."

"Muuuuh-drat!" The mayor tried to stroke a beard that wasn't present and cursed. "I keep forgetting I shaved it! But I see your point." He looked around and nodded. "And I'd rather my only link to this creature remain conscious. Now follow me. We'll get her situated somewhere, but I need time to think about that. In the meantime, I think it would be preferable to get her out of the weather," he suggested when he noticed some snowflakes. "By the way, what is her name?"

"She didn't tell me, but I can ask her." Dimples turned towards Nightmare Moon and shrunk away when he saw the glowing whites of her eyes. "Come with. Home for shelter. P-please."

The alicorn acquiesced and followed without so much as a single sound. The soldiers were preparing to remove the weaponry holding her in place when the shadows whipped upwards, throwing the spears and some stones every which way, scattering the armored ponies in directions that were just as varied. Sunny saw a sinister smile grow in the corners of her face. She couldn't understand their outcries, but the stallion was sure she understood their terror at her casually fending off the antimagic weaponry.

The young spokespony gulped audibly, terrified at having to interact with this magical monster. "Mayor want to know, uhhh." Sunny tapped his chin while his heart started to beat a mile a second.

"Yes? Yes? Hurry up with your infuriating questions," Nightmare Moon growled.

"Who you? Naming?"

The mare's angered expression immediately turned to surprise. She mentally slapped herself. "Of course. If these idiots don't even know who Celestia is, then how would they know about me?" The alicorn felt a part of her die after having to admit such a thing and visibly cringed. "I am Nightmare Moon, ruler of the night and the future queen of all ponykind!" she announced at the top of her lungs.

Sunny smiled awkwardly at her and blinked several times as though his 'brained' had needed to reboot multiple times in a row.

"What did she say?" the mayor asked.

"She said...that she is Nightmare Moon and the future queen of ponykind," Sunny stuttered.

The mayor had no words fit to react to what this creature had just announced. Rather than yell angrily at her, or stand his ground silently, or spit at the idea, the pony bellowed in laughter. The alicorn's horn shimmered with lethal magic, ready to strike the mayor down when he looked at her with the biggest smile she had ever seen. All rage disappeared from her being. She was shocked instead. What was with this pony.

"Amazing! And here I was just so bored with this city," the mayor lamented.

Sunny Dimples trotted next to the mayor, ever nervous. "I really think you shouldn't antagonize her."

The mayor waved him off and blew air out. "You're stressing too much. If she wanted to destroy us she would have already."

"Which means she wants something from us, and if she intends to rule over us, then she wouldn't hesitate to destroy a few ponies."

The elderly stallion stopped and shook his head. "Look, there are soldiers nearby watching her every move. See?" he asked while gesturing behind them.

The two stallions bounced in surprise when the alicorn was not, in fact, behind them, but staring into the giant snow globe. She seemed transfixed.

Nightmare Moon's image was bloated because of the shape of the glass sphere, but with some angling she could get better views of areas she needed to see more precisely. "Is that me? Impossible." She felt her brain burning pleasantly as she finally got to think hard after so long. "Is this related to...that feeling of more when I was finally being freed of my unjust banishment?"

Her body was black, as she had always been, but there was some sort of...smog? Smoke? Veil of darkness? Something floated just millimeters over her coat like a...coat and barely moved at all with her movements. Her mane and tail were also fascinatingly odd. No longer did they flow. Rather, there seemed to be a vague shape hiding behind the mass of darkness waving off of them. She tested this effect by hopping around the orb and looking behind her. The two elements did indeed have a base form hidden underneath all that black 'smoke', and they still wriggled somewhat imperceptibly. With every moment, it appeared as though an afterimage remained behind before wind blew the shape away, or it simply settled onto the ground like dust from a dirty sheet. The afterimage of her body only seemed to manifest in quick movements. Her mane and tail remained consistent in creating paths while she moved.

Leaning forward and angling herself somewhat, she realized that her mane and tail didn't just portray a darker version of the night with white dots. Instead, multiple large orbs faded in and out, positioning themselves over each other or sliding out of view. Stars were present as white dots, but more prominently were said orbs that the alicorn identified as moons of other worlds. Some were squished flat, others pressed thin, and with the ebbing waves of her new body, some appeared warped and distorted into different directions. The edges of the magical hair also gave off a bright blue glare that flowed into bright white, then back into a bright blue. It was hard to see when she was immobile, however.

"Oooo. I like this new look. A connection to other moons." She chuckled under her breath. "Could do without the smokey effect. I'm no chimney," she mumbled. She did feel discomfort with said moons, however. There was something odd with them, but they were still an excellent addition to an alicorn such as herself.

She looked upon her face and snorted in response. Where she had her once magnificent blues that set her apart and emblazoned her angered glare, they were now almost completely black. Her draconic pupils were a blinding white, and focusing as hard as she could into the sphere, she realized that they were brightening significantly in tandem with her emotions; This one being stress. Tapping her chin, she realized she could make use of such a minor change to her features. Psychological warfare. Oh yes, the possibilities.

"What is she doing?" the mayor wondered aloud. "Is she checking if she was hurt or something?"

Sunny Dimples shook his head at the mayor, incredulous. "Are you serious? I've known that thing for a few minutes and you're already asking me about her every minute act?"

"Well, you are her spokespony," the elder teased with a smile. He immediately frowned and watched the alicorn analyzing her hooves. "I don't suppose any of your research could explain those glowing blue cracks on her body? I thought she was just doing that for a strange effect, but..."

"Well, it's true that they look worrying. The ones crawling across her face from the corners of her eyes scare me a lot," Sunny gulped.

The mayor chuckled. "Looks like a couple of spiders hanging on for dear life on the sides of her head."

Dimples shushed the mayor several times. "Careful. We don't know if she's listening!"

Nightmare Moon lowered her hoof and squinted at her reflection. "These pulsating cracks coming from my hooves are disconcerting." She used a hoof to pull at the skin on the sides of her face. "These are also bothersome. Did I not absorb that power correctly, or is it just an excess of what I can handle? My canines have also become more prominent, and now the lower two are started to stick out as well," she noted with a modicum of annoyance. The alicorn spat air. "So many questions in so little time." Her hoof crushed the ground beneath her. "I grow antsy and enraged. That little stallion better have what I want, or else."

The mare was brought into a hotel and led into a large room near the back. The carpet was a dim red and the walls covered in morose, flower wallpaper. The center was occupied by a large, dusty wooden table that could easily house around thirty ponies on a good day. Two large windows occupied the wall opposite the double doors leading in, freed of their greenish-yellow curtains and free to let in the little light from outside.

"Hm," the mayor grunted. "I'll light the lanterns. Sorry about the d--"

Nightmare Moon's horn glowed with a bright, blue light, and from it emerged multiple orbs of white light that floated to the ceiling, flooding the room with starlight. The two stallions stared at them, dumbfounded and almost enthralled, leaving the alicorn to sit down opposite the two.

The mayor caught himself and cleared his throat. "Um, right. Is there anything we can provide you with during your star-STAY?" he asked her.

Moon raised a baffled brow and looked down at the ever-shrinking spokespony. "U-um...What do you need?"

Moon's head bounced from a silent laugh. "Wow. A full sentence," she mumbled to herself. Her 'pleasant' demeanor was short-lived. "I want a map of Equestria. Now!" she growled.

The two looked at her, stunned. "She said she wanted a map of Equestria," Sunny explained.

"So they still called it Equestria back then," the mayor contemplated with amusement. "We have a few maps in the archives. They should be good enough. Tell her I'll be back soon."

Sunny wanted to leave with him but could only watch as the mayor was surrounded by soldiers when he left the room. Cursing his luck, Dimple turned to face the giant with terrifying eyes and smiled nervously. That worked before so it would certainly still work now. He wasn't so lucky this time.

"There's something about you that I hate," Nightmare Moon said to him. She started rounding the table, slowly but surely. "Your mane colors, your coat, your cutie mark. Even your eyes have the same colors as her." The alicorn thought for a moment and felt her stomach flip. "Did she have children in the past? With whom even? Or is it just a coincidence that you look like Celestia?" Sunny kept his mouth shut and shrugged, but now the alicorn was standing directly in front of him and leering down. "Even your name invokes the sun!" Moon yelled. "This can't be a mere coincidence!"

"I'm heeeeere," the mayor sang. He and several soldiers came in with saddlebags carrying multiple rolls of paper and parchment.

They laid the contents out and spread them across the table, careful to keep a watchful eye on the alicorn who seemed intrigued at the outcome. She was almost giddy. Maps. Star maps. They would always give you the most information needed to counter your enemy. The maps were quickly examined and moved around until the mare had created something of a puzzle.

"What is this language? I can't even read it!" She smashed her head against the table, fracturing it. "I can't believe I forgot such a crucial detail! If they don't even speak my language, then why in hades would they have the same language?! Graaaah!" The soldiers peered behind the doors weapons at the ready. She grabbed Sunny by the shoulders and put him in front of the maps. "Where is Canterlot?" she asked him. "Where is the Everfree forest?" Sunny shrugged. "Is that all you can do, smile and shrug?!" the alicorn yelled directly into the spokespony's face.

"I don't know! Not know names. Only Canterlot! Legend! Not real!"

He was quickly let go, leaving Nightmare Moon to contemplate yet more questions. "I don't know anything about this world. I'm a relic of the past." She sat down and breathed slowly to calm herself as best she could. The mare leaned against the table, holding her chin up with a foreleg supported by her other. "Language is the primary barrier. Without it I can't govern them. I can't know where Canterlot is. I can't know where my sister has gone. I can't know what happened to the other immortals either," she thought to herself. Nightmare Moon cast a sideways glance at the two stallions and sighed in defeat. "It seems I'll have to subject myself to such a humiliating thing after all." She sat upright before the stallions, still significantly taller than them, and pointed. "Teach me your language," she commanded.

Comments

[redandready45]

Poor Nightmare...

Without her precious revenge, she is like a lost kitten.

[Tekket]

scattering the armored ponies in decorations that were just as varied

Should be directions.

Also

She used a hood to pull at the skin on the sides of her face

should be hoof.

Just wanted to point those out! Otherwise I'm really enjoying the story!

[PaintedPony]

She's in a predicament alright. The revenge she wanted is impossible. The ones she's angry at are no longer even a memory to the current populace. A thousand years is bad enough, but with Celestia in charge language drift was kept fairly under control. With Celestia gone?! It's become incomprehensible. Now we'll get to see if that changes her goals at all. If she is as smart as Luna, she may have a pretty good future.

[Shadow Star]

great story, but something seems to be wrong.
The Next button is missing.

[redandready45]

10994849

Uh...

He's dealing with a pony deity with communication issues and an inexplicable chip on her shoulder.

How can you not be in over your head in this situation?

[nighters]

i wonder if anyone noticed the imagine on the moon is gone or was that hidden already so no one knew about it?

[The Psychopath]

10994924
You know, that's actually far less than is usually found in my chapters. It's still aggravating to see, but with this spellchecker, at least there's progress!

Thanks for spotting those, too.

10994945
And now she'll start listening to Papa Coach.

10995051
smashing head on keyboard
Ah'm writin' as fahst as ah cahn, cap'n! Ah can't put 'n anymurrr!

10995191
It's currently cloudy and the sun was out, so they won't notice it yet until much later.

[Doctor_Den]

I didn't quite understand Nightmare Moon's reaction to her shape. Did Princess Luna notice that she looks like Nightmare Moon or does Nightmare Moon's appearance differ from what we saw on the show?
Does the presence of blue cracks on the body mean that the absence of the object of envy and hatred destroys or returns the form back to Princess Luna?

[The Psychopath]

10995323
Her body is significantly different from what she's aware of. Nightmare Moon's body shouldn't have changed like that, and her feeling 'more' being added to her as she reformed is why. The moons that appear in her mane and tail are important elements as to what happened to her after being trapped for so long.

[BrokenLifeCycle]

That mayor is so chaotic. A descendant of Discord, perhaps?

[lainverse]

10998565
Not necessarily. He's just really really REALLY bored. Imagine a day off being bored. Bend that in a body of a board and build a bungalow out of those bored boards. Breed bored board bungalows until you have a bajillion and here you go, that's how he's bored.

So, of course he's happy. He's near ecstatic that finally SOMETHING happened and at least this day won't contribute to breeding those cursed bungalows!

[Ciber]

why would the names on the maps matter?
Surely she can recognize where canterlot should be based on the shape of the landmass.
Unless it has been so long that even that is unrecognizable?

[Ulrezaj]

11025250
Considering that the entire everfree forest has been replaced by a large city, it wouldn't be too odd for the terrain to be unrecognizable. Possibly the mountains and coastlines could be the same but even that could change with enough demolition, mining, and large scale landscaping.

[Sparkly sparks]

"Even your name invokes the sun!" Moon yelled. "This can't be a mere coincidence!"

is his name actually sunny or does it just sound like the ponish word sunny?
or are those two words the same in both languages?

[The Psychopath]

11199341
His name does sound like Sunny in both languages.

[Mocha Star]

Lol.
This is a comedy as much as it is an adventure.
I love it

[Mocha Star]

I'm liking the language barrier.
It's a great plot point.

[Black--Soul]

Can't say the story is actually catching my interests.
Guess i have to hope it gets better eventually...

[MurderP0n7]

11543638
The only reason why I am interested in this story is because of the first chapter, neither the cover nor the summary call me the antencion, but when I read the first chapter I remind myself strangely of the situation that Navarone passes through, the world in which this is Earth but an unknown number of years have passed since he was "transported" to equestria. Meanwhile, NM has ended up in G5 or in an unknown equestrian future, without objects, places or at least familiar names for her with clues of what passed hidden around the world waiting to be found... At least Nav was lucky that there were no language barriers... and NM has the disadvantage of being a bitch...