“What the…”
I’d been following Nightmare Moon through the woods for almost an hour, and the walk had been surprisingly peaceful. The Everfree Forest still had its pervasive gloom, but the sense of hostility that once filled the air seemed to have vanished altogether. This was helped by the fact that she was leading us down a series of perfectly serviceable trails, so we didn’t have to hack our way through any tall grass or push through dense walls of trees. The woods were noisy, but in the one that one might expect a rainforest to be noisy; I could tell that it was brimming with life, but it was life that was indifferent to me, distant and without much danger, at least as long as I was careful.
We were walking in silence when suddenly the woods opened up, and what I saw before me stopped me in my tracks.
The ruins of a small town filled a wide clearing, upon which the moon shone brilliantly. (I couldn’t tell if this was because the sun had set while we were walking, or if this was just always the state of things so close to Nightmare Moon’s castle. Telling time in the forest was next to impossible, and we’d never lost the ability to see, so it didn’t cross my mind.) Smooth, carefully cut stones paved overgrown streets that led between maybe a dozen houses. The homes had largely been reclaimed by the forest, with vines snaking along their walls and even trees stretching out through caved-in roofs, but the sturdy stone walls seemed to have otherwise weathered the passage of time well. Greenery was everywhere, but few walls had crumbled, and every building was still standing to at least some degree. It was clear the things here were built to last.
Aside from the homes, there were a few other landmarks here and there. In the center of the clearing, where all the streets met up, was a humble little plaza, at the center of which was an ancient well. It was simple, but in a town this small, it may well have provided water for everypony living here. There were also some larger buildings that were clearly not living spaces: One was perhaps a school, another a town hall, or a marketplace. One home near the plaza seemed to double as a blacksmith, with a forge sitting in a sort of alcove attached to the house. At one far side of the clearing, I could even make out what appeared to have once been a small farm.
“This was once the village of Nightfall,” Nightmare Moon said, reading the surprise on my face. She led me in, towards the plaza at the center. “I was saddened to discover it in such a state. At the time of my banishment, it was thriving, a vital part of life in the Everfree.”
“Do you think the ponies all just drifted away after Celestia left the castle behind? Or maybe they followed her to Canterlot?”
“Unlikely,” Nightmare Moon said. She had a deep frown etched across her face. “Not all creatures exist to bathe in Celestia’s sunlight, Starfall. Still others simply felt unwelcome in the average Equestrian village. At least, that was the state of things a thousand years ago.”
We reached the plaza, but Nightmare Moon didn’t seem interested in stopping. She led us on, towards the opposite end of the town, where a stone bridge crossed a small stream that seemed to serve as one border. Past the bridge, all I could make out was more forest.
“So, like, batponies?” I asked. “They’re real?”
“Among others,” Nightmare Moon said. “I would think you would know, given your… Repository of knowledge.”
“It was never super clear,” I said. “It’s cool to know they’re out there, though. So, what do you think happened to them?”
“I couldn’t know,” Nightmare Moon said. “Perhaps they moved belowground, to the web of caves under Equestria. Or, they could have braved the journey to other lands, in search of similar towns elsewhere. Otherwise…” She sighed. “I’ve already located some ponies here in the forest. It would seem that, at some point in the last thousand years, they simply adapted to live among the trees. Most of those I’ve found are now residing in the castle; Which, I regret to say, has diminished your choice of rooms somewhat, so I do apologize for that.”
“Don’t sweat it,” I said. “It’s good to hear you’re looking out for them. You’re really a lot… Nicer than I expected.”
Nightmare Moon scoffed. “Please. Any ruler worthy of her crown looks after her own subjects.”
“Yeah, but still, what I knew really painted you as kind of a tyrant. At one point I saw what would have happened if you won, and… It wasn’t pretty.”
“Perhaps the Elements have influenced me somewhat,” Nightmare Moon speculated. “Or, I may have been forced into more extreme acts in my efforts to oust Celestia. It’s impossible to say. I wouldn’t be overly worried about it; After all, you are here precisely to prevent such an outcome.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. “Still, are you sure we’re on the right path? Do you really wanna ‘oust’ your own sister?”
She sneered at the mention of their relation. “Look around you, Starfall. Look at the consequences of her rule. Perhaps I never properly impressed upon her the importance of this settlement. Perhaps she simply ignored my advice. Regardless, this is what her rule hath wrought. My experiences so far have only proven that I was right all those years ago.”
“But she’s still kept a lot of Equestria going strong. If you two just worked together—”
“Enough,” Nightmare Moon snapped. “I tire of this. Follow this trail to the castle. Nothing will harm you, and you need to learn your way around the forest if you are to live here.”
Before I could say anything else, there was a burst of dark blue magic, and then she was gone, leaving only a wisp of smoke in her place.
Maybe Celestia isn't perfect but neither is Luna and they need to actually talk and listen and face that they aren't perfect. I always hated that Celestia excepted twilight and friends to do all the work that wasn't paperwork. She barely trained twilight in government stuff. Spike was more of a sidekick than anything else.
It's nice to see Nightmare be relatively reasonable.
I think you touched a nerve there, Starfall. Gotta be careful with that sorta talk around our dear NM.
Going to say this: nice for a AU going its own path, yet oddly works.
Ramble: I know Nighty rejects the identity of Luna, but she still is her enough to recall that past. Basically she was a previous element bearer, so should know how portion of this process work... That or Nightmare memories are clouded with rage to forget.
I love this so much, Thankyou. You cannot know how long I have searched for a brony in Equestria story where they deliberately and drasticaly defied fate/destiney and were able to subvert or alter canon events in a meaningful way. Please, for the love of God, carry this all the way to completion. On an unrelated note wouldn't it be interesting to recruit Wallflower blush with her memory stone or Tempest Shadow with her obsidian orbs? And lets not forget the best bughorse herself, Queen Chrysalis. Even if not as a bearer her skills and resources would be a valuable asset to this fledgeling organization Starfall is putting together.
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Thankfully this story hasn't gone down the thoroughly treaded and by now fully roadmapped path of simply replaying the events of the main MLP Show's canon story. While making changes in every episode or occasionally omitting/preventing singular episodes from happening. Twilight still managed to befriend all the ponies she was going to, in the main timeline. Starfall and Trixie's actions caused enough of a ripple to have the Summer Sun Celebration play out as a normal event and have the elements end up in their possession.
And the villains are desperately trying to avoid becoming the villains, because everybody is the main protagonist in their own head. It's rare that someone legitimately wants to be the bad guy, especially since they have a tendency to lose. My hopes are high for this story.