7 - Give and Take
21:23 - 16/06/1008 - Lunar Castle, Everfree Forest
Nightmare slammed the door shut behind her as she rushed into her private chambers. Yet she didn’t rest. She paced up and down her chambers as a tempest of furious thoughts swirled in her mind.
Much like a tempest, those thoughts ripped and tore in every direction. Fury at her ungrateful subjects. Fury at that impudent unicorn. Fury at those who had exploited her for their personal gain. Fury at the failures of the night. What did it all mean? Whether she liked it or not, she was alone. Being a mare of the past living in the present was her sole burden to bear. There wasn't another being anywhere who even remotely shared her experiences.
Turning to the windows looking out into the night sky, she saw the moon hanging high. A beat of her wings sent her up to the mezzanine to get a better look, seeing it marked with the mare in the moon and the colours of her accursed sister’s mane. She thought back to the night of her return. She saw her weak and feeble sister broken by the fury of the Nightmare, and she heard the last thing Celestia had ever said to her.
“I know you can still change, Luna.”
She scoffed, bringing herself back to the present and shaking her head. Ridiculous! Why would she want to change? Why would she need to change? Why should a legendary figure who conquered an Empire twice over have to change? She was feared by her enemies and respected by her loyal subjects, deservedly so!
No, it was all backwards. Why should she have to change to match her subjects? They were her subjects, they should change for her! They already had, as far as she could tell. A decade ago, the average Equestrian was a skittish coward feebly clinging to their pathetic harmony. Now they knew the glory of battle and the triumph in total victory, proudly marching beneath the regal banners of the Lunar Empire.
The parting pleads of that usurper were a non factor. Beyond any doubt, she didn’t have to waste any time considering what Celestia might think. Not a second longer. Absolutely not.
She stared at the moon for another minute. Eventually she tore her eyes away and clenched them shut. Slowly she opened them and allowed her gaze to drift over her chambers. Dotted on pedestals around the room were the petrified forms of rebellious creatures who had fallen to her might. Each of them reduced to literal trophies to her power.
Her gaze turned to the ‘statue’ closest to her, a unicorn mare whose face was sealed in a look of terror. Channel Coast was their name. They tried to prevent the proclamation of the Lunar Empire by bombing the proclamation ceremony, right after Nightmare Moon’s soldiers had taken Canterlot. All they accomplished was killing a few ponies and wrecking the Canterlot throne room. A deserved fate, doubtlessly.
The thought led her back to that insolent little brat, Sol Nightshade. All he’d done was lead her to embarrassment, nevermind he berated her to her face. If he was anyone else, if he wasn’t Selenite’s husband, she could only begin to imagine the appropriate punishment for his behaviour. Gazing on the petrified body of Channel Coast, she saw her face fade away, picturing Sol Nightshade frozen in horror. A grin crept onto her lips, a cackle slipping out. Just what he deserved for being so disrespectful and-
She pulled herself away and tried to push the thought out of her mind. No, Sol Nightshade wasn’t a traitor, or anything close to that. He just had trouble knowing his place, like most of her subjects, really. And he was Warmaster Selenite’s husband, for crying out loud. If there were any questions about his loyalty, Selenite wouldn’t be so close or trusting with him. Selenite always had Nightmare Moon’s best interests at heart.
…Didn’t she?
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Interesting story! I liked it, though I hope one day she truly begins to understand her subjects and change for the better!
11808471
As do I.
Is NMM even saveable? Without a large amount of genuine soul searching and a desire which she so far lacks to change for the better, she will never be able to hold on to power without going full North Korea on those under her. Eventually, everyone capable of doing so will either leave the Empire for places like the River Coalition, end up in a prison or executed/petrified, or will try to form a rebellion in an attempt to overthrow her. This would almost certainly fail, due to how powerful NMM is, but history has shown that with nothing to lose, disparate people will always rise up eventually when pushed past their breaking point. And then, if she simply executed or imprisoned everyone involved, she’d have almost no one left to rule over.
NMM ironically supported the Aquillean revolution, which shows this exact same principle. An out of touch ruler who either believes themselves to be chosen by a god, or to outright be one, Julius Caesar, King Louis XVI, Benito Mussolini, all of these people had grand ambitions and started out supported by those they ruled over, but their lust for power and lack of an ability to relate to and empathize with their subjects are what ultimately led to their downfall, often at the hands of those close to them or those they meant to support. In some of these cases, ineptitude and destroying the lives of their citizens through their own incompetence caused this directly.
Even those loyal to her aside from Selenite and a few others are mostly there for entirely selfish reasons. Just look at the Vichy collaborators during WW2. They were willing to let their own people suffer and be deported simply because they knew that if they played their cards right, Germany would let them stay in control. How many members of NMM’s government are the same way, willing to throw anyone under the bus or say anything that the Empress wants to hear in exchange for prestige or better standing?
In base EaW, even with a harmonic government lead by both sisters who have good intentions, reforms are still needed to keep the country together. Whether it’s more token reforms to allow more freedom and involvement from the public in government or a full on abolishment of the monarchy and transforming Equestria into a democratic republic, growing agitation from the masses show that the status quo is unsustainable. Now imagine that scenario where oppression and tyranny are rampant and almost everyone is left dissatisfied with their current situation. Add to this the fact that almost everyone alive remembers the time before NMM, and thus remembers life before she took over, and have hope and desire to revert things due to nostalgia and desperation.
Do you have plans to cover this future series of events, and which way do you think you will take this universe? Perhaps we could even cover NMM more closely in a Sopranos scenario where she gets a private therapist who she talks to these things about? Whether or not this helps her or not, it would still be an interesting idea. Maybe Selenite or Sol will be able to get her to open up and put her on a path to self improvement. Or maybe this story will end like Breaking Bad, where things will continue to get worse. One thing is clear though, NMM is a ticking time bomb, both for her sanity, and for that of those she rules over.
Might be time to start planning that vacation to Rijekograd.
This makes me want to play EaW again. But that only reminds me I do not know how to play EaW again. So I'll read about it instead.
In EAW she didn't have such an emotional moment when she return since, whot Luna know is also know by Nightmare moon.
But here, this story would be such a good event chain during the brief peace after the civil to see how Nightmare moon "odd" can have "interesting" result.
I must say, your Nightmare is holding Villain/Idiot Ball greatly and seems to be degradating along with her (read: mostly of her subjects) success. Probably only thing, which can put her out of this attitude is personal failure of massive level due to her hubris, which she will not be able to push on others, so very hard to happen.
11831196
It seems, that in EaW Nightmare had some time to adapt and learn about modernity after her defeat, when she was inside Luna's head and she some time to have second throughs about herself, which allowed her to have a chance to fix herself. At least in most of paths. Also probably Elements, even if she survived, did something to her on second strike.
Here it's Nightmare going full on constant pain, which gave birth to constant wrath, from her exile on Moon, which can't be drowned. Also her success made her feel, that this is right thing.