"Little colt. Little colt. Tell me, why you seek me so vigorously? Don't you know who I am?"
The silence ended once I resumed my deliberate trot through the ruined corridor.
I knew I needed to be silent, but had decided to risk a little noise if it meant luring her to me. The castle Itself wasn't very large when compared to Canterlot, but made up tenfold when it came to hidden rooms, making the whole ruin nothing short of a confusing mess for the unprepared. Namely me.
By now I've visited these ruins enough to navigate them without getting lost, but with each visit I continue to realize just how little I know about the old castle.
The more you study, the more you learn about a particular topic or in my case subject, and she was worth every effort. But to discover these secrets meant I had to expose myself to the whims of the hunt; to lose myself and become the predator at the cost of what I am, or become the object being sought. Rarely did I ever find the time for much physical activity besides the occasional run with my older brother, but these past several months had mentored me in the importance of proper physical exercise.
I didn't struggle to breathe nearly as much from the constant trot, much less from the running when required leaving myself proud of this little achievement.
I stopped as my ears picked up the sound of metal being scuffed against stone, but because of the vast empty space of this old castle I couldn't pinpoint it. But, given the knowledge of my previous encounters with her, I could guess she was one or two halls behind me. I learned early on there wasn't a rush to find me, and much as a predator would do, just let the prey wear themselves out.
I was doing all of the work for her, so why put in any more effort than was needed?
Ruffling my wings not only readjusted them to a more comfortable position, but it allowed me to expel some of this building energy within me. I knew the game she played, but it didn't make the experience any more calming; the excitement, and fear were all very present as I reached the end and made my left turn, nothing could quell the sensation of being hunted.
It was this understanding that pushed me to be more pronounced in my movement instead of trying to dampen the noise. It was meant to draw her closer, and while a terrible idea most of the time, it did allow me a sense of relief knowing she was likely following behind instead of lurking ahead of me. This wasn't a given fact as Nightmare Moon is a wise pony, and there is no guarantee she would even follow my hoofsteps knowing it would be a trap.
Instead, I'd wager she would be using my hoofsteps to predicate my intended path using her superior knowledge of the old castle.
"Plans within plans." I huffed at the thought, but knew it was likely true. I would have done the same if I were hunting the alicorn.
The hallway looked much like all the others save for its location near the easternmost wing of the old castle marking it of some importance since it housed the Two Sister's personal Library, and the remains of their old battle standards desperately clinging to their old hooks. On a better day than this terrifying night, I might have taken a quick peek through its shelves..to make sure the spells on the books were still in place of course. Tonight I was on a mission to Nightmare Moon, and unfortunately had to postpone my personal desires until the threat to Equestria could be dealt with.
I dropped to the floor to make my outline less visible in the dark hall as I swore a sharp scoff of rock scraping the ground came roughly 40 pony strides away. The moon seemed purposely stationed high in the sky to cast back the shadows of the night, exposing what didn't belong out in the cold, but this meant the shadows had been forced into the very castle. I don't know how she didn't it, but these shadows weren't ordinary for I heard her whisperings with every step I took, and only when I found that rare moonlight did they stop.
"She's playing with me. I thought of only the sound of my heart beating against the stone floor, and it was this sound that made me realize something very important. "...a geas."
I'd barely whispered my revelation when the faint whispers clinging to my ears fell silent.
She was fast. My magic barely sparked to life and casted teleport when her silted eyes came rushing forth! In that flash of magic I saw her glistening fangs as her mouth opened up before being taken and forcibly dumped into the middle of the old throne room, just off the side of Luna's old seat.
"Crimety! That was a piece of marble I landed on." Given the state of the castle it could have been much worse for my body, but my back in the meantime would suffer.
Rolling onto my hooves, I quickly began casting mild spells meant to saturate the area with my aura then to serve any actual combative purpose. Sure, I may have been telling Nightmare Moon where I was, but if she didn't already sense the magic from my teleport already, then it was a pure fluke we beat the alicorn the first time.
My plan was cut short when a literal dark shadow fell upon the throne room with an intensity that left me breathless; the visual difference was instant, and would compare to somepony blowing out a candle or turning the light off, forcing me to rely on my hearing once again.
I heard nothing like before...
Clip
Thump
"She's here." I thought while straining my ears trying to pinpoint where that sound was coming from, but every noise made reverberated across the room. "It must be a spell.
For a Queen of the night, I wouldn't put it past her to have discovered a way to use the very shadows for some alternative purpose than to blind a pony. I considered testing this hypothesis by lobbing a small pebble to see if the sound would be carried much like it did with The Nightmare, but thought better when I heard her snarl. Its throaty pitch did echo around me further disrupting my ability to pinpoint where she was as her warning came from the left, and then from the right.
Still I did not move from my spot behind Luna's throne because I knew her vocal aggression was another attempt to flush me from hiding, else she would have already pushed the attack. Yet, I was unwilling to completely rule out that she already knew my position, and had been developing a plan of attack when the noise ceased.
"FOUND YOU..."
I'd just managed to drop to the stone floor and roll toward the wall when Nightmare's massive form landed where I'd been, cracking and breaking the stone base of the throne with nothing but the force behind her hooves. I caught and corrected myself, rolling onto my hooves and casting a low level light spell; my wings were spread, ready to take flight should the need rise, but as suddenly she appeared The Nightmare had vanished.
"She's playing with me."
I'd never liked the dark with good reason as a young colt, my brother would use it to scare me at random times during the night, forcing me to either stay in my room or bring a candle. With Princess Luna's return, most of my fear had dissipated as Celestia 'encouraged' her to spend time in Ponyville for a couple of months, but our interactions were awkward a solid 65% of the time. We never really bonded besides our discussions of the moon, night, and of her life in the past, but I wasn't blind to Luna's growing affection toward me as some ponies might believe. She still visits my dreams once a week, and I'm thankful she hadn't learned The Nightmare still lived else it would only cause even more problems.
Turning to my left, I focused the light spell into an orb before launching it into the mass of shadow amassing there, and using the opportunity to make an escape to the right. My reward was hearing her cry before hearing the sharp intake of breath noting her premiant use of the Royal Voice...
"INSOLENT WHELP! WE ARE THE NIGHT, AND YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A CRAVEN SKITTERING AMONG THE FLOOR WITH THE OTHER RODENTS!"
Of course, I responded with my own taunt.
"IT TAKES A RODENT TO KNOW ONE!" Taunting was never my strong suit, but it served well enough on the playgrounds, and occasional scuffle with Applejack when he had a chip on his shoulder.
My reward for the lite taunting was a deep snarl to announce the deadly beam of magic she fired my way. I rolled out of the way, but cried in shock as the heat of the magical spell flew too close for comfort. She was fast. I'd barely gotten back on my hooves when I heard her iron shoes galloping toward me, and my training with Shining Armor came into effect as I summoned one of his most basic shields meant to deflect physical mass. Instead of avoiding the shield, or attacking it with another spell as I had assumed The Nightmare would, she decided to collide with the shield with enough force to send me on my flanks. I forced more power into the shield as she used her forelegs to stomp the weakening shield into submission.
"What's wrong little colt? Are you already feeling the strain of your misgivings?" She cackled while pounding on the shield once more. I didn't respond to her taunting as the power behind her physical attacks were forcing me to pump more mana into the shield, yet at the current rate I will exhaust myself before she tires out.
"You try holding off a pony that's 3x your weight, and see how out of breath you'll be."
I managed to smile as she bore her fangs at me, but soon felt her wrath as her iron shoes glistened in her blue aura as she reared up high...
Not wanting to find out how much power she had, I teleported just as Nightmare brought her full might down onto the now vacant spot, and the impact of that force dug a crater big enough for an alicorn to sleep in. The teleport only dropped me on the other side of Celestia's old throne, but it was enough to provide the distance while not wasting too much of my precious magic.
"YOU LITTLE..." I interrupted her with a mild concussion blast meant to unbalance the mare, but the light from the spell alerted her to my plan. "...LITTLE BRITTLE HORN UNICORN! YOU BELIEVE YOURSELF BETTER THAN A MUD PONY? HA! YOU ARE ONLY HALF AS USEFUL."
"Celestia, that hurt."
The spell didn't even make it half way before fizzling out from a counter spell, and once more I was dominated by the darkness of the shadows. In any other circumstance, I would have found her control over the Umbra shadows worthy enough to interview the self proclaimed alicorn queen for the minute chance I could discover her secrets. That methodical ship had sailed the moment The Nightmare started hunting me.
The one advantage I'd going for me was Nightmare Moon deciding to 'play' with me instead of seeing me as a threat, and therefore could retain the element of surprise for another 5 minutes before she finally went in for the kill.
I decided to make my escape by bolting toward the location I'd assume was the entrance of the Throne Room, deliberately creating as much noise as I could that didn't involve me shouting. The idea was to further enrage The Nightmare further in the hopes she would become blinded by her anger, thus buying myself some precious few seconds...
"BUCK!"
Nightmare Moon materialized from the shadows in front of me with her horn wrapped in inky tendrils of the very shadows. She cackled madly as her lowered horn nearly pierced my face forcing me to duck my head to the left to avoid being impaled, but it was partially what I wanted the alicorn to do. As I ducked, it put me just under her barrel, and into position to offset her-literally.
I couldn't see her reaction, but I did take satisfaction listening to her assured gloating morph into shock as I unfolded my wings, forcing her to lift her legs to avoid getting tangled up. It was risky, but "Fortune favors the bold." or so I read once in Daring Do: Uncharted Destination.
With my wings unfolded, and in her way I did the second dumbest thing a pony could do when fighting an alicorn god...
"Going up!" I cried, remembering how heroes always said something along those lines when fighting their nemesis or stuck in some sort of predicament.
Now, it wasn't exactly how I envisioned it, but the end result was nearly the same. I heard Nightmare squawk as I lifted her enough to bring her hooves off the ground, and capitalized on the initiative tapped into my earth pony strength to heave the alicorn some 60 hooves away. Her grasp over the shadows weakened, either from the surprise of my attack or her aura finally being drained, but the shadows lost their deep shade to saturate the old throne room with moonlight from outside. Our confrontation had indeed left the historic castle in a worse state than before, and my heart went out to the Princesses for needless destruction of their former home, but this fight was important for multiple reasons beyond the immediate ramifications.
This was a fight for survival.
With the moon's glow starting to fight its way through the shadows, I could begin making out the room just enough to see the damage, and the alicorn I'd just thrown. I'm ashamed to admit I hesitated after seeing this once great alicorn looking less like a pony worthy of power, and prestige, and more of creature that deserved pity; I did nothing but watch as she picked herself off the stone floor while madly flapping her wings to beat the dust off her coat, but all it did was to kick up what loose particles of dirt, and stone that'd accumulated in this castle over a millennium. It only further enraged the alicorn as it formed a cloud around her thick enough to distort her outline, but her frantic coughing, and wing flaps only made my perception of the alicorn worse enough to consider the possibility of trying to help her.
The fighting itself left me tired, but finding the courage to address The Nightmare left me weak in the knees more than anything else I could recall in recent years. More than my ascension, or having to fight Lady Teri.
"Nighty?"
"YOU DID THAT..." She cut off as another violent coughing fit sent her stumbling out of the cloud and into open moonlight where her ashen body was on full display. Nightmare Moon didn't seem too happy, but I barely managed to stifle a laugh seeing the mare that had hunted me through this old castle looking so foolish.
"I can assure you it wasn't how I'd imagined it would work..." I carefully trotted over to her as the coughing subsided enough to allow the alicorn a chance to breathe. "...but here, let me help."
Before she could protest my assistance, my horn was already casting the spell that had saved my flank numerous times when one of my overzealous experiments got too wild for my tastes. It was a simple cleaning spell, modified to better meet my requirements, but effective enough in application to suggest free distribution for general mass adoption.
The light of my aura grew as the power was gathered at the tip of my horn and in the blink of an eye, it had leaped from me and onto the alicorn who raised her wings and took a step before succumbing to its effects.
"There you go Nighty." I was feeling good with myself for victories against her were scarce, and this one had kept the both of us on our hooves. For me, I found the whole matter exhilarating as a wonderful training experience to further sharpen our abilities in a moderately safe environment.
"I WOULD HAVE WON IF YOU HADN'T CHEATED WELP!" As for Nighty, she took our games a little too seriously, but from my own experiences had exposed a softer side the alicorn kept hidden for one reason or another. Her name calling was superficial. Another weapon she used to prop up this vengeful ponysona of the 'Chosen Night'.
Yet her anger was real, and I still approached with an extra layer of caution as her punches were very much real.
She seemed oblivious to my approach, but I knew this was farce for her ears were alert, and body was tense, wanting an excuse to strike me if I was stupid enough to provide one. To avoid that, I made the great effort to approach from the side near her head so she could see me as I took each step; her eyes were looking away trying to feign lack of awareness, yet when I stopped her ears rotated toward me breaking the image she was trying to project. It wasn't worth the effort to call Nighty out, and thus ignored it for my own peace of mind.
A pony could tell there's a height difference, but it became noticeable when standing next to the angry alicorn, further highlighting her muscular, pronounced figure sculpted from centuries of fighting, and magic aura being dripped into her very bodily system. But it was the height difference that really drilled the notion home of our vastly different power scales. Celestia and by extension Luna would be the only comparable creatures to match Nightmare Moon's power and ferocity, but centuries of inactive (peace, and banishment) had left them severely underpowered to match the dark alicorn's temper.
Equestria was lucky I knew how to cool that anger.
"I might have performed some... unorthodox tactics during our fight." I was just under her neck, listening to her growl in frustration. She always worked herself up for matters most ponies would find insignificant, or lacking enough value to stress over, yet Nightmare was different.
She would never admit to anypony, me included, but she thrived on these emotions. I have good guesses as to why she lives for these feelings, but none were conclusive enough to even broach the subject let alone do anything then to let the matter fall by the flanks. It was why I'm doing what I'm doing in the first place to see if I was right in my assumption all Nightmare Moon really needs is positivity derived from ponies that cared about her as a pony.
From ponies that might love her...
She was still growling when I buried my nuzzle into her neck, but the fangs were hidden now indicating my Nighty would allow me to continue. It's these little details why I've based my entire thesis explaining Nightmare Moon's often violent mood swings- just add love.
"Nighty..." I started by appealing to her curiosity by intentionally saying nothing else but her name, while rubbing myself into her neck for the added stimuli.
It worked.
I didn't have to step back and watch, for I felt her body begin letting go of that prior tension and animosity that never was directed at me. My guess is Nighty uses her memories to fuel the hatred she conjures up for our 'fights', using it as her own way to vent the negativity inflicting her body. Again, I can't stress the accuracy of these claims, but I can stand by how her entire demeanor has gradually shifted from the mare my friends and I had first fought nearly 4 years ago to the mare currently waiting for me to praise her; the shift is more align with Rainbow Dash's ponyality, where the anger and her boastful nature that were derived from pride have become more modest. Her pride is still there, but like everything else about Nighty, this has taken on another meaning altogether, as if her attitude is more of a part being played on stage by an actor, then that of a literal nightmare trying to end the world.
It was the pony playing the part I was trying to reach, and having spent the better part of a year participating in these secret 'fights' with The Nightmare, I developed a reasonable approach to finding this pony.
"You know I only learn from the best don't you?" Feeling bolden by my victory, I tried playfully nibbling along the length of her neck to provoke a favorable response.
As expected, Nighty's demeanor grew less agitated as I nibbled along her neck, even earning me the beginnings of a moan! What I'd expected was her right wing to suddenly shoot out, and smack me in the ribs before clamping down over my back to better drag me to her side until I was firmly pressed against her. I looked up and what greeted me was her fanged smile oozing with a delight that left my throat dry from the fear, and euphoria of what followed closely after.
"You've learned very well little colt. So well in fact, that anymore of that and I might have forgiven your transgressions..." She squeezed me further against her side as I felt the tips of her silk feathers trailing down the side of my ribcage. "...not fully of course, but enough to show my favorite follower how much he means to me."
I lost my ability to perform speech after that declaration as the statement and her actions confirmed what we both had wanted since our 'fight' earlier this afternoon- love. Everything leading up to this moment had been an act, mostly, as our whole fight was meant to perform two very important duties: training, and foreplay.
Nighty had been insistent that I needed to be trained if I were going to assume the title of 'Crown Prince Of Equestria', and her natural inclination toward violence made her the perfect teacher, or so she claimed. I agreed of course. Curiosity to learn more about this strange mare from another time, and partly out of selfishness to keep this mare's secrets all to myself as the Princesses would have willingly answered my questions without severe alterations to the truth.
The alicorn currently groping my privates with her wing knew I preferred the whole context to make decisions, and to some degree she'd been very forthcoming with that knowledge if my own research is to be believed. Even with our current arrangements, I wasn't completely overcome with lust for the alicron to toss out all suspicions this was an elaborate plan of some sort.
'I live in shadows to protect those in the light.' It was something that Luna told me during her time in Ponyville, and a statement that had resonated with me to this very moment.
My reasons are my own, but to declare they're purely for the good Equestria would be lying to myself...
"Your generosity is welco..! Wel..comed." I had to force myself not to elicit a moan as her silk feather tips kept rubbing along the length of my sheath. She knew how wonderful her feathers felt, and loved the power it gave her.
I looked up once more as Nightmare guided me to her favorite place in the castle, and even though she wasn't focused on me, her attention was only on me as she continued to rub her wing tip along my underside. It made walking awkward, but never had anything before made flying seem so mundane.
Our routine had been private for nearly an entire year since discovering the separated entity stalking these halls, and it wasn't her weakened state, or disheveled body riddled with dirt, ticks, and fleas that drew me to her. It was the way she looked at me with a fear I couldn't claim to have known, as it was derived from a desperation I'd never seen come from a pony before.
Reflecting over that encounter continues to elude me as I can't properly explain why I felt the way, or did what I did knowing who the mess of an alicorn was, and capable of...
Looking at Nighty to see the fire in her eyes, and the merriment outlining her repressed smile only confirmed the decision to reach out to the mare had been one of the best choices I'd ever made. Pinkie Pie's cupcakes really do brighten a pony's outlook on life, and it was why I always bring a dozen to every official meeting. For it was Pinkie's party centered belief that eventually won Nightmare Moon over to the idea of accepting my outreached hoof in the first place.
It's why I try to bring at least one of her baked treats with me with every visit, but this time had been an exception as her Pinkie Sense had been acting up- she claimed a friendship will change, but refused to elaborate any further.
Following the contours of our newly minted tradition of using battle as a precursor to our love making, I was led to Nighty's favorite wing of the castle, which belonged to Luna before her attempted coup.
That fact shouldn't have escaped my notice during our first several interactions, and even the lulls in our meetings only further deepened the mystery behind his mare who claims to be her own pony, yet has continually exhibited qualities that parallel Princess Luna. My efforts to bring this up in the past were met with severe hostility that eventually led to mild fallout where Nighty refused to accept me in 'her castle' until I could sufficiently appeal to her need for sentient communication, and desire for refreshments not from the tainted forest.
Looking back on this, those two months became pivotal in laying the foundation of our current understanding.
Celestia and Luna themselves have noticed enough change in my mannerisms, and overall physical attributes to bring up the matter numerous times during our annual tea times, or lessons in rulership. My efforts to simply downplay the changes have mostly worked, but Celestia in all her wisdom knows this isn't the whole truth while Luna seems more alert to my recent changes; certain alterations in my sleep schedule has so far managed to elude her, but it remains unknown how long this will last as the mental scarring from her time on the moon as well as the increasing displays of interest in myself might drive her to an extreme.
"Here we are my little prince." Nightmare cooed the state as I watched the dead end fizzle in and out of existence before disappearing, simmering out completely to expose a passage I never recalled being there.
"That is certainly new Nighty! When, and how were you able to expand without the necessary materials?" I tried wandering forward, but her wing clamped down harder in order to keep me pinned next to her. My displeasure was made known as I scraped the stone floor with my right forehoof, but the act only amused her.
"My little prince might not be so little after all if he's willing to bite..." Nighty punctuated this by tilting her head down toward me so her fang tips were exposed just enough to remind me they existed. "...but he might get bitten back if he isn't careful."
Our walk remained much the same after that as she continued leading me down her hidden chamber that excreted an odor entirely composed of every rotten and/or foul scent excluding decomposition.
"This place reeks with a foulness of an unspeakable design." The air quality was terrible and made casual breathing harder for the simple fact you had to fight the natural urge not to get sick.
Nighty seemed oblivious to my plight, but nearly a year of our ritual had exposed me to sides of the alicorn I never considered plausible; From the slight angle her right ear titled when stressed, or how her walk would shift in stride to reflect her current mood. It's these little facets of a pony's collective consciousness that their partner begins noticing the longer and more frequent they spend together, and it was from this gathered experience I understood this meant something to her.
Our stride had fallen in speed, yet each step seemed more purposeful than our earlier trot through the castle, reminding me more of those plays where the hero returns to a place after a length of time. It's what I had assumed to be the correct answer as her head would linger on certain spots of the stairway leading us further down into the castle than previously known.
"Did you seal this place off on purpose?" an innocent question with an answer I might already know, yet it was meant to break whatever was taking hold of Nighty.
There was no immediate response, but her ears had already given her intentions away as her horn dimmed to be replaced by a set of magic candles. I almost laughed when we reached the bottom of the stairs, and saw the cliché single stone hallway that led to a wooden door as I recalled several Daring Do books that had used this very hallway. I never did laugh even if I found the irony funny, but now I was questioning if some of the locations in the books might be based on actual places instead of pure fantasy?
Nightmare Moon relinquished her grip over my underside by this time, and that shook me from my thoughts as it signaled her shift in mood, and desire to speak.
"We did. You are not the first pony besides us to learn of this secret, but you are the first to do so without the usual requirements."
"What kind of requirements? Pledges to the Moon?" It wasn't meant to be condescending in any way, and thankfully the alicorn understood. She wasn't even angry, but appeared more inviting under this strange candle light as if she were eager to share her tale.
"Something like that young prince." I didn't hide my surprise at calling me 'young prince' instead of 'little colt'. "Mostly ponies from our Night Guard were ever shown this place, but there were a very few select ponies over the centuries, but that number steadily decreased leading up to my departure. I was a lonely mare on more accounts than physical, and it was that desire to overcome not only myself, but Celestia, I constructed this room in secret with the purpose to do both. A chamber where I rewarded my followers, and in turn they repaid that kindness not to a princess, but a simple pony looking for their love."
There were a great deal of words I could have said to better express my feelings properly, and it is not with malicious intent that I condone my friends' behaviors for who they are, but Rainbow Dash is a bad influence on us all.
"You built a sex dungeon?"
Now, I will repeat how my friends have become somewhat of a terrible influence on me, but the blame can't fully be placed on them for I myself allowed it to take root, and grow. Does this mean I wanted that question to be asked? No. Do her punches still hurt? Yes, they do.
Needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson on thinking before you speak.