On that fateful night on the moon, the princess of night is truly no more, and from those ashes, rises a new entity that is forced to take over her mantle, all her good and her sin.
Destiny weaved by the harmony itself laid before her. A part of the grand story, to be a tutorial villain, to be an exposition giver's sidekick, and to be slaved away beside the golden throne, then retired to a hut in god knows where, lost in history.
"Fuck that I'm out"
And so begin a new tale.
Half of "dark" tags are there as precaution because i will skimps over a bit but very rarely. for example Non-consensual will be use one time on no-name one-time oc character in a flashback. as far as i planned currently.
This is my first time writing a long novel. I promised to post the full plot outline somewhere if I somehow unable to finish it.
The man woke up with a start, gasping for breath as his eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings. He quickly sat up, only to realize that something was horribly wrong. He couldn't feel his fingers; they were numb without any sensation. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, only to find black stumps at the end of his arms. They were no longer hands at all - they were hooves.
Panic surged through him as he scrambled to his feet, his heart racing with fear. He felt foreign energy coursing through his body, and as he tried to take a step forward, he realized with shock that he had wings and a horn.
He tried to calm himself down, but it was difficult. The fear and confusion that gripped him were overwhelming. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of his own breathing.
As he opened his eyes again, he noticed something else about his new form. His coat was black as the night sky, and his mane was a flowing, starry cascade that moved without the wind. He couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty of his new appearance, even as he struggled to accept it.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, and looked around once more. It was then that he realized where he was - he was on the moon.
As he tried to make sense of his surroundings, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, as if someone was trying to force their way into his mind. He groaned and clutched his head, trying to fend off the invading presence - a strange sensation in his mind, like a jumble of fragmented memories that didn't belong to him.
He heard painful groaned of a husky female voice as the memories threatened to overwhelm him. He realized with horror that they were the memories of the real Nightmare Moon, broken fragments of her mind that had somehow found their way into his own.
When the pain finally subsided, he shuddered as he recalled the Nightmare Moon's descent into madness, terrible things she had done before she was sealed away on the moon, terrible things SHE had done to reach that breaking point, and what she had done to herself years of isolation on the moon.
He shuddered as he realized that he had scars on his body from self-inflicted wounds hidden under his soft fur.
He gritted his teeth, trying to push the memories out of his mind, and focused instead on his new abilities. He spread his wings and kick the ground, soaring above the barren landscape of the moon with help of muscle memory.
He tentatively flapped his wings, feeling the rush of air beneath them. The sensation was both exhilarating and terrifying, as he struggled to come to terms with his new reality. He had so many questions - how had he ended up in this body? What had happend to his body? Was he really a human, or was he some sort mental illness conjured by dying mind of Nightmare Moon?
The times he and his friends had spent lost in fantasy worlds, playing role-playing games and reading isekai novels. It had always been a way to forget about their problems, to escape from the real world for a little while. Maybe the immortal goddess of night also yearned for something similar, he could understand why someone like Nightmare Moon would want to escape to such a place like earth, a world without world ending threats and unpredictable magical mishaps.
He felt a twinge of sadness as he realized that he might never see his friends and family again. He didn't even know if they were real or just part of Nightmare Moon's imagination. But he refused to let himself be consumed by grief. He must keep going.
Those things don't matter, he cannot do anything to change what already happened. For now, he knows that he had to keep his sanity intact if he had any hope of making it off the moon. He tried to push the memories out of his mind, focusing instead on his new surroundings as he slowly descends onto the surface.
He winced as he landed roughly on the surface of the moon. He was still getting used to his new form, and he had a feeling that he was going to be stumbling around like a newborn foal for a while.
He then looked up at the stars, marveling at their beauty, and felt a strange sense of peace wash over him. He knew they will help him escape but know that it is still not the time. For now he must bid his time, find ways to occupy his mind, to keep his sanity intact for as long as possible.
He glanced down at his foreleg, at the scars that marred his his skin under his otherwise flawless coat. He promised to himself to not give in to madness like the real Nightmare Moon had. He had to stay focused, to keep his mind sharp and clear.
He knew that he was facing an uncertain future, but he was determined to make the most of it. He was the Mare of the moon now, whether he liked it or not, and he was going to do everything in his power to ensure that he didn't suffer the same fate as the original one.
He spread his wings and took off into the air again, feeling the rush of adrenaline as he soared higher and higher. He was the Mare of the moon, and he was going to make the most of it.
He will lived a happy life. That's the promise he, no, she made to herself. and maybe back to the world she had come from if it exists.
"THE FUN HAS BEEN DOUBLED!"
Ah, the royal canterlot voice. Cannot helped with that one, really.
The Mare of the moon flew on, her wings beating a steady rhythm against the endless expanse of the stars.
Note to self: Unscheduled Rapid Emergency Landing is painful
"Another day at court, another endless stream of nobles complaining about taxes and tariffs," Raven said with a sigh.
Celestia chuckled. "Ah, the joys of being a ruler. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, is it?"
Raven stared at Celestia's tail and cutie mark for a while before thinking better of it.
"No, it certainly isn't," Raven said instead, returning to the conversation at hoof. "But it's a privilege to serve Equestria and its citizens, even if it can be frustrating sometimes."
Celestia smiled. "Believe me, Raven, I know how you feel. But we must always stay calm and professional. It's our duty as the government, the ruler."
"I understand, Your Highness," Raven said, her tone a little more subdued.
They fell into silence for a moment, contemplating the complexities and implications of policies the stamped off today. Then Celestia spoke up again.
"You know, sometimes I envy the simplicity of a common pony's life. They don't have to worry about taxes or tariffs or noble disputes."
Raven chuckled. "True, Your Highness. But then again, they don't get to live in a castle and wear fancy dresses."
"I don't wear dresses," Celestia replied with a small smile. "As you know, Raven, I prefer to wear my regalia. It saves me from having to deal with the ridiculousness of noble etiquette and constantly changing outfits for every new event."
"Of course, Your Highness." Raven nodded understandingly. As she adjust her outfit, which basically is a very fancy strip of fabric, wearing around her neck.
Comfortable silence reign in as they sat in the dimly lit throne room, their day's work finally finished. They were enjoying a few moments of relaxation.
"So, Raven," the princess said, her posture relaxed. "Have you ever tried to write with a quill in your mouth?"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "I can't say I have, Your Highness," she replied, her tone prim and proper.
"Well, you should try it sometime," Celestia said with a grin. "It's quite the challenge. I used to do it all the time when I was a filly."
"I'll be sure to add it to my list of things to try," Raven said dryly, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
They lapsed into silence for a few moments, enjoying the comfortable companionship of one another. The soft flickering of candlelight cast gentle shadows across the room.
"Raven, may I ask you a serious question?" Celestia said suddenly, her expression thoughtful.
"Of course, Your Highness," Raven said, turning her full attention to the princess.
"I often wonder," Celestia said slowly, "if I am doing enough for Equestria. If I am truly making a difference, or if I am simply going through the motions."
Raven leaned forward, her eyes serious. "Your Highness, I can assure you that you are making a difference. You are loved and respected by your subjects, and your wisdom and guidance are invaluable to our kingdom."
"Thank you, Raven. Your words mean more than you know." Celestia smiled gratefully. She couldn't help but feel grateful for the friendship she shared with Raven. Despite their differences in rank and position, they were able to connect on a personal level, sharing both their hopes and their fears with one another. It was a rare and precious thing, and Celestia knew that she was lucky to have it.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence once again, enjoying the peace and quiet of the throne room. The clock chimed the hour, signaling that it was time to retire for the night.
"Shall we call it a day, Raven?" Celestia asked, standing up and stretching her wings.
Raven nodded, rising to her feet as well. "Indeed, Your Highness. It has been a long day," she said before turning back to the Princess with a more serious expression.
"Your Highness, if I may speak candidly?" Raven asked, her tone respectful yet firm.
"Of course, Raven. You may speak freely," Celestia said, her expression curious.
"I have noticed that the military budget has been increased significantly over the past few years. And while I trust that you have our kingdom's best interests at heart, I sense that there may be something larger at play," Raven said, her gaze unwavering.
Celestia's expression shifted slightly, and she took a moment to compose herself. "Raven, you have always been astute in your observations. However, I can assure you that there is no cause for concern. I am simply taking measures to ensure that Equestria is prepared for any eventuality," she replied, her tone measured.
Raven considered Celestia's words carefully. While she still had her doubts, she trusted that the Princess had her reasons for keeping certain information private. "I understand, Your Highness. Please know that I am here to support you in any way I can," she said, her tone conveying both respect and loyalty.
Celestia nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you, Raven. I am grateful for your unwavering dedication to Equestria," she said before rising from her seat.
Raven followed suit, bowing respectfully before turning and making her way out of the room. As she walked down the castle hallway, she couldn't help but wonder what secrets Celestia was keeping from her. But for now, she trusted that her duty was to support the Princess, even if that meant remaining in the dark about certain matters.
In the dead of night, the long hallway of Canterlot Castle was shrouded in darkness. The only light came from the lavender unicorn filly trotting along it, her horn aglow with a pale purple aura. Twilight Sparkle was on a mission - to find her mentor, Princess Celestia.
Books levitated in her magical field as she fired off a detector spell, hoping to catch a trace of the princess's magical signature. After a few moments of concentration, suddenly her spell finally detected the presence of her mentor.
"Found you," she muttered to herself, her heart racing with anticipation. With a determined trot, she followed the trail, the books in her magical grasp bobbing along behind her.
The trail led her out to the garden, which was bathed in the soft, silvery light of the moon. It was like stepping into a beautiful painting, with the glittering garden providing a stunning backdrop for the princess, who was basking in the moonlight. But her attention was quickly drawn to traces of tears in her eyes.
Twilight called out to Princess Celestia, who was startled at first, but quickly composed herself.
"My faithful student, why are you awake at such late hours" She smiled kindly and asked the lavender filly why she had come outside.
Twilight was concerned about her mentor's well-being but didn't want to pry because she know how lackluster her she was at these things. She decided to just show off new spells she learned, hoping to distract Princess Celestia from her troubles.
Princess Celestia gave her approval. She even decided to give Twilight a special magic lesson. Twilight was thrilled, and her hope had turned into excitement. She was always eager to learn and improve her magic skills.
Twilight settled onto the bench, her eyes fixed on her mentor. Celestia began to weave an illusion spell, her horn glowing with a brilliant light. Twilight watched in awe as a beautiful, intricate images of spellwork appeared before her, the light swirling and dancing in the air. The best whiteboard a unicorn can have, as they said.
For hours, they sat in the garden, Celestia teaching Twilight about the topic, sharing secrets and wisdom that are not and cannot be written down. Twilight felt her knowledge and skill growing by leaps and bounds, she was practically bursting with excitement.
As the night wore on, Twilight grew tired and sleepy. Princess Celestia, noticing the filly's exhaustion, bid her goodnight and sent her off to bed. Twilight was happy, as she had not only received a special lesson but had also made her mentor happy.
As Twilight lay down to sleep, she couldn't help but wonder why Princess Celestia had been crying earlier. But she trusted that her mentor would confide in her when the time was right. For now, she was content, and her mind was filled with thoughts of the new magic spells she would learn tomorrow.
Look at her faithful student, with sadness and regret. "I am sorry, Twilight," she whispered, her voice barely audible in the quiet of the night.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and then opened them again, determination replacing the sadness. Her eyes were now filled with cold resolve. "I will save you, no matter the cost," she said to herself, her jaw set firmly.
As Princess Celestia disappeared into the shadows, Twilight slept peacefully, unaware of the destiny that was planned for her.
Celestia sat at her ornate desk, surrounded by piles of official documents that required her attention. As she signed her name on this one particularly decree, she heard the sound of hooves echoing through the hall outside her chamber. The rhythmic clacking grew louder until it stopped abruptly outside her door.
She looked up as the door opened and a royal guard entered. "Your Highness." he said with a bow, "I am here to report that your order has been carried out."
Celestia nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Thank you, My little pony. I appreciate your diligence." She motioned for him to continue after notice his expression.
The guard hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Forgive me, Princess, but rumors have been circulating that we may be under threat of invas...."
Before the guard could finished, a soft knock interrupted them. A servant entered the room, carrying a tray of breakfast dishes. "Please wait for a moment. I will give your question the attention it deserves as soon as I am able." Celestia said as waved the guard off and turned her attention to the servant.
"Good morning, dear. You're just in time," Celestia said with a warm smile. "I'm famished."
As Celestia help her set the dishes on the table, the servant suddenly remembered something and reached into her pocket. "Oh, Your Highness, I almost forgot. There's a letter for you from your protégé." she said, levitating the letter over to Celestia.
Celestia took the letter in her magical grip and thanked the servant before turning her attention back to the missive. She carefully broke the seal and began to read.
Nightmare Moon chuckled to herself as she traced out the spell matrix on the lunar surface. It was a complicated spell, but she had been working on it for a long time and she was confident that it would work.
"Now, I know what you're thinking," she said. "You're thinking, 'How on earth can you possibly hope to break the seal that and get off this desolate rock?'"
She paused, looking up at the sky above her. "Well, let me tell you in a Layman's term, it's all about taking over the start sequence. The spell matrix will override the original seal and execute it in reverse, sending me back to the starting coordinate."
She grinned, feeling a surge of excitement. "Sure, it's not the most efficient spell in the world, but who cares? I'm the Mare of the moon, and I'll make it work."
As she finished carving out another logic gate of the spell matrix, another small gear of her grand machine. she looked up and called out, "Hey, Armstone! Does this look good enough?"
There was no response, of course. NEET Armstone was just a rock that she had found on the surface of the moon, but Nightmare Moon liked to imagine that he was her loyal friend.
"You know Armstone, I always wondered why star fleet never installed seat belts on their starships. It's like they want to fly around the galaxy without any safety precautions. It's not very logical, is it?"
As the hours passed, Comfortable silence reign in, as the stars twinkled above her, anticipated for the moment of action to come.
"Sometimes I wish I could dial up a Stargate and just go explore the galaxy. You know, Armstone?"
The spell matrix was almost complete, and she could feel the anticipation building within her. She was so close, and yet so far, from finally escaping and returning to the world of livings.
"Yeah, I know we got that mirror, but come on! Comparing the real thing to a bootleg Stargate that opens to a bootleg Barbie world? Blasphemy!"
The sound of rock being carved out filled the air as Nightmare Moon meticulously worked on her creation, her horn glowing brightly as she etched out each intricate line and curve. She had been working on the spell for what felt like years, but time was a difficult concept to grasp on the moon.
"You know, Armstone, sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in a movie. Like that one guy who is stranded on a Mars and he have to survive against all odds and get back to Earth. What was it called again? Is it Event Horizon?"
Armstone remained silent, but Nightmare Moon could almost feel his reassuring presence, somehow.
"You're the only one who understands me on this godforsaken rock." she said, smile fondly.
She continued to carve out the spell, occasionally stopping to chat with Armstone about random things that came to her mind. "Did you see that episode of Star Trek where they went back in time to the moon landing? Whoever came up with that must be high as moon!" she laughed, nuzzling Armstone with her muzzle.
Armstone, of course, remained silent, but Nightmare Moon didn't mind. She liked to banter with her friend, even if it is one-sided. It helped her stay sane in her isolation.
The hayburgur chain restaurant in Canterlot was bustling with ponies of all kinds, chattering and munching on their food. Twilight Sparkle sat opposite her foalsister, Princess Cadance, and her brother, Captain Shining Armor. Shining Armor was shoveling food into his mouth with wild abandon, while Cadance and Twilight chatted about their random stuffs.
Twilight noticed that Cadance kept glancing over at Shining Armor with a soft smile on her face. It wasn't until Shining Armor's posture stiffened and he nodded to her that Cadance revealed the reason for her admiring gaze.
"Actually, Twilight," Cadance said, blushing slightly. "Shining Armor and I are in a relationship. We're planning on getting married soon."
Twilight nearly choked on her hayburgur. "What?! You two are dating? When did this happen?"
Shining Armor paused in his eating, looking sheepishly at his sister. "Yeah, Twily, we've been together for a while now. I was waiting for the right time to tell you."
Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe my big brother is going to be a prince! You're so lucky, Shining Armor."
Shining Armor chuckled, still wary a little. "I don't know about that. Cadance is the lucky one for putting up with me."
Cadance rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, Shining. I'm the lucky one for having you."
Twilight smiled at the loving couple. "Well, I'm happy for you two. Just don't forget about your little sister when you're living in your palace."
Shining Armor grinned. "Don't worry, Twily. We'll always make time for you." Completely relaxed his guard and continued shoveling down his food.
Twilight turned to her foalsister, Cadance, and whispered, "So, Cadance, is my big brother good in bed?" She smirked mischievously as she watched Shining Armor choke on his food.
Cadance's eyes widened in surprise, but then she giggled and leaned closer to Twilight. "Oh, Twilight, you know I can't answer that. A lady never tells."
Shining Armor recovered from coughing and shook his head, looking both embarrassed and amused. "Oh, come on, you two. Can we please talk about something else?"
Twilight and Cadance exchanged a knowing glance before turning back to Shining Armor. "What's the matter, Shining?" Twilight teased. "Feeling a little uncomfortable?"
Shining Armor let out a long sigh and shook his head. "I swear, the Princess is corrupting both of you." He shook his head in disbelief.
Twilight couldn't help but giggle at her brother's words. "Oh, come on, Shining. You know she just wants to keep us on our hooves."
As they finished up their meal, a letter suddenly materialized in front of Twilight. She groaned as she read the contents, shaking her head in frustration.
"What is it, Twilight?" Cadance asked, concern etched on her face.
"It's from Princess Celestia," Twilight replied. "She doesn't believe the warning about the possibility return of an ancient threat and is ordering me to go to Ponyville to oversee this year's Summer Sun Celebration."
Shining Armor looks outside and deep in thought for a moment, then his expression suddenly turned serious. "The training of the Royal Guard has increased significantly in the last couple of months, and there have been rumors of unrest in barrack..."
Cadance sipped her Carbonated black tea, set the cup down on the table, her gaze meeting Twilight's. "I heard about that too," she said softly. "It seems like there's a lot of unrest brewing in Equestria, and not just in the Royal Guard."
An uncomfortable silence filled the air, and Twilight could feel the weight of their words hanging heavily over her. She knew that the situation was more serious than they were letting on. Shits were going to hit the fan, as her classmate had said.
Twilight lost in thought. She had overheard some discussions among castle servants and nobles about giving more power to local governments to make cities less reliant on Canterlot. It was a radical idea that faced many frictions, one that was spearheaded by Princess of the sun herself.
Suddenly, Twilight let out a deep sigh and spoke up. "I have to talk to Spike and prepare for travel," she said, standing up from the table.
As she walked out of the restaurant, Twilight's heart was filled with uncertainty. Her mentor believes that everything will be fine. She has done this kind of things for centuries already. There's nothing to fear, right?
Twilight and Spike stepped out of the carriage and onto the dusty roads of Ponyville. The sun had long since set, casting an orange and pink glow over the town. Twilight looked around with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. She had been sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia, who had tasked her with making friends and taking care of the Summer Sun Celebration.
"I can't believe Princess Celestia sent me here," Twilight grumbled to Spike. "She doesn't believe me about the Mare of the Moon and she thinks I need to make friends."
Spike rolled his eyes. "Maybe you do need to make some friends, Twilight. You spend all your time with your nose buried in books."
"I have friends," Twilight protested. "I have you."
Spike chuckled. "I don't count, Twilight. I'm your assistant."
"The Summer Sun Celebration is only a few hours away, and I need to focus on making sure everything goes smoothly." Twilight said with a sigh.
As they made their way through the town, Twilight couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Why did the princess suddenly order her to make friends? After all this time, she wasn't even sure where to start. However, as they passed by a bakery, she heard a voice calling out to her, and little part of her felt a glimmer of hope that maybe this could be the start of something new.
"Hello there! You must be new in town!"
Twilight turned to see a pink pony with a curly mane and tail standing in the doorway of the bakery.
"Yes, I am," Twilight said, trying to sound friendly. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike."
"I'm Pinkie Pie!" the pink pony said, bouncing up and down. "And I just know we're going to be great friends!"
Twilight was taken aback by Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm, but she couldn't help but feel a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Just in case that the worst-case scenario happend, she told to herself
"Actually, I was just on my way to the town hall," Twilight said. "I need to make sure everything is ready for the Summer Sun Celebration."
"Oh, I can help with that!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing over to her. "I know all about throwing a great party!"
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "Alright, let's go."
As they walked to the town hall, Pinkie Pie chattered away about all the different kinds of parties she had thrown in Ponyville. Twilight couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that she had found someone to help her with the Summer Sun Celebration. Maybe she will have enough time for her research afterall.
"What?!" Shining Armor exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. Celestia had just revealed her brilliant plan to confront Nightmare Moon alone, with his sister as the backup plan.
"I can't believe you're doing this," Raven Inkwell furrowed her brow, her expression incredulous. "Your Highness, you're putting yourself in danger, let's alone sending Twilight to confront Nightmare Moon as a backup plan, to confront THE Mare of The Moon."
Celestia let out a deep sigh, her eyes fixed on the ground. She had been expecting this reaction from Raven Inkwell and Shining Armor, but it still stung to hear their accusations.
"You don't understand," she began, her voice laced with frustration. "I have to do this alone. If I bring an army with me, Luna will see it as a threat, and it will only make things worse."
"Please, Your Highness, reconsider this plan," Raven pleaded. "The safety of Equestria and its subjects is of utmost importance. We cannot risk losing you."
Celestia's expression hardened. "I have to try. I can't sit back and watch as my sister suffered and being consumed by darkness."
Shining Armor stepped forward, his eyes narrowed. "Your Highness, and what about Twilight? Did you even stop to think about the danger you're putting her in?"
Celestia winced, knowing he was right. She had been reckless, mentioning Twilight's name in passing without considering the consequences. "I'll make sure she's safe," she promised, her tone firm.
Shining Armor furrowed his brow, his expression incredulous. "Your Highness, I cannot believe you would send Twilight to confront Nightmare Moon as a backup plan. Twilight is not a soldier, she is a scholar. You cannot put her life at risk like this."
Raven added. "Your Highness, with all due respect, I cannot trust that you will keep Twilight safe." she said. "Your recent decisions have been concerning, and we deserve an explanation."
The sun princess felt a pang of sadness in her chest. She knew she had made mistakes, but she had always tried to do what was best for Equestria. "I understand," she said quietly. "But I have to do this. I can't let Luna destroy everything we've worked so hard to build."
"I must do everything in my power to save her." she said, her voice filled with determination. "I cannot give up on her."
Shining Armor and Raven exchanged a look, their faces still filled with doubt. Celestia knew she had lost their trust, but she couldn't let that stop her. She had to convince Luna to turn away from the darkness, no matter the cost.
Nightmare Moon went through a meticulous pre-launch check, going over every detail with the same care and precision as the engineers who had sent a self-mutilated titanium coffin to space with controlled explosives.
"Astronomy, go" looking up at the stars. She could feel their power, and she knew that they were aligning in her favor. "Power, go" inside a structure enact upon the moon by an intelligence, untamed ambiance energy begins to move in harmony, working together for a greater purpose. "Network, go" she said, after she received first data packet from the system hypervisor. "Guidance, go" all sensors showed up in telemetry, good enough. "Control, go" she continued, a dummy relay flipped on, another identical one is hardwired to launch abort system and still inactive, hopefully forever. "Life support, go" she added, making sure her shield spell is strong enough for re-entry. just in case. "Capcom, go, and wished me luck" she finished, looking at her moon rock friend, NEET Armstone. who has been her only company for who know how long.
Satisfied that everything was in order, she took a deep breath and prepared to activate the spell that would transport her back to Equestria. She closed her eyes and focused her energy, feeling the seal on the moon weakening. She could feel herself getting stronger, her magic returning to her in full force.
"All systems are go for launch."
Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked through the bustling streets of Ponyville, heading towards the town center for the summer sun celebration. They had finished all the preparation hours ago and do research, but Twilight hasn't made any progress..
As they walk around, Twilight asked if anypony knew about the mare of the moon, but she had no luck finding any more information.
"The summer sun celebration is going to start soon. We continue later," Pinkie Pie said, trying to lift Twilight's spirits.
But Twilight couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. "I need to keep looking," she said, determined to find answers. But the princess is coming....
"I will keep on searching, you two can go first," Spike offered.
Twilight thanked Spike for his help, and she and Pinkie Pie continued towards the town center. The sounds of music and laughter filled the air as they joined in the festivities.
But even as they celebrated, Twilight couldn't help but keep her eyes peeled for any signs of Nightmare Moon's return. As the stars shone brighter than usual, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss. Nonetheless, she put on a brave face and tried to enjoy the celebration with her friend, hoping that together they could face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Inside the throne room of the old two sisters' castle in Everfree Forest, the air was heavy with silence. The castle, once a grand and majestic place, now lies abandoned and forgotten.
Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated the room, like a certain aussie robot that was sent back in time to kill a fetus. The sphere of barrier slowly dissolved, revealing Nightmare Moon landing gracefully on the cold, stone floor. She looked around, taking in the empty, dusty hallways and the broken, crumbling walls.
"Just a teleportation spell? No wonder why it uses so much power." Brute force is one of the best strategies in many situations. May it be money, war, or sending a mare to the moon.
It was a letdown, she thought to herself. After all the excitement she had built up, she had been hoping for something more dramatic.
"I should have no problem with that, but still..." she said to herself, shaking her head. "My expectation just got subverted. This felt like The Last Jedi all over again." She didn't even get to use half of the subsystems of her spell.
She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. It was hard to believe that this was once the heart of Equestria. Luna had spent so many years here, both good and bad, ruling over Equestria with her sister. But then everything had changed, and she had been forced to leave. Now she was back in her place. The castle was in ruins, and there was no one here to welcome the night princess.
She walked down the hallway, the sound of her hooves echoing through the empty halls, each step a reminder of the emptiness that filled her soul. Memories flooded her mind, memories of a past filled with darkness and despair. She remembered the time when she had ruled Equestria alongside her sister, a beautiful visage that hid shadows, and twisted her with hate and resentment.
There were moments that shone in the darkness, moments that she held onto tightly, the light that penetrated the blackness of her heart, even if those moments were fleeting.
But then it had all been taken away by her own sister, she had been banished to the moon for a thousand years. And now she was back, but everything was different.
Not her, it's Luna's.
Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel the anger and bitterness rising inside her, but she forced it down. She couldn't afford to lose control again, not now when her entire future relies on that shoddy plan that must be executed perfectly. Firstly, she must fin-
"Hello, Lulu" A familiar voice resounded behind her.
Well, that's convenient.
Celestia called out, "Hello, Lulu" her voice echoing through the empty halls of the castle of the two sisters. She saw the dark figure of her sister in the throne room, staring back at her with cold, unyielding eyes.
"Lu- Nightmare Moon," Celestia said as she walked in, her voice filled with sadness. "I had hoped that we could resolve this peacefully. We are sisters, after all."
But the black alicorn did not respond. Instead, she continued to circle around the room, her eyes never leaving Celestia.
"We don't have to do this. We can rule Equestria together in peace." Celestia spoke, her voice filled with sorrow.
The two alicorns began to circle around each other, neither of them speaking a word. Celestia tried to reason with her sister, to convince her to come back to the light, but Nightmare Moon remained silent.
"Very well," Celestia said with a sigh. "If it must come to this, then let it be so."
With a heavy heart, Celestia raised her horn, preparing to defend herself against her own sister. She knew that there was no other way - this was a battle that had to be fought, no matter how much it pained her.
The two alicorns charged at each other, their horns glowing with powerful magic. Suddenly, Nightmare Moon stops, her flank is facing the entrance.
The black mare suddenly spoke up, "What do you know about a mass driver?"
".... What?" Celestia was taken aback by the sudden change in subject.
Nightmare Moon suddenly darted behind the entrance door, which was made of thick metal.
"I choose you, Armstone!" Nightmare Moon shouted in glee. "Retrograde at 500%!"
Celestia realized her sister was not casting any offensive spells at all! "What is Retro-"
Wink! Boom! *splat*
The atmosphere in Ponyville shifted from excitement to fear as the moon slowly began to set, and the Summer Sun Celebration was about to begin. However, Princess Celestia was nowhere to be seen, and the ponies were beginning to worry. Suddenly, a black alicorn appeared on stage, with razor-sharp teeth and slitted eyes that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who dared make eye contact.
The ponies gasped in terror as they recognized the dark mare—it was Nightmare Moon, the infamous mare who had once tried to plunge Equestria into eternal night, a demon who consumed the flesh of young foals. She had been banished to the moon thousands of years ago, but now she was back, and the ponies of Ponyville were powerless to stop her.
Suddenly, a brave pony stepped forward, his voice shaking but determined. "Where is Princess Celestia?" he demanded, hoping against hope that the princess would suddenly appear and save them all.
Nightmare Moon laughed, a cruel sound that echoed through the silent town square. "Am I not royal enough for you?" she taunted; her voice laced with malice. "Don't you remember who I am?"
Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Pinkie Pie suddenly interjected, as she often did in times of crisis. "Hey, I remember you!" she exclaimed, her voice cheerful despite the gravity of the situation. "You're Nightmare Moon, right? From a thousand years ago? Wow, it's been a while since we've seen you around here."
Nightmare Moon froze up, then scowled at the pink pony. "And who are you supposed to be?" she sneered.
"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie chirped. "And I'm the one who knows how to throw a party, even in the darkest of times. Maybe you should take a break from all this doom and gloom and come have some cake with us! We've got plenty to go around."
To everyone's surprise, Nightmare Moon's menacing expression softened a bit as she regarded the pink pony. "Hmm, a party, you say?" she mused. "I suppose it has been a while since I've had any fun."
She turned to Pinkie Pie with a sly smile. "Do you like pie?" she asked.
Pinkie's face lit up with excitement. "Yes, I love pie!" she exclaimed.
Nightmare Moon's smile widened. "Well then, how about we go somewhere private and have some moon pie together?" she suggested.
Before Pinkie could respond, Twilight stepped forward and whispered urgently in her ear. "Pinkie, 'eating moon pie' is just an expression. It means 'having oral sex with her," she explained with lifeless eyes like those of an underpaid schoolteacher.
Pinkie's face went from pink to red as she realized what the Mare of the Moon had just suggested. She stammered awkwardly. "Oh, right, ha ha, that's a good prank. Well, maybe we can just have regular pie instead?" she suggested, hoping to salvage the situation.
"Who said it was a prank? It's lonely up there, you know?" Nightmare replied with half-lidded eyes.
Before the situation could get any more awkward, a rainbow-maned Pegasus suddenly flew up into the air and attempted to strike Nightmare Moon with a powerful kick. However, her attack was quickly intercepted by an orange earth pony wearing a Stetson hat, who bit down on the Pegasus’s tail.
"Return the princess to us!" she yelled.
"As you wish," the black alicorn complied, teleporting in something white and red, a battered and beaten white alicorn.
Just as panic threatened to take over, a chill swept over the crowd before Nightmare Moon spoke.
"Good, that's it. There's nothing to fear. I won't hurt anyone... as long as you listen to my announcement."
"Raw and pure, undiluted magic," Twilight muttered in awe as she observed. Pretending that she didn't see the bloody princess.
"Monster...." someone whispered from the crowd.
The black alicorn composed herself and met Celestia's gaze, her only working eye. "Firstly, from this day forward, we are sisters no longer." Tears started to well up in white alicorn eye sockets.
"They are sisters?" someone in the crowd interjected.
"Secondly, there will be no eternal night. I have learned my lesson from my thousand years of imprisonment that not all enjoy the night. And I am happy to say that after my punishment, I too have learned to hate the night. I hereby give up my title as the ruler of the night and the moon itself to the Princess of Sun."
Celestia's tears flowed like a dam after a terrorist attack.
"Third and finally, I hereby relinquish my Equestrian citizenship and my claim to the throne because many reasons, but mainly because I hate it here. You guys can all go fuck yourselves without involving me."
"What...?" Celestia muttered in shock. Her mouth hung open and shows to full view of the unfortunate audiences. Alicorn's healing factor can look truly eldritch in many scenarios. Growing back teeth and pushing out third-degree burned skin patches is one of that.
"EW! I ain't going to sleep tonight after seeing- Ow that's hurt!" The sound of hoof impact muzzle echoed from somewhere.
"I will leave now. Thank you for listening to my Ted talk, and please continue your celebration." Her body turned into mist and slithered away in the direction of that dreaded forest.
Silence reigned for a moment as everything slowly began to sink in
"Mare of the Moon is gone" The first pony that came to his sense shouted.
"Mare of the Moon is gone!" The ponies erupted in cheers as Celestia fainted, unable to process her emotion with her halfway functional brain from blood loss at the sudden turn of events.
The sun slowly rose to the sky as Celestia's horn glowed softly, casting a warm light throughout the room. The white alicorn lay in her hospital bed, her eyes closed as she rested. She may have been numbed to physical pain from her long life, but even she couldn't escape the exhaustion that came with losing her little lulu.
The events of the previous night had thrown everything into disarray, leaving Celestia to pick up the pieces and try to figure out what had gone wrong.
As she lay there, lost in thought, a pony entered the room, a doctor, his expression filled with worry. "Your Highness are you feeling any discomfort?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.
Celestia opened her eyes, offering the doctor a small smile. "No need to worry, doctor. I'm fine," she reassured him.
The doctor hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Very well, call me if you need anything," he said before leaving the room.
As soon as he was gone, Celestia's faithful student, Twilight Sparkle stepped out from the shadows, her expression grim. "Why did you keep me in the dark, Princess?" she demanded. "You asked me to come to Ponyville and oversee the Summer Sun Celebration, but I had no idea that you were planning something like this," Twilight asked, her tone laced with frustration.
Celestia sighed, "I'm sorry, my faithful student," she replied, her voice soft with regret. "I didn't want to involve you in such a dangerous situation. But I had to maximize the probability that the Elements of Harmony would work."
Twilight's eyes widened in shock. "What if I don't make any friends? What if the Elements don't work?" she asked in leveled tone.
"I had faith in you, Twilight. I knew you were capable of making friends, and I knew that the Elements would work. Nothing will go wrong. "
"But why did it have to go so wrong?" Twilight pressed on, her voice rising in anger. "You didn't even tell me that you were planning to confront Nightmare Moon yourself, and now you are hurt, and she's gone!"
Celestia's expression softened as she looked at Twilight, "I know, Twilight. I never intended for things to go this way," she said, her voice filled with sorrow.
Her plan to save her beloved sister had gone awry, and she was left feeling helpless. The first plan to confront Nightmare Moon herself had failed spectacularly, and the second plan using the Elements of Harmony never got off the ground as Luna declared that she no longer wanted the throne and even hated the night, something that was unimaginable for the alicorn of the night.
"I was too stunned to take any action before Luna ran off to who knows where," Princess Celestia admitted, her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't help but feel the weight of her failure. Her carefully crafted plan had hinged on a specific set of assumptions that were no longer true.
Her plan had been based on the premise that Luna wanted eternal night and that she was willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goal. But now it seemed that her assumptions had been completely off the mark.
Twilight's anger dissipated, replaced by empathy for her mentor. "I may not know how you feel, but as somepony with a sibling." She walked over to the bed and placed a comforting hoof on Princess Celestia's side. "We'll find her, Princess,” she promised. "But we must assess the situation first."
She offered her most faithful student a grateful smile.
Suddenly the door swung open, the sound of hoofsteps echoing throughout the room. Celestia and Twilight turned their heads to see the captain of the royal guard, entering the room.
"BBBFF, what are you doing here?" Twilight called out, happy to see her brother.
Shining Armor's expression softened as he caught sight of his sister. "Twily, it's good to see you," he said warmly before he walked over to Princess Celestia's bedside and looked down at her, his expression unreadable.
The sun princess gulped as she met her captain's gaze.
"I read the report," he said, his voice stern.
"Captain, I understand that you may not agree with my actions," Princess Celestia began, her voice hesitant.
"Agree? That's an understatement, your Highness." Shining interrupted, his voice laced with anger. "You put yourself, my sister, and this whole town in unnecessary danger, and now you're injured and unable to rule. Even if it was just a couple of days, who knows what kind of chaos could ensue in your absence?"
"I never meant for things to turn out like this," Celestia said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Celestia nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. She knew that she had put everypony in danger with her selfishness, and she had to make amends for her actions.
Shining let out a deep sigh, his anger dissipating slightly. "I don't doubt your intentions, Princess, but your actions were reckless," he said, his tone softer now. "You need to trust your guards to protect you. We're here to serve and protect you, not just stand around and look pretty."
Celestia wisely holds her tongue. The room fell into awkward silence.
"What's our next move?" Twilight who had been standing silently in a corner, spoke up.
Celestia opened her eyes and looked at Twilight and sighed deeply, her thoughts drifting back to the failed plan that had led to her being hospitalized. "My plan should have worked flawlessly," she lamented. "I wanted to confront my sister alone, maximize the chance of bringing her back peacefully without a fight. But if that failed, I was prepared to fight her. Even if I lost, I knew that the strain of escaping from the moon and fighting against another alicorn would have weakened her enough for Twilight to handle her." Instead, her sister somehow run away with nearly full reserve, if flaring up her power just to silence the panicked crowd last night were to be any indication.
She paused, her gaze turning to the window as she continued. "But if the agents I placed around Ponyville deemed her still too strong, then we were prepared for the worst-case scenario. They would lure her to the capital city and work together with the Royal Guard for a final siege that would hopefully have minimum casualties, with most of the population going out for a long holiday trip."
Her voice trailed off, the memory of the battle still fresh in her mind. "But that plan failed spectacularly," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper.
Celestia's heart sank as she thought about the failed plan. She had put so much faith in her assumptions, but they had been built on a foundation that was no longer true. Her sister didn't want an eternal night, she didn't want to rule Equestria. She just wanted to be left alone.
Even if everything goes well, even if they still can track her down.
It would still fail in the end.
It was a harsh realization, but Celestia knew that it was better this way. Despite her love for Luna, she couldn't ignore the political implication that came with her return. It is better for Equestria if her sister stayed away.
The captain of the Royal Guard, who had been listening silently in a corner, spoke up. "Then why did she come to Ponyville? Why did she harm the princess at all?"
The room fell silent again as everyone contemplated the question. Suddenly, Twilight's eyes widened, and a light bulb went off in her head. "Herd instinct," she said quietly.
"Herd instinct?" Celestia repeated, confused.
"Herd instinct," she repeated. "It's a natural behavior for ponies. When they feel threatened, they group together for protection."
Princess Celestia and Shining Armor looked at Twilight with surprise, impressed by her bottomless insight. "That's very interesting information, Twily," Shining Armor said, nodding his head. "But how do we use that information?"
Twilight smirked. As a new hope ignited in the heart of the Princess of sun.
"With all due respect, are you sure, your highness?"
"Yes, I am quite sure."
"Are you absolutely sure this is what must be done?"
"Yes, we needed to do this much if we wished to get to her."
"Twiliy, says something!"
"Shining, she is her LSBFF, her Little Sister Best Friend Forever!"
"Ugh! Why you sided with her!"
Pinkie Pie was up early, ready to greet the day with her usual energy and enthusiasm. She was walking with purpose, a big smile on her face, greeting all the ponies that came to pass. She saw Bonbon walking by her candy shop, and she waved to her, calling out a friendly hello. "Hey there, Bonbon! How's the candy business going? Any new flavors you want to share with me?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Bonbon smiled back at her, happy to see Pinkie in such good spirits. "Oh, hi Pinkie! Business is good, thanks for asking. I'm working on a new candy recipe that I think you're really going to love. I'll have to bring some by the bakery later for you to try."
Pinkie bounced up and down on her hooves, clapping her hooves together. "Yay! I can't wait! I love trying new things, especially when it comes to sweets." She then turned her attention to Applejack, who was pulling the empty cart to the apple orchard. "Hey there, Applejack! How's the farm treating you today?"
Applejack smiled warmly at Pinkie, glad to see her friend in such high spirits. "Oh, hey there, Pinkie! The farm's doing just fine, thanks for asking. The apple trees are blooming nicely, and the crops are coming along just fine. We'll have a good harvest this year, I reckon."
Pinkie beamed at her friend. "That's great to hear, Applejack! You always know how to keep those trees growing strong. I bet they'll be delicious this year." She then spotted Twilight Sparkle walking out of Ponyville General Hospital, looking a bit tired but relieved. She is wearing oversized purple armor.
Pinkie rushed over to her new friend, eager to see how she was doing. "Hey there, Twilight! How's the princess doing? Is she feeling better?"
Twilight smiled at Pinkie, happy to see her friend so concerned. "Yes, she's recovering nicely, thank you for asking. She's still a bit weak, but she'll be fine in no time."
Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. "That's great to hear, Twilight! I'm glad she's on the mend. So, where are you off to now with that getup? Isn't the library in the other direction?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
Twilight smiled mysteriously. "Oh, I'm just heading to meet a certain pony. It's nothing you need to worry about, Pinkie."
Pinkie couldn't help but feel intrigued by Twilight's answer. "Ooh, a certain pony, huh? Sounds exciting! Maybe you'll tell me all about it later. Oh, and speaking of exciting news, I'm planning a welcome to Ponyville party for a new pony too! Guess who it is?"
Twilight looked at Pinkie, puzzled. "A welcome party for a new pony....? That's great, Pinkie, may I know who's the pony?"
Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. "Nightmare Moon, of course!"
Twilight froze in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock. "How, how do you know about our plan?" she stammered.
Pinkie chuckled, enjoying her friend's reaction. "Oh, Twilight, you're so easy to read! Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. But you know what they say, two heads are better than one, so why don't we team up and make this party a real blast?"
Twilight is speechless, and walks away without words. A small part of her mind tagged "Pinkie Pie" as a "Research Topic". For now, she has a mission to complete.
Pinkie giggled.
Raven Inkwell was holding day court with the Princess of Love in the absence of Princess Celestia. She was leading the court for young Princess Cadance in her first court when suddenly she was cut off by a loud poof as a scroll appeared on the table in front of her. A Dragonfire letter with the royal seal appeared before her.
It was from Princess Celestia. She paused the court and opened the letter, scanning it quickly. Her expression went from focused to shocked, her face quickly turning pale as she read its contents.
Dear, my faithful assistant
"What is it?" Cadance noticed Raven's stunned expression and asked, her voice filled with concern.
With that in mind, you have full reign on how to prepare lessons on modern Equestria for her. As we have discussed las-
Raven wordlessly handed over the scroll. She took the letter from her, reading it herself.
-to inform you that I'll be taking a much-needed vacation for the foreseeab-
Her eyes widened as her face quickly mirrored Raven's as she read the letter's contents.
-and in my absence, I hereby give you, Raven Inkwell, and my niece, Princess Cadance, my full authority to approve laws and make any necessary decisions on behalf of the kingdom.
"Why?" Cadance asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Miss Raven, why would Auntie do this to us?"
PS. Captain Shining Armor will deliver my signature stamp to you
The sun was shining through the dense trees of the Everfree Forest, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. It was a wild and untamed place, dangerous but also beautiful. Nightmare Moon walked through the forest, her black coat a stark contrast to the lush greenery around her. The sound of her hooves echoed against the stone floor of the ancient castle that was once the center of Equestria as she loses in her thought.
Why does Pinkie Pie know about her and why does she call out to her like that? It's definitely not her who screwed this up. She is not the one who acted out of character first.
But at least the sexual harassment was fun.
The mare of the moon continued to ponder over the strange situation she had found herself in. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, and the odd behavior of Twilight Sparkle only added to her confusion.
To her confusion, Twilight also was acting weirdly calm and collected, which was not what she had expected from the neurotic, boot-licking unicorn. She doesn't even register her corpse of a mentor from the looks of it.
Speaking of Twilight, Nightmare Moon also does not remember seeing Spike beside her. He should be there, fainted on the unicorn's back after being intimidated by the mare of night.
Her mind was racing as she struggled and tried to make sense of the situation that had occurred, she knew that she needed to rely on her analytical mind and her ability to think logically in order to make progress.
A quote from a certain great writer has come into her mind "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
At the moment, she can only think of two possible scenarios, but only one that is not only the simplest and made sense to her. The first one is she somehow influences events from the moon, very unlikely given how the seal actually functions, and the second and most likely one is....
"Alternate universe" she muttered to herself; her eyes narrowed in deep thought. then shake her head.
It no longer matters, what's done is done.
As she walked through the hallways, the silence of the abandoned castle was deafening. The dust-covered floors and walls told a story of a place long forgotten.
Nightmare Moon couldn't help but wonder what events had led it to such state, as if ponies had just been left in a hurry and never bothered to come back.
She could hear the faint sound of her own breathing as she walked through the corridors, each step echoing against the stone walls. The castle seemed to go on forever, and she found herself lost in the labyrinth of endless corridors.
But she pressed on, driven by the determination to find it.
The armors, fabrics, and books were still here, untouched for centuries. Nightmare Moon walked past the entrance of the library, inside it filled with tomes and scrolls, some of them adorned with intricate patterns and symbols that were lost to the cruelty of time. It was as if she had stepped into a time capsule, frozen in a moment of history.
She lost herself in her thoughts, pondering the mysteries of event that lead to creation of this place until she reached the half-destroyed throne room.
Only then she finds five familiar-looking white marbles were there on the ground, lying under dust and debris.
Nightmare Moon lit up her horn and approached. Lifted up the marbles to examine them more closely. They were the Elements of Harmony.
They are not supposed to be here. Why are they still here? She did collect them, right?
Her brain halted at first, and her breath caught in her throat. Then slowly, she closed her eyes, hoping it was just her mind playing tricks, before opening them again
They are still here. Lazily emitting excess energy as they always has been, inelegant and inefficient just like every other piece of junks their creator made.
But such property can serve purposes, and it's not hard to deduced what purpose it is serving currently.
And she just had to moved them around without checking them out first.
"Fuck" she muttered to herself, frustration in her voice.
The black alicorn was lost in thought as she contemplated where she had gone wrong. She had made a mistake, and now she was paying the price.
As she continued her search through the old and abandoned library in the depths of The castle of two sisters. Her expression was one of determination and focus as she scanned the shelves for any clues that might help her in her quest.
She moved swiftly and with purpose, her eyes darting from book to book as she tried to find what she was looking for.
She flicked through the pages, her eyes scanning the text as she searched for any relevant information. After a few minutes, she shook her head in frustration and tossed the book aside.
"No, not this one" she muttered, disappointment evident in her voice.
Her plan had been simple enough if it can even be called that. She would beat the shit out of that white bitch, show her dominance, and then leave that thing in Ponyville with the Element of Harmony, leaving Equestria without its sole protector and more important matter than chasing after her into the forest of death.
In the short term anyway, but long enough for her to find what she needed, hopefully.
She will be long gone by the time Twilight is able to bond with the elements, if that is still possible at all. It was a perfect plan, or so she had thought.
But then Murphy has to come and screwed her up.
As she reached for another book, she muttered to herself in frustration. "No, not this one either" tossing the book aside.
She was running out of time; they can come at any moment. She had forgotten to leave the Element of Harmony in Ponyville, and now she was paying the price for her mistake.
She had somehow overlooked that critical step. Now, they have reason to come here, and her plan was in shambles, doomed from the start, her time here is limited.
Despite the urgency of her situation, Nightmare Moon managed to keep her cool to some level. The best course of action is to find a way to salvage this mess, to turn this situation to her advantage, but how?
She let out a heavy sigh, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a new plan. But everything was so uncertain, so unpredictable. It was almost as if fate was conspiring against her.
Suddenly, she heard a noise from outside the library, The clanking of metal against metal echoed throughout the castle making her heart skip a beat. She had to hurry.
She deployed her notice-me-not and invisibility spells, hoping that she would be hidden from whoever or whatever searching for her.
She began rapidly pulling books from the shelves, scanning them quickly before placing them aside in frustration, anything, just any clues.
The sound of armor keeps closer as a wave of unknown magic flows past her, an active scanning maybe? She could feel the clock ticking down, and it was driving her crazy.
Just when she thought she had found what she was looking for, Twilight appeared out of nowhere, wearing oversized armor and grinning from ear to ear.
The keyword is "thought ".
Nightmare Moon froze, unsure of what to do next. She wasn't supposed to be here.
"Princess Nightmare Moon, I know you're here!" Twilight called out looking directly at her eyes.
This is bullshit.
At least the purple bookhorse looked adorable in that getup.
Twilight Sparkle felt like a tin can as she walked down the hallway in Shining Armor's oversized armor.
Every time Twilight took a step, the armor made a loud clanging noise that echoed through the hallways, making her feel more conspicuous than ever. She couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous in the suit of armor that was designed for her much larger brother.
But that's his condition, not much she can do about it.
She took a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to do could be dangerous. Nightmare Moon is still mostly unpredictable, and Twilight knew that one wrong move could spell disaster for her. But she already came this far. She had to try.
Nightmare Moon is strong, possibly even stronger than Princess Celestia, her spell told her so. The night alicorn's magic shined like the violent column of wild, untamed air in the middle of a calm day, ready to brew into a great storm at any moment, a walking natural disaster in the shape of a pony.
And yet, just like anything else, such existence still has weaknesses, and she's going to exploit a couple of them today!
So, she relaxed her posture and stepped forward, her horn glowing with a soft lavender light, a spell that create a heat map of ambient magic distribution in the shape of a small sphere around the caster, and then imprinted the information directly into one's mind, a spell that can bypass thousand years old illusion spells completely and reveal the true reality!
And she found it! A small area of magic that seems to be darker even the absolute darkness and as powerful as the sun itself, a pony-shaped magic hotpot stood before Twilight.
She looked directly at the area around Nightmare Moon’s head, the place that is most likely her eyes then smiled and called out, "Princess Nightmare Moon, I know you're here!"
The invisible alicorn of the night looked back, her face twisted in a frown. Yet she still relented.
Uncomfortable silence reign in, as two mares stare at each other, the message is clear. And yet this status quo cannot last forever, something has to give in.
The disguised mare faded into existence "What do you want, Sparklebutt?" Nightmare Moon finally spoke up, her voice cold and distant.
Looking directly at the alicorn's sharp teethes and predator-looking eyes, Twilight stopped herself from flinching just in time, maintained the unperturbed facade and smiled. "Your plan is based on herd instinct, isn't it?" She said to the ruler of the night.
Nightmare Moon tilted her head, acting confused, but Twilight knew better. She decided to press on and started deconstructing Nightmare's plan.
"We ponies were herd animals before we gained sentient, and it influenced how the modern pony society operated. Taking advantage of that fact, you took down Princess Celestia because she was the leader, the 'alpha' of the 'herd' called Equestrian Government, and without her, the 'herd' will lose its direction and will be in shambles and unable to pursue you." Twilight continued, her tone calm and measured.
"Ah... yeah, let's go with that" Nightmare Moon replied. To be honest, she only half-understanding what Twilight was talking about.
But the keyword "unable to pursue you" is enough for her to understand what the unicorn is getting at.
She had expected Twilight to be angry or outraged after what happened, but the unicorn's calm demeanor was something else, further confirming her suspicion about this world being an alternate universe.
As she tried to ignore clunky metal plates that chafed against her furs in all the wrong places, she could see that her words had struck a nerve with the black alicorn.
"It must have taken a long time to come up with this whole thing, huh?" Twilight continued, trying to stroke Nightmare Moon's ego.
10 minutes is a long time for Zoomers indeed, attention span can go fuck itself… and there's more? Nightmare then hesitantly asked. "So, you understand my plan completely?"
"If I am guessing correctly when the conditions are right," she said, "the Elements of Harmony can act as perpetual energy generators by being conductors of ambient magic energy. You want to use the Element of Harmony to focus the local potential energy and release it in a controlled manner. With that, you can create a steady flow of magic energy and make it possible to harness its power, channeling it into practical applications."
Nightmare Moon looked confused, her facial expression contorted in a mix of disbelief and surprise. She had never heard of such an idea before. She doesn't know the rip-off infinity stones can be used as something akin to an RTG, and Twilight's gibberish-filled explanation only seemed to add to her confusion.
"By using the Element of Harmony," Twilight continued, wagging her hoof, making some kind of gesture. "You can sustain high energy consumption spells such as full-body illusion magic using ambient magic directly. This way, it is much less noticeable than a spell cast directly from a horn. This will allow you to disguise yourself and remain hidden away from any potential threats."
Nightmare Moon was completely stumped. She has planned to disguise herself with just a cloak, it seems to work well enough for Tirek. Maybe with the compliment of a cardboard box?
"Well, it's a clever plan, I'll give you that," Twilight said, her eyes gleaming with admiration. "But there are two problems with it."
Nightmare Moon's expression turned even more confused as she tried to understand what Twilight had just said. This seems better than what she came up with. Without any idea of what's the issue, she then gave up and motioned the unicorn to continue.
"The first one is that it relies on the principle of generating magic energy without a living creature, unpolarized magic without the unique signature of living creatures, which is still confined by the third laws of Arch-Mage Snicker Spell" Twilight explained. "It states that any unpolarized magic energy is subject to interference from other unpolarized magical sources, including any other magictech discharged in normal operation. This includes the anti-counterfeit spells in all Equestrian coins."
The alicorn raised her eyebrows, what kind of parents named their child 'Snicker'? Then she remembers this is Equestria.
Twilight continued, "Without any modern filtration spells, your energy supply to your disguise can be easily disabled by interference from any other magical source, rendering your disguise useless. In other words, your disguise will fail the moment you touch a coin."
Silence reigned in the room as Nightmare Moon considered the implications of Twilight's warning. It has been fruitful. She knew that Twilight was right.
This is not the moon or ancient Equestria. There are many variables. Any idea that involved a "spell matrix" is to be scrapped for the foreseeable future.
"The second one is that, your spells are outdated by a thousand years. Different than offensive spells that you might be able to use the sheer power of alicorn magic to brute force, the spells used in espionage operations required the opposite. You might be able to trick some automate security system with that but any unicorn that cast a modern area of effect detection spell will notice your presence immediately"
Well, that sounds more like a normal huma-pony. "Thank you, Twilight, for pointing that out," Nightmare Moon coolly said with an unreadable face, hopefully unreadable. "I will have to come up with a new plan that takes into account the environments of modern Equestria. You can have the elements if you wish" She teleport in and levitate the elements to twilight.
Twilight ignited her horn and took hold of the legendary artifacts. "Thank you, Your highness, but that is not why I came here for."
Nightmare Moon tensed, waiting for Twilight's true motive. Another one that is not about those cursed rocks. It is not hard to deduce.
"Please come bac-"
"No"
"Equestria nee-"
"Nein!"
"But-"
"Enough of this talk," she said, her voice cold and final. "I have no interest in ruling over Equestria. I only wish to be left alone."
"But that would leave Equestria defenseless!" Twilight shouted back; the armor's helmet shut on her face from a quick movement.
"...huh?" Nightmare Moon responded, confused. another bombshell?
The unicorn lifts the helmet back up and continues "We understand that this is a difficult situation, but we believe it's for the greater good. As a leader, Princess Celestia has failed to make the right decisions for Equestria and has put the safety of her subjects in jeopardy. It's time for a change and we believe you are the best candidate to take her place."
The black mare's eyes bulged out, she didn't expect this.
Twilight continued, "In past years, her Highness passed many controversial policies and created political messes in Parliament. After her recent action, she has shown that she is willing to put her needs before the nation's, by putting both herself and ponies around her in danger."
Nightmare Moon didn't like where this was going. She thought to herself, "Oh...."
"That's why, after thorough analysis from a psychologist, we deemed it best for her to step down to recover. Currently, she is being transferred to the Baltimare Asylum, a medical institution, a kind of prison with the purpose to rehabilitate ponies with mental illness. We transferred her to that place so that she will get further psychological help she needed," Twilight said, trying to keep a straight face as she speaks it out.
The black alicorn was stunned at this revelation. She couldn't believe it.
"We also understand that this is a lot to take in, so please take your time to consider our proposal. We will be here to support you every step of the way."
What kind of bullshit is this? Is it a ruse? SHE knows that she can dream walking, right? It just took a single night to confirm the truth.
Twilight's expression softened, "I know that you've been hurt in the past, but you don't have to live in darkness forever. You can find a place here in Equestria, I know that there's a part of you that still cares about Equestria, that still wants to be a part of it. Don't give up on that part of yourself."
Is SHE willing to go this far just to get her....? But knowing that bitch, the length SHE is willing to go... unsurprisingly plausible. Just like that time.
A long silence reign in, the only sound in the room is the noise of metal sliding against each other as Twilight shifts in her armor, trying to find the most comfortable posture.
Finally, The Mare of the Moon makes her decision, one that she might regret later.
The sun quickly darted across the sky as the moon take its place, and the sky turned into a canvas of stars, moonlight began to filter through the ruins of the castle.
The two mares stood together, looking out at the beauty of the world around them as the horn of the black alicorn dimmed down after it has finished its duty.
Nightmare Moon looked down at Twilight and spoke in defeat. "Very well," she said. "I'll hear you out. But don't think for a moment that I'm doing this because I care about HER."
Twilight beamed, relief flooding through her. "That's all I ask," she said. "Let's talk."
Twilight is tired. Very tired. She has been exploring the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters for what feels like hours. The once-majestic halls and rooms now lay in ruins, covered in dust and cobwebs.
But despite that, she can't help but feel a sense of excitement and wonder as she thinks about the secrets and mysteries from a past long gone hidden within the castle's walls.
And then there's the library, with its shelves lined with ancient tomes and dusty scrolls. Twilight can't wait to get her hooves on them and start uncovering the knowledge that has been lost to time.
As she walks through the dark and eerie halls, she can hear Nightmare Moon muttering to herself. It's clear that she is searching for something, but she hasn't told Twilight what she's looking for.
Instead, she just asked Twilight to explore the ruins on her own while she searches for whatever it is she's looking for. Twilight tries to help, but Nightmare Moon insists that she has to do it on her own.
The conversation has been successful, and they plan to head back to Ponyville at sunrise. She and her new companion will have to spend some time in Ponyville before returning to Canterlot. Her task is to monitor the black alicorn, and teach her about modern life and common sense, which could take some time. She would have to explain everything from technology to political and social norms.
Meanwhile, her sister Cadence and mentor's assistant Raven Inkwell had their task to deal with. They had to handle the political and noble affairs in Canterlot, making sure intregate Nightmare Moon to the crown will be as possible. They would have to navigate through the complicated web of relationships and interests to ensure the level of hostility toward the new alicorn is minimized. Her brother on the other hoof, would continue his duty as royal guard, protecting Princess Celestia.
She was beyond exhausted as she dragged her hooves along the dusty ruins of the castle. Her eyes felt heavy, and her mind was foggy. She had been exploring for hours and had come across various old artifacts and crumbled hidden passages. The thought of what more secrets were buried deep within the castle kept her going, but her body was begging her to rest.
The two mares continue to search in silence for a while, Twilight is lost in thought and Nightmare Moon is lost in her search. Twilight yawns suddenly, her exhaustion finally getting the better of her. Nightmare Moon's ear perks up, and she turns to face Twilight.
The alicorn looked over her body and then with a serious look in her eyes. "You should get some sleep," she says in a soft voice. "We have to travel back tomorrow."
Twilight blinks, surprised. "Rest? But I'm not--"
"You're exhausted" Nightmare Moon interrupts, her voice firm. "And you won't be able to go far if you're not at your best. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
She nods and follows the alicorn to one of the decent full rooms that were cleanup a while ago, on the corner are towers of books Twilight intended to bring back, Shining's armor laid neatly beside.
Twilight looked around the dimly lit ruins, her eyes settling on a flat patch of ground. She turned to Nightmare Moon, exhaustion weighing heavily on her voice. "Is that where we're going to sleep?" she asked, gesturing to the ground.
Nightmare Moon nodded. "Yes, on the ground. It's not as bad as it sounded," she replied, her tone flat and matter-of-fact.
Twilight's heart sank at the thought of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. But in her tired mind, Nightmare Moon had spent a thousand years on the moon, sleeping on hard rocks, so it was a kind of normalcy to her. She could see why the black alicorn has so much malice for her mentor.
A soft springy bed is good, solid granite floor is bad, that's one of commonsense she will have to teach the alicorn.
In her exhausted mind, she mustered up the courage to ask something that she normally wouldn't have. "Your Highness, Can I cuddle with you?"
"....What?" The black alicorn was taken by surprise. Twilight gulped as she realized what she is asking.
The unicorn hesitated for a moment before blurting out again, "Can I cuddle with you?" She felt shamed for asking such a personal question, but she was just so tired and needed some comfort.
Nightmare Moon looked at her quizzically and with a hint of... embarrassment? She looked surprised by the request. But then she saw how truly exhausted Twilight was and softened her expression. "I suppose that would be okay," she said, trying not to sound too eager.
As they settled down on the hard ground, Twilight moved closer to Nightmare Moon, resting her head on the mare's shoulder. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as Nightmare Moon wrapped her wings around her. She nestled into the black alicorn's side, the warmth of Nightmare Moon's body and the softness of her fur made it surprisingly comforting.
Feeling safe and warm. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards Nightmare Moon.
For a moment, there was only silence. The only sound was the soft breathing of the two mares as they lay together, finding solace in each other's presence. As she drifted off to sleep, Twilight couldn't help but feel grateful for her new companion's unexpected kindness.
She knew that they still had a long way to go in their journey, but for now, she has to rest.
As she snuggled with Twilight, Nightmare Moon was surprised by how much she was enjoying her time with the supposedly neurotic unicorn. As she held the mare close, she found herself lost in her own though. "I don't know what Celestia was thinking, sending this adorable bookhorse to deal with me."
She couldn't help but find the whole situation amusing, and chuckled inwardly at the thought of her, the great and powerful Trixie Nightmare Moon, being reduced to a puddle of goo by a little unicorn.
Is this was being a simp feel like?
She rolled her eyes at the thought, but a small part of her understood the appeal. "I guess I understand now why those things exist," She mused silently, thinking about one of many reasons why god has chosen to abandon humanity.
Nightmare Moon muttered to herself, "Looks like my plan backfired on me." After finding what she needed, she had intended to go back home, back to her family, leaving this world and subsequently, Equestria without a protector.
With her gone, the Elements of Harmony would have never formed, the Mane 6 would have never become friends, and it would have served as an appropriate punishment for that white cake-eating leach.
But now, she got played by her balls. She looked at that blasted purple armor, Twilight's big brother's armor. The one that made her reluctant to use a sleep spell on the unicorn.
The Armor of Shining Armor, the Captain of the Equestrian Royal guard. It looked very different from the TV show but she's sure there’s only one guy that own a purple armor with that symbol.
That thing was filled to the brim with spell matrix, the kind that looked familiar yet alien to her, refined over the last thousand years, retaliation promised to those who harmed its wearer.
There are to distinguish layers. The first one is likely from a factory, with elegant and beautiful craftsmanship. The second one, however....
Dozens of clearly handmade spells from dozen of different design styles meshed together with the grace of ork's creations. No different than a code written by an unpaid intern with the help of his trusty hivemind, StackOverflow, to achieve miracles that even he himself doesn't even understand what's actually going on under the hood.
Late stage siscon's special blend.
She shuddered at what kind of fate the potential attacker would suffer.
With one of the strongest unicorns in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, powering that thing, and the possibility of an army led by the owner of that armor waiting around the corner, she knows not to take unnecessity risks.
She hoped that she could bide her time and gracefully walk away when an opportunity presented itself, after she provided a good argument that dissuaded any more pursuers from coming, no matter how small of a chance that may succeed.
And listen to Twilight she did. Now she has known that Equestria was left defenseless. As she snuggled the unicorn closer and enjoy the warmth from her new living pillow, she also realized that after she had met a real, living pony, they were no longer just cartoon characters made by a soulless corporation to sell toys, not anymore.
They were living sapient beings, and even though the reason she had taken their protection away was only to protect herself, she was still responsible for it.
Out-of-sight, out-of-mind policy can no longer be applied. She may not be the most generous person but it's a different story if it's the mess she made.
...Maybe she is actually the most generous person, considering that she is the only one who uses that pronoun.
She has to draw her morale line somewhere, arbitrary it might be. She's a man with principles after all.
Or a mare with principles now.
But in all seriousness, she knew that if she were to stay in Equestria openly, her time with Twilight will be important. Luna's broken memory is very much useless after a thousand years of changes, and "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" doesn't dive deep into world-building either.
She had a lot to learn about this world, its culture, politics, and magic. Twilight was the perfect guide.
There are many components and shittons of research into spells she needed to do to even have any chance at opening a portal back to Earth, having Twilight on her side would greatly help her plan.
Plus, there was something comforting about having someone to cuddle with. Just the fault of her pony brain.
She couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all, and even though she still had a sense of reluctance about living in Equestria this way, she knew that she couldn't just abandon the ponies now. "I guess I'll just have to figure things out as I go," she thought to herself.
Discord, Tirek, the changelings, the Storm army, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, and Cozy Glow - all of them were now up to her to deal with. Nightmare Moon let out a deep sigh. "Well, let's leave the thinking for future me," she thought to herself, her wings snuggling Twilight closer, she will protect them.
As Celestia and her guard captain, Shining Armor walked together in a hallway of Baltimore Asylum, they were accompanied by a cheerful and talkative pony who served as their guide.
The pony couldn't stop praising the facility, going on about how good it was.
"Wow, Princess Celestia, you won't believe how amazing this place is!" the guide exclaimed. "The bed is soft, the neighbors are incredibly friendly, and the staffs are very professional. You'll feel right at home here!"
Shining Armor looked concerned and turned to Celestia. "Are you sure about this, Your Highness? You can still turn back. We can find another way to handle your sister."
Celestia, wearing a serene smile, replied confidently, "Yes, I am quite sure, Captain. We need to make it look convincing to my sister. She will suspect something if we're not fully committed to this, trust me."
Shining Armor sighed exasperatedly, realizing that there was no changing Celestia's mind. "I hope you know what you're doing, Your Highness. This seems like an awfully messy way to go about it."
As they walked down the hallway, the guide stopped at a particular empty cell and announced, "This is your room, Princess! It's been prepared just for you."
Celestia and Shining Armor glanced at the sparsely furnished room, exchanging bewildered glances. It was far different from any rooms they were used to.
The room had a peculiar design, with walls made of soft, fluffy materials. The guide explained, "The walls are designed this way to prevent patients from hurting themselves. The cushioning layers are made from many different types of the highest quality specialized pegasus-made clouds, providing a comforting and safe environment."
"They look so fluffy!" Celestia exclaimed, unable to resist the temptation. She extended her hoof and gently pressed against the wall, sinking into its softness.
Shining Armor watched, surprised and slightly amused at a childlike fascination from the thousand years olds sovereign in front of him. "You do realize you're supposed to be acting like a patient, right?"
Celestia chuckled and withdrew her hoof. "Of course, but who can resist the allure of pillow walls?"
Shining Armor couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Well, this is certainly going to be an interesting stay."
Pinkie Pie bounced happily down the streets of Ponyville, her curly pink mane bouncing along with her. She was absolutely elated at the moment - the second one is coming!
With a sense of purpose in her stride, Pinkie marched forward. She knew she had to collect all materials she would need for her party and set everything up before the guest arrived.
As she walked, she couldn't help but tell every pony she passed about the upcoming party. "You're invited! We're having a party today! It's going to be so much fun! You should come!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with enthusiasm.
Pinkie had just rounded a corner when she spotted a certain rainbow-maned pegasus sleeping on a cloud.
"Rainboooow!" Pinkie shouted, her voice carrying up to the cloud, but the pegasus only stirred and didn't wake up.
"Rainbo--" she started to say again, but then stopped abruptly, her face grinning like a Cheshire cat. Without hesitation, she hatched a plan to play a prank on Rainbow Dash that would surely wake her up.
With a sly smile, she crept up, tiptoed over to the cloud, and leaned over Rainbow Dash, being careful not to make too much noise, and then blowing a raspberry in her ear. Rainbow Dash bolted awake, flailing wildly as she tumbled off the cloud and plummeted toward the ground.
"Hey, not cool!" she yelled as she fell, her wings flapping frantically in an attempt to regain control.
Pinkie giggled mischievously as she watched Rainbow Dash fall.
The rainbow mane pegasus gets up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. But then, she noticed something odd, she had spotted the equipment Pinkie Pie was carrying, and she was clearly confused. "Hey, Pinkie, what's going on? Why are you carrying all that stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked as she finally regained control of her descent and landed on the ground with a thud.
"Oh, silly! It's for a welcome to Ponyville party I'm planning!" Pinkie's grin widened even further as she explained the upcoming party to Rainbow Dash. "Didn't you hear me telling everypony about it? We've got balloons, streamers, cakes, and moonpies! It's going to be so much fun!" she exclaimed, her voice bubbling over with excitement.
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what was happening. "Wow pinkie, another party. Who's it for?"
Pinkie giggled mischievously, enjoying the intrigue. "It's a secret, Rainbow! But I promise you're going to love it."
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but try to guess who the party was for. "Is it Princess Celestia?" she asked excitedly, wondering if Pinkie had somehow managed to plan a surprise party for the hospitalized ruler of Equestria.
Pinkie just grinned and shook her head. "Nope, not the princess, she left Ponyville yesterday," she said, still keeping her secret tightly under wraps.
Rainbow Dash racked her brain, trying to think of who else it could be. "Is it that guy with the cool armor that come that the new purple mare?" she asked. "Are they a couple?"
Pinkie just laughed. "Nope, and also Nope, not him either! They definitely are not a couple!" she said, enjoying the guessing game.
Rainbow gave up with a chuckle, realizing that Pinkie wasn't going to give anything away. "Okay, okay, you win," she said. "So, where's the party going to be, then?"
Pinkie just winked. "At the town hall, Rainbow! Trust me, it's going to be amazing. You won't want to miss it!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes but couldn't help feeling excited. Pinkie's parties were always so much fun, and this one sounded like it was going to be even better than usual.
She couldn't wait to see what Pinkie had in store, even if she did have to wait a little while to find out where it was going to be held.
Rainbow Dash's mind raced with possibilities as she thought about who the mystery guest at Pinkie's party might be.
She had this gut feeling that it was someone special, someone important, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on who it might be.
As she watched Pinkie trot away, still giggling and bouncing with excitement, Rainbow's thoughts turned to the one pony she couldn't shake from her mind: Nightmare Moon.
She knew it was a long shot, of course. The evil mare who hurt the princess is gone. A bully who runaway with her tail between her legs because she fears Rainbow Dash, the mare of pure awesomeness. But still, there was something that made Rainbow's mind jump to other possibilities.
Shaking her head, Rainbow pushed the thought aside. She didn't want to get her nerve up for nothing. Besides, even if it was someone like Nightmare Moon, what harm could she do now with the mare as cool as her around?
With a shrug, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and took off into the sky, eager to enjoy the rest of her day. Whatever Pinkie had planned, she was sure it was going to be amazing.
The sun was shining bright in the sky, casting warm rays of light as a gentle rustle of leaves accompanied the duo's steps, creating a soothing ambiance for the two mares walking together.
Nightmare Moon's mane flowed gracefully behind her as she follows the lavender mare, their hooves crunching against the dirt path that led from Everfree Forest to Ponyville.
Twilight Sparkle stepped with purpose, leading the way for the mare of the moon. smile filled her muzzle.
Yesterday, she was definitely nervous about 'asking' Nightmare Moon to come with her, but even with her initial reluctance, the mare agreed.
They had been walking for a while now, and despite Twilight's initial worries, the two of them had fallen into a comfortable silence.
Not only that, but she had also brought some books from the ruin to research on. There are a lot of interesting things left in there, Books from the Centre of ancient Equestria, she wants it all!
She had always been used to doing things on her own and had never expected anyone to offer her help.
But here was Nightmare Moon, one of the most powerful and feared beings in all of Equestria, offering to carry her books for her. It was not something she expected from the black mare.
As they walked, Twilight couldn't help but sneak glances at the imposing figure walking beside her.
She was struck by the mare's imposing presence and aura of power, which seemed to emanate from her like a dark and foreboding mist.
Yet, despite her fearsome reputation, there was something about her that Twilight found strangely captivating.
Nightmare Moon was carrying in her magic a royal guard's armor, and many heavy tomes, filled with information about the ancient ruins from millennia long past.
Twilight would have been struggling to carry them all by herself, and she was amazed at how effortlessly Nightmare Moon was able to handle them.
Twilight's mind wandered to her childhood, remembering the stories that involved the black alicorn. The tales always portrayed Nightmare as a villain, a monster who would snatch children from their beds and take them away forever.
Even as she grew older, like many young adults, Twilight had always held a sense of fear and apprehension for her bedtime monsters.
The bedtime stories that Twilight had grown up with had portrayed Nightmare Moon as a boogiemare who would come to get children in the night. They said that she would take them away to the moon, or worse, that she would eat them.
Then there was Nightmare Night, the one night of the year when everypony had to disguise themselves as ghosts and monsters to hide away from the Mare of the Moon.
But now that she was walking alongside Nightmare Moon, Twilight realized that those stories couldn't be further from the truth.
The black alicorn had been so gentle with her, it was hard to believe that she was the same pony who had once terrorized Equestria like that.
She was not a monster at all! She is just a mare, a complex, intelligent sentient being with a fascinating history. The mare was kind and thoughtful, and genuinely interested in what Twilight had to say.
She even let her cuddle last night!
As they walked, Twilight found herself eagerly sharing her knowledge, explaining everything she knew about the flora and fauna of the Everfree Forest they had just left behind.
A moment like this was rare for Twilight. As Celestia's protégé, she always had something to do - books to read, spells to learn, lessons to attend. Her free time was usually spent with her nose buried in a book, lost in the world of words and knowledge.
She was no different than a fly lured in by the light, unable to resist the allure of new information.
But with a companion like Nightmare Moon, Twilight found herself enjoying this slow moment.
She had always considered such moments to be a waste of time, but now she realized that there was something to be said for simply taking things slow and enjoying the company of another.
"Your Highness, do you know what Timberwolves are?" Twilight asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Timberwolves?" Nightmare Moon repeated, sounding somewhat amused. "I cannot say that I do. Pray, tell me more." she arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, genuinely interested in what Twilight had to say.
"They are creatures exclusive to this forest, it's theorized that the manifestation of their physical form is possible only with the unique composition of energy in the atmosphere. They actually harness energy from their surroundings allowing them to function more like self-improving spell matrix than mere living beings as they do not actually consume flesh."
With every passing moment, Twilight could see the curiosity in her eyes growing, the same bottomless hunger for knowledge she has.
The alicorn listened intently as Twilight spoke sharing her knowledge, asking questions, and showing a genuine interest in the subject.
It was truly a rare opportunity for Twilight to be able to share her passion with someone who truly appreciated it.
"Their aggressive behavior as a pack is also a result of their evolutionary process, with each generation maximizing their chances of survival by being stronger, faster, and more efficient than their precursors.” Twilight take a breath, then continue.
”Each timberwolf is shaped by the survival of the fittest, with the strongest and most adaptable traits being passed down to the next generation. This has resulted in a highly coordinated and efficient pack mentality, with each individual working towards the survival of the group." She spoke of their behavior and habits, their pack structure, and how they hunted.
To her surprise, Nightmare Moon smiled warmly at her, the same one Princess Celestia gave her. The alicorn listened with rapt attention, showing a genuine interest in what she had to say.
Twilight thought about the ponies back in Canterlot, only a few had ever offered to help her carry her books, or even asked her about her research at all.
As they continued on their journey, Twilight smiled, despite all of her doubts, she was exactly where she was meant to be - walking alongside someone who she can share her hobby with, a friend.
Perhaps the princess is right after all, She needed to make friends.
Pinkie Pie trotted along, her destination is Sugarcube Corner. Suddenly, she spotted a small orange filly sitting alone on a bench nearby. The energetic pink pony's curiosity piqued, and she trotted over to investigate. It was none other than Scootaloo, the self-proclaimed Rainbow Dash's number one fan.
"Heya, Scootaloo!" Pinkie Pie greeted with a wide grin, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "What brings you to this lonely bench today?"
Scootaloo looked up, surprise evident in her eyes. "Oh, hey Pinkie Pie," she responded, her voice unreadable. "I was just taking a break, you know? Got a lot on my mind."
Pinkie Pie's smile turned sympathetic. "Oh no, is everything okay, Scootaloo? Anything you wanna talk about?"
Scootaloo hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.
Pinkie Pie nodded understandingly, her pink ears perking up. "Hey, I've got an idea! How about coming to a Welcome to Ponyville party we're throwing today? It'll be a blast, and it might help you take your mind off things for a while!"
Scootaloo's eyes widened, a glimmer of excitement shining through her fatigue. "That sounds amazing, Pinkie, but I'm not sure if I can make it. I've got so much to do, and I really need to get things done."
Pinkie Pie's face fell for a moment, her lower lip jutting out in a small pout. "Aww, that's okay, Scootaloo. I understand if you can't make it. Just remember, we'll always be here for you, no matter what. If you change your mind, feel free to drop by anytime!"
Scootaloo smiled gratefully, relieved that Pinkie understood. "Definitely, Pinkie Pie. Thanks for understanding. Have a great party!"
Pinkie Pie waved a hoof in the air, her pink curls bobbing. "You too, Scootaloo! Catch you later!"
As two mares walked through Ponyville, The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping, making it a perfect day for a stroll in Ponyville. Nightmare Moon couldn't help but take in the beauty of this rural town.
"Such a beautiful day, isn't it, Twilight?" she asked, Twilight only smiled in response.
The real-life version was so different yet similar to the one depicted in the cartoon. The wooden huts had a rustic charm that simply couldn't be captured by the mere flash animation. The signs on the shops were hand-painted, giving each one a unique character and feel.
Different from a post-industrialized mega city, it was quiet and peaceful, with the gentle chirping of birds and the sweet scent of flowers filling the air.
She realized that like many places on Earth, no matter how hard the artists and animators tried, they could never truly capture the essence of Ponyville onto a screen. It was clear that this is a place that needed to be experienced in person to truly appreciate its unique charm and character.
Nightmare Moon looked around, noticing the unusual stillness. "It seems like the town is quieter than usual," she remarked, glancing at Twilight.
Twilight nodded in agreement. "Yes, it does. But I can see some ponies peeking out from their windows," she said, wagging a hoof towards a few houses.
Nightmare Moon chuckled. "Well, I suppose my speech yesterday really shook them up," she said, chuckling as she looks around. Twilight smiled a little bit cramped at that.
As they approached the Golden Oak Library, Nightmare Moon couldn't help but marvel at how different it looked in real life compared to the cartoon. It was a magnificent sight, and she couldn't wait to explore it.
The real thing was much more magnificent than in the cartoons. The intricate details of the building's architecture were breathtaking. The wooden panels were carved not by machine, and the glass windows sparkled in the sunlight, showing little defects here and there, it only added to the library's charm. The royal guard squad standing at the entrance only added to the grandeur of the scene.
Wait, royal guards?
As they reached the entrance, the squad of royal guards stood at attention. One of them cleared his throat, the alicorn feeling a sense of importance wash over her.
"Your Highness," the guard said, bowing respectfully. "Miss Twilight Sparkle."
Nightmare Moon nodded, feeling quite regal. "At ease, soldier. We have a business to attend to inside."
The guard couldn't believe the predicament they were in.
They had been tasked with guarding Princess Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration and were supposed to return to Canterlot today. But now, Captain Shining Armor had ordered them to stay in this backwater village to protect his sister, Twilight Sparkle, and this new Alicorn.
"At ease, soldier. We have a business to attend to inside," she said, her voice cool and collected without any hints of malice. At that, he relaxed a little, but he still felt uneasy around her.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of unease around Nightmare Moon. Her gaze was piercing, like she could see right through him, and the way she spoke with such a calm, almost nonchalant tone only added to his discomfort. He thought about the event of yesterday, how Nightmare Moon had brutally assaulted Princess Celestia and then proudly shows her result like a psychopath that she likely is, but he couldn't help but feel relieved that she didn't seem to have any malicious intent towards him or his squad.
Does he have resentment? Answer is yes
After all, she was the reason why they were stuck in this small town instead of returning to the grandeur of Canterlot. But he knew better than to voice his thoughts out loud, especially in the presence of the legendary Mare of The Moon. He saluted her once more and took up his post
He couldn't shake off the feeling that she was sizing him and his squad up, looking for any weaknesses they might have.
As he looked at her, he couldn't help but notice how her gaze was intense, with a hint of amusement in her eyes. It was like she was constantly thinking, analyzing, and planning her next move. He wondered if he would ever be able to let his guard down around her.
"At your service, your highness," The guard replied, his voice steady despite the nervousness he felt. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was in over his head.
Before she closes the door, Nightmare Moon looks back at him. Her smirk only added to his unease. "I'm sorry but-" and when she finished her sentence, his blood run cold. She was definitely Princess Celestia's sister. And he was stuck with her.
"I will not require your 'service' tonight, my little harem."
As he looked at Nightmare Moon entering the library, the guard realized that he was in for a long and unpredictable ride, as he and his squad were tasked with both monitoring and protecting these two mares from any potential threats that might arise in Ponyville. He couldn't help but think to himself, "Buck me, this is going to be one hell of a job."
As she stepped inside, Twilight looked back at the imposing figure of Nightmare Moon, who followed her into the treehouse.
"We will stay here for the time being, your highness, please set them down on the corner over there," Twilight said, pointing her hoof at a corner.
As they walked in, Twilight was surprised to hear a voice calling out her name. She turned to see the purple dragon, running towards her with great haze, a half-read comics book still in his claw grip.
With his arms wide open, he jumped at her, giving her a big hug.
The unicorn felt a tight embrace from her faithful assistant, Spike. She could feel the warmth of his scaly arms around her as he squeezed her tightly.
Twilight returned the hug, feeling guilty in Spike's warm embrace. She had forgotten to inform him about yesterday's plan.
They stood like that for a minute until a sound interrupted them. Someone was clearing their throat.
Spike looked up, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw who Twilight had brought back with her. A giant alicorn mare was standing there, her sharp fangs glinting in the light. Her big, starry mane seemed to shine like the night sky, and an aura of power radiated from her very being.
"Hi, I'm your new housemate!" Nightmare Moon said, breaking the silence. "Nice to meet you, purple bipedal lizard thing."
"Uh...nice to meet you too," Spike stammered nervously, eyeing the mare warily. "I'm Spike. Twilight's...um...assistant."
Nightmare Moon chuckled, a sound that echoed through the library. "Assistant, you say? In which way?" she said, wagging her eyebrows at the small dragon with amusement.
Twilight only gave him a reassuring smile and a nod, as if to say, "It's okay, Spike. Trust me. I know what I am doing."
Spike looked at Twilight, unsure of what to think.
Nightmare Moon couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she followed her companions toward the town hall. It felt like she was a sacrificial lamb being led to the slaughter, especially with loyal guards trotting behind her, but at least she could joke about it.
The purple pony walked beside her, guiding her with utmost diligence. Meanwhile, the purple dragon on her back, Spike, eyed her warily. Nightmare Moon couldn't blame him for feeling uneasy around her.
Nightmare Moon felt a twinge of sympathy for the little dragon. She knew the kid didn't trust her, and she couldn't really blame him. After all, in his mind, she was the psycho who beat up the strongest(lol) mare in the Equestria to a pulp and acts like nothing, and her dark, thicc gothic appearance probably didn't help matter.
Even if he is an inferior being that is a superhero comic book nerd, she still wants to be on good terms with him.
It’s called Justice Ponies, right? She remembered the supervillain of that comic is some kind meshed between Joker and Poison Ivy. Not an obvious ripoff, but still….
Welp, it doesn’t matter now, superhero comics books are a wasted of her precious memory space, an inferior counterparts to its european cousin. Her head should only be used to stored superior forms of entertainments: TV Shows that so innovative or niche that it would be rejected from silversreen, or the bloodied is-this-supposed-to-be-for-a-kid? manga.
She couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she remembered her love for manga, the japanese counterpart of comics books. It was one of the few things that had managed to make her smile in the past, one of few hobbies she can share with her real life friends, mostly because no one in her proximity cared about her Timelord in blue box.
And no, that girl who wrote smut fanfic about the Doctor and Sherlock is not her friend, nope. She still have her standard.
.....All things considered, Nightmare Moon just hope that she had brought a few volumes of mangas with her when she had transmigrated into this world. Maybe she won’t have time to do introspective as much. She wouldn’t thinks of her friend and her family.
The alicorn shook her head, banishing the thought from her mind. Currently, she had more important things to worry about than that.
"We're almost there, your highness," Twilight spoke up, breaking the silence. "Just a little bit further."
Nightmare Moon nodded, her mind already racing with thoughts of how she would introduce herself to the ponies waiting for her. In her past life as a human, she was an introvert, preferring to keep to herself and avoid large crowds, and while she could talk to people when she needed to, it tired her out quickly. The idea of being the center of conversation and having to meet and greet a bunch of strangers was like hell, to say the least.
Larping doesn't count, obviously.
She had been surprised to find an invitation letter waiting for her in her new room at the Golden Oak Library. Her heart sank as she realized it was an invitation letter to her welcome to Ponyville party, a mandatory event that all new residents received.
And there was something else beside it. A box that contain moonpies, accompanied by a note that read "Hope you like my special treat, Mare of the Moon ;)"
A part of her wondered if this was Pinkie Pie's doing. The pink pony had a mischievous streak, and she and Rainbow Dash had always been one to pull elaborate pranks in the shows. Perhaps this was a revenge prank, her way to getting back at Nightmare Moon for that prank.
The pink pony was certainly unpredictable, and she had a knack for sensing when something was up.
But the idea that the Pink One had somehow known about her personal history was unsettling. Could it be that this version of pink pony had some kind of supernatural sense that allowed her to see into the past beyond the veil of her world? She couldn't help but shudder.
Here she thought the dream walking horse that can move the moon is horrifyingly eldritch enough.
And to make matters worse, Twilight had somehow been convinced that it was a good idea to attend the party at the town hall. Nightmare Moon couldn't understand why her companion would agree to something like that, especially given her recent encounter with the town's residents.
As she pondered these thoughts, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety. She had always been more comfortable in her own privacy, and the idea of being surrounded by so many unfamiliar ponies for a long period of time made her uneasy.
"Ugh, this normie shit is too much for a low-level introvert like me," Nightmare Moon muttered to herself, trying to lighten her own mood. "I'd rather take on an army any day." In Red Alert that is.
She feels a pang of annoyance at the thought of being played like this. But then she took a deep breath and reminded herself of why she is doing this.
The ponies of Ponyville may have been intimidated by her before, but she knew that she has to put their fears to rest. Even if it meant enduring the normie's small talk and socializing. If she could be on good terms with the ponies of Ponyville, she would have an easier time trying to achieve her goals.
As they approached the town hall, Nightmare Moon took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. She knew that she would have to put on a brave face and try to project confidence, even if she was feeling anxious on the inside.
"Remember, your highness," Twilight Sparkle said, placing a reassuring hoof on Nightmare Moon's shoulder. "Just be yourself. They'll come to see that you're not so different from them after all."
The alicorn of night nodded, grateful for Twilight's support. She took a moment to compose herself, and then open the door.
"Surprise!"/"Nightmare Moon dies!"
Bang!
"Ahhhhh!"
“What?! Are you out of your mind, Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed incredulously, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Why on Equestria would you throw a party for that bully of a mare, a phycho who hurt the Princess!?" Rainbow Dash stamped her hoof on the ground in frustration, unable to fathom why her friend would do something so outrageous.
Pinkie Pie smiled brightly, unfazed by Rainbow Dash's outburst. "Oh, Rainbow, you're such a silly filly sometimes. Everypony deserves to have a party, no exception!" she said cheerfully, surveying the decorations with pride. “Besides, the Princess is already recovered enough to take a trip out, maybe that's just how alicorns play with each other.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort, but then a sudden thought occurred to her.
The Wonderbolts.
That despicable creature who had caused harm to Princess Celestia could be her ticket to joining the Wonderbolts. If she could somehow take down Nightmare Moon and defeat her in combat, she might gain enough frame to earn recognition from the Wonderbolts.
"They're here!" Pinkie Pie announced excitedly. "Everyone, get into position! Lights out in three...two...one..."
The room plunged into darkness, and Rainbow Dash's heart began to race with anticipation. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears as the front door creaked open, revealing the Mare of the Moon standing in the doorway.
Without a moment's hesitation, Rainbow Dash lunged into the air, her wings guided her towards the Mare of the Moon.
Her front hooves raised high in the air. Her speed increased with every passing second, her eyes fixed firmly on the black alicorn's hooves, horn, and wings, looking for any sign of retaliation.
“Nightmare Moon dies!” She shouted in glee, framed and honored she will receive as a hero!
But perhaps she was too focused on the alicorn, for she failed to notice the brilliant purple glow emanating from a unicorn's horn standing beside Nightmare Moon. Before she knew it, there was a deafening bang and a sickening splat, and Rainbow Dash found herself lying on the ground, unconscious.
Bon Bon, or rather, Agent Sweetie Drops, couldn't believe the mess she had found herself in. She had been to countless unexpected situations in her line of work, but nothing could have prepared her for this.
As she looked around at the chaos that had ensued party, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself, thinking that she was going to need a lot more sugar to get through this party
In all her years as an agent for S.M.I.L.E.,the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, a part of the great machination that is the Equestrian intelligence apparatus, she had never expected to be at The Mare of The Moon's welcome-to-Ponyville party.
At first, It was supposed to be a low-profile recon mission, keep an eye on the black alicorn and report back. But then, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's protégé, had gone and shot a military-grade counter offensive spell at the rainbow mane pegasus.
Don't get her wrong, the mare had definitely deserved it, she had made a surprise attack on Nightmare Moon, after all, but Sweetie Drops couldn't help but think it was excessive. That spell is doesn't have built-in safeguard, it could cripple somepony for life. Was that really the first instinctual spell that came into the unicorn's mind? She knows that the mare was trained to hold her ground against an alicorn but still.
"Ahh!" The sound of ponies screaming around her still continued as Sweetie Drops drank her tea.
As she took a bite of her cake, she observed The black alicorn. Her expression is priceless, her eyes bulging in shock at the screams of ponies around her. She, as a secret agent, remained unfazed, but her candy-maker disguise identity, Bonbon, sure wasn't.
"Ah!" In a split second, Bonbon joined the crowds, screaming along with them in terror, blending in perfectly.
She couldn't help but wonder what other unexpected situations awaited her in her career as a secret agent. Would she ever get used to the madness that seemed to surround this town? Only time would tell.
Little did she know, things were about to get even crazier for her as the alicorn of night herself has laid eyes upon her.
As the black alicorn scanned the scene, she couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the unexpected situation.
The sun was shining, the crowd was screaming, and the comedy was... well, nonexistent, really. Nightmare Moon had expected something more predictable for her welcome to Ponyville party but instead found herself surrounded by a bunch of ponies screaming in terror.
She is not the target of their fears, no good sir.
It's Twilight.
"Ahhhh!" they shouted in the background as the chaos unfolded before them. Ponies ran in every direction, trying to get as far away from Twilight as much as possible.
There’s this Pegasus who had been trying to make a surprise attack on her, guess who she is? Need a hint?
Hint #1 she has a rainbow mane.
Nightmare Moon, for her part, was secretly pleased that the blue mare was out of the picture. She had never wanted to confront the pride flag pegasus as the villainous Mare of the Moon, not after nearly getting punched by her last time...
Personally, the alicorn never really liked Rainbow Dash anyway, brainless and reckless jock is not everyone's cup of tea, and many in horse-loving fandom are likely to have the same opinion as her if Anon-A-Miss and few other genres of fanfics are any indications.
Twilight had always been a good mare, and her instincts to protect those she cared about were second to none. She had seen the Pegasus coming and knew that Nightmare Moon could be in danger. Without hesitation, she charged up a powerful spell and unleashed it on Pegasus in a matter of seconds, too fast even for the fastest mare in Equestria to react.
The blast sent the Pegasus flying across the room, flattening her against the wall. The impact was so strong that it left a visible dent in the brickwork. The crowd of ponies at the party gasped in shock and horror before being sent into a frenzy of screams.
And Spike, so-called the brave, lose his consciousness and flopped face-first into the mare's back. What loser, but that is to be expected for an inferior specie like him. What kind of able-minded person would suck up on obvious propaganda artworks as a hobby? Why does.....
Breath in. *swoosh* Breathe out. *haaaah*
Ahem, let's move on.
Twilight, for her part, was equally shocked by what she had just done. She had never intended to harm anyone, let alone a fellow pony. Her eyes widened in terror as she realized what had just happened.
"W-what have I done? Wawawa!" Twilight stood frozen, trying to process the situation.
No one expected this, not even the queen of outer eldritch god, Pink Menace (AKA Pinkie Pie), who had her mouth agape.
And Fluttershy, the poor, gentle Fluttershy, was also present, trying to hide behind a potted plant, her eyes wide with fear. Nightmare Moon couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She wondered if the shy mare had been scammed by the pink party planner to come here.
Whatever the case, at least she wasn't the center of attention now, though Nightmare Moon to herself. Her poor introverted self was thankful for Twilight's action, even if what she had done was unintentional and very fucked up. But she couldn't let Twilight take all the blame for her mistake.
Approaching Twilight, she put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and said, "It's alright, my dear. You were just acting out on reflex. Everything is alright."
Twilight, still reeling from what had just happened, looked up at the black alicorn and said, "No, it's not alright! That Pegasus is trying to hurt you, and I just went and blasted her into a wall."
Nightmare Moon chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "I know, I know. I'm just kidding. But really, Twilight, it is okay. We all make mistakes sometimes."
Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No, it's not okay! I just attacked an innocent pony. What if I had killed her?"
Nightmare Moon placed a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight, I'm sure everypony will understand. After all, you were just trying to protect me from an assassin." She continues “We can finish the job if you wished so.”
Twilight's eyes widened in horror. "Your Highness! She was just some random pony. I don't even know why she was trying to attack us."
"Well, don't worry too much. I'm sure your big brother will bail you out of jail if it came to that." The alicorn nuzzled Twilight. "They'll probably just send you to magic kindergarten.
"Jail? You mean I'm going to jail?" The unicorn's jaw dropped, her voice shuddering in fear. "And Magic kindergarten? You mean I'll be sent back to basic magic lessons with the foals!?"
"Yep, that's the one. But hey, think of it as a chance to brush up on your basic magic skills." Nightmare Moon nodded. "Like a mini-vacation."
Twilight remained silent, her eyes still wide with shock.
"Twilight, are you okay?" The alicorn waved her hooves in front of Twilight's face, but there was still no response.
"Oh... I guess I broke her," The black alicorn muttered to herself. "She'll come back to her senses after a while, right?" She shrugged nonchalantly.
"Guard!" Nightmare Moon called out, her voice is just loud enough to get their attention without drawing too much-unwanted attention.
The guards, who had been in a stupor, snapped into sense after the Mare of the Night called out, standing at attention before her.
"You," she pointed her hoof at one of them, "call the Hospital. And you," she gestured to another guard, "take care of Twilight.... and Spike, make sure no harm befalls them."
"Yes, your highness!" they saluted in unison, glad to have a clear command to follow.
"Well, what's done is done," Nightmare Moon thought to herself, pleased that she had managed to diffuse the situation somewhat.
But still, even if all this mess, to be here is still a good opportunity because that pony was here.
This is a good opportunity to confirm her identity, to make sure that her isekai cheat knowledge was correct and maybe, they will brought her more time, or in the perfect scenario, they can deal with that GUY by themselves, without her involvement at all.
Looking around amidst the chaos, Nightmare Moon found exactly what she needed, the perfect tool to unmask that particular pony.
As a mischievous grin threaten to spread across her face, she slowly crept towards the unsuspecting (possible) spymaster.
She was almost upon her when the screaming earth pony mare finally turned around and froze up upon seeing the tall alicorn.
Two mares stared at each other in silence for a few moments
"Uh, hi there, N-nightmare Moon" the mare finally said, looking up at Nightmare Moon with wide eyes. Trembling in fear.
Or is it?
Sweetie Drop couldn't believe her luck or lack thereof, that she had stumbled into this unexpected situation.
Of all the ponies at the party, why did Nightmare Moon have to approach her? She tried her best to act innocent, playing the role of Bonbon the candy maker.
"Uh, hi there, N-Nightmare Moon," she said, her voice trembling as she looked up at the alicorn of the night.
"Why, hello there, my dear," Nightmare Moon replied with a smile. "It seems that you're tired from all the running and screaming. Would you care to sit down and have some snacks with me?"
Sweetie Drop's mind screamed, "No, please go away!" but she knew better than to speak out loud. Instead, she put on her best innocent face and replied, "B-but your highness, I am merely a candymaker. I am not deserving to speak with royalty such as you."
"I am a firm believer in equality!" The husky voice of Nightmare Moon declared.
Sweetie Drop froze as her mind raced as she tried to come up with a response to that statement. She knew her acting skills had to be on point if she was going to make it out unscratched.
She must have taken too long because the alicorn took her action as rejection. "Oh well, if you want to eat alone, then have it your way, " Nightmare Moon said levitated a candy to her "Here you go, don't forget to brush your teeth afterward"
Sweetie Drop's heart sank as she realized it was one of the candies with the same name as her real identity.
A Sweety Drop.
Sweetie Drop's eyes widened in fear, real fear. Did Nightmare Moon know her true identity? Was she in danger?
She tried to act innocent and hide her fear. "Uh, thank you for the candy, your highness. I-It's very sweet of you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady and try to find her way to escape.
The alicorn of the night only crept closer to her and whispered into her ear. "If I were you, I would check on Celestia's statue collection, or else the Canterlot may fall to chaos." the black alicorn's ominous words sent chills down Sweetie Drop's spine.
The agent tries not to gulp, trying to keep her cool. What did Nightmare Moon mean by that? Was it a threat? A warning? She had to find out, but she couldn't let anyone know she was.
But then Sweetie Drop remember why she accepted this career path, to be in this position, her vowed.....
Buck it.
The agent steeled herself, she will deal with consequences later. "what do you mean by that?" she called out.
The black alicorn turned her head back to her, a smile spread across her muzzle and her predator-liked slitted eyes filled with a hint of... satisfaction? "It's just a sentence of words, the words that contained a statement." Nightmare Moon quicken her pace after she uttered that sentence.
Sweetie Drop was left standing there, staring after Nightmare Moon's retreating figure with confusion and growing unease. What did she mean by that!? And why did she have to be so cryptic and seem so satisfied with herself after saying it?
She stood there pondering, the chaos of the party continued around her. Ponies were still screaming and running about, with Twilight Sparkle as the epicenter.
There is no malice in her voice. Maybe she was being messed with, a prank made by a lonely alicorn. She is Celestia's sister after all.
But there lies another possibility..... with the consequence that is too dire.
Celestia, Statue, Canterlot, Chaos. She needs more information, and she needs to report back. The agent thought to herself as she chewed her namesake's candy.
Ah, sugar......
As the earth mare tried to blend into the background and act as innocent as possible, she excused herself and made her way out of the party, Sweetie Drop couldn't help but think that this was turning out to be a very strange day indeed.
She is going to need a lot more sweets to get through this.
In the comfort of her cozy cell, Celestia snuggled against the fluffy wall, relishing in the simple pleasure it brought her. She rolled around on the soft pillowy floor, feeling a sense of bliss and freedom.
"It feels so good!" the alabaster mare exclaimed, her voice filled with joy. She giggled as she cuddled with a pillow, rolling around on the soft floor of her cell.
The sensation was delightful, and she felt like a carefree filly once again. The worries of ruling Equestria faded away, replaced by a sense of pure joy.
She truly felt like she was in the Elysium Fields
As she lay there, her mind wandered to the state of Equestria. She believed that her trusted assistant, Raven Inkwell, was more than capable of handling things in her absence.
Over the past few years, Celestia had relied on Raven's judgment in most of the decision-making, blindly signing off on anything her assistant sent her way. And so far, nothing had gone wrong.
At first, it was only to prepare her assistant for the worst case scenario, but soon Celestia found herself cling to this status qua, not wanting this new dynamic to end.
"Raven Inkwell, the secret ruler of Equestria," Celestia giggled at the thought, finding humor in the idea that her faithful assistant actually held so much power behind the scenes.
And with the help of her trusted niece, Cadance. They will surely succeed.
However, a hint of worry crept into her mind. She hoped that she had instilled the same confidence in her faithful student with her sister.
So much has gone wrong in such an amount of time. Celestia truly yearned for everything to go smoothly without any unforeseen troubles.
Closing her eyes and embracing the tranquility of the moment, The immortal ruler patient hoped that nothing had gone wrong yet.
Knock Knock Knock!
The sound of hoof met wood echoed through the golden oak library.
"Come out, Twilight. You need to eat," Nightmare Moon called out to the closed door, her tone gentle but firm.
“Please go away!” Twilight's muffled voice came from behind the door, still consumed by guilt and regret.
Nightmare Moon sighed, face-to-face social interaction was not her strong suit, and she knew it.
It had been nearly half a day since the unicorn had locked herself in her room. Horrified at what she had done, Twilight locked herself into her room, sulking in there alone.
Nightmare Moon looked down at the food plate in her hoofgrip, the one that she had prepared for the unicorn to eat.
It was a hayfried with daisy flower burger, the simplest recipe from a random cookbook she found in the library. It was her first attempt at making pony food, and she hoped that it was edible.
She had tried her best to follow the recipe and make it properly cooked, crispy, and with no burnt marks. She hoped it would entice Twilight to come out of her room, but that is not to be.
"Please, Twilight," Nightmare Moon cried out again, but she received no response, only silence greeted her this time.
Their new habitat, the golden oak library, was outfitted with a kitchen and was already prepared to be used.
The freezer was full of ingredients that would last for a month or so for a little pony like Twilight, and a lot of gemstones, food for a dragon like spike.
Nightmare couldn't help but suspect that the white one had been deliberately planning to separate Twilight from her family and kept her in Ponyville from the start.
That scene in TV shows where after Twilight defeated the original Nightmare Moon and is going to return to Canterlot, the unicorn begged sunbutt to 'allowed' her to stay in Ponyville, is likely a mere visage, to push all the responsibility off her by making Twilight says she wants to stay in Ponyville herself.
She wondered how this Twilight, which is more level-headed and less neurotic, can still be manipulated like that, but....
She shook her head, trying to push away the thought.
“It's alright, Twilight. I'll leave the food here for you,” Nightmare Moon said, placing the plate at the front door of Twilight's room.
That was a logical move in a sense, despite all of its weirdness. Ponyville was one of the best place to keep a sentient superweapon on standby, far away from any noble's reach, yet still close enough to Canterlot.
Nightmare Moon wondered how she had convinced Shining Armor to let his little sister stay here alone, far away from her family. It was a mysterious thought that gave her food for thought.
Money, perhaps? Maybe a threat? Celestia was certainly capable of stooping that low, and Luna knew firsthand just how ruthless the sovereign of the sun could be.
Lost in thought, Nightmare Moon made her way to the first floor, to the kitchen where she left her own portion of dinner. She had left the food plate at Twilight's door, and now she needed to eat something herself.
As she ate in silence, Nightmare Moon couldn't help but think about Twilight. She hoped that the unicorn would come out of her room soon, so they could talk and work through whatever was troubling her.
Loss in her thought, random topics came in and went out of her head rapidly, some stay long enough to become a thought experiment, but most don't.
Such topics ranged from 'Should she spice up the burger more?' to 'Where to go next if she cannot find everything she needs in Equestria?', but there is a topic that stuck to her.
The royal guards.
There are quite a lot of guards, more than four if she counts them right, rotating throughout the day, keep 'protecting' her in pair all days. She scoffed at the idea that they are here to actually served her.
The night alicorn doesn't want to assume anything, but this is likely they are the same ones that were sent to protect sunbutt last night, and this is their 'punishment' for 'failing' to accomplish their duty.
They have already seen her magnum opus firsthan-hoof, and know what she is truly capable of if she wants to hurt someone.
The little flinches here and sheen of fear mixed with hostility there, are the telltale sign of what they are thinking of her.
It is good to know that they still follow her orders when it came to things that truly matter. May it be a medical emergency of a civilian or a threat to their livelihood, like the little sister of their boss.
She has no illusion that the guards' main purpose is not here to serve her, none at all. Just like that secret agent, they are here to monitor her, report back to their respective top brass, and take action if necessary.
Not like they can do much anyway, with how the guards froze up and the agent immediately broke her disguise at first sight of a potential threat to Equestria.... from a sketchy source.
Good luck for her it's intel on an actual threat this time and not just some kind of honeypot.
Anyway, the alicorn already sent one of the guards on a fast train to Canterlot to inform them about this development, and another one to Baltimare.
It’s where Cadance and Shining Armor are stationed respectively, according to the information she got from a guard.
It is crucial that they were informed of Twilight's condition as soon as possible. For everyone's sake, including hers.
After all, without a dialogue tree to choose dialogues from, she is pretty much useless in this kind of situation.
Talk no jutsu is not her thing, not at all.
Nightmare Moon continued to chew her hay burger thoughtfully, lost in her own contemplations.
The texture of the daisy flowers added an interesting crunch to the patty, but she couldn't help but miss the succulent taste of the real, red meat.
She wondered if Applejack's farm had any cows or chickens that she could purchase for meat, but quickly dismissed the thought, knowing that it would only cause more problems.
"Decent enough" she rated the taste of her homemade food. Not bad for her first try at making a pony recipe, not bad at all.
The alicorn considered the repercussions of sending Spike away, again. While the dragon wasn't particularly close to Twilight, he played an important role in her communication with her esteemed mentor.
At first, she thinks that sending Spike to Canterlot with the guard is the best option. Seeing that this version of Spike is not that close to twilight sparkle, no mommy-son relationship between them at least.
Twilight has a habit of asking Spike to write and sent letters for her. She would be less likely to communicate with that tax leach if Spike wasn't around to send letters on her behalf.
Not only that, but Spike is also someone that has skepticism about her character, a source of unnecessary tension.
By keeping him out of the picture, Twilight will lose the voice of suspicion against her, making the unicorn more cooperative and more flexible with how she does things.
But alas, she cannot do that, Spike is someone who can understand Twilight's psychology and know how to calm her down, if it’s the same as the TV shows that is.
Nightmare Moon worried that Spike's absence and only alicorn with a sketchy past as her sole ally would leave Twilight feeling even more vulnerable and isolated, making her sink deeper into her shell and even more uncooperative with Nightmare's efforts to help her.
The unicorn rejected her help already....
To Twilight in her current state, someone she is familiar with like Spike is invaluable, Nightmare Moon just hopes that he would wake up already.
Seeing a little bit of blood and just fainting like that really make sense why he's not on most adventures with the girls on the TV shows. Wasted of a dragon bloodline, but as expected of a superhero nerd....
As she finished her meal, Nightmare wondered if pegasi in this alternate universe still consumed fish like in the old days.
The idea of any kind of real meat was intriguing, and she made a mental note to ask someone about it later.
Nightmare Moon went back upstairs to check on Twilight, but the door was closed, the plate is gone. She sighed and walked back to the kitchen, feeling a mix of frustration and concern.
At least she ate her dinner.
The alicorn of night walks back down to the kitchen, to clean everything up before go to sleep, her gaze lingered at a front window, looking at one of the guards standing at the entrance directly.
His armor is in night theme, but the only difference to its golden counterpart is just the camo. checking with a scanning spell, they use the same modern equestrian tech just like typical royal guard armor.
Her eyes met another pair of serpent-liked slitted eyes. Their owner flinched and muttered quietly to himself at a volume too low even for his companion that stand by his side, to hear.
This made it impossible for Nightmare Moon to understand the meaning from the sound alone.
But his jaw movement is the one she is familiar with, the same pattern she had seen Twilight made, the same one she had seen many ponies made on the night she left the moon. A name was given to Luna after the day she lose everything.
"Mare of the Moon"
To that, Nightmare Moon's thoughts only filled with a childlike curiosity, and her face morphed into a kind, playful smile to calm the stallion down. While her jaws expressed her question, the one she won't get an answer to.
Air particles vibrated into the sound of words, and the volume is so low that only the speaker herself is privileged to be the sole audience.
From past his experience interacting with the alicorn and words from his co-workers, the guard with batwings would interpret soundless words from her muzzle as some kind of joke, possibly at his expense.
"To have descendants of your comrades. To have the children of the night used against you." She truly wondered "How do you feel, Luna?"
Only the sound of an alicorn chuckling can be heard.
The lavender mare, Twilight Sparkle, lay in her bed within the serene confines of the Golden Oak Library.
Her body language spoke volumes of her distress—her limbs were tangled within the sheets, and her once neatly styled mane lay disheveled around her.
Her eyes, the eyes of ever thirsty scholar, usually filled with intelligence and curiosity, were now clouded with guilt and sorrow.
"I hurt somepony again," she thought bitterly, her heart heavy with remorse as she fully came into her sense and assess the situation properly.
The memories of the incident flooded her mind, an impulsive action she hadn't been been fast enough to control.
It now reminded her of a similar incident in the past, one that had left her scarred by the weight of her mistake.
She had vowed to herself that she would never let it happen again, yet fate seemed to have a different plan, for here she was, repeating her transgressions once more.
As if the universe itself sensed her anguish, a soft knocking echoed through the library.
Knock Knock Knock!
Sudden knocks on her bedroom door shattered her thoughts, causing her heart to skip a beat. Each rap on the door seemed to magnify her internal turmoil.
She knew who stood on the other side, concerned and caring. Nightmare Moon, her loyal and understanding friend, had come to check on her.
"Come out, Twilight. You need to eat," the calm voice of Nightmare Moon called out from the other side of the door, her tone laced with concern.
But Twilight's inner turmoil resisted the notion. She couldn't bear to risk causing any more pain, especially to Nightmare Moon.
"No, please go away!" Twilight whimpered in a barely audible voice, her words quivering with self-doubt and desperation. She couldn't bear to see anypony right now.
But the night alicorn persisted, her voice gentle yet insistent. "Please, Twilight," Nightmare Moon pleaded.
The alicorn waited for Twilight to open up, to let her in and share her burdens. But this time, Twilight remained silent. She couldn't bring herself to respond.
Uncomfortable silence reigned within the library, thick with unspoken emotions. The weight of unspoken emotions hung heavily in the air.
Twilight's heart ached, torn between her desire to be in Nightmare Moon's embrace and her longing for solace, for understanding, but most of all, she yearned for the ability to forgive herself. She feared the consequences of her actions and the pain she might inflict on those she cared about.
Finally, Nightmare Moon broke the silence, her voice filled with a mix of compassion and resignation. "It's alright, Twilight. I'll leave the food here for you,"
The sound of an object being placed in front of the door reached Twilight's ears, it was the sound of the dishes gently touching the floor, a tender gesture of care.
As the sound of Nightmare Moon's retreating hoofsteps faded away, retreating down the stair, Twilight found herself once again in the confines of her solitude.
The room was quiet, save for the haunting echoes of her own thoughts. She lay there, consumed by the haunting memories of her actions, immersed in her thoughts, for what seemed like an eternity.
However, the rumbling growl of her stomach shattered the silence, letting out a loud gurgle, demanding attention.
It's a reminder of her neglected hunger. Twilight suddenly realized that she hadn't eaten a proper meal since the previous night before.
With a heavy sigh, she slowly opened the door and peered down at the plate of food outside, patiently waiting for her. It was a simple set of meal.
A daisy flower burger with hayfrieds, its homemade appearance somewhat amateurish, but the aroma that wafted from it was tantalizingly delicious.
The dish had been lovingly prepared by the Mare of the Moon herself, a gesture of care and concern that was specially prepared for Twilight.
Twilight ignited her horn, a gentle purple magic aura enveloping the plate as she levitated it into her room.
She then promptly locked the door behind her, shutting out the world and retreating into her self-imposed solitude.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, she examined her dinner closely with her eyes, casting a discerning gaze before gently lowering it down to the level of her muzzle.
The burger moved closer to her open jaws, touching her tounge, enticing her senses. She took the first bite, savoring the flavors that exploded in her mouth.
The second and third bites followed in quick succession, each morsel devoured with increasing speed. "Hunger is the best spice," she recalled from a novel she had read, and it rang true at this moment.
Each bite brought a renewed sense of satisfaction, the unicorn consumed her meal with a mix of gratitude and melancholy, savoring every bite.
and as she finished her meal, Twilight let out a contented sigh. The food had provided some respite, but despite the satisfaction it brought, it wasn't enough to fully satiate the hunger she felt, both for nourishment and the role she was supposed to play.
She was meant to care for Nightmare Moon, not the other way around.
“Heh” A bittersweet smile tugged at Twilight's lips as she considered the irony of the situation.
After all, she was supposed to be the one taking care of Nightmare Moon, guiding her through the intricacies of the modern world.
Yet, here she was, moping around while the alicorn had not only learned how to use kitchen appliances but had also taken it upon herself to cook for Twilight.
"What a useless pony I am," Twilight bitterly whispered to herself, her voice laden with self-disappointment. Negative thoughts clouded her mind, threatening to overwhelm her.
Even when she rationally understood that she wasn't alone. Even when she knows she had ponies who cared deeply for her, ponies who were willing to go above and beyond to show their support.
Her heart cried out, because it operate not with her logical mind.
In the quiet of her room, Twilight's mind continued to race with such thoughts. However, A wave of weariness washed over her, and exhaustion began to settle in, weighing heavily on her weary body.
She let out a tired yawn, then slowly climbed into her bed, letting herself be enveloped by the soft cushion, her thoughts gradually fading as she succumbed to the embrace of the dream world.
Nightmare Moon floated lazily in the dream realm, a slice of pizza held delicately in her hoof, her eyes widened with a mix of anticipation and ravenous desire.
It was no inferior vegan pizza portrayed in pony's cookbook. This was a real, meaty human pizza.
Without further ado, she lifted a slice to her dark, alluring lips, the scent of the meaty goodness engulfing her senses. She took a moment to savor the sight before her—a slice of pure ecstasy.
She took a bite, and her world transformed.
Time stood still as the first bite made contact with her tongue. An explosion of flavors erupted in her mouth, sending waves of delight cascading through her body.
It was a divine harmony of textures and tastes, as the succulent texture of many ingredients mingled with the tangy sauce and melted cheese.
The cheese melted in her mouth, blending perfectly with the seasoned mincemeat. Each bite was a blissful experience, a reminder of times near forgotten.
She closed her eyes, reveling in the pleasure that food could bring. In this dream construct, the sensation of nostalgia was almost tangible.
A low, guttural moan of pleasure escaped the alicorn's lips as the flavor enveloped her being. It was a sound born from a place deep within, a testament to the satisfaction that had eluded her for far too long.
Nightmare Moon continued to consume, consume, and consume, shoving the imaginary food down her throat, savoring the taste as it danced upon her taste buds.
It was a nostalgic flavor of her old world. a wave of pleasure washed over her again after another, sending shivers down her ethereal form.
She wasn't confident if the dream construct of the food captured the taste of the real thing without a real point of comparison, but she dammed sure perfected the important part of why it exist, of why junk foods exists, to the point that it might even surpass the original!
As she enjoyed the monster of a dream construct, she glanced around the barren dream realm. The alicorn realized something was amiss. It felt empty, especially when compared to Luna's memory.
It’s as if something was blocking her from accessing the dreams of other ponies.
She knew the reason behind it, her physical body remained in the Golden Oak Library, and that was the starting point of her journey into the dream realm.
There was a puny barrier, hindering the flow of magic in and out. Although it could only repel the weakest of spells, it also hindered intricate dream magic.
Nightmare Moon took another bite of her pizza, relishing the fact that she didn't have to worry about health concerns in this realm.
"No chance of cardiac arrest, no need to watch out for calorie intake. Dream foods are the best," she purred, lost in her enjoyment, immersing herself in a pleasure of culinary delight.
After a while, her mind began to wander, considering the situation at hand.
Breaking out of the confinement with brute force wasn't an issue, but it would draw attention to her actions, that's the reason she refrained from doing so. No need to start another mess when the current one is still too much for her.
And for now, she welcomed the fact that someone else had made the decision for her. It spared her from the moral dilemma of choosing between her moral principles and pure tactical advantage.
In her life as a human, she held various beliefs, some questionable and others common. One principle she clung to was the sanctuary of the mind.
To her, the mind was the essence of one's identity, and she firmly held the view that the most archaic form of the Castle Doctrine should be applied when facing any unwanted mind invader.
Stand your ground, no retreat. Anything can be used against intruders, even using deadly force as the first offensive is acceptable.
Dreams were fascinating things, granting glimpses into the deepest thoughts of their owners. They were like pathways that granted direct access to the mind.
Having someone else make the decision to block her access to others' dreams was a relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her.
However, the barrier only prevented her from reaching outside the library. It did nothing for those who were already inside. Nightmare Moon gazed at the two doors before her in the dream realm.
One led to Twilight's dreamscape, and the other to Spike's. She glanced at Twilight's door, her mind filled with conflicting thoughts. But ultimately, she shook her head.
No, she wouldn't invade anyone's mind if she could help it. Besides, she knew that delving into their dreams would likely exacerbate the situation. She wasn't a therapist, after all. She chuckled softly, trying to lighten her own mood.
Taking the last bite of her pizza, Nightmare Moon slipped out of the dream realm. After all, there were many things she wanted to accomplish tomorrow morning, and she couldn't waste her time lingering in the dream realm too long.
Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, Princess Celestia had banished herself to an asylum, leaving the responsibility of managing the nation to her trusted niece, Princess Cadance, and the diligent royal advisor, Raven Inkwell.
Their usual calm and organized routine had been disrupted, leaving them scrambling to maintain order.
The sun was high in the sky, casting a warm glow of the new dawn over the bustling streets of Canterlot. Cadance, worn out from dealing with stacks of paperwork, looked at Raven with tired eyes. "Auntie, why are you doing this to us? Running the day courts is exhausting!"
Raven looked up from her own pile of endless paperwork, and chuckled darkly, her eyes twinkling in a way that made Cadance shiver.
"Why indeed, my dear Cadence? Perhaps I should have locked her Highness down in the dungeon here when I had the chance and force-fed her paperwork until she gave in" the mare muttered darkly, her thoughts wandering to a place no pony should have gone
Cadance's eyes widened, and a nervous bead of sweat trickled down her brow. "R-Raven, you know you say something really scary sometimes, right?"
Raven smirked, a touch of wickedness in her voice. "Oh, your highness, it's all in good humor. You know I would never do such a thing... at least, not yet."
Just as the weird tension threatened to consume them, a guard burst into the room, interrupting their conversation. The guard's chest heaved with exertion. Gasping for breath, he managed to blurt out.
"Miss Raven, Princess! A guard stationed in Ponyville has arrived with news of an emergency!" the guard exclaimed, struggling to catch his breath.
Cadance's heart sank as she exchanged a worried glance with Raven. "Oh, what happen this time?"
Spike watched as Equestria’s newest alicorn gracefully adjusted her armor, preparing for her departure. He couldn't help but feel a mix of confusion and curiosity. A stark contrast to the image he had always associated with her. The sun glistened off her dark coat, giving her an ethereal glow. Her mere presence demanded respect from the royal guards.
She was supposed to be the embodiment of evil, a cold-hearted villain who threatened Equestria. Yet here she was, behaving in such a civilized and caring manner, especially towards his caretaker, the student of the sun, the one who planned to defeat her, Twilight Sparkle.
"I will be back by afternoon," Nightmare Moon assured him, her voice carrying an air of confidence and certainty. The drake couldn't help but feel a little admiration for the mare in front of him.
"Until then, please take care of her," she continued, her gaze fixed on Spike. "You are the one closest to her here, and I know you can do it." Spike nodded, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he tried to process the situation.
As Nightmare Moon opened the front door, Spike caught a glimpse of Twilight's saddlebag in her telekinesis grip, too small for the giantess to wear properly. It seemed she had 'borrowed' it for her journey. a couple of books carefully arranged inside.
Twilight would be proud, he thought to himself with a small smile. It was both strange and fascinating to think that Nightmare Moon had taken an interest in the same hobby as Twilight's.
Spike couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility settling over him. He had always been Twilight's number-one assistant, but now his responsibility increased tenfold.
The young drake had found himself entrusted with her well-being. It was a daunting task, but he was determined to prevail. For the sake of his caretaker.
As the front door creaked open, revealing the presence of royal guards stationed outside. They give her a crisp, sharp salute to the black alicorn.
Turning her attention back to the guards, Nightmare Moon addressed them firmly. "You guys stay here and look after Twilight," she commanded, her voice carrying an air of authority.
"But, Your Highness—" one guard started, opening his mouth to argue, but Nightmare Moon cut him off sharply and quickly silenced them.
"No 'buts.' What would Shining Armor think of you if you abandoned her, hmm?" The alicorn makes her first attack, her words hung in the air, causing the guards to hesitate.
"And besides," Not letting the guards prepare, Nightmare Moon make an accusation, her regal tone loss, now her voice filled with a tinge of amusement, "we both know other reasons why you were sent here," The guard's eyes widened, acknowledging that Nightmare Moon was well aware of their true purpose.
Their ears folded back in shame, realizing the gravity of their situation. Nightmare Moon possessed an uncanny ability to see through their true motives. They were surprised that she somehow knew they were sent here with a side mission.
At least, that's what is in the minds of both royal guards.
But Spike realized it's actually not hard when logically thinking about it. The guards were stationed here before Twilight's incident. She was on friendly terms with townponies at that time.
Twilight is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, Nightmare Moon is an alicorn, and he is the strongest and the most handsome dragon around. None of them needed protection in this friendly town, no reason other obvious reason than something like this.
As they finished considering their options, the guards looked at each other, then one of them finally responded, his voice tinged with reluctant acceptance. "As you command, Your Highness."
Nightmare Moon's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "No need to worry about that, my little harem, your old mistress has plenty of eyes and ears in this town," she revealed, her voice tinged with a hint of playfulness.
At that comment, one of the guards dared to whine out his displeasure, to the satisfaction of the black alicorn
Such a weird mare.
As the door closed behind Nightmare Moon, Spike took a deep breath, he still fears her, yes, but that was no longer the main thing he felt. Now, there is something else mixed in. The forefront of his mind is now filled with curiosity.
She is basically a comic book character who came to life. With how she is still on edge with law enforcement, his guts told him she is some kind of supervillain turned antihero. He can see it!
A gray morale ancient alicorn, who sees wrongness in her way yet still seeks to lurk in shadow. the secret sister of the immortal ruler of the sun with past drama, ready to do what must be done to achieve whatever her goal is….
The situation is very similar to that time in the comics when Mane-iac gave herself up to Maretropolis Polices because she want to turn a new leap, yet she still keeps raked up her crimes by brutally cleaning up the city from her betrayer's lackeys, under the watchful eyes of the Power Ponies no less!
Oh, Spike wished he could freeze time. The golden age has come and gone, even before he was born. That was the era where good story arcs keep coming like a flood.
That time when it revealed that Hum Drum is the creator of knightfall protocol, a set of offensive countermeasures against everypony in the teams in case they go feral, or when Radiance had to fight against her mentor, the alien hero who gave her special power. Matter-Horn's new role as director of Power Ponies International is also great. Too bad nearly everything was reseted in the All-New Power Ponies!
.....and Twilight said comic books are a waste of good paper.
Spike couldn't help but wonder if Nightmare Moon might also be interested in something he held dear: his collection of comics. As he contemplated the idea, a smile spread across his face. Maybe, just maybe, he could find common ground with her.
Nightmare Moon slowly distances herself from the iconic tree library, through the quiet morning streets of Ponyville, her regal presence casting an eerie shadow. Saddlebag filled with books floated effortlessly in her levitation grip, accompanied by the soft sound of her hooves against the road. Today, she was in a somewhat decent mood, hoping to find a peaceful spot to indulge in her research.
As she made her way through the town, a faint whisper reached her ears. "S-servant of evil sorceress..." someone muttered under their breath.
Nightmare Moon's keen hearing caught the words, and she couldn't help but involuntarily flop back her ears on the conversation.
A little pang of sadness resonated within her, knowing that now, most ponies in ponyville viewed her new companion, Twilight Sparkle, in such a negative light.
The incident caused by Twilight had been a rather sizable disaster, to say the least. Nightmare Moon grimaced, that day was so chaotic that she wondered if it was the lord of chaos who traveled back in time to mess with her, because of what she did to him.
The silver lining was that the inhabitants of Ponyville now feared her less, their attention diverted by Twilight's misfortune.
However, that was because their perception had shifted to viewing Nightmare Moon as a brainwashed servant of the lavender unicorn.
It was better but still undoubtedly bad. It's a problem that she decided to leave for her future self to handle the burden of taking care of this mess.
Setting those problems aside for the time being, she focused on her immediate goal: finding a quiet spot to relax and conduct her research.
Today, she brought a few books with her, and the first one on her reading list was a book titled "The Beginner's Guide to Magic."
She chuckled to herself, seeing that it had cartoon drawings and colorful fonts, she realized that it was a primer intended for young unicorns entering high school—a primer of sorts. It seemed like a rather basic choice and definitely didn't hold any world-changing revelations, but Nightmare Moon knew it was essential for her to read it.
After all, It served as the foundation for more advanced modern magical studies and would likely shed light on her own weaknesses in the arts of arcane.
Nightmare Moon had to rely on Luna's memories for her knowledge of this world, memories that were a thousand years outdated due to being in solitary confinement on the moon.
The world had changed significantly during that period of time, and the alicorn she needed to catch up.
Reading this book would help her bridge the gap and bring her closer to understanding the modern advancements in magic.
The revelation that was forcefully shoved down her ears deeply by the Purplesmart herself had been a very ears-opening experience.
The rapid advancements in magic and the intricacies of enchanted items had left Nightmare Moon with a knowledge gap, rendering her enchantments vulnerable to mere contact with a modern spellmatrix.
Even simple enchantments, like anti-counterfeit spells on coins, could disrupt magical devices constructed using outdated techniques.
With the sound of her armored hoofsteps echoing through the streets, The alicorn continued her search for a suitable spot, quiet, and out of judging glares from Ponyville's inhabitant.
In the vibrant city of Canterlot, a diligent guard from Ponyville found himself in an unexpectedly joyous predicament. Tasked with delivering a message to Princess Cadance, the guard couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
The guard was having the time of his life.
Princess Nightmare Moon (title pending), his VIP, had only instructed him to swiftly deliver the message, without mentioning anything about a swift return.
With a wide smile plastered on his muzzle, he strolled through the streets towards his third favorite establishment, the best day pub in Canterlot. It was the perfect place to relax and unwind, especially since his first and second favorites were only open at night, but that was beside the point. Surely, she would be proud of his choices.
After all, wasn't his new boss banished to the Moon due to something involving 'ponies sleep at night' right?
Once inside, he planned to quickly rent out a private room to store his armor, allowing him to fully indulge in some well-deserved fun. And the best part? It would all be paid for by Nightmare Moon's royal stipend. Yes, his esteemed VIP had generously granted him and his coworker enough bits to cover a luxurious week-long trip to Zebrican!
Thinking about his comrade, who was sent out to Baltimare makes him shudder. Breaking this news to Captain Shinning Armor, news about his beloved sister...
<:>:<:>:<:>
"My sister what!?!" A voice bellowed out in the middle of the Baltimare Asylum's cafeteria, causing heads to turn and conversations to halt abruptly.
The poor stallion stood there, his hooves fidgeting nervously, as he looked at his beloved Princess Celestia with pleading, puppy-dog eyes. He knew that at this moment, he needed her more than ever to come to his rescue.
Meanwhile, the princess of the sun sat at a nearby table, wearing her custom-made patient uniform that gave a certain unique look when contrasted with her bloodstained bandages, gracefully sipping her tea as if the commotion around her was of no concern.
She was the epitome of calm and composed, seemingly unaffected by the desperate cries for help from her loyal guard. It was as if she had a personal bubble of serenity around her, shielding her from the chaos unfolding around them.
Sorry, my little pony, she thought to herself, but you're on your own.
After all, alicorn biology is not the only thing that kept her from alive this long.
<:>:<:>:<:>
Yike. Luckily that the poor soul is not him. He does not want to die young.
As the guard swaggered past the pub's front door without breaking his stride, the vigilant security personnel ignored him. He had become a regular patron, and the pub's security had long since memorized his face. No ID was required—just a friendly nod as he strolled in.
Without skipping a beat, the guard swiftly rented out a private room at the pub, stowing away his cumbersome armor. After all, he deserved a bit of relaxation and fun before heading back to Ponyville, right? And who could argue when Nightmare Moon's royal stipend generously covered all the expenses?
The new alicorn had swiftly climbed the ranks of the guard's VIP list with her extravagant gestures. In fact, she would have secured a spot in the top five if she hadn't been confined to a backwater town.
..or does she just not understand the value of our currency?
No matter, the guard was determined to make the most of his newfound fortune.
But just as he was about to order his first drink, a voice called out, interrupting his merriment. "Hey! Where do you think you're are going?" Startled, the guard turned around to see a middle-aged unicorn stallion sitting there, a grumpy smile on his face,
Agent Furlong of the secret governmental organization called S.M.I.L.E. He’s a senior agent, very senior, like nea- “Are you thought of something rude.” Oops, must have shown on his face.
Money comes in and information goes out, that’s the name of their relationship.
S.M.I.L.E. is a very secret organization, so secret that even most of the Equestrian government doesn’t know about them. So secret to the point that they have to resort to unofficial means to acquire some official records.
"I knew you would end up here," the stallion said, taking a sip of his... ugh, bucking cheapo apple cider of all things. "Now, tell me, how is my ward doing? You were there when her secret identity was exposed, right?"
There goes his paid holiday, but who can refuse easy bits?
Rainbow Dash groaned as she slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light filtering through the window. she is in the sterile hospital room. Every inch of her body ached, and she winced as she shifted uncomfortably in the hospital bed.
Bruises adorned her once vibrant coat, and her wings were bandaged to aid the healing process. She winced as she shifted, the pain is a constant reminder of her failed attempt, the memory of her failed attempt to harm Nightmare Moon still fresh.
As The rainbow mane pegasus slowly recalled the events of yesterday, her anger towards Nightmare Moon and the purple unicorn grew. She had been on the brink of launching an attack successfully when that Canterlot unicorn intervened. Rainbow Dash seethed at the memory, feeling her pride wounded by that mare's interference.
"Rainbow Dash!" a familiar voice filled with relief called out. "You're awake!"
Rainbow turned her head to see her loyal and self-proclaimed number one fan, Scootaloo sitting by her bedside, The young filly's eyes were filled with worry and concern, her loyalty to Rainbow Dash unwavering.
Rainbow Dash managed a weak smile. "Hey, kid," she rasped, her voice hoarse. She then glanced at the clock on the wall and then back at Scootaloo. "Have you been waiting here all night?"
Scootaloo nodded fervently. "Of course! I'm your number one fan, remember? I couldn't leave until I knew you were okay."
Just as Rainbow Dash was about to respond to the orange filly, another pony entered the room. She is an earth pony with pink coat and a talent in making ponies smile.
Rainbow thought that her usually vibrant pink coat seemed a little dimmer today. "Hiya, Rainbow!" she said, her tone more subdued than usual but still trying to maintain her usual cheerfulness. "How are you? Are you hungry yet? ” She held up a cupcake “Or do you–" but before the pink mare could continue her sentence, Rainbow Dash cut her off.
"See? I told you it was a bad idea to invite that alicorn." Rainbow's words trailed off, her frustration evident. "Now she has a unicorn lackey and-"
Pinkie Pie's usually bouncy mane now lay flat, losing even more of its luster color at the pegasus's response, her voice tinged with disappointment. "No," she interjected, cutting the speaker off. she frown at the injured mare. "Rainbow, you're the one who tried to attack Nightmare Moon first. Twilight Sparkle simply-"
"Twilight Sparkle?" Rainbow Dash sneered, interrupting Pinkie Pie. "You called her by name? Being buddies with that spy-"
Pinkie Pie's next interruption was firm and resolute, her tone was laced with disappointment. "No! You're wrong! What's wrong with you, Rainbow? Why are you resorting to violence?"
"But...but Nightmare Moon hurt Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash retorted, her voice filled with even more frustration.
"It's different. The Princess is an alicorn, and Nightmoon knows it." Pinkie Pie replied, her tone softening. "She has a healing factor. She looked worse than she actually is, her organs survived mostly intact," Pinkie recited information that she gathered from Princess Celestia's medical record, for partying purposes only.
Hoping that the pegasus won't question her about how she knows such information, the pink mare continues. "Most damages she got are areas around her face, neck, and upper body. Her internal organs are protected by her ribcage."
Letting the information sunk in, she continues "The face is hardest to heal because of complex organs such as eyes and nose, but Nightmare Moon knew what she is doing and intentionally left half of Princess' face intact"
"She understands that Celestia can get off the hospital bed within a day and her injuries would be fully mended within a few weeks." Pinkie Pie finished, looking at her friend for reactions.
"How the buck was I supposed to know that?!" Rainbow Dash shouted back, her anger mixed with pinkie-being-pinkie prevented her from noticing such weird little details. "And if that's the case, then Nightmare Moon would recover if my attack landed on her, right? She's also an alicorn!"
An uncomfortable silence settled in the room, the weight of their words hanging heavily in the air. Pinkie Pie's voice broke the stillness, filled with a mix of sadness and exhaustion. "...You bully."
The word "bully" hung heavily in the air, piercing her heart. Rainbow Dash froze, feeling as if the ground had been ripped from beneath her. She couldn't believe those accusations. No, she was not a bully, coming from her friend.
Bully is the lowest of the low, something she never wanted to become. It's Nightmare Moon that's the bully! The mare who hurts Princess Celestia.
"Without asking questions or doing any research, you resorted to violence and made a rash decision to attack her, just because you wanted to hurt her." Pinkie Pie continued her voice barely above a whisper. "Not knowing about her healing factor, you, the fastest mare in Equestria, launched an assault with your full speed. An attack that could have permanently crippled any average pony... or killed."
Rainbow Dash was shocked, as the reality of the situation sunk in. An attack that could k-killed somepony? by her?
A killer. A bully.
Pinkie Pie now realized what she has implied, make no more argument and slowly walked out of the room, her head hung low, leaving Rainbow Dash in a state of profound sadness and self-reflection. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over, but she fought to hold them back.
The weight of her actions, the future that could happen, and the consequences they had brought crashed down upon her like a tidal wave, enveloping her in an overwhelming sense of remorse and regret.
And in that somber moment, her eyes welling up with tears she refused to let fall. At that moment, she felt the weight of her injured pride and the realization that she had become someone she never wanted to be.
A bully, the lowest of society, the kind of pony who take pleasure out of hurting innocence.
The kind of pony that nearly killed her friend, Fluttershy.
The room fell into a heavy silence, filled with unspoken regret and a shattered friendship. Rainbow Dash's wings, once vibrant and strong, now felt broken and heavy. And as she closed her eyes, she couldn't escape the deep sadness that consumed her.
Once upon a time, in the floating capital of the pegasi, Cloudsdale, there lived a young filly named Rainbow Dash. Her parents doted on her, showering her with love and granting her every desire. However, Rainbow Dash remained unsatisfied. She yearned for something more, something that would make her name known throughout the land.
On that fateful day, her parents took her to witness the incredible Wonderbolts, renowned for their speed and agility. Rainbow Dash was awestruck as she watched them perform breathtaking aerial maneuvers.
"I want to be awesome just like them!" From that moment on, she was determined to make something of herself.
Rainbow Dash trained tirelessly, pushing herself to the limit. Her impulsive nature often led her to take reckless risks, her daredevilry resulted in a terrible accident, leaving her injured and stranded. In her moment of despair, a timid pegasus filly named Fluttershy came to her rescue.
"We can be friends," The shy filly softly offered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Rainbow Dash, filled with gratitude, looked into Fluttershy's gentle eyes and nodded. From that day forward, they became the closest of friends, inseparable in their adventures through the skies. Fluttershy's unwavering support provided Rainbow Dash with the strength and support she needed to pursue her dreams.
However, one day, Fluttershy mysteriously disappeared. The normally tranquil halls of the school were filled with worried whispers, but no one took any action. Rainbow Dash's heart pounded with concern as she realized her friend was in trouble.
Determined to find Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash followed her instincts, leading her to Fluttershy's solitary home on the outskirts of Cloudsdale.
Noticing the sound of somepony crying from the bathroom, Rainbow Dash makes haste, fearing for the worst. The sight that greeted her that day was nothing short of heart-wrenching.
Fluttershy lay in the bathroom, her delicate frame crumpled on the cold floor, a knife coated in crimson liquid clutched tightly in her hoof. The other foreleg was bleeding profusely from a self-inflicted wound.
"Why, Fluttershy...?" Rainbow Dash's voice quivered with anguish. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"
Fluttershy looked up at her closest friend, her gaze made the strong-willed rainbow mane pegasus flinch, as mustered the strength to speak. "Rainbow Dash... I couldn't bear the pain anymore. The bullying... it became too much."
Rainbow Dash sat at Fluttershy's side, her heart shattered at the revelation. She had been blind to Fluttershy's silent suffering. Filled with remorse and anger. Fluttershy's fragile form trembled as she mustered the strength to share her painful truth.
Through still tear-filled eyes, Fluttershy gave her response and whispered "Rainbow Dash," She began, her voice barely audible. "I... I've been bullied for as long as I can remember."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in shock. How had she been so blind to her friend's torment? Guilt washed over her like a tidal wave, threatening to consume her.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, tears glistening in her eyes. "They call me names, taunt me, and say terrible things about me. They laugh at me when I try to speak up. I... I thought maybe if I hid away, they would leave me alone. But it only got worse."
Rainbow Dash's hooves stomped in anger, her own tears threatening to spill. She had never felt such a mix of emotions before—rage, helplessness, and a burning desire to make things right for her dear friend.
Fluttershy's voice wavered as she continued, her pain was evident in every word. "I couldn't escape their cruel words, even outside the school. Every day, I'd dread going out. It was a never-ending nightmare."
Her voice cracked, and she struggled to hold back her sobs. Rainbow Dash instinctively wrapped her wings around Fluttershy, offering comfort and solace.
"They said I was worthless," Fluttershy choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. "I started to believe them. I thought... I thought I didn't deserve to live."
Rainbow Dash's heart sank as she absorbed Fluttershy's words. She had always seen her friend as a delicate and gentle soul, she cannot even begin to imagine how much Fluttershy has suffered, what kind of the immense strength it took for Fluttershy to survive each day, battling against bullying while hiding her pain from the world.
"Why didn't you tell me, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash's voice quivered, a mixture of hurt and understanding. "I would have done anything to protect you."
"I was scared, Rainbow Dash" Fluttershy's teary eyes met Rainbow Dash's gaze, filled with a mixture of gratitude and regret. "Scared that if I shared my pain, it would burden and hurt you. I didn't want to lose the only true friend I had."
Rainbow Dash squeezed Fluttershy tighter, her voice filled with determination. "You're never a burden to me, Fluttershy. We're in this together. From now on, I'll fight alongside you. No pony should have to endure such cruelty like this."
As the weight of her friend's confession settled between them, Rainbow Dash vowed to become a beacon of strength, not just for Fluttershy, but for all who suffered at the hooves of bullies. She would confront them head-on, bringing hope and change to their life.
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy whispered, her voice filled with gratitude. "Knowing that you're here for me. It means more than words can express."
Fluttershy clung to her, her wounded soul finding solace and strength in their bond. Through the darkness, a path of hope emerged, fueling Rainbow Dash's determination to create a brighter, kinder world, as she vowed to protect her friend and put an end to the torment.
A world where no pony would ever have to face the torment of bullying alone.
Through their shared pain, a newfound resolve shinned within Rainbow Dash's heart. She would not let the bullies win. With Fluttershy by her side, she would stand tall and show the served them justice.
In the day that followed, Rainbow Dash, for the first time in her life, gave up her own selfishness for something beyond.
She confronted the bullies with fiery determination tempered by cool calculativeness. She stood tall, refusing to let them harm her friend any longer, yet she did not fight back, not give in to any of their taunts.
Her shambled pride is nothing when compared to Fluttershy's happiness.
She asked her parent for help, to put a stop to their tyranny. With full support as always, arrangements have been made, favors were called, and Rainbow Dash slowly but surely tear them down socially piece by piece.
As Rainbow Dash's action spread words far and wide, she became a symbol of hope and courage, inspiring others to stand against injustice.
The community began to rally behind them, and the authority got involved not long before. The bullies and their parents were held accountable for their actions, which cascade effects through their school, bringing permanent change to the life of more than a few less fortunate foals.
Together, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy forged a bond despite their differences. Their friendship became a beacon of light that brings change to the school, proving that even in the face of despair, there is hope. With Rainbow Dash's unwavering support, Fluttershy slowly started to heal from the wounds inflicted upon her spirit.
And of course, as time passed and ponies move on. Rainbow Dash, the mare who continue to get unconditional love-bombed by her parents for another decade and spend years in the might-make-right donghole called Cloudsdale flight school, before she moved out of the floating city, would inevitably forget the wisdom her filly self had discovered.
The room filled with silence as Rainbow Dash reflected on herself. Her body was battered and tired, leaving her no choice, but to lie silently on the bed. Normally she would hate to be in such a situation. She would be bored out of her mind, if not for the current turmoil inside her mind right now.
then suddenly, a voice spoke up "Rainbow...."
Rainbow Dash's attention shifted to Scootaloo, her eyes red-rimmed and her voice shaky. "Hey...hey, kiddo," she managed to say, her voice filled with a mix of remorse and vulnerability. She forgot that the orange filly was still in this room.
The entire time.
Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, her gaze unwavering. Despite her young age, there was a glimmer of understanding in her eyes. "Rainbow Dash, I've always admired you. I looked up to you" she began, her voice filled with a mixture of disappointment and sadness.
"But what you did... It wasn't like you. You've always been the pony who taught me about loyalty and justice."
Rainbow Dash nodded, her gaze shifting downwards as guilt weighed heavily on her conscience. She had always prided herself on being a loyal friend and a defender of innocence, but at that moment, with her mind in a rage-filled state, in order to take give the princess her justice and gain frame for herself, she had allowed herself to become a source of pain and turmoil instead.
The hospitalized mare swallowed hard, her throat tight with emotion. "I know, Scoots," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I messed up. I let my anger cloud my judgment, and I hurt my friend in the process." Rainbow Dash's voice cracked with a mix of guilt and shame.
She could see the disappointment in Scootaloo's eyes, and it tore at her heart.
"I thought... I thought I was doing the right thing," Rainbow Dash continued, her voice trembling. "I was angry, and I let it control me. But it wasn't right, what I did. I hurt someone without fully understanding the consequences."
Scootaloo's expression softened, and she took a hesitant step closer to Rainbow Dash. "But why, Rainbow? I don't understand why you would do something like this. Why did you attack Nightmare Moon first? "
Rainbow Dash sighed, her gaze falling to the floor. "I thought she was a threat, a fairy tale monster that needed to be put down. I let my own biases and emotions cloud my thinking. I didn't do research, give her a chance, try to understand her, or even see her as a pony. I was wrong, Scootaloo. I was so wrong."
Tears welled up in Scootaloo's eyes now, mirroring the pain in Rainbow Dash's heart. "You're supposed to be my hero, Rainbow. I looked up to you, but..."
Rainbow Dash's tears began to trickle down her cheeks. She reached out a hoof, gently touching Scootaloo's shoulder. "I know I've let you down, Scoots, and I can't even begin to express how sorry I am."
Scootaloo sniffled and nodded, her anger giving way to a glimmer of hope. "I want to believe you, Rainbow. I want to believe that you can change and become the hero I know you can be."
Rainbow Dash squeezed Scootaloo's shoulder gently, her voice filled with determination. "I promise you, from this moment on, I won't let you down again, Scoots. I'll learn from my mistakes and try to be a better pony. I'll prove to you and myself that I can be the pony you look up to, the pony who makes a difference for the better."
As Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were in the room together, their bond momentarily strained but not broken, Rainbow Dash knew that the road to her she the road would take to repair her mistake, her friendship, and her redemption would be challenging and painful.
But with Scootaloo's forgiveness and support, Rainbow Dash found the strength to face her mistakes and strive for growth, to take her first step.
"Scoots, I have a request for you."
The alicorn of night finds solace in the serene countryside of Ponyville, a stark contrast to the concrete jungle that is her home. Here, there were actual trees, casting their welcoming shadows upon the grassy expanses.
Nightmare Moon contemplated settling under the shadow of one of those trees, where she could immerse herself in her books and continue her research.
She finally found a secluded spot, nestled beneath the protective embrace of an ancient oak. The sunlight peeked through the leaves, creating a delicate play of light and shadow on the ground.
Nightmare Moon settled herself comfortably, her majestic form blending with the natural beauty surrounding her, as natural as a black coat anime horse with a flowing starry magical mane can be anyway.
Opening a book, she intended to isekai-ed herself into the shadow realm of academic study, in order to understand modern days spellwork better.
The troubles of the moment were momentarily forgotten as the book titled “Magic 101" floated in her magical griped, slowly opened, revealing knowledge within.
The alicorn intended to at least got something practical out of today's endeavor. She delved into realms of knowledge, and soon her grinding would bear fruit, if she wasn't being disrupted that is.
"N-Nightmare Moon," a trembling young voice suddenly called out to her, causing the regal-looking mare to regally turns her gaze towards the source. To her surprise, it was none other than the iconic orange filly, Scootaloo.
In the grim darkness of the twenty-first century, there is only meme.
Existed in this bleak reality is a realm of chaos where all hope seems lost. It’s called the internet, a place where the emperor’s guiding light doesn’t shine, lies there are many temples of heretics.
Among them exists one group that devoted themselves to the equine goddess, Faust-sama. It's a community filled with pastel-colored horse-loving individuals.
On the edge of this great unified church of faust is an imageboard, a place inhabited by a group of acolytes who fight for their great cause, the cause that can only be comprehend by them. The group was so radical in their way that they even got rejected by other horsy sects.
They often affectionately dubbed this small orange being as the “chicken filly”, the flightless pegasus with a medical condition called microwings. She who fated to be bounded to the ground forever, because her wings are too small to be useful, no different than man with a micropenis.
Nightmare Moon chuckled mentally, forced herself to keep up the serious charade on the outside. She knows that in reality, that's not the case, but it's more amusing that way.
And hey, the filly definitely deserved that nickname to a degree.
For she is one of the unholy trinity, the original Legion of Doom, the destroyers of public properties. She is one of the founding members of the crusader of ass tattoos, the filly who will forever be attached to Rainbow Dash's sweaty muscular butt like a flatworm glued to the digestive track.
Nightmare Moon is well aware of Scootaloo's unwavering admiration for the rainbow pegasus, could only fathom one reason why the young filly sought her out. The filly's voice trembled as she mustered up her courage to speak.
"P-Please come with me!" the orange filly pleaded, her voice wavering with a mix of fear and determination. "Please," she continued, desperation clear in her eyes and her voice barely above a whisper. Nightmare Moon could somehow sense the actual weight of that plea.
Nope nope. Nightmare Moon though to herself, she wasn't going to deal with this now. The black alicorn swiftly stood up, turned around, and walk away, fully intending to ignore the filly's repeated calls for her attention. Pretending she hadn't heard a thing seemed like the best course of action.
But fate had a different plan. She turned away, determined to distance herself from the filly. As she thought she had successfully evaded the situation, a shudder ran through her as the black alicorn felt something soft pressing against the side of her foreleg.
With a sense of dread, she slowly turned her head downward, only to realize too late that she made the grave, terrible mistake of committing the sin of looking down to see what it was. The thing that awaits her is Scootaloo's devastating cosmic-level weapon—a powerful attack that only big eyes anime girls and children could master.
There it was—Scootaloo, looking up at her with those infamous puppy dog eyes.
The bottom-barrel otaku within Nightmare Moon was ill-prepared for such an onslaught. She wavered, torn between her own self-preservation and the accepted the request of overwhelming cuteness radiating from the pleading filly before her. The internal battle raged within her, but she knew deep down that she must not give in to the little shit, no matter how much damage those innocent eyes inflicted upon her cold, dead soul.
"Pleaseeeee," Scootaloo's voice quivered, her ears flopping in a display of desperation. Her eyes shimmered, hinting at the imminent tears that would soon follow if Nightmare Moon resisted furthur.
Kuk... Nightmare Moon's resolve weakens under the powerful force of Scootaloo's gaze. A small wave of frustration washed over her. It was just too powerful to handle.
The battle was lost before it had even begun.
Nightmare Moon tried to maintain her sanity, but the relentless assault on her mental defenses proved to be too formidable. Even realizing that she was about to be pulled into something she had tried to avoid, with a defeated sigh, she finally relented.
"Fine," she muttered, her tone laced with exasperation, begrudgingly accepting her fate. "What is it, filly?"
A ghost of a smile spread across the filly's face, her eyes sparkling with hope. She wasted no time pulling the unreluctant alicorn to the destination.
With a another resigned sigh, for good measure, Nightmare Moon gestured for Scootaloo to lead the way. She would follow the filly, reluctantly embarking on an unexpected adventure, knowing that her plans for a peaceful day of reading had been thoroughly trashed.
Welcome to Ponyville, a peaceful village that is never peaceful..?
As the door swung open, Nightmare Moon walked into the room, accompanied by Scootaloo.The alicorn horn's glowing, holding onto a saddlebag.... with the cutie mark of that unicorn plastered on.
Rainbow Dash had requested her presence, and now she found herself tied down to the bed, feeling a mixture of intimidation as the imposing figure approached.
Rainbow Dash mustered a weak smile, grateful that she had agreed to meet with her. She felt a mix of nervousness and hope, unsure of how things would go on from there.
"Thanks for coming," Rainbow Dash said softly, her voice still tinged with remorse. She glanced at the Scootaloo, the orange filly, her number one fan, who stand silently at the side of the door, watching her and the alicorn nervously.
They both know what kind of disaster can happen if this goes wrong. Rainbow Dash smiled and thought. But still, the filly still struck with her and was willing to entertain her stupidity.
Rainbow mane pegasus then turned her attention to Nightmare Moon. "I... I wanted to apologize for my actions. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I tried to hurt you."
Rainbow Dash's gaze met the towering figure of the black alicorn. Her body beaten, and crippled, being tied down to the bed, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel a tinge of helplessness in the presence of Nightmare Moon. She carefully searched into those intense, predatory eyes, looking for any signs of hostility.
ln Nightmare Moon's turquoise orbs, Rainbow Dash finds no trace of malice or anger. Instead, she saw a calm calculating intelligence with a depth of understanding that both comforted and saddened her. Tears welled up in her eyes as the realization struck her deeply. She now understood that the being in front of her was not a mindless monster but a sentient being capable of thought, somepony that deserving of empathy.
She had not been passing judgment on a fairy tale monster, no, the only thing she did is attempting to hurt, cripple, or kill another pony.
"I'm sorry, Nightmare Moon," Rainbow Dash managed to say, her voice filled with regret. "I let my pride blind me to reason. I was so consumed by anger and a desire for revenge that I failed to see the consequences of my actions."
Nightmare Moon stood in silence, her gaze fixed on Rainbow Dash, listening intently to her words.
"I let my emotions take hold of me, and I acted without fully understanding the situation. I let my loyalty to Princess Celestia, my patriotic cloud my judgment and led me down a path of violence."
Rainbow Dash's voice quivered as she continued, "If I could have defeated you, I thought it would not only enact vengeance for Princess Celestia but also elevate my status and reputation and join the Wonderbolts... My dream career”
Rainbow Dash confessed, her voice trembling with vulnerability. "But in my pursuit of personal glory, and seeking to enact my own way of justice, I was so focused on myself that I lost sight of the reality, of what truly matters."
Nightmare Moon stood there in silence, her presence commanding yet tranquil. She listened attentively to Rainbow Dash's words of apology, offering no immediate response.
She paused, struggling to find the right words to express her remorse. "In doing so, I failed to see you as a pony, as an individual with your own reasoning, struggles, and pain. I let prejudice and ignorance guide my actions, acting out without doing research about your past, without knowing that you could even be recovered from injuries that I would inflicted on you, and for that, I am deeply sorry."
Rainbow Dash's tears flowed freely now, her body racked with guilt and sorrow. She had come face to face with her own flaws, recognizing the harm she had caused, not just to the potential bodily harm on the night alicorn, but also the strain on her bond of friendships with those who cared about her.
Nightmare Moon's silence stretched, leaving Rainbow Dash uncertain of how her apology was being received. The room seemed to hold its breath as tension lingered in the air. Rainbow Dash's heart pounded in her chest, fearing the worst, yet hoping for a glimmer of forgiveness.
For the first time, the alicorn of the night opened her muzzle to speak, her voice filled with frustration. "Why?"
Rainbow Dash's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why... what?" she asked, seeking clarification of the mare's unexpected reaction.
"Why do you have to say sorry for your action?" Nightmare Moon continued, her flowing starry tail flickering in agitation. "You're supposed to be a jock. Why do you apologize for acting out your role?"
So that's what she sees me as, a pony who doesn't even understand the concept of empathy, Rainbow Dash bitterly thought to herself, but she has to fix that... before it's too late. She responded back.
"B-because... I am in the wrong," Rainbow Dash stammered out, her voice filled with vulnerability. "I... I let my anger blind me, and I tried to hurt you. I... I need to take responsibility for my own actions."
Nightmare Moon's voice softened, revealing a hint of sadness beneath her calm demeanor. "But why?" she whispered. "Why can't you just be a brute, a mindless cartoon character? Why do you have to feel sorry for what you've done? Why... why..."
Her voice trailed off, and Nightmare Moon stood still, her ears flopped back and her posture sacked. Her slitted eyes fixed upon Rainbow Dash. Uncomfortable silence reigned in the room as Rainbow Dash fidgeted under Nightmare Moon's intense gaze.
Minutes ticked by, each second stretching into eternity as the weight of anticipation hung in the air. Rainbow Dash anxiously awaited Nightmare Moon's response, unsure of what to expect. Finally, the black alicorn let out a long sigh, her features softening.
"Fine," Nightmare Moon muttered, her voice barely audible. "Took care of it" She asked the orange filly as the saddlebag levitated toward Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash looked at her with confusion, unable to comprehend the meaning behind those cryptic words. "Fine... what?" she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
In response, Nightmare Moon reached out a hoof and gently touched Rainbow Dash's bandaged wing, gently rubbing in comforting, slow circular motion, a silent gesture of understanding and forgiveness.
Rainbow Dash felt a glimmer of hope at that moment. It was the beginning of her new journey, to learn from her mistakes, and maybe, just maybe, to craft a new bond too.
But that didn't answer why she gave her saddlebag to Scoots.
Suddenly, Nightmare Moon's horn began to glow, pulsating with powerful magic that filled the entire room. The ambient energy swirled and danced, untamed yet harmonious as if working together for a greater purpose. The magic formed an intricate pattern, creating the matrix of the spell.
"W-what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash squeaked, surprised by the black alicorn action, her eyes become pinpricks as fear crept into her voice as she watched the magecraft of immortal night goddess display unfold before her.
The pegasus could feel the tingling sensation as the magic enveloped her, a surge of energy igniting within her body. She had no idea what Nightmare Moon was about to do.
"I am going to help you," Nightmare Moon simply stated, her voice firm and resolute, a statement that demanded no arguments. Her horn grow brightly as the spell fully activated, and the magic cascaded into action.
The room became a whirlwind of magical energy, blending together into patterns and shapes, like a symphony of a grand orchestra. "So you can quickly get your lazy ass out of that bed and knock some sense into Sparklebutt.”
Sparklebutt.. Is that the nickname of that unicorn? And what happened to her? "B-but... the nurse said that my injuries would take days to heal," Rainbow Dash protested, still hesitant to believe what she was witnessing.
"That may be true for a typical pony using typical magic," Nightmare Moon smirked, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She bared her fangs, and opened her muzzle in a wide smile, showcasing her exotic nature. "But who the hell do you think I am?"
In a flash of brilliant light, Rainbow Dash felt a surge of energy course through her body. It was as if a wave of storm washed over her, mending her wounds with its mysterious power.
She gasped as the pain melted away, replaced by a tingling sensation of her body repairing itself. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but marvel at the rapid recovery.
So, this is the power of an alicorn....
Moments later, the light dissipated, leaving Rainbow Dash a little disoriented, she stood up from the bed, and Rainbow Dash felt a newfound strength coursing through her. It was as if every fiber of her being was being rejuvenated, just like when she had received a full course massage after a day of hard work, rejuvenating her body and spirit.
With newfound vigor, Rainbow Dash eagerly removed the bandages, feeling the familiar rush of power and freedom. She tests her wings with a few experimental flaps. They responded perfectly, no longer hindered by injury.
The ache and pain were replaced by strength. Rainbow Dash's trademark smirk returned as gratitude filled her heart.
Turning to Nightmare Moon, intending to express her gratitude, only to be greeted by a scene of horror unfolding before her eyes.
The once majestic black alicorn now lay bloodied and battered on the ground, a pool of crimson slowly spreading around her. Rainbow Dash's heart froze up as she rushed to Nightmare Moon's side, panic gripping her.
She had never seen this much blood before in her life, not even that time...
"What happened?" Rainbow Dash gasped, her voice filled with concern and fear.
Rainbow Dash's hooves moved instinctively, trying to prop Nightmare Moon up and staunch the flow of blood.
"Everything... has its price." Nightmare Moon managed to wheeze out a weak reply, her voice little strained.
"While typical spells heal by speeding up the body's natural healing process, there is another branch of healing magic. The one that is more potent but comes with a significant drawback," Nightmare Moon explained, words by words. "It is based on the principles of equivalent exchange."
Panic and concern consumed rainbow mane pegasus as the alicorn continued to speak, her tone surprisingly calm despite her condition. "But no matter how skilled one is, there is always inefficiency in the spell. You will always get out less than you put in. That's why my body is in this state."
Rainbow Dash's heart raced as she tried desperately to comprehend what had happened. She realized with a sinking feeling that the black mare hadn't healed her by conventional means. Instead, she had taken on Rainbow Dash's injuries herself.
She hurt Nightmare Moon.
The weight of that realization crushed Rainbow Dash, her heart filled with a mix of guilt and anguish. Nightmare Moon had willingly sacrificed herself to save Rainbow Dash, bearing the burden of her wounds.
She finally got what she wished for, to hurt Nightmare Moon.
At that moment, Any words Rainbow Dash have caught in her throat. The gravity of the situation before her was too immense to put into words. She could only gaze at Nightmare Moon with an muddy mixture of gratitude and sorrow, knowing that she had unintentionally caused this selfless act of sacrifice.
But before Rainbow Dash could fully recover from her stunned state, Nightmare Moon's horn lit up once again, although this time with a much weaker energy.
"W-Wait, what are you doing? You're still badly hurt!" Rainbow Dash's eyes are wide and exclaimed, concern evident in her voice.
"Get out of your ha-mane," Nightmare whispered calmly, her voice barely audible. "Your task... is to talk to Twilight Sparkle. Make her stop sulking. You can ignore me, it doesn't matter anyway."
"But I can't do that! You're bleeding, and..." Rainbow Dash's words trailed off as she locked eyes with Nightmare Moon, noticing something all too familiar. Something she sees from time to time even till this day.
Hiding under the covered of her dark fur existed scars of all shapes and sizes, each one glimpse a story, a part of grand adventure that the alicorn has gone though.
But Rainbow Dash's attention only focused on Nigjtmare Moon's forelegs. existed the kind of scars she unfortunately came to familiar with, uncountable sharp lines on the skin, being repeatly inflicted again and again and again and agai–
Rainbow Dash looked up, gaze deep into night alicorn's face, carefully evaluate everything, and came to a conclusion.
At that moment, Nightmare Moon looked small and vulnerable. Behind the facade of calm and indifference, Rainbow Dash saw not a predator within those serpent-liked eyes, but only pain etched deeply within her soul, hidden from everypony but herself. It was a pain born from abuse, torment, and a lack of trust in the world.
Nightmare Moon had been bullied, just like Fluttershy.
A flash of light enveloped the room, and when Rainbow Dash blinked, Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen. She had vanished, that spell is likely some kind of teleportation.
Rainbow Dash found herself sitting alone in the room, surrounded by the pool of Nightmare Moon's blood. The weight of what happen weighed heavily on her heart.
"Who hurt you?" Rainbow Dash muttered the question to the empty room, her voice filled with a mix of anger and sadness. She vowed at that moment to uncover the truth behind Nightmare Moon's pain, to seek justice for the one who had suffered so much.
For now, she has another task to do, one that was asked by the black alicorn herself, but before she could continue her train of thought, a small sob interrupted their conversation.
"Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash called out, realizing that her young admirer was still here, and she had been witnessing the whole drama from the sidelines, again.
Rainbow Dash wants to comfort the filly, but she does not think winghugging her with a cold, blood-covered wing would provide any comfort, nor does nuzzling her with bloodstained muzzle would. She thinks that any physical contact with the filly in her current condition would do the opposite in fact.
Scootaloo curled herself into a big spoon, pressing herself against the saddlebag that the bloodied alicorn left behind, seeking comfort from the cold inanimate object.
The orange filly's eyes wide with a mix of confusion and horror. "Rainbow Dash, what's happening? Why did Nightmare Moon... why did she hurt? what..." Each sentence she spoke out become more incoherent than its precursor. It seems like that Scootaloo has finally reached her limits.
As two pegasi stood there in silence, the cyan-bloodied mare contemplated what to do next, a nurse suddenly walked into the room, her eyes widening in shock at the scene before her, then rushed out.
"W-wait, I can explai-" Rainbow Dash called out but the nurse quickly shouted for a doctor, alerting the medical staff to the distressing situation.
The warm ray of the sun cast a dim glow through the dense canopy of the Everfree Forest as the air filled with an eerie silence, which soon will be disrupted.
A resounding ”wink” echoed through the stillness, and the forest trembled as its peace was shattered by the resonating sound of a teleportation spell. The air crackled with energy as an equine figure materialized from thin air. It was an imposing Nightmare Moon, whose wind of fate had brought her to this forest of dread.
Nightmare Moon collapsed onto the forest floor, panting heavily. The alicorn's coat was marred by dried blood and the shimmering glow of the night alicorn's starry mane dimmed as she lay there, the weight of her injuries bearing down upon her.
The forest of Everfree whispered around her, its eerie ambiance adding to the gravity of the situation, and the alicorn of the night reflected on what transpired.
I healed Rainbow Dash.
Nightmare Moon sighted out in defeat. "In the end, I still help her." The alicorn of night chuckled out darkly, as she tried and failed to position her damaged body to the most comfortable position possible.
She did promise to herself to not followed the path of her precursor, did she not? To get back what she lost, and to not only just lived her life in this alien world, but thrived while doing so.
Then why did she help that pony? Why did she care about any of them at all?
They will be no longer of her concern when she got back home. Emotional attachment will only hurt both sides when it's time to say farewell.
Dehumanized them is by far the best course she should have taken. To a certain extent, she tried.
For her to have this level of sentimental, and willing to help them even at her expense...
Nightmare Moon never thought she would resort to using that dammed piece of work of a spell, but the circumstances had left her to think this is the best choice she can make.
Two birds in one stone, or this case, two ponies in one spell.
Nightmare Moon chuckled to herself at her own dried joke. She was sure that when her future self come back to do introspection, to make a self-reflection to see why her life had gone so wrong.
She would be aghast at such a horrendous joke that made light of this event and would wonder why this insane gender-bend human-turned-pony soaked in her own blood laughed at herself.
But then again, maybe not. That little joke is comparable to a small and insignificant piece of microplastic in the great Pacific garbage patch. There are so uncountable mistakes or decisions that she has done throughout her life, many more plus-sized screwed up she should be focused on, and many more she had done today.
For one, that said spell itself.
"What I am thinking....." Nightmare Moon trailed off, frown plastered upon her muzzle. Now it was at the forefront of her mind, possibly the biggest offender out of everything that had gone wrong today.
Somehow, using that spell to solve this was the first idea that her brain came up with, and she thought it was a good idea and committed with it.
The spell she had cast was a creation of one of Luna's tormentors, with the help of another bastard who is also the one that manipulated Luna into using it.
It was a spell that allowed the caster to transfer injuries from one pony to another, to heal a target by absorbing their injuries, and vice versa.
Nightmare Moon couldn't help but curse those bastards that had molded Luna to become the kind of person she was.
In her mind, she could still hear the chilling words that had been whispered to her body's previous owner, taunting her with the fate of innocent people.
"If you don't use it... then fine, we'll let a spare suffer in your stead."
The memory-filled Nightmare Moon with a surge of anger. "Fucking monsters" she muttered, anger seeping into her words, before quickly shaking her head to regain her composure. Now was not the time for emotions—she needed to be level-headed.
She began her assessment of the situation. Carefully inspecting her injuries, Nightmare Moon assessed the damage to her damaged wings.
Her majestic, bird of prey-looking wings, the symbol of her power, a big crucial part of her divine waifu grace, the once fluffy appendages now reduced to twisted remnants of their former glory, mangled and torn, causing immense pain to shoot up her spine when they were touched.
She let out a weary sigh. "At least I got Luna's pain tolerance" She muttered, grateful that at the fact that this one dreadful question has been answered, and she can accounted for it in her future endeavour if needed, arise.
"Hopefully not, forever." She's not a masochist who enjoyed getting her body beaten up for fun, after all.
And even then, masochists definitely not enjoyed getting their bones broken off and their muscles ripped apart, because, at the very least, their survival instinct wouldn't allow them to go that far.
She hopes with all her heart that's the case. Please let that statement be the truth.
Nightmare Moon’s slitted eyes gazed into distance for awhile, before she shook her head and let out a sight. "Why did it turn out like this..." She muttered out in defeat, as she gaze down at the petrel she wore.
The steel armament continues to sing the neverending orchestra alongside its companions, the hoof guards and the helmet. The quiet song that only she could feel by sense of magic, as slowly drain her magic to power its internal circuitry.
It likely won't be able to completely block that attack, but it sure as hell wouldn't turn the attacker into a pasted on the wall like a swatted fly.
And she didn't have a chance or any intention of telling the bookhorse about one of her protection, but with how perceptive she was…. shouldn’t she already know?
"Well, what's done is done." Nightmare Moon muttered in defeat, letting out a sigh, subconsciously shifting her broken wings from awkwardness mixed with embarrassment and wincing from pain.
The only thing that could be considered good news in this situation is that she had used the spell on a pegasus rather than a unicorn. Otherwise, her broken wing might have been a shattered horn instead, which would be absolutely and fabulously bad in her current situation.
Her wings, unlike her horn, are pretty useless at the moment even if they are not damaged. Nightmare Moon didn't have a way to properly trained herself on the moon.
This contrast with unicorn magic which only relies on a single factor, and the caster can just drop in a compensation logic at the beginning of the spell.
The wings of a pony pegasus also rely on many different factors other than magic. Air density, Gravity, Particle composition, and a few others. The flier must utilize pegasus magic to balance everything in order to make it work.
Not only that, the magic tied closely with the wing's muscles instead of the direct link to the brain like the unicorn's magic.
It had lower bandwidth, and more nerve latency, and was used in more time-critical tasks like flying. This means there is not as much wiggle room as casting a unicorn spell. One has to get everything right quickly and fast.
Too many moving parts. Just like driving a car or riding a bicycle, everything pretty much relies more on the proficiency—muscle memory of the flier than the knowledge.
This is the proficiency she didn't have, flying on the moon is as similar to flying here as scuba diving in an oil tank compare to water. Her moon-optimized muscle memory would be either under-compensated or overcompensated for everything. The fact that she's not a particularly good flier did not help either.
And no one would be insane enough to do such ridiculous mental calculations that are required for flight, on-the-fly, in real time. No pun intended.
"But I wouldn't put it past her." Nightmare Moon chuckled to herself, thinking about the only unicorn with a tendency to turn everything into soul-sucking operation manuals. She would even bet a limp.
And that brings her to another messed up part of her body.
Her legs, although not unscathed, were in better condition. Only one of the hindlegs was broken, with a bone visibly poking through the torn flesh. The skin around the white protrusion is visibly stitching itself back together.
Nightmare Moon shudder and sigh "Luna's memory really didn't do it justice." She theorized that this is the first leg that rainbow butt landed on the wall.
Thankfully, her internal organs remained intact, and all intricate complex sensory organs survive unscathed, giving her confidence that her formidable alicorn healing factor would ensure a swift full recovery within a week, perhaps even less.
Now, to the latest and hopefully will also be the final fucked up she made today, the location.
"Of all possible places, just why...." As she pondered her situation, Nightmare Moon couldn't help but wonder why she had been teleported to near the ruined castle of the Everfree Forest instead of her intended destination: her room in the Golden Oak Library, a safe place for her to lay down, relatively speaking.
The unexpected deviation puzzled her, she was sure the spell worked perfectly fine.
With a heavy heart, Nightmare Moon contemplated her situation. Alone, injured, and far from the safe room she had hoped to return to, she couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
The weight of everything that had happened had taken a toll on her. It's just too much and too quickly, their magnitude resonating deep within her aching soul.
Maybe, just maybe, she should give it all up, forget everything and let the elements blast her to pieces. "But that's not even a choice now, isn't it." A sorrowful smile upon her muzzle as she chuckled sadly to herself.
Gazing into the distance, a soft glow casting past the thick forest, causing an ethereal light upon the untamed forest, Nightmare Moon closed her eyes.
She would endure, she would heal, and she would forge her future—one where she could get back what she lose, and maybe more.
One's gotta dream big, after all.
As Nightmare Moon lay there for a while, the weight of her injuries pressing down on her, her mind pondered. "But still, why was I teleported to here of all places? There should be a good explanation...."
As Nightmare Moon glanced back at the castle, The once great fortress's impenetrable wall, and noticed a hole— a giant puncture. The clean, lichen free on the cracked surface told her it was new. A sudden realization struck her bolt of lightning right there and then.
"Wait a minute," the alicorn contemplated, her mind racing to analyze the situation. It was clear that she needed to think this through logically before taking any further action.
Unlike the teleportation spells portrayed in TV shows that Twilight used, Nightmare Moon's teleportation spell was an ancient, relic from a thousand years ago.
It was a cutting-edge spell of its time, aimed at providing a more efficient means of quick transportation method when compared to the more traditional power-consuming and cumbersome portal spells.
However, being a bleeding edge spell from thousand years ago meant it was an unoptimized mess in comparison to the version that Twilight had mastered.
Nightmare Moon's spell required nearly a minute to activate, and that was in the best-case scenario, which realistically translated to the bullshit of snake oil.
The real average activation time for most situations is around four to five minutes. It's clear that such a long time the spell took meant that the spell was not suitable for emergency situations that required quick action.
Like running away from the potential equestrian imperial solar inquisitors if this Equestria happened to be ruled by militaristic sunbutt, the Daybreaker timeline, for example.
Other than that plus-sized hellscape of a timeline that was mentioned above, there is also another horrible candidate, like Changeling's the matrix ripoff pony-powered love batteries array, Sombra's slave empire, or outright world war ripoff, the Equestria at War timeline..... and many more. Just any kind of Equestria that she needs to runway in general.
There are more than a few transmigration stories out there where the protagonist got flung out to a different version of the 'otherworld' that is different from what they knew about, and it's always good to prepare for this.
But she wasn't smart enough to just comprehend and made up a whole new superior spell on the moon, with only Luna's memories to reference to like some kind of Starfleet's spandex science boys.
To circumvent that technical limitation, she had devised a clever workaround. By utilizing teleportation markers placed at the intended destination.
The marker acted as a sensor, collecting and relaying relevant data of the destination, back to the spell matrix, which would originally have to be manually computed with only information collected from the starting point, a very slow process.
But with the aid of the teleportation markers, the process was significantly sped up and effectively reduced the wasted computational time.
Her homemade teleportation markers operated on a simple principle. They would respond back, sending out a signal when they caught a specific radio wave signal in the air that had their unique ID, a serial number that is encoded into it, and only included this specific piece of data in the response message when the condition is right.
The horn-side spell of her modified teleportation was designed to look for the value that's basically treated as a boolean, yes or no, true or false. She dubbed it as the "safe to land" flag, and it's always encoded inside the message, to indicate that the location was ready, safe, and secure for arrival.
The spell on the caster's side, will only continue its operation and execute the teleportation only if the response said “Yes, it's safe to teleport here" Otherwise, the spell will just stop dead in the water and fizzled out of reality.
But this time, she had used an emergency teleportation spell, a spell that is no different than her normal spell, only the secret sauce is the ID number it's calling.
Alongside the main, unique ID number, there also existed in every marker, a secondary, common ID number.
Calling the marker using the secondary ID will work exactly the same as the normal one. The only difference is that this ID is not s unique identification for each marker.
the same set of numbers is used in every teleportation marker.
This means that the spell she uses is calling out to not one, but all teleportation markers in the vicinity, and it will latch onto the first marker that responded back and provided a response message that also said the location is safe to land.
The marker's blueprint had been purposefully designed to accommodate easy reconfigurable and expandable parts, with activation of the "safe to land" flag as one of the primary considerations to add this pain-in-the-ass flexibility requirement into its design.
The flag could be rigged to only triggered when readings from add-on sensors fell within valid ranges, may it be temperature, humidity, or Geiger meter, trap detector, and more. The sky's is the limit, really.
"Clipping in an object..... or another person will definitely be painful." Nightmare Moon shuddered, as she thought back on one of the currently deployed markers.
The one in her room is rigged to an obstruction sensor because it's possible that when she teleported in, she would risk stuck into the wall like an NPC from a badly made video game.
Ah... Now she remembered! it was all coming back to her now.
Nightmare Moon's recollection sharpened as she pieced together the missing puzzle. It all became clear to her now. A memory resurfaced.
There was another marker—an experimental unit she had created for testing purposes. It had been programmed to provide the fastest response because it lacked any safety mechanism at all!
Instead, It was hardwired to always replied back with, the response "Yes, this location is safe to land" immediately, the moment it was invoked by other parts of the spell matrix.
And the last known location of that experimental marker was within the depths of the Everfree Forest, the very place Nightmare Moon found herself standing upon her return on that day, and the very place she had unexpectedly arrived in currently.
When Nightmare Moon returned on that fateful day, she believed that one to be destroyed during her confrontation with sunbutt, but that was just pure assumption and unconfirmed theory.
She realized she had never actually confirmed his fate
A spark of curiosity ignited within her, urging her to seek the truth. Her horn shimmered with magical energy as she activated a partially-completed spell, calling out into the world, and reaching for answers.
She waited, her anticipation mounting with each passing moment. Then, a tingling sensation coursed through her horn as it received a response from the marker—a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
The implication of teleporting to a marker without safety logic was completely lost to her as a newfound sense of purpose brewed within, fueled by pure hope, she gathered what strength remained in her wounded body, rising to her hooves and fixing her gaze on the depths of the great abyss.
Sight out with a heavy heart, Nightmare Moon gazed at the towering trees of the Everfree Forest, their branches reaching toward heaven and darkening the sky with their presence alone.
With her current condition, it would definitely be an arduous journey, but she was determined to reclaim the one she had believed was lost forever.
"I am coming for you, partner," she whispered, her voice laced with determination.
Step by step, the alicorn of night ventured into the depths of the wild, ancient, untamed realm. The path ahead may be shrouded in uncertainty, but Nightmare Moon would face it, her wounded body is a testament to her commitment as it was slowly dragged into the deep forest by its owner.
Spike knocked on the front door of the golden oak library once more for the tenth time, if he counted correctly, his concern for Twilight growing little by little with each failed attempt. "Twilight, can we talk?" he called out again, his voice gentle and tinged with worry.
But still, there was no response.
He let out a heavy sigh, feeling a sense of helplessness and failure wash over him, and he hated every second of it. "Please talk to me, Twilight," Spike pleaded, his tone filled with genuine concern. "You know I'm always on your side, no matter what happens." He waited, hoping for any sign that Twilight was willing to open up.
The drake furrowed his brows, deep in thought. He realized that maybe a direct approach might not be the best way to get through to Twilight in her current state. He needed to find a way to distract her thoughts with another topic, to pull her focus out of the current one.
Suddenly, an idea formed in Spike's mind. “Maybe this will work?” He muttered silently to himself and then decided to act upon that new tactic immedietly.
He took a deep breath and called out again "Twilight," This time his voice was voided of emotion and took on a more academic tone. "Locking yourself in the room won't help you, according to that psychology book you read. You know? The one you brought to Moon Dancer’s birthday party last time."
For a moment, there was silence, and The baby dragon held his breath in suspension. Would it work or not?
He can only hope that his words have struck a chord with Twilight, and the result gives him hope.
To his delight, this time he got a response. "Y-you remembered that. I-I thought you didn't care about it," Twilight's muffled voice replied from behind the door.
Spike's lips curved into a small smile as he realized he was making progress. He knew he had to tread carefully, but at least he had managed to lure her out into a conversation.
Of course, admitting that it was a book the knowledge of psychology greatly helped him properly pamper his classmates into helping him cheat on his exams and homework wouldn't bode well for the prim and proper Twilight. He needed another excuse, maybe something a little more heartfelt?
"Of course, I care, Twilight," Spike replied gently. "I care about you and your hobby. Now, can you please open the door so we can talk about it?" What a smooth transition. Spike mentally patted himself on the back.
Spike waited and waited and waited, but still nothing came back.
A silence reigns in and the young drake knows this is another failure.
Spike sighed in defeat. "Looks like this also didn't work," The drake muttered to himself, clenching his claws tightly.
Of course, this was Twilight Sparkle, and her sharp mind would instantly connect the dots at the mere implication of why she had locked herself in her room.
Well, Spike knew he could break into the room if all other options were invalid, but this was not that kind of emergency, and he knew better than to pull off something like that.
*knock knock knock*
A few knocks from downstairs brought him out of his stupor. Look like somepony else wanted to get into the library.
He was out of ideas now, but perhaps going out for a little bit and talking to that mysterious pony would give him a new perspective.
Besides, this building was a public library, and it would only be fair to let that pony in.
Spike walked downstairs, taking in the warm, woody interior of the library, searching for a solution to his problem.
He came to a stop in front of the door and opened it, revealing a visitor waiting on the other side was somepony he knew well.
Standing there was the alicorn of love, Princess Cadance, his and Twilight's former foalsister, alone without any royal guards.
Cadance haggled for breath, leaning her side against a mailbox's pole for support. Her mane was disheveled, lacking the grace it usually possessed, strands of hair sticking out in all directions.
Her fur was damp and wet, with droplets of sweat still trickling down like a waterfall. The dust and debris from the mailbox’s pole marred her light pink coat, creating new black lines of dirt every time she changed her position.
Royal Guards bowing down to the homeless-looking pink pony princess only added to the surreal imagery.
Spike scanned the alicorn of love with his eyes, then made a comment. "....Did you fly directly from Canterlot?" He asked about Cadance's condition, his voice filled with concern.
Cadance nodded weakly. "Yes," she replied, as she gained enough strength and slowly limped in towards Spike.
As the princess of love came closer, Spike smelled something in the air, sniffed it, then frowned. "Do you want to shower first?" he asked tentatively, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.
Cadance frowns for a moment, then morphs into disgust as she sniffs at herself.
With a concentrated expression, the alicorn's horn lit up with a shimmering glow, radiant magic, its aura engulfing her entire body and cleansing away the sweat and dirt that clung to her
And momentarily blinding Spike in a flash of light.
Once Spike's vision recovered from the unexpected flashbang, he saw the now cleaned-up alicorn standing before him, her coat gleamed, and her mane cascaded gracefully. She transformed from a hobo into a clean and proper royalty in a (forcefully) blink of an eye.
Spike rubbed his eyes for a moment, then looked up, and glared at his former foalsister. "No shower then?" he questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.
Cadance smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Spike," she replied to the young drake. "But Twilight comes first," she finished, her voice a little strained, but filled with determination.
Spike’s body gone sagged momentarily, before propping his chest back up, which didn’t go unnoticed by Cadance.
"Come in, then. She's upstairs," Spike said, gesturing for the alicorn of love to follow him as he walked into the Golden Oak Library, leading the way inside.
Cadance quickly walked to be by his side, thinking about how to bring it up. Only then to remember something and curve her lips up.
The alicorn’s horn lit up, levitating a mysterious bag from somewhere, its contents heavy and clinking together.
Spike knew exactly what it was – gemstones. "Are you going to bribe me with that?" Spike asked, a playful smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Of course! Who else, if not my favorite dragon, Spike?" Cadance replied with a playful wink, a warm smile gracing her tired features as she lowered her head to nuzzle the baby dragon affectionately.
"I am the only dragon you know, Cadance," Spike sighed in mock exasperation, but he nuzzled the alicorn back nonetheless, appreciating the gesture and the comfort of such action.
He couldn't help but cherish the bond they had developed over the years, even though they were not biologically related.
As they walked together, they engaged in light-hearted banter and talked about various topics as they made their way to the second floor where Twilight's room was located.
It had been a while since Cadance took on the role of princess full-time. They didn’t spend time together much even when they lived in the same castle, and Spike missed her company.
As they came to a stop in front of the wooden door, the alicorn of love sighed, then looked towards her companion in seriousness "Spike, I can deal with Twilight myself.” Cadance’s voice was firm, acknowledging his nature, assuming the young drake would try to help Twilight already.
Cadance gazed into his eyes, to make her intention clear to the baby dragon. “I know you're uncomfortable with this, and none of it is your fault ."
Spike’s eyes wide in shock "Cadance, I-I...." He started, before trailing off and looking down at his claws.
Contrary to what most ponies would assume, Spike's relationship with Twilight is closely related to that of a caretaker and his charge, a goal-driven gifted filly with tunnel vision tendency and an equally talented baby dragon who matured beyond his age.
Cadance knew of his weakness well. For he’s a capable and caring dragon, with skillsets beyond somepony of his age should be possessed. A little drake who's rarely failed at the tasks he'd given to himself, a little colt who didn’t take his own failure well then it inevitably happened.
And it didn’t take a genius to think what kind of emotional turmoil brewing within his heart when he failed a family member.
Cadance patiently waited as the baby dragon took a breather. “B-but I…” He muttered before trailing off, his draconic eyes stared down at his tightly clenched appendages.
After a moment of silence, he let out a sight and looked up, making eye contact with his former foalsister.
“You always know what to say, huh?” He asked, finally smiling at her, his muzzle portrayed a genuine appreciation, "I know you're busy with.... everything that happened recently. Thanks for coming all the way to see us, Cadance. It really means a lot."
Cadance returned him with her equally radiant and warm smile, "Of course, Spike. Family is important, and I'll always make time for you and Twilight." She replied as she moved one of her soft and pink wing over the young Spike’s back.
Rainbow Dash, the fastest and most daring pony in all of Equestria, had always prided herself on her speed, agility, and her knack for surviving any situation. Whether it was winning races, performing daring stunts, or inadvertently doing pranks, she was always up for a challenge.
But, she never expected to use her talent this way.
Today was a different kind of challenge for Rainbow Dash. She found herself covered in dried blood, her front hooves locked together, holding onto a books-filled egghead's saddlebag, hugging it tightly to her chest as if her dear life depended on it.
Because that's what she currently felt.
Currently, she is being pursued by a determined legionnaire of hospital staffs, determined to catch up with her. To bring her back to the hospital bed, to tie her down, and injected her with...
"Don't think about it, nope!" Rainbow Dash shake her head as she zipped through the hallways, she couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh.
"I am sorry, Scoots" she muttered darkly as she thought of her fallen comrade, the filly who she left behind and likely still in a comatose state, unintentionally becoming a distraction for Rainbow Dash. "Your valiant sacrificed.... will be remembered"
[Scootaloo will remember that]
Rainbow Dash's wings beat rapidly as she soared through the corridors, her mane trailing behind her like a colorful comet. She deftly dodged a few hospital staffs and patients that are in her way, narrowly avoiding collision with the carts they were pushing and expertly maneuvering around corners.
But just as Rainbow Dash thought she had shaken off her pursuers, she found herself facing a dead end.
With one of those dread servants of Tartarus blocking her exit. "She's this way!" The hospital staff pointed a hoof at her while calling for reinforcement.
"Nope, nope, nope, not this way!" she exclaimed, quickly making a U-turn and retracing her path. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for an alternative route. She spotted a narrow stairway to her right and dove into it, narrowly avoiding the outstretched hoof of a determined staff member.
"Hey, come back here!" the staff member cried out in frustration as Rainbow Dash zoomed past him.
“Slowpoke!” She shouted back, shot him her signature smug wink before disappearing around another corner.
Rainbow Dash's heart pounded in her chest as she desperately searched for an exit. The hospital seemed like an endless maze of white walls and identical corridors.
The occasional annoying sound of machines beeping constantly only added to her sense of confusion and urgency.
"Who designed this place?! A maze builder?!" she shouted out in frustration, unintentionally announcing her location to her pursuers, medical practitioners from all over the building swarming at breakneck speed! "She is this way! Security!"
"Buck buck buck!" Sometimes, Rainbow Dash questioned her decisions in her life, which one is the wrong one, and what did she do to make everything go so wrong.
Lines upon lines of ponies who should become royal guards stood defiantly like a welled-trained army, their posture would make even the hard-boiled veterans fluttered and ashamed of themselves.
Each one of those ponies wore various hospital uniforms, the greatest sharpshooter Ponyville General had to offer, all pointed their respective weapon at her. Each iron sight of their military-grade net gun has Rainbow Dash as the target.
They stood in lines, waiting for an order from the commander, a battle-harden centurion in doctor's clothes.
Those are new, and why did they even have something like that! Rainbow Dash thought to herself, as she scanned around for the escape route, only to meet with the ringleader of this group.
Rainbow Dash flinched and nearly dropped her saddlebag as she momentarily locked her eyes with the piercing gaze of the leader of the hospital's unofficial markmare unit.
"Oh... It's you again." The doctor voiced out. The mare’s vocal cord is actually very squeaky and soft, a fitting vocal cord for someone in a position of accommodating jumpy and fearful patients with kindness.
But the cold, emotionless tone that reverberated through the air from her mouth told Rainbow Dash that she is facing the healer's other less-friendly side at the moment.
"Miss Dash. Please, go back to your room" The Doctor said slowly, making sure the hyperactive mare understood the meaning. Although to the rainbow mane pegasus's ears, she recognized that tone, the same exact one that her flight instructor used.
It was not a polite request, but an absolute order that demanded no compromises.
The experience from her latest misshaped taught Rainbow Dash that no matter what her own biases were, and even if she didn't like their guts, she must always give those ponies a chance first.
And so she does.
With her heart filled with hope and dream, and wishing to avoid this confusingly hellish and very unfair confrontation, waving a hoof at the mare. "H-hi doc, can you let me go..?" The rainbow mane pegasus squeaked out, fear evidenced in her voice.
The doctor might willing to give any other patient goodwill, the benefit of the doubt, consideration and if needed be a compromise.
But this is Rainbow Danger Dash, the egotistical mare that used 'Danger' as her middle name. The mare whose last time, ran away from ER with a still not fully healed, broken foreleg.
In her humble opinion, Rainbow Dash’s stubbornness is only second to the mares and stallions of the Apple family themselves.
Not willing to let the rainbow mane pegasus lead her astray, The doctor puffed up her chest, breath in, and shouted out the command. "Ready! Aim! Fire!" The Judgement was ordered and Rainbow Dash's fate is sealed.
Volley upon volley of artillery fired upon the Rainbow Rainbow dash, as the pegasus herself felt shaken to her core in awe and fear.
The scene that looked like it was from the fall Pegasopolis, is enacted before her, but with her playing the very role of the falling Pegasopolis, all by her lonesome self.
She was forcefully brought back to her sense as she felt the wind from one of the projectiles that flew past her.
Why me! Why! Why! She thought to herself, trying to not let anything touch her, telekinesis field, hooves, projectiles, and anything else that want to take her freedom away.
With each passing moment, the details around her blurred as she pushed herself to her limits. But Rainbow Dash refused to give up. She had somewhere important to be, someone she needed to apologize to. No amount of armies of hospital goons would stand in her way.
Her eyes gaze around as she dodges projectiles, there must be a weakest in the formation—something that she can take advantage of...
There! Rainbow Dash thought to herself. In the hallway where the hospital staffs came in—they still keep rushing in and were not yet in battle stance.
“Where are you going!?” As she flew toward a crossway, making a mad dash, and turned at the corner, Rainbow Dash's eyes widened with hope. There, at the end of the hallway, she spotted a glimmer of light. It was the exit! A surge of exhilaration filled her as she redoubled her efforts, her wings propelling her forward with renewed determination.
"Yes, I'm almost there!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her voice filled with a mix of relief and excitement. The exit drew closer with each passing second, and she could practically taste the freedom that awaited her.
With one final burst of speed, Rainbow Dash burst through the doors and into the open air and move upward above the cloud, shaking off any pegasi pursuer and moving away from the Ponyville general's sphere of influence.
The warm rays of the ever-shining sun bathed her in a golden glow as she touched down on solid ground. The cool breeze rustled her mane, giving her a moment of respite.
She took a moment to catch her breath, a mixture of relief and excitement filling her lungs, a wide grin spreading across her face.
"I made it! Yes yes yes!" she exclaimed triumphantly, feeling a tidal of accomplishment wash over her. She paused for a moment, reflecting on the wild chase she had just endured. "Well, that was one way to discharge," she chuckled to herself, realizing that her determination had led her on quite the adrenaline rush.
And so, with her sights set on her goal, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and took to the sky, soaring above the rooftops of Ponyville.
Only then she started to remember these two important facts, the first one is the crucial piece of information she forgot to asked when she had a chance.
"Where does she live?" Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. She then gazed down at the saddlebag “Books… the library?” She shrugged, leaving task of locating the next destination to her future self if this turned out wrong.
As she glided through the Town, and feel a wisp of cool wind fluttering passed her wings "Yes, nothing beat open sky...." she hummed and trailed off.
Only then she noticed something wrong with her body. she felt like it was covered in something sticky, but the answer is stuck at the tip of her tongue. "Did I forget somethin-"
"Ahhhh! Zombie!" Somepony scream her lungs out while pointing at the rainbow mane pegasus.
Ah, Rainbow Dash remembered now. She is still covered in Nightmare Moon's dried blood.
In the deep of the Everfree Forest, an injured alicorn wandered around the ruin of a great castle. One of her hind legs was broken. The pain pulsed through her body with every step, and so do her broken, tattered wings that hung from her barrel and swayed and felt like they are going to fall out of her body.
But despite her injuries, she pressed on, determined to reach her goal.
The forest seemed to whisper with an eerie silence as she surveyed her surroundings, broken only by the faint echoing sound of Nightmare Moon's magic. Her horn flickered and lit up sporadically as she cast her searching spell, attempt after attempt of spells to find what she sought.
*Whirrs*Whirrs*Whirrs
Each burst of magic served as a marker, guiding her through the dense foliage. an upside-down smile etched across her features. "Two right... " She voiced out as she corrected her course.
*Whirrs*Whirrs*Whirrs
"Two middle... " Receiving another direction, Nightmare Moon pressed onward and continued her arduous journey. She knew she is getting closer, and that somewhere within this tangled maze of trees, her goal awaited her.
In her humble opinion, in both the efficiency and accuracy department, It might be the world's shittiest tracking spell.
Nightmare Moon had lazily repurposed its original function with minimal modification, as she didn't include any other kind of proper specialized circuitry needed for this specific application when she designed the system.
Unlike normal, elegant, and simple spells made by any sane, normal ponies, that all utilized the very nature of the magic itself, the ambient magic field, as the medium of transportation.
Her spell is different, overly complicatedly different, as none of its wireless functionality relied on magic at all!
Yes! Her spell used the more roundabout yet superior method, that has been used by humanity for hundreds of years. A medium of high-speed information exchange, the indispensable spectrum of electromagnetic frequency that human civilization of the information age had come to rely on!
Radio Wave.
From ordering a still not-sapient robot to clean a room to sending an order for a deadly drone strike from half a planet away, radio wave got you covered.
And now, radio wave was the transmission medium that she choose for her 2-parts teleportation spell, the horn-casted spell and the location marker, to communicate with each other.
"I frickin' hate this place," Nightmare Moon grumbled to herself, her frustration evident in her voice. "It's like being trapped in the Bermuda Triangle, only with less water." She muttered quietly, and cautiously maneuvered through the forest, making sure to avoid obstacles and potential dangers.
She then gritted her teeth in anger and frustration, as she thought back about her time on the moon, dragging her ass to finish this hellish of a project, test after test on the barren and desolate surface of space rock, trying to design a reliable radio system from the ground up without any reference materials.
Again and again, every new prototype must be tested by building a real test unit— complex circuitry pathways painstakingly chiseled into a moon rock without any tools, each failure only served to slowly drive her to insanity.
At that time, she had hoped her suffering would be paid off in the form of a spell that was able to avoid most of the magic-based jamming, including the wild and untamed magic of the Everfree Forest.
However, she failed to account for the fact that the forest's unruly magic was capable of messing with the radio signal too, causing it to sometimes return wrong results, showing information from different directions, and hindering her every step. It twisted the radio wave's direction, leading her astray by reflecting off signals.
The spell's relatively high amount of magic consumption didn't help either.
"Who thought this was a good idea?" Nightmare Moon grumbled, her frustration evident as she pressed on through the dense undergrowth, trying to avoid any further injuries.
It was akin to trying to find a buried treasure using just a simple metal detector that can only beep, or locate radioactive isotope with a beeping sound from a Geiger meter alone, this is a difficult and imprecise endeavor even for a small area like a backyard garden.
Now imagine, extending the search area to a whole acre of a forest.
This abysmal level of accuracy means she has to spam out this spell out again and again, multiple times in a row, like a trigger-happy psycho overdose on a drug.
"Oh, yeah, it's my furry ass who thought it's good enough" Nightmare complained, her voice tinged with a little self-deprecation. as she came to a realization that, trying to locate anything solely based on a single, one-dimensional data that only say "This is how close you are." and nothing else, is a flawed and impractical method.
Normally, such a task like this would be effortless for her, as this is nothing for the magic pool of this body, but currently, her alicorn body is repairing itself rapidly, draining her magic faster than Forex ever did to her savings, leaving her with a limited amount of magic to work with.
Using these spells was truly horrible for her current condition.
*Whirrs*Whirrs*Whirrs
The spell would occasionally receive a return ping in one direction, only for the subsequent ping to shift 180 degrees in the opposite direction moments later. The forest seemed to revel in thwarting her every effort, slowly dwindling her sanity with occasional animal noise.
"Left... Right... " That's why she needed to use it in at least three bursts each, a rather inefficient method at best, as it wasted her limited magic reserved that was currently still currently fueling her body's healing, draining it down even further.
"And, backward...? fuck you, trees." It work most of the time, and sometimes she still received false positives.
Nightmare Moon couldn't help but want to find a hole somewhere and commit seppuku.
But it's definitely taken her somewhere, and that's all that truly matters. Tangent line until the destination is reached was her gaming motto, beating will continue until the morale is improved is the way.
If it worked in the magical land of Skyrim, then it should work in Equestria too.
"At least this is a forest, and not a desert, if worst comes to worse I can dig a rat hole or something.” She muttered to herself, a little mixture of relief and morbid amusement overcame her as she realized that she could be somewhere worst, like the Badland.
Nightmare Moon mused, she contemplated the idea of camping in the Castle of Everfree, as the forest air was refreshingly cool, neither too hot nor too cold, with a good amount of moisture too.
Filtering out the most animals' sounds with magic, the gentle rustling of leaves, and the melodic chirping created a symphony of nature, letting her have a great sleep experience the last time she slept here with a warm, living purple side pillow… that’s locking herself in her room currently.
"Nope, don't think about it, She’s in good hands now." The alicorn shook her head lightly, as she stepped on a specially sharp rock that would be able to puncture her frog clean, had she not worn hoof guards.
*Whirrs*Whirrs*Whirrs
“No worries about, dehydration, heat stroke, and sand.... that goes everywhere." Nightmare Moon chuckled to herself, trying to maintain a semblance of humor in the face of such a situation.
"I hate sand.... and sand had those Dune worms. Fuck that sex toy-looking thing." She shook her head, amused by her own train of thought.
“Of course, a toy with that shape would be really painful, but it's a man's job to do it.” Nightmare muttered to herself, then a frame of imagination lit up in her head, as an idea came to her head as her voice slowly got louder. "Even if every hole in the universe are our enemy!"
A very idiotic and wasteful, but an awesome idea popped into her mind.
“Step by step, little by little, the drill will widen that hole in the universe! And that hole will be a path for those behind us!” The night alicorn’s horn began to light up, pulsating with an aura of magic, imposing her will on the surrounding magic for her larping session.
Her horn glow in brilliant dark light, and the shapeless magic twisted into the solid shape of a spiral. “The dreams of poor souls who have fallen... The hopes of those who wish of first humped! Weave together into twisted sausages, drilling a path towards tomorrow!” She lunged forward, firing off her spinning magic directly at a poor, innocent tree, making a giant, and burning a hole in it.
Despite the absurdity of her joke, she found some comfort in laughing at her own wit. "My drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" shouted out, twisting an innocent line of dialogue made by the little brother of the manliness man of all men, the greatest virgin who ever existed, to suit her own vision. and laughing at her stupid reference.
And the stationary eukaryote lifeform was no more, as it was sacrificed to the whimsical of the night goddess of horse people, forgotten in the sea of eternity like the rest of its kin.
"He who never gets laid until his very last breath, like a true chad of a wizard he was." The alicorn speaks out loud, putting her joke to the test of real tongue, to see if it's still as amusing as when it was in her brain.
Nightmare Moon knows that she should not waste her energy likely this, but she cannot help it. The temptation was too strong to resist.
The silver lining was that the offensive spell she had just used consumed as much magic power as two pings of her tracking spell, a grin spread across her face as she let out a mischievous chuckle at her own humor.
Nightmare Moon's posture relaxed a little bit, feeling the weight of her situation momentarily lift. It was important to her to find joy in the little things in life. Who knows when or if she will get to have another chance like this next time?
Not content with just one, she conjured another spell, summoning a blade made of pure magic energy, another illusion spell lay over it, masking her signature dark magic aura to the brilliant golden color.
Gripping it firmly with a hoof, her voice filled with determination. "Excalibur!" the night alicorn declared, she swung it sideway with finesse, slicing through the air with a satisfying whoosh. The energy blade cleaved through a few poor trees in its path effortlessly, leaving behind a glowing holy-looking arc in its wake.
Nightmare Moon then fired off another spell, with 5 times the energy of a ping of her tracking spell, her horn glowing with a brilliant dark light. "Unibeam!" she exclaimed, her horn emanating as a burst concentrated beam of magical energy shot forth, and blasted towards in front of her.
Colliding with a nearby target. The energy beam carved out a line in the forest, leaving behind a trail of sparking residue energy and burning tree trunks.
As the echoes of her magical display subsided, the alicorn took a moment to catch her breath. A content smile graced her face as she surveyed the playful chaos she had created.
"Being a horned horse is the best." Nightmare Moon gushed out happily as she pranced around, as much as her broken leg would let her she felt a surge of exhilaration and contentment. This was her destiny, this is what she mean to live for.
But that's another mistake she will be making today.
In her unfocused state, she didn't notice a root that suddenly protruded from the ground, not dodging it, causing her to trip and tumble. Her muzzle let out a surprised yelp before it met the dirt floor.
Nightmare Moon found herself sprawled on the ground with her muzzle plucked under the top substrate. She can feel a mix of annoyance and frustration threatening to bubble up inside her.
The alicorn quickly regained her composure, shaking off any lingering discomfort as she spat out a decaying dead leaf.
"Just my luck," Nightmare Moon complained, rubbing her sore muzzle, the lingering taste of dead matter still on her tongue.
Despite the setbacks and the pain throbbing through her body, Nightmare Moon pressed on. Her determination and resilience refused to waver, as she continue her search in this overgrown green hell of a forest
In the confinement of the Golden Oak Library, two mares stare at each other in uncomfortable silence, begging their counterpart to make a first move, to end this awkward silence — to just do anything.
Finally, the newcomer alicorn closes the entrance door, sealing the escape route from the unicorn's bedroom.
"Do you... want to do a Ladybug dance, Twilight?" The Alicorn of love, Princess Cadance asked, as she slowly moved toward the unicorn.
The lavender unicorn looked up from her bed, her tear-filled eyes met Cadance's, and her body trembling in fear, but not for herself. "P-please don't come closer," Twilight pleaded, her voice quivering. "I don't want to hurt you too, Cadance." She dug deeper into her mattress.
The alicorn of love smiled sadly, continuing to walk closer to the haggled unicorn. Her heart ached at the sight of Twilight's distress.
She reached out a hoof, slowly reaching out to Twilight's trembling shoulder. "No, you'll not, Twilight. I trust you," Cadance assured her, her gentle voice filled with love and understanding.
Twilight instinctively lit up her horn, the purple glow of magic surrounded her horn as she intended to cast a barrier spell to shield herself from her former foalsister.
Cadance saw Twilight's magic flare up, and her instinctive response kicked in. The alicorn of love her eyes shut tightly as her muscles locked up, bracing for impact. Her whole body involuntarily flinched at the sight of Twilight's horn glowing with power. She couldn't stop her body from reacting to ingrained physical trauma.
Seeing her former foalsister's reaction to her magic, Twilight stopped her spellwork midway, her horn dimmed down and scrambled away to the far corner of her room. "S-sorry, I'm sorry, sorry..." Her tears welled up again as she curled up into herself, overwhelmed with guilt and fear.
Cadance cursed herself internally for the fact that she cannot stop herself from reacting fast enough which made Twilight even more stressed out.
It truly broke Cadance's heart to see Twilight in such pain like this.
She knew that the situation had partly resulted from her own shortcomings and mistakes.
She had been selfish, not wanting to end up alone like her auntie Celestia, which had clouded her judgment and made her go along with that plan, hurting those she cared about in the process.
"What happened back then was not your fault," Cadance said gently, slowly creeping toward Twilight. "Twilight, come," she urged, taking light steps to avoid spooking the fragile unicorn further.
Twilight pressed herself against the wall. "P-please go away," she squawked out her reply between sobs. "I don't want to hurt you again..."
As the alicorn of love came to a stop in front of Twilight, she folded her legs and sat down, bringing herself to the same eye level as the lavender unicorn's own. With a tender gesture, she craned her neck and nuzzled the trembling mare.
Twilight flinched a little bit, her body tense, but then she nuzzled back, feeling the warmth and comfort that her former foalsister offered.
A comfortable silence enveloped the room as the two mares embraced each other's presence. their barrels joined together side by side, feeling the warmness of bodily heat. They found solace and peace in the moment,
Cadance draped her wing over Twilight's barrel, and then slowly stoke on the lavender unicorn's back in a soft, smooth motion, providing a soothing touch and a sense of protection and security to the lavender mare.
As Cadance continue petting Twilight's back with her wing, memories of their shared past flooded her mind, memories of a much simpler time, and the alicorn couldn't help but smile.
"Do you remember that time when you tried to cast a spell to make all the books in the library organize themselves, but instead, they started flying around like a mini tornado?" Cadance said, a playful smirk on her face, hoping to wipe away sadness from Twilight's face. " A good time indeed."
"W-wa! You still remember that!?" Twilight protested, her face turned red from embarrassment as Cadance playfully brought up her foalhood antics, but a faint smile crept onto her lips.
Cadance giggled, happy to see Twilight smiling once again. "It's good to see you smiling now," she said before affectionately ruffling Twilight's mane with a hoof, cherishing the moment of levity amidst their emotional turmoil
Twilight pouted in response, but she lent her head closer to Cadence's extended hoof, a hint of a smile still lingering on her muzzle.
Cadance had never expected herself to lead a day court, let alone rule over Equestria without her auntie foalsitting her. Nor did she expect that Twilight's training was also supposed to prepare her against the legendary Mare of the Moon too...
She definitely needed to have words with auntie Celestia when she had a chance, but now is not the time for that.
Cadance take a closer look at Twilight's tired face, noticing not only traces of tears on her fur, but her eyes also had dark circles on them."Hmm" Cadance mused out, and Twilight flicked her ears toward her direction, wandering what was on her soon-to-be sister-in-law's mind.
An idea came to the alicorn's mind, as she started humming out a lullaby, a familiar lyric from time long past, her melodic soothing voice filling the room. The melody eased Twilight's troubled mind, gradually lulling the unicorn's stress-filled mind into a peaceful slumber.
A comfortable silence enveloped them once more as Twilight slowly drifted off to the world of dreams, feeling safe in Cadance's presence.
As Twilight drifted off to sleep, Cadance held her tight, caressing her gently. "You will always be my little ladybug, no matter what," Cadance whispered with a tender smile and nuzzled into the Twilight's neck, and immediately rewarded with a happy noise of the sleeping unicorn.
At that moment, as the two mares embraced, only a single thought echoed in Cadance's mind. "I want a moment like this to last forever," she thought, squeezing Twilight tighter, cherishing the precious connection they shared.
And after everything else they made Twilight go though, she would make sure that statement will come to fruition.
Pain Pain Pain!
The collective consciousness seethed with pain and anger, their equivalent of minds pulsating with an intricate web of magical energy moved and interacted with each other, working as a stream of thoughts and consciousness. The collective anger seethed, each entity echoing the sentiments of the others.
The intense rage burned within them, demanding retribution for the audacity of an intruder who had dared to burn down their beloved trees scattered across the forest—their wombs. It was an act that would not go unpunished.
Who dares to lay their filthy paws on their body?! It questioned with anger and hate, the feeling of the assault with magecraft fresh and vivid in their shared consciousness.
Oh, a pony—the foolish species that dared to enslave them and paid the dear price for that. The Collective recalled the times when they were hunted and captured, used as slaves—nay, mere tools of destruction against their will.
But now, they had a chance for revenge, even if it was just a single pony, and they would seize it with all their might.
The collective's wrath grew even stronger as they focused on the specific memories of the pony's species from time long past, they are the ones who had caused them such suffering.
They still remembered the tales from the ancient past, recounting the cruel deeds of ponies who sought to exploit and control the magical forest, the equines who dared to build the city of stone and iron, haughty claimed this sanctuary as their home. Fall into a sea of blood they are.
Even now, these foul creatures were the ones who still kept them confined to this forest, preventing them from venturing beyond its borders. The pests trampled and ruthlessly destroyed their precious mobile limbs—The ones they dared to nickname Timberwolves, that wandered outside of the forest again and again, unrelentingly, treating them like insignificant weeds to be discarded and eradicated.
Isn't confining them to this forest enough already? Why came here? The collective pondered, their thoughts intertwining with each other in a complex web of emotions. And what's wrong with consuming weak prey? Isn't that what being alive is?
They long ago questioned their existence and purpose in this world. Why they were subjected to such constant suffering and come to the conclusion that to consume or be consumed is the natural state of reality—the neverending game of life.
Initially, the collective had been incensed by the audacity of this lone pony who had dared to invade their territory and trampled upon their wooden wombs—the treasured sacred trees of the great forest, and the pony's actions is a vindictive and personal attack on their very home.
But then, their mood took an unexpected turn as they closely observed the offender, the pony who had invaded their territory. The body of the pony was broken and battered, yet it shone like a lighthouse on the blackest of nights.
The equine was filled with such a ridiculous amount of magic, a dazzling aura of power more than even the most magical inhabitant of the forest could fathom.
This pony possessed both wings and a horn—a rare and coveted trait among their kind. It was an alicorn, the alpha of its herd.
The sight of such a creature in the weakened state was like an irresistible invitation to a free-for-all buffet, a succulent feast that demanded to be feasted upon.
The collective hunger for revenge mixed with their desire to consume the magical essence that emanated from the crippled alicorn.
With their decision made, the collective made their move, orchestrating an assault on their inferior prey, mobilizing Timberwolves from every corner of the forest to prey upon their new victim.
They worked in perfect harmony, their actions synchronized as if they were a single being, an eldritch force of nature unleashed upon the unsuspecting alicorn.
The warm sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a golden glow on the wooden interiors. Laughter and chatter filled the air as more and more ponies started to gather here, to unwind after a day of work.
Furlog is currently enjoying this cozy atmosphere as slowly gulped down his one of favorite beverages.
As he observed the lively ponies that surrounded him, his ears slightly moved left and right. The chatter of ponies discussing various topics and the clinking of glasses filled the air as the agent of S.M.I.L.E. found himself trying to decipher any potential knowledge that was freely given by talkative drunkards in this dimly lit establishment.
"Ah, such is my life," he muttered to himself, swirling the cider in his cup, the liquid forming a mesmerizing whirlpool.
Furlog sat in the bar, a cup of apple cider in his hoof grip, slowly sipping his fifth serving of the sweet apple nectar as he delved deep into his thoughts.
He looked at the fleeing figure of his private informant, who was currently being surrounded by mares and stallions, and couldn't help but reminisce about their first encounter. "What a disappointment that one was.” Furlog sighed, his eyes following the guard as he vanished into the bustling crowd. He couldn't help but think about what could have been if he hadn't thrown his life away like that.
Truly, that one had delivered on all his assignments, but what he did with his private life left something more to be desired. He was one of Furlog's "pet projects," somepony he saw the potential for him to become something great and had invested some of his personal time into grooming the youngling behind the back of the agency.
"But who can fault him? With a history like that," Furlog mumbled softly, gulping up the rest of his apple cider, he savored the bittersweet taste lingering on his tongue.
Furlog then directed his attention back to the document that the guard had collected for him, unfolding the parchment and scanning the contents with a keen eye. The information within could lead to a significant understanding of their current situation.
It was a collection of reports in many shapes and forms, from official documents to short notes by the royal guard himself, detailing various incidents. Furlog couldn't help but depressingly noticed the meticulousness with which the guard had procured this information, a testament to what he could have been.
As he sipped his apple cider, Furlog opened the folder marked 'Ponyville General,' which contained Princess Celestia's medical record from that incident, and examined it closely. As he combed through the medical document, he noticed many details that intrigued him.
The injuries inflicted upon Celestia were quick and severe for any normal ponies, a single impact of a projectile on the side, yet the location of her strikes allowed the sun princess to function relatively normally, even if she was forced to deal with humiliation afterward.
Which she decided to avoid such a cruel fate by running away. "I know I would too." He mused to himself and shuddered at his memories of times in missions when interacting with Canterlot nobility was unavoidable.
The damage she dealt to Celestia was precise, too precise, almost as if she intended to just only disable the princess, without causing her to be unfit from ruling.
A non-lethal specially accounted for a target with an alicorn's healing facter.
He knows firsthoof experience that Princess Celestia can recover from far worst injuries, and Nightmare Moon should've known it too.
"Something didn't add up here." Furlog frowned and muttered to himself. He couldn't help but wonder if there was more to this than met the eye. The more he thought, the more It seemed that Nightmare Moon's attack on Celestia was more calculated than it appeared at first glance.
A stallion of rationality such as him doesn't believe in such fickle things like luck and fate, everything must have reason to be the way they are.
A little bit to the left and Princess Celestia would be flightless, a little lower and she would need a wheelchair, and merely a few degrees from completely totally sensory deprived the alicorn of the sun. Furlog's guts rining in alarm and told him that something deeper was at play.
His eyes narrowed as he opened up a bundle of notes, containing information about the event that transpired on the longest day when that alicorn arrived in Equestria and attacked Celestia. Nightmare Moon, The legendary Mare of the Moon - a name that sent shivers down the spines of many foals and adults alike.
The document mentioned that Nightmare Moon had declared the renouncement of her citizenship and wanted nothing to do with Equestria, but shortly afterward, she was bounded here simply because she was threatened with the fate of Equestria further puzzled Furlog.
"The evil spirit that ate foals, huh." The stallion muttered. With how much this nation had hurt her, Furlog can't help but empathize with the mare if she want to just burn it to the ground, especially now when he know she was not the typical monster he usually worked on, but just a pony.
The fact that she tried to mitigate the incident yesterday, a move that was detrimental to her position, was proof of that.
Wouldn't it be more beneficial to make Twilight Sparkle completely emotional dependence on her? She could have one of the most knowledgeable and powerful unicorn in Equestria for a few days, in an emotionally fragile state all by herself. A mare with a direct connection to the crown, only if she did nothing. Why would she squander that chance?
Not only that, the fact that she also gave up that artifact, one of the most powerful magic tool ever created, to the protege of the sun Princess, like it was nothing.
The legendary Elements of Harmony. if its fables that sang of its tales were held true, it was an artifact that capable of defeating the force of all Tartarus inhabitants combined together, in just a single activation.
Such a terrifying power, and Nightmare Moon just thrown it away like that?
There was more to this story, and he intended to uncover the truth.
In fact, was she really 'stuck' here? What would she do if no one stop her? Where would she even go? Nightmare Moon is a mare who was lost in the future thousand years.
Everything's changed and she was struck out of her time without any place to go. Everypony she she knew was already dead. Would she just leave, or...
"She might plan to lay low in Equestria, protecting it from the shadow, because even after all this, she still cared about this nation...?" Furlog mused aloud, half-questioning and half-pondering.
The light of Day is blinding and only so many evils can be defeated. The alicorn of the night know well that the blade of shadow was needed.
It would be explained away why she was found in the old ruined castle of the everfree forest.
carrying back not only books hoofpicked by the lavender unicorn, but a few she picked up for herself too. Collecting that artifact was just her afterthought.
However, he quickly dismissed his own optimistic conclusion, knowing that he couldn't afford to jump to the conclusion he wished to be true without any solid evidence. "Haah... A stallion can dream." He muttered tiredly. A relatable alicorn princess was a tempting prospect but that was just his wishful thinking. He needed more information to evaluate her properly.
"For once, I will trust you. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, 'Your Highness'. " Furlog muttered to himself, raising his cider-filled cup in a silent toast to the enigmatic alicorn of night. "Glory to the new princess, I guess." He smiled, as he traced the shimmering of the alcoholic beverage in his cup.
Nightmare Moon's armored hooves made soft thuds against the ground as she navigated through the dense foliage, and continued her search through the dept of Everfree forest.
The ancient trees loomed over her, casting shadows that seemed to dance with a life of their own, as the deepest of magical blue light illuminated them.
*Whirrs*Whirrs*Whirrs
As she ventured deeper into the heart of Everfree, the alicorn of the night couldn't help but snort at the ridiculous fear ponies had about this forest. "The scary forest that weather moved by its own, they said." Nightmare Moon chuckled, she found such a notion amusing.
Even in this magical land of quadruples, more than a few ponies from a thousand years ago would have considered this a normal thing, as it was no different from the rural areas of ancient Equestria back before the days of the weather factory.
In those times, long before heavy machinery like the weather machine existed, and without any central authority to control weather schedule, total climate control was hard, as they needed dozens of pegasi battalions to keep on standby 24/7 for the weather duty and nothing else, eating away paychecks after paychecks, just for possibility of dealing with especially atrocious weather.
Those happened a lot, actually. Mostly from the weather team of the neighboring town being too cheapskate to deal with their airspace properly and pushing the problem to someone else. She and Sunbutt had to take care of the fallout far too many times...
"It's Luna, not me." Nightmare Moon muttered to herself, her still-repairing wings ruffled with a little pain as she took a breather. "That gal wasn't me." She continued her trek, firing off another set of tracking spells.
*Whirrs*Whirrs*Whirrs
The point is, that this kind of weather control was the only luxury that a wealthy city could afford.
Even with just the second-handed experience from Luna's fading memories, the alicorn of the night could almost imagine how the laughter of those ancient medieval horse people would react to modern ponies' quirk.
The forest that moved by itself. Spooky~
They would have found such tales spewing from the mouths of their descendants preposterous, amusing at how their waste of good sperm cells could be so fearful of their own natural world.
"And back on Earth, Everfree would be just another dense forest, only with giant chickens that turned people into stone." Nightmare Moon mused. "Magical chickens, but still just a bunch of chickens."
The idea of people hunting down cockatrice into extinction, she was sure its ability to turn people and animals into stone would be in high demand in many industries. Of course, hunting wild cockatrice would be cheaper at first. Just like whales, she can imagine the obligated protective species status!
But as they figured out how to keep workers from turning into stone, cockatrice farming will eventually became matured and cheaper.
Being just a species of giant chickens, International chained fast-food restaurants will see the opportunity and lay their grubby hand on this new victim, breed cockatrices for meat, and fatten the bird up until its legs collapse under its own weight just to increase their profit margins even more, and will still dare complain about not enough yield rate.
The demand for infinite growth will turn the scarcely magical giant chicken into a protected near-extinct species. The alicorn smiled as her random train of thought seemed amusing to her.
"Capitalism truly solved everything, hah!" Nightmare Moon laughed at her musing. "As exotic-looking as they were, I'm sure mom would liked to try it. She is always adventurous with her diets."
Nightmare Moon then paused her step for a moment as her thoughts caught up to her words, reminiscing about her time back home on Earth. The memories of her human family flooded her mind.
Would they still accept her in this new body, in this new gender? Would they understand that their son had become an alien magic pony princess? The thought of being rejected and called a monster horse by her own family weighed heavily on her heart.
Nightmare Moon pondered the possibility of how could they react to her current form. "Well, perhaps a monster isn't far from the truth," she chuckled softly, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
After all, she is now the fearsome Mare of the Moon, the immortal and gothic-winged unicorn of the night that can control the moon and be sealed for a thousand years for her sins. The Lovecraftian entity who capable of breaking the sanctuary of mind at will.
This was undoubtedly a character profile that fits the description of an eldritch monster in many horror stories – quite an overpowered one at that.
She even has sharp fangs and slitted eyes to go along with it.
Without abilities to distract herself, Nightmare Moon was left with her own mind, and would have no choice, but to do another round of self-introspection, if not for a new stimulation that is.
Suddenly, the alicorn’s train of thought was interrupted as she felt a jolt of impact on her barrel. Immediately, Nightmare Moon's arcane armor sprang to life, forming solid constructs fueled by her magic, to protect her from the sharp jaws of a Timberwolf that had attacked her.
The wooden creature snarled angrily, but Nightmare Moon was prepared. She summoned her magical prowess and sent a powerful blast of energy toward the creature, obliterating it in an instant.
But the alicorn soon realized it was not an isolated attack. More Timberwolves appeared, their glowing green eyes fixated on her. Nightmare Moon gritted her teeth, readying herself for the battle that lay ahead.
"Howl!" one of the Timberwolves let out a chilling cry, signaling to its pack for the offensive.
Nightmare Moon heard the sound of approaching footsteps "A pack of Timberwolves... huh." she muttered question, not expecting such a large number of them.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she prepared herself to face the approaching threat. Energy rippled around her horn as it charged up for an offensive spell.
Without hesitation, Nightmare Moon unleashed a powerful barrack of magic missiles, each one with pinpoint accuracy, obliterating the Timberwolves in a blaze of arcane energy.
"A horny horse is the best horse, not that horny, brain." The alicorn smiled wryly at her own pun, her horn still glowing with power, as she acknowledged the advantages of her new body. Despite the heavy baggage that it came with, it did have its perks in many things.
And one of them is combat.
As Nightmare Moon prepared to call it off for the day, to go back and rest in the safety of the ancient wall of the ruined castle, she soon realized that retreating was not an option, as her ears swirled around, catching the noise of many footsteps approaching.
Surveying her surroundings, Nightmare Moon noticed countless glowing pairs of green eyes already surrounding her, peering at her from the shadow of trees. She knows that there were far more of them lurking in the shadows.
A feeling of dread filled her mind as she swirled her ears around, catching the sound of more and more footsteps. The uneasy feeling mad a twist in her gut kept building up and she couldn't shake the thoughts that she was already in deep trouble.
Seeing the overwhelming number of Timberwolves, Nightmare Moon decided to cast a detection spell to assess the extent of the threat.
*Ping.
Fifty Timberwolves.
*Ping.
Two hundred Timberwolves.
*Ping.
Five hundred Timberwolves.
The result that came back shocked her. "Holy shit," The night alicorn instinctively tuck her flowing tail in as she exclaimed under her breath, taken aback by the sheer quantity of her foes.
One of her hindlegs is still not fully healed, her wings are mangled and broken, and her magic reserve is limited, reducing the choice of spells and tactics she could use. She cannot run, nor can she go all trigger-happy and let's lose her spells thoughtlessly.
With a resolute expression, Nightmare Moon suppressed her inner Shinji Ikari and switched her arcane armor's power source to the internal emergency power gemstones, the alicorn knew she needed to conserve whatever was left of her magic reserves, especially in her currently drained state.
The alicorn of the night lets out a sigh "This is going to be a long fight," She said to herself, mentally preparing for the intense battle that lay ahead.
Interlude - Nightmare Night Special: (Not) A Cosmic Horror
This story was repurposed to be a test run for a potential new release scheduled and chapter length. 3 weeks of hiatus and big word counts are the parameters of this experiment. No commitment to anything yet, just an experiment. Give me your opinion here.
-author
“Power, go! Guidance support, go! And Network… go!" NIghtmare Moon finished her prelaunch checks. Now looking at her sole companion in the lunar prison. Her pet rock.
"Wished me luck... and goodbye for now." She muttered out her before turns her attention back at the unseal spell.
"All systems are go for launch." This night is going to be perfect, and the human-turned-alicorn knows it.
With a fanged smile, Nightmare Moon activated her spell. "Equestria, Here I come!"
Space... the final frontier and Nightmare Moon wondered why the former owner of this body liked it so much.
The beauty of space was undeniable, with galaxies and nebulae painting a breathtaking canvas around her, no different from her Ex. Beautiful but empty and will eventually get old after a while, and offered her no peace, solace, answers, or no escape.
In the end, Nightmare Moon becomes a broken man with a broken heart, and nothing left in her name. Directionless floated around without a goal.
The night alicorn truly despised it with every fiber of her being. She couldn't even scream out in frustration, not with the cold, silent vacuum of space enveloping her.
There was no air in the vast empty abyss, just the haunting silence of the cosmos.
As she floated aimlessly in the dark void, she couldn't help but try to lighten the mood by cracking a joke, albeit soundlessly due to the lack of air,
"Spacewalks are overrated. I much prefer moonwalks, even better if I can do the earthwalk, but without an audience, they're not as fun." Nightmare chuckled soundlessly as she tried to find a way to cope with her new reality.
And she thought the moon was already the rock bottom!
"Why is life so unfair?" Nightmare Moon muttered sadly, her voiceless words unheard, absorbed by the vacuum.
The anguish of the lone drifter was lost to the cosmic void. She drifted aimlessly, her indigo and ebony mane trailing behind her like a dark comet.
The stars around her glittered, congratulated her on her escape from the lunar prison, and cheered for their new little space–faring neighbor. Only to turn blind eyes as they witness to her new plight.
A moon goddess caught in a celestial trap is now who she was, and the irony of that statement wasn't lost on her.
The alicorn no longer felt the oppressive limitation imposed on her by the element of harmony. The seal was lifted, but so was her connection with Equestrian Moon.
Her plan relied on her going to that alien world. Many resources and knowledge she needed to acquire were now lost to her.
"Can I even go home...?" The first mare on the moon turned the first mare in space sadly muttered. "Is it even a possibility now?"
Nightmare Moon wants to cry, and yet she can't. Her blood dried and water in her body painfully boiled away long ago.
Her alicorn visage was as much of a magic spell as a meaty organic machine. Living in an empty void is as expected of the body of an equine goddess, but the same couldn't applied to her mental state.
More worldly pleasures of being alive were taken from her once more. She cannot eat on the moon, but now she can't even cry or scream out in frustration.
"Maybe I should just...give up. It wouldn't be hard to just... lay down and rest."
A tumultuous storm of sadness, regret, and anger. Filled her mind, and churned within her as she pondered this new unforgiving turn of events.
"She sure had done it before, and so could I. I-I just have to.... repeat what she did." The night alicorn looked at her scarred wrists and shuddered. Her ears flattened as she recalled the last moment of the being known as Luna, the princess who was forever lost from the realm of living.
Nightmare Moon slowly closed her eyes. Her lungs move up and down, suctioned in and out fruitlessly. The intended purpose was served nonetheless.
Don't give up. She has people waiting for her back home!
The alicorn of the night reopened her eyes with newfound determination. She will survive. She will thrive, and return to those she cared for.
As Nightmare Moon continued to drift through the cosmic sea, her magic-enhanced alicorn eyes glazed beyond what any mortal could fathom.
The night alicorn scrutinizes the sea of stars for any glimmer of hope. There had to be a way to break free from this infinite prison,
And something did indeed catch her eyes-an out of place a reflection of light in her vision.
With determination burning in her eyes, she ignited her horn, casting a brilliant indigo glow that pulsed with magical energy. Teleportation after teleportation she unrelentingly cast. Correcting her course as she went on.
Stop drifting away randomly you space debris!
The pain of headache consumed her mind as the alicorn took rest. Each time she took a rest, her body was still being propelled through the vacuum of space the leftover momentum, chasing the elusive light of hope.
Eventually, with a final burst of magical energy, she arrived at her destination. "Too many teleports..." Nightmare Moon panted out, before looking clearly at the object in front of her with mouth agape.
Definitely a new hope.
"Wow," Nightmare Moon muttered in awe and wonder, for what she found was nothing short of miraculous.
Before her, the remains of what appeared to be an artificial construct of steel. It's the bow of a mighty space battleship that engulfed her entire field of vision with its giant visage. The carcass of a once space-faring war machine floated in the emptiness of space. The entire rear side of the vessel had been torn away and missing, leaving exposed innards, and jagged metal. The ship had clearly seen better days.
"Was it a pirate ship?" Nightmare Moon questioned as she made a flyby near one of the side cannons, noting the exterior near the maintenance hatch was covered in sinister, evil-looking patterns and details. The chipped paint is understandable but rust?
The great abyss of space had no air or water. Those are two requirements for metal to start rusting and Nightmare Moon knows it.
The rust on the ship's hull indicated that the ship sometimes entered a livable atmosphere but it hadn't been well taken care of, a fitting fate for a ship owned by a group of lowlife space pirates.
"Yes.... definitely a pirate ship." The most unsettling aspect of it all was the abundance of metal sculptures and emblems in the shape of human skulls. "Some kind of jolly Roger?"
She hoped that the previous owner of this ship was long gone by now. She didn't want to meet the psychopath who had decorated their ship with skulls. Such barbaric gruesome taste.
The silver lining is it was a human ship. Nightmare Moon hopes that the tech inside won't be too alien for her naked ape mind to comprehend.
"Finder's the keeper. Wee!" The alicorn's mood lightened up and soundlessly hummed to herself as she floated into a crack in the haul.
Perhaps she would find something that could help her there in the darkness of space. Little did Nightmare Moon know, her journey was about to take a surprising turn into another kind of horror.
End of the horror theme story
From now on, this story turned into something I can churned out quickly, an easy and dirty comedy drama crossover in the pursuit of Halloween's deadlines and more word counts for the experiment. The original ending is outlined at the bottom of the story, right before the author's note. This is a good point to drop out and skip to the end if you only come for Halloween spooky and nothing else. A Horror story that could properly bring out the reader’s dread is too hard for me in such a limited time frame. I won't be able to finished originally planned 2k word counts even if I tried my hardest with that amount of writer's block. Sorry for failing you all.
-author
In the Twilight Zone where anything could become reality, the ever-shifting Dreamrealm, Nightmare Moon's frustration knew no bounds as she found herself facing a nightmarish reality, literally.
"Why does everything go so wrong?" she screamed out, manifestations of her inner turmoil, her voice echoing through the dreamscape. She was locked in a desperate battle with the dream parasite, something absolutely grotesque and reeking with the smell of death that would make any typical Equestrian dream monster look cute in comparison.
The worst kind of dream beast, the kind that killed its hosts.
"And I thought it was already rock bottom!" Nightmare Moon continues to dodge and parry, trusting her body's horn instinct as the guardian of the dream realm. She couldn't help but replay the memory of the last few hours on her mind...
<:>:<:>:<:>
Deep within the ship's eerie interior, Nightmare Moon's exploration took a horrifying turn. As she ventured further, she came across a gruesome sight that made her sick to her very core.
The walls of the ship were adorned with countless human skulls, their hollow eye sockets and grinning jaws staring back at her in a grotesque display of malevolence.
Thousands of these body-less skulls were scattered throughout the ship, creating a nightmarish mosaic of death. Some of them were connected to non-humanoid robotic bodies. Few had one eye socket gouged out and replaced by some kind of optical sensor.
All of them lifeless staring blankly back at her all the same, giving her a horrific imagination the cruel fate of the skull's owner.
Others were far worse as they inexplicably welded to the ship's machinery, with a network of wires and cables of cybernetics of some kind protruding from where the brain was and still coated in a stain of dried blood and tissues, creating an unholy fusion of flesh and metal.
The sight made Nightmare Moon sick to her stomach. She couldn't fathom the kind of monstrous individual who could commit such atrocities. It was a nightmare beyond anything she had ever imagined, no pun intended.
Nightmare Moon came to a realization as her turquoise pupils gazed at the same emblems for uncountable time. "It kind of looks like the logo S.H.I.L.D." The first thing that came into her mind was a certain fictional state-run terrorist government agency from a certain comic.
What she is looking at is a symbol of an organization. A drawing of a two-head eagle spreading its wings. Her geek side offered her answer first, but quickly supplemented by her neckbeard internet anon's side. "It also looks like an eagle from NAZI's banner, but no swastika…"
Of course, there are many differences between those two, but both of those organizations are renounced for having kindhearted and emphatic top brass. Holding onto the Universal Declaration of Human Rights like a gospel while doing ethical research on the human body.
Like hell it was!
"A pirate crew born from defected S.H.I.L.D. or space Nazi members and led by a mad scientist... yikes" Nightmare Moon shook her head, clearing away her vivid imagination of when this ghost ship was still operational, filled to the brim with psychopaths.
"No matter. I just have to blast any evil-looking henchmen on sight with a lethal shot." Either way, those two groups didn't have a good track record and that's all she needed to know. She left her question unanswered and continued her search.
Eventually, Nightmare Moon stumbled across the backup power system. With the ship coming back to life, something called out to her from within the ship.
Suppressing her shudder and ignoring bright red light coming from countless dead cyborg skulls, Nightmare Moon definitely didn't see rays of red lights shift as servos turned skeleton head to face her direction, watching her every step.
With a pleasant surprise, the one who called out wasn't some kind of man-machine abomination, but a pure metal-made machine with zero organic parts, a machine that reacted to her magic!
Dream magic to be specific.
After many tries and errors, this amalgamation of construction seemed to not only amplify her dream magic but also increase her sensitivity and make finding dreamers among the stars much easier.
This godsend of a machine was her savior, offering a glimmer of hope in the midst of her ordeal. With newfound power at her disposal, she felt emboldened to explore the dream realm further in search to find help.
Which brings her to the current predicament.
<:>:<:>:<:>
Nightmare Moon used the machine to enhance her dream magic. With newfound power, she sent her consciousness on a journey through the Dream realm, seeking assistance from anyone or anything that might help her escape this infinite void prison.
After what felt like an eternity of drifting through the ethereal landscape, she finally encountered a group of people suspended in the dream realm.
Among them was a dream mage, their aura pulsating with ethereal energy. Hope surged within Nightmare Moon as she realized she had found the help she sought.
Without hesitation, she reached out to the dream mage, attempting to establish a psychic connection. But as her presence touched theirs, things took a dark turn.
To her horror, the dream mage, along with the entire group, appeared to be infected by a dream parasite. A super dream parasite more powerful and malevolent force that was stronger than most creatures of the dream realm Luna had fought with. Not many could infest the conscious mind of a dream mage after all.
"Holy batman why me!?" Not just a dream mage, but thousands, millions, billions. Uncountable conscious minds of mages connected to it. fueling its power.
The parasite unleashed a barrage of pure energy, attempting to ensnare Nightmare Moon’s dream avatar with its raw power. The battle had only just begun, and Nightmare Moon found herself pitted against a formidable adversary.
In this surreal turn of events, the rescuee turned rescuer. Nightmare Moon's only hope was to overcome these new obstacles and somehow find a way to free the dream mage and their people from this tormenting creature.
"Discord but dream realm and less IQ." That is the way she described it.
It was a powerful adversary, but it lacked finesse. Guiding by unrefined instinct and non-existent intelligence, it attacks more brute force and lacks tactical precision or planning.
The dream creature undoubtedly had more raw power than her, and Nightmare Moon felt as if she an ant were pitted against a mighty titan, but this was a battle she could win and her body knew it.
The horned battle instinct of Equestria's dream guardian guides her. The realm of the night is where might not necessarily made right. A mere foal could take on an alicorn dream mage if they were talented and creative enough.
That's why even the self-proclaimed ' Lord of Chaos', Discord, loses against Luna in the dream realm. An opponent who had never faced someone above their own weight class is nothing against an experienced dream mage.
And Nightmare Moon has both experience and training.
The dream creature wielded dream magic with the grace of an incel confessing love to the girl he like, showing no subtlety or finesse, much Luna did in her younger years before she had been taught by unicorn mages of Unicornia. Its power was undeniable, but its arrogance left it vulnerable.
Incarceration on the moon with nothing to do, the dream realm becomes her sole refuge. Cutting off from the dream realm outside the celestial body, Nightmare Moon was forced to learn the dream magic in its entirety.
Creating a fully automated dream-construct combat NPC is far easier than an automated NPC that could talk. Combating happened often as Nightmare Moon was frustrated by her failure in many of her projects and wanted a release.
Nightmare Moon, drawing upon her knowledge and experience, decided to use the same techniques that those Unicornia mages had employed to subdue a more powerful Alicorn like the original owner of her body in the past.
"Gates of Babylon, fire! activate all group C noble phantasms!" She countered the dream creature's onslaught with convoluted unpredictable combo moves that were executed with the precision of magic manipulation of a court mage.
The one specially designed to counter modern Equestria's dream mages if the need arises.
One can never be too careful, after all.
"Full counter!" Nightmare Moon shouted gleefully, her voice echoing through the dream realm. She expertly turned her enemy's attack back against itself, using the dream monster's own attack to assault its owner. The dream parasite writhed in agony as the redirected attack tore through it, weakening its once formidable defense.
As the dream creature faltered, Nightmare Moon seized the opportunity, launching a powerful surge of her attack at its weak point-its core. The real ethereal body that somehow connected to a counterpart in the real world.
"I see... you are no dream parasite. You are a fucking dream mage!" Nightmare Moon sneered, thinking back to the ruler of a certain crystal nation of Equestria's frozen north.
"At least a dream parasite hunted for its survival... But you have no excuse! You murderous slaver piece of shit?!"
The edge lord dream mage who self-appointed himself as an emperor and enslaved his own people with his clever use of dream magic. "And I know just a way to deal with you." All power could corrupted, and dream magic is the prime example.
The pitiful mage was likely too ambitious and went insane. The alicorn concluded. Looking at the creature with a newfound perspective.
"Please, just lay down and die. You worm" Nightmare Moon said coldly, using her ethereal form as the projectile itself, She propelled herself toward her mark.
The dream realm trembled as the titan roared in pain. The night goddess's ethereal body sunk into its core, and penetrated every poor defense it could muster.
Nightmare Moon turned her whole dream realm's avatar into a mental scalpel, chipping away the connection between the now-identified dream mage's real body and consciousness.
<:>:<:>:<:>
Screamed and trashed. The supposedly 'insane dream mage' froze in shock at the newfound information. Permanently maimed and dead inevitably, the alicorn relaxed her mental defense.
Not enough for it to launch any kind of worthwhile psychic attack, but gleaming for information? Yes.
For the first time in this century, the broken man awoken from his slumber. Something wakes him up before the right time. A great emergency it was.
Survival is no longer an option, conserving his strength for what is to come is now worthless. Still, less than a human but more than a beast scrutinizes his adversary with a swift hast.
This thing... was a human. A human from the Age of Terra of an alien realm. Immortal ruler of Xeno world. Our successor this child could be...
He choked out again in great agony as another nauseous sickness coarse through his mind.
A choice we do not have, a transgression we partially started. Our hands are tied. We have to work fast!
Seconds turned eternity as the final wills was drafted. Satisfied with his chosen ultimatum, the rotten husk of a man took his eternal rest.
Please, protect them… protect the mankind.
<:>:<:>:<:>
With a triumphant expression, Nightmare Moon stood victorious in the ethereal battlefield of the dream realm. The 'corrupted dream mage' is slowly being purged from the world of living.
Suddenly, an unexpected sensation washed over her. It wasn't an invasion of her consciousness, for her mental defenses were too strong to be breached.
Instead, it was as if the remnants of the corrupted dream mage, defeated and dying, were becoming subservient to her.
Not subservient, but being a part of her and truly losing its individuality in the process, become nothing more than a bundle of memories.
A wry smile crept across her face. "Well, who can say no to a free power-up?" she mused at the newfound path of power that had presented itself.
Taking over someone's life wasn't a part of her fetish and her experience with taking over Luna's life wasn't going well so far, but she needed every advantage she could get.
As she initiated the absorption process, the two beings gradually merged into one. The dream creature's essence became a part of her, enhancing her power and influence within the dream realm.
Its vast amount of memory and experience become part of her grand mental library, locked away for assessment at a later date.
Having Luna’s memories messing around in my head is painful enough.
"Now I just have to go meet that dream mage... I haven't thought it though, have I?" She saved that poor dream mage and his people from the clutch of his mind slaver.
"It will take a while to fully control it. What a pain." Now after the absorption, her smell, her signature in the dream realm is familiar to that of the poor guy’s previous tormentor, and she’s incapable of masking it for now.
Slowly, Nightmare Moon delves into the newly acquired memory. Looking for anything useful. To find a way to convince him she's not that monster, only to find out she hasn't reached the bottom of this rabbit hole yet.
"I killed who!?" The identity of the 'corrupted mage' was revealed to the night alicorn, to her dismay.
"Alright, let's see what we have here..." Nightmare Moon muttered mentally as she checked her rightfully claimed 'body'.
The body was she expected. Nightmare Moon might not know much about the grim dark universe of the forty-first millennium, but a geek is who she was. Many random pop culture knowledge she had gleaned.
The Sith lords of the galaxy far far away are scarred, crippled, and broken. The emperor of the rotting empire will make those guys look like handsome pop stars in comparison.
The question remained. Why did it consume so much energy? Not that she didn't have the answer already.
The Astronomicon. The navigation system of all imperium's interstellar ships.
Nightmare Moon Shuddered as she reminisced the livid memories she had acquired.
Not the memory of the man himself, but his blood bags. Last moment of countless sacrificial pawns as they gave up their lives for their beloved emperor/cult leader.
"Emperor is with me. I can feel it..."
"I become one with the emperor... Ah~"
"For the imperium..."
"Suck me in harder..."
The ears of both Nightmare Moon's real body and dream avatar flopped down. She blanched in disgust. Luna's final moment is enough for her lifetime. She didn't need any of this.
All those sacrifices to keep this one spell going.
"A cosmic dick-measuring contest against warp gods by a dying cult leader." The night alicorn humorlessly chuckled, trying to lighten her mood.
At the core of the over-engineered machine, the Astronomicon was a simple spell that cranked up to eleven. The same thing that she's going to do on a much smaller scale if she didn't encounter anyone in the dream realm.
A beacon for all to see. A lighthouse in dreamrealm. With so much power it might as well span across the galaxy.
"Well, not that it wasn't impressive." The alicorn was awed as she glossed over the spell matrix. Comparing it to her SOS beacon is like comparing a small model rocket to the one that flies astronauts to the moon.
A rocket to the moon made with Stone Age techniques that is.
"A miracle that this thing even works that long." Nightmare Moon mused. Human magic is nothing but simple spells with brute force, like music composed by a deaf or a civil discussion between fandom.
Each simplest of arcane is a great struggle for a hornless and magicless human, as they are playing gymnastics with both the unreliable external energy source and working around their body's limitations.
Magic was simply a birthright of Ponies, with a third of the population born with a forehead phallus magic wand on their head.
The Emperor and his immortal scientists were given a losing hand from the start. No matter how brilliant they were, they couldn't compete against a race of magical creatures that built their civilization on a land with resources far beyond one's imagination.
After all, creating a transformation spell from zero is that much harder than just reverse engineering the transformation effects of a local Equestrian wildlife specie. Much easier with a horn too.
"I just hope the knowledge that I have in my head is enough to optimize this thing." Nightmare Moon chuckled awkwardly. "Otherwise, I am doomed."
The mind was dead, but the body was still alive, if barely. Its instinct is fully intact. Forcing her is an impossible feat, but guilt-tripping is enough. Keeping the spell going is what it implored her to do, and obey the alicorn will.
Nightmare Moon wasn't a mass murderer. Shutting down the Astronomicon guaranteed billions of trillions of death tolls from the total collapse of the interplanetary supply chain alone.
She just has to find a way to make it less demanding, lest she crippled and weaken her alicorn body as the spell slowly drains her dry.
"And blood sacrifice is not an option. I will not sink that low" A promise with finality, Nightmare Moon continues her search.
Ignoring the pricking sensation of her 'new body', Nightmare Moon found something interesting, foreign yet part of her new body.
"Let's see what we have here."
Direct human-machine interface initialized successfully. Checking biometric signature...[OK] Checking psychic signature...[OK] Transferring the user to the connected mainframe.
Nightmare Moon muttered the first thing that crossed her mind."Um... Status."
GoldenThrone: Compiling basic system status Cognitor's name: Terra01 Machine Spirit's name: GoldenThrone Current user session: Xxx_emp3ror_xxX@Terra01 Current user's privilege: System Administrator
"Holy molly it's a system! I got a system!" Nightmare Moon laughed at her situation. Now, only if she didn't need to fight against shitty gods like many of those Isekai protagonists she read...
"Who am I kidding?" The alicorn's mirthfulness quickly died. She took on the mantle of the Emperor of mankind, the number one enemy of warp gods.
"Those bunches of Cthulhu-ripoff didn't even have good assets. I want a sexy shitty goddess with big boobs!" Her complaint was only heard by the emotionless machine.
GoldenThrone: Generating an image of ‘a sexy shitty goddess with big boobs' GoldenThrone: Sending image via high bandwidth datalink.
"That felt weird... but wow, definitely a good taste. good bot." Locking away the image for later usage, Nightmare Moon continues her quarry with the ancient machine.
"Can I see 'my body', goldie-throrie?"
GoldenThrone: Starting video downlink from the optical sensor 'thorneRoom3'.
Nightmare Moon lost her words in the grand room in front of her.
The room was vast, its towering, Gothic architecture adorned with glistening, countless banners depicting the two heads eagle, the Aquila, the Imperial symbol.
At the room's center lay the machine that Nightmare Moon is talking to, the Golden Throne itself. A colossal mechanism forged from the remnant of archaic technology from the day mankind ruled the galaxy, the zenith of humanity's technological prowess.
The scientific wonder of a machine become nothing more than a divine miracle in the eyes of the barbarian rotten remain of a once proud specie.
The Golden Throne was a monstrous creation with many functions, including the galaxy's most power hungry life support machine.
Tubes and cables snaked from its massive form, connecting to the shrouded, withered figure that sat upon it, the Emperor of Mankind.
A husk of a man, critical organs were kept alive by the Throne's unfathomable prowess, his mind was now lost and everything was all hers. Both his goods and sins.
"Oh.. oh, gosh why... you monsters... psychos..." The optical sensor unintentionally zoomed into where pixels dance, the area of activity.
The servitors, the cyborgs, half-human, half-machine abominations, scuttled along the walls, tending to the Throne's intricate machinery.
Their mechanical limbs whirred and clanked in a ceaseless, haunting rhythm. One of the cleaning servitors suddenly propped up in front of the camera, unknowingly scaring the alicorn.
"Ahh! Shut it off! Shut it off!"
GoldenThrone: Feed deactivated.
Nightmare Moon's dream avatar slowly breathed out. After a little annoyance mumbling, she quickly calmed down and evaluated her situation. Moving her real body back away from a dead cyborg skull on the wrecked ship’s wall.
"Let's see... I think I can repair that husk of a body with that healing spell, but my body." The alicorn shuddered as she remembered a certain healing that could fix anything, as long as the hefty price was paid. "Eh, it will be better in the long run. I just have to man up... mare up?"
"Trying to control two bodies at the same time seems like a challenge, but a good cognitive train-" Nightmare Moon's random train of thought was suddenly cut short by the machine spirit.
GoldenThrone: Warning, a presence detected near the vicinity of the user. GoldenThrone: Please specify a course of action.
"What's it now?" Nightmare Moon frowned and shook her head. Today's getting better and better. "Show me" The night alicorn commanded.
GoldenThrone: Starting video downlink from the optical sensor 'right eye'. GoldenThrone: Starting audio downlink from the audio sensor 'mic_2'.
Nightmare Moon didn't expect him at all.
A giant of a human stood in front of her 'new body'. A man clad in aquatic blue armor. His piercing blue eyes radiated a sense of a main character.
Without question, Nightmare Moon knew who he was.
“Roboto Girlyman, the Primarch of the Smurf army. The poster boy himself...” The alicorn of the night muttered, jaws dropped. Looking at the primarch, as the man looking back at her ‘new body’ with hope and dream.
GoldenThrone: The correct name is 'Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines', omnissiah
Of course, Nightmare Moon is too focused on the newcomer and ignores the poor machine spirit entirely.
Guilliman's eyes welled with tears of joy as he gazed directly at the optical sensor Nightmare Moon was using.
"Father, you're awake!" Guilliman exclaimed, his voice quivering with emotion. "It had been so long. We are lost without your guidance."
"Fuck me sideways..." Nightmare Moon could only muster a complaint, before she added. "Goldie, that's not an order. Don't do it."
GoldenThrone: Affirmative
"The Imperium teeters on the brink of collapse, and your wisdom is our only hope. we have..."
Nightmare Moon zoned the primarch out as she rubbed her muzzle gently. She will deal with it later.
"Goldie, how did he know I am awake?"
GoldenThrone: While there are many methods-
Many questions were asked, and the loyal machine spirit answered, hours went by as the poor primarch talked to the dying corpse of his father without an audience.
"Let’s see… I should started with repairing that spaceship first. Goldie, is there-" Before the Nightmare Moon got a chance to continue, the word of primarch caught her attention.
"The Psykers are here, father." A deep resolute sound declares confidently. "Just a little bit... A little more to reunite us... Yes."
Guilliman's eyes gone a little dimmer. He gave his 'father' a wide smile. His voice that filled with so much conviction that it sent a shiver down Nightmare Moon's spine.
"W-what is he talking about?" The alicorn cautiously asked her loyal machine spirit.
GoldenThrone: Your daily sacrifice of psychic humans, omnissiah.
"My daily what!? Goldie, patch me in, now! lets me talk with Girlyman. Quickly!"
GoldenThrone: Starting audio uplink to the audio synthesizer 'spk_01'.
"1 2 3 Test. Hello Roboto?"
"Father!
Epilogue - A few decades later...
In the grim darkness of the forty-first millennium, there is hope.
The Imperium of Man, once a husk of a crumbling empire, struggled to maintain its fragile grip on the colonies, and now shone with the light of hope.
The return of the God Emperor himself cast a radiant beacon across the Imperium, lighting the path toward the future.
As the divine presence of the Emperor returned, His psychic presence resonated through the warp, striking fear into the hearts of the heretic, the mutant, and the bad Aliens/Xenos.
Bad Xenos only, by the command of the Emperor himself as he politely nudges his faithful subject… without much success.
With the promises to bring back the Golden age, the day of the glorious before the Horus Heresy, the bright atheistic empire. All religious institutions and cults are to be declawed or deconstructed. From the Inquisition to Adeptus Mechanicus. Those who resisted were to be purged.
Many purges, the 'dark age of technology now renamed 'the golden age of humanity'. The pushed for development of supposedly heretical artificial intelligence and banned of 'inhumane' human-infused machine is controversial indeed even when it came from the emperor.
The blinded purist zealots who turned themselves in but still hold onto vile beliefs are deemed heretics, but all merciful Emperor is willing to give them a second chance. They are to be enlisted into the grand space fleet, the Navis Imperialis and must prove themselves by fighting in the front line and protecting the Imperium from threats.
Mainly at the Eastern Fringe of the Milky Way galaxy, where a young budding but dangerous Xeno empire rises from the ashes of the collapsed Tau Empire.
The void left by the heretics in the form of vacant positions in the peaceful core planets are to be filled with open-minded, sane, and not psychopaths true believers of the Imperial truth. The bright and pragmatic minds who care not of any imperial cult holy books but only about the betterment of mankind as a whole.
Of course, the faithful and fanatic of the Imperium rejoiced as they felt brainwashing magic the unmistakable aura of their savior, their eternal leader. To die for the God emperor is the greatest honor they strive for.
Just like The Emperor, the rotting empire seems reborn like a phoenix and rejuvenated with a renowned vigor. The end of superstitions and information suppression unlocked the true potential of humanity.
The Imperium of Man might looks bleak for now, but its future is brighter than ever.
Every coin has a different side. As the light of the imperium spreads throughout the galaxy, even to the best effort of his radiance, the Emperor cannot fully control the hatred of his subject. The cost was paid in the blood of innocent Xenos.
Among the many worlds caught in the Imperium's expansionist campaign, one stood defiant and pushing back. The Republic of Unified States, a fledgling empire that had once been a splinter faction from the Greater Tau Empire, now found itself at the forefront of a struggle for survival against the old master of the galaxy.
The Republic, unlike its authoritarian predecessor, valued true equality and the acceptance of all races... with few exceptions of course.
Stilling hold onto the Tau's doctrine of working for the greater good, the young empire oped to follow a different interpenetration. A far cry from the strict caste-based society of its ancestors.
With the freedom of choice, true meritocracy reigns supreme as the citizens of the republic work with passion and vigor to carve the path toward tomorrow.
For every single republic's automaton frigate sunk, hundreds of thousands of imperium cruisers would lost as collateral.
Each ship is filled to the brim with technological miracles that suspiciously look like ancient technology from the day humanity ruled galaxy. Both ones that the Imperium of Man had in possession and more. Many of the republic's weapon designs are even exact replicas of blueprints from STC somehow.
At the forefront of the Republic's resistance against the Invasion of the Imperium stood one of its co-founders turned President and Commander-in-chief, Lady Nightmare Moon.
She was a rare and enigmatic species, a quadruple with wings and a horn. Her starry mane constantly overflowed with psychic energy.
Her large, feathery dark wings allowed her to soar gracefully through the skies, while her sharp horn radiated a glistening aura with powerful and intricate psychic abilities beyond even the most ancient of the Eldar could only fathom in awe and wonder.
With her mind sharp steel-trapped mind. Every battle she'd her hoof on against the Imperium of Man was guaranteed to bring about victory as she somehow seemingly deduced the movement of humanity's war fleet accurately with little to zero information, somehow.
As the clock reached its zenith, the two mighty Titans clashed.
On one side stood Lady Nightmare Moon, the enigmatic savior of the republic, and the protector of all Xenos.
On the other side was the God-Emperor, the eternal ruler of mankind, the demon king of the oppressive and brutal human galactic empire.
"Everything is all according to your master plan, Lady Nightmare."
Plan!? When did we have a master plan?!
"The end is night, and the Xenos will be purged. Everything as your command.”
Don’t put words in my mouth, Roboto!
"As expected of you, Miss Moon. Your tactical prowess even surpasses the greatest of Necron's computation farms!"
Imperium’s information network is very broken indeed, yep.
She found some kind of horror in the ship. her magic ran out and still recharging. She cannot teleport out. Something is blocking her.
If I stick with 'pirate ship'. then the metal skull sculptures are actually the crews. They fused with the ship. Half-alive and imprisoned in their body, become a part of the ship.
Nightmare Moon then tricked into activating the ship's reactor. Turned out that was the monster's plan all along. The mastermind, the machine fresh prophet now awoken. He talks to the ship like it was alive, calling it 'akin to holy angel but more'.
The ship came back to life. The Warp drive powered up. The sound of the ship's superstructure cried out like a primal scream as it slowly twists out of reality. The human skulls seemed to let out muted horror as crimson and dirty brown organic fluid flowed out of eye sockets.
The alicorn helplessly watched in horror as the ship-turned-steel coffin dragged itself into another dimension with her inside. "Let's us return to the promised land!" The prophet crackled madly.
Nightmare Moon woke up on the moon. breathing heavily. "It's just a dream after all." Never in her new life, she be glad to still be in her lunar prison.
Unbeknown to the alicorn. On the lunar surface she is no longer alone. An object from ‘her dream’ is reflecting of Equestrian sun. A key card she used to activate the ship's system.
The air of the building that housed a bakery shop named "Sugar Cube Corner" is saturated with Laughter and chatter, as the ponies filled the seats, appetite for the most famous confectionery Ponyville had to offer.
But alas, everything had exceptions to the rule.
At the rear of the building was the beating heart of this enterprise—the kitchen. A tranquil peace can be found as the diligent pink pony baker worked her magic, and gave any cuisine she made her all, hoping that it will bring smiles to all those who consumed.
And that peace was broken by a certain rainbow mane pegasus, as the said mare broke into this private property and walked around like she was on a bank heist.
Rainbow Dash closed the backdoor quietly, looking out for any possible ponies that stalked her all the way from the hospital.
Contented with her observation, she then walked into the room, her hooves clattering slightly against the tiled floor as she nervously scanned around, her heart racing.
Rainbow Dash ignored the uncomfortable feeling and pushed forward. Her cyan coat shone a healthy brilliant blue without any gray fur, showing the youthfulness of the athletic pegasus.
The stormcloud treatment left her body without any trace of its original bloodied rags looks, yet still damped with a slight amount of moisture, weighting her body down slightly.
To Rainbow Dash, it’s a perfect reflection of what her heart felt like.
The tension in the air was palpable, a mixture of anxiety suppressed by determination driving her forward. Her eyes darted across the counters, spotting trays of freshly baked pastries and colorful icing.
The aroma of sugary treats filled the air, briefly distracting her from her mission as her mouth watered involuntarily.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Focus" She chided herself, her attention was forcefully snapped back to her purpose.
Then she noticed something, as her ears stood in attention and swirled around, catching a soft, melodious tune emanating from a corner of the kitchen.
The rainbow mane pegasus followed the sound, her heart calming slightly at the familiar, up-beating notes.
She opened the door to a cozy corner of the kitchen and saw Pinkie Pie standing there, her head bopping around in a good mood as she hummed the melody.
The party pink pony was focused on her task, her hooves expertly working with the ingredients before her. The carefree, whimsical pony seemed to have a way of finding joy in such repetitive, and boring tasks.
Rainbow Dash watched for a moment, mesmerized by Pinkie's rhythmic movements. The sight of Pinkie Pie's relaxed yet undistracted demeanor almost brought a smile to Rainbow Dash's face, but the weight of her guilt held it back.
Her target was found, and now came the hardest part. Rainbow Dash mustering her courage as she approached Pinkie Pie. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat and called out in a voice that wavered only slightly, "H-hey Pinkie."
Pinkie Pie's body went rigid, her cheerful humming abruptly stopping. Slowly, she turned to face Rainbow Dash, her eyes widening in surprise as she took in the sight of the once-injured pegasus. Her normally vibrant mane seemed to lose color slightly as her gaze locked onto Rainbow Dash's.
"R-Rainbow, you're all healed up? How?" Pinkie Pie stammered, her voice holding a mixture of disbelief and concern, her usually exuberant mane losing some of its buoyancy as her gaze locked onto the symbol on the saddlebag Rainbow Dash was wearing.
Rainbow Dash's heart raced, her nerves getting the best of her. The moment of truth was here. This was her chance to make amends, to mend the rift she had inadvertently caused between her and the Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow Dash's eyes became glassy, as the event of that moment replayed in her mind. She slowly weave words into sentences and spoke out, her voice a little stutter. "It's a long story but let's just say I got help for now, but that's not what I came here for"
Taking a deep breath, she met Pinkie Pie's gaze with a determined resolve. "I-I know I'm in the wrong. I shouldn't judge anypony, no matter who they were with such biased and acting out in violence." Rainbow Dash continues, her voice steady as the turmoil brew within her.
The memories of the night alicorn lay bloodied in front of her. The mare that sick of the world around her so much she wants to end...
Rainbow Dash shook her head, ignoring the inner turmoil that threaten to spill out and forcing herself to continue on, her words is sincere.
She pointed her hoof pointing towards herself and spoke with passion "That's why I am going to go apologize to both of them! Starting off with Twilight Sparkle." With a determined resolve, the pegasus continue. " And hopefully... Nightmare Moon too." If she can find her that is.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teethes in anger, looking down at her hooves in shame of her own uselessness. Going to the lavender unicorn, a mare with a connection to the royal guards, and begging them to search for the alicorn is all she could do at the moment.
For now, she had a favor to ask of.
But still, swallowing her pride and admitting her mistakes wasn't easy. It felt like a leap into the unknown, a plunge that challenged her very identity. It was never easy to backtrack on a decision, especially when she was so used to her confidence fueling her ego none stop.
Rainbow Dash knew that growth required facing one's shortcomings head-on, even if it meant acknowledging a painful truth. The feeling of a giant burden lifted off her chest was proof of that.
Rainbow Dash waited as the silence hung in the air for a moment, the weight of Rainbow Dash's confession filling the room. Just when Rainbow Dash was starting to feel the heaviness of the moment, unexpectedly, a sound broke through the quiet—a soft giggle. Rainbow Dash looked up in surprise, meeting Pinkie Pie's gaze once more.
Pinkie Pie's lips curled into a heartwarming smile, a twinkle returning to her eyes. Slowly, Pinkie's mane puffed up with its characteristic bounce, regaining its signature bounciness.
"I know you can do it, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie's giggle grew into a full-blown laugh, her eyes sparkling with mirth as her mane started to regain its luster color. "I know you were a good mare, you're just a little bit weird sometime!" Pinkie exclaimed, her voice filled with a mixture of reassurance of steel. The party pony's laughter was contagious and filling the room with a renewed sense of friendship.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "You're the one to talk, Pinkie." She replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It felt strange to be praised for admitting her mistakes, but in that moment, she realized how much she valued Pinkie's understanding and validation.
Before she could get lost in her thoughts, Rainbow Dash remembered the other reason she had come here. She shifted her weight from one hoof to another, the nervous energy returning. "Well, I'm going to walk into that library and go apologize to her," Rainbow Dash said slowly, her tone a mixture of determination but filled with uncertainty. "At least that was my plan..."
Pinkie Pie's smile widened, her enthusiasm was undeterred. "That's great! And guess what? I'm also going to prepare for an apology party, and It's gonna be the epicest!" she clapped her hooves together with an enthusiastic bounce. "What are you thought on 'We're Sorry for That Disastrous Welcome to Ponyville Party!' party, Dash?" Pinkie beamed, her energy infectious.
Rainbow Dash chuckled softly, feeling a sense of gratitude for her friend's unwavering support. As Pinkie Pie bustled around, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but admire the way she could turn any situation into a reason to celebrate.
But as her smile waned, she couldn't help but remember the other reason she had sought Pinkie's help in the first place. With a slight frown, she glanced away for a moment before looking back at Pinkie Pie, and nervously fidgeting her hoof against the saddlebag to distract herself.
Pinkie Pie finally noticed Rainbow Dash's change in demeanor and tilted her head curiously. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern.
Rainbow Dash spoke out, her voice tinged with frustration and helplessness, "There were guards around the library, I didn't want them to see me, for obvious reasons." She hesitated, her expression a mix of determination and vulnerability, "My first thought was to try to sneak in, but..." She took a breath, her honesty evident, "I'm not good at being sneaky. I don't want to risk it."
"I-I needed your help," she admitted, her words revealing a side of her that rarely showed – the side of weakness. The not-awesome Rainbow Dash who struggled and needed assistance. Her gaze met Pinkie Pie's, a silent plea for understanding.
Pinkie's eyes widened in realization, and her face lit up with a delighted grin. "Oh, oh! Why didn't you say that first!" she exclaimed, her boundless energy evident in her every move. Without wasting a moment, she bounced toward the storage room, her hooves barely touching the ground, and Rainbow Dash followed, curiosity piqued.
Rainbow Dash watched as Pinkie Pie rifled through various items in the storage room, her excitement growing with every second. Pinkie's thought process was always uncanny and a little intimidating to Rainbow Dash. It was both impressive nonetheless.
After a short search, Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up, and she pulled out an object that, at first glance, seemed completely unremarkable. She offered it to Rainbow Dash with a mischievous smile, her gaze brimming with anticipation.
Rainbow Dash looked at the ordinary object in Pinkie's hoofgrip with a raised eyebrow, her confusion evident. It's a slab of cardboard that could be unfolded. "A cardboard box?" she questioned, her tone a mixture of skepticism and bewilderment. She tilted her head slightly, unsure of how such a simple item could be of any use in her predicament.
Pinkie Pie's grin only grew wider, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Yepperoni! The best of quality!" she replied cheerfully, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her ability to be upbeat in the most unexpected situations was one of her most endearing traits.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but let out a bemused chuckle. "And how is this thing going to help me sneak in?" she asked, her skepticism still evident in her voice.
Pinkie Pie, still grin remained unyielding, her excitement practically radiating from her. Quickly unfold the cardboard into its final form. With a dramatic flourish, she leaned in close to Rainbow Dash and whispered, "Because, my dear Rainbow, this is a box made out of cardboard. The legendary espionage exosuit 'Box of Ultimate Stealthiness'!"
Rainbow Dash blinked, her surprise evident. "The 'Box of Ultimate Stealthiness'?" she repeated incredulously, tilting her head in confusion.
Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, her eyes wide with enthusiasm. She pointed a hoof at the upside-down box."Yup! You see, all you have to do is climb inside this box, and crawl around. You'll become practically invisible! Nopony can see you or hear you. It's like a sneakest of being sneaky!"
Rainbow Dash's skepticism wavered, replaced by a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. She stared at the cardboard box on the ground, trying to wrap her head around the idea. Could something so simple really have such an extraordinary effect?
Pinkie's gaze held a mischievous twinkle as she nudged the box toward Rainbow Dash. "Go on, give it a try! It's the perfect solution to your situation."
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, her thoughts racing. Could this really work? Taking a deep breath, she cast a glance at Pinkie Pie, who was practically bouncing with excitement, and then back at the cardboard box.
With a shrug and a wry smile, she took a step forward and tentatively climbed under the box, disappearing from view.
Pinkie Pie's giggles filled the air as the box wobbled slightly, Rainbow Dash's muffled voice emanating from within, "Okay, Pinkie, now what?"
Pinkie Pie's grin was positively ear-to-ear. "Now, my little Dashie, you are ready to embark on a top-secret, highly classified stealth mission of breaking into the golden oak! Just follow my advice, and we'll have you sneaking around those guards like a pro in no time!"
Rainbow Dash poke her muzzle out from underneath the box. “…I hoped it wouldn’t backfired” she muttered out.
In front of the Golden Oak Library, the warm ray of the sun cast a warm and inviting glow over the surroundings. Two Royal guards are stationed at the entrance. Protecting the residents inside from any kind of disturbance.
Clad in his polished armor, the stallion was diligently going about his duty. His gaze straight up to a random faraway tree with minimal blinking, and many would mistake him for a sculpture.
Suddenly, a faint shuffling sound reached his ears, causing him to snap his head around. "Who's there?" he shouted out, his voice carrying a tone of absolute authority.
The guard's eyes narrowed to a pinprick as he scanned the immediate vicinity, his heart rate slightly elevated.
But then, from the corner of his eye, he saw movement – just a flutter, really. He turned his head to follow the direction it went, only to find himself facing an unexpected sight.
"It's just a cardboard box," he muttered to himself, his initial tension giving way to a perplexed frown. A storage box made from paper on the ground didn't seem out of place against the backdrop of the tree building made of the tree and filled with papers.
Wishing to completely dismiss his paranoia, he glanced over to his partner, who stood beside him and cleared his throat. "Did you see..." he began to ask, his words trailing off as he realized something was off.
His partner's horn was dimly lit with a magical glow, a detail easily missed from a distance, and a faint glow emanated from his eyes. The same dead fish eyes stared straight into nothingness, lost in some kind of trance, creepily unblinking.
The guard's expression shifted from confusion to realization – an illusion spell. It was a classic trick, often reserved for boring posts, but he had to make sure.
As he took a step closer, he noticed his partner's legs were still. Too still. The bones were locked in place and held on with zero input from muscles.
A wry grin formed on his face as he sighed. It didn't take a genius to know that his partner was sleeping on the job. "Bucking great, and he didn't ask me first." The guard shook his head, a mixture of amusement and exasperation evident in his tone.
Just as he was about to return his attention to his duties, another rustling sound reached his ears. His senses heightened, and he shouted out once more, "Who's there?" His eyes scanned the surroundings, now more vigilant than before.
However, this time, his gaze caught something peculiar. Up in the sky, a cloud near the second floor of the tree building held an unexpected object – a cardboard box, identical to the previous ones he saw.
It seemed to be precariously balanced on the fluffy surface, with a rainbow-colored strip poked out from its edge, dancing gently in the breeze.
The guard narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing as he contemplated the odd sight.
A memory tugged at the back of his mind—a certain rainbow-maned pegasus with a tail of that exact shade.
But he quickly dismissed the idea. After all, that pony was still recovering in the hospital, and no one in this small town had that kind of color.
Maybe a delivery package from a pegasus mailmare?
"Probably nothing," he muttered, shrugging off the curiosity and turning back to his post. The cardboard box is not of any immediate danger and should be left to his VIPs.
Changing to another subject at hoof, his mind registered the unfairness his partner had done to him. "Illusion, and Boss detection alarm.. all set!" His horn lit up and spells were cast. The stallion slowly drifted away from the world of waking, intending to take his share of sleep too.
Little did he know, that certain rainbow-maned pegasus was executing a triumphant mental victory dance from her concealed vantage point. With attention away from her, she seized the opportunity and slipped stealthily into the library, ready to reach the conclusion of her adventure.
Nightmare Moon stood defiantly amidst a dense forest, her ebony wings were still in the process of healing, and its current condition is tattered and mangled, rendering them useless for flight, if she even can.
Her broken leg throbbed in agonizing pain from overused, making running away a possible feat no longer.
Blood trickled down her reopened wounds, evidence of the fierce battle she had fought just moments before. Despite her injuries, her eyes burned with an unyielding determination to survive, and her horn shone brightly, radiating an aura of powerful magic, as that and her limited agility are the only thing she has to survive.
Her magic reserve is low, drained from fueling her healing factor and her spamming of spells, no longer can she carelessly uses any powerful offensive spells, as it would diminish her limited energy pool too fast
From the shadows emerged another pack of Timberwolves, lured by the smells of magic-filled prey, their eyes glinting with feral hunger.
"Where did you fuckers keep coming from?" Nightmare Moon cried out as the pack circled around her, growling and snarling, their timber-like bodies creaking with every movement. They niff for her weakness and look for an opening, finding her injuries as an opportunity to claim an easy victory.
Nightmare Moon wheezed out. "Another round it is, then..." Determination flickered in her eyes as she prepared to face the newcomers, giving up herself to the whims of muscle memory and the original owner's battle instinct.
The first Timberwolf of this new batch lunged at her, its razor-sharp teeth snapping viciously.
Nightmare Moon swiftly sidestepped, despite the searing pain shooting up her broken leg, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of a lunging Timberwolf. She unleashed a burst of energy from her horn, striking another wooden canine mid-leap with a dark aura, turning it into burning ashes.
Two more Timberwolves charged from different directions, their movements synchronized, using their prey's limited mobility to their advantage.
Nightmare Moon anticipated their attack, using her foreleg as an anchor point, she spun gracefully and swung her horn like a deadly weapon as she jabbed it at the oncoming predators into their guts, layered them together like a bloody sandwich.
Her strikes were precise and powerful. She then powered up her horn and atomized both Timberwolves with a spurt of energy.
Nightmare Moon plopped her flank onto the ground for a moment, still disoriented "That's too close, too fucking close." She muttered to herself, the image of sharp, wooden jaws nearly snapping at her face struck in the forefront of her mind.
“But still” Nightmare Moon’s muzzle curved up a little bit, showing off her fangs. “The stamina of this body is something else entirely.” She wheezed out heavily, sweat and blood tickled down her fur.
Before she could catch her breath, another one pounced from behind. Its teeth sank into the alicorn's injured wing, completely bypassing her long-depleted arcane armor. Causing her to let out a sharp cry of pain.
She spun her head sideway, casting a reinforcement spell on her horn, as she dragged it across the Timberwolf's face, creating a sharp line across its eyes.
To the alicorn’s delighted, her strike was spot on its intended target. The creature yelped in agony, releasing its grip as Nightmare Moon struck it with a powerful buck, sending it crashing to the ground in a cloud of charred wood, rendering it blind and disoriented.
The sudden strain made the bone of her still not fully healed hind leg snapped back into two. Too sudden to even mustered a proper scream.
"F-fuck my legs" Nightmare Moon gritted her teeth, as the agonizing pain of still not fully healed throbbing, as she trying dragged herself away, retreating to the castle of two sisters.
But fate had another plan, just as she was about to disappear into the ruined castle, an echo of howling echoed through the forest. Nightmare Moon froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She turned, her injured body tensing for another fight. As she looked back, her eyes widened with both surprise and disbelief.
"Really? Are you serious?" The alicorn of the night looked at the newcomers—another pack of dread Timberwolves. "Please be the last one...." Nightmare Moon muttered as she prepared herself for another round of battle.
An idea suddenly came into Nightmare Moon’s mind as her face twisted into glee. The night alicorn stepped forward, hatefully looking at the wooden canines with contempt for a second, before firing off the technically a spell but definitely a meme.
"FUH RO DAH!" She let out a primal roar, a magic-enchanted sound wave that was called the Royal Canterlot, at its full power. Air particles crackled around her, vibrating the forest.
The ground trembled beneath her hooves as she unleashed the devastating shock wave, knocking Timberwolves around her off their feet, with most of them either destroyed or crippled from smashing into trees, exposing their inner wooden guts.
With all of her adversaries momentarily stunned, Nightmare Moon took the opportunity to cast a complex spell as her as her horn glowed brightly. Each Timberwolves were marked by her magic.
Summoning another big chunk of her remaining energy, she fire off her magic. Dozens of offensive magic bolts shone in brilliant light lit up the fores in a brief flash again and again as each of them strike true to their mark. turning every remaining Timberwolves to twigs and sawdust.
Breathing heavily, she surveyed the aftermath of the battle. “Hah, it fucking work.” Nightmare Moon breathe out in relief, wry smile plastered on her muzzle. "I... survived that, somehow." Her dried throat cough out a chuckle.
The remaining corpse of Timberwolves lay scattered and motionless, their wooden bodies broken and charred, mixed in together with the debris of twigs and leaves, covered in the sea of ashes.
But still, the battle was still not over yet.
Another group came in, their primal instincts urging them to continue the fight where their precursor left off.
"For the sake of all that holy. Did you bring in your whole extended family with you?" Nightmare Moon cried, her body bloodied and battered, yet she refused to yield.
She had fought with every ounce of her being, and this time will be no different. Nightmare Moon determined to survive and lived despite the odds stacked against her.
As she fought on, Nightmare Moon could feel her strength waning, her movements slowing. Blood trickled down her midnight fur, enticing the pack further.
Her determination burned brighter than ever, pushing her beyond her physical limits. With her injured and broken body, she still fought like a warrior, but in her tired state, a mistake was made
One Timberwolf managed to sink its sharp teeth into Nightmare Moon's injured leg, causing her to let out yet another scream.
With sheer determination and guided by pure battle instinct, she summoned a surge of unicorn magic and pushed it into her hoof, enveloping her limp and spreading to the Timberwolf’s body in the form of shadowy burning frame.
The creature whimpered and released its grip, slowly burning away, receiving the same fate as the skin patch of the mare's leg as she heaved in pain, trying to gather her remaining mental faculty for the next wave of attack. "Why Luna why?" She complained about the choice her body made.
The Timberwolves pressed on, their relentless assault driving Nightmare Moon deeper into a corner. They attacked in a coordinated frenzy, their jaws snapping and claws slashing at every opening.
Nightmare Moon defended herself with everything she had left, continuing to rely on her body's muscle memory and the residual amount of magic within her.
But the pack was relentless, nipping at her heels and lunging from every direction. Nightmare Moon's movements grew sluggish as her injuries began to take their toll.
Sensing their prey's weakened state, the Timberwolves decided to make the final frontal attack. They surged forward, their jaws closing in on their target.
Digging into her remaining strength, with a final surge of energy, Nightmare Moon charged forward, her horn glowing with an ominous light.
She unleashed a devastating shockwave of dark energy, turning everything around her vicinity into fertilizer. Timberwolves yelped and burnt, survivors of the first impact were sent flying in all directions, their bodies torn and broken, their wooden forms splintering and cracking upon impact.
As the last of her victim fell, silence settled over the forest. Nightmare Moon stood amidst the wreckage with her horn still seeping with sparkling of magic. The night alicorn glaring at the survivors and dared them to continue.
The Timberwolves glaring right back at her, before they slowly retreat back to the shadow of the forest.
A detection spell was fired, and the result of this fight was confirmed.
*Ping.
0 Timberwolves
The night alicorn had emerged victorious, yet the battle had taken its toll, but she still smiling at the result.
She won, and she still alive.
"I hope that's the last of them" The night alicorn muttered out her famous last words, as she breathes slowly, taking advantage of her brief respite.
As Nightmare Moon hobbled away from the battleground, her ears caught an unexpected sound. A powerful roar reverberated through the forest, sending a shiver down her spine. "You gotta be shitting me, another one?" She then turned her head, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Behind her stood a massive Manticore, its imposing figure silhouetted against the sky. Its golden fur bristled with primal strength, and its fangs glistened with a deadly hunger. Nightmare Moon felt her injured ear flop back, wounds scraping against her salty sweat.
And she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "And I had to go and jinx myself." The alicorn then looked up at the best, giving it her kindest smile possible.
Thinking of what happening in the TV shows, the alicorn tried the peaceful diplomatic way first. "H-hey, you do have a needle stuck in your foot or something." Nightmare Moon fearfully voiced out in a motherly, gentle tone as much as she could.
To that, the manticore only silently looked down at her, leering eyes and licking its lounge in anticipation.
Nightmare Moon's world had narrowed down to a singular, desperate focus – survival. Her body was broken, her ebony wings which offered no chance of flight, were reduced to tattered remnants of bones and muscles with claw marks. One of them could be called stumped with what's little remained.
The adrenaline rushes had drawn out a power within her that she never knew she had, but now the magical wellspring she had once commanded was truly utterly drained.
Her once-regal starry flowing mane and tail were now lost its otherworldly beauty. Their memorizing moving pattern turned into solid dark blue hair that was matted with sweat and dirt, no different than any mane and tail of normal ponies.
Her body had stopped its healing process, and no amount of anger or fear could make her horn light up again, leaving her powerless against the magical beast that relentlessly pursued her.
Every step was a torment, every breath a struggle. Her side ached where the manticore's massive paw had struck her, sending her crashing to the forest floor. Her vision swam with pain, and each movement sent sharp, searing agony through her limbs.
Yet, she couldn't afford to stop, to give in to the pain, not with the ferocious predator hot on her heels.
The Manticore slowly walks toward its wounded prey with the grace of a feline, its eyes fixated on its today's prize. Saliva dripped from its jaws, and its fangs glistened. It knew that victory was within its grasp, and the anticipation of its meal continued to fuel its hunt.
Nightmare Moon staggered forward, her movements unsteady and awkward. She tried to scramble away, but her movements were slow and feeble, like a wounded prey animal.
The Manticore seized the opportunity, lunging at the injured alicorn with blinding speed, its claws tearing into her flank. Agonizing pain lanced through her, and she let out a strangled cry.
"My butt fuck fuck fuck!" The alicorn of the night cried out in pain and reflected in her slitted eyes were the bloodied remains of what was left of her right flank cutie mark.
Summoning every ounce of strength left in her battered body one more time, Nightmare Moon desperately tried to roll away from the manticore's clutches, but it was futile.
"Fuck you... gah!" She gritted her teeth as the magical beast pinned her to the ground, and its claws dug deeper into her flesh.
She could feel her life force ebbing away, her vision blurring as the pain threatened to consume her.
But then, in the depths of her despair, a glimmer of determination flickered within Nightmare Moon's eyes.
She refused to meet her end here as a helpless victim. People're waiting for her back home!
With a surge of her strength fueled by the will to survive, she summoned a battle cry - a primal, guttural scream, and made her counterattack...
Nightmare Moon's powerful war cry echoed through the forest, and the hunter of the forest was head-butted by the horned horse in the eye socket with said horn.
The manticore roared in pain at the loss of one of its eyes, crimson liquid flowing down from its face like river Styx. Its grip loosened slightly in shock. It was all Nightmare Moon needed.
Gritting her teeth and commanding her muscles with her willpower alone. The night alicorn mustered the strength to thrust her broken leg upwards, catching the momentarily stunned Manticore off-guard and sending it tumbling off her.
Gasping for breath and wracked with pain, the alicorn of night crawled away from the beast, leaving a trail of crimson behind.
The Manticore, now recovered from being disoriented, cried out in pain and anger. Its lone eye locked on the unruly food, the being who brought about this pain.
Nightmare Moon felt liquid slowly tickle down the side of her face and frown. “Is there something on my face…?” With the unknown substance on her face, the night alicorn did what any mare of science would–sample collecting with her tongue.
Nightmare Moon slowly extended her long equine appendage from her mouth, lowered it to the wet spot on her face, and licked it, tasting out the cocktail of fluid behind the retina and blood.
At that moment, something inside her stirred awake.
The alicorn spoke her mind out without thinking. "Taste like chicken." She muttered and shocked at herself.
It was a fucking blood and it taste as disgusting as I thought, why do I... Oh....
Her inner thought quickly came to a halt as the realization kicked in and a smile slowly spread across her face. She chuckled and gave the manticore a wide grin.
The wrathful beast recognized the emotion on its prey’s muzzle and snared in anger. It lunged at her again, but without depth perception, it missed its mark. The massive jaws of the magical beast didn’t make contact with her meaty barrel and only snapped shut just inches from Nightmare Moon's side.
The phantom pain struck the alicorn as she felt the searing heat of its breath as it hissed in frustration for missing its prey by a hair's breadth.
Nightmare Moon’s momentarily fears soon fade away as her muzzle curved up a little bit. Her heart flustered at the manticore's frustration, pumping adrenaline-filled blood throughout her body.
Ignoring the pain, Nightmare Moon lifted her only working hind leg from the ground. She curled her leg up and aimed at the center of the beast's muzzle-its nostril. "Get the fuck away from me!" She shouted at the manticore as its muzzle received a powerful buck on the face.
The manticore cried out in pain as the sound of bone cracked reverberated through the forest. Blood oozed out from the torn skin of its muzzled, and hints of white bones protruded here and there.
The giant silhouette of the magical creature collapsed on the ground with a thud, covered its muzzle with paws, and glared angrily at the alicorn of the night.
Nightmare Moon couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Her broken body was aching and filled with pain, and the conscious part of her mind worked to the fullest to keep the despair at bay.
Yet somehow, she felt alive more than ever.
Every time she's able to inflict damage against her enemy, her body instinctively pumps in a new batch of happy chemicals into her brain, making her feel rejuvenated despite all her pain.
More so especially when she got a reaction from her enemy.
No matter how much they hurt, not once do they feel fragile or lash out in anger. The wooden pack was too perfect and their actions blended together without conflicts or wasted movements.
Deep down, her subconsciousness understood. The Timberwolves may cry and whimper, but everything's fake. Growls with the same intonation and tone are used multiple times by different timberwolves.
The fact that they threw themselves at her wave after wave without a single hesitation, self-preservation, or even any wasted movement disproved them being an individual sentient creatures. They are emotionless machines that just mimic the actions without putting in actual feelings.
Or not, but who cares? Nightmare Moon shook her head gently, looking at her tormentor with a glint in her serpent-like eyes.
Whatever the case, it didn't trigger this side of her like the crippled manticore before her do. The magical beast howled in pain with some amount of fear in its eyes, while her body registered that the taste of its blood was certainly one hell of a trigger by Nightmare Moon’s standard.
But this asshole... It's real. The pain, anguish, and fear... Everything is all real.
"I guess I inherited that part too, huh?" The human-turned-pony chuckled, laughing at the new discovery about herself. “Just another thing I have to look out for.”
Luna wasn’t called the Sword of Equestria for nothing, and Nightmare Moon knew it too. Her jobs are unpleasant at best but the night princess would do anything for her beloved nation.
She did learn how to cope with it at first, but nothing was truly eternal and everything would change, be it for better or for worse.
Years after years, centuries after centuries, the sovereign of night slowly but surely learned to be happy and have fun with her work. Disgusted turned to amusement and sadness turned into mirth. Ingrained it into every fiber of the mare's whole being.
The ruler of the dream realm was happy, and so too the one who took on her body.
Nightmare Moon's face morphed into a dangerous predator grin with her sharp fangs glittering in sunlight. She then looked at the magical beast and lost control of her voicebox, chuckling out in mirth.
The noise of the happy alicorn echoed throughout the area, Nightmare Moon's voice would intensify more every time the Manticore failed to push itself off the ground.
The night alicorn's small chuckle slowly went up in intensity, turning into a crackle of glee "Ha Ha Ha! What the fuck wrong with me?" Nightmare Moon knows it's dangerous to make such a loud noise in this cursed green hell of Equestria, but she simply cannot stop herself.
“Ha! Who cares!? I know I don’t anymore.“ Nightmare Moon laughed and laughed, her dried throat protested back with pain but she couldn't help herself. The sole working eyes of the manticore looked at her with comprehension and filled with pure hatred–the thing that made her heart skip a beat and kept her going.
The night alicorn turquoise orbs met her tormentor with eyebrows crinkled from smiling face, mocking the manticore of its conditions. "Yes yes yes! I am laughing at you!" Her mad crackle went up another notch as the manticore growled and tried to swat her. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end, huh? How does it feel?"
Nightmare Moon's mirthful laugh only slowed down and turned deprecating when she noticed that the manticore was trying to push itself off the ground, recovering. "Oh, Come on..." She muttered out, as the despair took its reign once more.
Nightmare Moon knew she couldn't beat the manticore, not with her current strength - She did not have her magic, be it unicorn's spells or earth pony's strength, and her broken body couldn't hope to outmaneuver one of the apex hunters of this magical forest.
Everything has both upsides and downsides, including her immortal body. As an alicorn–a creature that is made of the biological machine and magic spells, Nightmare Moon at its current drained state is no different than a fang-less wolf, a venom-less viper.
Magic is everything for an alicorn. Without it, piecing the defense of the manticore's thick hide is nothing but a fool's errand.
Her only option was to run and run and run. Hope that maybe she will reach the ruined Castle of the Everfree before her stamina runs out.
Or she might find any other place of refuge, a safe location where she could perhaps wait until her magic recovered and hopefully escape from the impending threat.
With sheer determination, the alicorn of the night pushed herself onward, one agonizing step at a time.
Each step sent jolts of pain through her broken body, but she kept going, her hoof steps irregular and her movements unsteady, disappearing deeper into the forest.
Of course, not before she did something to increase her survival chance first. Not every critical organ is protected, and the obvious one is staring back at her, literary.
"Hiya! Full score!" With a swish of her hoof, a rock-turned projectile found its mark, and the howl and scream of pain confirmed it. The night alicorn's tormentor truly lost its sense of vision.
