Nightmare Mom

Nights had passed with no word from Dune Runner, unsurprisingly. You doubted the rebels would trust you so easily, or they were planning a trap. You had spent that time making a show of investigating various areas of the city, interrogating a few citizens, and bribing others. None of the information you got, however, was anything you didn't already know or was otherwise useless. You were sure these guards were loyal to your mother, and would be making their own reports on what you did here. As such, you already had several lies from which to choose to cover your meeting.

The mare sleeping soundly next to you wasn't part of that plan, but was certainly helpful. It had been a long time since you had woken up so peacefully, or had dreamed something so... happy, at least compared to your usual dreams. Company tended to drive the more upsetting dreams off for you. You gently brush a lock of her curly green mane out of her face, and start to wonder what it would be like to wake up to this every day. You start to smile as you imagine your life with this one, sunlight filtering through curtains as she sleeps. She stirs and smiles at you, and you share a warm kiss-- a wave of nausea hits you, and you pull away.

You start your waking routine when you hear talking outside your door. You open it to see two of your guards talking over an envelope. “What's going on out here?”

The guards bow. “My Prince, we just found this envelope outside your door.”

“And?”

“It wasn't here a few minutes ago.”

“So, you're saying you completely missed a pony walking in here and delivering a note to my door.”

“I- We-”

You snatch the envelope from the guard. It has your name on the front. “As you were,” you spit at the guard and shut the door. You pull a letter out of the envelope. 'We're ready. Meet us at the MMA. Alone. You have two hours,' it reads. You toss the letter and the envelope into the remains of the fire, and place more kindling on it. It flares to life, consuming the letter.

The mare stirs behind you, sitting up. She rubs her eyes sleepily. “Leaving already?”

You nod, resuming your morning routine. “Business. The guards will have a meal ready for you before you leave.”

The mare looks as though she's about to say something, but thinks better of it. She gathers her cloak and leaves without another word. You follow after a few minutes and inform the captain you are going to follow up on a lead by yourself after grabbing some food. The mare seems to have left completely, without touching her food. You frown, but put it out of your mind quickly and set out for the city.

It had been some time since you had been inside Manehattan proper, but you had reviewed the map several times before you arrived. Unfortunately, looking at a map was a different beast than actually being in the city itself. A number of street signs had fallen or were outright missing, and only now were ponies moving to light the street lights for the “day” cycle. Some of them gave you nervous looks, but otherwise ignored you.

After a few minutes of aimless wandering, you decide to fly up to one of the high roofs and see what you could. If you remembered correctly, the Manehattan Museum of Art was towards the center of the city, near Solar Park. You scan the horizon, blocked by the occasional taller building, and see part of what looks like Solar Park from behind one of them. A quick glide around it confirms your position, and after making sure you weren’t followed, you're at the museum in minutes.

The museum was styled like a building from the long-lost Crystal Empire, lots of angles and gemstones, all built to look as though it had been carved from a single titanic crystal. The actual gemstones it had used had long since been looted, you notice, and it looked now as though a few desperate ponies had thought the museum actually was made of crystal, taking chunks of it out. You hop over a fallen balcony, which reveals the true nature of its construction: carefully carved and painted stone. You briefly imagine what this place was like in its prime.

As you step inside, you see the interior has fared no better than its exterior. The lobby you stand in is expansive, and if you didn't know better, you'd swear the floors were actual crystal. Dust and bits of debris litter it, but was otherwise clear. You decide to search the first floor first, but as you move toward the remains of a gift shop on the left, a voice calls out to you.

“That's far enough, Nebulus.” A white unicorn mare with a blue mane and green eyes steps forward from somewhere on the second floor, placing herself at the top of the steps to it. Dune Runner flanks her on the right, a blue pegasus stallion on her left, followed shortly by two others from the sides, an orange earth pony and a red pegasus mare. Other ponies step out from various hiding spots all around you, wielding weapons of all types or their own magic for the unicorns.

You notice each of the ponies on the second floor but the white one wears an Element. “Either you're putting on a show, or you truly do have four Elements.”

The white mare ignores your words. “I didn't think the son of Nightmare Moon would keep his word.”

“If any guards followed me without my knowledge, feel free to kill them. I would.”

“You'd do that to ponies who are supposed to serve you?”

“For once, I would like to keep my word. As for my... mother, I grow weary of my service to her. Our goals are aligned.”

The white mare looks at the pegasus next to her. You're reasonably sure his necklace has an orange cloud on it, but the cloak he wears obscures much of his Element. The two whisper to each other briefly, and then the trio begins to walk down the steps, Shimmer at the head. “My friend here has a talent for telling when others are lying. And either you're an incredibly good actor, or you really are being honest.” She holds out a hoof when she gets in front of you. “I'm going to believe the latter. I'm Shimmer.”

You press your hoof against hers. “You're that confident in his judgment?”

“I'm confident in all of my friends. We've been through a lot.”

You nod. “I assume these are the real Elements?”

“Every last one. We're just missing Kindness and Magic, I think. Our books are incomplete.”

“I know where Kindness is. She lives in Canterlot, a yellow mare with an ice blue mane. Magic will be more difficult to acquire.”

“How so?”

“Magic will require some kind of spark to trigger, and only when the other five are united around the sixth.” Shimmer looks at you quizzically. “I have a complete book from the Canterlot Royal Library. I actually found it in Ponyville's library. Either the Queen's guards weren't as thorough as they had hoped, or somepony hid it.”

“So Twilight brought the book with her. Strange how we never found it. She must have hidden it well.” Shimmer turns away and gestures for you to follow. “Let's go sit down. We need to make plans, if what you say is true.”

The two of you walk up the stairs, into one of the display halls. The display cases are empty, but looked like they displayed suits of armor from days long past. Broken glass crunches under your hooves as you walk through the empty exhibits. “I have a question.”

“Hm?” Shimmer responds.

“When I awoke, my guards spoke of a letter that seemed to appear out of thin air in front of my door. I'm curious as to how it got there without them noticing.”

Shimmer's horn glows, and she vanishes. A moment later, she reappears, not missing a stride. “Does that answer your question?”

“It does. Invisibility is powerful magic.”

"I seem to pick up new magic pretty eaasily, but I never had much of a chance to learn. Invisibility is the first spell I mastered.”

Your group arrives near the rear of the museum. A large faux-crystal door stands in front of you, the sign above it reading “The Princess Hall.” Shimmer pushes open the door with her magic, and you, along with her friends with Elements, step inside. The door closes with a bang, echoing through the also empty hall. A round table has been set up set up, room enough for yourself and them, on top of a large sun emblem on the floor. The Elements take their seats, and Shimmer gestures for you to take a seat as well. You do so. She begins to speak. “Now, before we begin, we need to know a few things. At the top of our list: Why? Why do you want to kill your own mother, and why can't you do it yourself?”

You take a breath. “The former is a long and sad story. Let's just say I am sick of being a monster to others in her name. As for why I can't do it myself,” you pause. “I might be able to. But might is not good enough. That's where you and your friends come in.”

“I thought alicorns were gods?” the blue pegasus asks.

“A false assumption. A good way to gauge an alicorn's power is the mane.” You flick a hoof through your own, the ethereal front scattering briefly before reforming itself. “If it is fully ethereal, like hers, then they may seem to ordinary ponies to be gods in their power. If it isn't, they are closer to a high-level unicorn. But I assure you, both are equally susceptible to physical harm.”

“So, you're half as strong as she is? Your mane's only about half ethereal.”

You pause. You hadn't considered it like that before. “I have read theories that state that alicorn powers can grow exponentially under extreme duress. I can hold her, if the situation calls for it, but more than that, I can't be certain.”

“So, going horn to horn with Nightmare Moon is out of the question,” Shimmer says, settling into a businesslike tone. It was clear she was used to thinking this way. “Can we get her out into the open? Alone?”

“No. She rarely leaves the castle, and when she does, she carries an escort of guards. I know I can rely on some guards, but not enough to make that plan work. She does, however, feel safe in the castle. I know many ways in and out, and can ensure any route you take in is guarded by ponies I trust.”

“The castle's the only place to get her, then.” Shimmer settled into thought.

“Correct. I can give you swift routes in, and I'm confident that many of the guards will scatter when they realize their queen is dead. Not all of them serve her out of loyalty.”

“Hey, who's going to run the country after she's dead? You?” Dune Runner spoke up.

You snort. “Absolutely not. Princess Celestia can bring herself back from the grave and rule for all I care. I'll think about the aftermath of this when it actually happens.”

“I don't like not having some kind of plan in place for the future,” Shimmer says.

“Then decide amongst yourselves. I want no part of it.”

Shimmer shakes her head. “All right, I guess we can discuss it later. But do we all agree that this is likely our best plan?”

Murmurs of assent round the table.

Shimmer nods and turns to you. “We're trusting you on this. And you realize that, if this is going to be some sort of elaborate trap, it'll never work again?”

You nod.

“Then let's get to planning the specifics. Nebulus, I'm going to pick your brain for everything you know about the castle: guard strength, positions, weak spots, Nightmare Moon's schedule, everything.”

“You'll have everything I know. I'll start by drawing a map. Get me papers and something to draw with.”