Nightmare Mom

These next few days were going to be perfect, you could feel it. The Elements had left for Canterlot before you, and separately, to avoid drawing attention to their movements. The delay would also give them time to meet with Mint Drop, recruit her, and do whatever else they had to do to prepare. All you had to do was speak with the guard captain about the duty rosters, which you already did so often you may as well have been the captain yourself.

You decide to take a walk through the gardens before you report to Nightmare Moon. She'd be upset that the rebels “slipped” away from you, but you could handle one final lashing before she finally got what was coming to her. In spite of what you said before, you find yourself thinking about what you'd do afterward. Someplace warm, where they won't know who I am. Past the dragons, perhaps. Anyplace I can start over.

“So, what are you daydreaming about this time?” You pull out of your reverie and see Twilight Sands walking next to you, clad in her Shadowbolts uniform, goggles on her head, like when you first met her. Her mane was tied into a single braided ponytail that reached her shoulder.

“Happy times.” You smile at her. “And I see you managed to pry yourself from duty to see me.”

“We just got back from some action in Baltimare, and a show. I liked the show more.” Twilight shakes her head. “When I wanted to join the Shadowbolts, I never thought it would be this busy. Speaking of which, how long has it been since we last saw each other?”

“Two years for me.” Twilight cocks an eyebrow at you. “I saw one of your shows then, in Fillydelphia. You fly very well.”

Twilight chuckles. “First, thanks, and second, that's not what I meant.”

You think for a moment. “Six years? I think it was when you finally got into the Shadowbolts.”

She nods. “And here we are, chatting like we just saw each other yesterday. At least you're in a good mood.”

“It's a sign of a good friend. And I'm in a very good mood today.”

“And you're going to tell me why...?”

You open your mouth, sorely tempted to tell her about your plans. There are still a number of guards around, however. “You'll find out.”

“Oh, a surprise? Must be big to have you like this.”

“It's massive.”

“Is it a mare?” She nudges you. “Huh? Huh? I know how you like to spread the love.”

You twitch at the mention of the word. “One is involved. You could say she is the center of it.”

“Well, tell me about her! She must be something special to have you all excited.”

You smile and shake your head. “It's too big to say more than I have. I don't want her finding out.”

“Oh all right, Mr. Secret. But still, I like this new mood. Most of the letters you've sent me are all sulky or angry or something. I get worried.”

“I can handle myself.”

The two of you arrive at the side of a pond, frozen over. You both sit as you talk. “Can you? You've told me just about everything that's happened to you, and it sounds like you bottle it all up unless you're talking to me. And dishing out beatings or rutting doesn't fix that.”

“No, it doesn't,” you admit. “The cycle has to break sometime, and I have taken steps to shatter it.”

Twilight hugs you unexpectedly. You blink in surprise. “Good. And I'll be around to help however I can.” She looks up at you. “Some ponies do care about you, you know.”

Orange Blossom's face flashes in your mind. Twilight notices your frown. You look at her. “Another pony said that to me once. It didn't end well.”

Twilight sighs and lets go of you. “Do you have any happy memories?”

“Meeting you wasn't terrible.”

Twilight chuckles. “I'll take that as a compliment.”

“How's your coltfriend? You mentioned things were rocky in your last letter.”

Twilight rolls her eyes. “I think he's seeing another mare behind my back now.”

“Do I need to pay him a visit?”

“Thanks, but no. I can break his balls just has hard as you can.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of bones.”

“I can break those too.”

The two of you laugh and spend a few minutes catching up. She's in the middle of telling you about a fanfilly she has when a guard approaches you. She stops as you stand to address him. “Report.”

The guard salutes. “The Queen wishes to see you at once. She tells me it's urgent.”

Could it... no. I took all precautions. You nod and turn to Twilight. “We should do this again soon.”

“It's a date, if I can make the time. Take care of yourself until then. I mean it.” With that, she hugs you again and flies off, and you follow the guard.

“So, what's this about?” you ask the guard.

“Rebels are being brought before the Queen. She wants you to interrogate them or something in front of her. Some kind of test, I assume.”

“Then let's not keep her waiting.” You quicken your pace.

Your mind races as you walk, going over then plan you made with Shimmer and her group over and over again. You knew you made no mistakes, at least regarding your involvement. If her group somehow messed up, gotten captured... You had heard rumors that your mother could invade the mind of another pony, rendering it impossible to hide anything from her. And if that was true, she would know about you regardless. Or at least, what the group knew about you. You were safe.

Perhaps these were other rebel leaders, based in Canterlot. You had been close to catching them repeatedly, and maybe they slipped up while you were gone, assuming they could operate more openly. It would make sense, from what you knew about the Canterlot cell. They were cocky, a fact you exploited to catch many of them. Shimmer struck you as a better planner than that, and far more cautious. It had to be the Canterlot cell. Fate wouldn't be so cruel to you to have Shimmer mess up.

You discover that fate is almost as horrible as your mother as you enter the throne room. There they are, all six of them, chained up in front of your mother, who is busy walking up and down in front of them, no doubt taunting them. You force your expression to stay neutral as you approach, despite the massive pit in your stomach and your heart beating like you had just been sprinting.

Dune Runner spots you first, but they all fix you with gazes of hatred as you walk in front of them. You notice they're no longer wearing their necklaces. He's the only one to try to attack you. “I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST YOU! YOU SON OF A-” he's cut off by a guard smashing him in the face with the butt of a spear.

Nightmare Moon turns to look at you. And for once, she's smiling. At you. “Nebulus, well done! I thought you would return to me empty-hooved. But instead, you bring not only some of the highest ranking rebels to me, but they just so happen to bear the Elements of Harmony. I'm proud of you, boy.”

Her words hit you like a sledgehammer. Twenty-five years you've wanted to hear those words, or any words of affection. And not only that, she's still smiling, genuinely happy to see you. As though the past twenty-five years never happened. Words fail you.

She gestures towards the six. “And thanks to some creative interrogation, I have even learned where Princess Cadence has been hiding all these years. Kill these six, and we can make plans to get her.”

You face them, the ponies you had trusted your revenge to. Only Shimmer hangs her head, likely cursing herself for trusting you. Mint Drop looks absolutely terrified, her tears flowing freely. The others wore the varied looks of hate you knew too well. You begin charging your magic into a single spell, closing your eyes in concentration. Their faces still swim before you, along with those of the blue mare, the orange mare, and the red stallion from the orchard near Ponyville. You see others join them, faces of ponies you never knew the names of, but knew from interrogation or other random beatings. And every last one is glaring at you.

And then you see Nightshade and the other Shadowbolts, congratulating you on graduating from their impromptu flight academy. They're slapping you on the back, hoisting drinks to you, and Nightshade is even giving a speech as you hold your first alcoholic drink. You can even feel the warmth of the torches of the bar somehow. Next, you see Twilight Sands, tears in her eyes as you promise each other that you'll write daily. Orange Blossom flashes next, her face aglow with a fire behind you that you can feel roaring to life as she smiles at you warmly. Then Twilight Sands, hugging you in front of that pond, the concern in her eyes as she speaks to you. And then finally, your mother...

At that, without thinking, you snap your eyes open, spin, and fire on Nightmare Moon. She is engulfed in a torrent of sapphire energy, blowing her clear out of the throne room. Automatically, you turn your magic on the guards, vaporizing each one in turn, then destroying the chains on the Elements. You approach Shimmer. “Do you remember where her vault is?”

She nods, shocked.

“The Elements are likely being taken there. If you hurry, you can intercept the carriers.”

“But-”

“Go! I'll deal with her!”

Shimmer hesitates, but nods. “Good luck.” With that, she rallies the others and runs out.

You turn to see Nightmare Moon enter through the still-glowing hole, her armor smoking and partially melted. She pulls off the offending pieces. “You DARE attack me!? After everything I've done, even after I gave you a second chance after your last bit of insubordination, you throw it back at me? Are you so tired of life?”

You toss your own armor aside. You'd need the mobility. “Life under you? Yes.” Your horn flares to life once more as you stomp towards her. “I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should.”

She readies herself. “I'll have to enjoy it even more.”

You fire at her with your magic again, which she deflects, but you're on her in an instant. Your hoof collides with her jaw and other parts of her face, again and again, before she throws you off of her. By now, your rage has taken hold, a fire long stoked that has finally roared to life. You attack, she defends, and then the roles switch, until you catch an opening to exploit, where you go on the offensive. Magic flashes past you, even into you, and you're vaguely aware of dealing out your own spells and throwing at her every loose object you can grab.

Your hoof connects with her jaw once more, but something cold and silky seizes your throat and squeezes. Your mother sneers at you, her mane having wrapped itself around your throat, a sheen of wetness tracing from one of her nostrils. You struggle as she slams you into the wall, laughing. On the third impact, your horn flares and you find the constriction around your throat gone. Your entire body feels like air, and you drift it away from her and near one of the windows. You feel your body return to its normal state quickly. Your mother stares at you in confusion, then smiles, understanding. You realize you must have become a cloud, like she could. You reach out with your magic and pull out the windows, shattering them, catch every last shard, and send it all flying toward your mother, a wall of razor-sharp glass.

You're pleased to see that, despite her best efforts, many of the shards hit their mark. Your gloating is short lived, as something smashes into you, something heavy. You push it off, realizing it's her throne, and scramble to your hooves, ignoring the sharp pain in your right wing. She lunges for you, you dodge, and in a roar from you and a flurry of moves, you're on top of her, bringing your hooves down into her head like she's done so many times before to you. Your blows pick up speed as your rage surges once more, but you find yourself flung off quickly. She charges at you this time, and the dance begins again.

Unconsciously, you reach for your new smoke form to dodge her spells, and she shifts into her own, driving towards you like a spear, and your fight takes to the skies. You catch glimpses of yourself, a glowing blue smoke cloud much like the nebulae you saw in the observatories, as you duel your mother's smoky star field for higher ground, arcs of energy lancing between you. After a series of moves, you dimly realize you're in the skies above the castle. You reform and attempt to use your magic to cause damage to her cloud shape, and fail. She wraps herself around you like a constrictor, squeezing you as hard as she can. You can hear her voice in your head, “Foolish boy, taking on a goddess.”

Your horn flares once more and magic pulses through you, throwing off Nightmare Moon's cloudy shape. She reforms to her pony shape and charges at you. You dodge, the fight morphing into a dogfight over the city, lances of devastating magic slicing across the sky. You push your attack, driving upwards, knowing your mother will follow, and quickly round on her, aiming to impale her on your horn. You miss and try to round on her again, but she slams into you, driving you rapidly towards the floor of the throne room. You manage to squirm your way back on top, slowing your descent as you wrestle with her. The two of you smash through the roof and into the floor in a resounding crash.

Your crawl to your hooves, pain clawing at the edges of your rage-fueled mind. It looks to be the same case for your mother, if her expression is anything to go by. Her wing feathers are shredded, one eye nearly swollen closed, her body now crossed with scorch marks and cuts, and you imagine yours looks much the same. You glare at each other for an instant before charging once more, clashing horns.

“I'll admit, you're stronger than I thought.”

You don't reply, instead opting to push harder against her.

She pushes back. “It just makes my inevitable victory all the sweeter!”

You pull back and attempt to headbutt her, but she catches your horn once more. You try slashing at her with it, then thrusting, and manage to embed yourself in a wall. You wrench it free with a roar and a burst of magic and repeat, engaging in a brief duel that ends with you clashing with her again.

“I remember Celestia and I made quite a mess when we fought. But this time, you have no Elements to cheat with!” She shoves you off of her. “I'll be generous and say you'd be a match for her. But still not strong enough to beat me.”

You blast her back with a snarl and reach out with your magic. You grab hold of the roof itself and tear it loose, taking much of the walls with it, and mimic your plan with the glass and break it into ten of thousands of tiny shards of stone. You smirk as you see your mother stare at it in horror. You drive it towards her, but she slides into her smoke form just before impact and slips away. She reforms and seizes you with her magic before you can recover.

Your mother kicks you in the gut a few times, and then in the head. You struggle to refocus. “As I said, you're just not strong enough.” With that, you feel yourself flying through the air. Something extremely hard shatters itself on your back, and your last conscious memory is that of a wooden CRACK, and something else breaking itself on your back.