It's Just History

by musicman722

Rating: everyone
Tags: Nightmare Moon, Romance, Original Character, Comedy, Slice of Life, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5848

An archaeologist discovers a new side to one of Equestria's oldest foes. This was definitely not in the history books.

History is written by the victor. Nightmare Moon was the Bringer of Eternal Night, the Dark Side of the Moon, and many other grand and fear inspiring names to scare children. But that was because she was beaten.

Dusty Tomes, a historian and archaeologist at the Trottingham Museum of Equestrian History, explores a tomb said to have been dated to Pre-Banishment Era. What he finds, proves that. However, it also disproves much of what he grew up to believe in.

*****
Inspired by Aegis Shield's "The Return of Princess Nightmare Moon"
Art is not mine. Belongs to swedishroyalguard
Please comment and like
If you dislike, please explain why

Published 2014-05-07 02:00:07 UTC
Last updated 2014-07-06 03:14:59 UTC

Tomb Raiding Time! (1)

Fwish! Clink! Clank!

“It had to be a mountain.” A unicorn said as he gripped the rope and pulled himself up. “It couldn’t be in a forest or hidden in the hills like normal buildings.” He griped, “‘Don’t worry Dusty, they’re just large hills.’ Yeah, if these are hills, then Canterlot’s a village.” He paused slightly as he reached the top of his rope to pull it out of the rock and launch it farther up with his magic. “No. Hills are no more than five hundred hooves tall and covered in grass and flowers. This? This is a bucking mountain. I hate climbing mountains. This lead better be bucking worth it or I’ll…do something mean-ish.” He finished lamely.

He kept grumbling and complaining as he scaled the steep slope. It didn’t help him in the slightest, but he didn’t care about that. He just wanted to get up the accursed mountain, find the stupid artifact, and go home. It was only the fact that this was a possibly undiscovered tomb that kept him going. Completely untouched by hooves since it’s sealing. The museum was lucky that the pony who stumbled across it was kind enough to give them the information instead of some money grubbing “collector”. If he was lucky, it might be the first of many achievements of his career. Maybe he could use it to help earn his doctorate.

He gave a grunt as he pulled himself over the final ledge and rolled onto his back, mindful of his saddlebags, and panting as if he ran a mile at a dead sprint. “Woo.” He said, feebly throwing his forelegs up in victory, “Dusty, you’ve done the impossible. Ha Hah… Sweet Celestia, I’m out of shape.” The stallion basked in the sun as he rested from his exercise. He was an average sized unicorn stallion with a slightly chubby build, indicating he lifted books instead of weights and ran once in a while when he was late to class or work. His coat was almond brown and his short mane and tail were a dark chocolate. His tired, mint green eyes fluttered as if he couldn’t decide to keep them open or closed. The mark on his flank was an old book opened up over a pile of other books and scrolls.

“Who picks the location for these places?” Dusty muttered as his breathing slowed down, “Is there some sort of council that chooses obscure, out of the way locations to build hidden tombs? I bet they decide it with a coin toss.” He gave a loud sigh. After resting for a few more minutes, Dusty rolled up onto his hooves and looked around the area. “Alright, now the pony said it was somewhere around here, but where?”

Dusty trotted around, following his historian instincts. Such instincts he had honed with his fellow classmates back in college. Teachings passed down from generations to generations, pounded out until it was flawless. “Now if I were an ancient tomb, where would I be?” For about an hour, Dusty overturned rocks and peeked around corners in his attempt to find the entrance. From what he was told, it was a cracked slab of stone that looked like a crescent moon.

As he gave a section of the large, rocky ledge another scan, Dusty’s stomach grumbled loudly. “Lunchtime it is then.” He said with a grin. Reaching into his saddlebag, he pulled out his lunchbox and used his magic to lift his daisy sandwich out and took a bite of it. Dusty also grabbed a map of the area and a pencil, keeping his sandwich in the air as he worked. “Okay, I’ve covered this area. Nothing but grass and pebbles there.” Crunch. Omnomnom. “Nuffin’ fere neithuh.” He kept crossing out areas, frustration growing with each mark on the paper. With a groan, he tore his gaze away from the map and settled on his surroundings.

Dusty’s eyes trailed along the rock slope, picking out funny shapes from the position of the stones. A couple bunnies, a hat, and even a laughing face. His favorite was the circular rock that looked like a giant cookie with a bite taken out of it. Maybe that was just him being hungry and forgetting to bring a dessert. Shaking his head, he returned his focus back on the map. It was vital that he found that crescent moon slab.

He blinked. “Wait a minute…” Dusty’s head snapped back to the ‘cookie’ rock. The crescent shape was definitely cracked and worn down from the elements, but trotting closer, Dusty could tell that the rock wasn’t naturally made. Considering its size being twice as large as the average pony, it’d be a miracle if it was naturally formed. Upon reaching the slab, he could see there were traces of old chisel marks from the original crafters. Magic may have been around for as long as the Alicorn sisters, but even unicorns needed tools to carve rocks.

“Well, looks like this is it, or a really good imitation. I hope I didn’t get sent out here on a wild goose chase.” Dusty muttered, “Now where did that pony say the hole was?” Dusty examined the ground around the rock. Nature and time had definitely taken its toll on the slab as it had sunken into the ground a few inches, marking that likely nopony had tried to move it in the last several centuries. However, because of that shift, Dusty was able to spot a small gap at the top near the tip of the crescent. It was about a hoof and a half wide, not quite big enough for a foal to squeeze through it, but enough to be noticeable.

“Oh, there it is. Let’s see if I can widen that hole, eh?” Finishing off his lunch, Dusty levitated out a small cloth sack and a water skin. He opened up the sack and blasted the rock with a miniature whirlwind of coarse grains and diamond dust, slowly carving away at the present cracks in the granite. Once he was satisfied with the widened cracks, Dusty poured water into them, using his magic to make sure they stayed in before casting a flash freeze spell, instantly turning the water to ice, thus expanding within the cracks. For about two hours he repeated this process until the granite split apart into several manageable chunks with a satisfying crack.

“Whew.” Dusty panted slightly, “Been a while since I had to use that method that much. I’m getting rusty. Note to self, practice magic when possible.” Lighting up his horn, Dusty pushed the now much smaller rocks apart until the hole behind it was wide enough to squeeze through. Inside, the air was musty and stale, not surprising considering there had been almost no circulation for Celestia knows how long. The walls of the tunnel were lit by Dusty’s horn, showing images of Luna’s night with its constellations and the occasional pristine white moon. “Fascinating, these images must be at least a millennium old judging by the art style.”

It wasn’t long until the tunnel opened up into the atrium of the tomb. No, more like temple than a tomb, as the place had no cloying stench of death and rot, and the current path lead to a strange pedestal. “Hmm.” Dusty swung his horn around to light up the rest of the room. It wasn’t terribly large, but it wasn’t small either, just that balance of a cozy yet spacious room. There were a few fire stands and torches, meaning there was ventilation, but it probably plugged up long since. On the walls were some extremely dusty banners of a dark lavender and ebony that were surprisingly still intact, though not that these were ideal conditions for horrible history destroying mold and bacteria. What was more surprising was the small alcoves behind the pedestal filled with scrolls or small stone chests.

“Huh, wonder what those are for? Probably ancient rites or records or something.” Seeing nothing else, Dusty approached the strange pedestal. Now, contrary to most ponies belief, ancient tombs and temples don’t have booby traps. If someone wanted to keep somepony away from the place, they would usually have a unicorn cast wards, have guards, or enchant a golem or two. The only ones that had booby traps were those who were exceptionally paranoid and had way too much time on their hands. Plus, the traps take forever to reset and were often easily detected, golems and wards were much more cost effective. The fact that the last known pony to use booby traps in their secret place had accidentally killed his son might have had something to do with it.

Seeing nor sensing such traps, Dusty strode confidently up to the pedestal to find a crescent moon amulet fitted with polished pearl and twilight sapphires. “Hmm, the design seems to at least be from the Pre-banishment era. Might be a tribute for Luna or something.” Carefully picking it up in his magic, he used a small brush to clean it off, making it shine quite nicely. “Definitely a main piece for the museum. I need to document this stuff.” Placing it back on the pedestal, Dusty took off his saddle bags and started to rummage through them for his writing materials. With his head halfway into his bag, he didn’t notice the amulet start to glow and slowly pour out smoke.

Dusty yanked out the fresh sheets of paper but for some reason, he couldn’t find his lucky quill. It was a good quill he found in high school that lasted him past college. “Aw nuts, I wish I could find that darn quill.”

The moment he said it, a hoof proffered a quill. Not just any quill, but his lucky one! “Is this what you’re looking for?” A feminine voice purred.

Dusty grabbed the quill with a smile, “Yeah, thanks!” With a smile, he began to write down his current findings…only to stop five seconds later with a frown as his mind caught up. ‘I’m alone in a dark, old temple cave and a mare just handed me my lucky quill.’ He blinked and started to sweat slightly as he slowly turned his head to face the mysterious mare.

Only it wasn’t some mysterious mare. It was Nightmare Moon in her battle armor grinning wickedly down at him with her sharpened teeth.

“Oh.” It was all he said before he passed out on the spot.

Author's Note

Special Thanks to Thardoc

Please comment (I love comments)

Raising the wrong Moon (2)

Dusty groaned as he woke up. It wasn’t the first time that he’d slept in uncomfortable places, but that didn’t mean he got much rest from it. “Note to self: replace hardwood floors with carpet or clouds. Whichever one’s softer.” He blinked his eyes open and took in his surroundings, but instead of his home, he saw he was still in the buried temple. “This…is not my house. Why am I still here?”

“Because it’s my home.” A voice said behind him.

Dusty yelped as he jumped a few feet into the air. Spinning around, he faced the source of the voice, only to be frozen in a night blue aura of magic. His eyes widened as memories came rushing back before he was knocked out…because stallions don’t faint. At all. Ever. Totally was knocked out and could prove it if he could find the bump on his head. But that thought to a back seat as he processed the large ebony alicorn sitting in front of him. She was elegant like Celestia with an astral mane similar to Luna, but the draconic eyes, crescent moon cutie mark, and sharp fangs told exactly who she was.

“Nightmare Moon.” Dusty whispered. His mind raced with curses at himself and his luck.

“Yes, that’s me.” she replied in a low voice, “And who, pray tell, are you?” Her eyes trailed over his body, sizing him up. Dusty shivered slightly as he answered back.

“Dusty, Dusty Tomes.” He stammered out.

“Dusty, hmm?” The goddess echoed, “Not a bad name. Judging by your mark, I presume you are a historian of a sort, correct?”

The stallion nodded furiously, “M-More of an archaeologist.”

“I see.” Keeping Dusty aloft, Nightmare Moon started to circle around him, like a cat surrounding a mouse. “How did you find this place? There were many enchantments upon it so that only those with innocent intentions can discover it.”

Dusty thought about lying, but if there’s one thing he learned from history, it’s to never lie to a mare that can do unspeakable things to you. “Um, actually, somepony else found it. I was just told to come out here and see if there was anything for the museum.” He said, trying to keep his eyes on the circling mare, “Plus, I didn’t really sense much magic at the entrance, so that’s probably why.”

The Night Goddess paused for a moment as she swung her head towards the exit. A brief flash of the horn later, she spoke, “It seems my enchantments did not last as long as I had hoped. I should have refreshed them last time I was out.” She turned back to him, “Now I believe you said something about a museum? Were you planning on taking some of my prized texts and artifacts for your little study?”

“Um, maybe?” he gulped.

Nightmare chuckled, “Well, you’re quite bold as to think you could steal from me.”

Dusty’s eyes shot open, “I-uh, but, I wasn’t-” He was silenced by a hoof on his mouth as Nightmare leaned in.

“Oh I know what you’re intentions were.” She said with a smirk, “Besides, you’d make for a poor thief with all the racket you made, not to mention your other mistakes at thievery.”

“Thanks?” Dusty said, trying to decide if it was a compliment or insult. He settled for the former as the alicorn continued speaking.

“Regardless of your methods, I believe it’s time we get down to business.” She stepped back and asked, “What is your wish?”

Dusty was expecting a lot of things when she said ‘business’. This was not one of them. “Um, excuse me?”

“Did I stutter?” she said sternly.

Dusty shook his head, “No! No, no, no. It’s just… I wasn’t expecting… Um, what do you mean by ‘wish’?”

“Simple. I will grant you what you desire should it be within my power.” She gave a toothy grin, “And there’s a lot within my power. All you have to do is ask.”

“So you aren’t going to try to plunge Equestria into Eternal Night again?” he asked suspiciously.

Nightmare raised an eyebrow, “Is that your wish?”

“What!? No, no.” Dusty’s neck was starting to get tired from all the shaking. He stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself, “Let’s start over. First, can you please let go of me?” Her horn flashed and the aura disappeared, causing him to fall on the hard floor. “Ow. Alright, I’m confused. You’re Nightmare Moon, the Mare in the Moon, the one who tried to bring about Eternal Night. Why are you granting wishes?”

“Because that is my purpose.” She replied, “I am to grant the wishes of those who control me and right now, you hold power over me, ergo I grant your wishes.”

Dusty’s inner historian was throwing a hissy fit at how all his knowledge about her contradicted her words. His common sense took the opportunity to brush up on his history before asking Dusty’s next question. “What’s the catch?”

Nightmare gave him a confused look, “The catch?”

“Yes. I study history and every creature who’s ever said they give out wishes always has a catch.” Dusty said, standing a little taller as he doled out his knowledge, “Am I going to be some host for you? Do I have to sacrifice foals for wishes? Will I have to choose on an ultimatum? Will your wishes corrupt me? You know, that stuff?”

Nightmare blinked, “You have a very…creative imagination.” She shook her head, “And to answer your question, no I don’t have a ‘catch’, especially something like that. I only have limitations on what you can wish for. I can grant many wishes, but I have many constraints to these wishes. Of course, I suggest you be clear about your desires, since I can provide my own interpretation if you don’t.”

“Really?” Now that he knew there was no catch like he described, most of his fear was being replaced by curiosity, “What kind of constraints?”

“A lot of the basics, really. I can’t kill, can’t bring back the dead, can’t make ponies fall in love, etc. I think I have a rule book somewhere that has it all.”

“Huh, well then,” Dusty scanned his mind for anything he could possibly wish for right now, “I wish for a caramel apple.” A second later, his requested desert appeared before him in a dark blue aura. “Sweet.” He pulled it out of her magic with a hoof and started to chow down. Halfway through his first bite, he stopped and asked, “Ya want one?”

Nightmare paused for a second, “No, thank you. As a spirit, I don’t need to eat to live.”

“You sure?”

“Quite.”

Dusty shrugged, thinking nothing more of it, “Well, alright then. More for me.” He resumed finishing up his apple. He pondered many questions that needed to be answered, if not for his own curiosity, but for documenting history. Once done and all the caramel licked away from his face, he asked, “So what exactly is this place?”

Nightmare swung a foreleg around the room, “This is my sanctuary, the Temple of the Night. It is, or rather, was a place for ponies to come worship me or ask for wishes.”

“How come I’ve never heard about it?” Dusty asked.

“Most likely because only thestrals frequented this place, before Luna’s banishment.” She explained, “Since I could not return from the moon on my own, I couldn’t be here to grant wishes, and thus this place was sealed forever and faded from memory. I wouldn’t be surprised if the thestrals forgot about this place to hide their shame for inadvertently causing their beloved Princess to be banished. Not to mention that a lack of wish granting spirits tends to make ponies lose interest rather quickly.” She added with a stab of irritation.

“Thestrals?” Dusty vaguely remembered something about them in one of his history lessons, but it was purely anecdotal and he forgot about it.

“The formal name for the bat pony race.” She explained.

“Oh, right. I should have remembered that.” While Nightmare spoke, Dusty had pulled out his notepad and began jotting down notes, “You said your purpose was to grant wishes, right?” He received a nod in reply. “Since when? All entries I’ve read about Nightmare Moon were how Luna lost control due to her jealousy, and thus became you. The last we ever hear of you is when the Elements of Harmony defeated you a few years ago.”

“I’ve been granting wishes for a very long time.” Nightmare had a reminiscing look in her eyes, “Yes, it’s true that Luna became Nightmare Moon, but that was when my container was latched onto her armor.” She tapped the amulet on the pedestal, “Some thestral had the bright idea that a night spirit would be a perfect augment for the Night Princess. Needless to say, I was under her command then, though she just thought of me as a well of power, which is precisely what the thestral told her. When she wished to gain the respect of her subjects, she didn’t exactly specify how, so…well, you know what happened next.”

“But why?” Dusty asked, “I mean, why did you try to gain respect through fear? It just seems counterproductive, not to mention you wouldn’t get far with that kind of respect.”

Nightmare sighed, as if she had been explaining the same thing repeatedly, “Because there is only so much that I can do with these limits and rules, plus Luna was a bit impatient.” She frowned, “To be honest, I tried talking her out of it, but she would have none of it and I had to obey her commands.”

Dusty’s quill scribbled with the practiced ease from long semesters with fast talking teachers who didn’t repeat themselves. Soon, he had a few pages of notes and questions, finishing with a quick sketch of the amulet. “Interesting.” He glanced up at her, “Out of curiousity, did you get out often? I-I mean, were you able to see any of the events of Equestria before the banishment?” His face was lit up as if he had struck gold, which he did in a historical sense. Another entity aside from the Princesses and Discord who lived through the past, and he found her first! Definitely worth a doctorate.

“Not as much as you’d think, as I can only leave my container when the master summons me.” Nightmare said with an almost noticeable huff. Upon seeing Dusty’s downcast look at the information, she added, “I did happen to see some major, at the time, events come to pass, as I happened to be nearby or involved.”

Dusty nodded, “I suppose I can work with that.” He had a thought. “Speaking of which, what time is it?” Factoring in his assumed time unconscious, it should probably be late eve-

“I believe it’s close to midnight, if not already past.”

“Buck!” Dusty scrambled to get his supplies together, muttering, “Gotta get home, gonna take a while, probably not going to get much sleep. Boss is gonna flay me for this…” Once his items were all on his back, he turned to Nightmare, “Look, I gotta go, but I’ll probably be back soon, since I still need to document this place.” He started to trot, only to find himself walking on air as he was dragged back to the podium.

“Might I make a suggestion, Master Dusty?” Nightmare offered, “I can simply take you home instantly should you wish it.”

Dusty felt really odd when she called him ‘Master’, but he ignored that as he focused on the opportunity before him. “Oh, right. *Ahem* I wish to appear back in my apartment.”

“Your wish is my command.” She said before enveloping them both in her magic. In a flash, Dusty landed on the familiar hardwood floors of his flat. “Huh, so it actually SWEET CELESTIA!” His cause for alarm was the familiar black alicorn laying on his bed. “What are you doing here?!” he hissed.

She gave him a bemused look, “What do you mean?”

“Why did you follow me?” Dusty asked as he began putting his items away.

“How else am I to grant your wishes if I am not around?” she explained, “I exist to serve and I cannot fulfill that duty from a musty cave.”

Dusty tilted his head, “I thought you were bound to your amulet, and I didn’t even pick it up.” To which, Nightmare answered by pointing at his neck. “What the-”

“As I granted your wish, I placed my receptacle around your neck in order for me to remain near you.” She explained, “You may take it off if you wish, but I cannot grant wishes if you do not summon me, nor if I am not nearby.”

“Uh-huh.” Dusty said, then sighed, “Well, at least it saves me the trouble of going back up to that cave if I can just wish myself there.” He took off the amulet and tossed it onto his nightstand. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to use my bed to sleep.”

“As you wish, Master.” She gracefully stepped off, “Would you like to wish for a more comfy, or luxurious bed? I can summon the most relaxing mattress you can think of for your rest.”

“Um, no? My bed is fine enough.” Dusty said dismissively. He flopped onto the covers and rolled them around his body.

Nightmare gave him a bemused look as he fluffed his pillow, “Well, how about a pillow filled with the softest down? Or a warm, comforter made from the finest threads?”

Dusty facehooved and stared at her with one eye, “Nightmare, the only thing I need right now is to sleep. Just go back in the amulet until morning.”

“Hmm… If that is what you wish.” Nightmare’s body slowly turned to vapor and flowed into the amulet like a vacuum. Before she disappeared completely, she said, “Goodnight, Master Dusty.”

“’Night.” He replied half-heartedly. He crawled onto his bed and snuggled into his comforter. Reflecting back on his day, Dusty couldn’t help but feel his life was going to get very interesting soon. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. His last thought before falling asleep was, ‘Meh, I’ll deal with it in the morning.’

Author's Note

Special Thanks to Thardoc for editing and stuff

Let me know what you guys think!

Morning Rush Hour (3)

Ever since college, Dusty always thought that Celestia had way too much time on her hooves. How else does she take that extra second to make sure the rising sun’s light strikes right in his eyes almost every morning? ‘It’s a bucking conspiracy, is what it is.’ Dusty’s mind blearily answered as he tried to snuggle further under his covers, ‘Bet she even has a whole team made to find ponies sleeping near windows to wake up like this. Precious tax dollars into Equestria’s most annoying alarm clock system. Buck, what time is it anyways?’ He poked his head out and searched for the clock on his nightstand. ‘Oh, its half an hour before the museum opens. Mmkay. Five more minutes.’

After a couple seconds, that statement finally sunk into his mind as that one neuron that knew what that meant and took its job seriously hit the emergency wake up button with its face. Dusty’s eyes shot wide open as he rocketed out of his bed and around his flat to get ready for work. All the while, he muttered “Buckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuuuuuuuuucck!” repeatedly. He stuffed his bag with important papers after putting some bread in the toaster. Just to be sure he didn’t forget anything, he packed in some random things from his nightstand and desk. A quick taming of his bed head and a toaster pop later, Dusty galloped out his door and down the stairs.

Out on the street, Dusty weaved around stallions and mares who were on their way to work and foals running to school. “Sorry, sorry!” he shouted out with every close call and cut off he made as he ran. He muttered words of encouragement to himself, hoping to hold out until he reached the museum. Alas, it was in vain as his body was not suited to such intense exercise so early, and without stretching beforehand too. It wasn’t long until his leg cramped up. “OW! Sweet Celestia!” Dusty shouted before crumpling onto the grass of the park he was cutting across. At least the universe was kind enough to grant him some cushioning for his fall.

“Great. Late and in pain.” Dusty muttered, “Can this get any worse?” glancing off to the side, he noticed that his bag flew open and scattered his belongings. Dusty sighed, “I had to ask, didn’t I?” Grumbling under his breath, Dusty limped over and started stuffing the papers back into his bag. “At least there’s no win-” His words died in his throat as one of the papers he picked up revealed a very familiar amulet. Remembering the events from the night before, Dusty chewed on his lip as he tried to decide if he should use it. ‘I still don’t know much about it. As much as I’d like to trust Nightmare that there’s no catch, I can’t really risk it.’ he thought, ‘Buuut, I really need to get to the museum on time, and it’s the only place to do some research on it safely. Just his once then no more until after further study.’

A quick look around, showed that nopony was close by or really paying him much mind. Dusty placed a hoof on the amulet, “Hey, um, don’t come out right now, but I wish I was teleported to the front of the museum with all my current items with me.”

“Your wish is my command, Master.” Dusty heard from the amulet. Not a moment later, Dusty found himself on his hooves with his stuffed bags on his back in front of his destination. A quick glance showed him that the amulet was once again around his neck.

“Huh. For a second there, I thought that wouldn’t work, or at least the way I wanted.” Dusty muttered.

“I aim to please, Master.” Nightmare said, startling Dusty. He quickly checked around and luckily saw nopony nearby to hear the voice of the genie.

“Can you not speak out like that in public?” Dusty asked, “I’d rather not explain why my necklace is talking.” Celestia, that would be an awkward conversation. Plus, he’d rather not have unsavory ponies hear about an amulet that could grant wishes, or the guard finding out he was holding the original Nightmare Moon around his neck.

“Is this satisfactory, Master?” Nightmare said, but this time, it echoed in his mind. The sudden change caused Dusty to jump.

“Are you in my head?!” He exclaimed. Once again, Dusty was thankful nopony saw his little outburst lest they send him to the mental ward or something.

Nightmare, however, was perfectly calm about it. “No. I cannot enter the mind of another unless you command it of me, and even then there are severe restrictions to my abilities. Right now, I am simply speaking to you through telepathy so long as you are in contact with my container.”

“Oh. That’s a relief.” Dusty said, now starting to limp around the building to the worker’s entrance.

“Master, I can heal your injured leg for you, if you’d like.” Nightmare offered.

“Nah, I kinda deserved that for sleeping in. Plus, it’ll heal itself by the end of the day. I’m fine.” To prove his point, Dusty limped faster to the door. “And can you please not call me ‘Master’? Just ‘Dusty’ is fine enough.”

“Of course not.” Nightmare said, sounding offended, “You found me and you have control over me, therefore you are my master.”

Dusty reached the work entrance, “I don’t have time to argue this right now. We’ll discuss this later.” He opened the door with his magic and limped in towards the check in station. “Yes! With a minute to spare too.” He stamped himself in and trotted over to his workstation. As he unpacked, a pegasus trotted over.

“Heeeeyyyy, Dusty.” He said. He was a lanky Pegasus with a yellow coat and key lime mane and tail. His eyes were an ocean blue and gave an air of casualness like a pony at the beach. His mark was a fossil and a pair of shells. “So how was that lead you got?”

Dusty gave him a dirty look, “It would have been better if you told me about the mountains I had to climb. You know I hate that, Seaweed.”

Seaweed held up a hoof in defense. “Whoa, brah. I told you what the stallion told me. Plus he had a climbing mark, so I figured he knew the difference between a hill and a mountain. Don’t shoot the messenger, dude.” He glanced down and noticed the amulet, “Sweet necklace, brah. Swipe that swag from the cave?”

It took Dusty a second to understand what he was talking about. He thought quickly to cobble together a lie to hold until he could figure out something better. “Oh, this?” he said as nonchalantly as he could, “Actually, I found this at an antique store the other day. I just wanted to bring it in to study it a bit. Maybe it could be from a few centuries ago? Or maybe it’s older than that? Either way, it looks good for its age.”

Seaweed nodded, “Cool. Might go dig through them ‘tiki shops too. Lunch at Wubway?”

Dusty noticed that he didn’t really pack a lunch in his rush to work. “Sure, why not.” After he left, Dusty concentrated on getting settled in. It wasn’t long until Nightmare spoke up.

“Did you really mean that?” she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

Dusty blinked, “Mean what?” he whispered.

“What you had said. That I looked good for my age. Did you mean it?” she said.

“Oh, that.” Dusty said, now nervous. He had never been the best when it came to mares on a personal level. “Well, I was talking about the amulet, which does look incredibly well preserved for something at least a millennia old.” That part was true, at least.

“I do like to keep my container in perfect condition.” Nightmare responded with pride.

Dusty gave a small sigh as he dodged that bullet. He’d seen enough college drama to know how to avoid a few conversation landmines. “Anyways, I need to start working. I’m supposed to get some of these artifacts documented and ready for the exhibit.”

’Would you like my assistance?’ Nightmare asked.

“Ah… No, thank you.” Dusty said hesitantly, “I’m fine.” Though the thought of an assistant was appealing, the museum didn’t get interns often and he did not want to explain how his new assistant was the Bringer of Eternal Night. Plus, he didn’t think spirits had training with handling historical artifacts.

’I will be here until you need me. she said before becoming silent.

Just to be safe, Dusty removed the amulet and tossed it into his drawer, placing a sticky note to remember to take it out when he leaves. “First order of business, order books about spirits.” He said to himself. While Nightmare seemed truthful for the most part, Dusty was still uneasy about some of her abilities, namely any side effects of being in contact with her. “Secondly, find any reference to her in Thestral culture, Pre-Banishment era.” It was probably going to come up as legend, or not at all, but he was curious and even myths and legends have a bit of truth in them.

“A quarter past eight and I can already tell this is going to be a long day.” He sighed.

Author's Note

Hey guys, I'm so glad you faved this fic. It means a lot to me that you want more of this dinky little romance that doesn't have clop and is an OC shipped with an alicorn. I will try to get updates out as fast as I can though I'm juggling this fic and several others as well. Be patient please.

Just so you know, I LOVE comments. Please comment if you want.

Edited by Thardoc.

P.S. Get your fimfic friends to give this story some ~~likes and faves~~ love